Update, 5/19/09:

Stephanie (of the Animal Rights blog at Change.org) also wrote about That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals, and the importance of children’s books in fostering compassion in the next generation. Check it out – as a former nanny, her thoughts on this are quite relevant. (Me, I don’t even have so much as a niece or nephew, and haven’t really been around a young’un for twenty years or so!)

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A few days ago – possibly while browsing Vegan Dad’s archives in search of yummy vegan recipes – I stumbled upon a link to That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals: A Site About Vegans, Vegetarians, and all Living Things. Populated by whimsical drawings of chickens, pigs, cows, dolphins and bugs, and aimed at the naturally animal-loving training wheels set, TWWDEA, is so ridiculously cute that it kind of makes me want to be a kid again.

Better yet, the website’s actually a supplement to an upcoming children’s book by author/artist/teacher Ruby Roth (who herself is a bundle of vegan cuteness) called That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals: A Site About Vegans, Vegetarians, and all Living Things.

That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals takes a candid, compassionate look at the plight of animals on factory farms, using gorgeous artwork and lively text to introduce vegetarianism and veganism to early readers.

An endearing cast of animals is shown both in their natural state—rooting around, bonding, nuzzling, cuddling, grooming one another, and charming each other with their family instincts and rituals—and in the sad conditions of the factory farm. The book also addresses the effect eating animals has on our environment, rainforests, and endangered species. At the end, a section entitled “What Else Can We Do?” suggests ways children can learn more about the vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.

The boldest step yet in children’s literature, this heartfelt, informative book offers a key resource to inspire parents and children to talk about a timely, increasingly important subject.

Ms. Roth explains the genesis and gist of the book in this video, also available on the site:

The book is geared towards kids aged 4 to 10, and has received endorsements from an impressive and lengthy list of advocates and activists, including Jane Goodall (herself quite the children’s writer/educator), Alicia Silverstone, John Robbins, Ed Begley, Jr., Ingrid Newkirk and Rory Freedman.

You can view more of Ms. Roth’s artwork on her Flickr stream, where she shares some super-sweet bumper sticker style drawings. They’re all adorable, but I especially love this one:

Probably due in no small part to my recent thoughts on animal agriculture and its effects on the parent/child bond, which is as strong (if not more so) in many non-human animal species as it is in homo sapiens.

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Photo via Farm Sanctuary & Connie Pugh; Farm Sanctuary supporter Rosebud makes peace with Calvin Pig at the 2008 CA Country Hoe Down.

If you find yourself in or around Orland, California this weekend, consider yourself one lucky activist! Farm Sanctuary is holding its annual Country Hoe Down this Saturday and Sunday. Writers, journalists and bloggers in particular should plan to be there, as there appear to be plenty of opportunities for interviews and networking!

Just be sure to have enough fun for the both of us; the animal advocacy community rarely holds its events in Kansas City, even though the city is technically located smack dab in the middle of the country. Sniff, sniff.

(You can view photos of previous Farm Sanctuary events here, btw.)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Meredith Turner
Date: Thu, May 14, 2009 at 7:38 PM
Subject: You’re Invited! Farm Sanctuary’s Country Hoe Down THIS WEEKEND!

Have plans for the weekend? Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, would like to invite you to attend/cover our annual Country Hoe Down at our Orland, CA Shelter this Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17. If you’ve never visited our farm, this whimsical two-day event is the perfect time to come out, meet the hundreds of rescued animals who call it home and enjoy a rejuvenating taste of the country life!

Please let me know if you would like to join us for a day of hayrides, farm tours, fascinating speaker presentations, delicious food, drinks, live music and an evening barn dance you won’t soon forget! For more information, please see the press release below. Gene Baur, Farm Sanctuary’s president and co-founder, will be available for interviews. We look forward to seeing you there!

All the best,

Meredith

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Action Alerts: Animal & Environmental Advocacy

Animals Australia: Help End Jumps Racing Carnage

CREDO Action: Support the EPA’s Stand Against Big Oil and Coal

Earthjustice: Tell EPA to Protect Endangered Salmon from Toxic Pesticides

Farm Sanctuary: Massachusetts: It’s time to give farm animals room to move!

