Prestigious Pew Commission Affirms California Ballot Initiative
The following is the text of an e-mail update from Paul Shapiro, director of the factory farming campaign at The Humane Society of the United States.

"The prestigious Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production just concluded its 2.5-year study of American animal agriculture with unanimous findings from its 15 members. The Commission was chaired by former Kansas governor John Carlin and included, among others, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, former Dean of the Univ. of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine Dr. Michael Blackwell, and more.

The panel concluded that factory farms pose unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and animal welfare. It also issued a series of recommendations, including a phase-out of battery cages, gestation crates, veal crates, foie gras, and tail-docking of dairy cows, along with inclusion of poultry under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. The Commission even put out a press release in which it cites the pending California anti-cruelty ballot measure as one of "the types of modest animal welfare public policy improvements that the Commissioners recommend implementing."

The Washington Post published a great story on page A2 today entitled, "Report Targets Cost of Factory Farming." USA Today's story begins, "The way America produces meat, milk and eggs is unsustainable, creates significant risks to public health from antibiotic resistance and disease, damages the environment and unnecessarily harms animals, a report released Tuesday says." The Wall Street Journal's coverage focuses both on the problems caused by factory farming and the Commission's conclusion that the "agriculture industry is exerting 'significant influence' on academic research." And the Des Moines Register's article highlights the fact that the Commission is accusing "some livestock interests of trying to disrupt a wide-ranging study of the industry by threatening to yank financing for scientists and universities."

Both the Associated Press and Reuters have national stories on it, as well.

Taking Veganism to Church
As a Mennonite youngster, I worked the church potluck circuit with reckless abandon--especially the dessert table. Back then, it would have been difficult to imagine a church potluck without animal products. But as the evidence mounts that industrial livestock production has serious repercussions for creation, more and more faith communities are taking notice of the moral and spiritual significance of eating. As a case in point, Splinters and I are members of a small group at Sherman Street CRC that recently put on a multi-cultural, intergenerational vegan potluck with over 40 parishioners and friends.

Enchiladas, Lasagna, and Dahl, Oh My!
I brought our favorite Seitan Enchiladas with Salsa Verde (from Ann Gentry's spectacular Real Food Daily Cookbook) along with a side of refried black beans.

Others prepared vegan lasagna, Indian dahl, African groundnut stew, fresh salads and fruits, and a variety of other amazing offerings. Suffice it to say that no one went away hungry, least of all those who spent any time near the sweet table, which boasted vegan coconutty cookies (from Wealthy Street Bakery), "cockeyed" chocolate cake with coconut frosting, chocolate banana cupcakes with peanut butter creme frosting (from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World), and a transcendent ginger coconut macadamia carrot cake that obliterated my previous conception of the standard for vegan desserts.

Rediscovering the Intersection of Food and Faith
Though a lot of vegans have given up on seeing the church as a potential ally in the struggle for justice for all God's creatures, there is reason to be hopeful. As Christine Gutleben of the Humane Society of the United States points out in a recent editorial in the New York Times, the principles of compassion, mercy, and justice for animals are built into our faith traditions, just waiting for visionary people of faith to reawaken the church to their significance for our everyday lives. For more information on the resurgence of religious interest in these matters and links to resources that can help you communicate the message of compassion for animals in your own church community, check out the Animals and Religion initiative of the Humane Society of the United States.

Compassionate Eating In Utero
Okay. So the "vegan fetus" headline is really just a red herring. The fetus in question is a vegan, in fact, but that's just a thinly-veiled excuse for Moles and me to share our joy with all our friends at extraVEGANza! These 3D and 4D ultrasound photos depict our baby boy to-be in a variety of poses, including the celebrated "fetal position."

Vegucator Jr. at 1 lb, 10.5 inches long

Fetal Fist in the Air! A Future Meanwhiler!

Southern Fried Seitan and Mashed Potatoes
Now that winter is officially over and the bounteous whole foods of the spring and summer months are soon to appear, we're saying a fond farewell for the season to our comforting cold-weather favorites.

Swiss Seitan and Mashed Potatoes
We'll miss you, "meat" and potatoes, but the promise of those crisp, bitter baby greens and fresh vegetables galore will surely cushion the blow! Call your friends at Groundswell and Trillium Haven to reserve your share of the produce-palooza!

Compassionate Eating as Care of Creation
As many of you know, I spent the summer writing a booklet on the intersection of animal ethics and faith issues (from a Christian perspective) for the Humane Society of the United States. The result of this endeavor is finally available online and you can check it out here. The limited edition version of the publication (which is not yet featured on the website) includes 14 amazing collages by our very own Adam Wolpa. We hope to have a pdf of the limited edition up soon, but until then you can check out Wolpa's collages here.

