Don't Have a Cow, Mom

The Washington Post

By now we're used to seeing veg-friendly articles for parents in various local papers, but I haven't seen much in the way of those stories in major newspapers that are frequently syndicated or quoted by TV news programs, so this is pretty good, as far as positive veg publicity goes. In fact, I finally have some support for my sense that vegetarianism is on the rise these past few years:

A poll conducted in 2000 by the Vegetarian Resource Group, a nonprofit group dedicated to educating the public on vegetarianism, estimated that 6 percent of American youths ages 6 to 17 don't eat meat; 2 percent skip fish and poultry, too; while 0.5 percent are vegans -- they also forgo dairy and eggs.

The American Dietetic Association believes those numbers are on the rise, which fits with my experience: My 18-year-old daughter is trying a no-red-meat diet, and increasing numbers of her friends are choosing variations on a vegetarian theme.

Fortunately, these days we have members of the establishment condoning healthy vegetarian diets. Far from subverting the story, as I've seen in Newsweek and other publications, the last line of the article finds Marilyn Tanner, a pediatric dietitian at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, concluding:

"If your child comes to you and says they are going to be a vegetarian, I would say, 'That's fantastic.' " ·

Now that's the kind of support kids need!

Tags: health | nutrition

Vegan commerce: Matt & Nat profile

Canada.com: Building hype on being hip

I've been hearing rumors that Matt & Nat purses don't hold up very well, so I take all this with a grain of salt, but it's great to see a veg-focused company doing well and profiled positively in the media:

At the handbag maker matt & nat, company founder Inder Bedi and partner Manny Kohli have turned vegetarianism into a winning business culture.

Created 10 years ago by Bedi, a vegan, the company has grown from $1 million to $10 million in sales since he was joined five years later by Kohli, a vegetarian yoga practitioner.

Tags: vegan products | vegan purses

World Go Vegan Days

IDA

Don't forget the World GO VEGAN Days, starting 10/27 and running through Sunday. Work a little extra at getting pamphlets out, baking and sharing vegan goodies, etc., etc. Follow the link, be creative, and get the word out: Veganism has never been easier or more urgently necessary than ever before!

Tags: World Go Vegan Days | IDA

Muffins and Cookbooks

School has caused a bit of a cooking/baking hiatus for me, but I couldn't resist making these muffins. They taste like pumpkin pie in a muffin and are absolutely perfect for autumn. The recipe is "The Best Pumpkin Muffins" from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

In other cookbook news, Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero have release their new cookbook, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It's gotten fabulous reviews and is a must have for serious vegan (and not so serious or not so vegan) bakers.

The Vegan Lunch Box cookbook has also been released. Author Jennifer McCann blogged about her son's unique vegan school lunches for a year and has now released the recipes. I know that as a student and a huge fan of Jennifer's blog, this book is at the top of my list. Shipping is free on domestic U.S. orders and you can request to get your book signed, free of charge.


Tags: vegan recipes | vegan cookbooks

Unhappy hunting

I’ve just read this fascinating article by Tristram Stuart, author of the book The Bloodless Revolution: Radical Vegetarians and the Discovery of India, in which he argues that vegetarianism could help global warming, but says that even staunch vegans contribute to animal cruelty, and goes on to expound the virtues of hunting. In this final point, his reasoning is sound and logical, but requires an ability to rationalise the killing of animals in the same way that politicians rationalise the killing of innocent children in warfare: that it’s for the greater good. While it may be true, for many of us, me included, these cold calculations are impossible to make. Maybe I’m just too sensitive, but I couldn’t shoot a deer so that the forest can regenerate properly. But do I condemn his actions, or accept that, while it’s a dirty job, someone has to do it?

Vegan Diet Can be Beneficial

Nooo... Really?

13WHAM-TV reports on a study published in Diabetes Care demonstrating that a vegan diet is more effective at treating Type 2 diabetes symptoms than the American Diabetes Association's recommended standard diet.

40 percent of vegan eaters in the study were able to get off their medications. The average dieter lost 14 pounds. Subjects on the standard diabetes diet lost only about half that, and only about 1 in 4 reduced their diabetes medications.

Tags: diabetes | health

Travellin’ man

I’ve got two kids, both veggie, and sometimes it can be a bit tricky when we go travelling. For anyone in a similar situation, the website kidscantravel.com may provide some useful tips and inspiration. It also includes a couple of articles from the Vegan Lunch Box blogger on travelling specifically with vegan kids. One is called Eating on the road and the other, A vegan campfire, is about camping with vegan kids. I’d like to add to this one that portable barbeques are great for veggie camping. Not only can you do veggie sausages and the like, but courgettes, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, tofu and sweet corn all taste delicious barbequed and eaten in the great outdoors.

Make sure your vegetarian diet is healthy

MSNBC.com | Eating Well

Despite the headline, this piece is one of the most veg-friendly articles I've ever seen from a major publication, including such quotable passages as:

Unlike carnivores, who eat meat and dairy products, vegetarians don’t have to worry as much about consuming artery-clogging saturated fats found in animal protein sources. On top of this, vegetarian foods also have heart-healthy fats.

And:

With a little planning, a vegetarian diet can be satisfying, healthy, and good for your waistline.

And, "...there are no downsides to a vegetarian diet."

