**1st prize is a $50 savings bond**

SUBJECT: 2-3 page essay on any aspect of vegetarianism. Vegetarianism is not eating meat, fish, and birds (for example, chicken or duck). Among the many reasons for being a vegetarian are beliefs about ethics, culture, health, aesthetics, religion, world peace, economics, world hunger, and the environment.

Entrants should base their paper on interviewing, research, and/or personal opinion. You need not be a vegetarian to enter. All essays become the property of The Vegetarian Resource Group.

ENTRY CATEGORIES:

• A. Age 14-18.
• B. Age 9-13.
• C. Age 8 and under.

PRIZES: A $50 savings bond will be awarded in each category.

DEADLINE: Must be postmarked by May 1 for each current year of judging.

SEND ENTRIES TO: The Vegetarian Resource Group, PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.

FAX: (410) 366-8804. Include your name, address, telephone number, age, grade, school, and teacher’s name.

Click here to read essays from past winners.

These vegan restaurants were recently added to our online restaurant guide! To find restaurants in your area, visit: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

Green Seed Vegan
4320 Almeda Rd., Houston, TX 77004
(713) 487-8346
Vegan/food truck/raw foods. Green Seed Vegan, a food truck, calls themselves a “plant based mobile eatery & elixir bar.” They feature organic, local, and raw foods along with specialty beverages. Enjoy a fresh-pressed panini like the Zen (made with lemongrass garbanzo tempeh). Green Seed is parked in the Third Ward neighborhood in Houston. Cash only. Open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and early dinner. Closed Sunday and Monday. Counter service, take-out, catering, fresh juices, smoothies, $.

Tori’s Bakeshop
2188 Queen St., E., Toronto, ON M4E 1H1
(647) 350-6500
Vegan/bakery/organic. Tori’s Bakeshop is an all-vegan bakery in the Beaches, a popular neighborhood in Toronto’s East End. They offer natural, organic, and refined sugar free treats including cupcakes, biscotti, scones, muffins, and the hugely popular cinnamon rolls. Enjoy the unique atmosphere of real wood tables, light fixtures made from whisks and Mason jars, and a color scheme of mint green and white. Open Wednesday through Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Limited service, take-out, espresso/cappuccino, soymilk, VISA/MC, $.

Wayward Vegan Café
5253 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 524-0204
Vegan/American. Wayward Vegan Café serves vegan comfort foods with breakfast being available all day. Enjoy Scrambled Tofu, Tempeh Bacon, Country-Fried ‘Steak’ (made with seitan), or the Very Veggie Omelet. And you don’t have to ask what is meatless; at Wayward, vegan is their middle name. The café is located in the University District of Seattle. Open daily for breakfast and lunch. Limited service, take-out, soymilk, VISA/MC/DISC, $-$$.

Please help us keep our restaurant guide current and accurate! Restaurants continually change locations, new ones open, and others close. To let us know about any restaurants we should add, delete, or if our existing entry should be changed, please complete the form here:
http://www.vrg.org/travel/restupdate.php

If you would like to volunteer with maintaining and updating The Vegetarian Resource Group restaurant guide, please email us at vrg@vrg.org. Thank you!

Researchers are looking for vegan men ages 60 and older and women ages 70 and older to participate in a DHA study. For more information, see: https://www.nutritionalresearch.org/survey/

Research study: Age and Gender Differences in Essential Fatty Acids in Long-term Vegans

Do you follow a vegan diet? Are you interested in participating in a research study that will reveal your level of healthy omega-3 fatty acids?

Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) are important nutrients that protect against risk for heart disease, depression, and dementia. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there are age and gender differences in blood levels of the essential fatty acids, EPA and DHA, in long-term vegans.

The study involves providing information about your actual dietary intake on three separate days and a one-time finger stick blood sample you will send to a lab using a pre-paid envelope. It should take about 3 hours of your time to be in this study.

You will receive a $20.00 Target gift card and a report of your blood levels of essential fatty acids.

Once we have the blood test results from this study, a small number of people who participated will be asked if they would like to be in a second part of the study where they will take a vegan omega-3 supplement for 3 months.

This study has been approved by the University of San Diego Institutional Review Board. The Principal Investigators are Barbara Sarter, PhD, APRN, FNP-C, Hahn School of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of San Diego and Joel Fuhrman, M.D., Research Director of the Nutritional Research Project.

This project is supported by the Nutritional Research Project.

By Amanda Matte, VRG Intern

Every Monday night for 2 hours, I have the pleasure of addressing the airwaves with my friend Sheila on our radio show, “Canny Crack.” The show can be accessed both on air and online through the station for which we work, WLOY, which is Loyola University’s very own radio station. The show celebrates an eclectic assortment of music that spans the genre spectrum, with a heavy focus on all things English.

