BOOK REVIEWS

Vegan Success is written in a casual, friendly manner, as if your neighbor just dropped in to share some cooking tips. It contains a vegan glossary, a shopping list (including brand names the authors prefer but not all of the fruits and vegetables that you will need for the recipes), label-reading tips to avoid non-vegan ingredients, and substitution suggestions. Then, the authors get right to the recipes, which are generally simple to prepare, easy to modify for different tastes, and delicious.

The book includes sections on Tofu, Tempeh, Lentils, and Beans; Vegetable-Centered Dishes; and Vegan Sandwiches; among others. Even longtime vegans will find new ideas for using tofu and vegetables. My family liked the Slow-Roasted Tofu, the Baked Eggplant, and the Real Gravy, and my 17-year-old test subjects loved the Berry Cobbler.

The book would have benefited from more careful editing to avoid factual mistakes, such as the inclusion of butter (a non-vegan ingredient) in one recipe, and missing instructions. (Do I really want to sauté a whole onion?) The use of the word “vegan” in so many recipe titles was redundant given the name of the book. Additionally, there are no nutritional analyses. However, the authors definitely make clear that being vegan does not mean sacrificing delicious taste, a variety of ingredients, or quick meals.

This book offers two primarily vegan cookbooks in one. Both were originally written in a 'zine format but are now presented in book form, each starting from one of the book's covers. You'll find sauces (including Bourbon Whiskey BBQ Sauce), breads, side dishes, soups and chilies, main dishes, and plenty of desserts.

Among the creative recipes that Ryan Splint shares in Hot Damn and Hell Yeah! are Hush Puppies (delicious served with red beans and rice), Cranberry Scones, Vietnamese-Style Curry, Mighty Chewy Brownies, and Apple Enchiladas.

Vanessa Doe's creations in The Dirty South Vegan Cookbook include Rosemary Sweet Biscuits, Fake Fried Chicken (made with seitan), Injera (Ethiopian bread) with Ethiopian stews, Blackeye Pea Cakes, and Espresso Cake.

Black-and-white, hand-drawn illustrations are included in this book. Nutritional analyses are not provided, and not all the recipes are low in fat.

Recipes in most raw food cookbooks necessitate many ingredients and a great deal of the chef's time, which makes Alive in 5 all that much more refreshing. This book's gourmet raw recipes can be prepared in five minutes. Readers will enjoy dishes such as Unbelievable Chili (made with sun-dried tomatoes, avocados, almonds, plus more), Zippy ‘Tuna' Rolls (made with raw sunflower seeds), and Life's a Bowl of Cherries Sorbet (cherries and agave nectar). Note the recipes do not include nutritional information.

Did you know that a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet uses 54 percent less energy and generates 52 percent fewer greenhouse gases and 50 percent less sulfur dioxide equivalents than a typical American diet? How about that, if everyone in the U.S. went vegetarian, we could expect a health care cost savings of as much as $84 billion annually? Or that the saturated fat and cholesterol in animal products are responsible for 65,000 fatal heart attacks every year? Did you know that farm animals use twice as much water as the 9 million people living in the New York City area? Or that 140 million cows, pigs, and sheep and 9 billion chickens and turkeys are slaughtered annually in the United States?

These are some of the facts presented in Six Arguments for a Greener Diet. Michael Jacobson and the staff at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) have done a masterful job of documenting many of the problems of an animal-based diet, advising consumers about ways to change their eating habits, and making recommendations to change national policy. The six arguments mentioned in the title are less chronic disease and better overall health, less food-borne illness, better soil, more and cleaner water, cleaner air, and less animal suffering. (In the interest of disclosure, I wrote the chapter on chronic disease but have no financial interest in this book.)

The book's lively writing style and colorful illustrations make it an entertaining and engrossing text. Some readers may be troubled by the fact that, while this book promotes moving towards vegetarianism and provides resources for those choosing a vegetarian diet, it does not suggest that everyone become vegetarian.

I believe that Six Arguments for a Greener Diet offers a means to introduce many people who are not yet vegetarian to the benefits of reducing animal product consumption, not only to help themselves but to help the environment and reduce animal suffering. Even if you're already convinced that it's best to eliminate animal products from your diet, Six Arguments will give you the facts that you need to convince others to move towards a vegetarian diet.

Have you ever wondered why, rather than healthy food options, junk food is always featured in commercials, in your child's classroom, in sports arenas, or just about anywhere you look today? Michele Simon, a public health lawyer and activist, explains the reasons this occurs in her new book, Appetite for Profit.

Why is it so difficult to put an end to this practice? You'll read about the food industry lobbying at the local and national level, front groups, and other tactics that greatly influence nutrition policy. Discover why major food companies engage in massive public relations campaigns to protect their livelihood and to deflect the threat of government regulations and lawsuits. For instance, have you ever witnessed companies that produce unhealthful food products donating money for exercise programs in your community? This is just one tactic they use to bolster their image. Food companies also realize they will not have to change their practices if they keep consumers focused on education and individual choice. In other words, place all the emphasis on individual responsibility rather than corporate responsibility.

While reading this book, I couldn't help but think how little has changed on this front in more than 30 years. In the mid-1970s, I worked with NYPIRG (a Nader group) to get rid of junk food in vending machines. In many ways, it seemed hopeless back then; today, the situation is even more dire with all the corporate buy-outs and resulting power in the hands of a few. Nevertheless, Michele Simon offers her readers concrete ways to fight back.