I can kind of excuse the first reason because Bittman is a food writer. Perhaps everything is about food for him. That he’s not a vegan because he buys leather shoes wouldn’t even cross his mind. He wrote a whole book about being vegan for a few hours a day, and he sure as heck just means in terms of diet.

As to the other two points, I’ll let him speak for himself:

I can see three scenarios that might lead to universal, full-time veganism: An indisputable series of research results proving that consuming animal products is unquestionably “bad” for us; the emerging dominance of a morality that asserts that we have no right to “exploit” our fellow animals for our own benefit; or an environmental catastrophe that makes agriculture as we know it untenable. All seem unlikely.

I’ve been thinking about it for three days and I still have no idea what the quote marks around  “exploit” mean. But I’m pretty sure that at the very least they mean Bittman doesn’t think “we” exploit “our fellow animals”. No, we just …

…produce most animal products in deplorable conditions, and some of our health and environmental problems can be traced both to dominant production methods and our overconsumption. But we like to eat them, and they’re a pleasurable and even healthy part of many traditional diets and even sound agricultural practices.

“We like to eat them.” “They’re…pleasurable.” Great reasons to commission vast networks of institutionalized rape, murder, and slavery, Mark. Really top-drawer ethical thinking there.

But then we hit the nut of it, in the last of his eight footnotes:

A vegan diet is no guarantee of a good diet, unless the only goal is to avoid killing animals. Sugar-sweetened beverages, French fries and doughnuts can all be vegan.

That’s a bingo! That is indeed the goal of veganism. (Well, and not exploiting the animals while they’re alive, either.) Sugar-sweetened beverages, French fries and doughnuts can all be vegan. And that’s a good thing.

There are quite a few bake sales scheduled in NYC that week, including one on April 28, hosted by the always wonderful folks at MooShoes. The sale will raise money for Food Not Bombs NYC, who recover and share free vegan food with the public without restriction every Sunday in Tompkins Square Park to protest war, poverty and the destruction of the environment.

Delicious goodies await

MooShoes will be full of all things yummy as well as information on how you can get involved with FNB.

Bakers and volunteers are still needed for this event, so please sign up!

And don’t forget to bring a bag or container to take your purchases home in (or a utensil to eat with there) to cut back on waste!

-The faces of The Facebook mounted a campaign to save a ‘Gay Dog‘ from being put down by a Tennessee kill shelter. Gawker covered the story and the dog was rescued! Yay!

-Want to know your state’s animal-related laws and their penalties? The ASPCA has made it easy!

-The European Union is set to ban animal testing for cosmetics forever!

-Will 2013 be the year of ag-gag bills? Our old compatriot Susie Cagle thinks so.

-Arizona lawmaker seeks ban on awarding live animals as carnival prizes. And he’s a Republican!

-”Going Vegan in the NFL” has zero mention of ethics. Do any of these guys care about the leather they’re fumbling?

-Gross. Professional athletes are spraying deer antler velvet into their mouths to stimulate muscle growth. Ew, also.

-Dust off those passports and book your tickets: the biggest vegan festival in the world is coming to London this October! 

-Or, if you’re not up for international travels, here’s the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival lineup for 2013, and there’s more to come! How soon is March again?

Before you feel so bad you stop reading, her prognosis (so far) is quite good. They caught it early, and it doesn’t appear to have spread. But I’ve already lost one parent to cancer, and I’m not ready to be Orphan Andy just yet. So I did what I could do: I gave her a copy of Forks Over Knives, dropped a bill or two at Whole Foods, and While You Were Out-ted her kitchen into a vegan one.

Ordinarily, I would never ever do this. To anyone. Ever. I’m happy to share my beliefs (exhibit A: this blog post), but I have never been a proselytizer, nor have I ever judged anyone else’s eating habits. Actually, that’s not true– I make fun of my boyfriend all the time, but that’s because he exists on a steady diet of jerky, Oreos and soda and he’s not twelve. But I digress. People have to come to these sort of life-changing decisions for themselves, or else they won’t stick. But I know my Barbara (your mom’s name is Barbara, too?) and sometimes she needs help to get going (exhibit 1: she’s been on Nutri-System for years). I should also note that she has always been super supportive of me and my eating habits, loves her veggies, and has expressed interest in becoming a vegetarian before, so it wasn’t 100% crazy, only 97%. That’s a percentage I can work with.

