The WordPress theme I’ve been using has been hacked for a second time, so clearly there’s an exploit they’re not correcting. This resulted in my host shutting me down temporarily with a DMCA takedown notice (!). I’ve temporarily switched the theme in order to get rid of the exploit and I’ll be finding a new theme shortly.
I’ve been reading the Oz books with Rasine for about a year now. There have been some animal-friendly parts in the first two books, particularly with the Tinman, a gentle pacifist of a character that never wants to harm a living being.
We’re on the third book, Ozma of Oz and we came across an interesting passage where Dorothy’s own eating habits are challenged by a talking hen named Billina:
“What are you doing?” asked Dorothy.
“Getting my breakfast, of course,” murmured the hen, busily pecking away.
“What do you find?” inquired the girl, curiously.
“Oh, some fat red ants, and some sand-bugs, and once in a while a tiny crab. They are very sweet and nice, I assure you.”
“How dreadful!” exclaimed Dorothy, in a shocked voice.
“What is dreadful?” asked the hen, lifting her head to gaze with one bright eye at her companion.
“Why, eating live things, and horrid bugs, and crawly ants. You ought to be ‘SHAMED of yourself!”
“Goodness me!” returned the hen, in a puzzled tone; “how queer you are, Dorothy! Live things are much fresher and more wholesome than dead ones, and you humans eat all sorts of dead creatures.”
“We don’t!” said Dorothy.
“You do, indeed,” answered Billina. “You eat lambs and sheep and cows and pigs and even chickens.”
“But we cook ‘em,” said Dorothy, triumphantly.
“What difference does that make?”
“A good deal,” said the girl, in a graver tone. “I can’t just ‘splain the diff’rence, but it’s there. And, anyhow, we never eat such dreadful things as BUGS.”
“But you eat the chickens that eat the bugs,” retorted the yellow hen, with an odd cackle. “So you are just as bad as we chickens are.”
This made Dorothy thoughtful. What Billina said was true enough, and it almost took away her appetite for breakfast. As for the yellow hen, she continued to peck away at the sand busily, and seemed quite contented with her bill-of-fare.
It might be tough for even the most hardened meat-eater to justify their habits if they had to explain them to the animals they were eating.
Today marks seven years from the day I drew the line in the sand and said, “That’s it. I’m vegan.” I’d been vegetarian for four years, doing a super-gradual transition to veganism. It’s a change I haven’t regretted a single time.
More posts coming here soon.
(Also, happy 7-year veganversary to Lindsay at Vegan Chai, who went vegan on the exact same day. I cheated a bit this year, prewriting this entry the night before so that I could be the first to wish her our yearly congratulations.)
Thanks to Paul for pointing out the very fun #veganmusicoptions hashtag on Twitter today. Here are some of my favorites (I stayed away from any that were already vegan, like Ice-T… and, yes, I included a lot of my own here… sue me):
Five years ago today, I came home from work and sat at my computer. I’d been vegetarian for four years and in recent months had been really transitioning away from dairy and eggs. I was consuming very little and writing even less about it (readers of the Veg Blog thought I was vegan long before I actually was), but I hadn’t made the firm commitment to completely forgo all animal products. This night, something wasn’t sitting well with me as I thought about it. It was the eve of my 29th birthday and I wasn’t quite sure what was holding me back.
For some reason, I watched Meet Your Meat. I may or may not have watched it before and I’d surely seen similar footage a dozen times since I went vegetarian. But something about this viewing on this night was different. I finished the short video and declared to myself (my wife hadn’t returned home from work yet), “I’m done. No more messing around. I’m vegan now.” And I never looked back.
I’ve been vegan now for longer than I was vegetarian. That feels significant. I think it’s because the only regret I have is that I didn’t go vegan sooner, that I messed around for so long, avoiding the commitment.
Over those five years, my outlook on things has changed significantly. I’ve become much more aware of how connected our exploitation of animals is to our exploitation and mistreatment of humans and the environment. My views on the role of animal welfare activism have changed. Most certainly, my tastes have changed and I’m eating and enjoying foods I wouldn’t have touched ten years ago. My relationship with animals (of all species) has changed. I’ve made some of the most incredible friends and acquaintances in “the movement,” people that inspire me with their words and actions every single day. I have an amazing family, including a daughter we’ve raised vegan from birth. And though I still have days where I feel cynical and hopeless about the way things are, most of the time I’m filled with hope, knowing that even if we don’t completely eliminate the use of animals in my lifetime, there are a lot of good people out there and things are changing.
Five years isn’t long in the grand scheme of things, I realize, but I know I’ll never go back. There’s lots to be done and five years is just a start.
As the Roots Radics said: forwards ever, backwards never.
(Also, happy 5-year veganversary to Lindsay at Vegan Chai, who remembers every year that we went vegan on the same day. This year, it’s my turn to remember!)
I thought it had been a few weeks since my last post, and I chalked it up to a summer vacation from the blog. Then I looked and realized my last post was at the end of July. Yikes.
I have a bunch of longer posts lined up to get things back into gear, but let me just start you with an amusing dream I had the other night.
I was hanging out at Food Fight chatting with some folks there about how I was thinking about moving to Portland (in real life, I’m not, but if I were moving to the west coast, it would be my first choice). Then all of a sudden, Chad comes over and drops an almost cartoonishly large ham hock in my lap. I almost jump out of my seat, but then realize that, of course, it was a giant vegan ham hock. A mock hock, if you will.
Hey, they carry vegan haggis, so it could happen!
This recent Fail Blog entry made me think, “You know, there are some people I’m glad aren’t on our side…”
Last night I dreamt that a food critic came over my house and was critiquing some simple potato dish that I’d made. He said it was uninspired and plain, and examining the ingredients, said, “It seems you don’t like meat very much.” I told him I was vegan and he gave me that knowing look, like, “Ah, that’s why your food sucks.”
He proceeded to make me feel bad about my cooking before I turned the conversation by asking him who his favorite vegan cookbook authors were.
“I like… Oprah.” I stared at him, confused. “Oprah… Chandra Moskowitz. Her books are really good.”
Maybe this means we’ll see Oprah giving away free samples of Cast Iron seitan to her audience in 2009?
I’m sure this will be all over the place (if it’s not already, I haven’t checked), but here it is… Alaska governor and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin being interviewed in front of turkeys being slaughtered:
This is one of those videos that you can’t watch without your blood pressure rising. Gov. Palin’s patented cocky attitude combined with painful irony starts right from the start, where she describes how running for office is “brutal” at the very moment that a turkey behind her, on camera, is being slaughtered. Blood covers the machinery and ground and a few seconds later, the limp-bodied turkey is carried off-camera.
Then, another turkey is brought in, struggling as she’s slaughtered. Gov. Palin spouts off about how “neat” it is to be able to “promote a local business” because “you need to be able to have a little levity in this job.”
She adds, “[It's nice to] participate in something that isn’t so… heavy-handed politics that invites criticism. Certainly we’ll invite criticism for even doing this, too.” Gee, you think?
Gov. Palin ends with, “But at least this was fun.”
Absolutely sickening.
(Thanks to Alex for the tip-off.)
Hey folks.
Sorry I’ve gone missing in recent weeks. Things will pick up here again soon, so hang tight.
… Ryan
So much to write about (the whole anti-kid thing, a circus coming to town, site updates, tons of overdue reviews), but all I can manage right now is a picture of President Josh Hooten and me at AR 2008. Oddly, the picture is labeled on the AR site as “Joshfriend8.jpg.” I guess I’m “Friend.”
It seems like vegetarianism is getting ever more prevalent in pop culture. Sure, the numbers of converts may not be skyrocketing, but the awareness of fake meats and even veganism is popping up in unexpected places.
First up is an episode of Hell’s Kitchen from a few weeks ago where celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey, who’s always viewed vegetarians as an annoyance (though not to the degree of Anthony Bourdain), decided to test the competing chefs on their palates. He tells them to try a bunch of dishes and identify what’s missing from each. Most of them are looking for small ingredients like a spice here or there, but what’s missing in each dish is the meat. It’s pretty amazing how these chefs are fooled by mock meat:
Ramsey seems distraught by their inability to identify mock meat, but me? I was cheering.
Then, last week on the always-terrible Wife Swap, an artist from Arizona went to live with a motorbiking family who subsisted on fast food. Though the vegetarian angle was (mercifully) limited in this episode, when she enforced the rule where her host family had to eat vegetarian for a week, the father of the clan rebelled by going into town to get hamburgers on the very first morning. He taunted cows as he rode past them (on a horse because he’d been banned by the woman from using gas-powered vehicles), chomping away on his burger. He came off as quite the jerk.
The latter isn’t exactly the way I like to see vegetarianism portrayed in popular culuture, but the Hell’s Kitchen example shows that meat substitutes have come a long, long way.
Lastly, here’s a behind-the-scenes clip from a past season of Hell’s Kitchen that shows that maybe Gordon Ramsey doesn’t despise vegetarians as much as I thought. Check out how seriously he takes serving vegetarian risotto that was accidentally cooked in chicken stock:
In order to atone for a really lame month at the Veg Blog, is to catch up on cookbook reviews. You’ll see the first one Tuesday around lunchtime and hopefully I won’t lose momentum after that!
Hope my US readers had a good Memorial Day.
Lio (April 30, 2008)
(If you’re having trouble seeing it, click the “wide” button at the upper right corner of the page.)
In case you need more proof that meat doesn’t make a real man, look no further than Popeye.
Popeye was strong. He ate spinach.
Who was the one that ate all the hamburgers?
Wimpy.
My point has been made, no?
Periodically on PostSecret, postcards are sent in either defaming vegetarianism, confessing “cheating” on a veg diet, or proclaiming a love for meat. This week, there were two decidedly non-vegan postcards were posted:
Here’s an idea: stop using prayers (also seen amongst some as “respecting the animal”) as an excuse to just stop buying leather handbags. Is it really that hard?
Next up…
This one actually made me a little queasy. I’m sure Carol Adams would have something to say about this one.
I just opened the freezer in my workplace’s kitchen and spotted a box of vegan veggie burgers.
And they weren’t mine.
The mind reels!
It’s kind of late notice, but you may want to check out Kucinich TV today, as Dennis will be hosting his “Dialogue for Democracy” with groups and individuals representing “the issues that mean a lot to you.” Guests will include Melissa Etheridge who will discuss LGBTQ issues and Cindy Sheehan who will be discussing peace with Dennis. Peace is good!
