A Ridiculously Happy Visit

I'd been wanting to go to this wonderland since I'd learned about its existence last summer. 

Ryan took this one and, in fact, most of the pictures on this post. He's a more skilled photographer than I, plus I was so caught up cuddling with the animals, I had trouble noticing anything else.

Farm Sanctuary has three official locations: Watkins Glen, New York (where we went); Orland, California (where we almost went last year but ran out of time); and Los Angeles, California.  It has three missions: rescue, education, and advocacy. You can learn more about their wonderful work on their website.

We went up midweek last week. My husband Ryan is a musician, so his summer weekends are basically spoken for by one of his three bands, my favorite of which -- Field Trip -- often plays his original tunes. (You can hear a sampling here!) So we've been doing a few mid-week minitrips throughout the summer.

Located in upstate New York, about half an hour from Ithaca, the farm is in the midst of such gorgeous landscape, you almost feel like you're driving in one of those calendars with the pictures that look too majestic to be real.

Our first night there, we stayed at one of their three B&B cabins, which I'll talk more about on the next post. (But they were adorable.) After enjoying a light breakfast the next morning, we went on a tour of the farm with our guide, Ben, a most enthusiastic and friendly fellow. We first met in the "People Barn," where we watched a quick film about Farm Sanctuary. Note the wall of signed photos of famous pretty people who had visited. (My favorite was Ellen DeGeneres's. Everyone else had something deep and meaningful written on theirs, and Ellen's handwritten message read simply. "I'm Ellen.")

The People Barn

Ben walking us through the cow pasture.

First we visited the cow barn. The cows were wonderful and incredibly docile and sweet, despite their initially intimidating size. I'm embarrassed to say I forgot the names and even genders of the animals, but not their lovely natures.

This sweetie kept laying her head on my lap. I just fell in love with her.

Who could harm this baby?

One thing that really stood out to me was how clean everything was on the whole farm. Every barn got completely cleaned with new straw every morning. And there were enormous industrial fans in the upper portion of each barn, circulating the air so that each building was wonderfully comfortable, despite the heat outside. In the evening and throughout the night, the whole farm was humming with fans in a very comforting white-noise way.

Next were the goats. They had just been put out to pasture to have their barn cleaned, so we got to spend a lot of quality time with them outside. They were endlessly affectionate! I started snuggling this sweetheart below, who loved having his neck scratched.

A little more to the right...

That's the stuff. Right there.

The mutual admiration society

 And then another came for his share.

And then I realized I had someone literally leaning into my back. They all wanted love. Immediately.

Is it me, or does it look like I'm officiating a wedding?

Then I thought it would be good to remember my neglected spouse, who'd been snapping photos the whole time.

I can speak from experience that Ryan is a GREAT headscratcher. This goat hit the motherlode.

Goats these days are routinely kept both for their meat and for their milk to make cheese. (Obviously these goats were not subject to such treatment.) Like dairy calves, the babies are taken away from their mothers so as to keep the milk for humans. Some of the girls are raised to become "milkers" themselves, but many of the babies (particularly the males) are sold for meat. I can't imagine doing this anymore than I could imagine selling puppies to be slaughtered. And if you hang out with goats like this, you realize how delightful they are. Here is a baby goat named Fern at Woodstock Sanctuary that was rescued from becoming food: (very sweet video)

Here is some information from Woodstock Sanctuary on the farming of goats today.  And on this link, you'll discover individual stories of both goats and sheep who came to Farm Sanctuary. Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit with the sheep on this tour. Next time!

The pigs were busy sleeping off the heat of the day. Again, their area was spotlessly clean, with wonderful-smelling fresh hay for them to snuggle into. Most of them still carried dried mud on them, which keeps their bodies cool and prevents sunburn. Pretty smart! They LOVED getting good scratches, particularly on the belly.

You'll notice how large some of them are. This is because they've been genetically designed to put on weight FAST so that they can be killed when they are only six months young. When they are allowed to live out their lives, they -- like so many other factory-farmed victims -- get to very unnatural weights that cause a variety of health problems. Here is more information from Farm Sanctuary on how pigs fare.

This sweet one woke up and seemed to be appreciating a good scratch.

Then she let out a happy snort. Making a pig happy is most satisfying!

Sweetie fast asleep.

