Thanks to the wonderful people did work for the site over the years. While I own SuperVegan and named it, I was only one of several founders, and one of several dozen people who contributed.

Thanks to our readers, supporters, and fans. I know we helped a lot of people have a better vegan life, and that was always the point.

The web has changed a lot since SuperVegan launched February, 2006. And the vegan world has changed a lot in that time, too. SuperVegan never set out to make sense as a business (for better or worse), but instead prioritized providing information and resources for those committed to ethical veganism. We kept it up pretty well for a while.

I’m not closing SuperVegan because that work is done, but simply because my collaborators and I have got too many other things to do. Many of the problems we set out to solve in 2006 still exist. Many of the gaps we sought to fill remain unfilled. Hopefully by stepping aside, we’ll make it easier for other sites to be more active and do a better job providing information for vegans than we have been lately.

We’re keeping the vast majority of the old content up online, at least for a while. Because I’m a sentimental fool, sure, but also because keeping information available is the right thing to do. It’s always a bummer when content disappears from the web. We will, however, close comments on posts, and clearly label everything as archived/ossified.

It is entirely possible that future projects will occur under the aegis of SuperVegan. Some of them may resemble things we’ve done in the past. Some may be totally new territory. If you want to stay in the know, join the SuperVegan Projects mailing list.

We’ll keep our Twitter account going for now. People seem to like that, and it’s a small enough commitment.

Vegan Drinks NYC will continue under its own steam (though we’re taking the month of October off; the next event will be November 21).

Comments will be open on this post for a while, if you have anything to say about it.

Bye for now,
Jason

Lisa and Vegan Outreach! (Photo courtesy of David Karopkin)

Thank YOU for hanging out and supporting Vegan Outreach at Vegan Drinks NYC on September 26th. Thanks Andy and the crew at Fontana’s Bar for hosting and to Killer Vegan for feeding us!

And, extra special thanks to those organizations and individuals who made Shout Outs:

• Vegan Outreach
• National Lawyers Guild Animal Rights & Activism Committee Panel and Film Screening with Bina Ahmad and Lauren Gazzola on Thur., October 3rd from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Center for Constitutional Rights in Manhattan
• NYC ABC Political Prisoner Letter Writing Dinners (next event: Tues., October 1st at 7:00 p.m. at CAGE in Manhattan
• GooseWatch NYC
• Brooklyn2Colorado Flood Relief Fundraiser on Tues., October 1st from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at Over the Eight in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
• Book Release Party at MooShoes for Kathy Steven’s Animal Camp: Reflections on a Decade of Love, Hope, and Veganism at Catskill Animal Sanctuary on Tues., October 15th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (10% of all in store and online sales on October 15th will be donated to Catskill Animal Sanctuary)
• Cinnamon Snail
• Bon Vivant Vegan

The NEXT Vegan Drinks NYC is happening on Thursday, October 31st (HALLOWEEN)! Details to be announced soon!

Do you represent an animal rights group you think should be the beneficiary of an upcoming Vegan Drinks NYC? Visit vegandrinks.org/beneficiaries to learn more about how to make that happen.

Get on our mailing list!

This month, we’ll be benefiting Vegan Outreach, “a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the suffering of farmed animals by promoting informed, ethical eating. This is done through the widespread distribution of illustrated leaflets mainly to college students that show what animals endure in factory farms and slaughterhouses.”

Stuff your dollars in the donation jar, and buy raffle tickets from Vegan Outreach to win one of these great prizes:

• Vegan Outreach t-shirts
• Vegan for Life book
• Christie Robinson “vegan” necklace
• gift package of Shaia’s hot sauce
• subscription to Laika
• Vaute Couture shirt
• Vegan O’Brien cookies
• gift certificate from Chickpea & Olive
• gift certificate from Beyond Sushi
• and more!

Music by Grand Format and DJ Megan Rascal!

Wanna let all your Internet friends know you’re going? RSVP on Facebook if you’re of the mindset to do so.

Have you read the new and improved Vegan Drinks FAQ? Please read it, even if you’re a regular at our event. (Really, please read it. All of it.)

We’ll turn down the music around 8:30pm and encourage people to promote themselves, their groups and/or causes for 30 seconds. If you represent a veg*n or animal rights group, come prepared with your (very short!) spiel and literature.

If you’re not already following our every move, connect with Vegan Drinks on Facebook, follow us on Twitter (@vegandrinks), and join our e-mail list.

Vegan Drinks NYC is usually held the last Thursday of the month from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. Do you represent an animal rights group you think should be the beneficiary of an upcoming Vegan Drinks NYC? Visit vegandrinks.org/beneficiaries to learn more about how to make that happen.

A packed theatre for the premiere of Speciesism: The Movie

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the world premiere of Speciesism: The Movie, the first film by director Mark Devries, at the SVA Theatre in Manhattan. I attended the event free as press.

Overall, I will say first and foremost that while this film wasn’t earth-shattering, it was good. There are a lot of really terrible social issue and activist documentaries out there, both in terms of production quality and content, and comparatively Speciesism was better than most when it came to content. It’s definitely a film I would recommend to someone who is curious about animal rights and/or veganism.

