The Discerning Brute: fashion, food & etiquette for the ethically handsome man » farm sanctuary

Thieves & Washington State

joshuakatcher — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:28:40 +0000

• The Skuld Crossover Pants in hemp/tencel blend with loose-pleated top and narrow ankles, and the MN Slim Jeans in black organic cotton from Thieves are two very cool pieces. Subtle pleats with a tailored cut below-the-knee is a great shape for spring, and simple, fitted, black jeans never get old. • Following in the footsteps of Florida, Arizona and California, Farm Sanctuary has joined with HSUS and citizens in Washington state to launch an initiative effort to prevent cruelty. Language has been submitted and signatures will be collected to qualify a measure for the ballot that will outlaw battery cages and lessen the suffering of more than 6 million hens who are currently packed in these inhumane enclosures on egg farms in Washington state. These hens spend their entire lives crammed into tiny cages where they cannot spread their wings, and whose beaks are often seared off so they do not resort to cannibalism from stress. As this initiative takes off, find out how you can get involved.

Bob Harper Video Interview

joshuakatcher — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:55:54 +0000

Being a loser was never so cool. When I was in Los Angeles a few weeks ago I sat down with Bob Harper, host of NBC's Biggest Loser to discuss his role as the 2010 National Spokesperson for Farm Sanctuary's Walk for Farm Animals. We discussed his recent evolution to a vegan diet, how he grew up on a cattle farm, and or course, food and nutrition! Check out the full interview, and sign up for the Walk for Farm Animals in your town! The new season of NBC's Biggest Loser premieres tonight.

M:Zero, Shoe Hero & Walk

joshuakatcher — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 18:00:46 +0000

• When I originally blogged about M:Zero's debut at the Kaight Pop-Up Shop for Melissa Plastic Dreams, I was stoked about the recycled, injection-molded and recyclable shoes. Now that I see them in all these rad colors and textures, I am a happy, vegan, fashionisto. The brown flocked kicks need to be on my feet - and for only about $70 US, they're affordable to boot! • Now that you have some new shoes to show off - sign up for Farm Sanctuary's 2010 Walk for Farm Animals! The celebrity trainer, host of Biggest Loser and vegan discerning brute himself Bob Harper is the official spokesman for the walk this year. *Check back soon for my video interview with Bob that I did for Farm Sanctuary!

A Pig Named Bob Harper & Veal’s Enemy Bob Barker

joshuakatcher — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:54:26 +0000

• When Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, was alerted on Monday to a one-month-old male piglet who had fallen off a transport truck — the third transport rescue by the organization this summer — they named him after their national 2010 Walk for Farm Animals spokesperson, celebrity trainer Bob Harper from NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.” Little Bob Harper piglet, once destined for a life of misery before being slaughtered at just 6 months of age, arrived at the nonprofit’s New York Shelter in Watkins Glen. A twist of fate had made his life count. Read the full story.

• Mercy For Animals release yet another undercover investigation of cruelty on a veal farm, and released this video narrated by animal advocate Bob Barker. The covert footage was recorded at Buckeye Veal Farm in Apple Creek, Ohio, and reveals baby calves chained inside 2-feet wide wooden stalls – so narrow they cannot turn around, walk, run, play, socialize with other animals, or engage in other basic natural behaviors. In such tight confinement, the animals are unable to lie down comfortably, breathe fresh air, see sunlight, clean themselves or bond with their mothers:

While veal production represents one of the most abusive forms of animal agriculture, animal suffering is also widespread throughout the meat, dairy, and egg industries. Undercover investigations by MFA at dairy farms, pig farms, egg farms, hatcheries, and slaughterhouses have all exposed cruelty and violence to farmed animals.

Dirty Dozen, Have a Cow & Prime Peacoats

joshuakatcher — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:58:08 +0000

• Timeless Navy coats get ethical. Dress to oppress (I mean impress...). I love Barney's exclusive organic cotton twill peacoat, inspired by Fidelity's classic US Navy coats. Barney's also offers a handsome Fidelity, organic cotton, toggle front peacoat in khaki. While an ethical military may never exist, the utilitarian clothing designed for it is often flawlessly functional. • The Dirty Dozen. The Environmental Working Group, a public health nonprofit, put out a list of the fruits and veggies to absolutely avoid unless they're organic. They analyzed almost 100,000 produce pesticide reports from the USDA and the FDA. The “Dirty Dozen,” which contain 47 to 67 pesticides per serving, are the most dangerous because they have porous or textured skins that suck up more pesticides.

