The Compassion Experiment

The Giving Addiction

2012-01-10T16:10:00.037-05:00

Hello 2012!
Here's wishing this is the best year yet, for everyone!

And here we go...

I'm at WM:
"Do you want to give a dollar to today to (fill-in-the-blank) charity?"
"Sure."

I'm at LCBO, WF, SDM:
"Will you give (fill-in-the-blank) $$$ for (fill-in-the-blank) charity?"
"Sure."

Why do we do this?
We'd love to say it was because we're perfect, but you know that's not true.
The real reason?
Because giving feels good.
Just kidding!
It's because it pays dividends, fool!

Perfect example:
For the holiday's, the OMHS held a "gift snatch":
We gave a basket with:
Bag of Starburst
Bag of Sour Patch Kids
Bag of Oreos
Bag of Cheesies
6 pack of Coke Zero
Large Kit Kat
Vanilla Wafers

(referred to as a "stoner picnic", fittingly)

This picture is what we got in return.
This is what we call: Candy Karma

We've definitely become addicted to giving, and it's gotten under our skin.
Best cure for the blues? Give it away, give it away now!

To do list for 2012 includes:

Staying for a relaxing, and compassionate weekend at:
http://www.theroostersinn.com/sanctuary.htm

Visiting old friends from the OMHS at:
http://www.cedarrow.org

And number one, on a list full of #1's is:
http://www.piebird.ca/farmstay

To anyone who makes it down this far, please note:
We still have copies of our 1st printing of The Compassionate Experiment Cookbook.
Not many left, but anyone looking for some quick, easy and tasty compassionate recipe's, hit us up, and we'll send one your way.

We'll be adding some new photo's and videos soon, once the computer's fixed.
Been saying that for months now...

Mr. Peabody says: "See you soon!"

Charlie Fund Quilt Auction Oct.22, The Hogtown Vegan, My first gig!

2011-10-19T09:01:00.031-04:00

Please come out and support the Charlie Fund, at their annual Quilt Auction, this Saturday!!
We'll be there, working Admissions.
Won't you please support, this amazing cause.

Maple Grove United Church, 346 Maple Grove Drive, Oakville, ON

My first big gig came up a couple weeks ago, it was all very exciting.
This is what happened when I showed up for the gig:

Me: "Hi, I'm Mike, I'm playing at 12."
Girl: "Who?"
Me: "Um, I'm Mike... I'm playing for Myriam, she said I was on at 12."
Girl: "She said WHAT?"
Me: "Uh..."
Girl: "I have no idea what she's talking about. We're booked solid."
Me: "Uh..."
Girl: "Where is Myriam..." Walks off.
Pause.
Me to Beth: "I don't think she's coming back."
Beth to me: "That sucks."

True story.

On veg.ca, there was an ad for a $20 Compassionate Thankgiving dinner, at The Hogtown Vegan.
It is a new place, only opened up a couple months ago, but HOT DAMN! Them's some fine eats!
We'll be Bach.

Menu Vs. Food

What happens when I write something here? Hmmm... looks pretty good. Shouldn't forget to erase this later.

I think this picture speaks for itself.
It says: Veggie Food Festival 2011.

Just in case you missed it:
Please come out and support the Charlie Fund, at their annual Quilt Auction, this Saturday!!
We'll be there, working Admissions.
Won't you please support, this amazing cause.

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 2211
Note: We realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

Room A Cats (Some)

2011-10-12T01:11:00.023-04:00

I must have taken 1000 pictures, and EVERY SINGLE ONE was blurry.
It's a talent, I know.

One Day, the shelter will be open again, and all these cute and amazing cats will be looking for a warm and loving home.

This May Help.

2011-08-30T10:47:00.020-04:00

One of the greatest battles at the OMHS, is trying to prevent the spread of disease between animals in the adoption rooms.
Often the public takes the blame for passed infections, but I don't believe that to be completely accurate.
The real responsibility lies in the hands of the people who clean the cages everyday.
You have to be diligent, you have to have your eyes open at all times, and you have to concentrate on what is in front of you.
And I don't think a lot of people do that.
Luckily we have a lot of great volunteers who inundate us with reports of possible illnesses, and the Animal Health Technicians (VT's), take them all very seriously.
The love, and care all the animals receive at the OMHS is tremendous, and I don't think you could ask for much more.
In most cases, the animals are better off with us, than where they came from.

I believe part of the problem with the current system in place, is that the posters tell the customers not to touch the animals, but they leave out the most essential part, which is WHY?
Why should people keep their fingers out of the cages?
When you tell people it's because they can make the other cats sick, they take it a lot more seriously.
This is the message we need to get across, and the good customers will cut down the touching.
You can never stop it, and that isn't the point, really. You just want it reduced.
Combine that with an animal care staff that is dedicated to the health of each individual animal, and continued teamwork between all departments, and good health could be the norm, not a crap shoot.
Here are examples of the kind of poster that I think could work:
Hope you like them.
And remember, if you really love them, you'll ask to see them out.

TCE - August 2011 (Less then two weeks until the big move!)
We wish that our move goes smoothly, that the house is nicer then we ever could have imagined, and that we are happier then we ever could have dreamt of.
And that the babies love it!

Charlie Fund Quilt Auction, Adopt-a-thon, and soleRebels!!

2011-08-24T12:18:00.041-04:00

Happy August!

Good news:
We have volunteered to help with The Charlie Fund Quilt Auction, which will be held on Oct.22, 2011.
The Charlie Fund was created to help injured animals get better sooner, and we are so happy be be a part of it this year.
The past two years we've purchased awesome quilts, and I am confident we will be leaving with another this year. That's just the way it goes, because it is such an amazing cause, and you always know where the money is going. It's a completely transparent cause, and the funds are controlled by people that truly love animals.
Speaking of which, here is a video of Anne Smith (Chair of the Charlie Fund), giving a much better explanation.
Note: the video is a year old.

Also:
There is still one weekend left for the OMHS cat adopt-a-thon.
This week it will be held at Oliver Pets, at Dorval Crossing.
If your life needs some joy, go down, and bring some love into your life.

Did you read this story? (It's about the horse meat industry that most of us don't even know goes on.)
Click here
As repulsed as I was reading about it, I was left with the same feeling I had watching The Cove, which is, I think all animals, not just domesticated animals, should be left the hell alone. Live and let live.

Sept 8-10 is the Veggie Food Festival this year.
WE CAN'T WAIT!!!
Click here to learn all about it!
If you haven't been yet, let this be your year. It's always a real eye opener for newcomers. It'll show you just how easy it is to live compassionately, and eat like a pig at the same time. And really, isn't that all we really want?

And finally!
This year at the Green Living Show, there was a booth selling men's shoes. Please note that this was the one and only booth to do so, and that they weren't actually selling shoes, just spreading the word. We signed up for the mailing list, because they looked so awesome, and because B said she would get me a pair for my B-day. When the email came, it came with a code to buy one pair, and get one for half off. Nice. So that's exactly what we did.

It's not very often that you can look cool AND be cool at the same time, but with soleRebels, you can do just that.
SoleRebels are only shoe that is WTO certified, and are hand crafted in Ethiopia, with each pair being crafted specifically for you.
And, they are very affordable.
They turned out to be everything that I had wished for: extreme comfort, practicality, coolness, and they were exactly as advertised.
Thanks B!

Click here to get yourself a pair, or two!

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 1971
Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

(near) Death by Pot Roast

2011-07-27T15:07:00.015-04:00

This true story is based on a true story.

"Where is that noise coming from??" I ask the cats.
No answer, surprisingly, but Sara is sick.
I can hear a tight piercing pulse, like a smoke detector.
"@#$%ing neighbours!" I scream, as I walk in circles trying to find the source, assuming, as always, that it is our neighbors. (note: Their smoke detector battery died 3 months ago. (re: Beep!!....Beep!!....Beep!!...) And we anonymously dropped a 9V battery into their mailbox weeks ago to stop the madness.)
As I step out onto the back deck, I can hear the alarm much better, so I peer over the back railing and voila!
Out of the kitchen window of the house behind us, pours black rings of smoke, and I freeze.
"Holy $hit, holy $hit..."... I scream.
Do I call 911?
Is this for REAL?!!
Two cars pull into the driveway.
An old man, and a younger version of himself, casually get out of their cars, and greet each other amicably.
I cup my mouth and yell: "SMOKE!! SMOKE!!" And point to the house.
The old man looks at me, the young man's look says 'Huh?'
I yell: "FIRE!!FIRE!!"
Shock sets in, and the young man wheels around, adrenaline pumping.
He sees smoke pouring out the window, and his body body tenses.
He yells to the old man, and smashes the door open.
Black smoke billows out the door.
The young man starts screaming: "Where are you?!! Where are you?!!!" (In Polish, so I paraphrase here).
The old man enters the house, and echoes his son: "Mish, mush mush, mishy MUSH MUSH!!"
Again, I didn't understand a word of it, but knew they were searching for the old lady.
But I didn't hear her and their voices grew louder, more anxious.
Then the yelling stops and it gets eerily quiet.
Nothing.
Then the yelling starts again, but now the over-riding emotion is relief.
"Get up old lady, get your ass up!" says the old man. "You just about burnt the damn house down!"
"Wha?.."
"Get up, the house is on fire!!"
"It is?"
The young man barrels out the door, holding a flaming pot roast, black smoke flowing like a tornado.
He tosses it into the garden and goes back into the house.
The yelling continues, and grows angrier by the moment.
Seems to me like the old lady isn't taking the blame for it.
She comes out the door, and closes it behind her.
Her arms are crossed, she doesn't believe them.
She can't believe them.
She is indignant, and petulant, but then her facade slips.
She swipes her eye with an elbow, and her shoulders slump.
She sniffs.
Then crosses her arms and goes back into the house and starts yelling back.

Me? I go inside, sink into the couch, and cry.

The moral of the story?:
Don't eat pot roast.

Eat this instead!!

Compassionate Couscous

1 tbsp earth balance soy butter
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 cup green beans, cut in pieces
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup medium grain wheat semolina (couscous)
1 can chick peas
2 tbsp oregano

To make:
In a frying pan, melt the earth balance soy butter over medium high heat.
Brown the garlic, onion, celery, pepper and beans.
Cook for 3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, orange juice and stock.
Bring to a boil, season and add the couscous, then stir and cover.
Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes, or until the couscous has absorbed nearly all the liquid.
Add the chickpeas and herbs and mix well.
Serve immediately.

No one ever died from couscous.

TCE July 2011

"People used to get tattoos to be different, now they do it to be the same."
- Us.

Animals saved to date:

Moving On Up!!!

2011-07-13T13:17:00.031-04:00

We are happy to announce that The Compassion Experiment will be moving its headquarters, and it is a very exciting time for us.

For anyone wondering if we've been keeping up with the experiment, you should be happy to know that we are still going strong. Even though the issues become less frequent, the content will only continue to get stronger.
We are still in it for the long haul, and hope everyone will continue to support us, as we will continue to support them, and the animals.

We hope it's an exciting time in everyone's life, and that things are going as nicely for them.
Our current headquarters hit the market on Monday, and was gone by Tuesday evening.
Nice.
Thanks to Linda and Gord, Arianna, Nicole, Monique, Grant, Barbara and College Pro Painters.
We celebrated with the WORLD'S BEST VEGGIE BURGER!!!!
No $hit, this is the $hit!
It's the Vegetable and Feta Burger from Montana's, and as much as we love Lick's Nature Burger, this one trumps it, in juicy factor and overall ridiculous satisfaction.
Highly, highly, highly recommended.
And yes, we realize the Feta is a cheat, sometimes you just gotta live.

Speaking of living, this will make your day!

Tea Party Cake, courtesy of NV

1 cup pancake mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup "milk"
1 "egg"
3 tbsp salad oil

Mix all ingredients together and put in a greased and floured 8 X 8 inch square cake pan.

Mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.

Bake in a 400F oven for 20 minutes.

Hope you enjoy it.

Great News!:

On June 28th, Ian Waid became the new Chairmen of the Board, for the Board of Directors of the Oakville and Milton Humane Society.
We applaud this appointment, and have no doubt that Ian is the right person for the job.
Congrats to Ian, can't wait to see what you can do!

Currently the OMHS is full to capacity of cats and kittens, so if you know anyone look for an amazing, loving animal (and everyone needs at least one, or two...), please come by, take one for a test drive, and bring some joy into your life.

TCE July, 2011

When the bad guys win...

2011-06-22T10:47:00.016-04:00

Not For Profit

(ed.note: This case is still pending, but the word is getting out, and people are upset. A lot of big hearts in this town, this case could open some eyes and lead to changes in the current animal abuse laws)

Cooler talk:

"They let her go? Wow...they played russian roulette, and lost." - Anonymous

"It was the judges fault, he made the ruling. Had it been an abuse case like this with a person, they would have fried." - Anonymous

"If I knew someone who broke legs, I'd be talking to them now." - Anonymous

"But... I'm rich? Give me my dog." - Anonymous

What is everyone talking about?

Probably the worst case of animal abuse in OO history, and I watched, as that dog, was put in the back seat of a car, and watched it drive away, not fully realizing at the time, what had happened.

There isn't a single person in the organization that isn't upset about the turn of events, but it reminds us how animals are treated in the eyes of the court and the law.
They are seen as $$$ repaid.
That's it.

That's what people should be angry about.

It's time for someone in council to step up and take notice, because this is bull$hit, and everyone knows it.
What's going to happen when the real story comes out?

I can say for certain, those weeks spent with our people, were the best days of that dogs life.

Peace.

What a trip!

2011-06-15T15:37:00.029-04:00

Mexico City - Man, what a trip!!

Sometimes hard work actually pays off. The proof, of course, being the pictures and the video seen here now.

We participated in a group exhibition at Anahuac Universtiy, and at the Diego Rivera Museum, and it was an unbelievable experience that we'll never forget, and we feel so grateful to have been part of it all.

President of A U - "So nice to meet you, anything you need, just let me know."
Us: - "How did we get here? This is so insane..."

Hindsight will have us forget the heat rashes, and bathroom dashes, and with the rose color tint of time, it'll become a legendary adventure.

None of this would have happened without the love and support of our families, and our friends, both old and new.

Thanks to: B - I love you! We may have gotten sick, but never of each other. Ixchel - for the opportunity, and for bringing us along for one hell of a journey. Sergio - for keeping us safe, and showing us a great time. Thoma - for being a calming influence. Stella - for being nice and caring. Gord and Linda - for keeping the babies happy and healthy. Brian and Nancy - for keeping the babies spirits up. Kathy - for keeping the babies cleaned, and giving them love. Georgette, Claudia, Lourdes, Miguel, you showed us the heart of the Mexican people with your kindness and friendship.

The Compassion Experiment - June 2011

One Year? Has it been that long?! WTF!

2011-04-20T11:33:00.026-04:00

This is it, the big one!

Hard to believe we've been eating compassionately for a year now, and we feel 1000% better. Physically, mentally, metaphysically.
It's been a hell of a year, the best one of our lives, and we've been happy to share it with so many supportive people, many that we have met in the past year, ironically.
The outpouring of support and respect we have received throughout this past year has been unbelievable, and we have felt blessed to be surrounded by so many big hearted folk.
Together we have made the world a safer, kinder place.

In celebration of our first year, its:
List Time!
These are a few of our Favorite Things!

Favorite Compassionate Resort:
Sugar Ridge - Awesome place, great people, great food, we'll be back!

Favorite Animal Santuary:
Ruby Ranch - Great cause, great people, great to meet them and their family.

Favorite Compassionate Bakery:
LPK - We can never get enough of their stuff!

Favorite Compassionate Restaurant:
Kind Food - You have to have their BLT, AWESOME!!

Favorite Compassionate Dish:
Veggie Pot Pie - If we don't say ourselves, but it has become one our staples, and we never get sick of it.

Favorite Cheats:
Chocolate and Cheese - No meat, no ice cream, this is easy, no chocolate and cheese, not so much.

Favorite Compassionate Event:
Vegetarian Food Festival - This one also wins for our favorite website as well!

Favorite Pot Luck:
Oakville Vegan's

Favorite Food:
Indian

Favorite Compassionate Interview:
The one in the issue just before this one!
Check it out if you haven't already.

"What does the future hold for The Compassionate Experiment?"
- Us

Thanks for asking!
We will be releasing a Compassionate Experiment Recipe Book, look for it at years end.
(But please stay tuned until it comes out!)

TCE 2011

Ladybird Animal Sanctuary

2011-04-06T16:05:00.026-04:00

A couple weeks ago, we had in our living room, three big hearted individuals, Melissa McClelland, Janine Stoll and Lisa Winn, from Ladybird Animal Sanctuary.
The following is the transcription of the interview.
You can find the video version up above.

How did it all start?

“I’m an animal lover, and a full-time touring musician," said McClellan. "And I think I just wanted part of my life to focus on my love for animals, because so much of my life is wrapped up being on the road. So I brought it up with these girls, and we all thought it was a great idea, so we’ve been talking about it for a few years now.”

“I had already been doing it small scale," said Winn, "because I’ve worked at animal shelters, and had already been rescuing and fostering for a number of years.”

“I felt like the three of us come from different backgrounds, and we work so nicely together," said McClelland. "Our personalities, we just click as friend. And Lisa has the background working with animals, and she knows the problem up close. Whereas Janine and I don’t so much, we’re learning as we go along.”

“But we have other skills to offer," said Stoll. "I can be more administrative, and technical. And Melissa is an amazing ideas person. Everyone in this dynamic makes up for the shortcoming of the other people. My love of animals... I’ve been acquiring more and more over the years. They’ve become such an important part of my life, I can’t imagine my life without having little furry creatures around. To be a part of this is so cool, I just love it.”

In The Beginning...:

“It’s a big undertaking," Melissa said," and we’re realizing that as we go along. We had been talking about it for a couple years, and it got to the point where it was like: “Are we going to keep talking about it, or let’s just take that leap of faith”, and we did. And Janine created this beautiful website and we came with our ideas of what we wanted to do, and our goals. We started off with one animal, and launched in December."

“Lisa picked up two beautiful cats from Hamilton Animal Control," said Stoll, "and got them into foster care that same day, on Dec.31/2010, and that was the day that we officially launched the sanctuary. And ever since then, the outpouring of support has been really encouraging for us, because we weren’t really sure what kind of support we would have. And now that we kind of know what we can gauge it on, it feels like it’s going to keep building to make all of our dreams come true, in terms of what we really wanted from the sanctuary.

“It forced us into action too," said Melissa. "Now people know about us, and they're waiting, they’re like: “okay, go ahead, show us what you’re going to do.” So now we have to stop talking about it, and we have to actually do it. We have to spend time every day planning. We’re constantly sending emails back and forth figuring out what we have to do next. It’s a learning experience, we are figuring it out as we go along. And that’s the fun part of it, I’m really passionate about it, because I’ve been doing the same thing for a long time, and focusing on music, my whole life. And now suddenly, there’s this other focus. and I care about it deeply, so it’s a lot of fun for me, in a lot of ways, to challenge myself in another area of my life.

“And to be able to do it with two of your closest friends, it’s so awesome," says Stoll. "It’s not like your working for some company that has a different vested interest. Everyone has the same wonderful interest in these animals, and being able to do a project like this together. It doesn’t feel like it could even fail, because we encourage each other. And it makes you work harder for the people that you love.

What Ladybird Animal Sanctuary Needs the most:

“The first thing we need, is people willing to take in foster animals," says Stoll. "People are more then willing to part with their money, and donate for a good cause, it gives them the warm fuzzy feeling. Which is awesome, because without the money we wouldn’t be able to operate. But to actually have fosters or people willing to adopt the animals, that’s what we really need. To get animals permanent homes, or to get any number of animals out of a shelter and into a temporary care, so that we can get them permanent homes. That’s the big deal, finding that network of people.”

“That’s our focus now," said McClelland. "Trying to find fosters. And working on our charitable status, because that’s a process, and we really have to be established to get it. We’re trying to become a well oiled machine, so we can get that status. That’s going to open a lot of doors for us.

“In two months, we’ve rescued five animals - which isn’t a small feat, because getting these animals really good vet care, and feeding them is not cheap, it costs a lot of money," said Stoll. " And we’ve adopted one out, so every victory, small or big, is a big victory us, especially knowing that without us, those animals wouldn’t have made it so far.”

In the future:

“We want to buy property and have a sanctuary where we can house animals," said McClelland. "Right now, we’re just figuring out how to get to that point. Figuring out the fundraising, and how to best do that. And Education, getting the word out. Educating people so that we’re not just a band-aid, we’re actually solving some problems here. Because there is an issue here, there is an overabundance of cats, and we don’t want to just house these animals, we want to actually help solve the problem, so that there isn’t an overflow of animals, so that every animal has a home.”

“If we can save between 20-30 cats within six month from now, I think we’ll feel pretty good about that as a milestone," said Stoll. "We’re focusing on that as a number, and from that point on, we’re hoping to have our charity status by then. Also for each of us to have developed more training in what our roles are in this organization. So, we’re really going to focus looking for mentorships within the community, and in different communities in Canada and the US where we can learn from people who have made this their life ambition.

“Taking on not just cats, but also dogs and farm animals that are in need," said Winn. "And any animal that comes along, we want to be prepared for anything. And adoption options for different animals and people, and the sanctuary part, where if there is an animal that is considered not adoptable, but has quality of life still, and needs a place to go. The 15 year old cat that no one will adopt, because it’s 15, no one really wants to take on that responsibility. To be able to have a place for that animal to go, to have a space for them to go.”

“Our real goal as an organization, that we can agree on, is to try and help the animals that don’t really have any options," said Stoll. "Our priority is to save the animals that might be facing the needle tomorrow. That’s what we want to do first and foremost. Not to say we don’t care about all animals, there are animals that are in more dire need.”

“You have to be realistic," admits Winn. "As nice as it would be to be able to save them all, but you can’t save them all. We’ll do what we can, you have to be realistic, that’s the bottom line.

