I recently sat down with Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan, partners in both life and in animal advocacy, to talk all about their nonprofit Our Hen House. We discussed the nature of their collaboration and their use of multimedia to bring animal rights into the mainstream.

(And be sure to mark your calendar for their official Launch Party, October 1st at NYC's MooShoes. The celebration features free food and drink, and too many special guests and giveaways to list here–check out the full details.)

Robyn: Tell me about Our Hen House.

Jasmin: Our Hen House is a central clearinghouse for all kinds of ideas and opportunities for people to get involved in animal activism.

Mariann: It started with the idea that change for animals in any serious way isn’t going to come just from leadership organizations. The work of those organizations is hugely important, but if we are going to build a mass movement, it’s up to every single individual to do whatever they can to help change the world. So with Our Hen House, we’re just trying to come up with ways that people can make those changes and report on examples of people who are out there doing it. Not just going vegan, which is of course crucially important, but also in things they can to do encourage others to change, to change institutions...

Oh what horrific fingernails-against-a-chalkboard-type-tomfoolery you’ll find hiding behind salacious headlines. Whether it’s the assertion that “Soy Makes You Gay” or that “Oysters are Vegan” - sometimes an article is little more than a headline.

Case in Point: Salon’s Life Stories piece entitled “I Was Tricked Into Eating Meat (and I liked it)”

The story is simple: Vegetarian girl meets boy. Boy eats meat. Boy tricks girl into eating foie fras. Girl has “orgasm in her mouth”.

Obviously deeper issues are at play here. The story is less about “being tricked into eating meat” than it is about control, body image and personal convictions. Way to go Salon!

Seriously though, who gets “tricked” into eating meat?

I don’t like eggs. I don’t miss them. I don’t think about them. I don’t lay them. Perhaps the only time they enter my brain is when I visit my local bodega and the wafting smell of a frying egg send me on a trip to gag city - other than that they’re out of sight and out of mind. (Or, y’know, that Jason Mraz thing)

But one (vegan or otherwise) can’t help but be struck by what’s going on with the latest egg recall. The issues surrounding this recall are deeply woven and highlight the abject failure of the industry as a whole. It's scary stuff.

The Daily Beast has an informative (quick) post about both the recall and reasons why egg suckers would be wise to remain concerned. I suggest you forward it to the eggheads in your life.

You know what really gets me? That someone at sometime in history saw the egg fall out of a chicken's butt and thought it would make a great meal...

Two vegan ice cream parlors call the East Village home. Lula’s Sweet Apothecary and Stogo. The vegans I know are split down the center as to who puts out the superior product. I have actually never been to Stogo; I’m a Lula’s loyalist through and through.

Rebecca Marx of the Village Voice put the two in a head to head battle to determine just who rules the East Village Vegan Ice Cream Scene. I encourage you to read the piece; it’s both in-depth and informative!

For those of you who can’t be bothered with reading a few paragraphs of text or (like me) have blog-brain, here’s the results:

[S]togo has its strong points -- that bananas foster really is a thing of beauty -- icy texture, slightly misleading flavor descriptions, and a cone moratorium left us cold. So although Lula's Drumstick was a bit disappointing, the texture and flavors of its ice cream, as well as its generous portions and the choice to order a cone, allowed Lula's to take victory in this battle.

Score one for the Lula’s loyalists!

Sometimes I’m a very composed vegan, open-minded and willing to explore the merits of opposing arguments. The vegan who has come to be content with the fact that there just might be more than one right answer; the world is complex after all.

Other times though, I drink straight from a bottle of Haterade.

I must be parched today, because when I stumbled upon this piece in Time Magazine about Weekday Vegetarians I threw back the Haterade like my jaw had hinges.

I can certainly appreciate the idea of vowing to eat less meat for a myriad of honest justifiable reasons that absolutely make sense for you (the environment and the animals), but stay away from calling yourself vegetarian, because frankly you’re not only diluting the brand, you’re making things confusing.

I’m all for Meatless Mondays. I love that Mario Batali is penning a vegetarian cookbook. I couldn’t be happier that Graham Hill from TreeHugger is only eating meat on the weekends. What I’m not happy about is the re-appropriation of long-held ideals.

There is obviously a movement towards eating less meat; I can see that clear as day (and I'm all smiles about it). I just don’t like the flippant disregard and dilution of those movements that were here when soymilk was a powder and Seitan was God’s sworn enemy.

Simply put: Get your own words - this one is taken.

A recent New York Times, regarding the possible dilemmas that may arise with an all-vegan wedding got me thinking, and I’ve decided to make a pledge.

When I get married, I promise to serve every type of food that has ever existed since the beginning of time to assuage any of the hurt feelings that could arise if I decide to have an all-vegan menu; I’d hate for someone to have to give up meat for one meal. After all, the Vikings in attendance might be upset if I didn’t think of their feelings and serve the food they’re accustomed to.

