Vegetarian Celebrities Opt for Cruelty-Free Living

As it turns out, some of your favorite celebrities may also be vegetarians. Pamela Anderson, Paul McCartney, Alicia Silverstone, Moby and Andre 3000 of Outkast are among the many vegetarian celebrities who decided to stop eating meat because of the harm that factory farming does to animals, our health and the planet.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney said he was first turned on to animal rights as a child. Disney movies like Bambi and Dumbo instilled in him a belief that animal cruelty is a bad idea. He once said, "If you think of Bambi, its mum gets killed by a hunter and I think that made me grow up thinking hunting isn't cool".

McCartney decided to finally make the move to vegetarianism when he and his wife Linda were eating a meal of lamb and happened to see lambs frolicking in a field. This experience helped him make the connection between the food on his plate and living, sentient animals.

Supermodel and former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson has been a vegetarian since the age of 16. In high school, she used to donate rolls of quarters to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the popular nonprofit animal rights organization. Since then this vegetarian celebrity has become an outspoken activist for PETA, participating in many of their campaigns including ones against fur, seal hunting and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Alicia Silverstone, the young actress who made her debut in the movie Clueless, went vegan in 1998 for moral and political reasons. She once said to talk show host Rosie O'Donnell that she went vegan because she "was not going to contribute to the violence in the world anymore". She said that going vegan meant putting food back into the mouths of starving children, since crops grown to feed cows could otherwise be used to feed villages.

Silverstone also has her own vegetable garden, where she grows vegetables like lettuce, kale and pumpkins. "To make your salad from your own garden is just amazing", she once said to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Singer Moby first exposed his veganism in an angsty punk rock album titled Animal Rights, arguably the most controversial album of his career. Since then, he has taken a more utilitarian approach in order to make his message more accessible to the masses.

Moby encourages vegetarians and vegans to become salesmen for what they believe. He himself does this by aggressively championing vegetarianism in the public eye. Moby also promotes vegetarianism in his vegetarian tea shop, Teany.

Outkast star Andre 3000 is also a vegetarian celebrity. In 2004, he won PETA's award for Sexiest Male Vegetarian. When Andre was asked what he would do on his last day on Earth, he said, "I'd probably go for a great meal-some broccoli probably, because I'm a vegetarian".

Other notable vegetarian celebrities include Coldplay's Steve Martin, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy's Andy Hurley, Natalie Portman, Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden, Alec Baldwin, Anne Hathaway, Joaquin Phoenix, Tobey Maguire, Shania Twain and Weird Al Yankovic.

Michael Russell
Your Independent [http://vegetarian-guides.com/]Vegetarian guide.

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My Journey to Find Vegan Milk By Stacie Stearns

I've Been a vegan for three years now. And a vegetarian for most of my life. My Brother Ron helped me transition to vegan status. He began his vegetarian journey with my help years before, making the transition to vegan on his own. I stalled and put it off for years. "Cheese," "How could I give up my Cheese". Marilou Henner helped me with that one. I listened to her speaking on a radio show one night and I woke up a vegan the next morn.

In the back of my mind I always knew I would one day be vegan. It seemed a natural progression. However, It was a totally shock when my little brother announced he was going vegan. This was MR." Pizza Huts meat lovers pizza with extra sausage". I guess the Mad Cowboy got to him. It surely wasn't me. When I was very young I tried to force my "Laurels Kitchen Beliefs"That was my vegetarian bible) on my family. Lets just say that it didn't work. Funny, my dad who never calls any one of us by name calls me Pork Chop to this day. He used to introduce me as his daughter the Vegetarian. My brothers that"vegan Brother of yours" or the "clowns." That's referring to both of my brothers. Makes me wonder why we were given names at all. I digress.

We learned a lot about vegan eating along the way. One minuet It was OK to eat something, the next I'd learn how it was processed and couldn't eat it. By strict I mean that besides using no animal products we use no refined sugar, bleached flour gelatin or honey. I was trying to find a Vegan restaurant to eat at in Seattle. I was amazed at the vast array of offerings (as opposed to where I live in Cleveland Ohio), but upon calling and asking about ingredients we were able to narrow it down to about one. Some of the rest of the vegan world eats those refined products . I just can't. And I look and feel a lot better for it emotionally and psychically.