This was right before she rolled over so I could pay proper attention to her belly. It was a very dog-like gesture!

This mama started lifting her front legs up to give me better scratching access.

The turkeys were mesmerizing with all their trilled vocalizations. They can be very curious and affectionate and some of them love cuddling on one's lap. Turkeys are also bred to be unnaturally big with abnormally large breasts. As a result, they are too big to mate with each other. The males can crush the females to death with the effort.  All the turkeys are bred to be white to make their flesh  lighter and thus more pleasing to consumers. Here is more information from Farm Sanctuary on how turkeys are raised in factory farms.

Here are where the girls were kept. The males and females have to be kept separate.

And here is the one male I saw. He was adorable and very into getting attention. When we crouched down next to him to hang out, he stared right into our eyes.

As you'll notice here, turkeys typically have their toes cut off when they are babies. (It is also standard for the industry to burn off the top of their beaks with a hot blade.) No anesthesia is used, despite the amount of nerve endings present. As a result of their malformed feet, they can't walk correctly -- which is hard enough with their abnormal size -- and their toes often get large and infected at the ends. The wonderful folks here do rounds each morning, checking their toes and other previously mutilated parts for trouble.

Chickens. I love chickens. They're so fascinating to watch. Chickens are said to have it worse than any of the factory farmed animals. Here is a post I did on the egg industry and here is some information from Farm Sanctuary. In the United States alone, 287 chickens are killed every second. (This figure is from the USDA.) And perhaps more shocking is that they are bred to grow so fast, that they are typically six to seven weeks young when they are slaughtered. Those animals that we see in the supermarkets, in other words, are still chicks.

Here are some heartwarming stories about some of the chickens at Farm Sanctuary! :)

Is there anything cuter than a chicken's butt? So cute.

Interestingly, I spotted a garter snake in this little area with the chickens. I asked if they bothered the chickens, and learned that the chickens would often surround the offending snake and make their feelings known.

Garter snake. I think.

There were many more lovely animals we met and adored. I could spend weeks at this wonderful place.

Visiting Farm Sanctuary and taking a tour is such an uplifting experience. It gives you a glimpse of what the world could be. And perhaps more important, it puts an individual face to the unfathomable numbers of animals that we kill each year. Almost every animal here was part of the factory farm system, and you see how each animal is so unique. If you've had a number of companion animals throughout your life, you know this to be true. Each of them was different, just as every human animal is different.

If you visit, you won't be beaten over the head with the cruelties these animals faced. Instead it's just a very peaceful yet exciting experience where you can connect with animals individually. After you've scratched a pig's tummy and had her snort with pleasure, bacon loses all allure. When a cow who lost all her babies puts her head in your lap, you start to question if eating cheese is really worth the cost of what she's had to endure. And again, our tour guide never admonished us at any time, saying, "Maybe now you'll think twice about eating eggs, folks!" Rather, he led us through, explaining where the animals had come from, what they liked, how they behaved, etc.  If you eat animal meat, eggs, or dairy, you'll feel very welcomed here and not judged in any way.

Oh! AND I got to meet one of my heroes, quite by surprise! Susie Coston, a powerhouse in the animal sanctuary world and Farm Sanctuary's National Shelter Director, happened to pass by us during our tour. I punched poor Ryan's arm and whispered excitedly, "Do you know who that was??" We saw her later in the cow barn and I went up, completely sappy-eyed, and professed my great admiration for her. Being the sweetheart she is, she gave me a big old bear hug, and Ryan quickly jumped in and asked if she'd mind a picture together. She quickly agreed, laughing, and then confessed that she didn't photograph well. Which I told her was perfect as I always look like a complete dork in pictures.

I. Love. This. Woman. You just meet some people and want them to be your best friend. She was one of those people. Just genuine, energetic, and happy. Who cares about all the Hollywood stars when you've got Susie Coston in the world? I think People magazine should start covering magastars like Susie, who make a positive difference in the world, rather than Tom Cruise, who likes jumping on couches.

It's hard not to look like a dork when you're standing next to your hero.

More to come in the next two posts. I'm dying to show you the cabin we stayed in, a beautiful memorial at Farm Sanctuary, the other Bed and Breakfast we stayed at, our fine dining at a rather well-known restaurant in Ithaca, a pretty gorge, and my sweetie's literal moment in the spotlight.