So, if you or someone you know needs a vegan starter-kit, here’s what I got:

• A giant bottle of Bragg Liquid Aminos
• Gardein Beefless Tips
• Gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers
• Gardein Chick’n Scallopini
• 365 brand Chickenless Patties
• Original Almond Breeze Almond Milk
• 365 brand Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
• Follow Your Heart Creamy Garlic Dressing
• Follow Your Heart Grapeseed Vegenaise
• Galaxy Vegan Parmesan
• Daiya Cheddar Wedge
• Daiya Jalapeño Garlic Havarti Wedge
• Tofurky Italian Sausages
• Sabra Classic Hummus
• Amande Yogurt
• WholeSoy Yogurt
• SoDelicious Coconut Milk Yogurt
• Zen Almond Milk Pudding
• Vegetarian Plus Vegan Citrus Spare Ribs
• Tofutti Sour Cream
• Arugula (not pictured)
• Sweet Potatoes (not pictured)
• Red, Yellow and Green Bell Peppers (not pictured)
• Portabella Mushrooms (not pictured)

In addition, I also made her my favorite veggie pâtè (let me know in the comments if you want the recipe), some homemade pesto (her fav! Let me know in the comments if you want this recipe, too), and shared some ground flax seed.

Then I confiscated everything I could find that does not adhere to a plant-based diet:

• Eggs
• Yogurt
• Parmesan Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Butter
• Margarine
• Kakuana Port Wine Cheese Spread
• Kraft Cheddar Slices
• A gross of String Cheese

When she walked in the door, the surprise greeted her in aromatic form; the smell of dinner cooking– a pesto lasagne with a filling of Tofurky Italian Sausages, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, and green beans, topped with a generous dollop of hummus (did you know pesto and hummus are amazing together?) and a sprinkling of arugula. It was pretty darn tasty, evenifIsaysomyself, and there were lots of leftovers for her.

So, how’s she doing? It’s only been a couple of days, so she still has cancer (it’s veganism, not magic).

But, “Us vegans be doin gooder!” she says.

Yes we be, Barb. Yes we be.

Plant Based Solutions founder David Benzaquen

Plant Based Solutions is a new consultancy offering sales and marketing advice to vegan food manufacturers, and also helping businesses that buy, sell, and serve food to offer more and better vegan options.

Some food manufacturers PBS is working with include The Vegg, DF Mavens ice cream, Treeline Cheese, and Chicago Vegan Foods. You’ll get to try products from those companies and more at the Plant Based Solutions launch party along with a great menu (details below) from the always excellent Chickpea & Olive.

The launch party will be held from 6-8:30pm on Saturday, January 12 at  Metropolitan Community Church of New York,  446 West 36th Street, between 9th & 10th Avenues, NYC.

Plant Based Solutions founder David Benzaquen is a long-time vegan, and  has worked as a lobbyist and political organizer for various organizations, including three years at Farm Sanctuary. (Do you remember a guy who used to show up at Vegan Drinks dressed in a cow suit? That’s David!)

I asked him a bunch of questions about PBS and Saturday’s event.

Jason: Why start Plant Based Solutions now? Is the U.S. more ready for than this than we would have been, say, 5 years ago?

David: 2013 is the breakout year for veganism. The last few years have seen a huge jump in flexitarianism with the success of campaigns like Meatless Mondays. Now, as meat and dairy prices skyrocket, and Americans are becoming more aware of the impacts of a plant-based diet on health, the environment, and animal protection, veganism is on the rise like never before. Just weeks ago, the Values Institute at DGWB, a national consumer research institute predicted veganism to be one of the top 5 health trends of 2013. In their release, they said, “Last year’s rise of the flexitarians is foreshadowing a trend toward meatless eating and outright veganism, vegetarianism’s older brother. Look for herbivore-accommodating menus at restaurants on both coasts to start migrating to mid-America in 2013.”

In addition, the market for vegan businesses has blossomed in recent years with major financial backers (like venture capital giant Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield, and Byers) flooding the industry with funding for meat and dairy alternatives.

Why are you the guy to start this company?

Growing up in a family surrounded by people working in finance, I learned from an early age how to speak and think like a business person. I then was fortunate to spend years building friendships with hundreds of compassionate and strategic leaders in the animal protection and vegan food worlds. As someone with a background in lobbying (ethically) and community organizing, I know how to sell the purest product: ideas. Plant-Based Solutions is about helping to sell fantastic products and telling a story of a world in which doing good is good business.

Do you have any initiatives underway you can tell us about?

We are so fortunate that we can work with both larger, more established companies, and smaller businesses that are just launching. In the next few months, we’ll be working on some exciting product rollouts that take quality to another level in vegan cheese, desserts, and more.

We are also working with some chain restaurants and food service providers that are hungry for opportunities to meet their customers’ demand for vegan foods across the nation. All I can say for now is to stay tuned to PlantBasedSolutions.co to hear more!

OK, that’s vague, but I understand you can’t  give away too many details yet!

What’s your advice to our readers who have a relationship with an institution that should have more vegan food (a school, workplace, restaurant, cultural institution, etc.)?

