The first vegan street art I remember seeing was the “eating animals” sticker plastered onto stop signs around my Pennsylvania hometown  (as in Stop Eating Animals). Fast-forward to today and Los Angeles, my current home, is like the Louvre for street art. It’s also the epicenter of vegan food and culture. And more than ever, they ‘re overlapping in prodigal brilliance. The reigning artist in residence? It’s Constantin Le Fou, a tall, greying European transplant whose iconic Vegan Club artwork has become more than merely an addition to LA’s legendary graffiti scene. It’s becoming the visual voice of the vegan movement.

Le Fou grew up in Greece and France before making his way to Los Angeles back in 1993 in his early 20s. While always an artist, sketching and drawing in school, he chose to study economics instead of entering France’s School of Fine Art (the Beaux Arts). But his passion for art never left him. He made music for a spell (his living room is still packed with instruments and recording equipment), but it would be fine art that finally regained a stronghold on Le Fou, especially once he became vegan.

Like many ethical vegans, Le Fou has a powerful story that pushed him to make the lifestyle shift.

“I was stuck in a bad traffic jam coming from Las Vegas,” he tells me as we sit surrounded by his artwork and three rescue dogs in his Downtown LA studio. “I was stuck next to a truck carrying pigs [to slaughter].”

Traffic was at a standstill for a while, and with two dogs in the backseat, Le Fou turned off the engine, rolled down the windows, and waited for traffic to start moving. A few minutes later, though, his dogs were panting excessively in the desert heat. And as he turned the car back on and began to roll up the windows to contain the cool air-conditioning, he noticed the pigs in the truck — with no cool air or water to drink — but just as stranded as him and his dogs.

“It was profound,” he says.

Following that event, he’d pivot his dogs away from pig products. “It didn’t seem right that they should eat an animal who’s smarter than they are,” he said. Pigs are incredibly intelligent animals – and they are indeed smarter than dogs, yet nearly 115 million are killed each year for food — three times the number of cows. But Le Fou himself was still eating meat. A few weeks later he’d realize the hypocrisy and gave it up completely. That was 2001.

“I had already quit smoking and knew if I could give that up, I can do anything [like quitting meat],” he told me.

Like many vegetarians, Le Fou would evolve his thinking and come to recognize that consuming any animal products – especially dairy – didn’t make sense. “These cows suffer so much more than an animal who’s slaughtered,” he says of the modern dairy industry, as he discusses the pain dairy cows experience being constantly tethered to milking machines and being repeatedly impregnated (typically by artificial insemination) so they’re able to keep producing milk, which, like humans, is made for their offspring.

At the same time Le Fou was adapting his diet, the fan of film and pop art since childhood was also connecting with the overtly political and social street art of Banksy, as well as local LA artist Shepard Fairy, particularly his popular “Obey” work, which features the likeness of the late wrestler and actor Andre Roussimoff, best known as Andre the Giant.

Then, a few years ago, Le Fou heard that “Fight Club” star Brad Pitt was vegan (he is not anymore), and the idea for using the “Fight Club” logo to call out vegan celebrities was born.

From there, Le Fou began collaborating with his vegan celebrity muses to use their likeness –musician, author, restaurateur, and activist Moby; No Doubt’s bassist Tony Kanal; tattoo artist, reality star, and founder of her eponymous vegan make-up line, Kat Von D appear frequently in his work. He’d use other well-known vegan celebs too like the late River Phoenix, Prince, and even Gandhi (who, while not vegan, was a strict pacifist and would likely have abstained from industrial animal products were he alive today).

“I’m very much for open-source,” Le Fou says of his artwork. “I don’t like limitations.” He views the inclusion of other artists and styles like a musician might sample a hook from another artist, saying it’s both a sign of respect and helps to elevate everyone’s efforts. And he gets permission from the celebrities who he says are often flattered by his work. Like pop artist Andy Warhol, the goal is to elevate the simplicity and repetition into the iconic. And it seems to be working; his fans are certainly in agreement, posting selfies in Vegan Club shirts in front of Vegan Club street art on the daily.

A committed activist, Le Fou works with supporters all across the globe to share his posters. At the Eat Drink Vegan festival in Los Angeles earlier this year, a giant Vegan Club installation served as a backdrop to many event-goers’ Instagram pics (including my own).

Most recently, Le Fou used the Vegan Club platform (which now includes customizable t-shirts) to highlight the recently released Netflix film “Okja,” directed by Bong Joon-ho. The feature follows the story of a genetically modified “superpig” and her human companion on a journey through the industrial animal complex, and it’s become a hugely important film to the animal rights movement. “The cruelty ‘Okja’ depicts is super-close to real life,” PETA writes on its blog. “Yes, the film got us all weeping because we imagined our own beloved animal friends in Okja’s position, and we would never want anyone to kidnap, torture, rape, chop up, and eat them. But the images of cruelty and heartache portrayed in the film are a reality for the billions of animals who are killed for food every year.”

Le Fou says his next line of Vegan Club designs will feature some iconic activists who’ve played significant roles in furthering the movement (think Ingrid Newkirk of PETA or Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd).

Recent estimates put vegans at just six percent of the U.S. population. And as “plant-based” eating – like flexitarian dieters who may observe Meatless Monday or VB6 (Mark Bittman’s vegan before 6 pm) — is now the norm for millions of omnivores, the ethics of veganism are not often their first consideration. For many it’s health or the environment. Add to that the uptick in labeling claims like “natural”, “cage-free”, and “free-range,” and consumers are being led to believe their animal products are more ethical than ever. But those marketing tricks are traps, for the conscious consumer, certainly, but they’re even more detrimental for the animals who often see no significant welfare benefits. They may eat a slightly cleaner diet or there may be the addition of a door to the massive metal house they live in, for “free-range” access, but it’s hardly the equivalent of life on an animal sanctuary.

