Letters to the Editors
Fan of Our New Name
Just love all that you do... I really love that you changed your magazine from the Vegetarian Journal to the VEGAN Journal...It was time... Love it!
Tina S., via VRG's Facebook page
The Use and Abuse of Food
Sinfully delicious sweets! Decadent desserts! Comfort foods! How often do we encounter these terms that appeal to our inner drives and emotions? Even in Vegan Journal! The idea that foods can be debauched or wicked probably derives from some abstruse religious philosophy that anything pleasurable is inherently sinful. There is a Biblical proverb that describes the effect this kind of thinking has on us: "Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten surreptitiously is delectable." In other words, when something is forbidden, our gut reaction is to want it, and the more of it, the better.
The term "comfort foods," which some might call a euphemism for emotional eating, implies use of foods for immediate gratification and represents another mechanism that leads to the same result. The habit may be set in childhood when children are rewarded with food for good behavior. When they become older, they then seek to reward themselves in the same way whenever they feel anxious or depressed. This manner of looking at food has led to the epidemic of obesity and chronic diseases we now face.
Make no mistake about it: pleasure is a desirable and important aspect of food. But food needs to be viewed in the proper context, as something to be savored and enjoyed in a mindful way and always in moderation. The French, who made the art of pleasurable eating into a science, have a saying, "One must eat to live, not live to eat."
Jay B. Lavine, M.D., via e-mail
We Shared Our Old Journals
We are moving across the country and must significantly downsize. We have 53 copies of old Vegetarian Journals, which we have exploited for their wonderful and culturally diverse recipes. We'd love to gift them. I advertised the magazines on our 'Next Door' social media. A neighbor responded late this afternoon and picked them up this evening! We told her all about VRG! We're really glad to rehome the Journals. Thank you for all you've done and do.
Gail V. and Neil W., via e-mail
