Etc.

I regret that I can't give more attention to some of these stories, but I've been out of the country for several weeks and I'm just going to lump them all together.

• The BBC reported, "A group of rabbis and Jewish mystics has taken to the skies over Israel, praying and blowing [shofars] in a plane to ward off swine flu." Failed Messiah noted last week that Israeli rabbis Shlomo Amar and Ovadia Yosef called for a second fast day against swine flu; the first was in May.
• In the wake of AgriProcessors' sale to SHF Industries, a PETA spokesperson reportedly said, “We’re sending SHF a letter ... extending an invitation to meet to talk about past issues regarding inhumane slaughtering and handling at the plant and how to ensure that more humane practices and protocols are established and enforced. We’re pushing the new owners to make it a priority to adhere to kosher laws and USDA laws regarding slaughter. We’re all the way vigilant about monitoring and follow-up, especially with the history of this facility.”
• I discussed Empire's expansion in the kosher meat market last month, and Nathaniel Popper from the Forward talked about the company's business moves in depth. Much of the article praises the company's business success and treatment of workers, but it does include this excerpt: "Still, inside, Empire has many of the unattractive characteristics of meat production facilities everywhere. Chickens jammed into metal crates arrive by truck, and are dumped out onto a conveyor belt. The birds move along to a point at which a worker pulls out the chicken by its legs and exposes the neck so that the ritual slaughterer, or schochet, can make a single, swift cut. On either side of the schochet are trashcans for any chickens on which the cut does not go smoothly. Beneath the schochet is a pyramid of coagulated blood. A separate line runs with turkeys; because of their size, they are not put on a conveyor belt but are instead strung up by their feet in preparation for the schochet."
• Haaretz and YNet both ran articlees about Meatless Mondays in Israel.
• Earlier this month, the peta2 Daily Blog featured a post titled, "Being a Jewish Vegan."
• Readers might recall that Hot Lixx Hulahan, a vegetarian from the U.S., won the Air Guitar World Championships last year. On Friday, Hot Lixx and reigning U.S. champ William Ocean tied for second and a Frenchman took gold. The U.S. Air Guitar Blog commented, "Both [American] performers were challenged to rock out to the weirdest track ever, 'Animal' by who the eff knows." A little research revealed that "Animal," by the Finnish band Sweatmaster, includes the lyrics "I'm an animal, and I'm walking down the street. I'm an animal, and I'm searching for some meat." This is mere speculation, but perhaps Hot Lixx was thrown for a loop because of the pro-meat lyrics.
• Last week, Arutz Sheva reported, "Israeli authorities have rescued a baby deer kept in cruel conditions and against the law by Arabs in Yesha."
• Daniel Brook wrote an article called "The Planet-Saving Mitzvah: Why Jews Should Consider Vegetarianism" for Tikkun.
• Haaretz recently reported on a controversy in Israel over whether eggs can be labeled as vegetable ingredients.
• According to the International Anti-Fur Coalition, the Israeli Knesset was scheduled to vote on a proposed fur ban on June 22, but the vote was postponed until October.
• Yesterday, Teruah featured a post about Di Nigunim and quoted from last month's heebnvegan post about the klezmer-punk band.