Top to bottom: Renée French, Hazel Newlevant, Ben Snakepit, Liz Prince, and Sam Henderson, a few of the 55 contributors. Buy Digestate here and use code SUPERVEGAN12 for expedited shipping.

If you’re looking for a great holiday gift, or your books-of-the-year list is a little thin, or if you just like thinking about food and you like to read (which probably covers anyone seeing this blog post!) then Digestate: A Food & Eating Themed Anthology is for you.

While Digestate is available in some comic book shops, it’s not sold through the big online book stores like Amazon. The best place to buy it is directly from Birdcage Bottom Books. Usually they ship media mail only, but between now and December 25, use the coupon code SUPERVEGAN12 to get it shipped first class for the same price! (I promoted Digestate‘s Kickstarter campaign here back in June; I got my copy for supporting that.)

Digestate is an anthology featuring 55 comics authors and illustrators. At nearly 300 pages, this is a big book, but quality doesn’t suffer on account of quantity. While the range is wide (fiction and nonfiction, comedy and tragedy; some stories are personal, some more documentary, and some outright surreal), the storytelling and illustration are excellent throughout. Clearly the contributors were genuinely inspired and excited by the concept here. And clearly editor J.T. Yost chose his contributors well!

If you don’t like a huge portion of what’s in here, you’re probably one of those idiotic ingrates who doesn’t deserve books at all. Or food.

Yost is a vegan himself, and while there are several other vegan contributors, plenty more are not. Some of the pieces are even defences of eating animal products. But don’t let that put you off, vegan reader. The honesty of the authors (even when they’re ethically misguided) coupled with the high level of the work, gives this book signifiant intellectual and emotional weight which would be missing from a compilation of vegan propaganda and cheerleading. Digestate‘s diversity of perspectives is it’s biggest strength. This book doesn’t try to convert anyone, nor does it preach to the choir—because of its bredth and inclusiveness, it can’t.

Also, by not having a unified pro-vegan message, this book is going to appeal to a lot more people. Anyone reading it will be forced to think about where our (and other peoples’) food comes from, and that’s never a bad thing. The focus is overwhelmingly on the emotional and ethical aspects of food, how it makes us feel in the mind and soul, and who else is impacted by our food choices.

In a clever touch, Digestate‘s index indicates the dietary preference of each author: “vegan”, “vegetarian”, “omnivore”, “carnivore”, and some more specific: Ayun Halliday is a “lapsed aquariumatarian, current omnivore”, Dan Piraro is an “ethical vegan (as opposed to ‘health vegan’)”, John Kerschbaum is a “pretzel-enthusiast, etc.”, Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg is an “omnivore who loves soy jerky”.

A lot of my favorite pieces in here are endorsements of non-vegan eating. And I suppose that’s how it should be: we share the world with non-vegans, and some of them are great storytellers. James Kochalka and K. Thor Jensen and (“omnivore”s alike) both contribute excellent and rather sweet stories about why they eat meat even though they know it’s wrong. “Successful Slaughter!” by Marek Bennet (“temperate woodland omnivore”) was just great storytelling and great comics; you’d have to hate reading to dislike it. And “How to Eat Chicken” by Sophia Weideman (“om-nom-nom-nivore”) is the least vegan thing in the world, but its themes of family, memory, responsibility, care, and love still make it totally affecting.

There are surprisingly few pieces here dealing directly with nutrition. I didn’t miss it. There are a few about eating disorders, but even those weren’t what I’d have predicted. Tod C. Parkhill (“picky eater”) and Alex Robinson (“omnivore”) contribute almost mirror-image autobiographical stories of men dealing with lifelong food-anxiety problems.

Some pieces are totally upsetting, perhaps none more so than editor J.T. Yost‘s illustrated version of a slaughterhouse worker’s testimony. Plan on at least a few minutes of shaking and trembling after you read that one.

Others are very, very funny. I literally (as in for-real in real life!) laughed out loud at Liz Prince (“vegetarian”)’s autobiographical gag-fest “History of Eating”, Victor Kerlow (“eats anything, preferably in sandwich form”)’s cannibalistic taco, and Ben Snakepit (“eater of tacos”)’s story of punk-commune-feeding-bands gone nauseatingly wrong.

