vegansaurus!

Month

July 2010

Make yourself useful, San Francisco!

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What do we love? Animals! What do we want? To keep them from being sold in pet stores in San Francisco! How can we do this? By attending today’s Animal Welfare Commission meeting at 5:30 p.m. in room 408 at City Hall!

The city already prevents selling cats and dogs in stores, but animals like birds have it hard. Last year, Mickaboo took in over 400 birds, “most of which originally came from pet stores,” according to Director Tammy Azzaro. And a lot of them are now exotic parrots like Macaws, African Greys, and some species of Amazon, which are going extinct because people are so crazy about owning pretty birdies.

Go on tonight and support this issue. Thanks to Tammy and Mickaboo for alerting us to it (hence our focus on birds). It doesn’t take much to show up and say, I do not want animals sold in stores in my city, and it means a lot.

Tonight—and you might even be able to do both!—is also the first meeting of the SF Orchards project, supported by TransitionSF. The idea is to plant perennial fruit trees around the city, which sounds so, so great. Fruit trees! Fruit for the citizenry! This first meeting will “create a working group that will assess the available spaces, organizations that need to be onboard, design a plan for planting, caring, and harvesting trees.”

Are you in? You’re in, come on, you big vegan socialist, you. Meet at Café du Soleil at 200 Fillmore St. at 7 p.m.; an RSVP is politely requested. Thanks to Flavorpill for the heads-up.

So what are you going to do, activists? Sit at home in front of all three-and-a-half hours of today’s Tour de France stage? You DVRed that shit, watch it after you’ve been a good citizen! Besides, you already know what all those jerks are going to say, anyway, and would it kill fucking Versus—or professional cycling—to feature women outside of the podium girls? Never mind all that, San Francisco, tonight you’re going to speak against selling animals, and you’re going to help plan urban fruit trees, and we love you for it.

Jul 8, 20104 notes
#events! #activism! #mickaboo bird rescue #sf orchards #transition sf #flavorpill #parrots #pet stores are gross #sf animal welfare commission #urban farms
Recipe: Summertime Corn Pilaf!

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If you are anything like me, people are always inviting you to parties. Oy! But in the summer, getting invited to a party suddenly means you’re supposed to cook something. What the hey?! Outside of Thanksgiving, you don’t have to cook jackshit for parties in the other seasons! Bring some booze and you’re golden. Then summer comes along and POW! Everyone’s a commie! Ever heard of a “summer share?” Exactly.

That’s what the modern barbecue is: watermelon-coated communism. Like the potlatches of the Pacific Northwest, your neighborhood cookout is a redistribution of wealth. I guess they’re also a redistribution of time, or time in the kitchen, that is. Now instead of one miserable person sweating it up over the stove in 90-degree weather, we all have to. Fucking super.

Well have no fear! Megan Rascal is here to show you how to bring down the system from within: Corn and rice pilaf! Cheap, yummy and easy to make, it’s the perfect summer side-dish for any party.

Ingredients:
(serves 4ish)
1 cup rice
1 onion
2 cups corn
1 teaspoon sugar
A shit-ton of salt and pepper… to taste.

Instructions:
Now, loosely defined, pilaf is just rice with something else (I hear there’s also something called “chicken pilaf”—what’s next?! Submarine pilaf?! Ick! Stick with the rice, kids). So make some rice, genius. I can’t help you with this as I’m incompetent when it comes to making rice. It’s my only flaw. I’d say make brown rice but if you’re hanging out with squares (and knowing you, you probably are), maybe you should make white rice.

Next, chop up the onion. In a frying pan with oil, saute the onion for, like, ever. I don’t mind burnt edges myself but if you aren’t into that, stir often. When the onion is soft and cooked, add the corn! This can be canned corn, frozen corn, fresh off the cob, I don’t care. Add the sugar and let the corn and onions cook together for a while. Don’t forget to stir but again, I prefer a little brown on my corn.

Finally, add a bunch of salt and a TON of pepper. That’s what this dish is all about: the sweetness of the corn and onion coupled with the bite of the pepper. And while I don’t care what kind of corn you use, I am a pepper snob. It’s got to be fresh-ground black pepper. Fresh ground, I say! It’s not that much to ask.

Other bonus: this is good warm or cold.

Other things to try:
Add wilted spinach and stewed tomatoes. You can add tomatoes regardless, but the spinach doesn’t work that great without tomatoes.

Use shallots instead of onions. Ballin’!

