Hello all you compassionate people! Do you like vegan food, LUSH products, tripod dogs, massages, facials, world-saving jewelry, and videos of fatty puppies and kittens and sea lions? Come this Sunday to the Darwin Animal Doctors (DAD) Charity Pot Party by LUSH on the Upper West Side!

DAD is planning a December campaign in the Galapagos Islands, with a vet and two vet techs, to treat as many animals of Galapagos as possible before the Christmas holiday, and to spread as much humane education as possible. And before we embark on this trip, we’ll be supporting as many animals displaced or hurt by Hurricane Sandy as possible. To fundraise for all these efforts, LUSH is giving us a Charity Pot Party this Sunday.

Darwin Animal Doctors’ Spokesdog Piggy (left), taking care of Sneakers (middle) and Tobie (right), two displaced doggies from Hurricane Sandy

If you come, you can learn how LUSH helps to fund activism and causes like DAD’s humane education program in Galapagos, and watch videos of our work and humane education on the islands. Stay to get a massage for charity, enjoy a facial by LUSH, eat delicious bake sale items, meet our spokesdoggy Piggy, enter a LUSH raffle, and peruse our merchandise, including hand-made jewelry that locals on Galapagos have recycled from paper, plastic, and other waste on Galapagos. Proceeds will go to help fund our December campaign, as well as rescue efforts in post-hurricane NYC.

And most importantly, no one leaves a LUSH store or event without smelling AWESOME. See you there!

Where: LUSH, Broadway btwn W 76th and W 77th Sts.
When: Sunday, November 11th, from 1pm to 5pm
What: Massage chair (gas permitting transport of the chair), facials, LUSH raffle, sweet and savory bake sale items, hand-made Galapagos jewelry, merchandise with cute animals, and a tripod dog!
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/events/125403100944403/?fref=ts

• 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.

(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.

Despite what a lot of people think, being vegan doesn’t mean you’re healthy—it’s very easy to be a vegan junk food junkie. So every once in a while, after doing some fairly consistent damage, I go on a cleanse. Recently I tried Kaeng Raeng, detox drinks in powder form that first saw the light of day in founder and CEO Lindsay Reinsmith’s kitchen, when she was trying to lose weight. I caught up with Reinsmith and asked her to give me the skinny on her stuff.

Your site says Kaeng Raeng is “committed to veganism,” and a portion of your sales benefit The Humane Society of the United States. How important is veganism to your company?

As an animal rights activist and a vegan, it’s important for me to have a product and a company that match my personal interests and to support these organizations. But it’s also important to put a face and a person behind Kaeng Raeng; it’s not made in China by a giant corporation with offshore customer service. We’re a small business in Northern California, and we care greatly about the quality of our product and about helping people see the health and beauty that come from a plant-based diet.

Where does the name come from?

Kaeng Raeng means “be healthy, be strong” in the Thai language. I’m fascinated with Thai culture and cuisine and its focus on animal-free living, and I was inspired by the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, the largest in the world. So Kaeng Raeng celebrates vegan eating and sustainable, animal-free living. And although we have a Thai name, Kaeng Raeng is 100% made in the USA with only local ingredients.

Each packet contains less than 230 calories, from an ounce of freeze-dried fruit, plus non-GMO soybeans, psyllium for fiber and L. Acidophilus for digestion and immunity. Why soy as opposed to hemp or pea protein?

When we were finishing the formula, we conducted focus groups all over the country and tested soy, brown rice, hemp and pea proteins. Getting a full serving of protein per day (45 grams) would require a significant amount of those proteins, giving the product an overwhelmingly poor taste and increasing the cost by nearly 100%. We respect that customers want a high-quality product without having to pay a fortune, so we use non-GMO soy grown in California. There’s a lot of conflicting information about soy, so we encourage people to do their own research. On a side note, we also found that mainstream consumers are confused about hemp, often equating it with marijuana.

Many cleanses recommend omitting or minimizing fruit because of the sugar content. Why is fruit the main componenet of Kaeng Raeng, and how do you prevent that sugar spike?

Kaeng Raeng follows the principles of a raw diet, centered on raw fruits and vegetables. KR is also more carbohydrate-driven than other plant-based diets that are focused on nuts and oils; this is for calorie restriction and energy during the short-term raw diet. The shakes are made primarily with fruit for taste. But while Kaeng Raeng contains fructose, it also contains a significant amount of fiber (13 grams per pouch), which regulates blood sugar levels.

You suggest detoxing with three powders a day for three or six days. Who benefits from what length of time, and are there any other differences?

We have customers of all different backgrounds, ages and body types. While we find that most people get the best results from our six-day program, many begin to feel better and get the jumpstart they need after only three days on a plant-based diet. We have three levels, which vary in cleansing power: Beginner, Veteran and Master. The Veteran and Master levels have significantly more fiber and are really designed for people who’ve done cleanses before or who already incorporate high-fiber foods into their diet.

Can the drinks be used as a meal replacement, too, or only as detox aids?

Kaeng Raeng is great as a meal replacement; that’s often how I drink it. It’s incredibly filling and is packed with so many things most of us don’t get in our daily breakfast or lunch, including a full serving of fruit, fiber, 15 grams of protein, two billion live cultures, and daily vitamins, including 100% of the required vitamin C and B12.

You suggest supplementing with raw fruits and vegetables, but the longer I let my drinks sit, the thicker they got; I was barely finished with one when it was time for the next! Is adding raw food a necessary part of the Kaeng Raeng cleansing process?

Adding raw food is not necessary. But we find that most people who are trying a plant-based diet for the first time have difficulty with a liquid-only diet, so we encourage snacking on raw food to make the process easier; it can also make the shakes sweeter or more flavorful. Remember, a lot of people eat an extraordinary amount of processed sugar every day, so easing them into the cleanse by allowing raw fruits and vegetables is a great way to help them keep from cheating or giving up.

Kaeng Raeng has been endorsed by Dr. Melina Jampolis, CNN Health’s diet and fitness expert, and Kim Barnouin of Skinny Bitch. Was it important to have a nonvegan health expert give you the thumbs-up?

We’re so happy to have the support of Dr. Jampolis, who’s not vegan but who definitely promotes a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables. We’re a vegan company, started by a vegan, with a vegan product and supporting vegan organizations. That’s a lot of vegan! But not everyone cares about those things; they simply want something that’s good for them and, more importantly, that works. With so many competing products out there, some safe and some not, it’s great to have support from the medical community. It helps the general public decide what they want to spend their money on.

The fruit in your powders comes from local farmers in Northern California who grow organically, and you use recycled boxes for packaging and encourage your customers to reuse bottles. Why is sustainability important to you?

For a few reasons. First, there’s no better way to reduce your carbon footprint than to support a plant-based diet; the meat and dairy industries wreak havoc on the planet, contributing greatly to climate change. So having a vegan product was a no-brainer. Second, we support local farms and local suppliers. Sure, our product would be a lot cheaper if it was made overseas with the cheapest possible ingredients, and there are plenty of supplement companies that do that. But because we buy local, we know we’re protecting our customers’ health and lowering our own footprint. Third, small businesses create a lot of waste, so it’s easy to become part of the problem instead of part of the solution. We not only use local ingredients and recycled packaging, but our entire office structure is based around low waste. For example, we don’t produce paper brochures or materials.

The link between veganism and environmentalism is hugely important—I love when vegan companies incorporate eco-friendly practices!

Meanwhile, let’s talk taste and texture: When you add liquid to Kaeng Raeng, pieces of fruit rehydrate, so there’s actually something to chew as well as drink. And the flavors are great—fruity but not too sweet. My favorite was the Strawberry Raspberry Pineapple, followed by the Blueberry Blackberry Banana and the Mango Peach Pineapple. Any new flavors on the horizon?

Not at this time. But we’ve had a lot of interest in a “green” flavor that would be vegetable-based, so we’re trying to find the best way to produce that cost-effectively. And we hope to come out with a protein-free version next year, so people can add whatever type of protein powder they want.

Kaeng Raeng is available online in three- and six-day supplies of three packets per day. Choose from Beginner (gentle), Veteran (medium intensity) and Master (the highest concentration of fiber), ranging in price from $64.99 to $149.99.

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

When we were invited to a vegan wine tasting at Candle 79, I was all over it! Who wouldn’t want to sample a variety of brand-new vegan wines, eat gourmet vegan food and spend the evening with some of the coolest vegan peeps around? The only question mark was whether I’d get out of work on time, as my day job is at a Very Big Fashion Magazine, and it was Fashion Week. Thankfully, the gastronomic gods smiled upon me and I was released at a decent hour, at which point I got what was probably the only available cab in all of Midtown—another sign that the evening was going to be a good one. So I made my way up to Candle 79, where the Discerning Brute, Joshua Katcher, was already waiting. (Be sure to check out his write-up of the evening.) We were soon joined by my fellow SuperVegans Sam Cohen, Deborah Diamant, Olivia Lane, and Jason Das, plus cooking superhero Terry Hope Romero and her husband, John. This had the makings of a stellar evening.

Vegan Vine is the first wine to use “vegan” as part of its brand name. The wine is produced by the 150-acre family-owned Clos LaChance Winery and Estate Vineyard from California’s Central Coast. Our host for the evening was Cheryl Murphy Durzy, daughter of the founders. Cheryl was as informative as she was welcoming, and we learned all about what makes wine vegan or not, and the various labeling and regulatory hassles that wine marketers face.

There are four fining agents used to get the solid remnants out of wine: gelatin, egg whites, dairy, and the most popular, sturgeon swim bladders, a.k.a. isinglass. The main vegan fining agent is bentonite, a type of clay. This is what’s used to fine Vegan Vine’s white wines; the reds are unfined. It’s worth noting that all of Clos LaChance’s wines are vegan, not just the Vegan Vine line, though the Vegan Vines are the only ones certified vegan by Vegan Action.

Each course illustrated by Deborah Diamant, who makes lovely sketches when you get enough wine in her. This was our appetizer, about which she noted, “The vegetables were a little salty, but the wine was smooth and refreshing and helped rid my palate of saltiness. Also, vegan white wine is harder to find than vegan red, and this is a great wine, especially for the price point.”

Clos LaChance is certified by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, and Cheryl mentioned some of the environmental and animal-friendly efforts they’ve made: switching from trucked-in chicken manure fertilizer to fungicultural waste from the mushroom farm next door, pumping the water from the low parts of the vineyard into the wetlands across the road, and causing an uptick in the local tiger salamander population. We also got into how much biodynamic agriculture relies on animal products—biodynamic wine is by definition nonvegan.

While regulators didn’t object to “vegan” being in the brand name, Clos was prohibited by the Trade and Tax Bureau from mentioning on the label that the product is produced without animal products. They’ve gotten around this somewhat by hanging an information-rich “necker” on each bottle. (As for the bottles themselves, Vegan Vine uses Eco-Glass, which is 25% lighter than the glass in a traditional wine bottle.)

And then service began. Oh boy! I don’t usually drink white wine, but Vegan Vine’s 2010 Sauvignon Blanc was surprisingly dry. There was something cool and almost refreshing about it despite the dryness, yet it also had a slightly tart undertone. The wine paired perfectly with the lentil-quinoa amuse bouche and the first course, ravioli with sautéed summer vegetables in white wine sauce and cashew cheese. The combination was seamless, in fact, because the ravioli was as delicious as the wine. The meal, and the tasting, couldn’t have started off more perfectly!

Deborah noted of the entrée pairing: “The celeriac puree is incredibly creamy! I could eat a huge mixing bowl of it. This red wine was a little flatter than the red that was paired with dessert, but who cares, because the puree was tremendous.”

The next one, a 2009 red blend, was dry but a little fruity, and not too sweet. It had a bit of an astringent smell when I was first going in, but thankfully the alcohol taste didn’t reveal itself on the tongue. This wine was Olivia’s favorite and Jason’s least favorite of the three. The wine went well with the walnut-crusted seitan, though it didn’t seem as much a match made in heaven as the white and the ravioli. Maybe that’s because I didn’t love the course as much. The vegetables and celeriac purée were good, but the seitan seemed almost a bit fatty, and I’ve never been a mushroom fan. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the wine, and, as with the white, I would definitely buy and enjoy it.

Deborah said of the dessert “I really didn’t think I liked figs. Apparently I do. I especially like them with ice cream, short bread cookies and a cabernet sauvignon reduction.”

By the time dessert and the third wine arrived, I had quite a nice buzz going, both from the booze and the company! The Fig Napoleon was delicious, with vanilla ice cream, cashew cream, and a reduction made from Vegan Vine’s own 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine had a super-dry taste—always a good thing—which was preceded by the most interesting aroma: slightly fruity, slightly spicy. Olivia thought she detected chocolate, and I could see why. But it was something else, and very intriguing. It turns out there are hints of anise in it, and while I’m not usually a fan, this had just a whisper of its flavor, and it worked. I really enjoyed this red as well, but I need to give it another try on its own, without the overwhelm of three rich courses and such a busy palate and impressive buzz.

I’ll say this: Kudos to Cheryl and her family for paving the way with their vegan, sustainable vineyard! And for bringing good wines with an affordable price point to retail venues and restaurants near you (be sure to ask your favorite places to carry Vegan Vine wines, distributed by Testa). Cheryl is incredibly knowledgeable about what makes the filtering process her family uses vegan—so much so that it’s shocking to me that she’s not vegan herself. (There’s always hope, right?) And I’m happy they came up with the idea for the necker so they can inform people about how animals are used in the wine-making process, despite the government’s attempts to keep such useful information off the bottle. I would love to try her family’s other wines—maybe at another pairing?—and hope they become more widely available too. In the meantime, how nice that we’ll soon be able to walk into a store on our way to a party and pull a bottle of really tasty, moderately priced wine with the word “vegan” on the label right off the shelf? I’m ready!

Tree Art by Eva P.

PATH (People Protecting Animals and Their Habitats) has organized a powerful yet simple project for Earth Day 2011. The group’s One Kid, One Tree, One World Earth Day project provides children in six countries the opportunity to plant trees and environmental education during the week of Earth Day. Jewish and Arab students will plant trees together in Israel. Students in South Africa will plant fruit trees to provide their community with healthy, fresh food.

This project empowers and educates kids, heals the planet, and builds community. What’s not to love? Visit their website and donate $2 for a student to plant a tree! If you’ve got extra cash, enter their charity auction by March 30 to win vegan swag donated by Vaute Couture, Rory Freedman, Mary & Peter Max, Olsen Haus, Frey Vineyards, Cri de Coeur, Candle 79 Restaurant, Jivamukti Yoga School, and others.

Credit: Michele Zezima

Author and activist Mickey Z. will be the key-note speaker at this Sunday’s Veggie Pride Parade. The parade begins at 11am in the West Village; he’ll take the stage at 1pm in Union Square, where the parade ends. There will be additional speakers sharing the stage to educate the masses about the benefits of a veg diet but my vote goes to Mickey for being the most bad ass of the lot.

Mickey’s books include The Murdering of My Years: Artists and Activists Making Ends Meet, 50 American Revolutions You’re Not Supposed to Know: Reclaiming American Patriotism, and Self Defense for Radicals: A to Z Guide for Subversive Struggle–and he’s published by some of the edgiest indie publishers around, such as Soft Skull Press, Disinformation Company, and PM Press. Oh, and Newsday called Mickey Z. a “professional iconoclast” and Time Out New York has referred to him as a “political provocateur.”

SuperVegan: Well hello there Mr. Fancy Pants. How did you end up being the key-note speaker at this year’s parade?

Mickey Z.: Wow, that’s funny because I’m the furthest thing from fancy pants. I tend to wear my clothes until they fall off me. Anyway, I’ve known parade founder Pamela Rice for many years and she invited me to speak at the 2009 event. I ended up going on very late and reaching a much smaller crowd but Pamela said I still “stole the show.” This year, well… I guess I got bumped all the way to the front of the line.

SV: How do you find the time and the inspiration to keep churning out writing, speaking and blogging projects for your Cool Observer blog, VegNews, Discovery’s Planet Green, ZNet, CounterPunch, and other outlets?

MZ: In terms of time, I’ve always had lots of support from my partner Michele. On top of that, I write quickly and efficiently. If I sense a spare 10-15 minutes looming, I’m on it. Creatively speaking, what can I say? In all my years of writing, I’ve never encountered anything even approaching writer’s block. As for inspiration, when things are this fucked up, I simply must do something to try to provoke change.

SV: You are a brave man for tackling Foodswings’ “Handwich.” What did you think of it? Do you think it’s a positive or negative sign that even the most appalling meat concoctions are veganized? Meaning, are we helping the cause by offering fried treats in response to KFC and other fast food or potentially harming it by removing the “do it for your health” part of the argument for a veg diet? Or perhaps you possess a more “it takes all kinds” approach?

MZ: The Handwich was positively orgasmic and I kinda like the idea of openly mocking death joints like KFC. Of course, you wouldn’t wanna live on vegan comfort food but I eat simply (lots of salads) and maintain portion control, and I workout every day so… I’m cool with the occasional binge.

SV: You’re a personal trainer and martial artist and have noted in a previous interview that Bruce Lee inspired you. Do you have any issue with my referring to you as a “vegan warrior” from here on out then?

MZ: (I think I just heard someone from Homeland Security shout, “A-ha.”)
“Vegan warrior” is definitely cool, but I also like “The Warrior from Astoria.” It would be cool to hear a boxing announcer say it.

SV: You write a lot about lefty issues and politics. What I really appreciate is that you bring together animal advocacy, environmentalism and progressive politics, which is refreshing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been disappointed by “progressives” who indignantly cling to a diet that causes so much harm–to the planet, slaughterhouse workers, small independent farmers and animals–as if they have covered their asses by being lefty already so why should they have to evolve when it comes to their diet too. Do you also run into this attitude and if so, what’s your favorite response?

MZ: The Left is at least a decade behind on the environment and maybe 3-4 decades behind on issues pertaining to diet, health, and animal rights. It’s pathetic. They’ll spend the next 6 months analyzing every aspect of George W. Obama’s Supreme Court pick and meanwhile, 100 plant and animal species will go extinct every day. Here’s something I said at the Left Forum, back in March:

Like the bull in a bullfight, the Left focuses on the elusive red cape instead of the matador…distracted from the real targets. But, fear not, some bulls see through the red cape bullshit and quite justifiably introduce the matador to the business end of their mighty horns. Of course, as things stand now, those bulls are promptly killed while the matador is mourned as a brave hero. But ask yourself this: If every single bull in every single bullfight were to gore every single matador, how long would it be before bullfights were a thing of the past?

