Websites with Summaries

The Sonoma Humane Society has a long and proud history of leading the fight to end overpopulation and rescue, rehabilitate and place thousands of animals into loving homes. Founded in 1931, they are the oldest and largest animal shelter in Sonoma County and funded by donations. Animals at the Humane Society are cared for until they find a new home, including those who arrive sick or injured, those who may need behavior training or those who simply need the gift of time.

Compassionate Cooks Run by vegan author and expert Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Compassionate Cooks is dedicated to empowering people to make informed food choices, to debunking myths about veganism and animal rights, and to giving people the tools and resources they need to live according to their values of compassion and wellness. Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is the award-winning author of five books, including the bestselling The Joy of Vegan Baking, The Vegan Table, Color Me Vegan, and Vegan’s Daily Companion. She writes “The VegGuru” column for VegNews magazine, contributes to National Public Radio and The Christian Science Monitor, has appeared on The Food Network and PBS.

OrganicAthlete is a worldwide community of athletes and fitness enthusiasts who believe that a better world starts with healthy people. Since health is fueled by food, they teach how to thrive in a physically active lifestyle on a whole food, vegan diet. Check out their Guide to Sports Nutrition and learn why some of the world's best athletes are vegan.

The Food Empowerment Project The Food Empowerment Project promotes a vegan diet as part of their work for social justice, environmental and animal issues. They seek to create a more just and sustainable world by recognizing the power of one's food choices and showing how all of these issues are connected.

VeganMexicanFood.com Great vegan Mexican food! Need we say more? One of the sub-projects of The Food Empowerment Project. In Spanish and English.

Farm Sanctuary is a both a sanctuary for rescued farm animals and an advocacy organization working to end cruelty to all animals. They are one of the pioneers of the animal sanctuary movement and have been instrumental in getting many laws passed to protect farm animals. It's a great place to visit too! They have a center in Northern California and one in upstate New York.

Animal Place Sanctuary and Education Center was founded in 1989 as a nonprofit sanctuary for abused and discarded farmed animals. It's also a humane education center that works to promote cruelty-free eating and lifestyles. They provide a variety of educational resources that teach kindness and compassion for all creatures. They are in the process of moving to a much large 590-acre facility in Grass Valley, Northern California where they'll be able to care for many more rescued animals.

Bay Area Vegetarians Bay Area Vegetarians (BAVeg) is a great resource for vegan, vegetarian and animal rights people in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have lots of listings for veg-friendly events, businesses and restaurants as well as an excellent newsletter and other educational resources. Check them out!

Straight Up Food Your source for reliable, no-nonsense nutrition education and coaching. Straight Up Food works with people of all ages, at any stage of health.

United Poultry Concerns Dedicated to the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl, United Poultry Concerns has been working to raise awareness about the difficult lives of chickens, turkeys, and other birds raised for human consumption. They have a wondefully informative website. Check it out.

SupremeMasterTV.com This is a very pro-vegetarian video site with “positive news for a better world”. It is an outgrowth of the work and followers of spiritual and meditation teacher “Supreme Master” Ching Hai who we believe was born in Viet Nam. The site is a lot of fun and might best be characterized as ‘international new-age campy’. Ching Hai’s talks are inspiring as is her dedication to animal causes. Shows are sometimes interrupted with ‘commercials’ for vegetarianism or tips like “How to make your vegan cakes moist” (we're not kidding!). There are interviews with folks like John Robbins, farm sanctuary leaders and vegetarian celebrities. Probably best viewed with a high speed internet connection. Click on “FullScreen” just below the video box for a larger view.

VegTV.com This site has video interviews of celebrity vegetarians, cooking shows etc. It’s fun to watch if you have a high speed internet connection. Click on “FULLSCREEN” just below the video box for the super-sized view.

Humane Society of the United States Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty. The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest and most effective animal protection organization—backed by 10 million Americans, they are America's mainstream force against cruelty, exploitation and neglect. This is the powerful group that drew national attention when they exposed the horrible cruelty to dairy cows at the Hallmark Meat Packing Plant that lead to the largest beef recall in US history.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is an organization of medical doctors and researchers. They promotes preventive medicine, conduct clinical research, and encourage higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.

NutriSpeak Plant-based nutrition and health information from Vesanto Melina, Registered Dietitian. Lots of great book recommendations, info on food allergies, raising vegan children, vegan food guides and more.

VeganHealth.org This site is an excellent resource for nutritional information. It is maintained by Jack Norris, Registered Dietitian and President of Vegan Outreach. He created the site to help keep vegans and vegetarians healthy and to help people make the transition to a plant-based diet. He is conservative in his approach in that he'll advise considering supplementation if there is any question about health ramifications.

DrMcDougall.com This is Dr. John McDougall's website, McDougall is one of the pioneers of nutritionally-based preventative medicine and is a local resource if you live in Northern California (he practices in Santa Rosa). Although most doctors know very little about nutrition, McDougall has studied it exhaustively for his entire career. On his site we found a newsletter which address the popularity of the Atkins diet and also gets into the calcium issue. It's an interesting read if you have time.

ChooseVeg.com Lots of great info on making the switch to a vegan lifestyle. Under the “for the animals” button, there is video of factory farmed animals suffering in intensive situations. Hard to watch, but very powerful- great to show to family and friends. The site also has hundreds of vegan recipes.

Livestock’s Long Shadow United Nations FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) report chronicling the enormously detrimental effects of animal agriculture on the world’s ecosystems. A very informative and authoritative resource covering the undeniable effect that our food choices have on the health of our environment.

Vegetus (veh'.geh.tuss) is the Latin word meaning lively or vigorous. The word vegetarian was purposefully derived from vegetus, not vegetable. So states this fun and lively site. Vegetus offers a tickle for your funny bone with vegan cartoons and jokes as well as recipes and excellent commentary on vegan issues from honey to strategic non-violence. Check it out.

Eco-Eating Eating as if the Earth matters. This informative site has some great information on the environmental impact of meat, dairy and eggs. Did you know the Pentagon released a report that claims Global Warming to be a greater threat than terrorism and also states eating meat increases Global Warming? Some good health info as well.

EarthSave International Group founded by long time vegetarian activist John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America and The Food Revolution. EarthSave continues the educational work that Diet for a New America began in 1987. This is a large website with lots of good writing and information about the effects of food choices on animals, the environment and human health.

NotMilk.com Want the whole truth about dairy? How about eggs? Goat’s milk? Visit Dr. Robert Cohen’s excellent website. It has lots of articles about the dangers of dairy products and related health issues.

Go Vegan with Bob Linden The Planet's first and only commercial vegan radio show! Bob's passionate voice for the animals and Earth is only matched by his great lineup of guests. You can here the show in the San Francisco Bay Area Sunday afternoons at 2PM on 'The Quake' 960 AM. If you miss the show listen online or download the podcast. Also check the website for show times in other areas. Bob covers issues of animal rights and welfare, diet and health, vegetarianism the environment. He also discusses how these issues connect with other important issues such as our current war footing and the political climate in our country. Highly recommended!

Santa Rosa Community Market Santa Rosa Community Market is a worker-run, vegetarian business. After shopping there for a while you will find yourself bumping into quite a few friends and can always find literature about good things going on in the community. Their mission is to provide natural, healthful, organic, environmentally responsible products at reasonable prices and to be a valuable resource for service and education for a sustainable community. Has take-out Deli and a large selection of herbal medicines and spices. All produce is organic. Menu: Has ready-made sandwiches and salads. We are really lucky have this great resource so please support them!

In Defense of Animals "In Defense of Animals has set the standard for integrity and results in animal advocacy. In a world in which too many look away, IDA has been on the cutting edge of front-line activism to end abuse and exploitation. No organization has done more to uphold the principles of justice for our animal friends." says the author Jeffrey Masson of the wonderful book, When Elephants Weep. And its headquarters are close, right in Mill Valley. Check out their website for lots of great information.

Animal Legal Defense Fund With their national headquarters in Cotati, California, the Animal Legal Defense Fund™ works within the legal system to advance and protect the interests of animals.

Friends of Animals goal is to free animals from cruelty and institutionalized exploitation around the world. With loyal support of members and friends from all walks of life throughout the world, each year they actively meet the needs of more animals on more fronts than any animal advocacy group of its kind.

Esperanza de Libertad is an international group dedicated to forming and managing an animal sanctuary in Bolivia. One of its founders, Stella Sythe, who is also the group's United States Project Coordinator, comes from Sonoma County, California.

Brighthaven An Animal Place of Love, Learning and Education. While not vegan, Brighthaven is an animal sanctuary in Sonoma County, California where amazing things happen. They rescue and provide a home for senior, disabled, and special needs animals. A visit or class at Brighthaven is uplifting and inspiring.

Action for Animals Located in Oakland, Action for Animals appears to have no website at this time (any budding web designers want to volunteer?) but has published an invaluable monthly calendar of events for Bay Area animal rights and environmental activists. Twenty dollars per year ($35 for organizations). Does public speaking in schools. Has a major focus on live animals in food markets and animals in entertainment: rodeos, circuses, zoos, and maritime parks. Address: Post Office Box 20184, Oakland, CA, 94620 Phone: voice (510) 652-5603 and fax (510) 654-7432.

More Websites

Books

Being Vegan

—Joanne Stepaniak

Conscious Eating

—Gabriel Cousens, M.D.

Diet For A New America

—John Robbins

Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy

—Matthew Scully

Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food

—Gene Baur

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of The All-American Meal

—Eric Schlosser

Mad Cowboy

—Howard Lyman

Making a Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights by Bob Torres

—Bob Torres

Skinny Bitch: Freedman

—Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin.

Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S.eat Industry

—Gail Eisnitz

Thanking The Monkey: Rethinking The Way We Treat Animals

—Karen Dawn

The China Study

—Dr. T. Colin Campbell

The Food Revolution

—John Robbins

The McDougall Program

—Dr. John McDougall

The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: the Emotional World of Farm Animals by Jeffrey Masson

—Jeffrey Masson

The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter

—Peter Singer

The World Peace Diet: Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony by Will Tuttle Ph.D

—Will Tuttle Ph.D

Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating

—Erik Marcus

When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffery Moussaieff Masson

—Jeffery Moussaieff Masson

Why Animals Matter: the Case for Animal Protection by Erin Williams and Margo DeMello

—Erin Williams and Margo DeMello

Cookbooks

Complete Guide to Vegetarian Cooking

—M. Isis Israel

How It All Vegan!

—Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer

Skinny Bitch in The Kitch

—Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin

The Garden of Vegan

—Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer

The Joy of Vegan Baking

—Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

The Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook

—Tanya Petronova

The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook (all vegan recipes)

—L. Hagler & D. Bates

The Perfect Salad to Building The Ultimate Salad

—M. Isis Israel

The Real Food Daily Cookbook

—Ann Gentry

The Veggie Queen

—Jill Nussinow (local author)

Vegan A-Go-Go, A Cookbook and Survival Manuel For Vegans on the Road

—Sarah Kramer

Veganomicon

—Isa Chandra Moskowitz