Tree Kisser

Alright- I’m finally back! I’ve been absent from...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:57:28 -0400

Alright- I’m finally back! I’ve been absent from Tumblr for more months than I care to know- I’ve been working on launching multiple businesses (elaboration soon…) and a few activism campaigns, but this one is new and hugely important to me!

SKAIST-TAYLOR, a new clothing line by (fur-free!) Juicy Couture’s founders (Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor) is chock full of dead animals. These women made $200 million from selling Juicy Couture, and apparently that’s not enough. They sell fur from all over the world- including CHINA- which we all know is home to the world’s worst animal cruelty.

It’s bad enough to see fur pelts from animals that have been skinned alive, drowned, anally electrocuted, gassed, or put to any horrific death for the sake of “fashion,” but it’s even worse seeing it come from two fashionistas that benefitted immensely from the support of the animal rights community (I know they got a lot of my money as a teenager, and I sure as hell don’t want that going to the creation of this pro-fur atrocity).

—> Please sign & share this brand new petition I launched tonight! This clothing line is super new, so it’s the perfect time to encourage a change.

Thank you! (and I promise to resume blogging again immediately- I’ve missed it…and you!)

xo, TK

From CNN: “Half-million Pigs To Be Slaughtered in Chile...

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:15:30 -0400

From CNN: “Half-million Pigs To Be Slaughtered in Chile Health Emergency”

A factory farm is closing in Chile this week, after pigs were abandoned to live and starve in their own filth for five days, deeming them too unsanitary for human consumption. 500,000 lives, each one more intelligent than the dog sleeping at my feet, lost. For greed and bacon. My heart is broken. RIP babies.

“They are going to be slaughtered. They are not going to another farm, nor to another plant.”

- Jose Guzman, CEO of Agrosuper, owner of the farm

I know I’ve been the world’s worst blogger lately-...

Fri, 25 May 2012 01:22:00 -0400

I know I’ve been the world’s worst blogger lately- thank you to those of you who haven’t abandoned me! I promise, there’s an explanation, accompanied by HUGE news. Which I’ll be sharing with you tomorrow or Saturday. But in the meantime, go vegan. You’ll live longer, providing you many more years in which you can help fix the world. We need you. xo, TK

I served Michael Clarke Duncan a few gourmet vegan dinners back...

Thu, 10 May 2012 21:38:00 -0400

I served Michael Clarke Duncan a few gourmet vegan dinners back in my server days, and let me assure you- this dude is HUGE, strong, and not afraid to stand up for what he believes in. Love it.

Check out his brilliant interview here!

I’ve become pretty obsessed lately with the simple act of...

Tue, 01 May 2012 20:54:57 -0400

I’ve become pretty obsessed lately with the simple act of consuming fresh produce (you know what they say about an apple a day!). My brother & I have been juicing up a storm (inspired by the incredible documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead- which you can now watch in its entirety on YouTube or Hulu+!!), and I can’t speak highly enough about it.

It’s SO much fun to explore your local farmers’ market in search of fresh, local, seasonal produce. You meet great people, learn exactly where your fruits & veggies comes from, and come home with a basket of nutrient-dense whole foods. Not sure where your closest farmers’ market is? Check the map (and all the other amazing resources) on the Local Harvest site!

If you’re already a juicing pro, what’s your favorite fruit or veggie to throw in (my favorite are beets- they make everything pink and pretty!)?

Cat Food DESPERATELY Needed! In Los Angeles alone, there are...

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:53:00 -0400

Cat Food DESPERATELY Needed!

In Los Angeles alone, there are over 1,000,000 street cats, many of which would die of starvation if it were not for organizations like Catnippers Clinic & Animal Alliance (which is run by a friend of mine, so I can vouch for its authenticity!), who have teamed up to save as many of these sweet babies as they possibly can.

The number of lives they save depends on us, and fortunately they’ve made it as easy as possible for us to help out! They’ve set up an Amazon Wish List, where the desperately needed items can be purchased and automatically sent to Animal Alliance, where the food will immediately be distributed to starving, homeless cats.

These cats suffer because human guardians did not properly spay & neuter. Let’s not allow them to feel any more pain because of our neglect. Click here to purchase (items start at just $7.20!) through the wish list, and go to sleep knowing you filled a struggling kitty’s stomach tonight. If you can’t afford to help out right now, please consider sharing this post with those who might!

In conclusion, HELP here.