The first half of the film chronicles a young, omnivorous Devries as he seeks to figure out the truth behind factory farming, becoming vegan in the process. He visits factory farms where he is repeatedly turned away, visits the PETA offices, goes to the HSUS headquarters, talks to folks from Mercy for Animals and other well-known animal rights groups, who all basically say similar things: exploiting animals, using factory farming as the prime example, is horrible and we shouldn’t do it. Devries also visits North Carolina, where he documents how hog farms (specifically hog waste lagoons) are destroying the North Carolina ecosystem, which was a specific example that I feel boosted the film’s argument. Overall, the first half of the film may not be especially interesting to vegan folks, because it’s a lot of the same stuff we’ve seen and read about. Yes, these are important things that need to be publicized and included in a movie about speciesism, but as far as entertainment goes, you might be a little bored hearing Ingrid Newkirk say the same things you’ve heard before.

The second half of the film, however, was what redeemed the first half for me. Devries delve deeper into the ethical and moral arguments about why we value non-human animals less than we do humans. He talked to authors, philosophers, professors, special needs caretakers, Holocaust survivors and people he stopped on the street about how we view human suffering and why as a species we consider non-human animal suffering to be less important. The points made and the conclusion Devries draws are hard to dispute, and he conveys his argument in a compelling way.

What I liked the most about Devries’ film was that he didn’t focus on the health aspects of veganism, which is a route many recent “vegan documentaries” have taken (I’m looking at you, Forks Over Knives). There was no fat shaming, there were no vegan body builders (actually, there was one, but his purpose was to briefly debunk the protein myth) or moving story about how a large man with high blood pressure was completely transformed after he stopped eating meat. I almost wanted to hug Devries for not including any of that.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with vegan body builders, normal blood pressure or someone choosing to lose weight, but I have a problem with health and weight loss being the primary ways in which many people frame and discuss veganism in order to appeal to non-vegans. Because while I love food (food tastes good), I believe there are more compelling reasons to become vegan.

There is a brief discussion of food and eating vegan, but the main message being conveyed is that it’s not that hard to adopt a vegan diet and you don’t have to give up many of the foods you enjoy. I feel like when you’re trying to convince people to stop contributing to the exploitation of non-human animals, talking about what you eat on a daily basis is something you should at least mention.

Overall, if you have the chance, I suggest checking out Speciesism, perhaps with a non-vegan or two.

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, September 17th, 2013
WHERE: CAGE – 83A Hester Street (UPSTAIRS) New York, New York 10002 (directions below)
COST: Free

After a traffic stop in which they refused consent to a police search, Tyler Lang and Kevin Olliff‘s car was searched anyway. Inside, police allege they found bolt cutters, wire cutters, muriatic acid, ski masks, and camouflage clothing.

Police believed these items were “burglary tools” intended to be used in a crime, and arrested Kevin and Tyler. The two are held on felony charges which carry up to 3 years in prison. They have remained in jail since their arrest on August 14th.

There is no evidence linking them to any crime or intended crime, nor were they arrested on anyone’s property, and their history as animal advocates is the only basis for these serious felony charges. A recent call-in campaign on their behalf resulted in threats of further punishments.

If for some nutty reason you can’t make it out, but still want to support Tyler and Kevin, you can write to them at:
Tyler Lang #4564
Woodford County Jail
111 East Court Street
Eureka, Illinois 61530

Kevin Johnson* #4565
Woodford County Jail
111 East Court Street
Eureka, Illinois 61530
*Kevin Olliff. Address envelope to Kevin Johnson

For more information, check out http://supportkevinandtyler.com

The deal, as always, is that you come bringing only yourself (and your friends and comrades), and we provide you with a delicious vegan meal, information about the prisoners as well as all of the letter-writing materials and prisoner-letter-writing info you could ever want to use in one evening. In return, you write a thoughtful letter to a political prisoner or prisoner of war of your choosing or, better yet, keep up a long-term correspondence. We’ll also provide some brief updates and pass around birthday cards for the PP/POWs whose birthdays fall in the next two weeks thanks to the PP/POW Birthday Calendar.

DIRECTIONS:
Getting to CAGE is simple:
From the J/M/Z:
Essex Street Stop: Walk west on Delancey Street (toward Essex Street, away from Norfolk Street) and make a left on Essex Street. Walk three blocks and turn right onto Hester Street. We’re two and a half blocks down, on the right.

From the F:
East Broadway Stop: Walk north on Rutgers Street (toward East Broadway, away from Henry Street), that becomes Essex Street, and turn left on Hester Street. We’re two and a half blocks down, on the right.

From the B/D:
Grand Street Stop: Walk east on Grand Street (Toward Forsyth Street, away from Chrystie Street) and turn right on Orchard Street. Walk one block and turn right onto Hester Street. We’re a few storefronts down on the right.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch. Otherwise, we’ll see you at supper.

This event is brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Anarchist Black Cross.

