Vegetarian Journal

Excerpts

This issue of Vegetarian Journal offers a wide range of topics. First, you'll find articles written by two of our college interns. Caroline Pyevich has researched various sweeteners and reports on whether or not animal products are used during their manufacturing process. This article was produced due to numerous inquiries on this topic from our readers. Courtney Centner also shares two stories with us. One of her pieces is on vegan bands that are having a significant influence on the number of young teens becoming vegetarian or vegan in the United States, Canada, and in other countries. As Courtney reports, the music produced by these bands pushes the vegan message. However, these same bands often suggest that teens take strong action to ensure that animals are not abused. This action might even include causing damage to businesses testing on animals or selling fur, etc. How do Vegetarian Journal readers feel about these messages adolescent s are receiving through music? Courtney's other piece is a short story on how she brought up the issue of veganism to a college professor discussing environmental issues and how he responded to her suggestion that one's diet is directly related to ecological concerns. We've heard similar stories from other college students and thought it was important to share this topic with our readers.

We're happy to report that after completing their summer internships with VRG, both Caroline and Courtney went back to complete their senior year in college and are promoting vegetarianism on their respective campuses. Caroline has helped reactivate the animal rights group on her Illinois campus. She also has written many articles on vegetarianism for her college newspaper. Courtney was hired by her college in Buffalo, New York, to formulate and test vegan menus for the foodservice. She also remains active with the animal rights group in her area.

Readers will also enjoy the interesting article we have in this issue on Native American Breads. Senior Editor Mike Vogel brought in samples of the Pueblo Potato Bread and the staff here enjoyed it immensely. Many readers have written to us that whenever their children learn about Native Americans the information is often one-sided and quite violent. Students might want to share this article on Native Americans with their teachers and perhaps offer samples of the unique vegan recipes to fellow classmates so as to demonstrate a non-violent part of their lifestyle.

Debra Wasserman & Charles Stahler, Coordinators of the Vegetarian Resource Group