What’s in a Name?

"Deciding to make a statement every time he’s asked for or signs his name, a 19-year-old PETA staff member—formerly known as Chris Garnett—has legally changed his name to KentuckyFriedCruelty.com, the same name as PETA’s Web site that gives the lowdown on KFC’s refusal to eliminate the worst abuses of chickens raised and killed to fill its buckets. The former Dover Plains, New York, resident and current Street Team coordinator of peta2—PETA’s youth division—has the official state papers and driver’s license to prove it. His parents—who have been supportive since he went vegan at age 15—were a little shocked at first, but although they insist on still calling him Chris, they’ve accepted the change."

PETA’S SEXY ‘SANTA’S HELPER’ LANDS IN EVANSVILLE TO GIVE AWAY TOFURKY

Ho ho ho:

A sexy 'Santa’s Helper' wearing a skimpy outfit and a jaunty red hat will hand out free Tofurky—a soy-based roast that includes savory stuffing—in Evansville as part of PETA’s national tour to promote a vegetarian holiday season. The sexy vegetarian hopes to reach people’s hearts through their stomachs and is urging consumers to stay true to the holiday spirit by spreading comfort and joy to turkeys too

Complaints as christmas turkeys killed on TV

"Chef Gordon Ramsay's TV show is being investigated by watchdogs after showing scenes of turkeys being slaughtered.

Seven viewers complained after The F Word showed Ramsay carrying six turkeys into a slaughter van where they were strung up, stunned and killed."

Ironically, this chef is known for being vegetarian hostile, and his plan may backfire. People need to know where their food comes from, and maybe if they think about it, they'll consider becoming vegetarian.

Donald Watson has died

Donald Watson, the man who founded the Vegan Society - and invented the word vegan - has died at his home in Keswick at the age of 95.

The Cumberland News - The man who invented the vegan

Vegeterian & Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

Vegeterian & Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes:

When a Non-Vegetarian Cook Hosts a Vegetarian Guest: Vegetarians are in the minority, but there are enough of us that you may find one or more on your guest list. Here are some questions you may be asking yourself as you consider your situation at Thanksgiving, one of the most clearly meat-influenced holidays on the American calendar.

Bird Flu found in Canada

"The United States has banned poultry from mainland British Columbia, Canada after a duck there tested positive for a strain of avian flu over the weekend, a U.S. Agriculture Department official said Monday.

Jim Rodgers, a spokesman for the Agriculture Department's Animal-Plant Health Inspection Service, said federal officials took the step as a precaution until Canadian authorities provided more information about the tests they conducted on the animal...

...Throughout Asia the H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed at least 67 people since 2003. Almost all of them came into close contact with infected birds.

Experts fear that the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form that can easily be passed from human to human, sparking a pandemic."

Livin' La Vegan Loca

Fairfield County Weekly: Livin' La Vegan Loca:

One recent night at a Lower East Side book signing, all was not as it appeared. About 50 people shouldered into a storefront to peruse funky shoes, gnaw on chicken drumsticks and take a gander at a subculture celebrity author. The chicken, however, was a culinary imposter--a really tasty fake-meat facsimile. And not one pair of shoes--all of them stylish, sexy, practical or all of the above--was crafted from an animal's hide. (Though some were artfully decorated with hair from the several rescued kitties who live in the store, Mooshoes, and lounge among the footwear.) The author, though, was the real deal, all five-foot-nothing of her with her lit-from-within smile, body art-a-plenty peeking out from her vintage sweater, and cute Canuck accent.

Sarah Kramer was in New York promoting the third in her trilogy of vegan cookbooks, La Dolce Vegan! (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2005). With their sassy retro design, kitschy cheesecake photos by Kramer's husband, Gerry, of the author in vintage ensembles, and punny titles ( How It All Vegan! , The Garden of Vegan ), hers stand out amidst the crowded market of guides for making animal-free grub. And though the covers will make a person of a particular sensibility or curiosity pick them up, it's what's inside that earns these books a home in many a compassionate kitchen. In addition to the recipes themselves, all three books feature low-downs on the whats and wheres of vegan ingredients; poignant (and never preachy) personal reflections of this life path; answers to FAQs asked via her website (www.govegan.net) or while she's out greeting and feeding her readers; and lists of the multitude of uses--household cleaning, pest control, health aides--for pantry staples, such as baking soda and salt.

Vegan food drives pizza shop's sales

Vegan food drives pizza shop's sales - The Daily Free Press - News:

While the name may not suggest it, T.J.'s House of Pizza in Allston is a paradise for vegans.

Pizza, meatball subs, chicken fingers, buffalo wings, baklava and cheesecake are just a few of the vegan-friendly items adorning the menu at T.J's House of Pizza, and vegan-lovers have helped their choice items outsell the T.J.'s traditional pizza shop menu.

Owner Hassan Moutouakkil said the once traditional pizza house evolved its menu to become vegan-based two years ago when an employee suggested the restaurant should include vegetarian and vegan options on the menu. So Moutouakkil contacted distributors and purchased some vegan cheese and meat products.

Guinness criticized by vegan group - Drinks Business Review

The Vegan Society has given the market-leading stout producer Guinness its inaugural Vegan Raspberry Award for using products and ingredients that do not comply with its vegan standards over those that do.

Guinness's production techniques make use of Isinglass – a type of gelatin made from the bladders of fish – to remove yeast from the stout. Yet vegan-friendly companies such as Samuel Smiths and Pitfield Brewery have shown that fish-free vegan stout is possible.

The society hopes the award will encourage Guinness to change its ways.

Americans may have eaten mad cow

Americans may have eaten mad cow: Offspring of infected Texas cow suspected of reaching human food supply

Dallas Morning News Story

Researchers hunting the herd linked to the first U.S. case of mad cow disease were cited as finding that most of the animals were slaughtered—and possibly in the human food supply—even before the government probe began.

The federal and state governments closed an investigation into the infected cow, which was raised at an unidentified Texas ranch, at the end of August.

But the Dallas Morning News obtained details about the search for the 413 cows and calves on Tuesday under a Texas Open Records request. About 350 of them, or roughly 85 per cent, were sent for slaughter.

The story says that the reports, compiled for the Texas Animal Health Commission by a government employee, demonstrate how problematic it was to track the herd mates and progeny of a diseased cow.

The investigators' searches for feed records, as well as "animals of interest" went back years. Many records were no longer available. The state wound up relying on its own data taken in the county between 1990 and 1994 to get a snapshot of the herd.

Dr. Max Coats, deputy director for animal health programs at the Texas Animal Health Commission, was quoted as saying, "If it were not for our brucellosis information and database, we would have had extraordinary difficulty in conducting this investigation. … We would have liked for the record keeping to have been better. Some producers have flawless records. Others know they had 14 cows last year and they don't know whose they were."