I've wrestled with all phases of eating disorders along the way. After becoming vegan I kind of stopped. It was no longer that important anymore. I immediately felt great. My attitude or outlook improved dramatically. I immediately began to lose weight . That helped my attitude also.

My brother confessed he really missed milk chocolate. I on the other hand was perfectly happy without that option. Our mom always trying to make her "starving" grown up children happy came up with a recipe. which she perfected. Ron said "You should sell this." Calling him hard to please does not begin to scratch the surface. He is very talented also, and can name off the ingredients used in a recipe from one taste. So he became the official taste tester. He felt there was a need for a vegan light chocolate. I can relate to getting tired of dark chocolate. It seems to taste somewhat bitter no matter how you fill it. And because we don't know any other way its made with strictly vegan ingredients in a vegan kitchen and tastes delicious.

No need to explain That this chocolate is lactose free, vegan, or non dairy. Because our candy confections are superb and everyone will love them.

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Vegan Makeup Brushes-Where Are They?

By Suzanne Kale

It's so easy to overlook. We see a pretty set of makeup brushes at a great price - maybe at the pharmacy or the superstore - and we buy them. But as animal lovers, we must be more careful. Most of these brushes, though inexpensive monetarily, extract a much greater price in terms of creature suffering. We need to be as vigilant about our makeup brush purchases as we are about our cosmetics.

What Not to Buy

When you purchase brushes that have no specific labeling to the contrary, chances are the brushes are made at least partly from animal fur. So rule number one is: Unless they are from a manufacturer you trust, don't buy makeup brushes that aren't labeled as cruelty-free, vegan, or 100% synthetic.

Where to Buy Vegan Brushes

Following is a list of companies that carry vegan cosmetic brushes. These are manufacturers and retailers you can trust. Find them on the web (put them into your search engine to get their website addresses), or at specialty stores like Sephora and Ulta.

* All Natural Cosmetics - some brushes are vegan, so check the brush descriptions before buying (click Make-up from the left menu, then click Brushes)
* Blick Art Materials (look for Taklon brushes)
* The Body Shop (write Makeup Brushes into their search box)
* Etsy (enter vegan makeup brushes into the search field)
* Forever Female has a vegan Kabuki brush, and a vegan lip brush
* Hard Candy Cosmetics (at their site, click on Vegan Items from the horizontal top menu)
* Herbs of Grace (click on Brushes & Accessories on the left menu)
* Larénim Mineral Makeup has a Vegan Kabuki brush (click on Brushes from the left menu)
* sevi vegan cosmetics
* Urban Decay Cosmetics: Good Karma Cruelty-Free Brushes
* VeganEssentials carries a beautiful set of handmade Ecco Bella brushes (from their home page, click on Cosmetics)
* The Vegan Store
* Vegan Unlimited

For more vegan makeup brush resources, check out My Makeup Mirror. We're fortunate to be living in an age where these products are available. Looking gorgeous without harming little critters is a blessing indeed.

Suzann writes for the website My Makeup Mirror http://www.MyMakeupMirror.com - a potpourri of articles, product reviews, and how-to's on hair, cosmetics, and well-being.

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Natural Bodybuilding - Can Bodybuilders Go Vegan?

Can you body build and still be a vegan?

If you have not looked at the possibility, you are probably among those people who do not consider vegetarians to be able to be bodybuilders. The prevailing culture in large measure believes that a vegan diet lacks all of the nutrients needed for a healthy body and that such a diet cannot develop the lean muscle sought after by body builders.

We have a tendency to think of a vegan bodybuilder as the 98 pound weakling by the shore taking another face full of sand. Vegan body builders are quickly correcting that view.

Vegan diets exclude all animal products including meat, milk, and dairy derivatives. Because of this, many meat eaters consider that a vegan diet is inferior when it comes to building muscle just because it does not contain animal protein. However, there are many complementary sources of vegetable protein available.