But art, like Le Fou’s Vegan Club, or anonymous efforts like Misteruncertain (best known for “Not Your Mom, Not Your Milk”), and the Vegan Mattress Squad, are helping to redirect the message back to the ever-important ethical discussion. A love for carrots or tofu isn’t enough to keep flexitarians moving toward veganism; they need to have a profound reckoning – perhaps like Le Fou did somewhere near Barstow next to that truckload of pigs. They need to come to terms with the facts that animals are sentient beings, are deserving of our respect, and have every right not to be tortured, be it for food, clothes, deodorant, or entertainment.

Le Fou says that as a child he experienced physical abuse, which has helped him better understand what animals go through.

“It’s not the beating that’s the hard part,” he says with a wince, “it’s living in constant fear of when the next one is going to happen.” This, he says, is what animals in our current state of livestock production endure every day.

A recent exposé by animal rights group Mercy for Animals captured the first ever publicly-released drone footage of egg-laying hen factory farms in three states. There’s nothing “farm” about these industrialized operations, though. And they’re certainly not unique — this is the norm for most animals raised for food in the U.S., and increasingly around the world: giant metal sheds – some ten in a row – with no windows, no air circulation, no light. Instead, the birds are stacked inside the space of an iPad, which isn’t even large enough for them to spread a wing. Outside, there are giant manure lagoons, filled with the noxious waste of tens of thousands of animals not only making it hard for the birds to breathe, but the residents of nearby communities suffer as well. A representative for Mercy for Animals told me one of the “farms” may have as many as one million birds on site.

At a time when the vegan diet is finally getting the credit it deserves as delicious, nutritious, better for the planet, and certainly better for the animals, there’s still a whole lot of work to be done. Artists like Le Fou are playing a critical role in moving things forward by openly having that discussion. Not limited by rules that apply to making health claims, or the industry backlash a brand may face in promoting the horrors of factory farming, artists are in a unique and truly powerful position protected by the First Amendment to say whatever they want. For an artist like Le Fou, it’s more than liberating. It’s a freedom that comes with a huge responsibility.

“If animals could speak to us, they would say we are the devil,” Le Fou says, paraphrasing a quote by author William Inge. And the time to change that, he says, is now — not just for the animals, but also the planet, and the people who will benefit in myriad ways from a shift away from eating animals.

Art is the medium and the message to make it happen, Le Fou says. “It’s a crime right now to have talent and not use it for this.”

Everyone looks good in a Vegan Club t-shirt. Get yours here.

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

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images via author unless otherwise noted.

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The vegan diet is about to get a Titanic makeover as Academy Award winning director, deep ocean explorer, and committed vegan and environmentalist James Cameron is producing the forthcoming documentary “The Game Changers.” The film is being directed by Louis Psihoyos, who won the 2010 Academy Award for best documentary feature for “The Cove,” which followed the controversial Japanese dolphin fishing practice.

“The Game Changers” aims to discuss one of the most common misconceptions about the vegan diet – that protein is somehow lacking or incomplete compared with animal protein. Some of the world’s top athletes are vegan or vegetarian including Grand Slam tennis star Venus Williams, boxing legend Mike Tyson, and nine-time track and field Olympic gold medalist, Carl Lewis. Athletes, soldiers, and cultural icons will discuss how they thrive on a vegan diet.

““The world’s strongest guy is a vegan,” Psihoyos told Boulder Magazine. “The world’s fastest guy, Carl Lewis, was the first to break 10 seconds, and he did it when he was a vegan.”

“We’re trying to dispel the myth that you need protein from animals to become a real man,” Psihoyos said. “I’m probably more excited about this one than anything I’ve done so far because I feel like it will change things perceptibly.”

According to Psihoyos, switching to a plant-based diet is the single most impactful step one can take toward reducing global warming. Cameron’s vegan commitment also highlights the benefits to the planet and the climate. He addressed climate change issues in his 2013 documentary series “The Years of Living Dangerously.”  Cameron recently partnered with another athlete who’s embraced a plant-based diet, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. They worked together on several P.S.A.s focused on the benefits of reducing one’s meat intake.

The new film came to Psihoyos and Cameron through Ultimate Fighting Champion James “Lightning” Wilks.

“He and Joseph Pace, who works on animal rights up in Canada, came to me with the idea. They wanted to know if I knew of a director who could do the film, and I started thinking about it,” says Psihoyos.

“About 18 percent of the carbon dioxide that we produce comes from the raising of feed for animals that we, in turn, are going to eat,” Psihoyos says.

“So if you want to save the oceans, if you want to save the environment, the best thing you can do—and you do it three times a day—is develop more of a plant-based diet. It’s more important than solar panels or driving a Prius or an electric car.”

The film is set for release later this year.

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

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What is consciousness anyway? Should it make us more compassionate than we are?

News that the universe we live in may actually be just a simulation “Star Trek” Holodeck style brings into question, well, pretty much everything. It’s certainly an argument for agnosticism. But it’s also fodder for discussing our behavior, and specifically, how we define compassion. And whether or not it even matters.

The New York Times reports that in one possibility, we live in a computer simulation that’s based on the laws of mathematics, “According to this theory, some highly advanced computer programmer of the future has devised this simulation, and we are unknowingly part of it. Thus when we discover a mathematical truth, we are simply discovering aspects of the code that the programmer used.”

