Fantail in our garden! VIDEO

The New Zealand Fantail is our closest native animal to a Hummingbird, capable of stopping on a dime with that huge airbrake of a tail! :-)  CHEEK!  CHEEK CHEEK!  You can hear him or her "cheek" once 19 seconds through the video :-)

Cropped photo of Fantail shown in this video in my backyard :-)

More great photos of Fantails can be found here on the Mandy Art blog

Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals - now on Facebook :-)

If you like this show and blog, why not "Like" the page on Facebook? :-)

https://www.facebook.com/coexistingwithnonhumananimals

Rescued Hens go Rock Climbing, Curious Hen pecks the camera VIDEO

Exploring in my backyard for scattered oats :-)  Right at the end, Curious Hen pecks the camera, she's always intrigued by the silver ring around the lens :-)



Dependent on your internet connection, you can click the cog icon on the bottom right corner of this video to see in higher quality.  All my videos are shot at 720 HD, YouTube plays at a smaller file size by default.

INVSOC Posters (ACTUALLY) Around Invercargill :-)

Invercargill Vegan Society posters are up around Invercargill, not mockups, there are literally three posters for INVSOC up around Invercargill :-)

The Grand Hotel, where Queen Elizabeth II stayed during her visit to Invercargill in 1954 (with a few other cities beforehand, she saved the best for near last!)  Now, the Grand Hotel is accommodation for SIT students, now as the Southland Times mention, its rather run down! :-)

Additional piece on the Queens stay in the Grand Hotel

A0 Paper Size

A3 Paper Size

*** UPDATE *** 20/7/2012 our A3 ("tiny") poster has made some new friends, rather fetching posters about a play based on Minnie Dean,  New Zealand baby killer and one of the few people to be killed by the state in our country.

Its great to have our first design posters actually up around Invercargill :-)

Rescued Hens : "Fire and Ice" PHOTOS

Fire and Ice, by Robert Frost

as told through photos of Rescued Hen Friends with their coloured feathers of contrast

"Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice."

Top: Whole Hen, Hurt Hen
Bottom: Geiger Hen, Curious Hen ("whats a clock?")

Ha, in actuality, they're all very friendly, being birds, they naturally have an "intense" looking facial expression at all times - beaks are not well known for being friendly looking, they make it difficult to smile! :-)

My late friend Black Chick has a similar story to tell through photos, she started off black, and slowly the fire spread over time :-)

Black Chick edited photo, her adult self on the left, a year or two old, apparently looking at an inserted version of herself, a couple hours after hatching :-)

"The Black Chick : a life in pictures" photoset

Fire and Ice poem by Robert Frost

SPCA asks for "barn raised" or "free range" eggs in cupcake contest

***September 2012 UPDATED with SPCA Vegan Recipe, SPCA REPLY, Vegan article***

The lovely Vegans inside the SPCA made sure a Vegan recipe went up! :-)  Best of all, its the first recommended recipe :-)




The Royal Society For the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of New Zealand is holding another "Cupcake Day for the SPCA", where bakers around New Zealand will bake iced cupcakes and give proceeds to the SPCA to help with animal shelter upkeep.
The website asks we use "barn raised" or "free range" eggs :

"Most cupcake recipes call for eggs - but do you know which eggs are best to use?
When you bake your delicious cupcakes for Cupcake Day, we ask you to please consider using only free range eggs or barn eggs in your cupcakes. These eggs come from hens that are kept in conditions in which they are able to display all their natural behaviours - they are able to walk around and flap their wings, have deep litter/dust in which to scratch and dust-bathe, private nest boxes in which to lay in peace, and access to safe roosting perches at night.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
Free range eggs come from hens that are are free during the day to range outdoors where they have plenty of room to forage, dust-bathe, stretch and flap their wings, and perform their natural behaviours. They have an indoor area in which to shelter, feed and roost at night, and nesting boxes in which to lay their eggs in privacy. They are kept in small flocks.
Barn raised eggs come from hens that are housed in large barns where they are free to roam and express their instinctive behaviour. They are able to perch to avoid danger, dust-bathe to clean their feathers, nest to lay eggs and socialise with other hens. Feed and water stations are placed throughout the shed.




