The Grapevine (OFF TOPIC CHAT) Part II

Tar.Aldarion

fallon & byrne or maybe in down to earth

actua11

Thanks guys, just checked with Fallon and Byrne and they have what I'm looking for so thanks for the pointers by being such a lovely helpful veggie bunch

Level 5 Vegan

"Individually we are weak like a twig, but together we form a mighty fagg0t"

New Home

Zombienosh

Delighted they have this in dunnes, I've been using the spreadable cheese a lot lately.

So good.

Zombienosh

Just booked tickets to see Unity

Zombienosh

So Unity was good.

There's a good simple message throughout the film, unlike Earthlings the focus isn't just on animals but on people and the environment too, also it's a bit more uplifting and hopeful in tone so it doesn't have a lot of tough to watch scenes, that being said there were 2 scenes in the movie that I lost it at one of them being the intro.

Anyone else see it?

Tar.Aldarion

Haven't seen it, hoping to soon!

loveisdivine

I saw it too. The intro had me in tears. I'm actually still thinking about it.

Zombienosh

Had a firehouse pizza for the first time the other nite, vegan mozzarella all round.

Was really really nice.

First time I've ordered a take-away in years too....felt dirty.

Zombienosh

Spent some time on Saturday hanging out with goats and alpacas.

Alpacas are sort of like unicorns......majestic.

New Home

Alpacas... now that's funny. A couple of months ago a cousin of mine went to the Burren, they stopped at a farm that kept them, and one of the guides told her they were 'cow sheep'...because they looked like long-necked sheep but they said 'Moo'... The word alpaca was never mentioned... :rolleyes:

loveisdivine

We recently adopted a stray kitten and I'm starting to feel a bit conflicted about buying her food. Its not that I don't think she should eat meat, obviously she should, but I'm not enjoying the fact that I am now contributing to an industry I despise.

I know there are vegan cat foods available that contain all the nutrients they need. But I'm still not sure if thats fair on her.

New Home

I faced the same dilemma and the same internal struggle, also taking into account that pet food companies are, for lack of a better word, evil - the main ones actually test their food on pets/lab animals, some of them through vivisection. There are some that do have the 'bunny' logo on their packaging that says 'not tested on animals', but again, some of those were found to have melamine in their products, which directly caused the death of more than a few animals, and were fined accordingly.

I'll dig out an article I found a few years ago and post it here in a while.

In the end I decided against vegan food, simply because I wasn't convinced the nutrients it contains would actually be absorbed by the cat, which, 'unfortunately', is a carnivorous animal. Having said that, I know of at least one vet who fed his cat with lentils and tuna, and the cat was healthy and with a glossy fur. Not that tuna is any better than meat, from our point of view...

loveisdivine

Thanks for the input.

I'm feeding her royal canin at the minute as thats what the rescue had her on so didn't want to switch to something else too quickly and upset her tummy.

She likes a mix of wet and dry so I was thinking maybe I could phase in a vegan dry food, but still feed a meat wet food. Maybe try and find one thats at least organic.

New Home

This is a site I just found - it wasn't where I originally found the article I mentioned above, but it gives some useful information.

Now, this is US-based, so I'm not sure the FDA rules (who apparently is currenlty working towards approving the use of Agent Orange as weedkiller on crops - pure madness!!) would apply this side of the pond. Having said that, if the TTIPP agreement went through, we could be inundated with 'foodstuff' for both humans and animals that would be of dubious quality at least...

This is a Wikipedia article on the 2007 melamine scandal - again, its focus is mainly on the US, but I know the same thing happened in Europe. It's interesting/scary to notice that the following year the 'melamine in baby formula' scandal broke out, when many babies died as a direct consequence of ingesting contaminated milk. And that doesn't even take into account the baby formula scandal in developing countries, thanks to Nestlé. But that's a matter for a different thread.

Humans don't learn from their mistakes, do they... especially when the mighty -insert name of currency here- is at stake.