If it sounds like all the talk about circular time that’s in HBO’s “True Detective,” that’s kind of the point. “If such simulations are possible in theory,” notes the Times, “in time there will be many more simulated worlds than nonsimulated ones. Statistically speaking, therefore, we are more likely to be living in a simulated world than the real one.” Statistically speaking, of course. And what is the real world, anyway?

So, are we the result of the singularity Ray Kurzweil said we’re heading for? Has it already happened somewhere in the future and we’re being reverse engineered from a computerized point somewhere else in time? Could we be unreal in the most real sense? If we’re just living in a mathematical computer program, should that change how we think and feel?

That brings up the pretty big question about consciousness and compassion. And whether or not we have any obligations to “it” as it’s expressed through all life–and those seemingly inanimate things–here on earth. Because if consciousness is in essence, being manufactured from another point in time, it doesn’t just impact humans. It’s affecting everything on earth right now. One of the Buddhist Four Noble Truths states that all life is suffering. That would seem to be the case regardless of whether or not we’re “real.” Regardless of where we originate from or where we go. To live is to suffer. And that’s cause for compassion.

Christof Koch writes about this, specifically panpsychism, in the article “Is Consciousness Universal?” in Scientific American:

All species—bees, octopuses, ravens, crows, magpies, parrots, tuna, mice, whales, dogs, cats and monkeys—are capable of sophisticated, learned, nonstereotyped behaviors that would be associated with consciousness if a human were to carry out such actions. Precursors of behaviors thought to be unique to people are found in many species. For instance, bees are capable of recognizing specific faces from photographs, can communicate the location and quality of food sources to their sisters via the waggle dance, and can navigate complex mazes with the help of cues they store in short-term memory (for instance, “after arriving at a fork, take the exit marked by the color at the entrance”). Bees can fly several kilometers and return to their hive, a remarkable navigational performance. And a scent blown into the hive can trigger a return to the site where the bees previously encountered this odor. This type of associative memory was famously described by Marcel Proust in “À la Recherche du Temps Perdu.” Other animals can recognize themselves, know when their conspecifics observe them, and can lie and cheat.

But for most humans on earth, the animal kingdom is still seen as something at our disposal. We view consciousness from seated atop an illusory pyramid, when it appears it’s more likely that we’re actually just a blip along a straight line of (infinite) options. We have dominion, presently, because we’re the bully in the ecological schoolyard who thinks lunch money gives us eternal power.

Of course, making the case for unilateral compassion is daunting if reality isn’t what we think it is. If we live only because a mathematical digitized equation says we do, keeping giant whales in captivity or pigs in cramped cages for bacon doesn’t really matter in the big picture.

Except that it does.

“Whether it is a brain, a tree, a rock or an electron,” writes Koch, “Everything that is physical also possesses an interior mental aspect. One is objective—accessible to everybody—and the other phenomenal—accessible only to the subject.”

I defer to the film-making genius (seriously) of Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg in “This is the End” – where making an ethical and compassionate choice instantly elevates you to the eternal party in the sky. It’s just that simple: kindness trumps callousness, regardless of where we end up when we’re through with our human bodies.

But what about lions and sharks and Nile crocodiles, you say. They must kill in violent manners to survive. And what about defending ourselves, even against the ruthless attack of mosquitoes or wasps or fire ants? Certainly killing in the name of survival or self-defense appears to be justified. Even when it’s to prevent a mosquito from biting you on your ass. Still though, a “lack of awareness of the basic unity of organism and environment is a serious and dangerous hallucination,” said philosopher and author Alan Watts. “For in a civilization equipped with immense technological power, the sense of alienation between man and nature leads to the use of technology in a hostile spirit—-to the “conquest” of nature instead of intelligent co-operation with nature.”

We’re becoming desensitized to nature, and therefore, behaving unnaturally. But isn’t that natural, too?

In further explaining panpsychism, Koch writes that any system “that possesses some nonzero amount of integrated information experiences something. Let me repeat: any system that has even one bit of integrated information has a very minute conscious experience.”

To say a rock doesn’t feel isn’t as factual as simply saying that we can’t ever really know if that’s the case because we’re limited. We’re limited by our definitions of consciousness and our perception of reality. Because we can’t know what it’s like to be a rock. Really. The same can be said for the computer I type on. It’s clearly smarter than I am in most every logical way and yet I deem it a tool, a prop that’s unintelligent until I give it direction. (But  judging by how uncooperative it’s been ever since my daughter was born, I could go as far as to suggest that’s not the case, and that it’s even experiencing a bit of sibling rivalry. But I digress.)

Where consciousness begins, so does the quest to understand where it comes from. Perhaps we’re part of the future after it happens. Perhaps we’re all just seemingly separate points of consciousness experiencing every single possible viewpoint. Perhaps we’re the result of the Christian or Jewish or Muslim or Mormon or Hindu or Scientology or—insert your religious preference here—creation story. Perhaps we’re all something simply too impossible to understand.

But there is one truth in all of these scenarios: that we are all part of something. We’re all experiencing some form of consensus reality, and compassion would seem to be the most vital tool in our survival. Because we’re not lions. We’re not sharks. We’re not (apparent) characters in computer games. We’re humans who deeply understand the consequences of our actions. We can choose not to acknowledge the deep suffering a cow or a chicken or a mink experiences for our benefit, but we know it’s still happening. A true sign of consciousness is being aware of things we cannot or choose not to see directly at the present moment. Where we are, or how we got here, don’t matter in this equation–and it certainly doesn’t matter to those creatures we choose to have (or not have) compassion for.

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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If ever there was a gateway product to the organic lifestyle, it’s Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. And now, the company has taken a huge step for the animals.

