Vegetarian Star

Rob Sedgwick (“Law and Order”, “30 Rock”), actor and brother to actress Kyra Sedgwick, has opened a vegan ice cream parlor, Stogo, in New York City with business partner Steve Horn.

Sedgwick is not a vegan. He’s not even a vegetarian and The New York Observer describes him as a “steak ’n’ eggs, cholesterol-till-you-die man.”

Still, he recognizes the popularity of non dairy products.

“It’s a great product,” he said. “There’s nothing out there like it and we’re already doing really well.”

Sis Kyra is quite happy for her brother, as she was reported to have said, “When Rob first told me about it, I thought it was a fantastic idea. My friend is vegan, and I know that vegan is quite the thing these days.” She also added that if someone had told her five years ago that Rob would open a vegan ice cream shop, she would have told them they were ” totally insane.”

Some have criticized non vegetarians for taking advantage of the market and going into the business purely to make a profit. But on the other hand, the fact that these non vegs want to do a vegan business says a lot in the world where the dollar bill rules. Vegans and vegetarians make up a strong niche market that doesn’t show signs of weakening.

And it will never hurt Rob to gobble down some of his product every now and then to offset his steak and eggs footprint.

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If you’re a vegan with a mean sweet tooth, there are plenty of options to satisfy your cravings without compromising your beliefs.

Nell Newman, the daughter of the late Paul Newman, launched Newman’s Own Organics-a division of her father’s company, Newman’s Own-in 1993 and it became a separate company in 2001.

This year, her Newman-O’s Original Vanilla Creme Cookies won best vegan cookie in the third annual Libby awards hosted by peta2.org.

The Vanilla Creme Cookies beat out other favorites known to vegans, such as Uncle Eddie’s.

“Newman-O’s are not only organic and vegan but also scrumptious,” said Lara Sanders, peta2’s assistant manager of marketing. “We commend Newman’s Own Organics for offering products that are as kind to animals as they are delicious.”

Vegan cookies fans should take note: Newman’s Own Organics also make Chocolate Creme, Mint Creme, and Ginger-O’s in the dairy and egg free category.

Indulgence away!

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Photo Credit: Jill Fehrenbacher of Inhabitat

Peter Rojas is the co-founder of the popular tech blog, Engadget, which he later sold, along with other blogs, to AOL. He’s currently spending his days on RCRD LBL, a digital music site he created.

On Accidental Veganism
I became vegetarian when I was 15 or 16 in high school. I think in the early 90s there was a general upsurge in consciousness about issues related to environmentalism. That was my primary reason for going vegetarian.

Becoming vegan was a little different. I didn’t even know any vegans until I got to college. I’d eaten mostly vegan, but occasionally would have something not vegan, but vegetarian, at the dining hall on campus. [After awhile] I realized I had gone probably six months without eating anything that wasn’t vegan and I was like, “I think I’m going to keep doing this.” That was about 12 years ago. There isn’t anything about being a vegan, for me, that feels like a hardship at all. I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing anything.

I read your wife’s (Jill Fehrenbacher) blog over at the Inhabitat and she said one of her New Year’s resolutions was to stop giving in to non vegan sweets. Does it ever upset you when she eats non vegan and gives into the cookies?

It’s a tough life if you’re going to be really judgmental about other people. I tease her about it a little bit. And she’s actually been sort of off and on vegan for awhile. Let’s put it this way, if she would start eating meat, then I’d have a serious problem. I’d probability be really judgmental about that because when we got married she was a vegetarian. I’ve always encouraged her to continue to be vegan. But it wasn’t anything worth getting upset over. That’s not really the way I operate in the world.

A decade ago you had a job for a media planning agency which involved a lot of numbers and because of that, you felt  you didn’t do well. I found that to be a little strange, given the fact that you’re a techie and into gadgets. I kind of imagined someone who is into that as being a good number cruncher.

I’m much better about writing about technology and thinking analytically about technology and the industry and trends. The media planning job was, like, you have 50 thousand dollars to spend in this market and it was really about doing the kind of distribution of funds for ad buying.

It’s actually very different skill sets. Talking about technology and being able to be insightful about technology is very different than being good at crunching numbers.

When you look at Engadget and things that I’ve done, it’s really been about trying to humanize technology and thinking about technology as another form of pop culture and less about hard nose science and engineering.

On Being A Famous Role Model For Veganism
Even though I’m  known to gadget fanatics, I don’t have any delusions as to how well known I might be [to others]. I look at someone like Moby who obviously is very well known. And having him be a presence and spokesperson for vegans does have an impact that obviously I’m not going to have. 