On April 2nd, Sheila and I decided to use our DJ roles that allow us to reach many in part to spread the word about VRG and vegetarianism in general. She is a fellow vegetarian, so we opened up the phone lines and allowed people to call in with questions about the lifestyle. We also discussed some of our favorite recipes, and my favorite vegetarian restaurant located in England called the Sky Apple Cafe!

Amanda has been one of our many great interns! For more information about local and long-distance internships with VRG, please see: http://www.vrg.org/student/. For information about our college scholarship, see: http://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm.

Are you raising a vegetarian or vegan child? If so, The Vegetarian Resource Group invites you to be a part of a network of vegetarian parents interested in exchanging ideas on various topics such as creating tasty snacks for toddlers, the challenges of non-vegetarian family/friend gatherings, how to talk with your child about vegetarianism, helping kids handle peer pressure, even shopping resources for leather/wool alternatives!

The list has was founded in 2000, and currently has 1742 members.

For more information and to join, click here.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

In March 2012, The Seattle Times reported that a vegan Starbucks employee sent a photo of the container of the "Strawberry with other natural flavours " sauce to the website http://www.thisdishisvegetarian.com. The employee stated that the sauce was used in the Strawberries and Crème Frappuccino® and the Strawberry Smoothie® served at Starbucks Café. The sauce, in a package that changed "three or four weeks ago" according to the source, contained cochineal extract, derived from beetle exoskeletons.

The VRG confirmed with Starbucks in April 2012 that the animal-derived natural red coloring is present in five of its menu items: Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino®, Strawberry Smoothie®, Birthday Cake Pops®, Birthday Cake Mini-Doughnuts®, and Red Velvet Whoopee Pies®.

Starbucks customer service representatives told The VRG that the company’s efforts to minimize artificial ingredients in its products lead to the use of natural cochineal extract in several beverages and desserts. Cliff Burrows, Starbucks’ US president, in a posting on the March 29, 2012 Starbucks blog, stated that the company "fell short" of consumer expectations, is reviewing natural alternatives to cochineal for its products, and is looking at reformulations: http://blogs.starbucks.com/blogs/customer/archive/2012/03/29/update-regarding-cochineal-extract.aspx

The VRG asked Starbucks if cochineal is listed on store menus, its menu board, or on its website so that concerned consumers could be informed before they ordered cochineal-containing menu items. We received an email from the company stating that "it is not listed. " The company reiterated that cochineal is "…an FDA-approved natural food coloring…This information is open to the public. "

It is true that cochineal is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a food colorant and that cochineal is exempt from labeling requirements in restaurants and similar places, (provided there is no health or nutrition claim being made about the food or beverage containing it), although nutrition and ingredient information should be available if a patron requests it: http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidancedocuments/foodlabelingnutrition/ucm053455.htm.

In 2009, the FDA required, due in part to a 1998 petition by Center for Science in the Public Interest, (CSPI), that cochineal extract and carmine, (also derived from beetle exoskeletons), must be labeled on packaged foods and cosmetics. This ruling took effect in January 2011. FDA stated that in "a small subset " of cases, these colorants can cause severe allergic reactions and warrant explicit declaration (not simply generic "artificial color " or "color added " statements) in all cases where they occur in foods and cosmetics. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2009-01-05/html/E8-31253.htm

However, FDA did not rule in this manner on the basis of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) because cochineal and carmine are not "major food allergens. " http://www.fda.gov/food/labelingnutrition/foodallergenslabeling/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/ucm106890.htm#q26

Nor did FDA find that the insect origin of these colorants is necessary information for someone who may be allergic to them and, so, FDA does not require the insect origin to be declared in any case.

For those who may be allergic to cochineal or carmine and find themselves in a restaurant or carry out setting where prepared foods may be ordered, they must inquire about specific ingredients in menu items before ordering in order to know if they are present. Concerned consumers must be cognizant that any pink or red beverage or food could contain cochineal or carmine and be ready to ask questions.

The contents of this article, our website, and our other publications, including the Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company employees or company statements.Information does change and mistakes are always possible. Please use your own best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. Further research or confirmation may be warranted.

For more information on sources of food ingredients and to purchase our Guide to Food Ingredients, visit the VRG at http://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php

For information on fast food and quick service chains, food ingredients, and for other information of interest to vegetarians and vegans, please subscribe to our enewsletter at http://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/

VRG research can be supported at http://www.vrg.org/donate

There are many ways to stay connected to The Vegetarian Resource Group!
Get our blog delivered right to your inbox: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheVRGBlog
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/VegResourceGrp
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thevegetarianresourcegroup

Come visit VRG’s booth at these events!

• Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition Symposium – Baltimore, MD – 4/20 – 4/21
• Baltimore Vegetarian Festival – Baltimore, MD – 4/28
• Chicago Green Festival – Chicago, IL – 5/5 – 5/6
• VRG’s 30th Anniversary Lunch at Candle 79 – Manhattan, NY – 5/6
• Richmond Vegetarian Festival – Richmond, VA – 6/23
• Animal Rights 2012 National Conference – Alexandria, VA – 8/2 – 8/5

One $500 award; two $250 awards!

