Skip to content

76 Comments

  1. Jane
    March 23, 2017 @ 11:23 pm

    Where did this horrific crime take place?? Which slaughterhouse was it and who do they sell their meat to??? This is awful and must be stopped. We can vote with our money and bad publicity!!!!

    Reply

  2. Mary
    March 24, 2017 @ 12:14 am

    Are you vegan or just vegetarian? My family is in the process of going vegetarian. We do dairy, but only local and organic dairy (and a lot of it goat not cow). I don’t think I could go without butter – I know, I know…

    Anyway, can you – or any of your readers – recommend a favorite vegetarian cookbook or recipe? I’ve been using library/internet, but I love recommendations! (I should mention that I am not a fabulous cook.)

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      March 25, 2017 @ 10:51 am

      Hey! Paul and I are vegan… I’m not much of a cookbook person, but my mom is… especially for deserts (we are practical people!)

      Her favorite is The Vegan Baker… http://amzn.to/2n2vkOj she’s been really happy with everything she’s made from there. (and my brothers and I endorse it too!)

      And this one http://amzn.to/2nn7Jv9 Isa’s cookbook— but she also has a website, not sure if they are repeats, or new… but she has really appealing meals.

      Online, if you haven’t visited these, I always recommend:
      http://www.theppk.com/recipes/
      http://ohsheglows.com/categories/recipes-2/
      http://yumuniverse.com/topics/blog/recipes/

      Of course you know that Pinterest is great, even just for ideas/jumping off points… here’s my board of vegan recipes… I rarely actually “follow” the instructions, so can’t vouch for them all, but I like to just remind myself of new combinations.
      https://www.pinterest.com/barnesvictoria/plant-based-meals-recipe-ideas/

      If you make anything you really love, let me know!!

      Reply

    • Sarah E Dykstra
      March 27, 2017 @ 12:18 pm

      We have found some amazing vegan cookbooks lately. The classic is Veganomicon and I put off getting it for a long time because it’s about 10 years old, BUT it is amazing. The Mac Daddy recipe is fantastic, the butternut squash rice paper rolls are incredible and there are great ideas for every type of occasion.

      The First Mess has simple and easy to prepare meals – everything we’ve made has been outstanding (also a good blog to visit).

      Minimalist Baker’s blog and cookbook are also very good.

      Reply

  3. Nina
    March 24, 2017 @ 6:37 am

    The creators of Cowspiracy have a new documentary that came out last week: http://www.whatthehealthfilm.com

    Agree with all of your points & can’t wait to see it.

    Reply

  4. Loran Watkins
    March 24, 2017 @ 12:05 pm

    Laughing Cow cheese is currently the ‘ad of the moment’ on your sidebar, followed by Babybel. I don’t know if you have control over those ads but you might want to look into that…. Since technically someone can click on that, order cheese and you get a tiny percentage of that sale. Sigh. I know, we try to do the right thing but stuff can be so ENTANGLED.

    Thanks to you I am now the proud owner of three large pieces of slate from one dissembled pool table 🙂 And the BF is going CRAZY trying to convince me that I can/can’t do the projects I’ve outlined. HA! So I said to him “stand back, because of Victoria and Paul ima gonna show you what can be done!” And so I shall. Thank Paul ahead of time for me 😉

    Reply

  5. Kathleen
    March 24, 2017 @ 2:23 pm

    Thank you for the information about milk and cheese. I’ve had a problem eating meat for several years now. I would complain about wanting to eat “happy cows” or getting milk and butter from the idyllic pictures of cows roaming green pastures in the sunshine with their babies next to them and birds singing, etc. I’ve known them to be false images and would keep complaining and yet I did nothing. I’ve always hated the idea of eggs and milk causes me great digestive upset (yet I drink it in my coffee and eat ice cream and cheese and suffer the consequences) and I would eat meat and gag and complain.

    Today I decided to go vegan and finally walk the talk, thanks in part to your posts on animal cruelty. They have forced my eyes wide open and I can no longer unsee the abuse and turn my head away and say that someone should do something. I am that someone. I can choose to not eat or use animal products or products tested on animals. I can choose to make a small difference for the animals, my health, the planet’s health.

    I enjoy all your posts. Keep educating us on animal cruelty. And the cat posts and house posts are great too!

    Reply

  6. Amber
    March 24, 2017 @ 5:22 pm

    I recently watched Forks Over Knives (just last week, actually), and I thought it was fascinating. This post feels very timely for me, personally, and has reinforced my desire to eat more plants and less meat. It’s so hard to change habits, especially bad habits, but I believe it is so important for our health. Thanks for the thought-provoking post! Oh, and good luck with the kittens – may God have mercy on you.

    Reply

  7. Kim
    March 24, 2017 @ 9:17 pm

    LOVE this post!! Educate yourselves people. Plant based eating is the way to go! It’s the most humane, healthy and responsible way to live. Thanks Victoria!
    Meanwhile try to read anything written by Drs. Campbell, Esselstyn, McDougall, Barnard, and Greger.

    Reply

  8. wanda garrett
    March 26, 2017 @ 3:59 pm

    Loved the kitten/cat story! But found the rest of the post most disturbing! I don’t drink cows milk and am vegetarian; how can people actually think this ok? I am too upset now to do anything but cry.

    Reply

  9. Avien
    March 28, 2017 @ 1:02 pm

    OMG. I understand that you are vehement in your advocacy for animal protection and sustainability.
    I support that. However, I have to say that showing that picture and telling that story …
    Does it advance what goals you strive for through your advocacy?
    In my mind, that kind of ‘fact showing’ shuts people down. I was engaged in the first part, because I know its factual. You had me. Then the story of the cow – and BOOM. I shut down. Not because I didn’t believe it but because of the helplessness I felt in the face of that kind of brutality. What was the point?

