What on Earth Are We Going to Do About Earth?

Remember when I said I was back from my recent dissertation hiatus? I lied. Sorry about that. Academia can be so labile. I can, however, report that at long last, I've begun the data collection phase of my dissertation research! For those of you not in academia, all you really need to know is that this is a milestone for me, one that has been (for reasons seemingly beyond my control) particularly difficult to reach, and that it's best to tread lightly.

Meanwhile, as I live in my little bubble, there is major turmoil going on in the world. There are so many different messages being exchanged about what will happen to Japan, whether radiation will affect the US, and how to help. As for self-protection (for Southern Californians), I have heard that taking iodine supplements are recommended to prevent radioactive iodine from having the chance to be absorbed in the thyroid. I have also heard from a friend that kelp is the safest source of this iodine. And yes, despite the government's reassurances that everything will be okay, I bought a bottle.

photocred.

It's also a good time to remind people that radiation affects ground water, which means it gets absorbed into vegetation. When animals eat that vegetation and store it in their cells, those animals and their secretions become a very concentrated source of whatever crap (e.g., radiation) was in the vegetation they ate. Ergo, avoiding eating any animal products is your safest bet if you want to limit your intake of toxic substances. Viva la veganism.

But what about the animals' exposure to radiation? What pills will they take to prevent themselves from absorbing the awesome amount of pollutants that humans have leaked into our shared space in the solar system? What about them, huh?

What about the continued use of nuclear power and weapons?

What about the future?

We are screwing up the planet and a bottle of iodine ain't gonna fix it.

But you can. And so can I.

Fashion can be so cruel.

My dissertation has a knack for causing unintentional hiatuses in many aspects of my life, including this recent one from blogging. I am back, though. For now.

I have a few announcements!

1. This month's Bitchcraft Trading Post event was a huge success! It was held in Atwater Village in an outdoor courtyard, and there were approximately 20 artists/crafters vending, including foodchain. If you're local, come check out the next event in May! I'll post details soon.

2. West Hollywood may become the first US city to ban the use of animal fur for fashion, and hopefully it will not be the last. On Sunday, 2/20 from 2pm-7pm, foodchain will be working with Compassion Over Killing to raise money for the Fur Free Weho Campaign by selling vegan jewelry and accessories at a fundraising event in Glendale, CA. A portion of my proceeds will be donated to the Fur Free Weho campaign. Fashion should never be cruel. More details about the event here.

3. Be sure to vote on March 8th for candidates who support outlawing fur.

Like, why?

Mama Foodchain's Pasta E Fagioli

When I was visiting my family in Pennsylvania for ThanksLiving last week, I had the luxury of trying out my mom's new soup recipe. It is inspired from a recipe she'd found in the newspaper, which she veganized specifically for me (Mama Foodchain is not vegan herself...yet). It's pretty simple to make and yet it tastes fabulous. So lovely on a cold day.

The soup is awesome the way it is written below, but if you're looking to add more greens, Mama Foodchain and I both agreed that the perfect ingredients to include would be lima beans, chopped okra, or spinach.

M a ma  F o o d c h a i n ' s  P a s t a  E  F a g i o l i

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Sea salt, to taste
14 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
3/4 can tomato paste (standard-sized can)
6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup elbow macaroni
Ground black pepper, to taste
Nutritional yeast, to taste
Love

Rinse the chickpeas and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic, rosemary, pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion has softened.

Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil.

Remove the rosemary stalk. Add the rosemary leaves and the nutritional yeast to the pasta. Reduce to a simmer and cook approximately 12 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Serve with love.


I don't have a photo of this. Sometimes with delicious food, I completely forget about taking photos. So instead, here are some photos from my visit to Animal Acres on my birthday this year. In case you're wondering, my birthday was November 27th, and I do accept late presents if you're so inclined. ;)

Cowboy the calf, who's grown a LOT since the last I saw him! They just found a forever home for him, too.

Goats do like to pose with humans, in case you didn't know.

Have you ever seen more bliss than this?

Just relaxing in the shade. Most of the other cows were doing the same when I took this.