Known in recent years for a staunch anti-GMO commitment, Dr. Bronner’s has poured more than a million dollars into the GMO labeling initiatives in California and Washington. The company has also been integral in bringing attention to Fair Trade, organic integrity, industrial hemp and drug policy reform. And now, the soap brand is going to bat for the animals. “[V]egetarian advocacy and animal welfare will become a core focus of the company’s activism efforts,” the company said on its website. Dr. Bronner’s has committed $100,000 in donations in 2014 to Compassion Over Killing, The Humane Society of the United States and other animal welfare organizations including The Humane League, Our Hen House, Farm Sanctuary shelters in Orland, and Los Angeles, CA, as well as Poplar Springs and Vine Sanctuary.  “As a dedicated vegan, I’m proud that my family has stepped up to commit resources over the long-term to take on the terrible plight of farm animals and to promote more compassionate and sustainable dietary choices,” David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps said in a statement.

The funding will be spread out over the course of 2014, going to the organizations’ efforts in reducing animal suffering, and the company says it intends to “substantially step up” support for animals in the future. If its commitment to GMO labeling is any indicator of how much it considers “substantial,” animal advocacy and welfare groups could be looking at hundreds of thousands–if not millions of dollars in donations from the soap company.

Dr. Bronner’s soaps are also now vegan certified by Vegan Action, and  are also registered with the Vegan Society in the UK. A”Vegan-Certified” logo will be added to the product labels (the products have always been vegan and cruelty-free, except for lip and body balms that contain Fair Trade beeswax).

The move signals an ever-increasing national concern over animal welfare. Whether it’s celebrities adopting the vegan diet or sourcing ethically-raised animal products, or millions of Americans demanding SeaWorld stop its capture and confinement of orcas, the trend towards compassion is showing no signs of slowing. And, says Bronner, “One doesn’t have to be vegan to want to reduce the incredible suffering of animals in factory farms and to lower overall meat consumption.”

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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Finally, veganism is being talked about in the mainstream. But it’s more than just a diet. When is vegan fashion going to get the attention it deserves?

There’s a list. Mike Tyson. Ex-presidents and ex-vice presidents. Talk show hosts. A-list movie stars and musicians. And the latest to take the vegan diet plunge? Beyoncé and Jay Z. Well, almost. The couple is on a three-week vegan diet bender. It’s good for business. They get even more publicity (because they need it, right?) and likely drop a few pounds. Vegans get the glory of adding more super-celeb names to the roster, even if it only lasts a few weeks. Vegan restaurants can boast visits from the couple. Sort of. Because with only three weeks to kale it up, Beyoncé failed in week one: She walked into a vegan restaurant wearing fur.

Mrs. Shawn Carter, now there are 99 problems—and well. Huh. Maybe it’s not your fault. It is that missing link about “veganism” that we don’t talk about nearly enough these days. The one Bill Clinton probably overlooks, too. The one Mike Tyson might miss if he’s not looking carefully. It’s the animals that are now your shoes, your belt, your sweater, those hideous UGG boots. And, yes, Beyoncé, in that unspeakable dead animal wrapped around your collar like you’re Nanook.

Perhaps the reason we don’t talk all that much (yet) about the importance of vegan fashion is that we’re so thrilled that the vegan diet is getting so much recognition. Without a doubt, it’s the biggest battle—more animals are killed for food than in any other industry.  And chances are—or it used to be, anyway—once you realize the horrors animals raised for food endure, the blurry reality of the other ways animals are (ab)used begin to come into focus too. But with so much attention being placed on the physical benefits of dropping meat, eggs and dairy from our diet, we’re no longer talking as much about the benefits to the animals. Suffering has taken a backseat to slimmer waistlines, reduced LDL levels and a decrease in methane gas production. We promote the benefits of plants more comfortably than we talk about the tragic fact that pigs are smarter than dogs, but we lock them in cages so small they can’t even turn around. And then we kill and eat them.

Choosing to not eat animals is actually pretty easy. Fruits and vegetables are abundant. Most major cities now boast at least one vegan restaurant and countless vegan items on restaurant menus. But try to buy a well-made pair of boots or a handbag that aren’t leather. Or a sweater that isn’t wool. There certainly are options out there, and the vegan fashion industry is taking off (NYC’s Fashion Week saw the first vegan fashion show last year), but as an industry, it still has big steps towards seeing the success vegan food has.

But fur? Really? Do we really still need to discuss how totally awful fur is? How are you going to explain it to your daughter? Even meat-eaters are known to find it offensive. I get it, Beyoncé. You’re BEYONCÉ. And it’s winter (almost, technically). But this isn’t the 1940s. And you were in Los Angeles, not Iceland. Are you really a woman who needs to feel beautiful wrapped in the dead body of another animal? You’re the best-selling, most beautiful woman in music today. You rocked the Super Bowl halftime show. You’re married to a mogul. Can’t you give the animals a break?

Most of the fur sold in the U.S. comes from China where there are no penalties for animal abuse. More than a billion rabbits, two million cats and hundreds of thousands of dogs are tortured for their fur in China every year. Fur farms are some of the most crammed and filthy conditions that animals such as fox, mink and chinchilla endure before they’re painfully electrocuted to death so as to not bloody up their precious pelts. Then there’s the seal slaughter in Canada where babies are brutally bludgeoned for their coats.

Fur may look clean and pristine. It’s easy to see only the softness and beauty we love in the animals who wear it naturally. But like wool, suede and leather, fur is the product of industries that fail to see the suffering of animals as anything more than just the cost of doing business.

