The word vegan is not understood by a lot of people, but i think these restaurants are vegan if not then really close to it.

If you happen to be going to cambodia or thailand, chances are you will be going to Siem Reap and Bangkok. Siem Reap is the city where Ankor Wat is located (that’s the ancient temple that is one of the 8th wonders of the world, think tomb raider, that’s shot there). There’s a new vegetarian (probably vegan) restaurant called Chamkar. It’s been open for a few months, owned by a french guy who’s lived in Cambodia for a long time. While the price is slightly higher than the surrounding restaurants, the cambodian food cost is much cheaper than the US and even compared to Bangkok. The food is fresh and has nice clean taste, delicious but not too overpowering. Artfully presented in the natural, earthy ambience. It’s right near the old market in Siem Reap, which is a major area where restaurants are and there are a lot of tourists. It’s on a smaller street there called The Passage, that’s a strip one block from Old Market and is between Old Market and Pub Street. So, there, you got the supposedly the only vegetarian restaurant in Siem Reap. Not that you can’t survive there since most places can manage to cook veggie dishes for you, but Chamkar is pretty neat. The owner told me the website would be up soon. You can find it at www.chamkar-vegetarian.com

Another restaurant I want tell you about is in Bangkok. It’s call May Kaidee. Check it out at www.maykaidee.com there are a few locations and they also have a cooking school. The classes are held everyday and you can just walk in. I plan to go but haven’t had a chance yet. The food was good. The first time I went, it was awesome, the second time I went it was a bit too bland, so if you want spicy, tell them so. Oh, and they told me they grew their own organic brown rice in the countryside which tasted so good. When you go to most restaurants in Bangkok and order thai food, their main dishes are like the size of appetizers, but at this place they give you decent portion, so no need to order twice as many dishes. I highly recommend this one. It’s near the famous backpackers’ area called Kao Sarn Road, which is now filled with interesting restaurants, bars, street vendors. Kao Sarn is a pedestrian-only street, kind of nice that way.

Maybe i’ll be able to give some tips on cooking vegetarian thai food later if i make it to the cooking class at May Kaidee…

Halloween - that wonderful time of year when you can dress however you please & wander door to door asking for candy without being thought of as crazy. I remember filling a pillow case full of candy every Halloween when I was younger, followed shortly by a month long sugar high after eating it all. Ah, memories…

While candy is not necessarily going to cause major health problems for children unless it’s the staple of their diet (now in no means am I saying candy is good in any amount) it can have deadly consequences for another member of your family – this being your dog, cat or other companion animal. Children often want to share their food with their animal friends. And sometimes so to will their parents. So, in order to prevent a trip to the emergency hospital this weekend let’s take a quick look at two toxins found in candy.

First & foremost is CHOCOLATE. This is a big NO for animals. While many of you feel you would die without chocolate in your life (myself included) the truth of the matter is that your animal potentially could die from it. Cholocate containes a stimulant called methylxanthine, which when ingested can cause a wide array of signs from vomiting, panting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, excessive thirt & urination, an abnormal heart rhythm, siezures & death. There is no specific dose that is toxic to dogs as some can respond differently than others so ingestion of any amount can potentially cause signs. Generally, the darker chocolates have the highest concentration of methylxanthine while white chocolate has the lowest concentration. Regardless of the type & amount ingested, it is important that you contact your veterinarian immediately.

Another ingredient that is becoming increasingly more common is xylitol. This is a sweetener often added to gum & mints. If ingested it can cause hypoglycemia (a decrease in blood sugar) & possibly result in liver failure. For more information, check out this video from the Veterinary News Network (note: there are scenes of a dog with xylitol toxicity that may be disturbing to some).

http://www.myvnn.com/page.asp?id=39&media_type=11&story_id=30

If you would like to learn more about these & other common toxins that can affect your animals, the ASPCA has some great information on their website:

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_ask_peoplefood

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_faq#chocolate

So remember to keep all your Halloween goodies in a safe place away from your animals this year. And if you feel bad leaving out your furry friends from the Halloween fun, there are pleanty of dog & cat friendly treats you can buy at your local pet store.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Last fall, Rep. Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ) introduced a bill in Congress to designate the first Saturday in October as National Animal Rescue Day in order to “create awareness for animal rescue programs throughout the year, address the challenge of overpopulation through continued spaying and neutering of adopted pets, and bring Americans together as a Nation to support this common goal.”

Apparently congress was too busy giving tax breaks to oil companies to act on that legislation so Care 2 is doing all they can to make sure October 3, 2009 is National Animal Rescue Day. They have a petition up at The Petition Site that you can sign in support of their cause. Or better yet, write your representative to support this legislation because shelter animals need any help they can get.

You can sign Care 2’s petition here.

For the past two and a half years I have eaten lunch at Tierra Cafe in Downtown Los Angeles virtually every day. I work one block away so it’s super convenient and I like that my money is going to support a veg business. As you can imagine, after eating at the same restaurant literally over 500 times (I did the math, I think it’s closer to around 600), the menu gets to be a bit predictable. Last year they started letting my co-worker and myself invent new things for them to make. We came up with the idea of the “Fiesta Salad” which is basically a taco salad, plus a few smaller item tweaks. If you’re ever there, the Fiesta Salad is not on the menu but if you order it they will know what you’re talking about.

