Hollywood babe Natalie Portman is stepping elegantly into the vegan shoe market as she collaborates with chic New York label Te Casan.

The predictably-named Natalie Portman Collection for 2008 will arrive in the label's NYC boutique in February, and is available to pre-order on the website from 15th January. The only glimpse I've had so far is this sultry pic of Nat wearing patent red Mary-Janes, suggesting that the range will be right on the spot for current trends. Rumour has it that Nat is not, in fact, a vegan herself, but it's good to see she's doing her bit in style...

As well as being made without animal ingredientsl 15. 5% of all Natalie Portman shoe profits will be going to charity. At $200 they're not what you'd call cheap, but as Just Jared points out, they're still a heck of a lot cheaper than Stella McCartney's vegan heels!

If, like me, you're tired of having turkey and all-butter mince pies advertised to you everywhere you look, then you might want to pop along to Animal Aid's Christmas Without Cruelty Fayre on Sunday. There will more than 80 stalls there, from a range of organisations including Viva!, PETA, Plamil Foods and the Vegan Society.

I really enjoyed last year's event, chomping my way through such delights as vegan fudge, vegan trifle (positively orgasmic, for the record!) and, of course, vegan turkey. I also picked up a lovely selection of Christmas cards from different animal charities. It was definitely a very good antidote to the meat-obsessed mainstream Yuletide marketing we're all subjected to.

The fayre runs from 10am to 5pm in Kensington Town Hall.

Related: Green things to do this weekend: tree planting days, Fair Trade fair and more.

It's a well known fact that parents wanting to get their kids into the local church school will go to almost any length to bend the truth when it comes to getting their little darlings into a less-rough school than the local comp. But as a Hindu school in London becomes the first to enforce vegetarianism as a condition of entry, will we soon see parents pretending their kids are veggie and shopping others they've spied grabbing a sneaky happy meal at McDonalds?

The veggie entrance policy, the first of its kind to come into effect at the Krishna-Avanti school in north-west London is unpopular with Mainstream Hindus, who are claiming it favours the Hare Krishna movement - which is backing the school and whose members follow strict vegetarian diets. But with fierce competition expected for places, the rule may simply be in place as a handy selection policy.

While I'm very much in favour of encouraging children to go veggie, I'm not sure that making a rule of it is right in any circumstances. And it seems unfair to alienate a large percentage of a wider group that could otherwise benefit from living near this school. What do you think?

It's not been a good week for Al Gore. First the spammers hit; now it seems that those lovely people at PETA are out to get him, too. They're branding Gore a hypocrite for continuing to eat meat while campaigning for action on climate change, and they're doing it in true PETA style: yesterday a flock of mansized poultry congregated outside parliament holding placards calling Gore a 'chicken' for not going veggie, and PETA's blog tells the rest of the story here.

Of course, whether or not Gore renounces hamburgers is unlikely to have any individual effect, but you'd think he might want to set an example, particularly after the UN revealed that meat farming produces almost 40 percent more greenhouse gases than the entire global transport system. Yet Gore has remained uncharacteristically shtum on the issue of going veggie, despite initial gentle persuasion from PETA (they initially cooked him a 'faux fried chicken' dinner to coax him into making the switch) before reverting to type and launching headlong into the familiar animal-suited humiliation-antics they seem to love so much.

I've never been a big fan of soya milk myself, but I know plenty of sufferers of lactose intolerance as well as hordes of happy, healthy vegetarians, vegans and eco-warriors that prefer to drink non-dairy milks. Now there's a way to ensure your soya fix couldn't be more fresh.

The Soyabella doesn't only make soya milk, but will take the "meat" of any suitable nut combined with the right proportion of water and heat to 98 degrees. This means you should have a kettle-full of pure, home made nut milk in about 15 minutes. The simple blade and heating element inside means you should also be able to make soups, porridge, coffee and rice paste - maybe even fresh baby foods. Perhaps I could recreate the Best Pasta Sauce Ever made of cashew cream and mushrooms that I had in a fantastic vegan restaurant... mmmm... $130 (£65).

[via Shiny Shiny]

They may be wholly against inflicting pain on defenceless animals, but for some veggies and vegans a bit of fun with willing humans is an entirely different matter. If you're a kinky veggie for whom leather is a phobia rather than a fetish, VeganErotica.com is for you. Here you'll find a selection of faux leather restraints, harnesses, belts, collars and whips, as well as vegan friendly lubricant. All items (well, bar the lubricant!) are made to order by the site owner, so you just need to send in your measurements, or those of your partner in play, and she'll create the perfect fitting item.

All faux leather products on the site are made of a particularly resilient substance called Lorica, which is resistant to scratch marks and tears. If you're feeling creative, you can just order some of this material from the site and make your own gear!

Related: Vegan condoms: enjoy dairy free sex! | Sex aids for vegans from Lovehoney.com

I opened my copy of PETA's Animal Times magazine yesterday to find myself face-to-face with a truly mouthwatering advertisement from Redwood Foods. Vegan feta cheese, vegan chorizo and vegan "beanfeast" paté have now been added to Redwood's already extensive list of delicious vegan treats.

It was the vegan feta which really caught my eye. I've missed feta cheese salads so much since I went vegan. Oh yes. Feta cheese, basil and sundried tomato salads, with a drizzle of olive oil... It really was about time someone spotted the gap in the market.

You should be able to get your hands on these latest additions to the Redwoods catalogue by heading to your nearest Holland and Barrett.