Add beans, black or kidneys. You know what I always say: no fiber, no party!

Imagine this pilaf alongside some bbq tofu! Too delicious! I know, I’m the man. OK, go forth, make pilaf and be merry.

Jul 7, 20106 notes
#RECIPES! #corn #rice #pilaf #summer #side dishes #commie bastards
Your weekly paranoia

Just in case anyone was feeling complacent, the ACLU is here to remind us that our civil liberties are still (even increasingly) under attack. It’s old news that intelligence and security agencies gather assloads of information about people from the internet, and these agencies are usually interested in racial and religious minorities, political activists (cough cough *green scare* cough), and immigrants; now, the ACLU has helpfully put together a new web resource, the Spy Files, to help keep us up worrying at night.

Terrifying and angering it may be to read, this is important information to have, particularly since, according to the ACLU, 1) it’s not just intelligence and security agencies that are monitoring your info; and 2) they’re not only targeting criminals. This new kind of surveillance is increasingly directed at the general public, and that could mean hard times for both animal rights activists, and vegans and vegetarians generally, whose information could be sifted from the vast pool.

In a political and legal climate where animal rights activists are being thrown in front of grand juries for such dangerous activities as chanting, leafleting, chalking on public sidewalks in front of animal researchers’ homes, and using the internet to conduct research on the activities of the protested company (as was the case with the AETA 4), we all need to be keeping an eye on our rights. Take charge, vegans! Know your rights!

Jul 7, 20104 notes
#know your rights #spy files #paranoia #know your rights #civil rights #aclu #aeta 4
Like unicorns, if we stop believing in the oil spill, maybe it will go away → animals.change.org

Great news! Already tired of looking at depressing photos from the oil spill? Thanks to new regulations from the Coast Guard, you won’t have to for much longer. Soon, getting close enough to photograph the oil spill will be a felony, punishable by a $40,000 fine. Zoe Strauss, you’re on notice.

According to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the Times-Picayune, and several other news sources, the Coast Guard has put new restrictions that prevent the public—including members of the media—from approaching within 65 feet of response vessels or booms on the water or beaches.

And since booms are often placed more than 40 feet from islands or marshlands, this means that photographers, bloggers, reporters, and even volunteers won’t be able to get close enough to oil-drenched wildlife to bear witness. To report. To help.

Violators will face a $40,000 fine and prosecution for a Class D felony.

As always, Change.org has an online petition you can fill out. Or, you know, riot in the streets instead. I’m not choosy.

Jul 6, 201013 notes
#anderson cooper #bp #change.org #cnn #free speech #government #oil spill #the world is fucked
Calling vegan designers, models, and photographers: San Francisco’s first vegan fashion show hits the runway this October!

I think that about says it all! Well, here’s a bit more info if you’re the curious type. If you think you fit the bill, contact event organizer, Karine Brighten. The event will take place at World Veg Festival in Golden Gate Park on October 2 and is emceed by a Skinny Bitch. Fun! Get on it, folks!

Jul 6, 20103 notes
#events #VEGANS UNITE! #karine brighten events #rory freeman #sfvs #world veg fest
Frog dissection? There's, yes, an app for that

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Of all the psyche-scarring high school experiences, from Saturday detention to prom, perhaps the only one that John Hughes failed to prepare me for was the yearly rite of animal dissection. Not to say that I opted out on some principled moral ground; I did, in fact, cut my frog (and earthworm, and rat) [Ed.: and fetal pig] open, with help from a typically unwilling lab partner.

What was the purpose of it all? I had no interest in biology, or medicine, and no Beavis and Butthead inclinations toward all things dead. Had I known then what I know now, I would have skipped the whole exercise.

But science is still important, even the parts we don’t like, so here’s a better option than sitting it out: the first animal dissection simulator for the iPad.

I’d like to see more 3D and better use of multitouch to really make simulated dissection as realistic as possible. But as schools replace textbooks with tablet computers, maybe they’ll go the rest of the way, and replace formaldehyde-soaked animals with software.

[via Gizmodo]

Jul 6, 20103 notes
#apple #dissection #ipad #schools #what we need more of is science
Review: Gardein Trios!

Hello, on-the-go, modern-living human! You desire sustenance, but have only a brief amount of time in which to prepare and devour it! What is the solution to your problem?

WELL. One of those solutions is a Gardein Trio, a new product in the Gardein vegan-meat line that includes vegetables and rice, and is microwavable in three minutes. Here is the one I tried, the Sicilian Trio. I chose this one, because it was the one that was in the Safeway. It cost $4.99,* no tax.

