vegansaurus!

In L.A., there’s really just one choice when it comes to 100 percent vegan tattoo joints. I came across a couple of artists that could use vegan inks, but James Spooner of Monocle Tattoo was the only one who would be using vegan-friendly soaps and aftercare, and, as far as I could tell, the only vegan himself. I remember either an old Quarry Girl post or tweet or something regarding Spooner a couple of years back, so when my own research came back to him, I shot him an email (or nine) with some basic questions. He was extremely helpful and informative, and once I met him in person and he was as excited, if not more, than I was regarding my idea. I knew it was a match. Plus the “Vegan Tattoos Don’t Hurt (Animals)” framed artwork in his shop warmed my heart more than standard adjectives can delineate.

I was ridiculously impressed on Spooner’s ability to put his art on paper based off of my descriptions. He sent me a drawing and the next day it was on my arm, permanently. I’ve never been as excited as I was, still am, about this tattoo. I have many more sessions left to fill in and have it colored, which I feel like a kid on Christmas morning in anticipation. This was my first tattoo but Spooner made it feel like I’ve been there before, and even after 3+ hours on the “table” (it was actually a chair) I was never uncomfortable (other than the needles-into-the-arm part.)

Southern Californian vegans would be making a mistake if they went elsewhere. And if you get a non-vegan tattoo because you like the artist’s work, it’s the same as eating a non-vegan pizza because you like the taste. Ya dig? If you want more information on vegan tattoos or if you’re serious about getting something done, for the first time or 100th time, hit him up. Tell him Vegansaurus sent you. 

Andrew E. Irons is a blogger from Long Beach, California.  He co-created and contributes to a Rhode Island based Hip-Hop website, The Echo Chamber Blog, under the pseudonym Verbal Spacey. You can track his daily diatribes by following him on Twitter.

Review time! Have you heard the news? Upton’s made a seitan bacon! My general rule on vegan bacon is pass the vegan breakfast sausage but I hear so many good things about Upton’s in general, I thought I’d give it a shot!

I was not disappointed! Of course it’s not exactly like bacon (um, thank god), but it has a good bacon-y flavor for sure. The texture isn’t chewy and crispy like bacon though, but still good. I think it would be better for eating in a BLT or something rather than straight but it was enjoyable off the stove all by itself. Damn, I kind of really want a bacon-avocado sandwich right now! I don’t have any avocados! Will my sandwish ever come true? Stay tuned. 

Jon Stewart may not be on the Daily Show right now, but the ag-gag debate is! Watch this week’s must-watch hysterical segment featuring a former HSUS investigator pitted against the Animal Ag Alliance. You be the judge of who won.

“A tough opponent,” “formidable,” and “sophisticated.” In the rare chance you weren’t able to attend the World Pork Expo in Iowa this week, these are just some of the ways the meat industry is describing HSUS there. We’ll take it.

NPR asked the question last night, “Why is Bill Gates investing in chicken-less eggs?” Want to know? Check out yesterday’s “All Things Considered” great feature on Hampton Creek Foods.

The upcoming week is a major one in Congress, with the House set to take up the five-year farm bill, including consideration of a Farm Bureau-backed nefarious provision intended to harm farm animals, and the federal hen protection bill (which the Farm Bureau and nearly every national meat trade group opposes). Contact your member of Congress now!

P.S. Video of the week: Dogs vs. citrus …

Back when I was part of a raw food group out in the middle-of-nowhere Arizona desert, I learned that offering up a maca-laden smoothie was the most expedient and reliable way to getting into another raw foodist’s unisex hemp kilt. To be fair, maca’s aphrodisiac effects may be placebo in nature and we were all pretty bored out there, but the stuff still tastes amazing and has other great nutritional properties!

I didn’t know this, but a lot of people say maca is good for your stamina, hormones, energy levels, memory, and even your immune system and fertility! Zing! I recently tried a complimentary batch of Sacha Vida’s new gelatinized maca, which, despite the ground-dead-animal-hoof connotations of its name, is completely vegan! “Gelatinized” refers to the process the maca undergoes to remove the hard-to-digest starches, making it smooth smoothie sailing!

Highly delicious, no tummy problems to report, and I’m now ready for some kilt-jumping. Who’s with me?

Right now, Vegansaurus readers receive 30 percent off all products on Sacha Vida’s website by using the coupon code “vegansaurus”. Get on it, y’all!

quarrygirl:

you’re probably already familiar with teenage baking sensation clara polito, who owns and operates her own vegan business in los angeles called clara’s cakes…after all we’ve posted two recipe videos with her in the past. clara went vegan at the age of 12, and frustrated with the animal-free dessert options in her area, she decided to learn how to make her own treats. four years later, she’s got her own bakery with a menu that wows all kinds of eaters. in today’s video, we sat down with clara at her home in LA and learned about her most delicious creations and why she went vegan in the first place.

to learn where you can find clara’s cakes in LA, check out her website, twitter feed, and facebook page. i know that right now, you can find her cupcakes at pizzanista which happens to make the best vegan pizza in town. so go get ‘em.

