Vegetarian Star

Alice Walker: In Support of Vegetarians, “La Vaca (The Cow)” – More related videos from Asterpix

Poet Alice Walker said she’s glad she doesn’t like to eat cows since she grew up on a dairy farm and grew to love every feature of them, including “their smell,” which she jokingly says is because “they’re vegetarian and that helps.”

One of Alice’s friends wanted to stop eating meat, but found it hard because it seemed foreign given the fact he grew up around so much meat eating. Alice wrote the poem “La Vaca (The Cow),” to help him understand what vegetarian meant from the cow’s point of view.

“Look into her eyes…And know…that she does not think of herself as steak,” the poem goes.

Watch Alice tell her story and recite the poem to a crowd at Emory University.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Meatless Monday Recipe–Waka Flocka Blueberry Vegan Muffins (Video)
• Best Vegetarian Stories Of 2015
• Jesse Einsenberg Celebrates “Thanksliving” During The Holidays (Video)
• Meatless Mouthful–Liam Hemsworth Gives Veggie Advice Like Dr. Spock (Video)
• Morrissey Adds Vegan Touch To First In-Person Interview In Decade On “Larry King Now” (Video)

We’ve all probably had that jerk friend who, after learning we’re vegetarian, makes a remark like, “See these teeth. These are canines. They’re meant to cut meat.”

Author Kathy Freston has blogged at the Huffington Post and cites several authoritative sources that give wonderful explanations why our friends are full of baloney-literally!

It’s all in the hands, as Kathy explains early humans would not have been able to handle ripping an animal apart for dinner. Our pretty fingers were just too delicate.

“…Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine President Dr. Neal Barnard says in his book, The Power of Your Plate, in which he explains that “early humans had diets very much like other great apes, which is to say a largely plant-based diet, drawing on foods we can pick with our hands”

“There is no more authoritative source on anthropological issues than paleontologist Dr. Richard Leakey, who explains what anyone who has taken an introductory physiology course might have discerned intuitively–that humans are herbivores. Leakey notes that “[y]ou can’t tear flesh by hand, you can’t tear hide by hand…. We wouldn’t have been able to deal with food source that required those large canines” (although we have teeth that are called “canines,” they bear little resemblance to the canines of carnivores).”

“We don’t have sharp claws to seize and hold down prey. And most of us (hopefully) lack the instinct that would drive us to chase and then kill animals and devour their raw carcasses. Dr. Milton Mills builds on these points and offers dozens more in his essay, “A Comparative Anatomy of Eating.””

If you know anyone with sharp claws, you probably should make up an excuse to get out of the relationship. Read Kathy’s entire blog at the HuffingtonPost.com.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Best Vegetarian Stories Of 2015
• Yotam Ottolenghi Gives “Plenty More” Vegetarian Recipes In New Book
• Benjamin Zephaniah Advocates Plant Diet For New Year’s Resolution
• Sam Simon Offers Sealers One Million For Government Buyout
• Meatless Mouthful–Rick Warren Praises The Plant

We told you how Alicia Silverstone and several other celebrities had signed a letter addressed to Nobu, telling the restaurants to take endangered bluefin tuna off the menu.

Some British celebrities have gotten in on the act and created this ad to protest the consumption of the fish.

Actresses Greta Scacchi, Emilia Fox and writer Terry Gilliam bare all.

Terry is such a champ, standing there patiently while the fish gets love from Greta and Emilia.

Speaking of fish, what’s going on with this one? It isn’t bluefin. Possibly cod? And either the guy’s a complete plastic fake (but who in Hollywood isn’t) or he’s photoshopped himself in there to make his friends think two hot chicks are macking on him.

The bluefin protest is perfectly timed with the release of End of the Line, which warns that overfishing could lead to the end of seafood by 2048.

via thetelegraph.co.uk via blogs.seattleweekly.com

Possibly Related Posts:

• Jon Stewart and Wife Tracey Stewart Adopt Horse
• Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Elephants Retire To Sanctuary
• Jaimie King Creates Vegan-Friendly Makeup Alchemy From ColourPop
• SeaWorld Phasing Out Whale Breeding Program
• Pamela Anderson Launches Vegan Shoes

Bob Barker is generally known in the animal rights movement as the spay and neuter guy, but he’s done much more for non-human creatures, and shows no signs of stopping.

The vegetarian has recently written to Principal Chief Hicks of  the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation in Cherokee, North Carolina, urging for an end to the tourist attraction there of bears being confined in caged pits.

“Cherokee has so much to offer, such as its beautiful mountains, museums, cultural and historical exhibits, Native American shops, friendly residents, and casino. The caged bears may have been a big attraction at one time but are now seen as an embarrassment to the community and should be permanently closed down.”