Ask for it! Businesses depend on customers. As ethical consumers, our buying power is our vote for good, but we can’t vote if we don’t ask stores to put our favorite products on the ballot!

So many stores and restaurants I’ve encouraged to carry vegan products tell me that doing so was the best business decision they’ve ever made and that they just wish someone had introduced them to those products sooner.

Are you dealing with food only, or also animal-product alternatives in other industries?

Right now we are focusing on food and we are excited at all the opportunities to keep us busy there. Time will tell what we do in the future.

I was psyched to see Chickpea & Olive is doing the food for your launch party. What’s on the menu?

I’m psyched too! The folks at Chickpea & Olive really prove how great vegan, organic, local food can be. They are also among the nicest people I have the pleasure of working with and I’m thrilled to have them catering the event. The mouthwatering menu featuring some of the hottest vegan foods is:

• Caesar salad lettuce cup
• Bruschette three ways
  • Portobello mousse
  • Butternut squash escabeche with dandelion pesto
  • Treeline black pepper cheese
• Raviolo fritto stuffed with Treeline cashew cheese and beets, with a lemon-caper hollandaise sauce (sauce made with The Vegg).
• Arancini stuffed with Gardein vegan chicken breast, Teese coconut cheese mozzarella, and marinara sauce
• Portobello steak spiadini with cauliflower, dandelion greens, and a polenta fritter
• Chocolate ganache tartlet with DF Mavens mango ice cream

Yum! I hope lots of SuperVegan readers can make it to the event to eat that food.

Congratulations on the launch, and I’m looking forward to Plant Based Solutions making this a more vegan world!

Did you know that animal rights groups became the “number one domestic terrorism threat” in this country?

I didn’t, until I read an interview with journalist and author Will Potter on the Animal Legal Defense Fund website.

Potter, “is an award-winning independent journalist based in Washington, D.C., who focuses on ‘eco-terrorism,’ the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties post-9/11. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Huffington Post, and the Vermont Law Review.” After getting arrested for leafletting, threatened by the FBI, and then testifying before Congress, he became “obsessed” with finding out how this terrifying reality came to be.

Drawing comparisons to the “Red Scare” era, Potter’s book, Green Is The New Red: An Insider’s Account of a Social Movement Under Siege is, “a thrilling memoir that contextualizes the federal Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA).” AETA, he explains, was created to expand on the Animal Enterprise Protection Act (AEPA), which was deemed “inadequate in going after radical groups.”

The article also goes on to discuss the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which might be even more scary; “a secretive organization that allows corporations to literally write bills that have been introduced around the country—with lawmakers having no idea that they were actually drafted by corporations themselves”, and provides a link to Potter’s Congressional testimony. I need a hug!

Cartoonist Ethan Young

Cartoonist Ethan Young is a superhero vegan. So frankly, it’s about time that we interviewed him here. On top of that, Ethan’s new book, Tails: Book 1, is out in stores as of this week. If you don’t know Ethan, or if you only know him through reading his online comic, Tails, then read on, for your life isn’t quite complete until you learn about the life of one of the most well known vegan cartoonists there is. Hilarious and fearless, Ethan isn’t even afraid to be self-deprecating while advertising his own work.

SuperVegan: For newbie readers, tell us what Tails is about. And I’m talking, is it about you? A part of you you’re afraid to show the world? A part of you that you had to tame down because you know you have a wife watching your comic?

Ethan: Yes, Tails is about my life, give or take. I’ve always referred to it as the story of a vegan hippie with super powers. The comic incorporates comedic semi-autobiographical stories combined with epic fantasy. My cartoon facsimile is a bit of a dick at times, but my wife already knows that about me. More importantly, Tails is about arrested maturity, and the struggles of becoming a real adult. It just happens to have super-heroes and kittens. And then some super-kittens.

SuperVegan: I know you’ve done work a lot more raunchy than Tails. Tell us how you went on your strange journey and how Tails serves as the outlet for your angry superhero vegan side.

Ethan: Ha, I don’t know how much I should actually divulge. Well, my raunchiest art gig was illustrating gay porn. It was fun, to say the least; never a dull moment. I can’t remember any other period in my life where my ability to draw cute girls was utterly useless. Other than that, my professional art career is fairly perfunctory, which is why Tails exists for me to explore some zanier artistic endeavors.

I started self-publishing Tails back in 2006. At the time, I was a disgruntled worker at an animal shelter; being an aspiring cartoonist while fostering a dozen cats is generally a recipe for frustration. Not to mention the usual 20-year-old problems like relationships, family issues, and low self-esteem. I channeled all of it into Tails, and it was fairly well-received. I later reworked Tails as a webcomic and now it’s back in print, courtesy of Hermes Press.

SuperVegan: You got featured in some pretty big press before this release, didn’t you? And what’s new in this release?

