vegansaurus!
04/11/2013
Discussion: Failed vegan experiments don’t have to be total failures »
I know, I know, we’ve already asked this a million times, but reading the banally sad summary of Grist’s four-writer, 30-day vegan challenge, I have to conclude that either a vegan diet isn’t for everyone. Why it isn’t for everyone is debatable—not knowing the benefits? Not caring? (Not able?)
Regardless, it seems pretty clear that until global warming forces the rest of the world to go animal-product-free because we no longer have the resources to keep animals for food, vegan diets will be the domain of we few. But the way I think of it is, for every “How do you know if someone is vegan? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you” joke, there’s another tofu scramble option at a café. People may not be going vegan forever, but they’re trying it out for a meal, or a month. And that’s not nothing. People know we’re here and that we want almond milk in our coffee, and we’re going to keep asking for it until we get it—or patronize the places that have it. Bring on the vegan challenges; maybe they won’t turn most participants vegan, but most of them will learn something.
Unless you’d rather not see them at all, because “I didn’t want to be rude” is the stupidest answer when the question is “Do you want this hunk of dead animal (whose entire life and death is a testament to humanity’s utter disregard for the earth and its inhabitants)?”
[Photo by Jamie McCaffrey via Flickr]
∞ posted at 06:00 by seriousmeaveness 
10/22/2012
Moses, baby orphaned elephant, is the cutest »
This is Moses. He has a blog. Because he needs one. You would need one too if you were the cutest lil’ ele ever!*
A very sickly baby Moses was discovered by a river in Malawi. When his mama couldn’t be found (possibly killed by poachers), he was taken in by Jenny Webb of the Jumbo Foundation. Webb is acting as the little guy’s mother until he’s old enough to head out for life on the reserve with his kin.
Moses gets along great with his current rag tag clan of animals—including Webb’s human baby. Moses is sure to supervise her baths.
So how much do you want a baby elephant now? Like, so much, right? I guess we have to hang out by rivers in Malawi? I have some vacation days I have to use up. But I think elephants stay with their mothers for like 10 years or so. That’s a commitment. A gazillion pound commitment. In college, I wanted to take guitar lessons but I totally took flute lessons instead because it was the easiest instrument to carry around campus. An elephant is a lot more cumbersome than a guitar. Sigh. I fear I may never mother an ele.
*Or a highly opinionated gang of vegans
∞ posted at 13:25 by youtalkfunny 
05/14/2012
According to Grist, when “elephant whisperer” Lawrence Anthony died in March, two herds of his elephant friends came to his house to stand vigil:
Anthony had spent time living with the elephants, in order to care for traumatized animals who were considered violent and unruly. But at the time of his death, of a heart attack, Anthony was living in a house on the Thula Thula game reserve in South Africa. The park’s elephants hadn’t visited the house in a year and a half, but Anthony’s son Dylan says that the herds traveled 12 hours to arrive shortly after his father’s death.
Read more on Grist. Or just cry and wish you knew some eles. That’s my plan.
∞ posted at 11:29 by youtalkfunny
02/24/2012
Top 10 links of the week: a hopscotch game through the playground of veganism! »
Your cute pet video of the week! I just love how intense the kitty is. Like, so intense.
File under things that are actually a big deal—Livestock, antibiotics and superbugs: IT’S ALL TRUE! Original story in NPR but Grist has a great discussion of it.
Philly.com has a message for you: not all vegans are white! I really never got this stereotype, maybe because I’m from Philadelphia and the first vegans I ever knew were Black Panthers. Of course, it makes sense if there are more white vegans in the US than other ethnicities because there are more white people in the US than other ethnicities. Bonus: the piece features Vegan Mainstream’s mom!
New Yorkers, take the A/C to Nostrand Avenue and get ready for an affordable fake meat extravaganza! One of Vegansaurus’ very favorite sites, Broke-Ass Stuart, is here to guide you through this reasonably-priced TVP adventure!
You’ve probably heard, but in case you haven’t, Mary Kay and some other brands have started animal testing again. Good idea? People are more aware of the cruelty-free label then ever. I hope this tanks them.
From Scientific America, a dingo named Sterling used a table to steal name tags. He’s at some kind of “Centre” that I don’t know about but still, animals are supre cool.
From Treehugger: Global warming could give rise to miniature animals. I am trying SO HARD not to be excited. I’m not, I swear.
A New York Times blog writes about Blossom’s new bakery in Manhattan!
National Geographic presents the “Rhino Wars” in pictures. Pretty sad stuff. Poor rhinos.
Fit Sugar has the lowdown on the top vegan protein sources. It’s a very short list. But I like to see us in the mainstream!
Vanity Fair has an interview with one of my faves, Brigitte Bardot! She gets into her love and activism for animals.