SPCA APPROVED EGGS
The SPCA runs an accreditation scheme for eggs, pork and chicken, which guarantees that the products you buy have been farmed in a humane manner.The SPCA Blue Tick is displayed on egg cartons from producers that have farmed their eggs according to the SPCA's high welfare standards - you will never see the Blue Tick on a carton of cage eggs!
Hens on Blue Tick accredited farms are not kept in cages.To earn the right to display the Blue Tick, food producers must meet the SPCA’s rigorous ethical standards and undergo thorough auditing on a regular basis by qualified and independent inspectors. The SPCA is the only independent body that audits animal welfare on the farm.
Free range eggs and barn eggs are currently accredited under the Blue Tick scheme. To see a list of brands to look out for, please click here.
For more information on the SPCA Blue Tick, click here."
http://www.spcacupcakeday.co.nz/get-involved/which-eggs.html



I sent a polite message to the SPCA about suggesting animal secretion free cupcakes could be made, with sample recipes given on their website rather than "barn raised" and "free range" birds eggs. A couple years back these Vegan cupcakes won big in America :

"Many people equate a vegan diet with deprivation, thinking that recipes prepared without eggs, butter, meat or other animal products are certain to be tasteless and boring. But the reputation of vegan eating got a much-needed public-relations lift this summer from an unlikely place — the Food Network’s popular new show “Cupcake Wars.” The program, which each week features four of the country’s top bakers facing off in three elimination challenges, recently pitted a 22-year-old vegan chef, Chloe Coscarelli, against three bakers of traditional high-end cupcakes. The judges were skeptical at first. “I was surprised at the bravery and boldness to parade four different flavors of vegan cupcakes in front of the judges when everyone else was clearly going to be working with butter and eggs,” said one judge, Candace Nelson, the owner of Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills, Calif. “I thought it was possibly working at a disadvantage.”Ms. Coscarelli not only survived the first round, but did so to rave reviews. In the second round, her cupcakes — chocolate strawberry shortcake, raspberry tiramisùand crème-filled chocolate orange — captivated the judges. And then she took the final round — a presentation involving 1,000 cupcakes. The victory won her a $10,000 prize and the chance to supply the cupcakes for an OK! magazine celebrity event."



and Chef Chloe has only continued on to better and brighter things :-)

It would be lovely to see the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) promote making Vegan cupcakes, without direct harm to other animals through using them as "livestock", to force mothers into pregnancy for their milk, to restrain female Hens and use the results of their bodily cycle - to raise money for helping other animals :-)

While the SPCA is an Animal Welfare organisation, heres a good chance to politely email them and show them a Vegan cupcake recipe or two which could be promoted :-)

Who knows, maybe we'll have to encourage local Invercargill Master Baker Kerri to whip up some of her superb animal friendly vegan cupcakes and show the rest of the bakers how its done! :-)



Kerri's Lemon and Blueberry cupcakes, with those fantastic sprinkles! :-)



***UPDATE***

I received a reply to my polite email showing Vegan options, and photos of my Rescued Hens explaining, gently, how all Animals deserved to be respected, and seeing them as "an egg machine" instead of a living sentient female animal was not nice.

"Hi Jordan

Thank you for your email, and for your support of Cupcake Day.

I really appreciate your suggestion. We were already looking at compiling a list of recipes on the Cupcake Day website, and including a couple of vegan cupcake recipes with these.  The website is still being developed; at the moment we have limited functionality, but it should all be completed by the end of the month. Once this is ready we have the recipes section up and running.

We understand that not everyone eats eggs or agrees with their production, but we also understand that the majority of people out there will continue to eat eggs. Because of this, the SPCA has always encouraged the consumption of cage-free eggs which come from hens living in humane conditions.

Thanks again Jordan, and warm regards,

Selina Tang

Fundraising & Marketing Coordinator"


******

September 5th

Jenny Moxham writes to the SPCA about having Vegan cupcakes



"On the surface, the SPCA's annual Cupcake Day seems like a brilliant way to raise money to help prevent cruelty to animals (Cupcake Day A Tasty Fundraiser, TDN, Aug 28), but if we look a little deeper, we discover that two of the ingredients in cupcakes - unless they're vegan - are actually derived by cruelty. I'm referring to cows' milk and eggs.

The production of both revolves around deliberately, and ruthlessly, bringing babies into the world for the sole purpose of killing them.

Each year in New Zealand around one million baby calves are slaughtered in their first week of life, just so their milk can be sold for profit to humans who have absolutely no need of it.

The "kidnapping" of the calf is as distressing for the mothers as it is for the babies yet they are forced to endure this pain year after year.

Each year, too, 3 million male chicks hatched by the egg industry are likewise mercilessly killed. They are gruesomely fed live into mincing machines or gassed on day one of their lives simply because males don't lay eggs. If the SPCA is serious about preventing cruelty to animals, wouldn't a cruelty-free vegan cupcake fundraiser be more appropriate?

JENNY MOXHAM

Monbulk, Victoria"

INVSOC Posters Around Invercargill (mockup)

Mockup images for Invercargill Vegan Society posters around Invercargill :-)

***UPDATE and here are actual posters up around Invercargill! UPDATE***

***UPDATE and here are actual posters up around Invercargill! UPDATE***

interview with Venture Southlands Alister Adam about Southland Oatmilk

Interview from Episode 82 Sergeant Dan's Oatmilk: From Southland With Love, featuring Alister Adam from Venture Southland.  Alister talks about plans which may potentially see Oatmilk being made here in Southland, rather than being imported from Australia, like most of our commercial Vegan friendly plantmilks.

