I hate to say I told ya so, but…wait, who am I kidding, I’m THRILLED to say I told ya so in this case.

Today on Slate, Daniel Engber posted a very long and very well researched article about animal testing, in particular about testing on mice – which account for 4/5 of all animals used in laboratory experiments and testing worldwide. The basic question his article poses to readers is whether or not it is wise to use one (non-human) animal for virtually all testing purposes.

The answer is no, by the way.

I’m going to completely skip over the idiot from the lede who oh so brilliantly noticed one day that the mice we’re testing on are so engineered and alien from their natural living conditions that it probably has a negative effect on testing results because it still hasn’t occurred to him that maybe it’s a bad idea in general to test medical techniques and medicines for humans on anything other than humans. Dude from the next example though, “the government’s top researcher on tuberculosis,” Clifton E. Barry, is catching on:

…No drug can be tested in man until it’s been shown to work in mice, and no drug is tested in mice until it’s been shown to have a reasonable effect in the (Petri) dish. “The bad part of that,” says Barry, “is that no part of it is predictive:” A new compound that succeeds in the dish might flunk out in the mouse, and something that can cure tuberculosis in a mouse could wash out in people…”mice are mice, and people are people. If we look to the mouse to model every aspect of the disease for man, and to model cures, we’re just wasting our time.”

To reinforce the point, the author goes on to note that the only drug we have that works against TB in humans was discovered 40 years ago, when the system for testing wasn’t as rigid. The drug would never make it to the market today because it does nothing in the dish and has only a weak effect in mice, and yet the effect in humans is profound.

The fact that nothing gets to humans today without first passing the mouse test, says Barry, “has cost us a new generation in medicines.”

Good to know.

Also good to know: despite the fact that most researchers today are fully aware of this fact, the vast majority continue to test on mice. Why is that?

The mouse is small, it’s cheap, it’s docile, and it’s amenable to the most advanced tools of genetic engineering…(and also) it’s what we’ve always done.

THIS is the answer that scientists give. Read it again. And then go jump off a cliff because these are supposed to be the smartest among us.

The most astounding and frustrating thing about this article is that scientists, researchers and the author suggest that the solution to the “mouse problem” is simply the use of other (and possibly, more varied) non-human animals in clinical testing environments. Even the TB guy directly quoted above has come to this conclusion.

…Really, guys?

You seriously don’t see that it’s not about the friggin mouse? It’s so clear that the problem with testing on non-human animals is that they’re not human that I just can’t wrap my head around the possibility that this isn’t also obvious to everyone involved. I don’t buy it. This is about money and close-minded “tradition,” period – and it shames us all. Not just the people in the labs or the NIH or the CEO’s at big pharma, all of us, for turning a blind eye to an industry based on atrocity.

You know, it’s really not my style to be pushy and preachy. I’m far more the “lead by example” type. I’ve gotta say though, this article really makes me want to step it up a notch. I think imma get loud.

This is a super fun little video from the Humane Society about Meatless Mondays. They’ve done a great job of blending humor with useful information and helpful tips on getting into the Meatless Monday groove. Check it out and spread it around!

If you’re from St. Louis, you’re familiar with The Jewel Box in Forest Park. It’s one of the most beautiful spots in the park and is a frequent and popular site for weddings in the city.

Just outside the entrance to this lovely glass structure sits a large Koi pond. If you happened to be attending a wedding here last weekend, you’re sure to remember it. Not because it was particularly beautiful against the backdrop of the changing leaves but because it was drained – with the fish still in it.

Yeah, that’s right. The parks department decided that it was time to drain the pond for the winter and simply left the dozens of fish still living in it to flail around, gasping for breath on the concrete bottom until they died.

Fortunately, a handful of them were spared this cruel and horrible death by the wedding photographer that happened to be on site last Saturday who spent every free minute she could find trying to rescue the fish that were still alive. A few of them are even lucky enough to call a new tank in her house home.

To that photographer, Alecia Hoyt, thank you for your kindness. To the fellow photographer, Kelly Manno, who was so outraged by this cruelty that she thoughtfully recorded the events of the day and wrote about them on her blog, thank you for taking the time to speak up about something that is so clearly wrong. To my photographer friend, Stevie, thank you for bringing the whole hideous situation to my attention.

As for the parks department, I have harsher words for you:

To drain a pond with absolutely no regard for the fish that live in it is beyond irresponsible and cruel. It is heartless. If you can’t be bothered to care for the fish that you put in the pond, do not put fish in the pond. There is simply no excuse for not removing the fish before the water was drained for the season. Regardless, I’d really, really like an explanation. More than that, I want a guarantee that this will not happen again.

If you’re from the area, please contact Mayor Slay’s office to voice your disapproval (respectfully, of course) and demand more responsible and considerate future policies. If you also happen to be engaged and considering a Forest Park venue, I’d recommend exploring some of the many other gorgeous locales the city has to offer. At least you’ll be assured that your wedding guests won’t be horrified by the sight of a few dozen dead/dying animals as they walk in the door.

