By Patricia Welty

It was spring 2016 and Pat and I were driving 625 miles to Springer Mountain in Georgia. We loaded the car and pulled away from my building on a rainy morning in Washington, DC as the rush hour traffic was bulging on Connecticut Avenue. It would take us at least 11 hours to reach Amicalola State Park Lodge near the Appalachian Trail southern terminus. Luckily the weather cleared and so did the traffic as we left DC behind.

Early the next morning I cased the room for hikers. I spotted two, both loaded down with gear, having breakfast with family members. After I filled my water bottle, as we left the dining room we both stopped short and gazed upward toward the ceiling. There we saw an elongated relief map of the AT stretching from Georgia through 14 states to Maine and covering the space on the wall from above the store to two stories above. Inside the lodge store I spied a familiar figure, Grandma Gatewood, infamous for being the first woman to thru-hike the AT in 1955 at age 67 wearing a pair of Keds.

I stuffed my backpack making last minute decisions on what to exclude and handed the remainders to Pat. We were off. But first we made the voluntary stop at the ranger station to register. A scale beckoned from the porch and I took the bait and hung my pack — 37 pounds. Inside a young ranger told me she thru-hiked the AT as a SOBO (south bounder) the year before, She was eager to share her advice. “You only need to carry one liter of water. Bring your heavy jacket because you’ll need it in the Smokies.” She was right. At the trailhead Pat and I hugged goodbye and I turned north toward Maine. 

Being away for six months requires planning. Being vegan on the AT makes planning a necessity. Thru-hiking had been on my mind ever since I signed up for the Konnarock Trail Crew and met several thru-hikers. I didn’t get serious about taking this on until 2015, the year before I left. I started by attending REI lectures on hiking the AT, talking to the instructors, and researching gear. In the fall of 2015 I hiked the 41-mile Maryland Section to try out pitching a tent, cooking on a small stove, and navigating blazes. In February before I left I got serious about planning where and when to get resupplies. I sent out an email to friends in DC and asked if they could help by sending four or five boxes to locations along the trail. The board of A Vegan Life nonprofit helped research vegan companies with light-weight, shelf-stable, and easy to prepare products. Some companies like Gorilly Goods, Vega, and Elianni donated food. I purchased cases of Road’s End Mac & Cheese because it only requires adding water. I planned to resupply every 40 or so miles and carry four days’ worth of food. A typical day would be hot oatmeal for breakfast, snacks (trail mix, bars) during the day, and Mac & Cheese for dinner. About 15 people offered to mail food packages. I plugged their names into the spread sheet and delivered filled USPS boxes before I left. The boxes were addressed to me with the notation “please hold for NOBO (north-bound) thru-hiker ETA …”           

My niece Lizi researched vegan recipes and mailed the dehydrated version to me in individually wrapped brown paper bags with instructions and ingredients. Her Thai curry soup and grits with kale and sesame seeds hit the spot. Lizi and Mike, her boyfriend, met me in along the trail in Shenandoah National Park with more delicious foods, snacks, and homemade cherry and vanilla ice cream made with almond milk that I ate at one of the rest stops where we met.

One recurring question I got besides “how old are you” was “where do you get your protein?” I couldn’t help but notice that many of the thru-hikers were young but had very poor diets. When they got to small towns they filled up on pizza, fast food, and junk. Even though I could not hike as fast as they could, I relied on my healthy diet to keep me going without injury. I wanted to be a model for what is possible on a healthy vegan diet at age 69. Besides I had to live up to my trail name Iron Butterfly.

I made it to Katahdin October 15, registered at the Baxter State Park Ranger Station, paid my fee, and along with my hiking friend, Swiss Miss, headed to the campsite designated for thru-hikers. That night we had a good dinner, I had saved a little of the Thai curry soup for this occasion, set the alarm for 5:30 am and crawled into the sleeping bag knowing we had made it. After breakfast in the dark the morning of October 16 we packed up our gear and headed for the ranger station. We left our large packs on the porch and stuffed a day pack with snacks and water and headed out for the Hunt Trail and the northern terminus of the trail.

