Oh, yays! Today marks the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade – and it’s also the fourth annual Blog for Choice Day!

Over at easyVegan.info, I spent quite a bit of time examining reproductive rights as it relates to animal advocacy, but I fear I only scratched the surface. Volumes can be – have been! – written about the exploitation of women’s and non-human animals’ sexuality separately; methinks we’d need an entire encyclopedia set to fully examine the parallels and intersections between the two together.

For example, I didn’t even touch upon Nestle’s exploitation of new mothers in impoverished nations by convincing them that unaffordable, dairy-based formula is better for their babies than mother’s milk; dairy-based formula, of course, necessarily involves the exploitation of female cows.

Anyhow, this year’s topic is “What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress?” Easy, peasy as (vegan) pie!

I have so many hopes, that it’s hard to choose just one. If forced, I’d have to get vague: Be progressive in words and actions.

But that doesn’t make for a very interesting post, so instead I’ll name my most immediate pro-choice hope for Obama: Repeal the Global Gag Rule. While this is only one of many pro-choice hopes I have for the Obama administration, I would love for it to be the first he enacts – because in so doing, he’ll send a strong, clear, pro-choice message, not just to the nation, but to the world.

Also known as The Mexico City Policy, the Global Gag Rule is a policy which

requires non-governmental organizations to “agree as a condition of their receipt of [U.S.] federal funds” that they will “neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations”. The policy has exceptions for abortions done in response to rape, incest, or life-threatening conditions.

Referrals to abortion providers – indeed, even broaching the subject of abortion – qualifies as “actively promot[ing] abortion.”

Named for the venue of the United Nations International Conference on Population where it was announced, the Mexico City Policy was instituted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1984. [...]

After the Mexico City Policy’s institution, organizations were required to meet its specified conditions in order to be eligible for federal funding from the United States, and, as a result, several international abortion agencies no longer received a portion of their funds from this source. The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) did not alter its operation and lost more than 20% of its total funding. Other family planning organizations, such as the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia and the Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia, likewise did not make the changes required by the Mexico City Policy and had their fundings cut. NGOs in Romania and Colombia adapted to the new U.S. guidelines and continued to qualify for federal funding.

President Bill Clinton rescinded the Mexico City Policy on January 22, 1993. He referred to the policy as being “excessively broad” and stated that it had “undermined efforts to promote safe and efficacious family planning programs in foreign nations”. On January 22, 2001, President George W. Bush reinstated the policy by executive order, stating, “It is my conviction that taxpayer funds should not be used to pay for abortions or advocate or actively promote abortion, either here or abroad. It is therefore my belief that the Mexico City Policy should be restored”. In September 2007, Barbara Boxer, a Senator from California, created an amendment designed to lift the funding conditions put in place by the Mexico City Policy. It passed by a vote of 53-41. President Bush had said he will veto any legislation which would eliminate the Mexico City Policy.

In addition to curbing free speech in other nations, the Global Gag Rule forces non-profits, some of which are already operating with tight budgets in impoverished nations, to choose between offering patients comprehensive medical services and receiving much-needed funding. Furthermore, while the Gag Rule ostensibly seeks to reduce the number of abortions in other nations, denying family planning organizations funding actually has the opposite effect. The most effective way to reduce the need for abortion is to reduce the number of unplanned/unwanted pregnancies. A prohibition on talking about abortion won’t do anything to prevent unplanned pregnancies; comprehensive sex ed and access to contraception will. But a cut in U.S. funding will negatively impact an organization’s ability to provide such services.

The Global Gag Rule, then, is yet another instance of anti-choicers attempting to control women and force their religion on others. In this case, the women in question aren’t even citizens of this “Judeo-Christian” nation – so this play at a de facto theocracy is particularly appalling. By taking advantage of these organizations – and the disadvantaged populations they serve – the anti-choicers behind the Global Gag Rule are belying their real “respect for life.” (As in, not very respectful….or respectful only inasmuch as they’re able to exert control over said lives.)

Bill Clinton rescinded the policy shortly after taking office in 1993. In response, Bush II reinstated the policy exactly eight years later. At the time of this writing, President Obama only has a few hours to continue the tradition and rescind the Global Gag Rule at the eight-year mark (Clinton and Bush both took action on January 22). If he doesn’t reverse this misguided, exploitative, misogynistic policy today, it’s my pro-choice hope that he rescinds it shortly – the sooner, the better.

Real women are suffering – and dying. President Obama must send a message that he supports a woman’s right to choose – whether she chooses to use contraception, voluntarily sterilize herself, abort a pregnancy, or carry one to term – and repealing such a heinous policy, early in his term, will demonstrate to the world that he rejects Bush’s anti-woman worldview.

As for the long term – well, NOW’s Feminist Wish List is a good enough place to start!

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Tagged: feminism misogyny sexism sexist women’s rights reproductive rights gag rule global gag rule president obama barack obama blogging for choice carnival blog swarm pro-choice abortion contraception intersections parallel oppressions animals animal rights animal welfare

Spoiler alert! – Namely, for Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2005). Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

OK, so perhaps this post is six days late, but I’ve been busy enjoying the last throes of warm, sunny weather here in the Midwest. Plus, there was this minor matter called the presidential elections on Tuesday…maybe you’ve heard of it?

As I mentioned previously, Shane & I have a longstanding (three years now?…maybe four?) Halloween tradition: namely, we spend the day watching horror movies and scarfing junk food. This H-day was no exception, although we didn’t get though as many scary movies as we usually do; we watched three flicks, compared to the normal five or six. Probably because the first film, Peter Jackson’s King Kong, ran three and a half hours! Also on the roster were Identity and Untraceable.