Digestate also managed to throw me a few welcome curveballs. Lulled into readerly complacency by the many stories that pitch their agenda from the first panel, I was not expecting Anuj Shrestha (“omnivore”)’s ‘Foodies’, which begins as a totally pedestrian story of picky eaters at a restaurant, to be the most disgusting thing in the book.

Nor was I was not expecting a story set in a community garden near where I live in Crown Heights, about the chickens and people who look after them in (by Jess Ruliffson, “guilt-laden omnivore”). Something set so literally close to home made me feel a little bad just sitting home with book when I could be out there doing something.

The stories I liked most were the personal memoirs. Those I liked least (just a few) were merely collections of factoids. There are also quite a few jokey gag pages—special mention to the several from Sam Henderson (“vegetarian”) throughout. And there’s a slew of wacky goofs such as the aforementioned taco, Aron Nels Steinke (“vegan”)’s cracked fable “Scrambled Eggs”, Renée French (carnivore)’s animal-fable-without-a-moral, “Hegelbarger”, and Box Brown (“no dietary restrictions, cantaloupe sometims makes my throat itchy”)’s utopian future set “1000 years after meat” in which kids are still total jerks.

I could go on, but then I’d never finish this blog post and you wouldn’t know to go buy this kick-ass book. It’s truly one of the best things I’ve ever encountered (in any medium) concerned with what food means to us and how we experience it, socially, psychologically, and emotionally.

(A quick note to anyone who thinks “comics aren’t for me”: you’re probably thinking of the wrong kind of comics. I’m pretty sure this book is just fine for people who don’t read many comics: several of the stories are more akin to picture book pages than rows of panels. Indeed, some of the entries are just two-page-spread illustrations, including the Danny Hellman (“vegetarian”)’s past-present-and-future of meat-eating, and Kevin Cannon (“carnivore”)’s depiction of humans as maggots in a piece of beef (which somehow doesn’t read at all as gross). And the vast range of drawing styles makes it easy to find a comfortable place to start. Anyone who can read the Sunday newspaper funnies can handle this material fine. Feel safe buying this book for folks whose comics experience doesn’t extend beyond Peanuts or airline saftey manuals.)

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.

Tell me where you got those delicious vegan doughnuts!

I don’t watch much TV, but there’s always been a special place in my heart for shows that combine comedy and horror/fantasy. They take you places you’ve never gone before, and they’re a great escape from the monotony of daily life. I’ve also always loved cop shows; I like to understand why people do what they do and how they do it. Add to that a pro-veggie message, and I’m hooked. Which makes the new show Grimm a triple threat: horror-comedy, police procedural and veg-friendly vehicle all in one.

From the guys behind Angel and Buffy, Grimm is about Nick, a homicide detective in Portland—the first clue that this show is going to be pro plants—who’s just discovered that he’s a descendant of the Brothers Grimm. This means Nick can see the real monsters who live among us, and it’s his job to take them out before they get to him, and to us. Thankfully, in the midst of all these very bad creatures doing very bad things, there’s Eddie Monroe, a reformed Blutbad, or Big Bad Wolf, for whom children are no longer on the menu. Not only is Eddie laying off the kiddies, he’s gone completely meatless: He’s a vegetarian.

As if that weren’t enough, during episode 2, Nick’s fiancée comes home with a box of doughnuts—Voodoo Doughnuts, to be exact. Okay, I know, not all of Voodoo’s doughnuts are vegan, but I have a feeling that nod was meant for us. And I hope there’s going to be more of that as the show gains steam: Given how openly the creators discuss Eddie’s vegetarianism, I don’t think that’s just wishful thinking. And there are definitely more Portland-centric veggie plugs to be made.

That said, next time Nick shows up at Eddie’s door asking for help and Eddie invites him in for breakfast, I hope Nick asks for a bagel with vegan cream cheese. A girl can dream, can’t she?

Grimm is on NBC Friday nights at 9pm.

This photo of a sleeping naked mole rat (by flickr user brx0) illustrates what you look like when you never leave the house.

