October 2009

In this edition... Editor's Note    A difference of one Health    E. Coli path shows flaws in beef inspection    Red and processed meat increases risk of prostate cancer    Swine flu discovered in Canadian turkey flock    Want to prevent kidney stones? Watch your diet    Study: No major role for fish in prevention of heart failure Environment and World Hunger    Eating local is eco-friendly, as long as it's low on the food chain too    Study reveals Japanese feasting on endangered whales    Meatless days good idea for healthy life, healthy planet    Hunger hurts also the well-fed    Killing fields: The true cost of Europe's cheap meat Lifestyles and Trends    Veggie experiences: Against meat - the fruits of family trees    'Food map' offers rich pickings in city    'Vegan for a Month' challenge surprises bloggers    'Ecokosher' is finding a place at the table    Who you callin' vegangelical? Animal Issues and Advocacy    You've got a friend in me: Lessons in love I learned at the fair    How bald chickens help troubled kids    A newborn lamb is saved, even as its mom is led to slaughter    Animal sentience: Pigs use mirrors to find hidden food    Animal emotions, animal sentience, animal welfare, and animal rights    Are animals entitled to the same respect and rights as humans? Of Note - Recipes, Videos, Calls to Action and More   Don't forget to visit: (Excerpts are included from current news stories. Click on the "Full story" link to read the full article.)   Editor's Note     A difference of one Once again a story of farm animal rescue has brought me to tears (see: "You've got a friend in me" under Animal Issues). Of all the difficult stories I read in preparing VegE-News each month, it is these essentially happy stories of the saving and sanctuary of one animal that I find the hardest. I know that every single one of the ten billion plus animals - twenty-eight million a day slaughtered in North America each year, not to mention around the world - would fight to live. If given the chance, he or she would gambol in a field, greet their fellow creatures with a snort or a nuzzle, and lift their faces to feel the sun and the wind. Yet, even as I despair for the many, I am thankful for each one saved. My sister recently sent me an old black & white photo of her, my brother and me as children. My siblings were smiling angelically, while I had my mouth open and my fist raised, as if in protest. In truth, their smiles belied the reality, for we have all grown up to be outspoken against injustice. It was my sister, in fact, who led me to veganism, through her example, and perhaps a little verbal nudging. I am reminded that our daily lives make a difference, not least in the example we set. "The question is not 'can you make a difference?' You already do make a difference. It's just a matter of what kind of difference you want to make, during your life on this planet." - Julia Butterfly Hill     Health     E. Coli path shows flaws in beef inspection Full story: New York Times Stephanie Smith, a children's dance instructor, thought she had a stomach virus. The aches and cramping were tolerable that first day, and she finished her classes. Then her diarrhea turned bloody. Her kidneys shut down. Seizures knocked her unconscious. The convulsions grew so relentless that doctors had to put her in a coma for nine weeks. When she emerged, she could no longer walk. The affliction had ravaged her nervous system and left her paralyzed. Ms. Smith, 22, was found to have a severe form of food-borne illness caused by E. coli, which Minnesota officials traced to the hamburger that her mother had grilled for their Sunday dinner in early fall 2007. "I ask myself every day, 'Why me?' and 'Why from a hamburger?' "Ms. Smith said. In the simplest terms, she ran out of luck in a food-safety game of chance whose rules and risks are not widely known. Neither the system meant to make the meat safe, nor the meat itself, is what consumers have been led to believe... Food scientists warn that federal guidance to cook meat thoroughly and to wash up afterward is not sufficient. New York Times - October 3 Related: Notes to the Times’ E. Coli investigation The Faster Times (October 9) Larry King show: Should Americans banish the burger? CNN - click link above the article for video of the show (October 13) Chef Anthony Bourdain: Coolness factor wearing thin Bourdain was one of the panelists on Larry King - Huffington Post (October 16) Red and processed meat increases risk of prostate cancer Full story: PCRM Meat consumption increases the risk of prostate cancer, according to a recent study looking at more than 175,000 men as part of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. The men who consumed the most red meat had a 30 per cent increased risk of cancer, compared with those who consumed the least. Processed red meat was associated with a 10 per cent increased risk of prostate cancer with every 10 grams (about one-third of an ounce) of increased intake. Researchers also investigated cooking method and content of heme iron and nitrites and nitrates for the various types of meat consumed. Heme iron intake, nitrite and nitrate consumption, and grilling and barbecuing all were associated with higher risk. PCRM - October 8 Swine flu discovered in Canadian turkey flock Full story: CTV, Canada Ontario Canada has confirmed