It takes a day to hike up and down Katahdin. It starts out easy but half way up it is very difficult and requires holding onto rebar and hoisting almost straight up. Closer to the summit and above the tree line we walked along the path that had been roped off with signs that the area was home to an endangered butterfly. Along the way we met some young guys who hiked with us. There was no need to hurry now because we knew we had made it. At the summit we took the requisite photos before heading down to try and beat the rain. That night we celebrated with vegan food at a restaurant in Millinocket.

For more information on hiking and camping, see:
https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2013issue2/2013_issue2_vegan_backpacking.php
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2019/07/09/are-you-looking-for-vegan-hiking-boots-heres-some-online-stores-selling-them/
https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2001may/2001_may_backpack.php
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2011/02/18/vegan-camping-foods-for-the-winter/

On Sunday, November 24th, 2019 The Vegetarian Resource Group hosted our 38th Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Vegan Potluck Dinner at the North Baltimore Mennonite Church on Roland Avenue in Baltimore, MD.

Imagine all of the camaraderie and food associated with the holiday without the turkey and fixin’s. Imagine all that food – and it was all wonderfully VEGAN. Was this what vegan heaven looks like? It’s certainly represents a step toward heaven. You should have been there! Make plans to join us next year, you owe it to yourself – and to the turkeys.

Save the date: VRG’s pre-Thanksgiving potluck in Baltimore, MD is on the Sunday before Thanksgiving each year!

We encourage you to hold a similar event in your home town. Of course the internet has loads of vegan recipes but here are a few more https://www.vrg.org/recipes/vegan_thanksgiving.php

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Duckweeds (also known as water lentils) are plants that grow on lakes and ponds and that are eaten by ducks, geese, and swans. Some species of duckweed have been traditionally eaten by people in Asian countries. For example, in Thailand, duckweed is used in salads and vegetable curries and is found in vegetable markets where it may be called khai nam, kai-pum, or kai nhae (1). 

Duckweed has been recently investigated as a source of nutrients including protein (1). Questions have arisen about duckweed’s vitamin B12 content. So far, only one peer-reviewed study has examined this. Researchers reported that a dish made from Mankai duckweed contained vitamin B12 (2). No details were provided of the method used to analyze vitamin B12 which is concerning since some methods measure inactive vitamin B12 analogs (3, 4).

When questioned about their methodology (3), the researchers said that they used a method that does not distinguish between active vitamin B12 and vitamin B12 analogs (5). They also said that they did another kind of test that found that there was some active vitamin B12 in the duckweed although no details were provided about how much active vitamin B12 was present (5).

Unless a food has consistently been shown to improve vitamin B12 status in humans, as measured by reducing blood levels of methylmalonic acid, it cannot be considered a reliable source of vitamin B12 (4). There are no published reports in peer-reviewed scientific literature of duckweed improving human vitamin B12 status.

The bottom line: More research needs to be conducted and subjected to peer review, before duckweed (or water lentils) can be considered a reliable source of vitamin B12 for humans.

For more information about vitamin B12, including vegan sources of vitamin B12, see Vitamin B12 in the Vegan Diet.

References

1. Appenroth KJ, Sree KS, Bog M, et al. Nutritional value of the duckweed species of the genus Wolffia (Lemnaceae) as human food. Front Chem. 2018 Oct 29;6:483

2. Kaplan A, Zelicha H, Tsaban G, et al. Protein bioavailability of Wolffia globosa duckweed, a novel aquatic plant – A randomized controlled trial. Clin Nutr. 2019 Dec;38(6):2576-2582. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2018.12.009.

3. Jahreis G, Appenroth KJ, Sree KS, Dawczynski C. Letter to original article by Kaplan et al. 2018 – Protein bioavailability of Wolffia globosa duckweed, a novel aquatic plant, A randomized controlled trial. Clin Nutr. 2019 Oct;38(5):2463. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2019.07.007.        

