Native Foods Blog

Beautiful Brooches That Could Crawl Away

 

by Christopher Arnett

Native Foods Cafe

On Wednesday, Yahoo! Travel posted an article that I just have to comment on. Entitled Live Jewelry or Bling Slavery, the article tells of recent fashion craze involving the wearing of adorned, living beetles! It seems the practice, originating in ancient Mayan culture, has found a new vogue among contemporary Mexican women. And the fashion fever has been spreading across the border, as more U.S. tourists attempt to bring home the beleaguered and bedazzled bugs.  Although, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is having none of it, as they attempt to enforce their laws against importing plants and animals from other countries.

 

Is this ok?

 

The insect at the center of the controversy is the maquech beetle. Travel writer Randall Peffer wrote of the subject in 1990: “The Indians catch them and decorate them in the belief that such a bejeweled insect over the heart will be a totem for the soul of a lost loved one.” An endearing sentiment full of tenderness, yes? But not enough tenderness, it seems, to warrant any concern for the wellbeing of the maquech. In fact, PETA has commented on the phenomena. PETA’s spokesperson Jaime Zalac stated “Beetles may not be as cute and cuddly as puppies and kittens, but they have the same capacity to feel pain and suffer.”

 

Would you wear it?

To be sure, the process of becoming living bling doesn’t sound too pleasant. Artists glue small, colorful gems onto the backs of the beetles. Bits of gold trim chain attached to a clip are added, so that the beetle can’t get away when pinned to a person’s clothing. In reference to an incident in 2010 where a woman was caught at the Texas border wearing a live maquech, Zalac said “This woman’s choice of fashion accessory gives new meaning to the term fashion victim.” Indeed, the phenomenon of wearing the living beetles does raise certain issues. Even if they beetles are unharmed by the bejeweling process, what of the fact that it needs to eat? Do the owners feed it, or do they allow it to starve? I think we can all agree that fashionably famished does not sound like a good time for any creature, big or small. And what about when the beetle finally dies? Is the beautified carcass continued to be worn, of is it discarded for the next expendable exoskeleton? Isn’t it a little disturbing that life could be perceived as a fashion accessory, even if it is only the tiny life of a beetle? If anyone has more info on this matter, please let us know!

 

Bedazzled and broken.

 

Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant, beetle jewelry, maquech beetle

Rapunzel Pigs

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

So I was going to post a razzle dazzle recipe to whet your palates and get you ready for the weekend... but then I saw this magical picture on someone's Tumblr:

long-haired guinea pig, Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant

But I am pretty sure that this gem is hanging around on a lot of people's Tumblrs.  I mean, shear perfection... get it?  Shear!  So I had to find out if it was real, and it is.... so now I must write a blog all about long-haired guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs, or cavy, were domesticatd around 5000 BC.  They are not part of the pig family nor are they from Guinea.  They actually hail from way up in the Andes, and are a pure product of hybridization, which means they never actually existed in the wild.  That is weird.  Even weirder the guinea pigs were used for all sorts of things: food, science testing (hence the colloquial reference to the name), holistic healing (they were rubbed against the bodies of the sick), and high society gifts to name a few.  Several different breeds came about from all the hybridization, and then (of course) people had to start competitively breeding and showing them.... which is wrong, just plain wrong.  One of these breeds, which I am calling the guinea rapunzel, is the long-haired guinea pig (pictured above... and now below).  Unbelievable.  I immediately thought it was CGI, this just could not be real.

long-haired guinea pig, Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant

It's almost like a really nice wig was put on a small rodent of some sort.  I love them, and think they are insanely adorable.... but I think the way they were brought into this world is despicable.... and I bet they agree as they are prone to quite a few health problems:

• respiratory tract infections
• diarrhea
• abcesses on the neck
• scurvy!
• pneumonia
• hip dysplasia
• congenital eye disorders
• the "waltzing disease"

And I about keeled over when I read this.... straight out tha Wiki: Guinea pigs are not well suited to environments that feature wind or frequent drafts,

They love their greens though.... grass being their absolute fave.  They are unable to produce their own Vitamin C (hence the scurvy problem) so they must get it through diet!  Long live the Guinea!    

(an abrupt ending, I know.... but that is all you really need to know at this point)

 

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Synchronicity in Nature: The Red Knot & The Horseshoe Crab

by Holladay Allen    

Native Foods Cafe

Last week, I wrote about the plight of the horseshoe crab.  Gazillions of these “living fossils” are being harvested for their precious blue blood, which contains a compound found nowhere else on the planet, LAL, or Limulus amebocyte lysate. The toll this is taking on the horseshoe population is already depressing enough…. But then you take into account another species that depends on the horseshoe crab for its survival, and the story gets downright miserable.  The Red Knot is a shorebird (which means they are waders, or birds that like to wade through the water with their long ballerina legs).  The Red Knot likes to hang in some extremely cold regions in the Arctic then head on down to warmer regions for vacation once a year. 