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That’s the “chick’n” at top left, the sauce at bottom left, and the rice on the right.

So to eat this meal, which is located in the refrigerated section of your grocery store’s vegetarian-foods nook, you can either microwave it—which will be, busy person who is probably at work and may even be forced to eat this meal at your desk (which incidentally you shouldn’t, I mean at least take 20 minutes for a walk around the neighborhood), probably your only option—or boil it. Being perverse, I chose the boiling method (I don’t like microwaving plastic), but I assume the results didn’t differ much.

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The rice had a surprisingly good texture; never having eaten boil-in-a-bag rice before, I was expecting “awful,” but it was “pretty good,” so that was nice. The tomato sauce was bland, though sufficient to cover both chick’n and rice. You know how that goes: I may not like it, but by god I better get my fill of it. I feel like I should be embarrassed about that, but, nope. The chick’n was standard Gardein stuff; a bit chewy, but very reminiscent of actual chicken, as I recall. The vegetable stuffing is the best part, absolutely, flavorful and even a touch spicy. Not really spicy, but there is a hint of spice, maybe a single flake of red pepper’s amount. It’s pretty all right.

An omnivore to whom I offered a couple bites said that while the sauce was disappointingly flavorless, the texture of the chick’n was all right, and she would probably eat it again, considering its nutritional value. Considering how carefully she reads labels, that is praise.

As I am not a busy, on-the-go-type person, I have no real need for a quick-prep ready-meal. If I were, I’d consider a Gardein Trio, once in a while. They certainly are convenient, and cost less than a meal out in your standard business district. I’m not going to tell you what to do, obviously. When I worked at an office, I brought leftovers and ate basically the entire day, because of boredom and being kind of disgusting. But if you like a complete, hot meal that you didn’t cook earlier in the week, consider the Gardein Trio. Shoot, consider it for dinner, too; or breakfast. It’s vegan.

*[FTC disclosure: Gardein sent me a coupon for a free Gardein Trio]

Jul 6, 2010
#gardein #reviews #gardein trios #fake meat #lunch #dinner
Adopt-a-Rabbit update!

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Good news, everyone
! Anne reports that the Adopt-a-Rabbit event on Saturday was a great success! All of 14 rabbits found loving homes, including Misses Bijou and Clementine. Isn’t that lovely? And there’ll be another, even bigger bunny adoption event in a few weeks in Richmond, in case you missed this one and need a bun in your life (hint: you do)—we’ll keep you posted with details as they’re finalized. In the meantime, please direct your questions to Anne.

Thanks to everyone who went, and all the people who took home a rabbit. It’s basically your patriotic duty to adopt an animal, so consider yourselves better citizens for it. Or at least better residents, whatever. Love your animal pals, that’s what’s important.

[pictured: Goldie and Kisses, of the Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary]

Jul 4, 20102 notes
#bunnies #east bay spca #house rabbit society #news #rabbits #update #harvest home animal sanctuary
Well I say! It's time for the adorability and tragedy of this week's link-o-rama!

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BUNNIES BUNNIES BUNNIES! Adopt yourself a bunny from the East Bay SPCA—4651 Gleason Dr. in Dublin—at tomorrow’s Adopt-a-Rabbit Day, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.! Five different rescue groups will have rabbits there for you to fall in love with, because rabbits are like cats for a dog-person: they’re super-cute and loving, but also neat and tidy, and they like to have time for themselves, and when they tire of your adoration they will just hop away, but their displays of affection are ridiculously exuberant. You guys if I don’t get to adopt a rabbit soon I WILL EXPLODE WITH YEARNING. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Back to the matter at hand: please contact Anne with questions.

Did you know that Mission Mission features adoptable animals of the SF SPCA every Friday? This week’s future-best-pals are Shortstop and Sassy!

Super-duper vegan-friendly events!
Tomorrow’s Beehive Market is having a free ice cream social, featuring Scream Sorbet and Rocket Ship Vegan Ice Cream! Get over there sometime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. because missing free ice cream would be SO STUPID, goodness.

OK, it’d be cool to miss it if you were attending Animal Place’s Barn Warming, instead! It runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at AP’s new facility (600 acres!) in Grass Valley; you can meet the animals, shop at the Compassionate Marketplace, turn your children—should you have any—loose in the Kids’ Corner, and buy a vegan lunch for $5. You cannot bring your own food or animals, however. Details and driving directions here.

