Category Archive

We expose ourselves to so many chemical nasties on a daily basis, whether it be in the food we eat, the water we drink or the air we breathe. We have created a toxic environment for ourselves.

The very least we can do is not compound the problem by slathering more chemical goo onto our fragile bodies. I’ve been making a gradual toiletry switch as I go through my bathroom shelves - out with the harsh chemical old and in with the safer, natural, cruelty-free organic new.

In the spirit of sharing I wanted to tell you about one of my new favourite product lines, Nature’s Gate Organics.

Nature’s Gate uses all natural herbs and botanicals in the creation of their extensive line of pH-balanced products. The company is as dedicated to being environmentally friendly and cruelty-free as it is to bringing the public a selection of quality, pure, natural, organic products.

Their handsome bottles have taken up residence in many of my shelves, from shampoo to lotions, but my favourite thing of all has to be that indispensable item I use on a daily basis, deodorant. It contains certified organic botanicals and is free of the parabens, propylene glycol, and aluminum chlorohydrate that plague commercial deodorants and put our health needlessly at risk.

It is also produced without animal testing, with no animal byproducts, and is certified vegan. It comes in several pleasing scents - my favourite is the Chamomile & Lemon Verbena.

And it’s effective. I smell great.

So many of the food and beverage choices at our disposal today are quietly pervaded by animal products - and wine, beer and spirits are no different.

Apart from the obvious inclusion of cream or eggs in some libations, animal products primarily make their appearance in the filtering or fining (clarifying) stage of alcohol production - not dissimilar from some sugar refining. In fact, as with some sugar, bone char is often used to filter spirits. Other filtering agents used in the making of some wines and beer include isinglass (derived from fish), gelatin (animal bones), egg whites, and clay. Wine in some countries may still be fined (clarified) using blood which was once a commonplace practice, although this is now illegal in the U.S and France. Trace elements of these fining or filtering agents are left in the beverage. For most of those against the use of animal products the fact that they are being used at all is reason enough to want to avoid certain products.

What can you do if you want to avoid alcohol that has been filtered using animal bits?

The best thing to do is write a polite email or call the customer service department of the makers of the wine, beer, spirits, etc that you’re interested in and enquire.

My personal favourite is red wine - unfortunately for me I have a huge sensitivity to sulphites and tanins, a.k.a big headache makers. Hearing that it was made with less of these nasties, I started looking to organic wine. My first organic wine purchase consisted of three varieties from an Italian vineyard, the Botter Family. After approaching the vineyard with my questions they sent me confirmation that their organic line was in fact vegan. The three wines are each named after one of the Botter siblings - they are:

• Botter Alex Sangiovese - light ruby red colour; aromas and flavours of fresh red berry fruit, plum and herbs; dry, light to medium bodied with vibrant acidity and hints of spice.
• Botter Anna Pinot Grigio Chardonnay - pale straw colour; slightly floral nose with notes of citrus, melon and almond paste; dry, light to medium bodied, soft and flavourful.
• Botter Luca Nero D’Avola - light purple red colour; aromas and flavours of cherry and blackberry with hints of chocolate; dry, medium bodied, soft and fruit driven style.

The Alex Sangiovese is now discontinued near me unfortunately, but perhaps it’s still available elsewhere. I keep the white, Anna Pinot Grigio Chardonnay, on hand for guests and for cooking - but my absolute hands down favourite is the Luca Nero D’Avola, a rich dark red. All three sell for about $12, so jackpot.

They also come in aseptic tetrapaks so they’re very easily recyclable. What I really love about the tetrapaks is that, as you use up the wine, you can squeeze the extra air out before capping it which keeps the wine fresher longer - not that it’s going to last that long because it tastes so damn good.

There are some great online resources that will identify some vegan wine, beer and spirits for you - like Taste Better!’s Vegan Booze List.

Salute.

With awareness of global warming on the rise, an interesting bit of information is unfolding along with it - meat consumption, along with egg and dairy, is the primary cause.

Animal agriculture affects climate change and air pollution more than any other single source. In fact, according to the United Nation’s massive report, Livestock’s Long Shadow, eliminating animal products from our diet would have a bigger impact on global warming than taking every single plane, train and automobile off the road, hummers and all. In short, the best and most immediate way for us to reduce the emissions that cause global warming is for people to adopt a vegan diet.

With billions of farm animals raised on factory farms annually, and billions upon billions of pounds of feed being produced to feed them, the impact on the planet is severe. Animal agriculture plays a significant role in climate change and air pollution, water depletion and pollution, and has a significant impact on biodiversity.