SV: What’s your next book going to be about?

MZ: My third novel is due out later this year from Raw Dog Screaming Press. It’s called Darker Shade of Green and tells the story of a homeless prophet who inspires a young man and his cohorts to engage in a campaign of ecotage.

This Thursday, at Vegan Drinks, we are going to have a special bake sale to benefit Darwin Animal Doctors (formerly named Amigo Fiel before our US incorporation this month), my project to start the first animal hospital in the Galapagos. This is part of World Vegan Bake Sale Week, and the bake sale will take place at Angels and Kings bar from 7pm to 9pm.

Our head baker for the event is the amazing Laura Dakin, the vegan chef of Sea Shepherd and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis. There will be everything at this bake sale from cookies to cakes to vegan quiches to vegan pigs in blankets.

Right now, the animals of the Galapagos suffer from car accidents, invasive germs, and other problems wrought from urbanization. We’ve started paying a full-time vet to save animals in the Galapagos every day, and he’s handling everything from invasive diseases to animal surgery. But he needs veterinary equipment and additional staff, so every penny made at the bake sale will go directly to helping the animals of Galapagos.

Come and stuff yourself silly with treats in order to help out a lot of animals!

(photo by Sea Shepherd)

Australian activist Nicola Paris has been cooking vegan food for Sea Shepherd pirates on board the Steve Irwin for three Antarctic whale defense campaigns and much of the last two years. Her posts are written from the ship and transmitted on a delay.

April 15, 2010:

What has led to here…

So I just finished up with my third Antarctic campaign defending the whales aboard Sea Shepherd’s flagship, the Steve Irwin. This year’s Antarctic campaign was pretty successful, and full on, and tiring – and then we stopped in Hobart, Australia for just 10 days. And many of us who had been working nonstop for months, are now still on board and heading up to the Northern Hemisphere.

I am in the role of head cook for the 6 week transit – stepping in whilst our regular head cook Laura takes a break. So it’s all up to me… On the to do list: make 3 meals a day, plus fresh bread, plus afternoon tea and treats and dessert for 18 people, use all the fresh produce in the right order before it rots, get creative when we run out of fresh produce, don’t cut/grate/burn myself too many times a day on rocking seas, drive everyone insane with whatever cheesy music is coming out of my stereo (gotta dance and cook at the same time), keep some semblance of hygiene and order to the place, rotate the stock, ration out the treats… oh, and make sure the food keeps people happy and avoid a mutiny. What the bloody hell was I thinking?!

(photo at Pitcairn Island by Barbara Veiga / Sea Shepherd)

Some highlights so far…

We stopped in New Zealand for just over 24 hours to show our support for imprisoned Sea Shepherd Captain Pete Bethune. We had a lot of local supporters on board the ship for tours, and it’s always a great opportunity to put on some vegan food for our onshore helpers… it’s awesome when someone who thinks vegans subsist on carrot sticks and boiled cabbage actually try vegan food and realize: hey, it’s actually ok! One of Captain Watson’s favourite meals on board is pasta; TVP ‘meatballs’ with red sauce (recipe is below), so I made those, and some carrot cake. I had both meat eaters and Italians raving about the ‘meatballs’ and sauce and requesting the recipe. The secret ingredient: Vegemite!

Easter…

You might be able to do Easter without church, but you certainly can’t do it without chocolate. In lieu of having any Easter eggs we improvised, and melted chocolate down into teaspoon and tablespoon measures then froze it – and stuck the two halves together. We also used the fingers of latex gloves to pour the chocolate into – worked well! We had an Easter egg hunt around the ship, as well as hot cross buns – just like home :)

I got all the crew to write down a list of their favourite foods, and here are some of the things off the list I have made so far:

Marinated tempeh burgers, pesto, smoothies… lotsa smoothies (the favourite so far is banana caramel/chocolate), pina colada, pizza, chilli beans/rice, spaghetti, pumpkin soup, potato salad with garlic mayo, lentil shepherd’s pie, sushi, fejoida, burritos, rice pudding, chocolate cake with soy cream, blueberry pancakes, lasagna, hot dogs, tomato soup, and polenta.

I’ve been keeping a bit of a food diary, so will write often until we get to New York – we are likely arriving late April… and I will be seeking donations of vegan food for the ship whilst we are there so any advice and suggestions, or recipes, can be forwarded (STRICTLY TEXT ONLY, NO ATTACHMENTS) to me on board at: crew1@sscs.amosconnect.com.

TVP ‘meatballs’ with red sauce recipe!

Make up a broth/stock to hydrate/soak the TVP in (Purchased at health food stores etc). Mine included vegan ‘beef’ stock and vegan gravy powder, BBQ sauce, a few tablespoons of vegemite (be careful – this was for a large amount though), mixed herbs (your basic green herbs – oregano, sage etc), salt and pepper.

Soak the TVP for long enough for it to take on the flavour properly (I cook to taste a lot) and so it’s just moist, not really wet.

Then, add grated carrot and finely minced onion, and I used besan (chick pea) flour to help hold it together, as well as breadcrumbs. You could also add other fresh herbs at this point if you have them.

You should have a mixture that is easily formed into balls, and sort of sticks together. I have the advantage of a deep fryer on the ship, so you can drop them in and they cook quickly (and hence hold their shape). It might be a bit harder to pan fry them.

Cheesy music collection for good galley dancing this week:

Eurythmics
Fleetwood Mac
Burt Bacharach
Ozomatli
Spearhead
Beastie Boys

New Jersey
Date: April 24-25
Location: Bayshore Recycling, 75 Crows Mill Rd, Keasbey, NJ 08832
Additional Information: Join the ship’s crew for the Earth Day celebration in conjunction with Clean Ocean Action and Edison Wetlands.

New York
Date: April 26- 30
Location: Chelsea Piers, Pier 59, 62 Chelsea Piers # 300, NY, NY 10011-1015

And when the ship is here in New York City, you’ll have a chance to meet Paul Watson! A few of us will be working the April 30th event, A NYC Evening For the Oceans, at which Paul will speak. He’s a VERY good orator, so you don’t want to miss this.

It’s going to be a relatively small event, so you’ll definitely get a chance to get close to him.

And there will be food from Candle Cafe and Vegan Treats, so it will be worth the price of entry. :)

The commercial makes no effort to hide the soybean farmers’ agenda. After an intro segment, it begins: “From across our heartland, soybean, livestock, and poultry farmers are working together to feed the world.”

