Despite the present pandemic, The Vegetarian Resource Group continues to be very busy on a daily basis. Below are some examples of successes and activities. Your support through Combined Federal Charity (CFC) or your Local/State Campaign is greatly appreciated! You can also donate directly to VRG at vrg.org/donate

Here’s a sampling of some of our accomplishments and outreach:

● VRG Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, did a webinar on a Plant-Based Diet for 31 Days. Reed also spoke at six virtual seminars for the San Jose Public Library in California. There were separate sessions for teens and parents. VRG interns assisted. Reed also supervised a Mexican graduate student intern from Wageningen University in the Netherlands who completed an extensive project on vegan Latin American foods high in calcium.

● Our VRG volunteer health coach Marcia Schveibinz conducted a webinar for the Lafayette, Louisiana Public Library.

● VRG commissioned a YouGov national youth poll to find out how many 8- to 17-year-olds are vegan or vegetarian. Results are published in Vegetarian Journal and at vrg.org

● The Vegetarian Resource Group submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration on Labeling of Foods Comprised of or Containing Cultured Seafood cells. See: vrg.org/blog/2021/03/10/the-vegetarian-resource-group-submitted-this-testimony-to-the-fda-concerning-labeling-of-seafood-produced-from-cultured-seafood-cells/

● VRG researcher Jeanne Yacoubou did a podcast with one of VRG’s interns discussing the environmental impacts of diets. Based on his questions, Jeanne will also be doing some updated research on chocolate, bone char, and gelatin. We’ll report on this in the future. Jeanne also compiled a list of several recent (2015 to the present) scientific reports that reveal the relationships between dietary choices and our climate crisis. See vrg.org/blog/2021/02/24/vegan-and-vegetarian-diets-and-our-climate-emergency-scientific-updates-2015-2021/

● VRG donated money to Land of Kush (a vegan restaurant in Baltimore, MD) to give away vegan meals to needy individuals. We also sent I Love Animals and Broccoli and El Arco Iris Vegetariano coloring books to a group in Florida coordinating Vegan Restaurant Week in their area, and that wanted to give a packet to families as they picked up meals. Finally, VRG hosted over 25 virtual interns/volunteers this past year. They all worked/ are working on a number of exciting projects!

This is just a small sampling of what we are doing at VRG every day. Thank you so much! We couldn’t do this without your support.

You can donate directly to VRG at www.vrg.org/donate

You can also mail donations to The Vegetarian Resource Group, PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203 or call in your donation to (410) 366-8343 Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm EST.

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):

Allegro Hearth Bakery, 2034 Murray Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217

This plant-based bakery and sandwich shop offers items such as Apple Galette, Cinnamon Roll, Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Kamalta Olive Loaf, Seitan Melt Sandwich, Avocado Sandwich, and build your own salads.

Bliss, 567 Memorial Ave., Thunder Bay, ON P7B 3Z1 Canada

Bliss is a plant-based restaurant that makes both raw and cooked vegan foods. The soup du jour is made fresh daily. The menu includes several sandwiches and wraps such as the FLT made with carrot “facon,” an UnEgg sandwich made with smashed chickpeas, and the falafel wrap with Bliss falafel balls. Salads can be added with sandwiches and wraps or ordered separately. Pizzahs served on a cauliflower crust are also available The menu varies according to seasonal produce availability. Custom desserts such as birthday donuts and wedding cakes are also available to order.

Ital Vital Living, 2323 N. 24th St., Omaha, NE 68110

Enjoy vegan smoothie bowls and cold pressed juices.

Mama Hill, 295 Joline Ave. Long Branch, NJ 07740

Mama Hill is a grab-and-go deli that offers 100% vegan fare. Their store menu includes vegan beef empanadas and specials of the days such as fried fish made with eggplant and served with greens and mac and cheese. Grab-and-go items include chicken Caesar salad and Italian subs. Donuts and tarts are popular sweet options. Mama Hill also offers private chef work, luxury plant-based picnics, and event catering.

Stefano’s Sandwiches, 1214 Dundas St. W., Toronto, ON M6J 1X5 Canada

Stefano’s Sandwiches is a vegan takeaway specializing in plant-based sandwiches. All sandwiches are on the house-made ciabatta. Sandwiches include the all-day breakfast sandwich with pinto bean sausage, the fried chicken sandwich, and the meatball sub. Italian beverages are available including Italian sodas and wine. Stefano’s Sandwiches also has a vegetarian restaurant named Gia at the same location.

Vegan A.F. Foodtruck, 7951 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046

This bright pink food truck, generally found in Melrose or Hollywood, has an innovative approach to vegan street food. Constantly experimenting with something different to other LA vegan restaurants, they have developed a specialty in a new dish: fried crispy egg rolls stuffed with comfort food — options are always being added, but include an egg roll based on Philly Cheesesteaks, with vegan meet and cheese, and another based on pizzas, with veggies, vegan mozzarella, and marinara. They also offer flavor-filled fries, and, for dessert, a banana pudding.

Vegan Nova, 3255 Rosecrans Ave., Hawthorne, CA 90250

Thai Restaurant, featuring veggie meats and vegetable entrees such as Pho Noodle Soup, Beyond Larb Salad, Green Curry Fried Rice, Tempeh BBQ Ribs, Pineapple Curry, Spicy Jackfruit, and much more. Unique desserts and Thai iced tea or coffee are available as well.

