Many years ago one of our members wanted to purchase a
higher model Volvo without leather seats. He was unable to obtain this, and the
sales person said, “You do not eat the seats, you know!” Volvo has
now announced they will offer vegan and sustainable alternatives. “The
impetus behind the move to vegan leather is based in company concerns about
animal welfare — the negative environmental impacts of cattle farming,
including deforestation.” However, at this point, the company will still
offer wool blends. Volvo Cars is also looking at ways to reduce the use of
residual products from livestock production commonly used within or in the
production of plastics, rubber, lubricants, and adhesives.
Don’t be afraid to speak up and promote your vegan values when making purchases. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that many of us kept requesting vegan donuts, burgers, milks, shoes, etc. at stores. If enough people ask, change will eventually happen.
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.
It’s the spookiest night of the year… and you
want to give out vegan candy to all the little ghouls and goblins that knock on
your door. But what to do? Are there vegan Halloween candy options? YES! We’ve
got you covered.
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.
Rissa Miller’s article Don’t
Pull the Wool Over Your Eyes that appeared in a previous issue of Vegetarian
Journal educates readers on which yarns are vegan. Many yarns and fibers
are made from wool or wool blends (sometimes listed as merino) and are not
vegan.
You’re in the same dark and crowded
room you’ve been in since you were born, 6 years ago. You’re being pushed into
a truck. You see sunlight for the first time, through the windows of the truck.
Are you being freed? You find out the ugly truth when you are forced out of the
truck and into… the slaughterhouse. You are beaten into a small cage. Watching
your friends be beaten, thrown, or stabbed to death. You choke on toxic air as
you kick and scream until death. Sadly, this is what happens every time you
have bacon, ham, pork, or ribs. Each time you are causing the suffering of an
innocent animal. And that’s only what happens to pigs. Going vegan is easy and
worth it for the suffering you don’t cause.
I learned the truth three years ago when I went vegan. I was a big meat
eater but also considered myself an animal lover. My older sister and mom went
vegan and tried to force me to watch documentaries of the slaughtering of
animals. I refused. One night, after a dinner through them talking about
suffering, I had a dream. I had to face each animal I had eaten. I heard the
screams of “why?” “Why would you put us through that?” They wanted to kill me.
They wanted to show me how much suffering I had really caused.
That morning I went from your regular chicken nugget lover, to a full
vegan. The transition can be weird but pretty soon I no longer looked at the
animal products as food I was missing out on but instead an animal who has to
suffer for that bite. I was picky too. I didn’t even like French fries! And for
pizza I had to get it with no sauce. But when I went vegan I ended up not
limiting the foods I liked to eat but I expanded. I tried new things and really
liked them.
If ten-year-old me can go vegan so can you! Some may say that a vegan
diet is expensive but it doesn’t have to be. A can of chickpeas can cost a
dollar while a dead chicken can cost 4-20 dollars! Even restaurants are moving
towards cheaper vegan meals. At Chipotle the sofritas cost the same as chicken
and are cheaper than steak. Also tofu and beans can last longer than meat so
you can worry less about it going bad. So why are you still eating expensive
animal corpses when you can be eating cheaper, healthier food that comes from
plants? Now is the best time too! With the pandemic you don’t have to worry as
much about people judging you and there’s a vegan version of everything so you
don’t even have to give up some of your favorite foods.
Being vegan has tons of benefits other than cost. Animal agriculture
produces more greenhouse gasses than all travel put together. The decision to
go vegan could be the decision of the next generation having a future or not.
And as for the animals their decision is already made. They don’t get a say if
they want to be food or not. If COVID has taught us anything it’s how it feels
to be locked up or have loved ones taking away. The animals live this way their
whole lives only to be brutally killed. Cows have best friends too that are
stressed when apart. Pigs are just as smart as dogs and would respond to their
name being called. Cows are forced into pregnancy and then have their child
ripped away from them right after birth. Only so we can drink the milk that was
meant for the baby. Male chicks are grinded alive because they are useless to
the industry. The animals suffer and the planet is dying all so you can have
that one bite.
So why are you paying money to kill our planet and make animals suffer?
Does it really taste that different from the alternatives? Is all the cruelty
that you cause that worth it? That’s your decision. You can keep eating that
overpriced animal corpse cause it’s only going to cost us the future of the
planet, a life of suffering and a brutal murder. Or you could just go vegan.
