PETA's list of Animal Ingredients, and Companies that Do and Do Not Test on Animals

Please take a few minutes to see what kind of animal products are ending up in our food supply:  http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/animal-ingredient-guide.aspx

Also, here are lists of companies that do, or do not test on animals:
http://www.peta.org/living/beauty-and-personal-care/companies/default.aspx

Finally, as World Go Vegan Week comes to a close, I'd like to plug it one last time here on my blog:  www.worldgoveganweek.org

#Vegan Family on South Park October 26 (www.worldgoveganweek.org)

I can't even believe this.

Broadway Bro Down
Get More: SOUTH
PARKRandy Marsh,Sharon Marsh,more...

Ozzy Osbourne Is Going Vegan

I don't know if this counts as an endorsement of veganism, but at least it is a sign of the times when someone who is largely famous for killing animals on stage has decided to stop eating meat and dairy altogether.  Geezer Butler, also formerly of the rock group Black Sabbath, has also gone vegan.  Here's a list of a whole bunch of famous people who have taken the plunge as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegans

16 Years as a Vegan...

After getting turned on to vegetarianism in my early teens, I spent my high school and college years waking up to becoming vegan at age 21. Since then, I have never looked back for a second. And that was 16 years ago this fall. I did not really put a whole lot of thought into it at the time, really. Some people decide to join the military. Other people might find a religion. For me, I became vegan. Back in those days, in the mid-1990's, there wasn't a lot of information about veganism, let alone other people who understood or things you could buy that were vegan. What's happened is nothing less than a radical change in our society. I don't have to explain what it means to be vegan anymore - Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres have already done that for me. Even Bill Clinton is vegan. Is veganism winning? Hardly. Among my friends and relatives I find that there are very few who share my views about animals or food. I'm sure that many people I connect with regularly about a variety of other things would prefer to ignore my posts about animals online, let alone understand why I am the way I am. As an activist, I do want to encourage others to become vegan. I don't think I've ever succeeded in doing so - it has occurred to me that perhaps I would be more effective if I posted less about the pain and suffering incurred by animals and more about the positive health and environmental effects that come about through people choosing plant-based diets. I will probably keep posting about both. People change all the time, and you never know what will eventually convince someone to make such an enormous personal sacrifice. For me, it was just seeing a lot of animal carcasses when I lived in China. For you, it might be this blog post.

More info: http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/ and http://www.worldgoveganweek.org/

Happy World Go Vegan Week Oct. 24-31!!!

There are lots of good reasons to go vegan (health, environmental, ethical, economic, financial, religious).  Integrating a plant-based diet into your life will bring you immediate positive results - whether you eat vegan one-meal-a-week or all-week-long.  Give it a try!  You have nothing to lose! Here's Hannah West with Madison's Alliance for Animals talking about some of the ways to go vegan in Madison this week!


http://www.wkow.com/story/15709590/world-go-vegan-week
http://www.worldgoveganweek.org/

Mike Nichols' Hack Job About Anti-Cheese Billboard Misses the Point

In a wildly accusatory and jumbled column in today's Wisconsin State Journal, Mike Nichols attacks people from the East Coast and Indiana, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and anyone else who might think that there might be something about cheese that is bad for your health.  He just skips over the link between fat, cholesterol, and sodium and poor health effects - even though this is the point of a billboard that is the focus of his article.  Did he ask a coroner or a physician how many people have died from heart disease, diabetes, or similar obesity-related health problems?  No, his 'experts' were the Executive Director of the National Historic Cheesemaking Center and the Green County Register of Deeds.  I think that Mr. Nichols was actually phoning it in with this week's column.  It's just a nonsensical rant which is a weak attempt at humor.  I don't think people are buying what he's selling - at least not this tripe.

Note:  When Mike Nichols is not writing his weekly op-ed piece at the Wisconsin State Journal, he is a Senior Fellow at the Wisconsin Public Research Institute - a conservative think tank based in Hartland, Wisconsin.  The pro-business WPRI has a record of siding with commerce and industry against the environment and public health interests.

October is a Good Month to Recharge Your Dietary Goals

People who know me know that I would not be a vegetarian if it is was not for my belief that nearly all animals deserve to live and that they need at least a modicum of autonomy.  But it just so happens that vegetarianism is useful to us as well, primarily in terms of health.  And today people are lucky because it is now possible to go vegetarian for just a few meals and they don't need to give up that much in order to fit it in.  There are 'Meatless Monday's' and things like that. Well, October 1st was World Vegetarian Day, and I totally missed it.  Good thing that World Go Vegan Week is coming up from October 24-31, so my slip up is not a total loss.  You really have nothing to lose, so why not give it a try and see if you can live off only fruits, veggies, nuts, and grains for a whole week!   There are some great recipes at my friend Tess Challis' website:  Radiant Health, Inner Wealth.   Oh, and just to lighten the mood, since many people incorrectly believe vegans lack a sense of humor, here's a clip from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World for you to enjoy.