Kevin Smith Praises UK Vegan Cake To Over 2 Million Followers

Kevin Smith has been vegan since 2018

BY CLAIRE HAMLETT

US director Kevin Smith, who was recently in the UK for ComicCon in Liverpool, gave a shout out to a bakery that made him a special vegan cake for his visit.

Read more: Cillian Murphy Discusses His Decision To Go Plant-Based

In a post on Instagram, where Smith has 2.4 million followers, he wrote: “The fans at the Con have been amazing but Liverpool itself is just magical! I mean, look at the exquisite (Vegan!) cake @thenortherntartstreats made for me! That’s just Liverpool lovely!” 

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A post shared by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith)

Manchester-based bakery The Northern Tart made Smith and collaborator Jay Mewes a stoned marijuana leaf-shaped cake with the caption (in icing) “rollin fatties smokin blunts.” It’s a line from a song sang in his and Mewes’ 2001 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

The Northern Tart told Plant Based News that the cake was vanilla, dark chocolate and dark cherry flavored. The company used agar-agar in place of gelatin, and the result was an “amazingly moist, light, and bouncy” cake.

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A post shared by The Northern Tart | Manchester Cakes & Bakes (@thenortherntartstreats)

Smith’s veganism

Smith went vegan in 2018 at the urging of his daughter Harley Quinn after he had a near-fatal heart attack. He credits cutting animal products from his diet with the rapid weight loss that doctors told him he needed to protect his heart.

On an episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast, he described how his lab tests returned “fantastic” results after only one month eating plant-based. He also discussed his favorite vegan restaurants, including Crossroads Kitchen in LA, in which Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker is an investor.

Read more: Pamela Anderson To Release Plant-Based Cookbook

In 2019, Smith and Harley Quinn presented an award to an animal rights activist at Mercy For Animals’ 20th Anniversary Gala. There he told Variety that he receives a lot of anti-vegan hostility on social media. “Whenever I post something about being vegan, they get pretty upset and say ‘I’m going to eat four times as much meat’ and I’m like, ‘See you in hell.’” He added that he doesn’t tell people what to eat, but merely responds “to questions about why I look the way I look suddenly.”

“[Y]ou have to be very careful about how you couch it because some people feel like I’ve had so much taken away, now you are going to take away my meat,” he said. “Do what you want. I took away my meat to save my life.”

Read more: Nicki Minaj Launches Range Of Barbie Pink Vegan Sneakers

‘I’m Not Sharing’: Celebrities Can’t Get Enough of Meghan Markle’s New American Riviera Orchard Jam

American Riviera Orchard, Meghan Markle’s new brand, has started shipping strawberry jam, but only to celebrities and close friends. Here’s what we know about the brand so far. 

by CHARLOTTE POINTING

Meghan Markle is officially in the business of making jam. The Duchess of Sussex quietly revealed the launch of her new brand, American Riviera Orchard, on Instagram back in March, when nine squares revealing its logo were posted to the app.

There have been no social media updates since, but celebrities have started receiving pots of strawberry jam from the brand. The ingredients list isn’t confirmed, but in an article published earlier this year, Harper’s Bazaar speculated that the jams are vegan.

This was based on an initial trademark application from February 7, which noted that American Riviera Orchard will specialize in healthy food products, including “jellies, jams, marmalades, fruit preserves, edible oils and fats, and preserves, vegetable-based spreads, legume-based spreads, nut-based spreads, garlic-based spreads, sesame-based spreads, dairy-based spreads, nut butters, [and] fruit butters.” 

The brand will also likely sell home decor and kitchenware, according to the filing. This all adds up, as Meghan has made no secret of her love of cooking. In 2018, she released a charity cookbook, Together: Our Community Cookbook, for example, alongside London’s Hubb Community Kitchen.

Sussex Royal Instagram

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So far, the only people to have tried American Riviera Orchard’s jam are celebrities and close friends of the Duchess. 

In April, Chrissy Tiegan made a sandwich with the jam and posted an image to Instagram, calling it “one of the best bites we’ve had all year.” Kris Jenner also received a pot of jam, as did Tracee Ellis Ross, Mindy Kaling, Nacho Figueras, Abigail Spencer, and fashion designer Tracy Robbins, among others.

“Meghan is busy working on creating something safe and timeless. And something that won’t be accused of riding on the back of anything royal.” —Meghan Markle’s friend to ‘Harper’s Bazaar’s’ royal editor-at-large, Omid Scobie

“Thank you for the delicious basket!” Robbins wrote on Instagram after receiving her gift basket. “I absolutely love this jam so not sure I’m sharing with anyone.”