Because the record keeping and identification process at the affected farm was lacking, inspectors had to trace 213 calves in their hunt to find two that were recently born to the diseased cow. They never were able to specifically identify the two calves, but did say that 208 of those investigated went into feed and slaughter channels, entering the food supply. Another four likely did. One calf was untraceable.

Tom McGarity, a professor of food safety law at the University of Texas Law School, was quoted as saying, "If they're fairly confident that the group they identified as the progeny was complete and if nearly all of them were slaughtered, chances are the progeny was eaten by a human being."

Coats and Jim Rogers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said there should be no fear of mad cow entering the human food supply.

Rogers said that regulations keep any possibly diseased cow out of the system.

From VCR to cat feeder

An English inventor has found a new use for his VCR: as a cat feeder.

This article on c|net's news.com shows pictures on how it is done.

Airport restaurants offering more healthy choices

"More than half the restaurants at 14 of the busiest U.S. airports offer at least one low-fat, cholesterol-free vegetarian option, according to a survey by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a Washington-based nonprofit group that promotes healthy eating.

Travelers 'will at least be able to find healthy vegetarian meals in most major airports,' said Tim Radak, the committee's associate nutrition director.

Chicago's O'Hare airport, where slightly more than 9 out of 10 eateries offered healthy fare, topped the group's 2005 list. Detroit's Metropolitan, where 89 percent of the restaurants did so, came in second. Las Vegas' McCarran was last, with 42 percent.
Three-quarters of airport restaurants offered healthy options in 2005, compared with 56 percent in 2002, when the group did a similar survey.

The 2005 rankings and percentage scores, after Chicago and Detroit, are: San Francisco, 88; New York's JFK, 83; Dallas/Fort Worth, 81; Denver, 78; Atlanta, 77; Orlando, 76; Newark, 75; Phoenix, 75; Los Angeles, 69; Minneapolis/St. Paul, 68; Houston, 46; and Las Vegas, 42."

World vegan day 2005

Vegan news:

1st November is World Vegan Day - an annual celebration of all things vegan!

CELEBRATING VEGAN DIVERSITY

This year's theme is vegan diversity and we want you to help us show the world that anyone and everyone can be vegan!

Nine people in Idaho die from brain wasting disease

State and federal health officials are trying to get to the bottom of nine reported cases of suspected sporadic CJD in Idaho this year. Sporadic, or naturally occurring, CJD differs from the permutation dubbed variant CJD, which is caused by eating mad-cow-tainted beef and has killed at least 180 people in the United Kingdom and continental Europe since the 1990s.
"One thing is very clear in Idaho _ the number seems to be higher than the number reported in previous years," said Dr. Ermias Belay, a CJD expert with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "So far, the investigations have not found any evidence of any exposure that might be common among the cases."
Normally, sporadic CJD only strikes about one person in a million each year, with an average of just 300 cases per year in the United States, or just over one case a year in Idaho. Over the past two decades, the most cases reported in Idaho in a single year has been three.
Until this year...

Paul McCartney's wife now vegan

"SIR PAUL McCARTNEY's wife HEATHER MILLS McCARTNEY is enjoying a fresh change to her diet - she's become a vegan.
The animal rights activist ditched meat from her diet more than a decade ago, but she recently decided she also wanted to throw out all other animal by-products.
She says, 'I've been a vegan for three months. I was a veggie for 12 years. I went vegetarian because I got an infection in my leg in hospital, and, after three months, somebody said, 'I cured myself of breast cancer going veggie,' and I was like, 'Yeah, right, I'm sure.'
'I went to an institute in West Palm Beach... and within three weeks of wheatgrass and garlic and pulses, my whole leg just closed and healed. So I was ruled vegan for about a year and a half. And then I couldn't cope with going to restaurants and all that kind of stuff so then I went to become veggie.'
Since coming across a wider variety of vegan-friendly food, Mills McCartney decided it was time to make another drastic change.
Ironically, McCartney's first wife, LINDA, was also a famous vegan, who launched her own vegetarian food range."

what the hell _does_ a vegan eat anyway?

A simple blog about what a Vegan eats. Every day. For example:

Dinner 10/19

Soy Boy Okara burgers
(guacamole, lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard)

Homefries
(potato, onion, salt, pepper, ketchup)

Bird flu is confirmed in Greece

Bird flu news:

Greece has become the latest country to report a case of bird flu as the virus appears to spread across Europe.

The country's agriculture ministry said a form of the virus had been found in a turkey on a farm on the Aegean Sea island of Oinouses.

Twelve swans have also tested positive for bird flu in a second cluster in Romania.

And the European Commission has ordered urgent tests on dead birds found in Croatia.

Vegan Willy Wonka Launches Magical, Healthy, Sugar Free, Dairy Free Chocolate with Essential Fat Nutrition for World Vegan Day

Vegan Willy Wonka Launches Magical, Healthy, Sugar Free, Dairy Free Chocolate with Essential Fat Nutrition for World Vegan Day:

Plamil Director Adrian Ling is keeping the Willy Wonka-esque innovative traditions burning brightly at the Plamil vegan chocolate factory at Folkestone in Kent, UK. Plamil will focus on health, nutrition and healthy eating for the international vegan awareness day on November 1st by launching new, healthier, chocolate bars.

A tradition of chocolate innovation has always been an integral part of Plamils’ ethical business.

Soya protein, Lupin flour, and other ingredients are utilised to recreate melt in the mouth, golden paper wrapped bars of chocolate that ensure that vegans and those intolerant to dairy can still enjoy a creamy, sweet, smooth chocolate treat.

Regarded by many as eccentric, Plamil’s vegan founder Arthur Ling was the UK pioneer of bio fuel, soya milk and pea protein. He was also the original vegan Willy Wonka of dairy free alternatives for milk chocolate.

American Chronicle: Vegan for Life

American Chronicle: Vegan for Life:

At the heart of being vegan is a kind of compassionate awareness. We share this planet not only with billions of fellow human beings, but also with uncounted billions upon billions of other creatures, with lives, wants, enjoyment and suffering as real as our own. Humans have had and used the power to crowd them out, push them aside, sometimes driving them to extinction, and often, making them into tools for our use, servitors of our desires, food for our tables, clothes for our backs. As vegans, we look, we pay attention, we see the unnecessary suffering imposed on our fellow creatures. We respond in compassion, refusing to pretend that might makes right, refusing to turn away and ignore what we know. The vegan message is ultimately very simple:

Look. Pay attention. See the unnecessary death and suffering. We don’t have to contribute or help to keep it going. We can stop being a part of this. And so, that’s what we try to do.

A vegan manifesto - The Bulletin - it's the arts

I used to ridicule non-meat eaters mercilessly in my younger days. Why, I thought, would one want to sacrifice something as great as meat simply for the sake of some silly animal? In retrospect, my ignorance is somewhat appalling.

