While it’s political animals that DC is known for, it’s the animals being left off of Washingtonian’s plates that prompted Living Social to rank the nation’s capital as the “Top Vegetarian US City.” The survey, conducted last year, reveals that DC diners have the highest preference for vegetarian and vegan fare in the US—so it’s no wonder that more restaurants are adding delicious meat-free meals to their menus.

Just how many restaurants?

We’re halfway through 2012 and it’s been a
tremendous year so far for COK – and for animals. Together, with your generous support, we’re
making incredible strides, and we’re thrilled to share some highlights from our
work during the past six months:

Up to 8 million
US women—that’s one out of nine—suffer from painful and persistent urinary
tract infections (UTI) each year, and now we may know why: It’s likely that many of them have become infected
with a newly antibiotic-resistant strain of E. coli, believed by researchers to
spread through poultry
raised with the routine use of antibiotics. These findings so closely
correlate to the rise of UTI’s in the past decade, that the Infectious
Diseases Society of America has had to revise its recommendations on which drugs to
prescribe.

For anyone who’s had the chance to meet a pig up close and personal, it’s hard not to notice how strikingly similar these animals are to the
beloved dogs with whom many of us share our homes. In fact, studies
have shown that pigs are actually smarter than dogs.

These highly social animals have such an amazing capacity to experience and express love, joy, and sorrow — and looking into one piglet’s woeful eyes as he was about to be slaughtered is what changed the course for Lo Hung-hsien (pictured here), a former pig farmer turned vegetarian advocate in Taiwan.

Summer is officially underway and our East Coast volunteers
and interns have been bringing the heat! Since April, we’ve handed-out more than 25,000 leaflets and 8,000 vegan food samples at over 30 events!