Two Pleasant Surprises at The Mall

Today while shopping at one of my local malls, I was walking by a store called The Body Shop when several things in their window caught my eye and I was pleasantly surprised to see the following:

Yes, a mainstream store that is proudly proclaiming the fact that they are against animal testing and 100% vegetarian! I stopped in the store, where I found three lip gloss tubes for $10 (and they were made in the UK, not China!). At the register, they had a paper where you could put your name and e-mail address to receive information about efforts to end animal testing around the world. Naturally, I put my name down and they gave me a coupon as a thank you for doing so. When I got home, I looked at their website and found that the proceeds from some of their products are donated to charities dedicated to stopping child sex trafficking, domestic violence, and HIV awareness. Pretty awesome, isn't it?



A little while after I bought my lip glosses, I came across another store called LUSH. I saw on their sign that they sold handmade soaps and bath products. I love handmade soap, so I decided to take a look and see if any vegan soaps were available. As soon as I walked into the store, I saw several product signs with stickers that said "vegan" on them. In fact, about 98% of the products in the store were vegan (according to the store clerk, the few non-vegan items contained lanolin and honey). I was in heaven! I bought a bath bomb called "Phoenix Rising" ( purple color, apple cinnamon scent). I haven't tried it yet, but it smells wonderful. Another awesome thing about LUSH is that they take a VERY strong stand against animal testing and make every effort to ensure that their suppliers treat employees fairly. Here are two quotes from their website:

". For LUSH where we buy our ingredients from is the first opportunity we have for influence. One of our first priorities is to ensure the material and the company doesn't test on animals, a policy we've run for over a decade. We always try to deal direct with a producer if we can to get as close to growing or making it as possible. We are also fortunate in what we don't buy, for instance unnecessary packaging. By selling naked products you can afford products with the best quality ingredients and we save the garbage men a job. Really, it's about mutual respect. Respect for you and your wishes to buy great products with ethical and sustainable natural ingredients. It's respect for our suppliers, who have a right to earn a decent wage and it's respect for the environment that can provide the ingredients. It's not always an easy path and we have had plenty of hurdles but it is ultimately greatly rewarding and led us on some great adventures, too!" (https://www.lushusa.com/Ethical-Buying/about-buying-intro,en_US,pg.html)

and

"LUSH is firmly committed to a policy that not only inhibits testing our products and ingredients on animals, or engaging with third-party suppliers to do so on our behalf, but that also prohibits buying any ingredient from any supplier that tests any materials on any animals for any purpose. This policy is unique in the cosmetics world and is pioneering a new way to stop animal tests for cosmetics. LUSH runs a Supplier Specific Boycott Policy. By doing this, we give an economic incentive to suppliers and have convinced two companies to switch to cruelty free practices as a result. If a company will alter their practices, we will buy their goods." (https://www.lushusa.com/Against-animal-testing/about-animal-introduction,en_US,pg.html)

LUSH is headquartered in Canada, and their products are made in North America as well.

So if your looking for a alternative to the traitors known as Urban Decay (who recently had their "leaping bunny" certification REVOKED due to the fact that they are now selling in China, which requires them to test their products on animals. Check out this care2.com article for more info.) , you'll definitely want to give the Body Shop and LUSH a try. It's always feels good to know that you're supporting companies that are friendly to both people and animals.

Here are the companies websites:

The Body Shop:
http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/

LUSH
http://www.lushusa.com/

Book review: Animal Liberation.

 Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated the blog! In that time, I've been busy going to job interviews, volunteering, reading, and running my Etsy shop. I just wanted to write a short review of one of the books I just finished called "Animal Liberation" by Peter Singer. When reading this review, keep in mind that there have been several editions published over the years. This review pertains to the 1990 edition (it's a library book). Anyway, I found this book very informative. Mr. Singer is a philosopher and he presents a very good moral argument for animal rights. He begins the book by explaining how he became a vegetarian and presents his argument that humans and other animals should be given equal consideration. Next, he details many of the cruel experiments conducted by private labs and the government. What's really chilling is that much of the information in this chapter comes from direct quotes of the researchers themselves. He reveals several facts that the public at large isn't aware of: the fact that the vast majority of animal experiments are not considered important enough to warrant publication in the scientific journals, and the fact that many of the "experiments" done do not yield any new information. He gives an example of one experiment paid for by the US Public Health Service in which 33 dogs were put in a chamber heated to 113 degrees Fahrenheit and forced to exercise on a treadmill. 25 of the 33 dogs died. The survivors were put into a 122 degree chamber (without the treadmill) in which all but two of them died in 24 hours. The conclusion that they reached was that the outcome was consistent with all the previous literature on heat exposure and heat stroke in humans (which there was a lot of)! You can find the full description of the experiment on page 63.

In the next chapter, he explains (in graphic detail) exactly what happens on factory farms. This chapter is not for the squeamish, because he doesn't pull any punches! He describes the horrible conditions that cows, pigs, chickens, ect are forced to endure. He talks a great deal about battery cages, gestation crates, and the veal industry. The next time someone says "why don't you eat eggs/drink milk? No animals are harmed to get those", hand them the book and tell them to read chapter 3 and see how mistaken they are.

The fourth chapter is dedicated to the benefits of a vegetarian diet and how to make the transition. The only objection I have to this chapter is that he stops short of recommending veganism. While Mr. Singer does advise the reader to avoid dairy and battery eggs, he states that he sees nothing wrong with "free range" eggs. To his credit, Mr. Singer made a statement after this edition was published in which he said that he is slowly becoming more vegan as the years go by. Let's hope he becomes a full vegan soon!

