November 2011
18 posts
9 tags
Laboratory Dogs Free For First Time.
Forty beagles raised since birth in a pharmaceutical testing laboratory have been released and their first steps out into the real world were caught on tape.
Members of the Beagle Freedom Project brought the pups to LA hoping they would be able to find good homes. When the dogs arrived in the US, they were still in crates. In their whole lives, they were never allowed to experience physical...
9 tags
Store Sells More Video Games Than Milk.
Popular UK grocery store chain Sainsbury’s is reporting that unconventional items like video games, DVDs, and whiskey are selling better than milk.
It used to be that milk was in such high demand that grocery stores would put the milk case at the very back of the store so customers would have to walk through the entire store to get to it. Now, with the introduction of some unconventional...
6 tags
10 tags
Most Turkey Meat Contains Feces.
Every Thanksgiving, millions of Americans chow down on turkey unaware that the bird on their table is most likely covered in feces.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regularly tests the health of the nation’s food supply and this latest survey has detected a significant amount of fecal matter on most of the turkey meat in the country. The CDC estimates that 9 out of 10...
10 tags
Cheese Cut With Real Gold.
Just in time for the holiday season, Clawson Dairy in the UK have realeased a limited edition cheese filled with real gold.
At just over $100 a slice, Clawson churned up gold cheese for their ”rich and famous” customers. In case you were wondering if you’d be getting your money’s worth, Clawson told the Daily Mail UK “You can see the gold clearly in the slices and...
10 tags
Bestiality Linked to Penile Cancer.
A new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine shows a possible connection between men who have sex with animals and an increased risk of penile cancer.
Researchers compared hundreds of penile cancer patients with hundreds of healthy men. Of both samples, a whopping 34.8% of the men admitted to having sex with animals but more men from the cancer group admitted to bestiality. From the...
9 tags
Pet Killers Collect Insurance Money.
The Association of British Insurers is raising alarm about a disturbing trend, people killing and injuring family pets to collect insurance money.
Currently, 2.3 million cats and dogs in Britain are covered by insurance plans. If an insured animal gets sick or injured, their insurance company will pay part or all of their vet expenses and if the animal dies an “early death” the...
8 tags
8 tags
8 tags
Stop The NYPD From Abusing Horses.
Occupy Wall Street activists clash with police every week; many are injured and media attention to the cause grows but what seems to have been forgotten is the trauma that the incidents cause police horses.
The NYPD are riding horses into stressful and chaotic situations. Thousands of screaming activists waving signs and banners clash with armored police with pepper spray and bull horns and...
3 tags
11 tags
Army Making Caffeinated Beef Jerky.
An Army lab outside of Boston, Mass. Is experimenting with infusing caffeine in beef jerky to help give soldiers an energy boost on the battlefield.
Among other “improvements” to military cuisine, the Massachusetts Army lab is working to create a beef jerky stick with as much caffeine as a strong cup of coffee. They hope the stick will be able to give energy to even the sleepiest...
12 tags
Mostly Food: Official McRib Ingredient List.
The McRib seems to the be the McDonalds menu item that everyone loves to hate and not without good reason. Not only is this nasty sammie made for the most unwanted bits of abused pigs, it’s filled with stuff that shouldn’t even be called food. Seriously, this thing contains azodicarbonamide which is used to bleach foam rubber gym mats.
Check out this offical list of McRib...
Going To Italy...
Hey everyone!
I’m taking off for Italy for about a week so things might slow down a little around here but I’ll continue to post when I can.
I’m looking forward to sampling all the soy gelato and stuffing my face with real Italian pizza!
Ciao.
12 tags
Alabama's Raw Meat Vending Machine.
Everyone’s used to the tiny bags of chips, old candy, and soda found in the common vending machine, but two Alabama businessmen have cooked up an idea for one that sells raw meat.
The Smart Butcher allows you to use cash or debit cards to purchase small packages of raw meat. The meat vending machine carries everything from steak to sirloin tips to sausages all for under $6. The first...