The crowd at Vegan Drinks! (Event photography courtesy of Natalia from EVOLVE For Animals.)

Thank YOU for hanging out and supporting EVOLVE For Animals at Vegan Drinks NYC on August 29th. Huge thanks to Andy and the crew at Fontana’s Bar for hosting and to Chef Oscar Vegan Revolution for feeding us!

And, extra special thanks to those organizations and individuals who made Shout Outs:

• EVOLVE For Animals
• GooseWatch NYC
• Vegan Outreach
• Sea Shepherd
• Kaporos Demos
• VeganMentors.org
• Kitty Loft
• Japan Dolphins Day 2013: Screening of The Cove
• FurFace Pet Portraits
• Yetta Kurland for City Council 2013
• Coalition to Ban Horse Drawn Carriages (Fundraiser on September 9th at Fontana’s!)
• GoVegNYC
• Speciesism (World premiere on September 18th in NYC!)
• VoteQuinnOut.Com

The NEXT Vegan Drinks NYC is happening on Thursday, September 26th at Fontana’s Bar (105 Eldridge Street, Manhattan) from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Join us as we benefit Vegan Outreach!

Do you represent an animal rights group you think should be the beneficiary of an upcoming Vegan Drinks NYC? Visit vegandrinks.org/beneficiaries to learn more about how to make that happen.

Get on our mailing list!

The supper clubs will be held, so far, throughout the month of September, and will cost $30 (although the current ticket price listed is $40, Emma told me it’s actually $30) for a three-course meal. The first event will take place September 15th, and the menu is already up.

Emma cooking up a vegan feast

I asked Emma to share a little bit more about what people can expect from her dinners:

The menu focuses on seasonal vegetables grown on the farm, and picked that day! And dinner takes place in the middle of the farm, as the sun sets over the bridge, which is just about the prettiest view I know of. It’s really lovely.

You’ve heard of farm-to-table, but this time the farm is literally only a few feet away from the table. You can see the planned schedule so far, as well as buy tickets in advance.

This month, we’ll be benefiting Evolve for Animals, “a grassroots nonprofit organization that unabashedly advocates for the total and unfettered rights of non-human animals through education-based outreach events such as tabling, leafleting, public speaking engagements, film screenings, and vegan soup kitchens. While other organizations may focus on the treatment of animals, EFA presents the case for animal rights from the perspective of use and commodification where any and all impositions on sentient life is defined as violence, and veganism is the proposed solution.”

Stuff your dollars in the donation jar, and buy raffle tickets from Evolve for Animals to win one of these great prizes:

• Copy of Sistah Vegan
• Copy of The Global Vegan Family Cookbook
• Copy of Defiant Daughters
• T-shirts by Arm the Animals
• $25 Vegan Essentials Gift Certificate
• $40 Candle Café West Gift Certificate
• Three $25 Loving Hut Gift Certificates
• Two $25 Beyond Sushi Gift Certificates
• $50 FurFace Pet Portraits Gift Certificate

Music by DJ Megan Rascal and DJ Jason Das! (DJ Grand Format is a nerd and went back to school. We’ll miss him until he comes back to us!)

Wanna let all your Internet friends know you’re going? RSVP on Facebook if you’re of the mindset to do so.

Have you read the new and improved Vegan Drinks FAQ? Please read it, even if you’re a regular at our event. (Really, please read it. All of it.)

We’ll turn down the music around 8:30pm and encourage people to promote themselves, their groups and/or causes for 30 seconds. If you represent a veg*n or animal rights group, come prepared with your (very short!) spiel and literature.

If you’re not already following our every move, connect with Vegan Drinks on Facebook, follow us on Twitter (@vegandrinks), and join our e-mail list.

Vegan Drinks NYC is usually held the last Thursday of the month from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. Do you represent an animal rights group you think should be the beneficiary of an upcoming Vegan Drinks NYC? Visit vegandrinks.org/beneficiaries to learn more about how to make that happen.

The The Alliance to End Chickens as Kapporot has a particularly lovely logo.

Kapparot, an atonement ritual practiced by some Orthodox Jews in conjunction with Yom Kippur, involves “swinging either a live chicken or a bundle of coins over one’s head three times, symbolically transferring one’s sins to the chicken or coins. The chicken is then slaughtered.“ Kapporot is performed with chickens, in large numbers, right here in New York city, particularly in certain neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

There are activists working to get all Kapparot (also spelled Kaporos, Kaparos, Kaparot, etc.) practitioners to switch to coins, and they need your help! From The Alliance to End Chickens as Kapporot:

Please join our 4th annual street protest in Brooklyn, NY against the cruel and needless use of chickens in Kaporos rituals. This year we’re renting a “moving lit billboard” – a van with huge images illuminated on the sides and the back.

Sept 10, 2013, 6 – 8 p.m.
792 Eastern Parkway, (corner Kingston Ave.), Brooklyn, NY, 11213

Sept 11, 2013, 6 – 8 p.m.
502 Ave. P, (corner E. 5th Street), Brooklyn, NY, 11223

Sept 12, 2013, 6 – 8 p.m.
792 Eastern Parkway, (corner Kingston Ave.), Brooklyn, NY, 11213

An activist Hasidic Rabbi has generously provided us with images, including one of himself tenderly holding a rooster, an audio file to BROADCAST FROM THE VAN URGING PRACTITIONERS TO USE MONEY, NOT CHICKENS, and translations of our messages into Hebrew along with English.

