Tongue-out Tuesday!
Greetings fellow passengers on the rollercoaster from hell that has been 2020. I hope you’re all finding peace when you can. I got to (carefully) see my mom and her friend Douglas (pictured above) yesterday, so my week is off to a relatively wonderful start. 👅
NEW AT TENDERLY
Jack writes: “The world has been moving so fast lately that it can be difficult to remember something that happened last week, let alone three months ago. But it would be a huge mistake for us to memory-hole what is certain to have been one of the most remarkable, important, and game-changing events of this year (for cats), just because our attention spans aren’t quite what they used to be.” And so, it is VERY important for us all to remember the Cat Who Crawled Into a Priest’s Cassock
Evan Shamoon interviewed relentless advocate for the animals and photographer Jo-Anne McArthur on how she tries to foster positive change while maintaining emotional wellbeing — always a learning process! She says:
There’s a tremendous amount of pain in the world. Every day, I do the best I can do to mitigate that. The easiest thing I can do every single day is to be vegan. I can additionally help animals through my work as a documentary photographer. Some days I can do quite a bit, and other days not so much. But I continue to do my best. And, despite it all, I must maintain a sense of humor. Life is fleeting; I want to — and do! — enjoy it while I’m here.
I wrote about why I think shaming Miley Cyrus for leaving veganism is counterproductive for animal activists. TLDR: Being cruel and judgemental about veganism (as well as making jokes about drug addiction) impacts new vegans, the vegan curious, and ultimately the animals themselves far more than it impacts Cyrus.
Bring on Autumn with Alicia’s beautiful and warmly delicious special hazelnut cake — best accompanied by your favorite denim jacket on a trip to the park.
New rule, courtesy of What I’ve Learned in 7 Years as a Vegan:
You must not engage in a conversation about veganism while eating at a table with non-vegans. Nobody likes to hear about pooping at the lunch table, right? Similarly, pointing out which animal had to die or suffer while the person in front of you tries to enjoy their steak isn’t going to work. What are they supposed to do? Stop eating? Or become slightly mad that you’ve ruined their meal? Try talking about the topic in a different context (even if you are actively asked about it while eating together).
Arabella is the queen of incredibly simple recipes this week: a vegan magic shell for fancy ice cream or dipped berries, and an egg-free fresh pasta recipe that will instantly upgrade Italian night. And there’s more! Alexandra shared five more super-simple recipes that will save waste and a trip to the store — from general cleaner to creamy homemade oat milk!
PROFITS OVER PEOPLE
In unsurprising but infuriating news: Corporate oligarchs appear to have essentially drafted the federal government’s order that overrode worker protections and state health departments, ensuring the literal death of their workers and those workers loved ones.
In the Texas Panhandle, refugees and other workers at plants have been struggling with outbreaks for months, with employees saying “everybody” is getting sick. In Kansas, meatpacking plants are the center of the epidemic. And meanwhile, as ProPublica reports:
In June, the Bear River Health Department in northern Utah, where nearly 400 JBS workers have tested positive for COVID-19, told the press it couldn’t shut the plant down because of the executive order.
In Virginia, state health officials had initially recommended that poultry companies close their plants for two weeks, “allowing deep cleaning and allowing symptomatic and asymptomatic infected workers to run their course of disease and recover,” records obtained under a separate public records request show. But the state backed off “to maintain the critical food production infrastructure.”
It’s hard to see how anyone with an ethical backbone could defend supporting these corporations.
