As we get into winter

As we get into winter, don't buy Down, Silk, Cashmere, Shearling, and Other Animal Products Used for Clothing

Minks, foxes, and raccoons are the animals who usually come to mind when people think of animals who are killed for their fur, but countless other species are also exploited for their feathers, fur, and skins. From the tiniest silkworm to the largest llama, all animals used by the clothing industry suffer—and most pay with their lives.

Down

Down is the soft layer of feathers closest to birds' skin, primarily in the chest region. These feathers are highly valued because they do not have quills. While most down and feathers are removed from birds during slaughter, geese in breeding flocks and those raised for meat and foie gras may be plucked while they are alive.

Plucking causes geese considerable pain and distress. One study found that the blood glucose levels of some geese nearly doubled (a symptom of severe stress) during plucking.

Typically, ducks and geese are lifted by their necks, their legs are tied, and their feathers are ripped out. The struggling birds often sustain injuries during plucking. They are then returned to their cages until they are ready to be plucked again. This process begins when the animals are 10 weeks old and is repeated in six-week intervals until the birds are slaughtered.

The eider duck is a protected species, but its feathers are sought after for bedding and clothing. The females lay eggs and surround them with feathers plucked from their own breasts. Farmers in Iceland gather more than 6,500 pounds of eider duck feathers each year. By taking these feathers, farmers are removing important insulation that the eggs need to hatch. It takes feathers from at least 80 nests to fill just one comforter.

Silk

Silk is the fiber that silkworms weave to make cocoons. The so-called "silkworm" is actually a domesticated insect who, in nature, goes through the same stages of metamorphosis—egg, larval, pupal, and adult—that all moths do. Silk is derived from the cocoons of larvae, so most of the insects raised by the industry don't live past the pupal stage, as they are steamed or gassed alive inside their cocoons.

Approximately 3,000 silkworms die to make every pound of silk. While worms can't show their distress in ways that humans easily recognize, such as screaming, anyone who has ever seen earthworms startle when their dark homes are uncovered must acknowledge that worms are sensitive; they produce endorphins and have a physical response to pain.

Cashmere

Cashmere is hair that is shorn from cashmere goats' underbellies. These goats are often kept on farms where they are dehorned and castrated and have their ears notched without anesthesia. Goats with "defects" in their coats are typically killed before the age of 2. Industry experts expect farmers to kill 50 to 80 percent of young goats whose coats do not meet standards. Shearing robs goats of their natural insulation, leaving them vulnerable to cold temperatures and illnesses. Many goats are sold to be slaughtered for their flesh after shearing.

Shearling

Contrary to what many consumers think, "shearling" is not sheared wool; the term refers to the sheep. A shearling is a yearling sheep who has been shorn once. A shearling garment is made from a sheep or lamb shorn shortly before slaughter. The skin is tanned with the wool still on it. It can take 25 to 45 individual sheep hides to make just one shearling garment.

Karakul Lamb Fur

Also called "astrakhan," "broadtail," or "Persian wool," karakul lamb fur comes from lambs who were killed as newborns or while still in their mothers' wombs. Because their unique, highly prized curly fur begins to unwind and straighten within three days of birth, many karakul lambs are slaughtered when they are only 1 or 2 days old. In order to get a karakul fetus' hide—which is called "broadtail" in the industry and which is valued for its exceptional smoothness—the mother's throat is cut and her abdomen slashed open to remove the developing lamb. A mother typically gives birth to three lambs before being slaughtered along with her fourth fetus, about 15 to 30 days before he or she is due to be born. As many as 4 million karakul lambs are slaughtered for their fur every year.

Vicuña

Vicuñas, who are related to camels and llamas and live high in the South American Andes, are exploited for their wool, which is the most expensive material used to make clothing in the world. To obtain their wool, wild vicuñas are typically herded into a V-shaped "funnel trap." This process is terrifying for these shy animals. Panicked vicuñas have even been known to break their necks during herding by crashing into fences. Their ears are then tagged, without the benefit of painkillers, before the animals are restrained and shorn with electric clippers. The shearers usually only leave the hair on the animals' bellies and chests, which isn't enough to protect them from the extreme heat and cold of the Andes.

Angora

Angora rabbits are strapped to a board for shearing, kicking powerfully in protest. The clippers inevitably bite into their flesh, with bloody results. Angoras have very delicate foot pads, making life on a wire cage floor excruciating and ulcerated feet a common condition. Because male Angora rabbits have only 75 to 80 percent of the wool yield of females, they are killed at birth on many farms.

Alpaca

The market for alpaca wool exploded in the 1980s when South American alpacas and llamas were marketed worldwide to entrepreneurs. The craze subsided, but breeding continues, and unwanted animals are now routinely put up for auction. Llama sanctuaries and rescue operations have sprung up in the wake of the breeding craze to handle the growing number of abused, neglected animals.

Shahtoosh

Shahtoosh, often used to make shawls, is made from the endangered Tibetan antelope, or chiru. Chiru cannot be domesticated and must be killed in order to obtain their wool. Illegal to sell or possess since 1975, shahtoosh shawls did a brisk business on the black market throughout the 1990s, selling for as much as $15,000 apiece as the Tibetan antelope's population plummeted to fewer than 75,000. Despite the ban on shahtoosh in India, a thriving black market still caters to customers in London, New York, and Los Angeles who will pay as much as $17,000 for a shawl. As many as 20,000 chiru are killed every year for their wool, a rate that will wipe out the species by 2011 if left unchecked.

You can help put an end to the suffering of all these animals by refusing to wear any clothing made from the skins of animals. Check out PETA's cruelty-free clothing guide for tips on where you can find compassionate fashion.


Image and copy from PETA.

Telling the Truth

I'll admit - I'm excited to see commercials getting funded to run on the air telling the truth about the animal based foods we eat. That we eat daily without thinking about ourselves, our health, the corporations and lobbies behind them, the cost to the environment and the animals that give their lives for them.

PCRM's is a bit harder hitting and speaks to the direct negative health effects.

While Compassion Over Killing speaks about the animals.

I hope these get plenty of air time, or at least some controversy so that people will seek them out!

2500 Calories Plus

I've been talking more and more here and on the Facebook page about dining excess.  Not just the way we eat but in the food that is being created, glorified and shoved in our faces over and over again.

I have noticed more and more some bad decadence at work from restaurants.  They are competing, I think, to see who can make us eat the worst.

Burger King's latest is a “burger” made with 4 Whopper patties, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce and pesto and is coming this month to the New York City BK Whopper Bar in Times Square.

And while I know this is a gimmick, it is also real.  But why?

This 9.5" monstrosity is over 2500 calories, more than a day's worth of calories for an adult.   That alone should stop you but if it doesn't:

1. There are a hundred an forty-four grams of fat in the NY Pizza Burger.


2. There are fifty-nine grams of saturated fat in the NY Pizza Burger.

3. There are 3,780 milligrams of salt in the NY Pizza Burger (more than double the daily allowance for adults).

4. You have better ways to spend thirteen dollars.

5. You do not want to be a part of the culinary suicide that Americans are committing.

6. You want to be a role model for healthy eating.

7. Your stomach just turned at the idea of this culinary travesty.

8. You value your health, both now and in the future.

9. You do not want to participate in the methane production related to making that much meat and dairy – if in fact there is real meat and dairy used in that product.

10. You don’t have an interest in financially supporting the fast food industry’s belief that they can get rich by feeding America death-food.
 
I hate fast food in general, but when I see examples of garbage like this being served and idolized as food, it makes me crazy.

Sources:
Do not Eat This
Tiny Green Bubble

Can one speech make a change?

In 1992, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 12 year old Severn Cullis-Suzuki spoke to the delegates.  Her video, now known as "The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes" is one of the most inspirational speeches I've ever witnessed.

Severn has been an activist for all her life. 

She continues to change the world with her work but her words, almost two decades later still inspire us to stop.  To reflect.  To CHANGE.  But can we?  Can we actually listen? And do we have the courage to act.

There is a great movie with Bill Nighy and Kelly Macdonald called "The Girl in the Cafe".  It is a love story but it gives insight into the inner-workings of the G8 Summit. In a crucial scene Gina speaks out in a situation where there is tremendous pressure to stay silent... but she can't.  You can see the discomfort in the room but in spite of that she continues to speak the simple honest words that have so much impact on those around her.  Those that have the power but are often too willing to compromise.

We should never be afraid to speak.  We cannot always change the world but we can change ourselves and how we live.  We can change our world.. and hopefully all of these individuals will become a groundswell that nothing can stand against.

Tonight's Dinner: Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice Pilaf

Tonight's Dinner

Acorn squash - halved, seeded and roasted until tender

Stuffed with wild rice pilaf

Steamed broccoli

Baby greens salad with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes

topped with ginger dressing

Cut the squash in half and remove seeds, rub edges with a bit of oil so they don't stick and bake about 45 min at 400 degrees until fork tender.

In saute pan with about 2 Tbl of EarthBlance, cook chopped carrots, celery, mushrooms (optional) and 1.5 cups of wild rice blend until the veggies are soft.  Add 3 cups of vegetable stock, ground pepper and stuffing herb mix (sage is ideal) and bring to a boil.  Turn temperature to low and let simmer until rice is done.

Steam broccoli for 15 minutes.

Serve the squash filled with the rice mixture and with the broccoli on the side.  Add a green salad for a fresh addition.

Less Impact Fam(ily) Waste Notes:
Squash - no packaging
Wild Rice - from bulk bin purchased in reusable bag
Carrots - bunch in plastic packaging
Celery - rubberband
Stock - some homemade, some from veggie boullion cube w/ foil wrapper
Broccoli - no packaging
Dressing - glass jar
Salad - Bulk plastic bin
Cucumber - no packaging
Cherry tomatoes - recyclable plastic package

A Must See: Forks Over Knives

Last weekend we had the amazing opportunity to go to a screening of the documentary "Forks Over Knives" and to hear Dr. Campbell speak in person.

This movie is tremendous. 

It focuses on the very real and clinically proven health benefits of eating a plant-based diet.  The movie came out of the work of Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a nutritional scientist from Cornell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic. 

What is amazing about this movie - and what elicited gasps throughout from the audience - is the factual proof and connections between eating animal-based food and the major health implications they cause. 

We are not talking anecdotal results, but rather proven by huge research studies, under the care of the most respected and top ranking doctors and scientists, that issues like cancer, heart disease and diabetes can be stopped and EVEN REVERSED just by switching to a plant-based diet.

This is not a movie that is showing you images of animal conditions or factory farming, although there is a bit of that, but rather it focuses on people and their evolving health and lifestyle. 

For many, if not most people, in this country this is a huge concern.  Their health and the health of their children are at risk from the way they are eating now.  There is a lot of crappy but cheap and available food shoved at you every second of every day no matter where you go.  This movie shows the connections to how this is hurting us.

Dr. Campbell spoke and answered questions after the movie.  This man is in his 80s and still runs and is 110% there mentally. 

He spoke to how the issue is NOT the way factory farming is done that creates the issues, because their studies were done with grass-fed animals (factory farming conditions just makes it even worse). That you can essentially "turn-on" and "turn-off" cancer production by eliminating meat, eggs, and especially dairy.   That we could reduce our country's health costs by 75%-80% just by making this change.

While we switched to a vegan lifestyle for animal compassion reasons, health and environmental concerns - and benefits - were also in our minds.   There is heart disease and cancer in our family backgrounds.  I don't want to eat myself into a heart attack at 50-something, you know?

It was interesting to see how influenced people were by the movie.  You could really tell that they were impacted by the message.  I hope they were inspired to go home and really think about making a change in their lives, for their lives.

Their are screenings currently being held around the country.  You can go to the site to see if there is one in your area or how to have a showing in your area.   The movie is coming out in March 2011.  I've very excited and hopeful to see a wave of people taking control of their health and wanting to make this positive change.

Messages from MUTTS

I love the MUTTS comic strip and it's creator, Patrick McDonnell.  He mixes in fun and humor with important messages about animal welfare and issues.