1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Domestic blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Sweet bell peppers
8. Spinach, kale and collard greens
9. Cherries
10. Potatoes
11. Imported grapes
12. Lettuce

Clean Fifteen. On the other side of this equation is the fruits and veggies that are not terribly hazardous if you get the conventional, non-organic varieties. These had the least detectable residues of pesticides:

1. Onions
2. Sweet corn
3. Sweet peas
4. Asparagus
5. Cabbage
6. Eggplant
7. Sweet potatoes
8. Avocados
9. Pineapples
10. Mangoes,
11. Kiwi
12. Domestic cantaloupe
13. Watermelon
14. Grapefruit
15. Honeydew

• Have a Cow, Man. Do you have some land? Enough for a cow or two to hang out on? Farm Sanctuary needs a few good men to be new dads to some recently rescued calves. What's better than hanging out with a giant puppy? Click HERE to find out how you can become the most ethical cowboy around.

GQ’s Spring Suggestions, SeaWorld Must Drown & Bad Parenting

joshuakatcher — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:23:05 +0000

• GQ's Spring Must-Haves include a vegan new-wave boat shoe from Sperry Topsiders (without those leather laces, finally), fancy pocket squares of every pattern and color, bright and bold striped ties and straw fedoras. When searching for a striped tie that isn't made from hundreds of worms who are boiled alive, we suggest hitting up your local thrift or vintage store which typically have piles of ties or our favorite vegan tie company, Jaanj.com. As for straw fedoras, that one thing we love about spring. You can avoid the wool hats and go with a 100% plant-based straw hat. LiViTY makes recycled, hemp, organic, and fair trade fedoras in some bold patters and classic shapes, and Engineered Garments makes an organic linen boater cap. We suggest keeping a lid on it and sticking to classics like these: The Hill-Side offers some selvedge Pocket Squares that we find quite fetching: • I'll be as happy as the next guy to see SeaWorld go under. The next guy is our pal Gary Smith, and he's written an article on SeaWorld and the exploitation of dolphins and whales that flooded the enterprise with a 1.4 billion profit last year. In the article over at Elephant Journal. Ric O’Barry, who was featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary film “The Cove” and serves as the marine mammal specialist for Earth Island Institute, shares some thoughts with Gary on the recent killer whale tragedy. If you needed to be convinced that captive seas mammals are unhappy, this will do it!

“Orcas are the most social animal on the planet, even more so than us,” said O’Barry. “Males will stay with their mothers their entire lives. When we capture an animal like Tilikum, we take him away from the two most important things of his life; the world of sound and family. We put them in a concrete box and expect him to stay mentally healthy. It simply doesn’t work.” - Rick O'Barry, Marine Mammal Specialist EII

• Is Discovery's Planet Green FINALLY getting the meat/global warming connection? Or not. The promos for Emeril's Green(washed) Kitchen still lists "beef" as a major ingredient, but I got a recipe for vegan chocolate mousse in my inbox this morning, and they have a vegan section. Strangely, their new show Future Food: Gastronomic Geniuses seems like a bunch of dudes playing with their meat. The video showcases these "geniuses" shooting bratwurst with paint-balls, and trying to figure out the tastiest way to serve this meat up in mad-science ways. The maddest science is showcasing meat on a self-proclaimed "green" network when it's the #1 cause of global warming! Hey Discovery, WTF!? • Rock It Out: A Night to Benefit New York's Farm Animal Sanctuaries This benefit will feature live musical performances, a scrumptious vegan bake sale, and an awesome raffle all to benefit farm animals at Farm Sanctuary and the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary! Check out what these sanctuaries do to save animals like Billy, who was taken in after almost being killed by a sledgehammer at a dairy farm just a few weeks ago: Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 7:00pm - 10:00pm Location: Reidy Hall at All Souls Church, 1157 Lexington Ave @ 80th St, Basement Level $10 pre-sale, $15 at the door (cash only) Pre-sale tickets can be purchased at: https://www.mycommunitytickets.com/event_info.asp?eventid=26496 • Did society create monstrous people, or do a collective of monstrous people create civilization? This was the topic of last week's Hardcore History, and we suggest you listen. Totally mind-bending! Could widespread child abuse and bad parenting in earlier eras explain some of history's brutality? We think so. • Learn to Lobby for Animals with the HSUS. We are only a few weeks away from the 2010 New York State Humane Lobby Day on Wed, March 24th in Albany. Join fellow activists to help pass legislation to crack down on animal fighters, stop puppy mills, end canned shoots of captive exotic wildlife, and protect farm animals from cruel treatment. To RSVP and get more info, click HERE. • Jessica Reid asks GGA readers if a No Kill Nation is possible when it comes to dog shelters. There's always a fierce discussion on the GGA comment-board, so have you say!