Further recommended reading on Tenderly on the constant exploitation of slaughterhouse workers:
“Few moments could have better captured who matters in this country, and who is condemned to annihilation, than Donald Trump’s demand that meat packers go back to work. Perhaps one salve of Trump’s presidency, if it can be called one, is that it has discredited specious nonsense about the unstoppable march of liberal progress. Trump’s groveling personality cult amid his blustering failures and unconcealed violence has shown that the fascist impulse is never far beneath the surface — and as those of us in animal liberation know, it has been there all along.” —Marina Bolotnikova, “Animal Agriculture Is a Mirror Image of Trump’s America”
“The workers who slaughter these animals, most of them undocumented immigrants who were already incredibly exploited, now carry the added burden of working at facilities that have become a hotbed of coronavirus infections, a pandemic within the pandemic that is disproportionately impacting latinos. The pandemic has also dried up commercial supply chains, forcing many pork producers to exterminate thousands of animals en masse — including a method, uncovered by an investigation by The Intercept, in which airways to the pig barns are sealed and then inserted with heat, causing a slow roasting and suffocation of the pigs inside which can take several hours.” — Summer Anne Burton, “Pigs and Bears Want the Same Thing”
“I thought of the families in the rooms surrounding our rented apartment. Ours mirrored the others: a single room, one small toilet, and a lonely barred window which overlooked the killing floor. Every night, the residents must endure the screams of dying animals and the unmistakable thud of the metal bar slamming against the animals’ heads. The first sight in the morning when they glance from their window is the bloody stain from the slaughter the night before.” — Amy Jones, “I Don’t Blame the Men Who Bludgeoned Pigs to Death in Front of Me”
“Vegan advocacy organizations and food media publications, however, remained mostly silent despite sharing deep ties to issues of immigrants rights, food justice and animal liberation. Vegans and labor activists share similar goals for incremental improvements at factory farms, like reduced line speeds and more sanitary conditions, but too often the protection of farmed animals has resulted in the criminalization of individual workers who make easy targets in cases of animal cruelty. Meanwhile, the industry remains unscathed, owners continue to accumulate power, and the larger system that oppresses immigrants, women of color, poor people, queer and trans people, and treats animals as disposable objects, goes unchanged.” — Leah Kirts, “The Exploitation of Factory Farms Doesn’t Stop at Animals”
“If one cares about the fight against coronavirus, one must boycott the flesh of animals. When you eat meat, you are funding half of the nation’s coronavirus hotspots. You are voting with your dollar, and casting your vote for COVID-19. It’s time to instead vote for the health of this nation and the lives of others. To quote Billy Williams, an employee of Tyson Foods: ‘I’d rather have somebody go without their bacon and have my coworkers alive.’” — Macken Murphy, “Humans to the Slaughter”
WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT TONIGHT?
Golumpki-Style Stuffed Cabbage Fried Rice from Lee Kalpakis
This unique dish was inspired by the traditional Polish stuffed cabbage that Lee grew up loving. For those of us less adept than her babcia at stuffing cabbage, she has simplified the spirit of Golumpki into an approachable fried-rice dinner. This recipe is perfect if you have leftover rice on hand right now that you’re wondering what to do with. You’ll also need a head of cabbage, fresh dill, and a few other items, but with cooked rice this comes together in less than 30 minutes. Enjoy!
TENDERLY REC ROOM
“As kitchen splurges go, I am not sure I’ve ever felt as confident recommending something to my fellow enthusiastic and frequent home cooks as I do this donabe smoker. It is not cheap — at $324 — and I recognize the privilege of this luxury. But if you can swing it, I can’t gush enough about this pot. You can use it to make delicious rice with a crispy bottom, all kinds of veg, or use as a broth hot pot for the table, but my favorite use is for smoking decadent mushrooms that go perfectly on rice, pizza, tacos, toast, you name it. You can also smoke tofu, veg, tempeh, vegan cheese, or — as I did recently for a distanced backyard movie night, veggie hot dogs.” — Summer Anne
“On my quest for the perfect vegan chocolate bar, I have honestly tried so many misses and only a few hits. See, I don’t love super dark chocolate and I have struggled so much with finding a good chocolate bar that I really like and can enjoy on its own. Recently, I was inspired by Alicia Kennedy’s ode to Raaka’s Coconut Milk chocolate bar to try Raaka’s Oat Milk chocolate bar. The Oat Milk bar totally lives up to Raaka’s previous successes with just enough fat and sweetness to balance out the natural fruity notes from the cacao. If you’ve been looking for a good vegan chocolate bar, this one is a must try!” — Arabella
“Not vegan related in any way, shape, or form, but I know we all need more small joy in our lives right now so: I have been really enjoying the new Apple TV series Ted Lasso, created by and starring Jason Sudeikis as an American football coach who goes to London to coach European football (soccer). It’s a perfect show for people like me who can’t stand a series that’s funny without any heart or characters to root for. This show is all rooting and all heart — and yet it’s also actually funny. Additionally, it’s pretty family friendly, so it could be enjoyed with older kids or conservative parents.” — Summer Anne
“Vegan tacos are an essential meal for me so reading about the wonder of vegan tacos in the New York Times this week brought me so much joy. While this article focuses on the veg taco scene in Los Angeles, you should know that you can find delicious vegan tacos anywhere, including in your own kitchen! If you want to start simple, I recommend getting (or making!!!) fresh corn tortillas and seitan, and then adding your fave toppings and veggies from there.” — Arabella
In closing, look at this disgusting (but delicious) heirloom tomato I received this week:
If you need ideas for using delicious tomatoes while they’re still wonderfully in season, here’s last year’s 42 Ways to Eat a Tomato. 🍅🍅🍅
Sweet dreams,
Summer Anne Burton, Editor-in-Chief of Tenderly