I appreciate that he uses his talent and influence to tirelessly work on behalf of the animals.  He is an inspiration to me.

According to the site:
McDonnell's website, muttscomics.com, promotes his animal and earth friendly philosophy. Consistent with McDonnell's concern for the environment, all of the MUTTS books are printed on recycled paper. He and his wife Karen O'Connell are vegetarian and happily reside with their formerly feral cat MeeMow.

Thank you, Patrick for the work you do.  Your strip always makes me think... and smile.

Friends Don't Let Friends: Stress Over Dinner for Guests

I think at some point and time, we realize that we have to invite people over for dinner.  Maybe for a slightly fancier dinner than just grabbing a pizza or layout out some chips and salsa.  We want to impress but we don't want to stress ourselves out so much that we miss out on the whole point of having our friends over... we want to enjoy their company.

I'm going to let you in on my favorite "company" dinner. Risotto.

Risotto is the perfect meal for when you are having guests over.  You can easily make a large batch.  It's easy to make and you can flavor it in a number of different ways.  You can prepare it bit ahead and keep it warm on the stove.  And by pairing it up with a steamed or grilled vegetable and maybe a salad, you have a beautifully presented meal.

Risotto even sounds a bit fussy and fancy but, here's a secret... it's just rice!  Okay, it's really creamy tasting and amazing rice but it's not very complicated and you can't really mess it up.  Plus it can be very inexpensive to make, which let's you have friends over more often.  

Depending on how many people you are planning to have over and what you are pairing with it, this recipe will easily serve 4 - 6 dinner portions. 

What you need is Risotto rice, a medium yellow onion, stock (homemade!!!), about 2 Tbls of olive oil, white wine and salt and pepper.  You can add any combination of other ingredients such as saffron, mushrooms, peas, asparagus whatever you want, really.

Risotto takes a bit of time but it's not complicated.  The slow cooking and slow additions of the broth are what creates the creamy texture with almost zero fat.  You don't need to add anything such as butter or cheese to accomplish the richness that risotto is known for.

Begin by chopping the onion into small, not quite minced pieces.   In a wide and deep pan, saute this in the olive oil about 7 minutes until the onions are soft.  Add 2 Cups of the risotto rice to the pan and cook that until the rice is a bit translucent with a white dot in the center, about another 5 or so minutes.  Add a 1/2 Cup of white wine to the rice and the onions and let it absorb into the rice.

While your onions are cooking have the stock warming over low heat in another pot.  I like to have about 8 cups on hand. You are going to be adding the stock to the rice about a 1/2 cup (or a good ladle-ful) at a time, slowing letting the rice absorb the liquid each time before adding more.  Stir the rice a bit after each addition and make sure to scrape along the bottom of the pan.

Once the rice has absorbed all of the stock and is completely soft, usually this takes about 30 - 40 minutes, add in any additions.  If you are adding in mushrooms or a vegetable I would recommend cooking them separately and stirring them into the cooked risotto.

And that's it!  Plate and serve.  Here is our dinner from the other night - risotto and steamed broccoli.

And here is a fancy dinner out - mushroom risotto served with grilled asparagus.

Even if you are not having people over, make the same amount. Risotto stores well and is even better the next day.   You can reheat it or you can even form the chilled risotto into small discs and fry them to serve on the top of or on the side of some tender raw or cooked greens.

Enjoy!

Friends Don't Let Friends: Eat Canned Beans

Sorry it's been a while since I posted a recipe.  It's not like we haven't been eating!  It's just been so hot out that I don't want to cook a lot.  But now we're back. And what I'm making today is something simple and basic but often overlooked - beans from scratch.

In the title I say not to eat canned beans.  There really isn't anything wrong with canned beans. They're convenient and perfect for adding some substantial weight to a meal. But making beans from dried does give you the opportunity to buy in bulk for much cheaper than canned, the flavor is better and you can control the amount of sodium you are getting.

Making beans, any kind really, rehydrated from dried is very simple, it just needs a bit of advanced planning.   You can do this faster with a quick cook method (boiling for 2 hours and then draining and then cooking as noted) but I prefer to do a cold water soak for at least 8+ hours.  I just throw the beans, about 1 - 2 cups of dried, in a pot or bowl with plenty of water in the morning, to cook that night, or the night before.  Then the largest part of the work is done with little effort on my part.

Once you've let your dried beans soak, strain out the water and give them a rinse.  This rinses away much of the sugars, which can cause gas in some people.

Now this is how I cook black beans but you can use the same method for other beans, just vary the flavors to go with the dish you are making.  I like to use a medium yellow onion, chopped, a few cloves of garlic minced or grated, and sometimes I'll even throw in a poblano pepper or jalapeno.  Again, go with the flavors you want for your end result.   I also grind some fresh pepper and add in whole cumin seeds.  I don't add any salt because this can keep the beans from absorbing the water by toughening their skins.

Just saute the onions, garlic, pepper and spices in olive oil for about 6 - 7 minutes, enough to sweat them and get them a bit browned.

While these are cooking I add in more seasonings so the onions absorb the flavors.  My favorites to add are Liquid Smoke (so good!), a few drops of toasted sesame oil, a few spritzes of Braggs, a splash or two of Tabasco and some ground cumin.

You can cook your beans in water but I prefer to use stock (you are making your own stock right?!?) as it adds so much richness and depth to the beans.  You'll need enough liquid to cover the beans.  You can supplement with water and even add in a veggie bullion cube too.

Add the beans, onions etc., to the pot and cook on low for about an hour.  The cooking time is very flexible.  You can turn up the heat (make sure they don't boil over) and cook them a bit faster, or let them simmer for a while, which is what I prefer. I like them to take plenty of time to absorb the flavors and cook down a bit.   Test a bean or two. They should be softened but still with some firmness.  Of course, if you like them really soft and mushy, just let them cook longer.

Once the beans are cooked you can serve them over rice, to top a salad, use in tacos or burritos or even cool and make in to burgers. Add your salt at the end and even a squeeze of lime juice.

One last note, save your bean soaking water.  You don't want to cook with it but you can use it to water your plants.  It's very nutrient rich.

