It’s always rewarding to reach out to animal lovers, helping them make the connection that birds, pigs, and cows are every bit as smart and social as the cats and dogs with whom many of us share our homes. That’s why we were excited to spend last weekend at the Strut Your Mutt Parade and Festival in the nation’s capital!

Despite the heat, thousands of people and hundreds of furry, four-legged friends headed to this fun, annual event, where they were happy to be met with a smiling face from a COK volunteer dishing out free vegan cupcakes and Tofurky sandwiches. 

This past Sunday, COK’s West Coast team headed out to Worldfest, the largest vegan and solar-powered festival in Los Angeles, determined to reach out to the eco-conscious, soon-to-be vegan masses about the realities of factory farming using our powerful Pay-Per-View video booth. 

Despite the sweltering heat, thousands of people were drawn to this annual event and many of them stopped by our booth to find out how they could make more compassionate and eco-friendly choices. As a part of our Pay-Per-View program, attendees were offer $1 to watch a four-minute video revealing the painful truth kept hidden behind the closed doors of the meat, egg, and dairy industries.

I did it! This past Saturday I ran 13.1 miles in the Palos Verdes Half Marathon (PV 1/2), and with contributions from 80 generous supporters, raised more than $6,000 to help the 9 billion factory farmed animals raised and killed each year in the U.S.

Let’s face it: Los Angeles smog is infamous. Along with Hollyweird, traffic, and more traffic, it’s one of city’s most notable characteristics. You might be surprised to learn however, that the haze hanging over the City of Angels skyline isn’t just from car-clogged freeways and smokestacks—it’s also from cows.

Three months ago, Ken Swensen joined our volunteer team — and from day one, he hit the ground running, eager to help bring our message of compassion to the big apple. 

He started by heading up the COK table at the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival and he kept right on moving to the Connecticut VegFest, Queens College Green Festival, and Rutgers University.

He even started an vegetarian and animal advocacy group at his church!

In between all of his activism and regular day-to-day life activities, we managed to get him to sit down with us for a few minutes to talk about how and why he got involved in speaking out for animals. We hope you find his story as inspiring as we do:

Perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated role as John Coffey in the movie “The Green Mile,” actor and muscle man Michael Clarke Duncan is now taking on a new role: animal advocate. 

In a new video released by PETA (embedded below), Duncan talks about why he decided to become a vegetarian three years ago, when he turned 51, and how his meat-free diet has changed his life.

Earlier today, a powerful and extremely graphic new undercover video inside a Wyoming pig breeding factory farm was released by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

Yes, it’s true that VegWeek 2012—an exciting week of veg-friendly events and restaurant specials—is over, BUT whether you’ve been veg for 30 years, or just since you took the VegWeek VegPledge last week, here’s something new to get excited about:

Chef Christy Morgan’s new book, Blissful Bites! This gorgeous collection suggests simple, beautiful, delicious meal ideas using mainly whole foods—you know, all the stuff that comes from the produce department and in those bulk bins at the grocery store! With this book you can finally: