Displaying items by tag: ethical
Is Palm Oil Vegan?
"If conscientious consumption means we avoid contributiong to suffering, palm is clearly problematic." ~ Mark Hawthorne
My vegan lifestyle is a continuous evolution - I'm constantly learning something new about food, nutrition, the environment, ethics, politics, etc. No wonder many people find veganism intimidating - there's a lot to consider! When I first went vegan I looked at it very simply - I didn't eat any products that came from animals and I could verify this by looking at labels, seeking out vegan certifications and avoiding the obvious (meat, dairy, leather, silk, etc). But as I became more passionate about the lifestyle and made it my career to inspire and educate others on the topic, I realized that there's a lot more than meets the eye. Some may find this overwhelming, but I believe that if we take things step by step and strive to be informed, we can each develop a well-rounded perspective on our personal choices. A perfect example is palm oil - in this article I explore this confusing and touchy subject, and offer some suggestions on how you can keep your purchases as ethical as possible
Official Statement from Bob's Red Mill Regarding OHSU Donation & Animal Testing
I was deeply saddened when the blogosphere and social media world released information about Bob's Red Mill donating money to OHSU, a facility that is known to do animal testing. I recently interviewed Bob Moore and had posted the video just days before this happened. However, I was unsure how to react and felt that there must be more to the story - it didn't seem like Bob would knowingly give money to a place that did this kind of testing. Along with many other bloggers, Tweeters, and Facebook users I communicated my feelings to the company and even touched base with one of their team members via email, who seemed very disturbed by the situation. Well, the waiting paid off - Bob published a letter tonight on the company website explaining his decision and the Dean of OHSU responded as well. Here are the highlights:
VegNews, Portman, Go Daddy, Oliver...Is There Such Thing as a Perfect Vegan?
April 2011 was intense as far as vegan controversy goes:
- April 1st was the day most people found out about the CEO of Go Daddy killing elephants
- On April 11th the press announced that Natalie Portman stopped being vegan during her pregnancy
- April 14th was the day vegans expressed outrage over VegNews' use of animal products in their vegan magazine and website
- On other days I read articles disapproving of Kathy Freston and Tal Ronnen, and on Twitter I was asked to explain why I support Jamie Oliver when he uses meat and dairy on his show
- And just a few days before the month started I had some heavy conversations about vegans being offensive to non-vegans