IDA Blog

Veganism

Do you wear your veganism on your sleeve?   It’s great to lead by quiet example, but consider making an even stronger impact by speaking up about your reasons for going vegan.  Remember, the animals don’t have a voice, so now is the time to amp up your game to the next level.    

Okay, so you’re a 49ers fan?  Add a little dash of vegan to your red and gold.  You’ll be surprised at the impression you’ll make.  Be prepared by having a few of “The Reason For Vegan: Compassion In Action” flyers and “Vegan Starter Kits” with you.  Click here to order them.  While you’re at the game be sure to support the stadium’s vegan menu.  These days virtually all professional level ballparks have a vegan dog or a vegan burger.

If you’re going to a dinner party or pot luck, instead of bringing a bottle of wine, bring a vegan dish or dessert.

Other ways you can make a difference for animals, for the health of people and the environment:

• Wear a vegan t-shirt, hoody, necklace or pin (click here to order IDA vegan merchandise)
• Get a personalized license plate or license plate frame
• Put bumper stickers on your car, laptop and notebooks
• Use an animal rights quote in your email signature and include the link to our vegan campaign (http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/vegan/vegan.html)
• Use Facebook and Twitter to politely promote the benefits of a vegan diet
• Set a goal to speak to at least one person each day about veganism
• Feed your dogs a healthy vegan dog food
• Show someone a video about the horrors of factory farming or about the health and environmental benefits of living a vegan lifestyle
• Cook or buy a non-vegan a vegan meal

It’s up to us to try to enlighten others and do all we can to help animals.

So keep your eye on the tofu and take it one person at a time.  Let’s do this!  Go Team Vegan!

Click here to support IDA’s Vegan Campaign

Work every day of your life to right what is wrong.

On September 27, 2011, the Richmond, California City Council voted to end live bird sales at its farmers’ market, effective November 1, 2011. In Defense of Animals partnered with LGBT Compassion to organize weekly protests, petitions, action alerts and other pressures to convince the city to end the cruel practice of selling live chickens at the Richmond Farmers’ Market.

The Richmond mayor received over 1,000 e-mails from local IDA supporters, and she acknowledged these e-mails at the meeting. Nineteen passionate animal advocates spoke in support of the ban and only two people spoke in opposition. All our efforts paid off with a 4 – 2 vote, with the mayor voting for the ban. Supportive Council Member Jeff Ritterman did a celebratory chair spin and fist pump in the air as the room full of animal advocates gave a standing ovation!

The vendor, Raymond Young, has a history of well-documented and shocking mistreatment of the spent egg-laying hens he sells at market. In 2009, San Francisco’s Animal Care and Control cited Mr. Young for 795 cruelty violations, including overcrowding, injuries, and failure to provide water. This was after he ignored requests for corrections.

At the weekly protests, IDA activists repeatedly witnessed the disturbing procedure of two birds being forcefully yanked from their tiny cage and stuffed upside-down into one paper bag with little ventilation. Most of the birds go immediate into a silent shock, but others loudly squawk and scream in fear and struggle in vain to free themselves. We have video of customers putting the birds in their car trunks and then returning to shop at the market. We witnessed children kicking and violently picking up and dropping the bags on the concrete. If there was a dog or a cat in the bag, these customers could be arrested for animal cruelty – a chicken has the same capacity to suffer as a dog or a cat.

There is no regulation or supervision of what happens when these chickens reach the customer’s house. They could be starved, terrorized by pets or children, and a careless or just unknowledgeable slaughter could cause prolonged and immense suffering. Self-slaughter violates California’s humane poultry slaughter laws, which require poultry to be killed by specific methods at licensed facilities – and for good reasons.

Two years ago, live birds were being sold at four Bay Area farmers’ markets. As of this week, they are sold at none, Richmond was the last to finally ban this practice, thanks to the tireless efforts of many animal advocates.

For more ideas - check out the cookbook Vegan Lunch Box!

It’s back-to-school time and parents all over the country are looking over hot lunch menus and shaking their heads in disbelief. Today’s school lunches are notoriously unhealthy and if you are raising your children in a vegan home… well, all those hamburgers and “fish nuggets” will make you shudder. That means sending your littlest loved ones to school with lunches that they will actually want to eat and won’t trade away. Kids raised on a vegetarian diet have an amazing advantage: a lower risk of the obesity, cancer, heart disease, and other health problems that will plague their meat and dairy-eating peers as they grow older. These days it is easier than ever to raise kids who are healthy and care about animals.