You all follow the SuperVegan New York City Events Calendar, right? Of course you do. Thus you don’t need this blog post telling you to go look at it to find out about all these exciting things coming up in the next couple of weeks. I’m too lazy busy to get all the details in here, so you’ll have to check the calendar (and the URLs included there) for all that.

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 30, is Steve Saves Steve at the Living Room–lots of musical acts and a super vegan raffle to benefit a sick cat.

Also, tomorrow (and I think every Saturday now) is 4 Course Vegan, which if you’ve never gone, you’re really missing out.

On Sunday, May 1 is the Vegan Bake Sale for For the Animals sanctuary at Mooshoes.

On Monday, May 2, Park Slope’s V-Spot is throwing themselves a fifth anniversary party.

On Thursday, May 5, is the Pine Box Rock Shop pop-up prix-fixe for Cinco De Mayo, which looks really delicious. (The menu’s on the calendar.)

On Friday, May 6, is “Jason & Ryan’s Excellent Vegan Adventure” Pop-Up Gastronomy at New York Vintners. This one is for all you fancypants, at $95 plus tax, but damn does it look good. (Again, the menu’s on the calendar.)

On Tuesday, May 10 is that Benefit for Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support + Americares.

On Wednesday, May 11 is a Charity Clothing Swap & Vegan Bake Sale for Humane Education.

On Thursday, May 12 is Cats and Comedy: A Comedy Show Benefit for Ollie’s Place at Angels and Kings (the same spot where we throw Vegan Drinks).

On Friday, May 13 is the Veggie Prom.

And Sunday, May 15 is the NYC Veggie Pride Parade.

Phew. Get out there and have some good vegan fun!

(Are there events we’re missing? E-mail tips@supervegan.com to let us know.)

This is an April Fools post. We flipped the whole site upside down to celebrate, but now it’s right-side-up again. Except for this post, which we’re leaving upside-down.

We’re having some trouble with our site layout today. We’ve contacted our ISP to see if they know what might have changed and why, but meanwhile we’re pulling out our hair trying to track down the root of the problem. If anyone can help point us in the right direction, please leave a comment! Thanks from Team SuperVegan.

]]> http://supervegan.com/blog/site-problems-can-any-web-savvy-people-out-there-help/feed/ 3 http://supervegan.com/blog/talk-to-your-doctor/ http://supervegan.com/blog/talk-to-your-doctor/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:02:18 +0000 Olivia Lane http://supervegan.com/blog/talk-to-your-doctor/ Ollie Hallowell Productions presents Ask Your Doctor About Meat, a hilarious spoof on pharmaceutical tv ads. I hope this video goes viral!

]]> http://supervegan.com/blog/talk-to-your-doctor/feed/ 4 http://supervegan.com/blog/vegan-myq-kaplan-on-last-comic-standing-tonight/ http://supervegan.com/blog/vegan-myq-kaplan-on-last-comic-standing-tonight/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:06:10 +0000 Cathy Resler http://supervegan.com/blog/vegan-myq-kaplan-on-last-comic-standing-tonight/

Myq Kaplan’s Vegan Mind Meld

Ever heard of that NBC show, Last Comic Standing? Tonight the top 10 finalists are up for a vote, including Myq Kaplan (pronounced like “Mike Kaplan”) a Boston & NYC-based comedian and proud vegan. Myq has been vegan for about 7-8 years and was a vegetarian for 4-5 years before that. In April, he released his first comedy CD Vegan Mind Meld.
Last Comic Standing airs tonight at 9pm EST on channel 4 and after he performs a phone number and weblink will be posted on air to direct folks to vote from 10pm-midnight tonight. He’s going to post the toll free number to his Facebook and Twitter pages.

This is a great opportunity to keep him on the air and bring a humorous vegan to the masses.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oxygen Network sexpert Sue Johanson has been served with a lawsuit from the American Meat Institute for what the industry group calls “unsubstantiated claims based on limited or anecdotal evidence.”