New Home

Here's another site http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/food/catfood.aspx

Flabangav

Just a point, if the packaging says 'meat and animal derivatives' then it's made of absolute crap. Like feet. Which is fine for most animals but it sounds even worse than feeding them meat to me!

New Home

Flabangav wrote: »

Just a point, if the packaging says 'meat and animal derivatives' then it's made of absolute crap. Like feet. Which is fine for most animals but it sounds even worse than feeding them meat to me!

... and beaks and horns and bones and hairs and feathers, etc. Pure crap and pure evil.

I know it sounds crazy, but when I decided to give my cat non-veg*an food I decided to avoid chicken and fish too, simply on the basis that, in theory at least, it'd take fewer animals to make up the same amount of food if the animals were bigger, like cattle... It's an appalling choice to make, I agree, but I couldn't think of a better one...

Flabangav

Yeah I didn't want to get too graphic! I'd never considered it until we were taught about it.

Zombienosh

The darkness is coming....

New Home

Do you mean it as in 'There's a good auld stretch in the nights' :pac:, or is it something more sinister? Is it the second coming? Armageddon? Alien spaceships? Comets? ASTEROIDS??? 'cause, like, we knew that the light in the fridge goes out when you close the door...

Zombienosh

I hope its not Armageddon, that might be a little inconvenient.

I'm thinking about getting one of those fancy alarm/lamp thingys that imitate sunlight......

Tar.Aldarion

I have one, the lumie, I think they are great.

I got the new converse that have cushioning, wheeeeeeeeeeeee

Zombienosh

That's the one I've been looking at the lumie, it seems a little pricey but I reckon they're worth it, Are the bulbs easy to get If they need replacing>?

Tar.Aldarion

Yeah they are dear enough full price! I think they are a great thing to wake up to and "daylight" light is very easy on the eyes, great as a lamp in the evenings too since you can set it how bright you want (goes off after 90 mins I think). Never had to replace a bulb but they were on amazon for a few pound as far as I recall.

Zombienosh

Excellent, I believe they can help with SAD too.

Tar.Aldarion

Haha yes I believe that's the main purpose

FelineOverLord

loveisdivine wrote: »

Thanks for the input.

I'm feeding her royal canin at the minute as thats what the rescue had her on so didn't want to switch to something else too quickly and upset her tummy.

She likes a mix of wet and dry so I was thinking maybe I could phase in a vegan dry food, but still feed a meat wet food. Maybe try and find one thats at least organic.

I have to be honest and say that I wouldn't even consider feeding our 4 cats anything but a high protein diet. I cook meat for my husband and I don't really mind that, although the smell of frying meat and sometimes grilled meat makes me feel queasy, and the cats get cans of Bozita chicken or salmon wet food as well as a bowl of Royal Canin Calm dry food. I also give them some raw mince and raw chicken breast as well as a little tinned salmon/tuna each week. They are obligate carnivores and I think it's only fair to let them eat what nature intended them to eat really.:)

Level 5 Vegan

Vegan Quorn is coming this year. What looks like chicken pieces and burgers.

Both products will be available in Asda from October 2015 with a retail price of £2.49. Other major retailers are due to follow later in Autumn 2015 and early 2016.

The Quorn Vegan Range has been over three years in development and during that time, we’ve seen a real shift in the number of consumers choosing to adopt a vegan lifestyle and a massive increase in demand, particularly apparent across our digital channels. We have been particularly impressed by four consumer-led petitions in support of a Quorn Vegan Range.

While ethics and the environment are at the heart of veganism, vegans have historically been driven by a passion for animals and our planet and have used their diet to demonstrate their beliefs. However, more and more people who are adopting veganism are now also doing so because of the associated healthy living benefits. Consumers are starting to learn that veganism is a great way to live a healthy lifestyle.

Consumers – both existing Quorn buyers and new customers – have been asking us for some time to provide a solution for vegans. So, as we know a lot of people eat Quorn as part of a vegetarian lifestyle before becoming vegan, we’re thrilled to be able to offer them products which are tasty and deliver on the great texture expected of Quorn, whilst following a vegan recipe.