We know it is difficult to attend a demo where animals are suffering and dying in front of us, but as hard as it is for us, it is infinitely harder for the chickens, and we must be there for them and show that we care.

Please read A Wing and A Prayer for more information about the Kaporos (Kapparot) ritual. Please join us in Brooklyn to let the chickens know we’re there for them.

They’ve also produced this video featuring Bresov Hasidic rabbi Yonassan Gershom:

I know this can be a difficult issue for “outsiders” to get involved in. While the systemized abuse of chickens horrifying and immoral, it’s always delicate business criticizing other people’s religious beliefs and practices.  But joining the existing efforts of the Alliance is something we can all do.

I’ll leave you with some quotes from chicken-abusing Kapparot practitioners:

NPR ”Weekend Edition”: Hecht says waving the chicken isn’t the point of this ritual. ”The main part of the service,” he says, “is handing the chicken to the slaughterer and watching the chicken being slaughtered. Because that is where you have an emotional moment, where you say, ‘Oops, you know what? That could have been me.’

NycFaith’s Blog: “Kaparot is absolutely the funniest custom we have, hands down,” said Rabbi Alevsky. “There’s plenty of giggling and laughing going around, and there’s a lot of shrieking, ‘I don’t want to touch it!’ ‘Get it away from me!’” He pauses, before adding, “And the chicken often poops on people. It chooses its targets very carefully.”

(As an aside, I also feel a dilemma regarding the “solution”; I mean, I don’t think swinging a bag of coins over your head does you any good either. I’m not even sure I believe that symbolic atonement is a positive thing at all, as opposed to specifically addressing the damage caused by bad things we’ve done. Of course I still support the Alliance’s mission, but especially if you are someone who–unlike me–believes in symbolic atonement and not abusing chickens, please join The Alliance in their efforts this year. I can only show up for the chickens; you can show up for the chickens and the spiritual mission.)

Some of these are newsy, others are feature-y or opinion-y. Some of these stories are were breaking news, but others are notable for being traditionally under-reported animal-interest topics in mainstream venues.  Some are short; some are very, very long. I have not read them all in their entireties yet, but I endorse you checking them out anyway. We may have shared a few of these on Twitter, but most of them have gone totally unnoted by SuperVegan until now. I tried to sort them into rough categories, but some certainly blur the lines.

Wildlife

• Jonathan Franzen on the slaughter of songbirds migrating across the Mediterranean (National Geographic, July issue)
• A giant seizure of elephant tusks in Hong Kong (NYT 7/19/13)
• “In the Himalayas, Nepali villagers hunt down poachers to help save the tiger” (Guardian, 7/27/13)
• “Emptying the World’s Aquarium: The dismal future of the global fishery“ (Harper’s, August issue)
• Robert Redford versus the Navajo Nation on wild horse slaughter (NYT 8/10/2013)

Fake Meat

• There were a lot of articles everywhere about the test-tube burger that was unveiled on August 5; the mainstream is definitely interested in this story, though with varying degrees of sympathy.
• “The Better Meat Substitute” in an engineering journal! (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Spectrum magazine, 6/3/13)
• “Your Meat Addiction Is Destroying the Planet (But We Can Fix It)” (Longish piece from tech-trendy The Verge 8/13/13)

Ethics

• “Can We See Our Hypocrisy to Animals?” Inspired by the juxtaposition of reviews of Act of Killing and Blackfish, Nick Kristof  wonders “Some day, will our descendants be mystified by how good and decent people in the early 21st century — that’s us — could have been so oblivious to the unethical treatment of animals?” Kristof is one of the best New York Times columnists, and has a lot of journalistic experience with perpetrators of human-on-human violence; this coming from him is a rather big deal. (NYTimes, 7/28/13)
• That same day, the Times’s Dot Earth blog ran “A Closer Look at ‘Nonhuman Personhood’ and Animal Welfare“

Companion and Farmed Animals

• “The supply and demand of pound puppies“ and how different breeds/types of dogs are in greater surplus or demand in different parts of the US. (Marketplace, 7/29/13)
• “Kicked from the coop: Urban farmers ditching chickens“ (WTOP, DC-area news station, 7/31/13)
• “Survey finds young adults overlook animal shelters” (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 8/8/13)
• Marmite ran a TV ad that pissed off some animal rescuers; make a big donation to the RSPCA to atone. (Guardian, 8/8/13)
• Long article about the lives of celebrity elephants in India (NYT Magazine, 8/18/2013)

