Heeb100

Heeb has announced its annual Heeb100 list of the top Jewish movers and shakers in food, music, activism, and other categories. When reading through blurbs about the recipients, I couldn't help but notice that some of these machers have animal protection connections. I didn't do research on anyone I didn't already know about, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of the other 95 heebs are vegetarians or otherwise animal advocates.

Amanda Cohen, chef and owner of the New York City vegetarian restaurant Dirt Candy, was named in the food category. Cohen responded, "For everyone who has wondered about a Jewish conspiracy to control the world, I was just inducted into Heeb Magazine's 'Heeb 100,' which is sort of the next best thing. It's a list of 'smart, innovative and young' [J]ews who are expected to control the world in the near future, or at least small portions of it." Cohen added that she recently met with a rabbi to discuss getting kosher certification for Dirt Candy. She is currently featured on PETA's VegCooking.com as Chef of the Month.

Gabe Saporta, the frontman of the band Cobra Starship, was named in the music category. I knew that Saporta had worked with peta2, and he told peta2 that he went vegetarian at a Jewish camp at age 13. Said Saporta, "I remember I was at Jewish summer camp. ... One day [another camper] just goes, 'You know, man, we have so many other options than to eat meat—you know, like there are so many other ways to live, you don't need to eat meat—that why would you kill another living thing?' And that just made so much sense to me. At the age of 13, it just struck such a chord with me that I'm just like, 'Of course. Why would I kill another living thing so that I could eat? You know, I could do whatever I want. I don't need to be killing living things to eat.' And I just, like, became a vegetarian in an instant."

Alexander Gould, the child actor who plays Shane Botwin on Weeds, was named in the film/TV category. Gould voiced the character of Nemo in my all-time favorite Disney movie, Finding Nemo. He was one of the nicest and friendliest celebrities I met at the 2004 Genesis Awards. He carried around a plush Nemo doll, and he got the crowd roaring when he said, "Fish are friends, not food," on stage.

Richard Zimmerman was named in the activism category. Heeb explains, "Richard Zimmerman has a passion for primates that might raise eyebrows if he weren’t married; he founded Orangutan Outreach, which rescues and rehabilitates endangered apes. The nonprofit uses the Web (Redapes.org, Facebook and Twitter) to convince others to pay attention to primates ...."

Tushy the Cat was named in the entrepreneurship category. Heeb claims that Tushy maintains "a red-hot Facebook fan page," but Tushy only has 18 Facebook fans (including "Heeb Mag" and the Heeb writer who wrote Tushy's Heeb100 blurb). I don't get the joke, but I might as well include the only nonhuman animal in the Heeb100.