This is a fun little list of public figures who are vegan, including everyone from former President Bill Clinton to Lisa Simpson to yours truly (I’m number 4).

Who are some of your favorite vegans (famous or not)?

The health section is proudly sponsored by Kaeng Raeng natural detox. Make sure to check out their 3 or 6 day vegan detox programs here:

 

Bill Clinton: Kinder and Healthier Than Ever!
Steve Wynn's New Vegan Lifestyle
Guest Blog on Kindness by Ari Solomon
My Amazing Friend Tevia

The city of West Hollywood is leading the way in animal rights legislation yet again! They’ve just enacted a ban on the sale of fur clothing – the first of its kind in the nation. What this means is clothing retailers will be barred from selling garments made from animal pelts or skin containing hair, wool, or fur. The ordinance makes an exception for leather, vintage pieces and furniture – so it's not perfect, but it's definitely a huge step in the right direction! It will go into effect June 30, 2012.
 
How exciting is this? Are there any great animal rights laws pending where you live? Tell us how we can help you get similar laws passed where you live in the comments below.

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In a recent interview with Forbes.com, PETA’s Ingrid Newkirk spoke frankly about the issues and challenges facing animal rights groups today. She also highlighted some recent stories in the media that have been helping our cause and gave a friendly shout out to The Kind Diet!

Here’s the full interview:

PETA's Ingrid Newkirk - A Conversation with Michael Tobias

Michael Tobias (MT): What is the most pressing problem that animal rights groups like PETA face today?

Ingrid Newkirk (IN): That’s a bit like asking which shoes pinch the most. It’s got to be what people eat, simply because, while not everyone wears fur or experiments on animals, everyone eats. That means a mind-boggling number of animals suffer for the palate. And the cruelty isn’t just in daft and cruel killings. It’s the casual cruelty of the lunchtime sandwich or the evening meal. This is not to say that dietary habits aren’t changing. Putting aside the New Jersey woman who is vying to be the fattest person on the planet, we see cookbooks like Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Diet and programs like Dr. Neal Barnard’s 21- Day Weight Loss Kick Start become bestsellers right out of the gate. But, in America alone, human beings breed, raise, transport, and then slaughter more than 16 billion land animals every 365 days. That doesn’t even count fish and crabs, who aren’t inanimate objects, no matter how hard it may be for us to relate to them.

MT: Indeed, in the marine and riparian realms recent data suggests “0.97 – 2.7 trillion wild fish” are caught and killed by humans. That said, how do you respond to criticism that PETA is pushing the vegan agenda too aggressively?

IN: Let’s get graphic for a moment, as I hate this namby-pamby, cowardly business of “Don’t show me what animals go through―I like my steak.” We are talking about an enormous number of individual pigs having bits of their ears cut out with a hole punch for identification purposes, chickens having their beaks seared off with a hot wire, cows having their horns removed with a pair of tongs; animals being thrown into crates, kicked, and prodded up ramps into something they’ve never seen before, a truck, and ending up, eyes wide with fear, in a place where they see others right before them being strung up and having their throats slit. Fish are slit open on board ships after being hauled up, suffocating, with their eyes bulging out of their heads from decompression and their gills torn in the nets. Eating animals and stealing what’s theirs, like the milk meant for their calves, is aggression. Pointing out what such behavior means to animals is education. There’s no way to make it sound pretty.

MT: What one thing would you ban?

IN: Supremacism! That’s like racism and sexism―the idea that others are less than you in intellect or table manners or looks and that therefore that gives you carte blanche to manipulate, use, abuse, and slaughter them as you like. It’s self-serving, ignorant malarkey.

MT: Animal stories are constantly in the news. Which ones do you think have been helpful to PETA, if any?

IN: You’d have to live in a cave to have missed the Michael Vick trial―that has at least put dogfighting, the silent blood sport, on the map in this country. And the story about the chimpanzee who tore a woman’s face off has made some legislators think about a ban on wild animals, who get so frustrated in captivity that they go berserk. When newspapers ran the whistleblower photos of how the circus trains baby elephants with beatings and tie-downs, that woke a lot of people up―so much so that almost 1,000 people showed up in Los Angeles to protest when the beast wagons rolled into town.  PETA’s “silly” stunts get ink and air time. Like our beating Michelle Bachmann to the punch by bringing back two dollar a gallon gas first. We paid the extra pump cost and served up Tofurkey sandwiches to motorists, and it allowed us to make the point that you can do more to reduce your carbon footprint by going vegan than you can by driving a hybrid car. Our “sexy” ads get a lot of play, and while people might laugh at them, they also look at them, and they come to PETA.org to watch the sexy videos but go away the wiser for it.

MT: What do you think makes humans ignore some cruelties?