Aside from some dreadful “primitive tribal heathen” stereotyping early on, King Kong is an incredible film. There’s definitely a strong (albeit most likely unintentional) animal welfare message underlying Kong’s story, and it’s handled beautifully by director Peter Jackson and actor Naomi Watts. Jackson’s Kong is the last of his (her?) kind, living a life of solitude and loneliness on Skull Island – that is, until Carl Denham (Jack Black) and crew arrive in order to film a movie. Leading lady Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) is kidnapped from her ship by the island’s natives and sacrificed to Kong (cue awful stereotypes), presumably to keep the “beast” happy, content, and out of their camp. Kong, instead of devouring Darrow, initially keeps her as a sort of “pet.” (Kong is taken with her comedic vaudeville stylings, it seems.) Darrow soon escapes, but finds herself lost on a prehistoric island filled with rampaging dinosaurs and giant bugs. Kong, distraught at his only companion’s disappearance, tracks Darrow down, just in time to save her from two raptor-like dinos. Once Darrow is safe, Kong skulks off, injured both physically (from the battle) and emotionally (at Darrow’s desertion). Whether from fear or compassion (or, most likely, a combination of both), Darrow rejoins Kong.

Meanwhile, in the face of stampeding brontos and an angry Kong, Denham’s crew has abandoned their search for Darrow. Instead, they leave Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) to continue the search for Darrow (with whom he’s fallen in love), while the crew heads back to the ship in order to set a trap (unbeknown to Driscoll) for Kong, who’s sure to pursue the pair. Driscoll manages to find Kong’s den, which is littered with the bones of Kong’s long-dead relatives. Darrow is asleep in Kong’s palm; the two, who have formed a reciprocal, interspecies bond, watched the sun set and then nodded off together. Driscoll wakes Darrow, and the two attempt to sneak away without rousing Kong. Kong awakes in time to see the two creeping away together, and in the ensuing scuffle, a hoard of bats stir from their cliffside perch and attack the trio. Driscoll and Darrow manage to hitch a ride on one of the bats’ backs, and Kong runs after them in frenzied pursuit.

Naturally, this is where the story becomes a tearjerker. Kong is tranquilized, captured and caged during his attempt to retake a regretful Darrow. Back in NYC, Kong becomes part of a grotesque monster display, wherein Darrow’s sacrifice to the beast is reenacted for the entertainment of “horrified” audience. Darrow, who during her time with Kong had come to recognize his humanity, intelligence and sentience, wants nothing to do with the circus act, so director/showman Denham hires a Darrow lookalike to play the part. Kong begins the show partially sedated; as he comes to, he initially starts at the blond actress: I know her! Kong reaches out to Ann – only to become enraged when he realizes that it’s an impostor. Now furious, he rips free of his shackles and storms New York in search of his Ann. On the streets, he scoops up any and every thin blond he can find, only to toss the women aside when he realizes they aren’t the ones he wants.

Performing in a small, low-budget vaudeville hall, Darrow hears the commotion and runs towards Kong while throngs of flee in the other direction. Once Kong is reunited with his Jane Goodall, the two enjoy a few brief moments of reconnection. Kong, who hails from a tropical island, has never before seen ice or snow, and he delights in skidded across a pond in Central Park with Darrow perched safely in his hand. This playful scene is interrupted by a hail of gunfire; Kong, though he hasn’t intentionally harmed anyone (and is in fact a captive slave in the city, there against his will), must be destroyed! You probably know the rest: Kong is pursued by the police and military to the top of the Empire State Building, from which he is eventually gunned down.

Kong dies for our stupidity, greed, selfishness and speciesism.

Like Planet of the Apes (and even Transformers), I wouldn’t classify Jackson’s King Kong as an overtly animal rights movie; however, the underlying messages are quite animal friendly: imprisoning wild animals, keeping exotic pets, ignoring the unique needs and characteristics of animals other than ourselves, elevating human animals above all else, hubris and greed – these are unethical states of being with dire consequences.

Looking at Kong’s body lying dead in the street, a reporter remarks that he was “just a dumb animal.” Yet, it’s clear to everyone who looked into Kong’s understanding, intelligent eyes that he was anything but a stupid beast. The animals involved in Kong’s destruction – well, that’s another matter.

While searching for a movie poster to illustrate this post, I noticed a rather stark dichotomy between how the movie marketers portray Kong in the film’s adverts – versus the humanity and compassion with which Jackson paints him.

For example, Kong primarily appears as a roaring, animalistic menace:

Yet, he is quite gentle and loving towards Ms. Darrow, who (notably and singularly) takes the time to empathize with and relate to him as an individual. Their bond is honored in just one of the posters in the series (at least as far as I can tell):

Here you see Kong regarding Ann with curiosity, interest and affection – a far cry from the rabid beast depicted above.

My favorite images, by far, are stills of Kong and Ann taken from the movie:

Love, beauty and mutual understanding, shared across the species “barrier.” Is there anything more wondrous in all the world?

After watching Kong, I was basically reduced to a sniffly, blubbering mess. (This is why I never watch movies like Harry and the Hendersons, The Water Horse, or Cujo – they break, rather than entertain.) Even though it was a “monster movie” – and technically appropriate for our Halloween movie marathon – King Kong didn’t much scare me. So we moved on to two genuine horror/suspense movies.

Identity…well, it’s a good enough movie with a big twist at the end. And no women were objectified in its making! So two thumbs up and a hearty recommendation from this humorless feminist.

