Heme Flavors photo from Impossible Foods

Chen Zeng, who recently complete his Master of Food Science at Cornell University, wrote the following.

With the advancement of gene-editing technology, we are seeing a lot of companies making animal-like food using yeasts, for example heme proteins by Impossible Foods. Yeasts are usually used in baking, brewing, and wine making and they are not born with the capability of producing animal-like proteins. Therefore, to make these animal-like proteins using yeast, a varied form of fermentation is used, commonly known as “precision fermentation.” It essentially means using gene-editing technology to engineer the yeasts, which enables them to produce animal-like proteins. To design the genetically engineered yeast, the targeted genes carrying the desired protein production trait in animals are selected from a DNA database. Thanks to genome sequencing, scientists were able to compile all the genetic information from animals into understandable codes and store them online. Therefore, no animals have to actually be involved in this process at this point. Yeasts are then inserted with the desired genes (based on animals) so that they produce these animal-like proteins in the same way they produced alcohol and CO2 by consuming sugar. Dairy proteins and egg proteins may be produced in this way. Impossible Foods’ heme proteins are a little different since the heme producing gene they used is isolated from soybean plants instead of animals. Because these proteins made by yeasts are identical molecules compared to the animal ones, they can be applied in producing dessert and dairy products that traditionally use egg and milk as well as in meat analog products to mimic the meaty taste. Although no animals may currently be used in producing these products, it is worth noting that these new ingredients may undergo animal testing to ensure they are safe for human consumption.

(Note from VRG editor: Not everyone will want to use products originally based on animal genes. However, if you do, note that there are many new products being developed in different ways, so you should check each to make sure there are no current animal inputs, as well as look at other aspects to decide if you want to use these products or not.)

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including The Vegetarian Journal/Vegan 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.

Greens with New Potatoes and Beans

Debra Daniel-Zeller’s piece “Warm Weather Salads Fit to Be Meals” includes recipes for Shiitake Mushroom, Quinoa and Greens with Toasted Cashews; Greens with New Potatoes and Kidney Beans; Spinach and Bean Salad with Mustard Croutons; Lime-Infused Black Bean, Corn, and Tomato Salad; 3-Bean Salad with Sweet Onions and Arugula; Soba Noodles with Marinated Tofu and Baby Kale; and Grilled Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Cashew Dressing. Her article can be found here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2015issue3/2015_issue3_salads_meals.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal, visit: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Share this handy poster with family and friends. You can also print it out and post it on your refrigerator. See: https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/VeganDietsinaNutshellPoster.pdf

Sicile wanted to become a vegetarian in second grade when she realized chicken was a “a chicken.” Not being in a vegetarian family, she eventually became vegetarian around sixth grade on her own, and now has been vegan about four years.

Sicile said, “I have worked to bring veganism to the world around me, through both community service and my curricular commitments at school.” In Brooklyn she volunteered at Community Solidarity, which distributes vegetarian produce and vegetarian meals to those in need. For her senior school project, she examined the accessibility of veganism for those with limited economic means. She compiled a cookbook with meals and servings sizes for families on a fully SNAP budget, so that individuals limited to EBT funds for food (food stamps) could afford these recipes. She said, “I made sure that all of my recipes were relatively easy and didn’t require large time commitments, whether it be for the cooking itself or just for the finding/purchasing of ingredients. Lastly, I also made sure to develop meals that are nutritious and have many of the nutrients that can go lacking in the diets of first-time vegans, such as iron and calcium.” You can see the beautifully illustrated recipes at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V8p5S5c7WFH27GhGnCko39UiNWLqie1T/edit Sicile did the cooking and photography herself.

In college, Sicile plans to study the intersection of political science and ethics, which includes food justice, and the way we can achieve it for everyone. She will be attending Princeton.

For information on other scholarship winners and applying for the next Vegetarian Resource Group college scholarship contest, see https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

Deadline is February 20th of each year.

To support additional VRG scholarships and internships, donate at vrg.org/donate, call (410) 366-8343, or mail contribution to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.

Photo from Paranormal Pizza Co.

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):

De Buena Planta, 1118 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291 and 2815 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026

De Buena Planta is a plant-based Mexican restaurant that serves orange pancakes, salsa verde chilaquiles, machaca con huevo tacos, and more.  Despite the small dine-in capacity, the outdoor seating is charming, with music playing overhead.