In a segment of Talk Sex with Sue Johanson called Hard to Swallow (watch video above), the octogenarian sex educator tells a caller to tell her husband to “give up meat” to help improve the taste of his semen. Johanson goes on to say, “vegetarians, vegans who only eat fruits and vegetables…their ejaculate is sweet and nut-like, whereas males who eat meat, their ejaculate tastes bitter, like burnt leather.”

Though the lovable, sex-advice dishing grandma has retired, the American Meat Institute’s public affairs manager, Tonya Allen (who ironically also serves as the “chief media contact and spokesperson for AMI’s National Hot Dog and Sausage Council”) says they are seeking an unspecified sum for punitive damages for “irreparable harm to meat’s image” and “an immediate cease and desist judgement” to end reruns of the show and the online availability of the clip.

PETA vice president Dan Mathews vows to defend Johanson. “This is the same sort of frivolous lawsuit that the meat industry has slapped on Oprah and others before to stifle free speech,” says Mathews. “We’re calling on vegan men to volunteer to take part in a blind, scientific taste test study to back up Sue Jo.”

What do you call a gathering of vegans? … A buzzkill. This witty observation sprouts from the genius of Doug Abel, co-founder of the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. “Recently I was joking around with Dan Piraro about the words used for plurals of animals–a gaggle of geese, a cackle of hyenas, a murder of crows–and I came up with a ‘buzzkill’ of vegans,” he explains.

This punchline will be proved all kinds of wrong this Thursday at Comedy for Karma, the all-star stand-up comedy event to benefit the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. The tall “boyish man” Gary Gulman and sidesplittingly self-deprecating Louis C.K. return for their third time, while gritty insomniac Dave Attell makes it for a second round. New this year are two Daily Show celebs, co-creator Lizz Winstead and fake news correspondent Wyatt Cenac. Em-cee will be illustrious funny-man Dan Piraro.

Doug elaborates on his buzzkill coinage:

“I recall a joke from my college days in the late ’80s…

Q: How many lesbians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: That’s not funny!!!!

“If written today,” Doug says, this joke “would certainly be about vegans. We have a reputation for being militant misanthropic schmucks (because we refuse to eat corpses). Actually, the version I heard just a few years ago was, ‘That’s worse than a vegan birthday party’–probably a reference as much to the dry, carob-based cakes of a decade ago as the dry, carob-based personalities that vegans are supposed to have.”

“But the reality is that lots of vegheads have well-formed funnybones despite their Buzzkill Baselines,” he adds. “And in fact the phrase “happy vegan” kicks angry vegan’s butt by a factor of 15 on Google!”

You too can join the giant buzzkill of vegans to benefit the animals at the Woodstock sanctuary at NYC’s Gotham Comedy Club this Thursday, April 1 (no joke). Tickets always sell out, so it’s smart to buy in advance. $50 for general admission and $100 for reserved VIP seats.

Check out this hilarious video of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog interviewing Doug Abel about the event, scooping poop at the sanctuary, and humorless vegans.

Lyrics After the Jump!

Hey vegan girl with your laundry list of issues
Keep on crying
Now, here’s a box of tissues
Some vegan dudes might be a mess
But last time I checked
This vegan boy was the best

My hairs always done up to the nines
So ever stylish
Well, I’m looking fine
Some vegan dudes might be a mess
Last time I checked this vegan dude was the best

You’ll never catch me with Patchouli oil
Hemp sweater
Or being one with the soil
Some vegan dudes might be a mess
But last time I checked this vegan boy was the best

I might not be the one
To take to your AR function
Or have me throwing paint
on those ladies uptown
Well, I’m cruelty-free
And I’m being me
Not your regular cup of tea

And Frankly I don’t give a fuck about yoga…

(Kazoo Solo)

Last time I checked this vegan boy was the best…

The actual reunion went down a few years ago, but the media storm is now–Andrea is the focus of a gazillion news items and blog posts–and will reach a fever pitch next Monday, May 11,, um, Tuesday, May 12 (they keep bumping the segment; who knows, sigh…) when Andrea and and Cricket the stripper sit down with Diane Sawyer on the Good Morning America couch.