“I am not playing political games,” she says. “I don’t care. I don’t bother with that. I belong to no party and I am militant for no one. All of my causes, including the most radical, are motivated by the defense of animals.”
I love you, BB!
∞ posted at 14:00 by youtalkfunny
02/17/2012
Top 10 links of the week!: A harlem shuffle through the dance floor of veganism! »
Scary rooster Puff has it in for kitty Blacko! This is kind of sad.
Grist’s Protein Angst series is still killing it! My new favorite: Never mind the meat—worry about eating enough plants. This is what I’m always thinking! Like, dude, I get enough protein, do you get enough veggies?! There is so much concern over our nutrients but I’d bet meat-mouths are not hitting all the nutritional points!
A whole town in India relocated to make room for tigers! That’s nice.
McDonald’s thinks trying their food is less risky than petting stray pitbulls. People are not pleased. But I’m glad our standards are now risky and less risky. Obviously they are implying you may get bit by a dog; generally I want my food to be on an entirely different scale than getting bit by a dog—not just less “risky.”
From Ecouterre, fur trapping season ends with record high of non-target animal deaths. That means exactly what you think it means.
Choosing Raw has another great post on PCRM and fat-shaming (though we discourage the use of “overweight” as it maintains there is a specific weight you should be). Gena stresses the need to focus on using “honest language, honest facts, and honest statistics.” Here here!
Australia is up in arms over recent footage documenting inhumane conditions in a Sydney slaughterhouse. You can see the video on the linked page. It’s pretty rugged. The one good thing though is it seems like Australia actually does stuff when footage like this surfaces. The slaughterhouse in question was immediately closed (I don’t know if it was permanently closed but still, swift action).
An NYT editorial calls for humane national standards in egg production!
You know we’ve been discussion palm oil lately, well Grist is here to help you break free of the palm oil grasp!
From HuffPo, you may have already heard about this but if not: Westminster severed ties with Pedigree because they didn’t want to see images of puppies behind bars during commercial breaks. Stay classy, Westminster!
From Ecorazzi, Ian Somerhalder (see below) is getting an award from the Humane Society! I have an award for him too! IN MY PANTS. Sorry guys, I can’t help it, he’s the hotness times god damn.
∞ posted at 14:51 by youtalkfunny
02/13/2012
Craptastrophe: Pig manure foam is making factory farms explode. »
A mysterious manure foam is causing factory farm facilities to explode:
Large midwestern hog farms have for the last few years been battling a mysterious foam that is forming on top of their barns. In the worst case scenarios, the foam blocks ventilation ducts and the barns explode — yes, explode — killing the thousands of hogs inside.
This is so disgusting and sad. The most recent explosion was last Sept., killing 1,500 pigs and injuring a worker.
Here’s a news story about it:
[Can’t see the video? Watch it on Vegansaurus.com]
This story is as gross as the lighthearted Green Acres scenes are inappropriate. I’m sure you also like how the reporting talks about the monetary loss and makes no mention of the pigs that die in explosions or any workers that are injured (#priorities).
For more info on this story, our boyfriend Tom Philpott has some good coverage over at Mother Jones. He makes the point that these explosions are relatively rare. Except that six crap-foam explosions since 2009 kind of seems like a lot to me, even though there are thousands of facilities that haven’t exploded. But however rare these explosions have been, Philpott says that the foam itself “has become alarmingly common.” So we can probably expect some more explosions in the future.
What does Grist think the solution is?:
The pork industry has been funding research into the foam and how to stop it. But as I see it the answer is simple. Get the pigs out of the barns and onto pasture, and raise them at a less intensified scale without the need for huge manure-storage “facilities.”
While that’s preferable to exploding barns, I’d go a different direction: free the pigs! Maybe a hotdog isn’t worth all this trouble.
∞ posted at 08:53 by youtalkfunny
02/10/2012
Top 10 links of the week!: veganism! »
Funny birdie wakes his kitty bff!
First up, our own Sarah M. Smart was interviewed by Grubwithme! I am late in reporting this because she forgot to tell me about it. I forgive her because she calls me a saint in the interview. My favorite part is the last question where she says she doesn’t want to give too much away about what’s to come—like we are a soap opera! We totally are. Stay tuned!
Um, the Canadian government is going to start poisoning wolves with strychnine and shooting them from planes. Read what Grist wrote about it because I could not have said it better. Ok I’ll add one point: WTF.
From Pawnation, the 5 best ways to keep your pets’ teeth clean. I just had to get poor Mitsy’s teeth cleaned, they put them under to do it! And Figaro has to go in soon and they even said he needs extractions! I’m so nervous for him!
If you want to be grossed out, and you know you do, here’s the 10 grossest pictures from a charity oyster slurping competition. Whenever people bring up the oyster thing, for one, I’m like, uh people used to say fish couldn’t feel pain either. So you never know. But even if oysters don’t feel pain, EW THEY ARE GRODY TO THE MAX! WHY would I WANT to eat them? They are like little shells of mucus! If I want to eat garlic butter, I do not have to put it on a loogie first. Put it on an artichoke or drink it straight, but I’ll pass on the loogie.