Fashion is, more often than not, excessive and indulgent. Like food can be. But over the last few decades, we’ve begun to shift our diets. Savoring the flavor of simple ingredients. We’ve turned our focus locally to the freshest foods. It’s easier to eat a vegan diet when your plate is full of seasonal plant-based ingredients. Applying that same approach to fashion isn’t just easy. It’s just as necessary.

 Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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African officials have declared the Western Black Rhinoceros extinct. It’s a loss of devastating proportion, cementing–if there was ever any doubt–just how poorly humans are managing the environment and jeopardizing the future of creatures who have been here much longer than us.

Throughout history, species come and go. One day (soon?), humans will also go the way of the dinosaur, the saber-toothed tiger, the black rhinoceros. But now, as we are quite consciously participating in our existence and our evolution, we have the ability to prevent the loss of species. Or, at least, that’s how it seems. Could we have done more to preserve a creature as awe inspiring as the rhino?

Nearly two decades ago, I spent time with two baby black rhinoceroses. It changed my perception of captivity and nature.

In the summer of 1996 I took a job working at the Pittsburgh Zoo. I was managing the children’s zoo staff. About 80 high school kids held posts in the goat, deer and kangaroo yards as well as several animal-themed rides and slides. It was hard work. We swept up a lot of animal poop and made sure kids didn’t hurl themselves off of the rides in a way that would ruin their day.

During my lunch breaks, I’d stroll the zoo grounds marveling at the many creatures. I had spent a lot of time at the zoo growing up. Chuckles the porpoise was an old friend. The llamas and I went way back. The elephants seemed to know me, too. I loved everything about the zoo (except for most of the humans). The smells didn’t bother me. The poop was endearing. I didn’t mind the hours or working on holidays. After all, I got to spend time with some of the most adorable, ferocious and unique creatures on the planet. I’d get to give lions giant bones on Sundays. I still have a tiger whisker and an ostrich feather that would have otherwise been swept up into the trash.

After a time, I applied for an internship, in hopes of one day becoming a zookeeper myself. Maybe I’d wind up like Jane Goodall out in some conservation effort deep in a jungle. Even though I was a vegetarian, the sad, captive nature of the zoo hadn’t quite dawned on me yet. All I saw was the natural curiosity of the many species. I believed the hype that zoos were special places helping to successfully breed endangered species. It’s not like they were purely for entertainment, right?  They served a function: to educate the community about the animal kingdom. In fact, it was the many summers I spent strolling through the zoo with my family that I credit for turning me towards vegetarianism in the first place. How could I eat someone who had a face, regardless of what species it was?

Both my boyfriend and I received internship offers in the big cat and rhino department. We couldn’t have been more thrilled. We were going to work face to face with lions, tigers and two baby black rhinos soon to arrive to replace the white rhinos heading to China. (Those rhinos were killed, sadly.)

The absurd nature of zoo life hit us quickly. The very first day our internship began, we were present for the euthanizing of a Siberian tiger riddled with cancer. She was a longtime resident who had even given birth there. Animals don’t get cancer in nature. Not like that, anyway.

But my main focus would be helping with the baby rhinos—a boy and a girl. If my memory serves me, their names were Jomo and Misha. One of them had been rejected by their mother, which is a common occurrence, particularly in zoo settings. They were both young—but by no means less than gigantic. As adults, black rhinos can weigh 3,000 pounds or more. These “babies” were tipping the 1,000-pound mark before their first birthday.

Baby mammals require milk. Most of my time was spent cooking up a concoction supposed to resemble rhino milk. It was a mix of cow milk, water, sugar and vitamins, heated up so it would be nice and warm. It gave the babies massive rhino diarrhea, which I’d spend most of the rest of my time cleaning up. Rivers of green sludge filled their tiny indoor quarters, which were about the size of my living room now. Sometimes I feel penned up in my own house. I can’t imagine what I’d feel like if all the space I had amounted to the size of a closet.

Once all the rhino poop was cleaned up, we had another task: coaxing the animals into their exhibit area. These were babies. Babies scared of venturing a few feet outdoors even though it was a much bigger area than their pens. We’d climb up onto the fake anthill in the exhibit and do our best to encourage them to come outside. They’d step slowly, squeaking and squealing like babies. It was adorable and sad. These beautiful, motherless creatures were nothing more than giant horned puppies taken from their mothers too soon.

Now, the only black rhinos on the planet exist in captivity. Their once massive sprawl of land has been replaced by cement and metal enclosures. The natural vegetation that made up their diets is now just piles of crunchy hay, day after day. Or, in the case of orphaned newborns, a milk soup that comes nowhere close to the real thing.

One of my most memorable experiences with the rhinos was on Christmas morning. It’s the only day of the year the zoo is closed to guests. The quiet is eerie and refreshing. We cooked up the giant bottles of faux rhino milk and brought them down to the cages where the babies squealed in anticipation for food that was only going to make them sick. The black rhinoceros has a prehensile lip—kind of like a very small elephant trunk. It can pull in food, and on this occasion, the baby girl pulled my hand into her mouth and began to suck with the pressure of an industrial vice grip. If my hand was crushed beyond repair, I wouldn’t have been surprised. She mistook me for her bottle, for her mother, and as she realized I offered no sustenance, she gently released my hand and rooted in search of the bottle.

Working face to face with some of the planet’s most magnificent species pushed me towards avoiding zoos and captive animal situations for good. And now, as one of our most beloved wild animals exists only in zoos, it brings up a whole host of questions: Should we support captivity? Aren’t these animals vastly different than those who’ve never seen a cage? Should we try breeding programs and encourage efforts to attempt reintroduction to the wild? Or should we simply accept that from now on, they live only in captivity?

