Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 194

forks over knives

Forks Over Knives is a documentary to be released March 11 2011 about how plant-based diets can reverse common diseases like heart disease and diabetes. If you live in Los Angeles you can attend a pre-screening at Graumann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood on November 11th. RSVP here. There are also other pre-screenings happening all over the country.

The Facebook fan page for Forks Over Knives has more information about the film and upcoming screenings. Check out the preview above and let me know what you think!

ubuntu in napa

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Ubuntu is a vegetarian restaurant that I went to a little over a year ago during the summer. I can't believe I haven't written about it yet - if you are anywhere near this place you must go!

They have yoga classes above the restaurant which we took. It was a nice yoga class. The restaurant is just so special it's an event! The food is like eating art - it's such an experience.

The space is aesthetically beautiful and the art is pretty - it's got a truly upscale sexy sophisticated vibe. Everyone needs to go there at least once in their lifetime. Napa is known for food and Ubuntu fits nicely into the whole food experience of Napa. Just know that it is vegetarian not vegan - but so vegan friendly. The stars on the menu indicate which items can be made vegan.

Here's everything I loved:

A big dish of olives - I saw someone with it and it looked so good
The cool garden green and lemongrass soup was really nice
Assorted french beans with kadota fig without parmesan was incredible
Chickpea clusters in Napa Smith Ale batter
The carta da musica with virtually the entire summer garden got it vegan was amazing
Heirloom onions in their natural roasting juices - sweet & sour and amazing!
We also had dessert which was really delicious but I can't remember what we had!

Where do you go when you want a special dining experience?

fascinating documentary about new york

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I just finished the 7-part 14.5-hour documentary series New York by PBS home video directed by Ric Burns. I started watching it with my husband when I was in New York doing a play. We found it in January and watched a little at a time.
 
I took kind of a long break after watching the first four DVDs in January and watched four more just now. Anywho I just finished the series and it was so great! I learned so much and I think it's a very important series to see.
 
It starts by showing how New York was "discovered" by Henry Hudson an Englishman employed by the Dutch. Back then it was all hills and wild & beautiful countryside. The series shows how it was gradually flattened into the grid you see in New York today.
 
There were really inspiring moments throughout as well as some that made me so mad…all the way up to the world trade center coming down which made me cry.
 
The draft riots in the 1800s were disgusting and very upsetting as was the tragedy of the women who threw themselves out of the triangle building in 1911. The women who then fought and went on strike were so brave to stand up against an unjust labor system.
 
The redlining of buildings in the 1930s was deplorable and segregated the city providing no opportunities for Blacks or Jews to grow or strive for economic parity. Interestingly rap was born out of the Brooklyn slums that were created by the practice of redlining.
 
New York also covered the great accomplishments of President Abraham Lincoln and the politician Al Smith who seemed like such a caring mayor! The builder Robert Moses was an extraordinary engineer but the way he planned and created New York's highways bridges and tunnels ruined neighborhoods and separated communities.
 
An amazing event that happened in 1974 was Phillippe Petit's tightrope walk between the two world trade towers there is an incredible documentary about this called Man On Wire. It was amazing and insane – New York covers this and so many other incredible events that have shaped the city and American culture.
 
I highly recommend this film to anyone interested in America the story of Americans and history in general. It is very powerful and inspiring! You can find out more about the series here and it is also available on Netflix.

Have you seen any great documentaries lately?

urban farming

I heard about the charity Urban Farming from my Vamps co-star Richard Lewis wife and wanted to share! Urban Farming is based in Detroit but they work in communities throughout America planting food in unused land for neighborhoods to enjoy. Urban Farming encourages donations to food banks and they also work with schools where they teach about green farming and "green-collar" jobs. FYI A green collar job is a job that pays decent wages and has benefits that can support a family. It also has to be part of a real career path with upward mobility and it needs to reduce waste and pollution and benefit the environment.

If you'd like to find out more about Urban Farming and get involved as a volunteer you can register here.

Do you live near an urban farm or similar organization?

follow up on conklin dairy

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Like everybody who commented on my earlier post about the abuses at Conklin Dairy I am beyond disturbed by what passes for acceptable conditions at dairies and other farms where animals are raised for slaughter.

I recently learned that the main perpetrator of the abuse Billy Joe Gregg  pleaded guilty on Sep. 27. He was sentenced to serve 8 months in prison of which he will likely serve only four. He is also banned from contact with animals for three years.

As I mentioned in my earlier post you can sign a petition at change.org to demand that the dairy farm be completely shut down and that Conklin's crew be arrested and charged with animal abuse. The petition will be sent to local and state representatives and you can also track progress on this issue at Ohio Humane as well.
 