11 tags
Dog Held For Ransom Found Dead.
Jagger in happier times.
Two men are facing extortion charges after stealing an English bulldog and holding him for ransom before eventually killing him.
Jesse James Clark and Johnny Lee Norton stole Jagger from the home where he lived with a partially paralyzed woman in a wheelchair. The two attempted to extort a ransom of $1,000 and some pain pills from Jagger’s owner through text...
11 tags
Naked Woman Kills Horse, Climbs Inside.
A truly disturbed couple from Portland, Oregon, is under investigation after they killed a horse, skinned the body, and climbed inside…naked.
Twenty-one year old aspiring model, Jasha Lottin, and her male companion have posted pictures of themselves online, covered in blood and posing provocatively with a dead horse. The two bought a horse in Washington State, shot him in the head with a...
7 tags
October's Top Stories.
October was a truly spooky month. Among other things, we’ve seen people “living like dairy cows” and loving it, horses dying in the middle of Manhattan, and dudes munching on roadkill. I can’t wait to see what November brings but first, here are the top stories from October:
5. Carriage Horse Dies in NYC Street.
An exhausted and overworked carriage horse lays down and...
October 2011
29 posts
9 tags
Scared Police Kill Cows in Hail of Bullets.
Police in Quebec are working overtime to defend their actions after they shot two cows to death.
The incident started when two cows bound for a slaughterhouse in Quebec, Canada, escaped from a trailer. Local police responded to the scene and surrounded the terrified cows with their cars. When the cows were not willing to go quietly back to the trailer, police opened fire, killing both cows in a...
7 tags
10 tags
Taco Bell Firebombed...Over Bad Food?
A Taco Bell in Georgia was firebombed last weekend but this time the ALF had nothing to do with it.
A Taco Bell customer came through the drive-thru late Sunday night to order the new XXL Chalupa. When the man got home, he found the ratio of meat to vegetables in the deep-fried soft shell to be dissatisfying. He quickly phoned up the restaurant and expressed his anger. When he was told that the...
10 tags
NYC Mayor Backs Carriage Horse Biz.
After the controversial death of a carriaige horse in the middle of a busy street, New York City Mayor Micheal Bloomberg took to the airwaves to back the industry up.
When asked about the latest tragedy, Bloomberg expressed his support for the abusive carriage horse industry saying the animals “probably wouldn’t be alive if they didn’t have jobs.” Adding insult to...
12 tags
Texas Declares Chicken Fried Steak Day.
The Texas legislature has voted to officially recognize October 26th as Chicken Fried Steak Day in the Lone Star State.
House Resolution 1419 recognizing Chicken Fried Steak Day in Texas, passed without opposition. The bill’s text reads like a love letter to the unique entree that’s neither chicken or steak:
“WHEREAS Texans are renowned for their love of chicken fried steak,...
11 tags
Meat & Cheese The Most Shoplifted Items.
The British Centre for Retail Research has released the first-ever global study on shoplifting and has identified cheese and meat as the items most often stolen.
The Centre surveyed over 1,187 retailers from all business sectors and in 43 different countries. From these surveys, the researchers identified the top 7 ‘high-risk’ items, or in other words, items stolen most often....
8 tags
Carriage Horse Dies in NYC Street.
Concerned New York residents are calling for an investigation after a carriage horse knelt down and died in the middle of a busy Manhattan street Sunday.
En route to Central Park near 54th and 8th Ave, a large white horse used by the NYC carriage industry knelt down and died in the middle of the road. The law enforcement unit of the New York ASPCA is one of the groups calling for an...
8 tags
Woman Treated Like a Cow For a Day.
In a bizarre PR stunt for Mason Dixon Farm, a woman won the chance to “live the life of a dairy cow for a day” as part of their “V.I.P. Dairy Farm Experience.”