How strange it is that we can wander into a zoo and see an animal who was once a representative for his wild cousins now a representative for extinction, for time passed, and a future Earth that is surely going to be a much different place.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Related on EcoSalon

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Banned: Costa Rica Says Keeping Zoo Animals is not a ‘Natural Experience’

Movie Review: ‘Blackfish’—SeaWorld’s Six-Ton Killer Secret

Images: 25kim (top), Jill Ettinger

The post The Black Rhinoceros: My Time with an Extinct Animal appeared first on EcoSalon.

The pros and cons of being vegan.

Veganism – it’s increasingly vocal, increasingly celebrity-endorsed and a hefty lifestyle commitment. So why do people do it? Are they sacrificing gastronomic excellence for their ethical beliefs? (We say no). Are they showing the way everyone else should eat? That’s everyone else’s decision. But in the interests of opening that dialogue, why not tuck into this vegan-friendly portion of the EcoSalon archives and see if it agrees with you?

Backyard, Egg-Laying Chickens: Flax seeds and fresh bugs, a nice plot of green grass for scratching and pecking, room to roost, and cruelty-free living in a halcyon idyll. Wouldn’t it be tragic to deny a chicken such luxury? That she happens to lay eggs only solidifies the relationship as mutual, reciprocal, and equal. Plus, a fried egg on whole-wheat toast with a side of steamed collard greens is a heaven unto itself – just don’t forget the hot sauce!

The Conscious Case Against Veganism

Backyard egg production: the trump card for every Slow Foodie worth their weight in bathtub-fermented kombucha.

Chicken hatcheries, where most people can access chicks, are the avian equivalent of puppy mills. Males who don’t produce eggs are often buried alive in dumpsters. Lucky ladies who survive are thrown in boxes and shipped via USPS to their new homes, often packed with extra chicks as “packing peanuts,” since it’s assumed a few will die in transit.

And if you do have all the resources to give hens a safe haven (which is no easy task), they only lay eggs for a few of the ten or so years they live. Would most people continue to expend the effort and resources to keep them as revered pets? Considering the cost-benefit analysis of owning chickens who don’t lay, we’re guessing they’d end up in a coq au vin with a side of quinoa and local kale.

Compound this with the fact that unwanted male chickens are often abandoned at animal shelters, and raising one’s own chickens suddenly seems a lot less ethical.

The Conscious Case Against Veganism: A Reader Rebuttal

Originating in South America, this plump red herbaceous perennial is rich in nutrients like niacin, potassium and phosphorous, antioxidants like lycopene, anthocyanin and carotene, and vitamins A, C and E. Tomatoes can add a juicy shot of flavor to a variety of dishes, such as salads, sandwiches and pasta.

After the last frost of winter has thawed, pick a spot in your yard that receives ample sunlight and test the soil’s pH level – you want between 6 and 7. (To increase the Ph level, add lime. To decrease it, add sulfur.) Spread compost over this area and mix it with the soil. Dig a hole for each seed, leaving at least a foot in between for growth, cover them and firmly pat down the soil. Water them with a spray bottle a couple times per week.

The 10 Easiest Vegetables To Grow At Home

Watercress: This pungent perennial potherb typically grows near bodies of water, so make sure the water source is clean before consuming it. Since watercress can be eaten raw, all you have to do is cut the stem off and rinse it with cold water.

Just as there are political and religious divisions, there are opposing groups in the world of sustainability. Each believes they are more logical and justified than the other. I experienced an unexpectedly unpleasant exchange recently that made this reality plain as day. On the phone with a friend and animal rights activist, I hazarded a casual question: “Vegan isn’t really sustainable, is it?”

Her response was chilly to say the least.

And here I thought I was simply stating what we all know. Perhaps foolishly, I went on to share that I’d had a revelation just that morning that vegan fashion, comprised of mostly man-made materials, couldn’t possibly be eco – at least not exclusively so. How many of these vegan companies truly pay attention to good earth stewardship and use non-petroleum based materials, organic cottons and non-toxic dyes?

Is Vegan Fashion Sustainable?

Today, there is a cornucopia of websites, such as Vegan Nutrionista, which can walk you through the food pyramid for maintaining good a good intake of grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and oils  – and staying fit as a result. When we talk to teens about their bodies, we focus on health and not weight to prevent eating disorders. We do this for a reason.

Are Women Becoming Vegan Just To Lose Weight?

As a no-turning-back vegetarian since my teenage years, I’ve never taken a long-term lover whose moral and philosophical compass regarding animal rights and welfare didn’t approximate my own. Were any of these shy and smiling boys so inclined from the outset of our relationship? No, absolutely not. But they were uniformly intelligent, curious creatures with the good sense to reexamine their ethical presuppositions and accordingly recalibrate their practical, day-to-day affairs to reflect an evolving value system.

My mission to change the hearts and minds of carnivores one-guy-at-a-time? Accomplished. Well, perhaps not quite. After breaking up, all but one, lone ex-boyfriend shortly, summarily abandoned his conscientious ways in favor of fried chicken. Gross. Hey, what better way to work out some breakup angst than to stick a fork in it? Revenge, for some, may be a dish best served medium-rare.

Can A Vegan Woman Love A Meat-Eating Man?

Images:  Nick Smarto, Valerie Everett, Manjith Kainickara,  Mosieur J. JelleS’, Celebrity Diets, Bolshakov and Pink Sherbet Photography.

The post From The Vault: Vegan This, Vegan That appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnYou’re nothing til you’re nothing.