Rose Pedals, the source for everything vegan and wedding, has a super round-up of vegan Valentine’s Day gift guides, resources, and fun events. Check it out! My favorite part is when they say I’m funny. That part was great.
From SuperVegan, 10 questions with Sarah Peltier of the NYC Vegan Shop-Up! The Shop-Up is this Sunday, the 12th! Don’t forget!
From Vegan Mainstream, Real Men Eat Plants and are Kind to Animals. Do we agree? I mean, I’m sure we agree! But do you think we’ve made cultural strides in this direction? Discussion topic of the week!
Have you been following PETA’s lawsuit Tilikum v. SeaWorld? I guess it just wrapped up with the judge deciding that the 13th Amendment does not apply to non-humans. I thought it was a very interesting case. Should the 13th Amendment apply to non-human animals? I don’t know but it’s definitely an interesting idea. Second discussion topic of the week!
Check out what my pop found in the local Philly Latino news paper!: Ser vegano también puede ser delicioso! Yay! Somos los mejores!
Buzzfeed does it again!: The 15 most adorable bunny bathtime photos! [Update: We just learned from our awesome readers that bunnies shouldn’t be bathed! So don’t do that with your bunny, okay? For lots of reasons why, see our comments. OUR APOLOGIES to our readers and the bunnies!]
∞ posted at 13:43 by youtalkfunny
02/03/2012
Top 10 links of the week!: A hokey pokey through the roller rink of veganism! »
A new video from Kizz and Cazz. They want to make you vegan.
From our pal Tom Philpott, 80% of Chicken Growers Never Sanitize Poop-Filled Cages. And as we scary factory farm video watchers know, they aren’t just poop-filled, they are filled with hella dead chickens left to rot. That’s got to be good for you.
From Discovery, a baby pygmy elephant is rescued! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THERE ARE PYGMY ELEPHANTS? That means there’s probably one that will fit in my purse. They’re actually super endangered though so don’t go putting them in purses, guys.
Over at One Green Planet, they have an interview with skateboard baller Ed Templeton. He’s been a vegan since 1990 and my how things have changed!
After bad press over their egg farming practices, a bunch of monks in South Carolina are growing mushrooms! Totes more godly.
The U.N. says that world food demands are going to outpace supply in the next few decades. Hmm, what to do? Maybe listen to the U.N.’s recommendation to reduce meat and dairy consumption? Of course there’s no mention of that in the first link. That would just be silly.
So are you following Grist’s Protein Angst series? We talked about how bad the soy one was last week but there seem to be some good ones too. Like this Protein Propaganda one. We should probably read them all. Which do you like? I’ll prioritize. I’m like a machine.
More vegan goodness from The Atlantic.
I’m hesitant to share this but it could be something really good for orcas! Some ex-Seaworld people made a site and it sounds good, it’s just that it has a countdown to Burning Man on it. I just can’t look at a site with a countdown to Burning Man on it.
Did you hear about this nutty Nigella Lawson and Gillian McKeith thing? Awful! Choosing Raw has a great response.
Finally, awkward cat sleeping positions on Buzz Feed! (via VegNews)
∞ posted at 11:04 by youtalkfunny
01/27/2012
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.
∞ posted at 14:02 by youtalkfunny
12/23/2011
Top 10 links of the week!: A sleigh ride through the winter wonderland of veganism! »
[This silly cat vid was sent in by reader LC! Thanks, pal!]
Once again I have slept on links of the week so this collection spans a few weeks. Enjoy!
The Vegan Feminist Agitator has a love story for you!: I Killed Kale
From SuperVegan: Japan admits using tsunami disaster relief money to fund military actions against unarmed vegans. Holy. Crap.
We have a new vegan among us! Teri S. from Status Vegan! AND she would like our help! Do you have a really great recipe you want to share with her? I know you do! Head over to her blog and share it with her. Build the community!
From Grist: Happy Feet 2 is for communist vegetarians! So. True.
Was da Vinci an animal rights activist? God I hope so! The Guardian has the story.
Vegansaurus fave Jerry James Stone has a new blog on Animal Planet filled with pretty animal pictures! He’s also promised us a vegan wine post on his Treehugger Green Wine Guide so I’ll be sure to tell you guys when that’s out!
This link comes from my cousin Heather: A same-sex penguin couple in China has a new baby! Ah, babies. They are so in right now.
We have a Pinterest account! What up!
Our Hen House has a new Art of the Animal video! Check it out!
The Farm Sanctuary has two new babies! And they need your help! And they are cute!
∞ posted at 15:01 by youtalkfunny
