Big news from Brazil this week, where the nation’s largest city
banned both the production and sale of foie gras!

While fattened duck liver is waning in popularity, veggie burgers are on the rise. The

Slate title this week says it all: “Burger King Wants to Make the Veggie Burger a Global Hit.”

Finally, HSUS
filed complaints this week with the FTC and FDA over a major Costco
egg supplier’s deceptive marketing. Want to tell Costco to lose the cage
eggs?
Here you go.

Paul Shapiro
Vice President, Farm Animal Protection
The Humane Society of the United States
Follow at http://twitter.com/pshapiro

P.S. Video of the week: Pig + dog = playtime!

P.P.S. Yesterday marks another full circle around our star for me. Can’t
decide on the perfect gift? Did you know that for free you can “donate”
your Twitter account to help occasionally get the word out about
important farm animal protection
efforts? Here’s the link!

We are LOVING the cover of Vegan Good Life’s 2nd issue! It stars two of our very favorite people, Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart and Joshua Katcher, who are obvs only the most. 

As my parents discovered, you can buy the mag in the fabulous Veganista store in Munich, OR you can order online here in the states. It’s in German and English. Here’s your super fast preview:

You know we hate animal testing here at Vegansaurus, so we are v excited for Organs on Chips! It’s some kind of SCIENCE that uses human cells on a chip to mimic actual organs…or some such science. 

You can read all about it on the Guardian but it has major implications for the animals suffering in labs:

“The organs-on-chips allow us to see biological mechanisms and behaviours that no one knew existed before,” says Don Ingber, founding director of the Wyss Institute. “We now have a window on the molecular-scale activities going on in human organs, including things that happen in human cells that don’t occur in animals. Most drug companies get completely different results in dogs, cats, mice and humans, but now they will be able to test the specific effects of drugs with greater accuracy and speed.”

PCRM has been telling us for years about the scientific shortcomings of animal testing and all the ways it sucks beyond ethical reasons. And then of course there are those pesky ethical reasons! Maybe it’s finally time to get rid of it??

From the lab folk themselves:

The paradigm used by pharmaceutical companies to discover and develop new drugs is broken. Clinical studies take years to complete and testing a single compound can cost more than $2 million. Meanwhile, innumerable animal lives are lost, and the process often fails to predict human responses because traditional animal models do not accurately mimic human physiology. For these reasons, the pharmaceutical industry needs alternative ways to screen drug candidates in the laboratory.

So basically their chip will greatly reduce suffering, be cheaper, and more accurate. Bring it on! 

And guess what, it’s getting even more press because it won the Design Museum’s design of the year award!

Watch this vid to learn more. It’s short. Even I watched it.

I know it’s not boot season but OMG these are so dope. These  boots are a preview from Bourgeois Boheme’s Fall/Winter collection:

Blurring the boundaries between masculine and feminine, the Transcending collection comprises of contemporary styles that are ethically produced and free from the use of animal derived materials. It is artisan-made, leather-free footwear made to last for men and women.

They are so mod and beautiful! I think I’m into these too:

They are kind of cray but idk, they are kind of awesome too. Wing-tip sneakers? Yeah, kind of awesome. 

And I love these:

They make me want to buy a suit!

All the shoes seem to be under 200 GBP, which means a bit over $200 to us…effing pounds. But I got a pair of Bourgeois Bohemes a few years ago and they are in great shape. Plus, they visit the factories personally and meet the craftspeople so remember that is what you are paying for too. Animal-free and eco-friendly to boot? Be still my heart. 

I don’t know when these will be available to buy but they have nice styles on their site now if you can’t wait. 

Really though, why do all the best vegan shoes come from Britain??

Mercy For Animals exposes the cold hard truth again: this system is fucked. I’ll let the video do the talking but apparently this is a “American Humane Certified” factory farm. Sorry, sympathetic meat eaters. 

If you want to support the important work Mercy For Animals does, donate today.