Ethan: I was featured on MTV Geek last year and got a blurb over at VegNews. As for Tails: Book 1, it reprints the first nine chapters of the online comic (tailscomic.com) with some additional material that’ll only be seen in this collected volume.

SuperVegan: Give us a sneak peak; what’s new in the collected volume that’ll make us drool and go out and buy it now?

Ethan: Just a good story with good art. I don’t know if that’s drool-inducing, but it’s something.

SuperVegan: So, the tough question. Another vegan artist? How did you decide the world needed one of those? ;)

Ethan: That’s probably the most complicated question here. I basically wanted to attack negative stereotypes about vegans. Most times when the word ‘vegan’ is mentioned in pop culture, it’s shrouded in mockery, whether it’s TV, films, comics, or whatever. I wanted to portray a vegan as just a regular person with regular problems that anyone else would have. In fact, my being vegan isn’t even really essential to the story. Most people enjoy the comic for the story and resonate with the broader themes. I’ve only encountered one reviewer who was offended by what she considered, my “extremist views.” (FYI, that reviewer can go suck a turd) Of course, that means you end up reading stories about my being an asshole boyfriend during my petulant youth. Is that a good or bad thing, to have that associated with vegans?

SuperVegan: Saying that you want kittens to have homes is something only an extremist terrorist would say, as that reviewer understands well. So you’d rather be identified as frustrated asshole first, vegan superhero second?

Ethan: God, I don’t want to be identified as an asshole, period. But I’ll let the reader make that decision.

SuperVegan: You’re actually getting well known now, wouldn’t you say? When do you think you’ve “made it?” What’s your big project when you can do anything you want once Tails puts you on a bigger map?

Ethan: I think I’ve ‘made it’ as a professional, for sure. I’m not rich, but I’m way better off than most, and way better off than most freelance artists. I’ve recently bought a house and I’m still south of 30, I think that’s a pretty neat bragging right. However, I haven’t yet ‘made it’ if we’re talking about fame. In my ideal fantasy world, every stray kitten would have a warm home, and my doodles would sell for millions. That’s my greedy, delusional, narcissistic side talking.

If I had it my way, I’d keep doing more Tails for years and years. And years. And then open a vegan café.

SuperVegan: Vegan cafe? Do tell. Comics themed?

Ethan: Well, Foodswings was kinda like a comic-themed vegan joint when it first opened. My wife and I have just talked about opening up a vegan cafe for a very long time. We’re in Ithaca, NY right now, which is very veg-friendly, but there’s no 100% vegan place. The closest vegan place is Strong Hearts in Syracuse, NY. This is just me thinking out loud, by the way.

SuperVegan: Anything new you’d like to add or shamelessly plug about the release?

Ethan: Yeah, buy my book. Now. Don’t wait for it to go on sale. And after you buy my book, go adopt a cat.

SuperVegan: Which stores can we find your book at? Barnes & Noble?

Ethan: Yes, Barnes & Noble should have copies. The book was released in comic shops last Wednesday, and Amazon will have it available on September 4th (you can still pre-order it right now). You’d have a better shot of finding the book in a comic shop, but it’d be great if people would flock to Barnes & Noble, because they return all the books they don’t sell.

Where I come from, MFA stands for Master of Fine Arts, but those are just really expensive pieces of paper that don’t do a whole lot. A better use of the acronym is Mercy For Animals because they do awesome things like fight for farmed animals and against the cruelty they are subjected to. Not the other way around. Do you know about this organization? I bet you didn’t know they were this cute.

On Saturday, June 2nd, I was lucky enough to attend a MFA event called Justice For All: A Night For Creatures Big And Small. This was a $500 per VIP ticket cocktail party in the West Hollywood Hills. Pretty swank. Hillary Swank was not there, but other celebrities were, like honoree Emily Deschanel and her Bones co-star Michaela Conlin, Jackass Steve-O and that Skinny Bitch Rory Freedman. The host, Freeway The Dog, and his house were incredible and the bar was not only open, but staffed with swoon-worthy ‘tenders.

The party was catered by super Vegan chef extraordinaire Dave Anderson from Madeleine Bistro, a restaurant that is open on an intermittent basis, and Maddy’s formerly known as The Shoppe, which hasn’t even opened once yet. Culinary highlights included BBQ seitan skewers, cashew cheese stuffed dates wrapped in a smokey mushroom, filet un-fish sandos, and some sort of donut/beignet thing that I am considering starting a competitive Vegan eating team for.

The party was fun, fancy and kind of like going to the airport. You had to take a shuttle van to get there (Heeeeey, to the people on my party bus!), you had to take your shoes off, and you left with a giant bag (of awesome goodies). LAXPH (Los Angeles International Party House).