IN: At PETA, we often say that the issue of how animals are treated isn’t just about them; it’s about us, how we behave.  It is about what we are thinking when we do violent things to others whom we find it difficult to relate to or whom we dismiss as too unimportant to take into consideration at all. A lot of people have culturally induced ethical blindness, but they can be cured! A lot of people profess to holding religion dear. One of the main tenets of Buddhism is that “all lives are equal.” Confucianism teaches us that “we shall treat everything in the world as one.” Jesus talked of being kind even to the “least of them,” of watching out for the smallest sparrow. Judaism and Islam have wonderful teachings about kindness to animals as a prime virtue. Whether or not we are religious, respecting others should be seen as just as important as looking out for ourselves, yet it requires discipline to change our bad habits that cause pain to animals. I think that the more we learn about animals, the harder it is to abuse them. For instance, that the average dog in a human family learns hundreds of household words without being taught them. Ants build boats to cross streams. Bats take food to nearby bats who are sick. Chimpanzees, crows, elephants, and even fish use tools. Octopuses learn how to open a jar simply by watching a person do it. Elephants cradle their dead relatives’ bones in their trunks, tears pouring down their faces. Little desert rats collect dew by rolling a stone in front of their burrow. Geese and pigeons mate for life, mourn, and become demonstrably depressed if a mate dies. All these things and many others have been measured, witnessed, studied, and published.

MT: People must ask you “Aren’t there more important causes?”

IN: That’s a sort of “As long as I’m all right, Jack” attitude. When Martin Luther King Jr. protested U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, his followers admonished him and said that he should stay out of it, that it didn’t directly involve civil rights. Dr. King replied, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” I don’t subscribe to the idea that we must look after men or whites or Americans or whomever we most closely identify with first, and then and only then can we help others. Our compassion is big enough to let us look beyond the identity of the victim to the injustice and object to that. To me, it is one world, and the non-human animals bear the brunt of oppression and suffering.

MT: What position do you take on the upcoming elections?

IN: PETA can’t electioneer, but we can ask every candidate to improve the health of this country, which is down the drain, by abandoning meat and dairy subsidies; supporting laws that would require assistance for military personnel relocating from overseas and disaster area evacuees so that they can take their beloved animals with them; stopping Department of Defense training exercises that hurt animals in terrible ways and that can easily be replaced by more sophisticated teaching methods; and enforcing the Animal Welfare Act against traveling shows that are dragging arthritic, lame elephants around in shackles. Anyone who agrees should be writing to their representatives and the candidates. Oh, and, please, Mr. Obama, choose a veggie burger or a veggie dog when you pop into your favorite Washington fast-food joint! PETA has made sure that they stock them!

For a recent three-hour filmed discussion with Ms. Ingrid Newkirk, in addition to several other prominent scientists and social scientists, see “State of the Earth,” viewable as 12 YouTube videos; or as three one-hour down-loadable videos, or obtainable in one boxed set.

Copyright Dancing Star Foundation

***

What do you think are the greatest challenges are to the animal rights movement today?

A while ago, I blogged about Bill Clinton’s revelation that he was following a vegan diet – so I was thrilled to see this recent interview about the success he’s experienced. He has been vegan for over a year and has lost over twenty pounds. His new diet is reversing his heart disease and has literally saved his life! He says that he loves the taste of fruits and veggies now… this is the guy who used to live for hamburgers and donuts. I’m so happy for him!
 
Clinton is now spreading his message to kids through a partnership between The Clinton Foundation and The American Heart Association. What do you think his next step should be?
 
Watch the video above, then read the full interview at CNN.com and tell me what you think in the comments below!

Many of you have probably donated already, but I just wanted to send a little reminder that suffering continues even after the media moves on. Here are some ways that you can continue to help Japan:
 
Causes Facebook App – Search “Japan” for a list of orgs you can donate to. You’ll find everything from humanitarian aid to animal rescue.
 
Save Japan Dolphins – despite the turmoil, activists continue their efforts to save Japan’s dolphins. You can donate to help them here.
 
Red Cross - You can donate $10 by texting REDCROSS to 90999.
 
If any of you Kind Lifers know of other great organizations that need donations, please share them with a link to the org in the comments below.

PETA recently reported the exciting news that Disney World has closed its McDonald’s and replaced it with Babycakes vegan cupcakes!
 
Just imagine all the people from all over the globe who come through Disney World every year! All of them will have a chance to discover how great vegan treats are, and that much fewer people will be buying the nasty food McDonald’s makes.
 
What other vegan treats have you found at Disney theme parks?

PETA recently reported that Mario Batali’s New Year’s resolution is to master more vegetarian dishes. Pretty exciting news considering that Batali is one of the most recognized chefs on TV and in American cuisine! His restaurants already participate in Meatless Monday, thanks to Sir Paul McCartney.
 