Last week when I was there, they asked me if I wanted to try the new Pita Pizza. It sounded great, but the mozzarella cheese they use contains casein so I couldn’t have it. As an alternative, they have the Follow Your Heart vegan cheddar, but I can’t stand that stuff, so I haven’t been able to try it. Yesterday, my meat-eating co-worker who joins me at Tierra for lunch every day ordered the Pita Pizza so I snapped a picture of it with my iPhone. He said it was great. I need to see if they can get the vegan Follow Your Heart mozzarella so I can try it. Plus now that they have marinara sauce, there are quite a few new possibilities like a chickin’ parmigiana type sandwich, or a mock meatball veggie sub. Oh, if you order it, tell them that they should call it “The Pita-za” instead of “The Pita Pizza,” they still aren’t convinced on my suggestion for the name.

So far this is the highest profile announcement I’ve heard about this upcoming Saturday’s World Vegan Day. All 464 employees in the 72 North American retails stores of LUSH Cosmetics are going vegan for the day. A rough survey of their company revealed that 20% of their employees were already vegetarian, but all have agreed to go vegan for World Vegan Day. Kudos to LUSH for taking such a bold move.

Source: Beauty Packaging Magaine

This past weekend, eggs were pulled from the shelves in China due to the toxic threat of the chemical melamine. If you are unfamiliar with melamine, it’s a chemical added by food processors to animal feed to reduce manufacturing costs and falsely boost protein content. To jog your memory, the petfood recall of 2007 was a direct cause of melamine. It has now come to light that China has been using melamine in livestock feed which has been passed on in the food chain to humans. Eggs seem to be the canary in the coal mine for what sounds like a widespread problem with contamination of all pork, chicken, fish and beef. The Australian Associated Press has a couple of good articles on the crisis:

Fears widen over melamine contamination

Eggs recalled, exports halted as China’s food crisis worsens

spcaLA just sent out an e-mail saying that a temporary ban on black cat adoptions has gone into effect through November 1st.

“We have found many people have ulterior motives when adopting black cats and it is a shame that all the myths and superstitions about black cats have made them targets.” To get into the Halloween spirit, many pranksters target black cats and use them as party props. Black cats have even been sacrificed during satanic rituals and are more likely to be subjected to cruel treatment during this time of year. spcaLA takes every precaution to make sure this does not happen by temporarily banning black cat adoptions and encourages other pet adoption facilities to do the same.

Good to see that spcaLA is doing what they can to prevent cruelty to these pets just looking for a home. Remember to keep black cats (or any pet for that matter) indoors this Halloween season.

Tonight, Whole Foods in West LA is hosting a free screening of Earthlings, the single most powerful and informative movie about society’s treatment of animals. I’ve seen this film a number of times and each time it further solidifies my convictions that people need to do all they can to assist these poor animals portrayed in the film. Whole Foods will be providing free vegan food and there will be a discussion after the film on how to lead a healthier and more compassionate lifestyle. Here are all the details:

Wednesday, Oct. 29 @ 6:30 PM
Whole Foods West LA @ Community Room
11666 National Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064

The film is approximately 95 minutes long.

EARTHLINGS:
Narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, Earthlings is a ground-breaking documentary focusing on humankind’s absolute dependence on animals used as pets, for food, for clothing, in entertainment, and for scientific research) . With the use of hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day –to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world—all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative, controversial and thought-provoking, Earthlings is by far one of the most comprehensive documentaries ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests.

As a side note, if don’t live anywhere near Los Angeles or cannot make tonights screening, for only $2.99 you can download a high-quality copy of the film to be viewed online directly from the Earthlings website.

Last week the Los Angeles Times published an editorial by columnist George Skelton and his conclusion after “research” into Prop 2. At the end of the article he comes to the conclusion that he is “for chicken compassion. But [he] feels more compassionate about the chicken farmer in this bankrupting economy” and the issue of ethics should be worked out “through the marketplace.” It was nice to see that The Times ran Jason Brancazio’s counter-argument in last Saturday’s “Letters to the Editor”:

By endorsing cage-free eggs at the end of his column, George Skelton implies that he finds industrial chicken-farming practices abhorrent. I disagree, however, with his counter-assertion that the marketplace is an appropriate arbiter of ethical issues. Would the marketplace ever have eradicated slavery?

When business losses are at stake, and when our legislators rely on businesses for campaign funding, only the ballot initiative process will allow a motivated minority to raise questions that merit statewide consideration.

You can read George Skelton’s full column here.

Zach over at LAist has the scoop on $1 Vegan Tacos on Monday nights at Malo in Silverlake. The choices include Eggplant & Potato, Grilled & Marinated Vegetable and Soy-Rizo. I can’t stand eggplant, and Soy-Rizo is always way to greasy for my taste, but the grilled/marinated vegetable tacos sound right up my alley. You have to specify them vegan, no cheese or sour cream on the side, but that’s pretty much standard practice at any Mexican restaurant so no surprise there. Read his full post here.