a swine flu infection at a turkey breeding farm but health officials say it doesn't pose a threat to human health. No birds or eggs from the unidentified facility have entered the food chain since the turkeys were raised for breeder stock. There are no plans for a cull of the facility's turkey population as the birds are expected to recover. "Although rare, this finding is not unexpected. This essentially human virus has been indentified previously in swine and poultry," said Ontario's chief veterinarian, Dr. Deb Stark. "Our working hypothesis is that this situation likely involved human-to-bird transmission... We have to do all we can to stop the transmission of viruses between people and animals. The risk is the potential changes to the virus against which people could have reduced or no immunity." CTV, Canada - October 20 Want to prevent kidney stones? Watch your diet Full story: Science Centric Researchers have found another reason to eat well: a healthy diet helps prevent kidney stones. Loading up on fruits, vegetables, nuts, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains, while limiting salt, red and processed meats, and sweetened beverages is an effective way to ward off kidney stones, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). Because kidney stones are linked to higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, increased body weight, and other risk factors for heart disease, the findings have considerable health implications. [Surely no dairy would be even better.] Science Centric - August 14 Study: No major role for fish in prevention of heart failure Full story: Fars News Agency A two-decade-long study in Rotterdam has indicated that despite common beliefs, consumption of fish plays no major role in the prevention of heart failure. Results from a large prospective population study, which was started in 1990 and involved all men and women over the age of 55 living in a suburb of Rotterdam, found no difference in the risk of developing heart failure between those who did eat fish and those who didn't. The study is in the October issue of the European Journal of Heart Failure. Even for a high daily fish consumption of more than 20 grams a day there appeared no added protection against heart failure. Fars News Agency - October 11 More Health News: New heart disease findings suggest meatless meals could cut health care costs A scientific review finds that vegetarian and vegan diets more effectively than ‘lean meat’ approach in fight against America’s number one killer. - PCRM (October 8) Dr. McDougall on health care issues Dr. McDougall Newsletter (September)     Environment and World Hunger     Eating local is eco-friendly, as long as it's low on the food chain too Full story: Common Ground The push to "eat local" has far less impact on the environment compared with eating lower on the food chain. A central fact that some advocates of eating locally do not grasp is that eating chicken, beef or other animals involves the use of grains and beans that were transported hundreds and thousands of miles (even when they are partly grass-fed). While the cow may have been raised, and even slaughtered, close to where you live, its fodder was transported great distances, using plenty of fossil fuels or other types of energy. And it takes many pounds of the protein from grains and beans to produce a pound of beef protein. So if you think that eating local animals or farmed fish is a vote for the environment, think again. Your better choice is to eat locally baked whole grain bread and a steaming bowl of lentil or pea soup, comprised of several [local] ingredients. Tofu manufactured [locally] involves far fewer transported soybeans than the equivalent weight of meat from a locally raised cow. Common Ground - October 1 Related: Climate change and livestock farming pdf of slideshow from planetdiet.org - more slideshows at the website Study reveals Japanese feasting on endangered whales Full story: New Scientist A high proportion of the whale meat on sale in Japan comes from a population of north Pacific minke whales that some fear is under serious threat. The finding, from a forensic DNA study of meat bought on Japanese markets, suggests that either Japan's scientific whaling programme is taking more animals from this population than previously estimated, or accidental "by-catch" of the whales in fishing nets is larger than officially reported. This population is also being depleted by heavy by-catch from South Korean fishing. New Scientist - September 30 Meatless days good idea for healthy life, healthy planet Full story: News Record, University of Cinncinati Everyone has a beef with meat nowadays. One of the hottest trends in food is all about celebrating a lack thereof and puts omnivores in direct opposition with their favorite forbidden protein. Everyone who's anyone is going meatless. But fear not, they're only asking you to do it one day a week. Say hello, my friends, to Meatless Mondays. Organizations like the Monday Campaigns, in association with John Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health, are championing the non-profit initiative of spending our Mondays feasting on something other than animal protein. In the last 50 years, U.S. meat consumption has more than doubled and is expected to double again by 2050. Studies show it's killing us as well