Company of the Year
With its extensive line of tasty, satisfying meatless versions of America's favorite foods, Boca proves that you don't have to give up anything in the way of taste or texture to go vegetarian! From breakfast to burgers, mock chicken to pizza, Boca serves up a mouthwatering smorgasbord of heart-healthy, animal-friendly foods for all of us to enjoy! Boca Burgers are as convenient as the "real thing" (without the cholesterol, cruelty, and E. coli, of course!) and Boca Crumbles can be used in place of ground meat to make everything from
vegetarian shepherd's pie to
enchilada bake to
"hamburger" macaroni casserole, and so much more!
Boca products have found their way into the freezer sections of mainstream grocery stores in cities across the country. A sign of increasingly animal-friendly times, the sporty "Bocamobile" tours the nation touting the joys of soy. And, when
you're on the road, Denny's and Johnny Rockets will ensure that you don't suffer Boca withdrawal—they proudly serve up Boca Burgers with all the fixin's!
Breakthrough Award
The recipient of the 2004 North American Car of the Year Award also happens to be super animal-friendly! Achieving coveted positions in the "best" lists of
Car and Driver magazine,
Fortune, and
Business Week, the Toyota Prius has wowed consumers and critics alike with its amazing fuel economy and contoured aerodynamic design. We're impressed by Toyota's decision
not to offer the Prius with leather—no cow skin cramping your cruelty-free eco-style! Says Paul Daverio, manager for advanced technology vehicle marketing at Toyota, "Prius does represent social responsibility to the environment for many people. . . . And we understand that there are some issues with leather."
While some car manufacturers require customers to jump through hoops to secure a nonleather interior, with the Prius, Toyota has put the cruelty-free shoe on the other foot, allowing customers to ride without the hide!
Best Animal-Friendly Retailer
Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market is now the world's leading retailer of natural and organic foods, with 166 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Celebrating the maxim that variety is the spice of life, Whole Foods offers an impressively wide and tempting selection of healthy vegetarian foods—cereals, snacks, juices, frozen foods, baked goods, convenience foods, soups, produce, and rows of products in bulk bins! The retailer's very own "365" brand delivers quality in grocery products as well as cruelty-free personal care and household products at competitive prices. For people on the go, Whole Foods' deli counter offers a plethora of delectable, mouth-watering vegan choices: sesame-encrusted seitan, roasted asparagus, tofu teriyaki, sweet potato cutlets, and more! No deprivation here.
Whole Foods has consistently done more for animal welfare than any retailer in the industry, requiring that its producers adhere to strict standards. Recently, Whole Foods launched the Animal Compassion Foundation. John Mackey, the chair, CEO, and cofounder of Whole Foods Market, observed, "By creating the Foundation, Whole Foods Market is pioneering an entirely new way for people to relate to farm animals—with the animals' welfare becoming the most important goal."
The country's second-largest grocery-store chain has been working with the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) to develop a comprehensive set of animal welfare guidelines to help protect animals from some of the very worst abuses that they suffer on factory farms and in slaughterhouses. Albertson's has also helped push for the development of the FMI's Animal Welfare Audit Program (AWAP), a system through which food retailers such as Albertson's can monitor their suppliers for compliance with the FMI guidelines. Furthermore, Albertson’s was instrumental in demanding sweeping change and unannounced audits at AgriProcessors, Inc., the world’s largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse, where an undercover PETA investigator documented horrendous abuse.
Safeway worked with Albertson's to develop the FMI guidelines and to demand changes from AgriProcessors. Safeway also demanded changes and audits of Seaboard Farms after another PETA investigation uncovered horrific cruelty. Seaboard employees ended up receiving the first-ever felony cruelty-to-animals charges for abuse of farmed animals. In Canada, the company demanded the first meaningful animal welfare audits by any corporation. Safeway's commitment to animal welfare goes all the way to the top—the company's CEO, Steve Burd, personally contributes money to the animal protection charity run by Tony La Russa, manager of baseball's St. Louis Cardinals.
Pioneer of the Year
Winner: Norm Mason, CEO of Cat Communications
Norm Mason is a man with a mission. The CEO of Roanoke, Virginia-based Cat Communications made headlines across the country when he introduced a company cafeteria where employees dine exclusively on vegan foods—soy steaks, soy sloppy joes, veggie burgers, nachos, and other meatless, eggless, butter-free delicacies—for free!
