New Site of Vegan Interest

I know I disappeared for a month. But I am back with a great new site of vegan interest: Our Hen House. I found it via one of my favorite law professor blogs, Animal Blawg. (In addition to posting, I also am catching up on my blog reading.) Our Hen House is a blog and “a central clearinghouse for all kinds of ideas on how individuals can make change for animals.” It has some awesome podcasts on it and a bunch of great stories and lots of other information. Of particular relevance to shopaholic vegan professionals, one of the four major categories covered by Our Hen House is titled "Money Squawks": "Along with brainstorming ideas for for-profit opportunities that can make positive change for animals, this section will highlight business ventures and products that are already changing the way the world works." Check it all out here.

New Compilation of Vegan and Vegetarian Blogs

Ashley M. Jones of Pharmacy Technician Certification -- a website dedicated to providing resources to students contemplating or currently completing pharmacy technician certification from online schools and the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries in general -- has compiled a list of the top 75 blogs for vegetarians and vegans. The Professional Vegan is among them! And some of my favorite blogs made the list too -- SuperVegan, Vegan Soapbox, and Vegan Guinea Pig to name a few. Check out the entire list here.

Vegan On The Weekend: Jimmy Choo for H&M

Today marks the launch of Jimmy Choo's collection for H&M. The collection consists of women's shoes, bag, clothes, and accessories, and a smaller men's collection. I'm not sure whether all (or any) of the item are vegan (most of the bags and shoes seem to be made from leather). H&M has set up a really interactive website for the collection, including a homepage introduction that warns that there may be lines today and apprises visitors of the bracelet policy they are instituting. Either this collection is going to be a really, really big deal, or H&M has a big head. I might go to my local H&M later and check on the progress. Until then, you can interact with the website here. Be warned, it has annoying music.

Vegan Article of Interest: "Going Vegetarian for Thanksgiving"

Find this titled article from yesterday's New York Times here. Not quite a vegan article, as some of the dish alternatives offered by the author involve dairy products (and likely eggs), but interesting nonetheless. Good job New York Times on promoting the reduction of turkey abuse! The picture was so adorable I had to post it too. (Media credit to Brian Snyder/Reuters.)

"The Animal In You"

I usually bypass personality tests, but this one was so cute that I had to take it, and as it places your personality alongside animal characteristics, necessarily linking emotions with animals (along with the usual behavioral characteristics), which I think very important to the advancement of veganism, I thought I would post. The test is titled "The Animal In You." You can take it here.

I'm either a wild dog, otter, or bat. I assume that most people who take the test receive a result of one animal; whenever I take personality tests, which partially is why I shy away from taking them, I end up with multiple results.

Three Wolf / Virgnia Woolf

I want this:

Melissa McEwan, over at Shakesville, dreamed it up, based off the strangely internet-successful Three Wolf Moon t-shirt. Get it? I like this one so much better, possibly because Virginia Woolf is my favorite author (ever and for always). Unfortunately, it is not for sale, unless someone gets permission from the original t-shirt designer, the Woolf estate, etc., etc. If it ever does go on sale, I will absolutely buy one.

Sleep Lairs and a Cave Bookcase

On Wednesday (Sept 23), the Wall Street Journal featured on the front page of its personal journal section an article titled, "Pimp My Bed: The Male Sleep Lair." Though I guess designers are targeting these "sleep lairs" to men (for an example, see below picture taken from article), I expect they would be equally useful to and enjoyable by women, professional and otherwise. Though I find it a bit off-putting that the WSJ deemed these contraptions "male," and thereby seemingly only (or appropriately only) for men, I think the actual products are very interesting and wanted to post.
Somewhat similar, and on today's subject of bookcases, and somewhat akin to the "sleep lair," check out sakura adachi's CAVE bookshelf (pictured below). I can't find a distributor of this contraption online and thus don't have a price, but, regardless, I think the idea is fabulous. The description says it all: "A bookcase CAVE provides a private reading space within its form. As a seat height is just above the floor, CAVE gives a feeling of hiding from others standing around it. Books can be stored on both sides. Therefore, CAVE can also functions as a partition of a room."
Interestingly, online pictures of CAVE show women and children within it. Apparently women and children are thought to need tiny spaces to hide in and thereby be able to disappear from scary other people in the world, while apparently men need an entire lair set-up that includes a champagne cooler and widescreen television. I like both products; not sure about the marketing of them.