We get the usual appeals to patriotism (“heartland”), community (“working together”), and an unquestionable common goal (“feed the world”). So, as united Americans, the soybean and meat farmers are going to stamp out hunger. Brilliant!

But let’s back up. Why don’t they tell us how much soy it takes to feed a cow (whose natural diet consists of grass), and then tell us how many humans you could have fed with that? Also, perhaps they could let us know how feeding an animal an unnatural diet of soy (and corn) affects its immune system and actually costs even more because they have to dose it with antibiotics to keep it healthy? Let’s not forget the costs to human health of eating animal meat. And while they’re analyzing the true cost of meat production, why not tell us the costs to other species as the soybean farmers mow down animals’ natural habitats to make space for more soybeans?

“We need to do a better story of telling the benefits” of meat consumption, they say. I didn’t hear about a single benefit of meat consumption in this commercial. I did hear plenty about the industry’s “commitment” to human health and animal welfare (What??), but not a single representation of benefits. Show me proof that eating animals is good for my health or their welfare. C’mon, Soybean Board, show me what’s really going on behind the curtain — the animals as they’re typically raised and slaughtered — and try to tell me that this is humane and healthy.

The Soybean Board is clearly looking where the money is, and right now that’s in the meat industry. But hey, I love edamame, tofu, and tempeh, just to name a few delicious soy-based foods. Let’s remind the Soybean Board of the truth about the costs and “benefits” of meat production and consumption, and let’s let ‘em know that we’re happy to eat soybeans, but not in the form of meat. Write them at info@nebraskasoybeans.org.

Which exact dock it’s going to arrive at in the city is being confirmed, and we’ll let you know as soon as confirmation happens.

If you can volunteer, please email nyc@seashepherd.org and state what days you can volunteer, how long on each day, and which position you can assist with. There will be a volunteer meeting/ training a few days before the ship arrives.

We’ll also need food donations for crew, for the ship’s upcoming campaign to fight tuna extinction in the Mediterranean.

(More information after the jump)

Here’s the official request for food donations from the Steve Irwin’s head chef, Nicola Paris:

The food must all be VEGAN – which means no animal products or by-products including meat, dairy, eggs, and honey.

If you are not based in Australia, a great way to help feed our crew from afar is to purchase a supermarket voucher online at https://www.wishgiftcard.com.au/home/
and send to our Melbourne office (Kindness House, Suite 7, 288 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, 3065)

Please contact Nicola Paris if you have any questions (or ideas about sourcing staples or large donations), or to arrange dropping off the food: 0403 641 524 or seashepherdfood@gmail.com.
PRIORITY DONATIONS (and treats) THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO SOURCE:

• Coconut cream
• Tofu (all types)
• Tahini
• Nutritional yeast
• Corn Chips
• Oreo & Minton cookies
• Soy icecream
• Oil: olive, vegetable & sesame
• ‘Braggs’
• Cocoa pops, Nutrigrain, Cornflakes
• Nuts & seeds
• Chocolate soy milk
• Cooking chocolate (vegan)
• Fresh herbs
• Juice & soft drinks
• Potato crisps
• Tofutti vegan cream cheese
• Veganaise (vegan mayonnaise)
• Fresh Herbs

THE WHOLE EXTENDED LIST

If you have access to bulk fruit and vegetables, please check with us first.
We may need many boxes of some of this produce but need to ensure it is fresh prior to campaign.

STAPLES

• Raw Sugar
• Rolled oats
• Tinned tomatoes
• Tinned chickpeas
• Baked beans
• Beans: borlotti, black and chickpeas
• Rice: white and brown
• Yeast: dry and nutritional
• Spaghetti

VEGETABLES

• Asparagus
• Beans
• Beetroot
• Bok choy
• Broccoli
• Brussel sprouts
• Cabbage
• Capsicum
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Corn
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Leafy Greens – other
• Leek
• Lettuce – all sorts
• Mushrooms
• Onion
• Parsnips
• Potatoes
• Pumpkin (not at the moment)
• Silverbeet
• Snow peas
• Spinach
• Spring onion
• Sprouts
• Squash
• Sweet potato
• Tomatoes
• Turnips
• Zucchini

FRESH HERBS

• Basil
• Chives
• Coriander
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Parsley – Italian and regular
• Lemongrasss
• Mint
• Rosemary

SOY and MEAT/DAIRY SUBSTITUTES

• Tofu – firm and silken
• Tempeh
• Fake bacon (Redwood)
• Cheezly (Redwood brand, vegan cheese)
• Soy Milk
• Nuttelex (dairy free margarine)
• Veganaise (vegan mayonnaise)

NUTS

• Pinenuts
• Pecan
• Cashew
• Macedamia

FRUIT

• Apples
• Apricots
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Lemons
• Limes
• Mandarins
• Mango
• Nectarines
• Oranges
• Paw paw
• Peaches
• Pears
• Pineapple
• Plums
• Rockmelon
• Strawberries
• Watermelon

OTHER FOOD STORES

• Baking powder
• Cocoa
• Egg replacer
• Vanilla essence
• Vinegar: red and white wine, apple cider, white
• Japanese rice vinegar
• Seaweed
• Chutney
• Sauces: sweet chilli and hot sauce
• Soy and Sweet soy sauce
• Sauce: BBQ and tomato
• American Mustard
• Wasabi
• Wine: cooking and rice wine
• Maple syrup
• Lemon and lime juice
• Olives
• Sundried tomatoes
• Pickled ginger and gherkins
• Artichoke hearts
• Noodles: udon and vermicelli

Visit www.seashepherd.org for more information.

A nice-looking wild oyster bed on the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, North Carolina. (Photo by Joe Brent on Flickr). By contrast, many commercial beds are just acre after acre of metal cages.

There’s a lot of noise on the internet today about Christopher Cox’s “Consider the Oyster” which carries the slug/page title “It’s OK for vegans to eat oysters” and the subhead “Why even strict vegans should feel comfortable eating oysters by the boatload.”

Cox’s basic thesis is that oysters don’t feel pain and that commercial oyster production/harvesting is far more ecologically friendly than most other industrial food production. He goes out of his way to say that oysters are sustainable for food use in a way that clams and mussels are not. He gets a qualified endorsement from Peter Singer. One can certainly argue with these things, but he’s basically done his homework. Except for seeming to have no clue what it means to be vegan.

