After reading this depressing story about over a thousand chickens that fell off a truck on the way to the slaughterhouse (oh, excuse me, “processing plant”) and seeing this quote:

“We only lost a couple hundred,” said Dan Koplik, an operations manager at the Murray’s Chicken plant in South Fallsburg, N.Y. “We’ve had worse spills.”

I began to think about a blog entry my friend Scott wrote a couple years ago. It’s one of those things that’s stuck with me:

Another mile up the ride I actually saw a chicken fall off the truck and land on the side of the road. The animal had a look of amazing fear in it’s eyes, and I could see by the way she had landed that her legs had been broken in the fall.

…

Right now all the crap I have ever had to take for my beliefs and dietary choices was worth it. None of those animals will be on my plate this evening or probably ever again. I don’t contribute to senseless killing.

Ironically, the article states that “According to the company’s Web site, Murray’s Chickens has made its mark as a purveyor of naturally raised chickens raised in an environment that qualified the company as Certified Humane.”

Just another reminder that “Certified Humane” doesn’t mean jack.

Hey, it’s Friday, I’m allowed to post a link to an adorable picture of a dog and a baby deer napping together, right?

Veg Blog reader Micha Hershman has just started a new blog titled Relish! - Enthusiastically eating in and around Ann Arbor. It’s about… well, if you need me to explain, you might want to check your B-12 levels.

Even though the blog isn’t veggie-specific, it’s got a very heavy vegetarian slant,” says Micha. I believe him.

He’s gotten off to a good start, particularly with a really handy find: Organizing Your Refrigerator and Freezer. A handful of simple tips about where to store different types of food in your fridge to best extend their shelf life. The one I always forget (but have, thankfully, guess right about) is listed: vegetables in the “high humidity” drawer and fruit in the “low humidity” drawer.

I ended up cutting and pasting all the info into a Word doc and then trimming it down to one page to put on my fridge. Want a copy? Here’s a PDF.

This is a little creation born from the lack of store-bought salad dressing in my fridge. It’s a very simple dressing, but I was surprised at the kick it had. The flavor comes from the balsamic vinegar, which blends well with the slightly sweet taste of the seasoned rice vinegar.

The measurements are far from exact, so feel free to adjust as necessary. It will coat 2-3 good size salads.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• a splash of balsamic vinegar
• a splash of shoyu (or tamari) sauce
• a quick shake of dried basil
• 1 clove pressed garlic

Directions

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Pour just enough on the salad to coat the leaves.

Source: VegBlog.org

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Sheep put brave face on stress

Scientists at the Babraham Institute in the eastern English city of Cambridge discovered that when sheep were isolated, showing them faces of familiar sheep helped to soothe them.

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When the sheep were shown faces of sheep familiar to them, they became less stressed, and showed fewer signs of agitation than when they were shown goat faces or triangles, researchers found, according the UK’s Press Association.

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The researchers were conducting more tests on the sheep by showing them videos of sheep with different facial expressions, to see what effect this has on their stress levels.

While these tests don’t sound nearly as cruel as most animal experiments, is this really something researchers need to be studying?

The new head of HSUS, Wayne Pacelle, was a guest on today’s Diane Rehm Show on NPR. I only got a chance to hear a few minutes of it in the car, but Pacelle struck me as a well-spoken, respectable guy that is determined to shake things up and put pressure on those causing the inhumane treatment of animals (including farm animals). Give it a listen.

(Interesting side note: when searching on “Wayne Pacelle” to find the above link, Google’s first result was this page… looks familiar!)

The Morning News has a funny take on various popular diets which, of course, covers vegetarianism/veganism:

Fun with food and politics! “Vegetarians” don’t eat animals. No! They only eat non-animals (this includes french fries). “Vegans” don’t eat animals or, more significantly, things produced from animals. Such as urine.

(Vegetarian and vegan diets are usually considered healthy, as they’re very low in bones, which when swallowed can kill you.)

Vegetarians are generally cool people, so it would make sense you’d want to be part of the pack. And here’s a helpful tip: You can claim to be a “vegetarian” and still eat fish. And chicken. And, you know, really lean red meat. Your vegetarian friends will be so proud you’ve one of the gang, they’re bound to look over all the hooves in your garbage.

Veganism, on the other hand, is pretty tough to fake. Plus they know how to fight. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Good stuff.

(via Paul)

In the “Why Does This Type of Thing Even Exist” category: 105-pound woman wins the World Lobster Eating Contest by wolfing down 38 lobsters in 12 minutes.

Over on VeggieBoards, there’s a recently resurrected lengthy discussion about “good hearted omnis,” those meat-eating friends and family members that go out of their way to make sure that your crazy veggie needs are accounted for. And for all the annoying, “Mmmm… meat tastes so good!” comment that a vegetarian endures, there are plenty of people in our lives who will go out of their way to make sure that we have something to eat or don’t feel uncomfortable in large groups.

I’m fortunate in that I have a number of people in my life that always make sure I’m covered when it comes to food, and they’re the ones that keep me from becoming a bitter vegetarian. My wife, as I’ve mentioned, still eats meat, but at home we never have any in the house. She’s become a great label-reader and will keep her eyes out for all the crazy little ingredients like whey or casein. One of her favorite phrases is, “This has ‘natural flavorings’ in it, so you may not want to eat it…”

Similarly, while my parents still eat meat, they’ve cut down substantially on the amount for health reasons. But when I visit, my mom’s always found a good veggie dish to make (and will gladly make a vegan version of something for me if I ask) and when we go out to eat, I’ve noticed that my mom often orders what I have even though I don’t openly criticize anyone’s meal choices at the table. :)

And on top of that, I’ve got countless friends that are inquisitive about veg*nism and are even anxious to try out new veggie foods. Fortunately, most of them seem to appreciate Indian or Asian foods (which makes eating out with them much easier) and enjoy the challenge of cooking without eggs, dairy, or meat.

I’m also glad that even though they know they’ll be eating vegan when they come over, that friends and family don’t seem to avoid visiting for that reason. Perhaps my greatest achievement came when I served a family friend a piece of vegan cheesecake I had made and though he tried it with a bit of hesitation, he went back for seconds before anybody else.

Even co-workers have become more understanding over time. A few months back, a co-worker was going out to buy ice cream for for an ice cream social at my work and I jokingly said to her, “Are you going to get some soy ice cream?” And she did! Another co-worker seemed to look to me for acceptance when she told me the other day, “Hey, I kind of like tofu now!” I wasn’t sure if I should touch her head and say, “That is good, my follower, you have my blessing. You may go now.”

It really does show you what a person’s really like when it comes to acknowledging and respecting differences. I know I was kind of an ignorant ass to vegetarians before I became one, so I definitely notice and appreciate when a non-vegetarian is especially understanding.

So, to all of my friends and family that don’t make me feel like a freak when it comes time to eat, consider this a very appreciative “thank you.”

“I’m a vegetarian, because I don’t want to kill things to eat.”

Surprising fact: horror director Dario Argento is vegetarian.