I’ll just say it: here at the Razz, we’re pretty massive fans of Global Green USA! A mighty force in the field, Global Green works hard to create a more sustainable planet and to honor Mother Earth each day.

On Monday, I had the chance to spend some time with the GG crew at their 10th Annual Sustainable Design Awards in New York City. The annual ceremony honors green businesses, schools, governments, and utilities for excellence in environmentally-friendly projects.

A slew of well-known faces came out to support the organization, including actors Brian Cox, Tate Donovan, Tony Plana and many more. President of Global Green Matt Petersen told us:

“Tonight is another sounding of the alarm bell about global warming telling us we all need to wake up and take action. The people we’re honoring tonight are really the leaders who are showing us the way. You know, it’s the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and one of the reason we started these awards was to recognize those who are breaking down the walls that stand between us and a sustainable future, so it’s a very poignant and exciting evening for us. ”

And exciting it was! With a slew of innovative individuals and companies being honored for their hard work, the Global Green Sustainable Design Awards proved just how many people out there are taking real action for the planet. To learn more about this groovy organization, visit GlobalGreen.org. You can also view more pictures from the event below.

photo credit: Ty Marcum

Last night I had the honor of participating in a small slice of history. For the first time in twenty-three years, the James Beard Foundation honored plant-based cuisine by hosting an all-vegan dinner prepared by the immensely talented owners of Horizons restaurant.

Since all of you couldn’t be there to enjoy it (and since I couldn’t find a doggy bag big enough to share with everyone), I wanted to provide a thorough recount of the entire evening. Warning: you’ll probably be hungry after reading this.

Wearing my favorite suit and my fancy vegan pin (which I wear to all events) I made my way to the James Beard House. Within moments of my arrival, the servers appeared with trays of Oyster Mushroom Fritters, Edamame Puree with crispy sushi rice and Grilled Seitan with whipped avocado. But for me it was the Black Olive Blinis with truffle cream, golden beet relish and seaweed caviar that stole the show. The blinis were cooked perfectly and the seaweed caviar was remarkably similar to the real thing.

I noticed Joy and Bart from Candle 79 and Michael McGraw from PETA perched in the corner and went over to say hello. After an hour of drinking champagne and filling up on tasty appetizers, we retired upstairs for the much-anticipated dinner service.

A Smoked Eggplant Parfait with preserved lemon aioli and piquillo peppers revved up our palates and left us excited for more. The second and third courses were creatively prepared Portobello Carpaccio with crispy capers and Saffron Cauliflower Bisque with fennel confit crostini and oloroso sherry crema, respectively. Two obvious homeruns!

The next course, my favorite of the evening, was a Caramelized Celery Root Ravioli with charred Brussels sprouts, smoked royal trumpet mushrooms and sage-grain mustard emulsion. To get a better feel for the dish, imagine heaven, now cover it in a sage-grain mustard emulsion and pair it with a 2007 Chaddsford Pinot Noir. There, you have it.

The fifth course was a well-prepared piece of Peppercorn-Seared Tofu that could have made the most stubborn of carnivores beg for more. It was served with creamed leek and truffled parsnip puree, salt-roasted golden beets, hazelnuts and apple cider vinegar reduction. Love at first bite.

A piece of Heirloom Pumpkin Cheesecake with chestnut candy and quince jam completed the evening and received outspoken praise from each of the dinner guests at my table (all omnivores, by the way).

As I finished the last bite of my pumpkin cheesecake, I couldn’t help but feel rather nostalgic about the whole evening. The James Beard Foundation – an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting American cuisine – was recognizing vegan food in a way that had never been done before. By sharing their kitchen with the talented owners of Horizons restaurant they were not only honoring these chefs, but legitimizing the entire cuisine.

A big thank you to the James Beard Foundation for their progressive outlook and to the staff at Horizons restaurant for their thoughtful presentation and supreme execution. It was an incredible evening.

Ready or not — Thanksgiving is just around the corner! True, you could gnaw on the leg of some helplessly slaughtered turkey, but why not mix it up this year with a celebration of compassion.