Of particular interest, though, is the first session, starting at 11:30am eastern, which focuses on animal rights. Guests will be Alex Hershaft (FarmUSA), Alex Pacheco (All American Animals), Chris Derose (Last Chance for Animals), and Dr. Elliot Katz (In Defense of Animals). You can send your questions to dialogue@kucinich.us with your name, location, and phone number.
Hopefully they’ll have an archived version available to view afterwards.
Just wanted to take a second and wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. May your day be free from stuffing made with chicken broth and stupid jokes from family about Tofurkys!
It’s interesting how, as we get closer to Thanksgiving, more comic strips lean towards veg-friendly themes, even beyond the usual suspects (Get Fuzzy, Mutts). Here are three from today’s paper alone:
Baldo
Tia Carmen is a fan of the herbal remedies, it seems.
Rhymes With Orange
It’s the vegan Ted Nugent!
Lio
Lobsters can feel pain and have gas!
Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten a number of e-mails from people or small companies looking to pimp their new vegan-friendly products. Rather than shill for each one individually, allow me to share a list of these products/sites that you may find interesting:
I’m adopting a new policy and I invite all other veg*n bloggers to join in:
A comment from a user isn’t worthy of a thoughtful response if they use the “plants feel pain” argument (this goes double if it’s already been discussed in the comment thread. The way I figure it, anyone who brings out this unbelievably tired and limp argument isn’t serious about having any real discussion, so I’m refusing to waste time on them.
I think this goes for real life situations, too.
By request, here’s an update from Jules about her two weeks as a vegetarian (she’s in town visiting this week):
Hey every one! It’s going great. I’m pretty sure I’m going to stay a vegertarian! I am getting a lot of support from everyone. Even my 10 year old Bffs! Thery’re even thinking about trying that’s wonderful. Today I said some people say tofu is gross (but it is delicious ). Uncle Ryan said that you should say, “Dead animal is gross!” If only everyone stopped eating meat, no animals would be food. Well I better go the computer is doing weird things.
From Jules Ps: Thank you for the comments.
A little site news for you today.
Comment spam increased significantly on the Veg Blog over the last week or so, even with the WordPress Akismet plug-in installed. So, I went and installed a new CAPTCHA-based plug-in. Now, when you comment, you’ll need to type in two words to verify that you’re actually a human.
Now before you get all grumbly on me, let me tell you the two good things that come of this:
Sometimes a word will come up that’s hard to decipher. If that happens, just hit the little reload icon on the reCAPTCHA and it will give you two new words.
I got a great e-mail the other day from my nine-year-old niece Jules (who gave us this gem when she was four):
Uncle Ryan, I read Vegging Out in my magazine Teen vogue. It was about Teens turning vegan and vegetarian. Then it says that you could get type 2 diabetes. I wanted to ask you if you could help me find some different kinds vegan items to see if I like it. I’m thinking when I eat more healthy about going vegetarian. Then if that works vegan. But I want you to help me by having me try some ( good to you) (ps: I will show you Vegging Out) vegan food. I would like to start when I go to your house this month. Bring some food when you visit, too. Please help. Thanks! :) :-)
Yesterday, July 5th, marked her first day in her month-long (or longer!) trial as a vegetarian. And she’s totally stoked about it. Isn’t that awesome?
Jules has always grilled me about being vegetarian and in recent years we’ve had a few conversations that led me to believe she was thinking it through for herself. It was seeing this article in Teen Vogue that brought it to life for her. Maybe it was that vegetarianism seemed more “normal” when mentioned in a mainstream magazine and not just by her Crazy Uncle Ryan. Whatever the case, she came to this decision on her own, found some supporting literature in the form of Teen Vogue, and made the commitment to try it for a month. She’s at a place now–at nine years old–that I didn’t reach until I was almost 25.
My sister’s being very supportive of Jules which is due in no small part to her having been vegetarian for five-and-a-half years starting when she was 12. I’m sure it will help Jules a lot to have family support like that. Plus they own copies of Vegan With a Vengeance and Vegan Lunch Box, so they won’t be hurting for recipe ideas!
Feel free to leave Jules some cheers in the comments and I’ll make sure she sees them. Let’s hear it for our newest vegetarian!
I’ve got a number of cookbook reviews that are nearly-finished (some way, way overdue) and I’ve decided there needs to be an acronym for recipes or cookbooks that are Vegan, Except For Honey.
So, there you go: VEFH.
Expect to see it often as it takes the world by storm.
I know, I know, it’s low-hanging fruit to take shots at Rachael Ray, but she keeps coming up in daily conversation and I’ve gotta get this out of my system. I wish Isa would just challenge her to a boxing match or something.
No more “x reasons I…” or “y ways to…” posts this week. I promise.
Since I’ve started following the policy of not approving every crackpot that comments on an entry, the studpidity level has decreased pretty significantly. But every so often, there’s still one of those comments that I’m definitely not going to approve, but I want to share with you all for a laugh. Because really, it is just that funny.
The post starts off by referring to everyone that’s commented on this post as “Peta freaks” and then proceeds to lay into PETA with some legitimate gripes as well as some outdated or misinformed ones, all with plenty of terrible spelling and grammar (of course). That stuff has been covered a million times before, so let me just jump to the most interesting part of the comment, where the guy goes from the typical anti-veg rant to a raving loon:
i don’t care if you don’t want to eat meat or eggs, that is your right. but to put up posters and say that eating meat makes you fat when literaly billions of studies show that meat is a necicary part of your healthy development and not consuming meat products can lead to osteoperosis and bone caner, aids, rhinovirus(common cold) ,and yes i will bring in the a word, AIDS!
Wait. Not only does he claim that not eating meat causes “bone caner” (that’s got to be a euphamism for some creepy sexual act), but he blames AIDS (twice!) on “not consuming meat products.” But I guess we should believe him because there have been “literaly billions of studies” done. Billions!
The commenter then says that he’s “a well informed liberal, left wing, democrat, who doesn,t like to see abuse any more than the next man” before jumping to the completely unrelated topic of unchaining domestic dogs.
Gotta love it.
I was listening to the good ol’ Don and Mike Show the other day on the way home from work and was surprised to actually hear the word “vegan” make it onto the show. Of course, it was first with a tone of disdain from Mike (“Everyone likes a good steak now and then. But she might be one of those vegans.”) followed by an absolutely baffling statement from Don, along the lines of:
“My nephew is getting married to this girl who’s as vegan as you can be. You know what she had the other night for a snack? A corn dog.”
A vegan that eats corn dogs? Definitely not vegan. That’d be like a self-proclaimed progressive voting for Bush.
A little while back I wrote about my search for a vegan mattress. In the comments, shamir wrote:
what about pillows? everything out there (besides buckwheat hulls) seems to be down, fake down (=fossil [fuels]), or wool. are the organic cotton ones even any good?
At that point, I wasn’t planning on buying new pillows anytime soon, but when I saw that it’s suggested you replace pillows every two years (if you can fold your pillow over and it doesn’t bounce back into place, it’s time to replace it), I realized I was about five years overdue. When I bought my previous pillows, I made sure that the filling wasn’t down, but unfortunately the only choice I had at the time (because I was young and naive) was made by a company that had Down in their name.
So a search began for some nice pillows. Ones that were eco-friendly, comfortable, and would last a while. After lots of time wasted spent researching, I decided on kapok pillows. Kapok is a fiber extracted from the seed pod of the kapok tree. The fiber is non toxic, odorless, resistant to rot, and non-allergic. A pillow made with kapok filling has “all the qualities of down [without the cruelty, and] is hypoallergenic.” Kapok pillows can supposedly only be sold as decorative pillows because they are highly flammable. As you may remember, many states require a doctor’s note in order to buy the vegan mattress I got. Between our pillows and our mattress, it’s a good thing we don’t smoke in bed, because we’d be screwed!
Kapok pillows can be a tad expensive (~$50 each for queen size pillows), but they reportedly last longer than regular pillows and get more comfortable with use. I managed to find a woman on eBay that handmakes them and sells them for about $60 a pair (about $72 after shipping). Last night was my first night sleeping on one. It was a tad firm, but supportive and quite comfortable. I look forward to seeing how it changes over time with use.
So, yay for kapok, my new highly flammable friend.
A few months ago, Huyen and I decided that we needed to look into getting a new mattress. Our cheap old one that we bought right out of college was nearly nine years old and sagging in the middle. Plus, we wanted to move from a full to a queen because the dog takes up a lot of room.
I spent an absurd amount of time reading about mattresses and the disgusting things that go into them. PBDE‘s are a controversial flame-retardant found in all sorts of furniture (including mattresses, although hopefully not for much longer). I decided I’d rather avoid any nasty chemicals used in the production of the mattress since, after all, we spend 1/3rd of our lives on that mattress. It should be something that’s not so… chemical.
And if the decision to get a more “natural” mattress wasn’t already made, it was sealed with two words: mattress mites:
Menchavez said he recommends that people with allergies or asthma get their mattresses cleaned every three to four months; while those concerned with their health but with no asthma problems, should get it done twice a year.
Twice a year? I don’t know anyone who’s ever had their mattress cleaned! *shudder*
As I started looking into so-called “natural mattresses,” I saw that almost all of them have a layer of wool. This is because wool is a natural flame retardant (warning: do not set a sheep on fire to test this theory) and is used in place of the chemical-based retardants in standard mattresses. Apparently, the lanolin in wool also helps repel dust mites and bed bugs.
Of course, I don’t want to sleep on anything with wool in it. So I went looking for vegan mattresses and sure enough, they exist (hit CTRL-F and search for “vegan”). It’s a bit expensive, but it’s got lots of nice, organic cotton and will last twice as long as a regular mattress. Interestingly, California has stringent flame retardancy laws, which means that some stores won’t even sell natural vegan mattresses in the state and those that do require a doctor’s note.
We also decided to buy a platform bed with wooden slats, which eliminates the need for a box spring and helps air circulate which I think I read somewhere helps keep dust, mites, and bed bugs from settling in (can’t find a reference for that now, though, so don’t hold me to that).
I never thought I’d spend so much time researching something like a mattress, but I’m really looking forward to donating the old one and trying out the new one. It should be very nice (“6 inches of natural rubber covered with our organic cotton ticking”… mmmm… ticking…).
My parents are coming to visit soon as are some long-time friends of the family. My dad’s always a good sport about eating vegan when they visit, but he decided to have a little fun by creating a mock menu for this weekend to scare the family friends a little bit. Here’s my dad’s vision of a vegan menu. What a funny guy. :)
Appetizer
A delicately seasoned leek soup served with a lemon grass gently dusting its surface.