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Hello, Bijou the bunny! What’s that? You’re available for adoption at tomorrow’s Adopt-a-Bunny event at the East Bay SPCA? My word!

Vegan-pertinent articles for perusal
The FDA released a set of guidelines on the use of antibiotics in eatin’ animals this week; unfortunately (and as usual), they’re late to the party, fucking weak, and only offering them for “comment,” anyway, because the FDA is ineffectual. KQED addressed the subject on Forum as well, though the conversation mostly gave me the angries. Do you think, with only four companies controlling THE ENTIRE MEAT MARKET—and becoming bigger conglomerates daily—that they are going to change any of their business practices without being forced?

Well at least the state of Ohio isn’t totally rotten: the Humane Society made a deal with Governor Ted Strickland to implement a number of the demands that were moving toward becoming a ballot measure (like our Prop. 2 in 2008) in November, which HSUS will put on hold while the state phases out veal crates and gestation crates, and bans things like strangling farm animals and transporting downer cows for slaughter. More details here.

What’s new in the ocean (besides the great big fucking oil spill, coverage of which by The Rachel Maddow Show has been quite good, incidentally)? They’ve got magic-science salmon soooo close to FDA approval. These fish have been genetically engineered to “grow to market size in 16 to 18 months” instead of the usual three years! HOORAY! Other magic-science water-breathers include Paul the octopus, who lives in Oberhausen, Germany; described by Der Spiegel as “cuddly,” Paul is nationally adored for his “ability” to “predict” Germany’s World Cup wins. Nothing in that sentence was a lie. Now, would you like to cement your hatred of SeaWorld, and keeping orcas in captivity? Read this article about Tilikum in Outside magazine; it’s unbelievably heartbreaking (also, enraging).

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Clementine, you darling! Are you looking to get adopted as well? Any time between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., at 4651 Gleason Dr. in Dublin? You got it!

It’s summer, and that means composting! Seattle now requires all takeout containers and cutlery to be compostable, and Serious Eats has an at-home composting guide. Seems simple enough, really. Plus it’s good to try to reduce your garbage, considering our obscene carbon footprint.

It’s summer, and that means eating (kidding, every season means eating, duh)! Jeremy Fox will include charcuterie—with an ear- and skin-focus!—with his “plant-based” cuisine at Plum when it opens in September. GROSS and BOO. Spice Kit opened in the FiDi and looks to have decent veg options; Mission Chinese Food is open and is offering (apparently) four vegan options, plus THEY DELIVER, OH MAN; the Village Voice even did a little roundup of delicious NYC-area veg dishes.

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Miss Tisha! Is it true that people can bring their rabbits for introductions to potential new best friends at Adopt-a-Bunny day as well? And the East Bay SPCA is offering free bunny nail trims, too? How wonderful! [all photos courtesy East Bay SPCA]

Hey the Richmond, would you like your own farmer’s market? Richmond District Greens is working hard to set that up—help your neighbors and everyone wins! Fun fact: part of the Richmond used to be known as Beer Town, and it was quite wicked.

Our own Sarah E. Brown was on the radio, discussing veganism, the Tree of Life, the Healing Patch, and your Vegansaurus! We’re the famous-est, you guys.

Jul 2, 20101 note
#agribusiness #antibiotics for animals #bp #cargill #composting #fda #genetically engineered salmon #grist #jbs #killer whales #kqed #link-o-rama #ny times #oil spill #orcas #outside magazine #paul the octopus #rachel maddow #shamu was kidnapped #smithfield foods #tilikum #tom scocca #tyson #village voice #mission chinese food #spice kit #nyc #carbon footprint #farmer's markets #the richmond
Rock on, Magnum: a vegan loves the feedlot

I was recently pointed toward an article by my buddy, Miles; an article by a vegan nutritionist who visits a cattle feedlot—and gives it kind of a rave review. Ulp.

The author is one Ryan Andrews, a vegan nutritionist and former bodybuilder. He claims to have wanted to get a firsthand feedlot experience for a while, having set up his tour only after months of emails and phone calls. Now, I’m no genius, but isn’t that kind of the first tip-off that something shady is going on? I mean, if feedlots were really so awesome, then why does it take months of badgering phone calls to set up a chaperoned visit? If they’ve got such a great thing going, why aren’t they shouting it from the rooftops? Good old-fashioned farmer-folk modesty?

