Livin’ Veg

Billy the Elephant Loses January 30, 2009

Bob Barker and a bunch of other celebrities put up a fight. But they lost. The City Council voted that Billy the Elephant should stay at the L.A. Zoo and live in what will be a new 42 million dollar enclosure.

The article says:

The decision came after an emotional hearing attended by several hundred people. Barker, actress-singer Cher and actress Lily Tomlin were among them after Barker pledged $1.5 million earlier this week to move Billy to a sanctuary in Northern California.

I’m a big believer that no elephant should live in a zoo. Elephants in their natural lives walk about 20 miles daily. An enclosure cannot provide that kind of movement. Personally, I’m not a big fan of zoos anyway. People cite the Bronx Zoo and some other larger well funded places as success stories and tout their conservation efforts. But the truth is, most zoos are not the Bronx Zoo. And even the Bronx Zoo can’t give the animals the kind of quality of life they would have in the wild. It’s just impossible. And for elephants, due to their size, it’s ten times impossible.

To read Billy the Elephant’s full story, click here. I certainly hope he does okay. The L.A. Zoo doesn’t have a good track record with elephants. But my fingers are crossed for him.

The Greenloop January 29, 2009

The Greenloop is one of my favorite website for eco fashion…especially when items are on sale. They have a great selection of organic clothing, vegan items (although not everything is vegan), and shoes. From Melissa to Charmone to Beyond Skin. Lots of choices. And tons of different eco designers to choose from.

They also have really great denim options for the girl searching for the perfect pair of jeans. Jeans, especially organic jeans, can be expensive. So here is an adorable pair of Bootcuts for just over fifty bucks. Not bad at all.

At The Greenloop you can find stuff for $20 bucks and stuff for $300. All of it eco friendly. Enjoy!

PETA Thinks Masturbating with Asparagus is Sexy January 28, 2009

What do I think of the super bowl ad that was rejected for being too sexy? (Watch it here.) Well, I think it’s kind of silly. Just another dumb stunt from PETA to bring attention to hot girls in lingerie - oh, and vegetarians have better sex. Really? I’ve never seen that data, but I’d like to. (See my post last week about activists getting naked for the cause)

PETA does make headlines. Every time I want to give them less face time in my blog, they do something so outrageous that I have to write about it. That proves one thing. They are the Howard Stern of animal rights. They know how to get attention.

I know. I’m pretty hard on PETA. But they frustrate me. I did love their Sea Kittens campaign, but the nudity and the sex. Well, I find it boring and think it makes AR look silly.

What do you think? Help or hurt?

Inaugural Dress Designer Jason Wu Loves Fur January 27, 2009

Thank you to ecorazzi for turning me on to this story. I watched a clip of Jason Wu speak about the inaugural gown he designed for Michelle Obama. Listening to him talk he seemed like a really sweet guy. Only 26 and this much success. That impression lasted about a day and a half, until I saw a post about him on ecorazzi.

He’s been thrown into the limelight and guess what he’s going to do with it…

He told Access Hollywood:

“I’m doing a significant fur collection, and the message will be all about luxury.”  ”Fashion is also sort of escapism, and women need beautiful dresses to lose themselves in.”

Luxury? Dead animals are not luxurious. Also, doesn’t he know that starting his career with a big ol’ line of fur is the fastest way to get bad attention? Animal groups are going to be mad and they are never shy about showing their displeasure.

Please Jason Wu, start your career as the nice guy you seem like. Choose compassion. No fur.

This Headline Made Me Want To Scream January 26, 2009

What was the headline?

An 11-year-old has reportedly become the youngest matador to kill six young bulls in a single fight.

Yep. An 11 year old kid in Mexico killed 6 bulls for sport. Both animal protection groups and child welfare groups tried to ban the boy from being able to fight - but the boy’s father, a bull fighter himself, appealed and won.

His dad said, “I’m very proud that my son has goals, that he wants to improve. What else does a father hope for in a son?”

I’m too grossed out to even write anything about this. I’ll leave you with another fact from the article:

Michelito has been bullfighting since he was six years old. He has fought in about 100 bullfights and has never had a serious accident.

Read the full article here. And if you have any thoughts to share, or even just outrage, I’d love to hear it.