According to the United Nation’s report, animal agriculture has the following impact on air pollution:

• the CO2 equivalent of the livestock industry’s current contribution to climate change is 18%
• currently accounts for 9% of Carbon Dioxide emissions, and climbing.
• currently accounts for 35-40% of Methane emissions
• currently accounts for 65% of Nitreous Oxide emissions
• currently accounts for 64% of Ammonia emissions

Animal agriculture, including the meat, egg, and dairy industries, also has a significant impact on water depletion and pollution. This sector currently exceeds 8% of total global water use. This is a significant figure, especially in light of the increasing scarcity of fresh water in many places in the world, California for example.

Additionally, animal agriculture significantly impacts biodiversity through its direct effect on greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, water pollution, deforestation, and overfishing. Consider that 26% of the terrestrial surface is used for grazing, up to 70% of which is already considered degraded, and 33% of arable land is used for feed-crop cultivation.

In the meantime the world is entering a food crisis. The cost of food for human consumption is on the rise because increasing demand for grains, corn needed for ethanol production for example, is exceeding supply. The human population is growing, along with its appetite for meat. There is simply not enough to go around. It is now costing farmers more to feed the farm animals than they are receiving for the meat in return. The livestock industry is not a sustainable one. If consumers don’t start to change their thinking and move away from heavy meat consumption, the Earth’s resources will simply be used up.

The status quo cannot be maintained, whether people like it or not.

People are becoming more aware every day of the power they have as individuals to make a difference. They recycle and compost, they choose to use reusable cloth bags over plastic, they conserve water and install energy-efficient light bulbs. More and more people are opting to use public transit or more fuel efficient cars. Many are choosing to buy local or organic produce and eschewing the use of pesticides and chemicals. As much as all of these things help, nothing has as big of a positive environmental impact as choosing to adopt a vegan (best) or vegetarian (better) diet.

You can start with small steps. Commit to just one vegan day a week or even just one meal to start with. If everyone committed to having just one vegan or vegetarian meal per week, that alone would have a huge impact. According to an estimation by Environemental Defense Fund, if every American ate one meat-free meal per week that would be the equivalent of taking 5 million cars of the road - and if that same group went meat-free for one week, that would be the same as eliminating 8 million cars.

It’s such an attainable solution to a very serious problem. In addition to the multitude of wonderful vegan cookbooks out there, their are countless free resources on the internet. Check out some of the spectacular vegan food blogs out there - there are many wonderful ones in the Blogroll on this site, and countless others. Have fun with it - see the diversity of food available to you. I never ate such a diverse and healthy diet as I did once I made the decision to go vegan.

We can make a difference.

Happy Earth Day!

I danced a little jig over the PeaceKeeper Eco-Sensual Balm I picked up on a recent happy trip to the new organic supermarket in town. While perusing their ample array of cosmetics I also scored a nice little item from the nail section made by a company that is new to me, No Miss Nail Polish.

No Miss nail polishes include quite an assortment of colours and finishes - so many lovely shiny things. The range of choice was reflected by the inordinate amount of time I spent standing in front of their display trying to choose one. I finally settled on Panama Petal, a perfect translucent pink for that barely there but well groomed look. It wears very well too - no chips almost one week later.

No Miss nail polishes do not contain harmful formaldehyde, toluene, or dibutyl-pthalate and contain UV filters to protect your nails from the damaging and drying effects of the sun.

Check out the availability of No Miss nail care products at your cosmetics-carrying local health food store or check them out online at Alternative Outfitters and The Vegan Store.

Cruelty-free. Colours to suit every mood and personality. A healthy approach to nail polish. Long-wearing. Reasonably priced. All things considered there’s no reason not to go cruelty-free with your nail polish.

UPDATE: In my previous post I reported on the use of bone char in the Canadian sugar industry. In that post I shared information regarding the big three sugar companies in Canada. At the time of that writing I had received confirmation that two of the three, Rogers Sugar and Lantic Sugar, currently use bone char in their refining process.

I’m very happy to report that Toronto based Redpath Sugar responded to my enquiry with excellent news - they do NOT use bone char in their refining process, opting instead to use more modern methods.

I’ll be buying Redpath.

Still no word from the Canadian Sugar Institute regarding the egregious error on their site.

I’m not usually the pugnacious sort, except in instances where I perceive an ethical wrong. I certainly felt a strong spur to dole out some objurgation this time round.

Not too long ago I wrote about my own personal discovery of the use of bone char in the sugar industry. After that enlightenment I switched to the Wholesome Sweeteners line of sugars which is certified vegan, organic and bone char free. That said, I was curious about the vegan status of sugar in Canada so I decided to do some research into the Canadian sugar industry and see what the deal was with the use of bone char here.