Listen to audio interview with Alister here (8m 49s, 10MB MP3)

"...the conversion of oats-to-milk in Southland may be get the go ahead.

Venture Southland enterprise strategic projects group manager Steve Canny said the Food Innovation Network completed research into the conversion of oat-to-milk.

"Southland was not adverse to growing oats but Venture Southland has to still evaluate commercial opportunities and investment options for a high value oat product,'' Mr Canny said.

When asked by Southland District Mayor Frana Cardno if oat milk was available in the Venture Southland cafeteria, Mr Canny said it was but tasted more like a "home brew'' at present."

The Southland Times newspaper article "Oats May Overtake Hydrogen"

A Visit to the Invercargill Library, Vegan books!

****UPDATE**** ...and now a month later we HAVE donated the Ruby Roth childrens books on Veganism :-)

Today I visited the Invercargill Public Library and was most surprised by the "Vegetarian" book section, quite a few books!

One of the titles that I recognised first was, and I'm not fond of using this word, "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch", UGH, I *hate* saying "kitch", say KITCHEN damn you! :-)



It reminds me of both ultra violent New Zealand movie classic "Once Were Warriors" (the "cook the man some.......eggs!" attitude to wife Beth Heke, WARNING FOR NON-ZEALAND READERS UNFAMILIAR WITH THIS FAMOUS MOVIE: SCENE DEPICTS A WOMAN BEING BEATEN BY HER PARTNER) 

Also fresh in our minds, this photo from a local slaughterhouse employee of how they treat their partner, the first comment being "she know her place lol", to which the uploader mentions "she didnt have a choice i handcuffed her 2 the oven".  A couple comments down, "Lol fuck yeah good bitch ;-P"

Back to the book "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch", where authors fresh off the success of the original "Skinny Bitch" are apparently trying to take the sting out of the word (Kitch) by repeatedly using it.

Every page seems to call loyal purchasers of this book, their product "bitch", AND while comparing themselves to stereotypically "filthy" animals too!  Many pages reference "being a pig/cow" while eating food - while they advocate a Vegan diet to "...start looking fabulous!"  Far from a Animal Rights work, advocating against speciesism then, eh!

The illustrated women - "skinny bitches" in the books terminology and self image - are stick thin waifs, lustfully consuming food wider than their torsos!

"PMS - Pissy Mood Snacks"

"If a group of scientists conducted a study saying PMS was'nt "real", we'd kill them all.  Then we'd stuff our faces like sows.  This is what we'd eat."

"Hearty-Ass Sandwiches"

"The only thing better than pigging out on a big-ass sandwich?  Getting seconds from off your own face.  Moo!  Chow down, cowgirls!"

Two chapter titlepages, chosen at random, this language is used throughout "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch"


If you're a "bicycle recycling" multiple personality Octomom who likes to "give birth at home, the natural way", with interests in being a "skinny bitch in the kitch" on a "vegan diet" so you "...look fabulous!", then the Invercargill Library is the place for you! :-)

I hope to donate copies of childrens books about Veganism "Vegan Is Love" and "Thats Why We Dont Eat Animals" to the childrens section of our library  :-)

****UPDATE**** ...and now a month later we HAVE donated the Ruby Roth childrens books on Veganism :-)

"Fonterra forced to drop "dairy is essential" claim"! Victory!

"Fonterra milked the benefits of dairy products a drop too far and will make changes to its website following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority.


The complainant said five claims on Fonterra's website about the nutritional benefits of dairy products were factually untrue - including that dairy is an "essential part of a balanced diet" and "we all need it".

The complainant referred to the Ministry of Health's nutrition guidelines, which said all essential nutrients could be obtained from a well-planned vegan diet involving no dairy products.

"Therefore dairy is not needed at any age, and is not essential or vital to a balanced, nutritious diet as claimed," they wrote.



The complainant also disputed Fonterra's claims that milk is the richest dietary source of calcium, and that no other source of calcium can be absorbed as well as dairy, pointing to green vegetables with more absorbable calcium.

Fonterra responded to the complaint, saying it would change four of its online claims - including to say dairy was "important", rather than "essential".

http://www.3news.co.nz/Fonterra-forced-to-drop-dairy-is-essential-claim/tabid/423/articleID/260148/Default.aspx

We Are Weaned!

and We Are INVSOC :-)

"Vegan is Love", "Thats Why We Dont Eat Animals" and "Slaughterhouse" books arrive

Ruby Roth's books "Vegan is Love "and "Thats Why We Dont Eat Animals"

a fun mashup of "Thats Why We Dont Eat Animals" and my Chicken Friend drawings made on my iPad with the app "Paper"

Gail Eisnitz book "Slaughterhouse", an expose of the modern American industry.  I've heard Dr Roger Yates mention this book many times over the past years, now I finally own a copy, its a little difficult to get here in New Zealand so I ordered online from the UK.

Lots of reading ahead!