“You can only handle so much," said McClelland. "We’ll take on what we can handle.”

“The big goal is education, and educating people," said Stoll."Anything we can do to get the word out.”

“We’ve put together a really talented board of people from all walks of life," said Stoll. "Everyone has so many fantastic insights to offer, and...

“Experience that we don’t necessarily have," interjects McClelland. "Business experience. People to keep us on track, to help us achieve our goals.”

 “It doesn’t feel like work really, for the time that I put in. It just feels like doing crafts with my friends," said Stoll.

“I feel so committed too," said McClelland. "As soon as we made the decision to go ahead and do it. There are moments where you’re feeling like: “this a lot”, like what are we getting ourselves into.”

“There are victories," said Stoll. "You find a foster home willing to take an animal. You get an animal adopted, you feel so good when that happens.”

“I’m so passionate about our goals, and about what we’ve set out to do," said McClelland. "I feel so committed to the cause that it doesn’t feel like work.”

“Our hearts are all in the right place, and we know that about each other," says McClelland. "That’s important too, no one has ulterior motives, there’s no other reason for us to be doing this.”

"If it was only one of us taking it on by ourselves, I don’t think we’d have the courage to do it," admits Stoll. "If it was an idea I had by myself, I wouldn’t have done it. But because I know I can lean on these guys, it gives you more balls then I would have on our own."

"We each bring different skills to it," said Winn.

"We’ve only scratched the surface of what we’re capable of," said Stoll. "When we think about what we do with our day-to-day lives and how busy we are, and we still make time for this. I know that given a little more time to be able to do this, we can make great things happen. We have a mandate to not squander the money that people give us, to be responsible with the way that we spend it. To not spend money on paper advertising, especially in this day of age of social networks. There are a lot of ways to curb those expenses. It may take a little extra time, but time, we’ve got.”

Please visit www.ladybirdanimalsanctuary.com to learn more.

Recipe Remix Manifesto

2011-02-16T11:22:00.006-05:00

Paying it forward, is the greatest re-gift.

The Recipe Remix Manifesto:

1. All food should be tasty, and should be free of animals, and animal by-products.
2. Tasty recipes must be passed on, crappy recipes should be tossed and forgotten.
3. You should share food with as many as you can, until every eye has been opened.
4. Don't preach, teach.
5. Never stop learning

In light of this new manifesto, here we go!

The Compassionate Tomato Basil Noodle
"A refreshing dish, very, very tasty, and extremely easy!"
-Us

You will need:
30 ml Olive Oil
2 Green Onions, Chopped
1 cup Veggie Stock
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
4 cups spinach, cut into thin strips
1 cup fresh basil
2 tbsp "butter" (Earth Balance preferably)
1 lb. of Linguine

In a large pan:
Heat the Oil, saute the Onions and Garlic over medium heat. (2 mins. approx)
Add Veggie Stock, Tomatoes and stir. (1 min. approx.)
Add Spinach, and "Butter", and season with Salt and Pepper.
In a large pot, cook the Pasta Al Dente.
Drain the Pasta, add to the Sauce, and stir it up.
Eat, enjoy, and pass it on!

Issue # 70: A shared experience

2011-02-15T11:45:00.025-05:00

Last Friday, we attended our second VEGAN POTLUCK, hosted by Oakville Vegans/Vegetarians.
It was crazy awesomely good.
We're talking, Pasta, Pot Pie, Seasame Noodle Mushroom Madness, Sweet Broccolli Salad, Truffles, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts, Blueberry Scones, Vanilla and Chocolate Coconut goodness...

On top of all the awesome food, it gave us a chance to pick the brains of people who have been living compassionately for a long time, and who are passionate about it.
This is what we learned:

Aloe Vera Juice: is a powerful aid in detoxification. This treatment has proven effective in colonic irrigation. By consuming the juice on a regular basis, you can loosen harmful waste from the colon so that it is then released from the body.
South Brook: Great organic wine, looking forward to trying it.
Raw Aura: We'll be hitting this place up next week, expect a review soon.
Coconut Biss: Amazing Vanilla and Chocolate Deliciousness.
Meat Out: Expect more info on this soon...

-----------------------------------

Notes from Work:
Donations we don’t need:
Open bags of food.
Question: Why?
Answer: How long has that food been opened? Is there poison in there? There is no way to know, really. That’s why open bags of food come in through the front door, go out the back door, and into the dumpster.

What is it that we really need?
Whatever is written on that little sign in front of the entrance.
We need lot's of things, but paint cans, massage tables, used litter boxes, and rusted carriers need not apply.
That sign needs to be much bigger.

Should be a big sign in front of the dumpster that says:
“If you are dropping off any of these item:
-Dirty pillows.
-Stained blankets.
-Torn bags of food, held together with rubber bands, and covered in dust.
Please just throw them in here.
Thanks.”

Have a great week, everyone!
Please think about the animals, before you eat that triple bacon burger.
Feb.15/2011

2011 has started with a bang. The good kind.

2011-01-25T14:36:00.014-05:00

I was wrong about Simon.
I thought Simon would be a solitary cat, who would be friendly, but would spend a lot of time on his own.
Man was I wrong.
He is a type-A lap cat.
He's also way bigger than we thought, he's like a mini panther.
The siamese version, of course.

As sent to the OB:

A Postive Cat By-Law Response:

As a full-time staff member, and volunteer with the Oakville Milton
Humane Society, it has been impossible to ignore all the attention
that the new cat by-law has been receiving, whether positive, or
ignorant.
Every day, truly amazing people come through the doors of the OMHS,
and donate money, blankets, litter, food, and their time, but it can
never be enough.
Sometimes it feels almost hopeless, but when it comes to caring for
the animals of this town, money is the last thing on our mind. The
OMHS is all about giving the animals the best care, and love that we
can, and whatever happens financially, is something we just have to
deal with. Hence why we are so badly in debt.
But, people who have been implying that the new cat by-law is just a
cash grab, are way off the mark. And sadly, none of that money will be
going to us.
In a town as bountiful as Oakville, it seems such a shame that we get
no support financially, or otherwise, from the town itself, but I’m
hoping maybe something good can come out of all this attention, and
that a positive change can come about.
I encourage anyone who doesn’t fully comprehend the amount of time,
work and love that goes into running a shelter like the OMHS, to come
spend a day volunteering with us, it’ll change you.
To those who oppose this new by-law: please stop worrying about your
wallet, and start thinking with your heart.
Sincerely,
M

Stop the insanity!
It's Sunday night, and we're getting ready to close.
A lady comes in with a cat in a carrier, says she found it outside the AMC.
She fills out the paperwork, and leaves.
What's the first thing we do to a stray cat when it is brought in?
We check to see if it has a microchip.
It did.
The addresses matched.
Awesome.

Recipe Alert!

Potato Broccoli Soup.
Sound good?
Here it is!

You will need:

A large saucepan.
A Food processor.

And...
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
A squeeze of salt, a sneeze of pepper
6 cups veggie stock
2 large potatoes, cut into chunks.
4 cups chopped broccoli
1/4 cup fresh dill

Saute the onion over medium heat, until softened.
Add the garlic, black pepper, salt and cook until tasty looking.
Pour in the vegetable stock and add the potatoes.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add broccoli and cook for 15 more minutes.
Once cooked, blend, but keep it chunky.
Add the fresh dill, and let sit for 10 minutes.
Serve with tasty buns for extra goodness.

Lot's of exciting things coming up, and we'll keep you informed as always.
Thanks for all the support, everyone!
TKE 2011

What is it really all about?

2010-12-20T14:56:00.002-05:00

Lucky Guy.
Simon is the newest addition to the Compassion Experiment family.
He is settling in very quickly, and is going to love it here.

Newsflash:
Did you know, the original St. Nicholas, walked into a tavern, and knew right away, that the tavernmaster had killed three boys, and had chopped them up, and stewed them in barrels?
He went to those barrels, poured them out, healed them all, and they walked away from it?
True story.
Now he just gives us socks.
It's about time people realized what christmas giving is all about.
It's about re-animating corpses.
Didn't you know?

What do Scrooge and the Grinch have in common?
They oppose christmas, oh the horror.
Bah-humbug is the voice of reason.
We just wish more listened.

And the hits keep on comin'

There's nothing wrong with giving, of course, everyone should be so kind.
But, they should do it every day, not just for two weeks out of the year.

Do you know how many turkeys and pigs are slaughtered each year for this holiday season?
Us neither, but just think about it, please? Before you stuff that corpse.

Happy Holla-daze!
We out.

Finally got the Cats Castle video uploaded, if you haven't seen it already.

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 1011

And we're back!

2010-11-30T10:29:00.030-05:00

Check it out!
Here are some great "Holiday" soups, and by "Holiday", we mean every day you are alive.

Compassionate Broccoli and "Cheese" soup:

You will need:

One big yellow onion finely chopped.
2 branches of broccoli, trimmed and chopped.
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth.
1.5 tbs. of nutritional yeast flakes
Ground Cumin, and Nutmeg.
0.250 cup of "Milk?"
0.250 cup "Cheese"

Cook onion in "saucepan" until softened.
Add Nutritional Yeast, Broccoli, Vegetable Broth, two cups of Water, and bring to boil.
Stir in Nutmeg, Cumin, and simmer, partially covered, until broccoli is tender (approx. 20 min).
Puree soup in a food processor until smooth, in batches.
Return to "saucepan".
Add "Milk?" and heat until hot.
Sprinkle with "Parmesan" "Cheese", and serve to a delighted "crowd".
And by "crowd", I mean your family.

Enjoy!

Here's another!
Okay, so it's a repeat, this is just in case you missed it.
It's killer, btw.

Here we go, yo.
Carrot and Ginger Soup, a compassionate classic!
What you need:

1 Large Onion
2 tbsp olive oil
1 Large Potato, cubed
2 Large Carrots, chopped
2 Inches of fresh ginger, grated
3 cups Vegetable broth
A tease of salt, and a sneeze of pepper.

Saute the onions until yummy looking.
Add the potatoes, carrots , and ginger.
Cook for 3 minutes, and stir constantly.
Add the stock, salt, pepper, bring to a boil and reduce heat.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Pour into food processor in batches, and blend until smooth.
Serve, eat, enjoy!

One more, you say?
Sure, why not, it's the "Holidays", right?

Compassionate Squash and Apple Soup:

You will need:
1 CROCK POT
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes.
3 apples, peeled and chopped.
1 large onion
3 cups veggie stock
1 cup apple juice
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
Thyme, Salt and "Cheese"

Combine everything in a CP, and cook on Low = 10 hours, HIgh = 6 hours.
Strain chunks into a food processor with some of the liquid, in batches.
Return to stow cooker, and season to taste.

Eat, enjoy!

That's all we got for now, but got some big stuff coming, so stay tuned!
TCE 2010

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing." - A.E.

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 926

Dear Editor:

2010-11-10T10:18:00.038-05:00

Dear Editor,
A friend of mine alerted me to the fact that your magazine's Holiday Gift Guide for 2010 includes a taxidermied piglet bank - made from a real piglet.

This is the most grotesque and disturbing thing that I have heard in some time. How do you justify this and rationalize that this should be considered one of the top gifts to give in 2010?

Animals endure enough suffering as it is - do you really think that
promoting this kind of gift is an ethical thing to do?

Animals should be treated with respect and compassion, and this most certainly does neither.

I expect that you will receive an onslaught of letters echoing my thoughts and I hope that you do the right thing and retract this immediately -
animals are not things, and they should not be treated as such.

Sincerely,
B

On Friday night, we attended our first ever, compassionate pot luck.
And it was AWESOME!!
Everything was tasty as hell, and we couldn't stop eating.
We brought Carrot and Ginger soup, and it was looted quite righteously.
There was so much food, I can't remember it all. Good thing we have this picture to remind us of all the food, and the good times.

This is what I remember eating: Canneloni with homemade Parmesan, Carrot and Ginger Soup, Tasty BBQ oven fried Tofu Bites, Homemade Falafel, Tabouli salad with Quinoa. There was Chocolate Cookies, Maple Flax Cookies, Caramel popcorn, Apple Cakes and Chocolate Cake, and the freshest, tastiest apple cider you've ever tasted!
Sound good?
The turnout was even better than expected, but I'm sure they'd love to have more people next time.
We'll let you know.
Thanks to SB for the invite.

With the holiday season now fully upon us, we we are hoping to spread the gospel of compassionate holiday expenditures.
We recommend people read Santa Claus - A Biography, by Gerry Rowler.
And watch What Would Jesus Buy? (see the trailer below).
Our gift giving this year, will consist of yummy compassionate baking, and slightly used, recycled gifts and books.
Hate to ruin the surprise, but we think that by giving slightly used, more thoughtful gifts, we can help keep the spirit of holiday giving alive within us.

I found this recipe at work!
TCE Macaroni Salad:

2 cups elbow macaroni
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup diced green peppers
1 cup celery
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 tbs dried parsley
3 tbs Veganaise
A tease of salt, a sneeze of pepper.

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until tender.
Drain and rinse with cold water.
Drain again.
Place in bowl, add vegetable oil and toss.
Add the rest, mix well.
Chill and serve.

Have a great week, please keep sending in recipes, we love to eat!
TCE November 10, 2010

The Compassion Experiment Day 197

2010-11-03T10:09:00.039-04:00

Crosby and Jarrad were two of the most amazing cats I've ever met.
Now they live together, and have found the perfect home.
The moral of the story?
Two cats are better than one, four cats are better than two, six cats...

Did you hear the story earlier in the year, about a cat falling 15
floors and surviving?
She landed on some grass, and broke some bones but, she made it through.
That cat is now in Room C, cage C2, at the OMHS.
She's a big eyed, black and white cutie, who will probably be sitting
in a litter box (not the poopy one), when you peek in her cage.
Her eyes will be wide, but she's not frightened.
That's one amazing cat!

Here we go, yo.
Carrot and Ginger Soup, a compassionate classic!
What you need:

1 Large Onion
2 tbsp olive oil
1 Large Potato, cubed
2 Large Carrots, chopped
2 Inches of fresh ginger, grated
3 cups Vegetable broth
A tease of salt, and a sneeze of pepper.

Saute the onions until yummy looking.
Add the potatoes, carrots , and ginger.
Cook for 3 minutes, and stir constantly.
Add the stock, salt, pepper, bring to a boil and reduce heat.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Pour into food processor in batches, and blend until smooth.
Serve, eat, enjoy!

It's list time!
Top 5 Compassionate Artists:
(( We'd love to hear your top 5 compassionate artists, please send them our way, and we will spread the word!))

1. Matishyu-
No one knows how to pronounce his name, but there is no mistaking his message: Love, Peace and Graciousness.

"All my life I've been waiting for,
I've been praying for,
For the people to say,
That we don't want to fight now more,
There'll be no more wars,
And our children will play."

2. Neil Young -
An amazing combination of intelligence and melody, the perfect storm for social political music.

"I saw cotton,
And I saw black,
Tall white mansions,
And little shacks.
Southern man,
when will you
pay them back?
I heard screamin'
and bullwhips cracking,
How long? How long?"

3. Paul McCartney/Stevie Wonder -
This song has it all, message, meaning and is catchier than a workplace flu.

"We all know that people are the same where ever you go,
There is good and bad in everyone,
We learn to live,
We learn to give each other,
What we need to survive,
Together alive

Ebony and Ivory,
Live together in perfect harmony,
Side by side on my piano
Keyboard,
Oh lord,
Why dont we?"

4. Dixie Chicks!
I still get chills down my spine, every time I hear this song.

"I made my bed and I sleep like a baby,
With no regrets and I don't mind sayin',
It's a sad, sad story when a mother will teach her,
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.

And how in the world can the words that I said,
Send somebody so over the edge,
That they'd write me a letter sayin' that I better,
'Shut up and sing or my life will be over'."

5. Bob Marley/John Lennon:
Who played a bigger, more important role in political, social and compassionate changes in their time?
God only knows.
And he should, he took them from us way too early.
Their legend, works and inspiration will go on forever.

BM:
"Let's get together to fight this Holy Armageddon (One Love)
So when the Man comes there will be no no doom (One Song)
Have pity on those whose chances grove thinner
There ain't no hiding place from the Father of Creation"

JL:
"Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world..."

What more can we say?

This is funny:

This is too!

Thanks for tuning in, and for helping the animals.
Everyday, many more lives are saved, because of you.

TCE November 3, 2010

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"So we'll march day and night,
By the big cooling tower,
They have the plant,
But we have the power." - Lisa Simpson.
How have we not mentioned the fact that there will not be a power plant built in Oakville?
Well, now we have.

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 791

The Compassion Experiment Day 190

2010-10-27T11:47:00.035-04:00

Photo by LW
Distorted Reality: TCE

"Thanks, for your wonderful blog, and great review of our little sanctuary. We really enjoyed meeting you both, and hope you will be back again! I love the pic of you and Doc, it looks like he's having a little taste. :-)They really are wonderful creatures that have enriched our lives greatly. We love to share them with people, so they can see how great they really are. Thank you for all you do for animals, and especially all the ones you are saving by not eating them!"
S
Ruby Ranch

The best thing about our time during this experiment, has been all the new and amazing experiences, each one better then the next, and life has never been better. It's all about opening your mind to new ideas, and being fearless.
Sure, sure, it's that easy.
One good idea, spawns another great idea, and when you just go for it, a wave of goodness crashes upon you.

How do I find this wave?

You try this!:
We had meatless chicken strips, recommended by our friends A, M and E, and they were awesome! Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders were better then we could have ever expected. Tasty little morsels that were tastier, and more consistent, then the barbarian alternative.
I ate all of mine, and half of B's, damn tasty!
Next time you have a hankering for C-Strips, get these instead, and you'll never look back.

Or try this!:
"I've not tried the Gardein strips, but we found a new way to cook the President's Choice meatless chicken strips. You bake them like the instructions say, then put them in a frying pan with your favorite BBQ sauce. Cook till crispy and the sauce carmelizes. MMMMMMMM........."
S

This Saturday was the Charlie Fund - Quilt Silent Auction.
Until this year I had never seen first hand, where the $$$ from the Charlie Fund really goes, but that all changed when we met Charlie. Charlie was a deaf, and blind, declawed siamese cat who stole our hearts earlier this year. He was such a fighter, and an amazing soul.
And knowing, that by buying two quilts last year, we had helped to make Charlie's life a little better, means everything to us.
This year we bought two more, and are so glad we could help.

(Turns out we bought a quilt last year, that was created by Anne Smith.
She was so happy to hear that we have her quilt up on our wall!
Maybe you've seen it?
It's on the wall, beside the stainglass window upstairs?)

Thanks to LW for the video seen below!
Can you resist the cuteness?!

Last Thursday we attended our first Halton Green Screen.
On the third Thursday of every month, FREE OF CHARGE, at Encore in Oakville, you will find great Eco-Films, followed by a discussion about environmentally progressive changes, and such.
Our favorite part: Free apple slices with organic and compassionate chocolate sauce, supplied by WF.
The next one is November 18, and it is Living Downstream, and it looks really good.
We'll remind you, and ourselves, about it again, as the date closes in on us.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"If you are what you eat, and you eat hotdogs, doesn't that make you an a$$hole?" - From a sticker.

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 756

The Compassion Experiment Day 182

2010-10-19T11:12:00.005-04:00

From S at Ruby Ranch:

"Fois gras, lamb and veal are horrible, but you know what "food" offends me the most? Bacon! I'm not exactly sure why, I mean, obviously I love pigs and all pork products are offensive, (as are all meat products) but bacon is way out there. I can't even look at those stupid Wendy's commercials that tout bacon as the greatest superfood ever. I can't look at it, and the smell of it makes me want to resort to violence. I think it might be because there are so many rabid bacon fans. (I wish pigs carried rabies and people could get it from eating bacon)(joke-sort of) When I read about the big fad last year at the ex being chocolate covered bacon, I wanted to go down there, and anyone I spotted eating this abomination, I wanted to take their stick away, throw it on the ground and stomp on it. I don't know why bacon does this to me. I wonder if anyone else feels this way? Need to start an anti-bacon movement!"

We feel the same way, for sure!! We are definitely a part of the anti-bacon movement, S!

Been a busy couple of weeks, so...where to begin?

Thanksgiving was great this year, though our Tofurky was a complete disaster. This has less to do with the Tofurky itself, and more to do with us preparing it incorrectly. We know that people just rave about Tofurkey, but we found that in the end, we were content with mashed potatoes, pear and squash soup, Stovetop Stuffing, corn pie, and pumpkin pie, and next time we will skip the Tofurky altogether. Again, this is not a knock at Tofurky, we just find that if you have enough of the other stuff, we don't think you need it. The good news is, we didn't eat a turkey, and feel damn good about that!

For one of our meals this week, we copied one of the meals that Liz made during our relaxing stay at Sugar Ridge, which was pasta, with basil pesto and Tofurky Italian-Style Tofu Sausage (with Sun Dried Tomatoes). The meal turned out awesome, so please, everyone, next time you want to add sausage to your pasta, try Tofurky Sausage instead. You will find that the consistency and taste of their sausage trumps that of any you will get at a grocery store, AND, you will save some piggies, which is the important thing here. In this case, taste and compassion trumps evil.

Finally made it out to Kindfood in Burlington. We'd been dying to get out to Burlington to try it out, but the hours there are a little wacky, so it's been hard to make the time for it. Kindfood is an environmentally sound cafe, that specializes in animal-free food. It is the epitome of Compassion, and we loved it! We had the B.L.A.T, which is: meat-free Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, carrots, Tomato, and Veganaise, and can't wait to have another!!
If you can find the time for it, you have to try out Kindfood, it's an amazing place, that we support 110%!

This video was created by Lisa Winn. Lisa is an Animal Care Attendant (like me), who makes videos of the cats at the OMHS to help them get more exposure on the www. I make a cameo in this video. Well, my unshaved neck makes a cameo!
It's a great video, please pass it on!