Join Team SuperVegan in congratulating Andrea on the world finally catching on to how awesome she is! You can say you read her blog posts way back when. Oh, and here’s the trailer for the movie:

The indomitable Dr. G

Just by being vegan, we eat a much healthier diet than if we were omnis or even vegetarians. But there’s always new information waiting to be discovered. Is spirulina good for you? Is MSG harmful? Which are healthier, red onions or white ones? The answers to these and more probing questions await you in two new nutrition DVDs from Dr. Michael Greger, director of public health and animal agriculture for HSUS.

In Latest in Clinical Nutrition 2007, Dr. G reveals horrifying facts such as that we might already have cancer cells growing within us in the womb (yikes!). The good news is that by eating well, we can slow down their growth; only three spinach leaves a day can make a difference! (I did not know that.) Other gems: As far as lung cancer’s concerned, one joint is the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes. Spirulina and blue green algae contain neurotoxins that can lead to Alzheimer’s. A handful of nuts a day can cut your cardiac risk in half. And the good doctor has this to say about the fiber-loving ways of vegans: “Vegans are just regular people.” Argh! (Actually, I enjoy his corny sense of humor. I hope you do too, because the DVDs are rife with it!)

In the 2008 edition, Dr. Greger uses a quiz show format to introduce such questions as: Is MSG harmful, harmless or helpful? (Harmless.) Which is healthier, black beans or pinto beans? (Black.) And he offers up facts like: U.S. milk has the highest allowable pus content in the world (yum!); some vitamins will actually make you die faster; and because of the dioxins they contain, aquacultured fish can be considered…farmed and dangerous (d’oh!).

Each 90-minute DVD contains a TON of info, which normally might be too much to digest. But their pace is akin to that of a language video, in which an unseen instructor pauses and allows you to répéter before moving on. There also isn’t a lot of visual movement; most of the shots are stills, though cute photos of hamsters do appear in each DVD.

All proceeds are going to the farm animal welfare department of HSUS. You can glean some of Dr. G’s wisdom for free here; this includes the full text of Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching. More free stuff: To subscribe to the doc’s nutrition newsletter, send a blank e-mail to drgregersnewsletter-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. To sign up for his Monthly Pandemic Updates (cheery stuff!), go here. Oh, and the original incarnation of each DVD is a yearly presentation, so be sure to check Dr. G out in person when he’s in your area.

This one’s still my favorite.

Here are some of our favorite vegan-oriented April Fool’s posts from elsewhere on the web.

• Ecorazzi: Al Gore Announces New Line Of Organic Vegan Frozen Foods
• Vegetarian Star: Rise Against Band Fronts Impotency Drug, Rise Again
• Vegetarian Star: Gordon Ramsay Goes Vegetarian After Electrocuting Himself
• US News: Best of the Green April Fool’s Day Pranks

I was hoping for more outrage about Travis Barker’s new diet, given the crazy shit our readers have fallen for in the past. Perhaps juiced puppies was a bit much? We’ll try to be more subtle next year.

Did we miss anything good? Let us know in the comments.

So you’ve always wanted to know all about the ins and outs of gender, sexuality, and vegan cooking. Fine – you’ve never really thought about it. But now you may just have the perfect reason!

In the debut episode of Cooking with Trannies, Chef Alexa helps out a transboy who wants to impress his vegan date with some homecooking.

Join Chef Alexa (a vegan chef-in-training) as she embarks on her mission to “teach trannies to cook flavorful vegan meals” and helps Trent (of “That’s My Jam” fame) whip up a dish of Vegan Spaghetti and Not-Balls (get it?).

Learn about everything from the art of chiffonade to why a transgender man who is dating a bio man would bother transitioning in the first place!

Falkor Fries

I don’t live in New York anymore, so maybe Tierra Sana really is the Greatest Restaurant In The History Of Creation, but then again, it’s in Queens, so doesn’t that automatically rule it out?

I’d like to nominate Myth Diner for this prestigious, albeit completely fictional GRITHOC honor.

Myth Diner is conveniently located to everyone, just off that street that never has traffic, it’s got ample parking and is always always open. The menu’s got something for everyone (even non-vegans can’t wait to stuff face) and it rocks breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner all night long and serves it every day.