Article of Vegan Interest About Jelly Shoes

On Monday (Aug 17), the New York Times ran an article by Jessica Michault titled, "The Reincarnation of the Jelly Shoe, With a Designer Flair." The article discusses the pervasiveness of jelly shoes in designers' shoe lines this summer, specifically mentioning Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, See by Chloé and Tory Burch. The comeback of jelly shoes is a blessing for vegans: finding cute and trendy footwear from mainstream designers that are vegan is practically impossible save a flip-flop or a sneaker here and there. But with the proliferation of jelly shoes, every vegan can wear designer shoes, provided the jellies are comfortable and she (or he) wants to designer-brand-herself (or himself). This summer, I have been wearing Tory Burch's jelly version of her famous Reva shoe (in navy blue), and Burberry's jelly thong sandal (in black).

I'm interested to see what designers create for the fall and winter. According to the article, it was the rise of Crocs that caused designers to launch into the jelly shoe arena. This winter, as it did last winter, Crocs will offer a variety of fleece (vegan!) lined Crocs appropriate to the colder weather (see picture). I'm not much of a fan of Crocs -- too wide for me; perhaps a few designers will create something to take the place of these Crocs.

Miscellaneous Items of Vegan Interest

Browsing the Internet and reading the Professional Vegan's inbox of eco-friendly tips, I have accumulated a stack of items which don't each require an entire post, but which I didn't want to overlook nonetheless. Think of this as a Tuesday round-up:

(1) From today's Ideal Bite bite, a collection of eco-friendly sunglasses made from materials such as wood, bamboo (yes, I know that's a type of wood, but it's extra cool), recycled plastic, and just plain-old vintage. Browse the list here.

(2) From Vital Juice's e-mail of about a week ago, peel-off nail polish! Made by Sula Beauty (which is available at Anthropologies and ULTAs around the country). This seems very summer camp during middle school to me, which makes me even more interested.

(3) If you are looking for something to do this July 4th weekend, consider signing up for one of the hundreds of road races (that's running -- and sometimes walking) taking place across the country this weekend. To find a race near you, click here.

(4) While you're running, or simply while you're outside, beware of the penetrating summer sun. I haven't tried it, but I'm intrigued by the UVSunSense bracelet which claims to help you determine when it is time to reapply sunscreen. Here's an explanation I took from a Vital Juice email: "While you're applying sunscreen, use a dab of lotion to coat the wristband where it says 'Apply sunscreen to this side.' The band will turn purple, indicating it's been activated. When you've absorbed too many harmful UV rays, the band morphs to brown signaling it's time to reapply." Find the bracelet here.

(5) And, finally, check out Correspondent Kate's post on Tales of Expansion about her experience volunteering at the NY Coalition for Healthy School Food's monthly family dinner night during which vegan pizza was served (I appropriated her picture of the pizza)! Very cool Correspondent Kate!

Friday's Vegan Accessory: Books About What People Eat

In honor of Professional Vegan's first-ever giveaway, Friday's vegan accessory is my pick for top 5 books that make you think about what you eat: where it comes from, how it is cultivated, how it "matured," how it died, how much pollution it added to the planet, how eating it fits with your notions about life and earth. In no particular order and with no particular endorsements beyond the praise and critiques below:

(1) Matthew Scully's Dominion:The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy -- I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, this one of my favorite books because of its all-encompassing inquiry into "man's" (as Scully terms it) abuse of "his" God-given dominion over animals. Scully straight-away rejects arguments about rights, liberation, and ethics as applied to animals and focuses on "man's" capacity to use "his" power to bring mercy the animals "he" is in a position to control. In the realm of inquiry into the suffering of animals, Scully does a superb, detailed job. On the other hand, this is one of my least favorite books because of Scully's rejection of arguments about rights, liberation, and ethics, rather than simply setting the arguments aside and creating a robust alternative (whether it is primary or supplemental) argument. Reading the book, constantly having to substitute "human" in for "man," which Scully continues to use when he writes how people living today should act towards animals, alienated me often. In that alienation, I kept thinking about how his arguments, that in the end amounted to "being nice" to animals, easily could be translated to certain groups of people (i.e. his infamous "men") "being nice" to other certain groups of people (which has and continues to play out in society), and, primarily, that his arguments amount to a broad argument for reigning in the current status quo before it gets out of control and "man" loses "his" grip on dominion -- which essentially is an argument for continued domination, which is entirely antithetical to why I became vegan. Regardless, the book does enlighten as to the suffering of animals.

(2) Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions, edited by Cass Sunstein and Martha Nussbaum -- I am a lawyer; thereby, I am compelled to include a collection of essays, some of which come from legal scholars. I love the book because it is (very) academic, providing a throwback to my days as a student, and because each essay is its own entity, each to be returned to and considered anew without having to take up the entire book.

(3) Jeffrey Masson's The Face on Your Plate: The Truth About Food -- I've blogged about this book before. It's one of the most recent books about veganism to hit bookstores and I was delighted to see it in my local Borders last weekend. To highlight, my favorite part is where Masson terms himself "veganish" and discusses how he, seemingly the master of vegan, sometimes slips up.

(4) Peter Singer's Animal Liberation -- no list would be complete without Peter Singer. Indeed, Matthew Scully must contend with Peter Singer in Dominion, which he does almost immediately. Written in the 1970s and revised in the 1990s, Animal Liberation is one of the founding, if not the founding book of the modern animal rights movement. Not to be missed.

(5) Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal -- my favorite aspect of this book is its discussion of the meat industry's domination (as opposed to "dominion") of its workers, particularly its female workers: low wages, horrendous working conditions, rampant sexual harassment, immediate termination upon pregnancy. In fact, I first read Fast Food Nation because of an article in Bitch magazine about feminist vegetarianism; and I have found that article conveniently pdfed online here! And, of course, you have a chance to win this fabulous book, along with the FOOD, INC. movie companion book, in Professional Vegan's first-ever giveaway.

See this post for more information about the giveaway, remember that entries end Thursday (June 18) at noon EST, and don't forget to see FOOD, INC., which opens today in NYC, LA, and SF, and elsewhere throughout June and July.

Some Weekend Reading

Over the course of this week, Slate published a five-part series detailing the history of the animal rights movement as it relates to animal testing and biomedical research. It's titled Pepper: the stolen dog that changed American science. The series is an interesting read -- it focuses on the true story of Pepper, a female Dalmatian who was stolen off a Pennsylvania farm in 1965 and subsequently died a gruesome death on a hospital lab table in the Bronx, and thereby engages in a discussion of animal testing and biomedical research.

And for something on the fashion side (and much lighter), check out this NYT article about sales at Barney's shoe department.

Vegan on the Weekend: Interesting Article

It's a working weekend for me; not much shopping or online browsing happening. But a friend did send me an interesting article about a study purporting to show that fish feel pain (or something similar to our conception of pain). It's aptly titled: "Frying Nemo: Do Fish Feel Pain?" I grabbed the left illustration (by Charlie Powell) from Slate because I found it mesmerizing. Michael Agger, the author of the article, comes down on the side that it is rather impossible to know whether fish feel pain comparable to the pain we feel. I tend to agree. In the end, that seems to permit the author to kill (he's a part-time angler) and eat fish. In contrast, in the end, as I wrote my friend, whether it's pain fish feel or merely a reflex, my opinion is that it's wrong for me to use them when I don't need to.

