Quorn sent me four vegan burger patties to try. Since this is Quorn’s first vegan product it’s also the first Quorn product I’ve ever tried. I was eager to taste a product from a brand that so many of my lacto-ovo vegetarian friends had been raving about.

I ate one burger for lunch, sharing it with my toddler son. Even as it was cooking (a quick minute and a half in the microwave) I knew it was going to be great. The burger just smelled so good!

I cut it into small bite-sized pieces and together my son and I dipped the pieces into vegan sandwich dressings – vegan mayo, mustard, and catsup. He scarfed them right down.

For comparison, whenever we go out to eat at a local burger joint I offer a bit of my veggie burger to my son. He never eats it. My son eats chick’n patties and vegan seafood, but when it comes to veg burgers he’s pretty picky. So the fact that he ate this Quorn burger was revolutionary!

The last three Quorn vegan burgers were eaten for dinner with my husband and my mom. We sandwiched them between burger buns, slathered on the mayo and mustard, added a piece of lettuce and a couple slices of tomato. (We gave my son a couple bites of the burger and then we gave him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.)

Comments from my husband:

“Quorn veggie burgers are perfectly seasoned and have a taste that harkens back to the neighborhood barbecues I went to as a child. But they’re much healthier than those burgers were and much much better for the animals. Overall the best veggie burgers I’ve had.”

My mom’s comments about the Quorn vegan burger:

“I loved it. It has a good chewy texture and good taste. It was filling but not fatty. I think it would make a good addition to a quick stove-top casserole, broken up, as well.”

Then there’s me. I loved the Quorn burgers. They have a wonderful scent that causes the mouth to water. You can taste these burgers before you take a bite. Then, when you bite into one both the taste and the mouth-feel are extremely satisfying. I can’t wait to see these burgers for sale at my local grocery stores!

Image is a screenshot from the Quorn website.

Most of the animals who are killed by humans are those who are killed in order to become food for humans to eat. Moreover, the number of animals who LITERALLY suffer to death as a result of animal agriculture dwarfs the number of animals killed for fur, killed in shelters AND killed in laboratories combined. Your food choices matter MOST.

Over at the nerdy blog Counting Animals, the author has taken a close look at the number of animals who suffer to death as a result of animal agriculture. These are the animals who don’t die as a result of slaughter, they literally suffer to death as a result of factory farming methods.

The analysis begins:

“There is no dispute over the fact that well over 95% of the animals that die at the hands of humans are those that are killed for food. But, unfortunately, it is also true that they receive a smaller share of human compassion than that warranted by either their numbers or the intensity of their suffering.”

I added the emphasis above (bold) while the Counting Animals blogger did the other addition. The numbers came out to be these below.

Animals killed for fur, in shelters and in laboratories: approximately 19,523,000

• Fur: approximately 3,873,000 animals killed for fur each year. Some are wild animals like foxes caught in traps but most are minks raised on fur farms.
• Shelters: an estimated 4,000,000 animals are killed in shelters each year. These animals are mostly cats, dogs, and rabbits.
• Labs: about 11,650,000 animals are killed in research facilities every year. Most of these animals are rats and mice.

Animals who suffer to death: over 137,831,000

• Chickens: each year about 7,533,000 hens suffer to death as a result of battery cages in the egg industry, about 98,014,000 chickens suffer to death as a result of leg deformities in the meat industry, and approximately 32,284,000 chickens suffer to death during transport from farm to slaughter adding up to approximately 137,831,000 chickens who suffer to death before slaughter.
• Other farmed animals (turkeys, pigs, cows): not counted in this examination.

Check out the whole article for details on how the numbers above were crunched. The link is http://www.countinganimals.com/is-vegan-outreach-right-about-how-many-animals-suffer-to-death/

Looking purely at the issue of animal death and disregarding suffering, Animal Visuals has created a useful tool that compares various food sources and the related numbers of animal deaths each food causes. Take a look:

There, the creator Mark Middleton concludes:

“A diet of plants causes the fewest animals to be killed. Leaving chickens and eggs out of our diets will have the greatest effect on reducing the suffering and death caused by what we eat.”

