Posted on
December 21, 2021 by
The VRG Blog Editor
Due to the generosity of an
anonymous donor, The Vegetarian Resource Group each year will award $20,000 in college
scholarship money to graduating U.S. high school students who have promoted
veganism/vegetarianism in their schools and/or communities. Vegetarians do not
eat meat, fish, or fowl. Vegans are vegetarians who do not use other animal
products such as dairy or eggs.
One award of $10,000 and two awards
of $5,000 will be given. Entries may only be sent by students
graduating from high school in spring 2022. Deadline is February
20, 2022. We will accept applications postmarked on or before February
20, 2021. Early submission is encouraged!
Applicants will be judged on having
shown compassion, courage, and a strong commitment to promoting a peaceful
world through a vegan/vegetarian diet/lifestyle. Payment will be made to the
student’s college (U.S. based only). Winners of the scholarships give
permission to release their names to the media. Applications and essays become
property of The Vegetarian Resource Group. We may ask finalists for more
information. Scholarship winners are contacted by e-mail or telephone. Please
look at your e-mail.
Posted on
December 18, 2021 by
The VRG Blog Editor
By Rissa Miller, Senior Editor Vegetarian Journal
(Makes 60 small, bite-sized pieces)
photo by Rissa Miller
These old-fashioned favorites get a seasonal twist—cool,
refreshing peppermint with smooth, elegant chocolate will upgrade your
vegan marshmallow treats to the next level. It’s like a minty hot chocolate in
a square!
7 cups chocolate puffed rice cereal (such as One Degree,
Nature’s Path, or Love Grown)*
3 Tablespoons vegan chocolate chips, optional, to garnish
Prepare a 9- x 13-inch casserole with non-stick spray or
parchment paper or both. Set aside.
In a large pot, melt the vegan margarine on the stove until
just liquid, then add the Dandies. Stir with a silicone or rubber spatula
almost constantly over very low heat to melt the vegan marshmallows completely.
This may take several minutes and will require regular attention. When the
marshmallows are melted it will look like a large, soft glob. Add the extracts
and stir in, then pour in the chocolate rice cereal. Working quickly,
fold the cereal into the melted marshmallow combination. This might take
some muscle.
Turn mixture out into the prepared casserole pan and press
down using your hands until flat. Allow to cool at least 45-60 minutes before
decorating or cutting.
To decorate with chocolate drizzles, pour vegan chocolate
chips into a glass or ceramic dish and microwave 10 seconds at a time on 50%
power. Repeat until smooth and melty when stirred. Using a fork drizzle evenly
over the uncut treats. Allow chocolate to set up in a cool place at least 30
minutes before cutting to serve.
To serve, cut a knife or bench scraper sprayed with
non-stick spray to slice the treats into 60 small, bite-sized pieces. They will
be sticky but the nostalgia and seasonal flavors are loads of fun!
* Note that as of this writing, Kellog’s Rice Krispie cereal
is not vegan because of animal-sourced D3. But the other cereals listed all
work in the recipe and are vegan-friendly and gluten-free.
Posted on
December 18, 2021 by
The VRG Blog Editor
From TisBest: “I’m happy to share that along with a great
group of people, we’ll soon be offering 20,000 free Charity Gift Cards (at $50
each) to donate to the charities of your choice. There were no strings attached
– my hope was simply that you would experience the joy of receiving a
charitable gift rather than a traditional one.”– Ray Dalio
“Get a $50 Charity Gift Card to donate to your favorite charities from Ray
Dalio, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Jewel, Arianna Huffington, Gayle King, Kevin Systrom,
Ashton Kutcher, Paul Tudor Jones, and Mila Kunis.
Sign up now to be one of the first to know when our new giveaway goes live.”
TisBest
says: We’re on a mission to #RedefineGifting
through philanthropy and replace gifts of stuff with the gift of good. We
created Charity Gift Cards so that you can give non-material gifts, spread more
good deeds in the world, and help your gift recipients support the causes they
love!
Posted on
December 17, 2021 by
The VRG Blog Editor
Photo from Ba Bar Green
The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to
Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA
and Canada.
Here are some recent vegan restaurant additions. The entire guide can be found
here: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php
To support the updating of this online restaurant guide,
please donate at: www.vrg.org/donate
Here are some new additions to VRG’s guide (Note: Due to
the COVID-19 pandemic many are doing take-out
and/or delivery now):
Ba
Bar Green, 500 Terry Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109
All-vegan, gluten-free takeout window attached to
non-vegan Vietnamese restaurant and cocktail bar Ba Bar South Lake Union. Offers tasty vegan versions of street food
from all over SE Asia: Vietnam-style Bánh Mì, Singapore-style Lemongrass
Noodle, Malaysia-style Laksa (coconut curry), Laos-style crispy rice etc. Take
the food in the main restaurant/bar with a purchase of a drink, at the patio
seating, or two blocks North to eat by the lake at the Lake Union Park by the
Museum of History and Industry and Center for Wooden Boats.