Go See Bold Native NOW

A few weeks ago, I had the luck of meeting Casey Suchan at a friend's birthday event. She told me about her new movie and said it'd be screening that following Saturday. I told her it was my birthday that day, and so I'd probably be doing something celebratory. This seemed to produce excitement rather than disappointment, which confused me at first, as I was basically telling her I wouldn't be able to make it. Her response?

"It's my birthday, too!"

As a wishful believer in the zodiac, I simply can't say no to someone that shares my birthday. This is what ultimately convinced me to go see the LA screening of Bold Native last weekend, and I'm so glad I did. Even though I've been vegan for over five years now, I felt transformed after leaving the theater that night. It's the kind of movie that leaves an imprint on your visual cortex and lingers in your moral conscience. It's also the kind of movie that leaves a small mark on your partner's hand, from squeezing it so hard.

I urge you, go see this movie. No matter who you are, it will challenge you. And it could change your life.

You know it's good when I buy the shirt.

If you happen to live near Brown University, you can see it today, for FREE, with FREE vegan Indian food. This is a wonderful opportunity!

If you don't see your city or university on the list, email them to request a screening.

Doooo it nowwww!

Animal Lovers Unite: Ask Obama To Save The Turkeys!

Animal Acres' own Turkey Lurky.

This post is somewhat of a follow-up to the previous post, in which I talked about animals' poor living conditions and ill fates in the zoo system. 

If learning about what orca whales go through at Sea World made you angry, or inspired you to reach out and make a difference, or both, then here's your chance. There's this relatively new Thanksgiving tradition at the White House in which the President "pardons" two turkeys; instead of allowing them to be slaughtered for a Thanksgiving dinner feast, he sends them to Disneyland. Okay, so what's the problem, right?

Here's the thing. While the President is effectively saving two turkeys from instant death each Thanksgiving, their futures are still pretty bleak: at Disneyland, turkeys still typically die within one year of their arrival. So why doesn't the President somehow ensure that the turkeys live long, happy, healthy lives? Well, here's where you and Obama come in.

This year, Farm Sanctuary is sending a (very polite, respectful) petition to President Obama, asking him to send this year's two turkeys to their safe farm in Watkins Glen, NY. There, the turkeys will spend the rest of their years playing and, well, doing whatever turkeys like to do (I can only say that I know what Turkey Lurky likes to do, which is follow volunteers around and "talk" to them). What's certain, though, is that at Farm Sanctuary, the turkeys will be given the kindest care, and they'll never, ever be used for human dinner. But we only have until November 15th to get this petition signed, sealed, and delivered, so please, if you want to spread some gratitude and love this Thanksgiving season, sign the petition now.

I mean, really, all they need is a newly-freed turkey up in there and it'd be the best frickin' photo ever. photocredit.

And hey, if you want, you can sponsor a turkey, too! The estimable Ellen DeGeneres, the vegan celebrity spokesperson for this year's Adopt-A-Turkey Project, is telling folks "Save a life this Thanksgiving, and join me in starting a new tradition by adopting a turkey instead of eating one through Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-A-Turkey Project." Check them out. Kima is pretty adorable.

Not convinced? Read this.

And if you really wanna go all out this Thanksgiving...   

photocredit.

Try some Tofurky! It's 100% vegan, which makes it a compassionate alternative to the actual bird. Oh, and it's quite delicious, I must say.

To give you an idea of what Tofurkey looks like when prepared. photocredit.

If you're serious about getting a Tofurkey product for Thanksgiving, then allow me to highly recommend going for the Tofurkey "feast," which comes with dumplings. Believe me when I tell you that my omnivorous family members were practically fighting me over who got the last dumpling! That's how good it is. :)

Thanks for reading!

Need A New Blender, A Mattress, Or Maybe A Yoga Mat? Check Out This Giveaway!

One of my best fellow vegan friends, AJ, at queerveganrunner, is hosting a CNS Stores giveaway! Anyone can enter. Check out her post for the details regarding how to enter this contest. It's pretty simple, I promise, and you can get anything from kitchen ware to fitness gear. 

photo credit

If I win, I'm totally going to buy this Kundalini Yoga dvd. Gurmukh of Golden Bridge Yoga (located right here in my home of Los Angeles!) is featured in it. I've haven't (yet) been to a Kundalini class, but one day this summer, when I was "supposed" to be doing other work, I happened across this video she'd posted in which she addresses self trust. This was one of many videos she's posted, some of which feature more guided meditations, others of presentations she's given throughout the world.

