PETA Offers to by new fridge for Michigan jail

Should Macomb County Jail go vegan in exchange for a new freezer from PETA?
By Sheena Harrison | MLive.com
January 05, 2010, 4:41PM

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is making an offer that it believes the Macomb County Jail can't refuse. The animal-rights group will replace one of the jail's old, moldy freezers if County Sheriff Mark Hackel agrees to serve prisoners a vegan diet for the next year.

Macomb jail inmates have been surviving on bologna and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches after mold was found in the jail's 50-year-old freezers in November. Sheriff's department officials told the Associated Press that the freezers can't be replaced right now because the county doesn't have enough money.

In a letter posted on PETA's Web site, Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman offers to provide a new freezer to Macomb jail if it meets two conditions -- serving vegan meals to prisoners for a year, and tracking their health during that time to see if it improves. The organization also offered to help the jail develop a new vegan menu.

"Our proposal is a win-win-win situation: Inmates will get healthier, many animals' lives will be spared, and the jail will get some new equipment," Reiman said in the statement.

The Detroit News was unable reach Hackel for comment.

Considering the jail's current money crunch, PETA's proposal must be somewhat tempting for Macomb County officials. Should Hackel take PETA up on its offer? And which is the worse punishment for prisoners -- daily bologna sandwiches, or no meat for the next year?


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"If slaughterhouses had glass walls the whole world would be vegetarian"

Thank you Sir Paul for giving voice to the BILLIONS of animals tortured and killed in this country every year.


Find out more at Meat.org.

Hopefully someone so respected all over the world will help spread the message: EVERY human being should care about the plight of animals.

Tofu....for breakfast???

I busted out my first vegan cookbook on Saturday; Peta's Vegan College Cookbook. These recipes are crazy simple! In fact most are meant to be made in the microwave (kinda gross, I know), but most can be cooked in the oven or stove top.

Today I tried making the "Morning in Mexico Scramble"

Ingredients:
1 package Firm Tofu (drained and rinsed)
2 cups corn tortilla chips
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 cups Salsa


This recipe makes 3 servings. I only wanted 1 serving, so I used about a quarter of the tofu, a handful of chips, 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder and 1 cup of salsa.

I had bought (at Trader Joes) FRESH salsa. I really think this made the whole dish! Fresh tomatoes, onions and basil added lots of flavor! Check your grocery store in the refrigerator section.


I'd seen a lot of "fake meat" recipes that used soy sauce for flavor, so I added a couple of splashes of Low Sodium Soy sauce for an extra kick.

Directions:
Mash tofu and microwave for approx 4 minutes
Mix in Tortilla Chips and Onion Powder (and soy sauce?)
Microwave for approx 2 minutes
Add salsa (The recipe said to heat for another minute, but of course I didn't see that part! But I thought the cold salsa was nice and help cool the dish)

Total cooking time: Approx 8 minutes
Add a toasted slice of pita w/ vegan butter and this is a great easy (and tasty!) breakfast!




Note: I made this for breakfast for the last three days(!) I added a sprinkle of Mexican Blend/Shredded Soy Cheese from Trader Joes...totally delish!!

*Full credit for this recipe goes to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Starza Kolman/Marta Holmber