Main » November 2004
November 28, 2004
Thanksgiving
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was wonderful.
I made myself a Tofurkey, which came out really good. It was the first time I ever made one from scratch, and I was pleased with myself. It took a lot of work, though, and I think next year, unless I am the hostess (in which case my meals are much more elaborate) I'll have a store bought tofurky.
I also made Tofu-pumpkin pie, which came out incredible. Everyone--even my meat eating relatives--really loved it. I didn't tell anyone it had tofu in it until after it was eaten. They looked a little shaken up at this idea, but no one tried to take back the fact that they'd liked the pie.
I also made cranberry sauce. I make it every year. My grandmother, this year's hostess, was in charge of everyone else. Sweet Potatoes, mashed potatoes, carrots, asparagus, a big salad, stuffing, broccoli... and of course, they had their turkey and gravy, but I turned the other way and didn't look at that.
In reference to my post on 11/24 regarding Forever21, I still haven't gotten a response from the company. I just wanted to let everyone know that that campaign is being spearheaded by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (www.peta.org or www.peta2.org) with the help of what they call their "street team"--a group of teens and 20-somethings who work with the group to spread the word about the animal rights movement. Anyone who is interested in getting involved in this movement should check out those sites.
Till Next Time,
M
Posted by Mallory at 03:46 PM | Comments (1)
November 23, 2004
Forever21 and Fur
Hi, Friends,
This posting is not about the vegan diet, but my cruelty-free lifestyle that does not include fur.
I recently learned that Forever21 stores had made promises to several Animal Activism groups, including PeTA (who contacted me about this issue) to stop selling items made from fur. The chain, however, did not stick to its promise.
I wrote the following letter to the CEO of Forever21, letting them know I plan to boycott the chain until they honor their promise. I also told the CEO that I would be letting as many people know about this deceit as I could. Here is a copy of my letter, FYI, if you're interested. The contact info for the CEO, if you'd like to email is chang@forever21.com
Don Chang
CEOForever 21, Inc.
2001 S. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90058
My Name
My Mailing Address
Brooklyn, NY my zipcode
(emailed and sent by US Post)
Dear Mr. Chang;
My name is Mallory XXXXXXX, and I have been a shopper at Forever21 for several years. I have always appreciated your stores' dedication to quality clothing at reasonable prices, and have enjoyed the wide range of styles you offer.
A longtime vegan and animal rights activist, I have always frustrated and angered to see fur items on your shelves. The ticket that reads "100% rabbit fur," supposed to be a symbol of quality, to my eyes is a symbol of cruelty. I have never understood how anyone could overlook the unnecessary cruelty to animals that is caused by the fur industry. Animals are kept in inhumane conditions before they are slaughtered for their skins. While some may be able to overlook this fact, I cannot. I encourage you to visit a pet store and look into the soulful eyes of a rabbit, and then picture that animal as a coat or a muff.
Last year, when you were contacted by People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PeTA), you and your company ensured the group that fur items would be removed from your stores. I was so happy to hear this--finally I could shop at Forever21 and not be saddened and guilt ridden. I was excited to see that Forever21 was embracing compassion over fashion.
Now, however, I have realized that Forever21's promises mean nothing. This winter season, your shelves are stocked with many fur items. It was bad enough that these items had been present on your shelves before--but now I felt deceived by a company that I thought I could trust.
Until Forever21 honors its promise to PeTA and its customers concerned with animal welfare, I will be boycotting your company. If your word to so many means so little to you, I do not feel I can have faith in your product anymore. Furthermore, I will be letting my friends know of this broken promise, and encouraging them to boycott Forever21 as well.
I run a blog for vegans and prospective vegans at www.healthdiaries.com/young-vegan-healthy and will be posting a copy of this letter on that site, and also plan to forward this letter, and information about your company, to the several vegan and animal rights e-mail lists I am a member of. If I learn that Forever21 has pulled fur items from its shelves and is no longer encouraging animal abuse by selling fur, I will notify my friends, post in my blog, and contact those on my e-mail list servs. I will let them know that Forever21 is a company of compassion, and shopping there will be encouraged.