I was even more impressed with Untraceable, which passes The Bechdel test, namely, that a female friendly (read: not sexist) movie must have 1) at least two women, 2) who talk to each other, 3) about something other than a man. I don’t want to drop a spoiler, so let me also just hint that the strong female lead doesn’t need a man to save her. She can escape just fine on her own, thankyouverymuch. And, no objectification of women here, either – even though you’d expect as much from a film about a serial killer. Mad props all around for Untraceable.

Now on to the Halloween feast!

Breakfast was a boring bowl of bran flakes (my usual), but for lunch I had some mouth-watering potato onion pierogies, while Shane downed vegan “egg” rolls. Later on, we made pizza for dinner: homemade sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, black olives and Lightlife faux pepperoni for me; homegrown green peppers, mushrooms, black olives and Lightlife faux pepperoni for Shane.

As far as snacks go, we had Halloween Oreos, of course, which are delish (though a bit disconcerting – the neon orange filling looks absolutely nucular:

as well as some potato chips with onion dip (made with a dip mix and Tofutti Sour Cream) and home-dried fruit leather.

After dinner, I delighted in a shiny bowl of soy ice cream – Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent Cookie Dough with Coconut Milk:

I think Shane picked up the “Coconut Milk” line by accident last time he was at Whole Foods; the labeling doesn’t look all that much different from the “regular” Purely Decadent line. The flavors sweetened with coconut milk are just as yummy, but you can definitely detect a hint of coconut under the primary ingredients. It’s an expected undertone in the Coconut flavor; not so much with the Cookie Dough. Not bad, just…unexpected.

And…that’s Halloween. I snapped some shots of our main courses, but they came out awful, so there you go.

As for VeganMoFo reflections – I’ve got a few.

I was a bit apprehensive about meeting the post requirement when I signed up for the carnival, but in reality, I thought up more than enough post ideas. So many, in fact, that I’ve got a ton in the bank. Plus, the near-daily posts forced me to cook more (instead of forever gorging on leftovers) and try new recipes (instead of the familiar go-tos). As a result, I’ve discovered a number of new recipes that will become standards in the kitchen, no doubt. I even learned how to prepare such strange and unusual veggies as…spaghetti squash! (Oh my!) And I loved, loved, loved reading my fellow bloggers’ entries, and was wowed by the level of culinary artistry in the vegan community. (Wing It Vegan, I’m so looking at you!) I’ll have to step up my game for next year.

That’s a wrap, peoples! Let’s do it again next October, shall we?

(Crossposted from.)

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Tagged: veganmofo vegan veganism vegetarian vegetarianism blog swarm october food carnival halloween food junk food oreos pizza purely decadence soy ice cream king kong movies speciesism horror movies untraceable identity peter jackson animal rights animal welfare animal friendly sentience great apes pop culture

Shane picked up some Kalamata olives from Wild Oats’ salad bar yesterday, so I asked him (demanded is more like it!) to make me some olive bread this afternoon. Which was really a double bonus – yummy olive bread for me, plus a day’s rest from veganmofo recipes!

Shane adapted the “Classic French Bread” recipe in our Sunbeam Breadmaker manual to create this Kalamata Olive loaf. The original recipe lists a bunch of machine-specific steps, which I’ll skip; after all, if you already have a bread machine, chances are you know how to use it! And if you don’t have one, check out your local Goodwill or a family member’s attic – it’s a kitchen gadget no carb-loading vegan should be without.

Shane’s Kalamata Olive Bread

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 tablespoons water (75-85 degrees)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/4 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
3/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives

Directions

1. Set up your bread machine.

2. Place ingredients into the bread pan in the following order: water, olive oil, olives, bread flour, sugar and salt.

3. With finger, make a small indentation on one side of the flour. Add yeast to the indentation, making sure it does not come in contact with the liquid ingredients.

4. Insert the bread pan into your machine. Run a cycle for a 1.5 pound loaf of French Bread (or similar, depending on your machine).

5. Enjoy warm!

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Tagged: veganmofo vegan veganism vegetarian vegetarianism blog swarm october food carnival bread bread machine recipe olives kalamata kalamata olives shane’s kalamata olive bread olive bread recipes flickr photos

Either way, it’s super yummy.

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Today’s VeganMoFo recipe was really good, so I’m crossposting over here. Now, if you’ll ‘scuse me, I do believe I’m about to lapse into a sugar coma.

I’m too tired to write an introduction, so without further adieu, Pumpkin-Applesauce Squares, via Deseret News. Made with slight modifications, as explained below. Enjoy! (I sure did.)

Pumpkin-Applesauce Squares

Ingredients

Egg replacer for 6 eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce [I used fresh-out-of-the-pot pumpkin applesauce]
1 1/2 cups sugar [I reduced to 1 1/4 cups]
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 cups all-purpose flour [I used 2 cups wheat flour]
3 teaspoons low-sodium baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Combine egg replacer, applesauce, sugar and pumpkin in a large bowl; mix thoroughly.

3. Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice in a separate bowl.

4. Combine flour mixture and applesauce-pumpkin mixture. Stir just until all ingredients are moistened.

5. Transfer to an 8- by 8-inch nonstick baking pan sprayed with vegetable spray. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. [I cooked at the same temp for about 35 minutes, yet the middle was still a little gooey, but good; perhaps it's supposed to be a little gooey?]

Allow to cool before serving. Makes 24 servings. [Um, I dunno wtf they're talking about here; was this recipe written by a garden gnome, maybe? I count 12 servings, tops.]