Bar
Vegan, 205 Lark St., Albany, NY 12210
Sushi, chili, salads, stuffed avocados, and other
delectable dishes are on the menu. This tapas and cocktail bar has a relaxing,
romantic, and upbeat ambiance.
La
Lus Vegan Café, 313 Warren St., Beverly, NJ 08010
There are a number of tasty items on the menu, including
vegan beef Cheezesteak, falafel, zucchini fries, Honey I’m Home Cornbread,
banana pudding, and more. Excellent customer service and an accessible location
with parking on the street. There is a limited number of seats available.
Nice
Biscuit, 2324 Court St., Syracuse, NY 13208
Soft, buttery, and warm southern-style biscuit sandwiches,
biscuits, and spread are on the menu. They also offer sweet biscuits for
dessert.
Ornithology
Jazz Club, 6 Suydam St., Brooklyn, NY 11221
Ornithology serves dishes such as Chana Masala and
Chinatown Fried Bowls, as well as tortizza and organic wines from local
breweries. It’s a fantastic place to listen to live jazz music.
Pizza
Verde, 5716 Locke Ave., Fort Worth, TX 76107
Pizza Verde offers marguerite, potato leek, and Verde
pizzas, plus so much more. Also enjoy Bruschetta or a house salad.
Soulfully
Vegan, location varies in CT
Soulfully Vegan is a vegan food truck that serves classic
American fast foods like their Big Boy Burger and their Chili Cheese Fries. You
can check their current and future locations on their website.
The
Sudra, 4589 SW Watson Ave., Beaverton, OR 97005
The Sudra is a vegan Indian restaurant with full bar.
Enjoy foods including lentil kofta bowl, samosas, pakora, and chickpea cutlets.
Don’t miss their weekday Happy Hour with terrific food specials.
Trap
Vegan, 20198 Livernois, Detroit, MI 48221
Jackfruit bowls, acai bowls, salads, vegan cheese burgers,
fries, and more are available.
Posted on
December 17, 2021 by
The VRG Blog Editor
According to Reuters,
“Canadian drug developer Medicago’s plant-based COVID-19 vaccine
candidate, enhanced by GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK.L)
booster, was 75.3% effective against the Delta variant of the virus in a late
stage study.” … “Medicago will imminently seek regulatory approval
for the world’s first plant-based COVID-19 vaccine from Health Canada as part
of its rolling submission.”
The contents of this posting, website, and our
other publications, including The Vegetarian Journal, are not intended
to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a
qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient
information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a
statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be
made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for
you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.
Posted on
December 16, 2021 by
The VRG Blog Editor
The Vegetarian Resource Group is a
vegan activist non-profit organization that does outreach all-year-long. For
example, VRG has been participating in numerous virtual events throughout the
USA by providing speakers on a wide variety of vegan topics. We also send
literature free of charge to other groups/individuals doing educational
activities in schools, hospitals, camps, restaurants, libraries, offices, etc.
Our ability to continue doing this depends on people like you! Your donations
allow us to promote the vegan message whenever we’re called upon for
assistance. Please consider becoming a monthly, quarterly, or single-time donor
to The Vegetarian Resource Group.
Thanks so much for your support.
You can make a donation online here: www.vrg.org/donate
Posted on
December 16, 2021 by
The VRG Blog Editor
By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
The VRG recently reported in October 2021 on “animal-free” whey protein developed by Perfect Day.
To be clear, Perfect Day’s whey protein is not taken directly from cow’s milk. It is produced by microorganisms possessing bovine-derived genetic material coding for whey. The bovine genetic information was taken from a virtual DNA library and based on actual genetic material (as stated in our earlier article and on Perfect Day’s website) “…taken from the blood of 8-year-old L1 Dominette 01449, a cow living in Montana, in 2009.”
The resulting whey protein is functionally identical to cow’s whey. This means it performs the same roles just like cow’s whey in foods and beverages. For example, it could be used as a fat replacer, emulsifier, or texturizer.
Because “animal-free” whey is genetically identical to cow’s milk whey, people with cow’s milk allergies should avoid the “animal-free” whey protein as well as stay away from cow’s milk and ingredients derived from it.
In our previous article, we listed a few seemingly non-dairy ice cream brands that already use this whey protein. We also predicted that Perfect Day’s “animal-free” whey – as well as “animal-free” caseins that are proteins also found in cow’s milk – would soon become widely used in a large number of other food and beverage products.
So, it was no surprise to read about the launch in November 2021 of an “animal-free” cream cheese alternative by food giant General Mills.
Called Bold Cultr, this cream cheese product is labeled with the phrase “contains milk allergens” on the front and back of the container. This statement alerts consumers with dairy sensitivities or allergies.
The bovine gene-derived whey appears on the ingredients label of this product as “non-animal whey protein (contains milk allergens).”