For the complete analysis by Middleton, read his detailed examination at http://www.animalvisuals.org/projects/data/1mc

Clearly, the numbers indicate that the largest abuse of animal welfare and animal rights take place in animal agriculture. You can “save” more animals simply by refusing to eat them and by encouraging others to do the same than by virtually any other form of animal advocacy.

Despite all the above, Ward M. Clark has published a rant against veganism based on the unlikely possiblity that a very carefully planned omnivorous diet consisting of meat sourced from either farmed animals who graze purely on land unfit for any other more environmentally-sound purpose or animals who have been hunted in an environmentally-friendly* manner might cause fewer animal deaths than some vegan diets:

“A pound of wild venison (net cost in animal death: about 1/120th of one animal) almost certainly causes less ‘death and suffering’ than a pound of rice (net cost in animal death: including rodents, insect, reptiles and amphibians, number of deaths may range into the hundreds).”

Clark compares apples to oranges, ignoring the primary reason that the majority of Americans do not hunt or work in slaughterhouses: there is a difference between intentionally and needlessly killing an animal versus accidentally causing the death of an animal. For example, if we are unable to stop our car just as a squirrel runs into the road that accidental death doesn’t give us license to breed, confine, mutilate, and slaughter rabbits to make fur hats.

Consistent with his bias, Clark doesn’t address the fact that most people who eat meat do not eat meat that could be described as humanely sourced; most people eat animal products that come from factories:

“For each food animal species, animal agriculture is now dominated by the factory farm - 99.9 percent of chickens raised for meat, 96 percent of laying hens, 99 percent of turkeys, 95 percent of pigs, and 78 percent of cattle”
source: Eating Animals

But the most compelling argument against Clark’s claim is that even if the diet he imagines is possible for some people, it’s still the case that most people will not have that possibility. There simply isn’t enough land to feed everyone in a way that is both “humane” and omnivorous. The math on that is easy: if everyone ate wild venison (aka Bambi’s mother) then there would quickly be no more deer.

The truth is undeniable: anyone who thinks that animal suffering and animal deaths matter will embrace a plant-based diet. Whether they should go 100% vegan or not may be debateable depending on their particular circumstances, but there is simply no ethical justification whatsoever for consuming factory farmed animal products.

—

*Environmentally-friendly hunting is usually an oxymoron. See why in this article >>

Hat tip to Marcus for drawing my attention to these articles.

In fact, we have a few options. Vegan kids CAN eat mac and cheese! Take a look…

Store-bought vegan mac and ‘cheese’:

• Leahey Gardens Macaroni & Cheese
• Road’s End
  Organics123z n’ Chreese
• Amy’s Rice Macaroni
• Candle Cafe Macaroni & Vegan Cheese

Home-made vegan mac and ‘cheese’ recipes:

• Best Vegan Mac and Cheese in the entire world…seriously
• Easy Macaroni and “Cheeze”
• Vegan Mac and No Cheese
• The Official Vegan Soapbox Mac and Cheese Recipe by Plump Vegan

Do you have other recipes or store-bought versions of vegan mac and cheese? Please share below in the comments!

The notes below are from a talk given at one of the morning plenary sessions by Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy and Why They Matter as well as Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals. According to Literati.net, he has published more than 200 papers and 22 books!

From his talk:

• Why do we slaughter sentience? How do we decide who lives, who dies, and who suffers?
• Why do we do invasive things to animals in the name of entertainment or science?
• Who do we eat and why? WHO not what.
• Power doesn’t mean license.
• Good welfare isn’t good enough.
• What do the animals feel about what we do to them?
• Fish feel pain. There’s actually more scientific evidence that fish feel pain than there is that human neonates or preterm infants feel pain.
• We’ve recently discovered more data on the emotional lives of animals formerly thought to be unemotional: bees and jellyfish.
• Chickens can empathize and do math.
• Cows and pigs respond positively to touch and friendship… just like humans!
• Chimpanzes suffer PTSD from captivity.
• The differences between humans and animals are of degree, not kind. We all suffer, we all experience joy.