Happy Bean Eating!

Please, help my friends...

Inspired by the Oscar-winning feature documentary THE COVE, stars from film, TV and music band together to help save Japan's dolphins. Please sign the petition and help us get the word out, http://www.takepart.com/thecove

Killing for Convenience

McDonald's Mighty Kids Happy Meals

I just watched Super Size Me, again, and it compelled me to go and look at some of the actual nutritional information online. I never eat in fast food places like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's or Taco Bell, etc., so I wasn't really sure what they even served any more.

I started by looking at the ingredients for fries. It should be potatoes, oil and salt. Maybe some spices, right?

Nope. It was:

Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*, citric acid [preservative]), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

Yikes!

Then I thought about all the kids eating this crap. But they have "healthy options" now, right? Like Apple Dippers with Caramel Dip. But what is possibly in that...

Well the so-called low fat caramel dip is made of: Corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk (milk, sugar), high fructose corn syrup, water, butter (cream, salt), sugar, salt, disodium phosphate, artificial flavors (vanillin, ethyl vanillin), caramel color, pectin, potassium sorbate (preservative).

That's a lot of sugar.

In looking at the two "meals" featured and targeted at kids, they seem pretty crappy.

If you feed your kid the McNuggets/Milk/Apple dippers option they are eating:

390 Calories, 15g of Fat & ZERO fiber

If you feed them the double cheeseburger/Milk/Apple dippers option they get:

640 Calories, 26g of Fat & only 2g of fiber

That is appalling. And I don't just mean the food and lack of anything decent nutrion-wise. I mean the fact that parents feed this garbage to their kids on a regular basis. I know plenty of parents, some stay-at-home moms, that choose to get this for their kids for lunch at least once a week. And this is in spite of the fact that nutritionists say you should never eat this stuff. Not to mention that the flesh of 100+ animals can be in your 1 burger patty. (um, gross!)

Children are more susceptible to absorbing toxins than adults. Why would any parent think that this is a good thing to give their kids?

But don't just listen to me...

Fast Food Snapshot

None of this is appealing.

Click to see larger.

We watched Super Size Me again today. Fast food... GAG!

Vegan Beauty - Urban Decay's Vegan Color Palette

Image from Animal Friendly Shopping

I have not delved much into cosmetics here but I do consider it when I am shopping. I look for products with no animal ingredients or testing. The Be Nice to Bunnies app is great for when I'm shopping in the stores and I use the CCIC's Cruelty Free app, the Good Guide's barcode scanning app, or Don't Eat That app to make sense of all the ingredients.

But now more and more companies are making a point of stating they are vegan safe. Lindsay from Broke & Beautiful did a post today on Awakened Aesthetics on Urban Decay's new vegan eye shadow palatte. Animal Friendly Shopping did a review too.

Lime Crime has also just come out more eye shadows that are stated as containing no animal products. Their lip sticks do currently contain beeswax but I think they are looking into new formulations with out it. Beeswax is not often considered as an animal product (not sure why, bees are animals too) so always check the ingredients yourself no matter what the company says.

I don't buy a lot of make-up, so as I delve more into researching, I will share what I find out.

Buy the Urban Decay palatte here.

I salute you, Stephen

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Better Know a Lobby - American Meat Institute
http://www.colbertnation.com/
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News

Okay, not only is this hilarious but it points out the real truth - humans are animals too. Why is it okay to kill some animals?

I'm sure we all get the joke and are not advocating eating people. But then, why is it right to kill and eat other feeling and thinking beings?

Answering the Question about Why No Eggs

I received a question in the comments from this post on information and making connections...

I keep seeing in your posts (and others like it) the consensus to give up eggs as well. I've been a vege for many years now (maybe 17yrs now) and I love eggs. But I've never had any guilt issues with buying eggs from free range farms. They don't harm anyone, the animals have good lives and the quality of the eggs are better. Rather than give up something which is a very good source of essential proteins etc., couldn't you just look into sourcing or using your own? Why the objection to (properly cared for) free range eggs?

I am very happy to answer this. I love discussion and to share our thoughts and perspective. I am going to talk some general answers and then my personal reasons.

There are many good reasons to give up eggs. There are health reasons (cholesterol and fat) and environmental reasons. There are many other readily available and much more healthful options for protein, so that is not really a good reason to me to keep eating eggs. There are also many other options for replacing eggs in recipes so I do not feel that they are needed there either.

In a better world, the eggs that hens lay would be naturally gathered and the hens would have lovely lives living outdoors, chasing bugs and having dust baths. I'm not going to go into the whole issue of keeping and managing the life cycles of animals, no matter how benign we may be as caretakers.

That is what free-range should mean.

However, almost all commercial eggs that are marketed as "free-range" or "cage-free" are not, especially here in the US. Not really. It is just a misleading marketing term. I feel that egg farms and the animals there go through more suffering than even animals raised for meat. The hens may not be crammed 7 to a wire cage the size of a file drawer they way most egg factory farms do. Instead they are crammed into airless, sunless buildings many times with their beaks and combs sliced off, little health care or even good food and water. Not to mention the abuse many factory farm workers do to these sensitive animals such as throwing, kicking, stomping on them, etc.

They are manipulated with lights and temperature to lay eggs year round until their bodies are totally spent. Their lifespans are a fraction of the 7 or so years a hen would live naturally. When they are not able to lay eggs anymore their bodies are ground up for lesser food sources like being fed to other chickens or dog/cat food.

Other reasons to not support the egg industry are the breeding practices. Hens are bred to produce and/or be meat. Many cannot even stand up under their own weight. Their bodies and legs become so deformed they cannot stand or walk. And when they drop to the ground or the floor of their cage, they are left to suffer and die. Workers throw them into trashcans, often still struggling to live, like rubbish.

Another "by-product" of the egg industry often overlooked, no matter how "humane", are the male chicks. From a purely statistical view about 50% of the chicks born will be male... Roosters. An egg company has no need for all of these millions of baby male chicks so what do they do? Well sometimes they throw them in to trashcans to suffer and suffocate. Sometimes they, as you can see here, throw them alive into giant grinders.