The Red Knot, Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant

Truly a migratory bird, the Red Knot travels more than 9,00 miles every year… which is one of the longest migrations of any bird!  On their way to South America, they have several critical stopover points where they refuel and replenish.  One of these stops for the American subspecies of the Red Knot is Delaware Bay.  A routine Red Knot layover in Delaware Bay involves some “pecking,” which is essentially snacking on the eggs of horseshoe crabs and fishing out mollusks buried in the sand. 

Horseshoe Crab Eggs, Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant
 

But in recent years, as the horseshoe crabs have been disappearing, so have their eggs… duh.  So there has been a significant drop in the Red Knot population as this major stop over on the long and arduous flight down to Rio is no longer providing enough sustenance and nutrition to sustain the journey.  The New Jersey Audubon Society estimates and 80% decline in the Red Knot population in the last 10 years.  Yikes.  80%?  If we were to compare that of the world’s population of 7 billion…. That would be 5,600,000,000 humans gone in one decade.  This is a huge bummer.  

  

 

Get involved and help out here:

Friends of the Red Knot

The ERDG Horseshoe Crab Conservation Fund

New Jersey Audubon Society

 

 

The Red Knot, Horseshoe crab eggs, Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant

The Horseshoe Crab Harvest: Million Dollar Blue Bloods

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

I love horseshoe crabs.  I grew up with them in the canal behind my parents’ house in Florida.  My friends and I would hang out in the mangrove forest and try to catch them and then let them crawl on our backs.  We called them back scratchin’ crabs.  They were nice enough… never seemed to have a problem with crawling around on our backs.

I also like the way they looked… truly prehistoric.  They have been around for more than 350 million years!  Hanging out with the dinosaurs… you know… so scientists affectionately refer to them as “living fossils.”  They are indeed strange little guys that live on the bottom of the ocean, usually in shallow areas, or sometimes can be seen cruising the beach.  Although referred to as “crabs” they are Arthropods – more closely related to spiders than to real crustaceans such as shrimp, lobsters, and crabs.  They are really cool… and really ancient and we are harvesting the buh-jeezus out of them for medical research.

Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant, horseshoe crab blood

What in the heck?!  (You are probably shrieking aloud as you read this)  Well here is the breakdown… The simplicity of the horseshoe crab’s immune system (which took a really long time to evolve to this state of efficiency) is actually what makes the horseshoe crab’s blood useful to the biomedical industry. Horseshoe crabs live in essentially a cesspool of different kinds of bacteria… the ocean! But the blood of horseshoe crabs contains a critical component, Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate, known as LAL, which immediately binds and clots around fungi, viruses, and bacterial endotoxins.... essentially protecting them from some of the most dangerous toxins, bacteria and viruses around.

Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant, horseshoe crab blood

Dr. Frederik Bang discovered LAL in the 1960s when he injected common marine bacteria into the bloodstream of the horseshoe crab and it immediately clotted.  It was truly amazing.  The components in LAL, for example, not only bind and inactivate bacterial endotoxin, but the clot formed as a result of activation by endotoxin provides wound control by preventing bleeding and forming a physical barrier against additional bacterial entry and infection.  Once the biomedical discovered this modern miracle, the blue horseshoe blood began to spill.

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The U.S. Food & Drug Administration now requires all drugs intended for human consumption to be tested using LAL. Including medical devices such as pacemakers!  Currently, scientists have no means to reproduce this compound synthetically; therefore horseshoe crabs are of vital importance to human drug development.  Until we wipe them out that is.

Here’s an idea!  Why don’t we start eating better… taking less drugs and then we wouldn’t need to be constantly inundating ourselves with chemicals to “fix” problems we most likely created for ourselves. Ay yay yay. 

Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant, horseshoe crab blood

 

So exactly how do we harvest the blood of these prehistoric creatures? 

Every year, horseshoe crabs are gathered up (largely along the Eastern shore, check the picture above) and transported to a laboratory where up to 30 percent of their blood is removed while they are still alive. Once the blood has been collected, the crabs are taken back to the water and released. LAL manufacturers have measured mortality rates of less then 3%. Yet two recent studies estimate that between 10% and 15% of crabs do not survive the bleeding procedure, which accounts for the mortality of 20,000 to 37,500 horseshoe crabs per year. Another concern is that it takes the crab a few months to rebuild its blood cell count level back up after a bleeding. Horseshoe crabs could be bled up to three or four times a year, which would take a toll on the health of the animals. But LAL manufacturers claim they only bleed them once a year.  Hmmmm…..

