Marin VEG January News
Subject: Marin VEG January News
From: Patti Breitman <eatplants@gmail.com>
Date: 2021-12-30, 4:29 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;

January, 2022
 Marin VEG

How refreshing, reassuring and delightful to see and hear the streams flowing in earnest after so much rain!
May the new year bring many moments of joy along with courage, wisdom and strength to navigate whatever challenges appear or persist in our lives and in our world.



Vegan Streaming Channel: Jane Unchained
A free vegan streaming service from Jane Valez-Mitchell is now available to access films, recipes, cooking shows, news and stories about vegan living. Learn about it at https://vegoutmag.com/news/unchainedtv-the-free-vegan-streaming-service-youve-been-waiting-for/ Visit the new service and subscribe to it at https://janeunchained.com/ 


Certification and Animal Welfare
An article in Forbes last month highlights the problem with organizations that certify animal welfare standards.  People who see these certifications feel okay eating the animal foods with the "approved" label, when, in fact, the certification is meaningless.  I encourage you to read at least the first few paragraphs, if not the whole article.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/briankateman/2021/12/13/do-welfare-certifications-raise-the-bar-for-farm-animals/?sh=600729f23c17


Billie Eilish Creates New Vegan Chocolate Bar
Scheduled to launch this month, popular singer and devoted vegan Billie Eilish is the newest celebrity to offer a vegan chocolate bar. This chocolate will be on the recommended list from the Food Empowerment Project, meaning that its cocoa came from a country that does not use slave labor.  Learn more about the issue of slave labor and the chocolate industry at https://foodispower.org/chocolate/
https://www.totallyveganbuzz.com/news/billie-eilish-debuts-vegan-classic-chocolate-bar/


Veganism Is For All
I was pleased to discover (thanks to Lani) the organization Million Dollar Vegan.  They are doing good work in Kenya and around the world.  https://www.milliondollarvegan.com/veganism-is-for-all/
While I tend to support the not for profits I mention frequently in this newsletter (Factory Farming Awareness Coalition; Food Empowerment Project; Fish Feel;  Vegan Outreach; A Well Fed World; Compassionate Living; Animal Place; Rancho Compassion; Goatlandia), I was thrilled to learn about so many other wonderful groups that promote veganism in so many creative ways. https://vegoutmag.com/shopping/14-vegan-nonprofits-to-donate-to-this-holiday-season/

Gene Editing
Here's another new, high tech development that, like lab grown meat, might save animals' lives, but still gives me the creeps.  The ability to edit genes could eliminate the "need" to kill billions of male chicks in the egg industry.  I am annoyed by so many high tech "solutions" to a problem that could be solved by not eating animals and animal products in the first place.  https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59505112

Lab Grown Meat
I am grateful that so many readers take the time to respond to what I share in this newsletter. Quite a few of you defended lab grown meat as a good development, pointing out that people are not inclined to stop eating meat, and that lab grown meat will save animals' lives.  And at least three people shared this very long, technical article that explains the improbability/impossibility of the new meat-growing labs to scale up.
https://thecounter.org/lab-grown-cultivated-meat-cost-at-scale/


Factory Farming and Lab Grown Meat
Ezra Klein wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times recently touting lab grown meat as an alternative to factory farming. I was pleased that my letter in response was printed this week along with others that all deplored factory farming.  Here is the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/opinion/factory-farming-animals.html   And here are the published responses: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/29/opinion/letters/farmed-animals.html
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