B's new commercial, for Oatmeal at TH, will be up soon! The product is already available, hence why we are able to write about it, legally. Just tried it today for the first time, (the maple oatmeal), and it was delightful. It's going to be huge during the winter months, because it is hot, and delicious, much like B herself.
Keep your eye our for the commercial, it's great and will begin soon, November I think. It's totally Awesomer, if you get my drift. Awesomer than Awesomer.

For all those who continue to tune into The Compassion Experiment, we thank you.
And of course, all the animals thank you most!

TCE October 19, 2010.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"Can a man who wears 'skinny jeans', be considered a man at all?' - Me.
Just kidding! Here is the real one: "Let Thy food be thy medicine...and thy medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates (taken from the Kindfood brochure).

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 720

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.
The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

Totally Unrelated Content:
This is the section where I rant about the Toronto Raptors, so if you don't like basketball, just skip to the next entry.
Of course, one might ask: "why do you include this in the TCE blog?"
The answer is, I've sworn I was going to do this for two years straight, and now that we have a great blog, it is just easier to throw it in at the end, for anyone who might care to read my rantings about Toronto's most unfortunate franchise.
Well, the preseason is almost over, and there have been some extreme highs, and lows, as would be expected.
Highlights include Linas Kleiza's stellar and solid play, and Leandro Barbosa putting in more effort and scoring in six games, then Turkeyloo did in one full year for the Raptors. Great pick ups for BC and TR for sure!
Lowlights? Getting their asses kicked by Boston. What is the deal with them and the Celtics? Is it intimidation or what? They always, always, always, lose to those trash-talking mofo's!
Anyone keeping their eye on the superfriends in Miami has to be happy with the amount of injuries and losses that have occurred thusfar, and I'd expect this is a sign of things to come for sure. How long until Robo-Bosh goes down with a knee injury?
Looking forward to a season of more hussle, defense, and a more exciting team. Will they make the playoffs? Will they do better than last year? Only time will tell. But, I will say this, the future of the team looks better than ever, and with a little luck, and a good trade or two, this team can be really good moving forward, which is a nice change.
Oct. 19, 2010.

FIV Information

2010-10-19T09:40:00.040-04:00

Brooklyn has been at the OHMS for almost 2 years!

We were sent this info from B and N, and think it is important to spread the word about FIV.
There are cats at the OMHS who have it, and constantly get picked over because people don't really understand the disease at all. Brooklyn, Carbon, Hart, Taters, and Tully are all great cats, and need homes too!!

As seen on catchat.org:

What is FIV?
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) has been associated with cats for many years, although it was only labelled as such as recently as 1986. The virus depletes the number of white blood cells, which eventually makes the cat less able to fight off infection. However, because it is such a slow acting virus many FIV positive cats can enjoy a normal lifespan with no apparent health problems resulting from the virus.
FIV is species specific, so can only be transmitted from cat to cat, and not to humans or other animals.
FIV belongs to the same group as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and for this reason has received much greater attention than it would otherwise have done. The mere mention of FIV, and the fact that it is sometimes inaccurately known as 'Feline Aids', strikes unnecessary terror into the heart of many cat-owners, so it is worth taking time to consider the facts dispassionately. Firstly, the viral strains used in laboratories on experimental cats were very virulent, and much previously published information is based on this. However, FIV strains in cats living normal lives tend to be much more benign, and may never cause disease.

How does a cat catch the virus?
The virus is present in the blood and saliva of infected cats. But, like HIV, it is a very 'fragile' virus, and cannot survive for long outside the body. It also requires a high dose to establish an infection in another cat. Therefore, it is not easily passed from cat to cat. The main route of infection is through biting, when the virus in the saliva of an infected cat is injected directly into the blood stream of the cat it bites. Conversely, a cat which bites an infected cat, is at less risk of being infected, as the virus would not be injected straight into the blood stream, although there is still an element of risk.

Cats who fight who are most likely to be infected. Cat fights are most likely between entire toms and these are therefore the group most at risk. Since many feral cats are unneutered and have to compete for food, there is a higher incidence of FIV in feral cats. Transmission between cats in a group who do not fight is unlikely as the virus can only survive a very brief time outside a cat's body, and it cannot be transmitted indirectly, such as on food, feeding equipment, clothes, shoes, hands etc. (unlike the situation with feline leukaemia). Recent research suggests the likelihood of cats passing on FIV to others in the same household is as low as 1-2%.

It has not been proved that the virus is transmitted sexually, although often the tom cat will hold onto the scruff of the female's neck with his teeth, so if the skin is punctured at that point, transmission is possible.

The take-home message here is to prevent fighting - make sure your cat is neutered!
Preventing your cat from becoming infected
The only guaranteed way of preventing your cat becoming infected is to never let it outside, where it might meet other cats. This is a drastic, and unnecessary measure, which crucially may reduce the quality of life for cats who enjoy going outside. It's a bit like never going outside your front door just in case you get run over by a bus, basically the chances are low. The best way of helping to prevent the likelihood of infection is to make sure your cat is neutered. As well as being the most humane way of reducing the future stray population, neutering reduces the tendency to fight, or to wander. »»» Further neutering information.

What are the signs of FIV?
Signs that a cat has become infected can vary greatly, so it is not always apparent until a blood test is carried out. Often, the cat may develop raised lymph nodes around six to eight weeks after being infected, and they may have a high temperature. Sometimes diarrhoea or conjunctivitis may develop, possibly lasting days or even weeks, with the cat then returning to apparent health. Other common signs are gingivitis (gum inflammation), sneezing, snuffling, a discharge from the nose or eyes, or kidney failure. The eyes or brain can be affected in a very small number of cases, resulting in changes in behaviour.

The fact that the virus depletes certain of the white blood cells (T lymphocytes), in theory at least, makes the cat more susceptible to other infections, and it will find it more difficult to shake them off. This is known as 'immunosuppression' and is identical to the situation in HIV infection. However, this is purely theoretical, and in practice many cats do not have any more infections than cats which are not infected with the virus.

The commonest infection to occur in FIV positive cats is gingivitis and stomatitis (inflammation of the gums and other parts of the mouth). However, FIV is not the commonest cause of gingivitis. This is common in cats which are fed on an unnatural diet of sloppy canned food. Cats which are carriers of Calici-virus (one of the cat flu viruses) frequently suffer from gingivitis, as well as lot of cats which do not carry either of these viruses.
Whatever the cause, gingivitis is treated initially with a thorough dental scale and polish plus a course of anti-biotics and a steroid drug to suppress the inflammation. Various other chronic infections may also occur - conjunctivitis, diarrhoea, skin and respiratory tract infections (rhinitis or bronchitis). However, these are less common, and again, respond to treatment providing it is carried on for an adequate time.

What is their Life Expectancy?
A cat who contracts FIV will usually still have a strong immune system for several years after infection, it is only over time, that the effects of the virus may start to show, and even then, most infections can be treated with the appropriate medications.

A long-term FIV Monitoring Project was carried out at Glasgow Veterinary School over a number of years and the results indicated that a higher percentage of FIV negative cats died during the period of the study than FIV positive cats! A fourteen year study by Maureen Hutchison B.Sc, BVMS, MRCVS (veterinary adviser to the Cat Action Trust) found that FIV-positive cats are more likely to die by being killed in road accidents or to be alive and well into their twilight years than they are to die from any FIV related condition. Also, a recent survey by Dr Diane D. Addie (Lecturer in Veterinary Virology, University of Glasgow) where 26 cats were monitored for ten years, found that FIV infection did not affect the cats’ life expectancy.

Knowing what we now do of the prolonged nature of the condition, euthanasia is totally inappropriate and inhumane. Being killed in a road accident is a far higher risk for a cat than FIV.
So Why the Unfounded Fears about FIV?
FIV in the stray cat population has certainly fuelled much of the unfounded fear surrounding the virus. It is mainly un-neutered toms, fighting over food, females or territory, who pick up and spread the virus. The stray cat has no-one to look after them, and their lifestyle means they are more likely to pick up other infections, which without treatment can escalate. When one of these gets captured and taken to a vet, suffering from any number of secondary infections, it is often too late. It is the nature of a vet's work, that they will see many more ill cats than healthy ones, when in fact, there are very many more healthy FIV cats than ill ones - they just don't need to see the vet!

Testing and Treatment
Testing: The FIV test routinely carried out in veterinary practices detects antibodies, which develop four to six weeks after infection, but this test is often unreliable as to whether the cat has the virus. Positive test results obtained by using this simple 'ELISA' test (sometimes called a CITE test, or 'COMBO' test,) should be confirmed by an IFA test (Immuno-Fluorescent Antibody Test) or a Western Blot, as quite often false positives can occur. Some of the ELISA tests are so inaccurate as to make the whole test meaningless, and are producing 'false positives' (due to reacting with a variety of other compounds in the cat's blood). According to the Glasgow Companion Animal Diagnostic Unit web-site (where they give the results of an on-going survey), up to 7% of positive results with the ELISA test are negative when checked by the more accurate IFA test. Many rescues have given up using the ELISA test, and are now using the IFA test only, saving time and money, whilst also being more accurate.
The IFA test is not expensive (usually about £25), and will give you a definitive answer in under a week. To obtain this ask your vet to send a blood sample to either Glasgow University's Companion Animal Diagnostics (Tel: 0141 330 5777), or to VetLab in West Sussex (Tel: 01403 730176), or University of Bristol's Langford Veterinary Diagnostics (Tel: 0117 928 9412)
Very rarely, false negative results can occur if the test is done too early for antibodies to have developed, or simply because of the innacuracy of the ELISA test. Again the IFA test will confirm with far more accuracy.
Treatment: Treatment consists of dealing with whatever symptoms occur in the individual cat, such as common infections being treated with Antibiotics. If an FIV positive cat displays any symptoms of illness, however minor, it should be taken to a vet promptly. Once established in a cat's cells, the virus is permanent, and no proven vaccine* has yet been found.
*A vaccine was developed in the USA in 2002, but it is still too early to determine it's reliability. A big disadvantage with this vaccine is that once a cat has the vaccine, they will automatically test positive on an FIV test even though they don't have the virus.

Adopting an FIV positive cat
A healthy FIV positive cat can live for many years, and indeed can often outlive non-infected cats, but please be aware that this is not always the case. Due to their impaired immune system, the cat may succumb to illness earlier, and not reach their normal life expectancy. FIV cats will need prompt veterinary assistance for even minor symptoms.

Many rescues insist that FIV cats are homed as 'indoor cats' or go to homes with an enclosed garden to prevent contact with other cats. Certainly if the cat has any aggressive tendencies it should not be allowed free access to the outside world, or to mix with non-infected cats. Any tom cat found to be FIV positive should be neutered, and fighters managed in such a way that they do not have the necessity or opportunity to fight. Neutering them may be all that is required. It is surprising how many aggressive stray tom cats turn into docile pets when they have been castrated and no longer have to fight for every mouthful of food! With good care, many FIV+ cats can live nearly normal lifespans. It's not unusual to find FIV+ cats over 15 years of age.

One american study showed that FIV+ cats are far more likely to lose their lives through being euthanised as no-one was willing/able to offer them a home, than from any effects of the virus.
FIV positive cats find it harder than most to find new homes, even though in all other respects they are normal, loving cats, and deserve a chance at a happy life. If you think you might be able to give a home to an FIV cat, ask at your local rescue centre ~ Click Here for contact details of rescues and shelters across the UK.

Can FIV-positives and FIV-negatives live together?
The most recent research carried out at Glasgow University's Companion Animal Diagnostics indicates that the chances of FIV being passed from one cat to another in the same household is approx 1-2%. This means that if you have 100 cats (!) in a house with 1 FIV positive cat, only 1 or 2 could be expected to become infected. Even when FIV was passed on, as in the Glasgow survey, none of the cats actually died of it.

In another survey a few years ago FIV was not passed from cat to cat in the same household at all. There is also an ongoing study by the Celia Hammond Animal Trust where FIV-positive and FIV-negative cats are living together, and regular 'spot tests' for the virus are carried out. Several years into this study no cases of transmission have yet been found.

There seems no reason, therefore, not to have FIV positive and negative cats in the same household, provided they are not fighters. If two cats in one household fight, they should be kept apart, given behavioural therapy or one re-homed, regardless of their FIV status. So, this is obviously a decision to be taken on a case by case basis, depending on the natures of the cats involved.

Cats who are allowed to go outside are more at risk of being bitten by an unknown feral or stray FIV-positive cat than by a friendly FIV-positive cat living as part of the family.
Caring for your FIV+ cat
Good care and lots of love can help your FIV+ cat to enjoy a long life. Being kept as an 'indoor cat' will limit their exposure to infection, although may be considered as reducing their quality of life. An enclosed garden may be a good compromise. Whilst healthy, their regular annual vaccinations should be kept up to date, but do check with your vet about vaccinating if the cat is suffering symptoms. A good diet will help, including vitamin supplements such as buffered vitamin C (sodium ascorbate) and vitamin E, which builds immune system strength. At any sign of illness, take your cat to the vet, as early treatment can prevent many problems. Antibiotics can control infections, and FIV+ cats who reach a chronic stage may rely on antibiotics more frequently.

Don't forget, love is a powerful immune system enhancer, so don't forget to cherish your FIV+ cat!

Boarding your FIV cat
Boarding catteries should have no problem accepting an FIV cat, since the virus cannot be transmitted by feeding equipment etc. although you should make them aware of the cat's condition. The cattery will need to know this, to ensure that they are not allowed contact with other cats, and also so that they can keep a close eye for any symptoms of illness, and act promptly.

Kittens
FIV cats should always be neutered, however if a female FIV positive cat is allowed to become pregnant it is extremely rare for the kittens to become infected with the virus. FIV differs from feline leukaemia in that respect, in that is that it is not passed on from the queen to kittens in utero. However, kittens born to an infected mother will absorb antibodies from her milk and will therefore give a positive response to the FIV antibody test. In these kittens the test becomes negative after 12-16 weeks, as their maternal immunity wanes. It is therefore pointless to test kittens under 16 weeks using an FIV antibody test.
Even though it is rare for kittens to be born FIV positive, if there is a clinical need to find out their FIV status, the University of Bristol, Langford Veterinary Diagnostics can carry out an antigen test, which detects the presence of the viral DNA itself rather than just the antibody. This is a relatively expensive test, but if needed, information can be obtained from them by Email: vet-path@bristol.ac.uk

Further information
For more information on FIV check these out:
Catwork Sanctuary: www.v63.net/catsanctuary/fiv.html
Celia Hammond Animal Trust: www.celiahammond.org

The Compassion Experiment Day 178

2010-10-15T21:00:00.046-04:00

This year while at the Vegetarian Food Festival, we saw a pamphlet for a Pig Sanctuary, called Ruby Ranch.
We grabbed it, of course, and vowed that we would have to check the place out.
Of course with both of us working full-time now, and volunteering, it was hard to find time for it, but this past Tuesday, we were finally able to make it down.
And it was unbelievable!

We pull up to the house, and the front door opens.
Out comes two dogs, and a giant pot belly pig who waddles his way down the front stairs.
In the front yard there is a pen with three super cute pot belly pigs, who greeted us and were quite friendly.
Seeing pigs on TV is one thing, to have a chance to get up and personal with them, is a whole other thing.
These are cute, intelligent creatures, who love people, and to cuddle, and in some cases, even like to sleep in the bed.

Ruby Ranch is run by an amazingly compassionate couple, Sherry and Bob, who started with one pig, Ruby, and now they have 19 pigs, two dogs, and three cats, including a stray named Felix, who recently has made himself completely comfortable in the barn, with the 800 pound pigs.

Like all animal lovers, they keep saying: 'No more, we can't afford to take anymore', but when they get a call saying if they don't rescue a pig, it's going to be shot, they make room.
Usually the pigs that end up on your table, never make it to 800 pounds, but at Ruby Ranch, they get the chance to grow to full size, and they are huge. Like a horse! And man are they strong. Unbelievably strong, but very affectionate, and so much fun to be with.

We're not sure how anyone could eat a pig, after spending time with them. These are gentle, fun loving creatures, with big hearts, and they are unbelievably intelligent.
We encourage everyone to look up Ruby Ranch, and to take their families there, to experience first hand, these amazing creatures. We can never look at pork products the same way again, and we wish everyone else could have this experience too.
Thanks to Sherry and Bob for the hospitality, we didn't want to leave, and hope we didn't overstay our welcome!

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"One needs to be slow to form convictions, but once formed they must be defended against the heaviest odds." - Mahatma Gandhi

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 700

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment Day 169

2010-10-06T16:29:00.030-04:00

This weekend was Critters Gone Country at the OMHS, and though the weather chose not to cooperate fully, the damp weather couldn't dampen our spirits.
This year there were a ton of vendors, including a Vegetarian/Vegan vendor that I completely missed!
We spent a lot of $$$, tried to win a giant scratching post, and had a good time.
Everyone worked really hard getting this thing together, and they all did an amazing job.
No word on how much was raised, but I expect that it was a good year.
Last year at Critters, the OMHS had to be closed to the public, but this year, the place was buzzing. People were everywhere (for better, or worse!), and all the cats in Room C got a lot of attention, making all the hard work we did to get it ready, worth it.

Speaking of worth it:
I was in Room C, getting cuddles from some amazing cats (see: Crosby, Leo and Avalanche), when a lady came into the room and gave me a look.
She said: "You're a volunteer here, right?"
I said: "Actually, I work here, but I do volunteer as well".
"That's what I thought," she said. "You recommended a cat for us, do you remember? His name was Willy."
"Oh, I remember Willy, for sure. You have a dog and were looking for a companion for him."
"That's right," she said. "Willy settled in right away, now he and the dog love each other, and play all the time."
"No kidding?"
"It's great," she said. "I had never had a cat before, and I was a little anxious about it, but he has been amazing."
"So, you're happy with him?"
"Oh yes, absolutely. I love having him around, we all do."
"That's so great," I said.
"I just thought you'd like to know, because you were the one who pointed him out for us."
"I thought he would be perfect for you."
"He is. I just wanted to say thank you."
"No problem, I'm happy to hear everything worked out so well."
She said good-bye, and left the room.
Thinking back, I totally remember Willy, and how much I liked him, and hoped I would find a good home for him.
Just one of the ways that volunteering has helped bring joy to my life.

Here is a great new recipe!

Aloo Gobi (A compassionate treat!)

You will need:
1 large onion
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 large potato
1 1/2 cups cauliflower, cut into pieces

In a large pan, on medium heat, saute the onions, ginger, and garlic in oil until the onions are see through.
Add the garam masala, cumin, salt and tumeric. Saute for 2 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
Add the stock, potatoes, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the cauliflower, and cook for 10 more minutes.
Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 4 servings.

B saw this article in the star and thought it was important to pass along.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/870130--hwy-427-ramp-reopens-after-81-pigs-die-in-rollover?bn=1
I guess the question is, does it matter that 1/3 of the pigs died on the way to slaughter? No, they were going to die anyways, the tragedy here is that people are eating pigs at all. It's not the year 1010, it's the year 2010, and we're not hunters anymore, (well, maybe bargain hunters). It just seems so sad that people still seem so dependent on meat, when there are so many choices out there. Everyone has a choice now, and you don't have to be rich to eat well, just be moralistic and creative, and you'll never feel like you are missing something.
End of lecture.

Did my first paid shift at Cats Castle, and it was a breeze. Great place, great people, and the perfect place to board a cat if you are going out of town and don't have family, or a reliable babysitter for your loved ones. Check them out today! www.catscastle.ca

We were sent this from Liz at Sugar Ridge:
Just in case you're in the mood to come back soon; we're having a special for Oct 15-17 of $260 for the weekend which includes your entrance to the Wye Marsh and dinner Saturday (as well as 2 breakfasts of course). If you can't make it tell your friends!
What an amazing deal, it would be really picturesque this time of year!

Another week has passed, and things just keep getting better.
Why not come along for the ride too?
You'll be happy you did, trust us.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." Albert Einstein

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 665

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment Day 162

2010-09-29T13:19:00.035-04:00

A year ago, this cat was sitting in a cage at the OMHS, waiting for a new home.
Now look at him.
Can you say, happy ending?
Good for you Stash!

Now the good news:
(Okay, there is a ton...)
On Monday all the cats from the trailer at the OMHS were transferred into Room C (which had been closed to the public for over a year), and the room will be open for Critters Gone Country which will be held this Sunday, Oct 3rd, at the baseball diamond beside the OMHS.
From this point on, the room will be open to the public, in addition to Rooms A and B. This is very exciting!
I was so happy to put all those healthy, happy cats in there. (I didn't do it alone, all the usual suspects were there, and it went smooth).
This Sunday, October 3rd, please come out and support the animals, and the OMHS.
It's the cool thing to do, didn't you know?

October 2nd is World Vegetarian Day.
I did not know this.
For those who can make it, there will be a Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-Off at the Harbourfront Community Centre from 2-4:30.

In honour of World Vegetarian Day, and the Bake-off, we will give you the secret to 'Cracking the Egg Code', meaning: How to remove eggs from your baking.

1. Flax Seeds - 1 tbsp Flax seeds plus 3 tbsp of Water = 1 Egg
Works well in things like Oatmeal, Cookies, Pancakes, and whole grain items like Muffins and Quick Breads.

2. Silken Tofu - 1/4 cup blended silken tofu (vacuum packed extra firm works best) = 1 Egg
Works best in dense cakes and brownies.

3. Ener-G-Egg Replacer - 1/1/2 tbsps + 2 tbsp water, mixed well = 1 Egg
Works best in cookies, and desserts that are meant to be crispy.

4. Ripe Bananas - 1/2 banana blended well until smooth or mashed well = 1 Egg
Works well in Muffins and Quick Breads. Use in baked goods where taste won't be intrusive, like brownies.

Now that you know the secret, please give it a try and let us know what you think!

Happy Day!
We were sent a 'Neat Recipe', check it!