By providing free vegetarian lunches in his "vegetaria" and stocking the room with pamphlets about the many benefits of vegetarian fare, Mason hopes to expose his carnivorous employees to alternatives to an animal-based diet. The vegan and lifelong animal lover has also established an Angels of Assisi office in the building that provides a discount spay and neuter service and an adoption center for cats and dogs.
Courage in Commerce
Leading fashion retailer Abercrombie and Fitch, famous for its provocative ads and trendy clothing, blazed a trail for compassion in 2004. As the first company to pledge not to use wool from Australian sheep in any of its garments until both mulesing and live exports are stopped, the international retailer has boldly shown the world that cruelty is never in style.
The company said in a letter to PETA, "Abercrombie & Fitch considers the proper treatment of animals to be of critical concern, and it is committed to that end. We shall not support the Australian Merino wool market until both the practice of mulesing is ended and the live exporting of Australian sheep ceases."
Visionary
Winner: Dr. Temple Grandin
Renowned animal scientist Dr. Temple Grandin doesn't seem like the sort of person who would receive PETA's Proggy Award. An associate professor of animal science at Colorado State University, Dr. Grandin consults with the livestock industry and the American Meat Institute on the design of slaughterhouses! However, Dr. Grandin's improvements to animal-handling systems found in slaughterhouses have decreased the amount of fear and pain that animals experience in their final hours, and she is widely considered the world's leading expert on the welfare of cattle and pigs.
Recently, following a PETA undercover investigation, Dr. Grandin's expertise was instrumental in securing significant improvements in the treatment of animals at AgriProcessors, the world's largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse. Noting that incompetent kosher slaughterers and shoddy quality control at AgriProcessors are giving shechitah a bad name, Dr. Grandin said about the abuses at AgriProcessors, "I thought it was the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen. I couldn't believe it. I've been in at least 30 other kosher slaughter plants, and I had never ever seen that kind of procedure done before."
Best Cruelty-Free Personal Care Products
Wildly popular and a near-fixture in upscale shopping malls, Aveda has blazed the trail as a leading manufacturer of cruelty-free shampoos, conditioners, hair-styling products, cleansers, and spa products.
Founded in 1978 by Horst Rechelbacher, Aveda uses freshly distilled plants and flower essences to create hair, skin, makeup, and body-care products based on aromatherapy. Aveda relies on human studies of the physiological effects of botanical ingredients to develop its broad range of products, ensuring that the products are safer for people and for animals!
Aveda's rich shampoos and conditioners turn your morning shower into a luxurious, sensory feast! Rosemary Mint Shampoo adds body to your "mane," while the PETA-popular Shampure offers a garden of lavender, orange, and 25 other floral and herbal extracts. Made especially for brunettes, Aveda's Clove Shampoo enhances warm tones and contains organic coffee. Soy latte with your shower, anyone?
Best Cruelty-Free Cosmetics
What a difference time makes! It wasn't that long ago that PETA launched an international campaign against cosmetics giant Avon for its cruel tests on animals. But Avon did the right thing and made history. In 1989, Avon Products, Inc., became the first major cosmetics company worldwide to end all animal testing for its products and ingredients.
So began the love affair between caring consumers and Avon's dazzling palette of lip tints, eye shadows, and blush powders. Throughout the world, Avon devotees revel from head to toe in a vast array of colorful, innovative products, including lines designed for every stage of life, every climate, and every skin type and color. Avon product lines include such recognizable brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Avon Solutions, Advance Techniques Hair Care, Avon Naturals, Mark (Avon's hip and stylish line for young women), and Avon Wellness. No matter what you choose, you can rest easy knowing that when you choose Avon, your beauty doesn't come with the high price tag of animal suffering.
Best Cruelty-Free Household Products
The beautifully designed, strikingly vibrant, delectably fragrant household products from Method make us
want to grab our scrub brushes and get cleaning! The naturally derived, biodegradable formulas are highly effective, packaged with respect for the environment, and safe for you—and innocent animals. In addition to their gorgeous line of dishwashing liquids, laundry detergents and softeners, surface cleaners, and hand soaps and lotions—in yummy pink grapefruit, lemon ginger, French lavender, rosemary mint, and magnolia—Method also makes vegetable-based wax candles. And, best of all, Method products are as close as your nearest Target, Linens 'n' Things, or Rite Aid!
