Monday, December 17, 2012

Semi-Annual Update

Hello, the Internet! What's been happening lately? I hope you're well. What have I been up to? Glad you asked!

1. Terry Hope Romero's latest book, Vegan Eats World has hit the shelves and it's everything I hoped it would be and more. Hard cover! Beautiful photos! Delicious recipes (obviously)! If you have an ice cream maker, please make the mochi and let me know how it is so I can be jealous (or share!).

2. Isa Chandra Moskowitz's next book, Isa Does It, is nearing the end of the recipe testing stage (I think) and it's amazing. DIY gnocchi on a week night? Done. Burgers from scratch in 30 minutes? Yes. The best chocolate chip cookies in the world (HINT: rosemary)? Sorted. Vegan meatballs and spaghetti that don't disappoint? Victory! Seriously, this may be my favorite cookbook. I may say that about every cookbook, but this time I mean it even more: the recipes are delicious and most are timed so you can start them when you're already hungry without losing your mind and personally, I can't ask for more than that.

3. This bit's a lot less happy, sorry: I'd like to talk about what's been happening at the Cove lately.

If you're reading this (all three of you), you've probably seen the film The Cove, about the dolphin drive hunt in Taiji, Japan. As an onshore volunteer with Sea Shepherd,  I discuss that movie with people quite a bit and appreciate having a mainstream film to refer to, even though Sea Shepherd was on the ground in Japan and cut the nets years before Ric O'Barry and his crew showed up. Unfortunately, for most people, the take home message of the film seems to be "Eating dolphin is bad, don't do that", which absolves them of all responsibility, since they don't. But that's missing half the point.

Ric O'Barry stated that he made the film as a tool against the captive dolphin industry. He realized how horrific it is and felt responsible for it because he had worked as a trainer on the TV show "Flipper", which he believes made people want to get all cozy with dolphins. Somehow this part of the message has been lost on most people.

This past week was the most horrific time at the Cove most of us have ever known. The dolphin killers drove an enormous pod of dolphins into the Cove Tuesday night (NYC time; Wednesday morning Taiji time) and didn't finish with them until Sunday night. These were bottlenose dolphins (the most sought after by dolphinaria) and they were driven for one purpose: captivity.