If you would like to boycott Conklin Dairy the surest way to do so is to avoid dairy altogether see chapter three of The Kind Diet about why dairy is bad not just for the animals but for your body as well. However if you eat dairy or feed it to your family you'll want to buy organic dairy products which Conklin Dairy does not produce. Or get to know the organic farmers at your local farmers market so you can personally understand where your dairy is coming from. But I have to emphasize again that there is no way dairy is cruelty free even when buying organic so the safest way to boycott animal abuse is to avoid dairy completely - see my blog about organic dairy to learn more.
 
I also wanted to follow up on the Conklin Dairy story in a broader way to let you know what you can do to help even if you do not live in Ohio. Congresswoman Diane Watson D-CA has introduced a bill called the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act HR 4733 that would  prohibit the  government from purchasing any animal products from animals raised in crates or cages that prevent animals from standing up lying down or turning around. If passed it would affect millions of animals who suffer inhumane treatment. This would also ensure that school children are not exposed to meat derived from "downers" or sick animals that are let into the food supply. This federal bill is similar to California's Proposition 2 which passed in 2008. Expanding California's regulations on a national level would be a step in the right direction for animal rights across the country.
 
States currently considering animal rights legislation are Hawaii Massachusetts New Jersey New York and Rhode Island. To see what you can do to get these laws passed on a state level across the country go to Farm Sanctuary.
 
It makes me sad and sick to have to ask for such things for these animals. We shouldn't have to fight for them to be in slightly bigger cages or boxes…it's very sad that we have to fight for every little centimeter of space for them. But while this abusive system persists we must fight for them to have a tad less suffering during their mostly miserable lives.
 
So to support this bill which is far from perfect but still signifies progress toward ending animal abuse you can call or email your federal representative. Please if you have the time calling and emailing is best. Farm Sanctuary provides a nice email form letter here. Remember that if you personalize your letter your representative will be more likely to read and remember it!

As of June 18 2010 the bill was referred to the House Subcommittee on Livestock Dairy and Poultry. If you like you can find out who sits on this subcommittee here and contact them too.
 
Slowly but surely we are getting there.

I pray that before I die I'll see a day where eating animals will be viewed as some strange and archaic habit of the past and that everyone will have long ago realized how damaging it was to our bodies our planet and the creatures we share it with.
 
I hope to at least see a future where if anyone does still derive food from animals it's in a world where factory farms have been replaced by small family farms; where animals are raised with compassion as living creatures that we treat with respect during the time the farmer lets them live instead of discarding like inanimate products. I'd love to see a day when no animals are killed but if they must be let it be done with humanity and reverence in a place where they feel at home by a farmer who has a personal connection and an emotional understanding of the grim duty he chooses to perform.
 
Hey a girl can dream no?

Let's all do everything we can to make this dream a reality!

why organic dairy is still nasty...

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Unfortunately the dairy industry's answer to complaints about treatment of dairy cows and the quality of regular dairy products is to offer "organic" products that are actually produced just like regular dairy.

According to Change.org big agriculture has moved in on the organic dairy market and these big companies don't always follow the rules. Not only are factory-style organic dairy farms threatening smaller farmers they have a track record of violating laws concerning organic dairies while lobbying for looser enforcement of these laws. Aurora Dairy/Horizon Organic owned by Dean Foods is one large organic-certified farm that got caught violating 14 organic dairy laws including confining their animals and denying them grazing. The Bush administration's punishment for Aurora Dairy's violations was a mild one year probation.

Organic dairy regulations require farmers to comply by rules such as:

All feed must be organic
Animals must have unrestricted access to pasture
No antibiotics or hormones are allowed with the exception that sick animals must be treated as needed and removed from the herd

These regulations reduce but do not eliminate the cruelty involved in dairy production. Here is some information Farm Sanctuary gave to me about why most organic dairy is far from cruelty-free:
 
"Cow's milk can never be obtained without immense cruelty. Dairy cows are forcibly impregnated on what the industry calls the "rape rack" every year. Immediately after giving birth the mother cow has her calf dragged away from her so that he or she does not drink her milk. The mother cow shows clear signs of mourning her loss including bellowing hiding in dark places not eating or drinking pacing and more. If the calf is male he is immediately chained by the neck in a 2-ft wide crate so small that he can't turn around stretch his limbs or lie down comfortably. There he spends his entire short life being fed an anemic diet just to be slaughtered at only a few months of age for veal. If the calf is female she is raised to be a dairy cow like her mother.
 
Immediately after losing her baby the mother cow is hooked up to metal milk machines 3 times a day and forced to produce ten times more milk each day than she would in nature. Just 2 to 3 months after giving birth she is re-impregnated. While in nature a cow would live to 20 years cows on modern farms are slaughtered at just 3 or 4 years of age to become cheap hamburger meat. More information about the routine abuses of the dairy industry is available at the Farm Sanctuary website.
 
