Livin’ Veg

Keeping Up With The Kardashians Adopt an Ape - Take Action February 27, 2009

Sacrificing the best interests of a primate for entertainment - we’ve all seen it happen. But perhaps not as irresponsibly and idiotically as the stunt being pulled by E! and their show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

They, in their words, “got a monkey. Her name is Suzy, she is three years old, and she is a handful!”

Primates should not be kept as pets, and giving a famous family one as a publicity stunt will just make more people want to have one in their house. It was irresponsible of E! to let this happen. And the poor girl who has to live with that family…yeah, I’m angry.

A lot of the comments on the photos are negative - people saying similar things as me - that primates should not live in homes, let alone with idiot reality tv stars. Read Wayne Pacelle, President of HSUS weigh in on the Stamford shooting of a chimp who was being kept as a pet and ended up mauling a woman.

Write to E! and tell them why you think it’s a bad idea. Click here and then fill out the appropriate form to tell them what you think.

Via Ecorazzi

Jamie Bamber Gets Naked For PETA February 26, 2009

So, I know I said I don’t really like PETA’s nudity tactics. Generally that is true. I do however think that the “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” campaigns are pretty clever and successful.

This is especially true when they have actors I adore like Jamie Bramber. “Who is Jamie Bamber?” asks all you non sci fi people. He is Lee Adama from Battlestar Gallactica (a really fantastic show - just saying)

Jamie is showing some skin to protest the use of bear fur. Canadian black bears are slaughtered and used for their fur on the Queen’s Guards Ceremonial Hats.

Bamber has this to say:

“I initially decided to do the PETA ad because a great friend of mine in L.A., Lucy Davis, had just done a similar ad, and I love Lucy and it was a cause I didn’t know about – I’ll be honest. So as soon as Lucy opened my eyes, I was thrilled to join her and do my bit.”

“The obvious alternative is to make caps out of faux fur. You know, use synthetic materials to avoid killing a beautiful animal. They’re not to keep warm. It’s not particularly freezing outside Buckingham Palace. You could wear something else. And you could certainly wear faux fur.”

Thank you to Jamie for making a difference for animals. Generally I prefer when people protest with their clothes on, but celebs take them off so often for advertising and roles anyway, it doesn’t seem so bad.

The Captive Primate Safety Act Passes February 25, 2009

Less than two weeks have gone by since a 200 pound Chimp attacked a woman on the streets of Stamford CT. And already action is being taken to make sure nothing like this happens again.

HSUS says:

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Captive Primate Safety Act, H.R. 80, introduced by U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to stop interstate commerce in primates as pets.

The bottom line is, primates are not pets. Just ask Wayne Pacelle, President of HSUS:

“There is no reason for any private citizen to keep a primate as a pet, and this trade is driven by unscrupulous dealers who sell primates across state lines for thousands of dollars,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. “Congressional action on this animal welfare and public safety issue will complement our efforts at the state level to dry up the trade and the practice of private ownership of chimps and other primates.”

I’m sorry that the Chimp died and I’m sorry that the woman was injured. Hopefully this eye opening experience will be the catalyst to stop people from bringing primates into their homes and using them in entertainment.

COK’s Ads Airing On MTV February 24, 2009

COK is one of the coolest farm animal orgs around.  And being one of the coolest, means they have one of the best methods of outreach - commercials on MTV. That’s right - give the message straight to the 13 - 25’s.

They give viewers what they call “a side of truth” with each of their ads. They talk about factory farming and the truth behind animal agriculture. And they do it in 30 seconds with great success.

COK says:

These ads will run nationwide for five straight weeks, offering today’s youth a 30-second behind-the-scenes tour inside the cruel world of factory farming and encouraging them to think about exactly what—and who—they’re eating.

Thank you so COK for your amazing work and giving young people across the USA hard facts about animal agriculture. Then they can make informed decision. Visit COK now to learn more…

Pomegranate BBQ Tofu February 23, 2009

Whenever I try a new recipe, I like to share the outcome. Was it successful or not so much? On Saturday night I made the Pomegranate BBQ Tofu from Vegan With a Vengeance for my dinner guests. It turned out to be fantastic. Everyone loved it, and I had enough sauce left over for lunch for my husband and I yesterday, as well as lunch for myself today. Plus, once you have all the ingredients, it’s a really simple recipe to make.

As for ingredients - this recipe calls for Pomegranate Molasses.  Never heard of it? Neither had I. My mom picked me up some, and then flipping through my cookbooks, I found this great recipe that called for it. The next day I was making it. You can get it at specialty stores, or order it online. Totally worth it.

Sadly because of the season I couldn’t get real pomegranate seeds as a garnish, but never mind that. I served the tofu with brown rice, and it was a hit. I love trying new recipes - and when they work, I get even more excited.

Idiot Article in Village Voice Calls Foie Gras Humane February 20, 2009

I was extremely disappointed to read this article in the Village Voice, basically saying foie gras and how they make it up at Hudson Valley Foie Gras Farm, isn’t so bad. The simple facts behind what foie gras is should be enough for the basic human to know that it’s a cruel practice. Let’s see - force feeding a goose or duck until their liver grows to ten times the normal size… Or how about force feeding the bird 1/3 of their body weight each day in order to make their livers swell… Does that sound compassionate? Does giving a bird a diseased liver, in any way, sound like a humane practice?

Sarah Digregorio took a tour of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, and was not totally appalled by what she saw. Even though she was warned that she and her photographer would get the “nice” tour - you know, the one where they don’t show you the full story and pick out the least tortured looking birds.