While there are an abundance of arguments for vegetarianism based on animal rights and environmental concerns, the clearest reason that one might change one's diet is simply for the radical health benefits associated with alternative diets. Meat eating has been linked to stroke, type II diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers, gallstones, hypertension, constipation, Alzheimer's, asthma, impotence, coronary artery disease, osteoporosis and myriad other ailments.

The American Heart Association agrees that there is a significant risk reduction for heart problems with a vegetarian diet. Heart patients who switch to vegetarian diets find a drastic reduction in heart problems and attacks. In fact, the only successful doctors in reversing heart disease relied heavily on meat-free diets in their patients.

Dairy products are hardly better. Obviously, cow's milk is best suited for the needs of a newborn calf, not a full grown human. A study in England reports that people who were suffering from irregular heartbeats, asthma, headaches, fatigue and digestive problems 'showed marked and often complete improvements in their health after cutting milk from their diets.'

Furthermore, milk is nothing near the source of calcium we are told it is. American women, who drink far more milk than any other nation, face higher rates of osteoporosis than almost any other nation in the world. Many studies actually indicate that milk depletes calcium from your body!

A balanced diet does not have to include any sort of animal product. Nature has provided us with a huge abundance of fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes to care for our every nutritive need. Animal flesh and animal by-products are clearly harmful to your health; so what are you having for dinner tonight?

Vegan Lifestyles - The Daily Cardinal - Features

These berating words can be seen blazoned across the chests of various students across campus: 'Don't eat me, I love you.' Accompanied by a sympathetic picture of a pig, this T-shirt is just one of many examples of the various public promotions for animal rights. A common stance against the mistreatment of animals is vegetarianism, but some have chosen to take their defiance to the next level: veganism.
'Veganism is a form of vegetarianism that eliminates all animal products,' said UW-Madison dietitian and clinical faculty associate Julie Thurlow. Besides eliminating meat from their diets, vegans also exclude all animal products such as eggs and cheese.
Although veganism is often associated with animal rights, people have also chosen this course because meat production 'takes a devastating toll on the earth,' according to http://www.vegan.org.
The idea of veganism as a health advantage, however, is a controversial topic.
'It's a choice that can be made without serious detrimental nutritional outcomes, but it takes work,' said nutritional science professor Dale Schoeller. 'I do not support it. I haven't seen a convincing argument in favor of it.'
Thurlow is more optimistic.
'It is possible to have a very nutritious diet as long as you eat from all of the food groups in adequate amounts,' she said.
Thurlow and Schoeller do agree that veganism should only be attempted after thorough investigation.
'When people decide to become vegans, they don't research it, they just avoid meat and dairy,' Schoeller said.
Thurlow concurred, 'It requires good planning.'

Delicious Weblog

Vegetarian cooking blog from Delicious TV

Senate bans Japan beef imports amid mad cow row

The U.S. Senate voted twice on Tuesday to keep shipments of Japan's Kobe beef out of the United States until Tokyo ends its ban on American beef, imposed 19 months ago as a precaution against mad cow disease.

Senators said the votes were a signal of frustration with Japan, traditionally the No. 1 customer for U.S. beef exports. The U.S. cattle industry says it loses $100 million each month the market is closed.

'It's just unfair,' said Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson, decrying the continued ban as unjustified dawdling. 'It is time to move beyond soft talk to harder talk.'

A delicacy, Kobe beef comes from Wagyu cattle massaged with sake and fed a diet enriched with beer. Japan shipped $800,000 of the beef annually to U.S buyers before the ban.

Massaged with sake?!?

1,000 chickens that rode out the storm now escape the frying pan / Vacaville woman leads rescue effort at Mississippi farm

Hurricane Katrina left behind a still untold death toll, but it apparently spared the lives of some 1,000 lucky chickens.

Now, instead of meeting their fate in a Mississippi slaughterhouse, the birds are on their way to the Bay Area and other parts of the United States where they will live out the rest of their lives in sanctuaries and backyards.

'Some folks say, 'Why save chickens when there are people and dogs and cats to save?' '' says the birds' savior, Vacaville resident Kim Sturla, who traveled to Mississippi to rescue the chickens after learning about their plight on television.

'I'm looking at it from the perspective of their lives,'' she said. 'The life of the chicken is as important to him as the life of the dog or cat is to them.'

Exclusive Interview with Brooke Gallupe of Immaculate Machine

Close on the heels of our interview with The Organ's Jenny Smyth, Brooke Gallupe of Immaculate Machine took time to talk to MeatFilter about the life of a vegan musician.

MeatFilter: How long have you been a vegetarian and a vegan?

Brooke Gallupe: I've been vegetarian my whole life. I've eaten meat twice: once as a child I was forced by a neighbor who thought my parents were being negligent, and once by accident recently. The former I don't remember, but the latter was traumatizing. On the birthday before last (Aug.2004), I resolved that I could be doing more, challenging myself more, and became vegan. Politically and ethically, I think being vegan is good, so while I don't expect everyone to become one right away, I felt it was important for me to make a good example of myself. Especially since it was so easy for me; it's a small step from being vegetarian, and I am surrounded by pretty vegan-sympathetic people.

MF: What are your musical influences?

BG: My musical influences are varied, but mainly in the rock/indie/punk/pop kind of scene... older bands like The Clash, The Smiths, The Velvet Underground as well as a lot of Canadian contemporary music - The Constantines, The Arcade Fire, The Hidden Cameras. I like bands that have a subversive political attitude, regardless of whether they sing overtly about politics.

MF: When you're on the road with the band has it been hard to find good vegan food?

BG: Not at all. It's all about knowing what you can eat. Being vegetarian and eating well all my life, I was always baffled by people who asked what I could possibly eat. If you really can't think of any vegetarian dishes, you must have pretty boring eating habits. There are tons of things, and being vegan is the same. I'll eat burritos without sour cream or cheese, or falafel, or veggie burgers. We often shop at grocery stores, which is cheaper and easy to make vegan.

MF: What city have you been to that had the best eating options?

BG: In Toronto, I ate a lot of Indian food, which is very often vegetarian or vegan. In Montreal it's middle eastern (ie falafel). In Vancouver there's quite a few great vegetarian retaurants, including a 24 hour one called The Naam. In Victoria I get Phad Thai and ask for no egg or fish sauce. Every cosmopolitan city has options, but obviously the smaller the town, the harder it is to eat well. I'm looking forward to touring through California for the food.

I think it seems harder to become vegan than it actually is. Soy substitutes for dairy are omnipresent, because so many people are lactose intolerant these days. Unless you live in the smallest redneck town in a meat-guzzling family, you have very little excuse -and even then, my vegan girlfriend is the daughter of a butcher from Sudbury, ON. I'm very excited to be seeing so many new places on our upcoming tour with The New Pornogaphers. Maybe I'll meet some friendly vegans too.