(Note: I realize many of my followers are vegan and perhaps uncomfortable with the notion of purchasing non-vegan food. I’ve never had a cat and have not extensively researched the viability of a vegan diet for them, but I know it’s complicated. Please understand that, more often than not, these cats are knocking on death’s doorstep before CC & AA intervene, thus the need for immediate assistance; it is simply not feasible to transition them all to a vegan diet. If you would prefer to supply them with vegan cat food, I’m sure they would welcome that offer as well, as Animal Alliance was co-founded by a vegan.)

I’m so impressed by the passion and bravery of the Italian...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:54:00 -0400

I’m so impressed by the passion and bravery of the Italian activists who freed 30 beagles from Green Hill, a massive, hellish breeding farm that supplies dogs to vivisection labs.

Because of their loving and forgiving nature, beagles are commonly tested on all across the world (notoriously by cigarette companies, with the exception of American Spirits). Unfortunately, a few of the beagles were confiscated and returned to their prison, but they will not be forgotten. My hope is that their story and their sacrifice will be shared and publicized so that people will open their hearts and eyes and stand up against unreliable, unjustified animal testing.

Please sign the petition demanding the closure of Green Hill and the release of their 2500 lonely, suffering dogs.

Keep being awesome, Italians.

In case you missed it, this past week an incredibly brave...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:33:00 -0400

In case you missed it, this past week an incredibly brave activist, Jacqueline Traide, endured painful and humiliating tests in the storefront of LUSH Cosmetics (one of my absolute favorite companies, which I now love even more!), to call attention to the millions of animals poked, prodded, caged, abused, tortured, and killed all day every day across the world, in the name of “science,” or worse, vanity.

LUSH (partnered with Humane Society International) continues to be a leader in the global campaign against unnecessary animal testing for cosmetics.

Please join them by supporting their work (shop with them!), boycotting companies that DO test on animals, and especially signing their online petition!!!

where can i get cruelty free vegan heels? all the steve madden shoes are suede or leather :(

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:55:41 -0400

Hi! So glad you asked, I LOVE vegan footwear! There are so many options these days, but these are my favorite:

Lulu’s(not 100% vegan, but their selection is huge)

Alternative Outfitters

Moo Shoes

Neuaura

and my favorite, though it’s pricey, OlsenHaus (so fun and gorgeous- and all made from recycled materials).

^ One of my faves from OlsenHaus!

treekisser: Meet Vixey. She was rescued as a puppy from a fur...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:46:46 -0400

treekisser:

Meet Vixey.

She was rescued as a puppy from a fur farm. If she’d stayed there, like millions of other foxes, she would have been anally or vaginally electrocuted to become part of a fur coat for companies like INTERMIX.

Fur-bearing animals, like foxes, are no different from the dogs & cats we live with and love. If we don’t stop their slaughter, no one will.

On behalf of Vixey, please sign and share our INTERMIX fur-free petition.

I’m reblogging my favorite of my own posts, with an exciting update! After months of relentless work, we almost have as many signatures on our INTERMIX: PLEASE GO FUR FREE petition as Intermix has on facebook!!!

Current numbers, as of 10:24 PST 4/26/2012:

Intermix: Please Go Fur Free signatures: 56,890

Intermix Facebook fans: 57,226

It’s going to make a HUGE statement once our number of supporters surpasses Intermix’s, and will hopefully encourage them to ditch fur in the 2012/2013 fall/winter season.

PLEASE sign (it takes 15 seconds!) and share, and help us win this crucial battle.

…not to mention the widespread, well-documented animal...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 02:02:00 -0400

…not to mention the widespread, well-documented animal abuse and the fact that one egg contains more cholesterol than a Double Whopper…

Use your dollars to vote for health & compassion; scramble tofu instead.

As a lifelong lover of pigs (the film ‘Gordy’ turned...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 01:48:18 -0400

As a lifelong lover of pigs (the film ‘Gordy’ turned me veg at 8 yrs old), gestation crates are, for me, one of the most heartbreaking elements of the factory farming system.

More than 6 million pigs in the U.S. are kept as breeding sows on factory farms…For a 400-pound sow, it’s such a tight fit that she can’t turn around, lie down comfortably or take more than a step forward and back for most of her life.

- Farm Sanctuary

Because most humans prioritize a momentary experience of gustatory pleasure above not only animal welfare but also their own health, mama pigs are subjected to a lifetime of loneliness, discomfort, and confusion.

We can fight this by choosing and promoting a cruelty-free lifestyle (it’s fun, I promise!).

I may be about 2000 years late, but I’m kind of in love...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:30:00 -0400

I may be about 2000 years late, but I’m kind of in love with Plutarch.