Verve Pie, 313 Schneider Dr., Ste. #121, Cibolo, TX 78108

Located near to Crescent Bend Nature Park in Cibolo, in the North East of San Antonio Metropolitan Area, Verve Pie serves up an all-vegan menu of handcrafted pizza, ice cream and cocktails in sleek, modern décor.  Using many local providers, international chef Keith Cruzan combines traditional flavors and new takes to create a diverse and enticing menu. Pizzas use plant-based versions of mozzarella, ricotta, pepperoni and other meats. Ice creams include flavors ranging from old favorites like chocolate, through salted caramel pecan to lemon thyme. Cocktails include margaritas and the Scooby Snack, which features melon and banana liqueur, coconut rum, and vegan whipped cream, while a wide range of other alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are also available. 5% of proceeds go towards a local animal sanctuary.

The Vegetarian Resource Group has compiled a list of Senior Independent Living, Assisted Living, Nursing Home, and Other Senior Facilities in the USA that will accommodate vegetarians and in some cases vegans. This is a work in progress and if you know of any establishments that should be added to this list, please let us know. Our goal in this project is to persuade senior establishments to offer more vegan options on a regular basis. Sometimes by just asking you put the thought on their radar. We were successful in doing the same thing 20 years ago when we urged college campuses to do the same thing.

Below are recent additions to our list. You can find the entire list here: https://www.vrg.org/seniors/senior vegan.php

To support this type of project, please donate here: www.vrg.org/donate

Ruby is a Vegetarian Resource Group 2021 video contest winner. She said: “I have been a vegetarian my entire life. I became a vegan this year. I care about animals and believe every life has value. The meat and dairy industry aren’t good for our planet. I wish more people would think about this. I also enjoy vegan food because it’s healthy.”

See her video here: https://www.vrg.org/veg_videos.php#rubysturm

Deadline for the Next VRG video contest is July 15, 2022.

See: https://www.vrg.org/videoscholarship.php

To support Vegetarian Resource Group scholarships and internships, donate at vrg.org/donate

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tracks how much food is available each year, on average, for each person in the United States. These reports provide a fascinating snapshot of what Americans are likely to be eating. To determine how much food is available, the USDA tracks domestic production, initial inventories, and imports of a particular food and then subtracts exports and end-of-year inventories. An estimation of food availability per person is calculated by dividing the total amount of available product by the U.S. population. These estimates cannot tell us how much of a food an individual person eats but they can provide an estimate of the amount of food available for the average person.

     A recent report looks at the years 1970 to 2019. Over those 50 years, the total amount of fruits available, including fresh, canned, frozen, and dried fruit and fruit juice, decreased slightly from 238 pounds per capita to 236 pounds per capita. The amount of available fresh fruit increased and processed fruit (canned, frozen, dried, juice) decreased.

     If we only consider fresh fruits, the fruits with the largest increases in availability included

• Avocadoes 0.4 lbs/capita now 7.4 lbs/capita
• Bananas 17.4 lbs/capita now 27.4 lbs/capita
• Pineapples 0.7 lbs/capita now 7.3 lbs/capita

     Other fresh fruits with greater availability over the past 50 years include

• Lemons 2 lbs/capita now 4.7 lbs/capita
• Blueberries 0.2 lbs/capita now 2.1 lbs/capita
• Grapes 2.7 lbs/capita now 7.7 lbs/capita
• Mangoes 0.1 lbs/capita now 3.1 lbs/capita
• Strawberries 1.6 lbs/capita now 5.3 lbs/capita

     And with lower availability:

• Grapefruit 8 lbs/capita now 1.5 lbs/capita
• Oranges 15.6 lbs/capita now 9.1 lbs/capita
• Peaches 5.5 lbs/capita now 2.0 lbs/capita

Resources: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-availability-per-capita-data-system/

To read about vegetable availability in the United States, see: https://www.vrg.org/blog/?s=17+pounds+of+carrots

Vellabox offers monthly subscription boxes with one or two plant-based, small-batch candles, all made in the USA. The latest issue of Vegetarian Journal offers a review of these candles here: Veggie Bits

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal in the USA, see: vrg.org/member

Salty, sweet, and very addicting! Puffworks snacks come in several flavors. Note that one variety contains honey and is not vegan. Read the review here: Veggie Bits

For more information see: https://puffworks.com/

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal in the USA, see: vrg.org/member

Sophisticated and refreshing, Chef Morgan’s Greek Bowls are sure to please a crowd any time of year. Try her recipe for Greek Marinated Tofu on top of couscous and veggies, all smothered in lemon tahini dressing for lunch, dinner, snacks, or even a meal on the go. See this Vegetarian Resource Group video at: https://youtu.be/Q53AiF75M5k

More videos at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvSyCToa_i9fA4D5CLCAFWw
https://www.vrg.org/veg_videos.php

Do you love pickles? The latest issue of Vegetarian Journal offers a review of Grillo’s Pickle de Gallo that comes in several varieties. Read the review here: Veggie Bits

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal in the USA, see: vrg.org/member

Rissa was asked the following:

Why do people decide to go vegetarian or vegan?

If someone wants to change their eating habits, but they aren’t sure how to do that, where do they begin?

What’s the biggest misconception about vegetarians, vegans or a vegetarian or vegan diet?

How can people who are not vegetarian or vegan keep those who are in mind when planning an event or providing a meal?

As a vegetarian, how do you respond to people who don’t take your food choices seriously?

To watch the video and see the cooking demo, go to 6:30 here: https://youtu.be/z58AU8P0YMs

To see other videos, go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvSyCToa_i9fA4D5CLCAFWw