Native Foods Cafe, vegan, vegan food, vegan restaurant, horseshoe crab blood

Some other interesting facts…. Its blood is a distinctive blue color thanks to the fact that it contains copper-rich hemocyanin as opposed to iron-rich hemoglobin. The blood also contains amoebocytes, which play a similar role to white blood cells. When a crab is wounded, the amoebocytes swim to the area and coagulate to form a viscous gel surrounding the invading bacteria. This blood-clotting mechanism ensures the crab doesn't develop an infection.  This video gives a nice rundown of the whole she-bang...

  

So of course this sad story does not end here.  The fate of the amazing horseshoe crab is delicately intertwined with that of the beautiful red knot shorebird. More on that later this week….

 

Thanks to the following sites for the copious amounts of info on the plight of the mighty horseshoe crab:

 

• http://horseshoecrab.org/med/med.html
• http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/crash-a-tale-of-two-species/the-benefits-of-blue-blood/595/
• http://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/horseshoe-crabs.asp

Big Miracle Shines the Hollywood Spotlight on the Plight of Grey Whales

by Christopher Arnett

Native Foods Cafe

Big Miracle starring funnyman John Krasinski and the endearing Drew Barrymore premieres this weekend. Based on a true story as read in the 1989 book Freeing the Whales by Tom Rose, it tells the tale of local Alaskan newsman Adam Carlson (Krasinski) who reports on the plight of a family of Grey whales that have become trapped under thickening Arctic ice. The press he gives the situation (dubbed Operaton Breakthrough) draws help from his environmentalist ex-girlfriend (Barrymore), and ultimately the native Inuits, local oil companies, the Russians, and the Americans.

Even though the events that Big Miracle is based on occurred in the eighties, some Grey whales are still endangered. Thankfully, one population in the Eastern North Pacific has recovered and was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List in 1994. Sadly, the North Atlantic population is extinct, and the Western North Pacific population consists of only about 130 individuals.

Currently, the Grey whales are threatened by environmental changes, including habitat loss and toxins. They are also harmed by ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, especially during their annual migrations through the coastal waters of Japan, Korea, and China.

Interested in learning more or finding ways to help? Check out the organizations below:

• Oceana is the largest international organization working solely to protect the world’s oceans. Since 2001, they have protected over 1.2 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life.
• Oceanmiracle.org is a movie-related site that offer more info on organizations and how you can get involved. You can also learn about Cindy Lowry, who is the environmental activist who was the executive director of Greenpeace in Alaska and played a big role in the events depicted in Big Miracle.  Go Cindy!
• Save the Whales is the famous nonprofit founded in 1977 that has since been at the forefront of fighting for the survival of whales in the wild and educating the public.

 

Rated PG, it’s an inspirational movie for the entire family (and if you sneak in some snacks from Native Foods Café, we won’t tell!

 

P.S.  It’s playing right next door to us (10 yards away) from our NEWEST Native Foods Café at Fashion Island!!!!    Plus it’s playing right next to us at The District in Tustin, CA,  Native Foods Café in Bridgeport Village, OR and steps away from Native Foods Café in  Aliso Viejo…..

 

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Rise Against on Animal Rights

Holladay Allen

by Native Foods Cafe

Check out this Rise Against video circa 2006.  How far have we come in terms of protecting the environment and the species that inhabit it in the past 5 (soon to be 6) years?  Not far at all in my opinion.

 

 

native foods cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant, animal rights

Native Community Days: Mercy for Animals and Fences for Fido

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

Today for Native Community Days we are spotlighting two very incredible animal rescue & advocacy groups!  First in Chicago and Southern California a portion of profits will benefit Mercy for Animals.  If you are not familiar with this amazing group, most recently they were responsible for exposing the horrific conditions in the national egg supplier Sparboe Farms, leading to McDonald’s and Target immediately dropping Sparboe Farms.  This is incredible!  Here is video of what they uncovered… be warned there is some disturbing content in the video.

 

Mercy For Animals also has a huge network of volunteers that canvasses local schools, concerts, and may other events informing people on all sorts of animal advocacy topics from the benefits of vegetarianism to the welfare of farmed animals.  MFA rules!

