An old podcast stuck up here for testing purposes. Once again, an interview-free but news-heavy Monday podcast. Michael Vick is now in a place where he poses zero threat to dogs. Every year, the Presidential turkey pardon misleads the public about the turkey industry and the health of the birds they breed. I slam a corrupt new milk law coming out of Pennsylvania. The conventional wisdom about kids’ unwillingness to eat healthy school lunches turns out to be incorrect. Next, we look at just what the world’s been needing: nine year old matadors. And could one of the suppliers of so-called vegan marshmallows have been deliberately duping their customers? The guy at the heart of Atkins’ latest resurgence has a new book. And finally, I take you through an amusing cavalcade of rip-off margarine brands. Today’s podcast is 40:00.

This is kinda funny: a blog entry ridiculing Roger Clemens — not for taking HGH, but for denying he’s ever heard the word vegan.  Talk about a credibility gap.

I decided to call Paul Shapiro for an unplanned podcast, even though development for Vegan.com’s relaunch is still underway. We discuss the cruelty investigation that occurred at the Hallmark dairy slaughterhouse, which generated massive media attention. The investigation led to a record 143 million pound beef recall, and a Congressional subpoena issued to the company’s president. If you’ve got a strong stomach, you can watch the video that kicked off the furor. Paul and I finish off our chat by talking about the 800,000 signatures gathered by Humane California, and what’s next for this landmark campaign. Today’s chat with Paul is 33:06.

From Paul Shapiro: The Oakland Tribune and several other Bay Area papers ran a great story on the California ballot initiative today. The whole thing is very much worth reading, but of particular interest is a sound bite from the agribusiness opposition: “This is simply not the way to go about making regulations, by popular vote.” Link.

You know veganism is getting a lot more mainstream when a Hollywood star like Natalie Portman puts her name behind a new line of vegan shoes. Link.