Vegan Food Porn

March 5, 2009 | 3 Comments

Vegan food montage - a food celebration!

These are all foods that I actually ate. They are all vegan. They are all free of animal products: no meat, no poultry, no fish, no dairy, no eggs, no honey. Some are from restaurants, some are from the store, and some are from my kitchen :)

More vegan food celebrations:
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/what-do-v…
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/what-does…

I made this video using One True Media. It’s very easy to make videos there. But the best part is that they have a collection of songs you can use without worrying about copyright and whatnot. And it’s all totally free!

So… I think this is a great form of activism. Just upload your photos of vegan food (or animal advocacy images), set it to music, and send to YouTube to share.

Clearly, many others have done this before me and it’s not a new idea. But maybe it’s new to you?

(Crossposted at Vegan Soapbox)

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Food, animal-rights, vegan, veganism 
3 Comments to "Vegan Food Porn"

My most recent video…

February 28, 2009 | 1 Comment

Two kinds of people kill animals for a living:
a) the ones who want to and
b) the ones who don’t want to kill animals for a living.

Poultry workers article and video series:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/poul…

“Hunting is on the decline across the nation as participation has fallen over the last three decades”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/us/…

“meatpacking and poultry workers face more than hard work in tough settings. They perform the most dangerous factory jobs in the country.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/…

“one of the most serious unintended consequences of
industrial food animal production ( ifap) is the growing public health threat
of these types of facilities. In addition to the contribution of ifap to the major
threat of antimicrobial resistance (Smith et al., 2002; Smith et al., 2007), ifap
facilities can be harmful to workers, neighbors, and even those living far from
the facilities through air and water pollution, and via the spread of disease.”
http://www.ncifap.org/_images/PCIFAPS…

“for men who have to crack the heads of animals all day seem to get into the habit, and to practice on their friends, and even on their families, ”
http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_ml…

“Automated lines carrying dead animals and their parts for disassembly move too fast for worker safety. Repeating thousands of cutting motions during each work shift puts enormous traumatic stress on workers’ hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and backs. They often work in close quarters creating additional dangers for themselves and coworkers. They often receive little training and are not always given the safety equipment they need. They are often forced to work long overtime hours under pain of dismissal if they refuse.”
http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11869/sect…

More links related to animal agriculture human exploitation:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/arti…
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2009…
http://diggingthroughthedirt.blogspot…
http://www.goveg.com/workerRights.asp
http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2005/01…
http://www.ncifap.org/_images/PCIFAPF…

Video links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz4hdq…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huLivq…

Books to read on this subject:
Fast Food Nation
Slaughterhouse
The Jungle

Need inspiration to go vegan? Here are some videos to watch:
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/the-8-mos…
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/8-disturb…

Please take this quiz about lifestyle and diet:
https://secure.einterview.org/lifestyle/

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Food, veganism 
1 Comment to "My most recent video…"

Megan McArdle Needs A Vegan Coach

December 10, 2008 | 8 Comments

Megan McArdle says she’s no longer vegan. Her claim:

“But it’s not really possible, at least with my job, to be a vegan without consuming soy; almost all the meat substitutes are made with it, and in DC, there are basically no restaurants serving seitan. I tried to go on soy-free, but I was getting sicker, unsurprising since I was basically living on Fritos and peanut butter every time I left the house. So, the year-long experiment with veganism is at an end.”