When I became a vegan, I didn’t draw an X through everything marked “Animalia” on the tree of life. And when I pick out my dinner, I don’t ask myself: What do I have to do to remain a vegan? I ask myself: What is the right choice in this situation? Eating ethically is not a purity pissing contest, and the more vegans or vegetarians pretend that it is, the more their diets start to resemble mere fashion—and thus risk being dismissed as such. Emerson wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

The only way for me to read this is that Cox doesn’t know what “vegan” means. He never became a vegan, and needn’t worry himself over remaining a vegan. Because of our very consistency (foolish or not) there’s no gray area for vegans when it comes to eating animals. Cox is trying to be ethical about his consumerism, and that’s great. I just don’t understand how the hell anyone thinks the way he’s going about it can be described as any form of veganism. It isn’t.

Vegans do not knowingly/willingly/actively consume or purchase any part or bodily product of an animal that was taken from a living animal or for which an animal was killed. (I know that’s a lot to pack into a sentence, but there it is. End of story.) You can argue that this isn’t the most constructive approach to ethical consumerism, as Peter Singer does. But Peter Singer does not claim to be vegan, nor does he endorse the point of view that eating oysters can ever be vegan.

Cox makes some worthy arguments. I’m sure eating local oysters is (in an immediate, direct sense) more environmentally friendly than, say, eating vegan fake meat shipped from a factory halfway around the world. But that’s neither here nor there in regards to veganism.

He relates how his editor told him “I won’t lie—you’ll be attacked viciously for being a vegan, and attacked equally viciously for not being a strict enough vegan.” Both of her concerns are beside the point. As to the first, of course meat-trolls will jump at any mention of veganism on the web. As to the second, it’s not that he’s not a strict-enough vegan. It’s that he’s not even remotely vegan, by any definition. If you want to argue about strict-enough-veganism, discuss the ethics of riding on a leather seat or accepting animal-based medicine in the emergency room. Not eating fucking meat.

To Cox’s credit, he does say: “Because I eat oysters, I shouldn’t call myself a vegan. I’m not even a vegetarian. I am a pescetarian, or a flexitarian, or maybe there’s an even more awkward word to describe my diet.” Great! So then why did he and/or his editors plaster “vegan” all over the top of the piece and e-mail us (and presumably other vegan publications) with “thought you might enjoy an essay we published today on why it’s ethically OK for even strict vegans to eat oysters.”

I’d fully understand Cox saying he’s vegan in various situations as a shorthand to getting a better meal or whatever. (For years before I was vegetarian, I knew saying I was one would often get me fresher, more palatable food in institutional settings and airplanes.) But that’s a different from stating it in the lede of an essay in a very prominent web magazine. Slate is either being stupid or cynically trying to rile people up. Or, I worry, both.

It’s fair enough for Cox to say is that veganism can become disconnected from the reasons some people become vegans. But if a person starts eating eggs from backyard chickens, or knowingly consuming a modicum of butter, or eats vegan for only part of the day, they aren’t vegan, let alone strict ones.

Deciding to be vegan means you prioritize the avoidance of animal products over other concerns. That’s not what Cox is doing. Whether or not he considers himself vegan (I honestly can’t tell), his claiming so prominently that his oyster-eating has anything to do with veganism just muddies the waters in a way that works against the causes he means to advocate.

The NYC Animal Advocacy meetup is heading to Columbus Circle-area restaurant Telepan Saturday to protest its use of foie gras, and the owner is getting ready by preparing some bullshit spiel about how he’s a beacon of awareness who champions hormone-free milk in schools, serves grass-fed cows, and “won a merit batdge from Animal Welfare Approved.” Congratulations, Bill Telepan, for caring about what affects your bottom-line. That’s capitalism, not compassion. Go to the protest tomorrow, Saturday, March 27, 7-9 p.m.

HEY YOU GUYS OUT IN BAY RIDGE, CAN YOU HEAR ME? The Village Voice tells us there’s this delish vegan sandwich at Casa Calamari in your ‘hood — puffy hero bread overstuffed with loads of sauteed broccoli rabe. Yum!

Food banks for companion animals! Thanks, Petco Foundation! Next step: make ‘em vegan!

Hey, it’s Alicia Silverstone at Candle 79, talking up veganism!

Go Dairy Free rounds up 20 new dairy-free (mostly vegan) foods from Natural Products Expo West 2010. Nut butters! (Stop cringing, boys.) Gluten-free breads, Tofurkey frozen pizza, new Gardein stuff! Check it!

Finally, don’t forget to turn off the lights during Earth Hour Saturday, 8:30 p.m. local time!

(all photo credits: Glenn Lockitch / Sea Shepherd)

An update on the current Antarctic campaign, from Sea Shepherd crew member Andrea Gordon.

This message was transmitted to New York from the Bob Barker vessel via satellite.

So lots went on here yesterday – everything has been a really intense emotional rollercoaster. In the morning, we were told the campaign was over and we had to go back to port. I took the news really hard. Every day we were with the Nisshin Maru, I was just so happy knowing the whales were protected and safe. We had such an amazing and successful campaign, but going back to port knowing the whalers were still down here with the whales isn’t easy. I didn’t have much time to dwell on it though, because 30 minutes after that, we saw the Yushin Maru #3 on the horizon. We hadn’t seen that ship since it rammed us at the beginning of the month. Everyone jumped back into gear, we sent the small boat after the Yushin, packed with butyric acid, paint, and some angry Sea Shepherds ;) The small boat chased the Yushin through the ice at 15 knots, and the Yushin just slammed into a lot of the ice, risking damaging their ship to get away from our boat.

On the way to catch up with the Yushin, though, we had passed a set of five buoys together that was attached to a line. We speculated it was either a longline or from the whalers. We marked the GPS for the buoy location, and after showering the Yushin with butyric acid, we went back to the buoys. Ironically, this was the one day that we were able to take the time to pull in the illegal buoys and line since we had stopped chasing the Nisshin. They were going after Patagonian toothfish, aka Chilean sea bass. Turns out it wasn’t a longline, though; it was an illegal gillnet – the net was five. miles long or so and about 1500 feet deep, set across three different sets of buoys, each two and a half miles apart. It took about six hours to pull in all the line and get all the buoys – and that didn’t even include the net! And now we have a nice collection of buoys and about $3k worth of new line – something we hadn’t been able to get in Africa before the campaign! I don’t think the net had been out that long, but don’t really know. The ship’s name was Draco I. I don’t know where it was from because they didn’t have their port name on the side of the ship.