Hollywood

• Simpsons creator Sam Simon “faces down his terminal cancer diagnosis by spending his vast fortune (how much? ‘I don’t know’) on animal rights and feeding the hungry” (Hollywood Reporter 7/25/13)
• “Blackfish’ gives Pixar second thoughts on ‘Finding Dory’ plot” (LA Times, 8/9/13)
• The AARP profiles Bill Clinton’s vegan diet. Definitions of  ”being vegan” aside, this piece has great potential to influence older people worried about their health to eat a lot less animal products. (Sounds like Bill might be a little bit more strict than he used to be, if you enjoy keeping track of such things, but who knows anything for sure with that guy.) (AARP Magazine, August issue)

6,500+ transcribed words likely to incite frustration and despair in the caring reader

• “Michael Pollan and Ruth Reichl Hash out the Food Revolution” (Smithsonian Magazine, June 2013)

Last we heard, the USDA had trapped hundreds of wild geese in Jamaica Bay for slaughter. Now, they have their sights set of the wild turkeys of Staten Island. Beginning yesterday,the USDA has lured the turkeys to their death using pellets to attract them to large nets, capturing and crating them for removal. GooseWatchNYC and community leader John Mancuso are holding an emergency rally tomorrow at noon to protest the USDA’s cruel actions.

Where: Seaview Ave and Father Capodanno Blvd., Staten Island (See Map)
When: 12 PM Noon, Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 14, 2013

If you’re free, please come out and join them.

I would wear all of those shoes, especially those lace-up boots! Nicora Johns offers women’s and men’s sizes, depending on the design, and pledges start at $5. All pledges come with a reward, but shoe rewards start at the $85 pledge level. The company aims to ” … bring you quality handmade shoes while bringing jobs back to the United States through environmentally-sound production and affordable pricing.” Sounds like a noble cause, and we can’t argue with the fact that all of their designs are made without animals.

So if you’re in the market for some cute fall flats or boots, or you just want to help out an awesome company, contribute to their Kickstarter page and get yourself a little something.

Go Dairy Free, in a post aimed more at the allergy crowd has a bunch of further details (and they actually tasted the stuff; they like it!).

There is also some social media sweepstakes thing going on around the new product, if you like that kind of thing.

I’m assuming that the cultures used are not dairy-based, but you might want to check on that.

The press release contains zero mention of anything to do with veganism, or any acknowledgement that some customers might have an ethical problem with dairy, but I suppose that’s to be expected from a giant dairy chain. No doubt, if this stuff sells well, they and other large chains will invest even more in dairy-free products.

This is definitely good news in that it presumably means less dairy will be purchased (unless they’re banking on a reverse-veto halo effect, and they’ll sell more dairy because dairy-free eaters will now want to go to TCBY their with dairy-eating friends?). Of course, ethical eaters may wish to minimize patronizing giant amoral MadrigalElectromotive-like conglomerates such as TCBY parent Mrs Fields Famous Brands, and Silk’s parent Dean Foods. But hey, it will be a great day when McDonald’s adds more vegan options, too, even if you never eat there yourself!

Thanks to our good friend Jessica of NYC Veggie Prom and Vegan Conquest for letting us know about this.

Update: As careful-reading commenter Charie points out, the Go Dairy Free interview with Reno TCBY owners Vince & Marlene says “It is not only a dairy-free frozen yogurt, but also soy-free, gluten-free, and vegan.” So there’s the “v” word from the local franchisee end, anyway.

Summer is winding down, which means soon going to the Vegan Shop-Up will feel like navigating a sea of puffy winter coats. The monthly event returns this Saturday, August 10th at their usual location, Pine Box Rock Shop, from 12-6pm. Admission is still free, and the vendors are still as awesome as ever. Fill up on cruelty-free food, drink, home and beauty items, and of course Bloody Marys from the bar. If you haven’t been, get it in before the weather turns cold!

The profile pic from @BlytheAnnBoyd‘s Twitter account. Dang that looks tasty.

At 3pm today, a new ice cream shop will open at the site once occupied by Lula’s Sweet Apothecary,  516 East 6th Street (between Avenues A & B) in the East Village. The owner is Blythe Boyd, who was a founder and owner of Lula’s. She lost the name/brand, but kept the recipes and the lease on the space. And after many months of everyone wondering what the heck was going on, now we can go find out!

There doesn’t seem to be any official source for the opening information, let alone a website for the new place, but lots of social media announcements from people who would know all make the same announcement. So either it’s true, or somebody stole Boyd’s phone and decided to play a cruel trick on all of her friends (and every ice-cream loving vegan in NYC).

Lula’s Sweet Apothecary had a long, slow, confusing closing, from the owners’ very public legal dispute in January to the “we are unable to open today” in early May that, it turns out, lasted several months. Reliable information was scarce. The ice cream itself was still being made, and was served without Lula’s branding at Sustainable NYC. But the ice cream parlor experience, and the myriad toppings were a big part of what made Lula’s great.

We’re pretty confident this new place will be great, too. Can’t wait to go check it out!

If you haven’t been to Foodswings recently, it just went through another remodeling and kind of looks like a cross between a diner and a biker gang’s clubhouse (in the best way possible, of course). They also got a new A/C system (Remember when Foodswings didn’t have A/C and you still ate there anyway?). But, if you’re not diggin’ the new look you can buy it and change it! The sale comes with copyright and their coveted recipes and the current asking price, as mentioned above, is 165k.