Main Course
A vegetable bouillon flavored soy emulsion lightly seared in a non-dairy substitute and then boiled to perfection in a lite vegetable stock.
In addition, a mouth watering turnip, okra, brussel sprout medley seasoned and marinated in a clear vegetable broth partners with the above entree to form a light but satisfying repast.
Dessert
Just when you think things couldn’t get any better, the meal is topped off with a dessert that will be long remembered:
A delicate watercress souffle topped with a drizzling of non-dairy pan drippings.
Bon Appetite!
I particularly like the idea of using watercress for dessert.
From a koan called “No Attachment to Dust:”
“Some things, though right, were considered wrong for generations. Since the value of righteousness may be recognized after centuries, there is no need to crave an immediate appreciation.”
Something worth keeping in mind for activists of any kind.
Just a quick reminder that November 9-12 is the Artivist Film Festival being held in Hollywood at the historic Egyptian Theatre. Eric is a producer there this year and says that there’s a bunch of good animal advocacy stuff going on: “In addition to literature and vegan food sponsors, we have screenings of numerous shorts and features, including Mad Cowboy, followed by a forum I’m hosting on the cost of meat consumption and production. Howard Lyman will be there, as will Daryl Hannah, whom we’re honoring on Sunday the 12th along with Joaquin Phoenix, and other special guests…”
Good stuff. Be sure to check it out if you’re in the area.
Last week’s open house at Poplar Spring was the most successful one yet in terms of attendees and money raised. Congrats to Terry, Dave, and crew for another excellent event.
Below is a video that my sister shot of a new arrival at the farm. His name is Peapod and he came all the way from New Hampshire. This poor little guy was used in one of those stupid greased pig contests where they let a baby pig loose and let a bunch of kids run after him. The winner gets to keep the pig. The “winner” (note the quotes) in this particular contest took the pig to the parking lot where his friends joined him in beating the big and throwing rocks at him. Fortunately, a security guard saw this and got the pig to the SPCA where he then found his way to Poplar Spring. He’s such a cute little guy, as you’ll see here, playing with his Piglet doll, a favorite toy of all new porcine arrivals at the farm.
Some more upcoming events of interest to Veg Blog readers:
For more, take a peek over at Animalrightsagenda.com’s calendar.
(For some reason, this didn’t post when it was scheduled to, so a couple of the items are out-of-date. Sorry about that.)
A few items of regional (well, varying regions) interest I wanted to note:
If this type of stuff interests you, let me know and I’ll do more periodic postings of similar items.
Let me officially break out of my hiatus by first thanking everyone who’s sent in kind words about the new addition to our family. She was born on the 16th and is doing great (as is mom, though she’s still doing some recovering). I’m really loving this fatherhood thing so far.
A few thoughts that struck me during those days at the birthing inn:
I’ve been a bit quiet around here recently. Sorry ’bout that. These moments come a few times a year, it seems.
This time, I blame it on travel and preparations for a new little vegblogger on the way next month. I can’t wait to dress her in her Herbivore onesie.
So, to make up for it, let me share a few photos from my trip to Portland a few weeks back. Click through any of them for larger versions.
Click through for all the photo fun.
Tomorrow night I make one of my rare trips to the west coast to spend a little time in Portland. I’ll be heading out there for a web conference on Thursday and Friday, but sticking around for a few days afterwards to see the city, meet up with some friends, etc. Any last-minute suggestions for places I need to see, things I need to do, or restaurants I need to visit?
My schedule’s kind of tight (so much to do!), but if any of y’all are in Portland and might want to meet up for coffee or tea or something over the weekend, drop me a note.
If you’ve been veggie long enough, anytime you see any reference to meat eating, something in the back of your head goes “ding!” So, let’s say you’re reading the comics and happen upon this strip or this strip of Pluggers (Lord, they still make that?) and think, “Ew. A bear eating a hot dog.”
Thankfully, the folks at The Strippy Tickle have made a little modification to the strips, Dysfunctional Family Circus-style (anyone remember that?).
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that a stop sign near my house had been hit with the classic AR sticker (not my picture). I smiled and wondered who living so close by might have put this up.
The next time I walked by it was gone.
I have a handful of those stickers, too. Maybe I should put one back up there in a show of solidarity with my unknown AR neighbor.
This weekend, my wife and I headed up to my parents’ house in New Jersey for a visit. During the visit, I went for a run out near where I went to high school. During the run, I saw a small, mouselike animal sitting on the sidewalk. As I got closer, I saw it was a baby possum. He didn’t seem freaked out in the least, so I let him be.
As I looped around and passed the same spot about 15 minutes later, he was still there, this time cleaning himself, but still not looking in distress. So I finished up my run and did a little research. Though PossumRescue.com is a good site, I didn’t find the answers I was looking for. I gave a call over to Cedar Run, a nearby wildlife rescue to find out what I should do. They said as long as the possum didn’t seem injured and was about 6 inches big, he could survive just fine on his own. “If he’s out in the open, though,” the woman from Cedar Run told me, “You can move him to bushes or somewhere where cats won’t find him.”
Huyen, my mom, and I headed back out to see if the possum was still around. He had moved from the sidewalk, but was working his way towards a busy road, so I decided it was best to move him. The woman I talked to suggested using either towels to carry him or just to pick him up by his tail. I opted to go for the tail. We moved him over to a patch of trees far enough from the main road that he should be safe. I was a bit concerned about moving him from where his mother might see him, but there was no sign of her or any other siblings, so I think moving the little guy/girl was the best choice.
Here’s a shot (and a few more):
Some interesting possum facts that I didn’t know, gleaned from the aforementioned Possum Rescue site:
Apparently, this time period is a time when a lot of possums are hit by cars. Sadly, many are mothers carrying their infants, who may survive the accident. Read more about saving these infants.
Over five years ago, I wrote about a movie titled Shooting Vegetarians that was in production at the time. It remained in post-production for quite a while and didn’t become available on DVD until last year. I finally sat down to watch it a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised.
Shooting Vegetarians is a dark comedy about a young, slightly nutty vegetarian that still lives at home with his parents and wants to spend his days skating rather than working. His father, a butcher, forces him to come to work at the butcher shop. Of course, this greatly troubles our protagonist, so he tries to figure out a way that he can work at the butcher shop while not compromising his ethics. Indeed, he finds a way–a pretty sick way–of using his new job to spread the word about vegetarianism.
The movie’s better than most low budget indie comedies I’ve seen and even features a few familiar faces, like a very young looking Reiko Aylesworth, who’s best know for her role as Michelle Dessler on 24. The biggest surprise, though, was Élodie Bouchez (who’s been seen on Alias) as “Happy Coffee Shop Girl.” Let me tell you… you haven’t seen a barista like this before.
Sure, the movie’s a little goofy, very odd (giant talking chicken hallucinations, especially), and at times you wonder whether director Mikey Jackson is pro-vegetarian or just making fun of us, but overall Shooting Vegetarians is worth a rental if dark indie comedies are your thing. It’s rare we see vegetarianism as the main focus of a fictional movie, so I’m glad this one’s a fun viewing.
… because everytime I go running in the late Spring/early Summer I end up swallowing an insect.
I got an e-mail the other day from a reader asking, “Do you know of any one in the San Diego, California area who would prepare vegan dishes for the home bound?” I said I would post it here looking for help.
If you can help or know someone who can, drop me an e-mail or leave a comment and I’ll put you in touch.
Tricky, tricky! Ending with a cliché about being your own worst enemy… bet you didn’t see that coming.
For all the complaining we can do about other people, the industry, and companies with fervent anti-animal policies, we really owe it to ourselves to take a look in the mirror and critically view what we see.
I’m not necessarily talking about “us” in the collective sense, though heaven knows the movement can always use some time for introspection, but “us” in the individual sense. What is it about ourselves that is somehow not helping the animals when we could be?
For lacto-ovo vegetarians, perhaps it’s making that jump to veganism and getting rid of the dairy, eggs, leather, wool, etc. What’s holding you back? What reasoning are you using to make it OK to not be vegan? Is it the “it doesn’t kill the animal” argument? Is it the “veganism is just ‘too far’” argument? Or is it the (sigh) “I like cheese too much” excuse? Take a minute and think about it. Think about the reasoning you’ve been using and pretend you’re a vegan hearing someone else say it. How would you respond?
For vegans, perhaps it’s the honey issue. Are you the way I was when I first went vegan, saying, “Oh, honey’s not a big deal,” eating it anyway? Turn the phrase around. Say it again: “Oh, honey’s not a big deal,” but this time follow it with the phrase “to avoid.” Because it really isn’t. You’d be surprised how extending your circle of compassion this little bit encourages you to find other ways to keep extending it.
For long-time activists, have you become so enveloped in the animal rights culture that you find it hard to relate to omnis? Remember this: one of the best things you can do to save animals is to convince someone else to go vegetarian or vegan. You’ve got to be able to maintain healthy relationships with meat eaters not only to help combat the “crazy vegan” stereotype, but to be able to reach out honestly and sincerely to help show them the cruelties of meat, dairy, and egg production.
Every single one of us could be doing something more to further the cause. For me, it’s the idea of handing out literature or speaking in public to people I don’t know. These things could make a huge difference, but I’ve got to get over my own anxieties. I need to remind myself that the animals can’t speak with words, so it’s up to me to help them out.
What do you need to do to better yourself for the good of the animals? What’s making you your own worst enemy?
(I hope you’ve enjoyed this theme week. There were plenty of other “enemies” I wanted to include, but I’ll save those for another time. Thanks for reading and stick around for another theme week sometime in the near future.)
It’s been a bit slow around here, so to repent, here’s some Grade A cuteness for you:
That’s Hickory, a three-week old lamb at Poplar Spring. And, yes, he’s wearing a sweater. Can you deal with the cuteness?
(Here’s another shot.)
Are there any designers out there that might be willing to help out a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group with a print mailing? You should be open to interesting barter options for payment and it’s preferable if you’re in the Northern VA/DC area.
Contact me if you might be willing to help out.
I had the weirdest dream last night.
I was at Sarah and Gerry’s Tattoo Shop because I had decided on the spur of the moment to get a tattoo on my back, just above my left shoulder blade. The design I went with was similar to the one below:
Any dream interpreters in the audience?