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Tagged: veganmofo vegan veganism vegetarian vegetarianism blog swarm october food carnival recipe recipes applesauce pumpkin applesauce apples pumpkin Pumpkin-Applesauce Squares flickr photos cinnamon ginger allspice cloves dessert

In the wake of the current credit and banking crises, many pundits have been predicting that the presidential candidates will have to curb their proposed spending plans drastically when the winner takes office in January. With home foreclosures skyrocketing, pumping money towards renewable energy may seem like a luxury. Yet, an investment in these technologies could create jobs and set us on the path to energy independence. Though the initial investment might be high, the cost of feeding our oil addiction may prove much higher.

Aside from voting and petitioning our state and federal representatives, there’s little we can do as individuals to impact federal spending on eco-friendly options. However, on a micro level, we have a chance to save both money and the earth through the many little (and the few big) choices we make on a daily basis. Just as with the federal government’s expenditures, being “green” may cost a little more up front, but could save us money in the long run.

In a recent piece at Grist, Miles Grant observes notes an obvious parallel between tips to help you save money – and tips to help you save the environment:

Who are you to deny me my two-car garage filled with junk, an elegant dining room I’ll never use, and massive heating/cooling bills?

That’s the basic response from critics when greens question McMansions in particular and our consumer culture in general. I mean, isn’t newer, bigger, better the American way? Didn’t President Bush urge us to go shopping more?

But one financial advisor says trying to look rich by buying so much stuff is keeping some Americans from being rich. And while he never once mentions the environment, his prescriptions for building your savings have a lot in common with tips for cutting your environmental impact.

Being green and being frugal aren’t mutually exclusive, you see. Oftentimes, the two go hand in hand.

This year’s Blog Action theme is poverty; because I’m all about intersecting oppressions (such as classism, environmental destruction and the role of the megatheocorporatocracy in each), I thought I might offer some food-related tips for positively impacting your cash flow and your ecological imprint. Since we’re in the midst of the Vegan Month of Foods – for which I’ve been baking, cooking, drying and otherwise experimenting like mad – I’d like to focus on food, specifically, how one can eat green to save green.

Grow your own food…

Growing your own fruits and veggies is a fun way to save some money. As I wrote in my first VeganMoFo post, there’s nothing more satisfying than cultivating the earth, planting little seedlings and watching them grow, coveting that first grape tomato until it’s red and ripe, and then savoring the food you’ve nurtured all on your own. Whether you live on a lush 20 acres or in a small, third-story apartment, you can grow something, even if it’s just a small patch of herbs on the windowsill. Though it’s impossible for most of us to be entirely self-sufficient and off-the-grid in these modern times, growing your own food can help cut down those food bills – particularly if fruits and veggies comprise the bulk of your diet.

To get started, check out the gardening section at about.com. The “Small Space & Urban Gardens” and “Container Gardening” are of specific interest to those with small or indoor garden spaces.

…and preserve it for the coming winter!

If you have a garden of any size, you probably find yourself with more food than you can possibly eat in one season. If this is the case, look into methods of preserving your food. Canning, dehydrating, drying, freezing, vacuum sealing – all are viable options with varying start-up costs and skill levels. Use the internets to find more information.

If you enjoy toiling away in the kitchen – but don’t have a spot to grow veggies – team up with a friend or family member to split the work and responsibilities. Recruit a fellow frugal enviro with a yard to grow the produce, and pledge to preserve the bounty when it starts to overfloweth. Or volunteer to do the gardening if your BFF will can all the goodies. Share the start-up costs, workload and food. Strength in numbers, am I right?

Go Veg!

Even apart from animal welfare concerns, our insatiable desire for meat has grave environmental concerns: according to the U.N., factory farmed animals are responsible for 18% of greenhouse gases; ranching is the major driving force behind global deforestation; feedlot pollution washes into water, killing coral reefs and creating dead zones; and, overall, meat and dairy production are an inefficient use of food and water, such that “the 4.8 pounds of grain fed to cattle to produce one pound of beef” and “it takes a staggering 990 litres of water to produce one litre of milk.”

Meat and dairy are also bad, bad, bad for our health; E Magazine notes, “There is some evidence to suggest that the human digestive system was not designed for meat consumption and processing (see sidebar), which could help explain why there is such high incidence of heart disease, hypertension, and colon and other cancers. Add to this the plethora of drugs and antibiotics applied as a salve to unnatural factory farming conditions and growing occurrences of meat-based diseases like E. coli and Salmonella, and there’s a compelling health-based case for vegetarianism.” And don’t forget the bird flu!

If you’re thinking about going veg*n (i.e., vegetarian or vegan) – or even if you’re just looking to reduce your meat consumption – there are a plethora of resources online. Google “go veg” – or hop on over to easyVegan.info (my AR blog) and have a look at the blogroll.

My dad, who’s been a vegetarian for 40+ years and used to do his shopping in a small co-op located in the basement of a Unitarian church, will tell you that there’s never been a better time to go veg than now. Even the Cheesecake Factory has vegan options!

Buy in Bulk

Join a CSA and/or join a wholesale store such as Sam’s Club (they have Boca Burgers!) or Costco. If you can’t use or store such large portions, pair up with a friend or family member, and divvy up your purchases.

On the enviro side, bulk purchases usually reduce the amount of packaging you consume.

Buy Generic

Generic and name-brand food is usually similar enough that you won’t notice a difference. When in doubt, buy one of each and sample them side-by-side; who knows, you may even like the no-name option better!

BYOB – Bring Your Own Bag

Invest in a few high-quality canvas tote bags. Keep them in your car (if you own one; that’s another green quandary altogether!), and use them every time you shop.

