Ethics

The undercover video strikes again. One of my Facebook friends posted a video of a chicken processing plant, clandestinely shot by some undercover worker.  The video, with its grim voiceover and matter-of-fact shooting style, showed how baby male chicks were processed at this particular location, because they don’t produce eggs like the females will. The footage showed the chicks whisked around on a conveyor belt en masse, then plant workers would pick out the males and put them on a different conveyor. At the end of that belt was a 2-foot drop off into a grinding machine that tore them into little bloody bits. All while still alive. I turned away this with appropriate horror, and happened to see my three tiny parakeets; Monty, Andy, and Bebe.  They were...

Listen to audio interview with prolific vegan activist, biz guy, and long-time friend, Mike Balducci.  Find out how almost getting hit by a car helped turn him vegan and form the successful upscale vegan meat replacement company, VeggieBrothers.com.

How Do I Become A Vegetarian: Building A Support System One question I get asked quite a bit is “how do I meet other vegetarians?” And it’s a great question.  If you’re doing anything by yourself, you’re less likely to succeed.  But if you’re surrounded by people you can talk to about going veg, you are more likely to do it well and stick with it. So, how do find those people who are doing the veg thing?  Well, it depends where you’re looking, and in what capacity you want to interact. Online A great place to start is online.  There are several online vegetarian forums out there, and one of the best ways to get started is to register and post in a few introductory threads to get going.  You can find other newbies and...

How Do I Become A Vegetarian: Thoughts from the owner of Vegan.com Today I had a conversation with Erik Marcus, renowned vegan author, lecturer, and owner of the long-term vegan authority site, Vegan.com.  And it was really, really great. The full conversation will be available through the upcoming WhyBecomeAVegetarian.com podcast.  But I wanted to give you a couple sneak previews and share a couple of Erik’s insights that he talks about in his new book: The Ultimate Vegan Guide: Compassionate Living Without Sacrifice. One idea that really struck me was Erik’s approach to making the change to vegetarianism or veganism.  First, he made it clear that he doesn’t guilt ANYONE into being one thing or another.  He said if you’re making any...

How do I STAY a Vegetarian? I got a question recently that I thought was particularly poignant and relevant to us veg-types.  I’m planning on doing a video response, but wanted to put out a written one as well. Here’s the question.  It’s from Sean here in Austin, Texas. He asks: I wanted some advice about this.  I’ve encountered several “ex-vegetarians,” or people who claim they used to be a vegetarian for several years.  But I wonder what made them choose to stop?  Is it true that most people who decide to go veg ultimately stop, or go back to their original eating habits?  And if they really don’t like it or feel low on energy, then it is intriguing why they would continue for several years before stopping. ...

People often ask what made me become a vegetarian. It was December of 2005, and I was living in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.  Little flecks of snow were fluttering down outside, but my warm apartment and the after-effects of a toasty meal — mashed potatoes and a grilled chicken sandwich with cheddar cheese melted all over it — had me satiated for the evening. I plopped down in front of the computer and started meandering around around various sites and stories on the Internet, waiting for something to catch my attention. About 10 minutes later, I happened upon an article online that described, in detail, what happens when a lobster is cooked. The article claimed that many people think that lobsters have n0 nervous system and can’t feel...