4. Norris J. Vitamin B12. Vegan Health website. https://veganhealth.org/vitamin-b12/

5. Kaplan A, Lapidot M, Sela I, Shai I. RE: Protein bioavailability of Wolffia globosa duckweed, a novel aquatic plant, a randomized controlled trial. Clin Nutr. 2019 Oct;38(5):2464. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2019.08.007

The contents of this posting, website and our other publications, including 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 statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

Study Nonviolence and Jainism in India. International Summer School for Jain Studies (ISSJS) is currently accepting applications for three, four, and six week study programs in India. See: www.isjs.in

For other travel opportunities, see: https://www.vrg.org/links/vacation.htm

Loving Hut is an international vegan chain with over 200 restaurants in 35 countries. We recently visited the Loving Hut Falls Church, Virginia (USA) location. The service was excellent and the food was delicious.

We ordered Tofu & Brussel Sprouts, Spicy Sweet Potato Curry, Super Kale, and a vegan Brownie with vegan Ice Cream for dessert. Each dish had its own unique flavor and we greatly enjoyed our meal.

Info for the Loving Hut Fall Church, VA location here: https://lovinghut.us/fallschurch/

Loving Hut locations in the USA can be found here:
http://lovinghut.us

You can also search for veggie restaurants on The Vegetarian Resource Group’s online guide for the USA and Canada here: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

By Marcy Schveibinz

Odd Robert by Will Lowrey is a story about two curious young boys who lived in a small village surrounded by a great forest called Elkin Forest. They love to go on adventures in the forest to discover new things. They rescue a creature that is mysterious to them and the villagers. All they know is that the creature was injured and needed to be taken care of just like any other living being. The readers eventually will learn the identity of Odd Robert and see the desperation and passion for his welfare by those who lost him and those who found him. Due to this passion on both sides, there are several parts of the story that have graphic descriptions of violent images.

The animal rights theme is conveyed throughout the story in an unconventional, obscure way. Lowry’s use of the written word makes it easy for the reader to imagine being right there with the boys on their adventures through Elkin Forest.

Odd Robert by Will Lowry is a 139-page paperback book. It is published by Lomack Publishing and is available for retail on Amazon in paperback and kindle editions. This book may be suitable for ages 16 to adult.

According to engadget, the Impossible Sausage will be tested at 139 Burger King restaurants in five test regions: Savannah, Georgia; Lansing, Michigan; Springfield, Illinois; Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Montgomery, Alabama. See: ImpossibleSausageinBurgerKing’sbreakfastcroissants.

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including 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 statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

• Baby Nanya: baby and toddler shoes. The shoes’ exterior is made of microfiber, while the inner part is made of cotton. They also have rubber sole grips. https://babynanya.com/
• Clamfeet: Offers adorable baby shoes and matching shoes for mothers. They have an eco canvas exterior, organic cotton lining, and rubberized grip sole. They are washable. https://clamfeet.com/
• Happy Little Soles: Offers a vegan section of shoes for boys and girls. https://www.happylittlesoles.co.uk/
• Jambu & Co.: Sells a few shoes for girls and toddlers in the USA. https://jambu.com/kids/feature/vegan/
• Pediped: Offers a large selection of vegan shoes for kids of all ages that can be shipped internationally. https://www.pediped.com/vegan
• Softstar: Offers moccasin-like ramblers made from soft vegan Ultrasuede with rubber soles. They are available in baby and youth sizes. https://www.softstarshoes.com/child-youth-vegan-rambler.html
• Tom’s: Sells vegan shoes for children worldwide. In the USA, see: Tom’s In the United Kingdom, visit: https://www.toms.co.uk/kids
• Vegan Chic: Offers a few options for children including The Kid’s Ramos by Keep. https://www.veganchic.com/kids/vegan+shoes/search.aspx

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Here are some recent vegan restaurant additions. The entire guide can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

To support the updating of this online restaurant guide, please donate at: www.vrg.org/donate

Here are some new additions to VRG’s guide:

Angelhearts Diner

401 East State St., Ste. G2, Ithaca, NY 14850

Angelhearts Diner aims to offer every customer, vegan or not, a delicious comfort food experience. They have holiday specials, but also have consistent menu items like soy mozzarella sticks, vegan buttered biscuits, and a beet burger salad. The diner is decorated with a black, white, and blue palate and each customer can recognize the classic checkered floor tile pattern that decorates Angelhearts Diner.