I hope that, as the holiday season approaches, I hear back from you. If the fur products are pulled, I look forward to doing my holiday shopping with you. If not, my business and the business of my friends and family will go to your competition.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Mallory XXXXXXX
Posted by Mallory at 07:06 PM | Comments (1)
November 22, 2004
Vegan Street Vendors in NYC
My mom and I were doing a little Christmas shopping in the city yesterday, mostly in the Chinatown/East Village/Union Square area, and mostly from Street Vendors. There are a lot of fairs, bazaars and booths set up around this time of year, and it's a great way to find nice, unique presents for reasonable prices.
Towards the end of our day, our purses significantly lighter, we found these two men selling some of the prettiest silver earrings I'd ever seen. My mom instantly fell in love with one pair in particular, and asked the price.
"$25," the man said, "but it's Sunday and I'm Christian so you can have them for $20."
My mom and I laughed. She decided to get them. "I guess we'll be eating beans for the next few weeks until I've got money again!" she said to me.
"It's better than eating meat!" said one of the vendors. We laughed again. "We don't eat meat," my mom told the guy.
(this is not entirely true--my mom doesn't eat RED meat, but does eat fish and sometimes poultry--but that's an awful lot to explain to a stranger, and she rarely keeps it in the house, just orders it out sometimes.)
"Vegans?" asked the vendor, who I suddenly noticed was wearing a jacket whose leather didn't look completely real.
"I am," I said.
"She is!" said my mom.
The men grinned. "Us, too."
We chatted for a while, and tried to convince them to give us a second discount, a "vegan discout," but it didn't work. Everyone has to make a living, I guess.
The guys kept saying that all Christians should be vegans, because "really, they're just like us." This made me smile. It's true--animals and humans are not that far apart. I'm not sure that all ANYTHING should be ANYTHING... it seems weird to me that they thought you had to be vegan if you're a Christian. But I could kind of see their point.
It was nice. It's so rare to run into other vegans, especially so randomly... obviously I'd be more likely to meet vegans at a vegan restaurant, a PeTA rally, or on www.greenpersonals.com which is a silly dating site for veg*ans, which has yeilded me some successful dates and some really, really bad ones. But it's free, and a lot more focused than Match.com... ;-)
Posted by Mallory at 07:46 AM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2004
Mad Cow Disease
I just saw on the news that a new case of Mad Cow Disease may have entered the United States, though this won't be confirmed until more tests are done, and that could take a few weeks.
Officials say that the animal did not enter the food system.
This story can be found at www.ny1.com
Even if this isn't true, it's a REALLY good reason to encourage those close to you to at least start limiting their meat intake, if not become vegetarians, and a good reason to become one yourself if you're not already. The horrible, deadly diseases that humans can contract from farmed animals are really scary. Mad Cow is just one of a number...
Posted by Mallory at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2004
Callbacks and Coffee
I went to work today. I really love my job. I open up the coffee shop at 6:45am, and my boss usually shows up sometime around 8:30 or 9:00. It's really fun to be there by myself that early in the morning, brewing the coffee and chatting to the sleepy looking customers. :-)
Today I brought a small container of Tofutti cream cheese to work so I can eat breakfast there. I'm normally not hungry until around 9:30 or 10 in the morning, so I don't eat before I leave for work. My boss gives me a short break around this time. Normally I eat a granola bar and a piece of fruit, but I realized that if I brought some Tofutti I could treat myself to one of our yummy bagels. As I was eating my breakfast today, a customer goes to me "That looks good! You don't sell that kind of cream cheese, do you?" (It was the garlic and herb Tofutti).
"No," I replied, "It's Tofutti non-dairy cream cheese. Garlic and Herb style. I don't eat dairy.
"Oh!" said the customer, "Are you allergic?"
"No," I replied, "Vegan."
We then had a breif conversation about what a vegan is and why I am one. Maybe I planted some seeds in her mind. She's a regular, so it should be fun to get her into conversations about it occasionally.
In other news, I got a callback for Into The Woods for the part of Little Red Riding Hood, which is the one I want. Everyone cross your fingers for me! The audition is on Sunday!!! :-D I was so happy, that I treated myself to an Alternative Baking Company Chocolate Chip cookie. if you've never tried their stuff, you should. www.alternativebakingcompany.com
Peace,
Mallory
Posted by Mallory at 04:52 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2004
Scrambled Tofu
My audition yesterday went really well, and the director complimented me on my good preperation, so I'm feeling pretty confident right now that I'm going to be called back. I'm not trying to get my hopes up too much about the role, but I'm pretty secure in my mind that he'd like to see me again.
