vegansaurus!

Top 10 links of the week!: A mad dash with the track team of veganism!  »

Another video sent in by my grandpa! He always finds me the best stuff. I want to meet lil’ gorillas! PS: Can’t see the video? Watch it on Vegansaurus.com!

Does Eating Raw Make You More Spiritual? Our raw correspondant Sarah E. Brown asks!

A Grist writer attacks soy and is super annoying! Like we always say, soy is destroying the rainforest because of THE BEEF INDUSTRY! She even says that—listen to this action: “Many vegetarians turn to soy as a meat substitute, but the soy industry is inextricably linked to meat. Some 80 percent of the conventional soybeans grown in this country end up on factory farms as livestock feed.” Um … makes what sense this does? As my new favorite person J. Kenji López-Alt responds: “Because the rest of the soy is used to feed cows, the soy that I eat is somehow tainted? I mean, water is essential for the manufacture of weapons. Am I being complicit in their construction if I don’t stop drinking it?” Love that guy. 

Some 300,000 farmed salmon disappeared in a storm in Scotland and are prob going to ruin the genetic pool of wild salmon forever. Go pescatarians! 

Chelsea C. alerted me to this story a while ago, what do you think? This artist makes fur stuff out of of roadkill. Chelsea thinks it’s grody to the max but I don’t know if it bothers me. What’s your take? Discussion topic of the week! 

If you want to read something nauseating, than this HuffPo post is for you!: Do Not Compare my Dogs to Pigs. Ever. It’s really just bizarre. She doesn’t say what exactly bothers her about pigs. She does say stuff like this: “If you have the audacity to compare my working dogs to my edible livestock, I have already stopped listening to you.” Edible livestock? What constitutes edible? Are people edible too? Can I just put edible in front of whatever I want? I also like how she has to add that her dogs are “working dogs,” because unemployed dogs are the worst.

Reader Alexis M. sent this link in and had the following comment:

“As a student with a degree in biology from an Ivy League university’s school of agriculture and hands-on experience with dogs and farm animals alike, I am particularly ashamed and upset to see such biologically incorrect statements being perpetuated on the Huffington Post. Culturally it is true that Western values make us see dogs and farm animals as different groups to which we attribute arbitrarily different anthropomorphic characteristics, but such views are solely those perpetuated by the human psyche and not the true biological nature of the beasts at hand. As someone with college training in evolutionary biology and comparative anatomy in particular, such statements that dogs are “better” or more emotionally proficient than pigs reeks of human hubris and an inability to remove oneself from societal influences to see unbiased scientific data. In continuing to perpetuate Western hegemonic values of “speciesm” you further reinforce the fact that we as a society can designate subgroups such as “farm animal” from which to remove rights, emotions, and intelligence, and thus remove the need to provide such subgroups with compassion or justice. I am ashamed that such unabashed cultural biases towards accepting violence and lack of scientific rigor are being displayed on public venue to influence others, but such is the nature of our society, unfortunately.”

Dang! Well said, Alexis!

Over at Crazy Sexy Life, Shell Feijo tells of her experiences with weight and veganism. I can’t believe what some woman said to her! People are whacked. 

Hey, you! Don’t forget to read Laura’s Week in Vegan! And leave her comments so she knows you care!

The Veg Speed Dating blog has an interesting post about masculinity and veganism—does being a veggie male hurt your chances of landing a lady? Tell me!

This Dish is Veg has four reasons why networks should add veg cooking shows! Are there more?

How cool would you be if you could help care for animals in times of disaster? Hint: SO COOL! Guess what, S.F. peeps! You can take Disaster Animal Response Team training!

Lastly, hey guys! If you have any links you think I should share (don’t be bashful with your own stuff!), email me! Otherwise I have to do all the work myself! Bleh. 

Paul Shapiro presents: Animal News You Can Use!  »

It’s Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! Yay!

First, some good news: A bill (H.R. 3798) was introduced in the Congress this week to ban barren battery cages for laying hens, ban starvation molting, require egg producers to label “eggs from caged hens” on their cartons, and more.  You can see a joint statement from major animal protection organizations on why they support this bill, and a joint statement from nearly all of the agribusiness trade groups on why they oppose it. Who would you side with?

I was on NPR’s All Things Considered yesterday talking about the above effort to help laying hens. Check it out.

Some bad news: The U.S. Supreme Court this week struck down portions of a law passed in California shortly after HSUS’s landmark Hallmark/Westland slaughter plant investigation (which led to the largest meat recall in U.S. history). While federal regulations still prohibit the slaughter of adult downer cattle for human consumption, the parts of California’s law prohibiting slaughtering other downer animals are no longer in effect.

