Who Want's to Go?

Check it out! Taking Action for Animals Expo 2009 is right around the corner, July 24th-July 27th in Arlington, VA. Four days of cool seminars, activities, and vegan food. I want to go to this really, really bad. It would be great to to get a group, or groups together to split hotel costs. The more the merrier. Holler at me if you or anyone you know wants to go. I can coordinate the travel plans if need be. I just would rather go with friends than fly solo.
Check out this link for more details: Taking Action for Animals 2009

Baby Seals

Please check out the following links or do some research on your own. Sign a petition, donate some money, spread the word. Seal
hunting is horrendous. There's no justifying such cruelty. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but this is sooooo senseless. I know it can be ended if sane and kind people just speak up! SAVE THE SEALS FOR REALS Y'ALL!
XOXO,
Mary

Links:
Humane Society http://www.hsus.org/
Wayne Pacelle http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/
Iron Chef Cat Cora's Say No To Canadian Seafood Challenge: https://community.hsus.org/campaign/protectseals_cat_cora/explanation
Canada Seeks UN Aproval: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gCVkkFfBKvZyO8I89fEHbs6UxBqQ

If you've just got to have a steak.....

So, I know it is really, really, really difficult for some folks to just give up eating meat and dairy. Personally, I couldn't care less if I never ate meat again. I just haven't ever really liked it all that much anyway. I did used to like bacon a lot but I've forgotten about that now. The first time I'm home for one of my mom's Sunday dinners I will probably be craving butter on my biscuits too but I'll survive without it. For the folks out there who do love their meat and dairy but still really care about their own health and the well being of animals, there are options! You can still enjoy all your normal eating habits and feel better about doing so if you just do a little research. One way to know for sure that you are buying smart and compassionately is to only buy products that carry this label: CERTIFIED HUMANE RAISED AND HANDLED The Certified Humane Raised and Handled program is the only farm animal welfare and food labeling program in the U.S. dedicated to improving the welfare of farm animals from birth through slaughter for the 10 billion farm animals raised for food each year. For more info visit the Certified Humane website or just watch this video.


Everyone can help stop animal cruelty. You don't have to become a vegan or even a vegetarian to take action. Making compassionate choices is so much better than not doing anything! It's good for you inside and out, and good for the world. :)

Animal Friendly Pet Food

It's not really all that hard to make smart, healthy, and animal friendly choices when deciding on what to feed myself, but when it comes to my pets, I'm having some trouble! I've been reading on the internet about raising pets as vegans. I love the idea of it but I haven't been informed enough on the the health facts of vegan diets for cats and dogs yet to make that decision for them. They love meat! I mean go crazy for it! I hate giving it to them. I have been reading up on animal friendly pet food manufacturers. My sister, Toot, has worked at an Animal Hospital for 17 years. She has four dogs of her own. She is extremely picky about what she feeds them. I called her for advice and she recommended Eagle Pack Holistic Select. I read about their company and they seem to check out. They are listed on the Companion Animal Food Guide on the Caring Consumer website: http://www.caringconsumer.com/resources_foodguide.asp as being a company that does not perform animal testing. They claim to be hormone free and to have no added antibiotics.
Here's a link to Eagle Pack if you want to read more: http://www.eaglepack.com/index.html

This dog and cat food is not cheap folks so I hope it's totally worth it! Reviews I read say it is. I had a hard time finding a local place that carries Eagle Pack. I ended up ordering in bulk on line because it saved me money even with the shipping. The best deal I found was Hearty Pet Pet http://www.heartypet.com/ which beat everyone else's prices by 20 bucks for my order of 2 33 lb bags of dog food, 2 cases of canned, and 1 16lb bag of catfood. I think it's because they're having a sale on Eagle Pack.

I read about many other companies. Paul Newman's Organics seems to be a good choice too. You can get that brand at Ellwood Thompson's and some other local pet stores.

I would love any feedback on this issue. This is all new to me. I have 5 pets which equals a lot of food. I'd like to feed them the best and most cruelty free products I can afford. Please respond if you have links, suggestions, etc.
Thanks so much,

Mary, Doctor Stevens, Nurse Hazel, Bonesy Jonesy, Wanda Lewis, and Peter J. Cat :>

Pics from Recent Vegan Recipes

The vegan cooking is going very well. I'm having a blast making new dishes and sharing them with friends. Here are a few pics:Portobello Stoganoff
Home Made Seitan
Sweet Potato Fries (baked)
Kale and Beans

Vegan Cup Cakes

Tonight I made "Fauxtess" (like Hostess) cupcakes from the Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook. The recipe was for chocolate of course, and that's what my taste testers wanted, but I can't eat the chocolate because of my allergies so I made half without cocoa powder so I could eat some too. I chose "Fluffy White" from the icing recipes. Very creamy and sweet. I don't think anyone would have know these cupcakes were vegan if I hadn't told them. They totally satisfied our sweet teeth tonight!

Cool Vegan Shoes and Bags

Just thought I'd post links to some great vegan shopping sites I discovered in my search to not only eat with a conscience but to dress with one too. I ordered this cute ladybug bag. http://www.alternativeoutfitters.com/Bungalow360-Barbie-Ladybug-Canvas-Vegan-Satchel-Bag.aspx
I know you can find animal friendly products in stores all over the place but after shoe shopping today I realized how hard it is to know if the leather is really leather or pleather or who knows what. I decided to hop on line and order from vegan sites that made it easy to know for sure. I ordered that bag, and new pair of crocs. Most Crocs are vegan. There are a few styles that have leather straps. I also ordered these sweet purple kicks from Keep. Keep was mentioned on the Today show recently for their comfortable vegan shoes! Check out their site too: Keep Company