May
2021
Marin VEG
Have you seen the median strip on San Anselmo's Red Hill
Avenue approaching the Hub? For the first time that street has
earned its nickname, the Miracle Mile. What a magnificent
landscaping job! And the trees throughout the county are every
shade of green. Except for mildly annoying allergies, I'm loving
this season. Enjoy May! Here's some vegan news.
Saturday, May 29
Second Annual Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar
United Poultry Concerns and Triangle Chicken Advocates are
offering a free event to learn more about the rich, complex
lives of chickens and the harmful lies of the chicken industry.
Read more about it and register for the free webinar at
https://www.upc-online.org/chicken_webinar/210426_chicken_webinar.html
Rest in Peace
Dr. Elliot Katz, D.V.M, founder of In Defense of Animals
With sadness I share the news that Elliot Katz died at the
end of March. Dr. Katz was the founder of In Defense of Animals
and a life long champion for every species.
Here is his obituary:
https://www.idausa.org/campaign/guardian/latest-news/media-release-obituary-dr-elliot-katz-dvm-animal-rights-champion/
And here is the video tribute to Dr. Katz:
https://youtu.be/4cdQiC-c-xk
that was shown during his memorial service:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/PPGf5paqnxB0aBRuCWj5fpWIaxYJUTco3vnbn4RB2Kv3gniw8q4uhoILYxf38ixy.7uwBDkaj06ucxczv?startTime=1619294477000
In memory of Dr. Katz, please refer to those who care for
companion animals as guardians, not owners.
The Vegan Meat Cookbook by Miyoko Schinner
Available for Pre-order
I don't know how she does so much! Now, the tireless Miyoko
Schinner has written a new book, coming out this month, about
plant based meats; where to find them, how to make them, how to
serve them. Learn more about the book and about Miyoko, and
pre-order the book at
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/639586/the-vegan-meat-cookbook-by-miyoko-schinner/
Veganism and Conspiracy Theories
I found this article interesting. It explains why some
vegans are drawn to conspiracy theories and why some animal
rights advocates make bogus health claims about veganism. I
particularly like the phrase "tenuous relationship with provable
reality."
https://www.euronews.com/living/2021/04/12/what-do-veganism-and-conspiracy-theories-have-in-common
Vegan Venting
lauren Ornelas, founder of The Food Empowerment Project
wrote a brief rant about some of the things that bother her as a
vegan in a non-vegan world. I share her frustration on these
issues, and I'm glad she wrote about them.
https://foodispower.org/vegan-venting-2021/
Happy Hooligans
New Vegan Restaurant in Berkeley
Downtown Berkeley has a new vegan restaurant. Not far from
three other great vegan restaurants, The Butcher's Son, The
King's Feet, and Cha Ya, there is now a new branch of a popular
San Jose restaurant called Happy Hooligans. I've eaten at the
San Jose location and am eager to try this new one. See the
menu and learn more here:
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-happy-hooligans-berkeley
Vegan Nathan's Hot Dogs Now Available
Having grown up in Oceanside, NY, home to the second
Nathan's in the country, I was especially surprised and
delighted to discover that Nathan's is now offering vegan hot
dogs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/dining/nathans-famous-vegan-hot-dog.html?referringSource=articleShare
High Tech Meat in the News
I hesitated to include this piece from Ezra Klein because
I'm skeptical about high tech solutions where low tech solutions
would work even better. There's a great deal of money to be
invested in lab grown meat. But if the same money were spent,
instead, on promoting plant based eating, not only would
animals' lives be spared, but people would be healthier, and our
environment would be cleaner as well. When I discovered
veganism in 1986, this trifecta of benefits sealed the deal for
me. The big business of high tech meat claims to save animals,
but does nothing for the earth or human health. Corporations
and some nonprofits are trying to recreate meat without the
animals, but two of the three major problems of producing meat
would remain. I know that big financial gains are likely to
come to investors in high tech meat, and nobody got rich from
kale and quinoa. But while the whole world would benefit from
less slaughter, improved human health, and cleaner air and
water, most people will not share in the financial gains from
lab-produced meat. While I'm always glad to see veganism get
media attention, I'm ambivalent about champions of high tech
meat. See what you think.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/24/opinion/climate-change-meatless-meat.html?referringSource=articleShare
Regenerative Grazing Debunked
If you're like me, you've heard a lot about regenerative
grazing. This is the practice of protecting the land where cows
graze by using cover crops, moving the herds, and other
methods. The people who support this say, "It's not the cow,
it's the how." I beg to differ. All animal agriculture is
degrading the atmosphere. It
is the cow! And climate
change is just one of many horrible byproducts of cow ranching.
Dairy farming is inherently cruel, taking babies from their
mothers and stealing the milk for human consumption. Cows
raised for their flesh are slaughtered needlessly, as there is
no nutritional benefit from eating cow flesh, particularly in
rich countries where getting enough calories is not a
challenge. So I was delighted to discover this podcast from
Hope Bohanec in which Dr. Tushar Mehta dismantles the myth of
regenerative grazing. Dr. Mehta will be one of the speakers at
the Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar, too.
https://hopefortheanimalspodcast.org/episode-27-dismantling-regenerative-animal-agriculture-with-dr-tushar-mehta/
The Vegan RD on Fats in the Diet
As a huge fan of avocados, olives, peanut butter, flax
seeds, pistachio nuts, walnuts, and other high fat vegan foods,
I was happy to read this advice from Virginia Messina, The Vegan
RD. In the first paragraph you will also learn about her two
new books, updated editions of important vegan literature.
https://www.theveganrd.com/2021/04/finding-the-best-vegan-diet-and-why-its-not-low-fat/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheVeganDietitian+%28The+Vegan+Dietitian%29
Vegan Cheese Better Than Ever
Those of us in love with Miyoko's cheeses might not know
that there are many other good vegan cheeses available nation
wide. This article from the New York Times acknowledges Miyoko
as a pioneer who set the bar high.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/dining/vegan-cheese.html?referringSource=articleShare
Meat Off the Menu
For twenty five years an online recipe bank called
Epicurious has been sharing recipes with readers. (Were we on
the internet 25 years ago?!) For the last year, without
announcing it, they have reduced the number of recipes that call
for red meat. Now, they officially told readers that, for
climate reasons, there will be no more red meat recipes. For
anyone who denies the link between what we eat and climate
change, this new website policy reflects what scientists know:
Cows are part of the problem. (See piece above on regenerative
grazing.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/dining/epicurious-beef.html?referringSource=articleShare