Before I close, I wanted to let you know that I'm doing the Walk for Farm Animals in Boston on September 8 to raise money for Farm Sanctuary so that they can continue to do this incredible work. There are walks all over the United States and Canada, if you'd like to participate in this as well and raise funds. If your city isn't listed, you can do the Sleep In for Farm Animals.

I'm trying to raise $1,000, and as of this writing have received $325 in online donations with another $50 coming by check. If you'd like to contribute -- and a couple of readers already have! Thank you! -- please go to my page. Any amount -- $1, $5, $1000 -- would be make a huge difference. Thank you!

I'd love to hear back from any of you who have had experience at an animal sanctuary or who are planning on going! (You can comment on other things too, of course!)

Starfish Tale

There's a great story that you may have heard. I was introduced to it years ago, though I'm not sure where and in what context.  But it always stuck with me because it speaks to everything I know to be true in this world. If you love it as well, then I'll venture to guess that you won't mind a friendly retelling.

A couple of months ago, in fact, I had been thinking about this particular story and entertaining the idea of writing about it here. A day or two later, Ryan and I were enjoying some fantastic vegan Thai food in Brookline, and I heard a man two tables away from us mention "the starfish story" to his dining companion, asking if she'd heard it. I leaned over, very excited, and said, "I hope you don't mind my butting in, but I LOVE the starfish story! I was just thinking of it the other day!" He smiled generously and asked, "Do you want to tell it?"  I laughed, a bit embarrassed, and said I preferred to listen to it told by someone else. So I indeed sat back, eating my green curry with tofu (perfectly done!)  as he shared the story with his friend. I had this foolish grin plastered on my face, like some unnameable force had come hovering over our tables in a very My Dinner with Andre way. (If you haven't seen that movie, SEE IT.) One of those funny unforgettable moments in your life where you feel like all the stars lined up somehow.

And while I prefer to hear the story, I'm happy to give telling it a shot. So here goes.

Early one morning, a young girl stood by herself at the shore's edge, where thousands of beautiful starfish had washed up on the beach. They were still alive, but as the tide was going out, they would surely die. Knowing this, the girl began to pick up starfish, one at a time, and throw them as far as her thin coltish arms would allow, back into the churning sea. 

In the midst of this activity, a man passed by on his morning run. He noticed the girl and what she was doing and curiously slowed down to watch her throw starfish after starfish into the water. "What are you doing?" he asked in that tentative way that some adults use with children.


She glanced at him and remarked with a light optimistic voice, "I'm throwing them back in the water!" 

He smiled at her enthusiasm and asked, "Why are you doing that?"

"'Cause they won't grow up if I don't!" She giggled at his somehow not knowing this obvious fact, and went back to work.

The man glanced up the beach, dotted with thousands of starfish. He hated to see this nice kid disappointed and gently pointed out, "But there are miles of beach and endless starfish. This really isn't going to make a difference."

She listened politely and then bent down to pick up another starfish, throwing it to the sea with its comrades. Looking back at him with a contagious smile, she said with triumph, "I made a difference to that one!" 


He laughed, shook his head, and then turned to continue his run down the beach. But then he stopped and looked back at her. Bending down and glancing back at her, he picked up a starfish and threw it into the sea.

Isn't that great?

When I first decided to divorce myself from the ugly world of animal production, I had a couple of well-meaning folks say to me in a kind way, "I can understand why you're doing this and it's nice and all. But your giving up animal products isn't really going to make a dent. The animal agriculture industry's just too big."

Like the little girl, I find that comment almost funny, and yet troubling. There are thousands of animals in shelters who are doomed to be euthanized. Perhaps you brought one or two home and saved them from that fate. Would you say it made no difference? You see the joy in that animal every day. Their quirky wonderful ways.

Of course it makes a difference. It's so self-evident, that it feels silly even talking about it.

Different studies show that, on average, each U.S. citizen eats about 95 land animals per year, which doesn't even take into account marine animals. (And I assume the figure is the same for many other countries.) Will this make a dent in the animal agriculture industries? YES YES YES! Substituting cow's milk for almond milk (or any of the other delicious plant-based milks) will make a big difference to one cow, whose babies continue to be taken from her quite brutally. Using flax seed with water in your muffins instead of eggs will mean fewer male chicks will be ground up alive in a hatchery for egg-laying hens. Everything we do matters.

