Iron Chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Bobby Flay (above) will host Brunch at Bobby's, a new TV show that debuts 2 p.m. Saturday on the Cooking Channel.

Sunday brunch happens to be Flay’s favorite meal of the week, and he’s passionate about it. Brunch @ Bobby’s celebrates his favorite menus, which he’ll prepare from a relaxed kitchen in The Hamptons.

OrganicAuthority has long supported Farm Aid, founded 25 years ago to support local and organic family farmers. 

This year’s concert will be held Oct. 2 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI, with the following artist lineup: 

• Willie Nelson
• Neil Young
• John Mellencamp
• Dave Matthews
• Kenny Chesney
• Norah Jones
• Jason Mraz
• Jeff Tweedy
• Band of Horses
• The BoDeans
• Amos Lee
• Robert Francis

New this year is a special auction of Farm Aid memorabilia and experiences. Beginning Sept. 7, you can bid on eBay, with all proceeds benefiting Farm Aid. 

The popular HOMEGROWN concessions will return, featuring  family farm-identified, local and organic foods, as well as hands-on activities that give concertgoers a chance to meet farmers, get their hands dirty and learn how family farmers are connecting us to our roots.

Tickets are now on sale at the Milwaukee Brewers box office, by calling (414) 902-4000 and online. Prices range from $39.50 to $97.50.

This year’s sponsors include Horizon Organic, Silk Soymilk, DirecTV and Organic Valley.

Photo: © Paul Natkin /Photo Reserve, Inc.

He’s an actor, singer, songwriter and former model, but cuisine is the only area in which L.A. native Tyrese Gibson is a lightweight.

Having appeared earlier this year in Legion, the hunky action star is now filming Transformers 3, which will arrive in theaters next year.

Gibson’s sleek physique reflects a 50-pound weight loss—physical baggage he had piled on several years ago after letting himself go.

Now a gym rat at 31, he has traded burgers for sustainable seafood options like striped bass.

Photo: (CC) Randy Stewart, blog.stewtopia.com

Farm Aid, celebrating 25 years of protecting local and organic family farms, has just announced that its annual benefit concert will be held Oct. 2 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The artist lineup will be announced soon.  Tickets ($39.50 to $97.50) will go on sale 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 14 (CDT) and are available at the Milwaukee Brewers box office, by phone at (414) 902-4000 or online.

The all-day festival will once again feature HOMEGROWN concessions: local and organic foods from family farms. Attendees can meet farmers, get their hands dirty, and learn how family farmers are connecting us to our roots.

“For 25 years, Farm Aid has worked to keep family farmers on the land,” says cofounder and legendary country artist Willie Nelson, who will perform at the concert. “This anniversary concert is a chance for everyone to join with Farm Aid to support the family farmers who are growing hope for America through the good food they produce, the economies they build, and their care for the soil and water. Family farmers are the backbone of our country, and right now we need them more than ever.”

“Midwest farmers share the same struggle as family farmers across the country,” adds cofounder and rocker John Mellencamp, who will also perform. “They are survivors, and they’re on the land creating solutions for America’s most pressing issues. Since 1985, Farm Aid has been a way for everyone in this country to step up and be part of the solution because nobody is going to solve these problems on their own. It’s going to take all of us working together.”

Photo © Paul Natkin/Photo Reserve, Inc.

Quick, imagine a vegan guy. Let me guess what pops into your head: a scrawny, pale artist with horn-rimmed glasses whose closest brush with fame was playing in a mopey indie rock band. Yeah, that's what I thought of, too. How's this for a new vegan poster man: a tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome NFL star who can melt hearts with his confident baritone. Yeah, that's right: the Old Spice Guy.

Ecorazzi scooped some tweets from Isaiah Mustafa, the actor who plays the Old Spice Guy, that suggest he's trying a vegan diet. If it's true, Mr. Mustafa, we've got a couple recipes for you.

Our Easy Lentil Salad with Radicchio and Veggies is a high protein, low-fat power salad that will leave you feeling like a man, man.

If you want something warmer, try our Vegetarian Chili recipe. Nothing but beans, tomatoes, veggies, broth, and spices. Yum!

For breakfast, dessert, or anything in between, use our Raw Almond Butter recipe. It's simple, vegan, raw, and super tasty.

Image Credit: Graeme Douglas

Having broken box-office records with Avatar, director James Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have partnered with the Earth Day Network to create the Avatar Home Tree Initiative—an effort to plant 1 million native trees in 15 countries (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Brazil, Mexico and Haiti).

Each Avatar Blu-Ray and DVD has a unique code, which buyers can register here. Fans who do so can adopt one of the million trees and receive a virtual home tree that represents it. At press time, 227,713 trees have been adopted.

“We find ourselves facing the greatest challenge of our time: saving our natural world from ourselves,” Cameron says. “The time has come to stand up and be warriors for the Earth. Avatar takes place on a distant world, but it’s really about this miracle planet we have right here.”

 “Climate change is a worldwide problem, and we have a universal responsibility to protect the world’s natural resources from man’s exploitation,” adds Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers, who calls Cameron an “environmental steward.”

Love Avatar?