There are three main Canadian sugar companies: Rogers, Lantic (owned by Rogers), and Redpath.

I started with Rogers Sugar first. I also wrote to the Toronto Vegetarian Association, knowing them to be ever knowledgeable and helpful. In a simple internet search I came up with abundant information that indicated Rogers Sugar used bone char in its cane sugar refinery in Vancouver, British Columbia. Rogers also operates a beet sugar refinery in Taber, Alberta. It is my understanding that beet sugar does not require carbon filtration in its refining and thus bone char is not an issue with beet sugar. In my enquiry to Rogers I also enquired about the availability of the Taber beet sugar in the Toronto market.

I also came across a site that purports to be the authority on the sugar industry in Canada, The Canadian Sugar Institute. I visited their contact page and dropped them a line, asking if they could identify for me any Canadian sugar companies that did not use bone char.

Soon the responses to some of my enquiries started coming in.

First up, Rogers Sugar. The Rogers rep informed me that the Taber beet sugar was regretfully not available to the Toronto market and was sold only in Western Canada. He did happily tell me, however, that the Lantic cane sugar refinery in Montreal (owned by Rogers) did not employ the use of bone char and was available in Toronto. Happy Times, right? Not quite.

Next up, I received a series of communications from the Toronto Vegetarian Association. They had made enquiries on my behalf to each of the big three. Additionally, they provided me with information that confirmed not only that Rogers used bone char, but Lantic used it as well. Either the Rogers rep is misinformed or Lantic’s own website (where the information is clearly laid out in black and white) is inaccurate. The fun didn’t stop there.

I decided to take a closer look at the many-layered Canadian Sugar Institute site. Lo and behold, buried deep in a Q & A section I happened upon a startling bit of misinformation.

In the section titled Nutritional Information Service, subsection, From Field to Table, sub-subsection Sugar Production, there is a question and answer that appears as follows (emphasis mine):

Are animal products used in the sugar filtering process?
No. All sugar sold in Canada must be purified through a series of steps, including filtering, before it is packaged and distributed. Beet sugar is filtered through diatomaceous earth; whereas resins are used in cane sugar refining; both of which are not of animal origin.

Excuse me? did I just read an emphatic answer of no to the question of whether animal products are used in the sugar filtering process in Canada? Since when is bone char, made from the crushed bones of cows, not of animal origin? Knowing their statement to be an absolute falsehood I wrote to The Canadian Sugar Institute to let them know about their error. We’ve already found evidence indicating that two of the big three Canadian sugar companies use bone char - this is certain (as of this writing I cannot attest to the bone char status of the third company, Redpath, but will update when I confirm). Just sloppiness?

People look to entities such as The Canadian Sugar Institute as an authority on the subject and here they are presenting false information. Indeed, when I visited the Redpath sugar site, at the bottom of their Sugar FAQ section they encourage visitors seeking more information to visit The Canadian Sugar Institute site. Point made.

As of this writing I have received no response from the Canadian Sugar Institute and their site stands as it was.

April 21 - Update: I’m very happy to report that Toronto based Redpath Sugar responded to my enquiry with excellent news - they do NOT use bone char in their refining process, opting instead to use more modern methods.

April 24 - Update: The Canadian Sugar Institute addressed my enquiry about their website content today. This is what they wrote:

Thank you for contacting the Canadian Sugar Institute with your comments regarding an inaccurate statement on our website. While it is true that resins are now the most widely used filtering agent for sugar cane refining in Canada, you are correct that Rogers Sugar does in fact use bone char (an animal product) in its Vancouver refinery as part of the filtering process. Redpath Sugar and Lantic Sugar do not use bone char.

The accuracy of the information given to the public is taken very seriously at the Canadian Sugar Institute. Please be assured that this misinformation was an oversight on our part and that it was not our intent to mislead the public on this issue. We intend to clarify this issue by correcting the information on the website as quickly as possible.

It is important to note as well that while bone char can be used in the filtering process of sugar cane, sugar is a natural plant product and no residues from bone char will remain in the final purified sugar. There is no animal material present in the sugar that we consume.

Thank you again for your helpful comments.

I’m very pleased with their response - bravo to them for taking the steps to correct their mistake.

The information they provided in their response regarding Lantic’s non-bone char status conflicts with Lantic’s website (which indicates that they DO use bone char). This may be due to the fact that Rogers now owns Lantic and the Lantic site is merely a reflection of the Rogers site (Rogers USES bone char). On closer inspection of the Rogers and Lantic sites one can see that their FAQ sections are in fact identical (including question #5 which makes reference to the use of bone char).