Caitlin Rosendorn, six, and Ian Kaminski, seven, have jointly earned the title of World's Cutest Vegetarian Kid. Both "cute" kids apparently enjoy educating others about their dietary choices, and seem very proud of their vegetarianism. I have to say, initially, I balked slightly at seeing yet another PETA competition based on entrants sending in photos of themselves, but it does seem as if they've picked two pretty devoted animal rights activists with these kids. I admit it's nice to see Ian all kitted out in his American football gear, thus flying in the face of any preconceptions about vegetarians (especially young ones) being sickly and weak. Caitlin hardly looks like a shrinking violet either!

Tofutti has brought out yet another flavour of Creamy Smooth - the soft cheese substitute is now available with delicious hints of Country Vegetable. I can safely say my vague attempts at shedding the few pounds I've accumulated as the weather's got colder are now completely doomed. I am literally incapable of allowing a tub of Creamy Smooth to sit in my fridge for more than half an hour. I love the stuff - and this new flavour is rapidly becoming my favourite.

If you want to get hold of some, check your local health food shops (I found some in my local Holland and Barrett), or get online and order some from Goodness.co.uk.

Related: Dairy free cheese is getting better all the time...

Every wine loving vegan knows how hard it is to maintain an up to date encyclopaedic knowledge of which wines are sullied with cow bones and chicken periods, and which are not. After all, there are a lot of wines out there. I really do wish someone would invent a handheld device with which I could check up on the ingredients used in the creation of a particular wine during visits to the pub - I'm truly sick of lager, but it's a bit embarassing carrying huge printed lists of veggie wines around on a night out!

However, in the absence of such a device, it's still good to know that I can at least order a drop to drink at home, safe in the knowledge that it has been verified animal friendly. I would definitely recommend the Viva! Wine Club for this purpose - the list of wines (and other alcoholic beverages) is truly impressive, and of course, given that they are a highly respected authority on all matters veggie and vegan, I genuinely trust Viva!'s word on the fact that all the wines on the list are devoid of animal products.

It's World Vegan Day today, and in honour of our soya-loving friends, I thought I'd share this great list of common misconceptions about vegans.

I'd love to go vegan myself, but being overly fond of cheese, I can't quite kick the dairy habit (the vegan stuff just still isn't cutting it, I'm afraid, and oh how I've tried to like it). But for today only, I'm avoiding all cow-related products, option for soya, veggies, tofu and nuts. Perhaps you're doing the same? Do send in any tips and tricks about making the vegan experience a bit more enjoyable. Meanwhile, here's that list...

1. “Vegans are an anaemic bunch”

No way Jose! Get yourself a bucket of cold water before you click into Vegan bodybuilders website. Olympic champion Carl Lewis, gorgeous Alicia Silverstone and hot Joaquin Phoenix (need I say more??) are amongst famous vegan hotties. You can see a longer list of vegan celebs here if you need further convincing.

Tomorrow (November 1st) is World Vegan Day. A number of organisations are planning events on or around the day itself - and if you want to help raise the profile of veganism even more, or indeed if there's simply nothing much going on around where you live, there are plenty of things you can organise yourself. For event details, and suggestions for campaigning activities, ActiVeg.org has a handy page here.

Don't forget that the whole of next month is also Vegan Month, so if you can't manage to sort anything out for tomorrow, you've still got plenty of time to organise the necessary resources to set up a literature stall, or leaflet local businesses. For even more campaigning tips, I would suggest that you order yourself a Vegan Society activist pack.

One organisation which is going all-out in recognition of World Vegan Day is cosmetics company Lush, whose staff are all adopting a vegan diet for the day - with some braver employees even planning to don giant vegetable outfits! Vegetarian campaigning group Viva! has also offered its support, and has sent Vegan Starter Packs to every Lush store, as well as setting up a helpline for Lush staff who want more information on following a vegan lifestyle. Lush products - although not all vegan - are guaranteed vegetarian and cruelty free, so with any luck this move will persuade a number of their already veggie workforce to go a step further! It would be nice, too, to think that this could be a sign that Lush may one day feel inclined to eschew entirely the honey and milk-based ingredients it uses in some of its products, and finally offer an entirely vegan product range.

If you want something saucy to spice up your browsing time, but aren't keen on looking at the flesh of flesh-eaters, then VegPorn.com should be your first port of call! An adult site made by veggies and vegans, and with a strict policy of only using veggie and vegan models, the site strives for the arguably oxymoronic title of a morally sound porn site. The site's creators also insist on a policy of using all shapes and sizes of model, so you can rest assured that no human cruelty - in the unpleasant form of body facism - is involved in the making of the site, either. In an amusing, Nigella-esque sexing-up of the culinary arts, there's even a section where you can see models cooking delicious vegan meals!

When you've got yourself adequately hot under the collar - or even if you're just more interested in the veggie/vegan flesh of your beloved than of strangers on a website - then it's probably time to follow the 'Store' link and visit The Sensual Vegan where you can choose from a range of vegan lubes, condoms, massage oils and sex toys.

Related: Vegan condoms

If you're a vegetarian, you're probably already starting to think about what you'll do for Christmas dinner this year. Is it going to be Linda McCartney sausages with all the trimmings (as usual) or will you make yourself unpopular by trying to concoct a separate, home-cooked main course alongside the turkey in an already over-full kitchen?

If either both these options fail to inspire you, Quorn has stepped in just in the nick of time. The new vegetable roast is a hearty, substantial main dish that you can enjoy smothered in veggie gravy as the cold nights draw in. It contains a blend of Quorn mince, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and bulgar wheat, making it a low-fat and tasty alternative to meat. Quorn vegetable roast can be found in the freezer cabinets at Sainsbury's, priced £2.99.