There was also some crazy orca/seal drama yesterday too. We passed a very scared seal on a small flat piece of ice with four adult orcas and one baby orca circling it and spyhopping – poking just their heads up to look at the seal. The seal’s head was only about ten feet from the orcas. Then they started nudging the ice to knock the seal off. Apparently, the orcas had chased the seal underwater, and then the seal landed on an unfortunately small piece of ice. Then, after the ship passed, the seal tried to make a run for it and there was blood in the water, so I guess he didn’t make it :( At least he was orca food and not people food!

It was a seriously long day. Luckily, Darius made his seriously awesome Antarctic Mac ‘n Cheese to keep us going and was kind enough to share the recipe for future action packed animal saving days! Or just yummy comfort food ;)

1 lb of macaroni
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
8 teaspoons of yellow mustard
3 tablespoons lemon juice
8oz canned tomato sauce
3 teaspoons of salt
3 cups soy milk

In a saucepan, heat oil and saute garlic over medium to high heat for two minutes. Add flour, yeast, mustard, lemon juice, salt, tomato sauce and one cup soy milk. Mix thoroughly. When bubbles form, add one cup soy milk and continue stirring. When the sauce starts bubbling again, add the last cup of soy milk. Cook for an additional five minutes while stirring. After cooking the macaroni, drain and stir in sauce.

(photo credit: Barbara Veiga / Sea Shepherd)

An update on the current Antarctic campaign, from Sea Shepherd crew member Andrea Gordon.

This message was transmitted to New York from the Bob Barker vessel via satellite.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!!

We had a spectacular Valentine’s Day down here in the Southern Ocean. The whales got love of love and the whalers got a new paint job, butyric acid!

This morning, the Steve Irwin sent their Delta boat after the Nisshin Maru. Using a potato launcher and some very good driving, they dodged the NM’s water cannons and shot butyric acid right onto the slipway and flensing deck of the death ship. We could smell the stench all the way on the Bob Barker!

I went out in the small boat this afternoon/evening for an extended supply run. We needed some important supplies from the Steve Irwin, so we used the small boat. Fortunately, the whalers didn’t get in the way or try to block the recovery of the small boat. The only ship with the Nisshin Maru right now is the Shonan Maru #2, and they stayed a few miles away all day. The water was a crystal clear so dark blue it was almost purple.

Then, after five hours in the small boat, we came back to a super yummy vegan spaghetti bolognese dinner, with ultra delicious chocolately brownies. The Steve Irwin even gave us some fresh fruit! Quite a treat now that we’ve been out at sea for two months. There’s nothing that beats saving whales all day and then coming back to a delicious vegan dinner!

(photo credit: Glenn Lockitch / Sea Shepherd)

An update on the current Antarctic campaign, from Sea Shepherd crew member Andrea Gordon.
This message was sent from the Bob Barker vessel via satellite, on:
Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 6:12 AM

Hey Tod!! I am soooo happy we found the whalers and got them running! I can’t even tell you what a relief it is to know the whales are safe for now. We hadn’t seen the Nisshin Maru since the Ady Gil was sunk a month ago. Then, three days ago, we knew we were getting close to finding them because there were whale guts in the water. Grim, but we were hot on their trail. Peter [Hammarstedt] asked for someone to go up on the mast to do watches up there for about four hours. One crewmember, Darius, was just at the end of a watch, and was taking his gloves off to come down, when he took one more look and spotted the NM! Wow! We were so lucky to find the factory ship before any of their other ships found us first. They must have been in the middle of processing too because there were more whale guts in the water and they weren’t moving. It took them a little while to get moving, so we caught right up to them.

There were four other ships with the NM- the three harpoon ships and the Shonan Maru #2- the ship that sunk the Ady Gil. They stayed a little bit back at first, and then when I was out on bow watch, they started moving in. They formed this tight circle around the ship, cutting in front of our bow, so they put themselves between us and the NM. That’s when the Yushin Maru #3 came in and rammed us. I was right out on the bow on the side of the collision, so that was pretty cool. I didn’t even realize there was any damage at all, because it didn’t feel very hard, but it was minor. So we were fine and the Yushin disappeared and hasn’t been seen since! Ha!

A little while after they rammed us, the Shonan came up and started making close passes to us. They were essentially doing drive by’s, blaring the LRAD and the water cannons. Neither of which bothered us, and they got hammered with butyric acid! Ok, and that stuff is so super stinky. Its really nauseating and we could totally smell it on their ship as they passed us.

Now, we’re just pursuing the NM through some ultra rough weather. I’m writing this from my cabin, which is on the lowest level of the ship and I’m still levitating. Yikes. Trying to catch up on some rest now because I hardly slept for 48 hours.

The Sea Shepherd vessel the Bob Barker, blocking the slipway of the Nisshin Maru

Our friends aboard the Sea Shepherd vessel the Bob Barker have found the whaling fleet, and caught up to the Nisshin Maru factory ship. The Bob Barker is blocking the slipway of the factory ship, which means the Nisshin Maru won’t be able to take on or process any whales. This means that despite the attacks against Sea Shepherd ships by the massive and government-funded Japanese whaling fleet in the past couple months, the unarmed Bob Barker and its tiny crew of volunteer vegans have still managed to stop this year’s Antarctic whaling operations.

Four other whaling harpoon vessels are surrounding the Bob Barker, including the Shonan Maru #2, which rammed and sunk the SSCS vessel the Ady Gil. But as long as the Bob Barker is blocking the slipway of the whaling factory ship, the harpoon vessels and their arsenals won’t be able to continue whaling operations.

The SSCS ship the Bob Barker, surrounded by whaling ships (Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur)

AR photographer Jo-Anne McArthur has been documenting the Sea Shepherd Antarctic campaign this year, and many of her pics are now up at her website.

She’s been taking photos from Sea Shepherd’s heretofore secret ship, the Bob Barker. So you’ll see a lot in these photos that you haven’t been able to follow just from the press releases of the campaign.

