Vegetarian Star

Barnes & Noble

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of several books dealing with animal issues, including The Face on Your Plate, sat down with the bloggers at Supervegan.com for a chat about factory farming, animals, and his latest book.

A few excerpts:

SV: Since most people will never have the opportunity to see a slaughterhouse or an animal agriculture facility, how can we open their eyes to the horrors of the industry and that it’s within their power to change it by going vegan? Is that the goal of the book?

JMM: Yes, that is the goal of the book. I am hoping that the people who read it will become convinced that I am telling the truth and will save themselves the horror of seeing the animals suffer and simply go vegan. It really is the only logical conclusion to the information now freely available to everyone.

SV: The next chapter, “The Fishy Business of Aquaculture,” is a more comprehensive look at the world of fish farming than I’ve seen, and many of the facts were new to me, such as that we share 85% of our genes with zebra fish and that salmon are starved for seven to 10 days before slaughter.

JMM: I knew nothing of this before I began to investigate. It was frustrating; I was never able to visit a salmon farm, for example. The people who raise fish on farms do not want us, the public, to see how these fish live. That is because we would be appalled and sickened if we could. Your summary is excellent. I devoted an entire chapter because it is such a little-known phenomenon. And because I feel that too many people think fish have no feelings, and so can be eaten without thought. They are wrong, and I was delighted to read the science that demonstrates how complex fish really are. They deserve better press.

Read the entire interview with Masson at supervegan.com.

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Although she included an entire vegetarian recipe chapter in her Big Orange Book cookbook, it didn’t look as though Rachael Ray was too interested in talking to vegans. Or maybe she just wasn’t interested in talking to Super Vegans.

Roseann Marulli and Joy Askew over at SuperVegan.com set up a Farm Stock Animal Sanctuary booth in Union Park Square with a huge sign overhead that read, “Ask A Vegan.”

It was an opportunity for people to stop by and ask questions about veganism, animal rights, and get literature if they wanted.

Rachael Ray and her husband John Cusimano stopped by, along with their dog Isaboo. John stayed and chatted for a while, but when Rachael found out what the booth was about, she and Isaboo walked away faster than you can say, “Extra Virgin Olive Oil.”

So even though she listened to vegetarians on tour who expressed interest in more veg recipes for her cookbook, don’t expect more vegan recipes anytime soon.

“I guess it’s not just the Food Network that’s afraid of vegans!” Roseann said.

Or maybe it was Isaboo’s idea, as she was scared of what vegan dog food Rachael might try to concoct.

By the way, the gals are still doling out vegan advice every other Saturday, same time, same place.

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