Some stores will give you a small refund if you return and reuse their grocery bags; other businesses, such as Whole Foods, will give you a discount if you bring your own bag, no matter what type it is.

Americans plow through plastic bags to the tune of 100+ million per year. The lucky few (2%) will be recycled, but even these use up precious petroleum and natural gas and are sometimes decorated with lead, a toxin. Most end up in landfills, or become ocean litter, sapping life from the creatures which reside there. Reusable cloth bags can help to break this pattern of pollution.

As an added benefit, if you’re forced to budget precious sack space while shopping, you just might find that you stop making unplanned impulse purchases that you don’t really need.

Got any food-related tips for saving money/saving the planet? Leave ‘em in the comments!

(Crossposted to.)

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Tagged: blog swarm blog carnival blog action day blog action day 2008 poverty food gardening diy green environment frugal money go veg fruits veggies plastic bags veganmofo vegan vegetarian

(Crossposted from easyVegan.info, of course.)

As you can most likely infer from the post title, today is the Ralphster’s birthday. My little man, my first-born and -adopted, turns a gray old 11 today. He’s like the Wilford Brimley of the doggeh world, minus the dia-beddies.

I have plenty of Ralphie pix after the jump, of course, but first a recipe for Peanut Butter ‘Nilla Biscuits from Yummy for Dogs. If you like what you see, check out the website and/or order a copy of webmistress Veronica Noechel’s Yummy for Dogs: A Cook Book for Canines. Hey, it’s on my wishlist. I mean, Ralphie’s wishlist. Yeah, Ralphie. (Hint, hint, wink, wink!)

Peanut Butter ‘Nilla Biscuits

These smell incredible!

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup oil
3 tablespoons peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup oats

* In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, and oats.

* Stir in oil, peanut butter, vanilla, and water.

* Knead till smooth, adding more flour or water as needed.

* Roll out on a lightly floured surface.

* Cut with cookie cutters.

* Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

I stuck to the directions, but added some extra flour and rolled oats, as the dough was initially a little oily. I think I also used more like 5 tablespoons of peanut butter, since my “tablespoons” were heaped to overflowing. The dogs love the pb, though!

I have this cute little bone-shaped cookie cutter that the doggies’ grandmother bought for them/me, so I used that to cut the dough. I rolled the leftover scraps into a faux long rawhide bone with the cute little tied ends (for the birthday boy, natch!), as you can see in the photo. All in all, the recipe produced 53 cookies (40 long bones, 12 short bones and one “rawhide”), which fit on two sheets, no problem.

The dogs loved the treats, but don’t place too much trust in their critique; four out of the five of them eat their own poo! (And the fifth eats the cat’s poo – Rennie, I’m looking at you.) I did try the dough before rolling it into cookies, and it was on a little the bland side (for humans), but edible; and yet, definitely yummy for dogs!

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Tagged: veganmofo vegan veganism vegetarian vegetarianism blog swarm october food carnival dog canine pet companion animal weiner dog dachshund ralphie my furbabies dog food dog treats recipe yummy for dogs vanilla peanut butter flour rolled oats cornmeal flickr photos birthday

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I’m cross-posting today’s VeganMoFo post because this strawberry applesauce recipe is soooooo ridiculously sweet and fruity and yummy and you simply must try it!

For more vegan food blogging, you can view my entries here, or check out the PPK blog for daily roundups.

Now that the season of the zucchini is winding down, I’m slowly turning my attention to using those 120+ bags of apples I picked in September. (OK, so I gave most of them away; we only have about 20 bags left, not counting the 20 or so that are still on the trees. But I digress.) While hunting around the internets for an apple-heavy recipe this afternoon, I stumbled upon a super-yummy strawberry applesauce recipe from www.recipezaar.com:

Applesauce With Strawberries

Ingredients

3 lbs macintosh apples or apples (about 9 apples)
10 large frozen strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 lemon, juice of
1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon allspice

Directions

Peel, core and slice apples 1/4-inch thick. Place apple slices in a large saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until a sauce consistency, about 45 minutes. Use a potato masher, if necessary, to break up any lumps, but leave slightly chunky.

I more or less stuck to the recipe (I have a difficult time following directions – canyatell?); it’s both easy and insanely delicious. The sauce comes out on the sweet side, so if you prefer your applesauce tasting more like apples and less like candy, you may want to go a little easy on the sugar. If you love strawberries like moi, throw in a few extra berries. Don’t worry, I won’t tell.

This snack is best served warm, but I’m sure it’s quite good cold or at room temp, too.

I actually made two batches this afternoon; the first one went into my brand-spanking new Nesco Gardenmaster food dehydrator. The machine came with four trays and one fruit leather insert tray; this is my first time trying the fruit leather option out, and if I likey, I’ll probably buy a few extra fruit leather insert trays so I can make several strips at once. Anywho, the recipe above filled one tray – with a little bowl of applesauce left over, to fill my rumbling belly.

It’ll be done in six to eight hours, so I’ll post an update when it’s done drying. I don’t see how it could possibly be anything less than concentrated sticky sweet yumminess, though.

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Tagged: veganmofo vegan veganism vegetarian vegetarianism blog swarm october food carnival recipe applesauce strawberry apple sugar allspice lemon juice dehydrator nesco gardenmaster fruit fruit leather fruit rollup flickr photos

Join us for VeganMofo – the Vegan Month Of Food. The idea is to write as much as you can for the month of October about vegan food. The blog entries can be about anything food related – your love of tongs, your top secret tofu pressing techniques, the first time your mom cooked vegan for you, vegan options in Timbuktu – you get the idea.

