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4 female friends. Living in Melbourne. Loving Animals. Being Vegan.

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Yesterday evening I found a dazed looking possum wondering along very busy Hoddle St. in Melbourne.  This beautiful little ring-tailed possum was sadly very dehydrated and heat exhausted.  I carry old towels in the back of my car and I was able to stop and use one to gently pick her up.  She seemed anxious about checking something on her belly and my mum and I quickly realised she had a baby in her pouch whom she was obviously concerned about.  

I transported the little ring-tailed possum and her little one to my mums house (around the corner) where we found a ventilated box and lined it with a towel to place her in and covered it with a towel to create a quiet dark place for her so as not to cause too much stress. Mum found a dropper and carefully gave the little possum some water from it.  We contacted a local emergency vet in Essendon Fields and told them we were bringing her in.  I sat in the car next to mum with the little possum in her box on my lap. I was so sure we would help her and her baby, I knew she probably needed a drip to rehydrate her and we needed to get her help fast.

Unfortunately the beautiful little ring-tailed possum passed away in my lap as we approached the vet.  Once we reached the vet she informed us that the little baby was simply to young to survive without its mother.

I wrote this post today because I want to acknowledge the 2 beautiful lives that were lost yesterday.  I loved that little possum and her baby and I hope that in the last minutes of her life she knew that.  

Please keep Wildlife Victorias emergency number in your phone.  It is a 24hr service and the volunteers will provide you with the information you need to help any injured or ill Australian Wildlife you find.  

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A Farm Christmas.

We three (minus Annika who is in Germany this festive season) spent christmas day together at a friends winery in the Yarra Valley. This winery is home to: 2 dogs, 2 alpacas, 3 cows, 2 goats and 3 chickens. Needless to say we were very much in our element! A magical way to spend Christmas day, amongst my dearest friends and family.

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Rosanna: Another vegan super yummy meal. For tonight’s dinner I have made a vegetable tomato sauce with pasta. Spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, onion, and fresh parsley (I always put chilli in my food too). It couldn’t get any easier. This is an easy and healthy alternative to meat based pastas. Looking forward to eating this tonight :)

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Rosanna: Last nights dinner... Alternative to bolognese with meat. This is red kidney beans in a spicy tomato sauce. Great for a quick meal on toast or in a burrito with your extras like guacamole. Might not look appetizing but I assure you it is super yummy and full of protein.

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Annika:

This Saturday I went to the Sea Shepherd fundraiser at Sea Works in Williamstown. Sea Works will be the home of Sea Shepherd Australia for the next few years and ships from the Sea Shepherd fleet will be docked here when they are not campaigning like the Steve Irwin was earlier this year.

Besides lots of Sea Shepherd merchandise you could also find other stalls from different organizations like Animal liberation Victoria, Animals Australia etc. Edgar’s Mission also had a stall and had brought Timmy the sheep along who was a big hit with everyone and even got a cuddle from Peter Hammarstedt.

There was also lots of yummy vegan food, including Mister Nice Guy cupcakes (which I have been craving for weeks).

The main event were speeches by several people including former Greens leader Bob Brown and captain of the Bob Barker Peter Hammarstedt. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to stay to here Peters talk, but I was there for Bob Browns talk about the issues in the Kimberly which was amazing and really made you realize how dire the situation is.

If you are unaware of the issue, Sea Shepherd have made a great documentary about the current situation which I highly encourage you to see.

I really enjoyed this fundraiser and hope that it will become bigger and attract even more people next year.

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Mmm, some food for thought... Study says that Vegetarians Have Better Sex!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-6947/Study-Says-Vegetarians-Have-Better-Sex.html

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Thank you Animals Australia for releasing this video in time for the Christmas season. We hope that people take this into consideration when choosing their Christmas menu. Why not try a vegan banquet this Christmas. It will be your gift to the animals, planet and yourself :)

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Rosanna: Quick and easy vegan dinner. Crumbed portobello mushrooms with cooked spinach to top. Fresh lemon to squeeze over. I used corn flake crumbs as I find them less heavy than bread crumbs. I also added fresh parsley into the crumb mix. I fried these, so not the healthiest meal but super yummy. This is a great alternative to crumbed meats.

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Rosanna:

When I returned home for a quick visit in November, my dad tracked down a great restaurant in Brisbane's lovely New Farm suburb, that does amazing vegan food - The Himalayan Cafe. It's not all vegan, but the menu is super easy as it is divided into non-vegan and vegan, no guessing what side we chose.

My mum and sister became vegetarians and quasi vegans in September this year, when together we viewed Peaceable Kingdom. It has been about two months since then, both my mum and sister have told me that they are feeling much much more healthier and are happy that they made the decision to stop eating meat and less dairy. My dad is quite the health freak, so he mainly eats a plant diet, he does eat meat once a month or so, but he definitely sees the privileges of having a plant based diet and encourages others to do so.

Thank you to my amazing family for being so super supportive of me and for giving a non-animal product life a go... love you!

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Rosanna: I just adopted a 2 year old cat a few days ago. Her name is Charly and she is super sweet. Her previous owner was moving overseas and needed to find a new home for her. I was happy to give this girl a home. Charly has only been living with me for a few days so she's still a bit jumpy. She is settling in well though and loving the vegan cat treats I bought for her at World Vegan Day in Melbourne. She has also claimed my bed as her favorite sleeping spot. If you are looking for a new family member, adopting is a great option. Don't forget that older cats and dogs need homes too, not just kittens and puppies. Contact your local cat/dog shelter to meet your new friend.

