Livin’ Veg

Vaute Couture At Fashion Week’s Green Shows February 19, 2010

Vaute Couture previewed next years incredible new coats in NYC on Monday at the green shows. As an owner of the El coat from their debut season, I can say first hand how warm, comfortable and gorgeous these coats are. These coats have it all: They are vegan. They are eco. They are made in the USA. And the people who sew them are paid a living wage. Leanne Hilgart, the mind and heart behind Vaute Couture, outdid herself again with a new line that will go on presale this summer. The colors are going to be pinks, browns and fire engine red for those ladies who like to make a statement.

See all the images of the new coats on Leanne’s blog On Our Sleeve.

And for those of you who have male veg friends who have been envious that your coat is totally vegan and fab, please know that Vaute Couture is releasing their first men’s line! To see some images of those (including gloves!) go to The Discerning Brute here.

Want to see a coat in action? Check out Emily Deschanel’s character Temperance Brennen in the hit show Bones sporting the blue El. (My exact coat!) She wears it in the first five or so minutes of the show.

Two Campaigns Against Fast Food Joints September 17, 2009

I love campaigns that get massive companies to change their ways. We haven’t had any in a while and now there are two being done by two great organizations.

1. HSUS is asking everyone to ask IHOP to switch to cage free eggs. Why now? IHOP’s egg supplier has just been exposed. HSUS writes, “An undercover investigation has revealed shocking abuses at IHOP’s egg supplier…the footage reveals filthy conditions, sick and injured hens, and birds forced to live in cages with the decomposing corpses of their cage-mates.”

Click here to take action and contact IHOP!

2. For the past few weeks COK has been immersed in a campaign to get Dunkin Donuts to stop using eggs and dairy in their products! Dunkin Donut’s egg supplier is also mistreating chickens. I’m guessing IHOP and DD share an egg supplier. Big ag business is a small world.

Click here to take action and contact Dunkin Donuts.

It’s really amazing how effective consumer calls are when trying to get a company to change their sordid ways. These two calls which will take you a total of 3-4 minutes will help change conditions for millions of hens. Together, we can change the world:)

I’m Pro HSUS Working With Michael Vick August 18, 2009

I felt like I should state that in the title to this blog. So many AR activists are furious over HSUS’s decision to work with Michael Vick to help end dog fighting.

My feeling is this. Michael Vick has become a symbol for the consequences of dog fighting and for the brutality of the “sport.” Who better than that very symbol to go and talk to kids from under served communities about the horrors of dog fighting? Who better to reach these kids and to tell them it’s wrong? I think Michael Vick is the perfect spokesperson for the issue. Working with HSUS, he’ll reach many kids and tell them about his own experience.

People are petrified that Vick is not genuine. That he cares more about his career than he does about the dogs he killed and tortured. Well, ladies and gents, the truth is, we’ll never know. He spent two years in jail (which is frankly pretty great considering how soft courts usually go on animal cruelty charges), and he’s had lessons in humane education. He’s had time to reflect. But even if he isn’t genuine, even if this is all about his career, he’s still making a difference for the cause. Going and talking to at risk youth is amazing, and as long as he gets the message across, I’m not that fussed about how tortured he is about it on the inside. He’s one man. We need to think about the dogs, and the kids who grow up thinking that dog fighting is normal and cool. And he’s the perfect guy to talk to those kids. I applaud HSUS for looking at the big picture. On 60 minutes Wayne Pacelle says there are probably about 40,000 people fighting dogs professionally in this country. Let’s focus on them, and hope Michael Vick can help influence them for the better.

Disagree? Let me have it:)

If you missed it, watch the 60 Minutes clip here.

The Onion Euthanizes Gymnast Shawn Johnson June 18, 2009

The Onion posted something absolutely priceless. The title: Gymnast Shawn Johnson Put to Sleep After Breaking Leg.

If you want to start your day off with a smug smile, please watch this. It does what The Onion does best - pokes holes in common practices by comparing them to something outrageous. In this case, comparing putting a human down due to an injury to putting horses down when they get a racing injury.