The getting-of-the-tattoo hurt like hell and I was doing a lot of screaming. I think it was because instead of using a standard needle, they were actually cutting the image into my skin with a really, really sharp knife.
Sarah, I love your cookbook and all, but can you promise me that if I ever come to Canada and visit your shop that you guys won’t use a knife on me? It really hurt.
Something I didn’t know that’s worth sharing: old school professional wrestling legend Killer Kowalski has been vegetarian since 1953.
This is a veganized version of my mom’s recipe, though when she told me the original source, I was a bit surprised (no, I’m not telling). Everyone that’s tried this has said it’s the best pumpkin bread they’ve ever tried, and I’d be hard-pressed to disagree.
Yes, it’s a lot of sugar, but trust me… it’s worth it.
Ingredients
Topping:
Directions
Sift dry ingredients into large mixing bowl. Quickly add all remaining liquid ingredients. Mix only until dry ingredients are mositened. Bake in 2 greased 9″x5″x3″ pans in pre-heated 350 degree oven for one hour. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.
While warm, brush with Earth Balance and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Source: Mommy Veg Blog
Here at the Veg Blog, I get a lot of strange things to review. One time, a company sent me a bottle of grape juice (hm… I never did actually review that… after all, what do you say about grape juice? “It tastes… like good tasting grapes!”). Another interesting item that crossed my desk was the Tupperware FridgeSmart container. This line has a pretty interesting design: the bottom of the container is ridged, which helps to keep fruits and vegetables raised above the surface to prevent contact with any liquid or juices that may leak and cause premature spoilage. In addition, they have pluggable vents that let you allow a certain amount of air into the container based on the types of foods you’re trying to keep fresh.
While I haven’t done any side-by-side comparisons of, say, a cucumber in the FridgeSmart and a cucumber in the open air, it seems to do a good job at keeping vegetables fresh for what seems to be longer than their normal fridge lifespan. Good stuff, especially for those of us with a tendency to keep vegetables a little too long before using them.
Thanks to sales rep Ric Faust for sending a FridgeSmart along for me to try out.
So, I watched last night’s episode of Wife Swap (jeez, the things I do for you people!) and I’ll be darned: it was actually a pretty even-handed, non-exploitative show. Well, as much as one named Wife Swap can be, I guess.
For one, no one person was made out to be the kook. Even the raw foodist’s desire to “eat sun” was handled with delicate humor (in the funniest moment, one of the little boys declares privately to the camera, “She eats sun. That’s creepy.”). The vegan family’s daughter stood up for her beliefs and refused to eat or buy meat and the hunting family’s husband even saw how a more gentle approach to child rearing can work with more hyper, violent kids.
The most important lesson, though, was the one that the vegan/raw foodist mother learned from the hunting father: one person can’t carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Animal rights activists have a high rate of burnout and this is exactly why. It’s easy to become discouraged with the unending suffering that seems impossible to stop, and if we let that overtake us, we just end up as miserable grouches who either can’t get anyone to listen to us or who completely give up activism, seeing it as a lost cause. We’ve got to take time for ourselves and enjoy life. In the end, everyone benefits.
The only real frustrating point of the show came when the hunting mother (who was the only person on the whole show who didn’t seem to change at all) had a showdown with the vegan father and daughter. It was an unfortunate argument where the mother claimed that AR activists were trying to vilify her and her family because they need to hunt for food to survive. This could have been easily diffused by explaining that the majority of AR people focus their attention on “sport” hunters and not the few that actually need to (and do) hunt for their food. Of course, by the end of the episode, she was out hunting in what looked more like a sporting manner than one to supply needed food for the family.
All-in-all, it was a well handled episode that–though it lacked the sizzle of the God Warrior on Trading Spouses–showed two families learning something from each other and being (relatively) respectful of the other’s beliefs.
There’s something wrong with the world when I’m criticizing 60 Minutes for being uneven and praising Wife Swap for their fairness.
Tonight on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: the creator of Hufu.
At some point, every vegan has complained about the inherent wrongness of an animal advertising his own death (ie. a happy pig on a bacon package). Well, Steve over at The Sneeze has created “a small salute to mascots who serve up their own.”
The captions are classic.
Today, when walking to my car, I was stung by a bee.
I’m almost 30 and I’ve never been stung by a bee before.
It hurts. And it caused me to say a lot of profanities. I even turned into Angry Vegan and said, “Damn it, I’ll show you! I’ll eat your honey!”
Any veg blog readers in the DC/MD/VA area, I invite you to come and visit Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary’s open house this coming Sunday. Erik Marcus will be the speaker and there will be music and food and plenty of rescued farm animals for you to meet. It’s a great event and I highly encourage you to come out. If you’re thinking of attending, please RSVP to info -at- animalsanctuary.org and also let me know that you’ll be there so I can look for you and say hi.
Here’s the official announcement/invitation:
Dear Friend of Poplar Spring,
Join us for Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary’s eighth annual Fundraiser and Open House, to raise funds to continue the organization’s important work of rescuing abused and abandoned farmed animals.
Please bring a friend and join us for an educational and entertaining afternoon with delicious food, a live band, silent auction, entertainment for the kids, and an opportunity to visit with the Sanctuary’s many rescued residents.
Our keynote speaker will be Erik Marcus, author of Meat Market.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
1:00 to 5:00 p.m., rain or shine
Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary
15200 Mt. Nebo Road, Poolesville, MD 20837RSVP to Poplar Spring at 301-428-8128 or email info -at- animalsanctuary.org
No dogs, please.
For more information, including directions to Poplar Spring, please visit: http://www.AnimalSanctuary.org
I’ve been meaning to post about this for weeks: Foody Call.
It’s a show on style. (I hate having a period in the middle of the sentence like that, but it is part of the network’s name) that “transforms average guys and gals into cooking Casanovas” in order to help win over a potential love. Get it… “Foody” call? It sounds like “Booty” call? It’s SO CLEVER.
The show is as stupid as the name and the premise. Making it most painful: the hosts. You have never seen a bigger pair of amped up twits in your life. Rossi Morreale is a cross between Ryan Seacrest and Ty Pennington (yes, that bad… and then some) while Michele Merkin plays the “ooh, I’m such a sexual being… a sexual, blonde, empty being…” role. The show is based on the book Cook Your Way Into Her Pants by Ted Taylor, which I haven’t read but I can only assume is also stupid.
The episode I saw drove me nuts. It featured a vegetarian woman who wanted to win back a supposedly very carnivorous man she broke up with twice. She’d been an ethical vegetarian since she was a teenager, yet she cooked a gigantic hamburger for him. Sure, she made a veggie burger for herself, but she specifically went against what she believed was right for a stupid TV show and a guy she had already broken up with two times.
To make it even worse, the guy seemed like a pretty normal, easy-going guy…. not at all the ravenous flesh-tearing beast he was made out to be. I got the impression he wouldn’t have cared in the least if he was served a vegetarian meal. This left me screaming, “Sell out!” at the screen, playing my role of Obnoxious Vegan as well as Rossi Morreale played his role of Supreme Tool of the Universe.
Needless to say: stay away from this show like your sanity depended on it. Because it does.
Because I’m lazy, here’s another IM chat transcript between Alex and me about veggie dogs at baseball stadiums:
Ryan: I dare you to ask one of the beer guys that walks around, “Excuse me, was that beer produced using isinglass? I don’t drink beer filtered through fish bladders.”
Alex: “no this won’t do. i asked for the non-fishy beer. could you please go back there and get someone to filter it properly. SO HARD TO GET GOOD PRODUCTS THESE DAYS. SHEESH”
Ryan: Sometimes I think it would be fun to be an annoying vegan. Complaining about everything. Walking into a steakhouse and complaining they don’t have seitan.
Alex: yeah. especially if they have gardenburgers. you should say “what’s a guy got to do around here to get a proper vegan boca burger.”
Ryan: “You’ll serve secretions from a cow’s teat, but not milk squished out of a soybean? You’re KIDDING, right?”
A comment was posted on an old entry that I thought I’d repost here to give it a little more attention (with some slight changes):
Donald Watson celebrates his 95th Birthday this year. Donald was born on 2nd September 1910. Please send birthday wishes and thanks for the inspiration to make the world a better place.
Cards and wishes should be posted to arrive no later than 29th August 2005.
Addressed to:
FAO Donald Watson – Founder
(Birthday Wishes)
C/O The Vegan Society
7 Battle Road
St Leonards On Sea
East Sussex
TN37 7AAFax Number +44 (0) 1424 717064
If you have a photograph of your vegan group or a vegan event (from last year’s World Vegan Day?) Donald would be very pleased to see these.
You can email photos and wishes suitable for printing to info@vegansociety.com with “Donald Watson Wishes” in Subject Line
No animated cards please.
More about Donald Watson & Interview with Donald Watson at http://www.foodsforlife.org.uk/people/Donald-Watson-Vegan/Donald-Watson.html
Donald Watson is the man who coined the term “vegan” and formed The Vegan Society in 1944. He hasn’t eaten meat or fish since 1924.
That’s the man right there.
Does a vegan with a pet peeve have to call it a companion animal peeve?
If I tell you something really embarassing will you promise to keep it to yourself?
You know that book How It All Vegan? I’ve known about that book since it came out in 2003, but I didn’t understand the wordplay in the title until last month.
Man, am I dense.
That’s what happens when you worry so much about pronouncing the word “vegan” properly: you become totally oblivious to clever wordplay possibilities.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but Herbivore issue 8 is out now. As usual, it’s a visual delight and has some great features including one with SHAC 7 defendant Josh Harper and another with Erik Marcus. And for the requisite self-plug, I’ve got an interview with DC-based reggae band See-I.
You can order your issue online for a mere $4.50. But, really, you should have a subscription. Really, you should.
Isa and friends over at the Post Punk Kitchen are running a new contest, the Tofu Container Challenge.
I hate when I get a package of tofu in one of those plastic containers and all that packaging goes to waste, and I know you do, too. So let it be known that this is THE TOFU CONTAINER CHALLENGE! Use your creativity to come up with fun/functional/decorative ways to use those things.
First prize: a PPK t-shirt and DVD
Second Prize: A Food Fight! Grocery totebag – carry your vegan wears in style!
Third Prize: Breaking up the band, an awesome fabric covered zine from oh, blast! with break-up stories from 9 bands.The contest will last until July 15th. Post pictures between July 11th- 15th. Post your entries on the PPK boards here. After your studious panel of judges has evaluated all the entries the winners will be announced on July 18th. Not only will you gain fame and notorioty, you will be saving the landfills (for the time being anyway) and inspiring a generation to do the same.