What's more, when you give up eating animal products, it becomes the topic of discussion with everyone you know, whether you want it to or not. (But who wouldn't want it to?) People are naturally curious and want to talk about it. Which forces everyone to think about it, at least for that particular moment. The number of people who have changed their own eating habits since Ryan and I went vegan either by going vegan or replacing certain meats/dairy/eggs with plant-based fare has astounded me. I've talked to other happy plant-eaters who have had the same experience, so I know it's not unusual.

It makes all the difference.

And isn't that what we all really want? To make a difference in the world? What a truly easy way to do it.

So throw those starfish back in, politely smile at the naysayers and send them your love, and before you know it, you will have plenty of company with you on the beach. And soon, all those doomed starfish will rejoin their brothers and sisters in the water, where they'll get to grow up and do their starfish thing. :)

 ********

PS. Here is a recent video making the rounds that shows beached dolphins, rather than starfish, who were brought back to the sea. Sure made a difference to them, didn't it?

Cowboys who are cool to cows

First off, I am a sap. Mix in the sensory overload of a seasonal change and I get extra wistful. Which is why so many of these posts harken back to earlier days. It can't be helped.

I was holding off on today's Cowboy post because it related to a birthday surprise for my Dad, which he received last night! (Happy Birthday Dad!) :) A very simple surprise, granted, but a fun one for the taste buds! My Dad's mother, my delightful Gramma, regularly made Cowboy Cookies -- the most cheerful and addictive cookies in the land. My Dad was quite fond of them! Gramma always kept them in a tall glass jar and the rattling of the jar top made us all salivate like Pavlov.

So of course, I had to see if I could pull off a vegan version and have the result be just as splendid as the original. I'll cut to the chase -- it worked and they were scrumptious. The only two substitutions were flax seeds for eggs and Earth Balance buttery spread for butter/shortening. And of course I made sure the semisweet chocolate chips had no milk in them.

I will warn you, though, that you should make sure you are not alone when these come out of the oven. Very dangerous.

Also, for those who are unfamiliar with flax seed substitutions: flax seeds can be bought whole in bags. Once you get home, put the bag in the fridge and keep it there. I use a coffee grinder to grind them up in small batches. (If there are coffee grounds in there, just throw in some uncooked rice, grind that, empty the grinder of the rice/coffee bits, and then clean out quickly with a paper towel. Very simple.)  Every Sunday, I'll grind up a several tablespoons, throw them in a small glass canister in the fridge, and use them throughout the week, mostly in my morning smoothies. These babies are LOADED with omega-3s.

To match the equivalent of 1 egg, you just use one Tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with 3 Tablespoons of water. I throw the flax seeds and and water in the small bowl of my food processer and let it whir for a couple of minutes until it gets a very egg-y consistency. Should you have no food processor, you can whisk them instead, though it takes a little longer.

Here a little excerpt from Wikipedia on the nutritional benefits of flaxseed (SO superior to eggs in nutrition and in kindness.)

Flax seeds contain high levels of dietary fiber as well as lignans, an abundance of micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids (table). Flax seeds may lower cholesterol levels, especially in women.^[10] Initial studies suggest that flax seeds taken in the diet may benefit individuals with certain types of breast^[11][12] and prostate cancers.^[13] A study done at Duke university suggests that flaxseed may stunt the growth of prostate tumors,^[13] although a meta-analysis found the evidence on this point to be inconclusive.^[14] Flax may also lessen the severity of diabetes by stabilizing blood-sugar levels.^{[15] d]}

Gramma's recipe called for 2 eggs, so I used 2 T flax seed with 6 T of water, whirred them up and put them to the side until I was ready for them.

So here is the new and improved recipe for Cowboy Cookies that is completely cool with the cows.

Gramma's Cowboy Cookies

Sift together and set aside the following:
2 C sifted flour (I used regular white)
1 ts baking soda
1/2 ts salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder


In s separate bowl, blend together the following:
1 C Earth Balance buttery spread
1 C granulated sugar (Whole Foods sells vegan sugar*)
1 C brown sugar, firmly packed (I used light brown)


To the butter/sugar mix, add the 2 T flaxseed / 6 T water combination that you already whisked up.


Add Flour mixture and mix well.


