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I discovered a new vegan food that I really like.
Pecan pie.
Amazingly, I didn’t even know this existed as recently as Saturday, or that some consider it a Thanksgiving dessert.
My gosh, what an uninformed childhood I had – I ate animals, never had pecan pie (or pecans, for that matter)….
This pecan pie stuff is amazing.
The first one I had was at Christine’s Vegan Baking Class in SF on Saturday. I was hooked! Then Oli made a chocolate pecan pie. Just as I was raving how good it was, and he was kindly offering me the recipe, Alex laughed (at both of us) and said it was already on our website. So, really, I could have been having pecan pie since Febuary. Well, now I have 2 yummy pecan pie recipes and I just need some pecans…..
That’s the beauty of getting together with new and old friends and everyone brings a vegan dish to share – the opportunity to try a lot of fantastic new dishes. Nearly two decades of vegan living and I’m still discovering new foods — makes me laugh at the thought of someone asking me “What do vegans eat?”
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They did it. Corporations, industry groups and the politicians that represent them rushed through legislation labeling activists as “terrorists” on the first day back from Congressional recess. Just moments ago the House passed the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act as part of the suspension calendar: in other words it was put on a list of non-controversial bills to pass with one swoop by voice vote.
Here’s a really good write-up summarizing the ‘debate’ in the Senate today.
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I’ve gotten alerts from several organizations this morning or late yesterday about AETA. I am repeating here the content primarily from the alert issued by Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
The House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill that could stop people from protesting or speaking out about cruelty to animals. While the bill takes aim against violent protests, it could also be interpreted to ban even peaceful protests, letter-writing, or leafleting that make animal abusers feel “intimidated” or “harassed.” It would even eliminate the kinds of undercover investigations that have revealed the cruelties in laboratories and farms.
H.R. 4239, misnamed the “Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act” was pushed by those who run farms, circuses, rodeos, and testing labs, and it sailed through the Senate. It is now before the House of Representatives in what is called the “suspension calendar,” a list of bills that the Representatives believe have no opposition. Learn more about the AETA.
The vote could take place as early as Monday. But we can stop this bill if you call your Representative first thing. All you have to do is to say this bill goes way too far, and that it needs to be pulled off the suspension calendar.
Here’s how you can help:
1) Call your representative direct on Monday (or use the switchboard 202-225-3121)
2) Send a follow-up e-mail.
3) Forward this information to your family and friends.
Remember, all contact info is at http://www.house.gov
The AETA has already passed in the Senate. The House of Representatives has not heard enough opposition to keep it off the calendar with bills considered uncontroversial. Unless Congressmembers hear that this bill undermines First Amendment rights, the majority may vote for passage as soon as Congress reconvenes tomorrow, Nov. 13.
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For more information on AETA and the organizations opposing it, visit
http://noaeta.org/
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My back aches from packing the literature for leafleting on Saturday. Am I just getting old? Well, that could be part of it … but, in all honesty, my aching back stems from (over)loading my pack with 30 lbs of literature, being a computer potato for my 40 hours a week at my day job, never being able to really carry 30 lbs on my back, and carrying the pack (which, although I had dispursed some literature to the four other volunteers, wasn’t as light as I thought it was) for the duration of leafleting.
But I think my slightly aching back doesn’t compare to the misery of the animals confined in intensive agricultural facilities. After a day or two, I’ll have forgotten all about it, while the animals will still be there. I don’t dwell on it. To dwell on it would make me miserable. And I think I can be more effective leafleting than dwelling.
The goal of Saturday’s leafleting jaunt was to distribute turkey-free Thanksgiving recipes (from Farm Sanctuary) along with a flyer about Turkeys (some from Farm Sanctuary, some from PETA). We also distributed Vegan Outreach’s Even If You Like Meat booklet. I briefly toyed with the idea of using PETA’s Vegetarian Starter Kit instead of EIYLM, the advantage being one booklet and it has recipes and similar info on factory farming. However, as I was schlepping everything on my own, via public transit, and the VSK is twice the size and weight of the EIYLM, that idea became a castaway quickly.
Two of us handed out EIYLM booklets while the other three distributed turkey-free recipes paired with a flyer about how turkeys are raised and slaughtered. The EIYLM was created based on the “I like meat” reactions from the original “Why Vegan” and “Try Vegetarian” booklets.
I chose the EIYLM booklets, partly because they weighed the most and I was carrying the pack, and partly because the cover of the booklet, showing the confined animals, communicates a message even when people don’t take the booklet.
Verbal reactions that I received ranged from “I already have that” to “No thanks” to “Oh, how sad” to the sarcastic “I like caged animals”.
I like to think the 500 pieces of literature we distributed made a difference. That it brought awareness to someone who was unaware that this was happening, that it solidified vague tendencies towards veg*nism to becoming veg*n. When I reflect on why I wasn’t a vegan earlier, it’s simply because I didn’t know. So now I want to share what I learned with others.