as the planet. News Record, University of Cinncinati - October 11 Related: Meatless Monday: Coming to a cafeteria near you? Reuters (October 5) Veggie day info from Ghent Belgium The city that started it all. Join the Meatless Monday movement In association with the John Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health Global "meat free" petition Hunger hurts also the well-fed Full story: IPS Ask food experts whether it is in the interest of well-fed people in wealthy countries to fight hunger, and most will say: Yes. There are many reasons why people not directly affected by food insecurity should consider it a problem, even taking moral considerations about social justice out of the equation. The most eye-catching is that in creating desperate people, hunger becomes a source of conflict and a threat to everyone's security... One NGO, War on Want, still believes the battleground should be social justice, not self- interest. "What we need is a less exploitative model of agriculture. Vast areas of the developing world are being turned over to cattle grazing, or soy for cattle or biofuels so the rich world can eat more meat and drive around in ecological cars when the priority should be ensuring there is enough affordable food for everyone." IPS - October 12 Killing fields: The true cost of Europe's cheap meat Full story: Ecologist Cheap meat has become a way of life in much of Europe, but the full price is being paid across Latin America, according to a new film. An investigation in Paraguay has discovered that vast plantations of soy, principally grown for use in intensively-farmed animal feed, are responsible for a catalogue of social and ecological problems, including the forced eviction of rural communities, landlessness, poverty, excessive use of pesticides, deforestation and rising food insecurity. The film, Killing Fields: The battle to feed factory farms - produced by a coalition of pressure groups including Friends of the Earth, Food and Water Watch - documents the experiences of some of those caught up in Paraguay's growing conflict over soy farming and reveals, for the first time, how intensive animal farming across the EU, including the UK, is fuelling the problem. Ecologist - October 13     Lifestyles and Trends     Veggie experiences: Against meat - the fruits of family trees Full story: New York Times Some of my happiest childhood memories are of sushi "lunch dates" with my mom, and eating my dad's turkey burgers with mustard and grilled onions at backyard celebrations, and of course my grandmother's chicken with carrots. Those occasions simply wouldn't have been the same without those foods - and that is important. To give up the taste of sushi, turkey or chicken is a loss that extends beyond giving up a pleasurable eating experience. Changing what we eat and letting tastes fade from memory create a kind of cultural loss, a forgetting. But perhaps this kind of forgetfulness is worth accepting - even worth cultivating (forgetting, too, can be cultivated). To remember my values, I need to lose certain tastes and find other handles for the memories that they once helped me carry. [A small excerpt from this moving article by author Jonathan Safran Foer's about his journey to vegetarianism, adapted from his new book "Eating Animals."] New York Times - October 11 'Food map' offers rich pickings in city Full story: New Zealand Herald An initiative started by an ecologically minded local is encouraging New Zealanders to use food resources that would otherwise go to waste. Three months ago Michael Brenndorfer set up the New Zealand fruit and food share map after reading about similar projects in the United States. Using Googlemaps, he created an interactive map showing people where they could find food growing in the city and invited them to add spots they knew of. Mr Brenndorfer founded the University of Auckland's Sustainability Network and is currently involved in setting up an organic food co-op for students and an on-site veggie garden. On Thursdays at the University of Auckland, Mr Brenndorfer serves a vegan lunch to a diverse group of about 180 students. "If people are serious about reducing climate change and our emissions, the main area we need to look at is our diet and a vegetarian or vegan diet has the lowest carbon footprint." New Zealand Herald - October 13 'Vegan for a Month' challenge surprises bloggers Full story: Tennessean.com, U.S. From National Pancake Month to Dachshund Day, every cause and creation seems to have its moment. But when we learned about National Vegan Month in September, we smelled a challenge like a wok of stir-fried tofu. Could we follow the lifestyle for a month? Five staffers at The Tennessean wanted to learn about the advantages and disadvantages firsthand. As we blogged about our experiences, we wondered about others in our community who have altered their lifestyle for their diet. We learned about their motivations, such as animal rights, health or the environment, and about their paths toward - or even away - from veganism. Tennessean.com, U.S. - September 30 'Ecokosher' is finding a place at the table Full story: Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, U.S. For centuries, rabbis have taught that the kitchen table is an altar. By this they mean that drawing food from the Earth, preparing it for the table, and eating it is part of a covenant with God - an understanding that we must not defile the Earth or ourselves. But a growing number of Jews are questioning whether the traditional Jewish dietary laws go far enough and are spawning a national, distinctly Jewish, food movement, with roots in Philadelphia, known as ecokosher... And, in a revolutionary effort, like-minded Jews nationwide are launching a new uber-kosher symbol that could appear on food products as early as next year - a symbol of ethical responsibility demonstrating a manufacturer's commitment to treating workers, animals, and the Earth with care. Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, U.S. - September 27 Related: Chief rabbis urged not to harm animals in Kapparot custom Ynet News (September 23) Judaism and vegetarianism Advocacy for Animals (September 28) Endearing chicken spared from ritual sacrifice Farm Sanctuary (September 28) Proof of pain leads to calls for ban on ritual slaughter The First Post, UK (October 16) Who you callin' vegangelical? Full story: Huffington Post Recently I've heard some perplexing criticisms of veganism. They go something like this: vegans are extremists, vegans are so preachy, veganism is like some fanatical religion, veganism is a cult. There obviously is some misunderstanding going on and I'd like to try and stamp out this issue once and for all. I realize I can't possibly speak for all vegans, but this is how I see it: First of all, veganism is clearly not some religion or cult. There is no Church of Vegan. Veganism is a philosophy. .. Since animals can't speak a language humans can understand (though I think the screams and terrified moans that fill slaughterhouses should be pretty much universal - all living beings want to live) it's up to us to tell their stories and inform people of the suffering that goes on conveniently out of the public eye... Veganism is the practical response to a social injustice. Instead of vegangelical, the word should be veganlogical. [Please click on the link and read the whole article - it is very compelling and a short excerpt can't do it justice.] Huffington Post - September 17     Animal Issues and Advocacy     You've got a friend in me: Lessons in love I learned at the fair Full story: Ventura County Star, CA, U.S. I looked in his eyes and just knew. This was magic. I felt a connection. It was love. I promised him I would be back, no matter what. He was a pig. I was the unlikeliest of pig rescuers. I am a sensible attorney, not a rabid animal rights person. Apart from some sporadic attempts at being a vegetarian, I was a meat-eater up until my chance encounter at the fair. All I knew at that time was that I loved him and wanted to try to save him. And to do that, I was going to have to buy him at auction... Willie was so happy to get to the Sanctuary. He greeted all the other pigs on his way to his run and made friends with his neighbors. To me, Willie is the sweetest, smartest, and cutest pig I have ever seen and, when I look in his eyes, I feel what I can only describe as a pig spirit there, something I am connecting with in a real way. But no doubt all pigs, when you take the time to know them, are just as sweet, just as special as Willie, which leads us to the larger question: Don't pigs and all living things deserve our love, our kindness, our help, and not our cruelty, our abuse, or our consumption? Life is strange. Sometimes it gives us chances to help others and, if we take them, it gives us so much more in return. Ultimately, I am writing this because this experience moved me in a real way. I am writing this because I hope my experience, as unexpected as it was, can illuminate some larger truths in life. Ventura County Star, CA, U.S. - August 31 How bald chickens help troubled kids Full story: Toronto Star They are miserable-looking creatures. Featherless, off-balance, skittish to the point of terror. Also, incredibly lucky. These are "rescue" chickens, formerly caged as egg producers in an unidentified industrial hatchery somewhere in southern Ontario [Canada]. They are more than a year old. This week, they trod on grass and felt the sun for the first time at Cobble Hills Farm Sanctuary. Rescue farms typically save horses or goats or other large animals. Cobble Hills' proprietor, Christen Shepherd, has a few of those. Now she's trying to save these chickens - which are perhaps the most wretched of all. These chickens are being used as therapy animals to treat a small group of children living in a nearby group home. Four boys, aged 8 to 12, visit the chickens once a week. These are kids in dire trouble, Crown wards so imperiled they cannot be identified in any way lest their own families figure out where they are. Shepherd thought interacting with the chickens might help teach the boys empathy. "But they were already so gentle with them, right from the start," she says. "They worry if the chickens are afraid or if a sweater is too tight." Now the kids come because it makes them happy. "When you see a chicken in the sunshine ... stretching its wings out," says Shepherd, "it's hard to deny a chicken that." [Video]. Toronto Star - October 8 A newborn lamb is saved, even as its mom is led to slaughter Full story: New York Times Blogs A newborn lamb was picked up from the back of a truck even as its mother, along with a hundred or so other sheep, was led to a