I’m quite sure the people that know me really well (y’know, those who would presumably be at my wedding) have come to learn that I’m just Mr. Vacillator when it comes to my ideals. All those all-vegan-all-the-time events I’ve had in the past have just been part of my “quirks”. Rest assured omnivorous friends; you won’t be left out – it’ll be all about you.

Thank you New York Times for choking a non-issue until it turns violet. This is the kind of stuff that makes me wanna dance with somebody; to feel the heat with somebody.

(*Uh. Maybe. Y’know. Vegans)

Dear Omnivorous Friend,

I appreciate that you care about me enough to send me links to articles that debase my chosen path in life. Perhaps you feel it validates your carnivorous tendencies to take certain compartmentalized inconsistencies with some vegans and spray paint them gold for the world to see. Or, more telling, and quite possibly more to the point, you feel guilty for your personal choices and this makes you feel better about your choices.

I realize that the headline for that LA Times article you stumbled upon this weekend clearly says “Vegan Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Healthy” but the portrayal isn’t indicative of every vegan everywhere. We don’t all live on potato chips and Taco Bell.

Most vegans I know are equipped with the tools to make their diet work for them. But, just in case, I’ve taken the liberty of cc’ing every uninformed vegan in the whole world and putting them on notice: Know your diet! You’re more likely to stay a vegan if you do it right! And, yes, you can still eat potato chips!

Frankly, knowing more about health and proper nourishment is good for everybody!

As it stands now, asking most people about nutrition is like asking a newborn baby about Justin Bieber. The answer involves a lot of crying and sh*tting. So. Like. Know your diet dude!

Regards,

Rudy Relic

New York City’s Anthology Film Archives will play host to both press event and open screening for the new animal-rights-themed film Bold Native. It's a full-length fiction feature that “takes on the issue of modern animal use and exploitation from several angles within the context of a road movie adventure story.”

The screenings will take place on Monday, July 26, 2010 at 7 and 9:15pm at Anthology Film Archives, which is located at 32 Second Avenue in Manhattan. The screenings will be hosted by Russell Simmons.

More details here.

Ranking stuff always puts people on the defensive; it causes an instant white-knuckle reaction to whatever you’re ranking because people are often invested in that which you are dissecting and putting up for grading. I’m not usually shaken, but this morning was different.

I just saw PETA’s list of Most Veg-Friendly Cities and I cried. I cried and then I vomited in my mouth a little. Not because of the list mind you, but because I have acid reflux.

I cried because New York City is ranked 9th on a list of 10. That means that we’re almost the last kid to be picked for the team; we’re basically getting that piece of the cake that doesn’t have a decorative flower on it.

I suppose the 52 Vegan and 92 Vegetarian options in this city mean little; perhaps now they’ll all close their doors and shutter their windows and leave us forever. A distant memory, like that time Ken pantsed Dominique at recess and all the girls laughed because he had a birthmark on his butt.

But. Like. Whatever. I’m making my own list and I’m putting New York City number one because, we’re more “veg-friendly” than you on any day of the week Albuquerque, New Mexico. And, like, vegans in New York City know how to do cool dances like the Roger Rabbit and the Running Man.

Besides, it’s easy to create a ranked list of things without revealing the criteria or method at which the list was compiled. It’s best to just, like, say we’re the best and you suck and that we’re more vegan than you because the sky is blue and you can’t dance, so there.

I made this money, you didn't, right Ted?

I don't have time to write much (any) commentary, but yay for The Onion! They're really coming out with a lot of hard-hitting animal stuff lately, with this and the Horse Beating thing. (And maybe some others I'm forgetting? Please comment if you have more.)

Go read the whole article "Children Of All Ages Delighted By Enslavement Of Topsy The Elephant" and check out Circuses.com for more serious follow-up reading.

Topsy also delighted the audience after the trainer repeatedly thrust a hooked rod into his skin, causing the miserable animal to lift one leg and his trunk to simulate waving.

"Aww…" said the assembled circus-goers, who were taken by the cuteness of the barbaric spectacle.

Branden Helger, 9, said Topsy was his favorite performer at Ringling Bros. because the elephant knew how to do neat tricks like pretending to limp. The third-grader also excitedly pointed out the "cool necklace" clamped on the animal's foot.

Topsy and the other elephant performers, who are separated from each other at all times, preventing the socialization that's so crucial to their well-being, received a standing ovation from the crowd when they marched into the center ring, nervously rocking back and forth.

"Look, they're dancing," said 5-year-old Jonah Meeks, mistaking the elephants' constant swaying for something that wasn't a maladaptive behavior caused by serious psychological trauma. "I can dance like an elephant, too. Look at me!"