Asi Soy Tacos are setting up their vegan taco stand tomorrow from 2 – 5 PM. I’m not a big foodie, but their tacos are what I dream about at night and they came in at #6 on my “Real Vegan Top 10 Restaurant List.” I’m trying to convince them to do a Vegan Drinks some time in the near future, but if you’re free tomorrow afternoon, it’s worth the effort to go check ‘em out. They only make them 3-4 times a year, so I always jump at the chance to eat LA’s best tacos, vegan or not! Here are the details:

C’mon on down to the 2009 Southern California Anarchist Conference & Cultural Fair from 2-5pm where will be serving up our famous all vegan carne asada tacos made fresh on our outdoor mobile grill.

Our mouth watering tacos are being clamored for all around this great city of ours and now’s your chance to try them!

Conference taking place at:
The Southern California Library for Social Studies & Research
6120 S. Vermont Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90044
(off the 110 Freeway, exit Slauson or Gage).
accessible by MTA Bus 204 and Express Bus 754. Street parking is available.

http://www.asisoytacos.com/

Upon attending the recent Animal Rights National Conference in Los Angeles we were introduced to Orange County Cavy Haven. The organization seeks to find fosters for their guinea pigs (cavies) and retrieve guinea pigs from local shelters to avoid possible euthanization. The organization asks that if you consider fostering that you be able to foster the guinea pig(s) for at least three months. Within those three or more months Cavy Haven will attempt to find a suitable home for these adorable little creatures.

We named our little fosters Gary and Wyatt after one of our favorite John Hughes films, Weird Science. It is so disheartening to think so many of Earth’s little creatures are often only thought of commodities that can be purchased at PetCo only later to be disregarded at a shelter. This is going to be especially apparent with the release of Disney’s new film “G-Force.” We hope people speak out to others that are interested in acquiring a small animal to look for places that take in their desired animal. We also hope that if you or someone you know is thinking about taking in a small animal they consider the fact that small animals require just as much time, effort, and money as other larger animals.

If you have the space, patience, and are considering fostering Cavy Haven will supply you with all that’s necessary to take care of the cute little critters. For more information visit: www.cavyhaven.org

If you were at the Animal Rights National Conference a couple of weekends ago, this is old news, but for everyone else: The Vegan Collection is now offering wallets. We have three styles to choose from, a classic Bi-Fold, a simple Tri-Fold and a Compact Bi-Fold. All three are available in both brown and black. The bi- and tri-folds are $24 and the compact is $22. Stylish, vegan, reasonably priced and available in our store now.

As disheartening as volunteering for LA Animal Services can sometimes be, it’s more critical now than ever to put aside those feelings and step up and help. FOX 11 news (a.k.a. FoxLA) did a short piece which you can view below about the extreme overcrowding currently happening at LA Shelters.

And remember, if you don’t have time to personally volunteer, donating funds to rescue organizations that pull animals from the shelters is also extremely helpful.

The Cancer Project, a pro-veg organization filed a class action lawsuit in New Jersey calling for hot dogs to have a warning label. The organization (on behalf of three New Jersey residents) claims that regular consumption of processed meat can increase the risk of colorectal and other forms of cancer.

Surprised? You’re probably not. What is stunning is the courageous move on the part of such an organization. It is not everyday that a group will go up against the hegemony known as meat industry. The major corporations under fire are: Kraft Foods, Sara Lee Corp., Nathan’s Famous, Hebrew National and Sabrett brands.

We will attempt to do our best on finding out if the lawsuit comes to fruition or if it is dismissed. Let us all hope that finally the brutality, the sickness that is the meat industry will be revealed if only somewhat by such a lawsuit.

This Thursday you have the opportunity to dine out at Buca de Bepo and raise money for spcaLA. From 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM, 20% of your purchase will be donated to spcaLA if you present them with this flyer. Even though they are a chain restaurant, you can find a few vegan items on their menu, and a couple of them are even tasty! The quick list is this:

• - Bruschetta
• - Spaghetti Marinara
• - Green Beans
• - Roasted Vegetables

One trick is that you can make what is their regular spaghetti dish a bit more exciting by substituting gnocchi with their marinara. And the green beans are a must! So if you’re looking for a dining out option tomorrow in the Hollywood area, Buca would be a great choice.

If you missed the 2009 Animal Rights Conference then you made a big mistake. There were booths abound filled with a wealth of knowledge and a treasure trove of cruelty free goodies. Attendees were able to visit shops and purchase items that would normally be only available through the internet. The conference also included a plethora of workshops and discussion panels. The Westin Hotel allowed dogs to attend the conference, but food vendors were not permitted to openly sell food. Vendors fortunately found a loophole that allowed samples and accepted “donations” from its patrons. For many of the exhibitors the conference could be seen as successful. Cosmos Vegan Shoppe sold out of some of its more delectable candy bar items early; while our own booth sold out of men’s medium and XL sized belts. The ballroom in which the exhibitors resided was described by one attendee as, “loud and aggressive,” wishing that the venue was outdoors. Despite this setback the event was both well organized and attended and we met a bunch of great people! Check out the pics below:

[View with PicLens]

 

The Vegan Collection are proud sponsors of this Monday’s Compassion Over Killing fund raiser at 2 HeadedHorse Production/Art Studio in Los Feliz. Enjoy delicious vegan food and drink, great company, raffle prizes, live music, a screening of their award-winning “A Side of Truth” commercial, and so much more!  Sounds like it will be a great mixer to meet like-minded individuals and every dollar you donate at this event will benefit COK’s farmed animal advocacy efforts. We’re not going to miss out on this great event. Happy to hear that COK is starting to do events in the LA area. I’ve heard nothing but good things about their activism on the East Coast. Here are the details:

Compassion Over Killing Fund Raiser
When: Mon., July 20 at 7:00 p.m.

Where:
2 HeadedHorse Production/Art Studio
1770 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026

RSVP: info@cok.net or 301-891-2458

I started reading the very awesome VEGGYWOOD blog a couple of months ago. Basically, Polly Helen does exactly what I wish I had time to do on this blog, write a couple of posts a day about animal friendly events happening around LA and miscellaneous vegan links on the web. Well, today up pops a post on her site about The Vegan Collection in my RSS aggregator. Awesome! Check it out here and make sure to subscribe to the blog feed. She is always posting interesting content that I don’t see anywhere else.

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday is the 2009 Animal Rights National Conference which is being held at the Westin Hotel near LAX. Admission to the exhibit hall (with over 100 vendors, AR groups and retailers) is free and open to the public from 9 AM – 6 PM every day, but admission to the full conference including speakers, networking events and videos is $160. The Vegan Collection will be there with our belts, shoes and new wallets, so stop by and say “Hi!” if you’re there. Also, it sounds like I will be sitting in on Sunday’s “Printing Our Message” session at 2:30 to answer any questions people have about paper, software or dealing with printers. See you there!