Hi all,

I tried this new recipe and thought you might like it:

Broccoli Slaw

Julienned broccoli stalks (what a great idea - usually i just get rid of it....)
Julienned carrots
A bit of red cabbage

Dressing:

1/4 cup miracle whip (veganese for the compassionate eater)
1+1/4 tsp vinegar (i used white, but you can also use cider or wine)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp mustard (i used prepared but you can use dijon also)

It was yummy.
Cheers!

Dr. J

On Tuesday I had an orientation shift at Cats' Castle, and have another one planned for Monday night after my shift at the OMHS.
I have been extremely impressed by R and K's attentiveness to the cats, and their big hearts.
I will do a feature on Cats' Castle in the upcoming weeks.

When it rains, it pours, and these days we're dripping wet.

Stay tuned, things are getting better everyday, this can happen to you too!

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"Having we@d can help you through times without money, but money can't get you through times without we@d." - Surfer, Dude.

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 632

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment Day 154

2010-09-21T09:06:00.030-04:00

One of the great things that have come out of The Compassion Experiment, has been all the new discoveries.
One good decision (see: to become compassionate eaters), has led to so many new and wonderful things, it has been unbelievable.
Where are you going with this?
Good question!
We spent this past weekend in total bliss, at Sugar Ridge Retreat, and had the time of our lives.
"We're having, the time of our lives...", kept running through my head, kind of funny, but annoying at the same time.
In the end we had a hell of a good time, and can't wait to go back.
http://www.sugarridge.ca/

The Cabin:
Our cabin had four beds, and windows all around. We had a little heater that was so powerful, a little was a lot.
We were warm and cozy, we had a great view out the windows, and were greeted each morning, by a smiling sun.

The meals:

All the meals were homemade and super delicious. It was like eating at home, but without the work. It was amazing not having to compromise on taste, and on choice, because everything was vegetarian and/or vegan. It was awesome! We kept eating, and eating, drinking wine, eating more.

The Sugar Ridge Experience:

Liz and Kurt have done an amazing job with Sugar Ridge. The atmosphere is warm and loving, the food is top notch, and made right before your eyes.
The sleep was peaceful, (but it always feels a little weird when trying to go to sleep, and there isn't a cat or two keeping you awake).
Every meal was delicious, the Moroccan Stew, Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes, The Brownies, The Fruit Salads, were so appreciated, and devoured with ferocity, it was total Compassionate hedonism.
And we loved every minute of it!

Thanks to Liz and Kurt for the hospitality, and hard work.
We are so grateful for the experience, and are very inspired by what you have done.

To all readers: you have to check out Sugar Ridge, it is totally kid friendly, and a very positive atmosphere for families and couples alike.
And very, very reasonably priced!

TCE 2010

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving"

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 600

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment Day 147!

2010-09-14T10:55:00.033-04:00

Aaaaaand... we're back!!

The Veggie Food Festival, has come and went, and we had an awesome time!
My favorite part: the eating.
I'm talking mouth watering carrot cake, unbelievably good Rice Palau and Chana Masala, and the food we took home, has been just as good.
And the choices, wow, more than you can imagine, and it is all guilt free. Nice.
We were amazed at the amount of vendors and products that we were familiar with, it was really cool.
We spent a lot of $$$, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.
The Veggie food festival is our x-mas.

There was a lot of people, but no pushing and shoving. The crowd is pretty mellow, but the enthusiasm of the people, and their dedication to their causes, is inspiring.
The crowd last year was pretty big, but this year, the crowd has to have doubled, it was pretty crazy, but it is exciting to see so many people who think like you, act like you do, eat like you do, I think this is a way of life that is going to continue to grow exponentially, infinity.

If you missed it this year, you have to make it out sometime, it is such an amazing experience.

Thanks to PA for coming with us, it was great spending time with you!

We can't wait to visit the pig sanctuary we learned about, called Ruby Ranch.
From their website: "Ruby Ranch is a sanctuary strictly for pigs. It's named after our very first potbellied pig, Ruby. Shortly after we got her, we realized there was a great need for safe haven for pigs of all kinds."
We'll take pictures, and let you know how it goes.
I expect it to be great, just like the Donkey Sanctuary.

B has signed on as a volunteer at the Humane Society! She will work with kids, and teach them about respecting animals, as part of the Kindness Club.
She is going to love it!

We visited Cats Castle in Oakville on the weekend and were impressed and inspired. Ron and Kirsten are great, and I love the way they treat their animals. Cross your fingers for us, because there is a great opportunity there, and we'd be happy to help out in the future.

We are now at Day 147 of The Compassion Experiment, and things are better than ever!
We're happy, we are learning more every day, and the amount of doors that have been opened to us, is pretty mind blowing.
We hope that you will stay with us, as we continue to eat, drink and be merry, the compassionate way!

TCE 2010

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it. ~Toni Morrison

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 572

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment Day 130

2010-08-28T07:26:00.042-04:00

The Subway Challenge

We hadn't been to a Subway since we had made the switch to a Compassionate lifestyle, but this past Saturday night, we were hungry, we were lazy, and it was late, so we made our return.
We walked in the door, and that Subway smell hit us like only a fresh bakery can.
Sadly though, there isn't a heck of a lot of choice for herbivores, let alone, Compassionate ones, at Subway.
Prior to this experiment my Sub of choice was the Spicy Italian, it's the only sub I've eaten there for years.
B has always eaten the Veggie Sub, so for her, the choice was a no brainer.
But for me, a Veggie Sub, are you kidding me?
In my former life, I never, ever, ever, would have eaten a Veggie Sub. Never.
The question is, would I be able to walk out of there without my beloved sub?
Incredibly, yes.
Okay, it was tough, real tough, but I did it!
Turns out the Veggie is real tasty, and it didn't feel like anything was missing.
The Subway experience is all about packing your sub to the max with all the extra ingredients possible, leaving with your heavy sub in that see-through bag, and then being haunted by that sub all the way home.
Then you get home, you bite into your sub, and all those extra ingredients fall out on the first bite.
That's the Subway experience, and that's exactly we we got.

In Other News:
Holy Late, Batman!
Okay, see that video at the top of today's page, that was shot last Saturday, and you're only getting it now.
So sad, but the good news is, it's kind of funny, so why not check it out if you can.

Today's top news story:
This is going to be Awesome! http://veg.ca/content/view/52/83/
It's the 26th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival in Toronto, Sept 10-12!
We went last year, and it was pretty eye opening, I mean, everything we ate there was super delicious.
We are going down on the Saturday night, and are going to check out some cooking demos, listen to some music and eat some awesome food.
We highly recommend that everyone try to get out to this years festival, it's going to be awesome!
This year we can get the SSV shirts! (Secret Society of Vegan's).
It's going to be great, be there if you can.

No recipes today, but we got a million ready to come up soon, so stay tuned.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you could do. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty." Sir Paul McCartney

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 502

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 118)

2010-08-18T13:36:00.017-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put !nto Action

I was recently asked what I thought about the Toronto Humane Society cases being thrown out of court.
I said: tune into the blog to find out.
This is a pretty good rant.
Here is my response:
A lot of good came out of this situation, and as much as I hate how irresponsible they were to the animals, you can't change the past.
Their name is mud, and everyone knows who they are and what they have done.
The Toronto Humane Society is much better off today because of this, and the animals will be treated very well for the foreseeable future.
Because everyone is watching now.

Do you like delicious food?
Try this:

Yummy Compassion Granola

You will need:

6 cups of Oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of oil
3/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup pecans
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350

Spread the oats on a baking pan and bake for 10 minutes.
Transfer the oats to a large bowl and add the sugar, wheat germ, seeds, and nutz.
Mix well, then add the oil, syrup and vanilla.
Mix until moist.

Spread onto baking pan(s), and bake for 5 minutes.
Stir, then bake for 5 minutes.

Let the granola cool on the pans.
Put the cool granola in a bowl and mix until mildly pulverized.

Eat, enjoy.

Good news!
I am now a full-time employee of the OMHS, well, as of September.
This is exciting, and is good on many fronts.
B will begin volunteering there in the near future, she is just deciding on either Matchmaking or working in the Kindness Club.
The Kindness Club would help her get her kid fix, which is perfect.
The Matchmaking would give her a very fulfilling way to spend a couple hours each week, but she is worried about her cat allergies.

We recently attended a meeting about grants and funding in Oakville, and it was very interesting.
Very interesting indeed, but a little intimidating.
The thing is, we believe 100% in what we are doing here, and think we are doing something good for the animals, and for the planet, and for ourselves.
It would be great to be able to reach a larger market, and to get out name out there more in the community, so people will think twice, before they bite into a burger, or wing.
Wish us luck!

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. - George Carlin

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 444

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Nomination Video!

2010-08-17T17:17:00.014-04:00

Life is for living.

Much to my surprise, and delight, this year I was nominated for a Media Arts Award.
When the night came, the award show atmosphere made for an unforgettable, and amazing experience.
It was surreal, and more emotional then I would have ever thought possible.

Thanks to the Oakville Arts Council for the nod, and to Stephanie and Michael for making the videos, they did an amazing job!
Click here, and look for the picture of me.
Click and play.
Enjoy!

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"What did I have to lose?" - Mic P

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 431

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

Disclaimer:
This blog is for entertainment purposes only.
We do not aim to criticize people, just ideas.
We are only interested in bringing to light, ideas that could help make the world a better place.
That's it.
It's nothing personal, it's just a blog.

TCE 2010

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 110)

2010-08-11T10:43:00.032-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put !nto Action

This article here, reminds me of why I chose to become a compassionate eater in the first place.
It's all about perspective really. Someone might read this story and be appalled, another might read it and be disapointed the man didn't get to eat it.

Reminds me of:
I was having a philosophical debate with SP (See: rant), about an article I had read regarding a market in China, where people go each day, to pick out a cat for dinner.
I was spitting angry.
I paraphrase.
SP said: 'But, you eat meat don't you?'
I say: 'How can they eat cats, that's cruel?'
SP said: 'Chickens are cute, you eat them don't you?'
MSP: 'Ummm...but it's wrong to eat cats, isn't it?'
SP: 'What's the difference?'
I suddenly realized, I didn't know.
What was the difference?
Chickens and pigs are cute, I like lambs and goats, but why did they have to be so damn tasty.
I pondered it some more, but for some reason the idea of going vegetarian, let alone, totally compassionate, was very, very scary.
I guess I thought it would make it harder to plan meals, or even, to find good meals to eat at all.
Then we just took the plunge, and went for it!
The first two weeks, to maybe a month, were a little rough.
B had curry overload, and was ready to explode.
I had been exploding internally from the curry for weeks.
But we moved on, and have been happy with our decision ever since.
Want to know how we did it?
You do it like this:

Breakfast:
- Oatmeal with fruit, or maple syrup, or
- Cereal with soy milk and sliced fruit of choice, or
- Peanut butter, on toast, or on a bagel, or
- Make a smoothie with chunks of frozen fruit and soy milk.

Snacks:
- apple sauce
- hummus and pitas
- fruit, veggies, nuts
-chips

Lunch/Dinner:
- Pasta with fresh veggies cooked in tomato sauce
- Veggie Stir Fry, with sauce and veggies of choice
- Nature Burgers, corn and fries
- Yummy motherf@#$ing veggie wraps made with falafel's from Whole Foods!

That's a good start anyways.
Try it for a couple days, you'll see how easy is.

This will help too!
vegrecipes.org
tryveg.com

B's gonna love this one!
http://dunkincruelty.com/

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"If you can dream it, you can achieve it, you just have to believe it." - Mic P

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 407

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

Disclaimer:
This blog is for entertainment purposes only.
We do not aim to criticize people, just ideas.
We are only interested in bringing to light, ideas that could help make the world a better place.
That's it.
It's nothing personal, it's just a blog.

TCE 2010

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 103)

2010-08-04T16:07:00.046-04:00

We finally made it to The Donkey Sanctuary!

It was a brutally hot day, I'm talking hot as f@#$! In fact, I almost passed out from the heat a couple times.
We had learned about the place at the OMHS General Meeting, and it sounded amazing, so we made the drive out to Guelph.

The Donkey Sanctuary is: 'a refuge for donkeys, mules and hinnies who have been neglected or abused, or who can no longer be cared for by their owners.'
Their website says: 'The Sanctuary is 100 acres of tranquility, in which we strive to live in peaceful harmony with the animals we have rescued. It is our heartfelt mission to ensure the animals who come to live out the remainder of their lives with us are surrounded by love, dignity, and the respect they so richly deserve.'

No words can really describe how serene it was being there. The place was packed, and there were tons of families and field trips going on, yet it was totally peaceful and relaxing, and all the animals were treated with the upmost respect by everyone.
At The Donkey Sanctuary you get to interact with more than just donkeys, there are mules, goats, and lambs, just hanging out, waiting to be brushed, or pet, it was a trip.

The DSC is only open on Wednesday's and Sunday's, 10-4, so there is only a small window of opportunity to be there. We realize with everyone's hectic schedules, making it out for either day might be a little difficult.
But the thing is, it's totally worth it!
More than worth it actually, because you are supporting an awesome cause. And most importantly your family gets to spend time with the animals, on their own terms, and you will leave with a whole new respect, for these intelligent and gentle creatures.
Please find some time to take your family, or just yourselves, to The Donkey Sanctuary, you won't regret a minute of it!

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 386

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 101)

2010-08-02T07:07:00.024-04:00

An Everyday Hero!
I don't know how many people saw this, but we feel that this man deserves a medal:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/842289--man-charged-after-finding-deadly-beaver-traps-in-oshawa-pond
How many people would do this for animals? To us, this man is a true hero.
Though he stated his reason for taking the beaver traps, was to stop kids from getting hurt, the truth of the matter is, he took them, because he knows how the traps work, and it doesn't say in the article.
How does a beaver trap work?
It traps the beaver underwater and drowns it.
What a way to die, trapped in a cage, underwater, until death sweeps in.
Was the town of Oshawa really concerned that beavers were going to be responsible for drowning the city?
In a case like this, involving animals, I think the city just assumed that people would ignore it, and pretend it wasn't happening, and/or that people generally just wouldn't give a @#$%.
But they were wrong.
Just like the Newmarket OSPCA was wrong when they though it would be okay to euthanize all their animals.
People really do care, that's the bottom line here.
There is clearly a big movement these days, to protect the planet, and it's wildlife.
And we are proud to be a part of it, even in our own little way.
Sure, all we really are doing is not consuming animal by-products, and living Compassionately, but we also hope we are leading by example. And by using the examples of everyday people like you or us, to show that anyone can make a difference, and anyone can step in and stop injustice, all they have to do is care.
Is that so hard really?

How many times are we going to have to keep linking to articles like this:
Don't Eat Brandt's Meat!
Wasn't it just last week that we mentioned how many times Listeria has come up since we started The Compassion Experiment?
It just keeps happening, and happening, it's unbelievable really.
Sure, it's nice to sit back and not really give a @#$%, because we don't touch the stuff, but really, when we read this, it makes us worry about the welfare of the families and the children we know and love, because they eat meat.
We know it's tough to be parents, and that kids are fussy about what they will and will not eat. But, it is still scary every time another Listeria case comes up, because it makes us think about what the families would go through, if one of their children were to get sick from eating meat.
Sure, getting sick from Listeria is kind of like winning the lottery, or being hit by lighting, it's probably not going to happen to you or to anyone you know. It is important to note though, that we know someone who has been hit by lighting, and another who won the lottery, does that put things into a little more perspective?

We no longer eat meat because we believe it is barbaric, and unnecessary, but the more Listeria comes up, the more we are glad we do not partake in the consumption of meat. We just wish that more people were following our lead, because we don't want them, or their children, to get sick either. For a good perspective on this, you need to see Food Inc.

We firmly believe that if more people gave Lick's Nature Burgers a shot, they would find, you can just skip the corpse burger altogether.
It's the' hamburger experience' we didn't want to give up. You know, holding it with two hands, and diving in, spilling ketchup and mustard all over your fingers and chin. We love that, just not at the cost of animals lives. That's why the Nature Burger is the perfect solution, you still get the hamburger eating experience, without the guilt, and without having to worry that you, or someone you love, might die from it.

Please keep thinking about the animals, before you make a decision about what you are having for dinner. We know it's not easy, but nothing worth anything, ever is.

Here is a great recipe!

Compassionate Honey Lemon Carrots:
You will need:
1/2 cup of water
5 medium carrots, sliced
1/4 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the carrots and simmer until carrots are almost cooked.
Stir in the lemon juice, syrup, rosemary, salt and pepper, and simmer on low heat for 5 more minutes.
Makes enough to feed a family of 4.

Enjoy!

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened." - taken from a chain email.

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 378

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

Disclaimer:
This blog is for entertainment purposes only.
We do not aim to criticize people, just ideas.
We are only interested in bringing to light, ideas that could help make the world a better place.
That's it.
It's nothing personal, it's just a blog.

TCE 2010

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

Totally Unrelated Content:
I don't know how many Raptors fans saw this:
http://www.foxsportsarizona.com/08/01/10/Turkoglu-takes-a-shot-at-Raptors-Colange/landing.html?blockID=281529&feedID=3702
The Big Turk is at it again, and is still dishing out @##% about the Raptors.
Here is my thought on the subject of having two complacent players like Hedo and Bosh on our team last year: I think it brought the morale of the whole team down, I think that they lead by example, and that's why the team failed the way it did.
I look forward to this season, because they've freed themselves of two talented people, who just didn't want to play for the team.
NO MORE FRANCHISE PLAYERS!
Let's do it as a team.
Play as a team, fail as a team, but do it, please, AS A TEAM.
Thank you.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 96)

2010-07-29T13:25:00.020-04:00

It's a Mother@#$%ing MIracle!!!

Dear MIC P:

It's official. Bulls will no longer suffer a slow, painful and terrifying death in Catalonia's bullrings.

History was made today when the Catalonian Parliament voted to approve an amendment of the current animal protection legislation and ban bullfighting within the region. MPs voted resoundingly in favour of a ban this morning - 68 voted for the ban, 55 voted against the ban and 9 abstained - marking a historic end to a long and hard-fought campaign. The ban will come into effect on January 1st 2012.

This inspiring result came about because of a relatively simple act: people spoke out for animals, forcing politicians to turn those voices into votes.

The victory is Catalonia's, but the celebration is ours too! It wasn't just local voices that were heard; two days before the vote WSPA formally handed in a letter that was signed by over 165,000 people from 120 countries around the world, to show politicians the huge international support for a ban.

The ban could not have been achieved without all the support from inside and outside Catalonia, and because of this support, animals will now be saved from the torture of the bullring in Catalonia. So on behalf of them, and all those campaiging for the ban, THANK YOU!

Today's decision in Barcelona is a historic moment in the global campaign against bullfighting; join us as we continue to campaign against this cruel 'sport' wherever it still exists.

Thank you. We couldn't have achieved this victory without your support. Please take a moment to pat yourself on the back.

This is unbelievable news, (and somewhat ironic given our most recent rant).

But that's not all!
Check it!
http://www.hsi.org/world/united_kingdom/news/news/2010/07/Israel_fur_ban_support_071910.html
"The bill, introduced by Knesset Member Ronit Tirosh, seeks to outlaw the production, processing, import, export and sale of fur from all animal species not already part of the meat industry. There is a small exemption for the use of fur in hats for certain religious purposes.

Already unanimously endorsed by the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the bill still has to pass crucial votes in Committee and the Knesset.

A ban on all fur throughout the country would be a world first—a major stand against the animal cruelty inherent in the worldwide fur trade—and it would set an example that other countries would look to and follow.

It has attracted widespread support in Israel and from the public, politicians and celebrities from around the world."

I am not a follower of the tabloid fodder, but I will admit to feeling but a tickle of glee, when I hear of celebrities throwing their weight behind such a powerful purpose.

From this point forward, The Compassion Experiment will now include an additional section, a secret section (if you will), pertaining to our feelings on the Toronto Raptors. It will be known as Totally Unrelated Content.
I've wanted to do a Raptors blog for years, but what would be the point?
Now that we've got this blog going, we'll just add to it.
It'll be at the end of the blog, past the ad for our t-shirts, (please keep sending in those cheques!)

And as always, your opinions are much appreciated

Stay with us, we'll be getting up some new recipes in the next issue.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"I think he checked out mentally." BC
No @#$%.

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 353

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

Disclaimer:
This blog is for entertainment purposes only.
We do not aim to criticize people, just ideas.
We are only interested in bringing to light, ideas that could help make the world a better place.
That's it.
It's nothing personal, it's just a blog.

TCE 2010

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

Totally Unrelated Content:
I'm happy Colangelo came out of the closet about his feelings about CB4.
It's nothing personal, it's just business, and BC got the raw end of the CB ego.
Here is the interview:
http://www.fan590.com/ondemand/media.jsp?content=20100726_173501_6484
I like BC, we should bank on him in the future.

Peace.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 93)

2010-07-26T11:09:00.011-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put !nto Action.

Disclaimer:
This blog is for entertainment purposes only.
We do not aim to criticize people, just ideas.
We are only interested in bringing to light, ideas that could help make the world a better place.
That's it.
It's nothing personal, it's just a blog.

TCE 2010

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"A good writer possesses not only his own spirit but also the spirit of his friends."
Friedrich Nietzsche

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 343

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 90)

2010-07-22T07:13:00.021-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put !nto Action.

Welcome to our Animals As Entertainment Issue!

Let me start by passing along these two articles about recalled meat. Though we don't eat meat anymore, we still know people that do and think they should be warned about potential dangers in their meat.
Article 1, and Article 2.
I am amazed at the amount of times Listeria has come up already in the 90 days since we started this crazy experiment.

