Notes from The VRG Scientific Department
The Vegetarian Resource Group Testimony
The VRG Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels PhD, RD, submitted VRG’s comments to USDA and
USDHHS on the Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
See: vrg.org/blog/2020/
09/01/the-vegetarian-resource-group-testimony-on-the-dietary-guidelines/
Vegan Education
VRG Research Manager Jeanne Yacoubou responded to an email inquiry from a PhD
student in Food, Agriculture & Resource Economics. He asked: “…In preparing for a
PhD next year, I’m working on research around the economic impacts of plant-based
diets, e.g., consumption, production, externalities, trends, etc. Would you have any
suggestions for papers or people in this area?” For helpful resources see: vrg.org/blog/2020/08/31/plant-based-economics-research/.
Jeanne also did a posting on “Are Vegan Cosmetics Halal?” Go to: vrg.org/blog/2020/08/10/are-vegan-cosmetics-halal/
VRG Intern Kavitha Shankar, a PhD nutrition student, answered a question from a dietitian seeing patients with kidney dysfunction. She wanted to know about phosphorus and potassium content of non-dairy milks. See: vrg.org/nutrition/milk_alternatives/kidney_dysfunction.pdf. Kavitha also researched how many people are vegetarian in India. See: vrg.org/blog/2020/08/19/how-many-people-are-vegetarian-in-india/
A reader asked about the crispy noodles in Chinese restaurants to see if they are vegan. See what VRG interns and volunteers Simon Brown (Johns Hopkins), Abby Mudd (Kansas State University), Adhi Muthukumar (Cornell), and Jacqueline Tang (Johns Hopkins) found out at vrg.org/blog/2020/09/23/crispy-chinese-noodles-whats-in-those-wonton-strips-anyway/