Natural flavors in Bold Cultur cream cheese alternative
Bold Cultr cream cheese alternative also contains unspecified natural flavors. Knowing that these could be animal-derived, we reached out to the company for more information in mid-November 2021. We have not received a reply yet.
Palm oil in Bold Cultr cream cheese alternative
Interested readers concerned about the environmental impacts of food ingredients should note the second ingredient on the label (after water) is “oil blend (palm oil and palm kernel oil).”
Being a major ingredient in a food means it is present in a large, albeit unspecified, amount according to p. 17 of the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Labeling Guide.
Production of palm oil ingredients is associated with the massive destruction of mangrove forests and mass extinction of species (such as orangutans and rhinos). Mangrove forests in particular are known to be huge carbon sinks that absorb carbon emissions responsible for accelerating our climate crisis. Without mangrove forests, greenhouse gases are likely to build up more quickly in the atmosphere.
Where is Bold Cultr cream cheese alternative sold?
According to Food Navigator – USA, Bold Cultur cream cheese is currently available at select Hy-Vee stores in Minnesota. The company website states that it will soon be available for purchase online, at cafes, through foodservice, and in many retail outlets.
A General Mills blog says Minneapolis-based Rise Bagel Company will begin offering this cream cheese alternative in January 2022.
Food Navigtor – USA also reports that select Starbucks locations in the Pacific Northwest are testing milk and dairy products from Perfect Day.
Right now, Bold Cultur cream cheese alternative is available in plain flavor only, although strawberry and chive & onion flavors are in development.
Which food and beverage products contain “animal-free” whey?
Besides the ice cream brands we listed in our Perfect Day Post, here’s a list of food products containing bovine gene-derived whey that have already launched or will do very soon:
A recent post on the General Mills website states that cheese alternative slices and shreds are in the planning stages. No date for their debut is specified.
Are “animal-free” proteins including lab-based meat really vegan?
Many vegans would probably believe that proteins manufactured by genetically engineered microbes containing animal-derived genetic blueprints are not vegan. There is still an animal substance involved in making such proteins.
However, the companies producing these “animal-free” proteins can have a different opinion.
For instance, on its website FAQ page, Bold Cultur includes this Q&A:
“Is BoldCultr vegan?
Yes – BoldCultr products do not contain any ingredients from animals.”
There’s no question that “animal-free” dairy products and “lab-based meat” are challenging the definition of vegan. For example, Dr. Uma Valeti, founder and CEO of the “cultured” meat company Upside Foods that uses animal stem cells to create its products including meatballs, chicken, and duck, stated in a recent Fortune article:
“…I think we’re going to challenge the definition of veganism and what veganism actually means if you become a vegan because of animal welfare and environmental reasons,” he said. “If you are vegan because you just don’t want to eat anything animal-based, we are animal-based. We are animal cells. So I think we’re going to challenge the definition and there’ll be more very large conversations on the philosophy behind the definition of vegan.”
If you’re a vegan, make your views known. Encourage clear labeling of products stating if animal stem cells were used to create the foods, so consumers can make choices.
What’s next for “animal-free” dairy proteins?
There are numerous business startups hoping to create “animal-free” cheeses using casein proteins made by microbes that have been programmed with bovine-derived genetic material containing the codes for caseins.
In cellular agriculture using precision fermentation, microorganisms are transformed into cell factories churning out large quantities of targeted animal proteins starting from animal genes alone.
Food Technologists consider manufacturing cheese in this manner more challenging than producing “animal-free” whey. Casein proteins in cheese are more structurally complex than whey proteins and difficult to replicate in the lab. So, “cow-less” cheeses are not yet available in restaurants or stores. By comparison, food and beverage products containing “animal-free” whey are.
However, several companies are working hard to get “animal-free” caseins to function in their cheese products just like those from cow’s milk do.
For example, Change Foods, whose CEO is vegan, plans to launch its “animal-free” cheese in 2023.
New Culture – with its slogan “cow cheese without the cow” – intends on launching its “animal-free” mozzarella cheese in pizza restaurants at the end of 2022 and then more broadly in retail outlets in 2023.
Vegans and people with milk allergies may wish to check back frequently to The VRG blog for more articles on this emerging food trend.
The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.
Posted on
December 15, 2021 by
The VRG Blog Editor
Have you ever wondered if an
ingredient listed on a food label is vegan or not? The Vegetarian Resource
Group has an online guide to food ingredients that lets you now whether a
specific food ingredient is vegan, vegetarian, non-vegetarian, typically vegan,
typically vegetarian, may be non-vegetarian, or typically non-vegetarian.
The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on veganism and the interrelated issues of health, nutrition, ecology, ethics, and world hunger. We have been helping health professionals, food services, businesses, educators, students, vegans, and vegetarians since 1982. In addition to publishing the Vegan Journal, VRG produces and sells a number of books.
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