Subject: Marin VEG October News
From: Patti Breitman <eatplants@earthlink.net>
Date: 2017-09-27 4:59 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;

Marin Vegetarian Education Group
October 2017

Shorter days, cooler mornings and crunchy leaves underfoot tell me it's autumn.  Pears and apples have replaced peaches and plums in the fruit bowl.  May the new season bring you many perfect moments and much delight.


Sunday, October 1
World Veg Festival
San Francisco, 10 AM - 6 PM
It's here! This weekend, Sunday only from 10 to 6, join the San Francisco Vegetarian Society to celebrate World Veg Fest in the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park (near 9th Avenue near Lincoln Way). Wonderful speakers, food demos, vendors and guests. Parking can be a challenge, so arrive early.  Learn more at www.worldvegfestival.com


Saturday, October 14
4 PM
Lani Muelrath at Book Passage
A new book by Lani Muelrath is always worth celebrating. She will be reading from her new book - The Mindful Vegan, A 30-Day Plan for Finding Health, Balance, Peace and Happiness - at 4 PM on Saturday, October 14 at Book Passage (51 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera).  The Mindful Vegan teaches us how to practice mindfulness and bring a greater sense of freedom to our eating and in our lives. 

Tuesday, October 24
7 PM
Nathan Runkle at Book Passage
Nathan Runkle, founder and president of Mercy for Animals will be reading from his new book, Mercy for Animals, at 7PM at Book Passage in Corte Madera (51 Tamal Vista Boulevard) on Tuesday, October 24. The book tells the story of how our country changed from one of small farms, with more than 50% of the population involved in agriculture, to a massive industrial complex controlled by only 1% of the population.

Miyoko Introduces Pub Cheeses, New Cream Cheeses
New Design
Here is a 9 minute video from the Natural Products Expo in Baltimore in which Miyoko shows off the new packaging for her phenomenally vegan cheeses and introduces new pub cheeses in three flavors and new cream cheeses in three flavors (scheduled to be in stores in 2018).  Congratulations, Miyoko!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_lQTJRymzc&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=Miyoko%27s+Kitchen+Valued+Customers&utm_campaign=bb05092f3d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_09_26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9c58ff2265-bb05092f3d-168992097&mc_cid=bb05092f3d&mc_eid=c1d68dd174

Caring for Wild Birds at Halloween
If you decorate for Halloween, please do not use fake spider webs.  I just learned that birds can get caught in these. Here is an article from 2012 showing an unfortunate owl who encountered a fake spider web in Novato: https://www.backyardchirper.com/blog/make-sure-your-holiday-decor-is-bird-safe/


Foie Gras Ban Upheld
A panel of judges last month unanimously reinstated California's ban on foie gras.  Foe gras is the fatty liver of geese who are force fed to enlarge their livers and then slaughtered.
Read more about this ruling at https://blog.humanesociety.org/wayne/2017/09/breaking-news-court-reinstates-california-law-banning-foie-gras-affirms-states-rights.html
Male Chicks at Hatcheries and Female Birds' Life Cycle
People often ask "What's wrong with eating eggs"? They do not know that "spent" laying hens, after having been bred to lay an unnatural number of eggs,  in only 60 - 70 weeks - just over one year old - are killed.  Even fewer people know that male chicks are killed the day they are hatched, being of no monetary value to the chicken or egg industry.  Here is a close look at male chicks' violent end. http://www.thealternativedaily.com/how-common-is-male-chick-grinding-in-america  And here is an article about the life cycle of a laying hen: https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/5235024/The-life-of-laying-hens.pdf   Do not watch the one about the male chicks if you don't want to see graphic violence.

Vegan Hard Boiled Egg
It is exciting that students in Italy have found a way to create a vegan version of the hard boiled egg. Though it is not yet ready to be sold commercially, this development gives me hope that there will soon be absolutely no food that cannot be created without harming animals.  (The cookbook Betty Goes Vegan by Annie and Dan Shannon recreates every recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook, but not a hard boiled egg).  Read about the vegan egg here: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/students-developed-vegan-hard-boiled-egg/

Rest In Peace, Dick Gregory
1932 - 2017
Comedian, civil rights activist, author, and vegan advocate Dick Gregory died in August.  Many vegans today owe their interest in social justice to his bold stand for healthy eating and his unwavering commitment to non-violence.   I heard his son interviewed on NPR and learned that Gregory taught Mohamed Ali and many other athletes how to maximize their performance by eating a vegan diet. Here is a beautiful tribute and history by Merritt Clifton: http://www.animals24-7.org/2017/08/25/dick-gregory-50-years-a-vegan-activist-dies-at-84/

