Livin’ Veg

No Impact Week - Sign Up And Make A Difference! October 16, 2009

The Huffington Post is hosting No Impact Week. It starts next week! I’m encouraging everyone to sign up and see what they can do in their lives to make a difference. My husband and I are doing it and then next Sunday we’re going to see the film.

What is No Impact Week?

For the inaugural No Impact Week, the No Impact Project has created a detailed guide that describes how to go about reducing your ecological impact one day at a time. No, not everyone has to completely give up their cars and shut off their power; the guide gives many achievable levels of reducing your footprint and you can pick the goals that are right for you. Each day will focus on one aspect of how we live. Sunday’s focus is on reducing consumption, on Monday the spotlight will be on reducing trash, Tuesday will be about commuting without adding carbon to the environment - i.e., encouraging bike riding and walking; Wednesday will be about encouraging eating foods grown locally and/or sustainably — and so forth.

A worthwhile endeavor if I’ve ever heard of one. Sign up here and take the challenge with me. I’ll probably do a post on my experience at the end of next week. So be prepared to share your experiences…

Good luck!

Take Your Animal Activism To The Next Level September 8, 2009

Does you ever feel like you’d love to be a more active activist but you’re just not sure where to start? Like you want to put yourself out there for animals but you aren’t really sure how to go about it? Here are some simple things you can do in your local community and in the greater world to make a difference.

1. Talk to your school/local library/community center about having a viewing of an animal issues film. Maybe The Witness or Food Inc (when it comes to dvd) or Earthlings. There are many videos that would do the trick. If any are nearby, ask a local activist to host a talk back after so people can ask questions.

2. Join a writers group. Both Mercy for Animals and Compassion Over Killing have them. This entails writing a letter to the editor when articles about animal issues show up in the paper. Disagree with an article in the NY Times? Tell them so. Click on the links for MFA and COK to see two different writers groups.

3. Organize a weekly cleanup at your local park to make it a more hospitable place for animals to live.

4. Hand out veg pamphlets at the local university. Click here to get in touch with Vegan Outreach who can get your started as a volunteer who distributes leaflets.

5. Of course volunteering is always an awesome thing to do. Whether you’re walking dogs for your local shelter, fostering an animal until they find a home or using your special talents (web development, fundraising, etc.) to help your favorite non profit, all organizations need help, especially right now.

Have any other ideas on how to be more active for animals? Leave a comment!

What Do Race Horses, Greyhounds and Lab Animals Have in Common? August 26, 2009

If you guessed that they are considered disposable by the people who use them, then you’re right.

In this country there is no system in place that requires the people who make money off the backs of animals to care for them in their retirement years. Basically, animals need a pension plan.

The hard fact is that racing animals is legal. As is testing on animals for reasons such as providing people with botox. But once the race is finished or the test is complete, the animals are either discarded or euthanized. So many former race horses end up in slaughter houses in Canada and Mexico (since the USA outlawed horse slaughter, that’s now where the horses are sent). Greyhounds end up in shelters or euthanized. Just look up greyhound shelters and you’ll see tons of them devoted just to that one breed.

All of these practices are legal. They are not going to be outlawed any time soon. But something can be done to ensure that these animals are taken care of after they have finished being used. Make the people in the industries set aside cash for the care of these animals.

An opinion piece in the NY Times talked about that very issue yesterday. Read it here.

I’m not aware of any campaigns in the AR world to get this done. Has anyone else heard anything? If there isn’t, then there should be.

PS: The dog in the picture is named Kevin and he’s up for adoption. Click here to learn more about Kevin. He’s currently in a foster home in Connecticut getting along famously with cats and kids.

White House Vs. PCRM On School Lunch Campaign August 11, 2009

There is a controversy surrounding PCRM’s new poster (to your right) that says, “President Obama’s daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don’t I?” The White House argues that the White House children are off limits.

They called up PCRM and said the following to Neil Barnard (the head of the org). You can read the full article here.