 

In Portland, a portion of profits benefit Fences for Fido!  The dedicated volunteers of Fences for Fido provide medical attention and shelter for chained dogs throughout the Portland area. 

Native Foods Cafe uses this photo courtesy of David Childs Photography.  vegan food, vegan restaurant

 

They work with the families to educate them on how to best care for their friends and also make follow-up visits to make sure that all of the Fences for Fido family remain unchained, healthy and happy.  Check out Chopper’s story… oh man my eyes are welling up…  So glad to be in Portland now supporting the wonderful efforts of groups like Fences for Fido.

 

We are also offering FREE DESSERT during Native Community Days, December 6th & 7th (with the purchase of an entree, side and drink).  You must try the Gingerbread Cheesecake... it is uh-amazing and only availabe these two days... and in the Holiday Meal Bag, which you can order HERE!

Native Foods Cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant, vegan gingerbread cheesecake

 

The Shambala Preserve: Animal Advocacy Is Not Just for the Birds

by Christopher Arnett

Native Foods Cafe

Man of you should be familiar with Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller, The Birds. The leading lady of the film (and indeed a staple of many a Hitchcock flick) was the beautiful and talented Tippi Hedren. And while Ms. Hedren might have spent the bulk of the film fleeing in terror from rampaging birds, in real life she is a devoted animal activist.

Run, Tippi, run! (Native foods Cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant)

Ms. Hedren founded the ROAR FOUNDATION in 1983 to support the Shambala Preserve, which cares for exotic animals (mostly big cats). The Foundation strives to educate the public about the dangers of private ownership of exotic animals (remember the incident in Ohio last month?). It should come as no surprise, but huge numbers of exotic animals are kept in private ownership and bred for illegal purposes. This reminds me of one year way back when I went to the L.A. Fair. The usual domesticated farm animals were to be found (like llamas!), but there was also a sketchy trailer that supposedly housed an 18 foot alligator from Louisiana. My animal injustice radar started to go off, so I started asking the guy taking the tickets some questions. He was unable to give clear answers as to where the alligator was obtained, and the living conditions provided for it when not in the trailer. And actually, the trailer itself was really not that big, so the alligator clearly had not much room to move. This troubled me, but I digress…

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As we witnessed what occurred in Zanesville, Ohio, it should be obvious that private ownership of exotic animals is dangerous to humans and unfair to the animals. More stringent legislation is needed to prevent the breeding and selling of these animals. To that end, the Roar Foundation is currently active on both the federal and state levels.

In Sanskrit, Shambala means A meeting place of peace and harmony for all beings, animal and human. And this is exactly what the Shambala Preserve strives to accomplish. As stated on their brochure, “Shambala is now home to more than 50 big cats and has provided lifelong sanctuary to lion, tiger, cougar, black and spotted leopard, serval, bobcat, Asian leopard cat, snow leopard, cheetah, lynx, tigon, African elephants, and one magnificent liger.” Tigons and ligers? Wow!

The Shambala Preserve (native foods cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant)

Once an animal is brought to Shambala, it will be allowed to live out its life in peace and dignity, being provided the best human care possible to meet their physical and emotional needs. The animals are from that point forwards free of commercial use, and will not be bred, traded, or sold. And if you feel like actively getting involved, there are numerous ways you can support The Roar Foundation and the Shambala Preserve, such as becoming a member, adopting an animal, donating, attending their Safari Tours, and even staying over night in an authentic African tent! Check out their website for more info, where you can actually email Tippi herself! And a very special thanks to Ms. Hedren and all the folks at Roar and Shambala. Keep up the great work!

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The Illustrious Llama

by Christopher Arnett

Native Foods Cafe

Llamas are one of my favorite animals. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m half Peruvian? Or maybe the llama is just undeniably regal and beautiful (in its own quirky, camelid way).  Whatever the reason, I thought I’d take the time to honor this charming (yet temperamental) creature.

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Llamas are native to South America, and were used as pack and meat animals by the native Andean cultures even prior to the arrival of Europeans (llama burgers?!). As noted above, llamas are camelids. This is a type of mammal that includes (you guessed it) camels, but also goats, giraffes, and even hippos. All camelids are strict herbivores (which leads to the green spit of llamas, but more on that later). A full grown llama can grow to be 5.5 ft to about 6 ft to the top of its head. They can weigh between 280 and 450 lbs. So, it is possible to ride one. But do the llama a favor and ride this rocking chair, instead.

