Living Without Meat

In all that you choose to do (or not do) in life, it always helps to have a support community of like-minded people. I’ve been enjoying searching for new vegan blogs to read in my quest for such. One of my new favorites is Vegan Soapbox, and, thanks to the writers over there, I have a new list of ones to check out: VegNews magazine’s VegBloggy award winners.

* Abolitionist Approach
* An Animal Friendly Life
* BitterSweet
* The Conscious Kitchen
* FatFree Vegan Kitchen
* Hezbollah Tofu
* Let’s Get Sconed!
* Post Punk Kitchen
* Ramblings of a Vegan Man
* SuperVegan
* The Urban Housewife
* Veg Blog
* Vegan Dad
* VeganEtsy
* Vegan Talk
* Vegan Yum Yum
* Vegans of Color
* Vive le Vegan
* Walking the Vegan Line
* We Like it Raw
* What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway?

Check them out, let me know if you find any particularly interesting or fun … but do come back, ya hear?

Pick up the next issue of VegNews - the music issue - to read their review of each site.

Recently I came across an archived article, titled “Should You Become a Vegetarian? Think Before You Eat,” from Ebony magazine’s July 2003 issue. It’s a good read, and good press coverage of a vegetarian diet, but I’ve devised a quicker way to decide if you should become vegetarian or not.

Answer each question with a yes or no:

1. Do you want to be healthy?

2. Do you like living animals?

3. Do you respect your body?

4. Do you believe that you are what you eat?

5. Do you feel that no creature should live a life of torture, confinement, abuse, and general mistreatment?

6. Do you like to eat delicious, nutritious, colorful food without feeling guilty?

7. Do you want to feel physically, mentally, and emotionally better?

8. Do you hate touching and preparing raw meat?

9. Do you want to be trendy and jump on the green-friendly or educated-consumer bandwagon?

10. Do you want to be in the company of celebrities like Paul McCartney, Carrie Underwood, Kristen Bell, Emily Deschanel, and Tobey Maguire?

If you answered yes to at least one of these questions, then you should become a vegetarian! (And if you answered yes to all of them … what are you waiting for?!)

It’s that time of year again: it’s the time when we gather around PETA’s Web site to vote for the male and female Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity.

Over the past year, Carrie Underwood and Kevin Eubanks (Jay Leno’s sidekick) have served strong as the 2007 winners, but it’s time for them to defend their titles.

After being dethroned of her 2006 title, Kristen Bell was ridiculed on the set of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, where co-star Russell Brand steadily maintains his title as Britain’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity.

Kristen needs our help. Vote, vote, vote!

As with all years past, I voted for K.Bell along with Joaquin Phoe… oh, wait. What’s that? I didn’t vote for the same male that I always have in previous years?

This year I clicked next to Heroes hottie Milo Ventimiglia’s name. Because I love him, and I thought that it was only fair that he get some of my voting love, too.

Who will you vote for? Natalie Portman and Jared Leto? Hayden Panettiere and Noah Wyle? Alicia Silverstone and Tobey Maguire? Or … Kristen and Milo (both shown in pictures here)?!

When Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Super Size Me came out in 2004, and gained instant fame with it’s coveted win at the Sundance Film Festival, I thought: it’s a cool idea to film your demise while eating nothing but McDonald’s food for one month, but I don’t need to watch it because I don’t eat fast food.

Boy was I wrong! This movie was phenomenal!

To begin, I had no idea that his girlfriend was a vegan chef. Having been eating her healthy, delicious cooking for so long, it’s no wonder Morgan tosses his fries when trying to eat his first super-sized meal.

But here’s where the shamelessness comes into play. If my review of this movie gets the most “I Like this Review” clicks on the social/movie site Jaman, then I win $1,000 from Whole Foods!

So if you have a second, won’t you please head over to Jaman - an online, social, movie-interest community - and check out my review of Super Size Me? My username is “SallyAndersen” and my review is all about sex. Seriously.

Let’s play a game. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to determine what the items on this list have in common:

* Chicken feathers
* Dried blood
* Ground fish
* Roasted soybeans
* Sodium bicarbonate
* Selenium
* Yeast
* Magnesium oxide
* Supplements of zinc methionine, niacin, anionic salts
* Tallow (rendered fat)
* Pork
* 200 lbs. of water

Any guesses as to what these items have to do with one another?

Drum roll …

This not just a simple list, it’s a menu! Yum! These are the daily intakes of American dairy cows. Not one blade of grass is included, and some of these items come directly from their deceased relatives. Sounds yummy, doesn’t it?

And don’t forget … you are what your food ate.

What’s in your milk?

The phenomenon started with the gag site “Stuff White People Like” and has flourished from there. If a group of people can be stereotyped into liking the same things as one another, then there is a blog out there listing all of these things … except vegetarians and animal rights activist. (Check out a bunch of them via BuzzFeed).

So here you go (I’m allowed to because I am guilty of most of these).