In addition the standards regulating the treatment of "organic" dairies are extremely weak and many animal protection consumer advocacy environmental protection and public health organizations have argued that the animals in large organic farms face the same conditions as those on non-organic factory farms. Investigations at farms owned by some of the largest organic dairy companies like Horizon Organic have verified this. More information about the truth behind "organic" and other "humane" food labels is available in this article."
 
On top of this we know that cow's milk organic or not is unhealthy for humans! Even if you know where your dairy comes from and think that it is cruelty-free there are many reasons why dairy consumption is unhealthy. Many people have trouble digesting cow's milk and consumption of dairy has been linked to obesity and cancer. In chapter 3 of The Kind Diet I discuss the health problems associated with consuming dairy in more detail. Buying yummy milk alternatives like soy rice cashew almond hemp hazelnut coconut or oat milk is the best way to avoid the immense cruelty involved in the dairy industry. There are so many options with varied flavors health benefits and price points you won't miss dairy once you kick the habit of consuming it.

To fight against big agriculture's lobbyists and help to strengthen organic dairy standards you can go here. Again I do not recommend consuming dairy at all but in a world where many people do we want to make sure dairy cows are treated as well as possible.

my thoughts on beeswax...

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Ok so here is my opinion on beeswax…I try hard not to use it and would rather that no one use it.
 
Bees are smarter than we think and have a lot going on in their nervous systems. Like many animals bees have a very good sense of sight smell and communication. According to University of Arizona's agricultural department bees can see six "groups" of colors including ultraviolet a color that humans can't see. They can also smell each other's pheremones and rely on smell to signal danger as well as to identify who is part of their hives. They use their antennae to sense the space around them which comes in handy when they are building comb. Bees experience life do what they can to avoid pain and harm and go after things that they want! Yes they are bees but they are creatures that deserve their natural god-given right to life... and they are the most gifted pollinators!

Beekeepers truck nearly 2.4 million hives all over the country to track seasonal crops. This stresses the bees out and bombards them with pesticides and diseases that are present at the different locations where the trucks stop en route. Beekeepers also go to nasty extremes to keep colonies going.  They will replace honey what bees eat with corn-syrup or refined sugar. Access to only a single food source weakens bees' immune systems. In fact studies show that bees who pollinate 5 crops have stronger immune systems than bees who pollinate just one crop or subsist on just one type of nutrient. Beekeepers will also cut off the Queen bee's wings keep her in a cage to stay away from a hostile hive Queen bees are often transplanted to foreign hives from their home hives or kill her off when egg production slows. And they will often use smoke to force the bees out of their hives.  

In 2006 millions of bees across the country vanished from their hives. There is a great PBS documentary about this that researches why and what happened. You can check it out here. The whole deal is just not at all friendly - the bees are kept constantly working and not living their bee lives as they would if they remained undisturbed.   

All that said I do need to give a disclaimer here. I would personally rather support a natural skin care line that has beeswax in it than a company that is vegan but uses tons of chemicals. That's just my personal feeling. You have to remember that these chemicals we see in so many products on the market are hurting the planet hurting us and hurting animals as well by destroying their habitats. The more we support natural products the less damage we do to the environment to ourselves and to animals.  

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Of course I prefer that a beauty product line be as natural as can be and be vegan and free of beeswax...but sometimes a pretty great line will have one or two ingredients that are less than ideal i.e. carmine or beeswax…both not nice…. Now we can write letters to them and ask them why they use these ingredients and ask them to use something else instead. Maybe they've never tried to do it another way and with your help will consider alternatives. Either way it's always good to be an engaged consumer.

In the end it's all about finding the best possible solution under all given circumstances. I will continue to search for the perfect solution and appreciate the best ones or the best-for-now ones in the meantime. This is why some of the products I have listed around the website have beeswax in them or insects – because they are the "best for now" options. And to be honest I had gotten so excited about all natural and lanolin-free stuff out there that I forgot to check the insect/beeswax factor so thank you community for reminding me. I have tons of respect for insects and definitely don't want to use or harm them unnecessarily.
 
A word about organic beeswax – regulations are not well defined and because bees often forage 1-2 miles from their hives it is hard to control their contact with pesticides. Companies producing organic beeswax do claim that they keep their bees away from chemicals or pesticides. But as far as the bees are concerned the "organic" label does not address practices that are hurtful to the bees – only practices that would be potentially harmful to humans e.g. exposure to pesticides and chemicals. That's an important distinction to keep in mind whenever assessing natural or organic products.
 
Of course there is so much more for me to learn on this subject – but this is where I sit with the info I have now. Stay tuned as I learn more and please share any insights you have here!

my ballot...

