7 Foods So Unsafe Even Farmers Won’t Eat Them

1. Canned Tomatoes

2. Corn-Fed Beef

3. Microwave Popcorn

4. Conventionally Grown (Not Organic) Potatoes

5. Farmed Salmon

6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones

7. Conventional Apples

Go here to read the entire article.

Foer, author of Eating Animals (currently on my “to read” list) went on The Colbert Report to talk about the new book and did a great job going head to head with the likes of Colbert.  He was able to get in a lot of good information on the state of our farming system and how bad it is for the animals and for us (without coming off as a douchy vegan fanatic).  Of course it didn’t stop Stephen from using bacon as a bookmark in the book, but would we expect any less?  It was awesome to see a vegan author on such a mainstream show.

I tried to embed the video here, but it isn’t working.  You can watch it on Colbert Nation.

Head of leaf lettuce (sooo fresh)
Five tomatoes
Red seedless grapes (the best I’ve tasted since summer)
One avocado
Two cucumbers
Bag of fuji apples
Bunch of bananas
One white onion
Three Idaho potatoes
One sweet potato
Head of cauliflower
One bunch of asparagus
Two bags of baby carrots
One mango
Two large leeks
A block of tofu (for under $2!)
Two cartons of vegetable broth (low sodium even)
Two dinner rolls
A package of potato and spinach Gnocci
A container of Asian snack mix

There might have been more, but that’s what I can remember off the top of my head.  I’m not someone who really knows what good prices are for things like produce, but I have to believe that $25 for all of this is a steal.  So if you live in the North Jersey area you have to check this place out.  It’s a little hard to find, but if you’re on 46 east it is after the 23/80 interchange and in the same turn off as the Saturn dealer.  Drive toward the dealer and then keep heading back and you’ll find it.  It looks a little sketchy but it’s worth it.  Happy shopping!

I myself have not been able to see Food, Inc. yet (although I have heard all about it), but I recently saw The Cove at Tribeca Cinemas and found it shocking and moving.  I was on the verge of tears multiple times.  The director was at the screening and he is a first time filmmaker!  The whole process they went through just to make the film was absolutely extraordinary.  I highly recommend seeing this movie.

in my heart

This is the necklace I got at a vegan/eco-fashion sample sale in Manhattan on Saturday.  It is from Vaute Couture which specializes in vegan coats, but also sells some eco-friendly t-shirts and jewelry as well.  Unfortunately, none of the coats were cut right for me, but this piece caught my eye.  I knew I had to have it when the designer told me that she was inspired by the e.e. cumming’s poem “i carry your heart with me” which is one of my all time favorites.  The sheep is also perfect since you’ll remember (if you’ve been following along) it is the animal I “adopted” from Farm Sanctuary, which also benefits from all sales of this coat.

For more information on this necklace or to order one, go here.
To follow Leanne (the designer)’s blog, go here.

(Note: They also make the coat worn a couple times this season by Emily Deschanel on Bones.  According to the designer, she should be wearing it again in this week’s ep.)

“If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat?…I love meat. I eat pork chops, thick bacon burgers, and the seared fatty edges of a medium-well-done steak. But I especially love moose and caribou. I always remind people from outside our state that there’s plenty of room for all Alaska’s animals — right next to the mashed potatoes.”

-Sarah Palin, Going Rogue (source)

Why does it sound like this book was written by a bad stand up comic from the 80s?

*goes and stands in front of a brick wall*

You know what there also seems to be room for next to your mashed potatoes Ms. Palin? A heart attack, obesity, global warming, wildlife destruction, cruelty and ignorance. Amiright people?! Y’all know what I’m talking about.

*cue polite laughter*

I hope everyone else has a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!

And if you’re looking for something to do this weekend go see The Cove at the Angelika in NYC for me.  Or find it in another city near you.  It’s supposed to be an amazing docmentary about the, until now, unknown and brutal killing of dolphins in a cove in Japan every year.

Good Idea: Dressing up as Hitler for a magazine. Hmm. No. Let’s try that again. Shooting your mouth off about things you don’t know anything about. Wait. Not a good idea. Uhhhhh. Having a really great sitcom from the 80s! Yea, that’s a good idea!

Bad Idea: Lumping a whole group of people into some very specific categories that includes drug addicts, cancer hopefuls and Nickelback fans. Here’s what she had to say:

“Vegans are all coke-sniffing, cigarette-smoking faux socialists who listen to music that has no melody at all, so fuck them.”

Which reminds me, where did I put that coke I bought yesterday? Oh, that’s right, it’s in the pages of my People Who Used to be Socially Relevant but Now Need to Say Stupid Shit in Order to Get Attention Quarterly.  Phew!  That was a close one.

Now off to read some Karl Marx…

(Original Sources: Ecorazzi and Girlie Girl Army)

“Think about the generations and to say we want to make it a better world for our children and our children’s children. So that they know it’s a better world for them; and think that they can make it a better place.”  -Spoken intro to “Heal the World”

I would be remiss in not doing an entry to commemorate the passing of Michael Jackson yesterday.  Not only was he an immensely talented artist, but he used his music to reach across the borders of race, express frustration at our senseless hatred of one another and question the negative impact we are having on the earth (long before being green and eco-friendly was in style).  Although his image has been marred by rumors and allegations that at times seemed to be undeniable, his talent, charity and sheer iconography will hopefully be what lives on the most.

Personally, I have been a fan of Jackson’s music since my aunt first let me have her tape of “Off the Wall.”  I was probably 5 or 6 at the time.  Like most dancers, I have danced my way (both in my basement and on actual stages) though much of his music, my favorite number being a lyrical production to a compilation of his songs choreographed by my dance teachers that ended with “Heal the World.”  I got chills every time we did that dance and still when I watch it on video.  I wish I were able to upload it to share.  Instead, here is the version of “Heal the World” from the 1993 Superbowl, as well as the video for “Earth Song.”  Two songs where Jackson made it clear the way he felt about how we should be treating each other and the world.