There was a silent auction of all kinds of great things n’ stuff:

And after a few hours of free swim there was a short program, the three important parts of which were:

Won.) Nathan Runkle, the founder of MFA is appx. 18 years old. Or maybe that’s how old he was when he started it, either way, I have not done enough with my life.

Too.) This video. Don’t you not even try to don’t not be affected.

Three …) people in the room donated $25,000 each. 3! Nathan raised 200K in less than 10 minutes. This was impressive, but it’s not nearly enough, I’m sure. They are fighting billion dollar industries and winning, but with ag-gag bills passing, life is about to get harder for them and Bessy The Cow. Do you have extra dollars? Doesn’t have to be five figures, if you’re so inclined, they would gladly accept whatever you can give. And/Or, you could invest in the highly anticipated Shift all Vegan restaurant & bar in Venice, as they are still in need of a few chunks of money in order to open before I die from a suspense O.D.

Six workers at a Butterball turkey farm in North Carolina face criminal charges after an undercover video revealed alleged animal abuse, and a state employee who tipped off Butterball before a police raid on the farm has pled guilty to obstruction of justice.

Three workers have been arrested, according to Hoke County officials. Terry Johnson has been charged with misdemeanor cruelty to animals, Ruben Mendoza has been charged with animal cruelty and felony identity theft, and Jose Garcia has been charged with felony identity theft. Three other workers are being sought on animal cruelty charges.

I strongly suggest you read the entire ABC News story for the full details.

The arrests and the increase in public awareness of Butterball cruelty are huge steps in the right direction. But we still have two outstandingly awful things happening here: one, of course, is needless cruelty to turkeys, and the other is a state government-employed VETERINARIAN tipping off Butterball about a raid. I’m always flabbergasted by the INSANE hypocrisy of vets who, for example, love parrots but eat chickens. But enabling gratuitous stomping, beating, and otherwise torturing of birds at a factory that rips apart tens of millions of them each year? This person’s license to practice medicine on animals should be revoked and she should be jailed, but instead she’ll be required to take two ethics courses. Whose idea of ethics she’ll be learning about, I don’t know.

This sort of thing reinforces for me in a painfully direct way how important it is to support organizations like MFA who do the very difficult work of confronting animal cruelty head-on every day while I’m sitting at a desk making books. If, like me, it nags at you that you’re not on the front lines, come with me to MFA’s site and make a donation, if you can. Organizations like this need contributions in the form of help AND money.

For more than two decades, Avon, Mary Kay, and Estée Lauder have been among the largest mainstream international companies on PETA’s cruelty-free lists. Avon banned all tests on animals following PETA’s massive “Avon Killing” campaign, and Mary Kay pledged to go cruelty-free after cartoonist Berkeley Breathed mocked the company in his popular Bloom County comic strip. Since then, all three companies have enjoyed the support of PETA and millions of consumers who choose to buy cosmetics from companies that don’t harm animals. But now we have learned that all three companies have been paying for tests on animals at the requirement of the Chinese government—and they did not inform PETA or consumers that their policies had changed. We have no choice but to downgrade them by placing them on our list of companies that test on animals.

You can read the full story here. If this pisses you off, write to these makeup companies to let them know you won’t support testing on animals, no matter where it’s happening.

Vegucated Screening
Wednesday, February 22 at 6:15 p.m.
Whole Foods Tribeca, 270 Greenwich Street, NYC

A real, live, full-time job with one of the most effective organizations in exposing cruelty to farmed animals? And the job is to tell people how great it is to be vegan and how animals are really super (in a far more educated-sounding way)? How wonderful. My favorite highlights about the job, swiped from MFA’s site, below. Check out the full job description and application instructions on MFA’s site.

Primary Responsibilities and Duties:

• Develop and implement innovative regional and national outreach strategies to more effectively raise awareness about farmed animal welfare issues and veganism in the United States
• Manage and train regional coordinators to conduct local grassroots outreach, including leafleting events, restaurant outreach, tabling events, film screenings and more
• Develop MFA’s humane education presentations, maintain MFA’s humane education program, and train and assist staff in implementing the organization’s humane education program
• Manage and assist MFA’s national campaign coordinator in planning and conducting events across the country geared toward attracting mainstream media attention to important farmed animal welfare issues and elevating MFA’s status as a national animal advocacy organization.

Japanese whalers fight Sea Shepherd Conservation Society volunteers. Copyright Sea Shepherd

Japan took 2.28 billion yen ($29.4 million USD) that was raised and earmarked to help victims of the Japanese tsunami disaster, and used that money to beef up military security for the Japanese Antarctic whaling fleet, in order to combat Sea Shepherd volunteers. The Sea Shepherd flag ship, the Steve Irwin, cost less than two million USD total in comparison, although it has been successful thus far in repelling the military weaponry of the Japanese fleet anyway (which has included guns, grenades, and LRADs). But this new military funding taken from disaster relief funds dwarfs previous years’ military funding for the Japanese whaling fleet.