Timed perfectly with your arrival are a steaming bottomless cup of fair trade coffee, the almond/rice/or soy milk of your mind, vanilla agave syrup, and a glass of water, no ice thanks. All the seating is comfy corner booths, except for the large communal table, where awkward-free conversation flows like the organic fair trade coffee, and everyone you meet is your new bestie for life, and every seat comes with an electrical outlet and fast as data can travel wi-fi.

You might be overwhelmed by the menu, but the super cute-in-the-face waiter knows exactly what you want.

Did I mention desert is served first at Myth Diner? And they’ve got every single Vegan Treats treat ever made, all of which are Tuesday quality, no matter what day you visit! Your adorable waiter recommends you eat half, then move on to your entree, repeat.

When choosing your entree, you’re not afraid to try something new because everything is the best thing you’ve ever set tongue on! And Myth diner has some incredibly convincing faux meats you’ve probably never tasted before.
Menu highlights include, but are not limited to:

• Mermaid* Sea Stew
• Unicorn** Chimichanga with extra Guac
• Stuffed Griffin** roast with Savory Sweet Potato Hash and Creamed Spinach
• Puff Dragon** Patty with a side of Jerk Jabba**
• Godzilla* Pizza (equivalent to a “Meat Lovers”)
• Bigfoot* Burger with the Falkor** Fries
• Troll n’ Cheeze

*meat is soy based
**meat is wheat based

Hey, what’s that song they’re playing? Oh! That’s my favorite song! But! The best part of Myth Diner is that everything is calorie free, unclogs your arteries like Drano of the heart, and comes with a Gas Free Guarantee!

Yes. Pumpkins are vegan!

In celebration of All Hallows Eve, I, Brownbird Rudy Relic, your fearless vegan blogger, have assembled a veritable variety of vegan-inspired Halloween costumes to give this October 31st the vegan spark it so rightly deserves.

And Just in time for World Vegan Day too!

Have a view after the jump!

Why not go as something so delicious? Be aware though, vegans may uncontrollably try to pop your lid and have a taste!

Can’t figure out what tofutti product you should go as? Why not go as two of the best? How dairy-free of you!

Hey Ms. Thang! Wanna go as something Sexy? How about Veganomicon! You go gurl!

How about an accidentally vegan costume?

Or. To be the life of the party; dress up as the Internet’s best vegan blog in the world! My aren’t we humble!

See you at the Boston Vegetarian Food Fest tomorrow!

Okay, so, vegans aren’t the only ones who suffer from gas

As some vegans (and those that have to share their surroundings) may attest, heavy flatulence is a consequence of the vegan diet. In other words, vegans fart a lot and there are some who attribute this directly to soy intake.

Leave it up to science to step in:

Scientists in Singapore may have found a way to reduce certain carbohydrates in soybeans that have long been blamed for flatulence…

In an article in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers in Singapore said they found a way round this by mixing soybeans with the fungus, R. oligosporus, which contains enzymes that appear to be able to degrade the two culprit sugars.

Are you a vegan who suffers from (or hell, revels in) heavy flatulence? What are your thoughts? Weigh in below.

via Jezebel

Roy Brown, the victim of the outlandish accusation

In a political climate festooned with attack ads, whisper campaigns, deceitful mailers and robo-calls all asserting a plethora of false claims and stretched truths, it’s easy to tire of such rampant vilification.

But, every so often the condition reaches a breaking point; accusations are made and things are said which cannot and should not be tolerated. Something so vile, it forces those of us who favor a civil dialogue among our elected officials, to stand up and say STOP!

Recently, Montana’s gubernatorial candidate, Roy Brown was accused of being, of all things a vegetarian!

Now, this vegan writer has seen his share of mudslinging and baseless accusations before, but never something of this caliber. Vegetarians are compassionate people who care about the welfare of animals; the environment and often the health and well being of their bodies – we should not be attributing these outlandish qualities to Roy Brown.

I know Vegetarians, and you Mr. Brown are no vegetarian!

(The link goes to our page for ‘sNice, which is near, but not actually on, Jane Street.)