slaughterhouse. The sad tale was a bit of a Dickensian variation on the more common theme of runaway animals. The lamb, who was named Angelo, was taken to an animal refuge - Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, N.Y. According to Farm Sanctuary, the lamb was discovered by Cindy Rexhaj who was shopping at an Italian market near the slaughterhouse as a truck pulled up to drop off its charges. Ms. Rexhaj walked over to the truck as the sheep were being unloaded and noticed that Angelo, an infant, was at risk of being trampled or left behind to starve. Another lamb in the truck had already been crushed to death. [Video of Angelo at Farm Sanctuary] New York Times Blogs - September 23 More Farm Sanctuary News: Interview with Gene Baur, founder of Farm Sanctuary CNN (October 2) Progress made - two new laws to protect farm animals Animal sentience: Pigs use mirrors to find hidden food Full story: Wired Science In just five hours, an average farm pig can learn how to interpret an image in the mirror and use it to find hidden food. Scientists consider the ability to use a mirror a sign of complex cognitive processing and an indication of a certain level of awareness. In addition to humans and some primates, dolphins, elephants, magpies and a famous African grey parrot named Alex have all been known to retrieve objects or remove marks on their body using a mirror. Now it looks like pigs should be added to the list of clever critters that can master a mirror: After spending five hours with a mirror in their pen, seven out of eight pigs could use the reflection to find a hidden bowl of grub. Combined with a host of other research studies demonstrating the keen intelligence of pigs, the researchers hope their study will lead to better treatment of the farm animals. "If an animal is clever," [the study author] wrote, "it is less likely to be treated as if it is an object or a machine to produce food, and more likely to be considered as an individual of value in itself." Wired Science - October 8 Related: The pig in the mirror Farm Sanctuary Blog (October 13) Animal emotions, animal sentience, animal welfare, and animal rights Full story: Psychology Today Blogs [By Marc Bekoff, author of several books including "Wild Justice" and "Animals Matter."] Many of my books and blogs have dealt with animal emotions and animal sentience. Now let's briefly consider the implications that follow from the conclusion that animals can indeed feel pain and experience deep emotions. If animals are able to suffer, then we must be careful not to cause them intentional and unnecessary pain and suffering, because it is morally wrong to do so. Of course, giving my dog Jethro a painful injection to cure his lung infection or to reduce the pain he occasionally felt from his badly arthritic leg would be permissible. The major point is that our starting must be that it is wrong to cause intentional and unnecessary pain unless there are compelling reasons to override this principle that are for the benefit for the individual animal... Often people wonder why those who they perceive to be concerned with the psychological and physical health of animals can't agree on solutions to existing problems. They believe that advocates of animal welfare and animal rights, those people interested in animal protection, will favor the same solutions. Often this isn't so. Psychology Today Blogs - September 24 Are animals entitled to the same respect and rights as humans? Full story: Vancouver Sun, BC, Canada Determining our relationship with [animals] requires an honest assessment of what we perceive them to be. Are they our property as Canadian laws seem to presuppose, allowing us to kill baby seals, destroy the environment to the point that polar bears are at risk, raise chickens in cages so small they can't turn around and use animals as spectacle even if it means that every year some die at rodeos and in zoos? Or, as sentient beings, are animals entitled to the same respect and rights as humans? Mid-spectrum are animal welfare advocates such as the humane societies, which support the responsible care of animals whether they are pets or used for food or work... With our bigger brains, we bear a greater responsibility to animals than declaring them equal and providing them with a bill of rights. As women and children around the world can attest, it's often not worth the paper it's written on. We need to find ways to share the planet, doing the least harm possible for all of the children - human and animal. Vancouver Sun, BC, Canada - September 24 More Animal Issues News & Videos: Chicks being ground up alive Comment and video - Huffington Post (September 1) Industry reaction to incriminating videos Comments and link to industry magazine Feedstuffs article - Vegan.com (September 28) Agribusiness wants cruelty investigators prosecuted Comments and links to industry magazine Drovers article - Vegan.com (October 2) Barn fires should be prevented Forty-six thousand, four hundred - that's the number of lives lost this year to date in reported barn fires across Canada. No, these are not human lives; they are animals, namely pigs, chickens, sheep, goats, cows, horses and rabbits. - Winnipeg Free Press, MB, Canada (September 9) Videos from Canadians for the Ethical Treatment of Food Animals: The Secret Lives of Sows A very powerful video - short and not