Big thanks to Brooke for his time and to Yvette Ray at Mint Records for setting up the interview. Be sure to check out the new Immaculate Machine CD, Ones and Zeroes

Vegan diet causes weight loss, without exercise, calorie-counting, or portion limits

PCRM >> News and Media Center >> Breaking Medical News Archive >> Vegan diet causes weight loss, without exercise, calorie-counting, or portion limits:

A low-fat vegan diet causes significant weight loss, even without exercise, calorie-counting, or portion limits, according to a study conducted by PCRM researchers and published in the September 2005 American Journal of Medicine. Sixty-four overweight women were randomly assigned to either a low-fat, vegan diet or a more moderate low-fat (control) diet based on National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines. The vegan group lost an average of 13 pounds in 14 weeks, compared with 8 pounds for the control group. The weight loss of the vegan group was partly attributable to the low calorie content of plant-derived foods. In addition, the vegan group showed a 16% increase in its after-meal calorie-burning speed, referred to as the thermic effect of food. This, in turn, appears to be due to the fact that the vegan diet improved insulin sensitivity by 24%. Improved insulin sensitivity allows nutrients to more rapidly enter the cells of the body to be converted to heat, rather than to fat.

Related reports have described the acceptability of the diet and its effects on nutrient intake.

Vegan Diet Helps Postmenopausal Women Shed Weight

DNC: Health News - Vegan Diet Helps Postmenopausal Women Shed Weight:

Postmenopausal women are able to lose weight and improve insulin sensitivity more effectively when following a low-fat, vegan diet that excludes meat and dairy products, according to a study published in the American Journal of Medicine.

Neal D. Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and colleagues at Georgetown University Hospital and George Washington University conducted the research.

Unlimited Servings

Half of the 59 participants -- all of whom were overweight, postmenopausal women -- followed a vegan diet. The other half followed a control diet based on National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines.

'The study participants following the vegan diet enjoyed unlimited servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other healthful foods that enabled them to lose weight without feeling hungry,' noted Dr. Barnard.

The simplicity of a vegan diet appeals to many people who are busy with work and family -- and familiar recipes often are easy to adapt.

'As they began to experience the positive effects -- weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity -- the women in the intervention group became even more motivated to follow the plant-based eating plan,' Dr. Barnard observed.

CNN.com - Pet rescuers race against time - Sep 9, 2005

On the flooded streets of New Orleans you can hear the dogs barking for miles. They are trapped -- in houses, on roofs, tied to porches. They are frightened and hungry.

For the pets left behind after Hurricane Katrina, relief is on the way, but it's a race against time.

'It's a dire situation,' said Melissa Seide Rubin of the Humane Society of the United States.

Rescue workers are worried most about pets locked inside homes and whose food and water supply may have run out. For them, rescue is their only chance of survival.

Vegan / Vegetarian "Fried Chicken"

No chicken fried chicken recipe. click link above for full recipe:

# 1/2 cup textured soy protein
# 1 tablespoon vegetarian 'chicken' bouillon powder
# 1/2 cup vegan pancake mix, dry (approximately)
# 2/3 cup crushed cornflakes (approximately)
# Salt, pepper, other seasonings
# Oil for frying

Vegetarian Belts - Vegan & Vegetarian clothing

Expensive belts.

This is where you can buy the best non-leather belts in the world! You can also buy bracelets and handbags too. All products on this site are from Truth, a Canadian company whose unique products are made with the highest quality. Everything is made in Canada.

Vegetarian glucosamine market expands

"Japanese firm Kyowa Hakko Kogyo will begin marketing a refined version of Cargill's vegetarian glucosamine on its home market next month, to meet steadily rising demand for quality forms of the joint health ingredient."

Kyowa Hakko to market Cargill's vegetarian glucosamine

Exclusive interview with Jenny Smyth of The Organ

I've had the Organ's new album, "Grab That Gun", on a constant replay since I got it. A combination of The Smiths, Joy Division, and Blondie, The Organ takes its influences as a starting point and flies from there into its own unique sound. Band member Jenny Smyth took time out to answer a few questions about life as a vegetarian in a touring band.

Meatfilter: How long have you been a vegetarian?

Jenny Smyth: Over 10 years.

MF: What happened that interested you in becoming a vegetarian, was there an "Aha" moment, or was it a gradual change?

JS: My mom fed me vegetarian food as a little kid, but I started eating meat and stuff for a while in later childhood (so did my mom. I don't know why). Then when I started high school around age 14, my friend and I decided to become vegetarian just because we thought it was cool. And of course in theory I realized it made a lot of sense. As time has gone by I can think of more and more reasons why I never want to be "non-vegetarian" ever again.

MF: The Organ has been compared to the Smiths (among others). Was the song "Meat is Murder" an influence?

JS: Well that definitely influenced my decision to stop eating meat as a teen. I just thought the girl in the video was the epitome of cool and I wanted to be like her.

MF: When you're on the road with the band has it been hard to find good vegetarian food?

JS: Yes. Especially on highways. In cities you can usually find out from people you meet where to eat. And people in other bands I know who tour a lot will often say where they found someplace good.

MF: What city have you been to that had the best eating options?

JS: San Francisco I think. Or Tucson. And here, Vancouver B.C.

Many thanks to Jenny for her time and to Yvette Ray at Mint Records for setting up the interview. Now support a fellow vegetarian; go out and buy the album!

Vegan Village: Vegan Travel Guide

Vegan? Live in the U.K.? Travelling to the U.K.? Check this out.

Vegan Cheese

Answers questions like "Where can I buy vegan cheese?" and "What are vegan cheeses made from?"

British animal rights activists can be extreme

"A farm is to stop breeding guinea pigs for medical research after years of intimidation by animal rights activists.
The family-run Darley Oaks Farm in Newchurch, Staffordshire, has been at the centre of a campaign of abuse.
Owners and staff have received death threats during the six-year onslaught.
The family said they hoped the decision would prompt the return of the body of their relative Gladys Hammond, whose remains were stolen from a churchyard."

Do strong arm methods such as this hurt the animal rights movement?

BBC NEWS | England | Staffordshire | Targeted guinea pig farm closes

What some people have said about this: BBC comments

Beef recalled under mad cow rules

"Beef banned under mad cow disease rules was shipped to wholesalers in a half-dozen states and is now being recalled by a Wisconsin beef plant.The 1,856 pounds of beef came from a Canadian cow. Inspectors there determined the cow was eligible for shipment to the United States, but a Canadian audit two weeks later said the cow was too old to be allowed inside the U.S."

CNN.com - Beef recalled under mad cow rules

Don't be cruel: For Joshua Warchol, it's not just about nutrition — it's also about what the typical American diet does to animals

Vegan wedding:

Joshua Warchol's future father-in-law loves his prime rib. Unfortunately, he won't have the opportunity to check it off as a meal choice at his own daughter's wedding.

'There will be no animal products in sight,' Warchol said of his upcoming wedding to Tracy Lake. 'There's nothing her father likes more than prime rib. He's a little bit disappointed about the wedding because the only time he really gets to eat prime rib is when people get married.'