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Alyssa:

On Sunday Shannah and I attended our second Melbourne Pig Save peaceful protest in Bourke street mall, Melbourne. We felt so privileged to be a part of such a wonderful community of caring animal lovers, driven to make change and educate others about some harsh truths.

Shannah and I worked together handing out flyers (which outline a great deal about what we humans put these poor pigs through) and getting as many signatures as we could for our petition to end sow stalls and farrowing crates (these petitions will be presented to the Victorian Parliament). We loved the opportunity to engage with the community and kindly educate them about the hidden cruelties of this industry. 

Melbourne Pig Save was founded by Paul Mahony, Karina Leung and Karina Rasmussen and aims to raise awareness about the appalling conditions Australia's factory farmed pigs are subject to such as:

Mother pigs can be confined to a metal crate (like the one shown in the picture above) for the duration of their 16week pregnancy.  In this crate they are unable to even turn around.

Prior to giving birth a mother pig has a strong hormonal urge to build a comfortable nest from straw and twigs in which to deliver her young. However in the factory farm the mother pig is moved to an even smaller crate, a farrowing crate, where she is forced to give birth on a concrete or metal floor in the same area in which she toilets.

The mother pig is confined to this 'farrowing crate' for 4 - 6 weeks until her piglets are taken from her.  She is then re-impregnated and returned to the 'sow crate'.  This process continues for most of her 'productive' life.

It is legal in Australia for piglets to have their tails cut off and their teeth pulled out without any pain relief.  If this same procedure was performed on a domestic animal it would be considered a cruelty offence. 

The only time this pig, that has mothered so many piglets for human consumption, ever sees the light of day and the world outside is on her way to slaughter, when she is deemed 'unproductive'.

Due to the lack of movement and standing or lying on hard floor the pigs often suffer lameness, leg injuries, weakened bones and muscles and extreme boredom.

Pigs are social creatures who are highly intelligent and curious. In the wild they spend most of their day foraging and using their snouts to dig. As a result of being confined all of their life they suffer frustration, distress and depression.

If you would like to learn more please visit the Melbourne Pig Save Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MelbournePigSave?fref=ts. Also if you are in Melbourne please come to the next Melbourne Pig Save day on December 16 and help be a voice for the pigs.

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Emma Kisiel holds a bachelor of fine arts with an emphasis in photography from the University of Colorado Denver. “At Rest” is a photographic series depicting roadkill on American highways and addressing our human fear of confronting death and viewing the dead. Kisiel’s images draw attention to the fact that, while man has a vast impact on animal and natural life, dominant American religions insist that animals do not have a place in Heaven and are, therefore, of little value in our society. To cause the viewer to feel struck by this truth, Kisiel photographs memorials she builds surrounding roadkill at the location at which its life was taken. “At Rest” expresses the sacredness to the bodies of animals accidentally hit by vehicles while crossing the road.

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What a beautiful way to acknowledge the very sad loss of life.

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Rosanna: Recently I returned home to Brisbane for a quick visit. Caught up with my dear friend Jaclyn who recently watched Peaceable Kingdom and is now giving veganism a try. She made an amazing dinner for us. Warm roast vegetable quinoa salad. Roasted veggies (we used sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots and zucchini). Then cook the quinoa and add fresh herbs and baby spinach with some oil and lemon. Mix in veggies an serve with Hommus (I made home made Hommus, one of my fave staples). It was super delicious, healthy and easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for the veggies to roast :) Thanks Jac!

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Today I received a surprise package in the mail care of Animals Australia, a "Make it Possible" action pack! 

If you haven't already, get online and sign the pledge to help stop factory farming and get an action pack of your own.  The action pack provides you with a plethora of information about factory farming so you can feel confident in educating others.  It also includes flyers about factory farming conditions (I plan on sticking a few up on the notice board at work), bumper stickers, petitions, fact sheets and badges. 

The more we educate ourselves the easier it is for us to speak up and kindly educate others. What a fantastic campaign!

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Alyssa:

Today Rosanna, Annika and I spent a glorious day at Princes Park in Carlton North celebrating World Vegan Day.  Not only was the weather kind (all three of us walked away a little "sun kissed") but the day was a huge success!

We had the chance to catch Paul Mahony's speech, whom we've had the pleasure of meeting through Melbourne Pig Save Campaigns (ps. there's a peaceful protest being held next Sunday, check out their Facebook page for more details https://www.facebook.com/MelbournePigSave)....also Mark Doneddu, who helped bust a few food myths that the media and society would have us believe.

Surprisingly we made it to every stall (there were a lot!) including some of our favourites: Sea Shepherd (have you seen "Whale Wars" yet?), Animal Liberation Victoria, Animal Australia (hope you checked out the "Make it Possible" Campaign) and Edgar's Mission. We also stopped by at the "Happier Pets" stall to pick up some vegan treats for Rosanna's fur babies back in Brisbane, you can purchase "Happier Pets" treats for your furry loved ones at Vegan Online.

We also got a chance to see Botanical Cuisine give a delicious raw food demonstration which we can't wait to get home a give a go.

And of course, probably the most exciting part for us, the food! Vegan curries were the go for all three of us followed by a delicious assortment of vegan cupcakes by the one and only Mister Nice Guy. 

All in all a wonderful day shared with 2 of my favourite people.  We are already looking forward to next year!

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