The current owners are requesting that the next buyer be vegan, as they’d like to see Foodswings continue to be vegan-owned and operated. I spoke with Melody, who informed me that local “gourmet” burger chain Bareburger was interested, but Foodswings’ owners declined the offer because Bareburger can go to hell (my words, not hers).

According to Melody, “The neighborhood is only continuing to grow so I think it would be a great opportunity for someone, especially if they kept it vegan.” She also informed me that post-Foodswings, her and Jeff plan on moving Lucky 13 to a bigger, better location (that will still be in the same general Park Slope area).

So please, someone buy Foodswings and keep it awesome, or perhaps make it more awesome. And for the love of all (cruelty-free) things deep fried and smothered in buffalo sauce, keep it vegan. Interested? Email Melody!

Plate full of Yeah Dawg!

Thank YOU for hanging out and supporting Farm Sanctuary at Vegan Drinks NYC on July 25th. Big thanks to Fontana’s Bar for hosting and to Yeah Dawg for feeding us!

And, extra special thanks to those organizations and individuals who made Shout Outs:

• Farm Sanctuary
• Empty Cages Collective
• VeganMentors.org
• GooseWatch NYC
• Sea Shepherd
• Kitty Loft
• Andrea

The NEXT Vegan Drinks NYC is happening on Thursday, August 29th at Fontana’s Bar (105 Eldridge Street, Manhattan) from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Join us as we benefit Evolve for Animals!

Do you represent an animal rights group you think should be the beneficiary of an upcoming Vegan Drinks NYC? Visit vegandrinks.org/beneficiaries to learn more about how to make that happen.

Get on our mailing list!

First, I saw it driving down the block near my office. Then, I saw this photo of it being serviced next to The Cinnamon Snail. And now, I know The Green Radish will be serving NYC and NJ (hopefully) delicious organic vegan food soon!

This is super exciting news for NYC and NJ vegans. The Green Radish website claims they will aim to serve the Montclair, NJ and NYC areas “tasty, healthy and fast vegan fare.”

I spoke with owner and professional chef of 20 years James Rafferty, a NJ resident, about the eatery and he told me that he aims to create food that’s “appealing to the masses,” including a black bean burger (which you can see a provocative photo of on The Green Radish’s Facebook page) and a lobster roll, which is a jab at the Red Hook Lobster Pound’s famous NY Lobster Truck. James, a vegetarian for over 20 years and a recently turned vegan, said that NYC makes opening and operating a food truck “so hard” with all the city laws and restrictions, and while he doesn’t want to make any promises about which neighborhoods he will serve, The Green Radish will definitely be out and about in the city soon.

Rafferty said that with the truck’s NY inspection next week, they could be serving New Yorkers as soon as mid-August. Regardless, they’ve already confirmed they’ll be at the Montclair Jazz Fest on August 17th.

In the meantime, you can get the truck’s latest news by following them on Facebook and Twitter.

This month, we’ll be benefiting Farm Sanctuary, which “work[s] to protect farm animals from cruelty, inspire[s] change in the way society views and treats farm animals, and promote[s] compassionate vegan living.”

Stuff your dollars in the donation jar, and buy raffle tickets from Farm Sanctuary to win one of these great prizes:

• “V is for Vegan” tee shirt from Vaute Couture
• Gift certificate for a 9” custom cake from Clementine Bakery
• $50 gift card from MooShoes
• Signed copy of Farm Sanctuary book by Farm Sanctuary President and Co-Founder Gene Baur
• Gift certificate for a one-night stay in one of Farm Sanctuary’s bed and breakfast cabins at its New York shelter

Music by DJ Megan Rascal and DJ Jason Das! (Get well soon, DJ Grand Format!)

Wanna let all your Internet friends know you’re going? RSVP on Facebook if you’re of the mindset to do so.

Have you read the new and improved Vegan Drinks FAQ? Please read it, even if you’re a regular at our event. (Really, please read it. All of it.)

We’ll turn down the music around 8:30pm and encourage people to promote themselves, their groups and/or causes for 30 seconds. If you represent a veg*n or animal rights group, come prepared with your (very short!) spiel and literature.

If you’re not already following our every move, connect with Vegan Drinks on Facebook, follow us on Twitter (@vegandrinks), and join our e-mail list.

Vegan Drinks NYC is usually held the last Thursday of the month from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. Do you represent an animal rights group you think should be the beneficiary of an upcoming Vegan Drinks NYC? Visit vegandrinks.org/beneficiaries to learn more about how to make that happen.

Bunna Cafe, a pop-up (mostly) vegan Ethiopian eatery in Brooklyn, has made Mama Joy’s in Bushwick (between the Morgan and Jefferson L stops) their temporary home, serving up lunch (including whiskey-infused iced shai!) from 11am – 4pm Tuesday through Friday.