Instead, the guests will be treated to a vegan buffet in which there will be no meat, no eggs and no dairy products. There will be plenty of fresh vegetables cooked in olive oil, pasta primavera and even a cake made with soy milk instead of regular milk and either tofu or bananas instead of eggs.

Vegan / Vegetarian Amazing Blueberry Pie

It's amazing, and it has blueberries. What more do you want?

Vegan diet and exercise may stop or reverse prostate cancer progression

Vegan news:

Men with early stage prostate cancer who make intensive changes in diet and lifestyle may stop or perhaps even reverse the progression of their illness, according to a new study.

The research is the first randomized, controlled trial showing that lifestyle changes may affect the progression of any type of cancer. Study findings are published in the September issue of the Journal of Urology.

MILLS McCARTNEY TO GO VEGAN

More celebrity Vegan news:

HEATHER MILLS McCARTNEY is so inspired by her husband SIR PAUL McCARTNEY's devotion to vegetarianism and animal rights, she's gone one step further by becoming Vegetarians International Voice For Animals' (VIVA) new patron.

The former model is so concerned about the animal kingdom, she plans to forgo all dairy products as well as meat in her quest to improve the planet.

She explains, 'It's only since I met Paul that I really got to understand how vegetarianism not only benefits your health but also makes a huge difference to the planet and to feeding the world.

'I could never go back to eating meat or fish and I'm moving towards being vegan.

History of the Vegan Society

More Vegan history:

The Vegan Society, the world's first, was born in November 1944 - after a lengthy gestation. As early as 1909 the ethics of consuming dairy products were hotly debated within the vegetarian movement. In August 1944, Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson (a conscientious objector later to be acclaimed as the Vegan Society's Founder) agreed the desirability of coordinating 'non-dairy vegetarians'; despite opposition from prominent vegetarians unwilling to even consider adopting a diet free of all animal products.

In November, Donald organised a London meeting of six like-minded 'non-dairy vegetarians' at which it was decided to form a new society and adopt a new name to describe themselves - vegan derived from VEGetariAN.

History of Vegetarianism

Quick history:

You can probably give a pretty accurate account of exactly when that Ah-ha moment happened. When you decided a vegetarian lifestyle was the right lifestyle for you. But do you know where vegetarianism started and how it evolved?

Although your college roommate, x-lover or office mate may have turned you on to the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle, it was the British Vegetarian Society that defined the lifestyle and coined the term “vegetarian” in the mid-1800s.

Easy being green / Bay Area vegetarians spread the word about life without meat

Vegan news:

For James, vice president of a growing grassroots organization called Bay Area Vegetarians, based in Montara, it's just another day in his yellow- feather suit.

The Vegan Forum

It's a Vegan Forum. Not much else to say really.

Pam Rotella's Vegan Vegetarian FUN Page!

Well, it isn't that fun, but there are some interesting articles and some good recipes.

Vegan is easier to define say UK FSA

The UK Food Standards Agency ( FSA ) has issued new draft guidance on the use of the terms vegetarian and vegan in food labelling.

The move is designed to address the problem of growing consumer distrust of the way the terms are used by food manufacturers. The FSA believes that the main reason for this distrust is the lack of a universally accepted definition of what constitutes a food that is suitable for a vegetarian or vegan diet.

The FSA says that it was relatively easy to reach agreement from stakeholders ( manufacturers, vegetarian and vegan organisations, and religious groups ) on use of the term vegan broadly, the exclusion of any foods made from, or with, animals or animal products.

The term vegetarian was more difficult to define.

Tony Bishop Weston Author of Vegan ( ISBN 0600611906 ) says 'Vegetarianism's bottom line depends on the theory of avoiding the responsibility of having to directly kill something in order to obtain the product - it's not really about cruelty'

Exclusive interview with Triple Tofu Tower writer/director Kirby Ferguson

While other reporters chase B-list celebs for interviews, Meatfilter has the put them all to shame with this exclusive interview of Kirby Ferguson, who wrote and directed Triple Tofu Tower

Meatfilter: Why did you make The Triple Tofu Tower?

Kirby: Because vegan comedy is so hot right now! I wanna ride the meat-free gravy train, baby.

Requisite comedy aside, I like parodying things that are part of my life but never show up in comedy. I've previously dealt with things like yoga and new age spirituality and polyamory. If you only see one polyamory sketch this year, it should be mine.

MF: Are you Canadian?

Kirby: Extremely.

MF: Why are Canadians so damned funny?

Kirby: I'm not sure that Canadians actually are that funny. Sure, we've got some greats like David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, and Joni Mitchell, but have you ever seen The Royal Canadian Air Farce? You may never laugh again after that.

But if we are funny, it would definitely have something to do with us being outsiders, with being able to see absurdity that might be invisible to natives. We're just as familiar with American culture as most Americans, yet we don't identify it as "us". It's a good perspective to have for comedic thinking.

MF: Are you making a living off your films?

Kirby: Lord no. Here and there I make a little money, but I'm very far off from making a living at this.

MF: So what's your day job?

Kirby: I'm a mild-mannered graphic designer by day.

Goodie Bag TV: The Triple Tofu Tower

The Triple Tofu Tower
Written and Directed by Kirby Ferguson
WMV file.

Become vegan and help planet: scientist

A British scientist says the best way to cut greenhouse gas emissions is for everyone to become a vegetarian.

Alan Calverd says livestock animals bred for their meat produce 21 per cent of the carbon dioxide that's due to human activity.

So cutting out meat can do more to stop global warming than cutting down on oil and coal.

Calverd writes in this month's issue of Physics World magazine that he's not a vegetarian himself.

But he says it's clear that getting rid of meat animals would be an easy way to reduce greenhouse gases.

And it would also free up huge tracts of farmland for production of biofuels, which would further reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Paper Says Edible Meat Can be Grown in a Lab on Industrial Scale

Would you eat this stuff?:

Experiments for NASA space missions have shown that small amounts of edible meat can be created in a lab. But the technology that could grow chicken nuggets without the chicken, on a large scale, may not be just a science fiction fantasy.

In a paper in the June 29 issue of Tissue Engineering, a team of scientists, including University of Maryland doctoral student Jason Matheny, propose two new techniques of tissue engineering that may one day lead to affordable production of in vitro - lab grown -- meat for human consumption. It is the first peer-reviewed discussion of the prospects for industrial production of cultured meat.

'There would be a lot of benefits from cultured meat,' says Matheny, who studies agricultural economics and public health. 'For one thing, you could control the nutrients. For example, most meats are high in the fatty acid Omega 6, which can cause high cholesterol and other health problems. With in vitro meat, you could replace that with Omega 3, which is a healthy fat.

'Cultured meat could also reduce the pollution that results from raising livestock, and you wouldn't need the drugs that are used on animals raised for meat.'

