Year-End Donations for Animals

Not sure what organizations to include in your year-end giving? Farm Sanctuary provides quality of life to those animals who would otherwise be forgotten. They’re currently running a campaign to save two calves. View the story from Farm Sanctuary now.

Vegan Thai Food: Pad See Ew

Dining Out Vegan

When it’s time to treat myself to an oily, delicious plate of food, my staple is the Thai favorite, Pad See Ew. Traditionally, this dish is prepared with flat, wide rice noodles, egg, Chinese broccoli, fish sauce, soy sauce, and choice of shrimp or meat. However, most Thai restaurants are willing to easily swap out some ingredients to make the dish vegan. When ordering, I usually inform the person with whom I’m speaking that I can’t eat fish or oyster sauces and ask if the kitchen can prepare it without. After this is accomplished, I ask if the kitchen can add tofu and no egg. This has been the most successful way for me to order. Beware, the more well-known Pad Thai noodle dish is much more difficult to prepare without fish sauce, so I tend to stay away from this unless at an exclusively vegan restaurant.

I just had an excellent plate of Pad See Ew from Nud Pob on the Boston University campus. The staff is friendly and always honest about ingredients.

Ringling Bros. Circus: A Place for Cruelty

The USDA just fined Feld Entertainment $270,000 for Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations. This is the largest fine given in the AWA’s four-decade history. Mother Jones recently exposed this cruel industry. Circuses are one of the cruelest forms of “entertainment” out there. Read the full Mother Jones article now.

I Adopted a Turkey.

Payton the Turkey

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my family, friends, and my pets… I am all-around fortunate for the life I live.

All creatures deserve to live their lives without being constrained in cages, riddled with disease, or tortured en masse. Whether furry or feathered, animals deserve freedom from factory farms. That’s why this Thanksgiving, I adopted a turkey.

You can promote compassion and help prevent cruelty to farm animals too by supporting Farm Sanctuary, a great organization with locations in New York and California.

Easy Vegan Vegetable Soup

What’s a vegan who doesn’t know how to cook to do?

Between work and grad school it’s hard to find the time to prepare a home-cooked meal…Who am I kidding? The truth is I hate cooking. My attempts at it are mostly futile. However, it is possible to eat a healthy vegan diet without being a gourmet chef. I specialize in any recipe that requires throwing a random mix of ingredients into a pot to boil. That’s why autumn is such a great season for me – it’s time for soups and stews! No skills required and minimal clean-up afterward. Plus, soups are packed with nutrients and low in calories.

My favorite fall/winter soup concoction requires only a few key ingredients. Use a lot or a little of each – it comes out good any way.

1. 4 cups Water
2. 2 Rapunzel Vegan Bouillon Cubes
3. 1 large sliced Parsnip
4. 1 cup sliced button mushrooms
5. 1/2 Chopped onion
6. 3 sliced Carrots
7. 3 cloves Chopped Garlic
8. Any other leftover fresh or frozen veggies in your fridge!

Instructions: Put in pot and boil for 20 minutes.

Voilà! Serve over brown rice noodles (my new favorite thing), brown rice, whole grain pasta or wheat berries.

Vegan Thanksgiving

It’s that time again… The air is crisp, the leaves have changed and the family will soon be gathering around the table to feast and give thanks. This year, take a moment to consider our animal friends when planning your menu – give vegan Thanksgiving a try!

There are plenty of excellent recipes and substitutions out there. If you’re unsure of where to start, prepackaged foods are available.

Vegan Thanksgiving Must-Haves:

Vegan Stuffing

No need to stuff the turkey. The stovetop version is even more delicious! Try the 365 Everyday Value Vegan Stuffing from Whole Foods. Add sauteed mushrooms when preparing for even more flavor.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Try Wholly Wholesome vegan pumpkin pie. The pies come frozen, but taste homemade. Top off a warm piece with some vegan rice whip.

Tofurkey

Pardon a turkey this year. Nowadays, you can locate Tofurkey in your local grocer’s freezer section. This main course is sure to please.

Top 5 Vegetarian Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

There are times when one may be questioned on his or her decision to live a life of compassion. If ever you find yourself at a loss for words, try drawing inspiration from these memorable and meaningful quotations.

1. Leo Tolstoy:
   “A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.”

2. Albert Einstein:
   “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

3. Paul McCartney:
   “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.”

4. Ralph Waldo Emerson:
   “You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity.”

5. Jonathan Safran Foer:
   “If contributing to the suffering of billions of animals that live miserable lives and (quite often) die in horrific ways isn’t motivating, what would be? If being the number one contributor to the most serious threat facing the planet (global warming) isn’t enough, what is? And if you are tempted to put off these questions of conscience, to say not now, then when?”
   

Ohio Exotic Animal Tragedy

Photo: AP

The forced slaughter of innocent, exotic animals: It’s up to us to prevent this from happening again.

