Reporting from Colorado: Vegan news you can use (12/2/12)

I can’t believe that last Sunday early morning, I was sitting on a couch in New York and this morning I’m sitting on a couch in Colorado. Things that are the same in this scenario: coffee, cats, fireplace. One big thing that is different: there’s a mountain outside my window!

I had fun sharing the road trip with you this week (links below) and next week I’ll share posts on how I’m managing in the kitchen with very few utensils, as well as my vegan dining adventures in my new city. For now, how about some vegan news?

This week’s vegan links and news

I suppose this is vegan news. Allegedly Ellen Degeneres is no longer vegan as she mentioned getting eggs from her next door neighbor, who raises “happy” chickens.. There were lots of thoughts shared on Facebook, Twitter and on blogs. I thought this letter, written by Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan, founders of Our Hen House, was fantastic: Dear Ellen: Let Us Tell You Something About “Happy”. Their follow-up commentary on the issue and the backlash to their letter is worth a listen on yesterday’s podcast: Episode 151: “New and stirring things are belittled because if they are not belittled the humiliating question arises ‘Why then are you not taking part in them?’”.

I love it when “mainstream” food sites offer posts such as this one: 6 Reasons to Give Veganism a Try

I have made it known that I am not a gluten-free vegan. But some of you are, so here you go: Seven tips for gluten-free vegans

From the Dalai Lama: ‘It’s Best to Go Vegetarian’

In the kitchen, Tal Ronnen offers some advice: Putting Taste in Vegan Cooking

Uh Oh. L’Oréal buys vegan beauty brand Urban Decay. I know a lot of vegans who use Urban Decay (me, me!) and are opposed to L’Oreal products because they still conduct animal testing. This is a serious bummer. Do you use Urban Decay? What will you do?

This week on the blogs

JL goes Vegan

WEDNESDAY: A vegan, her husband and two cats go on a road trip…

SATURDAY: Home! (JL goes Vegan in Colorado)

Stop Chasing Skinny

Have you stopped chasing skinny? Submit your story today!

Back in a few days with some pressure cooking fun!

Tagged as: vegan news, weekly round-up

http://twitter.com/RickiHeller Ricki Heller

Your view sounds stunning! So glad some things never change, though. Would love your take on the Ellen scandal. . . ? (Or is the intro, “supposed news” a hint?)
- http://jlgoesvegan.com JL
  
  Ha, @twitter-48088321:disqus , you caught me trying not to give an opinion! LOL
  
  Because Ellen has a “guide to go vegan” and a website on going vegan, I found it irresponsible to just sort of drop the “happy chicken” line in her show without explanation there, or on her website. At the end of the day, she can do whatever she wants, but if you’re going to educate about veganism, you need to get it right. Eggs = not vegan.
  
  I have more respect for people who eat 90 or 95% vegan but don’t go around with vegan blogs or t-shirts, than I do for those who claim “vegan” loud and proud and then say “hey, I’m not perfect vegan police, get off me” when they do eat/blog/write non-vegan.
  
  Veganism is not at all about perfection – but there is responsibility if people are putting themselves out as leaders/ educators in the movement. IMHO.
  - http://www.facebook.com/gena.hamshaw Gena Hamshaw
    
    Right on, JL.
  - Epicurean Vegan
    
    Great response! Practice what you preach–something Ellen is obviously not doing and it’s unfortunate. The letter from Our Hen House that you linked to was outstanding and I really hope Ellen reads it.
    By the way, welcome to Colorado!
    - http://jlgoesvegan.com JL
      
      @1c180e1071e4d2b11b34e6102e7fed4e:disqus Thank you for the welcome! So excited to be here!
http://twitter.com/RickiHeller Ricki Heller

I couldn’t agree more, JL. As you know, I try to be nonjudgmental about people’s diets. Since I appreciate those who don’t criticize what I eat, I prefer not to criticize the way that others eat. But there’s a difference between adopting a vegan diet, and adopting a vegan diet and then proclaiming it to the world.

There’s a pretty popular YouTube video of Ellen on Catie Couric’s show talking about why she went vegan and how she could never again see animals the same way. Apparently, her views have changed, but she felt it was okay to let her fans know about the change via a tangential remark in an interview with a guest on her show. In the end, I don’t care what she eats. But she’s a public figure, and I think she should take some responsibility for the fact that she made her veganism public, too; now make the change just as public.
http://twitter.com/thatwasvegan Barb

I actually think it’s great that L’Oreal is expanding their vegan line (they already have the EverPure line which is vegan (no animal products, no animal testing). Obviously it would be better if ALL their products were vegan, but I also see the value is corporations that bring vegan ‘mainstream’…
- http://jlgoesvegan.com JL
  
  I agree, @twitter-464809434:disqus. The reason I brought it up here is because a few months ago I posted about how happy I was that L’Oreal had a new vegan line of hair care – and several followers on Facebok felt like it wasn’t appropriate to use it if the company still did animal testing on other products. I saw their point. I did read last night that Urban Decay has issued a statement that their cruelty-free policies will remain in effect within the L’Oreal brand.