How Do You Dress Green? January 23, 2009

At the Green Ball the other night, guests had to ask themselves, “How do I dress green?”

The answer came to many of the guests in this form: borrow. After all, borrowing is reusing. They could have bought an organic cotton dress, or bought a dress made from recycled materials. I’m partial to no one wearing leather, but I doubt that happened. As for me, I would say about 40% of my clothes have come from antique stores, consignment shops, church sales - you get the idea. I buy up stuff that others don’t want. My mom is the same way. She’s got Dior coats, Tahari tops and so much more, just from buying used. I’ll tell ya, the price is nice too.

So here is my question to you: What do you do to make your wardrobe more eco/animal friendly?

Great Vegan Hiking Shoe January 22, 2009

Patagonia has a great selection of eco friendly and now vegan items. I love Patagonia as a store - pretty much all my sports bras are from there. Up until now, I had never even looked at the footwear. Until I saw an article that talked about Patagonia’s vegan hiking shoes!

Now, for those of us who hike, we know a good shoe is super important. Or maybe you just want a great shoe to go dog walking with. Take a look at this Finn Hiking Shoe.

The description goes:

A sturdy, supportive hiking and approach shoe with a light, mesh upper for extra breathability – and it’s vegan.

Yep. They even advertise it as vegan. Yes! Raising awareness while selling quality goods. That’s my kind of store.

Fur at the Inauguration January 21, 2009

I loved the inauguration. I thought the first lady and President Obama looked outstanding - even better because she didn’t wear fur. And even Aretha Franklin, enemy to animals, didn’t break out her fur coats. That’s not to say that others didn’t. Any time the camera went into the crowd I saw lots of fur, whether it was on hats, used as trim, or full length no apologies coats. They were in the crowd and there were lots of them.

What I am excited about is that the people who are trend setters, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush had no fur at all. Thank you ladies for showing compassion.

On a different topic: Was anyone other than me frustrated by how much god was in the inauguration? Non believers got a shout out but at times I thought I missed the inauguration and found myself at church? Separation of chuch and state? Anyone? Anyone?

Goodbye Bush, Hello President Obama! January 20, 2009

There isn’t much to say today other than, “It’s over!” After 8 years of hating my government and being disappointed, I’m finally going to know what it’s like to be proud. Sure I liked President Clinton, but I’m only 27 years old. Which means my entire adult life has been spent worrying about Roe v. Wade, the environment, endangered species, torture, war, health care, gay rights, and so many more issues.

Today, a new President is here and with that, a new era in American politics. I’m hopeful and I’m excited. Mostly I feel like I have to learn how to not hate my government.

President Obama, you’re the symbol of hope in this country. We’re counting on you. Good luck, and remember, we’re right here behind you and will do our best to protect this country right along with you.

The New York Post Calls for Death to Geese January 19, 2009

I don’t read the NY Post, but one of my neighbors does. So walking to the elevator my husband saw the headline, “Hey, Geese, Get the Flock Out.” He came back in and we looked up the article.

Inspired by the plane that went down in the Hudson River, (BTW, Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger is amazing for bringing that plane down safely) this article calls for the death of geese so they don’t interfere with engines anymore. And when I say interfere, I mean unwillingly and unknowingly getting sucked into the engine of a plane and dying. They aren’t exactly kamikaze geese. They aren’t doing it on purpose.

The article starts out like this:

“Round them up - and get rid of them!” Or even kill them if you like.

That’s the sure answer to eliminating the potentially deadly Canada geese that threaten air travel around New York, says wildlife biologist Steve Garber, who once ran the wildlife-mitigation program at Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark airports.

Yeah, this ass ran the wildlife mitigation program. He’s exactly the guy you don’t want any where near wildlife. The article ends like this:

Garber doubts Port Authority bureaucrats have the courage to eliminate the threat in the face of four international treaties and federal and state laws designed to protect Canada geese and other migratory birds - not to mention the public outcry that results against anything perceived as cruel to wildlife.

Yes, he doubts their “courage” to kill a migratory birds, because of the public outcry against a plan that would slaughter birds. Um, how about wildlife and people find a better way to coexist? I say, what an ass. And the comments below the article agree with me for the most part.