Last year we didn’t come up with strict guidelines for how often we wrote, but I think the idea is to shoot for every weekday, or about 20 times in the month. Don’t forget to tag your stuff “veganmofo” and you can use the VeganMoFo banner (^up there) on your mofo posts. If you’d like inspiration or would just like to whine about how hard it is, check out the MoFo forum on the PPK message boards.

As the world catches on that vegan food really is the best choice for animals (suck it, humane meat!), the planet (bite me, melting ice caps!) and people (piss off, heart disease!) let’s show them what vegan eating is all about.

One last thing – you may remember that VeganMoFo was in November last year, well, this year it’s in October because there’s more produce and stuff. Also, I’ll be in NYC this November and not really near a computer.

To be included here, just leave a comment on this blog entry with a link to your URL. I will then include you in the RSS feed, once I remember how to update it. You can also join the VeganMoFo Flicker group. Happy writing everyone! If you’re feeling at a loss for how to start this off, why don’t you make your first entry about that?

If you want to participate, it’s not too late. Head on over to the Post Punk Kitchen to register your blog, join the Flickr group, and grab a banner.

I’m taking part over at my AR blog, easyVegan.info (just jump to the VeganMoFo category to view all the posts). I may occasionally crosspost an entry over here, but I don’t want to flood the place with all-veg*n posts, all the time. So hop on over to easyVegan to read my first entry, which focuses on X-Treme Local Eating (otherwise known as, ahem, “gardening”).

If you’ve got a veg*n issue you’d like me to address, drop a comment below. I’m open to suggestions, especially since I don’t have any recipes saved up for the carnival. As of this writing, I’ve only thunk up enough ideas to fill a week – and I’ll be here through 10/31, folks.

Oh, and tomorrow: World Farm Animals Day. Getcher free veg starter kit to commemorate the day here.

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Tagged: veganmofo vegan veganism vegetarian vegetarianism blog swarm october food carnival eating locally garden gardening fruits veggies flickr photos world vegetarian day events ppk post punk kitchen wfad world farm animals day

Via Elaine, I discovered that today is Bloggers Unite: Human Rights day…and a bit belatedly, at that. Since it’s almost midnight, and I need to get to bed like 30 minutes ago, I thought I might post three very specific actions you can take on behalf of human rights causes. (For more resources, check out my Get Active! page. Keep scrolling for the human rights resources…they’re there, I swear.)

1. Write Yahoo! to protest their aiding and abetting in human rights violations.

Via Amnesty International: “Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist, is serving a ten-year prison sentence for sending an email to the U.S. Yahoo! helped put him there. They provided information to the Chinese Government, which led to his unjust imprisonment. Yahoo! needs to hear from people like you and me in droves. Corporations like Yahoo! are very sensitive to public outcry. We must tell Yahoo! that we won’t stand for violating privacy and ask them to use their influence to secure Shi Tao’s release.”

2. Save Darfur

Visit www.savedarfur.org to learn more about the conflict in Darfur and take action. Two good places to start: the current initiatives (Urge China to help end genocide; Secure helicopters for the Darfur peacekeepers; and Get peacekeepers get on the ground) and activist resources pages.

3. Infiltrate a vegan potluck.

Waste the FBI’s anti-terra funding on TVP chili and chocolate-on-chocolate vegan cupcakes (they’re taking over the world, dontchaknow?), have a terra-ific veg*n time and report back nothing. It’s a win-win, my ski-masked friends.

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Tagged: human rights civil liberties bloggers unite save darfur yahoo green is the new red green scare genocide

By way of Elaine, I discovered that today is Blogging Against Disablism Day. (There are so many blog against/blog for/blog about days, it’s hard to keep track. Anyone know of a roundup or a calendar something? Similar to The Truth Laid Bare’s Ubercarnival? Which has been giving me a database error like forevah? Anyones?)

Initially, when Elaine mentioned Blogging Against Disablism Day, I wasn’t planning on participating; not because it’s an issue I don’t care about, but because I wasn’t sure what I might contribute to the conversation. In today’s post, Elaine discusses mental disability, more specifically, depression, generalized anxiety disorder and borderline personality disorder, which got me thinking.

As an undergrad, I majored in psychology (I know, *groan* – not another one of those human resources assholes. But I was *serious* about my classes, dammit!) and, aside from the required courses, was given some degree of latitude in my psych studies. Between my psych major and my honors classes, I was even allowed to earn six credits through independent study projects – two fairly comprehensive literature reviews, one of social anxiety disorder (“The Identification and Etiology of Social Phobia”) and another on personality disorders (“Assessing Axis II: Issues & Controversies Surrounding Personality Disorder Diagnoses”). Even cooler, the lone clinical psychology professor at my college was also heavy into women’s studies, so I was able to take several of her courses – while she supervised my projects. As a result, one semester I had the opportunity to tackle the same topic for two different classes, both with my totally awesome feminist prof.

So my last semester of college, I literally spent half my time researching and critiquing personality disorders – categorical vs. continuum models, the Axis I/II distinction, problems with diagnostic instruments and criteria, the biased application of personality disorder diagnoses, etc. By far the most fascinating topic – perhaps because I was simultaneously taking my first and only women’s studies course, Psychology & Women – is the amount of gender bias inherent in Axis II diagnoses. That is, in most of the personality disorder labels.