That said, readers are warned that vegans are "at the greatest risk for nutritional deficiencies, including protein, calcium, vitamin B12, and iron." While this may be true of calcium, B-12, and iron, I haven't read of any protein deficiencies, and the quote does make it sound like a fairly scary diet, which is not so good. If you're thinking of going ovo-lacto and have parents that are concerned about it, then this might be a good article to show them. If vegan, be prepared to show them how you plan to take in adequate nutrients to offset that last quote.

Tags: health | nutrition

Not mincing their words

Peta UK has launched an advertising campaign in northern England with the tagline "Feeding Kids Meat Is Child Abuse". Well, I’m all for kids being veggie, both my own are, but to call someone who gives their kid meat a child abuser is going a bit far, I reckon. You might as well say you’re a child abuser if you live in a city, because you’re exposing your kids to pollution. Still, maybe the starkness of the message will make some people stop and think, and maybe that’s what they’re getting at.

How to start a bun fight

The Sydney Morning Herald | Entertainment | Film

More on Fast Food Nation and vegetarian director Richard Linklater as the film's October 26th release date nears.

Participant Productions has an activist-oriented site tied into the film (all their films, including An Inconvenient Truth feature action campaigns, and Fox Searchlight has a pretty slick little site, too.

The Fox Searchlight site quotes major NY Times critic Manohla Dargis as calling it "The most essential political film from an American director since Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11..."

I love the tagline: "You want lies with that?" Awesome! And there's even a doyouwantlieswiththat.com page, which has a fun interactive quiz that plays with lies. I tried it out and laughed out loud, so maybe it's worth a peek.

Only one question remains: How do I get on the guest-list for the L.A. premiere?

Tags: Fast Food Nation | Richard Linklater

Fans of Vegetarian Times and/or Real Food Daily might find this interesting

Market Wire | PRESS RELEASE: Ann Gentry Named Executive Chef for Vegetarian Times

It's the usual breathless press release, but it does make sense, assuming Vegetarian Times is leaning more toward vegan recipes, and less on ovo-lacto options. Here's a brief snippet:

"From the moment I tasted Ann's food at Real Food Daily, I knew she would be the perfect ambassador for the magazine," said Mary Margaret Chappell, editor-in-chief of Vegetarian Times. "She's the rare gem of a chef who can make healthy, vegetarian fare deliciously accessible to all diners. I can't wait for her to share her expertise and recipes with our readers."

Tags: Real Food Daily | Vegetarian Times | vegan recipes

Schwarzenegger Signs Bill That Ends Secrecy about Meat Recalls

Consumers Union (via Common Dreams)

Law Targets State’s Secrecy Agreement With USDA That Has Kept Consumers In the Dark About Contaminated Beef and Poultry

SACRAMENTO - October 2 - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill, SB 611 (Speier), that allows California public health officers to notify the public of the names of retailers that receive USDA-recalled meat and poultry, so that consumers can better protect themselves from food-borne illnesses.

In 2002, California’s Department of Health Services (DHS) signed a secrecy agreement with USDA, agreeing not to release the names of the stores and restaurants where tainted, USDA-recalled beef and poultry have been shipped and sold. Federal and California state agencies maintain that secrecy is necessary in order to protect the proprietary interests of the beef and poultry industries. But eighty percent of Californians believe that the public should be told the names of retail stores and restaurants that receive and sell potentially contaminated, USDA-recalled beef and poultry, according to a 2006 Field Research Corporation survey. Greater than eight in ten Californians (84%) favor mandatory recalls when unacceptable levels of contaminants are found in beef and poultry products, compared to just 11% who favor the current system of voluntary company recalls.

“Most Californians want meat producers to be required to come forward when they suspect contamination of their products. And most Californians don’t want to be left in the dark about which stores and restaurants are selling tainted meat. By signing this bill, the Governor has shown his commitment to protecting the health of California families and the safety of the food supply.” said Elisa Odabashian, Director of Consumers Union’s West Coast Office.

In 2004, California was one of seven states that received a shipment of beef products subject to a USDA recall because it included meat and bones from the first U.S. cow that tested positive for mad cow disease (the country’s third confirmed case of mad cow disease was discovered on March 10, 2006 in Alabama). But California consumers had no way of knowing which grocery stores and restaurants received the products because the state had agreed with the USDA to keep that information secret. The state’s secrecy agreement covers all recalls of unsafe beef and poultry—not just those that involve mad cow disease. The names of retailers selling recalled beef and poultry products tainted with other hazards, such as E. coli and listeria, are also kept secret from the public under the current agreement.

“The Field survey shows what we’ve suspected all along: Californians want to know whether the meat and poultry they are buying could be hazardous to their health. Common sense dictates that consumers should have a right to this information,” Odabashian said. “The state’s secrecy agreement with the USDA protects the beef and poultry industry while putting California consumers at risk.”

“Governor Schwarzenegger’s enactment of this law is in line with the Field survey’s numbers that show a large majority of Californians, across the geographic, socio-economic, racial, ethnic, religious, and political spectrum, wanting to know which retail stores and restaurants receive shipments of recalled beef or poultry products,” said Odabashian. “Californians can now be assured that, at least in this state, the government agencies charged with protecting them from food-borne illnesses are not keeping secrets that could kill them or their family members.”

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Tags: food-borne illness | meat recalls