Rules:
1- No violence. If you use threats or intimidation to distract your opponents you will be disqualified.
2- Use as many containers as you like!
3- Don’t try to bribe the judges!
I was just outside reading when a little boy walked by a nearby tree and yanked on a branch. The boy’s grandmother (older aunt?) said to him, “Hey! Be gentle with living things.”
I thought, “Wow. That’s the most reasonable thing I’ve heard all day.”
(Of course, a second later my inner-cynic kicked in and said, “But I bet that philosophy doesn’t extend to her diet.”)
Are you vegan? Are you a programmer? Would you like to live in a vegan community Hawaii? Would you like to be paid well?
This is the first time I can recall seeing a non-AR-specific job offered where you must be vegan to apply because you’d be joining a “vegan community.” Very cool. If I didn’t have family in the local area, I would seriously consider trying to talk Huyen into moving for this. I suspect it wouldn’t be difficult.
(via)
A while ago I briefly asked whether celebrity vegetarians really matter. My stance on the issue has lightened a bit, and I think that celebrities that truly stand for animal rights and follow veg*nism as a lifestyle day in and day out can be helpful in spreading the word. However, after chatting at lunch with Isa, Eric, and Huyen the other day, I think the problem is not in celebrity vegetarians, but the lists of celebrity vegetarians floating around the web.
The problem is that once someone even indicates that they’ve thought about vegetarianism, they wind up on the list and once they’re on the list, they’re there forever. Take Julia Stiles, who shows up on a bunch of the lists. She was a vegan for a short time, but then went so far as to totally discredit it on Conan and in interviews. Saying things like “I stopped being a vegan and then became a vegetarian. But the first meat I ate was not a hamburger” is just confusing… if she “became a vegetarian” what’s this about “the first meat [she] ate”? Shortly afterwards, she says, “So now I do eat some red meat but not all the time.” Well good for you, Julia. Congratulations on not being a lion.
But this isn’t about Julia Stiles. It’s about out-of-date lists and how the vegetarian community and animal rights organizations use them to try and claim legitimacy. Unfortunately, it works against us because of the inaccuracy of many of these lists. I understand that any list of this type can’t be kept completely up-to-date (until PETA develops a Vegetarian Registry or something like that), but perhaps less emphasis should be placed on what famous people are eating. The first time someone sees Michael Stipe eating a steak (and I swear I saw someone write that recently), the entire movement loses ground because then it seems like more of a trend diet or a phase rather than a compassionate lifestyle.
We don’t need famous-veg lists. Sure, when a real celebrity comes along and speaks out for animal rights, it helps things, but the AR/veg community can exist without them, so let’s not focus on publicizing our out-of-date lists of famous-people-who-may-have-once-been-vegetarian.
(Boy, I’ve been cranky lately, haven’t I?)
When I first started doing the vegan thing late last year, it was kind of tough for me to walk into the kitchen at work on Friday morning and not participate in “Donut Day” since most (actually, I think it’s all) donuts from Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme aren’t vegan. As time went on, it got easier, where I felt less and less of an urge to grab a ring of unhealthiness. Now, I feel no urge whatsoever, especially when I think back to how it always felt like I had a rock in my stomach after eating a donut. I’m not an all-out health freak (have you seen how many cookies I eat?), but I have found that I rarely feel like crap after eating a vegan meal, no matter how heavy it is.
I used to think, “being vegetarian is easy and being vegan is hard.” Turns out the former is true, but the latter is false. Being vegan ain’t hard… it just takes a little getting used to. The most common thing I hear is, “I could never be vegan.” I think those people don’t give themselves enough credit.
“America is the only country where people go hunting on a full stomach.”
Glycerin has always been one of those tricky ingredients for vegetarians because it’s included in so many consumer products and can be either plant or animal derived. One of those items where you’ll frequently find glycerin is toothpaste. So, I wrote to Crest to ask them whether their glycerin comes from. The basic answer (it can come from either, whatever’s more available) didn’t surprised me, but some of the other information in their response did:
Hi Ryan,
Crest Cavity Protection versions (Regular Paste, Cool Mint Gel, Icy Mint Striped and Kid’s Sparkle) don’t have glycerin, so they don’t contain animal by-products. Other versions of Crest contain glycerin which may be derived from vegetable or animal sources.
To assure yourself, we suggest checking the ingredient statement on Crest before you buy it. If glycerin isn’t listed, the Crest version contains no animal by-products. If glycerin is listed, it may be derived synthetically from either vegetable or animal sources, depending on which type is available at the time we buy it. If it’s made from animal sources, it may come from either beef or pork. There’s no way we can determine which form is in any particular package. However, any animal by-product used is chemically altered during manufacture and no longer resembles the original substance by the time it’s added to our product. Currently, we are in the process of converting to purely vegetable sources.
If religious beliefs, dietary preferences or medical conditions prevent your using products containing animal ingredients, share this information with your physician, dentist, minister, or rabbi. This person can better decide if you can use our product.
Hope this is helpful.
Barb
Crest Team
While I couldn’t care less if the product is “chemically altered” and “no longer resembles the original substance,” I was pleased to see that Crest is “in the process of converting to purely vegetable sources.” Good stuff and I hope they note that on their label when the time comes.
I had a great seitan with green tea mustard sauce dish at Gobo in New York last year and I wanted to try and recreate the taste at home. I started with a very basic mustard sauce recipe and added some concentrated green tea and with only a few small alterations, it came out wonderfully.
This makes a little more than 1 1/2 cups and can be used as a dipping sauce for raw vegetables, sauteed seitan, fried tofu, etc. or even as a ranch-like creamy salad dressing.
Ingredients
Directions
Based on the Tangy Mustard Sauce recipe from cooksrecipes.com.
In my search for cool vegan sneakers, I think I’ve found the holy grail (well, they don’t come from a very vegan-friendly company, but…): Adidas
Superstar Hemp. Even the upper is hemp.
I was going to get these Ipaths, but they’re impossible to find (even Ipath’s own online store only has them in 11 1/2s) and I was told by a local store to “check back at the end of January” to see if they had them in stock. But these old kicks of mine need replacing and there’s a Journeys in the mall by my work, so hopefully tonight I’ll be walking home with a new pair of eco/animal-friendly Adidas.
The jury is still out whether or not I’ll rock them Run-D.M.C. style or not.
UPDATE: Though I had to special order them (they had sizes 8.5 and 9.5, but not 9), I did get to check the shoes out. They are super sweet.
In addition, I called Adidas to verify that they’re vegan. After a little checking, the rep told me that they couldn’t guarantee that any of their products (even the ones like their running shoes that use synthetics) were 100% free of animal products. “There may be small traces,” he said. After seeing the shoes, the main part of the shoe is hemp (including the Adidas logo), from what I can tell. And it seems to me that the toe is made from the same material as the sole, a rubber of some sort (which I also realize may not be vegan, in the same way that tires aren’t). So, even if Adidas can’t guarantee they’re 100% free of animal products, it seems to me it’s about as close as any other hemp shoe I’ve seen.
This is kind of fun: Amateur Gourmet’s Secret Cookbook Santa. Sign up with three cookbooks you’d like to receive and a brief overview of what you already have. Then, you’ll get matched up with someone and the cookbook-giving Secret Santa fun begins.
Limited to 100 participants, so get thee over there and join in!
I’ve complained before about “faux vegetarians” who muck up things for the rest of us by claiming vegetarian status when they still eat chicken. After all, how’s a vegan supposed to get soup in a restaurant if the staff has been trained to think of chicken broth as vegetarian? But, truthfully, there is some value in labels as a means to communicate what one does or doesn’t consume to someone else. Below contains what I consider to be a complete and correct list of the terms currently in use. Please feel free to let me know if you find any of this incorrect or misleading.
The two (well, four) most common types of vegetarians are:
There are also some restrictive subcategories of veganism:
Then there are the classifications of vegetarians that aren’t really vegetarians. Their inclusion here does not imply an acceptance of these often confusing, misleading terms, but rather to serve as a reference.
And, finally, there is the one classification that I made up but at least one person thought I was serious about:
This page also has some very good information about classifications and definitions of the varying types of vegetarian.
Hey, you, get yourself to HerbivoreClothing.com and order yourself a copy of the freshly-released issue number six. Whycome? I’ve got three pieces in this issue (well, two plus a fraction): an interview with Sage Francis, a review of Peaceable Kingdom, and a contribution to the cover story “Eating Meat is Indefensible.” Give it a looksee. It’s fun being in print again.
Hey, it’s Friday, I’m allowed to post a link to an adorable picture of a dog and a baby deer napping together, right?
Veg Blog reader Micha Hershman has just started a new blog titled Relish! – Enthusiastically eating in and around Ann Arbor. It’s about… well, if you need me to explain, you might want to check your B-12 levels.
Even though the blog isn’t veggie-specific, it’s got a very heavy vegetarian slant,” says Micha. I believe him.
He’s gotten off to a good start, particularly with a really handy find: Organizing Your Refrigerator and Freezer. A handful of simple tips about where to store different types of food in your fridge to best extend their shelf life. The one I always forget (but have, thankfully, guess right about) is listed: vegetables in the “high humidity” drawer and fruit in the “low humidity” drawer.
I ended up cutting and pasting all the info into a Word doc and then trimming it down to one page to put on my fridge. Want a copy? Here’s a PDF.
The Morning News has a funny take on various popular diets which, of course, covers vegetarianism/veganism:
Fun with food and politics! “Vegetarians” don’t eat animals. No! They only eat non-animals (this includes french fries). “Vegans” don’t eat animals or, more significantly, things produced from animals. Such as urine.
(Vegetarian and vegan diets are usually considered healthy, as they’re very low in bones, which when swallowed can kill you.)
Vegetarians are generally cool people, so it would make sense you’d want to be part of the pack. And here’s a helpful tip: You can claim to be a “vegetarian” and still eat fish. And chicken. And, you know, really lean red meat. Your vegetarian friends will be so proud you’ve one of the gang, they’re bound to look over all the hooves in your garbage.
Veganism, on the other hand, is pretty tough to fake. Plus they know how to fight. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Good stuff.