What dishes should Batali master first?

The new food safety bill that recently passed Congress was signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011. It is an important, if imperfect bill.
 
I’ll outline some of the provisions, then share the feedback from Farm Sanctuary and PCRM about the pros and cons of this bill.
 
An Overview of the Food Safety Bill
(courtesy of the Huffington Post)
 
Under this bill, the FDA can issue a food recall without having to arrange a voluntary recall with the company in question. Companies that have a track record of recalls or safety violations may be fined for re-inspection. The FDA will also update safety performance standards every two years and distribute them to food companies.
 
In today’s global economy, much of our food supply is grown on foreign soil. Under this bill, the FDA will begin establishing foreign offices and will work with foreign governments to conduct international food inspections to ensure foreign food producers comply with the FDA’s standards. Of course, if you eat locally-grown, seasonal produce you don’t need to worry about this!
 
The FDA will be able to access food company records to track food in the event of a public health risk. The FDA can also suspend a food production facility if a health risk is suspected. Food production facilities will have to notify the FDA of current safety hazards and include their plans for fixing them, and the FDA will be inspecting food production facilities more frequently.
 
The FDA will create new standards for harvesting and growing fresh produce, and will prohibit companies from including illegal chemical additives in foods (umm...what does this say about the efficacy of existing laws???).
 
For those of you with allergies or children with allergies, the FDA will be taking a more active role in controlling serious food allergies by creating a food allergy management system that will be available to schools and early education programs.
 
The FDA will work with the produce industry to create a more effective means of tracking produce to ensure it is recalled before the public can consume contaminated produce. Whistleblowers who report poor safety practices where they work will be protected. Health and Human Services will work with Homeland Security to create a plan for dealing with outbreaks of food-borne illnesses.

What Does This Mean For Animals?
 
All of this is good for consumers, but how will it impact animals who are raised for food? It’s unclear, according to Farm Sanctuary, who has this to say:

“We support the bill insofar that it is a grant of broader authority to the FDA to act in a manner to protect public health, including increased inspection and recall authority, but we are concerned the root of the problem is being overlooked when it comes to food animals: intensive confinement, unsanitary conditions, and poor animal health & welfare standards. The causes of food-borne illnesses resulting from animal product consumption have been linked to the conditions and treatment of animals on factory farms. Therefore, we hope the FDA will use this new regulatory authority to begin addressing these inherent problems of modern agriculture.
 
So, it is a potential step in the right direction (depending on how FDA acts – they could regulate in a way that may make food 'safer' but in effect promotes intensive confinement, antibiotic use, unnatural conditions etc.), but whether that is true or not depends on what the FDA actually does with this new power. The bill is just setting the stage for change.”

Does This Bill Get At The Root Of The Problem?
 
PCRM agrees that this bill is far from ideal, but does take a step in the right direction:

“The bill gives the FDA the ability to take quicker action when foods are tainted. That’s a good thing. But the most important step is not part of the new bill, unfortunately. That would be a trace-back provision to track down the source of food-borne illness. If spinach were found to be tainted with salmonella, for example, the question is, where did those germs come from? Salmonella live in the intestinal tracts of chickens, cows, and other animals. And one of the nicest features of spinach is that it has no intestine! So when spinach is tainted with salmonella, it can only have gotten there from fecal contamination of some kind. That could be through feces in irrigation water, on the hands of farm workers, or some other source, but it has to be from somewhere. When plant foods carry disease-causing bacteria, it is important to find the original source of the germs, which is usually animal agriculture.”
 
What do you think of this bill? Do you worry about food safety?

Back in August, I posted about Roger Doiron and World Kitchen Garden Day. At that time, Roger was protesting the announcement of “National Snack Food Month,” a bogus celebration of junk food started by the Snack Food Association. Well, the month they chose for National Snack Food Month is February!
 
Roger has come up with an alternative campaign to combat National Snack Food Month. It’s called the #20ate campaign, and it’s a crowd-sourced, open-source campaign whose goal is to get us to opt out of unhealthy, processed snack food for the #20ate days of February. Now, I know we’re halfway through February, but the effort to promote real foods is year-round – and I think it’s important that we make a statement in favor of real foods during National Snack Food Month.

Here’s how you can support #20ate:

• Share your participation in the campaign on Twitter and Facebook using the #20ate hashtag. Here are some sample tweets http://20ate.org/tweets.
• “Outlike” the cheese puff fan page on Facebook by “liking” the #20ate fan page http://20ate.org/cheese-puff-challenge
• Avoid processed, unhealthy snacks. Buy and eat real foods only!

You can also donate money to the campaign here. How do you plan to combat the Snack Food Association’s fake holiday, and celebrate your commitment to eating real foods?