Reaction to Natalie Portman's Huff Post

In vegan news... Jonathan Safran Foers, who wrote a really awesome article in the Times Magazine this month, is coming out with a book next week called Eating Animals. (Can't wait to get my hands on...)

Huffington Post is doing a series of responses to the book (very cool), and the first that I read was from Natalie Portman, who says this book finally turned her from a long time vegetarian, to a "vegan activist." Personally, I thought the essay was well written, passionate, and pretty much spot on.

Unfortuanately, there has already been a negative reaction in the media and online. (This is crazy!) But, what bothers me most are the kind of comments in response to Natalie's essay. It literally pains me though reading the comments. 90% of the comments are completely one sided, devoid of... well... any accurate information for starters. Everyone thinks that they are right. Both sides. (There are some idiot vegans out there, sorry to say.)

I guess the thing that bothers me most are the endless excuses that people have for being anti-vegan. I am a meat-eater turned vegan, so I know what its like to have to mentally turn such a corner. It is not always easy, especially at first. Still... enough already!!! For another living creature's sake...

Thought of the Day

Someone just said to me: "You're Vegan!? I could never do that! I couldn't live without [non-vegan food here]. That's deprivation! I just don't understand why would you limit yourself like that."



Me: And I'm the one limiting myself?...

ThanksLiving @ Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

I've written about the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary before. This past weekend I headed up to Woodstock, NY to volunteer at the annual ThanksLiving Event @ WFAS. It's an amazing event, and this was my 2nd year as a volunteer. Let me tell you about it...

Thats me, been running around all day!

My travel companions were my sister Cassie, her boyfriend Andy, and two of her friends, Gena & Jenn. (Gena has an amazing blog called choosingraw.com, check it out!).

On our way up on Saturday, we made a few stops: first for some Brooklyn bagels for Sunday's volunteer breakfast, then on to Blossom Cafe and Candle 79 (two of the very best vegan restaurants in NYC) to pick up the awesome food that was being donated.

We got to the farm at about 3pm Saturday, and spent about an hour unwinding, saying hello to all of our friends:

Brooklyn Love

Then we got to action, and spent a few hours helping prepare for the big event. There were a million things to get done. There were over 60 volunteers that helped prepare everything from food prep, building the tent, setting the tables, decorating, packing goodie bags, organizing the farm, etc... With 250 guests, ThanksLiving is hardly a small event, and it's beyond important for everything to go smoothly.

Cassie and Gena with Rebecca organizing merchandise at the Visitor's Center.

By the end of the day, we were pooped. It was time for dinner, and we went to the ultra veg friendly Garden Cafe. Yum.

The next day, we got to the farm at 9am, there was still much to be done, and we were back hard at work... Guests started to arrive at noon.

Turkeys - the Guests of Honor!

The event was incredible!!! The tent was beautiful, the guest speakers were inspiring, the food was delicious, the guests were receptive and gracious. The WFAS team are the most hard working, inspirational people I know. WFAS, if you are reading: we are all in debt to you!

Also, check out the menu:

Hors D’oeurves
Blackeyed Pea Cakes with Chipotle Aioli (Blossom)
Stuffed Mushrooms with Hearts of Palm (Blossom)
Crispy Dumplings with a Wasabi-Carrot Miso Dipping Sauce (Candle Cafe)
Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheese on a Crisp Baguette with Tapenade
(Dr. Cow/Bread Alone)
Mini Meatballs w/Mustard Caper Sauce (Match Meats/Gretchen Primack)
BBQ Gardein Skewers (Gardein)
Sesame “Chicken” Bites with a Sweet Tamarind Chili Sauce
(Match Meats/Lourdes Jovel/Loren Brown)

Dinner
Salad of Organic Greens with Roasted Garlic Dressing
(Olivia’s Organics/Garden Cafe)
Blue Corn Crusted Seitan with Chimichurri Sauce (New World Home
Cooking)
Savory Vegan Stuffing (Joshua’s Cafe)
Herbed Roasted Seasonal Vegetables (Red Onion Restaurant)
Tuscan Farro Salad with Greens and Butternut Squash (Cucina Restaurant)
Sweet Potato & Walnut Biscuits (Karma Road Cafe)
Herbed Focaccia & Ciabatta (Bread Alone)