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):
Berbere,
510 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
With the goal of offering the best combination possible of
both flavor and nutrition, Berbere’s menu is Ethiopian with a twist—or, as its
website admits: “not your typical menu.” Its menu is quite expansive, with some
gluten-free options, and offering Breakfast, Lunch (Salads, Small Plates, and
House Specialties), and Desert plus a Kids’ Menu and drinks that include juices
and smoothies. You can see where the twist comes in with items like the T&T
Breakfast Burrito, made with scrambled tofu, bulgur, and potato, wrapped in a
whole wheat tortilla and served with tangfaye sauce, or the Et Twist Tacos that
include lentils, mushrooms, and cilantro.
Dear
Bella Creamery, 1253 Vine St. # 12, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Flavors change seasonally at this vegan ice cream parlor.
They offer scoops, pints, Build-Your-Own Sammie, sundaes, floats, shakes, and
soft-serve, ice cream cakes.
Fancy
Plants Restaurant, 1443 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL 60614
Fancy Plants Restaurant is a vegan farm-to-table
restaurant that offers a variety of breakfast and lunch items throughout the
day. House-made baked goods include cinnamon rolls, muffins, and croissants
(plain, almond, and chocolate). The daily lunch specials include classics such
as BLT sandwiches with tempeh bacon as well as seasonal items such as grilled
mushroom focaccia sandwiches and breaded eggplant sandwiches with house-made
giardiniera. Their expanded weekend brunch menu includes tofu scrambles, cashew
ricotta toast, and cauliflower wings, and waffles. The menu changes frequently,
so check for updated offerings.
Float
Dreamery, 1255 E. Palmer St., Philadelphia, PA 19125
Float Dreamery sells their vegan gelato out of a local
Italian market window every Saturday. The gelato combines a coconut and oat
milk base with several add-ins including cookies, cakes, and marshmallow fluff.
Their menu changes regularly and always includes unique flavors such as
birthday cake with marshmallow fluff, chocoLOT with chocolate chips and sauce,
and Canadian coffee with a maple espresso base. They sell by the pint and also make
ice cream sandwiches and soft serve. Flavors are announced on Fridays.
Preorders are recommended for pints.
Gãia
& Loki, 346 Grove St., Jersey City, NJ 07302
This all-vegan restaurant in downtown Jersey City (2
minutes from the Grove St. PATH station and not far from the Holland Tunnel to
Manhattan) serves up fresh, healthy food amidst a cool ambiance, with sleek
navy, white and silver décor. Serves a
choice of salads, sandwiches/burgers, and more unusual choices such as Filipino
style lumpia/spring roll, with several choices of each, with options including
vegan feta, fake meat, and mushrooms. Although they do not serve alcohol, they
allow patrons to bring their own.
Grilled!, 264 Sudyam, Brooklyn, NY 11237
Locate in the Bushwick section of
Brooklyn, Grilled! serves burgers, dogs, sandwiches, subs, and sides. They have
a kid’s menu and offer shakes and desserts as well.
The
Happy Pig, 1503 Bellmore Ave., Bellmore, NY 11710
Food options from this food truck include a soy/seitan
based fried chick’n sandwich, tacos, chick’n in a bucket, empanadas, potato
tots, and quesadillas.
Herban
Vegans, 1809 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202
Herban Vegans started in 2017 as a meal prep and pop-up
service, operating in local Cincinnati breweries and cafes. With its initial
success, in 2021 it was able to expand into its own location, across the street
from the historic Findlay Market. Wanting to prove that homestyle cooking can
be vegan and healthy and still delicious, Herban Vegans prides itself on its
herbed and spiced creations with a focus on vegan seafood, which every vegan,
whether new or experienced, can attest is quite the challenge. Herban Vegan has
pulled it off, however, based on the rave reviews for its dishes including the
Krab Cakes, the Baja Tacos, and the Po Boy Sandwich. The meal plan service,
which includes a subscription option, further increases its appeal to vegans
and non-vegans alike.
Versatile cauliflower
can take center stage for dinner! Try these seasoned “steaks” for a dramatic
supper.
(Serves
4-5)
2 Tablespoons vegan margarine, melted
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Salt, to taste
1 head cauliflower
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment
paper.
In a small bowl, combine melted
vegan margarine, olive oil, and all spices. Stir until well mixed, the texture
will be like a paste.
Remove exterior leaves from
cauliflower. Slice through the entire cauliflower vertically, making it into 6
steaks, each about 1 inch thick. Smear cauliflower slices with spice paste,
coating both sides of each slice evenly. Place on prepared sheet pan.
Bake 12-15 minutes per side,
flipping once during baking. Finished cauliflower should be tender and lightly
browned. Serve warm with your preferred vegan side dishes or sauce.
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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