“Can you really ask what reason Pythagoras had for abstaining from flesh?

For my part I rather wonder both by what accident and in what state of soul or mind the first man did so, touched his mouth to gore and brought his lips to the flesh of a dead creature, he who set forth tables of dead, stale bodies and ventured to call food and nourishment the parts that had a little before bellowed and cried, moved and lived. How could his eyes endure the slaughter when throats were slit and hides flayed and limbs torn from limb? How could his nose endure the stench? How was it that the pollution did not turn away his taste, which made contact with the sores of others and sucked juices and serums from mortal wounds?… It is certainly not lions and wolves that we eat out of self-defense; on the contrary, we ignore these and slaughter harmless, tame creatures without stings or teeth to harm us, creatures that, I swear, Nature appears to have produced for the sake of their beautyand grace. But nothing abashed us, not the flower-like tinting of the flesh, not the persuasiveness of the harmonious voice, not the cleanliness of their habits or the unusual intelligence that may be found in the poor wretches.

No, for the sake of a little flesh we deprive them of sun, of light, of the duration of life to which they are entitled by birth and being.”

- Plutarch, 46-120 AD

Do Plutarch a favor and check out Mercy For Animals.

Jessica's Blood Test: Is Veganism Healthy?

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:59:38 -0400

Me with a beautiful rescue pig at Animal Acres

I’ve been dreading this doctor’s visit for a while. I know my vegan diet drastically reduces my risk of cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes, but I also know most Americans think consumption of animal proteins is necessary for adequate intake of protein, iron, B12, and other vital nutrients. My Mom (who is now vegan, but is still neurotically obsessed with my health) talked me into getting a full blood test to make sure I’m doing alright. While I eat relatively healthy, I’m not obsessive about supplements or vitamins, so I had no idea what to expect.

My doctor ran a bunch of tests, but the highlights are below.

Spoiler alert: I’m disgustingly healthy.

In conclusion, while it’s very important to pay attention to nutrition (and I promise to do a better job), even if you don’t, a standard vegan diet can provide an exceptionally healthy amount of nutrients and saves you from a multitude of devastating and crippling diseases.

Also, you don’t have to unnecessarily murder any animals, and that’s nice too.

Interested in going vegan? Check out ChooseVeg.com!

“This is a male baby chick, in his last moment on earth....

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:39:00 -0400

“This is a male baby chick, in his last moment on earth. Below him is a giant grinder into which he will fall alive because he hatched male, and is therefore useless to the egg industry. His fate is shared by 200 million baby male chicks every year. He lived only for a moment, but he wasn’t trash. He was someone.”

- Mikko Alanne

You guys know I don’t do a whole lot of reblogging, but I...

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:30:20 -0400

You guys know I don’t do a whole lot of reblogging, but I just discovered the Boys With Beards With Dogs page, and I’m kind of obsessed. You probably should be too.

You’re welcome.

This year, 4,500,000 foxes will be killed for the fur trade, so...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:12:06 -0400

This year, 4,500,000 foxes will be killed for the fur trade, so companies like INTERMIX can profit from their imprisonment and slaughter.

The fur industry won’t end tomorrow, but we can begin chipping away at it today. Our INTERMIX: Please Go Fur Free petition has almost hit 50,000 signatures- a number this company surely cannot ignore!

Help us get there?

Meet Vixey. She was rescued as a puppy from a fur farm. If...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 01:32:03 -0400

Meet Vixey.

She was rescued as a puppy from a fur farm. If she’d stayed there, like millions of other foxes, she would have been anally or vaginally electrocuted to become part of a fur coat for companies like INTERMIX.

Fur-bearing animals, like foxes, are no different from the dogs & cats we live with and love. If we don’t stop their slaughter, no one will.

On behalf of Vixey, please sign and share our INTERMIX fur-free petition.

If any kid ever realized what was involved in factory farming...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 02:14:12 -0400

If any kid ever realized what was involved in factory farming they would never touch meat again. I was so moved by the intelligence, sense of fun and personalities of the animals I worked with on “Babe” that by the end of the film I was a vegetarian.

~ James Cromwell

I will forever cherish the day I met James Cromwell (in the pig pen at Animal Acres!)

(photos from a recent rescue) INTERMIX sells fur from China,...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:42:00 -0400

(photos from a recent rescue)

INTERMIX sells fur from China, where dog pelts are frequently unlabeled and mixed in with others (2,000,000 dogs & cats die annually in China for the fur trade).

If this doesn’t bother you, don’t sign the petition.