Post Punk Kitchen Forums: Show us your mitts! / The Tofu Container Challenge!

The Tofu Container Challenge!

I hate when I get a package of tofu in one of those plastic containers and all that packaging goes to waste, and I know you do, too. So let it be known that this is THE TOFU CONTAINER CHALLENGE! Use your creativity to come up with fun/functional/decorative ways to use those things.

(via the veg blog)

Epidemic of Vegan and Vegetarian websites during National Cruelty Free Week.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Raw truth about vegan diets exposed

Fontana expected the vegans to have low vitamin D levels because they avoid dairy products, which are fortified with the vitamin.

But in fact their vitamin D levels were 'markedly higher' than average.

Vitamin D is made by the skin when the body is exposed to sunlight and is the key to keeping strong bones.

'These people are clever enough to expose themselves to sunlight to increase their concentrations of vitamin D,' Fontana said.

And the vegans had low levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory molecule that is becoming linked with the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic disease.

Furthermore, they had lower levels of IGF-1, a growth factor linked to risk of breast and prostate cancer.

Fontana does not advocate a raw food diet. But he said that to lower the risk of cancer and heart disease people should eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Film features vegan athletes

The full-length film will be a combination of instructional video, documentary and reality show, said Robert Cheeke, the Corvallis resident who came up with the idea for the movie and one of the film's three subjects.

Vegan Athletes Flex Their Muscles

Members of OrganicAthlete’s “Vegan Pro-Activist” team are out to prove that a plant-based diet is the best diet for optimal health and performance, and that they can succeed at high levels in sports because they are vegan.

Vote for the World’s Sexiest Vegetarians

Peta is at it again:

Pop sensation Avril Lavigne, skater girl Cara Beth Burnside, Legally Blonde babe Reese Witherspoon, Phantom Planet’s Alexander Greenwald, snowboarder extraordinaire TJ Schneider, and AFI frontman Davey Havok are among the sizzling celebs vying for this year’s titles. They cite many reasons for forgoing flesh foods, from avoiding the cruelty to animals inherent in meat production to improving their health and helping the environment. Previous winners include Andre 3000, Tobey Maguire, Josh Hartnett, Alicia Silverstone, Lauren Bush, Natalie Portman, and Shania Twain.

Social mcnuggets - Morgan Spurlock downsizes his 'Super Size' concept for TV.

New show:

Morgan Spurlock, who made himself sick for our sins, eating only McDonald's for a month to spotlight the health risks of fast food consumption in his documentary 'Super Size Me,' is back with a similar gambit — a TV series called '30 Days.' The show, which premieres Wednesday on the FX cable channel, takes the extreme-immersion-as-social-commentary angle in 'Super Size Me' and franchises it out into half-hour segments. Inherent in each episode is a message.

U.S. probes mad cow report

The U.S. government is checking a possible case of mad cow disease in an animal previously cleared of being infected, the Agriculture Department said Friday.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said more tests were needed to confirm the disease, but he emphasized that the animal did not enter the food supply.

Only one case of mad cow disease has been confirmed in the U.S., in a dairy cow in Washington state in December 2003. Since then, preliminary tests have indicated the existence of the disease in three cows, but testing had ruled out mad cow disease.

Pathetic Veg*an Jokes--vegetarian, vegan, and animal rights jokes

Some are pretty funny:

How many vegetarians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
I don't know, but where do you get your protein?

The Vegan Chef - Vegan Recipes - Beverly Lynn Bennett

Lots of recipes

Raw Foods Diet

Info for those considering a raw vegan diet.

Vegan Views Magazine

The magazine is a free download:

Vegan Views is a UK magazine that is independent of the Vegan Society but shares its aims. It was started in 1975 by a group of vegans who wanted to make contact with others interested in creating a more harmonious way of living based on veganism, and to communicate more informally than could be done in the official journal of the Vegan Society. It realises that many vegans feel isolated from society and appreciate contact with, and news and opinions of, other vegans.

Book review: Vegan World Fusion Cuisine

A review of Vegan World Fusion Cuisine:

The charm of this book is that it provides so many delectable vegan recipes that even the most confirmed omnivore will find much to savor. Nut lovers are especially well-served since, absent the animal products that are the major sources of protein for most of us, the authors make inventive use of nuts and seeds, which have plant-based proteins.

Celebrity Vegan News, get your Celebrity Vegan News while it's hot!

GWYNETH PALTROW and her husband CHRIS MARTIN gave their daughter APPLE a feast to remember for her recent first birthday party, when they feted her with vegan dishes.

Friends and relatives - including Paltrow's mother BLYTHE DANNER - gathered at the couple's New York City townhouse on 14 May (05) for a range of vegan dishes catered by Teany, a local eatery co-owned by Paltrow and MOBY.

Co-owner KELLY TISDALE says, 'Gwyn wanted to personalise the cake, so she had a big apple made out of raspberry puree on the vegan cheesecake.'

Animal activists top FBI terrorist list - Breaking News - World - Breaking News

The FBI says the United States' top domestic terrorism threat is environmental and animal rights activists who have turned to arson and explosives.

Some of the activists also target companies abroad who have policies they disagree with.

Groups such as the Animal Liberation Front, the Earth Liberation Front and the Britain-based SHAC, or Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, are 'way out in front' in terms of damage and number of crimes, said John Lewis, the FBI's deputy assistant director for counterterrorism.

'There is nothing else going on in this country over the last several years that is racking up the high number of violent crimes and terrorist actions,' Lewis said.

Animal Liberation Front says on its web site that its small, autonomous groups of people take 'direct action' against animal abuse by rescuing animals and causing financial loss to animal exploiters, usually through damage and destruction of property. Earth Liberation Front is an underground movement with no public leadership, membership or spokesperson.

Vegan / Spring Recipes

Lots of recipes

Chris the Vegan - Star Wars

I found this amusing:

Human rights complaint forces prisons to provide vegan meals - Vancouver

In Canada:

Lentils, beans and tofu -- all the staples of a vegan diet -- will soon be available to prisoners in B.C. jails, after two inmates took their food fight to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.

GREEN Vegan Man / Moby on 16 years of meatless living

'I run into a lot of people who are instantly filled with ridicule at the idea that someone wouldn't eat meat,' Moby told me last week, when he was in San Francisco touring in support of his latest CD, Hotel. Moby and I are both vegans, so our conversation had naturally turned to meatless living. 'I've been doing it so long that it's just second nature,' he continued. 'Now, almost every city in the Western world has good vegetarian, or even vegan, restaurants.'

VeggieBoards - Vegan Better Than Sex Cake

Hey, with a name like "Vegan Better Than Sex Cake", it has to be good!

The Hardest-Working Man in Vegan Guitar Straps

Dan Perkins doesn’t fancy himself a designer—but creations from his vegan guitar strap company Couch hang across the shoulders of Nels Cline and members of TSOL, Maxeen, Goldenboy, Purified in Blood, the Knots and Ze Auto Parts, to name a few. Similarly, he didn’t consider himself a proficient musician until his fourth band or knowledgeable about food when he started the Sunset Beach juice bar/vegan sandwich shop Juice For You.