Best Cruelty-Free Athletic Shoes
Think you can only get a high-quality athletic shoe in leather? Think again! Whether you shoot hoops on the basketball court, kickbox your way through aerobics classes, run laps at the gym, or power your way across a tennis court, New Balance has an animal-friendly shoe for you! Constructed from synthetic leather and breathable mesh, cruelty-free shoes from New Balance allow us to stay fit without compromising our ethics (and they have the added advantage of being washable!).
Best Cruelty-Free Shoe Retailer
Otsu is a Japanese word meaning quaint, stylish, chic, spicy, witty, tasty, and romantic! San Francisco-based retailer Otsu, a trendy boutique with stores in California and Oregon and specializing in high-quality vegan items such as shoes, belts, wallets, and bags, incorporates all the elements of its name-and more! With an extensive line of fun and funky shoes spanning styles from hardcore military boots to elegant pumps, Otsu keeps the cows off your feet-making it easier for the caring consumer to "pleather yourself."
Best Cruelty-Free Shoes
An online vendor of breathtakingly beautiful shoes made without any animal ingredients, Shoes With Souls (SWS) could be called "Shoes With Sass, Style, and Sex Appeal!" SWS offers shoes for every occasion. Using state-of-the-art microfiber, which is engineered to look, feel, and perform exactly like animal-derived leather, SWS carries everything from sexy city boots and rugged hiking shoes to stylish pumps and strappy sandals. Folks in San Diego can visit Shoes With Souls' chic boutique, but you can also check out the company's lines of high-quality, comfortable, stylish shoes online! Your feet will thank you!
Best Cruelty-Free Purses & Wallets (Tie)
We love Queen Bee Creations, and not only because the company treats us like the princesses that we are! Queen Bee's collection of unique, handmade vinyl bags, wallets, belts, guitar straps, and accessories are cute and quirky. Who wouldn't fall in love with the Flock Wonder Wallets with their whimsical tiny bird appliqués or the bold bursting-with-color Poppy Tote or the too-hip-for-words 45 rpm hand bags (with actual vinyl records sewn into the bag's exterior)? What's more, the wonderful people at Queen Bee will customize items to your specifications!
Using the best synthetic leather available on the market, Matt & Nat, based in Montréal, offers ultra-cool collections of fun, functional handbags that marry imaginative shapes with to-die-for colors (think, rainbow brights and assertive pastels to professional blacks and browns and demure creams). Known more for their sumptuous style than their sensibility, Matt & Nat's wildly popular bags are available in 1,500 North American locations, including Nordstrom and Dillard's, but can also be purchased online.
Exciting news for Matt & Nat fanatics: The company is now offering animal-friendly sandals, slippers, gloves, scarves, and placemats, and a full shoe line is in the works!
Best Cruelty-Free Online Vendor
Pasadena, California-based vegan, animal lover, and entrepreneur Jackie Horrick launched AlternativeOutfitters.com in April 2004 and has seen her business double every month since! It's no surprise. Horrick's "fashion with compassion" inventory of stylish nonleather footwear, handbags, and other accessories (including the most adorable cell phone pouches we've ever seen!) is based on the discerningly critical eye of diehard fashionistas. Alternative Outfitters also offers a variety of cruelty-free beauty brands, including Avalon Organics, Kiss My Face, Primal Elements, No Miss, Ecco Bella, and Alba Botanica, among others, along with PETA friend Pamela Anderson's new line, The Pamela Collection.
"Beauty shouldn't be a pain—not for you or our fine furry friends," quips Horrick. We couldn't agree more!
Best Animal-Friendly Outerwear for Women
Want to wrap yourself in the luxurious feel of soft, sumptuous shearling, without the body count of the real thing? L.L. Bean makes it easy-and affordable-with its gorgeous line of faux shearling jackets. The classic, versatile style gets a compassionate makeover using an exceptionally soft, cruelty-free microfiber. The thick suede-like exterior will keep you warm, while your heart will be warmed knowing that no animals were harmed or killed just to make your coat. And with all the money you'll save buying faux, you can be the envy of fashion plates everywhere, donning L.L. Bean's matching faux shearling hat and mittens!