Sounds like Megan needs a vegan coach. She needs to learn some things:

  • Meat Substitutes: Soy is not the only “meat substitute” available. Check http://www.meatalternatives.org/ for some examples.
  • Protein: Plenty of vegans live without soy. You can get protein from beans, nuts, grains and other foods.
  • Restaurants: In DC, there are lots of vegan restaurants. Happy Cow lists a bunch and so does Veg Guide.
  • Support: To be successful and healthy as a vegan, it’s a good idea to learn to cook and to make vegan friends. This omnivorous world with not make it easy for you to be healthy or save animals’ lives, so you have to seek out other vegans to help you. Check meetup for events near you. Sign up for a vegan cooking class.
  • Transitions: If eating away from home is what’s tripping you up, simply give yourself permission to be nonvegan away from home. Be a “vegan at home”. That’s what I did the first six months or so when I went vegan. It eased the transition and helped me learn more about veganism.
  • Quick & Easy: Pack a lunch so you can make it through the day. Try a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, trail mix, and water. Or how about an Amy’s burrito with carrot sticks and cranberry juice? Or maybe some coconut milk yogurt, a fruit salad, tea, and a Larabar? Or perhaps a large salad with spinach, broccoli, peas, sliced almonds, and tangerine slices?

That’s a starting place, anyhow. I sure hope she reconsiders and gives veganism another try.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Food, veganism 
8 Comments to "Megan McArdle Needs A Vegan Coach"

Thanksgiving Photos

November 28, 2008 | 16 Comments

Here are photos from my family Thanksgiving meal…

The table is set:
vegan Thanksgiving

Bella, our newest family member, looks on:
vegan Thanksgiving

Our appetizers were: nuts, fried peas, pretzels, sweet potato fries, yaro root fries, hummus and pita, and fresh vegetables.

The spread:
vegan Thanksgiving
From near to far: fruit salad, cole slaw, pomegranate quinoa, squash and bean stew, stuffed squash, Celebration Roast, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. Not shown: nog, fruit juice, pumpkin pie, apple pie, vegan ice cream, vegan frozen yogurt, vegan whip cream, and chocolate coconut cookies.

From the other direction:
our vegan Thanksgiving

My sister starts the buffet line:
our vegan Thanksgiving

My plate:
our vegan Thanksgiving
Celebration Roast in the middle. Slaw and green bean casserole to the right. Fruit salad below, quinoa and mashed potatoes to the left. Pumpkin and bean stew, carrots, and stuffed squash at the top.

Our Thanksgiving was filled with abundance. We had our family, plenty of food, and good times.

UPDATE: Here are some recipes…

The carrots were simply sliced and steamed alongside the Celebration Roast in vegetable broth.
The fruit salad was simply a combination of apples, grapes, clementines, pear, blueberries, and strawberries drizzled with lemon juice and agave nectar.
The green bean casserole was somewhat ad hoc. It’s the basic casserole recipe minus dairy, plus soy or something or other.
Mashed potatoes were basic, too. She simply used vegan margarine rather than butter.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Family, Kids, & Friends, Food, veganism 
16 Comments to "Thanksgiving Photos"

It’s Obvious

November 23, 2008 | 5 Comments

You can just look at it and KNOW it’s wrong:
CAFO

I agree with Mary Martin. Martin quotes Grist:

“The animal abuses associated with this type of confinement seem obvious. Cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys and other animals need the same type of space and fresh air that human beings do. Crowding them together and never letting them see the light of day is certainly inhibiting their natural inclinations as sentient beings. But we should care about CAFOs [Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations] for reasons far greater than animal abuses, for they abuse our own environment and the health of our children.”

And then she comments:

“I see this a lot, this notion that protecting the environment is of ‘far greater’ importance than abusing (forget about talking about using) animals, and I find it odd. On a level of pure, concrete reasoning, I’d think that seeing and hearing and smelling hundreds of thousands of sentient nonhumans in abject terror and pain wouldn’t be backburnered to the environment, which most people don’t see as in actual, physical screaming pain. I also see no reason why the two can’t be on par, or close to it.”

There’s no need to prioritize harms caused by raising animals for food. The harms to animals, to people, to the planet are ALL important. Each harm individually is enough reason to go vegan. And when coupled together, no sane, educated, non-starving person can deny the moral DUTY to go vegan (or at least vegetarian). They can and will try to deny reality, but deep down their conscience calls. No one can look at this and not see a problem:

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, Food, animal-rights, veganism 
5 Comments to "It’s Obvious"

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