Green News
Despite persistent poking from the Vegetarian Society, chocolate giant Mars is still putting animal rennet -- a substance derived from calves' stomachs -- in some of its top selling products, it was reported today.
All hell broke loose for Mars last year, when a decision to quietly add the ingredient to previously veggie-friendly products including Malteesers and Galaxy bars was rumbled and made public by unhappy vegetarians. Eventually, the company backed down and withdrew its decision. But it has since emerged that several products remain unsuitable for non meat eaters. The offending lines include Milky Way, Celebrations and Twix.
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Green News
What's the easiest way to piss off a vegetarian A-lister at Christmas? Celebrity skin care doctor, Neetu Nirdosh found out the answer pretty quickly this festive season, when he sent staunch veggie Victoria Beckham a load of skincare products -- presented in the carcass of a turkey.
It seems pretty unlikely that VB will be applying any of the products, which had presumably got quite intimate with giblets prior to the big day. Dr Nirdosh clearly did not do much in the way of reasearch, as while she doesn't make a big deal of the fact, it is well known Victoria is a strict veggie and -- unlike many of her fellow fashionistas -- refuses to wear fur.
[Via Ecorazzi]
Fashion & accessories
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!
Events and happenings
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.
Vegetarian and Vegan living
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?
Green News
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.
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Do It Yourself
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]
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