This is the article that gave us the idea for this issue, it is in regards to the deaths at this years Calgary Stampede.
It is quite tragic, but the question is, can it be stopped? People love to use the word 'tradition' as an answer to why things still occur like this. Why does bullfighting still exist? It's a tradition. Why to people still visit zoo's? It's a tradition. Why are there rodeos, calf-roping, and steeplechase? Tradition, tradition, tradition!
@#$% tradition, it's the oldest excuse, and it has grown quite tiring.
Bullfighting is by far the most heinous of all these traditions, I'm talking raising a bull from birth, just to fight once in 'glory', only to be killed immediately after. What a complete waste of life! We have never been a supporter of this so-called sport, nor will we ever be.
But the traditionalists are still having their way.
For us, just because it is happening 1000's of miles away, doesn't mean it effects us any less. It is a tragic situation, much like the meat industry, and it is very upsetting.
Are zoo's any better?
No, they are not. Animals weren't meant to be put in zoo's, and in this day in age, do we really need it? If you want to see an elephant or an alligator, you can find videos, pictures, or movies, on the internet. It's not like you are going to get to play with them, or interact with them at the zoo. And by giving the zoo your support, you are just prolonging all the animals suffering.
Events like rodeos, and calf-roping, they are just completely inhumane, but tell me this, how many vegetarian cowboys are there? Not too many we'd assume, and why would that be? It's tradition.

So what is the alternative? We want kids to learn about animals, but in way that is respectful. Forget African Lion Safari, this is the best place we can think of The Donkey Sanctuary.
Any place that rescues animals, and puts them to pasture as they do at The Donkey Sanctuary, are beautiful places.
The Mountsberg Wildlife Centre would be a disturbing place, except all the birds of prey they have in cages, have been injured, and wouldn't be able to survive in the wild. In this case, they are doing the animals a favor, and the kids still get a chance to interact with the animals, but not at a cost to the animals health and welfare.
These are but two recommendations, the other one would be of course, the Humane Society, it's great for the kids, and great for the animals to have as much interaction with humans as possible.
And while you are there, might as well adopt one, or two, or three.

If you do have kids, we encourage you to please check out The Donkey Sanctuary, and Mountsberg Wildlife Centre, we believe it is important to support the good guys.

Thank you.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 334

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 83)

2010-07-16T22:17:00.019-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put !nto Action

We were watching a documentary, there was a polar bear.
We watched, as days passed into months, he swam and swam.
He was exhausted.
He couldn't find land, or food.
Once he made it to land, he was so tired and hungry.
He was too exhausted, to kill for supper.
He died, starving.

All I could think was:
"Give the bear some @#$%ing food, man!"
What the hell.
I don't want to watch some bear suffer, just to see how it will die.
It's cruel, feed it some @#$%ing food.
Am I alone here?

If you can stop a death from happening, shouldn't you stop it?
Would the world end, if you gave that bear a steak?
No.

Jane Goodall, now see she did it right.
It wasn't exploitive, she fought tooth and nail for animals she loved.
I love gorilla's in the mist.
Who doesn't?

We should all be so noble.
It's her total commitment, and absolute conviction that make her so invincible.
She's still kickin' it real.
I did not know this.

We rented the documentary calledTaking Root It was unbelievable.
UNBELIEVABLE.

Wangari Maathai, wow, what can I say, you blow my mind.
That's true Compassion, at it's best!
I take my hat off to you, my lady.

Life at the OMHS is awesome, I encourage everyone to spend time there.
It's a happy place.

Want great Compassionate recipes?
Cut out the middleman, here.

People love to talk to us about eating compassionately, it's amazing.
Everyone is very encouraging.
I just tell them the truth.
As I see it.

Thanks to everyone for all the great ideas, links and websites.
This thing is turning into a little community, it's great.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"Humans are the housefly of the universe." Mic P

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 304

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 81)

2010-07-14T09:33:00.050-04:00

The Compassionate Experiment: Words Put !nto Action

Welcome to our 'Heroes' issue!

This issue of The Compassionate Experiment is dedicated to individuals who are using their celebrity status to help promote compassionate and green living.
The further we have delved into our little Experiment, the more we realize that we are not alone, that there are tons of people who think like we do. People trying to make a difference in the world, leading by example.
In the case of celebrity, these people have a huge audience they can reach, and the ones we promote today work hard, every day, to make this a better, and more Compassionate place for all of us to live.
Just like all of us, I hope.

Alicia Silverstone - Alicia Silverstone made Aerosmith cool again, that's what I think of when I hear her name. That was, until we purchased her book, The Kind Diet, which is a very open, and embracing book about eating kindly. She has an awesome website, check it: http://www.thekindlife.com/

Russell Simmons - We got the audio book of Do You! from the library. What would hip-hop be without Russell Simmon's. He is an icon, and little did we know, a compassionate eater too. His book Do You! is intelligent, informed, and inspiring, so it comes highly recommended. http://www.myspace.com/russellsimmons

Jack Johnson - We are seeing Jack Johnson at the Molson Amphithreatre on Monday, looking forward to it like crazy. 100% of the profits from his tour go to charity. 100% man, that's crazy! We are proud to support him and his efforts. His music is great too!
http://jackjohnsonmusic.com/

It appears I have recently gotten on my high horse, and started pointing fingers at parents, who work so hard for their kids.
I apologize for this, and to anyone I offended, I am sorry.
I know nothing about parenting, so it's easy to judge when you don't have children.
I am grateful that this was pointed out to me, because I don't want to be thought of as a douche.
It was a timely slap in the face, and I have taken it to heart.

Here is the note:

Well, as I mentioned previously I have been following your blog as has J. I have watched as you started with an attitude of positivity and an attempt at not inflicting judgment. Your recent posts are starting to be laden with judgment specifically towards parents. As a parent myself as well as a previous vegetarian with a vegan perspective I feel a need to educate YOU on parenthood, lifestyle choices and perhaps requesting that you consider changing your tone as to not turn away the parents of the children who you care so much about.

There is compelling debate on the impact of a vegan lifestyle. Here is a link to provide you with fuel for a future blog post:
The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith:
http://www.lierrekeith.com/vegmyth.htm

here is a discussion about the book:
http://freetheanimal.com/2009/10/the-vegetarian-myth-revisited.html

I am not asking that you change your perspective, I actually really respect your challenge to yourself to live more compassionately. I just ask that you consider that parent's who choose to feed their children a diverse diet are not all ignorant and stupid. MANY of us have been through journeys that have led us to how we raise our children. For me, I prefer to feed my children a variety of foods, we buy local, we buy our meat from a local farm where the animals are free to roam.
Not that I need to explain myself but just thought you might want to take this into consideration before chastising those of us who are parenting differently than you believe we should. AND further, for your own self BE a parent before you judge one.

Point taken.
Thank you.

A good kick in the ass is needed every once in a while.

Here is a great risotto recipe!

Compassionate Lemon Risotto:

You will need:
4 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups Arbrorio Rice
1/2 cup scallions
1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
Salt and Pepper

1. Bring the vegetable stock and lemon juice to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce to low, continue to simmer.
2. In a large frying pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the rice, scallions, and stir until coated with oil. Add 1/2 cup of the hot liquid and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently until the liquid is absorbed.
3. Continue adding 1/2 a cup, and stirring until the liquid is absorbed, until the rice is tender but firm, and the mixture is thick and creamy, about 25 minutes.
4. 10 minutes before the risotto is finished, stir in peas, and seasoning.
5. Let it cool a bit, then devour.

Please keep tuning in, the best is yet to come!

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
“The key to change… is to let go of fear.” – Rosanne Cash

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 297

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 78)

2010-07-11T07:32:00.020-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put !nto Action

Well, we are back after our vacation from the Matrix (a vacation of total isolation and bliss).
It was nice to get away, and to be unreachable, but in some ways it's nice to be back too.
You know how it is.

And of course, we come home to this:
Elderly women arrested for sticking sewing needles in sausages?
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/crime/article/834508--woman-78-released-after-arrest-in-sausage-tampering-case?bn=1

Really? As if anyone needs a reason to stop eating sausage, could there be a nastier food?
I'm not sure.
I guess foie gras, veal, and lamb would be my top three, as in 'top three meals that'll get you a ticket straight to hell!'

We will continue on this path, and continue to educate people every day, with our words and our actions, and we will continue to fight for the animals, and to show people that there is life outside of a carnivore lifestyle.
A great life.
A happy life.

As of today, The Compassion Experiment is back in business, and more determined then ever!
Please come along for the ride, it's going to be bumpy, but it'll be worth it!
Change the way you look at the world, and the world will change.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"There is a way, no matter what they say. Don't give up, don't give in!" - MOS DEF

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 282

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

Issue #41!!

2010-07-01T08:44:00.036-04:00

Photo by: B. Villemaire

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put !nto Action.

Well folks, here it is, Issue #41, and by issue, I'm not talking issues like @#$x, or even the nastiest oil spill on record, or hell, not even the issue of the G20 and our loss of rights of freedom (though we'll get to that later!). More important than all that, this is the 41st issue of The Compassion Experiment!

Note: We will be on vacation for the next 10 days, so this will be the last blog for a while. It'll be great to disconnect from the Matrix, and be real, interacting humans for a change.
As this will be the case, we are trying to unload a truckload of info into this last issue, to keep you coming back for more!

The Good News:
The Compassion Experiment is now funded in part by the Oakville and Milton Humane Society. Two Monday's from now I start my first shift as a paid employee of the OMHS, but, more importantly, I will continue all my volunteering there as well, as the animals still reign as my reason for being there.

Another great Compassionate recipe, courtesy of PP.

"Hi Guys!

I try to read your blog frequently, I noticed today you had a section on compassionate summer treats. I borrowed an ice cream maker from a friend recently to try my hand at dairy free ice cream. I made the following recipe and it tastes fabulous:

Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream:

1 can coconut milk
1 "can" soymilk (the original recipe called for two cans of coconut milk, I only had one can so I just dumped in the coconut milk and filled the can with soy milk)
2.5 cups frozen strawberries (which we picked locally ;) )
1/2 cup sweetener (honey, sugar, agave)
1 tblsp vanilla

Blend everything in blender, put in ice cream maker for 30 minutes and freeze overnight. Yummy!"

Thanks PP, sounds amazing, we can't wait to try it out!

Next!
Yes, this is a repeat list, but important enough to keep repeating repeating:
10 Reasons To Live A Compassionate Lifestyle:
1. Dairy products have been linked to heart disease, cancer (especially breast cancer), allergies, sinus trouble and migraines.
2. 80-90% of all cancer, cardiovascular disease and other degenerative illnesses can be prevented by converting to a plant based diet.
3. A vegetarian diet can prevent 97% of coronary obstructions.
4. A compassionate lifestyle can reduce your risk of food poisoning.
5. More than 90% of the toxic residues found in food come from animal by-products.
6. Dairy foods create excess mucous in the body, which can host cold and virus germs in the respiratory tract.
7. Meat contains bovine growth hormones, and has caused early sexual maturity in children. (note: 100 years ago, girls reached puberty at 17, now it starts as early as 8 years old!)
8. Compassionate eaters tend to be slimmer than carnivores.
9. A plant-based diet can increase your life expectancy by 7-15 years.
10. Because it's the right thing to do, homey!

We are still working hard in support of our Community Garden. See the picture on the right, that was our latest score. I'm talking carrots, turnips, beans, parsley, and broccoli. How much did this cost? Nothing, just a little sweat, and a lot of cooperation. We encourage every single one of you, to do the same, and join a community garden today.

In Other News:
Posted on the Harbourside Organic Market blog again, please click this link http://oakvilleorganicmarket.wordpress.com/, to check it out.
And please come out and support the market, there are so many amazing things there! The best booth? Van Rae's Woodcrafts, Baking, and Condiments. The shortbread, the biscotti, the relish's, all of it, AMAZING! And the prices, you wouldn't even believe it. So cheap, for all organic, extremely tasty stuff, you have to check it our for yourself!

Took this video at the Harbourside Organic Market, please check it out, Ian Reid is great!

That's it for now!
Please think about the animals, before you buy or bbq that beef or chicken burger.
See you in a week!

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"We are by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty, these things don't concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy's name on my underwear." - T.D.F.C

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 252

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 67)

2010-06-23T08:58:00.013-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put !nto Action

Well, 67 days in, I weighed myself again, and have lost 11 lbs. since we started this crazy journey.
For the first time in 4 years, I am now under the 200 lbs. mark, and am only 8 lbs. from my ideal weight (due to my short stature).
Not bad, not bad at all.
To be honest, one of the tipping points for us towards becoming compassionate eaters, was the opportunity to lose some extra lbs., which I had in grand supply.
Now that we're 67 days in, this is no longer what drives us, instead we've become a part of change, and The Compassion Experiment has become more than just words, but actions. Actions that in the past 67 days that have spoken loud.

Case in Point:

Dear Mic P,

Thanks again for sending a letter to your MP asking them to address the flaws in Canada's farm animal transport system. Over 3,200 Canadians have sent letters so far and they're already helping. We've met with several MPs and many of them are supportive of this issue. Your letters have played a crucial role in bringing them on board. As we continue to meet with more MPs we need more people to write letters to show that this is an issue that Canadians care about. We need your help to get the word out. Forward this email and post the website (www.wspa.ca/curbthecruelty ) on Facebook or Twitter. Encourage as many people as you can to take action.

67 days ago, would I have sent a letter off?
I'm not sure.
We've always been a huge supporter of domestic animals, and the WWF, PETA, but never gave enough consideration to the animals that we consume, and whom we consume by-products from. Now this has become a bigger issue for us, and are appalled at the things that go on in Canada's meat industry.
It's a nasty business, and one that we are happy to no longer be a supporter of.

I can say, without hesitation, that choosing to become compassionate eaters together, is one of the smartest decisions B and I have ever made, and every day we see the pay off in our lives.
Before we started this experiment, we had no idea how great it would make us feel, both physically, and mentally. We had no idea that we would start effecting change, that we would become a part of change, and that the longer we did it, the less likely we will ever go back to the old ways of thinking and eating.
Once you change the way you think, everything changes.
All we can be, is an example of how life can be so much more, and so much happier, with just a little compassion in your life.
Try it today, we dare you!

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"I am in favor of animal rights as well as human beings. That is the way of a whole human being." Abraham Lincoln.

Animals saved today: 6
Animals saved to date: 220

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 66)

2010-06-22T09:05:00.021-04:00

"Jumbo no like flowers!"

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put !nto Action.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - GHANDI.

10 Reasons To Live A Compassionate Lifestyle:
1. Dairy products have been linked to heart disease, cancer (especially breast cancer), allergies, sinus trouble and migraines.
2. 80-90% of all cancer, cardiovascular disease and other degenerative illnesses can be prevented by converting to a plant based diet.
3. A vegetarian diet can prevent 97% of coronary obstructions.
4. A compassionate lifestyle can reduce your risk of food poisoning.
5. More than 90% of the toxic residues found in food come from animal by-products.
6. Dairy foods create excess mucous in the body, which can host cold and virus germs in the respiratory tract.
7. Meat contains bovine growth hormones, and has caused early sexual maturity in children. (note: 100 years ago, girls reached puberty at 17, now it starts as early as 8 years old!)
8. Compassionate eaters tend to be slimmer than carnivores.
9. A plant-based diet can increase your life expectancy by 7-15 years.
10. Because it's the right thing to do, homey!

A Wee Digression:
This weekend was the Toronto Island concert, headlined by Pavement (Question: does anyone give a @#$% anymore? Answer: no), and local 'heroes' Broken Social Scene.
If I were to rate the music of the festival, I'd give it a 1/10, if I were to rate my festival experience, I'd give it a 9/10, and if I were to rate the food and services, I'd give it a -100/10, awful, awful, awful. I'm talking waiting in line for fries, or water, for two hours, and almost three hours for 2 beers. I'm talking beyond brutal.
I paid $60 for a concert where the music did nothing for me, and enjoyed the company of friends and our conversations, more than any of the bands, or the music, though Band Of Horses did actually kick some serious ass (not worth $60 though, more like $5.50).
No, I was never one of the BSS bandwagon jumpers, nor will I ever be. I enjoy the acts that broke out of BSS (see: Feist, best Canadian artist of the 2000's), and Metric, but found it all to be too much musical masturbation, and back patting.
Okay, just seeing Feist was worth the $60, I will admit this, but, for that much $$$ I'd rather hear her own material. On another note: When will her new album come out?!
What does this have to do with The Compassion Experiment you ask?
The festival boasted vegetarian and vegan fare, but, I don't really remember seeing much of that at all. What I was thinking the whole time, was how great would it be, if they didn't sell any meat or cheese at a festival like that. I'm talking 15,000 people at least, and they had no other options for food. They would have eaten anything, people were starving, and desperate, which is the best time to hit them with: 'We got no meat, but tons of other great stuff, try a falafel or nature burger instead!'
Yes, people would rebel, but then they would succumb to their hunger, and voila, thousands of animals could be saved, just like that.
I wish more festivals would start taking a stand like this.
People have to eat at music festivals, and what they want is deep fried foods to go with the $10 beers. Doesn't mean it has to be deep fried meat, does it?

Food for thought, I guess.

What can I say, I'm always coming up with ways that we can help change the world, if only people would listen.
We're doing our part, are you?

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 214

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 65)

2010-06-21T12:04:00.018-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put Into Action

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, since this has also been done since the earliest of times."
Isaac Beshevis Singer

This weekend was the official beginning to summer, with The Harbourside Organic Market and the Kerr Street Market reopening for business.
The fact that we can easily walk to both, makes it really hard for us to ever move from this neighbourhood.
The cost, selection, produce, services, everything is great, we can't complain one iota.
Sure, the weather was a bit of a mess, but who cares, it was great, and exciting, all at the same time.
This is when summer really begins!

On top of this blog, we will now be blogging here: http://oakvilleorganicmarket.wordpress.com

If you have animals in your house, the best thing for them, is to reduce the amount of chemicals you use when cleaning.

Here is a great way to help keep your animals safe, and keep a clean house too. (Is that really possible?!)

Compassionate Cleaner - For tubs, tiles, sinks, ovens, pots and pans
(Courtesy of Environmental Health Consulting, www.annestewart.net)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup baking soda
2 tbsp. pure vegetable liquid soap
1 tbsp. vegetable glycerin
And a few drops of essential oil

Directions:
1. Mix ingredients.
2. Put the mixture in a small jar.
3. Scoop small amounts on dampened cloth.
4. Scrub surfaces,
5. Rinse with water.

Note: shelf life of 2 years. If mixture dries, add a few drops of water to moisten.

It's been a busy day, writing for two blogs at once, while trying not to repeat myself either, thus forcing readers to visit both blogs, if they feel so inclined.

Please stay tuned in, because this is when things start to get CRAAAAZY!

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 209

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 61)

2010-06-17T07:12:00.011-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put Into Action

So, it's almost summer time, and it's getting damn hot.
Damn, damn hot, to be exact.
And you need a way to cool down, right?
What's the first thing that comes to mind?
Beer!
Okay, no wait, this is supposed to be a blog about ice cream.
Beer and ice cream!

If FREE BEER is your thing, you need to be at Trafalgar Brewery, 1156 Speers Road, Oakville, Ontario, for their Father's Day BBQ.
It is FREE and open to the public.
Did I mention it was FREE?!
And OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
You can learn more about it here:
http://www.alesandmeads.com/

One of the most enjoyable treats known to man, has to be ice cream. Ice cream treats, ice cream novelties, ice cream floats, ice cream cake...
But what happens if you are a Compassionate eater, like we are?
That means: No Ice Cream!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
So, you have to find alternatives.

The easiest solution to the ice cream issue, is of course, the Freezie.
Known worldwide for generations, Freezie's still kick ass after all these years, and still remain 100% animal free.
Don't like the way Freezies cut into the sides of your mouth?
Try our new favorite, Chapman's Lolly Rockets, hot damn, they are delicious, and come highly recommended.
Learn more here:
http://www.chapmans.ca/productsNew.aspx?cat=novelties
People have been working on alternatives to ice cream for years, and in the case of Tofutti, it has been almost 40.
We enjoy snacking on their Tofutti Cuties, and find that they easily replace ice cream sandwiches, and if you fed them to someone who didn't know they were made from tofu, they would never, ever know.
Learn more here:
http://www.tofutti.com/

Found this on their website, thought I'd pass it along:

COMPASSIONATE JALAPENO POPPERS

12 jalapeño peppers, sliced in half lengthwise, tops and seeds removed
8 oz. TOFUTTI Better Than Cream Cheese
1 Cup soy milk
1 Cup flour
1 Cup breadcrumbs
Oil for deep frying

Fill the jalapeño peppers with the TOFUTTI Better Than Cream Cheese.
Put the soy milk and the flour into two separate bowls. Dip the stuffed jalapeños into the soy milk and then into the flour, making sure that they are well-coated. Allow the coated jalapeños to dry for about 10 minutes.

Dip the jalapeños into the soy milk again and roll them through the breadcrumbs. Allow them to dry then repeat the process to ensure that the entire surface of each jalapeño is coated.

In a large skillet or deep fryer, heat the oil to 370°F. Deep fry the jalapeños for about 3 minutes or until golden brown then transfer them to paper towels to drain.

Yesterday, a good friend of The Compassion Experiment told me that his favorite way to cook asparagus, is in butter, covered with cheese and bacon.
Left me speechless.

We hope that people are starting to realize that in today's day and age, there are so many alternatives out there for people to eat compassionately, it is no longer a struggle, nor should it be.
Once you start seeking out a solution, the problem will solve itself.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Rohn

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 195

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 60)

2010-06-16T08:25:00.024-04:00

"While visions of chipmunks danced in his head..."

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put Into Action

"Great site. I'll have to keep checking back." M.W.