In other non-vegan news, I also enjoyed this article in The Nation -- Amber Waves of Blame -- by Katha Pollitt.

Calling All Vegan Chefs (and Others): Tofu Takedown

If you're from NYC, you might have heard of the Chili Takedown -- since 2005, amateur cooks have been bringing their amateur(ish) chilis to a massive event and competing for prizes, money, etc. Actor/filmmaker Matt Timms is "producing" a similar (hopefully inaugural) event for tofu, aptly named the Tofu Takedown. "Tofu Gladiators compete for blood and prizes," the event poster announces and challenges.

Tofu Takedown is set for May 10 (that's Sunday!) at the Highline Ballroom in Manhattan. So, if you are an amateur vegan/tofu chef, enter the competition and show the world (well, NYC) what you can do with tofu. And if you like tofu, come to the event and eat!

I will leave you with some words from the producer: "For too long, vegetarians have been unhappily doggy paddling in a sea of comfort food. NO MORE.The most audacious takedown to date features TOFU, meat of the soy gods. Some may interpret this as a smack in the porky face of the previous bacon takedown!!! All it is, is another takedown!!!" For more information, go here.

Earth Day Round-Up

If you're interested in reading (more) about Earth Day or participating in some of the Earth Day themed promotions companies are holding, check out these items:

The New York Times hypothesizes that as everyone gets richer, the planet will get greener (here).

According to the New Yorker, Earth Day is quite different now from when it was first celebrated on April 22, 1970 (here) (left image courtesy of the New Yorker).

Sometimes feel any efforts you make for the environment are an inconsequential drop in the bucket? Read Michael Pollan's article "Why Bother?" from last weekend's New York Times Magazine (here).

Earth Mosaic is sponsoring a contest that will plot photos taken from around the globe on a map. The photos must be taken within the 24-hour period of April 22 (based on your timezone). All images must be uploaded by April 30; photos are limited to 500 kilobytes in and JPEGs. To submit images, go to Earth Mosaic’s home page and click the Upload button.

Design a reusable shopping bag via Kroger's special website and get a free reusable shopping bag for your efforts.

And, finally, in honor of Earth Day, Bluefly is offering an additional 10% off everything.

Farm Sanctuary's Earth Day Challenge

Earth Day is tomorrow! One of my favorite sanctuaries (and charities), Farm Sanctuary, is celebrating Earth Day by asking the world to adopt a vegan diet for one day. I assume that most people who read this blog already are vegan. So, I challenge you to challenge a (or many) non-vegan friend(s) to go vegan for Earth Day (tomorrow!). If your friends ask why, tell them what Farm Sanctuary President and Co-Founder Gene Baur said about the challenge:

"People across the planet are taking steps to go 'green' by changing light bulbs and driving habits. Yet with the unmistakable connections between factory farming and the destruction of our environment, the most effective change one can make for the earth is a change to a plant-based diet. With animal agriculture accounting for more dangerous greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector — making it one of the leading causes of climate change — there is no better time to act than right now."

And, you can tell them it's only for a day . . . they might even like it; only after they complete the challenge would I suggest encouraging them to adopt a plant-based diet indefinitely . . . one day at a time. For more information on Farm Sanctuary's Earth Day challenge, go here.

Vegan Article Of Interest

When I went to see Jeffrey Masson speak over the weekend, he mentioned that the New York Times was writing an article about him and veganism in the Dining section. The article came out today; available here. I'm including a picture from the NYT website because the pigs are so adorable and Masson mentioned they ruined his jeans such that he couldn't wear them that night when he spoke, and I find it all amusing:

As noted in the article, Masson was interviewed at Angelica Kitchen, which is one of my favorite vegan restaurants in NYC. Exciting! And, though I'm sure they discussed lots and lots of things while at Angelica Kitchen, the author of the article repeatedly mentions how Masson is veganish and an aspiring vegan, which I always enjoy hearing because it makes me feel better about my non-vegan slip-ups and makes me want to continue on the vegan path. This is my favorite quote:

“I call myself an aspiring vegan — sometimes I say veganish,” Mr. Masson said. “I make mistakes sometimes.” If he’s at a restaurant and finds out he ate cake made with a bit of butter, he said: “I can live with that. It’s just too weird and too hostile to go ‘blech’ and throw up and say, ‘I can’t believe I just ate that.’