Bunna has been all over Brooklyn lately, sponsoring events and making their name known, and I’ve still yet to try their food. Needless to say I was excited to learn they’d have a semi-permanent home at Mama Joy’s, but the hours aren’t convenient for those of us working standard day jobs. Still, by the looks of Bunna’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, it looks like they’re drawing a lunch crowd, which can only mean good things for their future in Brooklyn.

Have you tried Bunna? What should one order from their lunch menu?

The vendor area

I pulled up to the venue, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington, at around 12:30pm and was immediately redirected to a school parking lot down the street since on-site parking was filled. The exhibitor area was outside on the church grounds, and shortly after arriving, the skies opened up and those of us without umbrellas took refuge under tents. Some exhibitors without tents grew discouraged by their ruined literature and left for the day, but those who were sheltered stuck around. Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary co-founder Jenny Brown’s interrupted presentation was quickly moved inside into the church, and volunteers made their rounds to let attendees know. Marilyn Chiarello, a certified raw vegan chef, educator and healthy lifestyle coach manning her Taste of Light table, kindly lent me her umbrella as I connected with friends and visited tables. The rain cleared up shortly afterward prompting some attendees who milled around with their dogs looking for paper towels to clean muddy paws.

Three Brothers Cafe Farmingdale serving up food

Some of the tables were to be expected such as Sea Shepherd, Mercy for Animals, Arbonne, and the Vegan Long Island! Meetup, plus but also some new faces and regional Long Island organizations, including Bobbi and the Strays shelter, and Long Island Orchestrating for Nature: LION, which organizes Cole Brothers Circus protests. Michelle Leon was there to sell her jewelry and belts, and Kristin Lajeunesse, blogger at Will Travel for Vegan Food, was there to let folks know about her end of trip benefit party. I made my way inside to where Jay Astafa and was on site to sell Three Brothers Cafe Farmingdale’s dishes from the church kitchen. When they were ready to open up the counter for orders, a throng of people lined up, some of which waited an hour-plus for food. Not one to deal with that kind of exercise in patience, I was one of the lucky ones to snag a place near the front of the line, which still took a little while. Pastry chef Dani McGrath worked the counter with a nearby table of her delicious confections, cupcakes and cookies, which she considerately sold to me with an IOU since I was shortsightedly low on cash. By the time I got my food and sat down to eat it, I headed outside for some more sweets, but to my dismay both the Sweet to Lick and La Pirata Kitchen tables had presumably sold out and were no longer there. Worth noting is that Sweet To Lick will shortly be opening up a storefront in Williston Park, which is safe to say will be the first vegan bakery in Long Island.

Demosthenes Maratos of the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College

I then sat in on a scarcely-attended presentation by Demosthenes Maratos, Communications Director at the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College. He gave a spirited talk on the environmental impact of animal agriculture, and was by far the most engaging speaker I’d seen on that topic, and I learned a few things such as the toll the grass-fed and shrimping industries take on the environment. He wrapped it up bringing the topic full-circle saying that the environmental benefits of going vegan are “incidental to the grave moral wrong of breeding and killing animals for our purpose.”

At 5pm, Jay Astafa and crew looked positively stunned by the close to two hundred people they had served in under three hours, with only hot dogs left to sell. It was then time for Jennifer Greene’s presentation, who I had never seen speak before. Jennifer, who is also the organizer of the Vegan Long Island! Meetup, focused her talk on the work she is doing with Carnism Action & Awareness Network, Dr. Melanie Joy’s organization focused on raising awareness of the term carnism, which Dr. Joy has defined in her doctoral work as the belief system that conditions people to eat only certain animals. Jennifer is an excellent speaker, and it was an informative presentation, though none of it was new to me personally, since I’ve both seen Dr. Joy speak and I’ve read her book Why Do We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows. It’s also a presentation geared for a carnist audience, but I viewed the talk as helping vegan attendees understand the hostility that their lifestyles can erupt, as well as giving counter-points to handle criticism.

Dani McGrath’s baked goods

After the presentation, the Fest was wrapping up for the day. I was the winning bidder on a piece of artwork and set about tracking down someone to give me the green light to take it home. I found Erica Settino, event organizer and founder of Karuna for Animals: Compassion in Action, who let me head out with my painting with a promise to mail a check. I also spoke with some exhibitors, who said it had been worth their while to spend their time there, either with getting out awareness or with product sales. Despite the rain, mud and long line for food, the attendees also seemed satisfied with their time there. Jenny Brown, who after her talk had been signing copies of her book, The Lucky Ones, said she was happy to have participated and gushed about Erica’s work for the animals. Erica too was smiling broadly about how the how the day had unfolded and talked excitedly about next year. I headed out very happy to stuff my face with Dani’s nutella cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.

Central Park is a place of quiet respite for New Yorkers, an iconic wonderland for tourists and home to some 220 carriage horses. When I first came to the city, I didn’t know anything about these horses but it was impossible to miss the sadness in their eyes. It turns out that there are multiple problems with these sensitive creatures working in a raucous city like New York, many of which stem from a lack of enforcement on industry regulations.