I was having a bad day until I saw this. (Reading up on all the turmoil in Iran has been tough) This was a much needed break into the world of thought provoking humor. Click here or on the image to watch it!

Gymnast Shawn Johnson Put To Sleep After Breaking Leg

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

Micael Vick and PETA Spoof PSA May 20, 2009

PETA will not be using Michael Vick in any of their public service announcements but here is a spoof on what it would be like if they did. What I really appreciate is that this makes fun of PETA and Vick. The best spoofs take on everyone, and this one does. Watch the video below.

Here is the good part about Vick’s horrible crimes. EVERYONE now knows about dog fighting. Even the kids I teach know what it is as long as I say Vick in the same sentence. Of course I wish Vick wasn’t a sociopathic animal abuser. But I am happy some good came out of a horrible situation.

Via Ecorazzi

Rush Limbaugh Cares About Animals?! April 17, 2009

I have never in my life liked a thing that Rush Limbaugh has spouted from his right wing conservative lips. That was until yesterday when I heard from Ecorazzi that Limbaugh is a supporter of HSUS. But you’ve got to hear it to believe it.

And you’ve got to read this little story from Rush on his cat Punkin (super cute cat). Rush obviously loves his cat and has a big old soft spot in his heart for companion animals. He talks about animal cruelty and violence as well as dog fighting in his PSA’s for HSUS.

Rush - I’m still not a fan, but perhaps I don’t hate you as vehemently as I did before. That’s something I guess.

Watch this PSA:

Elvis Wrote Animal Abuse Poetry… March 27, 2009

I’m usually not one to judge another writer. I write poetry and personally hate it when people assume something about me based on something I wrote. But I can’t really get over this poem that just sold for $20,035.20 at an auction.

The handwritten poem reads as follows:

As I awoke this morning
when all sweet things
are born a robin perched
on my window sill to greet
the coming dawn
He sang his sweet song
so sweetly and paused
for a moments lull
I gently raised the window
and crushed his
F***ing skull

Now, first off, it’s just bad writing. “Sweet song so sweetly.” Really Elvis? That’s the best you’ve got in terms of description? It’s a little rhyming poem. You’ll note born and dawn are half rhymes and lull and skull are full rhymes. So the line breaks, as it’s written, are a little odd.

Anyway, enough talking about the bad writing. It’s a totally violent poem - meant to be funny although I certainly don’t see the humor. Anyone else? Any huge Elvis fans disappointed by his bird crushing poem? I’m not a fan and I think it’s pretty awful.

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.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck on Wolf Slaughter February 6, 2009

Elizabeth Hasselbeck, known for her impressive ability to completely miss the point, took aim at Ashley Judd’s decision to come to the defense of wolves in her PSA for Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

If you haven’t seen the PSA, Judd talks about Sarah Palin’s aerial wolf hunting program. You can watch it here. It’s not new info. A similar video was done during the election and it got a lot of play. But now there is a celebrity voice behind the message which always helps give an issue more publicity.

Hasselbeck wasn’t so much mad that Judd bashed Palin in her new PSA - she was more upset that Ashley Judd was wasting her time trying to protect animals. She was giving the line so many animal activists hear: Why is she spending time defending animals when there are so many problems plaguing people? Her exact words were: “How many wolves have been killed? 900 this year. Is she as loud about the 260,000 kids killed in abortions?” Watch the clip here.

Animal people usually care about more than one issue. The problem with Hasselbeck is she thinks a person can only care about one thing. Like, “I’m an environmentalist - which means I don’t care about cancer.” Not that I’m comparing abortion to cancer. I’m pro choice, but that’s beside the point.

Just from a quick google search I found that Ashley Judd has given her time/support to the following charities: Children’s Medical Research Institute, YouthAIDS, Malaria No More, Jeans for Genes and others. Click to see the list here.

So Ms. Hasselbeck, maybe you can’t care about more than one or two things at a time but many people can. So how about you stick to the topic and discuss the slaughter of wolves instead of your own agenda.