Note from the Coordinators
Doing Your Part for a Better Vegan World
Nowadays, to be most "successful," you have to present yourself as the biggest or that you are the one with the only truth or have the perfect answer or product. We can see this in social media and in the constant press releases and emails we receive. This is part of why there is so much division and anger in this country today. No one can ever know every answer or always be the best. But your actions are still important.
Rather than presenting yourself as all knowing, you can listen and compromise. Unfortunately, that doesn't always work if this only goes one way. And compromising doesn't mean giving up your own values. Also, what responsibility do you have? A long time ago we talked to a researcher who did studies on vegetarian children. The media reported her results as saying there was a big problem with raising young vegetarians. She told us that wasn't at all how to interpret her studies, but her role was just to do the studies, and not to correct how the studies were being used. Believing in science, we think you have to combine your science and ethics, understand real life implications, and see the picture in totality.
Thank you to all our volunteers, members, and supporters who do their best to work in different positive ways to create a better world. Whether with small or large actions, you have an impact. See how much our scholarship winners (pages 16-18) have done during trying times. Kudos to all the companies (such as the ones mentioned on pages 12-13) and restaurants (see vrg.org/restaurant) that continue to offer vegan food during difficult months. And it's great that people are living their values with vegan weddings (page 11) and other events.
This past year our virtual interns Lucia (CA), Amy (GA), Clarissa (MD), Julia (DE), Callie (WA), Julia (MS), Odette (Mexico), and others did a fabulous job. Thank you to dietitians Cathy and Reed who continued to advise on policy and submit testimony on veg-related issues. Thank you to Jason (VRG's IT specialist), Vegetarian Journal Senior Editor Rissa, and VRG Volunteer Coordinator Emilio, who did so much virtually to deal with different scenarios. Laura, who puts together our email newsletter (sign up at vrg.org), and Suzanne, who does the nutrition analysis for this magazine, mean so much to us. And Keryl and Carole are such dedicated, talented editors. Finally, all our readers and members who serve (and eat) a vegan option at a holiday party are also important and making a difference. We wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year.
Debra Wasserman & Charles Stahler
Coordinators for The Vegetarian Resource Group