Mason Dixon claims their cows are treated so well that they invite people to spend a day on their farm living like one. Winner Carol Yemola from Gettysburg seemed to have a great time. It sounds like Carol was...
11 tags
13 tags
France Bans Vegan Meals In Schools.
The French government has issued an order which mandates that all lunches served in public and private school cafeterias must contain animal products.
Arguing that animal products are part of a balanced diet, the French government has ruled that every public and private school in the nation must serve meat and/or dairy with every meal. No longer will students be given the option of eating...
11 tags
Cops Kill 49 Released Zoo Animals.
Forty-nine exotic animals were shot and killed in Ohio after a zoo owner released them from their enclosures just before committing suicide.
Before Terry Thompson shot and killed himself in his driveway, he released more than 18 Bengal tigers, eight bears, one baboon, three mountain lions, and two wolves from their cages. Alarmed residents called the local Sheriff who responded with force. He...
14 tags
McDonalds Launches TV Channel.
McDonalds is about to roll out their own TV channel produced specifically for TVs that will be hung inside their restaurants.
People coming in for a quick bite will now be subjected to a barrage of advertisements courtesy McTV. McDonalds is starting to mount dozens of flat screen TVs all over their stores that will play a special programming mix of entertainment and advertisements. Audio will...
11 tags
Man Eats Only Roadkill For 30 Years.
A man in the UK has found a way to eat meat everyday while maintaining a tiny ecological footprint, swearing off factory farms and eating roadkill instead.
Johnathan McGowan has lived off eating roadkill for over 30 years. He is a professional taxidermist who has been collecting and eating dead animals off the road since he was 14-years old. He scours the highways looking for freshly killed...
10 tags
FDA Allows Sale of Oil-Tainted Seafood.
A study published in the Environmental Health Perspective journal reveals the FDA approved the sale of seafood tainted with petroleum.
After the worst oil spill in history occurred off the coast of Louisiana in 2010, sea life in the area became contaminated with toxic petroleum. The FDA was tasked with keeping a close eye on seafood coming from Gulf waters. Disturbingly, much of what has been...
6 tags
13 tags
Eating Less Meat Could Double Global Food Supply.
A new study says eating less meat could help double the world’s food supply.
Along with sustainable farming, and reduced deforestation (both issues related to meat and livestock feed production) eating less meat might mean more food for everyone. Researchers suggest that by using prime farmland to grow food to feed humans rather than inefficient livestock, countries could increase their...
10 tags
Win Free Meatless Jerky!
One of my all-time favorite brands of vegan jerky is Primal Strips.
Primal Strips are made by extreme sports fanatics who designed the stuff with meat-eaters in mind. No joke. They want people who eat meat to be totally fooled. In a blind taste test for Men’s Health, tasters couldn’t even tell the difference.
Now’s you chance to try some of these for yourself. Primal Strips...
12 tags
Activists Release 60,000 Salmon.
The FBI has launched an investigation into what could possibly be the single largest animal liberation action in US history.
In two separate incidents at the same San Francisco Bay fish hatchery, activists clipped the zip ties holding a net confining 60,000 young salmon. The fish hatchery was raising salmon for a reintroduction project managed by area youth from a pro-fishing organization...
13 tags
Military May Kill Rats to Prove Firepower.
In September, an illegal fishing vessel was picked up by the US Coast Gaurd near Alaska who intended to impound the ship until it discovered it’s furry passengers, tons of rats.
Not only was the ship filled with rats, a crew of 22 were on board along with 10 miles of drift nets, 22 tons of squid, and 30 dead sharks. The crew were taken to shore for violating laws against using drift nets...
9 tags
Tofu Stars in New 3D Films.
China is about to cash in on the booming 3D movie market with what they hope will be their SpongeBob SquarePants.
In production from Magic Dumpling Entertainment, “Tofu Boy” has all the makings of a Chinese 3D blockbuster. The story draws from the classic tale of, Pinocchio but we don’t know how similar the new film will actually be to the original story. Perhaps the figure...