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Did you Kind Lifers manage to squeeze in some election research homework in between your Halloween festivities this weekend? I spent some time on Sunday checking out all the resources I talked about in my last blog about this year's election and here's what I learned: There is a lot of really fascinating information out there… and there's also a lot of super-boring information that made my head hurt. But hey that's democracy for ya.
 
First I looked at the candidates. The Easy Voter guide gave me a quick overview of each candidate and what their general positions are. Then I searched C-Span and Youtube for debates and speaking appearances no commercials!. It's important to listen to where candidates stand on the issues but also to remember that they're people too – and sometimes if you get a bad feeling about someone you gotta trust your gut. I found some really impressive candidates out there… and a few who were just a wee bit too slick and salesman-like for me.
 
For the Propositions I once again consulted the Easy Voter Guide and then also watched those helpful Center for Governmental Studies videos. They enabled me to get a handle on most of the issues but for a few that I was still on the fence about I consulted The Courage Campaign.  Courage Campaign also has a voter guide but this one tends to look at candidates and issues from a more progressive viewpoint which turned out to be very helpful in making sense of some of the more confusing prop measures.
 
OK now can we talk about judges for a minute? What on earth are we doing voting for judges when there is literally NO information about them anywhere?!?!? It's crazy-making!!! I feel like we might as well just pick names out of a hat. I looked high and low to find some info that would help inform my choice but I'm sad to report that I couldn't find any. If any of you Kind Lifers have good resources on how we can pull the lever or punch the ballot tomorrow for judges that are kind wise and compassionate please share! And if you have that info specifically for Californians please email it to me so I can use it myself!
 
Anyway after all that self-educating here is how I decided to vote tomorrow:

Governor – Jerry Brown
Lieutenant Governor – Gavin Newsom
Attorney General - Kamala Harris
Senator – Barbara Boxer
U.S. Representative – Henry Waxman
CA State Assembly – Mike Feuer


Prop 19 – Yes
Prop 20 – No
Prop 21 – Yes
Prop 22 – No
Prop 23 – No
Prop 24 – Yes
Prop 25 - Yes
Prop 26 – No
Prop 27 – Yes

Now please know that these are just my choices – and obviously they may be of less interest to those outside California. But feel free to share yours. However if you do remember that this is a place for open minds to educate and inform so do it kindly!

the continuum concept

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I recently read this wonderful book called The Continuum Concept - In Search of Happiness Lost by Jean Liedloff. The book focuses on babies and child-rearing but it is not just for pregnancy - it's also a super interesting examination of people and society and what the traditional Western upbringing has done to us. It is an absolute must read!!!!!
 
I had a hard time getting into it at first but I knew what it was about so I forced myself to continue. It ended up being an absolutely great read. I wish every mother- and father-to-be would read this but especially moms. The concepts in this book will save you stress and money on all the "things" people think they need for kids. It will save you time and energy and make your life and your child's life so much better. I'm so glad I finally read this book. I'm getting around to all my old reading now and it's so nice! Please  read this book if you haven't - you can get it on Amazon and there is a great website about it too.
 
What pregnancy or child-rearing books do you love?

kat and her family embrace the kind diet!

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Kind Lifer Kat recently sent me the story of her own and her family's transition to a kinder diet and shared how great it made them all feel!

"Feeling unwell for most of my life I searched for a cure. When I came across The Kind Diet I knew I had found what I was looking for. I immediately changed my diet and realized that food is medicine! I cut back on sugar although I do fall off the wagon from time to time; I gave up meat and dairy and I started to feel like a new person! I have two little kids and a husband who have been following the same diet as me. To my surprise my husband actually loves it! When we met he was quite the cook...pistachio crusted lamb filet mignon stuffed chicken...you get the idea. I didn't think he would ever give up meat but he did and he even got a really great life insurance rate because his blood work came back immaculate. His cholesterol and blood pressure were low too! Proof is in the pudding and we could never go back to eating the way we did nor do we want to! Vegan food is some of the yummiest food ever. I started my blog to share ideas and recipes and I wanted to show people how easy it can be to eat healthy and feel great. After only a few months on "The Kind Diet" I lost stubborn baby weight felt great and was completely inspired. There was no portion control or crunches either! I ate as much as I wanted and I lost enough weight to fit into my skinny jeans! My goal for the future is to continue my vegan diet and start incorporating more exercise into my routine yoga walking and to keep spreading the word. I wish everyone knew how great "The Kind Diet" is! I love Alicia's book because it isn't forceful or overwhelming. It's simple informative and oh so kind. Alicia made me feel that this isn't a diet for radicals but that it's for everyone who wants to feel good and do good. Thanks for the gentle push in the right direction and for changing my world!"

Yay Kat!

Kat also blogs about her experience here.

If you have a success story you'd like to share send it to me or post it in the forum and "like" it. I may publish it on The Kind Life homepage!