Protein is used by the body to repair torn muscle tissue and to boost the immune system as well as to build lean muscle tissue. It is also important for the bodybuilder choosing a vegan lifestyle to make sure that he or she is getting sufficient quantities of other necessary nutrients in their diet.

A well balanced vegan diet has all of the essential amino acids required by the body for the synthesis of protein. There are also numerable vegan protein supplements available in the stores so vegan body builders should have no difficulty meeting the body's requirement for protein.

While supplements can play an important dietary role in a vegan bodybuilding diet plan, you can also get many necessary nutrients from fresh fruit and vegetable juices, Gatorade and Spirtein. Soy products are also a great source of protein, not only for vegetarians but for anyone wanting a more heart healthy lifestyle. Nuts are also a delicious alternative source of protein that are sometimes overlooked.

Vegan diets are not without controversy for muscle building. In spite of the recognized health benefits of soy, some authorities believe that soy may have long-term negative effects. There is more evidence of its health benefits however than of any harmful side effects. Each person thinking about a vegan diet for muscle building should do some independent research and then decide for themselves.

Adequate nutrition is more important to a bodybuilder than the amount of time you spend on a workout or even what you do there. Basic muscle building requires that you take in more calories than you burn or else you lose weight. If you are not eating enough, the more you workout, the more weight you lose! For vegetarians, this means you have to eat a lot of fresh foods and use protein replacement products.

Protein replacement products are not to be confused with the muscle building supplements sold in muscle magazines and on the internet to those people seeking a magic pill. There is no magic pill and for the most part the supplements are useless and often actually harmful.

It can become discouraging to look through those magazines and see the ads for the latest "muscle enhancing" pill and the accompanying photos of beautiful bodies. Keep in mind that while the buffed bodies are nice to look at they are not attainable by the ordinary builder and the ads are targeted toward the common meat-eating, supplement-using bodybuilder.

If a magazine or web site is not advocating natural bodybuilding, you should go elsewhere. There are many good sources of guidance for the vegan bodybuilder and you do not need to take the advice of the steroid and HGH peddlers. Just make sure that you consume adequate nutrients and supplements in the right quantity to give you the beautiful sculpted body you desire!

Discover how to get into natural bodybuilding with reviews of top bodybuilding and fitness programs like Muscle Gaining Secrets - developed by a vegan bodybuilder - on Gerry's blog at Muscle-Building-Reviews.com

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Being Vegan - Getting by in a Non-Vegan World

By Barry Lovelace

It's not easy being vegan. I don't mean that it is a difficult lifestyle; I embrace it and love it and would never consider living any other way. What I mean is that often we vegans are made to feel like either an outcast or a target.

Case in point, the other day I was at the store and ran into a friend who was there with his wife. The friend mentions in passing that I'm a vegan and his wife gives me a look as if I was standing there naked or something and proceeds to tell me how crazy that is. This is just one mild example. Why do people get so upset by my choice to not eat the flesh of a dead animal? I am not hurting anyone by being vegan and frankly it has nothing to do with them.

I do have theories though. I think when someone comes across a vegan they get intimidated because they think that we will think less of them for eating meat or that we will think we are above them for being vegan. This is simply not true; I was a meat-eater at one time. After I educated myself about the abuses involved in the meat and dairy industry I could no longer consume animal products, it's that simple, it doesn't make me special it just makes me someone who holds true to his beliefs and lives it. It reminds me of a great quote: 'When you know better, you do better.'

While I'm on the subject, don't ask me why I'm vegan if you really don't want to know. Often people ask why and then when I tell them they get very defensive and go on the attack. If you ask me why I became vegan, I'm going to tell you, isn't that why you asked? I think some people ask so that they can argue the point. I don't know what point there is to argue. Meat and dairy and filled with cholesterol, fat, hormones and antibiotics and animals are horrifically abused until their slaughter day arrives. These statements cannot be intelligently disputed.

