What, did you think we've been napping these past few months? OK, maybe a little, but we've also been working on a new strategy that downright... strategic.

Our handy vegan alcohol guide has moved to a brand new standalone website over at www.Barnivore.com (get it? Omnivore herbivore barnivore? Clever yeah?), check it out and let us know what you think!

As of April 7, 2008, TasteBetter.com is going on hiatus. The site will stay online, and the Vegan Booze Directory will continue to be updated, but regular updates will cease for the time being while the publisher takes a break and works on developing some new perspectives on activism, both online and off.

Thanks to everyone who had a part, however small, in nearly 7 years of online adventures here on The Better and VP before that. I've learned a lot and really enjoyed collaborating with you. If you want to stay in touch, the contact form still works, and if you subscribe to the newsletter you'll be in the loop for what I'm up to when I come back (but I'm looking forward to some time off, so if you're planning on waiting eagerly by your inbox, pack a great vegan lunch or two.)

Thanks,
Jason

In the latest installment of our vegan business and finance section The Colour of Money, we talk with Santamrit Violet & Simran Khalsa, who are sisters and co-proprietors of Vegan Divine, an online vegan gift basket shop.

I really enjoyed doing this interview, particularly where they said "...it's in direct alignment with how we live, so it's not something that we felt was a burden to do, it's exciting for us to find these things for ourselves and then share these things with others." There are all kinds of great opportunities out there for people to match what they do for a living with how they live every day, and I got a great feeling talking with these two. Check it out and see how it all comes down.

In his latest An Animal Friendly Life column, Eric Prescott continues taking us along the path towards, as he puts it, "a sustainable, morally consistent foundation for achieving animal liberation." This month, Eric examines the relationships between animals and humans in today's society, and how it pertains to advocacy and outreach. If you've enjoyed his past columns, this one will fit right in. If you've been wary of his writing for some reason, this is a good chance to give it another try: check it out here.

Hooo boy, back when we had a forum this was one of those things where you needed a pair of fireproof underwear, but here we go: Laura's just gone and done it: what's the deal with honey?

I'll admit, I didn't understand the honey thing at first, and eventually went along with it as part of the package, while acknowledging at the same time that I couldn't enjoy, say, almonds without the help of bees. It's a complicated issue, moreso now with the increased commercialization of beekeeping. Check out what Laura thinks and see how it vibes with your philosophy.

I admit it - I'm a closet foodie. Deep in the closet, anyway, since I don't get the Food Network and don't subscribe to Fancypants Magazine or anything, but I like watching and reading about chef stuff when I have time - while they might not be vegan, there are a lot of simple tricks that adapt well to vegan cooking.

I read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential a few years back after watching the short lived TV show, and I managed to learn a few things, although I had to get through the occasional shot at vegans, like, oh, this one: "Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food."

Know your enemy, folks, know your enemy. Or, better still, mock the hell out of him!

Hezbollah Tofu is my new favourite food blog: they're veganizing Anthony Bourdain recipes. They run the vegan filter so you don't have to! (Though they are accepting recipe submissions)

(via Vegan Bits)

Colleen reports that Canadian pork products are super! SuperBUG filled, that is! Oh snap, how great was it when I did the twistabout there? Bob, queue the replay:

Colleen reports that Canadian pork products are super! SuperBUG filled, that is!

Yeah, that's good stuff.

The superbug, if you haven't been following mainstream news from the safety of under your bed where "they" can't hurt you, is an antibiotic resistant strain of staph bacteria known as MRSA, which is short for, I believe, "MR. So Amazinglyscary" because the stuff needs the antibiotic equivalent of a nuke to eradicate, and it's probably adapting to that too. Symptoms for those afflicted range from boils to pneumonia to death from infected blood.

And it's in pork. 10% of pork tested positive for the stuff in a sampling that spread across four Canadian provinces. This mirrors tests done in the Netherlands and Japan (where it was chickens instead of pigs)

Curiously absent from the analysis is the fact that something like half of the antibiotics in North America are given to farm animals to help them grow big and dead, which is something I'd think would be relevant when you're talking about something that's evolved by continually being attacked by antibiotics.

Authorities aren't sounding the alarm, because while antibiotics aren't working, heat is, so following proper cooking procedures should do the trick, assuming you can understand them and manage not to get any residue on your hands or face. Look for kitchen hazmat suits for sale by 2010.

Danielle reports that a Cargill meat packing plant in Arkansas is, well, gone. A fire that started in a freezer section led to a series of explosions that ultimately destroyed the $100 million dollar facility, and no, no foul play is suspected - it appears to be related to some welding work that was going on in the area where the fire started. It's not known if the plant will re-open or not.

The fire forced the evacuation of 180 people from their homes after 88,000 pounds of ammonia gas leaked out into the atmosphere during the blaze. Due to the gas risk, firefighters opted to let the facility burn down. Nobody was injured.

I do't know which number to pay more attention to: that the plant employed more than 20 percent of the town's population (who are likely in some trouble, even if Cargill chooses to rebuild), or that the plant produced more than two million pounds of ground beef and steak every week. So here's the weird Monday question: do we lament the potential destruction of the town's economy, even if it was based on the slaughter of animals?

I admit it, I get a little jaded after writing what seems like the same stories month after month for so many years (well, the same bad jokes, at least). We've tracked the growing number of bans against cockfighting with some interest, but to be honest, I was skeptical regarding how much the laws might be enforced.

Washington and Oregon, you totally blew my mind.

Gregory reports that following a two year (!) effort, federal and state authorities have arrested more than 50 people in the two states in one of the largest cockfighting crackdowns in Northwest US history. Charges ranged from conspiracy to illegal gambling to racketeering to drug trafficking to, oh yeah, violations of the Animal Welfare Act. US Attorney Karin Immergut also pointed out "the close relationship between cockfighting and drug-trafficking in the Pacific Northwest."

Congratulations to all involved, and kudos for recognizing that cockfighting isn't just a harmless gathering of yokels and giving the issue the attention it deserves.

Following up on his recent series of Opportunities for Activism (parts 1, 2, 3), Eric Prescott returns with some cautionary notes: Don't Just Do Something, make sure you know what you want to accomplish first.

One of the things I love about Eric's column is that he not only offers some great ideas and thoughts, but usually he's got some pointers to more information if you want to know more. This time's no exception, and my "to-read" list just grew accordingly (thank goodness his column's only once a month!)