You’ll see things that happened to the Bob Barker well before its existence was made public. You’ll see the crew getting the ship ready for the campaign, you’ll see the ship getting surrounded by whaling ships, and you’ll watch the Bob Barker crew rescuing the crew of the Ady Gil after the Shonan Maru #2 rammed the Ady.

If you’re like me and some of your best friends are on those ships, these pics will seriously brighten your day.

The Ady Gil

The Sea Shepherd fleet has been chasing the Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctica for about a month now, continually fighting off attacks from the harpoon vessel the Shonan Maru No. 2. Yesterday revealed quite a bit about the players on both sides of the conflict.

The Japanese harpoon ship Shonan Maru No. 2 rammed the tiny Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil. The attack ripped about eight feet of the Ady Gil’s bow completely off the ship. The Ady Gil is sinking and will, most likely, be unsalvageable. As the Ady Gil lurched during the ramming and the crew struggled to keep from falling overboard, the Shonan Maru No. 2 fired high-powered water cannons at the teetering Sea Shepherd members while shooting their LRAD at the Ady Gil. View video of the attack here.

At first the Japanese did not acknowledge the Ady Gil’s post-attack distress signal. The Nisshin Maru finally acknowledged the signal without offering assistance to the ship sinking in Antarctica.

This behavior is getting a bit lethal for even the Japanese Antarctic crew. Even when they chucked grenades at my friends and I on the Steve Irwin two years ago, they weren’t quite so brazen about trying to cause fatalities. New attacks like these suggest they’re more malevolent towards humans than even we thought.

Luckily, the Japanese didn’t know that Sea Shepherd has secretly acquired a third ship for the fleet this year, which has now caught up with the Japanese fleet and rescued the six crew members of the sinking Ady Gil. I’m personally quite glad my friends are now safe and not sinking alone in Antarctica.

Perhaps understandably, the people of Australia are a tad annoyed that their federal government is letting the Japanese sink a ship full of Australians with impunity.

The Australian people and the Green Party of Australia have been wonderful, level-headed supporters of Sea Shepherd, and we think they have a right to be miffed about the Australian aid given to the Japanese whalers to help them attack Australians.

Update: This post at first stated that the Ady Gil wasn’t moving when the Shonan Maru No. 2 rammed and dragged the Ady’s bow before ripping it off. I since removed that statement because the debate of “was it moving?” became everyone’s sole focus of the attack. I’m keeping that statement off since the rest of the post seems to go unread if that statement is in, even though I stand by Captain Chuck Swift. But in case people are still curious to see if the Shonan Maru No. 2 actually did swerve to hit the Ady, here’s video of the ramming from the point of view of the vessel the Bob Barker.

Guys, so much happened this week, I don’t know where to begin. So let’s just start with restaurant openings, yes?

• Sun in Bloom opened Saturday, January 2 and, because I am a man of my word, I went for brunch. It was good. Really good. I mean, check out that loaded burrito — avocado, beans, tofu scramble, and all sorts of tastiness up in that bitch. And no nutritional yeast, thank you.
• On that same magical day, Vinnie’s Pizza in Greenpoint opened. Almost makes you want to move back to Greenpoint, doesn’t it? (Actually, no, Pizza Plus is right here and I’m laaaazy.)
• Babycakes opened its LA location Sunday, January 3. I know, you’re in NYC and you can’t do a thing about it except drool. Well, drool on this!
• And in restaurant closings, Red Bamboo Brooklyn closed.
• The New Yorker profiled Whole Foods co-founder and CEO John Mackey.
• Food, Inc. is online and free, so no more excuses.
• Hospitals in the UK’s publicly funded healthcare system will take meat off the menu to cut carbon emissions and costs, The Guardian reports. Yes, less pollution AND less expense! ALL SIGNS POINT TO NOT EATING ANIMALS.
• 

  Sweden is using bunnies as fuel. They are shooting bunnies, “deep freezing” them, burning them, and then calling it biofuel! COME ON. BUNNIES, NOT BIOFUEL.

Paul Watson FOREVER

It’s been a buzzy holiday weekend in the vegan news department. Tonight we catch up on all the goings-on since Wednesday.

• Obama poster artist Shepard Fairey immortalized Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson with a print of his very own. Posters measure 18 x 24″, are signed by Watson, and cost $55 each. Buy ‘em at Obey Giant. PAUL WATSON CAN NEVER DIE.
• The California-based Animal Legal Defense Fund released its 2009 State Animal Protection Laws Rankings. (Old news? Yeah, sort of. Still worth reading? Totally.) ALDF ranked New York in the middle tier — not laying down the law with the best or permitting certain atrocities with the worst. Illinois ranked highest and Kentucky lowest. Read the full report here (PDF).
• In other ranking news, the Humane Society gave the Obama administration a B- for animal protection. Full report right here (PDF).
• Ingrid Newkirk reminds us via Huffington Post why it’s awesome to be vegan, and then she rhymes with food.
• Vegan Twinkies are BACK. No Whey! Kitchen is going to fill the hole left in your heart by the closing of Vegan Honey Bake Shop. No Whey! sells to restaurants and is taking private orders for a limited time.
• Karen Davis, president of United Poultry Concerns, will deliver her lecture “The Social and Secret Life of Chickens” at the New York Public Library’s Mid-Manhattan branch on December 30. That’s 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, 6th floor, 6:30 p.m. this Wednesday. BE THERE.
• Your average dog eats a LOT of meat, VegNews reminds us: “research teams found that a medium-sized dog consumes approximately 360 pounds of meat and more than 200 pounds of grain each year. The agriculture needed to sustain this kind of companion-animal diet emits twice the greenhouse gas emissions that come from driving an SUV 6,200 miles per year.”
• MEANWHILE, Annalisa Lazzaro of NYC asks The Ethicist whether it’s cool to feed her cat a vegetarian diet. Duh! And you’ve got to be resilient! If one vegetarian — or better, vegan — kitty food doesn’t work out, try another one. Then try cooking for Mr. Pus. Why support animal cruelty or slaughter in any way if you can avoid it, right?
• Don’t know what to do with your sad, leftover shepherd sticks candy canes? Vegan Cookies brings us this recipe for peppermint candy cane chocolate chip cookies AND shows us how to crush candy canes. Holiday anger issues: resolved.
• Cafe Blossom’s UES location opened, so go there and eat everything.