For my contribution to Blogging Against Disablism Day, I thought I might excerpt a portion of “Sex & Gender Bias in Personality Disorder Diagnoses” (2001 – my, how I date myself!), my final paper for the Psychology & Women course. Why, you ask? Well, it’s important to recognize that the psychiatric and medical communities are just like any other, warts and all; even supposedly objective professionals bring personal agendas and biases to the table. These color both the research and application of mental disorders and their diagnoses, such that a seemingly scientific condition such as depression can serve to reinforce (or enforce) gender roles. In the past, the DSM identified homosexuality as a mental disorder, and in the ’50s, lobotomies came into favor with the families of women who did not, or could not, fulfill their gender roles satisfactorily. In short, medical professionals don’t always operate with the patient’s best interests in mind.

While there are a number of ways in which personality disorders reflect sex and gender bias, tonight I’ll focus on the criteria itself. The very symptoms one must exhibit to “earn” a personality disorder diagnosis oftentimes reflect gender roles, such that a woman (or man) who conforms too closely to her or his stereotyped gender role may be diagnosed with a personality disorder.

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Sex & Gender Bias in Personality Disorder Diagnoses -> Biased Personality Disorder Criteria

Perhaps the most fundamental form of gender bias in regards to personality disorders is bias in the constructs themselves (Widiger, 1998). Biased application and use of personality disorder labels may merely be a consequence of biased personality disorder constructs. For instance, it may very well be the differences at the criterion level that results in differential diagnostic rates among personality disorders such as antisocial personality disorder (Rutherford, Alterman, Cacciola, & Snider, 1995). Biased constructs would include those which are sexist characterizations of females or of the “feminine gender” (Widiger, 1998) – or of males or the male gender, for that matter. A specific criterion can be singled out as biased if it does not truly reflect dysfunction, or if it can be applied to one sex more than the other, resulting in false positives (Lindsay, Sankis, & Widiger, 2000; Widiger, 1998). Unfortunately, biased constructs are potentially the most difficult problems to address.

A close examination at the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria for the ten official personality disorders (i.e., paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive) turns up a number of criteria that seem to meet Lindsay, Sankis, and Widiger (2000) and Widiger’s (1998) conditions for sex and/or gender bias. This prejudice can be found not only in disorders that are biased towards females, but towards men as well.

For instance, among the criteria for borderline personality disorder are “frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment”, “identity disturbance”, “impulsivity in…spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, [and/or] binge eating”, “affective instability”, “chronic feelings of emptiness”, and “inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger”. One must display the following to be diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder: “inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior” when interacting with others; a sense of discomfort “in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention”; the consistent use of “physical appearance to draw attention to the self”; “self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion”; suggestibility; and the belief that relationships are “more intimate than they actually are”. Moreover, dependent personality disorder (discussed in detail below), a personality disorder characterized by “a pervasive and excessive need to be taken care of that leads to submissive and clinging behavior and fears of separation”, is possibly the personality disorder most representative of the traditionally feminine woman.

The criteria for borderline, histrionic, and dependent personality disorder all seemingly display sex bias. Above all else, these criteria can certainly be applied to women at a higher rate than men. The female gender role dictates that women should be more invested in personal relationships, and thus it follows that women would also fear and try to avoid abandonment more “frantically” than men. Females have largely been relegated to the home so that they may raise children, which is not necessarily fulfilling to all women; so of course women, more oftentimes than men, would experience “identity disturbances” and “chronic feelings of emptiness”. Because of their continued oppression, it should not be surprising that women experience “intense anger”; yet, when does said anger become “inappropriate”, and by whose determination? Stereotypically, sexuality is considered females’ largest source of power over men. Due to feminine socialization that reflect such attitudes, it would not be surprising if women, to a higher degree than men, used “physical appearance to draw attention to the self” and display “inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior” in their interpersonal interactions. Furthermore, the “impulsive” behaviors referred to in the borderline criteria are largely stereotypically feminine behaviors (i.e., shopping, binge eating, and promiscuity).

Neither are all of these behaviors, in and of themselves, are maladaptive. “Frantic efforts to avoid abandonment” is a rather vague criterion. How exactly is “frantic” defined, and by whom? What may seem like desperate attempts to prolong a relationship to one person, may be intended as survival tactics by the person in question. In other words, since men, as a whole, are not dependent upon females for their economic well being, they may mislabel women’s efforts to stay with romantic partners whom they rely on financially as motivated by fears of abandonment as opposed to fears of poverty. Thus, their attempts to stay in relationships may be seen as “frantic” efforts to avoid rejection or abandonment, rather than more practical attempts to avoid poverty. The main concern in reference to the maladaptivity of certain criteria seems to be, in whose opinion is the behavior maladaptive? While many Axis I criteria are rather straightforward on this subject (for instance, who can deny that the criteria for schizophrenia are maladaptive?), Axis II criteria entail more of a judgment call – one ultimately made by the DSM task force and practicing psychiatrists, a majority of which are middle-aged white males (Widiger, 1998).

Conversely, some personality disorders closely mirror the traditional male gender role (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The criteria for schizoid personality disorder include “almost always chooses solitary activities”; “lacks close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives”; and “emotional coldness, detachment, or flattened affectivity”, which are all in some way reflective of the Western definition of masculinity. The criteria for narcissistic personality disorder are even more dubious. Those with narcissistic personality disorder have a “grandiose sense of self-importance”, are “preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, [and] brilliance”, believe that they are “special and unique”, require “excessive admiration”, have a “sense of entitlement”, are “interpersonally exploitive”, lack empathy, and show “arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes”. Perhaps the personality disorder most reminiscent of the male gender role is antisocial personality disorder (discussed in detail below), which is exemplified by “a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others”.

