I'd like to nominate Susan Asato for Super Vegan status. This lady submitted several hand-cooked vegan creations to the Orange County County Fair and took home some distinctions:

• Vegan Sun Dried Tomato Cornbread Muffins - 1st place Muffins, plus Division Winner for Quickbreads (muffins, scones, loaf pan breads, coffee cakes, etc.)
• Vegan Chili with Beans - Honorable Mention, Chili Cookoff
• Vegan Apple Pie with Crunchy Pecan Topping (recipe below!) - 1st place, Pie Contest
• Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans (recipe below!) - 2nd place, Chocolate Chip Cookies with Nuts

Keep in mind, these competed against "regular" foodstuffs, not in some "special needs eaters" category, so kudos to you, Susan, for raising the esteem of vegan cuisine!

Here are two of her award winning recipes for you to bake for me (double up and follow a "one for you, one for me" policy of vegan baking):

This May, Josh Hooten, owner of Herbivore Clothing Company, will ride his bicycle 600 miles from his hometown Portland, OR to Farm Sanctuary's West Coast headquarters in Orland, CA. The ambitious bike ride is both a celebration of his 10 year veganversary and a benefit for Farm Sanctuary. Hooten hopes his feat will inspire folks to make donations amounting to $10,000 to the 20 year old organization that has rescued thousands of animals, saves even more through education and advocacy, and largely influenced his own decision to go vegan.

Visit Josh Hooten's fundraising page to make a donation. (Josh encourages you to get drunk before doing this.) Once you've emptied your bank account, entertain yourself by reading his blog, which chronicles his transition from a regular dude to a cycling machine putting out a whopping 80 miles a day.

Dairy farmers slaughtered 30 percent more cows in January than in September and are sending the cows' remains to the meat market to cut losses, the Associated Press reports.

The cost of producing milk is now double the price to consumers and the industry is having trouble keeping up. "This could destroy our dairy infrastructure," Mike Marsh, CEO of the United Western Dairymen trade association, told the AP.

For a moment, imagine if the burden of Wall Street executives (and, hey, even that of dairy farmers) were alleviated using the same strategy farmers are using to lighten the self-imposed burden of their dairy cows. Those who proved to be worth much less than their paychecks could be sent off to slaughter and made into meat patties, or better, veal--us desk-tethered humans don't get much exercise--and sold to feed all the people who are furiously digging through their purses for a few more cents to afford a can of chicken noodle soup at Gristedes.

And dairy cows aren't the only bovines the farming industry is killing prematurely (by their standards). Bull calves shipped off to feedlots to reach a weight deemed appropriate for slaughter are also a liability to the cattle livestock industry; the costs of rearing the young cows are gaining on the returns. Farm Sanctuary is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of the party who dumped 30 bull calves on roads in San Joaquin County, Calif. Nearly 50 calves have been dumped on roads in that county since January.

Meanwhile, in Dabhel, India, where killing cows is illegal, five people were arrested on Tuesday, February 10 for cow slaughter.

Three more cities have joined the Vegan Drinks cavalcade!

The first Philadelphia Vegan Drinks will be on Thursday, February 19 (hey, that's today!) from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, in the downstairs lounge at Horizons, 611 South 7th Street in Center City.

The first San Francisco Vegan Drinks will be on Thursday, February 26th, from 6-8 pm, at Martuni's, 4 Valencia Street, at Market. They will be held the last Thursday of each month.

The first Twin Cities Vegan Drinks will be on Saturday, March 7 at 7pm, at Fast & Furless and ARC's shared space, 2615 East Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, 55406. Each month will feature a theme drink - March is cosmopolitans!

The next New York Vegan Drinks will be on Thursday, February 26, 2009 (same day as SF!) at Angels & Kings as usual.

Meet Novella Carpenter, Oakland, California resident, urban farmer and former vegetarian turned conscientious carnivore. In the new issue of Utne Magazine she talks about what it's like to both raise meat and farm in urban setting (appropriately title Blood & Guts) What's most telling about this piece is not about urban farming at all; instead it is her troubling views on her time as a vegetarian:

I think [my] philosophy was really juvenile. It's hoping something doesn't have to die. It's very Babe or Charlotte's Web. But the final, logical conclusion to being a vegetarian or vegan is that farm animals will cease to exist.

And on conscientious meat eating:

A lot of my vegan and vegetarian friends have told me, 'This is the only acceptable way for you to eat meat.' I think that's true. You see the conditions that [factory-farmed animals live] in. If it's this mindless thing where you don't know where the meat came from, you don't know how it died; to me that's kind of gross.

Could her example be a clear case against movements such as Proposition 2, the possible consequences brought on by the animal welfare movement and the push towards so-called "humane meat"?