So to sum up the industry-related reasons, I think you should avoid eggs:

- Grinding up alive millions of baby male chicks
- Short suffering-filled lifespans
- Genetic manipulation
- No real free-range lifestyle
- No health care
- Physical abuse
- When they stop laying they are just killed

But let's say you find a farmer who does truly give his/her birds a free-range life? There are three questions you need to ask. 1) What happens to the hens they stop laying? 2) Where did he get the chicks from to start his flock? and 3) What happens to the male birds born when we wants to increase his flock?

#1
Will this person kill the hens when they stop laying eggs? Yes or No? How can you be sure?

#2
Did he order baby chicks from a breeder? Many people, even backyard chicken owners do this. This is just as bad. Animals are "produced" for this and males are still discarded. Many baby chicks die in transport. Still creating and contributing to suffering.

#3
What happens if he/she orders eggs to raise or decides to let his hens hatch their eggs? What happens if he gets a bunch of male chicks? It's hard to keep all of them in a small space. It can be done but males don't produce eggs so many farmers would not see the value in them... and kill them.

Isn't just easier to stop eating eggs or food with eggs in them? I think so!

And let me be clear, I am speaking this from the standpoint of someone who has 2 hens and could actually be eating eggs if I wanted too. But I don't. Mostly because I don't feel the need to any more.

Sure there is an ideal scenario. I think we have it actually.

We have two hens who were rescues. We didn't buy chicks or eggs to raise. We adopted them because they needed a home and we had the space and the ability to care for them. They live a natural life and will not be killed when they stop laying. They are not manipulated to keep laying in the winter through lights or temperature. They get the best food and health care we can give them. Our neighbors get probably the best eggs they'll ever find.

At the end of the day, for us, it's all about eliminating suffering, living lighter on the earth and living a healthy life. We aren't looking for loopholes. I think that consistency helps us and helps share what we stand for too.

I love to hear more from you and any other questions you may have.

Thanks!

Marketing Veganism

This is such a great article that I wanted to reprint it here. Bolding is my own.

Marketing Veganism
Posted on 2010/08/06 by Know Thank You

We tend to feel a bit different than everyone else, don’t we? So many of our choices in life separate us from the mainstream and make us different. The fact is though that there are many more things in common between us and mainstream omnivores than there are separating us. That’s something we tend to forget when we’re not in a restaurant or a clothing store. The rest of the time, we’re also mainstream consumers, just like everyone else, and this is important to remember.

As vegans we tend to focus on a short list of things that get us really excited: great food that doesn’t have some horrible ingredient, politicians or scientific reports or movies that support our choices, cool clothing with a message we like, there’s all kinds of things that get our hearts pounding and our keyboards melting. And it’s great, because the vegan cookies and the factory farm movies and the Nail The Vivisectors t-shirts will be embraced by all of us. By all of our little 1% of the population.

So much of what we produce, what we wear, what we write, and say, and do, separates veganism from what everyone else is doing. And that’s kind of the point, isn’t it, but it also creates an “us against them” atmosphere that’s not always welcoming to everybody else. And what we really want to do is bring everybody else here, isn’t it? A lot of the time though we come across as preachy and judgmental. While everyone else is out there trying their best to ignore the terrible realities, there we go shoving it in their faces. Even if we have our facts right (and let’s face it, we do), not everyone else shares our morals. They are entitled to their own, even if we disagree with them. And a lot of the time, our in-your-face tactics turn people off. Rather than inform them, they get defensive, they ignore us, and our whole message is lost. The public often perceives us as being anti-establishment, and as opposing a lot of the things that they hold dear.

What we need to do is show the public that vegans aren’t anti-establishment, we’re pro-establishment! We love the establishment, because we love the public. We’re the public too! We love for the public to get what they want, and we love the companies that produce those things. Remember, every vegan business you can think of, without exception, operates within the laws and practices of modern business. Vegan businesses use those laws and practices to provide compassionate products and services to us and other people around the globe. We can’t possibly afford to be anti-establishment; we need to give vegan businesses all the support we can, so they can grow and show the rest of the establishment how it should be done. If we stop being anti-establishment, vegans can start being the leaders of positive change within the establishment.

So if a lot of vegan products, vegan films, vegan writing, and more make us appear separate from the rest of the world, how do we get back in? Back to where we all came from so we can talk to people there and bring them out? Basically, how do we get our message of compassion to the other 99% of America? How do we appeal to mainstream consumers – like us?

This used to be easy. Years ago the majority of American households were white, suburban, 2.4 rug rats, and got most of their news from the TV set. If we still had one type of audience now we could figure out pretty easily how to appeal to them. But that stereotypical American family began to change a few decades ago, and there’s no longer any average American household or average American consumer. The buying public now includes a much wider variety of ethnic groups, ages, professions, family situations, and other criteria that all impact the choices people make. What we want is for everyone to choose compassion, environment, and health, but unfortunately, the vast majority of people aren’t looking for these things.

When most consumers shop for window cleaning fluid, they just look at price and grab what’s on sale in the store. Occasionally they’ll have a brand preference. They don’t consider the hazardous chemicals, or the plastic bottle, or the fact that they could simply use vinegar instead and save even more money. The consumer wants to save money and doesn’t want to have to think about it.

When most consumers shop for bread, they usually pick a brand they prefer because they like the combination of price and flavor. There may be other brands with better flavor, but they often won’t buy them unless they’re on sale. The ingredients are almost never checked. They stick with a brand they know, despite any negative impact the production or consumption may have.

I’m vastly simplifying this, but you get the point. If you want to sell a vegan product to a random person who’s not vegan, you are likely to have greater success by highlighting qualities of the product that he or she can most relate to. If you’re selling window cleaner, try some alternate ads highlighting the wonderful scent, sparkle, or offering a special low price. If you’re selling vegan bread, try some alternate ads highlighting the wonderful flavor, freshness, or offering a special low price. Speak in terms they understand.

