Foodie Penpals

I’m spending the summer with my husband’s family, so we got through all of the goodies before I remembered to snap some pictures!

Whole Foods banana bread: Everybody loved this. It was super moist, and even those who grimace at the word “vegan” loved it.

Chocolate Covered Katie’s fudge brownies: My husband replaced his daily Snickers bars with these. Enough said.

BLQ water: Apparently this was featured on some Real Housewives show, and it was certainly an experience. It has lots of nutrients, and it tastes just like regular water.

The Better Chip:

They really are better. My husband is a die-hard chip lover, so I loved being able to share some chips with him!

Macro food bars: Delicious on-the-go snacks. Good for breakfast!

This was so much fun, and I can’t wait to do it again soon!

Last Poet Standing: Emma M.

Emma M. won the Kindle prize and title of “Last Poet Standing” tonight after two months of weekly competitions. She won with her poem “Disposable Camera” that she described as trying to fit together all the puzzle pieces of her life. Bobbie took second, Breanne third and April fourth.

The audience texted in their votes and local musician Mallorie Lamb sang cover songs while the audience texted and awaited the verdict.  Each poet read two of their favorite poems throughout the competition. Shel Silverstein-themed poems seemed most popular as three competitors read theirs.

This was the second round of Last Poet Standing. The first took place January through March 2011. Garrett Sherwood won last year with this year’s emcee Skyler taking second.

Bobbie read “it all started with silverstein” and “ode to what inspires me” and “picadilly circus.” Emma read “Doorknobs,” “my mother never let me read shel silverstein” and “disposal camera.” Breanne read “Complimentary food and heated pools,” “it’s not the birds who leave, it’s the weather” and another untitled one. April read “The Hatter is Here,” “Inspired by greenhouses” and “i have heard the power lines sing.”

Break from my normally (absent) broadcasting

I’m gonna be bloggin’ about Last Poet Standing.

The Very Last Last Poet Standing, March 14, 2012

The last Last Poet Standing of the semester happens tonight at 8 pm. The American Idol-like poetry competition, which started with 30 crafty competitors, is now down to 4. April Bosselman, Emma Mason, Bobbie Gross, and Brianne Dayley compete tonight.

Skyler Meeks, LPS’ emcee, also acts as the only resident judge on an ever-changing panel of EAS members, English faculty, and guests from the audience. Audience picks count for a majority of the votes.

Each week has a different theme, although participants submitted original poems for the first submissions. Past themes include Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss, and places on campus.

The competition favors strong performance poetry, which is what won Garrett Sherwood the ipad prize last semester. See his video here:

The competition takes place at 8 pm in the Crossroads, Wednesday. Local musician Mallorie Lamb will provide (additional) environment.

Follow live blogging of the event here

Idaho Cattle Association introduces an animal cruelty bill?

No, that isn’t a typo. I think I am still confused about how Idaho works. I do know that Idahoans love their cattle, and maybe they’re all just big animal lovers underneath. Maybe not.

The cattle group is supporting legislation that would make a third animal-cruelty conviction a felony rather than just a misdemeanor. The animal welfare group Stop Torturing Our Pets joins the Idaho Cattle Association in urging lawmakers to pass this.

According to an AP article:
“Their initiative would define animal torture, make it a felony on first offense, and levy escalating punishments for cruelty that would become a felony by the third offense.”

There’s hope for you yet, Idaho!

Cheapskate.

Zach and I decided that most of the money we spend goes toward groceries; therefore, we are keeping track of money spent this week in order to cut back. We’re not sure how much we want to spend each week on food. It’s kind of difficult because our meals don’t always happen at the same time or with each other. I’m thinking we might try $30 a week, since I’ve seen another blog do it. I’ll check back on this soon!

Sick!

I just saw this article on the Consumerist about a pipeline that pours BLOOD from a meatpacking plant into a nearby river! Gross. Apparently, they are in big trouble. Anyway, here’s a picture:

 

What in the world is a flexitarian?

Not a vegan, certainly. Fortunately these “eat meat sparingly types” seem to be setting a trend. According to the Values Institute at DGWB, “flexitarianism” is one of this year’s rising health trends. The semi-vegetarians keep up a mostly plant-based diet, but make occasional exceptions. According to an article in the New York Times, meat consumption is expected to drop twelve percent in the next five years, thanks in large part to these guys. Although it wouldn’t be my ideal diet, I think it is a very positive move in the right direction. What do you think?

The same article also reported that Americans eat one-sixth of the world’s meat production– and we’re only one-twentieth of its population. Crazy, huh?

Mercy for Animal’s undercover Butterball investigation

Have you all heard about MFA’s recent undercover investigation of Butterball? I hope you have, but a part of me wishes you haven’t. It’s awful. Butterball, the company responsible for almost every American Thanksgiving meal, was videotaped kicking, throwing, and hitting their turkeys.

Butterball says this: “At Butterball, LLC, our number one priority is to provide for the health and well being of our birds in order to produce safe and nutritious product for consumers,” Butterball said in a statement released Dec. 29.

According to the Huffington Post, “Butterball officials released a statement indicating that the company was complying with the officials and has a strict policy against animal cruelty.”

Unlikely, but I hope they receive some kind of fine or something. This happens all too often, unfortunately.

On another, much healthier note, I had the best vegan roast for Christmas this year. It was one I had never seen before, and we picked it up at Whole Foods. I’ll figure out the name and post it here soon.

Here’s the video from MFA:

 

 

The Atlantic’s “Eating Animals” by Nicolette Hahn Niman

In considering ethics, it is important to recognize that animals live and die in all kinds of conditions. Whether raised for eggs, milk, or meat, birds and mammals can be treated horribly or humanely. And whether on a ranch, at a slaughterhouse, or in the woods, they can be killed callously, with no concern for their suffering, or killed swiftly and carefully.

As any attentive observer of nature knows, life feeds on life. Every living thing, from mammals, birds, and fish to plants, fungi, and bacteria, eats other living things. Humans are part of the food web; but for the artifices of cremation and tightly sealed caskets, all of us would eventually be recycled into other life forms. It is natural for people, like other omnivores, to participate in this web by eating animals. And it is ethically defensible — provided we refrain from causing gratuitous suffering.

The article is very informative, but I believe that a vegan diet can be just as healthy as an omnivorous diet. However, I believe it is absolutely essential to remember that animals are living beings with spirits, too. And unfortunately, we DO cause unnecessary suffering to most animals produced for food.