Antispecist group Nemesi Animale steals the spotlight at Milano Fashion Week

On the 26th of February two activists from the Italian antispecist group called Nemesi Animale have managed to break into a Byblos fashion show disrupting the catwalk and attracting attention over animal exploitation at the last Milano Fashion Week.

Nemesi Animale draws attention to animals tortured and killed by the fur and fashion industry (clicking on the pic will take you to their photo reportage of the demo)

The two Italian activists have walked the whole length of the catwalk holding up two banners saying “Leather and Fur are Torture”. The girls were taken away by the security under the flashes of hundreads of photographers who gathered to report over the Byblos fashion show but who bargained for that little extra. On their webpage Nemesi Animale states that the action was not carried out against Byblos but to emphasize the suffering of millions of animals killed and tortured every year in name of fashion. Nemesi Animale is an Italian antispecist group that aims to spread a vegan lifestyle and fight against animal slavery.

On the 25th of February the same group staged a demo at an Armani’s shows bringing the dead bodies of rabbits taken from the intensive farming of Lombardia and presented as “Victims of Armani’s fashion”. Armani is another designer who despite the pledge to go fur free few years ago but has recently turned his back and started to use dead animals’ coats in his recent collections.

The name of the group takes inspiration from Nemesis, “the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to ignorance. The Greeks personified vengeful fate as a remorseless goddess: the goddess of revenge based on merits and justice. The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word νέμειν [némein], meaning “to give what is due” [Wikipedia].

Filed under: activism, anti-fur, antispecism, Milano Fashion Week, Nemesi Animale

Monkee Genes goes pop

Skinny jeans are back in fashion and Monkee Genes is producing them according to great environmental and anti sweatshop standards. They have new lines certified by the Organic Standard Soil Association. Think design with a retro twist in pop art colours (very very this season!).  Organic Standard Soil Association guarantees that factory working standards are considered as important as the environmental factors. This means each and  every stage of the process is carefully monitored: from cotton  growth and picking down to the content of the button and label. The Monkees experiment with bamboo denim too: check out their website and snatch a pair or two because at these prices stocks will not last long. Watch out for the interchangeable waistband system, banana waist buttons and the contrast stitching on some models. Very cool indeed.

Monkee Genes new lines

Now, who’s going to help me getting into a pair of skinny jeans?

Filed under: antispecism, Monkee Genes, Organc Standard Soil Association, organic cotton, skinny jeans, bio cotton, jeans, Organic Standard Soil Association

Chick-peas burgers.

Easy Sunday lunch: chick-pea burgers in sweet miso sauce.

Chick-pea burgers, the macrobiotic way.

Ingredients:

– Chick peas: 3 cups

– Mineral water : 9 cups

– Onions: 750 gr.

– Carrots: 60 gr.

– Parsley

– Sea salt (no refined)

– Miso

Cook the chickpeas in water either using a pressure cooker or a conventional pan, the time and taste will obviously change. If you are in a hurry you can use tinned ones.

Cut the onions into little cubes an sauté them in some oil for few minutes. I use sesame oil but any other oil will do. After they have softened add a little bit of extra water and keep cooking for few minutes more. If you are using ceramic pots you can just cook them with a little bit of water, without oil: the taste will definitely be lighter and sweeter. think about investing in one or two of these pots: they are simply amazing. When the onion caramelize put them on one side of the pan and cook the carrots in the remain space. After few minutes make sure to cover the carrots with the cooked onions so the heat will distribute evenly to the food; dissolve the miso paste in warm water and pour it onto the pan, stir well all the ingredients and let them cook for few minutes more until some of the excess water has evaporated. When cooked add the chopped parsley.

In a bowl roughly mash the chick peas but be careful to leave some chunks in them; add the cooked vegetables and combine well all the ingredients possibly with a wodden spoon. The idea is to “cut into” the mixture with the spoon rather than mix it,; if this way of combining the ingredients is too “macrobiotic” just mix them all together as best as you can. Shape the burgers and fry them in a non-sticky skillet with a little bit of oil: around 4 minutes on each side should be enough. If the burgers are too soft add some buckwheat flour to the mixture until they hold the shape nicely.

The sauce in the picture is simply made mixing 1 tablespoon of tahini, 2 tablespoons of sweet miso and 1 tablespoon of water.

A variation, less macrobiotic version, would consist in cooking the onions and carrots with some spices of your choice: oregano, chilly, anything you like. Experiment!

I served the burgers with some steamed cauliflowers (seasoned with with poppy seeds and ume su) and stir fried courgette ribbons (I have used extra virgin olive oil).

Enjoy and feel free to experiment, make changes, add ingredients: remember that cooking is mainly fun.

Filed under: antispecism, macrobiotics, vegan cooking