Watching this was like peering into an entirely different world, and despite the unfamiliar chanting, Gurmukh's words really touched me.

"No, I haven't seen it yet, but I've already decided to love it." What an awesome concept.

Good luck if you enter the giveaway!

Interviews: Pulin: Veganism - It's Easy When You Know the (Sad) Facts

CYoFC:  Describe your current diet/lifestyle.

Pulin:  VEGAN.

CYoFC:  For how long have you been vegan?

Pulin:  12 years.

CYoFC:  What prompted you to become vegan?

Pulin:  Animal rights.

CYoCF:  Were there any challenges to becoming vegan?

Pulin:  It's one of the easiest things I've done in my life.

CYoCF:  Do you plan on remaining vegan?

Pulin:  Yes, visit Meat.org to see why.

CYoCF:  Do you have any tips or advice for new vegans?

Pulin:  Visit PETA.org to learn more and get free recipes!

CYoCF:  Favorite foods?

Pulin:  I'm flexible, no favorites.

CYoCF:  Describe what the giving-up-cheese process was like for you.

Pulin:  There wasn't a process, I just stopped eating it and that was that.

CYoCF:  One last question. Are you getting enough protein?

Pulin:  Certainly.


Thanks, Pulin!


Pulin, 29, resides in Norfolk, VA. He is the Action Team Coordinator at PETA, and digs soccer, reading, and learning about social justice issues.

Interviews: AJ: "I Think, Therefore I'm Vegan"

CYoFC:  Describe your current diet/lifestyle (vegan, lacto-ovo vegetarian, pescetarian, freegan, flexitarian, omnivore with vegan tendencies...etc.).

AJ:  Vegan. A no-honey, no exceptions vegan.

CYoCF:  For how long have you been vegan?

AJ:  I was a pescetarian for 10 years and February 3, 2010 will be my 3 year veganniversary. Typically celebrated with a feast of delicious vegan food. Oh wait, that's every day.

CYoCF:  Veganniversary, I love that! What prompted you to become vegan?

AJ:  After 10 years of being a fish-eating vegetarian, I started dating my partner, who, at the time, was a real vegetarian. We had both lived in vegetarian/vegan co-ops as undergraduates and knew that being a vegetarian (especially me as a not real vegetarian) was basically pussy-footing around what was basically an issue of oppression and equal rights. We're lesbians so we are perhaps more sensitive than average to these issues and it seemed hypocritical to want an end to oppression of sexual minorities while ignoring other oppressed populations. So we decided to go vegan, postponed it for a bit, gorged ourselves on non-vegan food, then took the plunge. As we started to concurrently educate ourselves about the food industry, we were confirmed in our initial reasons to move towards a compassionate lifestyle.

CYoCF:  Right on. Were there any challenges to becoming vegan? What about current challenges or aspects about veganism that you don't like?

AJ:  Yes, naturally. I miss being able to get a slice of gooey cheese pizza at Rays Original when I'm home in NYC, I miss bagels and lox with a schmear, and spicy tuna sushi. However, these "sacrifices" are nothing compared to animals unwillingly sacrificing their lives. And in actuality on a day-to-day basis I hardly miss these foods because (and this leads me to my more pressing challenges) there is a great variety of delicious indulgent vegan foods, which people who are not vegan do not realize. I dislike that restaurants are unwilling to provide vegan options on a regular basis (I can cook delectable vegan treats, surely professional chefs can do the same).

I absolutely HATE that when I tell people I'm vegan they tell me all the reasons they are not vegan. An inability to consume sufficient calories to support whatever crazy metabolism you believe you have is a bogus excuse. So is not being able to get enough protein - there are successful vegan body builders, if they can get enough protein, so can you. Additionally, not being able to give up (insert food here) is a similarly bullshit excuse.

You are asking other living beings to be tortured and killed for your lifestyle. That is a fact. You have choices about what you eat and you can make the choice to give up whatever you say you cannot live without. That is another fact. Don't argue with me about it. Don't tell me about it. This is about oppression, this is about power inequality, this is about torture and cruelty. If you support these things and are hell-bent on continuing to support these things, keep it to yourself around me. If you have an open mind and are serious about learning more about farming practices and the food industry, I'm happy to discuss it with you.