I once dated a bright man who remarked that after years and years of girlfriends, he had simply come to accept the fact that every woman, no matter how sane and healthy she might appear to be, has at least one serious food “thing.” One girl might avoid carbs. Another won’t touch meat. Another has the issue with the legumes. So when I told him I don’t “do” grains, he was utterly unfazed. He’d long since been hazed by healthy. “I’m starting to think women can’t actually be anything like we expect them to be if they just ate like guys,” he said. Like I said: Bright.

I was reminded of this the other day when I was at a lunch in Sausalito with a writer. She excused herself to use the ladies, so I did what any normal person would do and promptly began listening in on the two women seated next to us. Who wants to be the obnoxious one texting on her iPhone at the table when you can be both retro and rude? Eavesdropping is such a lost art.

They were immersed in a very serious discussion. “So that’s when I realized I really had to give up dairy,” the Marin County Trophy Wife in all her resplendent Lululemon glory said. Blonde but not too blonde, boyish, twin tangelos tacked on her tanned ribcage. You know, tastefully anorexic.

“Of course!” The slightly-less-buffed-and-burnished friend. Oh, who am I kidding: the chubby one. She sallied forth into the good fight: “So do you eat tofu cheese instead?”

“Oh no! Oh absolutely not! I gave up tofu and all soy products this spring. The hormones, you know?”

“Oh, right.” The friend was beginning to understand what she was in for, wearing the resigned expression of having been in for this many times before.

“Yeah, but it’s amazing how wonderful you feel when you eliminate all the toxins from your diet. Obviously I don’t do sugar, flour, grain, alcohol, caffeine, ibuprofen, eggs, fish – the mercury, oh my god – and never meat.”

The usual suspects, I nodded approvingly.

“So you’re vegan but not eating grains? Isn’t that hard to find things to eat then?”

“Oh god, no! There is So. Much. Variety. It’s insane how much. Seriously, if people knew. It’s insane.”

“Like what?”

A pause long enough to put a cow down.

“Quinoa!” Tasteful Tangelo sparkled with triumph. “I eat so much quinoa. You know it’s not really a grain – it’s ancient and the Mayans or something ate it. And it’s a complete protein. I eat it all the time. I just never get tired of it!”

“Oh, okay. So, with veggies then. I wish I had your discipline.” This, in a tone of voice that was not in the slightest wishful.

“Well not all veggies. I don’t do the thyroid inhibitors. They’re really terrible for women, actually.”

“Oh?”

God how I wanted to ask her about nuts.

“Oh there are so many. Let’s see, Brussels sprouts, spinach, broccoli. Yeah, there are more but those are the main ones. I also avoid mushrooms – I mean they’re a fungus. I’ve read all about it.”

“So…fruit, then?” We actually are running out of foods now.

“Well, sometimes. You have to be extremely careful about fruit. I eat berries, they’re great. The antioxidants, you know? But not other fruit, I mean it’s basically just glorified sugar. And do not get me started on juice.”

“Okay.”

The friend stared at her orange juice and pushed her tuna salad around on her plate in despair.

“So…no fruit and no green vegetables, but quinoa.”

“Oh I eat kale! And chard! I love chard! I eat that constantly. Quinoa and kale. I tried it with butternut squash but you know how starchy squashes are, it’s terrible for your colon. I find that eating any squash or starch – or beans or peas, for that matter – impacts my colon so dramatically it completely destroys my colon’s ability to think. You know the colon is our second brain. My third eye was completely shut down when I was doing the butternut. And obviously carrots and yams are out of the question. The phyoestrogens. Avoid white and orange and you’ll add years to your life. It’s really that simple.”

“I’d never thought of it that way.”

“Oh, it is really true. But the biggest change was last month, and I can’t believe I didn’t tell you! Get this. I have been virtually been poisoning myself with nightshades, so I’m off them now. Completely off them. It’s been incredible.”

“You’re off what?”

“I’m off nightshades.”

“Like the nightshades they were scared of in the 1500s nightshades?”

“Exactly. You know, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, and a bunch of other plants in that family. Completely toxic. You’ve really got to read up on this. It’s just crazy what people don’t know about the food they’re eating. I mean I’m just amazed that people don’t care. The insanity of that just baffles me.”

The conversation continued on to the acceptable forms of green tea and the benefits of fermenting Chinese herbs and the continuing drama over little Emma’s rebellious insistence on eating apples with almond butter and why it’s critical to take both probiotics and enzymes but I soon lost interest. Clearly, until you’re off all the things, you’re nothing.

There’s veganism because you care. But there’s also veganism because it’s more socially acceptable than cigarettes and coffee.

There’s gluten intolerance, and then there’s just being a glutard.

Local, seasonal, organic, nontoxic, humane: file these under enlightened, empowered, excellent.

Having a “thing”? File that under being a girl in this world.

There’s diet in the name of health, and then there’s diet in the name of anything.

The Insider’s Guide to Life is back from summer hiatus, exploring topics such as media, culture, sex, living, and anything else, including nightshades. Cheers and spellcheck!

Image: miran

The post The Insider’s Guide to Life: I’m Off Nightshades appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnAre oysters cruelty free? That’s up to you.

There are few things more guaranteed to spark controversy than a discussion about personal dietary choices. You want to get people riled up? Start making a case for or against pretty much any dietary regimen.

It seems that nobody likes to be told what to eat, while lots of people feel entitled to tell others what to eat. Doesn’t matter if we’re talking about high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, meat, or oysters; the same people who will hang onto their own arguments with the tenacity of a barnacle are the ones most determined to get others to come over to their way of thinking on all matters dietary.

Can’t we all just agree over a nice platter of chilled, shucked oysters that the fact that we can have these arguments at all means we are sitting in an enviable place of privilege? Please? I’ll even throw in a glass of champagne.