9 tags
Illegal Net Kills Thousands of Sharks.
The Department of Parks and Wildlife suspect Mexican fishermen for the illegal netting and deaths of 2,000 - 3,000 sharks off the coast of Texas.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials were shocked by the number of dead sharks found in the 2-3 mile long illegal net pulled from the Gulf Coast. The illegal gill net was dropped 4 miles north of the Mexican border in Texan waters. Fishermen...
9 tags
13 tags
McDonalds Gets Veal Burger.
The menu at a fast-food chain might be the last place you would expect to see veal but McDonalds is about to to make it happen.
Swiss McDonalds customers will soon be able to order the McZuri, a 100% ground-veal burger. The master chefs who concocted this unholy recipe opted out of using the cheese on burger and instead put on a hash brown patty. The McZuri will be sold only at locations...
7 tags
Military Buys 1,000 Muskrat Hats.
After wearing synthetics for years, part of the Canadian Military will go back to wearing real fur hats.
The Department of National Defense spent $65,000 for 1,000 muskrat trimmed hats. They told press the synthetic fur hats that forces have worn for years no longer meet the needs for the Canadian climate and that real fur reflects “Canada’s proud heritage.” That, of course,...
11 tags
Popeye's New Chicken Spoons.
National chicken chain, Popeye’s, is running a limited time deal on fried chicken pieces shaped like spoons.
Popeye’s “Dip’n Chick’n” scoops are spoon shaped pieces of fried chicken specially designed as a vehicle for sauce. The scoop shaped chicken allows users to eat a grotesque amount of sauce with every bite. Gone are the days of dipping fried meats...
9 tags
Egg-Laying Hens Fed Seal Blubber.
Scientists from the Poultry Science Association attempting to reduce the harmful effects of eating eggs are experimenting with feeding blubber from slaughtered Canadian seals to egg-laying hens.
Nutritionists say that the average industrialized diet produces an Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio that is higher than necessary. Omega-6 oils are found in plant oils as well as unhealthy foods such as animal...
10 tags
Dresses Made of Cow Nipples.
Last week, British fashion designer Rachel Freire unveiled her latest designs, dresses made almost entirely of cow and yak nipples.
To make her couture cow dresses, Freire went to a leather tannery in the UK and bought 3,000 discarded nipples. She had them sent through the tanning process and worked with them like leather. Some elements of her designs, such as the metal piercings, play...
8 tags
13 tags
September's Top Stories.
It’s been a wild month at The Informed Vegan. We broke the news about Bob’s Red Mill, saw abused lab chimps experience their first sunlight in 30 years, and helped challenge the math of a famous sausage maker.
I can’t wait to see what October will bring but first, here are the top stories of September.
5. Is Meat Worth It?
Seventy-percent of the Amazon has been destroyed to...
September 2011
32 posts
11 tags
Veg Dating Site Mostly Meat Eaters.
Yet another controversy is set to hit the vegan community, this time in the UK. Online dating site VeggieDates.co.uk, which links vegans and vegetarians with like-minded companions, has been exposed as a fraud.
A complaint filed to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) caused the dating site to reveal that the majority of Veggiedates users are not actually vegan or vegetarian. The reason is...
12 tags
Cargill Recalls Tainted Turkey...Again.
After being subject to a 36 million pound tainted turkey recall in August, Cargill is at it again.
Earlier this year, Cargill meat processing was forced to recall 36 million pounds of salmonella tainted turkey. Controversy erupted when it came out that both Cargill and the USDA knew about the contamination a full year before the products were pulled from shelves. The diseased product killed 1...
11 tags
Indian Cows Bite Back.
The loss of open spaces might be to blame for a recent spike in reports of abused and neglected Indian cows lashing out.
Reports of injuries from cows biting people on the streets of Delhi have spiked dramatically. A total of 17 cow bite cases have already been reported for the first half of 2011. This is more that the total number of reported bites in the last six years combined. Bites can...