(via Paul)
Over on VeggieBoards, there’s a recently resurrected lengthy discussion about “good hearted omnis,” those meat-eating friends and family members that go out of their way to make sure that your crazy veggie needs are accounted for. And for all the annoying, “Mmmm… meat tastes so good!” comment that a vegetarian endures, there are plenty of people in our lives who will go out of their way to make sure that we have something to eat or don’t feel uncomfortable in large groups.
I’m fortunate in that I have a number of people in my life that always make sure I’m covered when it comes to food, and they’re the ones that keep me from becoming a bitter vegetarian. My wife, as I’ve mentioned, still eats meat, but at home we never have any in the house. She’s become a great label-reader and will keep her eyes out for all the crazy little ingredients like whey or casein. One of her favorite phrases is, “This has ‘natural flavorings’ in it, so you may not want to eat it…”
Similarly, while my parents still eat meat, they’ve cut down substantially on the amount for health reasons. But when I visit, my mom’s always found a good veggie dish to make (and will gladly make a vegan version of something for me if I ask) and when we go out to eat, I’ve noticed that my mom often orders what I have even though I don’t openly criticize anyone’s meal choices at the table. :)
And on top of that, I’ve got countless friends that are inquisitive about veg*nism and are even anxious to try out new veggie foods. Fortunately, most of them seem to appreciate Indian or Asian foods (which makes eating out with them much easier) and enjoy the challenge of cooking without eggs, dairy, or meat.
I’m also glad that even though they know they’ll be eating vegan when they come over, that friends and family don’t seem to avoid visiting for that reason. Perhaps my greatest achievement came when I served a family friend a piece of vegan cheesecake I had made and though he tried it with a bit of hesitation, he went back for seconds before anybody else.
Even co-workers have become more understanding over time. A few months back, a co-worker was going out to buy ice cream for for an ice cream social at my work and I jokingly said to her, “Are you going to get some soy ice cream?” And she did! Another co-worker seemed to look to me for acceptance when she told me the other day, “Hey, I kind of like tofu now!” I wasn’t sure if I should touch her head and say, “That is good, my follower, you have my blessing. You may go now.”
It really does show you what a person’s really like when it comes to acknowledging and respecting differences. I know I was kind of an ignorant ass to vegetarians before I became one, so I definitely notice and appreciate when a non-vegetarian is especially understanding.
So, to all of my friends and family that don’t make me feel like a freak when it comes time to eat, consider this a very appreciative “thank you.”
“I’m a vegetarian, because I don’t want to kill things to eat.”
Surprising fact: horror director Dario Argento is vegetarian.
I’m headed to Seattle next week for a conference. Any suggestions on good places to get some good veg eats? I’ve got a nice listing of restaurants, but prefer personal recommendations.
I believe I’ll be in the south part of the Capitol Hill neighborhood, as far as I can tell, and will be relying on either my feet or public transportation to get around.
And if there are any readers in Seattle that might want to meet up, drop me a line.
Paul‘s made a connection between Atkins and 1984.
Which also makes me wonder how Atkins would have fared on Animal Farm…
Ever wonder what types of weird things dairy farmers and cattle ranchers buy to help them do their job?
And, no, these aren’t cute little magnets in the shape of a cow that say “Bessie” on them. These phallic devices are used to help prevent “Hardware Disease,” a common ailment that occurs when the cows ingest metal while feeding (from staples, bits of bailing wire, etc.). When Hardware Disease hits, the cows lose their appetite and stop making milk or gaining weight. So what do these cow magnets do?
“Cow magnets help prevent this disease by attracting stray metal from the folds and crevices of the rumen and reticulum.”
Yes, but how do they work?
According to one commenter: “[T]he magnets are administered orally… the magnet stays in the cow’s stomach, keeping the hardware in a (relatively) safe clump.”
Well, there you go, then.
(via)
This Sunday I’ll be running my first 5k race which is, appropriately enough, a benefit for Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary. I’ve never been much of a distance runner, but this race has worked to motivate me to get out and run more frequently. I’m not going to break any speed records, but my endurance has definitely improved in the two-and-a-half months since I started training.
If you’re in the DC area and would like to attend or participate, more information is available. Be sure to say hey if you’re there… I hope to have some Veg Blog stickers to pass out at the event, if I’m not busy passing out myself after the race.
Thanks to Johanna for passing along a link to Left Shoe’s vegetarian buttons, one that says “Fish is not a vegetable” and another that says “Chicken is not a vegetable.” Those will look good next to my “Praise Seitan” button.
And let’s further make things a little… interesting for today. You know how us vegetarians often argue about how we’re the only animal to consume another animal’s milk? Well, Steve agrees and has started drinking a different type of milk.
His wife’s.
… the truth is it’s not that bad at all. It tastes like milk, just slightly more sweet. And just slightly more making me want to gargle with Clorox and assume the fetal position while I question my life.
Not exactly safe for work viewing, but just one of those things I couldn’t pass up linking on a Friday.
(also via Mefi)
It’s no Meatrix, but it’s still amusing: The Exorcist in 30-seconds, re-enacted by bunnies.
No, not real bunnies, so you don’t have to feel guilty for watching.
(via Mefi)
Tomorrow is Meatout 2004 (and, not coincidentally, the first day of spring). Do you have any plans for the day?
Me, I’ll be going for my second Saturday volunteering for Poplar Spring Farm Animal Sanctuary… which reminds me, I really need to write something up about Poplar Spring and the great job they’re doing.
Last year I posted about Freeganism and since then, a number of people have contacted me for more information about it (mainly journalists). I really don’t have much information beyond what I’ve posted, but since there seems to be an interest about the ultimate in anti-consumerism, I figured I’d pass along Why Freegan: An Attack on Consumption, In Defense of Donuts. I can’t say I’ll be digging through the trash for food anytime soon, but you’ve gotta at least respect these folks for truly living what they believe in, not many people can really say they do.
… as cooking techniques for vegetarians go, this one leaves something to desire.
In case you were wondering, cooking vegetables in your dishwasher doesn’t work all that well.
Now I’ve heard it all.
There’s an interesting post over at BoingBoing about the history of the term “straight-edge,”, which refers to people that refrain from alcohol, drugs, and often meat and animal products. Most people (myself included) thought this term originated during the birth of hardcore music and bands like Minor Threat, but it turns out the term actually dates back to the early 1900s! Interesting stuff.
(via VP)
Tired of being at the mercy of the winds, as well as facing the discrimination that all diaphanous gases must endure in the United States, Atkins ate a baked potato stuffed with corn syrup, and quickly gained 300 pounds. He then ate an entire country ham wrapped in bacon, and lost 150 pounds.
Finally, someone explains the real history behind the Atkins Diet. (via ev)
Have you ever stood in the freezer aisle of your local health food store and asked yourself, “Which type of Tofutti Cutie best matches my personality?” Now you can find out thanks to yet-another-(soy-)cheeseball online quiz. (via RandomWalks)
An interesting dichotomy:
Muslims shouldn’t be vegetarian
First of all, it should be clear that one should not think that it is better to abstain from eating meat, that doing so will be rewarded, or that being a vegetarian is closer to Allah than not, and so on. It is not permitted to draw closer to Allah in this way.
v.s.
Muslims can and should be vegetarian
Vegetarianism is halal.
Meat is not compulsory.
Any food is permissible provided it is not harmful.
Muslims are free to eat whatever they want provided it is halal.
My 10-month-old niece eating tofu:
I’m so proud. :)
Are you a hip-hop fan? Then you’ve got to check out Ugly Duckling‘s Taste the Secret, out now on Emperor Norton Records. Why would I mention a hip-hop album on the Veg Blog?
Taste the Secret is the motto of ultra-disgusting fast-food chain Meat Shake. Yes, it is what you’re thinking: they serve milkshakes with meat in them (the vanilla and ham flavored is only available during the Christmas season!). The story goes that the three members of Ugly Duckling met years ago while working at (the fictional) Meat Shake, and the ongoing theme running through the album is Meat Shake’s battle against the evil Veggie Hut.
The skits are hilarious, as long as you don’t take yourself too seriously as a meat-eater or a vegetarian. Some are acted out, some are rapped, but they’re all quite funny… take the hidden track, where Brianna from the Veggie Hut welcomes visitors to her store by rhyming over some new agey Putomayo-ish music:
I’m so glad you came to Veggie Hut! Hi, my name’s Brianna,
And if you’re seeking inner peace, this could be nirvana.
We offer fruits and vegetables straight from nature’s vine,
Feed your body, mind, and spirit, that’s the motto on our sign.
Try a soy milkshake, plus a side of seaweed,
Wheatgrass, mushroom, and tomato tree seed,
Have a little tofu, carrot juice, asparagus,
All organic food, mother nature’s taking care of us.
And Friday nights, we express ourselves openly,
Two full hours of spoken word poetry!
Then we have a class on transcendental education,
So when you’re done eating, you can try a meditation.
The highlight, though, comes when a customer asks to buy a CD of world music, but wonders why it’s $29. “It’s an organic CD. It was organically made and handcrafted by Tibetan village people in the Himalayas,” Brianna says before adding, “Um… can you please leave the store?”
Great stuff.
Are there any Veg Blog readers that live in or around Ithaca? A while back, I bought the best sea salt I’ve ever used from Greenstar Co-Op and was wondering if someone might be able to pick me up some… I’ll even buy you a bag for the trouble. Drop me a line…
Ever since last August when a friend from college mentioned Community Supported Agriculture to me, it sounded like a great idea: pay a flat rate for stock in a local farm and get a back of freshly grown, organic vegetables, herbs, and such delivered weekly. Not only does it encourage supporting local farmers (local, organic farmers in some cases), it gets you vegetables fresher than you could ever get from the supermarket.
I contacted a local farm with a CSA program, but starting this year, they were no longer delivering to my hometown. Fortunately, she referred me to another local farm (one whom I’ve purchased produce from before) that runs a CSA: the Potomac Vegetable Farms. And, I’m proud to say, that after talking with the owner and getting some literature, my wife and I are now proud members for a 16-week stretch this summer. I’m really looking forward to it and having a fresh influx of fresh veggies each week.
By far the coolest vegetarian t-shirt ever: Praise Seitan, courtesy of Herbivore Clothing. In addition to being damn clever, Herbivore’s t-shirts have the added bonus of not having any connection whatsoever to sweatshop labor or animal-derived products. $19 is more than you’d pay in Wal-Mart for a t-shirt, but when shipping’s taken into account, it’s about what you’d pay for an average t-shirt from Cafepress.
While you’re at it, grab a few buttons or stickers. And keep an eye out for the premiere issue of their magazine this Spring (can’t wait!).
