Being vegan rocks…. except of course when it comes to fashion. Many of the hippest hottest fashions for our bodies and our feet are still made with animals, making it hard to be on the forefront of fashion and the forefront of animal activism.

Natalie Portman, as you know if you’re a regular TakePart reader, decided to do something about it and designed some awesome vegan shoes. And here she is talking about them:

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Though I am semi-obsessed with the Food Network and do enjoy really great food, I must confess to being a not-particularly good, nor imaginative, cook myself. Regardless of that fact, I’m always trolling for new and interesting vegetarian recipes to try out. Which is why I was very excited to find out about the new book Great Chefs Cook Vegan by Linda Long.

Per the description on amazon.com, the book “includes recipes from 25 of today’s greatest chefs, including Thomas Keller, Jean-George Vongerichten, Eric Ripert, Charlie Trotter, and many other James Beard award-winning chefs.” Each chef provides more than just one recipe, instead creating a three- or four-course meal, with pictures and all that good stuff.

You can takepart by checking out the book at amazon.com. The best part about books like this one is that you can make something to prove to your friends that you don’t actually need meat in a meal for it to be delicious. Of course, you usually won’t convert anyone with one meal, but it’s always good to show people there are other options out there.

So I’ve been back in New York City for almost 2 weeks now and finally uploaded the last of my vegan food pictures and my mouth actually started watering.

My vegan experiment went really really well and I feel so much better. I don’t think I’ll be 100 percent vegan now that I am back - but I am definitely cutting back on the dairy and eggs. The photos below and my happy body are motivation enough:

Lemon, arugula, white and green bean pasta salad with roasted pine-nuts w/ stuffed red peppers, romaine salad and fresh corn on the cob.

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Today in Wikincubate, the ever-expanding encyclopedia of ways to engage with socially conscious issues:

Disability Rights Multimedia

Including this clip from “The Family Guy”:

Dog Fights Multimedia

Intelligent design

Malnutrition

Veganism

Fuel, and what fuel to use, has been the issue of the day for quite a few days now. With campaign ads about rising gas prices and offshore drilling plus new debates over whether biofuels are good because they help the environment or bad because they take food away from people, new solutions are no doubt in need.

Over at The Nation, Frances Cerra Whittelsey has an idea, one that I think is swell - people should eat less meat! It all comes down to one simple fact:

While there are daily references in the media to the diversion of corn to fuel-making, there’s hardly ever a mention of the fact that feeding our livestock uses 50 percent to 60 percent of the American corn crop. [The Nation]

More than that, the meat industry plays a pretty big role in global warming:

The shocking fact is that production of beef, pork and poultry is a bigger part of the climate problem than the cars and trucks we drive, indeed of the whole transportation sector. [The Nation]

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

TakePart Gang:

Before He Was Indicted, Ted Stevens Was “Tubed” by Blair Golson

Strawberry Fields Forever by Wendy Cohen

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Nicole Hughes:

Green Video of the Week: Crazy Alien Plants

Fat Princess Video Game: The Joke’s Not Really That Funny

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Andy Kondrat:

Alaska’s Northwest Passage to Open For Second Straight Year

Stephen Colbert Interview’s Brendan Koerner, Slate’s Green Lantern

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Jon Popham:

L.A. Bans New Fast Food Joints

Flint Michigan Seeks Sponsors…For Police Surveillance Cameras

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Gina Telaroli:

Veganism in Ohio: Update #2, Photo Diary

An Apology for Slavery and Jim Crow? We Shall See…

2 weeks of veganism have passed for me (I started July 15th) and I have to say it’s really awesome! My body feels light and better than usual. I have good energy and stamina to boot! Here’s another round of tantalizing photos to prove to you how tasty veganism can be (round 1 is here).

* Fresh corn on the cob, summer squash, fresh peas, green and white beans (all from a local farmer) and grilled sweet potato

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Did you know that it’s National Cheesecake Day? Being that I’m vegan at the moment this is news I would normally let fly by me, but it seems that The Cheesecake Factory wants to celebrate the seemingly random “holiday” and give away pieces of their famous cheesecake for only $1.50. That’s a pretty good deal for cheesecake lovers, so I thought it might be worth mentioning for those non-vegans reading.

Plus, my brother works at the Cheesecake Factory - he’s actually about to leave for work now - and I thought it might be nice to throw some business his way. And in case you are not all about the dairy and your friends are, I actually just was at The Cheesecake Factory to see my bro in action and had a very yummy vegan pasta dish!

Regardless of eating habits though, everyone should takepart to learn about a cool company that makes both organic dairy cream cheese, along with soy (yay!) and go after the jump for some fun cheesecake facts and info on how to find a Cheesecake Factory near you.

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Well it has almost been a week of me being vegan - (I officially started Tuesday afternoon last week) and I have to say I feel pretty great.

Eating good vegetables and healthy grains (along with some protein from tofu, soy etc…) is really a good way to go - I feel lighter, happier and find myself craving fatty gross (yet tasty) foods a lot less. And, if you put a little effort in, you’ll see that vegetables can really look and taste good:

*Grilled tofu sandwich with fresh greens and red pepper (in a balsamic vinegarette)

More pretty pictures and a recipe - after the jump

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Today I spent my morning traveling from New York City to Ohio for a little summer getaway. I’ll still be writing here at TakePart, but from the tree filled backyard of my childhood instead of my Brooklyn apartment. Don’t get me wrong, I love Brooklyn, but nothing compares to spending some quality time outside amidst trees, plants, birds and insects.

Beyond enjoying the outdoors more I’ve also decided to be vegan (something we often write about here at TakePart) during my month in Ohio. I’ve always been vegan on and off but haven’t done it in quite some time so I’m excited to give it another go.

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