Who cares that the animal experts on this know what they are talking about? Digregorio took the Hudson Valley Foie Gras farm’s word on it. And the ones making money off the diseased livers of birds - yeah, those are the ones I’d trust. Farm Sanctuary, the group doing the big campaign in NYC, wasn’t even interviewed for the article. Talk about not giving the full story!

Sale On Sparrow Handbags February 19, 2009

Right now you can get 25% off all Sparrow Handbags on the website. Just enter SH2502 at check out.

Sparrow Handbags are the perfect accessory for those that care about about animals and the environment. They are vegan, organic, and all their dyes take into account the environment. Plus, they are super cute.

And their current designs are full of funky and fun patterns like this one to the right - making it so you can wear something pretty plain and still give it some kick with a purse. I personally like dressing something up with an accessory. Whether that be earrings, a purse, a scarf - whatever.

Enjoy!

Tell Boca Burgers “No More Eggs” February 18, 2009

Compassion Over Killing, Mercy for Animals and the Animal Protection and Rescue League have teamed up for a new take action.

Here is info from the Boca Egg Facts website:

BOCA® was first approached in January 2008 about its use of eggs, which come from hens confined inside barren wire battery cages. Battery-caged hens are typically provided with a meager 67 square inches of floor space per bird on which to spend their lives—that’s less than the size of a sheet of notebook paper. These birds are so intensively confined, they’re unable to spread their wings, dust-bathe, nest or even walk.

BOCA® has long been a leader in supplying delicious vegetarian foods to a growing market. Unfortunately, while its competitors Morningstar Farms, Lightlife Foods, Tofurky, Gardenburger, and Garden Protein have either reduced the amount of eggs they use or simply don’t use any eggs at all, BOCA® hasn’t yet moved on this important issue of animal cruelty.

Click here to check out the website and ask Boca to please stop using eggs in their products. And thanks to Vegan Outreach for including this new take action in their awesome weekly newsletter.

Interview with Vegan Yum Yum’s Lauren Ulm! February 17, 2009

Lauren Ulm, the creator and mind behind Vegan Yum Yum, has personally made my cooking life better. Her blog is amazing, and she is currently working on a cookbook, so you can have all those amazing recipes at your fingertips. Check out this interview with Lauren below, and visit her website. You’ll be drooling by the time you scroll half way down the page.

As you say in your blog, you have not been to culinary school, and have not studied to be a chef. And yet here you are. Was cooking a big part of your upbringing? How did you learn to make such delicious beautiful meals?

Definitely.  My mom always made us meals from scratch, and I don’t ever remember recipe books around in the kitchen.  I would hang out in the kitchen with her while she was cooking and help her prep food.  When I was really little I remember mashing the bananas for her banana bread, and when my sister and I were older we all worked together for bigger holiday meals.  Cooking was always low stress and fun, and I grew up throwing together dishes from what we happened to have in the fridge, so I think that definitely contributed to how I work with food now.

Vegan Yum Yum has certainly become a big hit.  Is cooking something you ever imagined you would do full time?

I didn’t have any plans for the blog when I started it.  I wasn’t even sure why I started it.  It definitely has taken on a life of its own, and I’m so thankful it has.  It’s a lot of fun to do, and it’s great to be able to work with food for a living without having to be in the restaurant or catering industry.  I don’t have the energy for that!

On Martha Stewart, did they contact you specifically because they loved the look of the knit night cupcakes, or were they also interested in the fact that all your dishes are vegan?

They didn’t seem to care whether or not my food was vegan, sadly.  They had prepared me to answer questions about my blog, but we didn’t have time for it when we were taping the segment, which was too bad.  I would have loved to talk more about veganism on the show, but there wasn’t enough time for Martha to get to her “extra” questions for me.  Maybe next time!

Is there any one particular recipe you keep going back to as a favorite in your own house?

Definitely!  There are a lot of recipes in my upcoming cookbook that we make ALL the time.  The blog recipes I make over and over are the smokey miso tofu, the sweet chili lime tofu, the mac and cheese, the rice and beans recipes, and the colcannon recipe.  I never post a recipe I dislike, but there are definitely some recipes I make more often than other, and many become staples for us.

Has your process changed at all while working on the cookbook as opposed to working on the blog? (I hope you’re still taking your own photos!)

I tried not to change it, really.  The people who will be buying my cookbook will be people who are are interested in my blog, so to make a big departure from that would be a mistake, I think.  The recipe introductions are a bit different for the cookbook, but the types of recipes and the photographs are all the same type of things you’d see on the blog.

Animals Used As Decoration Or “Art” February 16, 2009

When I go to a noisy restaurant and see fish or birds on display, I become furious and sad.

Now the Tate in London is coming under fire for the death of 12 fish. A total of 55 fish were used in an art exhibit, but during that time, nearly a quarter of them died. These are fish who are supposed to have a life span of two to three years. The exhibit only lasted thirteen weeks. What killed them? Lack of food? Care?

Here is the problem with using animals to provide a mood or to portray some higher meaning in an art exhibit: The care of the animal is not the primary concern. That animal isn’t there because it’s loved. It’s there to make a point. And when welfare for the animal isn’t factored in - well, animals die. Much like these fish.

Ever been to a restaurant and seen birds? I have. Can you imagine how noisy a place like that is for a bird? Super Vegan had a great blog recently about birds used as a window display for a store. A window display!!!

So, what you can do is this: when you see animals being used for bad reasons, tell the manager you’re outraged. Get your friends to write letters. Write a blog about it. Or notify a blogger you know and like and ask them to say something.