Stuff Veg*ns and Animal Rights Folk Like

* Buttons, patches, stickers and pins declaring their position on topics such as fur, animal testing, eating meat, etc. Quite often worn on either a tote bag or a messenger bag.

* Showering … haha, just kidding. They don’t shower as often as their counterparts.

* Arts and crafts.

* Animals - duh. But pets, too. Cats and dogs, but weird ones especially. They might have a bunny that hops freely around their apartment, a chicken roaming their backyard, or a piglet that sleeps with them. All rescued, of course.

* Telling other people what they cooked for dinner last night.

* Fresh, local, natural foods such as fruits and vegetables.

* The color black, hooded sweatshirts, dark-rimmed glasses, and big combat-type boots. Though now there are more and more “lipstick vegans.”

* Making new, cooler clothes from old ones.

* Pamphlets.

* Playing the guitar, learning to play the guitar, or at least talking about how they have always wanted to play the guitar.

* Frugality.

* Reading novels … and then telling you which ones you should read.

* Piercings and tattoos.

* Childhood nostalgia: strawberry shortcake, building snowmen, coloring books, cartoons, etc.

* Hummus.

* Meeting other vegetarians.

* Dreadlocks, uneven haircuts, and other self-styled ‘dos that require little to no maintenance.

* Traveling.

* Indie entertainment - the less popular, low-budget movies, music, and places.

Feel free to add on through the comments!

NOTE: These photos came up first when I searched for vegan images; each is linked to its original source.

Sister Gina (not a nun, but a female relative with the same parents as I) sent a green living quiz my way to share.

Earthbound Farm Organic has a Conservation Quiz live on their Web site right now. The intention is to inform and educate quiz-takers, so links are provided to reading resources that contain the answers to the 10 multiple-choice questions. Plus, when you finish, if you supply Earthbound with your mailing address they will send you a FREE reusable grocery shopping bag in July, when the offer expires.

You may recognize the name Earthbound Farm from your produce section, particularly from organic, washed, packages of romaine lettuce hearts. The company, which originated in 1984 out of a family’s backyard, also has several other organic products such as fruits, snacks, drinks, and granola.

Check them out in your supermarket for pesticide-free noshing, and online for a free reusable bag!

Often I will see a charity auction with celebrity items and dream about being able to bid on them. “If only …” I think with starry eyes.

Though, honestly, I know that the standard experiences offered up at these kind of events are neither life changing for me nor something I haven’t done before. I’ve been to numerous concerts, and even been backstage. I have a handful of autographs - some of which I couldn’t even tell you off hand where they are in my mess of a room.

However, Farm Sanctuary is hosting a Charity Buzz Holiday Auction with amazing, unique, vegan-friendly gifts that I simply must have. In fact, I can’t decide which is my favorite.

Lunch with Alicia Silverstone in Los Angeles immediately catches my eye, as does two V.I.P. tickets to the Ellen DeGeneres Show, or lunch for two with a childhood love - Pee-wee Herman.

A Walk the Line CD and poster signed by Joaquin Phoenix sounds excellent; though, it is a shame that he won’t be hand delivering it.

There’s also a lot of catering, home cooked, or cooking lessons … maybe that’s the way for me. Or artwork, there’s plenty of that to go around. My favorite is “Sunny” by Emmy Dudley which you can see here (girl with goose).

No. After viewing all 63 possible auctions I know what it is that I am going to dream about being able to bid on: A behind the scenes tour of Farm Sanctuary’s New York shelter with director Susie Coston (shown in this photograph) and a stay at their bed and breakfast.

What are you waiting for?! Go bid on a present for me … or fine whatever, yourself or a person that you actually know in real life.

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I’ve got a game for you. There are dozens (well, like three) versions of Macy*s new Christmas commercials featuring Martha Stewart - “The Magic of Macy*s.” But this one, that you can watch here, has a vegan reference in it.

So that’s the game: Can you spot the vegan reference in this Macy*s commercial?

If you have a moment, I would love your support for my fashion site. I am in a writing contest where the readers can win prizes too - so there is an incentive for you to go check out my entry post and then vote for me at Reality on Bravo!

At the end of last week, I started on the topic of fur in the fashion industry. I got side tracked, and didn’t share with you what I had originally stepped out to talk about.

I wanted to focus more so on fake - or faux - fur as a topic for discussion (yes, discussion, as in I would really love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and feedback too).

Rather real-looking faux-fur trim has been popping up on sweaters, jackets, and boots. For awhile, this form of fake animal material was being made so that it was obviously fake: it was bright pink, abnormally curly, or otherwise distinctly not found in nature.

But today’s fashions are featuring imitations that are extremely realistic. My question - is this good or bad? I cannot decide, no matter how long I debate with myself, how I feel about such lifelike animal hairs.

Argument for the fake fluff? It gives some of the people who insist on wearing such fluffernutter an alternative. True, this will not satisfy all as some certainly wear it as statement of status, and cheaper, imitation does not qualify you (apparently) for high status among high society.

