Vegetarian Star

Sarah Palin has a new pen pal, but it’s not one she might not write back to.

According to The Record, Andrew Hunt, a history professor at the University of Waterloo, has written the former Republican vice presidential candidate a letter, urging her to consider the benefits of veganism–both for people and animals. He even plans to throw in a few recipes.

But he’s not stopping at one note.

Hunt plans to write a letter every week, for the next year. Or at least until the restraining order is issued.

“I intend to send them to her very religiously,” Hunt said. “I intend to persuade her that this is a much better. I tend to write them as if I’m sitting at the dinner table with her.”

Of course, no vegan would ever voluntarily sit at the dinner table with Palin, given her attitudes about animals as food, as evident in her book, Going Rogue, when she wrote, “I always remind people from outside our state that there’s plenty of room for all Alaska’s animals — right next to the mashed potatoes.”

Still Hunt insists he will play the nice guy.

“I understand why (Palin) loves meat. I ate it most of my life,” he said. “I’m trying to set a very respectful tone toward meat eaters.”

“All my life I have loved animals, but I was living in ignorance and not really aware of the suffering caused by my choices,” Hunt  added. “I’m not saying people should stop drinking milk or eating meat. All I’m asking is they think about the consequences of those decisions.”

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Aldo Zilli is opening his new vegetarian Italian restaurant, Zilli Green, next weekend in Soho in London.

Zilli says it was none other than Meat-Free Monday man Paul McCartney himself who encouraged him to change the food on his menu and on his own plate.

From News Of The World:

“A few years ago, Paul wrote to me about the amount of meat I had on the menus at my London restaurants,” Zilli said. “He felt we didn’t need to offer exotic meats, such as ostrich. I had to agree.”

“Creating vegetarian Italian dishes was a challenge. But it’s a good move in a society where vegetarianism is now common place.”

Zilli Green is set to open this weekend on Valentine’s Day.

Take your sweetie there to celebrate love, good food and good health.

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Lisa Ling has been reporting on animal welfare issues for years.

In 2008, she worked as a correspondent for Oprah to uncover the story of mistreatment in a Pennsylvania puppy mill.

Although she’s not a vegetarian (yet), her investigative work conducted while visiting factory farms and free range farms has made her think more about the food that does arrive on her plate.

A few highlights from her interview with TailsInc.:

You also exposed the reality of factory farming on Oprah. Has it affected you and the way you eat meat in your own life?

“It absolutely has. These animals we consume never even get to mate. They never for their entire lives come out of these factory-like conditions, and it’s horrifying. I can’t even imagine what is going into them and then what’s going into us. Has it made me stop [eating meat]? No, but I’m just more conscious about it.”

Did the animals seem happier on the free-range farm?

“Absolutely. They’re still animals we would consume, but at least for their short lives they are able to actually just live. The man who had the grass-fed chickens said, “I believe that people should feel OK about consuming animals, but we just don’t want to torture them.” I just found that really interesting because he was really religious. And there are certainly people who say we shouldn’t kill anything. During Jesus’ time they were consuming animals, but they weren’t torturing the animals. They weren’t injecting the animals and pumping the animals with who knows what foreign substances.”

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Mother Nature Network says that Alicia Silverstone is a fan of Nicobella Vegan Organic Dark Truffles.

Has she already dropped the hints to hubby Christopher Jarecki that he needs to buy these before February 14 if he ever wants Pecan Crusted Seitan made for him again?

Nicobella replaces the ganache center that is usually comprised of cream and sugar, and instead sweetens with syrups of brown rice and agave.

Nicobella truffles come in varieties such as Walnut Flaxseed Crunch, Sunflower Banana Butter, Pumpkin Chai, Blueberry Almond, Green Ginger Tea and Pure Coco Bliss.

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Image: Hello ChateauHo on Flickr

Jennifer Swab, director of sustainability for the Sierra Club Green Home, took a trip to Chrissie Hynde‘s vegan Italian restaurant, The Vegiterranean.

As expected, reviews of the restaurant’s food were great.

“So how was my meal at VegiTERRANEAN? Spiced tomatoes and chick peas with baby arugula, tofu feta and crustini. Fresh tomato and artichoke bisque with fresh dill. For the main course, fresh whole wheat linguini carbonara with smoked “gardein” chicken, asparagus and leeks. “Gardein” is a type of garden grown protein, actually quite tasty and fulfilling in a tofu sort of way for us “gotta have meat” types. Prices are moderate, the food was fabulous — kudos to executive chef J. Scot Jones — but the service was on the uneven side at best. Let’s just say the kitchen operations could use a tune up.”

Uh-oh. Uneven service doesn’t sound like a total kitchen nightmare, but could operations behind the counter be in need of a little Gordon Ramsay foul mouthed pep talk?

Ramsay should visit anyway, and be forced to down some tofu as punishment for his dozens of snide anti-veg remarks.

Visit The Huffington Post to learn more about Schwab’s experience.

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Pamela Anderson has just signed on to compete in the reality TV show Dancing with the Stars.

A source told Radar Online, “Pam is thrilled and so is the show.”

“She really wanted to do the show and the show thought it was a great idea,” the source added.

Is Pamela looking to imitate vegan Heather Mills, who’s dancing on ice this season on an equally popular UK celebrity reality television show?

It’s almost certain that the vegetarian Pamela will request cruelty-free costumes–no leather, fur or wool.

Fellow competitors should also expect some PETA pamphlets left in their dressing rooms.

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Russell Brand had lunch with a friend at Muma Vegetarian restaurant in West Hollywood this week and then took to playing with his toy water gun.

Russell has been getting cozy with “I Kissed a Girl” singer Katy Perry, who’s said before she would become a vegetarian if it weren’t for her love of chicken.

Russell should consider taking his “lady friend” to Muma more often to help sway her to the other side.

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Southern living may be stereotyped as buttered rolls and pork chops, but who says country music stars can’t have breaded tofu in place of chicken fried steak?

The CMT blog reports The Zac Brown Band has been asked by PETA to consider going vegetarian and think twice about the values their song Chicken Fried is portraying.

“Life on the farm isn’t what it used to be,” PETA’s representative Michelle Cho wrote. “Green pastures and idyllic barnyards have been replaced by windowless, cramped, filthy metal sheds. Animals are treated as nothing more than products, with little regard for their health, happiness, or basic needs.”

The group also sent Coy Bowles,  Zac Brown,  Clay Cook,  Jimmy De Martini,  Chris Fryar and John Driskell Hopkins fake meats and suggested they host “eat and greet” sessions serving veggie food.

Maybe the boys will pick up a copy of Ann Jackson’s Cookin Southern Vegetarian Style and serve homemade jambalaya at the next big gig.

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