Add:
2 C rolled oats (not minute)
1 ts vanilla
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Guittard)

Dough is crumbly and oh-so-tempting.
Drop by teaspoon on greased cookie sheet (I used parchment paper on a cookie sheet.)
Bake 15 minutes @ 350 degrees.
Set to cool on cooling rack.


Makes about 60-80 small cookies. Prepare to be very popular.

So back to the cowboys. Gene Autry starred in the record above, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I danced my little behind to that record throughout my childhood. I choreographed the whole damned thing and made my very bored family sit through the entire record one fateful Christmas Day while I strutted my stuff. It's a kids' album, no doubt.

There was one song in there, though, that will remain forever a part of my Christmas experience. Sleigh Bells. You may not have heard of it, but here is the actual tune itself.

Now, the part where he sings, "All the kiddies are sleeping, as he rides through the sky. But there must be no peeping, or he might pass you by!" This is the part that completely messed me up for several years. My relatively small ears did not hear "peeping" but "peepeeing." So -- I took it as gospel that if you wet the bed, you were toast. No presents, no stockings filled. He'd pass you by!!


I knew that I couldn't take any chances. And so, every Christmas Eve as bedtime approached, I would obsessively run to the bathroom to make sure my bladder was completely empty. Because you could not be too careful when it came to Santa. He knew if you were good or bad and if you wet the bed. He was omniscient in a jolly but confusing way. I wonder now if my parents thought I had a UTI every Christmas Eve.

Speaking of Autry, I never noticed this as a child, but those reindeer are flying pretty close to him, if you follow my drift. I wonder if he worried about antlers?

Do you have any favorite Christmas goodies that you've veganized or are planning to veganize? Or similar crazy stories? (And let me know if you try Gramma's Cowboy Cookies!)

*vegan sugar: Long before I became vegan, I saw vegan sugar alongside the other sugars and was very confused. What could possibly be in sugar to make it vegan or non-vegan? Well, as it turns out, they used charred animal bones from slaughterhouses to whiten/refine white sugar. Who'd a thought? I'm not too obsessive about this, though. If vegan sugar is available -- which it always seems to be -- I'll use it. If not, I'll use regular sugar.

Ice Cream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's hot. As Robin Williams said in Good Morning Vietnam, "It's damn hot!" 

Each evening the little tinkering sound of the ice cream man innocently floats through our neighborhood, resulting in the panicked screeches of elated children. My own memories of chasing down the truck resurface every time I hear the tinny tunes. There was nothing like summer ice cream and sitting with your friends -- and sometimes enemies, since ice cream provides a much-needed truce, right? -- on the still-warm sidewalk in the evening, slurping on your carefully chosen and melting treat. I was prone to get the red-white-and-blue rocket (impossibly heavy and sticky!) or the cone-shaped plastic thing with the orange sherbet and a gumball at the bottom. Don't even pretend you don't remember that wooden spoon.

It's at times like these, when the dairy-eating folk look at each other wisely and think, "Those weirdo vegans are missing out!"

What they don't know (yet!) is that those summers of yore just got better. Way way better.  Cow's milk is a bad choice, both for the cows and for us, but there are treats out there that far exceed their cow-milk counterparts. (I'm not pulling your leg. I'm pretty honest about taste. For example, I will admit I haven't found a vegan cheese anywhere near to my liking yet.)

So are you ready for the unveiling of the first fabulous secret?

You sure you can handle it?

Because once you start eating these things, you'll be addicted. I'm not fooling around here.

Ok. You were warned. 

The company name is So Delicious and their products are made from coconut milk. I cannot believe how good these things are! I promise you that they taste naughty and wonderful, and I highly suspect you will feel guilty eating them in a "well, you only live once" way! They're rich and creamy and the chocolate part of the sandwiches and bars is .... so indescribably decadent. In short, they're good!

Ryan and I both went gaga over them (and you may be familiar with Ryan's discriminating taste, in both food and choice-of-wife). My Dad and Stepmum sampled them recently and were surprised and pleased at how yummy they were! I found these at Whole Foods, though I suspect they're making a showing at other groceries as well.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with a much-beloved and often-imitated Eddie Murphy scene on ice cream... (Now if we can just get the ice cream man to carry these products!) (Though Ryan and I have both discussed the many merits of a Margarita truck driving through our 'hood...Any enterprising folks out there want to get started on that?)