Back to good news: Get a coffin, since Florida’s “ag-gag” legislation is now officially dead. However, Iowa is still debating its whistle-blower suppression bill, and similar bills are still pending in other states.

Time has a compelling online video about undercover investigations and these ag-gag bills that you won’t want to miss.

Video of the week: Ever try to teach a pig to sit? Here you go.

To be a healthy vegan, focus on…wait for it…health!  »

Laura has already registered her disappointment (OK, rage) at the new ad campaign from PCRM, which employs fat-shaming as a means to scare people off cheese. This campaign ignores all the good reasons why we should skip cheese—its production involves animal cruelty, eating it is not particularly good for us—and instead goes for a cheap shot at chubby thighs.

The awesome Ginny Messina already addressed why going vegan only to get skinny is likely to lead to disappointment, but she’s followed up with an article that I think is also worth mentioning here. Messina’s post for One Green Planet, The 7 Habits of Healthy Vegans, does a great job of focusing on vegan health regardless of size. Her suggestions apply to everyone—we could all be a bit healthier by eating legumes more often, choosing whole grains, and loading up on veggies. 

I actually did lose weight when I became vegetarian, and I also lost weight when I had to give up gluten. I didn’t lose any extra when I went vegan, but I had already changed my diet pretty drastically by then. Everyone is different. And I have no problem acknowledging that fitting into smaller pants felt great, but I could have gotten there a variety of ways; knowing that I was living my life according to my values and ethics has always felt better than skinny jeans. If you initially go vegan to lose weight and end up loving the lifestyle and learning more about how awesome it is, fabulous. But if your end goal is just a number on a scale, and you’re ignoring everything else that helps to keep us healthy and happy—mental health is part of that, too—then you’re not going to do well, no matter what your diet looks like.

Terri Coles lives in Toronto, where she enjoys barbecuing, feeding feral cats, going to local music shows and getting really mad about hockey games. She blogs about her adventures in plant-based eating at The Vegina Monologues. We edit out all her extra vowels.

[photo by slightlypale via Flickr]

Chef Chloe to bring new cookbook, snacks to SF!  »

Have you ever desired perfect skin, long, shiny hair, the cupcake prowess of an international superstar, and earrings long enough to catch fish? Well, you can’t have these things, because chef Chloe Coscarelli already probably has a patent on them or something. And if she doesn’t, she should really get on that, because she is so damn cute!

Anyway, the winner of Food Network’s first Cupcake Wars (is anyone else sick of shows with “Wars” in the title? Give Cupcake Peace a chance) is coming to Omnivore Books on Food in San Francisco on Monday, Mar. 12, from 6 to 7 p.m., to debut her first cookbook, Chloe’s Kitchen! Chloe is gonna talk at us about vegan cooking and her book. She’s gonna have a Q&A. She’s gonna sign copies of her book. AND she’s gonna stuff our faces full of treats. SHE’S GONNA DO IT ALL, folks!

I’ve been told the book features recipes for spaghetti “carbonara,” stroganoff with mushrooms, polenta cutlets, and her prize-winning cupcakes. I want to get really fat eating nothing but food made by Chloe Coscarelli, constantly, in some kind of dream IV tube that somehow also goes through my mouth.

I spy with my little eye: PIG BLOOD DRAINING INTO A RIVER!  »

Do you know what this is? It’s PIG BLOOD in the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas. Pig blood from a slaughterhouse/meatpacking plant that is draining INTO the RIVER! Do your eyes and heart feel assaulted? I know mine do!

According to Consumerist, “an amateur drone pilot in Texas was flying a simple rig with a point and shoot camera attached for fun” when he noticed something amiss in a creek. FUN OVER. He notified the county, and a Department of Human Services investigation concluded that the discoloration WAS RAW PIG BLOOD! From an illegally placed pipe leading into the RIVER! Oh humanity, you get me every time! The government will not comment on what kind of legal action is in store for the perpetrator.

Actually my faith in humanity was somewhat restored after I read the comments from this article. Usually when it comes to these kinds of stories, the comments section makes me want to throw myself out a window.

[Picture via Consumerist. I definitely did not photoshop it, as I have no idea how to do that!]

How-to, yo: Roast asparagus!   »

“What’s on that asparagus?” my roommate Dan asked me.
“Why?! IS IT THE BEST ASPARAGUS YOU’VE EVER HAD IN YOUR LIFE??”
“Yes. It’s really fucking good.”