CYoCF:  You're so clearly passionate about this issue, and it's admirable. Do you plan on remaining vegan? If so, what would you say is the crucial motivating factor for you?

AJ:  I have the symbol for "therefore" and the word "vegan" tattooed on my arm (as in "I think, therefore I'm vegan") so yeah I do plan on remaining vegan. I remain vegan because it's the only choice for me in my dedication to a compassionate, cruelty-free, green lifestyle. I cannot ask for an end to my oppression as a lesbian, and a woman, and continue to oppress other living beings. Animals feel fear and pain. The argument that animals are lesser beings or somehow less deserving of equal rights is the same argument that has been used to justify inequality (racial, sexual, gender, ethnic, religious) throughout history.

CYoCF:  As a fiercely committed vegan yourself, tell me, why should other people go vegan?

AJ:  If you care about the environment, it is the single most important contribution you can make towards protecting the planet. If you care about equal rights among humans, extend that caring to all living beings. Educate yourself, there are plenty of printed and electronic resources. Skinny Bitch is a really accessible (if somewhat blunt) resource.

CYoCF:  Do you have any tips or advice for new vegans?

AJ:  Keep going! You have made a really important decision for your own health (I haven't even touched on that, but yeah being vegan is much healthier than any other way of eating) and for the health of those around you. Surround yourself with others who support your decision - other vegans! They will cook for you, take you out to other restaurants and continue to affirm your decision and provide you with even more reasons to continue this lifestyle. And continue to educate yourself - the more you know about how animal products are derived the more you will be affirmed that your decision is the best one, really, the only one.

CYoCF:  What are your favorite foods?

AJ:  PASTA!!! I've always loved pasta, noodles of any kind, and of course it's a good basic for any vegan. Thai noodles, veggie lo mein with tofu, Italian style spaghetti & meatless balls, and Mac n' Cheeze (I'm on a quest to find the best.... Chicago Diner and Soul Veg in Chicago are tied for lead). My partner's vegan nachos are also up there! Veggies of all kind. Anyone who thinks vegan cooking is boring, doesn't know how many crazy veggies are out there and the billion different ways to prepare them all (and add them to noodles).

CYoCF:  So much goodness and yet none of these contain cheese, which is commonly a favorite food. Describe what the giving-up-cheese process was like for you.

AJ:  The toughest part were two foods that are important to my background as a New York Jew... NY Style Pizza and Bagels and Cream Cheese. I did enjoy cheese before going vegan and I won't lie and say it wasn't hard, but after I learned more about the dairy industry, my decision was affirmed to me. And I found amazing substitutes... avocado and/or hummus on a sandwich can be great instead of a creamy cheese, loading up pizza with veggies and a good soy cheese (Vegan Gourmet is the best I've found) is great and much healthier! and bagels with hummus with tomatoes, onion, capers and some tapenade is a great brunch! These days, I really don't miss it. Yes, I walk past Ray's Original in NYC and it smells gooooood, but then I remember the cute little kosher/vegan place a few blocks away from my parents' in NYC and give my business to them. And honestly, their pizza place smells just as good, if not better!

CYoCF:  One last question. Are you getting enough protein?

AJ:  More than enough!!! non-animal derived protein is not only more efficient to produce (the same amount of land that produces 1 lb of beef can produce 13 lbs of soy protein), easier to digest and more rich and varied, but it's incredibly easy to get in a diet without thinking too hard. I eat beans in a lot of varieties, tofu in all its incarnations, seitan, tempeh.... the list could go on. This question is my pet peeve and indicates to me that someone knows very very very little about nutrition.

CYoFC:  "You need a lot of protein" is a message most Americans hear from early childhood. But what is "a lot?" (Not to mention, how much is actually too much?) And where are the "best" protein sources found? We are often told the answer is meat, but you bring up evidence to the contrary. These are important but rarely discussed points.


Thanks, AJ.


AJ is a pro-choice, atheist, vegan, tattooed, lesbian. As she puts it, she is "everything your mother warned you about." She's also the edgy-yet-eloquent author of Queer Vegan Runner.