Here is a video of Marc Bekoff describing what he does:

—
Our notes from the 2011 AR conference will be all at http://www.vegansoapbox.com/topics/ar2011/. Notes from 2009′s conference are at http://www.vegansoapbox.com/topics/ar-2009/.

Mimicking the style of the milk industry campaign, the anti-milk ad features an angry woman holding blood- splattered milk cartons, exclaiming, “PMS? No, I’m livid with the milk industry for abusing and killing cows. Most Cows in Dairy Production Are Painfully Mutilated, Intensively Confined, and Mercilessly Killed” and directing consumers to MilkIsCruel.com.  

The full-page ad is set to run in an upcoming issue of Ms. Magazine, the popular feminist journal that helped lead the charge to retire the misleading and offensive dairy industry ads.  

Cows produce milk for the same reason humans do, to nourish their young. In the dairy industry, cows are forcibly impregnated in what the industry refers to as a “rape rack” and then kept in a constant cycle of pregnancy and lactation. So that all of their milk can be sold for profit, baby calves are ripped from their mothers’ sides when they are only a few days old. “Surplus” calves, including almost all of the males, are shipped to slaughter or sold for veal production. Calves raised for veal are usually fed an artificial, iron-deficient milk replacement formula designed to induce borderline anemia and pale-colored flesh. Many calves are also chained by the necks in narrow wooden crates, unable to turn around or lie down comfortably for the duration of their short, miserable lives.  

The constant cycle of pregnancy, birth and often artificially elevated milk production takes a huge toll on the cows’ bodies and most are considered  “spent” at six years of age, when they are shipped to slaughter for low-grade hamburger meat. Cows would normally live 20-25 years. Worn out by the cruelties endured in milk production, many cows, called “downers,” are too sick or injured to walk to the kill floor. Workers often use forklifts and chains to push or drag these helpless animals to their deaths, tearing ligaments and breaking bones along the way.  

“The extreme violence and abuse cows and calves face at the hands of the milk industry is truly unconscionable. Conscientious consumers can get more than enough calcium and other nutrients from healthy, vegetarian foods without all of the saturated fat, animal cruelty and dishonest marketing from the dairy industry.”  

~ Mercy For Animals’ Executive Director Nathan Runkle

For more information, visit www.MilkIsCruel.com.

As you can see, the reasonable conclusion is that “a diet of plants causes the fewest animals to be killed. Leaving chickens and eggs out of our diets will have the greatest effect on reducing the suffering and death caused by what we eat.”

I have posted this graphic on Vegan Soapbox before, but it’s so good that it bears repeating. We all need to be reminded every now and then of the impact of our food choices. This graphic does an excellent job of that.

Please share this with the nonvegans in your life. Direct them here to Vegan Soapbox or send them straight to the original source: http://animalvisuals.org/projects/data/1mc

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IkwE8tHBAs

While the article does some good by showcasing the variety of milks availble and by making soy, almond, and rice milks nearly as well-known as cow’s milk, the article missed the mark a bit by stretching the truth and omitting some facts.

First, what they did well: They started with a photo of soy milk and proclaimed some of its virtues. Then they tackled almond milk:

“Almond Milk: pour it if… You’re looking for a low-calorie way to get calcium and vitamin D into your diet. The fortified kind is also a good source of healthy fats.”

It’s true that almond milk tends to be low calorie. Although, I’m pretty sure that most people who choose almond milk do so for the flavor. It’s a sweet nutty flavor that makes a great ice cream base.

Glamour got another part right: they did not recommend full fat cow’s milk for adults. They suggest skim milk or 1%. If you’re going to drink it (despite the cruelty involved) then do yourself a favor and skip the fat. Cow’s milk fat is the worst kind of fat and won’t help your heart in any way.

But that’s about all they got right. Take a look at how Glamour got it wrong: Glamour says, “Soy milk lacks the calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12 of dairy, so choose one that’s fortified—or take a multivitamin for insurance”. But here are a couple things they forgot to mention:

1. The vitamin D in cow’s milk has been added, too. Commercial cow’s milk from the grocery store has been fortified just like most commercial soy milks. Raw cow’s milk doesn’t have any vitamin D.
2. Lots of other foods have calcium: some dark leafy greens and legumes.