Argument against? It looks real. People will mistake you for wearing the real deal, and I never want anyone to make this mistake about me.

So what do we think? Is faux fur positive? Would you wear it?

Leave a comment; or hop on over to Style Fix and leave your anonymous response in my poll about fur in the fashion world.

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It’s not just me that has been prematurely thinking about the dreaded Americanized day for turkeys. PETA sent out a holiday-themed e-newsletter yesterday.

In case you don’t subscribe, here are a few highlights:

* Enter to win one of the newer vegetarian turkey-flavored options for you fall feast. Garden Protein’s Veggie Stuffed Turkey Roast with Wild Rice and Cranberries comes with four-breastlike servings that are cholesterol, saturated fat, and cruelty-free.

* Read about PETA’s undercover investigation at the nation’s most famous (or should I say infamous?) turkey company - Butterball. The abuse shocked even veteran activists. Check out ButterballCruelty.com to see videos and find out how you can help put an end to this pointless suffering.

* Veg Cooking has all the recipes that you need to celebrate without meat!

* On PETA’s Helping Animal’s site you can learn everything you need to about traveling with companion animals.

One little thing that they forgot to mention? I just happened to see an ad on HBO the other day for a documentary all about the one and only president of PETA: Ms. Ingrid Newkirk. The special - I am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA - begins airing on HBO on Monday, November 19 at 8 p.m., and has regularly scheduled airings through the end of the year.

Check out the schedule here.

PETA is a good organization for many reasons. Yes, they can be extreme (though many of the cases that come to mind are likely people acting in support of PETA, not actual PETA employees). And no, I do not always agree with their tactics. But dude, check out how many contests they are having right now! I do not deny my love for free stuff and hope to win all of these goodies. But alas, I do not usually have such luck. So I will share these contests with you, and hope that at least one of us will win something.

* Type in your contact info at Caring Consumer and you will be entered to win chemical-free, non-animal-tested, completely vegan products from Nail-Aid and Anise Cosmetics. This contest comes in light of the companies’ president and founder, vegan Tam Tran, being awarded with PETA’s Trail-Blazer Award.

* This one disturbs me, so I will say it quickly: There’s this band All Time Low, and if you go here, to PETA2 you can win their new album and a signed pair of their booty shorts. They don’t like to cut open dead frogs, but apparently are okay with super short shorts that say “GET LOW” on the rear.

* Sexiest, teasingest, tease-of-them-all Dita Von Teese has been seen around town lately. The burlesque-style dancer was a guest on America’s Next Top Model two seasons back, is a spokesmodel for MAC cosmetics, and is now speaking up for animals. She posed for PETA’s ABC (animal birth control) campaign that’s all about controlling the pet population. To kick it all off, you can enter to win a gift certificate to MAC.

* Bands have weird names nowadays (gosh I sound old). Scary Kids Scaring Kids (SKSK) is a band name, got it? And they took pictures at Warped Tour. Now, you can win the camera they used - and all the pictures - plus two copies of their new, self-titled CD, signed by all the guys in SKSK … if that’s the kind of thing that entertains you. Me? I just like anything that is free, and I can delete the pictures and then just have a cool, new camera.

* Remember Alicia Silverstone getting naked and Houston getting mad? Well besides all that, she also told us what her fave cruelty-free products were, and now you can win some of them in a cute Matt & Nat (vegan designer) bag.

* If you enter this one and win, you have to give the prize to ActivistMommy because she will love it. You’ll get a Silverstein CD, and a pair of vegan, Rise Against Vans. (Translated, the prize is one band’s musical musings, and skateboarding shoes with the name of another band on them.)

And now you know how to win.

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PETA has a plethora of contests going on right now.

**First up, enter you veggie kids in the Cutest Vegetarian Kid in the Land contest. The winner will be features in Animal Times magazine, their local hometown newspaper, and will receive lots of animal-friendly goodies. All you have to do to enter is electronically send in your info with a picture of your child and a mini-bio on him or her. Don’t worry mom and dad - you’re off the hook. I already checked and PETA did specify that the kid has to be 12 or under.

**Living kid-free, or have ugly kids that won’t win a cute contest (just kidding!)? Try your hand a designing an online ad for PETA. Send in your simple or elaborate, professional or newbie advertisement by September 24 for a chance to be one of the top 10 finalists who will be featured on blogs around the Internet as well as PETA.org. The winner will receive an Apple gift card for $500, and the other finalists will all receive Apple gift cards for $20. Additionally, anyone who creates an (appropriate) ad should feel free to send it to me and I will post it here - just a leave a comment letting me know that you made one and I will reply to you personally.

**In the easiest-to-enter, just-fill-out-the-form contest, you can win a $25 gift certificate and a pair of one-of-a-kind PETA “Fur Free” tweezers, all from e.l.f. Cosmetics.

**Umm … and you can win $100 worth of Thomas the Tank Engine products for not taking your family to circuses with animals. I’m sure they’ll take the lead paint out before they send it to you.