Eat Greenz, 2901 Marne Hwy., Mt. Laurel Township, NJ 08054

Vegetable dumplingz, chik’n’bites, chin chin, cookies, tossed noodles with chink’n bites, fried bulgur wheat, Khadijah wheat, uncle Elroy’s nachos, and a variety of other dishes are available at Eat Greenz.

Gatherer Sandwiches, 3864 Mission Blvd., San Diego, CA 92109

Among their core values, Gatherer Sandwiches lists sustainability in sourcing produce, monitoring kitchen waste, and packaging choices. Sandwiches have catchy names like Stranger in the Alps (with turkey and of course, Swiss cheese), Visible Valley, (chicken, cheddar, carrots and more dressed with Ranch—naturally) and Smiling Swine (Bakon, avocado and sprouts). All are served on warm Bread & Cie bread, many with pickles, banana peppers, and honey mustard. Want to supersize your veggies, how about extra sauce, cheese or protein? You can for just a small fee. Some GF options are available. Gatherer Sandwiches expresses their aim to strike a balance between fresh, innovative vegan cuisine and nostalgic sides like Dill potato salad or Hawaiian mac salad, distinguished by a creamy, sweet and sour mayonnaise-based sauce.

M & Love Café, 3319 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

M & Love Café offers grab-and-go meals, bagels with sweet and savory toppings, baked goods, snacks, and smoothies. Bagel toppings include classic almond butter, banana, and house-made cashew cream cheeze as well as more unusual combinations such as avocado, rose petals, and jalapeno-lime crema. Salads, wraps, and sandwiches are also available such as kale summer salad, chickpea tacos, and tempeh sandwiches. All sweets are made from scratch and include donuts, muffins, and cookies. All items are gluten-free.

Paranormal Pizza, 554 N. New St., Bethlehem, PA 18108

Located in downtown Bethlehem, specializes in all-vegan pizzas made from scratch, including making their own cashew cheese in house. Alternatives to cashew cheese are available for those with allergies, as are gluten-free pizzas (for an extra charge). Offerings include the Gibson Praise with soy bacon bits, onions and mushroom; Alien Bounty Hunter with garlic knot crust, seitan pepperoni, beyond sausage, and veggies; and build your own – in addition to secret menu vegan wings.

Vegiterranean Kitchen, 481 East High St., Moorpark, CA 93021

Vegiterranean Kitchen serves Mediterranean-style appetizers, soups, salads, pita wraps, entrees, and desserts. Weekly specials include the Mediterranean sautéed veggies rice bowl and the peaceful burger made with cracked wheat and Mediterranean spices. Appetizers and soups include classic stuffed grape leaves and lentil soup as well as chickpea kibbeh (chickpea balls with cracked wheat, tahini, onions, and walnuts served with a red pepper paste sauce). All entrees are served with pita and turnip pickles and include stuffed eggplant with tahini, white bean plaki with spicy tomato and onion sauce. For dessert, options such as tahini bread and turmeric cake are available.

Basic Meringue Cookies

Perhaps you’ve heard about Aquafaba. The liquid you’ve been draining from your beans all these years is actually surprisingly similar to raw egg whites and can be used for baking in much the same way. The liquid can be baked, whipped to make meringue, turned into marshmallows, or used to create uncanny cheese substitutes.

Laura McGuiness shares her experience baking with aquafaba in a past issue of Vegetarian Journal. She explains, “Aquafaba is still largely a mystery, even to scientists. The proteins and starches in the bean juice appear to mimic the proteins in egg whites, but the exact science leaves something to be desired. What we do know from an analysis by The Norwegian Food Research Institute is that aquafaba is mainly composed of starch and proteins. Because of the high starch content, aquafaba is able to form stable gels, which may aid in its ability to emulate egg whites.”

You’ll find the following recipes in this article along with photos of some of the baked items:
Basic Meringue Cookies
Baked Alaska
Lemon Apocalypse Pie
Chocolate Mousse
Walnut Fudge
Lemon Dacquoise

The article can be found here: Aquafabulous

To subscribe to Vegan Journal, visit: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Hiking, walking, and camping are great ways to get outside, enjoy nature, and unwind from your day-to-day life. We’ve got all the info you need to put together your own sweet or savory trails mixes, make vegan homemade oatmeal bars, and more. These ideas are great for the outdoors or car trips or even just to keep handy for snacking.

