Hey all,

I didn't release any new writing this week, but I did update our vegan festivals page with about five new entries. It's reaching the point where I bet 90 percent of the US Population has a major regional festival happening within one or two hundred miles of them. I also added several festivals in the UK this week, thanks to a reader tip.

Maybe the coolest thing to happen this week is that Humane Society Vice President Paul Shapiro somehow got the National Review to publish his piece exposing animal agribusiness subsidies. Government handouts to factory farms are something that any true conservative ought to vehemently oppose, but somehow this issue has never received any serious attention from the right. Let's hope Paul's piece leads to a rethink by at least a few influential conservatives. If that indeed happens, factory farming will be in a lot of trouble.

Finally, if you're vegan or near-vegan and not taking your B-12, I hope you'll reconsider. From what I can tell, the overwhelming majority of vegans are taking needless chances by not securing a sufficient regular dose of B-12. Given that doing this costs barely $10 a year, and the consequences of deficiency are severe and potentially irreversible, I hope you'll do what it takes to make sure your needs are being met. Our vitamins page is a great place to score cheap B-12 and to learn about other nutrients of special interest to vegans.

Top News Stories of the Week (via @Vegan on Twitter):

1. Tyson Foods' chicken slaughterhouses combine to yield about one worker amputation accident every month. Link.
2. IHOP & Applebee's promise to go cage-free. Link.
3. Trader Joe's promises to go 100 percent cage-free no later than 2020 and 2025. Link.
4. Top designer Stella McCartney launches line of vegan menswear. Link.
5. Cliven Bundy's ranching practices, "negligent to the point of cruelty." Link.
6. Russell Simmons talks up the benefits of going vegan. Link.
7. The appalling law that's keeping greyhound racing alive in Florida, despite being banned in almost 40 other states. Link.
8. Judge OKs continuation of barbaric Orthodox Jewish chicken torture ritual. Link.
9. A smart and well-written article about the astonishingly quick spread of veganism throughout Israel. Link.
10. Portland, Oregon gets a vegan supermarket. Link.
11. Check out this interview of vegan activist Jon Camp on the Easy Vegan podcast. Link.
12. What kind of person would burn down a pony sanctuary? Link.

Tweet of the week: "Every day, make something in the world suck a little less."

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