Best Animal-Friendly Luxury Fashion
The daughter of ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, Stella McCartney made headlines of her own in 1995, when she graduated from London's Central St. Martin's College of Art & Design and startled the fashion world with her designs that combine sharp tailoring with humor and sexy femininity. McCartney has worked as chief designer at the French couture house Chloe and recently started her own label in the House of Gucci.
In addition to being a darling of the fashion industry (Stella won the 2000 VH1/Vogue Fashion and Music Designer of the Year Award), Stella is an angel for animals. She refuses to use any animal skins-fur or leather-in her designs, and her perfume is 100 percent cruelty-free. She opened her first store in New York in 2002, followed by two more stores in London and West Hollywood a year later. Stella continues to wow audiences with her collections, grabbing headlines and new legions of devotees!
Best Animal-Friendly Furniture
Think of La-Z-Boy, and you think of rest and relaxation-kicking back, putting your feet up, and enjoying the comfort of home sweet home. But all that tranquility goes right out the window when you know that animals paid for it with their hides. That's why we love the La-Z-Boy collection by Todd Oldham. Dedicated to using no animal skins in his designs, Oldham has designed clothes for the likes of Julia Roberts and Uma Thurman, a Home collection for Target, wristwatches for Fossil, and, most recently, an extensive collection for La-Z-Boy.
Bringing his youthful sensibilities and fascination with a kaleidoscope of color to the once-stuffy world of La-Z-Boy, Oldham's impressive 130-piece collection is now in stores, and in the spring new pieces will join the collection. Along with a petite recliner called Arc, there are sumptuous sofas, opulent ottomans, and colorful chairs as well as cabinets, lamps, and tables sporting Oldham's clean, sleek signature style. Great news for animal-loving home decorating enthusiasts: Oldham is getting ready to launch his own stores, starting in New York and followed by shops in Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Houston.
Best Children's Book
Winner: One in a Million, by Nicholas Read
This is a heartwarming story written for kids aged 8 to 10, but it will touch people of all ages. The story is told from the perspective of Joey, a black German shepherd mix, who is put in an animal shelter as a puppy but has difficulties being placed in a permanent home. This is a pro-animal story that will teach young readers to respect and care for their animal companions and is also an engaging adventure tale with a lovable and brave hero.
Winner: Diary of a Worm, by Doreen Cronin (illustrated by Harry Bliss)
Diary of a Worm is a delightful picture book, written in diary form, from the perspective of a worm family's young son. Written for kids in preschool through kindergarten, the mysterious underworld comes alive in this enchanting tale of worms doing the hokey-pokey and making macaroni necklaces.
Social Cause Book of the Year
In
Move the Message, communications consultant and activist Josephine Bellaccomo offers a step-by-step process, complete with tips, tactics, strategies, examples, and exercises, to ensure that your message is focused, powerful, and unstoppable. The book is a tool kit for activists, outlining all the necessary steps for us to target our message to the people with the power to make a difference, design and pitch a compelling presentation, field questions and comments to energize your audience to take action, and
move the message to others.
Whether the difference you want is local or global, this guide is essential for activists and concerned individuals working to create lasting change.
Novel of the Year
Winner: Elizabeth Costello, by J.M. Coetzee
Like Elizabeth Costello, the title character of this novel, Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee is himself a noted literary figure. Coetzee uses this book as a vehicle to discuss a wide variety of moral and ethical concerns through the voice of his main character, Elizabeth Costello, an aging Australian novelist who is called upon again and again to give lectures on the literary circuit.
Costello's lectures on animal rights and vegetarian ethics are particularly interesting. At one point, Costello equates the Holocaust with the modern-day slaughter of innocent animals. "She had spoken on that occasion on what she saw and still sees as the enslavement of whole animal populations. A slave: a being whose life and death are in the hands of another. What else are cattle, sheep, poultry? The death camps would not have been dreamed up without the example of the meat-processing plants before them."
Best Secretly Enjoyed Novel of the Year
Winner: Star, by Pamela Anderson
'Fess up! If you haven't already purchased your copy of Pamela Anderson's
New York Times bestseller, you know you want to snuggle up with this "insider's look at the world of inflated egos and inflated bodies" to learn "what really happens when A-list meets D-cup, when girl becomes goddess."