Remember the things that draw most people to veganism? Compassion, environment, and health. For many years we have shown a vegan lifestyle as a very effective way to both attain positive results in each of these areas and to address related chronic problems. The big stumbling block is that nearly 100% of our outreach hasn’t shown that we are successfully attaining positive results – we’re healthier, we recycle, we rescue etc etc – our outreach has instead highlighted that we vegans are locked in a fight with all the related chronic problems. Your average consumer isn’t looking for a fight. He doesn’t want to stand up to corporations. He doesn’t want to read labels. He doesn’t want to boycott. He doesn’t want to protest. He doesn’t want to hand out leaflets. He wants things easy. He doesn’t even want to have to think. Being explained very clearly that something is total nonsense and even life-threatening doesn’t stop people from doing it, in fact that can actually propel some people to make that choice. After years of campaigning and government warnings, people still start smoking each day and smoking related deaths continue. Despite how remarkably stupid they are, the senselessly violent stunts in films like Jackass are reproduced by people, and each year people die in the process. It seems as though people actually avoid knowledge, as if it’s too much work, and our media perpetuates this. Any television news program, once advertising, entertainment, opinion, and chit-chat have been removed, leaves very few – if any – facts for us to have to bother with. Mainstream consumers aren’t being informed; they’re being encouraged how to think.

Look at the advertising on television now and really cut it apart. You’ll find that most ads don’t tell us much about the product at all. Instead, they try to tell us about the people that use the product. We are meant to identify with those people or desire to be one of those people, and we can be! All we have to do is buy the product. Once again, the ads don’t inform, they create desire. What we need to do then is a better job of making veganism desirable. We all know that each and every one of us is healthier, is kinder to the environment, and just by choosing a vegan diet we save dozens of lives every year. Those are the kinds of messages that mainstream consumers are more accustomed to. Keeping things simple, positive, “new and improved,” and desirable: that’s the kind of message that drives decisions.

There will ALWAYS be a place for the hard-hitting exposure that some hard-working vegans give to abusive corporations and individuals. That type of abuse should not exist, and exposing it helps to bring about change. To be most effective changing the lives of mainstream America though we can learn something from the mass media that’s already doing so: do less informing of people, and more creating desire in people. “Give the customer what they want” is an overwhelmingly obvious rule of marketing. We tend to ignore that and instead put all our efforts into giving the customer what we want them to see and hear. That’s something like adults sending the kids to math class rather than healthy, compassionate people sharing their successes. Let’s tweak what we’re putting out there – sell our product a little better – and we’ll likely find more people will buy it.

Back to me> I think the information is important but also showing that I can cook, and cook great delicious easy meals is part of how I try to showcase being vegan. That there are other options.

How else can we help show this is the desirable way to live?

The Soul is the Same

"The Soul is the same in all living creatures;

although the body of each is different."

- Hippocrates

The Story of Water

After watching Blue Gold: World Water Wars, I'm more and more focused on eliminating bottled water. We are no longer going to buy bottles for our Movie Nights and have reusable glasses that we keep in our cars (and glass straws!)

The Story of Water (by The Story of Stuff group) is a great synopsis of why bottled water is so bad for us, the environment, others and our wallets too!

It's easy reuse a cup and carry a bottle with you or find a water fountain.

Try it for a month and see how easy it is.

Nothing but Excess

In a time when we as an American society seem to be perched precariously on the edge of economic and political unrest, when we are being continually reminded of the huge health issues we are facing, we also seem hell-bent on driving ourselves there as quickly as possible.

I don't know if it's our perverse need to never conceed. That we feel it's better to give a big middle-finger to nutrition warnings or the fact that we can't admit that we're wrong but I am just staggered every day when I hear ever more excessive and decadent (in the degenerate, debased, debauched and self-indulgent meaning) ways.

You can't turn on a TV without hearing about some XYZ burger or triple-tier dessert. I was actually in a restaurant for a party this weekend and the "ultimate brownie" was: brownie, chocolate sauce, ice cream, nuts, whipped cream, Kahlua, etc. It was a bit crazy.

And here are two more examples...

As if the junky empty calories of Doritos were not enough... we now have Doritos Late Night All Nighter Cheeseburger flavor. They may not have trans fats but they do have "Natural Beef Flavor", whatever the hell that is, along with all the oil, milk and cheese mixed in and dumped on top.

On the high end we have ridiculous creation of disgusting proportions... the Foie Gras Loco Moco.

This concoction from a restaurant in California. This thing is beyond politically incorrect, it's disturbing. Foie gras (fatty liver), Spam (who knows what), beef patty, a fried quail egg and a reduction of foie gras.

Really, do we need this? In light of the issues with our health, do we really need this? Can it even taste that good? I mean, we're talking Spam here.

We, as individuals and as a nation, need to retrain ourselves. Learn to show a little restraint. We don't need it all, all the time, right now? Do we?

And wouldn't it be better for ourselves, the country and the world if we did?

Veggie-Versary - Two Years

Today is our Two Year Veggie-versary.

It's a sort of a bittersweet reminder because we went vegetarian (and shortly after, vegan) when Napoleon was hurt. We were lucky that he recovered but were sad when he was taken from us just a few months later.

I still grieve for him and keep his picture as the background on my phone so I can see him every day.

I miss our little man. I'm not sure if we will have the opportunity to care for a rooster again. Jake the turkey is doing so well with the girls that we are afraid of upsetting the balance in the coop. But Napoleon had such a great personality that I miss having a feisty rooster around.

Napoleon, we have you to thank and credit for our awakening. Because of you we have brought more compassion into our lives and we feel we are saving lives with each meal.

Love you.

How do you Celebrate? Let's get Grilling!

This is a weekend celebrating freedom and independence and struggle. What better time to go vegan and extend those liberties and desires to live free of suffering and fear towards all animals.

But that doesn't mean that you need to feel left out from all the yummy summer foods. In fact some of the best foods are not animal based or can include some easy substitutions.

Cow burgers = veggie or black bean burgers.

Easy to find, easy to grill, tastes just as good with all the ketchup, mustard, onions, tomatoes and lettuce.

Hot Dogs

Personally I've always found hot dogs to be disgusting in theory. Do you know what goes in those things??? Gross! Gag! But hey, I'll eat a SmartDog. Topped with ketchup and onion; those are the best! And no bug bits.