Check out these official interactive sites: 

• Pandorama. Using a webcam, immerse yourself in the world of Pandora. Insert yourself into different movie locations, and interact with the elements. Snap postcards, and share them with friends.
• Pandorapedia. Enter the official guide to the world of Pandora, with hundreds of online facts.
• Immersive Trailer. With this interactive trailer, click on any part of the video to explore frame-by-frame and in-context “hot spots,” which offer meticulous information on characters and locations.

Whether she’s playing human-turned-beast Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters, primatologist Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist, badass commander Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise or Dr. Grace Augustine in Avatar, actress Sigourney Weaver leaves an indelible image on screen.

The lithe actress, still gorgeous at 60, has finished shooting the Touchstone Pictures comedy You Again, with Kristen Bell and Betty White. The film will open in September. Weaver is also rumored to reprise her role in Ghostbusters III, set for a 2012 release.

On a recent trip to Morocco, where she was honored at the Marrakech International Film Festival, Weaver fell in love with the country’s North African cuisine, which is infused with spices like cinnamon, cumin, ginger, fennel and turmeric.

For a taste of the region’s classic dishes, you can follow Weaver’s lead and serve up an organic Cinnamon Beef Tagine, accompanied by Orange and Radish Salad with Cinnamon Vinaigrette.

You’re no doubt familiar with the warning “Don’t Mess with Texas,” but do you know the slogan’s roots?

In 1986, late jazz guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn filmed a “Don’t Mess with Texas” public service announcement for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), designed to reduce the ever-increasing costs of litter pickup.

In short order, the slogan made its way into U.S. pop culture, and over the last two decades, 26 celebrities—including Willie Nelson, Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaughey—have served as spokespeople for TxDOT’s antilittering campaign.

The latest star to issue the “Don’t Mess…” message is country legend George Strait, whose TV commercial began airing statewide in May. (Click here to view it.)

“Ironically, some of the most prideful Texans are also some of the worst litterers, according to new research,” says TxDOT Travel Information Division Director Doris Howdeshell. “If you love Texas so much, why in the world would you throw trash on it?”

Indeed, the latest research shows 24% of Texans are proud of their state and believe roadside litter makes it look bad—but they also readily admit to littering and aren’t concerned when others do so.

Approximately 13% of Texans, who TxDOT classifies as “fun-loving antiestablishment” types, believe having fun is the whole point of life, and they represent the highest percentage (55%) of litterers. They say unintended littering is OK and see no need to teach their children about litter prevention.

Howdeshell hopes the new TV spot will reach both groups.

“When George Strait reminds people, ‘Don’t Mess with Texas means don’t litter,’ we think they’ll listen,” she says. “After all, he epitomizes Texas pride.”

For Your Children’s Organic Bookshelf: Cleaning Up Litter

More than 275 million people visit America’s national parks each year, but “years of underfunding, pollution and climate change have taken a toll on our national treasures,” says Theresa Pierno, executive vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).

That’s why four-time Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney has partnered with granola-bar company Nature Valley to raise up to $500,000 for the NPCA. .

“To me, there’s nothing better than being outside, enjoying the parks, the lakes and the oceans—and that’s what makes protecting our national parks so important,” Chesney says. “Teaming up with Nature Valley to raise awareness and funds is a great way to make sure the public realizes how special these parks are.”

You may make a donation to support restoration projects by clicking here. 

In the first year, Nature Valley will contribute to the NPCA through the National Parks Project, with a guaranteed minimum donation of $250,000. Money raised will focus on three preservation projects:

1. Reestablishing plant life critical to the Grand Canyon
2. Restoring habitat for Yellowstone’s wildlife
3. Rebuilding Biscayne National Park’s damaged coral reefs

Pierno says the new partnership “is another step toward ensuring our national parks get the care and support they need for the enjoyment of our children and grandchildren in the years to come.”

You can follow park conservation efforts on Twitter.

For Your Organic Bookshelf: The Natural Parks: America’s Best Idea

Photos courtesy of Kenny Chesney; Jim Peaco/National Park Service

At 88, Betty White (right) killed on Saturday Night Live last weekend, and she has the ratings to prove it.

The TV legend scored the show’s highest viewership since November 2008, when Ben Affleck’s hosting gig featured guest appearances by Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain and Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. (For the record: Palin’s “Drill, Baby, Drill” idiocy should force her to de-oil a few hundred bird victims of the massive British Petroleum oil spill that remains uncontained.)

White has served as a Morris Animal Foundation trustee for more than 40 years, and she has promised to match $25,000 in contributions to help wildlife scientists determine animals’ needs created by the oil spill. (Click here to donate.)

“The need is so great right now,” White says. “There are some species that may not make it through this. Morris Animal Foundation’s rapid-response fund was set up just for these types of needs.”

“When starting this fund two months ago, we had no idea we would need to use it so quickly,” says veterinarian Wayne A. Jensen, the foundation’s chief scientific officer.

“Although tragic, events such as these provide research opportunities to develop better methods to diagnose disease and treat affected animals. Through this fund, we hope to provide researchers with much-needed funds to act quickly to address wildlife health needs in times of crisis.”

If you enjoyed White’s performance as much as I did, please donate to her worthy cause.

For Your Organic Bookshelf: Night Fire: Big Oil, Poison Air, and Margie Richard’s Fight to Save Her Town

Photo: NBC