The Japanese whaling fleet left port in Japan this week, and is on its way to Antarctica now. So the Sea Shepherd fleet, currently in Australia, will depart to protect whales from the whaling fleet in the next couple weeks.

Heya Heya, SuperVegans!

Big News! Compassion Over Killing has successfully convinced the makers of Quorn products to ditch the eggs in a burger! Out now across the US is (supposedly, we actually haven’t seen it yet) a Vegan Quorn burger! Yay us!

The burger is still made from factory fungus though, so it gives me pause, but as much as that creeps me out, it annoyed me more that all their products contain egg albumen, which with whey are the banes of my existence. I’ll try it. Will/have you?

Ask and ye shall receive! That’s a thing, right? Well the fine folks at Compassion Over Killing think so, and we want to help!

Wouldn’t it be incredible to affect change at the world’s largest restaurant chain AND have another vegan food option at the ready?

Subway (35,786 restaurants in 98 countries) has introduced a brand new vegan patty! Awesome?! Well, yes & no: it’s only available at some of its restaurants in Canada. And the veggie patty currently offered in the US contains egg. Let’s convince them to bring us USers the Vegan one! It will only take a few seconds of your internet play time, swear!

OPTION ONE (1) (I): go to WeLoveSubway.com and leave a comment. Here’s one if you just want to copy + paste:
I would really really really like the Vegan Vegged Out Patty to be available in the US, really!

OPTION TWO (2) (II): go to The Facebook and leave a comment. Here’s one for you, so easy!
Please please please bring the Vegan Vegged Out Patty to the US, please!

OPTION THREE (3) (III): Tweet a message at them. Here’s one pre-typed by me on your behalf:
@subwayfreshbuzz I want the Vegan #VeggedOutPatty in the US. Canada is far and I am a hungry vegan person! @SuperVegan @TryVeg

OPTION FOUR (4) (IV): Call Subway. This sounds extreme in the digital age, but trust me, it’s not. A nice human being will listen to you! Here’s the number 203-877-4281

OPTION FIVE (5) (V): Send an actual e-mail.
I can’t fill out the form for you, sorry. But it has pull downs. It’s real easy for a whiz like you!

Do 1, 1-5 or any combo thereof and you’ll be our favorite reader ever! C’mon let’s do this. I want to hit up Fatburger next and get them to switch from their Veggie Boca Burger to the Vegan one!!

• Not that you need an excuse to shop, but Mooshoes is celebrating its 10th anniversary this Saturday, Dec. 3, with a 15% discount on all in-store purchases, plus beverages and snacks from Blossom du Jour and Dun-Well Doughnuts.
• Veg Blog has released the third installment of its vegan business profile series, this time featuring cookbook publisher Heritage Press.
• On Wednesday, Dec. 7, head over to Pianos on the Lower East Side for some Freerange Nonfiction and listen while Hannah Tinti, Alison Espach and Alison Smith read from their animal-related books. The event’s $8 cover will directly benefit Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. For more information on this and other happenings in New York City, check out our Events Calendar.
• Speaking of farmed animals, Mercy for Animals has uncovered yet more abuse, this time by Sparboe Egg Farms, the supplier of McDonald’s eggs.
• In other atrocities, the USDA released its 2010 Dairy Checkoff Report, and the results are, well, atrocious: In 2009, $108 million was spent promoting milk, while $283 million was used to push dairy products like cheese. Is this really how we want our tax money spent?
• On a lighter note: Sending out holiday cards? Be sure to order a book of PETA’s stamps featuring veggie celebs, now through January. The stamps, which can be purchased online, are available as of today and feature famous faces such as Woody Harrelson, Chrissie Hynde, Bob Barker and Morrissey, plus historical notables including da Vinci, Tolstoy and Pythagoras. Celebs aren’t always the most consistent carrot eaters, but they do help expose the mainstream to the cause.
• Maybe PETA will consider dedicating a stamp to five-year veghead Jessica Chastain. She’s not the only vegan to make people think the chicken she was chomping was “real.”
• For the young compassionate people in your life: The Vegetarian Resource Group is giving away two $5,000 college scholarships to vegetarian high schoolers graduating in the spring of 2012. If you know a senior who lives and promotes the veg lifestyle, make sure he or she applies by Feb. 20.
• The Clash’s Paul Simonon was arrested earlier this year while working undercover as a vegetarian cook for Greenpeace. He might not have been a vegan pirate cook fighting whalers, but protesting against Artic oil offenders gets a thumbs-up too.
• Jane Brody wrote about vegans’ favorite vitamin in The New York Times: Vitamin B12 Deficiency Can Cause Symptoms That Mimic Aging.
• Arms dealer Viktor Bout, the closest thing to a real-life James Bond villain, is demanding vegan meals in jail.
• Last, I’m sad to say that Marti Kheel has died. I had the privilege of hearing the ecofeminist and the author of Nature Ethics speak a few years ago, and her message was inspiring. RIP, Marti.