P.S. I also know a few good wedding photographers…

The St. Louis Walk for Farm Animals is this weekend! You busy?

This year I’ve pulled together a little group to walk as the Usually Vegan team and we’d love for you to join us! If you register before Saturday, the cost is a mere $15. Saturday morning the price jumps to $35, so sign up now and save some bank!

If you’d rather spend your Saturday morning sleeping in (and believe me, I feel ya on that one), you can visit our fundraising page to make a donation in support of Farm Sanctuary‘s incredible work without missing out on your beauty sleep.

We hope to see you there!

I generally love sites like Slate and Salon. I suppose that gives you a very good idea about where I stand politically, but I don’t think that’s much of a secret anyway, right?

Both sites have a resident advice columnist and since I’m a bit of a nosy rosy, I frequent their posts. This week on Salon there was a really interesting exchange between their columnist, Cary Tennis and a reader who wrote in about a friend that “bullies” her dog. The woman was clearly very disturbed by her friend’s negligence and borderline abusive behavior towards her pet and wrote in asking for advice on how she might be able to get through to her friend to improve the circumstances of this animal (she’s tried to broach the subject several times in the past, to no avail).

Cary’s initial reply was short, semi-breezy and generally unhelpful. This is someone who regularly provides very, very insightful and long replies to his readers that are often full of philosophical musings – so I was a little bummed at his perceived dismissal of this particular question. And then yesterday, he came back with this.

Giving a brief recap of the reader’s issue, he went on to say that the letter had outraged him so fully that he’d been unable to provide a complete response and now, having had more time to think through the issue, would like to expand on his first reply.

It caused me to think a great deal not just about dogs and animal welfare but also about how rights expand and evolve in a society, and what we ought to do as people when our conscience is outraged by the behavior of a friend.

There is all kinds of beautiful and thoughtful prose about animals and our responsibility to them as humans (and animals ourselves) but his general advice boiled down to this: “Make an authentic, personal, heartfelt case for what you believe.”

The larger message in his response revolves around this same simple idea and I think he lays out an inspiring and realistic roadmap for social change using it:

Social change happens in many ways, but one primary and inescapable way is that people who are passionate and informed and courageous make personal testimony to others.

The expansion of rights begins like this, does it not? Do leaders appear fully formed with a message and a movement? Or does leadership begin in a primal moment of conscience, when someone courageously speaks from the conscience and from the heart, not to a crowd below a stage but to an intimate, a sister or brother or friend or parent? Great social ideas do not emerge fully formed; they are tested on close compatriots.

I LOVE this. It’s a great reminder that the little things really do count. Maybe you’re not Ingrid Newkirk or Wayne Pacelle, two giants of the animal welfare movement who can each claim direct responsibility for influencing thousands upon thousands of people, but your choice to have a veggie burger for lunch today just might have a real impact on the co-workers you’re sitting with – and that matters!

Maybe it’s cliche, but it’s really nice to be reminded that change starts with the small choices each of us make every day.

It’s that time of year again!

The St. Louis Walk for Farm Animals is next weekend! For anyone unfamiliar, The Walk for Farm Animals is a series of annual fundraising and outreach events that take place across the U.S. and Canada every year to benefit Farm Sanctuary.

Farm Sanctuary, of course, is a fantastic organization that works to end cruelty to farm animals and promote compassionate living through rescue, education and advocacy efforts. They actually own and operate two shelters in New York and California where hundreds of rescued animals from stockyards, factory farms and slaughterhouses come to recover from a lifetime of abuse and neglect. They are amazing and I’m thrilled to be able to do something tangible that supports their work and promotes their important message.

Last year was the first time I participated in the St. Louis walk (the first I’d heard of the Walk for Farm Animals, period) and I had a really great time, despite the crummy weather. I recruited my mother to walk with me last year and am happy to say that she’s super excited to join me again this year to walk for team usuallyvegan.com!

This year’s event really snuck up on me. I only just realized it was less than two weeks away a few days ago, so I’ve got a little catching up to do in the fundraising department!

Even if you’re not vegan (or vegetarian), Farm Sanctuary’s cause is easy to embrace. Animal welfare aside, factory farming hurts us all, but even if you eat animal products, you can (and I’d say should) still have a concern for the treatment of the animals involved. That said, if you’d be interested in supporting the cause, please visit our fundraising page to make a donation.  Better yet, if you’re free next Saturday morning, join us! The usuallyvegan team (aka: me, my husband and my mom) would be delighted to have you!

If you’re a vegan in St. Louis, you probably spend a considerable amount of time (and money!) at Whole Foods every week. Well, this week that activity can benefit more than just your health!

Tomorrow only, five percent of all purchases at both St. Louis area Whole Foods stores will be donated to Gateway Pet Guardians in support of their outstanding work to rescue, rehabilitate and adopt stray animals from East St. Louis and the surrounding Metro East area.

Donations will apply to purchases made all day, but volunteers from Gateway will be on hand at both locations starting at 11 am to hand out info and host special activities.

