Animal welfare
Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, the man from River Cottage, is doing for chickens what Jamie Oliver did for school dinners. He’s launching a campaign via the wonderful medium of TV to highlight the plight of battery hens and improve their conditions and lives.
The Chicken Out! campaign is Hugh’s bold attempt to make people wake up to the reality of eating chicken and all that it entails. Not only has he already managed to get his local restaurants in Axminster to go ‘Free Range’, but he’s mustering support from the likes of you and me in order to petition the supermarkets, farmers and government to get the problem resolved.
So sign the petition, and make people realise that a chicken that costs just £2 is an abomination!
Animal welfare
In an open letter to Kevin Federline, the father of Britney Spears' children, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk has called for the rehoming of Spears' dogs, amidst fears the unbalanced popstar may be incapable of taking proper care of them in her current state.
The request is in direct response to Spears having her children taken from her last week, and is one I am wholeheartedly behind - indeed it is a request which should have been made long ago. Spears is often seen dragging the unfortunate pups around such unsuitable locations as bars and nightclubs. In one particularly unpleasant incident, Spears is alleged to have failed to seek immediate treatment for one of her dogs, London, after he was stepped on and broke his leg.
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Animal welfare
With all its claims to greenness, I was kind of surprised to hear that Marks and Sparks still sold Veal of any sort, but the good news is, it's taking imported white veal (along with white calves' liver) off its shelves.
M&S has announced that from Wednesday, it will remove the two products from its food stores, but will continue to sell British 'rose' veal, which it claims is from animals 'reared in well-lit barns and fed a natural diet which meets the welfare standards of both Compassion in World Farming and the RSPCA. The chain's food director Steven Esom said: "We have banned white veal as we were increasingly unhappy with the animal welfare standards associated with the rearing of calves."
Earlier in the year, M&S improved the welfare for pigs used in its fresh and speciality pork products, which is now 100% outdoor-bred.
Related: Marks and Spencer's first wind powered stores to open | Marks and Spencers' Fairtrade fashion and homewares
Green News
When I heard that fast food giant McDonalds was up for an animal welfare award at the RSPCA's Good Business Awards next week, I was pretty stunned too. I decided to speak to the RSPCA's Head of External Affairs, David Bowles, for an explanation.
David provided me with some information about the UK arm of the company that shows it's been doing a lot more than painting its branches green in recent months. He first stressed that the award is only recognising the work of McDonalds in the UK, which operates very differently from its parent company in the USA, and even its branches across the Channel.
I was most surprised to hear that McDonalds UK has become the first fast food restaurant to use only free range eggs, not only for the eggs it uses in its breakfast muffins, but it also ensures that its mayonnaise and other sauces contain only free range eggs. This is more than a lot of major supermarkets and better respected restaurants have done, and despite my misgivings (and disinclination to eat at McDonald's myself!) I do have to give them credit for this policy.
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Health & beauty
If you'd like to sleep even easier at night, and take your ethical beauty purchases one step further, then this post is for you. There are a number of ethical beauty companies out there donating a portion of proceeds from the sale of various products to charity. Indeed, Cosmopolitan has even run a feature on the phenomenon, illustrating that the idea is catching on in the mainstream.
There are a number of causes and companies out there to choose from. Dr Hauschka donates proceeds from sales of its Minnie Driver Limited Edition Beauty Box to Trade Plus Aid, an organisation working to alleviate poverty, and proceeds from sales of its Lady Shakira Caine Limited Edition Beauty Box to Anti-Slavery International. Green People supports holistic cancer care trust Penny Brohn Cancer Care by giving them 10% of their net profits each year. PETA-approved MAC cosmetics channel the entire proceeds of sales of Mac Viva Glam lipstick into their MAC Aids Fund. Lush donates proceeds from sales of its Charity Pot to a number of different charities, which are listed here. The Body Shop sells a Stop Violence in the Home campaign lip gloss, with proceeds going to local campaign partners.
Animal welfare
Hot on the heels of her appearance in PETA's new ABC (Animal Birth Control) campaign video, Dita Von Teese has experienced a deluge of criticism for masquerading as an animal rights advocate despite insisting on wearing fur. Von Teese defended her choice of attire in arguably quite pathetic fashion, explaining that the furs were vintage, and worn only occasionally.
Even if what she claims about the furs is true, it still seems strange that a genuine animal rights activist, especially one who is constantly in the public eye, would opt to flaunt a taste for adorning herself in bits of dead animals. There is a definite lack of respect for the animal inherent in this gesture, even if Von Teese didn't buy the furs new, and doesn't approve of the practices involved in procuring such items of clothing.
Vegetarian and Vegan living
Fancy perfect pecs and bulging biceps, but object to a diet of skinless chicken, egg whites and whey powder? Wondering how you can achieve this, and still maintain high protein levels? Then you need to add Veganbodybuilding.com to your Favourites immediately! The site offers articles on nutrition, interviews with vegan bodybuilders, a gallery, a forum, and even a page of 'Vegan Fitness' T-shirts so that you can disprove to your mates at the gym the myth that all vegans are weedy and thin...
The site also links to Veganfitness.com, which offers another forum, and Veganbodybuilding.org, which runs a mailing list, as well as having more vegan bodybuilder profiles and vegan bodybuilding T-shirts to browse.
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