Truffle Oil May Not Contain Anything From a Truffle
Who knew?  I was surprised to learn this. Maybe you will be, too.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/opinion/truffle-oil-chemicals.html?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone

Junk Food in Brazil
This extensive exposé in the Sunday New York Times took me a whole week to read. Still, I think it was worth the time to learn about the role the Nestlé company plays in the current health crisis in Brazil.  This isn't a veg story at all, but a look at how powerful business interests operate and the consequences.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/opinion/truffle-oil-chemicals.html?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone

Plant Base Foods Up 8.1% in Last Year
Cheese, burgers, sausages, butter, ice cream, yogurt - there are so many plant based foods available, it's hard to keep track of them all.  Plant based foods have grown by almost 10% in the last 12 months according to a new study released by the Plant Based Foods Association and the Good Food Institute.  Plant based foods had more than 3 billion dollars in sales last year.  Here is the press release that explains how the plant based foods were described and tallied: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/09/prweb14683840.htm  It is important that these foods are counted, because Congress is trying to prohibit the words "milk," "cheese," and "meat" when the food is not from an animal.

Vegan and Oil Free Options at Trader Joe's
Thanks to ForksOverKnives.com for this article about vegan, oil-free foods available at most Trader Joe's stores.  https://www.forksoverknives.com/shop-smart-21-tasty-oil-free-vegan-finds-trader-joes/#gs.fKN9aOE  Warning: You may become very hungry as you read this one. I did!

What Is It Like to Work in a  Slaughterhouse?
We know that slaughterhouse workers incur more injuries and have a greater turnover than almost any other employees in any other jobs.  Here is an essay by a former slaughterhouse worker who describes just how awful that job was. He emphasizes that slaughterhouses are only meeting the demand for animal flesh. If the demand goes away, so will the slaughterhouses.  https://www.plantbasednews.org/post/plantbased-vegan-slaughterhouse-abattoir-hell?utm_source=Plant+Based+News+Subscribers+Combined&utm_campaign=fade156b53-24thSept_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5651a57357-fade156b53-192762809&ct=t(24thSeptnewsletter)

Dr. Neal Barnard and Dr. Walter Willet
Explain How Meta Studies Can Be Misleading
Journal of the American Medical Association
Doctors Neal Barnard and Walter Willet published an article in the highly respected JAMA about how meta analysis in nutrition research can be misleading. What they share here helps us understand why and how industries can tout harmful foods when meta studies seem to exonerate those foods. http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2654401


Vegan Poop is at a Premium
Fecal transplants help bring healthy gut bacteria to people whose gut bacteria is not healthy.  Now, apparently, vegan stool is at a premium for fecal transplants because most vegans have a healthy gut biome.  The graphics and captions are trying to be funny,  but the article is interesting.   https://www.plantbasednews.org/post/vegans-your-poop-is-solid-gold-heres-why?utm_source=Plant+Based+News+Subscribers+Combined&utm_campaign=578bbb2f7f-1stSept&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5651a57357-578bbb2f7f-192762809&ct=t(1stSeptnewsketter)  Learn how to become a stool donor at http://www.openbiome.org/

Lab Meat in the News
Israel is creating meat from a laboratory, and China, apparently, wants it.  China recently signed a 300 million dollar deal to acquire lab grown meat from Israel.  While this trend will result in fewer animals killed, I am not comfortable promoting the myth that humans need to eat animal flesh - from a lab or from an animal - to be healthy.  I know I sound like a cranky old naysayer, but sometimes this march toward the future gives me the creeps.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-israel-trade-deal-lab-grown-meat-veganism-vegetarianism-a7950901.html

Antidote to Advertising
Learning about the inspiration campaign brightened my day.  Robert Bengston, with early funding from The Pollination Project, has created a campaign to counter all the negative messages we are exposed to every day. Advertisements that tell us we are not good enough and do not own enough are ubiquitous.   This is the best antidote to the overwhelming onslaught of negative messages.  Learn about the Inspiration Campaign, watch this video, and smile.  http://www.inspirationcampaign.com/


More in October
Look for a restaurant outing, a book club meeting, and more in October. As always, be sure to look at  www.bayareaveg.org/events.htm  and  www.meetup.com/marin-vegan/  to find out what's happening in the coming weeks. Also, check out Compassionate Living in Sonoma County. Their web site is  www.socoveg.org/.   And The San Francisco Veg Society at www. SFVS.org is worth knowing about - especially this Sunday's World Veg Fest.



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