ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

April 30th 2008

Is Bart Simpson Working For PETA?

Go ahead, have a cow, man!

Filed under: animals, film-tv, television — michael @ 2:05 pm

I’ve fallen well behind on my Simpsons viewings, but every now and again it’s great to get back in touch with the family from Springfield.

A tipster pointed me towards this last week’s episode called Apocalypse Cow which features Bart falling in love with a cow name Lou, only to realize that he’s destined for the slaughterhouse. As expected, all sorts of messages good and bad on vegetarianism and animal rights comes into play as Bart struggles to protect his friend from the evil ‘Feed Farm’. In many ways, the writers do a great job of making us sympathize with the cow while playing on the hypocrisy of society’s love of animals, but blind eye towards the way they’re treated on factory farms or ‘processed’.

Thanks to Hulu, I’ve embedded a completely legal stream of the episode after the jump. If you’ve got a lunch hour, enjoy a little Simpsons below.

Read the rest of this entry »

April 30th 2008

Will Carrie Underwood Go Vegan?

Filed under: animals, food & drink, green and famous, healthy living, thegreenpicture — parrish @ 9:54 am

Vegans everywhere might just have themselves a reason to say YEE-HAW!!

Singer Carrie Underwood– whom Ecorazzi has continuously praised for her vegetarianism and charitable nature – recently made comments about her desire to give up dairy. Is Carrie trying to make the vegan plunge?

Underwood confessed her “inability” to give up the misfit food group, stating, “Cheese is ruining my life! I’m trying to talk myself into being lactose-intolerant. I mean, it’s basically moldy milk, and it doesn’t smell that great. But it’s so good! Oh, jeez, I’m thinking about it now.”

Now I know she’d have to give up a little more than just cheese to be a true vegan, but every little step counts, right?  Perhaps Carrie will soon be getting her vegan card and joinging the likes of Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman and Alicia Silverstone. Only time will tell. Stay tuned!

Ps. If you’re fighting the cheese blues, read Marilu Henner’s Total Health Makeover. I haven’t eaten dairy since. No joke!

via: starpulse.com

April 28th 2008

Paris Hilton And Britney Spears: Pet Owners From Hell!!

Filed under: animals, not green — parrish @ 2:07 pm

Owning a pet is awesome. Owning two pets is awesome. Owning three pets, while mabye a lot of responisbilty, it’s still very awesome…if you’ve got what it takes. But when celebs start owning more than they can handle what kind of message does it send to the rest of the world?

Author Karen Dawn poses that question in Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals, and in it accuses notorious party pals Britney Spears and Paris Hilton of being awful role models to young pet owners.

Dawn tells the New York Post, “We’ve already seen Paris go through dogs faster than mojitos, and I bet nobody warned Britney that California might soon force drivers to keep dogs safely restrained in vehicles - like babies. An impulse purchase of a companion for the next 15 years? … Nobody expects them to have the dogs much longer than 15 months.”

At one point Spears had a small collection of chihuahuas, and well, Ecorazzi has reported numerous times on Paris’ personsal farm.

Wanna know more?  Read more about it in Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals.

April 28th 2008

Pamela Anderson And The Hot Dog Conspiracy

Filed under: animals, food & drink, green and famous, thegreenpicture — parrish @ 11:30 am

Sometimes, while walking down the street enjoying some scrumptious vegan soft serve, I wonder if people might get the wrong idea and think, “Damn, that boy loves him some dairy.” So I can only imagine all the confusion celebrities go through when dealing with the paparazzi.

Last week, photos were taken of long-time vegetarian, Pamela Anderson, gobbling down a big old “hot dog” (there’s a joke in there somewhere) at her son Brandon’s baseball game in Malibu, California.

Of course the media was quick to use those pictures as proof that Pam had given up her veggie ways, but Anderston told PlanetGossip.eonline.com, “It’s like Hotdoggate… Clearly, it’s a veggie dog (in the pictures). They’ve been serving veggie dogs and veggie burgers at my kids’ baseball games for years now.”