 

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Llamas exist only as domesticated animals, having been derived from their wild cousins, the guanacos. They come in many sizes and colors, such as white, brown, grey, black, and piebald. The females undergo a pregnancy of 11 ½ months (sounds like a long time—of course, so does 9 months). The females can’t lick their newborns because of their short tongues, but instead nuzzle and hum to them! I would love to hear a mama llama humming to her baby—sounds cute  ;)  Baby llamas are typically born with all the females of the herd gathering around to protect the newborn from male llamas and predators. How’s that for a sense of community and sisterhood! The births usually only take around 30 minutes or less. I bet that makes a lot of human moms envious. As for the babies, they are called crias, and they are just too darn adorable, as you can see below!

 

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Because of their herd behavior, protective instincts, and size, llamas make  excellent livestock guards. They have been used in this way by North American ranchers  since the 80’s. The llamas have successfully been able to protect herds of sheep and goats from large predators such as coyotes. While not every llama is suited to the job, in most cases they provide a non-lethal alternative to reducing predation.  That’s good news for the sheep, and the coyotes!

 

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Llamas that are properly socialized are quite friendly. However, ones that aren’t due to over-handling by humans will treat other humans in llama fashion. This means kicking, neck wrestling, and the famous spitting. And I can’t think of any human that would win against a llama in a neck wrestling match, so don’t coddle the llamas no matter how cute they are as babies! Maybe the llama in this video was over-handled as a cria, or maybe it just didn’t like the humans (which I don’t blame llama for). You be the judge:

 

 

 

And yes, one cannot discuss llamas without mentioning their infamous spitting. It  is often used as a way of disciplining lower ranked llamas in the herd. Since llamas only spit when agitated, one can gauge their level of agitation by observing the materials in their spit. This is because the more agitated a llama is, the further back in their three stomach compartments they will go for spit materials, thus explaining the green color (yuck!). And I’ve heard it really smells. When a llama is correctly reared, spitting at humans is rare. But, occasionally it still happens (usually because humans don’t know when to back off).  When it happens, you can clearly see the llama gathering its spit materials in its mouth before letting it fly ;)

 

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Well, I hope you have enjoyed this look into the world of the loveable llama. Just remember: while adorable and fluffy, they are deserving of your respect (lest you temp the wrath of their three stomachs!!!). All hail the llama!

 

           

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Animal Writes

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Cafe

Sympathy and apathy are thankfully part of human nature. Unless one is a sociopath, these human traits are often thought of as what really defines the word “humanity” and are thought to be had by humans for humans. This is changing to include many more species in the animal kingdom than humans.

Remarkably the change began in the early 19^th century (1800’s), and the city of Torquay in England was pivotal in this thinking. In 1812, the poet Shelley wrote Queen Mab condemning the abuse of animals. 

Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (native foods cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant)

Torquay also had a very active anti-vivisection movement!

A lovely little statue from Chef Tanya's personal collection. (native foods cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant)

A statue exists there now of Georgina Baroness Mount-Temple (yes that’s her name) (feeding birds, and she was a leader of the anti-vivisection movement.  She founded the Band of Mercy, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Temperance Movement. She was known to feed birds in front of her home and played an important role in having horse troughs with drinking fountains installed in the city.

Georgina Baroness Mount-Temple (native foods cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant)

When she died in 1901, her obituary called her a woman who campaigned with “passionate indignation against cruelty and injustice…” The newspaper also commented on her commitment to “lost causes and impossible beliefs.” For this I applaud and thank her.

Interesting to note that many of the animal advocates in the 19^th century were women. Some experts think it is because there were many links with the treatment of women in that era, such as women were seen as property, submissive to a higher authority… and in the medical treatment of women and animals, restraint was used as were certain surgical implements in childbirth and gynecological exams. Most women’s colleges at that time were actively anti-vivisectionist and men’s were not. Does this mean sympathy and apathy were not applied to women? Hmmm… well, glad to see times are a changin’ and it’s a cooperative effort between the human sexes. There are still some all women’s groups though that gather to protect animals rights such as the Radical Cheerleaders in Portland, OR!

Torquay, England  (native foods cafe, vegan food, vegan restaurant)

After visiting Torquay, Charles Dickens wrote this about vivisection, “The necessity for these experiments I dispute. Man has no right to gratify an idle and purposeless curiosity through the practice of cruelty.”

Today in the news, researches have found an experimental drug to reduce fat in the body.  When tested on monkeys, it reduced their body fat by 40%. Ok boys and girls, there is still work in the world to do…. and together we will be twice as strong!

  Made obese by scientists, so they could feed them pills to see of they'd lose weight and make sure they wouldn't die... so the pills could then be given to humans who don't want to change their unhealthy habits.... Despicable and horrendous.