Vegan Porn pointed out an interesting game in development: Steer Madness. The game is about “a steer who barely escaped the slaughterhouse.” You can “[e]xplore the city, interact with other characters, and play though the missions to save the environment and your fellow animals.” The game is non-violent, so I’m curious to see how enjoyable the end product really is (this is not to say a game has to be violent to fun…).
This screenshot amused me the most.
My sister e-mailed me today about a conversation she had with my 4-year-old niece:
My sister: Jules, what is a vegetarian?
My niece: It means you don’t eat pepperoni.
I think the vegetarian movement has found a new slogan!
It’s a rare occurrence that I find an item that can be featured on both the Veg Blog and one of my music review sites at the same time… I present: the first vienna vegetable orchestra.
Yes, you read that right: an orchestra playing instruments made of vegetables (and occasionally kitchen utensils). After the instruments are used, they are then made into soup. I’m not kidding.
But, hey—if people make drums out of animal skins, why not make instruments out of vegetables, right? A very cool concept with a very strange sound.
Huntingdon Life Sciences, “one of the world’s foremost product development companies,” gets a lot of pressure from animal rights groups for their testing of consumer products like detergents and adhesives on all sorts of animals (including cats, dogs, and rabbits). Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty is one of those groups, a particularly aggressive one, at that. The animal rights groups have angered Huntingdon enough that not only do they take shots at animal rights activists on their web site, they have an absurd “no linking” policy on their front page (“All forms of ‘linking’ to this web site (or parts thereof) is strictly forbidden without the express written permission of Huntingdon Life Sciences Limited.”).
Talk about an organization that just doesn’t “get it,” in more ways than one.
(via Dontlink.com)
July 8th-14th is National Vegetarian Week, proclaims the The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom. Now’s the chance to try making a change in your diet, if you already haven’t… and if this is the type of thing that would inspire you to do so.
Waiter arrested for ‘serving chicken to vegetarian’
In India, a Pizza Hut employee was arrested for serving chicken pasta dish to a customer that asked for a vegetarian version. The customer claimed that it was a “deliberate act intended to give religious offense.” The waiter was arrested without bail. Pretty harsh.
One more post today…
I got an e-mail the other day from a new Veg Blog reader named Sanjeev Singhal and he passed along his thoughts about vegetarianism. What makes his perspective particularly interesting is that he was raised vegetarian, then ate meat for ten years, and has now given it up again. Below is his e-mail, edited slightly for readability.
I grew up without egg or meat. No animal, bird, fish or any thing that crawls, swim, walk or fly was ever going to be eaten in our house. That is still the rule. If anyone was to eat meat, [they] might as well leave our family. However, going to college changed that for me. As part of teenage revolt, I started eating meat. For about 10 years I ate it, ate everything that was served on my plate in restaurants. Then about 2 years ago I gave it up. Completely. I still occasionally eat eggs. I do drink milk. Where i grew up in india, drinking milk was not [an] issue of animal abuse. [The] guy who brought us milk kept his buffalo in his house. One might be stickler about such things, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. [The] problem here [is] that some animal groups talk about industrial abuse of animals in dairy industry … which wasn’t there in traditional culture where relationship with animals is much more symbiotic.
In terms of being able to turn into vegetarian in this country have only partly to do with giving up meat. It has more to do with COOKING or NOT COOKING habits then eating. Most people most of the time do not prepare food at home. What you get in restaurants in the name of vegetatrian is hard to swallow. That is [why] there [is] resistance in turning away from meats. For example there are more then 50 different ways of cooking potatoes, without much fat or without any meat or dairy at all. Tasting very different but people do not want to take time or FEEL they do not have time to prepare their food themselves … Vegetarian food is not only healthy, it tastes far better then any meat that I have ever had. And trust me I have had plenty.
This week in The Onion is one of their predictably funny mock-news stories, U.S. Children Getting Majority of Antibiotics from McDonald’s Meat. Did Gail Eisnitz or Eric Schlosser write this? :)
A reader of my Vegan.com journal wrote in and passed along some interesting stories…
The first is about a woman that was talking to patient who had just had open heart surgery. The woman told the patient the health benefits of eating a vegetarian diet when the patient told the woman that her doctor said that it’s “OK to eat steak, just don’t eat the whole cow.” It’s amazing, and frightening, that a doctor would say this to someone who just had open heart surgery.
The reader also mentioned a vegan friend whose family went out for a steak dinner to celebrate the success of his mother’s quadruple bypass surgery. Can you imagine? That’s like going to a cigar bar to celebrate a successful operation for throat cancer.
Vegan.com’s Erik Marcus and your humble Veg Blog host, Ryan; December 2001
We all have different stories about why we became vegetarian and the difficulties we faced as we took that path. Some of the Veg Blog readers are new vegetarians, some long-time vegetarians, some vegans. And I know that some readers of the site aren’t vegetarian, but the fact that you’re here and reading this says that you’ve considered it for yourself or are at least interested. This is my story, and I invite you to submit yours (you can be vegan, vegetarian, or a meat-eater to submit).
Just like any other average American kid, I grew up on meat. Not obscene amounts of it, but “normal” amounts. I never really questioned my diet or the ethics behind it until I was in high school. My sister was a vegetarian for a number of years after seeing a movie on meat production in a sixth grade class. She stuck with it for five years and always impressed me with her commitment. There was also Rebecca, a girl I knew from online (back before the Web), who was a vegetarian for a number of years. I gave it a try a few times, but never made it more than a few meals before I had the urge to have some chicken or some meat. By the time I finished high school, it wasn’t unusual for me to have two Big Macs for dinner. This was back when I had a metabolism that could handle that sort of thing. :)
Fast forward a few years. I went through the rest of high school and college as a “normal” meat-eating American male. I knew a few vegetarians along the way and despite the fact I ate meat on a regular basis, felt some sort of distant connection. By the time I graduated college and was living on my own, my eating habits started to change ever so slightly. I started replacing hamburgers with Boca Burgers (actually preferring the taste and health benefits) and started thinking more seriously about the importance of what I was eating to my health.
In July of 2000, I decided to eat vegetarian meals for 10 days a month. Why 10 days a month? In the CaoDai religion, members are required to eat vegetarian meals for varying amount of days, depending on their rank in the church. It seemed like a good place to start, so, I began marking off days on my calendar when I was meat-free with a “V.” It was surprisingly easy, even without much research. My main lunch meal was a Subway vegetarian sandwich.
After just two months of following this 30% vegetarian diet, I took the next step. On September 8, 2000, I went to lunch with a co-worker for some pho (Vietnamese beef soup, my favorite meal). After that meal, I realized it was only the second time in the last three weeks that I had eaten meat. Somewhat anti-climactically, I said to myself, “I can do this,” and decided that from that point on, I was a vegetarian. At the beginning, I was quite uninformed about what was involved in a successful vegetarian diet (or a successful omnivorous diet, for that matter), but even so, it was a surprisingly easy transition.
Early on, I ate a lot of mock-meats. Boca Burgers, Morningstar Farm burgers, soy sausage, etc. Looking back, mock meats are the perfect transitional food for someone interested in moving from a standard American diet to a full-time vegetarian diet. I don’t rely much on mock meats too often any more since I’ve grown to love and appreciate the diversity of vegetarian cuisine, but coming from a diet that was certainly meat-centric, they were a Godsend. Going cold turkey (pardon the pun) without mock meats would have made it much more difficult for someone like me.
A month later, I posted an entry on my personal weblog about my decision. It’s interesting to look back at that entry and see what I was thinking after my first month of being vegetarian after nearly 25 years of the standard American diet. In that entry I discuss how “I’ve surprised myself” by starting like vegetables I hadn’t cared for before, like squash, zucchini, and eggplant. “Apparently, there are all these things that I might like that I never did before. It’s kind of a cool thing to realize there are a lot of other opportunities, actually more than when I was eating meat.” In the next paragraph, though, I mention that “there are a few things that I still do not like, though: peppers, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes.” Oddly, since then, I’ve grown to like each and every one of those things.
On November 30, 2000, I decided to start the Veg Blog as a separate blog on my personal site to explore vegetarian issues. I realized that there weren’t any other blogs that dealt strictly with vegetarianism, and I thought that if I shared what I learned along the way, it would help others who had recently become vegetarian or who were considering it. But the reasons were also partly selfish. I figured that if I was putting information out there for people to read, I’d be forced to try new recipes, read recent health-related articles, and inform myself about the many facets of a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle beyond just diet. It’s worked.
16 months after becoming vegetarian, I haven’t had a single “lapse” and I feel stronger about my decision than ever. It hasn’t been all sunshine, though. I am still irritated by meat-eaters that feel like I’m attacking them by my own, personal decision to be vegetarian, even though I never say a word to them. It makes me wonder: if they’re so secure in their reasons to eat meat, why are they so threated by someone who doesn’t? I’ve found that bringing up vegetarianism with someone who doesn’t want to discuss it causes nothing but problems, but if someone approaches me first, I’m happy to discuss it with them.
I’ve enjoyed talking with various people in “the movement” and learning from everyone from people just dabbling with the idea of becoming vegetarian to people that have been vegan for more than a decade. Everyone has a different take on this issue and I love learning new facts and perspectives. Who knows… maybe someday I’ll be the one writing a book.
My current diet is still not what I’d consider “optimal” (I still snack on less-than-healthy foods too frequently), but I’m very proud of how quickly I’ve picked up some cooking skills. I’m willing and able to try new recipes to the point I have to force myself to use the same recipe twice. The meals that I make are with health and taste in mind, and I find myself leaning towards vegan dishes more often then not. My dairy intake has decreased signficantly. I use soy milk in my cereal and in most dishes that call for milk. I, do, however still eat cheese occasionally, though when I have soy cheese, I look for the brands without casein. I rarely cook with eggs, though I still occasionally eat those as well. Lifestylewise, I find myself bothered by leather more and more and winced this morning when I saw a commercial for furs. I try to make changes where I can (I’ll choose non-gelatin caplet versions of pills if I have a choice), but I don’t beat myself up about everything. I feel like I’m moving towards a vegan diet, though I’m not ready to fully make the switch yet. I’ve learned that, for me, it’s a progression, and that while the change to a meat-free diet was relatively simple and quick, the change to a vegan diet and lifestyle may take a little more time and preparation.
My story doesn’t involve any “becoming vegetarian saved my life!” lines or anything dramatic, but I can say that it has changed the way I look at food and the food industry.
