Vegetarian Star

Jennie Garth signed up for Hidden Valley Ranch’s Garden Party campaign in an effort to teach parents how to incorporate the ideas of eating fresh produce and growing your own vegetables to their children.

Being the mother of three, Jennie’s had her moments, good and bad, with cucumbers and kiddies.

Here are a few of the best from ivillage.

Besides Disney Vegetables, what’s the best way to get kids to eat their greens?
I give them veggies when they’re hungry. Put out a plate after school with Hidden Valley ranch and you will be surprised.

Favorite vegetable rich meal to cook with kids:
Spaghetti with fresh tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, and garlic pureed into the sauce. They love it!

Where she buys her veggies:
The supermarket or the farmers market. I prefer locally grown/organic whenever possible.

Jennie and her family are huge fans of broccoli and they eat it several times a week.

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Stephanie Izard

Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard received criticism from PETA for hosting a veal dinner in a series of meals titled “Wandering Goat.”

“We’re writing today because numerous individuals—including fans of yours—contacted us to let us know that they were shocked to see you promoting veal and even displaying a photo of a skinned baby calf—Guillermo, as you named him—on your Twitter. Please know that the veal industry is cruel and inhumane and will remain financially viable as long as influential people like you continue to refer to the meat from sick, malnourished baby cows as a delicacy. It doesn’t matter where you purchase the meat—if you support the veal industry, you are supporting cruelty.”

Izard responded to PETA’s letter on her blog, explaining she sought veal that was raised locally and by what she considers humanely.

“In the past I have rarely used veal due to the inhumane treatment of calves. However, I was contacted by a local farm that raises free range veal in a very respectable way. While many people shun veal, the greater culinary community will continue to have veal be a part of their menus. All I am trying to do is get people to look at these local farms as refuge from larger meat-processing plants.”

Although the Kilgus Farm in Fairbury, Illinois does let goats feed on the pasture in the spring and fall, switching to homegrown hay in the winter, the baby calves, of course, are fed mother’s milk before quickly being taken to slaughter.

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Gwyneth Paltrow‘s husband and Coldplay singer Chris Martin is one cheap vegetarian.

Although Gwyneth tries to constantly introduce higher end organic foods to her husband, he refuses and wants to spend as little money as possible.

“Chris is terrible. The cheaper the better and I think he’s transferred it to (son) Moses. When I try to give my husband a piece of (organic chocolate) Green & Black’s, he’s like, ‘Get that stuff away from me,” Paltrow said.

That’s a bummer, considering organic chocolate comes with all the goodness of all the antioxidant benefits of flavonoids found in cocoa minus the head lice shampoo.

Yes, that’s right.

Lindane is a chemical that is used in head lice treatment that was banned in U.S. crops, but may still be used on cocoa plants in other countries.

And in the U.S., the EPA still allows various levels of pesticides to be used in chocolates like Methyl Bromide, Pyrethrins, Hydrogen Cyanide, Naled and Glyphosate, which have been shown in animal studies to produce health ailments like thyroid problems, headaches and nausea.

Save pesticides for the head bugs and opt for organic chocolate companies, many of which also offer fair trade and vegan varieties.

Here’s a list to get you started.

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PETA protests Anna Wintour. Credit: Gothamist

Anna Wintour‘s appearance and speech at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York was met with protesters from People from the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The Vogue editor is known for her love of fur, and it’s comeback in fashion has been attributed to this.

The protesters held signs with Wintour’s face with taglines that read, “Fur Is Worn by Beautiful Animals and Ugly People,” as well as posters depicting animals being skinned for fur.

PETA’s vice president Tracy Reiman said, “We scoured photo agencies for the shot that most accurately reflects Wintour’s selfish, cruel nature, and although there were many candidates, this one summed it up best. Wintour is the perfect poster girl for one of the most hideous industries on the planet.”

“There’s always a way to wear fur,” Wintour has said. “Personally, I wear it on my back.”

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Carrie Underwood and fiance Mike Fisher have ditched the traditional wedding cake and opted to be sweet tooth locavores and serve cupcakes made by a bakery near her hometown instead.