With vegan alternatives to deli slices and cheese available in most grocery stores, it doesn’t take much to recreate the classic sandwiches. Let’s not forget that the most beloved of childhood sandwiches, Peanut Butter and Jelly, is already vegan. Here are just a few products to check out:

• Torfurky Deli Slices
• Lightlife Deli Slices
• Lightlife Smart Bacon and Smoked Tempeh (makes great BLTs)
• Baked Tofu
• Sheese (it’s a hard vegan cheese you can pack with crackers)
• Eco-Planet Non-Dairy Cheese Crackers (they’re like a vegan version of those cheddar goldfish crackers)
• Late July Organic Peanut Butter Bite Size Sandwich Crackers
• Granola or Snack Bars
• Tofutti Slices
• Pretzels (many of the brands out there are vegan – as always you might just need read a few labels)

Don’t forget all those fresh fruits and veggies that nature has already made sweet like apples and pineapple slices or ‘kid-sized’ like cherry tomatoes and baby carrots. Healthy and happy kids need those more than anything!

Of course, you can always get vegan options in your school cafeteria using these 4 easy steps!

Don’t forget World Go Vegan Week is right around the corner! This year IDA is helping Vegan Pizza Take Over the World! To find out more click here.

New to veganism? Click here to order a Vegan Starter Kit.

World Go Vegan Week (October 24th through 31st) is a celebration of compassion and a time to take action for animals, the environment, world hunger, and everyone’s well-being. This year is going to be extra special… and extra cheesy! We want to help make it even easier to be vegan and what better way than being able to order a quick and easy pizza- with delicious vegan Daiya cheese.

Our goal is to make eating vegan simple, fun, and accessible to every community. You can help with just a few minutes of your time by reaching out to your local pizzeria and asking them to offer a vegan pizza. One of the best aspects of restaurant outreach is that a single person can make a direct and lasting difference for animals.
We want you to go to your local pizza shop and ask if they would offer a vegan pizza for the week of World Go Vegan Week. We are partnering with Daiya cheese and they have offered to provide a free sample of their cheese for the pizza shop to try. Daiya cheese melts, stretches, and tastes just like traditional dairy based cheese. We will provide you with a letter and tips on how to approach the pizzerias. Remember, all it takes is one person to make a major difference in changing everyday restaurants into vegan-friendly havens.

If you would like to be part of spreading the pizza love in your community, please contact Hope Bohanec: hope@idausa.org 415-448-0058 or 707-540-1760.

Vegan pizza outreach not your cup of tea? There are many other ways to celebrate with us! Click here for other ideas to promote World Go Vegan Week.

New to veganism? Click here to order a Vegan Starter Kit.

Due to an oversupply brought on by low demand, chicken (or broiler) meat slaughter is expected to slow dramatically in the second half of 2011. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s latest report, third quarter production is estimated to be 1.3% lower than the third quarter of 2010.

Lower production is expected to continue in the fourth quarter of 2011, with production expected to decrease 2% from the same period in 2010.

An earlier study from the Daily Livestock Report found that U.S. meat, poultry, and fish consumption declined by one pound per person in 2010. Per capita pork consumption fell by 2.2 pounds per person in 2010, and beef consumption was at its lowest level in 2010 since the Daily Livestock Report started keeping records in 1955! This is the fourth year in a row that meat consumption has declined in the United States and the fifth decline within a six-year period.

The economy could be a factor in this trend, but studies are finding that a recent increased awareness about farm animal issues is also likely to be a contributing factor. If you would like to take action to help further this trend, join us for World Go Vegan Week and help spread healthy vegan eating.

Order your own FREE Vegan Starter Kit by clicking here!

IDA would like to thank Ellen DeGeneres for launching a new educational website called Going Vegan with Ellen. The celebrated comedian and talk show host has turned her love for animals and a healthy lifestyle into a website that shares recipes, tips on getting started, and glimpses of other celebrities that are also vegan including her wife, actress Portia de Rossi. Some other famous vegans noted on her site are Joaquin Phoenix, Toby Maguire, Lea Michele of Glee, and Emily Deschanel who was IDA’s spokesperson for World Go Vegan Week last year.

DeGeneres went vegan in 2008 and has steadily increased her dedication to the diet, shunning Lady Gaga’s meat dress on her show and offering the musician a dress made of veggies instead.

We love Ellen and her passion for veganism, however, she is now the face of Cover Girl Cosmetics, a company notorious for testing their products on animals. We hope that she can make the connection that animals suffer in labs just as much as those that end up on our plates and either discontinue support of Cover Girl or use her celebrity power and get them to stop testing on animals- an even better option!

Order your own FREE Vegan Starter Kit by clicking here!

The IDA Team & Table!