Now about social situations, we, like many vegans, have friends and family that will not invite us to their houses because they feel they cannot provide us with anything to eat. Often when we do get invited somewhere it turns into an apologetic invitation, letting us know that there may not be much there for us to eat. I would like to take this opportunity to let everyone out there know that vegans know what they are. No vegan goes to a wedding or dinner party expecting to be able to eat much of the food, it's ok, we don't mind and to be honest we know better than to ever show up hungry. As a host all you have to do is respect our lifestyle and realize that it is deep-rooted. Being a vegan is a moral and ethical choice. No true vegan is going to eat turkey just because you made one; it doesn't work that way. It is not an insult to you or your cooking or your intentions, we will not compromise our values and no thinking person should expect us to.

The social inconveniences are a very small price to pay and we are more than willing to pay it, please don't feel bad. Likewise don't think that we are offended because you made meat. We do not live in a bubble, we are aware of the world we are living in and know that we are the minority in this country at least for now. Happily, the number of people who are becoming vegan is rising sharply and that is a trend that is sure to continue.

Barry Lovelace is an internationally recognized fitness professional specializing in the functional training of athletes. Barry trains athletes in his area and all over the country. He is a member of Team Mens Fitness, the owner of FitQuest Fitness in Allentown Pa, fitness expert for LifeScape magazine and the creator of several products Get great health and fitness info on his website

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Can a Child Thrive on a Vegan Diet? YES!

Can a child thrive on a vegan diet? The answer is yes! Far more studies show that a
typical 'Western Diet' has deleterious effects on health compared to the risks of a
vegan diet. In fact, vegetarian diets are associated with disease resistance and even
higher I.Q.'s in children. (1-5)

With proper planning and a bit of self-education, parents should feel confident in
giving their child a diet free of animal products.

Healthy food choices include the following:

Protein dense foods: beans, soy, whole grains, nuts, etc.

Calcium sources: beans, leafy greens, figs, blackstrap molasses, fortified beverages,
etc.

Iron sources: grains, dried fruit, coconut milk, blackstrap molasses, soybeans,
beans, etc.

Zinc sources: nuts, seeds, grains, chickpeas, soybeans, etc.

Avoid wheat and nuts until after one year of age, to avoid possible food sensitivities.

Supplementation may be necessary for children who are picky eaters, but most
nutritional needs can be met through diet. Vitamins D and B12 may be the
exception, and parents should ensure an optimal supply through fortified foods or
supplements.

Finding community support can be very important in helping your child maintain
healthy eating habits, as vegan diets are often misunderstood and even feared by
well-meaning family members, neighbours, and teachers. Many excellent resources
exist that can help educate those in your child's life who have concerns, and
possibly alleviate any misconceptions they may have.

Raising a child on a vegan diet can be challenging in today's world of hot-dogs and
ice cream, but parents should be assured that research is on their side.

The following sources are particularly supportive of vegan diets for children:

The Vegetarian Society UK http://www.vegsoc.org

The Vegetarian Resource Group http://www.vrg.org

European Vegetarian Union http://www.ivu.org

Physician's Committee For Responsible Medicine http://www.pcrm.org

Becoming Vegan Brenda Davis, R.D., and Vesanto Melina, M.S., R.D.

1. O'Connell JM, Dibley MJ, Sierra J et al: Growth of vegetarian children: The Farm
Study. Pediatrics 1989;84:475-481.

2. Fisher M, Levine PH, Weiner B, et al. The effects of vegetarian diets on plasma
lipid and platelet levels. Arch Inter Med 1986;146:1193-1197.

3. Chang-Claude J, Frentzel-Beyme R, Eilber U. Mortality pattern of German
vegetarians after 11 years of follow-up. Epidemiology 1992;3:395-401.

4. Thorogood M, Mann J, Appleby P, McPherson K. Risk of death from cancer and
ischaemic heart disease in meat and non-meat eaters. Brit Med J 1994;308:1667
-1670.

5. Dwyer JT, Miller LG, Arduino NL, et al. Mental age and I.Q. of predominately
vegetarian children. J Am Dietetic Assoc 1980;76:142-147.

Stacelynn Caughlan is a Clinical Nutritionist and Certified Herbalist who specializes in pregnancy, birth and childhood. She is currently the editor of http://www.motherandchildhealth.com an online resource for women looking for information on natural health and healing for themselves and their families.

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