I made scrambled tofu for breakfast this morning, eating it with black bread and a side of "Smart Links" fake breakfast sausage. It was a pretty heavy breakfast for me; I usually don't eat that much in the morning. But today is going to be a very busy day, and I probably won't get a chance to eat lunch at all and dinner until after 7pm, so I needed to eat a big breakfast. It tasted great, and as my mom and her boyfriend woke up, both asked what smelled so good! :-D I shared with my mother, but Ruben balked at the idea of eating fake meat and tofu for breakfast--he's a real meat and green chile kind of guy.
Hope everyone's day starts off as well as mine has!
Posted by Mallory at 08:07 AM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2004
Answering Questions
Dennis posted this question as a comment to a post below, and I thought I'd answer it here, so that others wouldn't miss my response.
Q: "I noticed there are egg cartons that say that the chickens are "non-caged and free ranging" and that the eggs are organic, so the chickens weren't fed with hormones. Would these be acceptable in your eyes? If not, why not?"
A: I would still not consume these eggs. The reasons for this are manifold, and I will try to be breif in my responses.
While the eggs may be organic, and the chickens may not be given hormones, this does not mean they are treated kindly. It is true that part of my rationale for becoming vegan was to protect myself from steriods, hormones, and the like, but the primary reason behind my conversion was to prevent suffering to animals. Furthermore, unless it is USDA approved Organic, the organic label holds no clout, and may be an exaggeration or an outright lie.
The "free range" label might lead one to believe that the animals are treated kindly. While this may be true, it also may not. Labeling something "free range" is similar to labeling it "low-carb" in that, while the government regulated use of this label, it has not STRICTLY regulated this use. Theoretically, a company could let their egg hens out of their cages for 15 minutes a day--simply opening the doors to give these hens the "option" of ygetting out of the cage (even if the hen does not leave)--could allow the companies to use the label "free range."
Here is a great quote from a news article I found at the Washington Free Press regarding this issue:
"A chicken raised on 53 square inches of space is the corporate factory farm standard. That's far smaller than a standard sheet of copy paper. The United Eggs Producers have recently required increasing cage space for birds from 53 to 67 square inches over six years in order for farmers to achieve the "animal care certified" (ACC) label (Seattle P-I; 8/13/03). This label is so misleading that recently United Poultry Concerns (www.eggscam.com/traderjoes.php) convinced Trader Joe's to stop using it. The Humane Society of the United States has denounced the ACC label, alleging that the guidelines 'seem designed more to mollify consumers than to address the extreme animal welfare abuses that have become the norm.'"
Here is a good explaination from www.veganoutreach.org, complete with footnote links:
"The competition to produce inexpensive meat, eggs, and dairy products has led animal agribusiness to treat animals as objects and commodities. The worldwide trend is to replace small family farms with “factory farms”—large warehouses where animals are confined in crowded cages or pens or in restrictive stalls.1
Bernard Rollin, PhD, explains that it is “more economically efficient to put a greater number of birds into each cage, accepting lower productivity per bird but greater productivity per cage…individual animals may ‘produce,’ for example gain weight, in part because they are immobile, yet suffer because of the inability to move…Chickens are cheap, cages are expensive.”2"
There is an entire website, www.eggscam.com, dedicated to debunking free range and ACC (animal care certified) myths. You can check that site for some great information.
I searched the internet to try to find more info on Free Range and ACC eggs, and found a great editorial regarding "cruelty free" eggs, which you can read here: http://www.thevegetariansite.com/ed_eggs.htm
Finally, I do not agree with even free-range, free-roaming, or cage-free labeled eggs because this does not eliminate all levels of cruelty. Are the chickens de-beaked? In many cases, yes, they are. Trader Joes has a brand of eggs labeled "free roaming," (meaning, according to the parent company, that the hens have "some access" to the outdoors), yet admit that these same hens are debeaked "to protect them from themselves and each other." This would not be necessary if the company had not upset the pecking order in some way.
Furthermore, what happens if an egg is fertilized? What becomes of the chick? Often times, the female chicks become egg hens like their mothers, and the male chicks are ground up alive, sometimes being put back into the food that the chickens will eat. Also, many egg hens will become poultry hens (or "meat hens") after their egg production has begun to wan, which is normally after about 2 years. In this respect, my purchase of eggs--even if they're marked "free range"--has benefit the slaughter industry as well.
I guess I broke my promise of keeping this breif. ;-) Sorry!
