After working with HSUS, a school district outside of Austin, Texas, was one of many to implement Meatless Mondays this fall. While parents and students seemed pretty psyched about it, Texas Ag Commissioner Todd Staples — whose political campaign was bankrolled by the meat industry — didn’t exactly share their enthusiasm. He even penned a rant against the school district in the Austin American-Statesman this week. Today, the paper’s editorial board published an editorial of its own simply crushing that rant, noting that, “the near-comic rhetoric of Staples’ commentary stood as a refutation of its own argument.” You’ve really got to read the whole thing.

The San Francisco Chronicle also wrote this week about more California schools that HSUS helped implement Meatless Mondays programs.

The industry isn’t just lashing out in the school districts; it’s also doing so in the legislatures. I was glad to be on America Tonight this week discussing the meat producers’ attempt to silence whistleblowers with ag-gag bills.

And the good news is that nearly all ag-gag bills introduced in the last couple years have been killed, while more and more food companies require animal welfare improvements in their supply chains, as described in a new piece by my coworker Matt Prescott. As well, just this week, another major pork producer announced it’s abandoning gestation crates throughout its entire supply chain.

Video of the week: These pigs aren’t ready for summer to be over—they love their swimming pools!

First, the September Vegan Shop-Up runs from noon to 6 p.m. at Pine Box Rock Shop at 12 Grattan Street (right off the Morgan L) in Bushwick. Check out the list of vendors and get supplied for fall!

Second, Vaute Couture is hosting an adoption event for Foster Dogs NYC! Get over to 234 Grand Street, Vaute’s flagship store in Williamsburg, to party with puppies from 1 to 5 p.m.!

North Brooklyn is the No. 1 place to be for vegans, animal-lovers, and really anyone with good taste. Will we see you there? You know I can’t resist vegan eats and treats AND adoptable animals!

Ever heard of GustOrganics, on Sixth Avenue between 14^th and 15^th streets in Manhattan? Yeah, neither had we. But besides being a certified organic and eco-friendly restaurant, the West Village spot is on the verge of going completely vegan!

Though it’s always been vegan-friendly, GustOrganics’ proprietors are all about putting their menu where their ethics are. In other words, earning their sustainable label. Say goodbye to steak and fish and dairy and eggs: Tofu and tempeh and a whole bunch of other delicious plant-based offerings are taking over.

However, they can’t make the big switch without help, which is where we supportive vegans come in. Check out the crowdfunding campaign! GustOrganics wants to bring in renowned Brazilian chef Diego Castro to curate the new menu. The campaign expires in nine days and is still far from the proprietors’ $10,000 goal, so if you’re going to donate, you’d better get on it.

The rewards for donation are pretty sweet, but at the $75 level things get really good: a ticket to the relaunch party on November 3, when GustOrganics will celebrate its new, vegan menu. If this succeeds, it could make the restaurant a vanguard of new, cruelty-free, environmentally friendly eating. Vegan is the diet of the future, and helping GustOrganics succeed could send a big message to restaurants in New York and across the world.

Can’t donate? Use social media to spread the word. Check out GustOrganics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and show your cash-richer friends where to give!

[photo and video via GustOrganics’ Fundafeast page]

Good news! This week marked the death of North Carolina’s ag-gag bill, which appears to be the final pending ag-gag bill in the country this year. You can also listen to a radio interview of mine this week on ag-gag and other animal protection topics.

It’s not all good news this week, however: alas, a ballot measure in Missouri aimed at protecting puppy mills and factory farms seems to have squeaked by voters with 50.1 percent of the vote (though the razor-thin margin means that a recount is likely). You can read Wayne Pacelle’s thoughts on it here.

In better news though, Congressman Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) is promoting Meatless Monday. You can read about it my op-ed in the San Fernando Valley Sun. And the New York Times ran a compelling interview with the president-elect of the American College of Cardiology about his vegan diet.

Finally, in cool news: Did you know that fish remember events from a year ago?

P.S. Video of the week: Ever seen a cat taking care of a clutch of baby chicks?

On Saturday, my fella took me to Rockaway Beach. Last year I didn’t go to any beaches, and I am determined not to waste another summer. We took the A train to the shuttle to the Beach 98th Street station, which has a stained-glass sign that reminds you of a time when this country cared about not just infrastructure, but its aesthetics.

Once there, we frolicked in the (kind of dirty and weirdly smelly) water (I miss you, California); it rained a little bit in the late morning, but it cleared up by the afternoon, and we went in and out of the water and read in the sun until we were hot and sticky and starving.

We walked a little ways over to the Beach 96th Street concession stand, which is a bunch of restaurants making fast food at counters. I washed up in the (admirably clean) restroom, to emerge to my young man brandishing a Modelo Especial michelada. Thanks to Barnivore, I know Modelos are all vegan, but most micheladas I’ve encountered have come with something hideous like Worchestershire sauce, which point I immediately raised. “No,” he said, “I had them list the ingredients and it is completely vegan.” Whoever is making micheladas at Rockaway Beach this summer, bless you; it was light and spicy and so refreshing. (Ugh, Meave, get to the part about Champs. No, let me brag about my boyfriend being the most considerate, adorable omnivore partner a vegan could ask for.) “Also,” he said, “There’s a Champs inside.”

I almost dropped my drink.

There it was! Champs! The best vegan diner on the East Coast! Beloved of Vegansaurs far and wide! Check out the menu:

We ordered burgers, broccoli fritters, and salted watermelon. Pictured: my burger, because I was too hungry to bother with photographs of all the food. I try, you guys, but I am but one woman, and sometimes my appetite overpowers my picture-taking abilities. Trust, though, the fritters were tasty and the salted watermelon awakened a serious craving for more watermelon right now all the time I want it.

OK and the burger:

Would you look at that thing? It is glorious. The slaw is crisp, the pickles are sour, the sauce is spicy, the patty is of good texture, and the bun doesn’t get in the way. It is exactly what you want at the beach, and I strongly suggest you New York bathers get your butts to Rockaway right now. Look what awaits you! And word is Champs may not last the season, so hurry! We can have flawless vegan diner food on the beach! Truly, the world is our oyster mushroom.

(Note: There’s also a Champs on Bushwick Avenue at Dodworth Street in Bushwick, which is my new Sunday go-to; I can never seem to remember to capture my meals before they’re gone, but it’s all been spectacular. I had a tuno salad and a watermelon slush for dinner tonight, and my boyfriend is in love with the soysage. Review coming as soon as I can put camera to plate.)