The Animal Rights 2011 National Conference, the world’s largest and oldest animal rights gathering, was held July 21 – 25 in Los Angeles, California at the Westin LAX Hotel. This annual conference sponsored by Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) and co-sponsored by In Defense of Animals (IDA) offered sessions on combating animal abuse, organizing, tactics, animal protection issues, and key campaigns. IDA enlightened newcomers and seasoned activists about our programs through extensive participation on panels. Our table in the main hall was brimming with information on IDA campaigns, plus fun t-shirts, buttons, travel mugs, and other animal-related merchandise.

Catherine Doyle, IDA’s Elephant Campaign Director, spoke on three panels, including Animals in Entertainment. She gave an overview of IDA’s work for elephants in zoos and circuses and described the welfare problems associations with each, and showed footage of abuse in circuses and a video about elephants in zoos. Catherine also spoke on the panel Animal Rescues about the unique nature of the elephant rescues IDA has facilitated.

At the Saturday night banquet, Catherine introduced the winner of the Young Animal Rights Activist Award, Juliette West, a “youth ambassador” for elephants in captivity and in the wild. She is featured in the documentary How I Became An Elephant, which tells the story of her efforts to rescue an elephant from the streets of Thailand. She uses the film to reach young audiences around the country and teach them about elephants in captivity.

Hope Animal Sanctuary's Doll Stanley

Our Hope Animal Sanctuary’s Director Doll Stanley introduced IDA at the opening plenary session. Doll also spoke on four panels: Vivisection, Companion Animal Campaigns, Running a Sanctuary, and Enforcing Protective Laws.

Hope Bohanec, IDA’s Grassroots Campaigns Director, offered her power point presentation Eco-Eating: A Cool Diet for a Hot Planet about environmental impacts of animal agriculture. She also spoke on the panel International Activism about IDA Africa, our chimpanzee sanctuary in Cameroon; IDA India, where we spay, neuter and offer emergency medical care for street animals in Mumbai; and our South Korean Dog and Cat campaign, exposing the horrors of dogs tortured and slaughtered for their meat and cats boiled for “medicinal elixirs” in South Korea. Hope also spoke on Language and Labels, introducing people to IDA’s unique Guardian Campaign, which encourages the use of non-objectifying and more accurate words when we discuss animals, such as “guardian” instead of “owner” and “he” or “she” instead of “it.”

We were even able to participate in the world’s biggest circus demo ever with 500 hundred protesters educating Ringling Bros. circus goers about the cruel and sad life of circus animals. We had a great time and I hope you can join us in Washington DC next July for the AR 2012 National Conference!

Get fancy with a Double Taco Burger! Photo Credit : MeetTheShannons.com

We’re in prime BBQ and potluck season right now and it seems like every night someone somewhere is lighting up their grills. For many of us this a great opportunity to experiment with a new recipe or better yet introduce our friends and family to how delicious and easy it is to be vegan. Food is a great form of outreach for the animals. There are a lot of folks that don’t want to hear about the suffering that is inherent to the meat industry but are intrigued by trying out new foods. Bringing a cruelty-free dish to a get together is lighthearted way to change hearts and minds and can even invite questions on how someone can lead a more compassionate lifestyle.

If you’re looking for some new recipes for classic favorites, here’s some of my favorite summery favorites. Don’t worry – these vegan recipes are BBQ and Potluck Tested and Approved.

Beer Can Tofurky
Caesar Salad Burger
Macaroni Salad with Peppered Tofu
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Crab Cakes with Tartar Sauce
Tuscan Lemon Cake
Spare Ribs with 3 Different Types of Glazes
Coleslaw
Three Beans Salad
Creamsicle Cupcakes
Mojito Bars
Antipasto Pasta Salad

If you’re looking for something even simpler, you can always just throw some veggie burgers, Portabella mushrooms and vegan sausages on the grill. There are so many great vegan product out there right now from Gardein Vegan Burgers, Tofurky Beer Brats and Field Roast Chipotle Sausages, it’s a great time to really bring the shock and awe. In case you’ve never tried to grill mock meat or veggies before, here are some of the tricks we’ve picked up over the years :

• Lightly brush your grill with olive oil before putting your mock meat or veggies on the grill to keep them from sticking. If you want to skip cleaning your grill, you can always lay down some aluminum foil and brush that with olive oil. You’ll get a little less smokiness in the flavor and those famous grill lines but it can save you time later.

• Make sure your mock meat is defrosted before putting it on the grill to make sure it cooks evenly.

• Mock meat and veggies cook a lot faster than meat so keep an eye on them and brush them with a mixture of equal parts tamari and olive oil to keep you food from drying out. You can always add some Jerk seasoning to your oil to add a little bit of a kick. Here’s a recipe for a Southwestern Rub you can use with any mock meat or vegetables :

1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon agave nectar
2 teaspoons green chilies (diced)
¼ teaspoon Bragg Liquid Amino Acids
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cloves of garlic (minced)

Mix all these goodie together in a small bowl. Nothing tricky here, just blend it all up. Then brush it on to your mock meat or Portabella mushrooms. Wrap in foil and chill for 1 hour before grilling. Keep any extra to brush on your food when it’s on the grill.

