Vegetarian Star

All this week, Alicia Silverstone‘s website has the opportunity for you to win a free, vegan, eco-friendly handbag from one of The Kind Life‘s sponsors, Susan Nichole.

We are excited about Thursday’s choice, The Candice.

Susan Nichole Onofrey, co-owner and head of design at Susan Nichole described her motivation to create the handbags on the company’s website.

“As long as I can remember, I have adored accessories – shoes, jewelry, handbags – everything. As an animal lover and vegetarian, I wanted to adopt a more proactive approach to my actions and choices. I initiated my quest to create animal friendly bags that are beautiful, timeless and have the elegance for which I have longed; bags that women will love to carry and feel fabulous doing so.”

The Candice by Susan Nichole

To be eligible to win in the random drawing, visit the Susan Nichole Facebook page and click “Fan” or “I Like” after you’ve logged into your Facebook account.

Drawings take place at 10PM EST/7PM PT and winners will be announced on the Susan Nichole Facebook page.

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Colorado representative Jared Polis revealed his suggestions to put more vegetarian and non-dairy options in school lunches could cost around $50 million a year, but insists the benefits would outweigh the costs in health care savings.

Polis was in Denver, Colorado recently promoting his bill, The Healthy School Meals Act.

“One of the things I’ve always been dismayed by is the nutritional value of the meals schools serve,” Polis said.

He also emphasized the importance of offering non dairy options to the 10-20% of children who are lactose intolerant.

Although the National School Lunch Program requires schools to always offer cow’s milk, a 2004 reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and National School Lunch Act allowed schools to offer non dairy alternatives as long as they were equal to nutrition in milk.

However, the USDA does not cover any additional price difference, and as a result, schools aren’t able to offer alternatives like soy or rice milk.

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Jillian Michaels told Monster and Critics she often goes easy on the butter when making baked goods, substituting it for plant based alternatives like vegetable oil.

“My brownies had, you know, applesauce, yogurt and olive oil and like unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder instead of, you know, white sugar, white flour, tons and tons of butter,” Michaels said.

Although non dairy and vegan butters exist, there are plenty of non oil substitutes to use in baked recipes, which can cut even more fat from the finished product.

Fruit spreads, fruit purees and even baby food can add moisture to brownies.

A registered dietitian at Calorie Count recommends for every 1/2 cup of fruit puree, add 1-4 tablespoons of olive and cut back on sugar.

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Rachael Ray spoke with Joy Behar about the lack of access to quality food on The Joy Behar Show on HLN.

Ray explained how she’s trying to get more kids educated about growing their own food and starting community and school gardens.

“It not only makes them healthier, it keeps them more alert in school. You end up with brighter, more well balanced graduates,” Ray said.

She also gave KFC’s new Double Down sandwich, an artery clogging, factory farmed meat of a meal with two fillets of chicken, two pieces of bacon and two slices of Monterrey Jack and Pepper Jack cheese, the thumbs down, calling it the “double bypass.”

“I just don’t see a need for it,” Ray says. “It’s like handing people a gun.”

For those interested in the animal-free version of the Double Down, it has been created, featuring Gardein faux chicken breasts, Lightlife Smart Bacon and Follow Your Heart vegan cheese.

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Vegetarian Daryl Hannah says that children have Nature Deficient Disorder–where they spend their time playing video games or watching television instead of getting outside and learning about the Earth.

That’s why she’s throwing her support behind the UN’s International Day of Diversity on May 22, designed to teach children about looking after the planet.

According to Contact Music, Hannah told Britain’s Live from Studio Five, “We are in the midst of the biggest extinction crisis in human history. We’re losing 150 to 200 species every 24 hours and it’s all human caused. The UN and the CBD – the Convention for Biological Diversity – are trying to figure out ways to get kids engaged because they’re our future champions of the planet.”

Hannah then offered suggestions to get children involved, such as land cleanup or looking after local wildlife.

“You want as much diversity as possible and to encourage that with (children planting) seeds is a great way. Another great way to encourage kids is to put up a bird’s nest or to go out and be little scientists and track what’s in their neighborhood, and clean up their neighborhood – a park or a river.”

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Sea Shepherd has announced its plans to assist with the oil spill cleanup and wildlife rescue in the Gulf Coast.

According to the organziation’s website, Sea Shepherd is working to secure a boat in Europe to bring to the Gulf area. The HAZMAT trained crew will assist in rescue operations on both land and sea, working with BP officials, local fisherman and other government officials.

Captain Paul Watson is calling on other organizations with both manpower and supplies to join their efforts.

“Sea Shepherd and other organizations have ships,” said Watson. “These groups, as well as governments and corporations, have resources. We need to mobilize these resources now. This is going to be a long, dirty, and fatiguing process, but we must act, and we must act now.”

Sea Shepherd is looking for volunteers to assist, as well as donations of detergents, towels, fuel and other supplies.

Sea Shepherd has a history in assisting with oil cleanup and marine rescue, including the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.

For information on how you can assist, email gulfrescue [at] seashepherd [dot] org.

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Animal Factory by David Kirby

It’s amazing the impact a little education can have on your decisions.

After spending three years researching animal agriculture for his book, Animal Factory, David Kirby eats a lot less meat, as he explained to the Washington Post.

“Before I started working on the book, I would go to the supermarket and buy meat. I was completely ignorant about where my food came from. I knew that it wasn’t Farmer Joe down the road. But I never put together the idea that if it weren’t from there, it wouldn’t be from a real farm somewhere. I pictured mechanization. But I didn’t picture what was really going on.”

Read the entire interview with Kirby at the Washington Post.

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Some of the cast members of Glee told Mother Nature Network how they stay green.

Glee has its share of singing vegetarians, so it’s no surprise that Jenna Ushkowitz‘s tip was to “eat less meat.”

A few facts from the Natural Resources Defense Council:

From 1995 to 1998, 1,000 spills or pollution incidents occurred at livestock feedlots in 10 states and 200 manure-related fish kills resulted in the death of 13 million fish.

Ammonia, a toxic form of nitrogen released in gas form during waste disposal, can be carried more than 300 miles through the air before being dumped back onto the ground or into the water, where it causes algal blooms and fish kills.

Ammonia, a toxic form of nitrogen released in gas form during waste disposal, can be carried more than 300 miles through the air before being dumped back onto the ground or into the water, where it causes algal blooms and fish kills.

Yeah, factory farms and meat give you nothing good to sing about, that’s for sure.

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