Vegan leaning Dinosaur Found In Utah

Paleontologists in Utah announced yesterday that they had discovered a new species of dinosaurs. The new species, named Falcarius utahensis, uncovered two years ago at a dig site near the town of Green River is about 13 feet long and 41/2 feet tall, and was a primitive member of the therizinosaur group of feathered dinosaurs reports New York Times . The Fosssils suggest that the dinosaur was becoming more vegetarian, moving away from its meat-eating ancestors.

Veggie Whap: Can veganism and S/M be reconciled?

Have vegans avoided bondage until now because they were unable to find cruelty-free equipment? Or did they consciously chose not to slap, slap, slap and tickle because of their ethical lifestyle? As a posting on a vegan blog in August of last year noted, 'There is some great irony about cruelty here.'

Vegan at 16

I was raised with the belief that animals are here for our convenience to eat and use in products. It took me 16 years to realize and admit they are not. About five years ago I began to stop eating meat.

The Vegan Vixen Show

Probably not safe for work, but no nudity.

Vegan Body Art

I got the word “Vegan” tattooed on the back of my neck early 2004, and it serves exactly that purpose — I wanted it to be a strong affirmation of something that plays a huge role in my life and something I believe in deeply.

Vegan - Wikipedia

Wikipedia entry for Vegan

In its adjective form, vegan describes:

* a philosophy and practise of respect for animals, which avoids the use of animals for food, clothing, and other human purposes
* people who ascribe to such a philosophy and practise
* food, clothing, other products, or diets that avoid the use of animals in line with the above.

Vegan Action | About Veganism | Animals

A good basic primer on veganism to send your vegan curious friends.

VEG BAY - an auction for the green community - Vegetarian Auction

A new auction site for the green and vegetarian community

Vegan Passions - 100% Free Vegan Dating, Vegan Personals & Chat

A free online dating site for meeting single vegans. If the thought of kissing a 'meat eater' turns your stomach, Vegan Passions is the site for you. Why not date someone who not only understands what you like to eat, but they agree with you! Sign up now to enjoy free chat, message boards & email.

What more could you ask for?

Wisconsin takes step to OK wild cat hunts - Apr 13, 2005

The proposal would allow licensed hunters to kill free-roaming cats, including any domestic cat that isn't under the owner's direct control or any cat without a collar, just like skunks or gophers -- something the Humane Society of the United States has described as cruel and archaic.

?!?!?!?

VeggieGirl.com

Veggie Girl gives us good reasons to "Go Veg"

Approximately fourteen million Americans are vegetarians, and more people convert to a plant-based diet every day. Most people are concerned with the issues that lead to vegetarianism, such as health, animal welfare and the environment, but have yet to become veggies due to conditioned thinking, lack of knowledge on the subject, and fear that there won’t be anything to eat. Becoming vegetarian is extremely simple, however, and once you become one, you’ll wonder why it took you so long!

Choosing Compassion -- April 20, 2005 Vegan Outreach e-Newsletter

Veganism and compassion.

Choosing to act with compassion is the ultimate affirmation of our humanity. From children and athletes to celebrities and grandparents, compassionate living is spreading -- and easier than ever! Today, even small-town grocery stores can feature a variety of veggie burgers, dogs, deli slices, plant-based milks, nondairy desserts -- a bounty unimaginable only a decade ago!

Grow trees, vines, fruiting plants in ecosystems for World Food

A raw fruit diet advocate's website. Interesting.

City bred humans being estranged from nature, often consider themselves to be the most advanced animal, yet so far humans globally are the most destructive to ecosystems. This macro role does not lead to advancement of our species when it could result destruction of our only known home planet !

Fortunately, help is at hand, - a simple formula to get out of our path of destruction, - if we go more natural and seek out the world's best raw food diet.

The Importance of Breastfeeding Your Vegan Baby

Interesting article

Most of you probably know how important it is to breastfeed your baby, but it's even more important when you're vegan. As of this writing there are no commercial soy infant formulas on the U.S. market that are 100% vegan. They all contain Vitamin D derived from an animal. And cow's milk formulas are out for obvious reasons. What does that leave you with? Not much choice. If you want your baby to be vegan, you've got to breastfeed or find a milk bank that has collected and stored milk from a vegan mom (difficult at best).

ALDF: Animal Legal Defense Fund

This site has recent news about legal efforts to end cruelty to animals.

For nearly a quarter-century, the Animal Legal Defense Fund has been pushing the U.S. legal system to end the suffering of abused animals.

Nerve.com - Sex Advice From . . . Vegans by Molly Townsend

Answering such pressing questions as, "Is semen considered non-vegan?" (Probably not safe for work)

Building an original: science and politics in the blender

Interesting article about the food pyramid.

Nestle -- who is now the chair of New York University's Department of Nutrition and Food Studies -- managed the production of the first (and only) Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health in 1988. She chronicled the food industry's influence on government dietary guidelines in her book Food Politics, writing, "My first day on the job, I was given the rules: No matter what the research indicated, the report could not recommend 'eat less meat' as a way to reduce intake of saturated fat....The producers of food that might be affected by such advice would complain to their beneficiaries in Congress, and the report would never be published."

In a similar vein, Nestle says, the USDA weighed industry interests along with nutrition science as the food pyramid was built. The National Cattlemen's Association, for instance, launched a heavy campaign to stop promotion of the pyramid's release -- a campaign that resulted in a year long delay in the pyramid's release.

Organic and vegan eating spawn good health, sustainable environment

Following the eco-mantra, 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,' eating vegan proteins like nuts, soy, whole grains, peas and beans is all about Reduction. Veganism reduces the waste of land, forests, plant crops, water, fuel and wildlife, as well as the pollution of water, soil and air. The simplest way to explain it is that animal agribusiness uses the majority of our nation's farmland to raise crops for feeding farm animals. These pesticide-ridden crops use many resources, like fertile soil, water and energy and leave deforestation and desertification in their wake. For the resources we put into raising these crops and the additional water and energy invested in raising, killing and processing animals, we don't get nearly as much in calories or protein out of the resulting animal products. It's an irresponsibly poor return on an investment.

Interesting article

Group promoting vegan lifestyle

A company called OrganicAthlete is promoting the Vegan diet to athletes.

'I am not a physiologist, but I feel this is a very healthy way to live,' said Vardaros. 'I rarely get sick, my bones are good, I build muscle easily, and I recover quickly from hard training and eating.

'I don't feel that comfortable being a proselytizer, but I can certainly recommend it. The foods are much easier on my body, they're more easily digestible, there's fewer toxins, just as few examples of the benefits.'

Health & Lifestyle - Getting vitamin B12 in a vegan diet

Are you getting enough B12?

