I was down in Battery Park earlier today and saw this very cool exhibit by PETA.

Human-size banner after banner lines the walkway on the Battery Place side of the inside of the park (across from the National Museum of the American Indian), and the content is top-notch: Analogous human and animal suffering is shown in each panel, from slavery to experimentation to mutilation to slaughter and more. There’s also an interesting collection of quotes demonstrating that the way we once justified mistreating humans sounds eerily similar to the way people justify animal use and abuse today.

Whatever you think of PETA, this is a standout exhibit. In the little time that I was there, lots of people stopped to read the panels, and you could see that they were really having an impact. I highly recommend checking it out. It’s in Columbus Circle on Monday, Union Square Tuesday and Wednesday, and Battery Park Thursday and Friday, usually from 10am to 4:30pm, depending on the weather.

It's so nice to see all of this open-air activism going on around the city!

From September to December 2008, the vegan conservation group Sea Shepherd waged a fight to protect the ecosystem and all the animals of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. This blog recounts what happened in that time, serving for the group.

The post below describes one of the biggest arguments the locals had against Sea Shepherd's involvement in Galapagos.

My goal was to make sure no more animals would have to share the fate of my poor Nikki Wolf. We're currently working with locals to try to find a sensible way to raise funding for the building of a proper permanent clinic/hospital.

There was just one more major obstacle in the way of massive public support for the things we were trying to do.


Argument 4: Other Social Problems

This argument came up every time the issue of trying to promote animal welfare came up to an educated audience with means.

4: "Save the ecosystem?! How dare you try to help animals and the environment before solving all the human issues like education!"

Think we're insufferable online? Wait til you meet us in person! We'll be tabling at Pratt Institute's third Annual Green Week, tomorrow, Friday April 3, 2009, from 11am to 6pm. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello.

Pratt is in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Probably best to enter the campus at Dekalb and Hall Street. (The directions section of Pratt's website is an unlinkable abomination, sorry). It's a really nice campus with a bunch of great outdoor sculptures and classy buildings.

Unfortunately it will probably be too cold to bring our dunking booth to the fair. Patrick and Olivia are trying to talk me into us doing a kissing booth, but I'm not sure that's appropriate for our wholesome image. Pratt students are kinda hot, though...

Patrick will also be representing the Humane Society of the United States. Other groups/vendors tabling include Red Jacket Orchards, Siggi's Skyr (boo!), Chewonthis.org, Bobolink Farms Dairy (boo!), the Nutbox, and Rick's Picks.

Update: Yes, it's raining, so we won't be outside--the whole thing will be inside the Student Union.

Heather Mills has donated $1 million worth of vegan food to the Hunts Point Alliance for Children. The food will be distributed to impoverished children in Hunts Point, Bronx. Mills kicked off the donation with a vegan barbecue over the weekend, and was awarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition by Congressman Jose Serrano.

Sure, it's cynical ploy for good publicity, but if only all celebrities would rehabilitate their reputations through such vegan-friendly methods! You can't deny the real benefit to the animals and the school children.

Tomorrow evening, animal advocates Jasmin Singer (Farm Sanctuary) and Marisa Miller Wolfson (Kind Green Planet), the duo who bought us Veganism 101, will lead a workshop called Where the Women's, Gay, and Animal Liberation Movements Intersect at The New School. I'll be on the panel pushing my queer vegan anthology book project and learning from the other way more qualified speakers. Hope to see you.

(See our NYC Vegan Events Calendar for details on this event and more.)

The new channel Planet Green launched last night (channel 172 on Cablevision; not sure where it is for you other folks), and I caught a few minutes of it here and there. In partnership with Treehugger, the channel is an exciting development in green biz: the “first and only 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network.” But as optimistic as I was about PG, I found myself wondering where it would fall on the issue of veg*nism and the environment.