Amazon.com called
Star "funny, sexy, and utterly compelling."
Best Animal-Friendly Movie
With its heartwarming message promoting compassion for all animals,
Shark Tale wins two fins up from PETA and this year's Proggy for best animal-friendly movie. The undersea comedy won the praise of critics and audiences alike, netting Critic's Choice Award, Los Angeles Film Critics and National Board of Review Awards for Best Animated Feature and an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
The film's protagonist, Lenny, played by Jack Black, is a vegetarian shark who saves the lives of worms, shrimp, and any other animals who swim his way. In less than two hours, Lenny convinces his family and everyone who watches
Shark Tale that fish are friends, not food. We're confident that Lenny will inspire a generation of children (and adults!) to follow his vegetarian example by keeping fish off their plates—and in the ocean, where they belong.
Best Animal-Friendly Documentary
Shaun Monson, the writer, producer, director, and editor of
EARTHLINGS has taken a painful subject (the exploitation of animals at the hands of human beings) and created a poignantly beautiful work of art. The narration (powerfully delivered by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix) is as poetic as it is cutting. EARTHLINGS is a groundbreaking film about humankind's complete dependence on yet total disrespect for animals used as food, clothing, entertainment, companions, and tools for research.
Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage,
EARTHLINGS chronicles the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative, and thought-provoking, EARTHLINGS is by far the most comprehensive documentary film ever produced about the correlation between humankind, nature, animals, and the economy. Watch this film, show it to your friends, family members, and coworkers, and watch the world change!
Best Animal-Friendly Video Game
Eidos has scored a winner with this clever, engaging action game! Set inside the cold, cavernous walls of Genron, an evil, high-tech lab in which innocent animals are used to test products for human consumption, the game opens with Spanx, a crazy weasel who has had electro-shocks tested on him, and Redmond, a know-it-all rabbit who has been used to test makeup, as they are being sent to the dreaded "Genetic Recombinator"—the final destination for animals who have outlived their usefulness at Genron. But somehow, Spanx and Redmond escape from their cage and attempt to break out of the facility. There's only one small problem, however-they're still chained together!
Grand Theft Auto meets
Chicken Run in this delightful 3-D action adventure game featuring Bryce, an escaped steer on a rampage (albeit a distinctly nonviolent, nonpolluting, nondairy, and socially conscious one). Bryce has more then a few things to be mad about, and players of the game find themselves breaking into cosmetics labs to rescue rabbits, hijacking chicken transport trucks to save chickens from slaughter, and converting an entire city to vegetarian at a rate that even the Meat Marketing Board can't keep up with.
Best Animal-Friendly Toy
With the introduction of Barbie Pet Rescue from Mattel, the most popular fashion doll in the world is also the most compassionate! The pop culture icon gets a makeover as a Florence Nightingale for animals in this lovely CD-ROM adventure game in which players search for lost pets, rescue animals from trees, and nurse rescued animals back to health, offering vitamins, treats, and tender, loving care. Our panelists are thrilled that this fun adventure game empowers girls and boys to help animals in need, encouraging children's natural empathy for animals and cultivating an ethic of responsibility toward them.
Best Wildlife-Friendly Product
Winner: Beaver Deceiver
When humans move into areas where wildlife thrives, the conflict between humans and animals inevitably ends badly for the animals. Fortunately, simple solutions are available to help us coexist. Did you know that beavers need water to protect themselves from terrestrial predators and to store their food? It makes perfect sense that Nature's engineers chop down trees to divert streams, creating a beaver dam
and a beaver lodge. Sometimes this results in flooding of human homes, but there are peaceful ways to solve this problem.
One of the best solutions is the Beaver Deceiver, a nonlethal flow-control device designed by Maine-based wildlife biologist Skip Lisle that allows the beavers to have their homes without flooding ours.
Runner Up: Katcha-Bug Humane Bug Catcher
Are you the kind of person who wouldn't hurt a fly? Is your motto "Live and let live," even when it comes to tiny, six-legged, uninvited house guests? Then the Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher is for you! Simply place Katcha Bug over the bug and slowly slide its plastic trapdoor shut. The bug will step onto the trapdoor as it closes, and you can carry Katcha Bug outside, where all you need to do is slide the trap door open, allowing the bug to walk away. You'll have no problem catching even large spiders with this handy gadget, and because Katcha Bug measures 9 inches in length, you won't have to get too close for comfort.
Strongest Backbone
In May 2004, Michigan's Detroit Zoo announced its precedent-setting decision to permanently close its elephant exhibit and retire two female Asian elephants, Winky and Wanda, to a sanctuary. The Detroit Zoo is the first zoo to voluntarily close its elephant exhibit for ethical reasons and the eighth U.S. zoo to stop exhibiting elephants in recent years. Detroit Zoo Director Ron Kagan stated, "Now we understand how much more is needed to be able to meet all the physical and psychological needs of elephants in captivity, especially in a cold climate."
Both Winky, aged 51, and Wanda, aged 46, were captured in the wild as babies and have been companions at the Detroit Zoo since 1994. Thanks to the Detroit Zoo's humane decision, Winky and Wanda will enjoy full, enriching years of retirement, roaming through hundreds of acres of natural habitat in the company of many other elephants.
Best New Vegetarian Food Product
What's even better than hearty, tasty meals that keep you healthy and fit while your taste buds sing in satisfied delight? Well, hearty, tasty, healthy meals that are a snap to prepare, of course! And for that, Gardenburger Meals fit the bill. Our panelists raved over the Meatless Citrus Glazed Chicken with Green Beans and Rice; the Meatless Meatloaf with Broccoli & Red Peppers; the Meatless Southwestern Chicken with Vegetables; and the Meatless Sweet and Sour Pork with Rice. One hundred percent vegan, these meals are totally cholesterol-free and cruelty-free!
Best New Faux Meat Product
We've always loved Turtle Island for its savory Tofurky roasts—complete with stuffing, gravy, and "drumsticks"—that turn our Thanksgiving dinners into celebrations for birds and humans alike. And who hasn't savored the great taste of Tofurky year-round with its great deli slices piled high between hearty slices of bread and slathered with soy mayonnaise and mustard? Now, Turtle Island has outdone itself, introducing an exciting line of new deli slice flavors. Our panelists went gaga over the "Philly Style" Steak slices, the Italian Deli slices, and the Cranberry & Stuffing slices—and immediately began conspiring to serve Tofurky sandwiches "undercover" to the meat-eaters in their households. Better than the "real thing," Tofurky deli slices offer up all the delicious taste and texture, minus the cruelty and killing!
Best New Faux Dairy Product
For all of us who have a difficult time fitting a balanced diet into our demanding schedules, Silk's new fruit-infused soy smoothies come to the rescue! Silk has always been one of our favorite companies—with its great line of tasty flavored soy milks and soy yogurts-but Silk's smoothies take the marriage of health and convenience to a new level. The skinny on Silk's smoothies? They contain six live and active cultures that aid healthy digestion; are packed with 19 essential nutrients including calcium, magnesium, folic acid, potassium, and vitamins A, B, C, D, and E; are enhanced with a natural dietary fiber that improves absorption of calcium and magnesium; and contain 280 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids per 10-ounce serving, reducing our risk of heart disease, strokes, and breast cancer! Best of all, being healthy never tasted so good! Silk
live! Soy Smoothies come in a variety of tangy, zingy flavors, including mango, peach, raspberry, and strawberry.
Serving up premium ice cream richness without the lactose, cholesterol, and cruelty, Tofutti frozen desserts are a dairy-free dream. Along with pint-sized tubs of decadence (our panelists swooned over Chocolate Cookie Crunch and Better Pecan), Tofutti offers an extensive line of soy ice cream novelties, including Marry Me Bars (creamy vanilla Tofutti surrounded with a dark chocolate coating), Totally Fudge Bars (frozen fudge on a stick), and Monkey Bars (for lovers of chocolate and peanut butter). New to the delicious lineup: Tofutti Kids Dessert Bars, a delicious pairing of creamy, dreamy dairy-free vanilla ice cream with a hard coating of premium orange, lime, and strawberry. For kids of all ages!
Best New Vegan Convenience Food
Lightlife's Smart Meals on-the-Go were created for all of us who live life in the fast lane, juggling a full plate of activities (and then some). Smart Meals on-the-Go cook up in minutes-you just heat and serve! Choose from zesty Smart BBQ, spicy Smart Chili, or savory Smart Tex-Mex—great meals that offer old-time favorites without that old-time heart attack. Packed with lots of good-for-you veggie protein, Lightlife's Smart Meals contain no fat and no cholesterol.
Best Vegan Chocolate
If you do cartwheels over chocolate (like us), you'll do triple flips for Ghirardelli's rich, creamy, premium chocolate. The bakers on our panel love Ghirardelli's Double Chocolate and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, as well as its heavenly baking cocoa. When it's cold out (or even when it's not), savor a steaming mug of Ghirardelli's Hot Chocolate —creamy, dreamy goodness to warm your toes and your heart (knowing that no mama or baby cows were harmed in the making of your treat)! Our panelists couldn't get enough of the Double Chocolate, Chocolate Hazelnut, and Chocolate Mocha flavors. Luckily, Ghirardelli's products are as close as your nearest grocery store, so you'll never run out. And, Starbucks proudly carries Ghirardelli's dark chocolate squares—the perfect treat with your soy latte!
Best Vegetarian Snack Product
Offering up the satisfying texture and hearty taste of meat jerky in an impressive line of mouthwatering soy- and gluten-based strips, Primal Foods won this category hands down. We love the Mesquite Lime, Teriyaki, and Thai Peanut flavors just as much as the traditional flavors of Hickory Smoked, Hot & Spicy, and Texas BBQ.
Most Vegetarian-Friendly National Restaurant Chain
"Welcome to Moe's!" The people at Moe's are so friendly; you just know they're going to have lots of great vegetarian options! With an ambience that says "hip" and a menu that's centered on fresh burritos, tacos, and fajitas, the options abound. The beans (your choice of black or pinto) and the rice (your choice of Spanish or brown) are vegan, as are the guacamole, tortillas, and taco shells. You can choose savory grilled tofu in place of that unmentionable dead stuff. There are always two kinds of grilled vegetables to boost the health factor of your meal, as well as a full salsa bar to add some kick. Speaking of kicks (and bars), Moe's also serves frozen margaritas! As the perfect accompaniment to your fast, cheap, flavorful vegan meal, Moe's tortilla chips are homemade and piping hot! Buen apetito!
Mega-popular restaurant chain The Cheesecake Factory knows that more than 20 percent of diners look for vegetarian options when they eat out, so this savvy purveyor of fine fare offers no fewer than 16 vegetarian entrées on its menu. Included in the animal-friendly lineup: roasted artichokes served with a vinaigrette, grilled vegetable pizza, portobello mushroom burgers, Asian vegetable stir-fries, roasted vegetable pasta dishes, and grilled eggplant sandwiches! Yum!
"Thinking Outside the Pizza Box"
Winner: Bella's Pizzeria
Don't get us wrong, we love cheese-free pizza loaded with sauce and tons of veggie toppings, but give us a pizza with gooey, melted vegan cheese, and we're in heaven! Bella's Pizzeria in Norfolk, Virginia, offers the Proggy-winning Follow Your Heart brand of soy cheese on all its pizzas. It also has veggie subs with soy cheese as an optional topping, and it's currently experimenting with an array of mock meat slices for its pizzas. Thanks, Bella, for thinking outside the pizza box!
Best New Cookbook
Winner: Venturesome Vegetarian Cooking: Bold Flavors for Meat- And Dairy-Free Meals, by J.M. Hirsch and Michelle Hirsch
With a focus on flavor and innovative recipes, mother and son team Michelle and J.M. Hirsch have created a gorgeous cookbook that exudes a genuine love of food and cooking. With more than 100 color photographs, this book offers bold flavors without using meat or dairy products. The Tuscan Eggplant-Stuffed Shells includes a wonderful blend of herbs, tomato, and eggplant. Sesame Steamed Green Beans turns simple beans into a delightful side dish with little effort, and the Chocolate Fudge Pie is a heavenly blend of chocolate and cashew butter.
Horizons Café, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, secured a top spot in the coveted VegNews list as one of the best vegetarian restaurants in North America, and it has just released a gorgeous cookbook with more than 100 recipes direct from the Horizons kitchen. Our panelists swooned over the Grilled Tofu "Salmon" With Dill Sauce, the Seitan and Wild Mushroom Pot Roast, and the Summertime Strawberry Shortcake.
When people ask Tanya Petrovna, head chef of the popular Native Foods chain of restaurants, "Are you a strict vegetarian?" she replies, "No, I'm a fun vegetarian!" Heralded in USA Today as one of the
top 10 vegetarian restaurants in the nation, Native Foods is "a casual, consistently good, ethnic, fun and very affordable eatery, boasting four branches and the motto: 'Meat's no treat for those you eat.'" Now, if the Southern California restaurant is a bit of a commute, Petrovna comes to the rescue with her delightful Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook. A side note accompanying the recipe for "Philly Peppersteak" reads, "This we recommend for members of the Carnivore Culture Club," while a note alongside the recipe for "The Hollywood Bowl" reads, "Honor the celebrity within yourself and enjoy a favorite of the Hollywood set." About her "Chocolate French Silk Lingerie Pie," Petrovna writes, "This dessert has a very high 'Ooh la la' factor. It's quite rich, so reserve it for special occasions only!" (Our panelists' editorial note: special occasions like breakfast, lunch, and dinner-ooh la la, indeed!)
Best New Dessert Cookbook
In 1997,
Vice Cream author Jeff Rogers ate his last bite of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. In 1999, the Vermont native began experimenting with a pantry of ingredients, on a mission to create the richest, creamiest vegan ice cream around. The "Naughty Vegan" was born, and with that, a collection of recipes designed to dazzle the taste buds of vegan and nonvegan ice cream aficionados alike.
It's love at first bite and gustatory pleasure right to the last delectable spoonful. Rogers has created recipes for basics like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry as well as exotic flavors like espresso, pecan pie, "Vegg Nog," "Black Forrest," and strawberry colada.
Best New Cooking Video
A feast for the eyes as well as the palate, the
Vegetarian Cooking With Compassionate Cooks DVD, shows you how to create decadent dairy-free desserts, demystify tofu and other soy products, emphasize fast and healthful meals, and present a gorgeous holiday centerpiece—all in 69 minutes! Colleen Patrick-Goudreau hosts this engaging, energetic, and remarkably informative DVD, demonstrating six tantalizing yet easy-to-make dishes (we loved the eggless egg salad and the magic chocolate cake!), packing each one full of nutritional facts and shopping tips. The "Compassionate Cooks" also include a helpful segment that provides a visual aid to finding vegetarian products in the supermarket and answer a number of frequently asked questions regarding vegetarianism.
Best Vegetarian Bed 'n' Breakfast
Nestled along the eastern flank of the Green Mountains, just south of Montpelier, Vermont, is the beautiful Sweet Onion Inn, where life for visitors is sweet, indeed! The inn is located along Route 100, which is considered one of the 10 most scenic byways in America. But you might not want to waste any time taking in views during mealtime; breakfasts and dinners are included in the price of the rooms, and they are to-die-for delicious! The breakfast specialties include French toast, biscuits 'n' gravy, and Sweet Onion Scrambled Tofu. On the dinner menu, you'll find Shepherd's Pie, Three Bean Pot Pie, and Butterfly Pasta! You can walk off your meals on the nearby hiking trails, through beautiful gorges and alongside picturesque falls and lakes. You might even take in the Robert Frost Contemplative Trail, a single-mile trail marked with poetry along the way. Or, if you'd prefer, you can retire to your room, decorated with stenciled walls, custom-crafted beds, and specially made draperies and bedspreads.
The White Pig Bed & Breakfast at Briar Creek Farm is a vegetarian retreat just south of Charlottesville, Virginia, in the scenic town of Schuyler. Best known as the childhood home of author Earl Hamner and inspiration for the television series
The Walton's, Schuyler is a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Chef Dina, the innkeeper at The White Pig, graduated from The Natural Gourmet Cookery School in Manhattan and serves up hearty and tasty meals, including Belgian waffles, egg-free vegetable frittatas, soy bacon, and more! The really special aspect of The White Pig is that, true to its name, it is a sanctuary for miniature potbellied pigs. One of our panelists, who was lucky enough to spend a weekend at The White Pig, commented, "Visiting with the pigs, who were sunning themselves or just ambling about, was just so magical. They were curious to come and meet us, and they loved having their bellies rubbed!"