And Glamour made claims about soy milk and breast cancer as well as thyroid issues. Learn more about the safety of soy here: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/soy_harm

Glamour wrote, that you should skip cow’s milk if “You’re lactose intolerant or have a dairy allergy” but they neglected to mention that the majority of humans on this planet are lactose intolerant! And they didn’t even mention the ethical or environmental reasons to ditch cow’s milk.

What else did Glamour get wrong? Well Glamour didn’t mention coconut milk, hemp milk, or grain milk.

Lastly, the article over-emphasized cow’s milk high protein content but neglected to mention how that’s not necessarily a good thing. Americans tend to consume too much protein as it is, which can damage your kidneys. Moreover, nutrition experts say that the high protein content of cow’s milk make it more difficult to absorb calcium. Harvard School of Public Health tackles this issue in depth. Check it out here >>

You can learn more about vegan protein sources here: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/protein

A program in Canada hopes to increase awareness of and compassion for dairy cows, mothers who suffer.

The press release says:

Liberation BC is asking animal lovers to wear a cow ribbon this Mother’s Day to raise awareness about the cruelty inherent in the dairy industry. Dairy cows endure the traumatic loss of a calf every year so that humans can take their milk.   

The campaign includes a cow-print ribbon pin which can be purchased by donation from the campaign website (www.cowribbon.com) as well as Mother’s Day cards, downloadable graphics, and flyers. The campaign website also has links to videos and stories about real stories of cows and calves rescued from the dairy industry. 
 
The dairy cow must give birth every year in order to produce milk, and thus is artificially inseminated on an annual basis.  As soon as a calf is born, the mother cow is forcibly separated from her baby and she is hooked up to a milking machine.  Dairy cows are known to bellow for days after losing their calves.  Female calves are raised to become dairy cows, while the males are sold to become veal or simply discarded. In the dairy industry, male calves are a byproduct and worth almost nothing. This is an unavoidable cruelty on even in the smallest organic farms.
 
“Every mother I know would give anything for her children, but we don’t think twice about tearing newborn calves away from their mothers and slaughtering them on the very day they are born so that we can eat a cup of yogurt,” says Glenn Gaetz, a director of Liberation BC. “Mother’s Day is the time when we honour motherhood. Wearing your cow ribbon is a great way to say that all mothers deserve to know their babies.”

From the campaign website:
“Dairy cows are symbolic representatives of all of the animal mothers whose lives and reproductive systems are manipulated by humans. The cow ribbon is a symbol of your concern for these suffering and abused mothers. Please take a stand and speak out for them.”

More information about the campaign can be found on the campaign website: www.cowribbon.com.

1. Start by prioritizing. OK, so you really like cheese. Is that a good excuse to keep eating other dairy-based foods that you can live without? Instead of drinking cow’s milk, switch to soy milk, rice milk, hemp milk, or almond milk. Instead of dairy-based cream cheese and ice cream, try soy or coconut based products. Experiment with what’s out there and learn to get creative!
2. Cut back on cheese. Get rid of the cheese in the fridge and only eat it when you’re at a restaurant. Stop ordering “extra cheese” if you’re prone to that and when you can, ask for the cheese on the side so it’s easier to eat less of it. If you’re used to eating cheese every day, cut back to once a week. If you’re used to eating it once a week, but back to once a month. Save cheese for special occassions or when you feel that you can’t find another option.
3. Be selective. Choose the kinds of cheeses you really enjoy and stop eating the rest. And stick to cheese that comes from a farm that you have personally visited. Remember, if they won’t show you where your food comes from, you shouldn’t eat it!!! ONLY eat from suppliers who are open and honest about what happens on the farm.
4. Try vegan alternatives. Start experimenting with vegan cheeses. There are LOTS of different kinds you can buy and even more that you can make yourself. When you find one you like, switch to that and cut out the cheese.
5. Forgive yourself if you make a mistake. If you slip up and eat cheese one day, just dust yourself off and try again. Remember that regression is part of the process for most people, it’s not an excuse to quit. Each new day is an opportunity for a new you.