Read the entire article here.

Vegan On The Weekend: Virginia Woolf and Some Totes

On my weekend adventure to Woodstock, NY, I brought my copy of Jeffrey Masson's The Face On Your Plate: The Truth About Food (see below post) along in a Virginia Woolf tote bag I purchased at Barnes & Noble many, many (many, many) years ago. Apparently it currently is out of stock (see here).

But! As fate would have it, today I ate at a restaurant that had this quote on it's sign outside. The picture is a bit crooked because it was raining and I was rushing to get into the warm, dry car:

I've been meaning to post a couple of cute totes; this seems like an opportune time. First, on the more expensive side, possibly more appropriate to carry books and other papers into work, is J.Jill's "luster linen-blend beach tote" (pictured left). The rope handles are my favorite feature. And, of course, the fact that it's vegan. It comes in the pictured "flax" color. $59; find it here.

Second, on the less expensive side, possibly more for grocery or other shopping on the weekend, are the totes designed by Green Eyed Monster, which markets itself as providing "the most unique and socially responsible alternative to disposable paper and plastic bags on the block." There is one standard canvas tote available that comes in six designs. The classic Green Eyed Monster design, pictured right, is my favorite. The tote bags are $25 each. The Green Eyed Monster website is really cool too -- something worth browsing even if you aren't looking for a tote bag right now; check it out here . . . and, as the site says, "start living ENVIably!"

Upcoming Movie of Interest

The official poster for the upcoming movie "FOOD, Inc." was recently released:

As the film's synopsis states: "Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults" For more information on Food, Inc., which hits theaters on June 12, check out the film's official website.

Speaking of food and animals and health, I am going to see Jeffrey Masson speak tonight (at this event)! Jeffrey Masson recently published "The Face On Your Plate: The Truth About Food" (which I blogged about here), which is fabulous. In the early 90s, he published "When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals," which also is phenomenal (and has been translated into 20 languages). I am really, really, really looking forward to it. Masson lives in New Zealand (see his website for more biographical information); I am pleased that he is coming to somewhere close(ish) to where I live to promote his new book.

For all of you who are wondering how I will get to the middle-of-nowhere Woodstock, NY in time while holding a full-time job (not that it really matters, but people seem to be oddly interested in such things) . . . I have the day off (the perks of being a government employee) . . . it will be a day of driving.

Mid-Week Video Break

I admit, this video is a bit old and is more about feminism than veganism . . . but Nellie McKay is a vegan and if you stick with the video long enough (and you will want to because the song is awesome), you will catch a reference to vegetarians:

A Pelican, A Vintage Poster, And Some Jellies

My trip to Florida was a huge success -- relaxing, rejuvenating, full of walks on the beach, good food at interesting restaurants, and a bit of shopping, of course.

While walking on the pier, I made a new friend -- a cute, potentially older pelican, who I decided was male. The webbing of one of his feet was injured -- a few holes, one entire section missing. I felt so bad for him. He must have known; he came waddling up to me and stood somewhat near me for a bit. I saw him again the next day and let me stand by him again. I took pictures; this one has the best up-close view of his injured foot:

Prior to meeting my pelican friend, I ate at a very interesting restaurant called The Bubble Room. The restaurant has over 2,000 antiques -- quite a collection -- everything from Christmas-themed Mickey Mouses to this rather alarming vintage Coke ad:

Yes, I was quite alarmed: give me of Coke and of course I will have sex with you. So alarmed that I had to go shopping. While shopping I fell in love with these Chanel jellies:

Unfortunately, their price tag of about $300 also is alarming. As they are Chanel, they are unavailable for sale online as far my searches reveal. But they are fun to look at -- and vegan!