In the past Ecorazzi has reported on Pamela’s involvement with PETA and her desire to help stop the seal hunt in Canada, so basically I don’t really see Pam going back to meat anytime soon. 

To find out more about your favorite veggie celebs visit FamousVeggie.com.

April 25th 2008

PETA Investigates The Death Of Celebrity Animal Trainer

Filed under: animals — parrish @ 11:19 am

Tragic news hit last week when Rocky — the five-year-old grizzly bear featured in Will Ferrell’s Semi-Pro – fatally bit Stephan Miller, his 39-year-old trainer, at the Predators in Action facility in Big Bear, California.

Now, Rocky’s owner, Randy Miller, is being investigated by the People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals over his actions and whether they helped contribute to the attack. This isn’t the first time PETA has taken an interest in Miller. In fact, last year PETA released inspection reports and other documents proving Miller’s sanctuary and training facility was a poor home for the big cats and other wild animals the acclaimed trainer took in.

Following Tuesday’s tragedy, PETA bosses have re-released those inspection reports, including a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, obtained by PETA, suggesting Miller’s animals were kept in small enclosures with no roofs and cages were damaged and broken. Furthermore, PETA found print ads Miller paid for in 2005’s Animal Finders’ Guide publication, in which he attempted to sell an assortment of big cats and a black bear. 

Officials still have yet to decide whether they will euthanize Rocky, but the folks at the American Humane Association feel confident the bear will never work in the business again…um you think?

This horrible tragedy brings up a fairly controversial point: should animals be ”exploited” for the sake of entertainment? As a person who strongly believes in the rights of all animals, I say no — but that’s just me. What do you think Ecorazzi readers? Should animals continue to be used in film, television and other entertainment mediums or should this practice be banned? Speak up and tell us what you think!

via: starpulse.com

April 21st 2008

Paris Hilton Opens A Puppy Beauty Parlor

Filed under: animals, film-tv, not green, television — parrish @ 11:22 am

Paris Hilton loves animals, but not like in a productive, responsible, animals are great kinda way. No, Paris loves animals like Mary J. Blidge loves shoes: the more she has, the more she loves. In fact, at one point Paris reported that she had 600 pets in her various homes including a Rottweiler dog, a bobcat and a Lhasa Aspo. And who could forget the Paris Pet Store Controversy or the Paris Cat Collection Controversy or even the most recent Paris Puppy Palace Controversy? I think it’s probably safe to say that Paris loves animals like children love candy and likewise should be restricted to merely one or two.

However limitations make for bad TV, so instead, Paris Hilton will once again “prove” her love for man’s best friend by hosting UK satellite channel Living TV’s Paris’ Pooches. The premise is simple: a 26-year-old heiress (a.k.a Hilton) manages a beauty parlor for dogs in Bond Street, London.

A source revealed to Britain’s Daily Star Sunday newspaper: “The shop is perfect for Paris. It’s a subject she’s passionate about and it’s a way for her to break into UK TV.

I mean she’s already famous here, she has a best-seller, a fragrance, a clothing line…I guess UK television is really all that’s left. But if you want REALLY good ratings I say we invite her bobcat into the salon and just kinda see what happens! Yeah — that’s hot!

thanks:femalefirst.co.uk

April 18th 2008

Spend A Celebrity-Packed Evening At The Farm Sanctuary Gala 2008

Filed under: animals, events, events: nyc, food & drink, green and famous, honors, thegreenpicture — parrish @ 3:59 pm

What’s more fun than spending a fancy schmancy evening in downtown New York City eating classy vegan fare with some of today’s hottest celebrities? Um, nothing! 

On May 17th from 6pm-midnight Farm Sanctuary will hold it’s annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street in NYC — and trust me, you don’t want to miss it! Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 and aims to expose and stop cruel practices that take place in the “food animal” industry. They now have two shelters — one in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and the other in Orland, Calif. — where they provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals. 