Barker isn’t the first to express dismay at the exhibit, as PETA says people have contacted them after viewing it with some of the following statements:

• “I was so upset with how sad these animals
looked.” —Visitor from Louisiana
• “This attraction is truly a disgrace to the town of
Cherokee and its tourist offerings.” —Visitor from
Illinois
• “[W]hat a sad life they live, with no access to
grass, dirt, trees, woods, etc.” —Visitor from
North Carolina

Barker himself is of Native American descent and spent many days of his youth at the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

via peta.org

Possibly Related Posts:

• Jon Stewart and Wife Tracey Stewart Adopt Horse
• Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Elephants Retire To Sanctuary
• SeaWorld Phasing Out Whale Breeding Program
• Best Vegetarian Stories Of 2015
• Ellen DeGeneres Promotes Leather And Suede In New Shoe Line

So there’s a new show out called Breaking Bread.

It’s a 12-episode series where celebrities get together and chill and talk about their favorite causes.

On a recent episode, the favorite cause of the week was…you guessed it-veganism!

The vegan episode was hosted by Choe Jo Berman, blogger at GirlieGirlArmy.com and was packed with Hollywood glam like Meredith Salenger, Corey and Susie Feldman, Persia White, John Joseph, Mickey Madden, Emily Deschanel, Marilu Henner, Mariel Hemmingway, Gene Baur, Victoria Moran, Rory Freedman and Laban Pheidias.

The show is apparently so hot, things have to cool down before an air date can be set. When we find out more, we’ll let you know!

via Ecorazzi.com

Possibly Related Posts:

• Jaimie King Creates Vegan-Friendly Makeup Alchemy From ColourPop
• Pamela Anderson Launches Vegan Shoes
• Best Vegetarian Stories Of 2015
• Pamela Anderson Does Sexy Vegan Cake Making For “Love “
• Jesse Einsenberg Celebrates “Thanksliving” During The Holidays (Video)

Jane Velez-Mitchell’s got a new book coming out in October.

iWant is all about her journey to recovering from iwanting too much and that desire leading to overeating, smoking, excessive drinking, and excessive consumption.

Jane is no stranger to sharing her vegan beliefs in her work on Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell on CNN’s Headline News, and iWant includes a chapter titled, “Veganism/Animal Activism: I Want to Make a Difference.”

Making a difference means making thoughtful purchase choices that will ultimately affect everything surrounding us from the planet to our health to the economy.

According to heeb’n’vegan, Jane writes these choices are sometimes so overwhelming, she has to pray about it.

“Every morsel of food I put into my mouth is an environmental, political, moral, and spiritual choice. Every household product I buy is an environmental, political, moral, and spiritual choice. I always try to think before I choose. Sometimes, when I’m in a quandary, I pray before I choose.”

Making good choices about our purchases isn’t as easy as looking at the bottom line. Organic or local? Vegan company or mainstream business offering a line of vegan products? Trade Fair trade for your favorite brand?

How do you make the tough purchase decisions in your life? What rules do you follow?

Possibly Related Posts:

• Best Vegetarian Stories Of 2015
• Yotam Ottolenghi Gives “Plenty More” Vegetarian Recipes In New Book
• Jane Velez-Mitchell CNN Article On Consequences Of Meat
• Benjamin Zephaniah Advocates Plant Diet For New Year’s Resolution
• Best Vegetarian Stories Of 2013

Ah, John Robbins is such a hero.

The man gave up a zillion of a fortune as heir to the Baskin Robbins ice cream company to become an author and speak out against animal product industries that include 31 flavors of dairy.

In Processed People: The Documentary, Robbins states that even non-vegetarians would be turned off by the meat industry if they saw what went on behind closed doors.

“And the degree of cruelty that’s involved in modern meat production is so severe. You don’t have to a vegetarian, you don’t have to be an animal rights activist to find it deplorable – to find it appalling — if you actually see what it is, how far it’s gone, how grotesque. ”

Watch the clip to hear John talk about the horrors of the meat industry.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro

“The single best thing you can do for optimal health is to cut way back on animal protein…until you can cut it out completely. Animal protein causes inflammation, among other things; it’s been conclusively shown to cause (and fan the flames of) cancer and heart disease. It burdens your body all around, insofar as circulation, hormonal imbalance, allergies, asthma, etc. But beyond that, optimal health includes a sense of inner wellbeing too. And I think it’s hard to feel really good, to have a sense that you are in synch with the upward thrust of evolution, if you are partaking in something that has become so cruel and unjust. When you eat in a pure way, that is kind and compassionate, an inner transformation happens that is more energizing than any vitamin or exercise regimen could ever be.”

—Author Kathy Freston, in an exclusive interview with Ecorazzi.com. Kathy is the woman who convinced Oprah Winfrey to go vegan for three weeks and is the author of several books, including her latest, The Quantum Wellness Cleanse.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Meatless Mouthful–Stevie Wonder Says Vegan Helps His Good Looks And Planet
• Best Vegetarian Stories Of 2015
• Meatless Mouthful–Liam Hemsworth Gives Veggie Advice Like Dr. Spock (Video)
• Meatless Mouthful–Mayim Bialik Learns Lessons From The Cat
• Meatless Mouthful–Kate Mara Says “Yes” To Meat-Free Meals