Plug in your thoughts below.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue; California's Proposition 2 has ignited a fiery debate within the AR community. Some see it as bereft of substance and ultimately more harmful than it is helpful; others, view it as a necessary step in helping to stop animal cruelty.

What do you think?

Today, media maven, (and former Vegan) Oprah Winfrey dedicated her show to examining Proposition 2. The show featured New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof, (whose July 31 piece brought the issue to Oprah's attention) Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, as well as a bevy of those both for and against the initiative.

You can find out more about today's episode by visiting the Oprah Winfrey show website or by catching a clip via Jezebel.

Anyone who is given to gobbling up their share of the vegan blog-o-sphere will surely remember the kind of seismic reverberations Urban Houswife's Vegan Candy Corn had on the world of vegan food porn. If cruelty-free treats do anything besides send vegans into a dizzy tizzy, it's get them talking.

Since then, Melisser has transformed her blog from vegan mainstay to a definitive destination for baking aficionados of all stripes and has even blessed the San Francisco area by creating her own vegan baking company: Sugar Beat Sweets.

SF Weekly's SFoodie blog did a decent little post about the Urban Housewife and even posted a video taken at World Veg Festival.

Check it out.

Whether you see animal welfare causes as a slippery slope or a stepping stone, one thing is for certain: factory farming sucks.

California's Proposition 2 is one-two punch to the gullet of those Animal Ag-holes who consciously hold profit above all else.

Recently the Yes! On Prop 2 campaign released the following video: it's cute, it's catchy and most of all, effective.

A host of new coconut milk-based vegan ice cream approximations have hit the shelves lately. On the West Coast, we have an especially wide selection: there's Maggie Mudd in San Francisco and Coconut Bliss in Eugene, Oregon. They're great for anyone looking to trim a little soy from their diet (seriously, who couldn't benefit from that?) -- but until recently, they've been a pricey specialty affair.

But the new flavors from Turtle Mountain's So Delicious Purely Decadent line (based out of Oregon, natch) are the most widely available, the least tummy-achingly decadent and the most affordable in these tight times of ours. A pint of Mudd will set you back about $5, while Coconut Bliss clocks in closer to $6. They're tasty, but S.D.'s is more accessible -- creamy, but not too sweet (made with agave, not sugar!), though perhaps a little coconutty for some. But if you're looking for a seriously decadent dessert that'll knock you out for a good hour and a half after you've inhaled it, you'd best look elsewhere.

Maybe that's why the cookie dough and mint chip versions were kind of disappointing for me. They're tasty, no doubt, but you can really taste the coconut-milk base, and they're overall not as rich as I want those flavors to be. The vanilla bean and coconut ones, on the other hand, far surpassed my expectations. The vanilla has now become my go-to summer snack (I have a lot of those "free pint" coupons saved up, okay?). Great for anyone looking to cut some soy and indulge in some summertime junk food. (Might I suggest some ripe summer peaches?) Mix a serving with some fresh cut fruit to cut down on total snack calories and foodie guilt. And then go out trick your favorite omnis because seriously, this stuff ain't no Tofutti. They'll be shocked. Then sweet-talk them into buying another carton for sharesies.

A pint will set you back less than $3 at the Park Slope Food Co-op, but more like $4 at Whole Paycheck -- though S.D. has some generous coupon offerings on their Web site. It comes in vanilla bean, chocolate, coconut, mint chip and cookie dough varieties. They're up for the VegNews Awards (vote for SV, too!) against Mudd and Bliss. I won't tell you who I voted for, because that would violate my journalistic integrity -- but let's just say I'm kind of a cheapskate.

Animal advocates across the nation will be partying this Sunday, July 27th in support of California's Proposition 2 - The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act which will reduce the suffering of 20 million abused animals trapped in cages inside California's factory farms.

The parties will help raise much needed funds to help get out the YES Vote for Farm Animals on California's Proposition 2 to counter deep-pocket factory farmers who have already raised millions of dollars and almost half a million dollars this month alone to continue the cruel and inhumane factory farming practices such as veal crates, gestation crates, and battery cages.

Find a party near you or visit the following NYC ones hosted by dedicated local activists Christine Mott in Manhattan's Financial District and Ruth Santana in Astoria, Queens.

Nora Kramer who worked full-time (and over-time!) on the ground in California's Bay Area will be joining the Manhattan party to give a first hand account of what's going on in California. She was the Bay Area regional coordinator for Californians for Humane Farms campaign. Come hear Nora's inspiring account and how New Yorkers can help animals and our friends and colleagues in California!

Here are more ways you can help. And yes, you can still make a donation if you can't make it to a party.