On November 22, Jonathan Safran Foer will be the guest of honor at Farm Sanctuary’s “Celebration For The Turkeys “– an all-day affair complete with delicious vegan cuisine from the chefs at Candle 79, an inspiring program, a special reading from Foer’s new book, and a silent auction to benefit the sanctuaries’ rescued animals.

The event will take place at Tavern on the Green from 12-5 p.m. and feature a slew of notable guests, including: Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Mary and Peter Max and Ally Sheedy.

Seating is limited and tickets are selling fast! To find out more about how you can attend, visit FarmSanctuary.org!

“I have to say that being lampooned on South Park is hardly something to complain about. They spelt Sea Shepherd right and they brought the issue of the dolphin and whale slaughter by the Japanese to a very large audience. I could not really care less how I was portrayed personally, I’m in good company along with Tom Cruise and Sean Penn.”

Well, on November 11th, New York City residents will have the chance to meet the man with the plan at a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society fundraiser at Moo Shoes in Manhattan.

The event is being thrown by PPath’s Kelly Overton and will include delicious food, music by Princess Superstar and a speech by the good campaign himself.

Tickets are extremely limited and going fast! To get your all access pass to the event, email Kelly at Kelly_Overton@post.harvard.edu. See ya there!

[Editor Note: Due to a scheduling conflict, this event has been cancelled. Sorry, Charlie.]

In the pool of celebrity runners for the 2009 NYC Marathon yesterday, Edward Norton finished on top. The 40-year-old actor completed the grueling 26.2 mile race in three hours, 48 minutes and one second. “You know you are going to hit tough spots,” he said post-marathon, “in a weird way mine came early in the race, but then I got my second wind around mile 18 and felt great the rest of the way.”

Norton was running the race to help raise funds for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust; with the normally shy web-user lighting up the social networking scene with fundraising on Twitter. Taking a look at rough totals this morning, I added up that the entire Maasai team running the marathon raised around $763,000. Norton himself raised an impressive $301,000. He wrote on Twitter after the race, “Many supporters in the crowd yelling encouragement. Totally inspiring. Highlight was hearing roar of city crowd from 59th St Bridge. Chills.”

While I’m sure the final fundraising numbers will be a bit higher, it’s wonderful to know that the Maasai will have some much-needed cash to help preserve their ecosystem and way of life. “If it seems like a project in a far off place that doesn’t connect to your world or your life, consider the fact that the ecosystem these people are trying to preserve is one of the last refuges of the lions and giraffes and rhinos and elephants that are the wildlife of our primitive imaginations and memories,” Norton wrote in his running bio. “There is a genuine threat to the future of that wildness if we don’t collectively value it and engage with the people who live alongside it.”

Mission accomplished. Now how about doing this again next year?

Mitchell will be interviewed by Emmy Award-winning TV news correspondent Ashleigh Banfield about how getting sober empowered her to become a vegan and devote her life to ending animal suffering.

Besides being a warrior for animals, Jane believes that over consumption is not only dangerous for the planet, but also dangerous for the soul. Check out a fantastic review of the iWant on Farm Sanctuary’s Making Hay blog.

The event will take place on Sunday, October 11th at 7:30 p.m. at Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York City. To find out more and purchase tickets visit 92y.org or call 212-415-5500.

Jessica Alba attended the Clinton Global Initiative on Thursday to promote global education for all children and announce her participation with the campaign 1GOAL. The 28-year-old actress and new mom said that she will co-chair the United States division of the group — which will push a to make education for all children the legacy of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. “It’s a human right, I believe, to have the opportunity to have an education and it’s unacceptable that 75 million children on this planet don’t have a chance to have one,” she said.

“I played soccer when I was a kid and so did my husband,” she says. “The wonderful thing about the 1GOAL campaign being tied into the World Cup is it’s the one time in the world when everyone puts down their differences, puts down their weapons, and roots for a team.”

To learn more about the organization, please visit the official site here.