Somedays I wake up, thinking: 'What the hell am I going to write about?'
Today was one of those days.
Until I tuned into The Star and was confronted by this:
Smoked Meat Recalled
Oh god, here we go again.
If we ever need a reminder that eating meat is BAD for you, I'd say a headline like 'Smoked Meat Recalled' pretty much sums it up.
If you don't eat meat, it's easy to see an article like that and go: 'Who gives a @#$%!, people who eat meat get what they deserve.'
And this is true.
Eating meat is gambling with your life, and your health.
From movies and in articles, we've learned about families who have lost their children to E.Coli, and Listeria, and this is of course a gigantic tragedy, but the saddest part about these cases, is that they could have been avoided.
How?
Don't feed your kids at MacDonalds, or Arby's, or Buger King, for starters.
Teach them that eating meat is not only bad for the animals, it is bad for you, and for the environment. Let them know that once you live without meat for a while, you start questioning why you ever ate meat in the first place.
For us, watching an advertisement about meat, is like watching a commercial with Santa Claus in it, once you see past the deception, a whole new truth emerges.
Seriously.
How do we know this?
Because that is the life we once lived as well.
But, we've changed, and so can you.
Though there were some growing pains, making the switch has actually been quite easy, and 60 days in, every day gets easier.
We were never meat addicts, we won't live out our lives in constant torment, as people around us gorge on charred beef, and our mouths water.
They stopped watering a while back.
Now the smell of burnt meat, smells like rotting death, and makes us think about the fact that it was a senseless death that needn't happen.
Don't worry, we're not 'hardliners', if you are with us, and are eating meat, we're not going to scold you, or make you feel bad about it. That is your choice, just as people choose to smoke, drink, or partake in recreational drugs, it is a choice, and it is yours to make.
All we can do, is help you switch your life to a more compassionate lifestyle.
Hence, the reason for this blog in the first place.

We're here to help!

More compassionate eating tips:

SWEET BUT TART SALAD DRESSING:
(Easiest and most delicious dressing ever!)

You will need:
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup maple syrup.

In a small bowl, whisk them together.
Add to salad, and devour, guilt-free.

Green At Heart:
B will testify, this is the best drink ever!
Santa Cruz Organic Mango Lemonade - lemon and mango flavored beverage made with concentrated organic lemon juice and organic mango puree.
Santa Cruz is a Green e-certified company that buys enough renewable energy each year to cover their production needs, and recycle 95% of their waste.
Did we mention it is @#$%ing delicious?
Learn more here:http://www.scojuice.com/products/juices/lemonade

Tune in tomorrow for tips for turning away from blood ice cream.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"If someone else wants it, or it's not available until tomorrow, do we attach more value to it and want it RIGHT NOW?" Taken from an email from M.Perry

Animals saved today: 6
Animals saved to date: 191

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 59)

2010-06-15T07:09:00.018-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put Into Action.

It's nice to know you're not alone sometimes.

In response to yesterday's rant:

B says: "I love the blog today and the photo too - what a cool idea! Gotta get me one of those tubs...one day. Quite the rant you had on the blog, but it's all very very true. Yesterday during one of our quiet moments I had the realization that my life could have gone two ways. I have always liked nice things, and was to be honest, quite materialistic at one point in my life. I spent all my money on clothes and my hair, and fantasized about working part time if at all thanks to some rich, unknown husband. That could just as easily been have my path as what I have now.
It scares me.
OK, so now I have old clothes and crap hair, but I also have a lot of things I believe in like reducing waste and expenses and resources, eating organically and compassionately, giving back, and so on. I still struggle with my love of nice things, which is why I toggle back and forth so much on moving, but in the end I always come back to this: we don't need anything more than what we already have. You and I are so fortunate - and so are the babies - I'd rather just be grateful for what we have and focus on giving back instead.
I'm glad my life took this turn instead of another.
Stick to your guns."

Clearly that 'unknown rich husband' thing didn't work out.
Sorry about that.

From award winning textile artiste, and good friend Ixchel Suarez:
"Your blog is sooo committed to stand for your beliefs...It is so important nowadays to think about the animals as we care for our selves. It demonstrates the inner soul of the HUMAN being (if there is still one)".

That it does, Ixchel, that it does.

From newly minted Adam:
"What an intense blog!"

Yes, that is the point.

Thanks for the responses everyone, and keep'em coming!

Words from a Meat Eater:

Do vegetables feel?
Do they squirm,
And squeal,
As you peel,
That potato,
Or carrot,
Or cut up that broccoli?
Do they scream for mercy,
But much too softly...

As promised, here is an amazing couscous salad recipe:

Compassionate Couscous Salad:

You will need:

1 1/2 cups instant couscous
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small red onion
1 large red pepper
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 chopped pecans, walnuts or peanuts
3 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cumin

1. In a heated wok, or frying pan, add the turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, cumin and couscous. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low, cover, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed.
2.Transfer the couscous to a large serving bowl, use fork to fluff. Set aside.
3.In a small bowl, combine the orange juice, brown sugar and salt to taste.
4.To the couscous, add the chickpeas, onion, pepper and raisins. Add the dressing and stir it up. Garnish with nuts, and serve.

I guess that's it.
Have the best Tuesday possible.
Tune in tomorrow for...
Well, please just tune in tomorrow!

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"You are what you eat."
If that's the case, one day I'm going to wake up looking like a carrot.

Animals saved today: 6
Animals saved to date: 185

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 58)

2010-06-14T09:04:00.015-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: Words Put Into Action.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"The mighty engine of marketing helped turn people's attention away from what they did and toward what they owned as the basic mechanism of self-definition. Over time personal pride became more associated with the status value of one's possessions than from one's work or contribution to society." Taken from NOWTOPIA.

Some people stand for change, others just stand in line for the newest iPhone.

B and I are watching the news, and they are doing an interview:
"In order to truly experience the World Cup, you have to have one of these high definition TV's. Everything is shot in HD these day, and you just can't watch on one of those old, round screen TV's, you can't live without one of these..."
Oh really?
Because what the world needs is more TV's in the landfill, right?
When I'm watching TV, I don't need to see the spinach in someone's teeth, to truly appreciate what is going on.
B and I, don't feel the need to own the latest gadgets, the biggest TV, or the newest Blueberry, Blacktooth, or what-have-you. We are too smart to get sucked into buying these things, and can't help but watch perplexed as people we know, and love, scramble out to do exactly that. It's actually really, really sad, that people feel the need to own these huge TV's, these big homes, the iPad, the iPhone, the iDon'tgivea@#$%.
I guess the question is, why? Why do people feel the need to own these things? Why are they compelled to walk into the store like brain-dead zombies (actually, that does a disservice to zombies everywhere), and buy what they are told?
I hate this about society, but, sadly, it's not like this is a new trend.
We live in Oakville, for god's sake, and are surrounded by this way of thinking on a daily basis, and often feel like we're the only normal people left on this planet. The only people not brainwashed by the media, and by TV itself.
Are we alone here?

And it's not just possessions that define us.

At the @#$x meeting, people are asked to introduce themselves, this is what they say:
R: "I run @#$ville.com, I have 15,000 subscribers."
T:"My Twitter account has 2.8 million followers."
C:"My youtube movies have 37 million hits."
Me: "I run a vegan blog, and am working on a documentary on CARE, it's a wonderful charity. I volunteer at the Humane Society..."

See a difference there?
People want to be remembered as someone who has 2 million Twitter hits, instead of being remembered as someone who stands for something, anything, someone with an actual purpose in life, someone looking to make change, or changes.
What compels people to want to be defined this way?

I don't know.

A slight digression:

The nice thing about the FIFA World Cup, is that it is showcasing Africa as a great place to be, and not just a place ravaged by AIDS, racism, and orphans, as it is often portrayed in the media.
The last thing in the world I am, is a futbol fan, (sadly, B and I are, gasp!, Raptors fans), but I can't help but enjoy the way it brings the world together, and showcases all the amazing things that a country like Africa has going for itself. And for a while, war, and famine can be kept out of the spotlight. And though they need not be forgotten, like a crazy uncle (see: me), or a weekend bender, it's just nice to see Africa as a country, as people, and as citizens of this world gone mad, and not just defined by their shortcomings.

Do we think we are better than other people, smarter than other people?
No.
Just most of them.
Just kidding!

Tune in Tomorrow for an amazing couscous recipe! YUM!

Animals saved today: 6
Animals saved to date: 179

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 55)

2010-06-11T02:39:00.014-04:00

Not For Profit.

The Compassion Experiment: We stand for change, and work to make it happen.

The debate is over.
Due to the amount of failures I've experienced in my life, it is easy to admit when I have made a mistake.
I guess I should have went into @#$x Oakville more informed. I had never heard of it, never want to hear of it again.
What I didn't realize, is that it is a machine run on corporate sponsorship, and I am a clog that is choking the gears of @#$x Oakville.
I had no idea what I was getting into, but following the volunteer meeting, @#$x has left me with a constant knot in my stomach, and keeps me awake at night, upset. (This is being written at 3am). Am I supposed to live like this for 4 months?
It had been so long since I had been somewhere where I felt so unappreciated, I had almost forgotten what it felt like.
Life is too short to participate in an ego-stroking circle jerk like TEDx.
I would rather spend the time I had reserved for @#$x on doing, not talking, and concentrating my efforts on my work with the Oakville and Milton Humane Society, my documentary on CARE, the Peru Fundraisers, CCAH, The Homeless Radio Show, and now, the Organic Market blog.

Ivory Tower: "We have so many good ideas, how come nothing ever changes?"
Answer: "Because all we do is talk. And talk to people, who do nothing but talk."

Actions speak louder than words, and action is what we, at The Compassion Experiment, are all about.

Next week, it'll be back to business as usual, but with the new addition of the Organic Market blog, which, I am brainstorming as we speak.

Sorry about the drama filled week, it's been a tough one, but one that helped show that I am no longer one to stand back and talk about change, when I could just as easily be affecting that change itself.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"More people die from the war on drugs, than they do from the drugs themselves, that's the funny thing." From a conversation with S.POTMA

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 165

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 54)

2010-06-10T12:27:00.004-04:00

As I continue to debate, both publicly, and internally, TEDx, I will keep Day 53 as our home page.
A protest, as you will, in the name of The Compassion Experiment, and animals everywhere.
If TEDx has 100 people (as the rules stipulate), plus volunteers, that would be a @#$%load of meat consumed.
Or not, if I had my way.

Revised yesterday's blog a million times, but stand behind the final version, 100%.

Please keep tuning in though, we are still busy as @#%! keeping animals alive.

TCE June 10, 2010

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 162

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 53)

2010-06-09T08:34:00.028-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Last night was the second meeting for the TEDx conference in Oakville, it was my first meeting with them.
Has anyone out there ever heard of TEDx?
On one hand, TEDx seems like a great idea, on the other hand, it feels almost like some sort of cult.
I'm still not sure what to think, if I really want to be a part of it.
What they are looking for is speakers, people trying to make a difference in the community, people trying to change the world exactly the way we at The Compassion Experiment are.
I tried to volunteer as a speaker, or for at least a chance to be a speaker.
Here's how it goes:
TEDx: "Where will we ever find speakers?"
ME: "I want a chance, I'd love to speak about how we are helping change the world."
TEDx: "We need speakers, how should we go about finding some?!"
ME: "I'd love a chance to speak, it would be great"
TEDx: "If only we could find someone who wants to speak?"
TEDx Volunteer: "You had anyone volunteer to be a speaker?"
TEDx: "No."

What does this have to do with The Compassion Experiment, you ask?
I have volunteered to be in charge of hospitality, my idea being to make it a green event that will throw nothing out, and will contain little to no animal by-products. Realistically getting all animal by-products off the menu might be tough, but if I do choose to be in this thing, I will fight to the death anyone who wants meat as part of the menu. If I am a 'volunteer' for TEDx, there will be no meat there.
End of story.

I did have a chance to talk to two people about it, with T and G. T supported it, G said: "You mean, no meat? At all?"
I said: "Yes, of course, people can eat meat any other time, but not while at TEDx".
G said: "I need my meat."

Now, G is a very smart person, very very smart, and successful, like all the people there (with the exception being me), but it scares me that he might actually believe that.
And what really scares me most, is that he has children and might pass this very inaccurate info down the line infinity.
Change the world now, later will be too late.

TEDx Responds:
"Interesting blog Mike. The plan that the newly formed speaker committee discussed last night was to review all would-be speakers as a committee and then present a selection to the broader group of volunteers for voting. This will provide a fair and transparent process for all potential speakers.

Step 1: Potential speaker will complete online form answering some questions and outlining their potential talk
Step 2: All completed forms reviewed by speakers committee to ensure they meet some basis criteria (i.e. not religious, political, or commercial)
Step 3: Speaker committee to meet one-on-one with speakers in each category (arts, healthcare, social, education, etc)
Step 4: Bring forth names of speakers who have made it through this process and allow the group to vote anonymously. We are looking for between 6-8 speakers at this point.

In that vein, we are looking for as many potential speakers as possible who come from a variety backgrounds (i.e. education, business, science, culture, arts, technology, entertainment). The larger the pool of speakers, the better the quality of speaker we will end up with.

Hope that clarifies the process a little.

Best Regards."

If TEDx Oakville wants to be innovative, and ground breaking, I believe being a leader requires taking risks, and working for the greater good.
I stand by my opinion that making TEDx Oakville compassionate, is the right way to go about it.

VEGAN FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Curried Basmati Rice Salad of Fruit and Nuts
(Best damned salad ever!)

You will need:
4 cups basmati rice
1/2 cup finely diced onion
6 cups of water
2 tbsp butter.
(Cook above, covered, and then allow to cool.)

Once cool, mix in:
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup dry cherries
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 bunch chopped basil.

Dressing:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp curry powder (or paste)
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 cup vegetable oil.

Mix it up, and YUUUUUUUUUUUUM!

Great article today about the oil spill, check it out!
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/820904--reporter-dives-into-dark-and-scary-gulf-oil-slick

Thoughts on TEDx, anyone, anyone, Bueller?

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” – Unknown

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 159

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 52)

2010-06-07T15:49:00.030-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Well, looks like I was way off the mark on the write-up yesterday that said they had sealed the gushing oil in the Gulf.
Way off.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/820321--bp-plans-to-capture-20-000-bpd-from-leaking-well?bn=1
Of course, I've been known to be wrong before, so, this isn't really a shocker, is it?
What they are now saying, is that it'll take until August until they can seal it?!
August?!
Are you @#$%ing kidding me? It's the first week of June. Maybe they could be a little more ambitious about this, what do you think?
BP estimated they were leaking 5,000 barrels of oil a day.
Ooops! Wrong again. More like 19,000 barrels!!!
Good god man, this thing is such a disaster, it's unbelievable. (ed.note: understatement of the day).
BP claim they are able to mop up 20,000 barrels a day, and the day that happens, will be the same day I put on a Tommy Hil@#$ger shirt.

B says: One thing I heard on the radio this morning that you could add to the blog, especially if you could find the direct quote, was Obama being interviewed about the BP spill and he said "I'm watching this very closely so I know who's ass to kick". Big words for a man of inaction. Jerkoff.
Here is the link:
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/820459--obama-wants-to-know-whose-ass-to-kick-over-oil-spill?bn=1

As promised:
Mock-Chicken Crock Pot Curry

(Best served over Basmati rice, with garlic naan bread).

This recipe is easy.
Cut up four potatoes
One large onion.
Four carrots.
Use 5-6 tbsp of Patak's Curry Paste (or any curry paste of your choosing).
1 pack of Shefu Tofu Lightly Seasoned Tofu Bites (cut them into bite size).
1 cup of vegetable broth
1 cup of soy milk.

Toss everything into the crock pot, stir it up, and put on high for 4 hours, stirring occasionally, so it doesn't stick.
When the end is nigh, cook the rice and garlic naan.
You'll thank me later.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
“That some achieve great success is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.” – Abraham Lincoln

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 155

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment T-Shirts
Order One Today!
Or two, or three or one hundred.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 51)

2010-06-07T09:34:00.018-04:00

COMING SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Design by Ehdrian

Please help support The Compassion Experiment and pre-order you t-shirt today!
Why walk down the street wearing an Aeropostale or American Eagle, or Tommy Hil@#$gger shirt (while looking like a person who just buys what they are told is 'cool'), when you can support a great cause, and look smart too?!
The Compassion Experiment isn't just a blog anymore, it's also a fashion statement.
(More designs coming soon!)

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Well, looks like they might have finally sealed the oil leak.
About freaking time if you ask me, or the animals.
See here:
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/819720--oil-spill-s-toll-on-wildlife-mounting?bn=1
I think the reality is, we won't know the real effect of this oil spill for a long time.
Let's just hope they are able to clean up the mess sooner, rather than later.
That's really all we can hope for, for now.
Oh, that, and for them to stop drilling in the ocean!

"Regrets, I've had a few.."
Speaking of regrets, this past weekend we went to Kelsey's and god, did we regret that.
We even had a gift card, and the appetizers were 1/2 price.
It was just plain awful.
We decided that our problem was, we are not into chain restaurants. The food is bland, the atmosphere is ghastly, and the experience makes you crave the comfort of home cooking, or Stoney's.
We did bend some rules and ordered food we probably shouldn't have (see: nachos with cheese), but it was a serious wake up call. Not only did it taste like crap-on-the-half shell, the cheese did not agree with our bodies at all. Now that our bodies have been practically cleared of all animal by-products, they can't handle things like blood cheese and milk.
This is a good thing.
And now we know.
And knowing is half the battle, G.I. JOE!!

This is funny.

It's going to be a busy week, with lot's of stuff happening.
Tune in tomorrow for an awesome Mock-Chicken Curry Crockpot recipe.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” – Maria Robinson

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 151

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 48)

2010-06-04T09:00:00.011-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Man, I love these guys!

Check out The Animal Liberation Front, and their articles/videos about frois gras, how it is produced, and why people SHOULD NOT EAT IT.
Note: The images may be gory, but that's reality, and people need to see this stuff to truly believe it is wrong.
http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ALFront/Actions-Canada/FoeiGrasInMedia.htm
I love their pictures of people in ski masks, hugging bunnies.
Awesome.
Please show them some support.

Here is the article from the Globe and Mail about animal cruelty and the lack of legal repercussions.
"Inspection records show animals arriving to slaughterhouses dead or diseased, with few repercussions for transporters".
And the list goes on, check it out:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canadian-standards-for-farm-animal-transport-dangerously-lax-report-says/article1589007/

In the last couple days, the news has been filled to brimming, with articles on animal cruelty, and this should be a real wake-up call for everyone.
All these tragedies that are done behind closed doors, are becoming more public, and we support people's efforts to spread the word.
The animals can't stand up for themselves, so it is up to us, to help them, not hurt them.

Things can change, you just need courage to take a new path.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” – Raymond Lindquist

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 144

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

Breaking News!

2010-06-03T12:58:00.004-04:00

BREAKING NEWS!!

Have you heard of Curb The Cruelty!

They need your help, badly!

The animals need your help!

Sign this form, and send it off.
http://action.wspa.ca/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=23&ea.campaign.id=6489&ea.param.extras=Source:homepagebanner

Info:
http://www.wspa.ca/latestnews/2010/wspa_report_reveals_problems_at_cfia.aspx

Special thanks to Alana (http://knittingbouvier.blogspot.com), for letting us know.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 47)

2010-06-03T07:24:00.012-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Caught this on the news last night:
http://www.am980.ca/channels/news/local/Story.aspx?ID=1236352
Here is the gist:
There are a lot of sick people out there.
People who don't care about animals the way you and I do.
People who like to torture and kill animals, for no reason at all, but for kicks, and because they can't handle their booze.
What kind of person breaks into a petting zoo and kills animals?
Answer: A couple of sick @#$%'s, that's who.
This @#$% drives me nuts.
The story also references a swan beating as well.
The swan was defending her young, and was beat to death.
Again, for no reason.

These kind of things are irritating, aggravating and sad, all at the same time.
But, it is also a reminder, that kids need to be brought up to respect animals.
Nothing can be done now, the animals are dead.
But their legacy can live on in the way people raise their kids to treat animals.
That's the good that can come out of incidents such as these.
Parents can tell their children about these deaths, and explain how they were beautiful animals, who died a cruel death.
And explain why this is wrong.
If more people did that now, there would be less of this kind of thing in the future.
We can always hope.

There will always be bad apples out there, this is a guarantee, and the people who did this, will get caught. But, when parents use the 'I'm allergic to pets' line (most fraudulent crime against kids), they are not giving their kids a chance to learn to respect animals, and to learn to be kind and thoughtful to them.

The OMHS has great programs for children, classes and day camps, and it's a great way for kids to get comfortable around animals, and learn not to fear them, but to respect them.
You can learn more here:
http://oakvillemiltonhumane.ca/home.html

My hat goes out to all the people offering rewards to help find these sick @#$%'s.
We love you people, and are so glad you are out there doing something, not letting it get swept under the rug.
But, you should probably try and find their parents too, because these sicko's didn't just learn this behavior from the internet, they were raised this way.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 141

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 46)

2010-06-02T10:26:00.020-04:00

Not for profit

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Last night was the Sip and Savour, which took place at Coriander Green (Best Indian food in Oakville!).
The event is held to bring awareness to the Organic Market, which will be starting Saturday June 19.
At the Sip and Savour, the organizers bring together the best chefs in Oakville, and challenge them to make amazing and tasty dishes, with fruits and vegetables grown by the vendors of the Organic Market.
And let me tell you, it rocked!
Coriander Green's own chef, Chef Harminder stole the show with his hot and spicy sweet potatoes.
We had to go back for seconds.
Cucci Restaurant ran a close second with their amazing green soup, content was weird and unknown (ed.note: "The green soup was made from stinging nettles, a common weed- which we obtained from our farm Baba link" (thanks Susan)), but beyond delicious.
Found myself licking out the cup.
Yum!
They had wine and beer for consumption as well.
The beer was care of Trafalgar Brewery, and was our first introduction to the brewery.
We had doubles of their Cherry Ale, which was awesome. And tried their red, the bitter biting Paddy.

Best info of the day:
On Fathers Day, June 20, the Trafalgar Brewery will be holding a FREE beer sampling event.
If that isn't good enough for you.
It will also be catered by STONEYS!!
My god, this is the best news ever.
FREE BEER and STONEY'S!!
Do you think we will miss this event?
Did I mention that Stoney's is our favorite Oakville Restaurant?
And that we love free beer?
I'm sure you do too, that's why you should take your dad there for Fathers Day.
It'll be a Father's Day he'll never forget.
Ah, who am I kidding, not only will he forget it, but most of the people there will too, no doubt.
If you don't have a dad, rent one.
Just don't miss it, that's what I'm trying to say here.

