Notes from the Scientific Department
Vegan Education
VRG Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, did a webinar on a Plant-Based Diet for 31 Days. Dr. Mangels also spoke at eight virtual seminars for California's San Jose Public Library. There were separate sessions for teens and parents. VRG teen interns assisted. Dr. Mangels supervised a graduate student intern from Wageningen University in the Netherlands who completed an extensive project on high-calcium vegan Latin American foods. VRG volunteer health coach Marcia Schveibinz conducted a webinar for Louisiana's Lafayette Public Library.
VRG Research Director Jeanne Yacoubou did a podcast with one of our 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-present) scientific reports that reveal the relationships between dietary choices and our climate crisis. See page 29 and www.vrg.org/blog/2021/02/24/vegan-and-vegetarian-diets-and-our-climate-emergency-scientific-updates-2015-2021/
In this issue, see our newest 2021 youth survey of the number of vegans, vegetarians, and those eating vegan meals out. You may also be interested in Reed Mangels' article on cholesterol in plants that appears on page 15 in this issue, and on the blog at www.vrg.org/blog/2021/02/19/cholesterol-in-plants/ and a posting by a VRG volunteer who discusses cholesterol in pharmaceuticals sourced from plant sources.
The Vegetarian Resource Group was accepted to have a 22- x 28-inch poster displayed at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport for six months. It was designed by previous intern, Amy Dell. If traveling through this airport, let us know if you see the poster on a column in Concourse D.
The Vegetarian Resource Group Testimony
The Vegetarian Resource Group submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration on Labeling of Foods Comprised of or Containing Cultured Seafood Cells. See: www.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/