I would like to stress, however, that some attempt at diminshing cruelty is better than no attempt at all. If a person has no intention of giving up eggs, but would like to help, I feel it is safe to argue that buying free-range eggs would have SOME--even if minimal--positive effect. I do not want to make free-range sound like it is not an option--for many, it is not only an option, but a good one at that.
I hope this helps clear up any questions you have. While they may not be an option for me, free-range eggs can be suitable for others, as long as they understand what free-range may and may not be, and that this label is no guarantee if kindness.
Posted by Mallory at 08:48 AM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2004
Exhausted
I've been working my butt off preparing for Sunday's audition, and spending a lot of time home with my mom because of it. Ruben is still here, too, which is another pull to come home.
Tonight for dinner, my mom went all out. She made a big pot of beans, some rice, and a lot of salsa (hot and really hot! :-D ) Ruben heat some flour tortillas for us, and we covered everything in green chile. It was a nice, hearty, warm meal on a cold, cold, rainy day.
My mom had asked me if I wanted a boca burger with soy cheese and green chile on it, too (mmm... sooo good to even think about!) but I knew I couldn't eat that much. I had a tangerine for dessert, and later also had some Neopolitain Soy Delicious (not as good as Turtle Tracks, but good).
I'm really thirsty tonight for some reason. I guess I'm drinking too much coffee and diet Coke, and not enough water. I'll drink some before I head off to bed.
My nice little cat is sitting with me and keeping me company as I type this. Sometimes I wonder about people whose cats are vegan. I had heard that cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that they'll die if they don't eat meat. I wouldn't want to put my little friend in any danger!! But at the same time, I don't like that I feed him meat. It's a strange dilemna--but I don't think I would ever make my cats vegan.
I'm happy being the only vegan in my house, actually. :-D It's a funky kind of status, but it makes me kind of proud that I can do this, when no one else around me does. I DO wish more people were veggie, though. It would make my life easier (eating out, people's reactions, etc.) and do better by the animals.
I'll keep you posted on the audition!
-M
Posted by Mallory at 07:43 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2004
Vegan Spam
Winter is definately on its way. Today we dropped just below 40* in NY, and it was, well... miserable. I hate-hate-HATE the winter. Because winter really depresses me, I'm trying to think of all of the things I DO like about winter. I noticed a lot of the things I like are vegan foods (figures! lol). Among my favorite things about winter are:
*CHRISTMAS!
*making (and eating) Christmas cookies
*Candy Canes (so awesome, so festive, so vegan)
*shopping for presents
*Christmas songs
*Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (okay, this one is actually a lie... I've
never roasted chestnuts on an open fire. I don't have a fireplace--I live in
Brooklyn! But I felt I had to throw that in)
*Ice skating
*Coming home after ice skating and drinking hot chocolate (made w/ soy)
*Wintertime window displays at Macy*s, Barneys, Saks and Bloomingdales
*The first snow of the season. This, for the record, is the only snow I like.
*Rockefeller Center
*The Muppet Christmas Special
*Any kind of soup, ever. (today I had vegetable jambalaya!!! yum!)
...actually, as I'm listing this, I'm realizing that I don't like much about winter besides soup and hot chocolate... I just REALLY like Christmas. :-
On a non-Christmas note, Thanksgiving is coming. www.vegweb.com has a great recipe archive, and every year they section out some of their favorite Thanksgiving recipes for people to peruse.
Last year, I made a fantastic vegan tofu-pumpkin pie (you use the tofu to make the filling so that you don't need eggs) that none of my family members would've guessed was vegan, until they saw me eating it! :-) The year before, I used a lot of vegweb.com's recipes for side dishes to contribute to a family buffet Thanksgiving.
And, of course, every year I have a fake turkey. I know, it's soooo dumb, but I'd feel left out without it. Last year I got a Tofurky, and it was good! But the year before, I got some other fake turkey, it was SHAPED like a picture of a turkey! It was really weird--it looked like a brown Jell-o Jiggler (remember those?) that had been made w/ a turkey shaped cookie cutter. To top it off, it tasted like clay.
I guess some things happen like that. Thank god the Tofurky was good. I hear Now and Zen's un-Turkey dinner is great, too, but it usually feeds a lot of people, and I'm just one little vegan.
Until then, happy winter (ugh).
-Mallory
Posted by Mallory at 11:56 AM | Comments (1)