Fortified breakfast cereals are an excellent source of vitamin B12 and a particularly valuable source for vegetarians.

Then there's always multi-vitamins.

Vegan Society Shop - Zen Drum (vegan)

A Vegan drum

At last the definitive vegan drum. It has a 16 inch fibreskin (animal free) synthetic head, with Japanese calligraphy for Zen.

Vegan Fitness : Message Board

This is a Vegan message board with a focus on fitness.

Vegan Fitness is a community driven message board which seeks to provide a supportive, educational and friendly environment for vegans, vegetarians and people seeking to go vegetarian/vegan. The subject range covers all matters relating to nutrition, food, diet and sport specific information no matter what the activity or the experience level is.

The Latest: Going raw

Article about new raw food restaurant in Arizona:

This is the new scene of organic and raw food places, which are not just for hippies. Ask anyone at the cafe and they'll tell you that in the past year, more and more of mainstream America, including business people, soccer moms and Joe college student, are trying and liking raw or organic food.

A Vegan Love Story

A charming tale of love, dogs, and veganism. And a car accident. And some other stuff. Rated G

Vegan Porn: Veggie lovers make better people lovers

This blog post says

Want some? Go vegan. . . . In a survey of foods that may make you a better lover, soy, chili peppers and ginger received top marks from the experts

Also see Want better sex? Head to the grocery store which says:

Soy, for example, binds estrogen receptors, which helps the vaginal area remain lubricated, and combats symptoms of menopause--particularly hot flashes. Studies have shown that soy is also beneficial to the prostate, a crucial male sex organ. Chili peppers and ginger are believed to improve circulation and stimulate nerve endings, which could, in turn, improve sexual pleasure.

If that's not hot enough for you, there are these (not safe for work) Vegan Sex Toys

Vegan Action | McVegan

Beginning as a parody of the corporate giant, McVegan eventually led to threats of a lawsuit from the company, a barrage of press coverage and, ultimately, a complete abdication by McDonald's. It's rare that a non-profit gets to beat a corporate giant at its own game -- so we took the opportunity to generate nationwide publicity for veganism.

Their motto is, "Billions and Billions Saved."

Araya's Vegetarian Place settles into new home

The chant started as a soft prayer, then rose in intensity, reaching a crescendo and falling back down to a dull hum. The eight bald men on the floor were identical, barefoot and dressed in brown robes. They were only distinguishable by their eyes -- some closed, others open in a penetrating stare -- and all with heads bowed.

Kneeling on straw mats on the new wood floor that still smelled like earth, the Buddhist monks held a roll of twine linking together their hands raised in a prayer. Seated across from the monks, the staff of Araya's Vegetarian Place prepared for their opening day at their new location on 1121 N.E. 45th St. -- not with frantic, last-minute preparations, but 20 minutes of meditation and prayer.

Vegan lifestyle lessens effects of factory farms

A vegetarian or vegan diet is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Studies of societies that consume high-fat, meat-based diets consistently have the highest rates of every type of cancer. Not only have lung, stomach, breast, colon, prostate and pancreas cancer been linked to an animal-based diet but so have high cholesterol, heart disease and obesity.

PETA Announces the Sexiest Vegetarians Alive!

Tofutti cutie Micah Risk and sultry soy boy Carl Hreha have won PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian Alive contest. PETA received hundreds of entries from gorgeous vegetarians and vegans all over the U.S. and Canada. After a PETA panel narrowed down the list to 10 veggie vixens and 10 hot hunks, we asked visitors of GoVeg.com to choose the winners. More than 200,000 people logged on to vote. The final tally was quite close, but in the end, Micah and Carl came out on top.

Leave it to PETA.

U.N. Study: Earth's Health Deteriorating

Growing populations and expanding economic activity have strained the planet's ecosystems over the past half century, a trend that threatens international efforts to combat poverty and disease, a U.N.-sponsored study of the Earth's health warned on Wednesday.

The four-year, $24 million Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found humans have caused heavy damage or depleted portions of the world's farmlands, forests and watercourses.

Unless nations adopt more eco-friendly policies, increased human demands for food, clean water and fuels could speed the disappearance of forests, fish and fresh water reserves and lead to more frequent disease outbreaks over the next 50 years, it warned.

Raw Food Vegan Diet May Produce Light but Healthy Bones

People who eat vegetarian diets consisting exclusively of raw food have abnormally low bone mass, according to a research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. While low bone mass usually is a sign of osteoporosis and increased fracture risk, the researchers found that raw food vegetarians also have other biological markers indicating their bones, although light in weight, may be healthy.

The study, published in the March 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, was led by Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D., research instructor in medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science.

Rare kidney disease strikes Florida petting zoo visitors; nine children hospitalized after touching animals

At least nine Florida children have been hospitalized, two with life-threatening conditions, after they touched animals at petting zoos across the state. Doctors say the kids all have a rare disease that results from exposure to e. coli bacteria, which then attacks the kidneys. The contagious disease usually occurs in children under 10, the experts say. Florida officials warn all parents to watch their children closely for symptoms: bloody diarrhea, lethargy and decreased urination If you find this article interesting, be sure to also read 'A brief history of nutritional deficiencies and chronic disease.'

Veganism a lifetime commitment to a way of life

This week there was another bit of confusing information reported in the healthcare literature. A scientist in the U.S. Agricultural Research Service at the University of California named Lindsay Allen told a Washington science conference that a strict vegan (pronounced VEE-gan) diet might be harmful to children.

The professor claimed that, after tests were carried out on 544 children in Kenya over two years, the children given a diet that included two ounces of meat (enough to provide nutrients such as vitamin B12, zinc and iron), as opposed to their usual diet of starchy, low-nutrition corn and bean staples, had improved mental skills in tests, had more energy on the playground, and showed more “leadership skills.” On the other hand, the Vegan Society dismissed the claims, saying its research showed vegans were often healthier than meat eaters.

Diet study reaffirms red meat as a culprit in colon cancer

Three studies published in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association shed new light on the role of diet and cancer.

In one article, scientists who studied the eating patterns of nearly 149,000 American adults over two decades found that those who ate the most red and processed meat over a 10-year period had a 30 percent higher risk of colon cancer and 40 percent greater risk of rectal cancer compared with those who consumed the least, says Marjorie McCullough, senior epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society and an author of the study.

In contrast, those whose diets included lots of poultry and fish were 30 percent less likely to get colon cancer compared with people who ate little of those foods. The researchers speculate that it's possible poultry and fish contain factors that may protect against colon cancer.

The article reinforces the results of earlier studies that linked meat and colon cancer, Walter Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, wrote in an accompanying editorial.

Scientists need to do additional studies, he says, to get more detailed information about the relationship between meat and cancer.

Researchers say their findings are especially important today when many people are following popular low-carb diets and eating more red meat. Beef consumption, which began to fall in 1976, has been increasing slowly since 1993, according to the study.