too graphic for the faint of heart The Practice of Piglet PACing (Pounding Against Concrete) Again powerful, but we have to disagree with the video conclusion to buy from free-range farms. Though they have a better life, animals are still slaughtered under inhumane conditions. The Crisis of Barn Fires More investigative videos Vegan Outreach listing     Of Note - Recipes, Videos, Calls to Action and More     New recipes! JC Corcoran has sent me some great recipes to pass on - Crock Cheeze by (his new wife) Rae Sikora and Sloppy Joes by Zia Terhune. You can check them out on the VegE-News recipes page. Rae and JC are founders of Plant Peace Daily, providing workshops and other resources for a better, cruelty-free world. Along with Zia, they have started VegFund.org to spread the word about the joys of a plant based diet by helping fund the distribution of educational materials and vegan food at local events. What a great idea! VegFund invites everyone to join them in helping to change the world. VegE-News recipes and tips PlantPeaceDaily.org VegFund.org Thank YOU to our supporters! A huge thank you to subscribers who sent donations to help support VegE-News last month. We really appreciate your kind contributions. If each of our subscribers sent us one dollar a year - 8.3 cents a month - it would really assist us with production and distribution expenses. If you would like to help, please click below. Support VegE-News And thanks to our sponsors too VEGAN VOICE is a quarterly magazine based in Australia (but anyone anywhere can subscribe). It has informative and entertaining articles on veganism, animal rights, nutritional and environmental issues. Vegan Voice AMI Super Premium Vegan Pet Food offers nutritious and delicious food that's kind to the planet and fellow creatures. Popular in Europe, it has recently become available at retailers in Canada and the United States as well as over the internet. Find a retailer at the link below. AMI vegan pet food New blog from the vegan poet Marcia ‘Butterflies’ Katz, the Vegan Poet, has an informative and inspiring new blog - VEGANISM: A Truth Whose Time has Come! From vegan advocacy to the moving story of how a wounded butterfly had a profound impact on her life, the blog is worth checking out regularly. VEGANISM: A Truth Whose Time has Come! Video shorts Watch a very powerful speech by vegan lecturer Gary Yourofsky on animal rights and veganism recorded from Georgia Tech. There's also a VegSource conversation with author and animal advocate Jeff Masson and a link to a host of informative videos in the PCRM Food for Life TV archive. Gary Yourofsky's speech on animal rights and veganism A conversation with Jeff Masson PCRM Food for Life TV archive Calls to action In 2002, the Netherlands prohibited future biomedical research on chimpanzees and began releasing them into sanctuaries. The U.S. Congress now has an opportunity to do the same for U.S. chimpanzees. But the Great Ape Protection Act needs more congressional co-sponsors. If you are a U.S. citizen, PCRM is asking you to urge your representatives to join the dozens already co-sponsoring the bill. Great Ape Protection Act info An internal memo shows government officials in Canada urged the Agriculture Minister not to follow the United States and Europe in barring cat and dog fur from entering the country. The reason? Politicians fear a Canadian ban on cat and dog fur could weaken their efforts to overturn seal product bans in other countries, jeopardizing the cruel and unnecessary slaughter of baby seals. IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) is asking for your help to spread the word on this issue. IFAW on importing dog and cat fur The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) has deployed three veterinarian-led Disaster Assessment and Response Teams to bring aid to the animals left homeless and helpless after tragedy struck recently in the Philippines, Samoa and Indonesia. We are always grateful that WSPA (and IFAW that is also helping in flood situations) are there on the ground to complement the organizations that bring aid to the people involved in such disasters. WSPA IFAW - includes video footage Adopt-a-Turkey Project The holiday season brings family get-togethers, love, laughter - and, unfortunately, untold suffering for millions of turkeys. These gentle, curious animals are killed for meals that should be about compassion and caring, not suffering and death. Farm Sanctuary invites you to adopt a turkey, instead of eating one. A gift adoption is a great way for vegans to raise the issue. If you're in Orland CA, Watkins Glen NY, or NYC you can also attend a celebration for the turkeys on American Thanksgiving. Adopt-a-Turkey Project Farm Sanctuary Celebrations for the Turkeys World Go Vegan Week October 25-31, World Vegan Day November 1 The 4th annual World GO VEGAN Week is taking place this year from October 25 through 31. This week is a celebration of compassion and a time to take action for animals, the environment and everyone’s well-being. The week leads up to World Vegan Day on November 1. Find out more at the links below. World Go Vegan Week World Vegan Day Attention veggie organizations and members If you are a vegetarian organization that would like your own customized version of VegE-News, let us know. 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