The Sip and Savour was a great time, we met tons of nice, smart, talented people, and now look forward to the opening of the Organic Market, at the Central Library, June 19.
The next day is June 20, aka, FREE BEER and STONEY's day.

Wow, that's going to be a great weekend.
Don't you dare miss it!

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 137

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 45)

2010-06-01T06:57:00.015-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Everyday we learn something new,
about amazing companies,
run by people who truly care.
Case in point:
Green Pens.
Green Pens are 100% biodegradable and contain a biological seed.
When the ink is depleted, take out the ink, and plant the pen in the garden.
In a few weeks, a flower or vegetable plant will grow.
The pen will decompose in about 8 months and will become fertilizer.
Very, very cool.
You can learn more here:
http://www.greenpen.ca

Here are some natural ways to get rid of garden pests:

To get rid of weeds, you can use boiling water or vinegar.
If you pour boiling hot water on your weeds, they will wither and die.
You can also use vinegar, but because it is an acid, you have to replace the soil.

If you have problems with slugs, you can use copper to get rid of them.
When the slug slime comes in contact with copper, it causes an electric shock.
You can find cheap copper rings at any hardware store.

But, the ultimate insect repellent is garlic.
(I guess that's another thing mosquitoes and vampires have in common).
Throw some cloves of garlic in water, let it bake in the sun.
Put the concoction in a spray bottle.
Spray plants.
Bye bye creepy crawlies.

Tonight is the Sip and Savour, we can't wait.
What is the Sip and Savour?
Check this out!
http://oakvilleorganicmarket.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/sip-savour/
It's going to be awesome, there will be a lot of great people there.
We look forward to meeting all of them.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"We're the middle children of history, man.
No purpose or place.
We have no Great War.
No Great Depression.
Our Great War's a spiritual war...
Our Great Depression is our lives.
We've all been raised on television,
To believe that one day we'd all be millionaires,
And movie gods,
And rock stars.
But we won't.
And we're slowly learning that fact.
And we're very, very pissed off."
T.D.F.C.

Animals saved today: 6
Animals saved to date: 133

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 41)

2010-05-28T09:34:00.014-04:00

Not for Profit

Things I didn't know:
(Actually, this category could go on forever).
How about...
More things I didn't know:

This is the scariest thing I've read in a long time.
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/earth-20100301.html
The Feb. 27 magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile may have shortened the length of each Earth day.
It happened while the Olympics were on.
It didn't get too much coverage.
And all the earthquake did, was knock the earth off axis!!

Question:
Why has there been no rush to clean up BP's mess?
Answer:
It's in no man's land.
A British oil company, using an American drilling rig, in the Gulf of Mexico.
No one can claim the ocean as their property.
When the Spanish arrived in North America,
The Indians were baffled by them buying up all the land.
"No one can buy land," they said.
They were right.
And if you think about it, it really doesn't make sense.
These are links to stories with muckraking details about the disaster:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/bp_chief_claims_oil_spill_wasnt_our_accident.php
http://lincoln.senate.gov/newsroom/2010-5-24-1.cfm

I love that the CEO of BP says: "We are not responsible for the spill."
Are you @#$%ing nuts!!
"It's a Transocean rig, it's not our fault."
Are you @#$%ing bat@#$% nuts!!!!!
Then who the @#$% is responsible?
Dumbass.

What kind of economy do we live in?
A war economy.
Did you know that?
I had no idea.
Read this article from 1959, and you'll see things haven't changed at all.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/mattick-paul/1959/war-economy.htm

Have a great weekend!
Enjoy the planet while we still got it.

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 113

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 39)

2010-05-26T09:32:00.012-04:00

Not for profit.

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Man, who knew gardening was so tough on the body.
I ache.
I feel like my back is out of joint, and my knees are rubber.
From gardening.
I find this quite disturbing.

Today I'll walk down the road to the Community Garden (Oakville Arena site), and pick some lettuce and spinach.
On Sunday, after we helped out with the cutworm situation, we left with our hands full.
We took dill, and replanted it here.
And two violet's, which have survived the transplant and are flourishing.
This is the payoff for trying something new.

We are amazed at all the new and fantastic opportunities that keep coming up, now that we have our eyes open to new ideas and a new way of life.
We keep meeting new people, smart people, people who care about animals, and people who love life.
And people of all ages.
It's actually quite unbelievable and hard to put into words really.
The only way to know, is to experience it for yourself.

Here is an amazing recipe for a great veggie pot pie.
We loved it.

@#%&ing Good Veggie Pot Pie

You will need:
A medium sized baking dish.

Topping:
Bisquick

Filling:
1 onion
1 tbsp oil
1 cup of celery
1 cup of carrots
1 cup of peppers
1 medium potato
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup vegetable stock
1/4 red lentils
2 tbsp of flour
1/2 cup of soy milk
oregano
salt
pepper

Prepare Bisquick topping first.
Make enough for 4.
Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F.
In a large frying pan, or wok, cook the onions until they smell real nice.
Add the celery, carrots and pepper, and cook until soft.
Add the potato, peas, lentils, oregano, salt pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.
Cover with lid and simmer until the lentils are soft.
Stir in flour and soy milk, and simmer until sauce begins to thicken.
Transfer filling to an oiled baking baking dish.
Cover filling with Bisquick.
Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until it looks browned and delicious.
Devour and enjoy.

Best thing about this recipe: it's 100% compassion.

Please keep sending in recipes and story ideas, we really appreciate everyone's support.

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 105

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 38)

2010-05-25T09:31:00.007-04:00

Not for profit.

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

LIfe is funny sometimes.
A couple weeks back, I passed a community garden.
I blogged about it, took pics, attached links.
Then kind of forgot about it.
Last week we walked past it.
We talked to Irene.
Since then, we've planted cucumbers, magic beans, and helped in the prevention of cutworm.
Cutworm's cut the plant where the stem and ground collide.
You can stop CW's by building a little fortress around the stem/root section.
It stops the cutworms in their tracks.
You can use small plastic planter pots, or even tin foil, and wrap it a couple inches from the stem.
When you water the plant, do it in the moat section.
It's as easy as that.
Who knew?

Gardening is exhausting.
But, it is soooo rewarding.
We encourage everyone to join a community garden, it is so much fun.

In other news:

We are constantly amazed by the amount of cool, smart, compassionate people there are.
Case in point, Matt and Nat.
http://mattandnat.com
This is what makes them so cool:

IN 1991, CO-OWNER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR INDER BEDI WAS CHALLENGED BY A MAHATMA TO GO VEGETARIAN FOR THIRTY DAYS. IT WAS DURING THIS TIME THAT INDER DEVISED THE BUSINESS PLAN FOR AN ECO/VEGAN FASHION HOUSE. FIRST WRITTEN AS A UNIVERSITY PROJECT IN 1995 AND EVENTUALLY LAUNCHED AS MATT & NAT.
BY COMBINING CUTTING EDGE FASHION AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, A BALANCE OF OPPOSITES EMERGES, REPRESENTING THE DUALITY OF MATT & NAT'S SOUL.

Very cool, eh?
The red purse was purchased by B.
She loves it, and who can blame her.
It is 100% vegan, and tres chic.
That's right, I said chic.

The Compassion Experiment is still going strong.
Growing stronger with each passing day.
The sky is the limit.
And The Compassion Experiment is a rocket to the moon and beyond.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"I don't trust TIME, NEWSWEEK, they have too much to lose by telling the truth."
Bob Dylan. circa 1965.
The truth hurts.

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 101

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 33)

2010-05-20T10:55:00.009-04:00

Photo by Brian Villemaire
Handmodel: Kathy Crowe
Kitten: TBD

One of our good Humane Society friends, Kathy, let us take care of a sweet momma cat, and her two babies this past weekend.
They were so sweet.
And habit forming.
That cute guy on top, he's one of them.

While at the OMHS, people always ask me:"How can you stand working here, I would want to take them all home!".
I do want to take them all home, yes, this is an issue.
An issue because we have four cats that we love dearly.

This cat is why I work at OMHS.
At the OHMS, his name was Avery.
He was a hard luck case, because he has FIV.
He is a sweet, amazing boy.
And there was a happy ending.
Now his name is Burton.
He is very happy in his new home.

Sometimes volunteering is AWESOME!
Sometimes it sucks.
Sometimes you meet great people.
Sometimes you deal with idiots.
Most of the time you work real hard,
Most of the time you leave feeling great,
Most of the time you never want to leave,
All of the time,
I never regret a minute of it.

Sign up and be a volunteer today.
Just don't take my timeslot.
Please.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"Why do today, what you can put off to tomorrow?"
That's a great question.
No, really, anyone got the answer?

Animals saved today: 6
Animals saved to date: 89

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 32)

2010-05-19T09:15:00.014-04:00

Photo by Brian Villemaire

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

One of the things we had been searching for, was reusable bags for all the vegetables we get each weekend when we shop at the Organic Garage (www.organicgarage.ca).
Even before we started The Compassion Experiment, we loaded up on veggies, now that has nearly doubled, thus doubling the amount of plastic bags needed for the veggies.
And we wanted to do something, because that is a lot of garbage being generated.
While doing our tour of the Green Living Show, we found a booth selling reusable bags for vegetables.
Credo Bags Inc. is an eco-conscious company headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Their goal is to inspire people to make small, simple changes in their everyday habits; changes that collectively and cumulatively help our environment. http://credobags.com/
We use the bags every weekend now, and our only real regret is not buying more of them. We bought a multi-pack that came with all different sizes, but we should have bought two sets.
Now we don't have to feel bad for using all those plastic bags, it really is a great solution.
It makes us so happy when we see people like Credo Bags working to make the world a cleaner, better place.
To change the world, you need to change people's habits, this is something we truly believe in.

Looks like the York OSPCA has laid off workers, due to a lack of animals.
Well, if they would have done their jobs right the first time, it wouldn't have come to this.
Out of something bad, can come something good, and in this case, it is a reminder that animal shelters are full of sick animals, and the spread of disease is the greatest threat to the population held within.
Always, always, always clean your hands after touching any of the animals.
Please get in the habit.

Have a great Wednesday!

Animals saved today: 6
Animals saved to date: 83

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing when we eat animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 31)

2010-05-18T09:13:00.018-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

As promised, here is a new recipe we tried last night, and I have to admit, it was damn good.

A Compassionate Shepherd's Pie

Filling:
1 medium onion
3 small carrots, chopped
1 stalk of celery
1 large tomato, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 can of green lentils, mashed
1 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tomato sauce

Topping:
4 potatoes, chopped
1 tbsp oregano
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tbsp butter flavour spread
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350F.
Boil the potatoes.
Saute the onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes in the oil.
Once carrots are tender, add the mashed lentils, salt, soy sauce and tomato sauce.
Stir and simmer without a lid until the liquid evaporates.

While the veggies are roasting, mash the potatoes, milk, buttery spread, and spices in a bowl.
Set aside.
Pour the veggies into an oiled, small casserole dish, and then layer the potatoes on top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Makes 4 servings.

So far, most of the recipes we've tried have been great. There have been some stinkers, hence, why there haven't been any recipes up in a while. But, this is what we're here for. To help you skip the crappy meals, and go straight to the good ones.
If we post them, it means we like them. Otherwise we just won't post them.
We're looking out for you!
Do other Blitter's do that for you?
Nope.

That's why you gotta keep tuning in!

Animals saved today: 6
Animals saved to date: 77

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing by eating animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 30)

2010-05-17T10:23:00.010-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

A couple months ago, just trying to be a vegetarian was a struggle. I can admit it, I was raised in a meat lovers family, where meat, white sugar and desserts were the three staples. Tasty? Yes. Fattening? Yes Yes! Terribly bad for me? Yes Yes Yes!
Family plays such a huge role in the eater that you become later in life. I can't eat a meal without thinking: "What's for dessert?" I swear to god, this plays out every meal, including breakfast and snacktime.
It's hard to break habits, especially ones you lived for most of your formative years.
The first few weeks of The Compassion Experiment were really tough. Hard to believe we are going on week 5, but I can tell you, things have gotten a lot easier. That's because we are in the habit now, of choosing meals that are compassionate, and in living this lifestyle.
Also the people around us understand what we are trying to do with The Compassion Experiment, and support us as much as they can. Any help is appreciated, and we are glad so many people have embraced this experiment, and the idea as a whole.
Does this mean we eat 100% vegan every day? No. Usually two meals a day of vegan, and one vegetarian. Sometimes we slip, and a hamburger might find it's way into our mouths. And by we, I mean me.
I'd love to feel really bad about that, but I don't, because we have made huge changes in our lives, and if we mess up occasionally, that's okay, because we still are intent on living a compassionate lifestyle, but we are human too.
We wouldn't expect anyone to live 100% vegan, it's not really a realistic goal, especially for families with children.
If you raise children in an environment that respects animals, then it's more likely that your children won't grow up cooking every meal on the BBQ, like my family did.
Most of our family and friends all have children, and if we can do anything with this experiment, I hope that it would be to show these families ways to keep their children happy, and to help save animals at the same time.
That's the real goal here.
In the past week or so things have been a little crazy around here, so the posts kind of lost their way. Last week we helped save a lot of animals in York, even in our own little way, and we couldn't be prouder of the support everyone showed for the animals. It was awesome.
This week things will get back to normal, recipes will be posted, and more reviews of products we discovered at the Green Living Show will be popping up.
Please keep tuning in, we aren't done yet!

Todays Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
"Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish ; and you have fed him for a lifetime."
Better yet! Give him a nature burger, tell him to tell his friends, and you'll save a hell of a lot of fish.
And, you won't be injecting yourself with poisons.
Think about it.

Animals saved today: 4
Animals saved to date: 71
Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing by eating animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 27)

2010-05-14T08:14:00.009-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Well, it's been a hell of a roller coaster week for all of us here at The Compassion Experiment. From the York OSPCA scandal, to the Cogeco Rising Stars event, hell, I even began mending fences with my arch nemesis, MWI (no one could have ever seen this one coming!).
We slipped a little out of the groove we had been in, things changed as the York OSPCA travesty started to unfold, and for us, it felt so good to be able to do something about it.
The Compassion Experiment has turned out to be one of the greatest decisions that we have made together. We've had an outlet for issues that we want to speak out about, we've been trying amazing recipes, had our eyes opened to all the wonderful animal free products out there, and we've had friends come together to support our efforts in saving the animals.
It's truly amazing.
In the days ahead, we will definitely be staying the course. Four weeks into it, we've seen a lot of ups and downs, had faith in ourselves, lost faith in ourselves, lost faith in humanity, found faith in humanity. Up down, up down, up down.
But, as you see, it has been worth it.
If you look at the bottom of todays installment, you will notice we have gone over 60 animals saved, can you believe it? Who would have thought when we first started it would come to this so quick.
The thing is, we're still in transition, and probably will be for life. To be a strict, 100% vegan, well, that's not us. Case in point: Last night we were at a party, here's a sample of what they had: crab pastries, seafood pastries, chicken wings, pork tenderloin, and vegetarian pizza. I'm not complaining, the party was awesome, and the food smelled great, but, as compassionate eaters, and hungry people, we had little choice but to eat the yummy veggie pizza. Yes, it does contain cheese, yes, we do feel bad about it, but, it was delicious, and our tummy's had little regret.
Yoda says: Do or do not, there is not try.
Well Yoda, my friend, I hate to admit it, but I think you were wrong about that one, because us trying to save animals, has led to animals being saved.
Now we need to try to make the world a better place for all of us, especially the animals, who often can't help themselves, and need us to do it for them.

Here is the latest on the York OSPCA fiasco:http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/809442--what-went-wrong-at-the-ospca?bn=1

Todays Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
Attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference.

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 63
Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing by eating animal by-products.

We did it!

2010-05-13T12:49:00.004-04:00

The animals say THANK YOU!!

Well, it looks like the people were heard!
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/808805--ospca-heard-the-outcry-suspends-mass-euthanasia?bn=1

To be honest, I can't believe it.
As the song goes: "Power to the people."
Who would have thunk it?
Yes, 100 animals were put down, and yes, some more might die, but considering the original number of 350 has been reduced, and some lives have been saved, this is downright amazing.
Some might even say miraculous.
You can't tell me, people don't care about animals.
100 protesters, death threats, a planned funeral march, animals stolen, this stuff is AWESOME!!!
I commend every single person who wrote, who called, and who protested this gross error in judgement.
The article states that it was really a money thing, and that the animals were going to be killed to save $$$!
Imagine that came out after all the animals died?!
Those death threats would become real life.
I can tell you first hand, that it is not easy, or cheap to run these facilities, but the first option should have been to try and get as many out and fostered as possible, not, blanket euthanasia.
Ridiculous.
But, ridiculous with a happy ending.
I mean, death threats? Awesome. Should have thought of that myself.
Not that I would go through with it, sufficed to say it was a good tactic whomever thought of it.
I have ideas of who it might be actually, there are some very vigilant animal cruelty charities, and I would be willing to bet that they were behind some of this chaos.
And, again, I applaud them.

Pass it on!

2010-05-12T16:00:00.002-04:00

We got this through email.
I'm proud to see so many people working so hard to save the animals.
Any life saved, will be amazing.
Read this and voice your concerns!

UPDATE........

The Minister of Community Safety has declined to take any action citing that the SPCA is an arms-length agency and he has no jurisdiction.
As recently as 3:15 this afternoon MPP Klees spoke with the minister again urging him to use whatever means are necessary to stop the killing of these animals.
Klees explained to the minister that veterinarians, members of the public, landowners in the vicinity are offering their facilities to accommodate the segregation of animals that can be saved.

PLEASE CALL THE PREMIER'S OFFICE TO VOICE YOUR CONCERN NOW 416-325-1941
www.premier.gov.on.ca feedback

May 11, 2010

MPP Calls For Stay of OSPCA Euthanasia Plans

http://www.frank-klees.on.ca/Newsroom/OSPCAstayMay11_2010.htm
(Queens Park) Newmarket-Aurora MPP Frank Klees today called on the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services to direct the York Region Branch of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Newmarket to suspend its plans to euthanize 350 animals under its care.

"Before this drastic step is taken, I want assurances that all other options have been investigated," said Klees. "This comes as a shock to the community, and we can't just allow this mass destruction of these animals to take place without absolute assurance that there are no other options available to us."

Klees has discussed the issue with a number of veterinarians throughout the region and is concerned that this announcement caught them by surprise as well.

"What I find disturbing is that an APB did not go out to area veterinarians for assistance with this crisis before it came to this point," said Klees. "There are a number of questions that must be answered, starting with "How did things get to this point?"

Klees confirmed that he spoke with the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services today asking for the stay and the investigation.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 24)

2010-05-11T09:13:00.015-04:00

Could you kill these cats?

This is unbelievable:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/807590--ospca-to-euthanize-350-animals-at-york-region-shelter?bn=1

Here is the short and long of it. York OSPCA is euthanizing all their animals, ALL! That's 350 cats, dogs, rats, everything, dead.
Apparently they have been dealing with a ringworm outbreak, and the OSPCA vets have decided they all need to die.
The Star says: "Ringworm is a fungal infection that causes small patches of hair loss, skin redness and discoloration. Ringworm can make an animal so itchy they break their skin when they scratch for temporary relief. Ringworm usually starts in one area and multiplies if not treated."
I am not vet, I am just an animal lover, but from what I've read, ringworm isn't fatal. It isn't great, and can cause animals discomfort, but to kill them all, wow.
It breaks my heart, because I work at the Oakville and Milton Humane Society, and if all their animals were going to be put down, I would be just as angry as all the volunteers in York. There are police, armed guards, the whole nine yards, and I wish this didn't have to be.
They have fired the shelter manager, Denise Stephenson, but they are just cutting off the head. There is a trickle down affect here, but she isn't the one to blame, if you ask me. It's the kennel staff for not taking control of the public as they stick their fingers in cages, and probably the fault of volunteers who inadvertently started passing on the disease.
I don't think the OSPCA wants to kill all these potential pets, I don't totally blame them here, but I don't applaud their efforts either. I wish there was another way.
Sadly, there isn't.
The real question is: why does this have to happen?
This could have been avoided, but every single person who worked there, is responsible, including volunteers, because clearly cleanliness, and passing on diseases wasn't taken as seriously as it is at the OMHS. Trust me, I work at the OMHS, and I know the staff, the vet tech's, everyone, and boy do they take cleanliness serious. Just try and stick your finger inside a cage when Deb is around, and see what happens. Your head will get bitten off. The people there might seem like dicks sometimes, but that is because they care about the animals safety, more than they do you. And I applaud them for this. I do it too, and sometime relish it, because a lot of people who come into the shelter act like idiots, and don't think about the consequences of what they are doing by sticking their hands into cage after cage after cage.
Not all the animals in the shelter are healthy, that's a fact. Illness isn't always something you can see, or really detect until it is too late. That's why you have to take all the precautions in the world.
It still might not be enough to stop disease, I know this, but it could have helped prevent this outbreak from growing so large, that all the animals had to die.
At the OMHS, the walls are covered in signs asking people to not stick their hands in the cage, to use disinfectant after touching any animal, but people just ignore it. Not everyone, but, most of them, and this drives me nuts.
What can I do?
When I see someone sticking their fingers in a cage I say: "We ask that you don't do that, because you can pass diseases from cat to cat. See how all these cats have runny eyes, they didn't have that before they were moved up here, but because people stuck their fingers in the cages, they are now sick."
To be honest, people often remark to me: "Oh, I didn't realize that! Sorry!", and "Thanks for letting me know, and being nice about it."
This is the honest to god truth, and that's why I don't have an issue with asking people to not stick their fingers in the cages.
Because they will listen.
I just wish the York OSPCA staff and volunteers would have done this.
Look at the consequences, 350 animals, dead. Because they didn't want to tell people not to touch the animals.
It's a sad, sad day.