The rest of the reception menu has been decided on as well, as Carrie told Ellen DeGeneres, “We pick out food, and we know where we’re going to be. The big hurdles, but everything else we’re easy about…We don’t care.”

Because Carrie’s a vegetarian, she’s sure to have plenty of meat free options besides cupcakes.

If you’re in need of a vegan cupcake (along with sugar and gluten free), BabyCakes bakery has you covered East Coast or West.

The bakery that originated in New York City and now with a shop in LA, offers cupcakes, cookies, brownies and now even donuts that are completely free of animal products.

BabyCakes’ owner, Erin McKenna, started the company because she had multiple sensitivities to foods like wheat.

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Radhika Oswal just opened the New York outlet of her string of fast food vegetarian restaurants, Otarian.

The restaurant, which has a location in London, was constructed from recycled materials and lists the environmental impact of each dish on the menu compared to a meat one.

When she wasn’t counting carbons for a future menu item, Radhika took time to speak with Black Book Magazine on several matters, including her favorite foods and why a vegetarian fast food restaurant works.

On fast food v.s. fine dining:
We wanted to reach the masses. Vegetarian food is really misunderstood at the moment. I didn’t think people would be willing to sit for hours in a place to eat vegetarian food when they could spend $14 in 10 minutes. It’s just simple logic, really.

Favorite vegetarian dishes:
I like the Tex Mex Burger. I love the Biryani. I love the flatbread. I am Indian by culture, so, I love the spicy foods.

Typical mistakes that vegetarians make in their dietary choices:
Vegetarians who have been vegetarians for long don’t make many mistakes. I think it’s people who are trying to eat more vegetarian food make the mistake of not knowing the correct nutritional requirements around the carbs or not knowing the daily servings of vegetables and fruits. Balancing, especially things like vitamin D and B, in your diet are important.

For the entire interview, visit Black Book magazine.

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Bryan Adams says being sexy is the most important aspect of animal activism.

“Being sexy helps when you’re trying to do anything!” the Canadian rocker told Metro News. “Seriously, that is all PR nonsense,” Adams said of the famous annual PETA lists. “What’s important is getting people involved in helping the cause, so if that is what it takes, fine.”

His good lucks may or may not have helped him in numerous campaigns, including Japanese whale hunting and asking KFC to slaughter chickens in an approve more humane way.

But when it came to distributing postcards at his concerts that urged countries to create a sanctuary for Southern Antarctic Whales, a pretty face only went so far.

“We distributed postcards at my concerts in order to persuade countries supporting the whaling industry to vote yes to the sanctuary. We succeeded and had lots of fun doing it. But in one case, the government of a small Polynesian island wrote back pleading with us not to send anymore postcards, because they couldn’t handle the volume.”

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Disney Garden, a Disney brand of fruits and vegetables, has reported a 300% growth in Canada last year and competitors like Nickelodeon and Discovery Kids are hoping to get in on the market and promote their cartoon carrots to children.

The brand features fruits and vegetables with Disney characters on the packaging.

Bonus points: Disney Garden has organic produce!

“When you have Ronald McDonald, who is very recognizable, on the fast-food side, and you have the Disney characters on the side of fruits and vegetables, it seems to even the playing field,” says Debi Andrus, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business, according to the Star Phoenix.

“What we’re trying to do is make fresh produce more fun, and as appealing to children as sweets might be,” says Michael Caito, CEO of Imagination Farms.

Not everyone wants Mickey Mouse promoting cucumbers, though.

“I am not about marketing to children. It sickens me,” says Erica Ehm, a Toronto-based mother of two. “But having said that, I don’t think putting carrots in a Cinderella package is going to damage the child. And if it somehow leads them to liking fruits and vegetables, that’s OK with me.”

Unless you’re kid never sees a television, a billboard on the street or talks to another child at school, there’s no way to hide the marketing tactics employed to suck them into the sugary cereal aisle.

If they’re going to be brainwashed, it might as well be about Tigger’s organic pears.

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