Farm Sanctuary: Rhode Island: It’s time to give farm animals room to move!

Farm Sanctuary: New York: It’s time to give farm animals room to stretch their limbs

Farm Sanctuary: California: Stop Battery Caged Eggs from Entering the State

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Boycott “Hurtful Essences” Shampoo

Irreplaceable: Irreplaceable goes to Washington – Help Us Reach Congress! Contact your U.S. House and Senate Members Today!

Kinship Circle: 5/10/09 – CA Fires – Send Supplies/Donations for Animals

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Do you honestly not see the irony in using a speciesist phrase like “dog eat dog” to introduce a heartwarming story that, in fact, demonstrates the exact opposite: that canines are complex animals who display a range of emotions and behaviors, including altruism, selflessness, bravery, friendship and love? “Dog is eat” is a prejudiced and hateful term that should be abolished from the human lexicon. Should you find yourself in need of an appropriate substitute, “human eat human,” “human eat dog,” or “human eats everything” may all suffice.

And also, re: your censorship of the injured dog – really? Methinks that the “food” on 99.9% of your viewers’ dinner plates was more gruesome, offensive and disturbing than the remote sight of a broken and bloodied* – but ultimately rescued – dog. There is no such redemption for the eight (give or take; no one knows for sure) murdered, dismembered, ground and processed cows in a “beef patty,” for example.

Otherwise, a beautiful piece.

Regards,

- A grumpy vegan and adopted mom to six furkids

* I first spotted this story on AC 360, where the sight of the injured dog was not blurred from sight. It was upsetting, but again, much less so than, say, the sight of a butcher carving up an animal corpse, which any man, woman or child can take in at more than a few grocery stores.

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My totally awesome mother gifted me a soft serve ice cream maker this past FSMas. It’s a mid-level Cuisinart, the “Cuisinart Ice-45 Mix-It-In Soft-Serve 1-1/2-Quart Ice-Cream Maker.” (You can view the specs here.) Probably this is the part where I should offer a review, but I’ve only used the machine a few times. So far, no complaints: it’s easy to use and clean, works like a charm, and one batch of ice cream is enough for two large servings as well as a pint of leftovers.

Also, methinks the choice of a soft serve machine over a traditional ice cream machine was a wise one, as it offers increased flexibility: if you find yourself craving hard, frozen ice cream, simply make yourself a batch of soft serve and store it in the freezer for an hour or two before serving. Or, mix up several batches at once and store ‘em in the freezer for later. (I knew there was a reason I saved all those Tofutti containers!)

Thus far, Shane and I have only made three batches of ice cream; between the cold weather and the dearth of vegan ice cream (machine) recipes on the internets, we got off to a rather slow start. Now that we’ve got the hang of it, though – thanks in no small part to the blog A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise – I imagine we’ll soon be mixing ice cream like a couple of sweet-toothed mofos.

Our first foray into DIY vegan ice cream came in the form of this banana ice cream recipe from VegWeb.

Super-yummy, though very sweet. I’m sure the extra-ripe bananas didn’t much help on that front!

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A few months back, Vegan Chic (formerly known as Vegetarian Shoes and Bags) contacted me about doing a link exchange and asked if I’d like to review a product from their spring line. Whee! Free shoes! Who could resist? Not I!

The link exchange was easy enough, particularly since I’d already included the company – under the old name and URL – in the “online vendors” category of my blogroll. (I’d link to the category, but Shane hasn’t set up the permalinks yet. Drats. Just look to your right, and down.)

Unfortunately, it’s taken me much, much too long to review the shoes, for which I apologize to Jessica and Chris profusely. My mailing address is a PO Box, and as it’s a good 25-minute drive from my home, I don’t always make it down there on a weekly basis. And of course, by the time I retrieved the shoes (or rather, sent the Mr. to do so), I was out of commish for a few weeks while my immune system struggled to overcome (succumb to?) the attack of the Killer Juniper Trees. But it’s still May, and seeing as these cuties are for spring/summer wear, I’m right on time!

So. The shoes!

Allow me to introduce you to the Ines by Neuaura:

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