This conversation happened. It happened 30 seconds ago. You see, I’m trying muster up the energy to write about my trip The Detox Market, which is the cutest vegan specialty shop in San Francisco, but I am so very tired. You feel me, right? So I’m going to share my dinner instead and also teach you how to roast the best asparagus of Dan’s YOUR LIFE. (Think you have a better recipe? Share the love in the comments! I want to know!)

My other roommate Crystal was the one who introduced me to roasting asparagus. I had always steamed it before. BORING!

Here’s the lowdown:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Wash your asparagus (I used a little over a pound of it). Snap off the ends. I forgot to do this (so very tired tonight) and it’s important because the ends are so tough you won’t be able to chew threw them. I had to cut off all the ends after they were roasted! LAME!
3. Lightly coat a baking sheet with oil. I used vegetable, but olive oil would probably be ideal. Place asparagus on baking sheet and lightly drizzle with more oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (garlic salt or powder would be delicious as well!) and then squeeze the juice of one lemon over the stalks.
4. Place in oven and roast until fork tender!
5. Serve to all your roommates, the friend you invited over, and yourself. You will be the most loved person ever.

(Also pictured is my cheesy eggplant casserole! Changes I made to the original casserole recipe posted include using Daiya cheese instead of Italian-style cashew cheese or tofu ricotta, and substituting kale for spinach. Next time I think I’m going to use kale AND spinach! Leafy greens galore!)


It’s not hard for me to get people to come over to dinner at my pad! Plus I’m ALL my roommates’ favorite roommate. Just kidding! We all love each other equally!

Why aren’t there [reliably] vegan Girl Scout Cookies?  »

‘Tis the season when we send adorable little female children out onto the streets to hawk grease-bombs. Once upon a time I was a wee girl scout, bugging my mom’s coworkers in order to earn the fuzzy stuffed tiger you could get for selling enough cookies. 

No more! Turns out the best antidote to falling prey to the vixens with their overpriced sweets is a commitment to an ethical diet. Because depending on where you live, it’s quite possible there’s not a single GS cookie flavor that’s vegan! Not one! 

The situation is pretty complicated. Troops can get their cookies from one of two bakeries. One of the bakeries, Little Brownie Bakers, is easy to hate because they put milk in EVERYTHING. The other, ABC Bakers, actually has quite a few vegan cookies (Shout Outs!, Lemonades, Peanut Butter Patties, Thanks-A-Lot, even Thin Mints!). Depending on where you live, the girls may be peddling a decent vegan selection, or they may look at you like you’re insane if you ask for such a thing. (Here’s the nutrition info for cookies, FYI.)

I’m calling bullshit. Why should I have to work so hard to decipher this shit? Why are Little Brownie Bakers so much lamer than ABC?

Seems like there are two things to do: 

1. Bug the National Girl Scouts to make more cookie vegan. You can copy the letter I sent them if you want to be lazy (of course you do!), it’s at the bottom of the post.
2. Talk to your local Girl Scouts about making sure they get their cookies from ABC. Find their contact info here.

In the meantime, guess those of us unlucky enough to live in Little Brownie Baker territory have to just make our own Thin Mints. Who’s mailing them to me?

Stolen and abused dog Toto still needs funds for surgery!  »

I checked in with the SF SPCA to see how the money-raising was going for Toto, and they still have $730 more to go! And they need it before Feb. 10th! They also said, “Toto is doing well! Yvette, his owner, says he was pretty tired last week after the vet appointment, but seems a lot better now… ‘more pep in his step.’ She’s getting him a lot of new toys to encourage him to keep playing and be active.”

If you don’t remember what happened, here’s the story from Rachel’s previous post:

Toto the dog got kidnapped and tortured, ARG. Why are people such evil bastards?

But now the SF SPCA is taking care of him and they need your help to raise $5000 by February 10th to pay for his surgeries!

Here’s the story, according to the SPCA:

“Toto is a 12-year-old Yorkie who was stolen from his fenced-in yard. Eight months later he was returned to his owner’s doorstep, in a crate, with multiple injuries including missing front teeth and a missing left eye. His owner rushed him to a vet hospital but couldn’t afford the necessary medical procedures. Toto is now receiving care at the SF SPCA Veterinary Hospital.”

To help, click here, or make a $10 donation by texting “SPCA” to 27722.

If you don’t have the cash, you could help by spreading the word to the rich people who do, especially the 1%, they all love tiny dogs, right? Go Toto go!

So if you can, please help Toto! This is such a terrible thing to happen. Maybe we can offset it by being the best support community ever.