The final two chapters deal with speciesism, or the belief that only humans have rights and that we can do whatever we want to animals. In these chapters, he explores how speciest thought has been ingrained in humans over the centuries and dismantles many speciest arguments.

Overall, I really liked the book. I feel that it has the potential to educate both devout steak lovers and veteran vegans.While some may argue about whether or not speciesism is as much of a concern as racism or sexism, one cannot argue that the farming and experimental methods described are beyond cruel. I highly recommend reading this book at least once. You can pick up the latest edition on Amazon.com

Have a happy hippie day!

Product Review: Kiss My Face Active Enzyme Deodorant

A few weeks ago, I was browsing one of my local independently owned natural food stores and I came across this deodorant. I've been looking for a natural, cruelty free alternative to the deodorants that I had been using, so I decided to give it a try. I have been using it for two days now and I am ready to tell you the pros and cons.

PROS

1. It clearly states on the back label that it is 100% vegan friendly (it's always great when you don't have to spend several minutes trying to decipher ingredients)!
2. No aluminum
3. No parabens
4. No propylene glycol
5. No artificial colors
6. It has the wonderful, distinctive scent of Patchouli Essential Oil
7. It's made in the USA.
8. It's 100% biodegradable.
9. Kiss My Face was founded and is owned by vegetarians.
10. There is a peace sign on the label (I am a hippie after all)!

CONS

1. It is NOT an anti-perspirant.
2. It's not as strong as my old deodorant.
3. It's  a bit expensive ($6 for ONE stick)

As far as performance goes, I give this deodorant 3 out of 5 stars. I've noticed that I can smell a bit of B.O. if I've been moderately active. If you naturally sweat a lot or plan to spend a lot of time outdoors in a hot climate this deodorant may not work for you. If you spend most of your time indoors, you might want to give it a try. Do I see myself buying again? Maybe, but only if I can't find another vegan deodorant that works better. Kiss My Face also makes a deodorant line called "Active Life" that comes in patchouli. I plan on trying that when this stick runs out. If that doesn't work any better, I will try another brand like J.A.S.O.N. That's my opinion.

Where to buy it:
1. Your local family owned health food store.
2. Amazon.com

Vegan Gift Guide Part 2.

Christmas is around the corner, and if you're like me, you're a procrastinator (although I actually made/got most of my gifts early this year). So I thought that I'd continue my vegan gift guide that I started a few posts ago and include some examples this time.

Books:

All of the following titles are available at your local bookstore, health food store, or amazon.com

Vegan Freak by Jenna/Bob Torres

This little book is wonderful for new vegans. It gives great advice on how to deal with and respond to any criticism that you may face from our often non-vegan friendly world. The thing that I like best is that the authors are honest and humorous. One warning though: You may want to think twice about this one if your recipient is easily offended by profanity as there is quite a bit of it. But for those without "sensitive" eyes, this book is a damn good resource to have.

Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Moskowitz
This is the granddaddy of all vegan cookbooks. Trust me, you can make some kick-ass meals from these recipes. No vegan should be without it!

Being Vegan by Joanne Stepaniak

This book consists of answers to questions that the author as received through the years. It answers many of the basic questions that people have about veganism and is great for both new and experienced herbivores.

Clothing and Accessories

Herbivore Necklace $21 on Etsy

Herbivore Dino T-Shirt $18 on Etsy

A super cute way to get the message out!

Meat is Fucking Murder Patch $1 on Etsy

This is perfect for those who go for a more "in your face" approach.

Against Animal Testing Shirt $30 on Etsy

Other gifts

Vegan Lip Balm $3.75 Etsy

It can be extremely hard to find vegan-friendly lip balm (most major drugstore brands have animal ingredients) so many vegans would love to find this in their stocking!





Vegan magnet $5 at Cafepress
This is a nice way to let guests know that no animal based foods are allowed in the fridge.

 Have a very Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Joyous Kwanzaa!





Vegan iPhone apps review

I recently got an iPod Touch and I love it! I love the fact that it can store all my music and browse the Web much faster and easier than my Blackberry phone (I definitely understand why many people are trading in their Blackberrys for iPhones and Androids. I plan to do so as soon as I can). When I finally managed to take my eyes off of "Angry Birds" (that game is damn addicting!) I found 4 sweet vegan apps that are 100% FREE! Here they are:

21 Day Vegan KickStart:
This app is great for new vegans. It gives you a full meal plan including breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner for 21 days. It also gives you the recipe for each dish that requires one and gives full nutritional info. While I have yet to try any of the recipes, it looks like it'll be a very handy app to have.

VeganYumYum:
This app provides a ton of recipes from the blog of the same name. No need to bring a written grocery list to the store anymore! Just tap the screen and you're ready to shop!

Cruelty-Free:
Part of CaringConsumer.com's Leaping Bunny program, this app provides a list of companies that have pledged not to use animal testing in their products or ingredients. While this list is not inclusive of all cruelty-free companies, it's a great resource for shoppers.

PETA:
The PETA app provides you with all of their current action alerts. With this app you can send an email expressing your displeasure to the offending company with a single tap. You can also let your friends know about the problem via  Facebook or Twitter post without leaving the app. It's not the best app out there, but it's free and informative.

What is your favorite vegan/vegetarian iPhone app? Please share it with us in the comment section. I love learning about useful apps!