I believe that The Canadian Sugar Institute is being truthful in their response to me despite what Lantic’s site is saying about itself. This would indicate that Lantic is bone char free along with Redpath.

So yay for Redpath and Lantic and boo on Rogers.

I saw a truly heartbreaking story on the news today. A transport truck carrying steer to the slaughterhouse overturned on the highway just outside of Toronto early this morning. Four of the steer escaped from the overturned truck after the accident and made their way to a residential area. More than 20 police officers, animal control workers and farmers were involved in rounding up the terrified animals.

Three of the steer were successfully rounded up from residents’ backyards. The fourth bounded from one driveway to another, terrified, while police jumped at it and news cameras rolled. Then the police decided they’d had enough and opened fire on the terrified animal. A hail of bullets can be heard on camera. One resident said that the cow just stood there and looked back at the officers who were shooting it and that it took a long time for it to fall down. She said that it was a very sad sight and felt that the cow could have been corralled in a backyard if they had given it some more time. Why didn’t they shoot it with tranquilizers? They apparently had considered this option but decided to use lethal force after it knocked a camera over.

Is it pointless to get so upset over the killing of an animal that was on its way to be killed anyway? I don’t think it is. The image of that terrified animal looking straight into the eyes of those who were killing it as it was being shot haunts me. Maybe it’s better that it met its end out in the open, publicly, in that way, rather than behind the closed doors of the slaughterhouse. Maybe it will make some people think. Maybe.

You may have noticed a link to GoodSearch near the top left of this blog. GoodSearch is an internet search engine, powered by Yahoo!, which donates 50% of its revenue to the charity of your choice. You use GoodSearch exactly as you’d use Google, Yahoo! or any other search engine. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from ad revenue. When you use Google or other search engines, all that revenue goes into their pockets. Use GoodSearch and 50% of those same profits go into the your favourite charity’s pockets instead. I GoodSearch for Farm Sanctuary.

GoodSearch has also expanded to include GoodShop, an online shopping mecca of big names like eBay, Best Buy, Amazon.com and iTunes to name a few. If you intend to do some shopping at any of these places simply enter through the GoodShop portal and donations ranging from 3% to 20% of your purchases will again go to the charity of your choice.

You search the internet anyway so why not do some effortless good while you search? Sounds great right? So spread the word. Here are some suggestions:

• Make GoodSearch your home page in your internet browser.

• Add a signature to your email - mine looks like this: I GoodSearch for Farm Sanctuary. Raise money for your favorite charity just by searching the Internet with GoodSearch - www.goodsearch.com - powered by Yahoo!

• On Facebook? Join the GoodSearch group, fan page, and add the GoodSearch application.

• Have a website? Add a link to GoodSearch or include one of the banners or buttons they make available for this purpose here.

*Tip - if you shed your cookies often, as I do, you’ll need to reset your charity each time which can become annoying. To overcome this, link to GoodSearch with the following direct link, which includes your Charity ID and bypasses the cookie: http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=xxxx (replace “xxxx” with the Charity ID located on the Amount Raised page for your charity).

Happy GoodSearching!

I’m always chuffed when I discover a great new product that is environmentally friendly, sustainable, and cruelty-free - so I was thrilled to discover Smudgepot. Smudgepot was started by Michelle Palmer, a Toronto-based esthetician and make-up artist. Michelle developed the line of skincare products with the desire to create something that was completely vegan-friendly and chemical free. The products, which address the needs of varying skin types, are made in small batches using fresh, quality ingredients, free from synthetic dyes and perfumes. The medley of essential oils make each product smell fantastic. With an eye towards the environment, Michelle has also made an effort to keep packaging to a minimum and encourages people to either recycle or reuse. I always appreciate the fine look of things and, since we’re on the topic, Smudgepot’s packaging is beautifully simple - a synthesis of aluminum and glass that looks fabulous on my shelf.

If you do Facebook, Michelle started a Smudgepot group page and fan page to promote the brand and get feedback. She welcomes questions and feedback and is as knowledgeable on the topic of skincare as she is generous with her time. She happily advised me in my quest to find something suitable for my problem skin (super oily, yet thirsty and ultra-sensitive). Oh, did I mention it’s Canadian made? Extra bonus.

You can find Smudgepot in Toronto at Heart on Your Sleeve and online at YourMomma.

I have often expressed the desire to write more regularly and with more focus. Enter Jason Doucette and his Taste Better! newsletter with the challenge therein to start a veg-focused blog. Since this was one of the ideas I had already been considering I jumped at the idea. Activism, advocacy, animal rights, sustainability, the environment, food, and all things veg-friendly are important to me so I’m looking forward to rising to this challenge. Will consider over ginger tea.