Of course, the channel’s programming includes the usual suspects—lifestyles of the rich and environmental (Hollywood Green With Maria Menounos), makeover shows (Renovation Nation, WA$TED!)—and will expand to include “reality” challenges (Battleground Earth: Ludacris Vs. Tommy Lee). But as always, the real answers lie within the cooking/dining and “information” shows. And what I saw there disappointed me.

• Twin Cities' City Pages reports the FBI allegedly recruited a shaggy haired, troubled youth to infiltrate vegan potlucks in an effort to spy on potential protesters of the Republican National Convention which will be held in Minneapolis-Saint Paul this September.
• In semi-related news, Twin Cities power activist group Compassionate Action for Animals hosts Their Lives, Our Voices: Midwest Animal Advocacy Conference 2008 Friday, June 6 through Sunday, June 8 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Conference Center in Minneapolis, MN. They've even created a Wiki Twin Cities Veg Tourism Guide to help non-locals better enjoy their visit after conference hours.
• New Jersey's hip factor will drastically increase on Saturday, June 21st when Sweet Avenue Bake Shop teams up with LeafyGreen.info to host Cupcakefest, a day of live music and free vegan mini-cupcakes in Lincoln Park (Rutherford, NJ).
• The Vegan Outreach newsletter recently featured Sam & Ruby's Vegan Goodies, a small company that sells tubes of vegan cookie dough. I haven't tried their products yet, but I'm sure they quell nostalgic yearnings for Tollhouse cookies and are delightfully salmonella-free.
• I'm not sure if the toddlers at Longmont, CO's all-vegan preschool BellaVita eat Sam & Ruby's, but they do eat veggies that they grow themselves.

You may be familiar with Boston-based Bexx as the creator of the awesome online restaurant guide, VeganBoston, but did you know she also makes books?

In addition to an assortment of adorable journals, sketchbooks, and albums, Bexx has created two outstanding miniature books, How I Get My Protein and How I Get My Calcium. Each illustrated, handsewn book contains a short list of vegan nutrient sources, the amount of nutrient per serving, and percentage of daily value. Also included is information on how much protein or calcium the average person needs each day and a list of resources on vegan nutrition. Bexx recommends: "The next time someone asks you 'How do you get your protein?', suppress the urge to strangle them by handing them this cute little book!"

Books By Bexx are sold on Etsy, Little Paper Planes, and Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe. Books by Bexx is also a member of Vegan Etsy, an etsy team made up of vegans that maintain completely vegan shops.

Through the magic of Myspace, I sent Bexx a few questions about her bookmaking business. She was kind enough to respond.

This week, New Yorkers will have two chances to catch up with Hillary Rettig, author of The Lifelong Activist and The Little Guide To Beating Procrastination, Perfectionism and Blocks, a free E-book. The Boston based life coach and activist will lead workshops at NYU and The Fourth Universalist Society headquarters.

Titled "Living a Joyful and Productive Progressive Life," Rettig's seminar teaches activists how to avoid burnout. It will center on what she describes as the building blocks of a happy and productive life: mission management (to figure out your authentic goals and path); time management (so you can develop a schedule that helps you focus on your goals); and fear management (so you can get past procrastination, perfectionism and blocks to success).

Tuesday, February 19, 6:30-8pm. NYU, 60 Washington Square South, Room 405. A,B,C,D,E,F,V to West 4th Street. Hosted by NYU animal rights group SEAL and Farm Sanctuary. Free, but RSVP: campaignintern1@farmsanctuary.org.

Wednesday, February 20, 7-9pm. The Fourth Universalist Society, 160 Central Park West at 76th Street. B,C to 72nd Street. $10 suggested donation.

Here's an unconfirmed rumor we received via text message from an inside source:

Student chefs are cooking up a three or four course gourmet (mostly vegan) brunch today at Counter. The normally pricey restaurant is charging a measly $7 for the meal. The special mid-week brunch begins at 11:30AM and should go on for a couple of hours.

God, I hope it's true!