By Kelly Rand •
September 4, 2008
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Cashmere. The epitome of luxury.
Are you like me in that you’ve seen cashmere yarn in the store, balked at the price tag and thought to yourself “I’ll never try that.”? Well I’m here to give a little prodding to say that its ok to splurge. It’s time to give cashmere a chance. Yes it is expensive but the fiber itself; my god is it soft!
Cashmere fiber comes from a specific type of goat, bred to produce soft downy hairs. And just like with Musk Ox, these goats can be combed for the luxury fiber and then spun into yarn. What is created is a soft, fine and yummy fiber that is irresistible. For fiber fanatics it is impossible to keep your hands off it.
Among the decidedly ungreen luxuries I allow myself is a small collection of magazine subscriptions, one of which is Gourmet - the Conde Nast foodie rag that is, to be honest, hit or miss. But this month’s issue was a favorite of mine, mostly because of a moving account by two young chefs of a trip they took to Madani Halal butcher in New York in search of a goat to serve at their summer barbecue. The chefs - Ian Knauer and Alan Sytsma - picked out a grass-fed, free-range goat and watched as the butcher thanked the animal for its life and then killed it in what is considered the most painless way possible. The chefs reported back that watching their animal die added a level of responsibility to their cooking. Not only did they want to create a delicious meal for its own sake, they felt a need to honor the sacrifice of the animal’s life.
This type of thinking is an integral part of the current movement towards more ethical meat consumption that we often discuss on this blog. Consider below the similarities between Zibah - the Halal slaughter method - and members of the slow food movement. This similarity is not lost on Riaz, the owner of Madani, who told Gourmet that he believes Halal butchery can help many Americans to accept Islam through shared eating values.
According to the Halal Food Authority the following conditions must be met in order for meat to be considered passable:
People often refer to non-dairy milks, such as soy and rice, as "alternatives to" or "substitutes for" cow’s milk, and the dairy industry scathingly calls them "imitation milks." By definition, the words "alternative" and "substitute" imply that the thing they are being measured against is the superior choice; that is, you choose the "substitute" when you can’t get the real thing, and so on.
However, I don’t like the use of these terms
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In my 15+ years of animal and vegetarian/vegan advocacy, I have answered countless questions – some smart, some thoughtful, some antagonistic, some ridiculous, and some over and over and over. Some people seem to think that by virtue of being vegan you hold degrees in nutrition, philosophy, anthropology, animal husbandry, ecology, and the culinary arts and often proceed to cross-examine you on each of these topics. Every vegan or vegetarian has been on the
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