Now’s your chance to read all those vegan/AR books you’ve been hearing about!

• Still need to come up with another Thanksgiving side dish? How about our latest reader submission: Sweet Potatoes Caribbean.
• And Turtle Mountain has launched two brand-new holiday drinks: Coconut Nog and Mint Chocolate.
• Holiday fare often leads to excess weight gain (if you’re doing it right). Need to lose those extra pounds? Check in with Dr. Frank Sabatino for some plant-based weight loss ideas.
• Speaking of eating, if sandcastle cookies, fried pickles and kale chips spell holiday spirit to you, you won’t want to miss the Vegan Holiday Shop-Up, on Sunday, Dec. 4 from 12-5pm, at the Pine Box Rock Shop.
• Then on Dec. 10, join our very own Livi Lane in the County of Kings for Vegan/Animal Rights Book Swap for Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary 2.0. Stock up on all the tomes you’ve been dying to read, and grab some issue-oriented stocking stuffers!
• Speaking of Woodstock FAS, the Guesthouse is open for business! Well, almost. Make your reservations now: Rooms are available starting Jan. 6. I got a sneak peek during Thanksliving, and let me tell you, it’s a sweet place to stay!
• Thanksgiving is followed by Black Friday, which means holiday shopping is upon us. Want to be sure all your gifts come from cruelty-free sources? The Veg Blog just launched a series of vegan-business profiles, the first of which features Herbivore Clothing Company, and the second, jewelry maker McFarland Designs.
• Still haven’t made much of a dent in that list? On Dec. 11, head over to the Green Holiday Festival, an eco-friendly, cruelty-free shopping event. It’s $20 to get in, but part of that benefits For the Animals Sanctuary.
• For more information about these and other happenings in the NYC area, check out our Events Calendar.

• I know you’re not going to eat turkey this week, but that doesn’t mean you can’t adopt one from Farm Sanctuary.
• Speaking of eating, our very own Andrea Wachner polled readers like you and came up with recipes for Honee Nut Brussels Sprouts, Blueberry Muffin Bread Pudding, Onion and Apple Relish Tofu, Maple Syrup Pecan Pie, Veggie Gravy and Deconstructed Green Bean Casserole.
• Need more? Treehugger says even omnis will love these 9 dishes; Christina Pirello shares recipes for things like Fig and Walnut Tapenade on Daikon Rounds; MSNBC thinks Sarah Kramer has some tasty ideas; and use Earth Balance instead of butter in this recipe for Tofu Skin Roulade With Sage Mushroom Stuffing—it looks veganlicious!
• Mind set on a different type of mock meat? Target now sells Gardein.
• Or maybe you’re not interested in cooking on your day off—there are plenty of places to go for Thanksgiving dinner in NYC.
• If you’re in the Philly area, gourmet vegan destination Horizons is no longer an option, but maybe Vedge will fit the bill. If burgers and fries are more your speed, a new fast food joint is headed for the City of Brotherly Love.
• Who says you have to eat your fruits and veggies, anyway? Japanese artist Takaya takes a cue from Carmen Miranda and creates herbivorous headgear.
• If you want to bring booze to dinner but don’t have a really cool wine shop near you, that’s okay: Barnivore’s ever-expanding list now encompasses 4,728 libations.
• Can your cookie crush the competition? Submit your favorite recipe to VegNews’ 1st Annual Holiday Cookie Contest by Dec. 10, and you could win a KitchenAid mixer and worldwide (web) notoriety.
• Finally, find out what makes a SuperVegan say, ”Tings, mon.”

I love Jorja Fox, now more than ever.

• One of my favorite people, Jenny Brown, is speaking at Jivamukti Café on Saturday, 11/12, from 7-9pm. In Peace Begins on Your Plate: Why Farm Animals Matter in Our Quest for Peace, the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary cofounder will talk about the way animals are raised for food and how we can be better advocates for our fellow critters.
• O Canada! Why do you get your very own vegan patty from Subway but we don’t? All in good time, I guess.
• Next Monday, 11/14, from 7-9pm, NY CLASS is hosting Happy Hour for the Horses at the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street. Join super SuperVegan Patrick Kwan to learn more about the campaign to put the horse-drawn carriages out of business. Drinks specials include the “Horseless Carriage Cocktail” for $3.50, and 2-for-1 beer, wine and well drinks, plus snacks courtesy of Sweet Cheeks Vegan Bakery. Check out these and other events on our NYC Events Calendar.
• I don’t have any ink, but I have a lot of friends who’ll be happy to see there’s a new vegan tattoo balm out there.
• Meatless Every Days is better, but Meatless Mondays is a good start. Share this video with the omnis in your life and get them moving in the right direction.
• Jorja Fox stars in a new ad campaign for PETA, asking people to investigate how their food came to be. How cool is it that the actress’s veg epiphany happened in the greatest borough of all?