Aside from the fact that celebrities love its jam, we don’t know much about American Riviera Orchard yet. But we do know that it will likely be “more accessible” than Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow’s luxury wellness platform, according to Scobie.

The publication reports that Scobie was told by a friend of Meghan’s that American Riviera Orchard would be “something rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, life’s simple pleasures, and family.”

What is Netflix doing with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?

The brand is not the only project the Duchess has in the works. Recently, it was revealed that both Meghan and Prince Harry would be launching two new shows with Netflix through their production company Archewell Productions, which was founded in 2020 to share “thought-provoking and diverse narratives that underscore our common humanity and celebrate community.”

One of the new shoes will be a series starring Meghan, and will “celebrate the joys of cooking and gardening, entertaining and friendship,” per People. The other will follow Prince Harry as he gives viewers “unprecedented access to the world of professional polo.”

Kris Jenner Instagram

The prince has long been a fan of polo, but he has received criticism from animal-rights organizations for playing the sport. “Polo involves many of the harsh practices horses are prominently subjected to in the horseracing world, including the use of whips that sting and sharp metal spurs that dig into their sides,” Elisa Allen, PETA’s Vice President of Programmes and Operations, recently told Newsweek.

We don’t know yet what the emphasis will be in Meghan’s new series, or whether it will feature cooking tips or recipes. While she has previously expressed an interest in plant-based food, she does also eat animal products. Before she was engaged to Prince Harry, she told Best Health: “When I’m filming, I’m conscious of what I eat. I try to eat vegan during the week and then have a little bit more flexibility with what I dig into on the weekends.”

The Duchess doesn’t often speak about her diet now, but in 2021, she did show Oprah Winfrey the rescue chickens she rescued from a factory farm. “I just love rescuing,” she told Winfrey at the time.

For more updates on American Riviera Orchard, you can keep an eye on the brand’s Instagram page. And for more updates on the upcoming Netflix series, you can find the official Archewell Productions website here.

Jane Goodall And Leonardo DiCaprio To Produce Live Action Film Told From Dog And Wolf’s Perspective

Tags

animals, jane-goodall, Nature, wildlife, wolves

Upcoming live-action film “Howl” is set from the perspective of a dog and a young wolf

BY LIAM PRITCHETT

Jane Goodall and Leonardo DiCaprio are set to produce Howl – a live-action film about an abandoned family dog and a young wolf, told from the two animals’ point of view.

Read more: ‘Cowspiracy’ Co-Director Announces New Film: ‘How To Make Drugs’

The highly esteemed environmentalist and the award-winning actor are friends and have collaborated previously on fundraising and conservation efforts via their respective nonprofits – the Jane Goodall Institute and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

Howl is the first from Promethean Pictures, a label founded by Argo Films’ Richard Johns, and will be directed by E. Elias Merhige (Shadow of the Vampire), written by Christopher Monger (Temple Grandin), and filmed by Doug Allan (Frozen Planet).

The film follows a former family dog as he meets and eventually bonds with a wild wolf, with human characters present but mostly in the background. Howl is not explicitly an environmental film, but the filmmakers aim to provide a transformative view of the natural world through the animal-led story, as reported by Deadline.

“Howl will not only be an enjoyable and entertaining experience but will also help change perceptions of the ‘big bad wolf,’ which has been hunted to extinction in many areas of the world and is threatened and endangered in many others,” Goodall told Deadline.

“I hope we can make people understand their need to live alongside us and show these sacred creatures for what they are,” she added.

Read more: Tory MP Calls For More Wild Animals To Be Killed

‘Inextricable’ relationship between humans and nature

Wolf populations have always been a source of friction between those who hope to rewild and protect the predatory species and those who seek to limit, cull, or eradicate them. In the US, their protection status varies wildly from location to location and state to state.

In recent years, the relaxing of restrictions around the killing of wolves has resulted in hundreds of deaths. From 2022 to 2023 in Idaho alone, hunters killed more than 560 wolves, prompting conservation groups such as the Humane Society to launch legal action.

In Europe, wolves have already been successfully reintroduced, while environmentalist groups in the UK argue that they should be brought back to Britain, too. Rewilding Europe highlights the need for people to re-learn how to live alongside apex predators like wolves with a healthy respect and the admiration that keystone species, in particular, deserve.

It sounds like Howl could touch on this theme of coexistence with wolves, and Executive Producer Jennifer Davisson said, “We hope this film encourages people to understand and appreciate the inextricable relationship between us humans and the natural wildlife that surrounds us.”

Howl is currently in production and is expected sometime in 2026.

Read more: ‘Jane Goodall Act’ To Protect Over 800 Species Kept Captive By Canadian Roadside Zoos