Upton Sinclair's book The Jungle gives us a detailed, gruesome picture of the meat-packing industry. An excerpt: Here were the chute, with its river of hogs, all patiently toiling upward; there was a place for them to rest and cool off, and then through another passageway they went into a room from which there is no returning for hogs. It was a long, narrow room, with a gallery along it for visitors.  At the head there was a great iron wheel, about twenty feet in circumference, with rings here and there along its edge.  Upon both sides of this wheel there was a narrow space, into which came the hogs at the end of their journey; in the midst of them stood a great burly Negro, bar-armed and bare-chested.  He was resting for the moment, for the wheel had stopped while men were cleaning up.  In a minute or two, [...]

Well it is according to LA Times writer, Susan Carpenter.  She starts her article with: "If you don't wear animals on your body, chances are you're loath to smear one on your face. And even if an animal byproduct isn't used in a moisturizer or a blush, those who don't eat or wear products of any kind from beings that walk, fly or swim have another concern. They want to know that the goods they use weren't tested on animals." I love it.  It's one of the first times that I've read a mainstream article that the author seems to really get veganism.  The article has some good information about what conventional makeup has in it that isn't vegan, as well as links to vegan companies that specialize in vegan cosmetics.  My favorite line of the article? "Our skin absorbs 60% of what we put on it, so it's just as [...]

Get your forks ready.  The Twin Cities chapter of EarthSave is holding its monthly dine out event on August 22, 2009 at 6pm.  This months meet will be held at Sen Yai Sen Lek (Big Noodle Little Noodle) located at 2422 Central Avenue NE in Minneapolis.  The restaurant specializes in Thai rice and noodle dishes and offers a vegan menu in addition to its regular menu.  You can try dishes created with tofu or mock duck (I've never had duck - mock or otherwise - it sounds...interesting) But you must RSVP to attend so leave a message (by 2pm) on Saturday at EarthSave's info line, 952-930-1205. EarthSave hosts meetings and events where vegans (or vegetarians) can meet others that choose a plant-based lifestyle.  They try veg-friendly restaurants or share recipes at potluck dinners. From EarthSave Twin Cities Chapter website: "EarthSave encourages a plant-based diet for personal and planetary health out [...]

I was reading the Seattle Times online yesterday.  I know, it’s pretty random but I like to read all kinds of stuff.  Anyway, I noticed an article titled “Slaughterhouse on wheels aids ‘locavore’ movement”.  Well you know I had to read that! It’s written by a Maureen O’Hagan.  She’s put a picture in the article that blows my mind, but we’ll get to that in a minute.  The article is about a “Mobile Meat Processing Unit…basically a slaughterhouse on wheels” and how that is going to help the “locavore”, a person who routinely looks for and purchases local goods, get their meat.  Because, if you didn’t know it, small farmers must ship their cattle across states away from the farm to get them “killed murdered processed”.  That means, extra $$ out of the farmers pocket and more time it takes to get to the consumers (that’s you). O’Hagan says this [...]

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) July 27, 2009 — foreue, a handmade skin care vegan products company, is seeking volunteers, Ambassadors, to help review new skin care and beauty products. Once an individual has been selected to become part of the elite team, foreue will send products to each Ambassador 4 times a year for a personal evaluation. The requirements are simple involving 3 easy tasks: First, comment on the blog http://www.foreueblog.com/339/thumbs-up/ Second, become a foreue fan on Facebook. Finally, submit a 30-60 second video evaluating any cosmetic as a test and upload it to Facebook. Just relax and deliver a great message! This unique opportunity will give individuals the power to show ‘n tell their experiences and reactions by simply recording and uploading a video, each time. Guidelines will be provided for each product sampling. Recording reactions and opinions via video will offer unique, colorful and believable natural skin care product [...]