Scheduled events include:

• Adoption Event – 11am-7pm (both stores)
• Children’s Activity Table – 11am-4pm (both stores)
• Ask the Trainer with K9 Carnival‘s OuNiel Perez – 11am-2pm in Brentwood/2:30-6pm in Town & Country
• Gateway Guardians – A Documentary Screening – 11:30 am, 6:30 pm & 7:45 pm (both locations)

Since it’s highly likely that you spend money at Whole Foods every week anyway, why not schedule this week’s trip for tomorrow and help out a great cause at the same time? I’m planning to put my Living Social discount to good use!

A new vegan recipe in my inbox every week? Yes, please!

I’m not sure how long this has been going on, but it seems The Humane Society has a weekly mailing list you can join to receive a free recipe for your Meatless Mondays meal planning. Nice!

All you have to do to get in on the action is enter some basic contact information. If you prefer to receive your recipes by text, there’s an option for that as well.

The recipe for this week is Wilted Spinach Salad with Smoked Apple Sage “Sausage” and Strawberries. Now, ya’ll now how I feel about salads (BAH), but I must admit that this one looks intriguing. If nothing else, it makes me look forward to what’s to come!

Stream videos at UstreamBill says do it for your health, Al says do it for the environment! Gotta love the Clinton administration.

The interwebs have been abuzz with chatter about an interview Al Gore sat down for with FearLess Revolution Founder, Alex Bogusky last week on Ustream.  The two were discussing the importance of climate change and some of the possible causes of it. You might be thinking to yourself “Al Gore talks about climate change all the time. What’s so special about this particular interview?”

That would be this:

Industrial agriculture is part of the problem. The shift toward a more meat-intensive diet. The clearing of forest areas in many parts of the world in order to raise more cattle and the reliance on synthetic nitrogen for fertilizers are also problems.

That’s part of the reply Al gave in response to a question about some of the contributing factors of climate change. This isn’t hella-significant because no one has ever pointed these things out before, it’s just that up until now, Al has refused to do so publicly.

Al Gore is an influential guy. That’s particularly true in regards to climate change and/or environmental concerns and conservation. So, when the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization published a report in 2006 concluding that worldwide livestock farming generated 18% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions (more than all the cars, trains, planes and boats on the planet, combined), and consequently suggested that cutting meat consumption down or out of your diet was the greatest possible single step you could take to prevent or reverse the effects of climate change and Al stayed mum on the subject (for five years!), it was a blow.

When someone is considered the foremost expert on tackling climate change and they refuse to acknowledge one of its major causes and the relative solution, it’s that much harder to convince people it’s legit and move them to action. That’s why it’s so fab that Al has finally come around to the environmental argument against meat consumption. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last time he’ll speak publicly on the issue but I’m definitely grateful for the recognition, no matter how long it took.

Better late than never!

The other day I was reading an article in which the (vegan) author mentioned that she typically doesn’t sweat trace amounts of animal products in ingredient lists when she’s shopping. In the comments, I noticed some people expressed shock at this and more than a few also used it as an opportunity to question her commitment.

As you might expect by the name of this blog, I’m totally with her on not driving yourself bananas (not to mention, everyone around you) to be absolutely, positively sure that no animal product of any kind ever passes your lips. Certainly, it’s a noble goal, and I think one that most vegans, by definition, generally do strive for. But, if you’re driving yourself crazy trying to follow some set of  invisible rules rather than living life as an example of cruelty-free health and happiness, I’d venture to say you’re missing the point.

Would it surprise you to know that PETA (yes, that PETA) agrees with me (be honest!)? Totally true. PETA’s official position on small amounts of animal products in processed foods is “don’t worry about it:”

The goal of sticking to a vegetarian or vegan diet is to help animals and reduce suffering; this is done by choosing a bean burrito or a veggie burger over chicken flesh, or choosing tofu scramble over eggs, not by refusing to eat an otherwise vegan food because it has 0.001 grams of monoglycerides that may possibly be animal-derived.

Holla!

I love that. It completely flies in the face of everyone who criticizes PETA as a bunch of crazed radicals who wouldn’t know compromise if it socked them in the nose.

PETA actually goes on to point out that obsessive behavior about trace ingredients can end up hurting the cause more than it helps. Grilling waiters about ingredients (a tiny bit of dairy in a veggie burger for example) or insisting that food be cooked with separate equipment not only discourages your companions and the restaurant staff from going vegan or vegetarian, but also makes restaurants less likely to bother offering vegetarian choices at all. Who would that help? Yup, nobody (animals especially).

If the idea of trace ingredients really does bug you, endeavor to cook as much of the meals you eat yourself, using as many whole foods as possible. When you buy processed food, shopping at places like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s or a local specialty store can also make the process of finding 100% vegan items much, much easier.

I’m pretty fortunate that I live very close to several specialty grocers and can afford to do the bulk of my shopping there (and that I have the time to cook almost every day). For many people though, that’s not the case and I don’t think there’s any shame or blame in cutting corners when it comes to trace ingredients (or otherwise) if you need to.

Be vegan however it works for you!