Muppets vs. Fast Food

Good news for Gonzo: The Jim Henson Company rejects Chick-Fil-A's opposition tomarriage equality

The love between a Weirdo and a chicken is a beautiful thing. And no less significant than the love that comes between two humans of the opposite sex.

At least that's the message The Jim Henson Company released Friday on Facebook when they announced they were cutting ties with the fast food franchise Chick-fil-A over the chicken chain's CEO Dan Cathy's open stance against marriage equality.

This is the company, after all, that married Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy in The Muppet Movie. So how's that for marriage equality? They're not even of the same species.

Alas, The Muppets and their makers were set to release a line of Jim Henson's Creature Shop children's toys in the Happy Meal equivalents at Chick-fil-A to be released this month, but decided to pull the plug on the partnership instead.

"The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-Fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors," they stated on their Facebook page.

Instead, Henson Company CEO Lisa Henson took the payment received from the fast food provider and straight up donated it to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) in order to support advancement of positive GLBTQ images in the media.

Still having trouble giving up your delicious Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches? Luckily, Hilah Cooking has the perfect "Chick-fil-Gay" alternative that is going to satisfy your cravings, save you some cash, and not evoke those nagging feelings of social guilt. That's something even the Swedish Chef can give a big "borka borka" to.

Otherwise, why not just go get a delicious Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit at Whataburger? They're at least open on Sundays...

Throw a penguin in the air, y'all. Cuz somebody's getting married... someday.

unspecified

More Foraging

Free 'food forest' in East Austin expands with thousands of new plants

Angelina Alanis at Festival Beach Food Forest

Photo courtesy of KVUE

Angelina Alanis gives a tour of the garden, which is open to anyone.

In East Austin, there is an edible forest garden called Festival Beach Food Forest where anyone can walk around and harvest free produce, nuts, medicinal plant leaves and herbs. And over the summer, it grew to several times its size.

The forest has fig trees, peach trees, grapevines, asparagus and more that's not in season right now. You can grab passionfruit and plants like yaupon holly, with leaves that can make a caffeinated tea, rosemary and lemon balm.

"[Lemon balm] is part of the mint family," said Angelina Alanis, communication and partnership coordinator for Festival Beach Food Forest. "It has a lemony taste but it's good for a nervous stomach. I'm prone to anxiety so I always grab a hunk."

The food forest is located right next to Interstate 35 and Lady Bird Lake on 29 Waller St., near a part of town that's known for being a food desert, lacking grocery stores.

"There's as much as a 20-year life expectancy difference between parts of East and West Austin, and a lot of that comes down to food access, health care access and also access to nature."

Alanis said for the past nine years, the volunteer-based grassroots project been helping with the issue and just recently expanded in the summer from two-thirds of an acre of city parkland to over 3.5 acres.

"We're going to have hundreds of new trees," said Alanis. "We've already planted 150 new trees in the area and then thousands of plants on the ground."

See on Instagram

They also plan to add a community kitchen and a pavilion to do things like cooking classes or informational sessions.

Read the full story at KVUE.com.

health wellness gardening volunteering