Apparently, yes. At least, if Andrews’ account is to be believed. Andrews’ writing style is straightforward as he recounts his journey to the feedlot, accompanied by an animal science instructor and a student from Colorado State University. He recalls meeting the owner of the feedlot, a kindly looking older man whose experience with Magnum reads like a Real American Success Story. Andrews talks about what a feedlot is and how most of America’s beef comes from them, and he explains the difference between a family farm and a factory farm. By this point, the tone is becoming a little grating, but whatever.

From there, we learn, from a vegan, how nice feedlots are for cows. I wish I were pulling some kind of vegan police crap and exaggerating (you know how us vegans love to jump down each others’ throats for not putting down animal agriculture enough), but Andrews actually, literally describes the Magnum Feedlot as the “Holiday Inn” for cattle. He talks about how it’s nice that the cows have an animal nutritionist come in and take a look at them sometimes and how there’s a “hospital pen” for the sick cows and how gee golly gosh, those cows get better healthcare than most humans! And don’t forget how good the cows’ food is and how clean it is and how progressive and environmentally responsible the owners of the lot are for composting not only the cow manure but also the dead cows (you know, the ones that die naturally of old age on the feed lot—talk about bad timing!) and, and, and…

Honestly, I’m not sure what to think yet. Maybe Ryan Andrews got paid by some beef advocacy group somewhere to write that article, or he’s not all that critical a thinker (or worse, and I’m sorry, he’s not all that bright). Not every vegan I know is a rocket scientist (and I know I ain’t), but I gotta say, if someone were to blow as much smoke up my ass as the Magnum people apparently blew up Andrews’, I’d be a walking chimney, and I’d like to think I’d notice. Andrews’ piece reads like every bit of pro-agribusiness propaganda I’ve come across. The only difference is that this one was written by a vegan, which, I suppose, means it’s more convincing?

Andrews describes the feedlot as a clean, pleasant place where cows are fed an appropriate diet, kept healthy, and don’t have to stand around in their own shit before being whisked off to the slaughterhouse (which would be something like the bovine Motel 6?). He expresses surprise at how much this feedlot differs from the horror shows filmed by animal rights activists. He thinks the life of the cows on the feedlot looks pretty good. Oh, and he ends the piece with, “rock on, Magnum.” Andrews says his article is only meant as an account of one person’s visit to a feedlot, a place most people never get to see, but—especially given that last sentence—I found it hard to read it as anything but a hearty endorsement. Sure, Andrews does note that he continues to be vegan, and that the way someone lives is a more important indicator of their feelings and whatever else than what they may write on their blog. But still, if you’re vegan and believe that using animals for food is wrong, why take the time to praise feedlots?

Now, I don’t like to play Vegan Police. I generally don’t think calling people out for eating honey or being “welfarists” does any good for either veganism or the animals, but reading this piece, I saw the other side of the vegan spectrum—those vegans who are so live-and-let-live that they’re happy to endorse factory feedlots in the name of being “open-minded.” I mean, if we as vegans can’t all get behind the idea that maybe it’s okay to be at least a teensy bit disapproving of feedlots that process 22,000 cows at a time directly into slaughterhouses, then what could possibly be the point? I do understand the need for open-mindedness in the vegan community, and it’s something I try to do myself (for pragmatism if nothing else), but Andrews has gone past the point of pragmatism and squarely into sell-out territory.

When I was in law school, I got to tour an animal research facility. My animal law class was presented with the opportunity to tour the animal research and testing lab at the school, and I decided to go. Unlike Andrews, who makes a point of joking about being careful not to wear his “have you hugged a vegetarian today” shirt, I wore my “legalize animal rights” shirt (for which I got snarked at by the tour leader). I walked through the lab and saw thousands and thousands of rats and mice who were being used in clinical trials and research. The lab was clean. The lab techs were reasonably kind to the animal subjects. The rats and mice received good food and medical attention. But at the end of the line for these animals, like the cows in the feedlot, was wholesale death. Sure, no one was beating the rats and mice. Rat feces wasn’t smeared on the walls. The place smelled vaguely antiseptic. The people who worked there seemed nice enough. I suppose it could have been worse for the thousands and thousands of animals being tested on at that facility, but oh boy could it ever have been better.

Does an animal business really have to be as bad as the PETA horror videos before we will speak out against it? Do the animals have to be unbearably tortured every minute of their lives before we’ll take a stand for them? Is animal agriculture acceptable if the factory/family feedlot is operated by a homey-looking old guy in a plaid shirt? Maybe it makes me a closed-minded vegan dogmatic, but I would say no.