(Photo by Jen Ross)

As the weather gets colder, and the streets become harsher, we discovered that dogs Occupying Wall Street were in immediate need of dog boots. Also, as the outdoors become less hospitable, fleas and parasites start to gravitate towards warm bodies, and we need to stop any potential foothold that fleas and internal worms may otherwise get in such cramped camping conditions.

(Photo by Dayna R)

Darwin Animal Doctors will be at Occupy Wall Street again this Friday night, and we’ll need your help to serve the dogs everything they need! Details:

Darwin Animal Doctors Occupy Wall Street Campaign Part 2
When: Friday, November 4, 7:00pm setup, vet arrives at 7:30pm
Where: Zuccotti Park, next to the Medical tent
What to Bring: If you want to help, we have a continuing need for:
– Dog boots
– Flea/tick treatments
– De-worming medicine
– Vegan dog food
– Dog blankets
– Vaccines for dog issues like kennel cough.

If you can bring them that day, that’s great. Otherwise, if you have these items, you can email tod at darwinanimaldoctors.org to coordinate a pickup or mailing.

These animals deserve all the care we can give them, while they are in our domain!

(Photo by Dayna R)

Thanks everyone!

• Today is World Vegan Day! There’s no end to the things you can do to celebrate.
• Two Boots fetes us with a new pie called V for Vegan. It’s available by the slice today through Saturday, and ever after by the pie. Get to Avenue A tonight for a free tasting from 6-8pm.
• Gardein wants to spread the love too: You can win $500 and a three months’ supply of meatless meals by liking Gardein on Facebook, taking a photo of yourself serving Gardein to friends and family (with the package in plain view) and posting the photo on their Facebook page.
• Even The New York Times is getting into the spirit with a post about turkey-free Thanksgivings.
• In other news, New Yorkers for Clean, Livable & Safe Streets has an alternative to the carriage horse industry: fully electric, vintage-replica vehicles. I think that’s a swell idea. Donate to the cause here.

Darwin Animal Doctors will provide veterinary consultations and basic care for animals at OWS

This is a general call for people to bring vegan dog food, vegan cat food, Frontline, and other pet supply donations to the Darwin Animal Doctors veterinary campaign at Occupy Wall Street this Sunday morning.

Humans aren’t the only ones occupying Wall Street. Most people don’t realize that the dogs of Wall Street have been right there alongside their fellow human OWS protesters this whole time. Many of them being very active participants.

(Photo from WildAmmo.com)

These furry companions have been living in an outdoor public space, shared by countless humans and other animals, where intense events and weather have been happening for weeks. Some of these animals and their human companions are homeless. A veterinary campaign to serve these loyal animals is long overdue.

(Photo from WildAmmo.com)

On Sunday, October 30th, from 11am to 12pm, Darwin Animal Doctors (DAD) will hold a veterinary campaign at OWS’s Zuccotti Park, on the south side of the park, near the Medical Tent.

DAD will provide two vet techs for animal consultations, and DAD volunteers will hand out basic necessities for the outdoor environment like flea/tick treatments, dog food, pamphlets on low-cost vet care resources for the city, and items like doggie beds to keep pets warm and comfortable in the park. But the supplies are limited, and DAD needs your help. At the campaign, DAD specifically need people to bring donations of more of the following to the park:

– Vegan dog food
– Vegan cat food
– Frontline or any flea/tick treatment
– Heartgard
– Dog-sized blankets
– Dog and cat toys
– Doggie beds
– Large tupperware containers to keep pet food sealed and protected from rodents

It’s getting cold outside. Help these brave companions stay fed, healthy, and warm!

This is one of Supervegan’s posts for Vegan MoFo 2011.

I’m home sick with a sinus infection, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay in and miss all the fun (like Saturday’s Smorgasburg, which for the first time featured items from the Vegan Bodega). But thankfully Smorgasburg happens every Saturday, so you’ll have another chance to go next week, and the week after that.

Two other very cool events are happening Sunday, 10/23:

• Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals, which starts at 11am in Central Park. If you can’t walk, be sure to donate!
• The Vegan Fall Shop-Up, taking place at the Pine Box Rock Shop, from 12-5pm. Check out the artisanal tempeh, kale chips, hummus made in Brooklyn, farm-fresh veggies, stationery, soy candles, and more. The Vegan Bodega is making an appearance at the Shop-Up, too, so be sure to check them out!

Someone bring me a doggie bag!