Soi Dogs

Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) is a loving, compassionate not-for-profit organization, which help the homeless, neglected and abused dogs and cats of Thailand. The beautiful volunteers and supporters aim to set an example for the Asian region on how to better the lives and living conditions of the many stray dogs and cats and humanely reduce their numbers in the long term.

The saintly group of volunteers have de-sexed or sterilized 20,649 dogs and 6,917 cats totaling 27,566 up to March, 2010.

Thousands more have been treated for injury and disease by providing emergency and ongoing veterinary treatment for abused and neglected dogs and cats.

They also provide free veterinary treatment for those who cannot afford it at the clinic in Mai Khao.

A shelter and rehoming centre for over 200 dogs that have been abandoned or abused and subjected to sometimes terrible cruelty is also run by the foundation.

The volunteers also feed hundreds of dogs and cats in temples and other locations.

The Vegan Era Crew are so touched by the work of this foundation and we are very humbled to be able to offer some support. Check out the amazing recovery of one dog that was blessed to be saved by Soi Dogs. His name is Tai Chi. The photos were taken only one month apart - when he was brought to the shelter and with his new owner looking healthy and happy.

Check out the new Free Our Friends section of the Vegan Era Shop to free your own doggy from misery. By choosing to free a dog, we will add 100% of your purchase to our donation to Soi Dogs. We also have a range of other animal friends that you can free!

Be Love : Be Peace : Be Vegan; Save Our Home.

Mother's Day

As Mother's Day quickly approaches I thought I would bring your attention to the cruelty that some mothers are forced to endure. I know it's not the loveliest of subjects, but I was heartbroken to see how these mothers and their babies are treated and think it is important to share it. Ignorance is bliss sometimes but once you do know the truth about how these animals are treated, it's tough to consciously continue supporting it.

Take a look at this short video which shows a very gentle view of one aspect of what goes on in dairy farms. If you would like to know more you can simply go to You Tube and find many videos that are much more confronting than this one or go to PETA.org, who never fail to provide shocking, undercover footage.

I have to admit that even after becoming aware of these conditions, it took me a little while to actually cut out dairy altogether. Due to everything that has been put in our faces for most of our lives, I was convinced that dairy is a necessary part of our diet. I guess we are pretty good at finding excuses to justify whatever it is we wish to justify to ourselves!

It was not until I was diagnosed with cancer and did some research that I realised that this could not be further from the truth. Dairy products are constantly being linked to breast cancer and prostate cancer, among other diseases. The hormones present in milk can cause cancer cells and other abnormal cells to grow more rapidly. People in western societies who consume a lot of dairy products also have a higher rate of oesteoperosis. This is due to the fact that animal protein actually leaches calcium from the bones.

Humans are the only animals to drink a mother's breast milk past those first few formative months and the only ones to drink the milk of another animal. It's kinda gross when you think about it. Not to mention how fattening it is. I know I have mentioned these points before in a previous post so I won't harp on about it. :)

Spread some love to ALL mothers this Mother's Day and substitute your regular latte for a soy latte (it doesn't taste the same but I'm sure you can handle it!). You can also go to www.cowribbon.com to purchase a cow print ribbon to wear on Mother's Day, raising awareness of this cruelty, or send a cute Mother's Day ecard.

Vegan Era Crew Journey

Some of the Vegan Era Crew, including our little mascot Trudi the staffy, went on a little journey last week to indulge in delicious vegan delights! Unfortunately where we live there are no vegan or even vegetarian restaurants around so we got to make a little holiday out of it.

Our destination and vegan heaven? Lismore, NSW Australia. Check out this weeks Green and Gorgeous article for a closer look at what this area of Australia has to offer the compassionate traveler.

On our way down to Lismore we stopped at the Gold Coast at the Magic Apple vegetarian restaurant for lunch. Unfortunately we didn't get photos of the awesome burgers that we had because we were too excited and ate it all (this happened numerous times on the trip so my apologies for not being able to truly show you how great some of the food was!). The Magic Apple has had a refurb since we were last down there and it was much lighter and modern, with a beautiful wall of quotes and images.

Then we got into Lismore and went straight to Sweetpea for some soy gelato! Even though we've made beautiful raw ice-cream at home out of frozen fruit, this was still a lovely treat. In fact, I was so happy with a big cone of Chai and Chocolate flavoured icecreams in a big waffle cone that I started skipping down the street!

Next we headed to 20,000 Cows for dinner. We went with a few friends and had a big banquet of tasty Middle-Eastern and Indian dishes, including these amazing spinach and nut-cheese spring rolls, pakora (vegetables fried in chickpea batter), dips and garlic naan bread, a couple of curries and a sticky black rice pudding with coconut cream.

The next day we went to Goanna Bakery and Cafe for Vegan Pancakes.

They were heaven.

Then we travelled to the coast to Ballina and played on the beach - Trudi's favourite thing to do!

We headed back to Lismore to go to 20,000 Cows again because it was just so good! That night we stayed in a beautiful spot on the edge of a river, where we woke up early to light a fire and have our first breakfast of toasted turkish bread, avocado and tomato...

And then headed off for our second breakfast - another batch of vegan pancakes! This time at Sweetpea Cafe. They were equally as good as the other ones but so different. The ones at Goanna Bakery and Cafe were thick and fluffy, whereas these ones were thin and covered in syrup and vegan cream cheese...mmm

That concludes our little trip where the Vegan Era Crew got very close to turning into cute little fat piglets! We highly recommend a fun trip solely focussed on food...go on treat yourself, it's loads of fun! For a great site with a list of vegan and vegan friendly restaurants around the world, head to Happy Cow. Be Love : Be Peace : Be Vegan.

More reasons to choose organic!

Check out this video which showcases the diseases that conventional farming methods are causing in rural India and their new savior...organic farming. For a range of cool organic cotton tees that support these organic farms in India, check out our store!