"The truth is you cannot blame having to kill shelter animals on an “irresponsible public” or “too many animals” when a shelter doesn’t implement lifesaving and low cost programs. I personally witnessed missed opportunity after missed opportunity from alienating potential fosters to terrible customer service to rude behavior toward rescue groups. I heard the same stories from other volunteers. These were not isolated cases. These were failures of management and staff to do what they should be doing: saving lives."

Bamboo Suit, KEEP them, and Project X

joshuakatcher — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:00:49 +0000

• Major Etsy find! A 3 piece suit made from bamboo rayon? No way! Custom tailored to you! $675 • KEEP Shoes is having a great sale on Gilt Groupe. These funky cotton kicks are great for spring, and super affordable at 32$! As usual, you need an invite to join Gilt Groupe. • Remember the movie Project X from the 80's where Matthew Broderick tries to save some chimps from being radiated in cruel experiments? Well, now that NASA has decided to start radiating squirrel monkeys, we may need take Matthew's lead and tell NASA to stop! Can you believe that nasty experiments like this are still being conducted?

The studies conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York will expose squirrel monkeys to repeated doses of radiation. Radiation experiments involving nonhuman primates commonly involve restraint and other cruel procedures. Monkeys, like other primates, are highly intelligent, have strong family bonds, demonstrate empathy, and, most importantly, suffer.

Genetic, physiological, and anatomical differences between humans and monkeys dramatically limit the conclusions that can be drawn from the planned studies. Ongoing studies, including those funded by NASA, already use nonanimal methods to determine the effects of low-dose radiation on human tissues. - PCRM

• Turk + Taylor, AW2010. One of our favorite organic lines, Turk + Taylor, showed their AW 2010 collection at the NOW showcase in New York. Here's some images from their upcoming look-book. Stay tuned! More to come. (And check their rad vegan model, Jayce!) • Rock it Out: A Night to Benefit New York's Farm Animal Sanctuaries Reidy Hall @ All Souls Church New York, NY Saturday, March 06, 2010 - 7:00 PM www.allsoulsnyc.org Come out to support and celebrate two of New York's Farm Animal Sanctuaries - The Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in Woodstock, NY (www.woodstockfas.org) and Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY (www.farmsanctuary.org)! Live performances by: Jay Stolar of Julius C, Cristin Milioti, Kaylin Lee Clinton, Whitney Wolf , Melissa Lusk and Matt Roi Berger, Grace McLean, Shaina Taub, Lindsay Wolf and Neimah Djourabchi With special guest Jenny Brown, co-founder of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary! Also enjoy wine, hors d'oeuvres, a chance to win one of our many raffle prizes, as well as homemade baked goods from our in-house bake sale! $10 pre-sale $15 at the door (cash only) Pre-sale tickets can be purchased at: https://www.mycommunitytickets.com/event_info.asp?eventid=26496 • Check this Paul Smith organic cotton hoody in gray or purple! • Need a kickstart? Get Ready to Kickstart Your Health on March 1! Based on research by Neal Barnard, M.D., one of America’s leading health advocates, this program is designed for anyone who wants to explore and experience the health benefits of a vegan diet. Low-fat vegan—plant-based—diets are the easiest way to trim excess weight, prevent diabetes, cut cholesterol, lower blood pressure, prevent and reverse heart disease, and reduce cancer risk. They even trim our carbon footprint.