Coleslaw and Potato Salad

Use a non-egg based mayo (Vegenaise is the best!) or make a vinegar-based version. Same thing for potato salad

Apple pie and ice cream

Purely Decadent ice cream comes in a ton of flavors and is, in my opinion, better than cow's milk ice cream. I love the coconut milk options better than the soy ones, but that's just me. Apple pie can easily be made with soy milk and Earth Balance sticks instead of cow's milk butter and milk.

Corn on the cob

Slather on some Earth Balance spread and you are good to go!

Sides

All of the best sides are vegan ready - salsa and chips, roasted veggies, corn salad, Popsicles

There is no reason to cause suffering when we eat. Not to the animals, and frankly, not to us. Remember, only animal-based foods like meat, eggs and dairy have cholesterol but on top of that, grilling animal flesh is a huge cancer risk.

The Cancer Project has listed the Top Five Worst Foods to Grill and they are:
Chicken
Steak
Pork
Salmon
Hamburgers

Don't risk it! Grill a delicious portobello mushroom instead! Celebrate your freedom from poor health and Happy Fourth of July!

Photo source here

Still Remember

Even though it happend a few years ago and Michael Vick is out of prison and playing football again, the trauma is not over for the dogs he and his cohorts abused.

Meet Mel -

Mel is one of the dogs that was rehabilitated and adopted out but he still lives in fear... every. single. day.

I read about Mel just the other day and that sweet face and the words moved me to tears.

Richard Hunter has a new member of his household. That's him, quivering in the corner. Shaking uncontrollably. Convulsing. The 4-year-old is scared shitless.

"He lives in fear," Hunter says of his new best friend, Mel. "You would too if you'd been beating and traumatized your whole life."

Michael Vick is out of prison and back in the NFL. But the dogs he tortured - the ones he didn't kill, that is - will never escape his dark shadow.

"Mel's come a long way. We can pet him. He sleeps in bed with us," Hunter says. "But he's scarred for life. He's never barked. Never made a noise. There are times when he's just terrified."

Mel has a new canine friend now, Pumpkin, a 13 year old terrier, who helps take care of Mel...

Give the assist to Pumpkin. The two dogs hit it off, with the elder sensing the fear in his new introvert friend.

When a stranger enters Hunter's house, Mel freaks out. He grabs his monkey security blanket, slowly backs up into the corner and quivers. In front of him, standing as guard, is Pumpkin. And since Mel can't - or won't - use vocal communication, it's Pumpkin who barks for him, often waking Hunter late at night to find Mel at the back door needing a bathroom break.

You have to read the full article here. It is amazing and wonderful what the Hunter family went through to bring this sweet dog home. There is also a great article from Sports Illustrated a while back that talks about what these pups endured. Read that too.

But I couldn't just stop with writing about it here. I had to let my voice be heard by those that support Vick by employing him. I don't watch a lot of sports so boycotting is easy. That should be the first thing you do - boycott the NFL and the Eagles specifically. But I also had to write them both letters via the comment feedback sections of their sites. I wrote:

I just want you to know that we have not forgotten the evil done by Michael Vick and that there are still many many people who think you are total assholes for hiring him. The money he has paid and limited prison time he has done will never erase the abuse, horror and trauma he inflicted upon those defenseless animals.

The fact that you know his background and pay him buckets of money is beyond disgusting. I will never understand how you can live with yourselves as human beings when there are dogs like this still living with the trauma - http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/2010/06/one_of_michael_vicks_dogs_find.php

I will never support the NFL or your team while you support this sick individual.

Yes, it's harsh but harsh words are minor retribution for the pure evil he doled out and allowed. I hope you will feel equally enraged and let them know as well.

Information Flows

I was on Facebook the other day and saw a friend's update that stated:

My son's gem of the week: "Dad, how do cows give their milk? Do they spit?"

I posted a comment on Twiter about how this was sad to me and it became a discussion between me and some of my online friends. Part of the discussion was that many people grow up not learning this information from school biology or health classes or from their parents.

We are a society that is, generally, very far removed from the sources of what we eat. And as the world becomes more and more urban (it's estimated that by 2050, 70% of the world will live in cities) there are few opportunities to connect with the plants and animals that make up what most people eat.

I will readily admit that I was as disconnected as anyone else from what I ate. I grew up in Miami, FL. I never had a garden, never raised animals for food, never visited a farm or cleaned a fish that I caught. Frankly, much of what I've learned about the life cycles of farm animals (aka the animals we eat) I've learned in the past two or so years since we brought our rescued hens, rooster, turkey and goats to come live with us.

Animals are the best teachers.

What still surprises me and makes me sad is that we don't know these things. That we are not taught them and that we have fewer and fewer opportunities to learn.

We live in a a semi-rural and traditionally agricultural area in North Carolina. The town is a mix of people who have lived here for almost 70 years and some newer residents. There are still tobacco fields dotting the area, although those are becoming harder to find. Yet, even in an area where many people have exposure to animals and farms, since we brought home our "outside" animals they've become ambassadors for their relations. And they bring up opportunities to answer questions on how animals would live in a more natural way.

For example, when we brought home Tulip and Petal, the pygmy goats, people asked if we would be utilizing their milk to drink or to make cheese. We answered "No". We will not be taking milk from them because, like cows and other mammals, they only have milk when they have babies who need it to grow. For Tulip to have milk she would have to be bred, impregnated, have babies and then have the babies taken away, for us to then take her milk for our own purposes. This will never, ever happen.

This is what happens on a enormous scale to millions of cows (and on a smaller scale to goats) every day. The dairy cows are impregnated over and over again. Their babies are taken from them right away (males to become veal, females to become more dairy cows or meat) and they're hooked up to industrial milking machines which often injure them. Now I never ate veal on "priciple" but I didn't know or connect the steps between the milk I put on my cereal and the veal calf that I refused to eat. I didn't know that my cereal milk or favorite cheese was contributing just as much to supporting the system as eating veal or a steak.