QG does it again! Laura’s in LA now and if she isn’t following quarrygirl’s exhaustive guides to the vegan shangri-la that is the city of angels, she’s not doing it right. Same goes for anyone else in SoCal.

Read Jasmine’s story on HuffPo

This is wonderful news. NYC is starting a pilot program to let domestic violence survivors and their pets stay in a shelter together. As I’ve read many times, whether they are trying to defend their owner from the abuser or just abused to hurt or manipulate the owner, pets are very often co-victims in domestic violence situations. So much so that many victims of domestic violence will stay in the abusive situation for fear of what would happen to their pet. 

The program is a partnership between the Urban Research Institute and the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals. 

National data show that more than 40% of domestic violence victims stay in abusive situations out of fear of what would happen if they left their pets behind. Plus, more than 70% of pet owners who enter shelter report that the abuser has threatened, injured or killed family pets.(*) Yet in New York City—the largest provider of domestic violence services in the country with more than 50 shelters—not one shelter currently allows pets in residence, until now.

URI is filling this critical gap by becoming the first organization in New York City—and one of few nationwide—to welcome pets into domestic violence shelters. The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals will be working closely with URI to provide staff training, pet safety education, pet food and supplies, and foster solutions for any pets PALS may be unable to accommodate.

Right now the program is only accepting cats and small animals like hamsters but they also work to find foster homes for other animals (here’s a great example about a cute pup who was fostered until his family found a safe situation). 

The Mayor’s Alliance has more info about families with pets in crisis situations.

Can’t see the video? Watch it on Vegansaurus.com!

Here is a cute video to remind you that people can be good and nice to animals! But how did they ALL get down there? 

I love the end, they can’t get back to mama fast enough.

Huge news this week: The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education voted 4-1 to enact an exclusively vegetarian Meatless Monday policy at all K-8 schools in the district. Unsurprisingly, this was to the chagrin of the Animal Ag Alliance, which waged a losing campaign to defeat the measure.

If you liked that, you may also be impressed that Canada is poised to pass a national regulation curbing gestation crate use.

I’ve got a new piece on HuffPost about the increasing number of folks even within the ag industry who are starting to second-guess their ag-gag strategy. Feel free to leave a comment.

A number of papers, such as the Bakersfield Californian, are editorializing against Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) nefarious attempt in the Farm Bill to erase numerous laws we’ve passed to protect farm animals. Meanwhile, King and his allies in the meat industry are also trying to kill federal legislation to ban barren battery cages for laying hens.

Finally, this week, a major story got a lot of media play announcing extensive new research showing that vegetarian diets are linked to longer lives. In that vein, influential UK members of Parliament are urging Britons to eat less meat as a way to increase food security.

P.S. Video of the week: HSUS’s future CEO?

P.P.S. Live in SoCal? Hope to see you at veg appetit next week!

[co-signed by Meave; they are AMAZING]

MooShoes and Raven + CrowStudio are running an Instagram contest that ends this Friday. They’re giving away a $50 MooShoes gift card to the person who submits the cutest awesomest photo of their companion animal and their favorite MooShoes purchase.

This is my entry of Mitsy and my super cute grey boots I got a MooShoes like 80 years ago. This is an old pic, the boots have since died. Mitsy is chilling though! Bad ass as ever.

To enter, post your pic on instagram with #mooshoescontest hashtagged and @mooshoes_nyc and @ravenandcrow tagged.

More info can be found on the Instagram post and their blog.

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

This year’s ag-gag fight has been a bruising one for the animal ag industry, with every single bill so far introduced failing, while generating enormous negative media attention for animal agribusiness. It’s gotten so bad that one dairy industry spokesperson just published a column with a revealing title: “Ag-gag bills do more harm than good.”

Speaking of ag-gag bills, what’s likely to be the final battle on this in 2013 is in full force. North Carolina had a hearing on its ag-gag bill this week, and you can watch HSUS’s TV commercial that we’re running across the state. The Fayetteville Observer—the hometown newspaper of the state Senator sponsoring the bill—condemned this ag-gag effort, summing it up well: “We hope [Sen. Wesley] Meredith will let this dreadful legislation die humanely in committee.”

NBC had a fascinating feature on a company making in vitro leather, calling it “The Company Leading the Future of Farming.”

Finally, here’s a very potent new TED talk by a former wildlife poacher turned vegetarian animal advocate.

P.S. Video of the week: Pig platform on which goats can play!

This video was making the rounds last week and I finally watched it—yeah, it’s pretty amazing. Give it a watch. This kid is awesome.