Gay4U

380 15th St., Oakland, CA 94612

Serves dishes including a chickpea-seitan burger, bowls, mac n’ cheese, nachos, hand-cut fries, and more. Also enjoy weekend brunch items including waffles and desserts.

Grenville Kitchen

311 W Ashley St., Ste. 1, Jacksonville, FL 32202

Comfort food, grown naturally and used to create a nutrition packed vegan meal. Menu offers many options including Lasagna, Mac n Chz, Chickn’ and Waffle to Crispy Fried Jackfruit and salads. Specials include pholourie, a spiced dough ball and pelau, a rice dish. Be sure to save room for one of the sweet treats of sliced cake or take a whole one to go!

Hungry Angelina

6400 CA-1, Long Beach, CA 90803

Hungry Angelina is another restaurant from Matthew Kenney Cuisine, located in Long Beach with a view of the marina. Their diverse menu includes a lengthy wine, beer, and cocktail list, along with options like sushi, flatbreads, burgers, and noodles. Customers rave about the atmosphere and the Pineapple Express Cocktail. They also can’t believe the Matcha Cheesecake is vegan. For those with allergies, their menu clearly shows soy-free, nut-free, and gluten-free options, so that customers with any dietary need feel welcome.

Vegan on Rivers

4245 Rivers Ave., North Charleston, SC 29405

Vegan on Rivers offers a small menu featuring soul food that changes daily. Customer favorites include fried green beans, pineapple upside-down cake, and a sea moss smoothie. Customers applaud the staff, saying they’re the friendliest staff you’ll encounter. The restaurant also has a small shop for clothing, and one of a kind finds that add to the welcoming atmosphere.

Vegan Town

1805 W. State of Franklin Rd., Ste. 800, Johnson City, TN 37604

Enjoy fresh juices, smoothie bowls, quesadillas, salads, mixed berry toast, and more. Food is also gluten-free.

Vegans Are Us

636 E. Landis Ave., Vineland, NJ 08360

Friendly staff where soulful music blends with a cozy relaxed vibe. Featuring rich, homey meals with a savory twist. Breakfasts offer JUST Egg, a variety of vegan breakfast meats, and organic grits. Additionally, a good variety of vegan cheeses are available as well as shakes and smoothies. The lunch and dinner menu offers a great assortment of burgers and sandwiches like meatball subs, Philly v-steak, and vegan tuna salad and no meal would be complete without a side of delicious vegan mac and cheese!

Recent discussion topics include:

– I’m new to this group but a long-term (30+ years) vegetarian and recent vegan. I…homeschool a 6th grade, vegetarian daughter who is an aspiring animal rights activist. Part of the reason we homeschool is so that we can focus on progressive and sustainable topics, for self-directed, liberal arts inspired education. We have gotten to know a few more vegetarian and vegan families who homeschool in Baltimore. I wonder if there are any more vegetarians /vegans out there who are homeschooling. I am interested in developing a research /writing group for homeschooling middle and high school students. We belong to a Baltimore area homeschool co-op (BRANCH) that holds classes on Fridays and has use of a log cabin space at a local nature center. Whether it’s a “virtual” discussion group, or a local group that meets monthly or even weekly, I think that this would be a wonderful network to build. The students could strengthen their research and writing skills while following their interests in sustainability and animal rights.

-Shared an article on vegan lunch options for kids written by a VRG intern.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids/ is intended to be a group that offers support for families raising children on vegan diets and for vegan kids. We envision it as a place to get advice about a wide-variety of topics: pregnancy, birthday parties, school lunches, Halloween, non-leather apparel, cruelty-free products, summer camps, and more. Please use it as a place to share your wisdom, seek advice, or just find a sympathetic ear. The goal is to offer support.

Consequently, any profane, defamatory, offensive, or violent language will be removed. Feel free to disagree, but do so respectfully. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. We expect that posts should relate to vegan diets and lifestyles. The Vegetarian Resource Group reserves the right to monitor all content and ban any user who posts in violation of the above rules, any law or regulation, SPAM, or anything otherwise off topic.

Please share this information with any veggie families that you know! Thanks.