Although there is a mandated maximum of nine consecutive hours allowed for shifts, horses frequently work 12 hour days. Temperature regulations do not take wind chill nor ashphalt surfaces (which can reach 200 F in the summer) into account, so the horses are forced to work in burning heat and freezing cold. After the 3am curfew, they are relegated to a stable on the west side of midtown where conditions have been found to include no hay or bedding, stall floors covered in urine and manure, inadequate ventilation, limited access to water and stacked floors that obstruct escape in case of fire.

It isn’t only the horses who suffer. Working in these poor conditions, often with injuries or improperly fitted shoes, means that they are liable to become spooked in traffic. There have been at least 18 instances in the last two years where this has ended in both horses and people being injured, and sometimes severely. The law technically prohibits honking when behind a horse but anybody who’s walked the streets of New York knows that this means nothing — everybody honks, and traffic moves fast.

When they can no longer drag thousands of pounds through the streets every day, the horses are frequently sold for slaughter. It takes only four to five years for many to reach this point, as they are often brought in with pre-existing injuries or arthritis after working on racetracks and farms. Comparatively, police horses have a life span of up to 15 years.

As a long heralded iconic part of New York City, the major argument for preserving the carriage horses is that they are vital to the city’s tourism industry and as such, provide jobs for approximately 300 carriage operators. Fortunately, there is a solution that would ensure jobs for workers in the carriage horse industry — with potential for higher wages — while continuing to provide rides for tourists. NYClass has proposed legislation, known as Intro 86A, that would see the horses swapped for vintage replica electric cars, not unlike those featured in The Great Gatsby.

One look at these environmentally friendly vehicles and it’s easy to see that the romance of the experience would not only be preserved, but enhanced. London, Paris, Toronto, Las Vegas, Santa Fe and Palm Beach in Florida have all successfully banned horse-drawn carriages without any major damage to tourism.

The good news is that you can choose to support the abolition of horse abuse whether you vote as a Democrat or a Republican. Four candidates have spoken openly in direct support of replacing the long abused carriage horses with electric-powered replicas of classic cars: Bill de Blasio, Bill Thompson and John Liu, of the Democrats, and Joseph Lhota, of the Republicans.

Several candidates have expressed neutral but ultimately unsupportive opinions regarding the horses. John Catsimatidis has offered, somewhat bizarrely, to send the horses to Central Park Zoo on their retirement, but said he would not abolish the practice. Meanwhile, Sal F. Albanese appears ultimately disinterested in the horses at all, citing his priorities as creating jobs. Mayor Bloomberg says the horses are lucky to have a job and to be alive at all. Interestingly, his daughter Georgina Bloomberg has disagreed and said she doesn’t believe the horses are kept in the best condition.

In May this year, the prominent activist group NYClass announced that they have “literally every major mayoral candidate but Christine Quinn on board to end the inhumane horse carriage industry in New York.” Democratic candidate Christine Quinn, despite claiming to be an animal lover, has actively blocked multiple animal protection bills since 2006. This includes legislature to bring carriage horses off the streets, to install fire sprinklers in pet stores and to increase desperately needed funding for New York City’s animal shelters. NYClass, a predominantly liberal group, has even gone so far as to consider supporting Republican candidate Joseph Lhota over Christine Quinn.

If you are a New York City resident, you are eligible to vote in the upcoming mayoral election. If you aren’t a resident, you can still write to the elected candidate (or current Mayor, Michael Bloomberg) to let them know that you support Intro 86A. I encourage you to use your power and speak up. As Anna Sewell wrote in Black Beauty, “My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt.”

To learn more, visit NYClass.org and BanHDC.org.

Organizer Erica Settino expects a good showing of Long Islanders as well as folks from NYC and New Jersey to make it to the event, the purpose of which is to build community and encourage attendees to “make the connection,” principles on which Settino founded non-profit Karuna for Animals. All proceeds from the event will be going to the organization.

For attendees eager to try or who are fans of 3 Brothers Pizza Cafe Farmingdale’s vegan offerings, some of those favorites will be sold by Jay Astafa from 2pm-6:30pm (cash only). Jay will be preparing the food in an open kitchen since logistics issues is preventing the event from having originally scheduled live cooking demos. Astafa also recently posted his menu on the event’s Facebook page.

Admission to the event,  which will take place indoors and outdoors, costs $5 for adults and is free for children under 12, who can enjoy a playground on premise plus a kiddie corner with face painting, crafts and music. Details on location and the schedule of events can be found on Karuna’s website. For those traveling via public transportation, head to the Huntington LIRR station and take a cab.

Brooklyn vegans are gearing up for another Vegan Shop-Up this Saturday, July 13th at Pine Box Rock Shop in Bushwick from Noon – 6pm. Get your post-brunch shopping on, enjoy a bloody mary or three and spend your hard earned cash on food, eco-friendly clothing, handbags, body care and much more. Plus, admission is free! The event gets busy fast and space is tight, so arrive early. Just hop on the L train to Morgan Ave.

Whoever makes these Vegan Shop-Up flyers has been killing it recently. Look at that funky lettuce! It totally doesn’t have to worry about sharks.