See video at https://youtu.be/IpYVzxt7OKQ

Recipe for Cherry Ginger Oat Bars: https://www.vrg.org/blog/2022/02/18/cherry-lime-ginger-oat-bars/

Vegan Hiking Boot Guide: https://www.vrg.org/blog/2022/03/10/vegan-hiking-boots-sold-online-in-the-usa-canada-and-europe/

Recipe for Homemade Trail Mixes: https://www.vrg.org/blog/2022/02/16/trail-mixes/

Vegan Hiking On the Appalachian Trail: https://www.vrg.org/blog/2020/01/29/hiking-while-vegan/

The contents of this website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal and Vegan 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.

With some stops and starts, Laila began her process towards becoming vegetarian in seventh grade. In her junior year, she helped to establish a new club called Sprouting Change, which had numerous campaigns around food justice, animal rights, and sustainability.

Laila is in the Culinary Academy at her high school. She brought up the idea to her chef that they make vegetarian recipes at least once a week, and worked towards creating an alternative curriculum for students who wish to pursue a plant-based pathway. As a result of her efforts, the instructor Chef has adopted more vegan-friendly practices. For example, instead of having students in his class cook chicken wings, students are assigned to prepare buffalo cauliflower bites. Steak skewers were swapped for mushroom skewers with a vegan bordelaise sauce after Laila suggested this in her sophomore year.

Laila Jeffries-El was a co-captain of her school’s ProStart team, which competed in the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association statewide high school competition, where they present a business plan to industry professionals. She suggested they make the menu completely vegan, and developed a Filipino restaurant concept with menu items, marketing tactics, a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), interior décor elements, kitchen layout, and even a mock floor plan. Menu items included shiitake mushroom steamed buns, green papaya salad, a peanut stew called kare-kare, and ube donuts for dessert. Laila wrote, “We aim to serve traditional Filipino food, while fostering sustainable practices in doing so… We are choosing to opt out of supporting meat production. By providing alternatives to meat and other animal products, we seek to help customers realize that food can be delicious while helping to reduce the carbon footprint.” Her team took second prize in the statewide contest.

Laila wants to continue “fighting for justice in my community. I hope that we will make improvements in the future generations in regard to racial equality … I plan to pursue Business and Economics in college. I will continue to educate myself on the inner workings of monetary and finance, and how I can use these skills to inform others. I would also love to be in a world where we no longer have to worry about global warming … I strive to promote the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle to a broader community.”

For information on other winners and applying for the next Vegetarian Resource Group college scholarship contest, see https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

Deadline is February 20 of each year.

To support additional VRG scholarships and internships, donate at vrg.org/donate, call (410) 366-8343, or mail contribution to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.

Recent topics brought up include:

– Mentioned summer camps offering vegan options.

– Parent posted: “I’m looking for quick vegan lunch ideas for toddlers attending a nut-free school. We have twin, 3.5 y/o daughters who are not picky eaters but we pretty much rotate the same 3-4 lunches each week.” Suggestions were given by other families.

– Shared: Are you searching for vegan sporting goods? If so, you might want to check out Eco Sports. Here you’ll find items for both children and adults including basket balls, soccer balls, and volley balls.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids is intended to be a group that offers support for families raising children on vegan diets and for vegan kids around the world. We envision it as a place to get advice about a wide-variety of topics: pregnancy, birthday parties, school lunches, Halloween, non-leather apparel, cruelty-free products, summer camps, and more. Please use it as a place to share your wisdom, seek advice, or just find a sympathetic ear. The goal is to offer support.

Consequently, any profane, defamatory, offensive, or violent language will be removed. Feel free to disagree, but do so respectfully. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. We expect that posts should relate to vegan diets and lifestyles. The Vegetarian Resource Group reserves the right to monitor all content and ban any user who posts in violation of the above rules, any law or regulation, SPAM, or anything otherwise off topic.

Please share this information with any veggie families that you know! Thanks.

Here is a song called Look into my Eyes from a musical I’ve written and this scene is when a young calf is pleading for its life. The story is about a dairy farming family and the youngest neurodivergent daughter who befriends a calf. It is inspired by Animal Farm, Beatrix Potter, Okja and all the wonderful people I’m lucky enough to know. I wondered if you might share it? I’m trying to get a production to tour round schools to hopefully inspire some young people to become vegan. Thanks, Hero HERO DOUGLAS