“They’re very nice people. I like them a lot,” Barnard says. “But they called and said: Please take those down, you can’t mention the kids and so forth. . . . They felt that mentioning the president’s children was off-limits. They said [they're] not going to allow the use of their daughters as leverage.”

I understand that the White House doesn’t want the girls to be used but I don’t think this ad “uses” them in any horrible way. I think it’s pointing out a difference in class and that privileged children are being fed better foods than other kids. But it doesn’t blame President Obama’s children. It’s simply pointing out that there is a difference between the foods served to students depending on what school they can afford. And that’s a difference worth noting.

Here is one hard fact out of many about child nutrition in this country right now (read more facts here):

33% of children born in 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives. For African Americans and Latinos, the numbers rise to a frightening 40 – 53%. This means more blindness, amputations, kidney dialysis, heart disease, poor quality of life, and early death. ~ Center for Disease Control

It’s a serious issue. Our children are being fed garbage at school. Nutrition isn’t taught. And this ad asks why? It’s a money thing. Bad food is cheap. Good food is not. And our schools buy bad food.

What do you think? Was PCRM out of line? Is this a bad way to try and make the point?

The Cove - New Film on Dolphin Trade June 22, 2009

Watching this short trailer made me feel anxiety and anger. It’s about the Japanese whaling industry, dolphins who are killed, or kept in captivity. It was a 2009 Sundance winner. Rolling Stone describes it as, “Sundance is known for documentaries. But this baby, a cross between Flipper and The Bourne Identity, packed the heat…An intrepid America crew slips into Japan and nails the bad guys for doing terrible things to dolphins.”

This film looks fantastic. It focuses on the dolphin trade and shows that (like the average American on the street who doesn’t know about factory farming) the average Japanese person on the street doesn’t know about the dolphin issues. The film  shows how dolphins are captured to be bought and sold for entertainment purposes.

I honestly don’t know if I’ll be able to watch it. It looks like such a stressful film and I’ll probably cry. My husband really wants to see it, so he’ll probably convince me. Plus, I like to give my 10 dollar ticket to films that are doing good. So, we’ll see. For now, take a look at the trailer, and if you can handle the stress (and are not a wuss like me), I say, go see this film. You can learn more here.

Hermes Breeds Crocodiles for $50,000 Handbags June 11, 2009

What would you do with 50 grand? Put a down payment on a house? Pay off school loans? How about buy a crocodile skin handbag from Hermes…. Yeah. I didn’t think so.

Well, someone is buying them because the fashion house Hermes can’t keep up with demand. There is a waiting list for their fifty thousand dollar handbags. In order to meet this demand, they are now breeding crocodiles in Australia.

This article states, “It can take three or four crocodiles to provide enough skin for one bag and breeding can often be expensive as the animals need to be kept apart in separate rooms to minimise skin damage from bites.”

Not only is one large croc not enough to make one bag but they also keep the animals in solitary confinement. How nice for them. What a wonderful life those crocs must live before being slaughtered. (sarcasm)

So who buys these bags? The uber rich and the uber famous like: Victoria Beckham, Eva Longoria and Katie Holmes.

Want to give Hermes a piece of your mind? Click here to write them a note on their website and tell them how disgusted you are by their cruelty. Mention designers like Stella McCartney who don’t need to kill or breed just to have a successful fashion line.

Via Ecorazzi

Boca Agrees To No More Eggs! March 23, 2009

By the end of this year, the vegetarian company Boca will end it’s use of eggs in products. HFCIT!

A company spokesperson emailed COK yesterday:

…I am pleased to let you know the BOCA brand will be eliminating eggs in all of its products by the end of this year. We anticipate all BOCA products will be egg free in 2010.

I haven’t eaten Boca products in years. I do my best to stay away from the faux meat stuff now. Does anyone know if they use other dairy products? I’m not sure if this makes them vegan friendly, but it certainly makes them more animal friendly. No more hen abuse for Boca. Awesome!

Contact the company by emailing here to say thank you: boca@casupport.com

And a big super thank you to Compassion Over Killing, Mercy For Animals and the Animal Protection & Rescue League for making this happen. The champions of farm animals making a difference every day:)

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.

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…