Something for Everyone
While the argument developed in this booklet is grounded primarily in broadly Christian assumptions, my hope is that there may still be some strategic value in the booklet for people who do not share these assumptions. After all, many non-Christians who care about the plight of animals still have a vested interest in being able to appeal to Christian audiences in a language that such audiences can understand and appreciate. Moreover, there are certain empirical facts about the fallout of our dependence on industrial animal agriculture that all of us have a vested interest in knowing, regardless of our diverse religious identities. Pages 23-36 focus specifically on these empirical issues, so if you're allergic to religious discourse but still interested in the general topic, you can skip straight to this section of the booklet for a succinct overview (with recourse to the latest scientific research) of the hidden human, animal, and environmental consequences of the traditional American diet.

Excellent documentary about climate change, world hunger, creation care, and non-human animals, all from a Jewish perspective. Also check out the review by The Humane Society Animals and Religion here.

VegMichigan Goes All Out on April 13th!
Those of you who attended this year's Wake Up Weekend! will remember enjoying fellowship with our friends from the East, VegMichigan. On April 13th, we'll have a chance to see them again, this time on their side of the state, at the Metro Detroit Great American Meatout in Ferndale, MI. With free food from local veg-friendly restaurants, product samples from veg companies, and a cavalcade of excellent speakers, this event is a "must attend" for Michigan vegans on a mission! Tickets may be purchased in advance here at a discounted rate of just $7.00 per person ($3.00 for students, children 5 and under are free). Interested in free admission to the Meatout plus a free subscription to VegNews Magazine? Consider joining VegMichigan; membership has its privileges! Interested in carpooling or joining a Grand Rapids caravan destined for the Meatout? Leave a comment below and we'll see what develops.

Gridiron Gluttony Two Years Running
What do chik'n style seitan sandwiches, Philly cheeze steaks, potato salad, barbecued seitan skewers, nachos, sweet potato fries, Kettle chips, spinach artichoke dip, french onion dip, margarita cupcakes, boston cream cupcakes, and a BEHEMOTH chocolate raspberry-filled football cake have in common? They all graced the table several weeks ago for our second annual vegan Superbowl blowout. We were a bit concerned that we might not be able to top last year's showing, but suffice it to say that no one went away hungry.

Tofu Stir Fry with Pineapple, Green Beans and Almonds

Cobb Salad with Chick'n Style Tofu and Smoked Tofu Crumbles

Tofu Sammy With Fresh Veggies and Sprouts

Tofu Quiche With Broccoli and Tempeh Bacon

Confronting Global Climate Change
Calvin College right here in Grand Rapids is one of over 1,700 universities and colleges participating in an exciting national initiative called Focus the Nation. Its purpose is to provide a day of focused discussion on global climate change and solutions for the future that can help "to move America beyond fatalism to a determination to face up to this civilizational challenge, the challenge of our generation." At Calvin, a series of events is planned during the first week of the spring semester culminating on January 31, 2008 with a teach-in, discussion with elected leaders, and a celebratory concert.

Food & the Future
Among the sessions planned for the teach-in (download the full schedule) is an offering on "Food & the Future" (9:00 am TODAY in the DeVos Forum) during which I will make a brief ten-minute presentation on Industrial Animal Agriculture and Global Warming. The purpose of this post, in addition to publicizing Calvin's contribution to this important nationwide initiative, is to provide attendees of the teach-in (and other interested parties) with links to online resources for further investigation of the general issues that I briefly consider in my presentation. Though ten minutes is not enough time to provide in-depth coverage of the serious environmental challenges posed by our reliance on industrial animal agriculture, my hope is that the following resources might inspire you to give these challenges the rigorous consideration they deserve.

Tuition-Free Online Education!
My general strategy for approaching this constellation of issues is articulated in a paper I recently gave in the Calvin College Christian Perspectives in Science Series titled Animal Welfare and Global Sustainability. In writing this paper, I found many of the following articles, papers, and reports illuminating. Check them out and decide for yourself!

RECENT POPULAR MEDIA
1. "Rethinking the Meat Guzzler", New York Times, January 27, 2008.
2. A Factory Farm Near You, New York Times, July 31, 2007.
3. Meat Is Murder On the Environment, NewScientist, July 18, 2007.
4. Rearing Cattle Produces More Greenhouse Gasses Than Driving Cars, UN News Service, November 29, 2006.

ONLINE ARTICLES
1. Diet, Energy, and Global Warming, Gideon Eshel and Pamela Martin (University of Chicago), 2005.
2. Meat: Now, It's Not Personal, World Watch Magazine, 2004.
3. Sustainability of Meat-Based and Plant-Based Diets and the Environment, Pimentel and Pimentel, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003.

DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION REPORTS
1. Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2006.
2.Livestock Development: Implications for Rural Poverty, the Environment, and Global Food Security, The World Bank, 2001.
Managing the Livestock Revolution
3. Global Warming: Climate Change and Farm Animal Welfare (Executive Summary), Compassion in World Farming, 2007.
4. Global Warming: Climate Change and Farm Animal Welfare (Full Report), Compassion in World Farming, 2007.