Paul Shapiro’s here with all the news you can use! This week: LET’S DO THIS, MASSACHUSETTS!!! Take it away, Paul:
With only 18 days before the election, the ad wars are heating up in Massachusetts, with both sides of Question 3 airing competing TV ads. The opposition just got a quarter million dollar cash infusion from the National Pork Producers Council and an agribusiness/oil tycoon—the fight is on. The Boston Globe’s got the story.
The YES campaign is picking up all types of support, including from the Boston Globe, the MA Attorney General, Sia, and more. And there’ve been more public debates on the ballot measure in the past week than I care to recall!
The egg industry’s still up to its old tricks of misleading consumers with false packaging. HSUS is on it, filing a federal complaint this week over one particularly egregious egg carton.
YES on 3 or bust!
Your friend and a friend to animals and also everyone, Paul Shapiro
If you thought plant-based protein was hot, it’s now a raging fire. Tyson Foods, the largest meat producer, invested millions this week in Beyond Meat, a company HSUS is also invested in. A new piece in Wired argues that these kinds of alternative companies will help save the world, a topic my friend and coworker Kristie Middleton wrote about this week, too.
The Massachusetts Question 3 campaign also heated up this week, including an appearance by a WWE champion! The cage-free crusade is in full swing in the North America, and now McDonald’s in Latin America just announced with Humane Society International that it too is going all cage-free.
Beyond cages, are you wondering what the next frontier is for the farm animal movement? HSUS’s Matt Prescott puts it simply: “broilers or bust.”
Finally, the United Nations’ World Food Day is coming up this weekend. I offer some thoughts on how best to celebrate in a new HuffPost piece. (Hint: it involves plants.)
The Impossible Burger, the super extra meaty bloody burger that’s sweeping the nation (and our Instagram feed!), will be available on the West Coast starting on October 13! And while some vegans might complain about it being ~too meaty~, let me just say this: 1. Dude, this isn’t for you, then! This is for people who eat meat! So they’ll eat less meat! How dope is that?! and 2. SPEAK FOR YOURSELF THE MEATIER THE BETTER YUM YUM GIMME SOME. Sorry, but I’m not vegan because I hate the taste of meat. I’m vegan because I don’t want to contribute to the suffering and torture of animals and also, vegan food is hella delicious. ANYWAY!
It will debut in Los Angeles at Crossroads Kitchen, and in San Francisco at Jardinière and Cockscomb. It’ll be first come, first served. (Please note: It’s previously only been available at Momofuku Nishi in NYC and sells out routinely; you’ve been warned!)
Here’s when and where to get in line:
Jardinière – Served every day after 7:30pm in the bar and lounge.
Chef Traci Des Jardins will pair the burger with caramelized onion, avocado, special sauce and a side of pommes frites (that’s fancy for French fries) (Which is fancy for fries): $16
Hold the gruyere and get the burger with caramelized onions, lettuce, grandma Helen’s pickles, dijon and mixed greens, courtesy of Chef Chris Cosentino. (Ed.: Wait, isn’t that the little whiny baby chef who hates vegans!? Hmmm… Well, I guess it’s tight that he’s onboard! To the victors (vegans) go the spoils (Chris)!)
Chef Tal Ronnen, the mastermind behind Crossroads Kitchen in LA, is planning to serve the burger SoCal fast-food style, with lettuce, tomato, pickles and a custom Crossroads sauce. Plus truffle fries!
Additional restaurant locations are expected later this year, so get ready! And more good news: Impossible Foods has other products in the works, including dairy and fish alternatives! Yowza!
As for what the hell in the extremely meaty burger, well, we’ve got your back. Dang, Vegansaurus has the inside SCOOP! Feast your eyes on the ingredients, which include “fat tissue” and “flavor broth”! Let’s crack that code!!
Thanks to Krista Maloney for attending the west coast launch for Vegansaurus and taking all these amazing photos! You’re the best, lady!!!
Los Angeles! Vegan Oktoberfest is THIS Saturday so you gotta get your tickets if you want to eat all the vegan food and drink all the vegan beer. And you do! You do want to do those things!! It’s a really special event because there’s ~delicious~ vegan food and beverages that you can only get at the event so AGAIN, I strongly encourage you to check out their website and get those tickets before it sells out and then come get fat and drunk with us on Saturday!!