This year the Farm Sanctuary Gala will be hosted by Heather Mills, emceed by Melissa Rivers and will feature a delicious three course vegan dinner, an awards ceremony, a silent auction and a musical performance by Shawn Colvin. And the guest list is just as exclusive with celebrities like Kristen Bell, Rachel Leigh Cook, Jennifer Coolidge, Emily Deschanel, Christine Ebersole, Swoosie Kurtz, Kevin Nealon, Loretta Swit, Persia White and Debra Wilson Skelton scheduled to attend, as well as many others.  

Tickets may sound a bit pricey at 400 dollars a pop, but save those pennies because this evening is totally worth it. Last time I went I heard an incredible speech by Loretta Swit, said hello to James Cromwell and pointed Alicia Silverstone to the restroom. 

To find out more visit FarmSanctuary.org and get those tickets before they run out! I’ll be covering the event this year so make sure you find me and say hello! 

April 18th 2008

SHARK Vs Cheyenne Frontier Days: Round One!

Filed under: animals, sports — parrish @ 11:29 am

Uh-Oh!!

A few days ago Ecorazzi told you that Matchbox 20 pulled out of Wyoming’s Cheyenne Frontier Days festival — the world’s largest outdoor rodeo — after the animal rights group, Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), sent them video footage of alleged animal abuse from last year’s rodeo.

Well, needless to say the festival bosses are PISSED. And what do we do in this country if we’re angry? WE SUE!! That’s right, owners of the festival are suing SHARK claiming the animal rights group sent Matchbox 20 “false and misleading information” which caused the cancellation. Frontier Days organizers are estimating the resulting damage will be close to 100,000 dollars lost in ticket sales. They are also suing SHARK for persuading Carrie Underwood to pull out of the event in 2006.

Juicy stuff! Keep posted to Ecorazzi for all your SHARK/Frontier Days drama. Who will win? I vote SHARK.

April 17th 2008

Willem Dafoe Is Veggie No Mo!

Filed under: animals, not green, web — parrish @ 10:10 am

Actor Willem Dafoe is warning fans not to believe everything they read on the internet –especially reports stating that he is a vegetarian. Willem explains that he is often applauded for his vegetarian lifestyle even though he is no longer veg!

Dafoe explains, “I’m married to an Italian, it’s impossible… I guess I wasn’t committed enough to the ethical reasons. I’m not a card-carrying member.”

BOO!!! Well guys, we lost another and 20 dollars says vegan/vegetarian Spiderman co-star Tobey Maguire is pissed!

via: starpulse.com

April 16th 2008

Elizabeth Hurley Produces Hurley Meat And Lamb

Filed under: animals, food & drink, green and famous — parrish @ 1:55 pm

Ecorazzi previously published a story entitled: Elizabeth Hurley In Love With Her Organic Farm, Wants Animals, but perhaps we should revise the title to read: Elizabeth Hurley In Love With Her Organic Farm, Wants Animals…To Slaughter.

At a recent Estee Lauder event at the NYC hotspot, Le Cirque, Hurley gave an update on her new organic farming endevaours and the production of Hurley Meat and Hurley Lamb, based out of her 400-acre organic farm in Gloucestershire, England.

As we mentioned previously, Hurley announced that she was giving up show business for the organic business and said, “It’s the only place I want to be. When we get our organic status we’re going to farm properly and we’re going to have a herd of cows and proper sheep and proper chickens, and we’re going to have Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs.” I guess what we didn’t realize is that she wanted the animals for production not play.

Now as a vegan I avoid all animal products, but I DO think that if you’re going to eat meat then organic meat is a much better alternative. So Liz, I’m kind of giving you a half thumbs up, half thumbs down here. Just promise me you’ll also grow some kale and stuff…kay?