Author Archive

Melissa Elliott

Melissa Elliott is a freelance writer based in San Francisco. Her personal blog, TheUrbanHousewife.com, documents her culinary adventures from her kitchen to vegan food around the world. When she's not glued to her computer or on the road, she loves to spend time with her husband, Ryan, cats Beamish & Scurvy, and beloved chihuahua, Strummer.

Swiss Army Bans Vegans From National Conscription, Accepts Drug Users

The Swiss Army may have mandatory military service, but if you’re underweight or vegan, don’t expect to receive your marching orders any time soon.

Beyond Pie: 10 Great Savory Pumpkin Recipes

We’ve all had pumpkin pie and it seems everyone has a favorite recipe or variation of it, but what about when you want to eat seasonally, but aren’t craving sweets? Here are 10 pumpkin recipes to satisfy your savory side and take advantage of the current farmers market bounty.

PETA Suggests Higher Insurance Rates For Meat Eaters

Due to studies suggesting vegetarians have stronger immune systems and are 40% less likely to get cancer, as well as recent outbreaks of E.coli traced to a Vermont slaughterhouse, PETA is urging Blue Cross of Vermont to lower insurance rates for vegetarians, while increasing those for meat eaters.

USDA Rescues Abused Elephant From Circus Trainer

The USDA has confiscated Ned, a severely underweight male elephant from circus trainer Lance Ramos, aka Lancelot Kollman. Only the second elephant to have been confiscated by the USDA, Ned was taken from Ramos for failure to comply with the Animal Welfare Act and was placed with The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

Vaute Couture’s Contest Winning Coat Now Available

When former model, Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, couldn’t find a warm winter coat to match her vegan lifestyle, she launched Vaute Couture. She started with a design challenge and an offer to produce the contest winning garments with portion of proceeds going to Farm Sanctuary. 108 entries, 20 finalists, and over 8,000 votes later, one of the three winning designs is now available for purchase.

Greenpeace Blocks Palm Oil Ships to Highlight Deforestation

Three tankers containing crude palm oil were halted by Greenpeace when they attempted to leave an Indonesian port for China and Europe. Activists wanted to highlight the rapidly expanding palm oil industry currently destroying rainforests, harming wildlife, and emitting greenhouse gases.

Nike Recycles Your Shoes for a Sustainable Future

We all have old shoes lying around the house, no longer suitable for athletic activity, but seemingly too decent to be sent to a growing landfill. Now you can recycle your athletic shoes with the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program and they could become a basketball court, track, field, playground, or consumer product.

Australian Activists Temporarily Shut Down Power Plant to Stop Greenhouse Gas Emissions

In an attempt to chain themselves to a conveyor-belt and ratchet up pressure on the coal industry, activists disrupted production and forced evacuation at the state-owned Tarong power station in northern Queensland, Australia.

California Cat Torturer Strikes Again, Reward Increased

While animal control officers in San Jose, CA are still investigating into who may have tortured a cat so badly that he had to be euthanized, officers say there is “some indication there may be another cat out there with a partially lost tail.”

Compassionate Cops Help Mother Bear, Receive PETA Award

Police in Woodfin, N.C. closed a portion of an interstate highway on Tuesday, when a mother bear wandered on to the road, trying to retrieve the body of her cub killed by a vehicle.

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