Submit Your Story
Related Links
Veg Pledge
Start by shifting to a plant-based diet over a 60-day period and get materials to support your attempt. And look at a picture of Kevin Nealon. :)
Vegetarian Resource Group
The VRG has a wealth of information about going vegetarian to help you.
Vegetarian Starter Kit
A guide from the Physician’s Committe for Responsible Medicine. Includes the “3-Step Way to Go Vegetarian.”
Open Directory: Going Vegetarian
A large selection of sites to help you make the switch.
During our trip to New York, one of the places that made quite an impression on me was the GreenStar Co-op. Scott had mentioned it to me several months ago, so I wanted to check it out when we made our trip to Ithaca. It was hard to miss: visible right off of Buffalo Street at the beginning of town was the large grocery-store-like co-op.
I’ve never been to a co-op before, but I understood the general idea: individuals selling their food and products under one roof in a familiar atmosphere with a common cause in mind. I got what I expected: lots of fresh, organic fruits and veggies, a nice bulk herb section, and lots of other typical health-food store offerings (but often with non-typical brands). And the prices were so nice in some cases, that I stocked up on some normal things (like Kiss My Face soap), since they were cheaper than at the grocery store back home.
Among the things I was particularly excited about: some really good Celtic sea salt, organic nettle in non-gelatin capsules (alas, my search for veggie caplet fennel continues…), some quinoa pasta, some snacks, and a bunch of fresh fruit that we snacked on during our trip. I would love to have a large co-op like that nearby, though the health food stores around me do have a pretty good selection themselves.
The co-op also provided a lot more interesting people-watching as the variety of customers was much greater than in a standard supermarket. Everybody there, from hippies to Rastas, looked vibrant, excited, and enthused, something you don’t find walking the aisles of Safeway.
Before I left, I dropped off a few Veg Blog stickers for the Ithaca masses.
As you may have noticed, I’ve been away from the Veg Blog for a bit. My wife and I took our delayed honeymoon last week and then spent some time with family over the holidays. During our our honeymoon to New York (Geneva, Ithaca, Watkins Glen), we did a number of decidedly “vegetarian things,” thanks to my wife’s willingness to indulge me. :) Over the next few days, I’ll be commenting on various experiences and places in short entries along with one new feature article. I decided that would be a better move than recapping everything in a single post.
I guess I’ll start by mentioning that I met up with Erik Marcus, host of the excellent Vegan.com and Food Headlines. He also authored Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating. We were originally scheduled to meet at the Harvest Deli in Ithaca Commons, but due to a mistake on my part, I showed up a day late (oops). However, we met a few days later for a Sunday brunch at the ABC Cafe.
Erik is an impressive guy. His dedication to the vegan community is clear, but he also sees the rest of the world with a realistic point of view. He realizes that sometimes you have to make a small sacrifice to your own beliefs in order to help advance them further (something I hope to get him to expand on in a planned interview in the near future).
Erik is at work on a new book that sounds like it will be a fascinating read, even for those that have been long-time vegans and read everything there is to read. If it’s half as good as Vegan…, it’ll certainly be essential.
A soy fact I didn’t know: Henry Ford used soybeans to build cars! Talk about a versatile bean…
(thanks to Daily Ping visitor Eric for pointing this out)
If you get PBS You (I get it on the DISH Network), take note that Regina’s Vegetarian Table is showing at 12:30pm eastern every day this week. I don’t know if this is a regular thing or limited to this week, but I enjoy overdosing on TV’s only vegetarian cooking show. :)
An interesting factoid I picked up today: in the middle part of last century, there was a political party called the Vegetarian Party. A man named John Maxwell was the Vegetarian Party candidate in 1948, but was ineligible to serve as president because he was of English descent. His Vice Presidential candidate was Daniel J. Murphy.
In 1952, Murphy was the presidential candidate and Symon Gould was the Vice Presidential candidate.
In 1956, the party nominated Herbert M. Shelton, who is also known for introducing the Raw Food diet. Symon Gould was again the party’s vice presidential candidate.
Unfortunately, there’s not much more information out there on the Vegetarian Party, but it’s interesting to know that even 50 years ago, vegetarianism was enough of a movement to claim its own political candidates.
I was happy to realize this weekend that Regina’s Vegetarian Table is back on PBS on Sundays. It’s the only vegetarian cooking show on television, as far as I know, and after watching an episode, I’m always inspired to head to the kitchen and try something new.
Question: how come the Food Network doesn’t have a strictly vegetarian cooking show? Let’s get awful shows like Emeril to lower rotation and bring in a good vegetarian show for the millions of vegetarians in this country alone.
For an amusing take on genetically engineered foods, check out episode six of Cooking with Bigfoot. Funny stuff.
Yesterday marked my one-year anniversary of becoming vegetarian. Here’s to many more meat-free years.
Something I hadn’t even really thought about was brought to my attention recently: soap. For some reason, I had totally forgotten that soap is made from animal by-products (tallow)… that kind of bugged me out that something like soap, which can be made almost as easily without any tallow, is concern for vegetarians. Leather is one thing because it’s obvious that it’s from an animal source, but soap?
So today I went out and picked up a couple bars of soap not made from an animal source. One is Kiss My Face brand Olive and Aloe soap (Kiss My Face can be found easily in most stores, as they make a lot of hand and face lotions) and a bar of Clearly Natural Cucumber soap. We’ll see how it works… so long, Irish Spring!
Since I’m finally getting a new computer, I can actually think about installing some new software. One of the first orders of business will be a recipe database. Since I’m very picky about my software, I was predictably unimpressed by the first few programs I tried out. I finally came across one that seems to be just about perfect: Easy Recipe Deluxe by Wen Software. It has the look and feel I want and some nice features, like a built in ingredient nutritional database (which is used to automatically calculate a dish’s nutritional information).
It’s kind of funny… a lot of people recently have been asking me, “You’re not vegan, are you?” I think the assumption comes from the fact that I substitute soy cheese for regular cheese almost always when I’m cooking or making sandwiches as well as the almond and soy milk in the fridge (right next to cow’s milk, though). My response: “Nope… but I have cut back on dairy and eggs.”
I don’t know whether I’ll ever make the jump towards veganism, but even now, I’m trying to be as “cruelty-free” as possible (buying strictly organic milk, sour cream, etc.) as well as cutting back on cheese (due mainly to the saturated fat content).
Now if I can just cut back on those Double Stuf Oreos… :)
Don’t forget: tomorrow is Meatout 2001. Leave a comment here and let me know if you abstained from meat, chicken, and fish for the day. I’m thinking about making tomorrow a vegan day for myself, so that I’m also doing a little something extra.
The EPA has Biopesticide information available on their site, including a StarLink news archive.
Something I forgot to mention: last week marked the six-month mark of my being vegetarian. Go me!
Meat substitute lovers delight: The Onion has you covered. (Thanks to Rob for passing this along.)
Don’t forget: next Tuesday (March 20) is the annual Meatout. There’s a good article on VegRD that discusses some of the easier options for non-vegetarians and those who aren’t used to cooking without some sort of meat.
Mark your calendars: Tuesday March 20, 2001 is not only the first day of Spring, but also the annual Meatout. If you’re a meat-eater, take at least this one day out of the year to avoid meat. Take this day to try a soy-based substitute or to make a dinner out of strictly fruits and vegetables. There’s no excuse not to give it shot… and hey, Rue McClanahan supports it — so who are you argue? :)
A quick reminder: changing your diet to fish for this day doesn’t count. That’s according to me.
Old, but notable: herbal supplements may contain cow glands and organs. Something vegetarians might not think about.
Another example of the importance of reading labels: did you know that worchestshire sauce has anchovies? However, I found a number of “vegetarian” recipes on the web that had worchestshire sauce in them.
Robert also pointed out to me last night that Bar-B-Q Baked Lay’s have chicken fat. In fact, a number of Frito-Lay products have animal products in them that wouldn’t be immediately apparent.
Apparently, Regina’s Vegetarian Table has been airing for five seasons on PBS. I just came across it today and am going to make it a point to check it out when it’s on later this week.
Shooting Vegetarians sounds like a pretty cool movie that deals with punk/straight edge culture and veganism. Neil’s a vegan who’s expected to take over the family business—a butcher shop. Obviously this presents a few moral problems for Neil…
I look forward to checking this movie out once it hits video or DVD.
After reading Paul’s blog entry about trying out a new vegetarian recipe, I dropped him the following note (slightly editted):
That’s good to hear, Paul… even if you don’t go totally meatless, cutting back is a great step. Compare the nutritional facts from any soy-based meat substitute to actual meat (especially beef) and you’ll notice you’re leaving out *significant* amounts of polysaturated fat (the bad kind) as well as a bunch of other unhealthy stuff. As long as you supplement it with some legumes, nuts, fruits, or veggies, you’ll be good. The only thing to keep an eye on with soy-based products is the sodium… much of it (especially Morningstar Farms) has a pretty high level of sodium. Now, this may not be that big of a deal, in reality — a recent widespread study showed that excess sodium only affects 20% of people, those with “sodium sensitivity.” Otherwise, links to high blood pressure and heart disease may have been made prematurely. In any event, it’s still probably a good idea to keep an eye on sodium intake whether you’re vegetarian or not. :)
You probably didn’t ask for that diatribe, but I find myself getting
excited when I discuss vegetarian issues since it’s still a pretty new
thing to me. I picked up a copy of Vegetarian Journal (a
publication of the Vegetarian Resource Group, and I think I
may subscribe… it seems very far separated from fad diets (certain other vegetarian magazines seem to have a few too many corporate hands
involved) and was well-written.
Just thought I’d share. :)
And, in fairness, here is a pro-biotech site.
The Campaign to Label Genertically Engineered Foods is a worthwhile visit, as is this related news item about John Hagelin’s testimony to the EPA about the dangers of genetically modified food.
I’m no scientist, but I’d rather not have people toying around with vegetables and fruits… if something goes wrong, it’s likely to cause irreversible damage since once a mutant gene spreads, it’s near impossible to stop.
A good example is the recent Taco Bell incident and this related Cheetos story. Greenpeace recently stopped a ship in protest.
A hip-hop anthem exists for vegans/raw foodists (though as an ovo-lacto vegetarian, I can still dig it): Dead Prez’s oustanding “Be Healthy” from their album titled Let’s Be Free. You can read the lyrics, but note that there are a few transcription errors (“myatal stew”?! try “ital stew”—using actual words is helpful).
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