Spring is here again, and Animal Friends invites everyone, especially young people, to turn to tasty and healthy plant-based nutrition. Children and adolescents eat far too little vegetables today, but their awareness of environmental and animal protection might help them improve their eating habits. In the largest Meatout action so far, more than 300 Croatian citizens have pledged to participate in Meatout by signing on to eat vegan on: Meatout Day, every Monday, or every day. Meatout was launched in 1985 by the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), and this year it will be joined by some 40 students from the elementary school "King Tomislav" in Zagreb. At the Animal Friends' info stall on Trg bana Jelacica in Zagreb, on March 20 at 11:00 a.m., they will invite all young people, from elementary school to university-aged students, to eat exclusively plant-based foods at least one day each year. (prijatelji-zivotinja.hr)

The founder and director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, Kathy Stevens, thinks America could be vegan by 2050. Here's the evidence: 1. Meat consumption is on the decline, while interest in vegan food is on the rise; 2. Supermarkets are adding new vegan products; 3. Restaurants are becoming more responsive to vegans; 4. The rich and powerful are throwing their money behind vegan start-ups. (ecorazzi.com)

Kentucky is now the eighth state in America to ban the use of cruel veal crates. The Kentucky Livestock Care Standards Commission has issued new rules that prohibit the confinement of calves raised for veal in cramped crates. Veal crates confine calves for their short, 16-weeks long lives, tethered at the neck and unable to turn around. The ban will go into full effect by 2018. Unfortunately, the commission didn’t include two other inhumane factory farming practices in their updated rules: cutting of dairy cows' tails and the use of gestation crates for breeding pigs. (ecorazzi.com)

Last November, in the week leading up to Thanksgiving, Al Gore was "outed" in a Forbes article as being vegan. Now, for the first time since that passing utterance, Gore has come forward and spoken publicly, confirming he is indeed vegan. And loving it. In an exclusive interview with Medscape Editor-in-Chief Eric Topol, MD the politician made it crystal clear that meat, dairy and eggs are off the table. And we couldn't be more thrilled. "Over a year ago I changed my diet to a vegan diet, really just to experiment to see what it was like. And I felt better, so I continued with it. Now, for many people, that choice is connected to environmental ethics and health issues and all that stuff, but I just wanted to try it to see what it was like. In a visceral way, I felt better, so I've continued with it and I'm likely to continue it for the rest of my life," Gore said. (ecorazzi.com)

Canada has banned the use of gestation crates for pregnant sows this week. The Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs declares that any pork facility being built or renovated after July 1, 2014, must use group housing systems for pregnant sows. Hopefully this nationwide ban in Canada will inspire a wider spread change in the United States, where only 9 states ban the use of gestation crates. While the use of gestation crates is only the tip of the iceberg concerning the welfare of animals raised for food, eliminating their use is a sign of progress. The best way to be sure that no animals are harmed in the making of your food is to reduce the amount of meat, dairy, and eggs that you consume. (ecorazzi.com)