    With the current political climate of ‘us versus them’, how does that type of pictorial brutality advance anything? With the proposed Wall and its impact of Wildlife and the political divide between people and animals…how does a picture of a brutalized cow advance common ground and collaboration?
    When climate change is being vehemently denied at the Federal level, how does that picture engender a solution that meets the political divide and breed common ground?

    Shouldn’t the goal be to broaden perspective, not alientate people new to the knowledge you are sharing by brutalizing them? or in a sense, shaming them? Food for thought, I hope.

    Reply

  10. Avien
    March 28, 2017 @ 1:02 pm

    OMG. I understand that you are vehement in your advocacy for animal protection and sustainability.
    I support that. However, I have to say that showing that picture and telling that story …
    Does it advance what goals you strive for through your advocacy?
    In my mind, that kind of ‘fact showing’ shuts people down. I was engaged in the first part, because I know its factual. You had me. Then the story of the cow – and BOOM. I shut down. Not because I didn’t believe it but because of the helplessness I felt in the face of that kind of brutality. What was the point?

    With the current political climate of ‘us versus them’, how does that type of pictorial brutality advance anything? With the proposed Wall and its impact of Wildlife and the political divide between people and animals…how does a picture of a brutalized cow advance common ground and collaboration?
    When climate change is being vehemently denied at the Federal level, how does that picture engender a solution that meets the political divide and breed common ground?

    Shouldn’t the goal be to broaden perspective, not alienate people new to the knowledge you are sharing by brutalizing them? or in a sense, shaming them? Food for thought, I hope.

    Reply

  11. Shelley Cuatt
    March 28, 2017 @ 5:27 pm

    I wish I could foster cows…

    Reply

  12. Court in NZ
    March 29, 2017 @ 6:05 am

    Dear VEB, you’re sort of right. The majority of the health problems you cite in your article have more to do with the fact the dairy cows in the United States are crammed into feedlots, which are filthy and absolutely horrendous, then fed Roundup-dowsed, genetically-modified grains (something they are not designed to eat), which therefore makes them sick. Sick cows need antibiotics, and it’s actually legal to sell milk with antibiotics in them in the States (it’s illegal elsewhere). On top of that, the milk is then pasteurized and homogenized, changing its chemical structure and rendering it dangerous to consume. So it’s actually no surprise that milk created in this way would make humans sick!
    However, RAW MILK from pastured cows, allowed to graze on fresh, green grass in the sun, is very healthy; in fact, raw butter from cows grazing on the rapidly-growing grass in the Spring and Autumn is a super food! An eye-opening read on the subject is “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” by Dr. Weston A Price.
    So, yes, shun the conventional dairy industry and support your small, local organic farmer (or make friends with someone with their own house cow!) who grazes his/her cows on GRASS and consume the milk/milk products in their raw state. Cheers 🙂

    Reply

  13. kate
    April 20, 2017 @ 1:42 pm

    wow. you eat a LOT of kale.
    also, we had cat brothers who loved each other & were inseparable but then chewed a hole in the screened-in porch for a night of adventure. one ran off & never came back & the other has been inconsolable ever since 🙁 I guess we shouldn’t have named them after the tragic hobbit brothers Fili & Kili who ended up dying in Lord of the Rings. We doomed them from the beginning.

    Reply

  14. Jenny Young
    April 23, 2017 @ 5:54 pm

    I’ve been browsing your blog archives after finding it through Pinterest.

    I recently had a friend recommend I read Hillbilly Elegy. She & I both grew up in West Virginia, not very far from each other actually. We went off to college, married, had children then met in the midwest & become friends. We’ve had many conversations about our childhoods & how we just never seem to fit in anywhere else we’ve been. She was a coal miner’s daughter, my childhood is too crazy to explain in one sentence. She said it was the first book she’d ever read that really seemed to understand where she came from & what she deals with. I cannot wait to read it! She believes I’ll connect with the author well.

    I have not watch Wild Wonderful Whites of West Virginia….I don’t really want to from the clips I’ve seen. It’s nothing like I was raised even though I WAS raised in severe poverty (think no indoor plumbing for one). I will say though, that dental care is a luxury there. Truly, if you go to the dentist at all it’s to have a tooth pulled because you’re in so much pain. I lost so many teeth before I got to college because buying food was more important than repairing a tooth. I was thrilled when I was able to afford dental insurance & actually maintain my teeth.

    Anyway…certainly people are not so naive as to believe this show is normal for even West Virginians. Reality shows magnify the extreme, those on the edge. They’re only thinking about ratings & I’m sure many things are aired out of context or manipulated to show a certain story line. I’ve never understood a desire to watch something like this anyway…what you think is real life & to choose & observe someone’s self-destruction? It sounds like the Ancient Roman coliseum to me. Society feeding off of pain & destruction.

    I’m really enjoying your writing style…loved your post on kitchen trends & keeping up with the Joneses! I think I’ll be following you to see what other fun things you come up with.

    Reply

  15. Kallen Ramey
    August 28, 2017 @ 4:07 pm

    I absolutely loved The Glass Castle, have you read the second book? It’s just as amazing as the first one. And, thank you, for the last story..I wasn’t planning on having an ugly cry in the office but oh well!
    I’m still quite new to your blog but it’s kept me very entertained and given me a newfound desire for GFT’s! I can’t wait to read more on your Craigslist conquests, keep on being fancy!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.