(Joking)Would you ever consider getting naked for PETA?
I don’t think anyone would necessarily want to see me naked. I think I need to start going back to the gym before I do that.

Find out what famous vegans Peter admires, after the jump.

(more…)

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Not long ago, it was discovered that a Liverpool McDonald’s restaurant had pictures of Paul McCartney and other ex Beatles on its wall. The news caused quite a stir with McCartney being a vegetarian who obviously wouldn’t support the fare served at McDonald’s.

Chrissie Hynde’s vegan Italian eatery, The Vegiterranean, has got it right though: Veg people in a veg restaurant.

If you’re lucky enough to dine there or even stop by and visit, you’ll find pictures of celebrities like Joss Stone, Morrisssey, Joaquin Phoenix, Paul McCartney, and even Chrissie herself on the wall of vegetarian fame.

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The Gothamist

Amanda Cohen, owner and chef at New York City’s Dirt Candy, ruffled some faux feathers not long ago when she insulted some of her vegan and possibly vegetarian potential clients.

Cohen eats fish, but still is running a vegetarian restaurant in the East Village of the city.

She openly says she doesn’t care about the politics or health of vegetarianism, she’s just there to make good food. Other vegetarian restaurants have been criticized by Moby’s ex chef because she feels that although they’re labeled as “vegetarian,” they’re really vegan, and she likes her butter, cream, and cheese.

Not to mention she’s called out “people with allergies and people who have their funny diet things like ‘Oh, I’m only eating white food today!’ ” and “‘I’m on a liquid diet. . . . Can you blend it for me?’ ” according to the Gothamist.

You’d think she’d alienate everyone. But a writer for the New Yorker reported that a group of mixed vegetarians and non vegetarians seemed happy dining there recently.

Even a guy with a PETA logo on his hat only had the portion sizes to complain about, saying they weren’t big enough.

So maybe us veggie folk (you offended vegans, too) should head to 430 E. 9th St. next time we’re visiting New York and give her a try.

After all, she could be the first master of faux foie gras.

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New Orleans is alive and kicking and according to the New York Post, “the place for upscale travelers to visit this winter.”

The Big Easy certainly provides warmer weather than what many of us are experiencing now and the variety of food and culture rich spots such as the French Quarter, make celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Martha Stewart, and Brad Pitt all repeat fans.

Like any traveling adventure, a visit to New Orleans for vegetarians and vegans requires planning in terms of where to eat, and hip hop mogul Russell Simmons admits to the temptation of all the non vegan goodies.

“It’s the most difficult place to be vegan in the world,” he said. “I have found a lot of vegan food and vegan jambalaya, but the other food is so attractive!”

Not to fear, as online guides such as VegGuide.org, give you the rundown on every veg and veg friendly restaurant in New Orleans or anywhere else.

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We all know organic is better for us, especially when it comes to some fruits and vegetables, but sometimes it’s hard to do the org thing because of access or financial issues. Not to worry, even the stars who pledge to be healthy have to compromise every now and then.

“Sometimes it’s just not practical, but I do what I can. I shop at Whole Foods in the U.K.,” said Stella McCartney.

Stella has her own line of organic skin care products, CARE, which are 100% totally organic.

She’s featured on Sprig.com’s 10 Organic Diet Secret of the Stars slide show, along with militant organic momma Madonna.

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It’s recently been unearthed that thousands have lost money in the multi billion dollar Ponzi scheme ran by Bernard Madoff, including famous vegan author John Robbins, who lost his entire life savings.

People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) Bruce Friedrich, vice president for policy and government affairs, found an online inaugural package to bid on that sounded too good to be true. That’s because it was.

The auction on eBay consisted of a great pair of inaugural tickets and a private meeting with the President himself, according to The online Wall Street Journal.

“2009 White House Full Inauguration Tickets VIP Access” was being offered by Chicago-based charity group December Rain, which provides for foster children who have life-threatening medical conditions. The group paid thousands of dollars to investors for tickets to a variety of events, which it then attempted to auction off online.

December Rain representatives invested with Connecticut-based investment firm Fairfield Greenwich which invested with Mr. Madoff. And you know what kinds of rewards those investments reaped.

A week before the inauguration, PETA received an email stating the tickets did not exist. Although the charity promised to reimburse everyone financially involved, it recently had to close its doors after receiving death threats from those that invested.

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