Also check out these other great responses to Andrews’ piece by The Vegan Dietitian and Erik Marcus at Vegan.com.

Jul 2, 20102 notes
#vegan sellouts #magnum feedlot #the vegan dietician #ryan andrews #feedlots #wtf
In which the New York Times Magazine demonstrates they kinda hate vegans, but really love pretentious dudes who put weird shit in ice cream!

The New York Times Magazine printed a 4,000 word advertisement for article about Humphrey Slocombe that included some rather negative/poorly researched Vegansaurus mentions. I know standards for the NYT mag aren’t too high—look at the kind of folks they work with; But still, disappointing. Anyway, I wrote a letter to the editor as a response and am going to publish it in full here because at this moment, I’m righteously indignant and can’t nobody stop me!

Aaaaannnnd so, without further ado:

Dear Editors,
My blog, Vegansaurus, was mentioned several times in Elizabeth Weil’s piece, “I’ll Take a Scoop of Prosciutto, Please” regarding Jake Godby, the proprietor of the alternative ice cream shop “Humphrey Slocombe.” Six paragraphs of the 4,000 word article were devoted to critics of the establishment, Vegansaurus foremost among them.

Intriguingly, although Godby’s opinion of Vegansaurus and the San Francisco vegan community were strongly conveyed, his critics were given no opportunity to respond to his assertions or the distorted history Weil reports as fact. Our review of Humphrey Slocombe was not linked in the article (although the link advertising Humphrey Slocombe demonstrates your content management system has this capability). Nor were any of the editors of Vegansaurus contacted for comment.

Had I been asked for comment, I would have informed Weil that, contrary to her assertion that our website “started” the “conflict” between Godby and the SF vegan community, community protests against Humphrey Slocomb’s indifference to animal welfare pre-dates my post on Vegansaurus. I also would have told her that I intended my review to be a partial defense of the establishment for offering vegan choices. I later amended the review after reader comments cataloged Godby’s history of aggressive antipathy to contentious eaters.

As the article itself notes without comment, Godby leaves meat in a vegan grocery as a form of recreation. Given how the article opts to demonstrate Godby’s distaste for vegans and vegetarians, it seems particularly irresponsible for the reporter to deny his targets an opportunity to offer their perspective.

We would also have been happy to offer our assistance as to the correct use of contemporary media terminology—she describes our website as a “vegan collective,” a term employed nowhere on our site. It’s an odd way to describe a publication, unless one is seeking to subtly discredit its authors by implying they are some sort of subterranean cabal, rather than a group of free-lance writers with a popular website. Would you refer to the the New York Times as a “news collective”?

It is great that she did take the time to meet the folks behind the twitter account Jasper Slobrushe, but couldn’t even take the two minutes to shoot an email our direction.

That at no point neither Weil nor the editors we presume examined this article before it appeared in print or online noted these points seems especially odd, given how many traditional journalists (though, to be fair, I do not know that either Weil nor her editors make this argument) argue that their work has more value that that of many folks who work exclusively online (aka bloggers) because the traditional folks ‘pick up the phone’ or ‘actually get comment from people.’

I am hopeful you can respond to my concerns,
Laura Beck
A Founding Editor
Vegansaurus.com

Jul 2, 20105 notes
#I’ll Take a Scoop of Prosciutto, Please #humphrey slocomble #jasper slobrushe #new york times #nyt #nytimes #nyt magazine #new york times magazine #that's some bullshit! #sf appeal #letters to the editor #Jake Godby #Elizabeth Weil #sf appeal #humphry slocombe
Guest post: a vegan guide to Boston!

So you find yourself in Boston, wandering past the vaguely Irish pubs and seafood restaurants, weaving through Red Sox fans and college students as your stomach cries out in hunger. What is a vegan to do? Fear not—Boston is full of wicked ah-some vegan noms.

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Let’s start off with a kick-ass brunch option. The Otherside Café isn’t all-vegan (too busy being all-hipster), but it can convert almost anything you want into a startlingly huge and awesome veggie delight. There’s a vegan “diner breakfast,” tofu scrambles, and mimosas. Not in the mood for breakfast? 1) What’s wrong with you? And 2) never fear. Otherside has an amazing vegan chili nacho plate–hot, creamy, PG-13 territory. And then the standard wraps and sandwiches, etc. Jon’s Buffalo Tempeh sandwich is the winner here. Otherside isn’t really the place for tons of vegetables, but the fake meats and real beers are plentiful. You’ll feel almost manly until you remember that soy turns you gay.