So start your grills and let’s make this summer fun for everyone… including the animals!

For more information on how to go vegan and vegan outreach check out our vegan campaign and order a vegan starter kit!

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Surgeon General unveiled a new food guide, MyPlate, that will replace the Food Pyramid that has been the standard nutrition guide since 1992. First Lady Michelle Obama, a champion of healthy eating and raising awareness about childhood obesity, spoke at the Agriculture Department in Washington DC to introduce the new, more visual guide.

The innovative plate shows four portions with vegetables and grains being the largest segments, fruit and “protein” making up the smaller sections. Not only is it very exciting that the vegetable and grain section are by far the largest slice of the plate, also noteworthy is that the actual food is listed for vegetables, fruits, and grains, however, the fourth section, “protein” is listed as a nutrient. Not as meat- not as meat/beans- just protein. The other sections could be listed as “carbohydrates” or “vitamins” but they are not. It is clear that they are specifically recommending eating vegetables, grains, and fruits, however, how you get your protein is optional. The clear message is that meat is no longer recommended or required in the diet. This is a true turning point in mainstream nutrition education. This is practically a vegan plate!

MyPlate shows the country what we in the vegan community have been excited about for years, plant-based diets ― including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes ― offer an abundant, diverse selection of nutrient-rich foods to choose from, are high in fiber, phytochemicals, and antioxidants, and have no saturated fat (with the exception of coconuts and palm oil). According to numerous studies, plant-based diets have been shown to lower the risk of many diseases including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and obesity.

The only disappointment with the new guide is the separate small circle to the upper right hand side of the plate, representing a glass of dairy. Dairy is completely unnecessary in the diet and is actually harmful with high saturated fat, cholesterol, and many people are allergic, especially in communities of color. Not to mention the very sad, miserable, and short life of a dairy cow and her calves who are usually slaughtered in the veal industry. It’s unfortunate that this was included, but this shouldn’t damper our celebration of this landmark new guide.

MyPlate is an important stage in the global shift to a plant-based diet, and IDA would like to give kudos to the USDA for educating the public on the importance of vegetables and grains on our plate.

For more information on how you can go vegan or promote veganism – Please check out IDA’s Vegan Campaign Pages and Resources!

2 Words - Vegan Treats. vegantreats.com Photo Credit : MeetTheShannons.com

This is it folks, vegan is headed for the big-time! Just in the last five years, the vegan diet is being recognized more and more in the mainstream. Famous celebrities and politicians have gone vegan like Emily Deschanel, James Cromwell, Bill Clinton, and Ellen DeGeneres, who recently “veganised” an average American family on her show. Dr. Oz got an overweight, diabetic cowboy to adopt a vegan diet to save his life and Oparh and Martha Stewart have each dedicated an entire show to the vegan lifestyle.

Even millionaire moguls are embracing the plant-based diet like Biz Stone, the founder of Twitter (recently a guest on Martha Stewart’s vegan show), Steve Wynn, Las Vegas casino tycoon and Hip-Hop music producer Russell Simmons whose new book is titled Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All. We know that vegans are smart, but some vegans are geniuses. Like George Church, a molecular biologist who helped map the human genome at Harvard and Stanford Biochemist Patrick Brown, who transformed genetic research with his invention of micro-array DNA.

Mega food retailers like 7-Eleven sell vegan options in six of their New York locations and Disney World kicked out McDonalds to make room for the all vegan bakery, Babycakes. Speaking of vegan baking, Animal Planet is rolling out a new reality TV show about Vegan Treats owner and founder, Danielle Konya delving into her animal activism.

Meatless Monday is taking hold across the nation with Baltimore and New York City schools adopting meat-free meals in their cafeterias on Mondays. Sodexo implemented Meatless Monday in its 900 hospital accounts and Oprah Winfrey’s company cafeterias are meat-free on Mondays. Celebrity chefs like Wolfgang Puck and Mario Batali have gotten on board offering a Meatless Monday menu in their restaurants. And San Francisco and Washington DC have Meat-Free Monday Resolutions signed by their board of supervisors.

All this awesome news is incredibly inspirational and I hope makes it even easier for people to adopt a compassionate diet. I also hope that it inspires activists to work even harder to help reduce farm animal suffering. We are winning, but we have to keep the pressure on and the energy up in this critical time.

Do you know of a new way vegan is going mainstream? Add it to the comments!