Today John and Lisa O. have some sad news articles to share, but they end on a happier note, discussing food (as usual).

Bear bile farms are horrifying places. Vegansaurus posted an article this week about a mother bear who killed her baby and then herself to escape. If you’d like to help the plight of other bears in China and help to end bear farming, Animals Asia is a worthy organization. In other bad news, there’s been an e. coli-driven beef recall in the US. Beef prices are on the rise, which is good in that there will be fewer cattle raised in the coming years, but bad in that the beef industry is doing everything it can to keep people buying meat. The USDA has “bailed out” the chicken industry with a $40 million emergency purchase.

On to the good news! Congratulations to Lisa P., whose recipe for Petit Fours won Yum Universe’s recent birthday contest! If you’d like to consume some sweets as well, you can head to the BeVeg.ca bake sale tomorrow afternoon at Panacea from 1-5pm. If you’re in the mood for something savoury instead, check out Noan “Meats” from BJ Supermarket in Little India, or try a veggie platter or a samosa from M&B Yummy. If you want both sweet and savoury, reserve a space for yourself at Doug McNish’s upcoming multi-course dinner at Didier on September 8th.

We received a nice response from Pho on 7 regarding a letter we’d sent on a TVA member’s behalf. The restaurant's staff has now been well educated on all of their vegetarian products, and a special code for all vegetarian orders has been added to prevent mishaps. For tips on how to approach restaurants about vegetarian and vegan menu options, you can check out this episode of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s Food for Thought podcast. We’re also happy to send letters on behalf of TVA members!

 This podcast is an all's well that ends well 33 minutes long.

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