Ok, I throw my hands up and admit that I totally stole this from The PETA Files blog. But I just couldn’t resist! ‘Veggie restaurants in China?’ I hear you say. It’s all true, and if you’re heading out there to support the Brits (or otherwise) you’re gonna need to know where’s safe to eat, right?

PETA Asia-Pacific have hereby awarded gold, silver, and bronze honors to Beijing’s top vegetarian restaurants, which are:

    Gold: Taking the gold is Godly Vegetarian Restaurant. Beijing’s oldest Buddhist vegetarian restaurant specializes in Chinese traditional classics, including KingKong HuoFang (stewed mock pork), sweet and sour mock ribs and fish, mock meatballs, mock duck, and much more.

    Silver: Pure Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant—run by Tibetan monks—netted the silver. Voted “Best Vegetarian Fare” in the 2007 Beijing Reader Restaurant Awards, this restaurant serves up creatively named dishes such as “hot tears fill the eyes glazed noodles” and “countenance of mercy, words of love stir-fry.” Yummy food with a side of zen.

    Bronze: Coming in with the bronze is Still Thoughts, a relaxing and intimate oasis of vegetarian calm amidst a bustling alley in the heart of the city. Favorites include the spicy mock-pork intestines dry pot (testament to the fact that for any cruel and weird thing that humans would consider eating, human ingenuity can create a cruelty-free option!), shredded veggie-duck pancakes, and the faux-chicken hot pot.

Tuck in people! Sounds delicious…

Amanda Beard, the incredibly gorgeous U.S. swimmer, has posed naked for a brand new anti-fur ad, just as the Olympics kick-off in Beijing.

The Olympic gold medalist unveiled the stunning ‘Be Comfortable In Your Own Skin’ ad just hours after Beijing officials stopped her from holding a news conference, reportedly for “safety” reasons. Hmm, what’s so dangerous about a naked lady?! So the swimmer simply moved location and revealed the stunning ad to a swarm of reporters and TV cameras.

Given that Beijing is hosting the Summer Olympic Games this year and the horrific conditions that have been documented on Chinese fur farms, now is a great time to remind folks that animals grow fur to protect themselves from the elements, not to cover hundred-pound fashionistas from paparazzi camera flashes.

The ad shows that she’s comfortable in her own skin and doesn’t need to steal anyone else’s. During the shoot she explained: “I’d much rather go naked than ever put a dead animal on my body.” Well said, Amanda!

You can get on board by signing our online petition here.

Photo credit: Patrick Alleyn

Matt here! Back from the bloggers graveyard while Alexia is away, it’s been almost three months since they let me loose on here and now you’ve got me for a whole 10 days! I can feel the blogosphere swelling with envy already! Right now – down to business:

This August sees the start of the 2008 Olympics – hosted in Beijing, China – but just why are people so animated over it?

Perhaps this will give you some idea and also make you think about the issues that are facing animals in China, that still continue to this day. I don’t want to give too much away so watch for yourself.

Now keep coming back y’hear, I’ve got some exciting stuff planned while the cat is away.Your friendly neighbourhood Matt

p.s. Don’t forget the Morrissey tickets competition

After a chaotic few weeks of Tibet protests as the Olympic flame makes its way around the world, I think it’s time I had another moan-off about how animals are treated in China. Yes I think the human rights abuse is a very important issue that needs tackling, and my heart goes out to the victims involved. I do also think however, that the animals suffering in that corner of the world need our attention too.

You may remember me writing about the dog meat ban in Beijing a short while ago – China’s effort to clear up at least one of its problem issues that cause tourists to want to vomit or at least go all Ace Ventura and rescue the animals. As we all know, happy tourists = lots of money. If you’re horrified about the conditions for the people trapped in Tibet, so also spare a thought for the dogs and cats in China that are skinned for their fur or slaughtered for their meat (much like all the other animals around the world – pigs, chickens, cows – mind you).

Anyway, on another note – what’s with the shell-suited henchmen?!

Image: Foreign Policy / CC

In a bid to clean up their image before the Beijing Olympics this year, restaurants have been slapped with a ban on serving up dog meat Investigating agency Ecostorm has exposed severe cases of animal cruelty through undercover video and photography reporting. Eating dogs and cats in China is a widespread problem but is by no means the only issue that needs addressing - the cat and dog fur industry is something PETA is currently campaigning to end.

But let’s be honest, at the end of the day cats and dogs are no different from the billions of pigs, cows, chickens and fish that are killed for food across the world. See what our friends at PETA Asia-Pacific are doing to help all animals – domesticated, farmed and wild.

Image: Dog Meat Trade / Creative Commons