There are similar questions regarding the eggs that Meg and Gertie lay. People ask how often they lay and we respond that they lay, generally, once a day during the spring, summer and a bit into the fall. That they do lay even without a rooster around because it is their fertility cycle, so they create a egg just like women do, whether it is fertilized or not. We also say that they don't usually lay in the winter because it would be too cold to have chicks hatch during the winter to survive, so they naturally don't lay eggs then... unless they are unnaturally manipulated through lights and temperature, as factory egg farms do.

We also explain how the egg farms work. That, as you could statistically expect, about half of the chicks born on the egg farms are male. These male baby chicks are unwanted so they are thrown, alive, into grinders and either disposed of or fed to the chickens or other animals.

It's hard to fathom and yet, that is what happens and what we support when we buy eggs.

I had no idea about any of these facts just a few years ago. It makes me sad and sick that I was never taught it. I feel that I should have known. I love and was interested in animals. I was very involved in science and biology. I wanted to be a vet. Yet I never connected the dots about how they live, how they are meant to live and how the animal foods I ate came about. Why is that? And why was none of this ever taught any where? Why are we never educated about the animals that live in closest connection to our lives? If I had known these few things I probably would have made the changes I've made years earlier.

When people get to meet our animals they are often entranced (see our little friend above). They engage with them. Love their unique personalities. They want to know more and are amazed by how they live and how they act. They ask to come back to see them and play with them again.

I know how they feel. Because I'm amazed by them every day.

I think if more people where taught the truth about the animals that we use and how their lives are manipulated and twisted for our own ends and for profit that people would not want to support this. I believe that most people are kind and compassionate. That they don't want baby cows ripped from their mothers, they don't want hens to have their beaks sliced off or male chicks ground up alive because they are "trash". That the abundance of fruits, vegetables, beans and grains available to us is more than we could ever tire of.

And that the joy that comes from knowing we are not causing harm with our food choices brings us an immense satisfaction and sense of peace.

Collaborative Consumption

I'm very much in favor of Collaborative Consumption. I think it helps reduce cost and waste and brings people and, hopefully, communities together.

Part of our goal as "Less Impact Fam(ily)" is to not buy someting if we don't need it and to see if we can borrow or share it as the first option.

Collaborative Consumption Groundswell Video from rachel botsman on Vimeo.

I've seen this coming together happen after a natural disaster. What if it was something that you feel comfortable doing every day?

Grimmy Grimm Grimm

Sorry it's been kind of quiet. Work has me swamped.

In other news, we just found out our Grimmy cat has diabetes. We're trying to learn everything we can and today are going to the vet to be taught how to take her glucose levels and give her insulin shots. This will require lots of changes in the house and even for the other pets as it relates to food and feeding time so we'll see how it goes.

In some cases, cats can balance how and go into remission. We hope this will be the case for Grimmy and that a few months down the road she better.

We love our Grimmy Girl!

Wish us luck!

Waste Not, Want Not

If we're starting with proverbs here, maybe I should say "a stitch in time saves nine" because I think a bit of planning ahead can make the dreaded meal-time debate so much easier.

First off, there are a few things you should be doing to eat well and eat well for the earth. Number one is eat local as much as you can. We love our farmer's market. We can talk to the people, know where the food comes from, ask them questions and minimze waste and packaging. Plus the food is fresher, usually less expensive and in better condition than the majority of what you can get in a grocery store.

Number two is plan your meals for the week. For a number of reasons we've been cutting down on eating out. On Sunday morning we come up with 3 - 4 meal ideas for the week and then go grocery shopping. This gives us options plus it saves us from having the "what do you want for dinner?" debate each night. It helps me when I'm rushing out the door and forgetting about lunch, saves money and cuts down on the number of trips to and from the store during the week. From stir fry to lasagna to pesto-grilled veggie pizzas, each meal is great for dinner with usually enough for lunch or even another dinner.

Number three is freeze! Once we've had our dinner, we freeze the rest of the food into single serving portions. Easy to grab for lunch or dinner, the next day or a few weeks later. This is especially handy if you make a big batch of something and you're getting bored.

If you are eating mainly plant-based (and you should be!) you are bound to end up with lots of veggie scraps - peels, cores, onion skin, etc. But don't toss them in the trash! Food waste is a HUGE issue. One that I can get into later. But let's just take a high level - while plant scraps do break down, they can't break down in a landfill wrapped in a plastic bag. So, what should you be doing to cut down on trash and this problem? Number four is Compost! We have a reclaimed pickle barrel for our composting ($15 vs $100+!) but you can do this on a much smaller scale.

But even before you get to the composting, don't waste those extra veggies or the tops of your fennel or that bunch of greens that you forgot about. Do what we do (number five) - Make vegetable stock.



Making stock from scratch is something I didn't often do until just recently. We would buy the tetra packs of the low sodium vegetable stock and use that then throw away the packaging. In the mean time we were wasting all of these vegetables too. Double waste! How lame is that?

So now we've been making our own stock. It's fun, delicious and we can control the amount of sodium in it, which as you know is always too much in the commercial kinds. And how easy is it to make stock.

Here's what you do:

Vegetables - I like to have at least a few carrots, celery (including the leafy center stalks no one likes), an onion and some garlic. Chop all of these up roughly. You can end there but use what you have. I've thrown in dark leafy greens, scallions, a few bay leaves, some coriander seeds, left over fresh herbs, turnips, corn cobs, etc.

Put some oil in the bottom of a big pot and sautee the hard veggies (carrots, onions, celery, turnips, garlic) . Sprinkle on some salt and fresh ground pepper
and cook until a bit softened. Add in your softer veggies (the greens, herbs, etc.) and pour in enough water to cover everything. I think 8 cups should be the minimum but I used 16 cups last time.

Let this come to a boil and then turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for as long as you want. You can make this in 40 minutes but I like to let mine really cook for a while. After a few hours I turn the heat off and let it come down to room temperature.

To strain it, I put some cheesecloth in my big colander so the stock is pretty clear. And that's it! Ladle it into some containers - I like to do 1 cup and 4 cup containers - and then freeze it. The stock is much more flavorful than the commercial kind. Sometimes I snack on the veggies, puree them up (take out any bay leaves) and use them in sauces or... compost them!