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 53
Animals killed in York: 350!

The Compassion Experiment (Day 23)

2010-05-10T12:51:00.009-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Right now, is there a bigger environmental issue than the oil spill?
I think not. Maybe the senseless slaughter of seal pups for coats, but I won't touch that topic for now.
For now, the question is, who is to blame for the oil spill? Is it BP?

Not as far as I'm concerned. Do you drive a car? Do you drive an SUV or crossover?
If the answer is yes, than you are just as much to blame as the idiots who screwed up the drilling, and who have now screwed up the whole ocean. A pretty big feat, mind you, but not in a good way.
Our dependency on oil is the real culprit here, and we are just as guilty as anyone else, so I'm not pointing fingers, just stating the plain fact that we are all guilty for this tragedy. But, this could be a huge turning point for people's consciousness towards oil consumption, which could turn a bad thing, into a positive. Ask the dying animals if they care.
What is really the issue here? Why, greed of course. Money, money, money, that is why they are drilling there, but try telling that to the animals in the ecosystem that is in the process of a slow, choking death.
Yes, the tourist industry is going to be hit hard, but, screw them, who cares? Hell, we don't even eat fish, but it isn't their contamination that pisses me off, it's that it happened at all.
And what pisses me off the most? NO ONE CAN STOP THE SPILL!!!
No one has played out this issue before, no one ever thought this might happen? I mean, come on! Are you kidding me?
Boy that four storey tower really worked out, eh? Just more people capitalizing on this tragedy, and nothing was fixed, just more time wasted as the ocean turns into an oil slick. I guess we'll have to change the name from the Atlantic Ocean, to the Atlantic Graveyard.
Am I pissed? Geez, you think? You should be too! We all should be. Not that anything can be done to save the ocean now, but thinking ahead, maybe that Ford Excursion, or Cadillac Enclave might not be the best thing for your family of 3. No one needs that, we all know this. Doesn't stop people from buying it, does it? Doesn't enlarge your penis either, gentlemen.
Ironically, at least in Oakville, the people driving these vehicles are the stay-at-home trophy wives who do nothing but meet up with the other trophy wives and drink cocktails and coffee all day. And spend their husbands money, of course.
That's a rant for another day, but for now, just know that these things are noticed, and my guess, is the people driving those vehicles, are spending more time finding out what is happening with the cast of The Hills, rather than the ongoing drama that is the giant oil spill.
This kind of stuff drives me crazy, and like I keep saying, still nothing is being done.
Oh yeah, I mean, they are burning off some oil, which, is another great thing for the environment. Take the pollution from the ocean, and put it in the air we breathe, awesome!
What's next, that's the question.
The Icelandic volcano, the earthquakes, the great oil spill, I don't know about you, but I'm scared, deathly scared, because whatever is coming next, is going to be a doozy.
I think the repercussions of this oil spill will last a generation, at least.
You know how annoying it is, that Lake Ontario is great for looking at, but, that's all it's really good for. Well, that is what is going to happen to the Atlantic. Think about it.
End of rant.

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 50

The Compassion Experiment (Day 17)

2010-05-05T09:50:00.021-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

Morgan and Sara were displeased that the other cats were on the blog. They are holding the fat ones hostage until we post these pics!

This email was sent to us from our good friend, Meghan:

My mind was opened to how animals are raised when I was 15 or 16. I
borrowed a book that my friend was reading when she was deciding to
become a vegan. That was enough for me and I chose to no longer eat
meat at that point. The last time that I ate a sad ass chicken was in
a ceasar salad in March of 1996. The funniest thing was what my mom
said after I announced my new decision to my family. She said her
concern was what was I going to eat at Thanksgiving/Christmas? Hmm.
I must have replied that I would eat everything else.

At first, I ate really badly because I was a teenager and was still
learning about recipes. I remember coming home after high school and
making pasta and toast which was a start. Growing up in my family, my
mom and dad did not over emphasize veggies or fruit. Just the basics.

It seems to me that so many individuals decide that attempting to be a
vegetarian or vegan would just be way too hard etc. before even trying
anything. I think that this happens because the animals suffering are
not in front of them. We are so absolutely disconected to where the
food we eat actually comes from. It is simply a pre-packaged specimen
far removed from its original state. Quite possibly, people who are
vegetarian or vegan have the ability to really visualize things in
their mind's eye - such as the animals - and therefore have a
realistic image that they do not want to be a part of.

Thanks for your insightful comments, Meghan, it is much appreciated.

The road to vegetarian and vegan living is fraught with bumps, and doubts. Can I live without this, can I live without that? It's not easy, and people who choose meat, often can't understand why anyone would make the switch at all. In a lot of cases, you're not going to be able to change anyones mind, until you can show them that there are tons of options out there, and that the only thing you'll be missing by not eating animal by-products, is the steroids and hormones they have been injected with.
The last time I ate meat, I noticed the difference in my body after consuming the flesh, I felt more animalistic and charged with an energy that seemed dangerous. So, it is not just our moral values that are changing the way we think, now I can include the effect on my body as another reason to stay clean, meaning, to not eat of the flesh.

A good friend of The Compassion Experiment family, Paula, sent us a link for dairy free cheese. We will be trying it this weekend, but will post the link for others to see the 'cheese' for themselves. Sounds amazing. Check it at www.daiyafoods.com
Thanks Paula!

Here is a link to veggie and vegan recipes that Meghan sent. There are more recipes than you could ever imagine! http://vegweb.com/

Thank you to all, for all the love and support. We appreciate all the links and recipes, and everything else. It has been a crazy ride, but we're holding on with all hands on deck.

Todays Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
Then Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Thanks for the advice buddy, but, I think I'll pass.

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 44

The Compassion Experiment (Day 16)

2010-05-04T09:39:00.004-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a Twitter.

A real issue with compassionate eating, comes in the form of 'myths', half-truths passed down the line, to people just looking for an excuse not to change.
The one I'm thinking of right now, is the one regarding soy milk and it's connection to the rise of estrogen levels in frequent users.
Has this one been proven? There are proofs for both sides of the story, so who do you believe here? It would be nice to be able to point to soy milk as the reason for my luscious man-boobs, but alas, that has more to do with a pizza and dessert addiction.
Here's what I've found in my research. Too much soy isn't good for anyone, young or old. It's not bad, at all, you just shouldn't over do it. Making things harder, of course, is the fact that most non-meat products, and meat substitutes are made of soy.
There are quality products made out of rice, and other things, but soy is the underlying factor in virtually anything compassionate.
So, what do you do?
Everything in moderation, isn't that what they say?
If that was so easy, we wouldn't be doing The Compassionate Experiment in the first place. It is our inability to moderate our consumption of all things yummy (see: ice cream, butter, eggs, and CHOCOLATE!), that has led us down this path in the first place.
No regrets, of course, because this experiment has grown far beyond anything we could have expected when we started it, but if I had a little more self-control, we wouldn't have done this experiment in the first place.
The animals can thank us later.

As promised, here is what I could find out about the organizations who help run the open space garden on the property of the Oakville Arena:

Oakville Community Foundation is a locally run charitable foundation whose purpose, promise and passion since 1994 has been Community Vitality. Over the past 14 years they have connected donors to community needs and opportunities and helped them invest in building strong and resilient places to live, learn, work and play. Check them at www.thecfo.org

Oakville Green is Oakville’s largest residents’ association that has been working for almost a decade to protect our environment, promote sustainable planning and make sure that new development pays for itself. Check them at oakvillegreen.com

Here is a great link to the Oakville Parks and Open Spaces, it includes locations, lists, and a form. Pretty informative actually.
http://www.oakville.ca/Media_Files/recculture/2010OutdoorUserGuide.pdf

In the upcoming days we'll have more great recipes for you, and an introduction to some awesome products, so stay tuned in.
It's the cool thing to do, didn't you know?!

Some of our cats could afford to have their own compassion experiment. See: Grace and Tito.

Animals saved today: 2
Animals saved to date: 41

The Compassion Experiment (Day 15)

2010-05-03T15:29:00.000-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: It's not a blog, it's a Blitter. Too short for a blog, too long for a twitter.

Is honey considered a compassionate food?
I don't know what to think on this one.
A bee is an insect, but it's also an animal, is it not?
It's a toughie, what's the call?
Making honey is something that is natural to the bee, but is harvesting the honey exploitive?
Maybe to a certain extent.
But if you use this argument, isn't it natural for a chicken to lay an egg for your breakfast.
Too bad the eggs you get in grocery stores aren't natural.

At the Green Living Show, there was a booth with incredible boots, Beth was all over it.
One pair in particular struck her eye. She asked about them, scared about the price, and indeed, the $375 price tag was a major turnoff.
Their excuse for the price, is that the sole is made of recycled rubber. The boot is leather though, they made sure to tell us. Does doing a right and a wrong make this a good purchase then? No.
There is a very inflated price for a lot of these so-called 'organic' products, it is a big issue for a cheapskate like me.
I know they are overcharging under the guise of being 'green', and this irks me.
Some stuff should be more expensive, I know, and I will pay for value, unfortunately a lot of this stuff is 200% overvalued.
Those purple boots being a prime example.
Not all booths are like that though.
There is a company called Hey Jute, which has awesome products, and normal prices. Great value for their stuff, and I support them in all their efforts. They have cool guitar straps and handbags. When we're rich we'll be all over it.

I was passing by the Oakville Arena today, and noticed a public garden. I thought it was very cool, you can see the pictures.
Tomorrow I'll do a bigger expose on these gardens, and who runs them. I'm also adding them, so I don't forget to research them tomorrow.

Have a great week, hope everyone has been enjoying the global warming!

Animals saved today: 2
Animals saved to date: 39

The Compassion Experiment (Day 12)

2010-04-30T09:13:00.001-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: is a blog about converting to a more compassionate lifestyle.

So, the big issue that has been hanging over the citizens of Oakville, has been whether or not a power plant will be built in our backyard, so to speak.
As one might imagine, the opposition to the power plant has been ferocious, and eventually some MPP's and Mayor Burton got their head into the game, realizing what a huge issue this will be come reelection time.
Oakville keeps passing new laws to try and prevent it. Only plants of 10 Megawatts or less can be put in now, and the one TransCanada wants to put in is, uh, 900 Megawatts.
But of course, the OPG and TransCanada, are completely confident it is still going in.
Dalton McGuinty has said over and over: "I don't care what the people of Oakville think, it is going in."
As a citizen of Oakville, this whole issue pisses me off on a lot of levels.
The first being that the location is closer than 250ft to the nearest school.
Can you tell me, that TC seriously thought that there would be no opposition to a 900 Megawatt plant that close to a high school? Are they seriously that stupid?
Of course not, they know something we don't, and they have all the 'power', literally.
My real issue of course, is that no one will say why that location was chosen, and who is responsible.
I mean, this whole thing has conspiracy theory written all over it, and anyone prone to wild flights of the imagination, will be drawn to this issue like a moth to a flame.
I am one of those people.
I don't trust TC, OPG and our Provincial government one iota, and the whole thing reeks of underhandedness, and shortsightedness.
It seems that no matter what anyone says or does, what's done, is done.
Someone remind me again what democracy is all about, because I just don't believe the McGuinty government understands.
I know the plant will go in Oakville, I know the citizens will fight impotently to the very end, but that OPG has too much clout, power and their puppet strings are attached to everything people think they need to survive.
What this issue does, is remind us all how dependent we are on old forms of electricity and how we receive it.
It is now 2010, and no one has to plug into the OPG grid anymore. A lot of people are realizing this, and investing in new ways to get power. But it still takes a lot of money and balls to do this. The OPG has bitterly fought anyone who has tried to do this, and made promises that it has reneged on over and again.
It is sad to think that corporations can still have this much power, and that fight as we might, we can't change anything.
And why is that?
Because we are too nice.
If we lived in France, we would be rioting, and we would throw a molotov cocktail party.
But that's not us, and our government and the OPG know this.
They know we will tie up things in the courtroom, and then eventually a friend with deep pockets, will grease the right palms, and we will be left standing idly by, looking like fools.

Not the nicest way to end off the week, thinking about this and all, but, it is a huge issue, and one being fought in the press, and on the net daily, with no real results.
It is very frustrating watching this whole process, and not being able to do a damn thing about it.
I'm not even pissed that they are putting the plant here, I'm pissed off, because they won't say why here, and ultimately, who was responsible for this whole mess in the first place. It is a huge finger pointing game, while the other hand is the one you have to worry about.

Have a great weekend, please think of the animals before you throw another shrimp on the barby.

Animals saved today: 3
Animals saved to date: 34

The Compassion Experiment (Day 11)

2010-04-29T09:30:00.000-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: is a blog about converting to a more compassionate lifestyle.

Well, after doing so well for a whole 10 days, yesterday was a bit of a toughie.

B says:

Day 10 was a bad vegan day. Which is sad, because we aren't even sticking to a vegan diet 100% of the time, but even still, yesterday I crashed and I crashed hard.

After my unappetizing lunch of yet another salad and peanut butter
sandwich, with yet another curry flavoured rice and veggie dish looming on the horizon for dinner, I began to hate this experiment of ours. My hatred built throughout the afternoon and reached its peak when I got home and saw the blasted curry rice dish all ready to go into the frying pan. Loud, irrational words broke free from inside of me: "I CAN'T EAT THAT! I HATE THIS!" Mike listened to me for a minute or so and then proposed a walk around the neighborhood, where I proceeded to rant and rave. I wanted greasy, fast food. I wanted cheese. I wanted ice cream. And I definitely did not want vegetables of any kind.

So off we went to Licks where we had Nature burgers, and I got my cheese fix with a poutine. And then we went to Coldstone for ice cream, and had signature creations that should really be called heaven-on-earth, because that's what they are. And I felt complete and utter bliss. My stomach was full for what felt like the first time in days. I didn't even feel guilty - not until later that is. But even then, I have to admit that I didn't feel that guilty, just content. And this morning I feel ready to tackle
the vegan-dragon once again.

I don't know if what I experienced was some kind of withdrawal or what, but it sure felt like it. It made me realize that this is going to be a lot harder than I thought. But that's ok - we're up for the challenge.

It would be easy to say things are going great, and that we have the will power of monks, but we don't and it would be a complete lie to say so. We want this experiment to be transparent, and for everyone to see the growing pains, as much as the successes, which, until yesterday, had been on the up and up.
Lucky for us, we aren't striving for perfection, but instead we are trying to make a difference, every day. But, the reality is, everyday is new, and different, and poses new challenges, and sometimes we fall on our face, but in this case, falling into a tub of Coldstone Creamery wasn't the worst thing to happen, I do admit.
I think maybe we need to watch Food Inc again, or maybe get The Face On Our Plate, from the library again. If you have not heard of these, we highly recommend them, because they are real eye-openers, and should be required viewing for everyone.

Animals saved today: 2
Animals saved to date: 31

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing by eating animal by-products.

Todays Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
When one person suffers a delusion, it is called insanity, when many people suffer a delusion, it is called religion.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 10)

2010-04-28T14:15:00.001-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: is a blog about converting to a more compassionate lifestyle.

So, you've just been invited out to dinner at the Keg, for the birthday of someone you love.
But, you're a compassionate eater, so the Keg is the last place on earth for you.
Even their salads are covered in meat.
What do you do?
I think the reality is that you'd regret missing that birthday, more than you would regret eating that slab of salty goodness.

On a related topic.
You're on a fixed income, in a rush, and the only place you can afford is MacDonald's, and what with them being the antichrist and all, what do you do?

I guess the real question is, how committed are you to saving animals?

Living compassionately isn't a walk in the park, this is what I'm finding out, but I'm sure the longer we think this way, the easier the answers will come.

During this time of transition, it is easy to slip back into habits, the fight is in staying the course, and finding options that are inexpensive and delicious.
If anyone has any suggestions, please send them our way. I'm sure others would love to hear how you do it.

Had our first taste of compassionate butter on the weekend, and it was an eye-opening experience, for sure.
Earth Balance, buttery flavor spread, tastes better than real butter! I kid you not! Tasted better than unsalted butter, that's a fact. And thank god for that, because giving up butter is one of the tougher things. You use it in everything. Well, anything good anyways. If we couldn't find a good way to replace animal butter, we would be totally screwed, that's the honest to god truth. So, thank god for Earth Balance, they've helped make the transition a hell of a lot easier, for all of us.

I guess the theme of today's blog was that 10 days in, we are as committed as ever to this experiment, and have seen changes in our eating habits, and spending habits, that are all for the better.

Today's Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
People shouldn't be judged by their accomplishment, and instead, judged by the amount of failures they picked themselves up from, and continued on.

Animals saved today: 5
Animals saved to date: 29

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing by eating animal by-products.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 9)

2010-04-27T09:47:00.000-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: is a blog about converting to a more compassionate lifestyle.

The crowd at the Green Living Show was awesome. Everyone was so nice, and we were impressed at the variety of people who were there. We were especially excited to see a lot of older people who really do care about the planet.
But, here's my big rant:
As I'm standing around, holding Beth's purse as she tries on tons of amazing shirts, jackets, dresses, I can't help but look around for something cool for myself. And here's the problem, there is nothing. There were a ton of awesome booths selling amazing green products, but not one of them had anything geared towards men. Or, at least overweight men who want to support the green movement, without having to wear t-shirts clearly designed for women.
The majority of the people at the show are couples, and there are a lot of men, holding purses, just like me.
I know a lot of men out there who would love to support all these amazing causes, yet there is no market for this?
I can't be alone in thinking this way, can I?

We got an email from our good friend Adrian:

"I just read that Turkey hunt bit, is that for real? I didn't think Turkeys would be anywhere near Oakville. It is great they are but why would they promote killing them. I think any type of wildlife in the area would be looked at as a privilege and would be promoted in a positive way. It's mating season for Turkeys and they are putting on great displays for the ladies of the species and that should be looked at as something of interest to watch not to shoot."

Thanks Adrian, we agree with you 100%.

As promised, here is a delicious recipe for fluffy, compassionate pancakes!

1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups soy milk (or water)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the dry ingredients together and then stir in the wet ones.
Pour onto pan with a nonstick surface and cook slowly over medium heat, flipping once when the edges begin to bubble and brown.
(Does anyone really need instructions on how to cook a pancake?!)
Add fruit, and syrup, and enjoy!

I'm happy to announce that I got the green light to do a documentary on our friend Cindy, who does an amazing job running CARE. I'm thankful for the opportunity, and will make it the best documentary ever! Wrote the music yesterday, though we won't start shooting for a couple weeks.

Things are moving along nicely, and everyone has been so supportive of The Compassion Experiment. We are in this for the long haul, and hope that all of you will be along with us for the ride.

Thanks for all your support, please keep sending in your recipes!

Animals saved today: 2
Animals saved to date: 24

Note: we realize these numbers are not a true representation, but in our minds, this helps to visualize the damage we are causing by eating animal by-products.

Todays Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at will change.

The Compassion Experiment (Day 8)

2010-04-26T10:19:00.001-04:00

The Compassion Experiment: is a blog about converting to a more compassionate lifestyle.

"Turkey hunt starts Monday in Halton's public forests," is the headline in this weekends Oakville Beaver.
Am I missing something here? Has there been a sudden rise in turkey's sneaking into homes and stealing first born children?
I mean, this is Oakville for god's sake, you want a turkey, go to the goddamned grocery store, or even better, don't eat turkey!
The most infuriating thing about this article is that a) this doesn't need to be done at all, b) it's being done on public property, and c) why the hell do you need to be hunting turkey's in Halton?!
This is the exact kind of ignorance that The Compassion Experiment is rebelling against. Pure utter idiocy.

This weekend was the Green Living Show, and we had an amazing time. There were a lot of great vendors this year, so it'll probably take a week or so to go through all the amazing vendors and food we were introduced to. But we will definitely be passing on some great info to you in the upcoming week, so stay tuned.

We have to start with the absolute best vendor ever. LPK's Culinary Groove! LPK's Culinary Groove is the first organic pastry and chocolate shop in T.O. They have a huge variety of compassionate desserts, so we of course sampled their fare, and then purchased two Mini Indulgence Pack's. We have eagerly started devouring them. I say without hesitation that their desserts are the best. My favorite is the Nanaimo Bars, which are vegan and gluten-free. They are so incredibly tasty, my only regret is not buying more.
If more chef's and bakers out there followed the example of LPK's Culinary Groove, so many lives could be saved, and you would never even know it, or miss anything at all.
Their food is both delicious and compassionate, and examplifies why we have this blog in the first place, to help others see that there are options out there. And you don't have to compromise taste, to make a difference, and to start saving lives.
You can learn more about LPK's amazing products and their location at: www.lpksculinarygoove.com

B says:

"Their coconut lime mini cupcake with lime scented frosting was by far the most delicious thing I ate at the show, which is saying a lot, because we tasted a lot of yummy foods. Their website indicates they make this in a cake format too, so I'm currently scheming about a way to get this for my upcoming birthday!"
Mmmmm...lime cupcake....so good.

We received this email from our friends Nancy and Brian:

Hi Mike and Beth,

We just had a look at your blog - what a wonderful idea and we agree with
the idea of saving animals totally. We have used soy milk for a long time
and like you say, it's great on cereal (and it's so good for you too!) Your
banana blueberry bread recipe sounds awesome - we will be trying it soon.
We are glad you are getting such positive feedback on the blog.

Thanks Nancy and Brian, your support is much appreciated.
And once again, thank you everyone for all your support, The Compassion Experiment would be nothing without you.
Please keep sending in recipes, this week we'll be posting some new ones that were awesome!

We attached a picture that shows all the stuff we left the Green Living Show with. There was even more, but it couldn't fit in the picture.

Animals saved today: 2
Animals saved to date: 22

Todays Parallel's 'Of Wisdom':
Someone once remarked to me: 'I'm in PETA, People Eating Tasty Animals.' I should have mentioned I'm in PETA too! (People Exterminating Total Assholes.)