Solar Empower, Shit Salad, and Sustainable Death

joshuakatcher — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:42:52 +0000

Do-gooder or just a good actor? Damages and Bored to Death's Ted Danson's Interview on GQ left us confused! It appears the handsome, sometimes-vegan is concerned with "industrial overfishing and the toxic acidification of the seas" but then proceeds to order Nantucket bay scallops during his chit-chat. From GQ:

I'd read somewhere that he was a vegan. "Oh yeah, no, I'm an actor. Which means one week I'm vegan, the next I don't know." He scans the menu. "I'll have the California condor," he says, nutcracker jaw lowering slightly to reveal a grin. "Or maybe the gorilla. How is the gorilla here?"

One thing's for sure. Ted likes to flirt with controversial subjects. And since scallops don't have brains or nervous systems, Ted, like Peter Singer, might not find too much objectionable about that. More recently, Singer changed his tune: "... if they do feel pain, a meal of oysters or mussels would inflict pain on a considerable number of creatures. Since it is so easy to avoid eating them, I now think it better to do so." - Peter Singer, Author "Animal Liberation" Matt & Nat is taking 40% off some of our favorite vegan, recycled men's accessories. Blockhead, $141 at mattandnat.com Will Ohio ban their cruelest forms of farming? According to Farm Sanctuary, battery cages, gestation crates, veal crates, downer cows, and effective euthanasia are the subject of a petition submitted to Ohio’s Attorney General in support of placing an anti-cruelty measure on the statewide November ballot. These measures seem to be sweeping the nation, and more than 600,000 registered Ohio voters signed the petition. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Think: Christopher Raeburn's Affordable cousin, Worn Again jackets and accessories are made from the upcycled fabric of the Virgin Hot Air Balloon and decommissioned Eurostar train uniforms that would otherwise end up in landfills. There's nothing more satisfying than being a self-reliant nerd. If you've thought about going solar, but you're more of a DIY kind of guy, consider taking an online training course in photovoltaic design and installation from the Solar Living Institute. Start up your own solar business, or simply empower your family or community with a less-devastating energy source. If nothing else, you can become even more of a nerd and know-it-all. What a Shitty Salad. Consumer Reports' latest tests of packaged leafy greens found fecal coliform bacteria that are common indicators of poor sanitation and ...poop. In some cases, these were at rather high levels. Why? Because most conventional farms and even most organic farms use slaughterhouse by-products like blood-meal, fish-meal, bone-meal, and feces to fertilize the soil. Even more reason to check out veganic farming, your local farmers market, and organic produce. And, duh, purchase as far away from the expiration ate as possible and rinse it off before you eat it - never trust those "triple washed" labels. Also, don't blame the veggies! Blame the poop. Prepare for Vancuver Eco Fashion Week in March! If you're up in that area, go to the Eco Fashion Forward Gala on Feb 19th. Buy Tickets. Chocolate just got better. I know, who thought it was possible? Pioneering organic chocolate maker Green & Black's (who has several vegan varieties) announced its commitment to move its entire chocolate range, worldwide, to Fair Trade - including the United States. Fifteen years ago Green & Black's led the Fair Trade movement by launching Maya Gold - the first ever Fair Trade Certified product in the United Kingdom. Still, I think it's bizarre that we have to label the good stuff, as opposed to putting a "warning: this product was made by underpaid, overworked slaves" label on all "conventional" products. . . Are we the only one's creeped out by the greening of the funeral industry? Creating a convenient one-stop shop for eco-friendly home & garden, office and building products, Ellie's Eco Home Store opened its doors for sustainable business in November 2008. Today, Ellie's announces a partnership with Natural Transitions, a local non-profit resource, and Nature's Casket, a manufacturer of eco-friendly caskets made from Colorado beetle-kill pine. "In a typical 10-acre section of cemetery, the grounds contain enough coffin wood to construct 40 houses, nearly 1,000 tons of casket steel, 20,000 tons of vault concrete, and enough toxic embalming fluid to fill a backyard swimming pool, which eventually leaches into ground water, according to the book Grave Matters, written in 2007 by Mark Harris" says Steve Savage, Ellie's President and Founder. I mean, it's a totally valid concern considering that since everyone dies, there is only so much land to go around and eventually the Earth could be one giant graveyard. Is a low-impact death in your future?