Desserts
Choice of Death by Chocolate Cake (Vegan Treats)
or Peanut Butter Mousse Bomb Cake (Vegan Treats)
or Pumpkin Cheesecake (Vegan Treats)
with Raw Cashew Nut Gelato (Organic Nectars)

Drinks
Les Compagnons Wines • Brooklyn Brewery Beer
Gus Soda • Izze Drinks
Catskill Mountain Coffee • Wildwood Soy Creamer
Choice Organic Teas

The crowd listens to Jenny Brown and Doug Abel speak, John Phillips of the NY League of Humane Voters and NY State Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh also spoke. Such the animal lovers.

Seriously, words can't describe the overwhelming feeling that I get just being on the farm, let alone being a part of this incredible event. It's a feeling of gratitude for Jenny and Doug, and the staff and what they accomplish, gratitude for knowing there is a haven for abused animals, gratitude for just for being able to help out a little bit. I am not going to get into it right now, but the abuse that takes place against animals today is off the charts and we've got to stop it. That's what WFAS stands for.

So in closing, and I can't stress enough:

VISIT THE WOODSTOCK FARM ANIMAL SANCTUARY. IT MAY CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

ALSO, GO TO WOODSTOCKFAS.ORG. ADOPT A FARM ANIMAL. DONATE MONEY. MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Austin, TX (my last trip for now)

I've finally returned to NY from my month of weekend travelling. 3 Cities in 3 weekends!

From what I've heard, Austin is the liberal enclave of Texas. I'd only been to Texas once before, and I didn't get to see much during a short visit, and that trip was over 8 years ago, I don't think Bush was president yet, and Texas really wasn't on my radar. At the least, this trip would be a learning experience.

Austin turns out to be very eco-conscious, especially including the people I stayed with and their friends who I met. My host showed me her compost heap and her vegetable garden. Her roomate was into designing clothes from recycled products like plastic garbage bags. Pretty cool. My host described all of her housemates as vegetarian.

I have heard and read that Austin is a pretty vegan-friendly city, and this definately turned out to be the case. There were vegan and raw restaurants and juice bars scattered throughout the city that I happened to come by as I biked around the town. Unfortunately, I didn't get to stop at too many places, but here is a rundown of the places I did get to try:

The Parlor (Friday Dinner)

The pizza was impressive, as our toppings we got jalepeno peppers, mushrooms, and [vegan] sausage with the [vegan] cheese. It was also a total dive which I say gets the place some extra points. The menu had all kinds of vegan options! I approve.

Veggie Heaven (Brunch Saturday)

This was essentially an Asian vegetarian fusion restaurant, I can't think of anything in NYC to compare it to - I'd put it somewhere along the lines of Vegetarian Palate but less glamourous. was a genuinely good restaurant with a billion vegan options, and everything was reasonably priced, the kind of place I would probably frequent if conveniently located.

Toy Joy (Sat. Afternoon Snack)

A stop at Toy Joy was well worth it, its a souped up toy store / gag gift / novelty shop, but in the back they have a cafe and bar. They sell vegan soft serve, and it was damn good.

Mother's Cafe and Garden (Saturday Dinner and Sunday Brunch)

Well the plan was to get some genuine Tex-Mex for dinner Saturday night, and then go here for brunch on Sunday morning. Too bad we weren't ready for dinner until quite late on Saturday and the best places were too crowded or too far, so we settled on dinner at Mother's, since I was told they have a good Tex Mex menu. At first I was disappointed not to get to try at least one other restaurant, but fortunately the enchiladas here were off the wall! I got the spinach mushroom and tried some of my friend's spicy tempeh, I also got a full salad with guac for $3.

For brunch the next morning, we got mimosas, and pretty much everything else on their menu: pancakes, potatoes, veg. sausage patty, and I ordered the juevos (tofu) a la Mexicana. No complaints.

All in all, it was a very vegan weekend in Austin, I will have to go back at some point and see everything I missed.