The Rules:

Create and submit a video relating what you want to tell others about vegetarianism and/or veganism.

Some possible topics: food, nutrition, your feelings about veganism and/or vegetarianism, water usage and vegetarianism, vegetarianism and animal rights, or other vegetarian topics which appeal to you. Humor and feelings are appreciated. All videos should be positive, not be critical of anyone, and not include any footage of animal cruelty. You may submit a video you have already made.

Aspects of judging include accuracy and judges wanting to share the video with others.

Entrants give permission to The Vegetarian Resource Group to post and share the video, to link to and from the video, and share the video with the media.

DEADLINE: April 20, 2012

Please e-mail to vrg@vrg.org:

1. Your name
2. Street Address, City, State, Zip
3. Phone number
4. E-mail contact
5. Indicate if 18 or older. If you are under 18, please include a parent or guardian's permission for entry and use of the video.
6. A brief statement on why you are interested in vegetarianism.
7. A link to your video.
8. Include Vegetarian Video in the subject line of the e-mail.

Click through to read the rest of the scholarship rules »

Share VRG’s Video!

Check out VRG’s video, "A Hunter’s Guide to His Vegetarian Daughter and His Vegan Son," and share with your friends!

Check out other vegetarian videos here »

For information about VRG’s scholarship for high school seniors, see http://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

For information about our internships, see http://www.vrg.org/student/index.php

It’s VRG’s 30th Anniversary! Come celebrate with us at Candle 79, and hear about our current and upcoming projects!

Sunday May 6, 2:30-4:30pm
Candle 79
154 East 79th Street
at Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10021

PRICE
$25 for paid-up VRG members who reserve by April 15
$35 for paid-up VRG members who reserve after April 15
$50 for non-members

Price includes tax and gratuity. Drinks are not included.

Seating is limited. Reservations must be made & paid in advance! Please see below.

MENU
(Subject to change)

APPETIZERS

Steamed Dumplings
seitan, shiitake mushrooms, baby bok choy, sesame-soy-ginger sauce

Angel's Nachos
corn chips, mozzarella, tomatoes, refried pinto beans, chili-grilled seitan, guacamole, salsa, tofu sour cream, romaine lettuce

ENTRÉE
(choice of one)
Stuffed Avocado Salad
baby greens, quinoa, zucchini, cucumber, radishes, black beans, toasted pumpkin seeds, grape tomatoes, chipotle-avocado dressing

Black Bean-Pumpkin Seed Burger
mixed lettuces, avocado, polenta fries, chipotle ketchup

Spaghetti & Wheat Balls
truffled tomato sauce, roasted garlic, spinach, cashew parmesan

Home-Style Pancakes
seasonal fruit, strawberry butter, gingered maple syrup

Seitan Picatta
creamed spinach, grilled potato cake, oyster mushrooms, lemon-caper sauce

DESSERT
(choice of one)
Fruit Crumb Pie vanilla ice cream
Chocolate Mousse Pie

There are three ways to reserve your seat:

1. Pay online at http://www.vrg.org/donate (write “Candle 79 dinner” and the names of the guests attending in the Comments section)
2. Pay with your Visa or Mastercard over the phone by calling us at 410-366-8343, 9am-5pm EST, Monday-Friday
3. Mail a check before April 27 to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203 (write “Candle 79 dinner” and the names of the guests attending in the notes section)

We look forward to seeing you there!

Youth Empowered Action Camp is accepting applications for their summer programs (youth ages 12-17). If you are interested, contact details are below.

Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp is a unique and inspiring summer leadership program for youth 12-17 who want to make a difference in the world. During a week-long sleep-away program in a beautiful camp setting, YEA campers choose an issue of importance to them (for example, some have chosen climate change, racism, homophobia, homelessness, or animal rights) and they build the knowledge, skills, confidence, and community to take action on that issue once they get home. They also build life-long friendships between youth with similar interests in bettering their community and society. Youth who have participated in our programs report that the camp was one of the most fun, memorable and life-changing experiences they have had, and, with YEA’s support, many have gone on to start school clubs, plan fundraisers for nonprofits, organize a call-in to Congress, and attend hearings to comment about important community issues.

For more information, see their website (www.yeacamp.org), video (http://youtu.be/rJ4T15gx_UU), and facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/YEACamp).

When: Session 1: July 7-13, 2012.
Session 2: July 14-20, 2012.
Where: Corbett, OR, just outside of Gresham.

When: July 21-28, 2012.
Where: Pescadero, CA, about one hour from San Francisco.

When: August 5-12, 2012.
Where: Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey.

Contact: Laura Carver
Assistant Director Youth Empowered Action
www.yeacamp.org
503-347-0223