Speaking of hipsters, let’s hop on our fixies down to Allston aka Brawlston aka Awe-ston aka I made all those names up and if you actually call it that, people will definitely laugh at you or peer with bored disdain over their ironic moustaches. Or they will laugh with you and accept you. Try it out. Anyway, for vegans, this is the place to be.

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If you want something cheap and delicious and maybe need more brunchy options, hit up Allston Café, the artist formerly known as Herrell’s. The breakfast burrito with these nuggets of delight called “tofettes” is great for hungover days. Get the salsa inside and drench it in Tabasco! There are vegan pancakes, tons of vegan cream cheese choices, and vegan muffins of rotating flavors, like French toast–most topped in sugar. Then there are vegan cupcakes, which are basically the same thing as the muffins, but whatever, only one is socially acceptable to have for breakfast and I believe in norms as long as they are egg-and-dairy-free.

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If you have a little more dough, then it’s time for pizza! (Get it? Dough? Pizza? See what I did there?)  Just down the street from Allston Café is Peace O’ Pie, once T.J. Scallywaggle’s. Now it’s run by the Boston Vegan Association, basically. That means their ingredients are no longer wins from dumpster dives, which is either a good or bad thing, depending. Regardless! They are an all-vegan pizza place with rotating specials, great toppings, calzones, and desserts. They are kind of pricey, but definitely worth it. They use Daiya and it melts like the real thing. Putting tempeh on your pizza makes it even cheesier, somehow. Probably magic.

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And now my favorite place ever—Grasshopper. Right next door to Peace O’ Pie, this all vegan Asian heaven houses the most divine, omni-converting dish ever: The No Name. Gluten, deep-fried and covered in sauce. YES. There are tons of other good dishes too, but who cares. I go for this. Oh, and I guess the kale. Their mixed veggies comes with kale! OK and the spring rolls are great, too. And I guess a lot of people rave about the chicken fingers (tofu wrapped in dough and deep fried). But the truly majestic choice is the No Name. And you can have as much of it as you want if you go on buffet night, the third Sunday of every month. BVA meetings mean you have to plan expertly to have seating, especially if you roll with a huge crew of vegans like me, but it’s worth it: you can eat until you’re comatose for $10. Hooray!

So yeah, who needs clam chowdah?

[Thanks to longtime reader, part-time San Franciscan Katie Woods for this guide! Katie attends one of Boston’s many fine institutions of higher learning, where she pursues a BFA and apparently eats like royalty.]

Jul 2, 201016 notes
#guest post #katie woods #boston #otherside cafe #allston #allston cafe #peace o pie #boston vegan association #grasshopper #eating tours
Jul 2, 2010
#sidesaddle kitchen #raw #desserts #product reviews! #order #sf underground market #etsy
Recipe: Supermashedbanana!

(Gustatory) Things to do with an overripe banana: make banana nut bread; make banana split cupcakes from VCTOTW; and now, make a vegan banana-almond smoothie that will blow your socks off in a way that only bananas can.

Supermashedbanana makes two servings

  • 2 mashed bananas
  • 1/2 to 1 cup almond milk
  • 2 Tbsp almond butter
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 to 3 Tbsp coconut milk
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
  • dash of vanilla extract (or scraped beans if ya got ‘em)

Blend everything and serve as you would (serve) revenge.

Jul 1, 20104 notes
#RECIPES! #bananas #supermashedbanana
Play
Jul 1, 201010 notes
#cute animal video, #happy wednesday #turtle #cute as balls #video
Play
Jun 30, 20108 notes
#bp #national wildlife federation #oil is so fucking evil #oil spill #spooky! #advertising

June 2010

Looking good, San Franciscans

Hey sexy people, Stylist.com gave a shout out to San Francisco’s “beauty trends!” Let the excitement begin! I’ll summarize for you because you are lazy and I’m a genius summarizer:
1. Smokey eyes are so totally in.
2. You’re crunchy bastards.

They say vegan makeup is all the rage and that Pin Up Cosmetics is totally the way to go. I had never heard of this Pin Up Cosmetics but they’re vegan and based in San Francisco! Has anyone tried their products before?

They also gave some love to Rainbow Grocery among other places:

If you’re in San Francisco (or you just want to get into natural beauty), stores such as Rainbow Grocery, Whole Foods and The Real Food Company are the hip places to shop for local, fresh and organic beauty products. Come visit!

