We wish everyone a happy and healthy 2009, a bit belatedly.  As you can see, we've been busy putting a new coat of paint on Vegan Bits, which was much more time consuming than we expected.  And is, unfortunately, not entirely finished.    I've also been taking a little "time off" to spend with friends and family.

We've updated our Vegan Resources page as well.  Hopefully the Resources tab will be back on top of the blog in the near future (but you can always find Vegan Resources"t by using the search button above, or clicking on the link in the right column down below under "pages."  Things are still a bit unfinished, but this is the general look you can expect for the next bit of time.

We've gotten a few emails and tweets asking if we're okay (since we live in the Southern California area).  Despite what the news is saying, all of SoCal is not up in flames.  We're fine, aside from the  bad air quality, which you can get a good idea of by looking at the photos at the top of this post (taken from one of our windows).  But we do know people whose homes are in jeopardy, and our thoughts are with them.

It's shocking how unprepared most of us are for this kind of thing.  FEMA has a great guide called Are You Ready, which provides information on what to do in the event of all sorts of emergencies from earthquakes, to fires, to floods, to nuclear and chemical threats.

Here's hoping you're all safe!  And take a moment to figure out what you'd do in the event of an emergency.

Strike a blow for animal rights.  Whether you think it was a well written proposition or not, the general public in California has spoken, and they say that our farm animals deserve better treatment.  WIth 28% of the precincts reporting, Proposition 2 has been deemed a winner with 2.4 million "Yes" votes - 62%.  (Results courtesy of KTLA.com at 10:23 pm - local Los Angeles television station.)

We'd been waffling over the past few weeks on how to vote.  There are compelling arguments for both sides.  But it seems the overwhelming sentiment is that something is better than nothing.  Congratulations to Wayne Purcelle and the HSUS on a successful campaign.

Now I'm really confused.  We've gotten some great comments on both sides of the Proposition 2 argument and I'm not sure how to vote.  This will obviously require some additional reading on my part, and some soul searching.

My initial thought was to vote yes.  Even though I knew that the measure didn't go far enough.  I'm usually of the philosophy that every little bit helps.  Then I read that  the Humane Society was advocating a yes vote on this proposition.  That was enough for me.

But after posting about it, Sat of Bacon and Tofu submitted a comment which lead me to a post by Gary Francione, entitled What to Do About Proposition 2 on the Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach.  My takeaway from that post was that this proposition has the potential to do much more harm than good, as it will lull people into a false sense of doing good, when the proposition doesn't go nearly far enough.

Recently I was speaking with my brother, who is not a vegan, and will probably never consider going vegan.  He does however, eat only organic meats, raised and slaughtered by a local farmer.  By doing this, he has a sense that he is doing good, and this is a valid solution.  The animals fare much better than those raised on commercial farms.  But he has no counter to my comment that eating this way is not a viable option for the bulk of the population.  As a society, we would not be able to produce enough meat to feed the population (at the current rate of consumption).  He is reply to that is that he doesn't care about the bulk of the population.  He cares about what he and his family are doing.

Wow.  And this is my environmentally-minded brother, who has children who will inherit the mess we leave behind.  (Our conversation was more about eating locally versus eating vegan, and how that impacts the environment.)  He's not looking for a sustainable solution.  He's looking for a solution that makes him feel better about his personal actions.

So that got me thinking that if the bulk of the population is so me-centric, then there is validity to Mr. Francione's point that  this proposition will make the public even more complacent than they already are, and that we should hold out for something that will make more of an impact.  And that led me to a "no" vote.

But then I read through your comments, and there are some compelling reasons to vote yes.  Without summarizing each and every one (and if you haven't read the comments, I'd suggest doing so...  it's quite a good conversation over there!), below are some of the points you've made that I've found most interesting. and are the things I'll be mulling over in the near future:

Gary of Animal Writings, who's opinion we respect very much, suggests that the measure is worth supporting even if it falls short of the mark:  "The overwhelming message of Prop 2 is that certain cruelties to animals are unacceptable and should be outlawed." and "Though a desire for happy meat is misguided and morally insufficient, it’s better than having no consideration whatsoever for the animals who are raised and killed for food. Recogniton of farmed animals as thinking, feeling individuals provides a basis for further lifestyle and moral evolution. It is a critical first step."  (He has many other interesting points too.)

Bea E. is concerned that Prop 2 will result in people thinking the problem has been mitigated and it is okay to eat meat since the standards for raising these animals have been improved.

Kim is voting against Prop 2 because she objects to the "happy meat" message too.

Sue H. doesn't believe it's an "all or nothing" measure.

Barna of SF Vegan points out that some of the commercial animal ventures are strongly supporting this measure, because it will result in an increase in their profits.  (Please see Barna's comment below for clarification.)

kim of Alls Well That Ends Vegan advocates for Prop 2 as it will increase awareness of animal suffering.  She asks "How do you change public perceptions of animals’ “rights” unless you take advantage of large campaigns that at least address such issues?"

laura also advocates for Prop 2 and provides links to additional reading, if you're interested.

And Elaine Vigneault strongly suggests writing the Humane Society and explaining a "No" vote.  Which is something that we will do should we decide to vote "no."

So, if you have an opinion on this matter, keep talking to us.  We haven't made up our minds yet, although we're back to leaning towards a Yes vote (I know, how fickle we are).  Even if you don't live in California, you have the opportunity to influence two votes, at least. 

--  Lane & Jane

Our world seems to be increasingly toxic.  And while I feel rather confident that switching to a vegan diet has eliminated the most harmful offenders from my daily intake, I am aware that pesticides are something I can't escape in my every day life.  I recently came across a website that's worth sharing...  The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has compiled some information about pesticides and produce.

The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2005. A detailed description of the criteria used in developing the rankings is available as well as a full list of fresh fruits and vegetables that have been tested.

The EWG has ranked fruits and vegetables according to their pesticide load (100 represents the highest pesticide load).   According to their rankings, here are the Un-Sweet Sixteen...  these fruits and veggies have rankings over 50...

RANK	FRUIT OR VEGGIE	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peaches	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apples	96
3	Sweet Bell Peppers	86
4	Celery	85
5	Nectarines	84
6	Strawberries	83
7	Cherries	75
8	Lettuce	69
9	Grapes - Imported	68
10	Pears	65
11	Spinach	60
12	Potatoes	58
13	Carrots	57
14	Green Beans	55
15	Hot Peppers	53
16	Cucumbers	52

In case you're wondering, there were two vegetables which scored a 1; onions and avocados.  Tomatoes weren't too shabby either at 30, so it looks like salsa is a good thing.

Click here for the EWGs complete list.

And here's what the EWG recommends you do to reduce your exposure to pesticides on produce:

Nearly all of the data used to create these lists already considers how people typically wash and prepare produce (for example, apples are washed before testing, bananas are peeled). While washing and rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them. Peeling also reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the peel. The best option is to eat a varied diet, wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.