Abilgail Wick’s recent piece on veganism sparked a swirl of commentary here on EcoSalon. To wear vintage leather or not? How bad, really, is that processed faux meat?

All valid questions, but I’m going to focus on the oyster question.

I’ve talked about the sustainable credentials of oysters here on EcoSalon before, and after taking another look at the existing information, I have to stand by my analysis that oysters are a terrific conscious choice.

Oysters are filter feeders, meaning they feed on algae and other plant life that is already present in the water. They don’t require inputs like other types of aquaculture or even crop farming does, making oysters a highly efficient form of food. When you look at the farming of carnivorous fish like salmon, oysters look doubly good. Farmed salmon requires more protein to produce, pound for pound, than it provides back in food, resulting in a wasteful net protein loss—indefensible in a hungry world.

Oysters, by feeding on the algae, actually filter the water in which they live. Get this: one healthy adult oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons a day. Simply by being, they can actually improve the health of the environment in which they are farmed.

According to Food & Water Watch, it is estimated that in 1870 there were enough wild oysters to filter and cleanse the entire volume of Chesapeake Bay in three days. Unfortunately, the country’s wild oyster populations have declined due to excess nutrients, chemical contaminants, sedimentation, over-harvesting, domestic sewage and disease.

It is sad to see one of the last remaining wild foods disappear, but nowhere is there credible evidence to suggest that the farming of oysters has had a deleterious effect on wild oysters. The wild oyster’s enemies are many, but farmed oysters are not among them.

If you are like many people, you might consider oysters to be one of life’s greatest pleasures. They are compact, easy to prepare, and delicious with nothing more than a squeeze of lemon, or nothing at all. And they are sexy, even notwithstanding their reputation as an aphrodisiac. Can you think of any other food that is more fun to feed by hand to a sexy companion?

They are also low in fat and sodium, high in Omega-3 fatty acids, and protein, and contain many essential vitamins and minerals, including lots of B-12.

But are they cruel? There is no evidence that bivalves feel pain, and some scientists think that oysters are closer to plants than animals. Even ethical thinker and animal rights activist Peter Singer has gone back and forth on the issue. First advocating for eating oysters, then against, and finally settling on “probably ok”.

Experts say that since pain is a physiological and emotional reaction, and oysters don’t have a central nervous system, they can’t feel pain, as we understand it. Is that enough for you to decide they are cruelty free? Maybe. It’s your choice. I don’t call myself a vegan or even a vegetarian, but I do try to be conscious of everything I eat. Oysters are certainly cruelty-free enough for me.

I might not go so far as to declare oysters a suitable choice for a vegan diet, like Christopher Cox did in a much talked about article on Slate, last year. But what business is it of mine? He’s a vegan and he’s decided he feels ok about eating oysters, who am I to say?

Wherever you come down on the oyster question, it is about conscious eating. Anyone who truly thinks about what they eat, instead of just mindlessly filling their bellies. Anyone who goes through the exercise of deciding what they are ok with, and what they aren’t, is doing the right thing as far as I’m concerned. Billions of people are not lucky enough to be able to think so hard about what they will or won’t eat. They just need to eat. So can’t we all just lay off each other?

Go forth and slurp…or not. It’s your choice.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: Fotoos VanRobin

The post The Green Plate: Dare to Eat an Oyster appeared first on EcoSalon.

A weekly roundup of EcoSalon’s top stories.

Before we all have a big love fest for bamboo, let’s get to know it a little bit more. Kelly Drennan, in her article Bamboo, We Hardly Knew Ye, writes: “Bamboo seemed like a miracle fiber – and in a sense, it is. It’s turning it into fabric that’s the more complicated issue.” It’s important to be able to make an informed decision about environmental impact before ruling any fabric out – read up to learn more.

In our weekly Insider’s Guide To Life: Bite Me, Sara Ost dishes out tips on how to deal with female bullies at any age. Ost writes: “If the thought of never seeing your bully again gives you more joy than the thought of a bathtub full of calorie-free sea-salt and caramel chocolate truffles dipped in lottery tickets, fame, a flat stomach and true love, it’s time to walk away.” Enough said.

Unless you’re living on the moon or ride a bike, you’re probably painfully aware of gas prices rising. If you don’t live in a city and have access to public transportation you might even be feeling doomed, damned or find yourself prone to yelling at the sky with a clenched fist. News editor Andrea Newell’s 11 Ways To Save At The Pump gives city and country dwellers the opportunity to become environmentally empowered (and financially enhanced) by being just a bit more conscious.

Has your sustainable path led you to veganism? You’re not alone, but there are also many ex-vegans like EcoSalon writer Abigail Wick who, in The Conscious Case Against Veganism, writes: “Conscientious consumption means eating and living ethically, not religiously. As Slate’s Christopher Cox says, ‘Eating ethically is not a purity pissing contest, and the more vegans or vegetarians pretend that it is, the more their diets start to resemble mere fashion – and thus risk being dismissed as such.'”

As you can imagine, vegans near and far were interested in this topic so we also published a rebuttal from Laura Hooper Beck, a vegan writer, the founding editor of Vegansaurus, Editor-at-Large for VegNews Magazine, and the community manager of VegWeb, to speak on behalf of the vegan community.

While we continue to hear bad news from Japan, how its people are managing in the face of this crisis is deeply inspirational. In Heroism And Hope: 7 Heartwarming Tsunami Stories, Newell finds, “…heroism is not dead, love is a powerful motivator, hope is still alive, and people can be compassionate toward strangers.”

Image: kimubert

The post Friday Five, Vol. 6 appeared first on EcoSalon.