The image of dozens of exotic animal corpses splayed across a field in Zanesville, OH, is not one that will soon leave my mind. Photos of this tragedy spanned the Internet this week, and the public’s outrage is clear. At this point in time, I only hope that this outrage is not soon lost. Now is the time for people to take the opportunity to contact Ohio officials and other state governments around the country, so that this does not happen again. Start by contacting the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to share your feelings about their lax exotic animal laws.

Find out where your state stands on laws relating to the private possession of exotic animals.

Originally Published: Friday, October 21, 2011

Foie Gras Cruelty

“Is foie gras cruel?”

Conduct a Google image search for the term “Foie Gras” and the top two rows of results will display just as many images of pate elegantly placed upon a gleaming white plate as they will images of insufferable cruelty against the animals from which this so-called “delicacy” is harvested.

Foie gras (literally translated from French to English as the “fatty liver”), is the result of force-feeding ducks and geese through long metal pipes, which are violently shoved down their throats, causing their livers to expand and rendering them immobile. Not to worry, because only 12-18 days after this process, the birds are slaughtered and their fatty livers served up for the enjoyment of restaurant diners across the world. What’s poor quality of life if only momentary?

Foie gras has caused much controversy and is back in the news again. This time in today’s edition of The New York Times. The article, “In California, Going All Out to Bid Adieu to Foie Gras,” reminds readers that in eight months, the sale of foie gras in California will become illegal. This law was voted into place by the majority of the state’s citizens. In backlash to the law, a group of chefs and restauranteurs recently hosted a dinner in which all eight courses contained foie gras.

The author of the The New York Times article attempts to share both sides of the foie gras controversy, but fails when he ends up comparing the impending foie gras ban to the Prohibition era. This is an unfair comparison as the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s had nothing to do with the unnatural suffering inflicted by humans on other living creatures — completely different controversy.

People who see no wrong in the production of foie gras argue that the birds like to be fed.  While many disagree, this is beyond the point.  Regardless of whether or not the birds approach the feeders for food, the end result is that their bodies become deformed to the point of incapacitation.

Proponents of foie gras production also see a slippery slope in regard to being told what they can and cannot eat.  This is also beyond the point. Many meat eaters today would agree that factory farms are inhumane, and are in support of more humane farming.  There should be no fear here on the part of carnivorous diners that ending the abuse of animals on foie gras farms will instantly dictate that they no longer eat meat. It is simply a step toward a more humane culture.

Foie gras, which was originally a French delicacy, is a big part of some European cultures. Yet, the sale of foie gras has been banned in over a dozen European countries. Why? Because it is cruel. The fact is that, in addition to the suffering that occurs when a bird’s liver expands to 10 times its body weight, birds on foie gras farms are crammed into small cages and often have their throats punctured during the force-feeding process.

If foie gras has been banned in many European countries for its unequivocal cruelty, then why not in the US?  Still unsure as to whether your state should partake in the sale of this unnecessary item? Watch this video and decide for yourself:

Sir Roger Moore (aka James Bond) narrates the Animal Protection & Rescue League’s animal cruelty investigation of the “foie gras” industry in the U.S. and in France. For more information and to get involved, visit www.StopForceFeeding.com.

Originally Published: Sunday, October 16, 2011

Top 5 Places to Shop for Vegan Shoes

Ava Pump from Novacas

Shopping for cruelty-free shoes is one of the biggest challenges a vegan faces. In the past, one could easily find non-leather shoes at stores such as Payless, but these products were often of low quality — not to mention uncomfortable! Happily, this is beginning to change as veganism becomes more prominent in today’s culture. After years of searching, I’m happy to share the best places to shop for vegan shoes:

5. Target

While not exclusively vegan, Target offers quite a few non-leather shoes, including work shoes, sandals and some great fall boots. Target is a useful option for vegans because of its accessibility. In addition, Target’s One Star brand has a line of purses which are most often vegan. All materials are listed on the tag inside the purse.

4. Alternative Outfitters

This online shop sells a variety of vegan shoes. In addition to vegan shoes, this online shop sells vegan bags, jackets and accessories. Visit Alternative Outfitters for hip, youthful vegan style.

3. Zappos

Everyone’s favorite online shoe store caters to vegans! That’s right, Zappos allows shoppers the ability to search by category, and one of those categories is “vegan.” Zappos will sort through all the name brands it carries and provide you with the non-leather, non-wool options.

2. Sudo Shoes

“Walk with principle.” That’s the motto of Sudo Shoes, located on Mass Ave. in Cambridge, MA, right outside of Boston. The store offers a variety of exclusively vegan brands. Right now the store is local, but the company plans on starting an online store very soon.

1. Moo Shoes

All the style you’d expect from a Manhattan-based shoe shop — minus the all the leather! Moo Shoes is one of the first shoe stores that catered to vegans. Moo Shoes makes its hip New York offerings available online for all.

Originally Published: Monday, October 10, 2011