Congratulations, you guys are grocery hipsters! Yay!

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Jun 30, 20101 note
#rainbow grocery #whole foods #the real food company #beauty #makeup
Why vegans are DOMINATING

With the news of Jessica Simpson becoming vegan [Ed.: lolz!], I want to remind all the vegans out there why we still win in this crazy competition called life.

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To begin: Cesar mother-fucking Chavez. BOOYAH! It makes a million dollars worth of sense to me that Chavez, activist for immigrant labor rights, was vegan, as the meat industry is notorious for abusing immigrant labor.

Chavez strikes a blow to that tired old bullsheezy that veganism is for rich white people. Every time I hear this, I’m like STFU because the first vegans I ever met were Black Panthers. Again I say, BOOYAH.

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Next, Ellen Degeneres! If you don’t like Ellen, you’re totally crazy and most definitely have a heart made of cold hard steel. Ellen is the greatest. Remember when they told her her career would end if she came out? SHUT UP stupid jerks! Ellen came out and she’s taking over the world. If Oprah is the queen, Ellen is the princess and she’s gunning for that throne. Plus, her wifey is hot as all get out.

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Are you ready for my next entry? Leonardo da Vinci! I KNOW, RIGHT? OK, oK, scholars are only sure he was vegetarian but I’m inferring that he didn’t eat milk or eggs because of this:

da Vinci even entertained the notion that taking milk from cows amounts to stealing. Under the heading, “Of the beasts from whom cheese is made,” he answers, “the milk will be taken from the tiny children.”

Now maybe I’m wrong but if history is any indication, I’M ALWAYS RIGHT. And you can’t get better than da Vinci; we could totally beat the non-vegans with him alone! He’s THE MAN.

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On to a modern-day superstar: Russell Simmons! Besides pioneering rap, the most popular music everrrr, did you watch him on the Rev. Run show? He’s SO COOL! Always giving kids good advice and stuff. Plus, another blow to the white vegan stereotype. I would totally marry him if he weren’t so into meditation. Meditation makes me want to stab my eyes out with a broach. Which is to say, it’s kind of boring.

This one totally seals the deal, like no question we’re DOMINATING: Prince! I knowwww, we rule! Prince. PRINCE! I can’t take it. And don’t hate, “Diamonds and Pearls” is my fucking jam.

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Now for the king of all things indie: Jason Schwartzman! I’ve been somewhat obsessed with him since Rushmore. He’s so great! Remember that part, “O R they” bwahahaha! Seriously, I love this guy. One day we’ll meet and he’ll immediately see that we’re perfect for each other. I WOULDN’T MAKE UP A THING LIKE THAT!

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Next: Daryl Hannah! Star of Splash, the best movie ever made! She’s also in 8 mile. Case closed! [Update! Daryl Hannah was not in 8 mile, it was Kim Basinger. Sorry I’m on crack all the time! Just kidding, I’m not sorry. Thanks for the correction Ready4uu78!]

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Last but most hot, Joaquin damn-I’d-tap-that Phoenix! Jeez louise he’s the HOTNESS. I don’t even care about his insane “rap” “career,” I’d bang him, beard and all. I hear he’s also an actor—kudos!

That is all for today, but that’s more than enough to prove we’re winning. I’m totally expecting there to be lots of “she/he’s not vegan!” comments and that’s OK, because the more you know, the more you grow.

Jun 29, 201017 notes
#cesar chaves #daryl hannah #ellen degeneres #famous vegans #jason shwartzman #joaquin phoenix #leonardo da vinci #prince #russell simmons #vegans rule #for reals #megan rascal
More baby sloths!

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Does everyone remember that superfantasticamazing sloth video we posted? Well guess what: there’s more to come! Lucy Cooke, a frog-activist and filmmaker, has gone back to the sloth orphanage in Costa Rica to supply us with more sloth “cute-crack” as she calls it (as “cute imagery really does work like crack by stimulating the reward centre of the brain”). She plans to make more videos but for now, there are some HOLY-CRAP-CUTE pictures! OMG I NEED A SLOTH TO KEEP IN MY POCKET!

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Jun 28, 20109 notes
#BABY ANIMALS OMG WTF #costa rica #lucy cooke #sloths #cute as balls #megan rascal
Jun 28, 20104 notes
#vegan cupcakes ARE taking over the world #vegan cupcakes #bakeries #union square #financial district #desserts
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