These criteria for male-typed personality disorders also appear to reflect sex bias. Schizoid personality disorder mainly comprises emotional and interpersonal distance – a main component of the male gender role. Narcissistic personality disorder seems to complement schizoid, in that it entails extreme ambition, arrogance, and a sense of entitlement. Along with antisocial personality disorder, the three disorders seem to embody the Western definition of masculinity. Not all of these criteria are necessarily maladaptive, either. For instance, ambition, success, brilliance, and independence are especially valued in today’s society.

Most critics of gender bias in the DSM point to how disorders pathologize traditionally feminine characteristics and behaviors. Yet, bias in personality disorder diagnoses seems to exist against both males and females. Some evidence even suggests that men are more oftentimes the victims of gender bias. For instance, it’s been found that, of the 76 items on popular personality disorder inventories that appear to reflect sex or gender bias, 80% were centered around traditionally masculine characteristics (Widiger, 1998). Still, many critics claim that women are in fact the victims of bias in regards to personality disorders. The answer to this question may lie in how clinicians apply the personality disorder diagnoses.

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Ooooh, a cliffhanger! Stay tuned, and maybe I’ll post the next section, “Bias In the Application of Personality Disorders” on the Third (?) Fourth Annual Blogging Against Disablism Day.

Until then, here’s the complete reference list, since I don’t feel like going through and picking out the articles and books not cited in the above section.

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References

Akhtar, S. (1996). Further exploration of gender differences in personality disorders. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 153 (6), 846.

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th edition). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Becker, D. (2000). When she was bad: Borderline personality disorder in a posttraumatic age. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 70 (4), 422-432.

Becker, D., & Lamb, S. (1994). Sex bias in the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 25 (1), 55-61.

Bornstein, R. F. (1993). The dependent personality. New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 34-55, 121-134.

Bower, B. (1989). The diagnostic dilemma: Is revising the official manual of mental disorders a prescription for confusion?. Science News, 135 (8), 120-123.

Boxer, S. (1987). The parable of the cheek-turners and the cheek-smiters. Discover, 8, 80-84.

Caplan, P. J. (1985). The myth of women’s masochism. New York: E.P. Dutton, pp. 1-15, 17-41.

Caplan, P. J. (1995). They say you’re crazy: How the world’s most powerful psychiatrists decide who’s normal. New York: Addison Wesley Publishing Company, pp. 78-81, 168-184, 282-285.

Cotton, P. (1993). Psychiatrists set to approve the DSM-IV. JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association, 270 (1), 13-16.

Cowan, G., & Warren, L. W. (1994). Codependency and gender-stereotyped traits. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 30 (9-10), 631-646.

Davis, R. T., Blashfield, R. K., & McElroy, R. A., Jr. (1993). Weighting criteria in the diagnosis of personality disorder: A demonstration. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102 (2), 319-322.

Dixon, J., Gordon, C., & Khomusi, T. (1995). Sexual symmetry in psychiatric diagnosis. Social Problems, 42 (3), 429-449.

Funtowicz, M. N., & Widiger, T. A. (1999). Sex bias in the diagnosis of personality disorders: An evaluation of the DSM-IV criteria. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108 (2), 195-201.

Golomb, M., Fava, M., Abraham, M., & Rosenbaum, J. F. (1995). Gender differences in personality disorders. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 152 (4), 579.

Grilo, C. M., Becker, D. F., Fehon, D. C., & Walker, M. L. (1996). Gender differences in personality disorders in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 153 (8), 1089.

Holden, C. (1986). Proposed new psychiatric diagnoses raise charges of gender bias. Science, 231, 327-329.

Kutchins, H., & Kirk, S. A. (1997). Making us crazy – DSM: The psychiatric Bible and the creation of mental disorders. New York: The Free Press, pp. 126-199.

Lindsay, K. A., Sankis, L. M., & Widiger, T. A. (2000). Gender bias in self-report personality disorder inventories. Journal of Personality Disorders, 14 (3), 218-???.

Linehan, M. M. & Oldham, J. M. (1995). Rx: Personality disorder…now what?. Patient Care, 29 (11), 75-84.

Loring, S., & Cowan, G. (1997). Codependency: An interpersonal phenomenon. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 36 (1-2), 115-124.

Nathan, P. E., & Langenbucher, J. W. (1999). Psychopathology: Description and classification. Annual Review of Psychology, 50, 79-107.

Rienzi, B. M., & Scrams, D. J. (1991). Gender stereotypes for paranoid, antisocial, compulsive, dependent, and histrionic personality disorders. Psychological Reports, 69, 976-978.

Rutherford, M. J., Alterman, A. I., Cacciola, J. S., & Snider, E. C. (1995). Gender differences in diagnosing antisocial personality disorder in methadone patients. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 152 (9), 1309.

Westen, D. (1997). Divergences between clinical and research methods for assessing personality disorders: Implications for research and the evolution of axis II. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 154 (7), 895-903.

Wetzler, S., & Morey, L. C. (1999). Passive-aggressive personality disorder: The demise of a syndrome. Psychiatry, 62 (1), 49-59.

Widiger, T. A. (1998). Invited essay: Sex biases in the diagnosis of personality disorders. Journal of Personality Disorders, 12 (2), 95.

Widiger, T. A. (2000). Gender bias in the diagnosis of personality disorders. Harvard Mental Health Letter, 16 (10).

Widiger, T. A., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (1994). Personality and personality disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103 (1), 78-91.

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Tagged: Blogging Against Disablism Day mental disorders psychology psychiatry personality disorders sexism misogyny gender roles literature review