As part of his campaign to encourage people to slim down, lower their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, and live longer, Chicago City Health Official Dr. Terry Mason is encouraging everyone to join him in going vegetarian for January.

This is great news, considering that Chicago is epicenter of the slaughter industry. Dr. Mason is coming under massive fire for his decision but he is on the side of logic, reason, and taste. A vegetarian/vegan diet is better for your health, the environment, and tastes so much better than anything else. Mason has a wonderful quote:

"You put the good fuel in your car and put the bad fuel in your bodies, what sense does that make?"

A 140 year-old lobster was set to be served for dinner at New York restaurant but fortunately animal activists were able to dissuade the restaurant from cooking the lobster instead returning him to sea.

This lobster has outlived every human on earth! It would have been tragic for any human to eat him just to fulfill some sick ego.

Way to go everyone for pitching in and speaking up to help save this little guy from a horrific death that sadly many experience every day.

Joan Jett is a tough vegan badass rocker icon that defies all stereotypes. She burst onto the music scene and proved that women could write, produce, and perform rock music better than most men. She is an advocate for a vegan diet which keeps her strong, healthy, and looking like she hasn't aged a single day since 1980.

In a wonderful interview she gave recently she was asked about people who say that vegans/vegetarians are weak and her response was perfect:

"People who say things like that are the weak ones for eating animals when it is completely unnecessary to do so in order to sustain life. To give [in to] the urge to eat flesh just because you can—now that’s weak! It’s like eating your dog or cat. It may take something like bird flu or mad cow disease to convince people to stop killing animals for food."

Just in time for the holiday season, hot chocolate has been found to contain Melamine, the substance found in cow's milk that is said to cause death in high quantities. One more good reason to have a vegan holiday this year.

Be safe and tell your non-vegan friends and family to lay off the hot chocolate unless it's vegan.

COOKING TIP: Try heating up a cup of chocolate soy on the stove and put in a vegan candy cane to stir. I've been living off this stuff for weeks.

It seems like the Baboons are the smarter ones here.

The federal government has introduced plans to round up all wild horses in America and send them to slaughter. Some 31,000 wild horses are set to be rounded-up and killed in a mass murder. The project is intended to protect "grazing land used by the cattle industry(link)."

Activists are calling for the government to save the wild horses but so called experts claim the horses are invasive species. Perhaps the cattle are just as much of an invasive species as well. The motivation behind the killing is cloudy however because the government now says that the horse meat will be sold to "foreign markets."

If people stopped buying beef, the cattle industry would collapse and the horses would be saved. Please speak out against the needless slaughter of 31,000 wild horses.

Here's some of the this week's most interesting articles to read while you're pretending to work this Monday.

- Hope fades for 90 year giant tortoise Lonesome George in his search for love.

- Greed is killing the world's tuna population and ultimately us.

- "Mountains of manure" being produced by the factory farms in Maryland getting crap from the locals.

- Farmers in a Catch-22 over saving the endangered lynx.

- Some of the world's cutest vegetarians caught on camera.

- Sign-up to be in a new documentary about veganism.

ACTION ALERT! Tell Amazon.com to stop selling fur.

And as always...something to keep you smiling.



Have a good week.

Animal tormentor Michael Vick pleaded guilty today to his dog fighting charge. The plea reduced his sentence from 3 years in prison to 4 years probation with 'good behavior.' He was also issued an additional fine of $2,500 (link).

Vick really got off easy in this case. The horror that he inflicted on dozens of animals is not easy to ignore. Unfortunately, both the courts and the NFL do find it easy; there's rumor that Vick will return to the NFL next season (link).

Vick was not only participating in cruel dog fighting he was running the whole show. Between 2001 and 2007 Vick ran 'Bad Newz Kennels' and made thousands of dollars at the expense of animals. In 2007 he was convicted of shooting, downing, hanging, electrocuting and killing dogs by slamming them down on the ground (link).

Hopefully the NFL will not allow Vick to represent the organization by playing next season.

Do you think Michael Vick served his time? Will he go back to committing animal abuse?

This is the best thing I've seen all day. How could this video make you feel anything but love?

There is no doubt that veganism is one of the most effective forms of environmental activism, even the UN has issued a report that backs this up. The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is involved in their own brand of environmental activism and has recently resurfaced to express their discontent for President-elect Obama and his plan to protect the environment.

The ELF's press office recently released this statement:

“The incoming Obama Administration’s plan for the environment, or lack thereof, may very well influence the activities of the Earth Liberation Front throughout the next four years,” stated Lisa Nesbitt, one of four new press officers for the NAELFPO. “The $150 million in damages caused by the ELF in the last decade to environmentally destructive corporations was, in part, a direct response to the refusal of the U.S. Government to take necessary measures to stop environmental destruction…

“The U.S. Government has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol, refused to permanently protect the Artic [sic] National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), refused to stop the logging of national forests, and refused to heighten the Energy Act standards for light cars, trucks and commercial vehicles - the greatest contributor to global warming,” Nesbitt continued. “We have one message for the incoming Obama Administration: act to protect the environment or the ELF will (link).”

This week's spotlight falls on Vegan musician/activist Nellie McKay. McKay is one the best things happening right now in music. She blends feminism, animal rights, politics, and humor with incredible melodies in a way that is both emotionally moving and laugh out loud hysterical. McKay's music has so many layers to it. It is enjoyable if you choose to listen only to what's being shown on the surface but even more enjoyable if you decide to peel away the layers and listen over and over again.

McKay infuses animal rights and veganism in all of her music, but two of my favorites take a clear stance on the matter focusing on animal testing at Columbia University and loving your shelter dog.

"Columbia is Bleeding"

"Dog Song"

Nellie McKay is one of my favorite artists of all time. My best friend turned me on to her awhile back and it has been one of my most important musical finds ever.

Enjoy.

Her Website.