The 2017 Lisa Shapiro Awards honor the unsung heroes of the global animal advocacy movement. Nominations are now officially open! Please help us say thank you to your favorite inspiring grassroots animal activists by nominating them at thepollinationproject.org/hero. This year’s award comes with a no-strings-attached $2,500 cash prize and a whole lot of vegan love from all over the world!

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Medication recommendations should be discussed with your health care provider since individual situations vary. There are a number of different causes of hypothyroidism. Depending on your specific condition, certain medications may or may not be appropriate. We cannot recommend specific medications. We have not evaluated ingredients that are used in medication so cannot say with confidence whether or not a product is vegan.

A starting place, if you are trying to make decisions about medications, is to discuss options with your physician. Once you have a list of medications, websites like PDR – Prescribers’ Digital Reference can help you identify ingredients. You can also search online for specific medication names and the company who makes them. You can contact the company for more information. Your pharmacist may also be able to help with this research.

As an example of how you could approach this, suppose your provider told you that medications to treat hypothyroidism include Levoxyl and Synthroid. Products containing thyroid hormone from pigs are occasionally used but these have largely been replaced by synthetic hormones such as those in Levoxyl and Synthroid.

According to the company’s website, “The active ingredient in LEVOXYL (levothyroxine sodium) is a synthetic hormone that is identical to the thyroxine hormone naturally made by the thyroid gland.”

According to the PDR, Synthroid’s ingredients include lactose monohydrate (http://www.pdr.net/full-prescribing-information/Synthroid-levothyroxine-sodium-26). According to the company’s website, Levoxyl does not have lactose as an ingredient (http://labeling.pfizer.com/ShowLabeling.aspx?id=688). This is an obvious difference but we can’t say for certain whether or not either of these products contains animal ingredients. We also don’t know whether or not animal testing was used in their development.

The recent book, Even Vegans Die, offers some advice about medications. “It is also not practical to refuse medications that you need when no alternative exists. There are times when the only choice is a non-vegan choice. We work toward a world where there are alternatives to all products that involve animal use. But that world does not yet exist.”

Please discuss your specific needs and concerns with your physician.

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.

By Shannon Borgoyn, VRG volunteer

Baltimore Restaurant Week is an attraction for Baltimore residents and tourists alike. Unfortunately, not everybody (namely vegans and vegetarians) can find options at participating restaurants. However, this will change with Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week. Baltimore’s vegan restaurant week will be held August 18-26, 2017 and will feature a variety of vegan and non-vegan restaurants. It is sponsored by VegFund, Yelp, the Restaurant Association of Maryland, HB, the Land of Kush, Golden West Cafe, and the Black Vegetarian Society of Baltimore.

Golden West employee and coordinator of the event Shannon Light Hadley gave me some background information about Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week. The idea of a vegan restaurant week was born of a desire for more vegan options at restaurants throughout Baltimore. She noticed the only vegan option at many restaurants is salad, which often isn’t filling and can lack variety. Hadley wanted to change this. She drew inspiration from Golden West’s vegan weekends, which have occurred twice per year for the last 2-3 years. From these vegan weekends, she got the idea for a vegan restaurant week.

To make this a reality, Hadley got in touch with the owner of the Land of Kush, Naijha Wright-Brown, to form a partnership with them and Golden West Cafe. Together, they’re working to bring Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week to life: Wright-Brown is doing the street work (advertising on the streets, raising funds and grants, etc.) and Hadley handles the computer work (creating advertisements, running the event site, examining restaurant applications, etc.). Really, this is something similar to what they do on a daily basis. Besides being the owner of the Land of Kush, Wright-Brown is also the Executive Director of the Black Vegetarian Society of Maryland and Co-founder of the Vegan Soulfest. As for Hadley, she has a background in graphic design and marketing, has done professional design for ten years, and much more. With all the hard work being put into the event, it’s clear that Hadley and Wright-Brown are extremely passionate about Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week.

The ultimate goal of Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week is to challenge local restaurants to create vegan menu items. Hadley believes that restaurants without vegan options are truly missing out on a lucrative opportunity: having no options means little business from the vegan crowd. Over the years, veganism and vegan foods have become ubiquitous, but there are still many places that don’t yet provide vegan options. Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week could create a better, more welcoming environment for vegans and vegetarians. Usually, Baltimore Restaurant Week features expensive, multi-course meals, but Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week will feature affordable, simple, one-course vegan meals. Hadley hopes the event will arouse people’s curiosity about vegan food. Vegan food sometimes has the stereotypes of being costly and consisting of “rabbit food.” Through Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week, Hadley hopes people will see that vegan food can be as affordable and delicious as mainstream fare. Additionally, Hadley hopes everybody involved with the event will unify into an inclusive community where nobody feels shunned.

Already, the Internet is buzzing about Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week: the Baltimore Sun’s article “Vegan Restaurant Week coming to Baltimore in August” link on Facebook has gotten several likes, shares, reactions, and comments; and Facebook group “Baltimore Vegans” is brimming with excitement. Hadley only expects Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week to get more popular closer to event week. In the future, Hadley “would like to expand into the greater Baltimore area and throughout Maryland.”

Participating locations of Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week include event sponsors the Land of Kush and Golden West Cafe, as well as Big Bean Theory, Sprout, Dangerously Delicious Pies, and many more! A more comprehensive list of participating locations can be found at https://www.mdveganeats.com/; as the event nears, more restaurants will be announced. Currently, Hadley has a Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week Facebook event page in the works, will soon be launching the event’s site, and more. For restaurants interested in participating, the application can be found at https://www.mdveganeats.com/.

Links
Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week: https://www.mdveganeats.com/
Baltimore Sun article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/baltimore-diner-blog/bs-fe-vegan-restaurant-week-20170705-story.html

For Maryland restaurants that serve vegetarian and vegan food year round, see
http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/Maryland.php

Are you looking for new ideas on how to prepare leafy greens? Here’s some recipes from Vegetarian Journal to help you out.

Cooking with Leaves
Chef Nancy Berkoff offers the following recipes:
Dolmathes
Rolled Caesar Salad
Spanish-Influenced Stuffed Cabbage
Lettuce Stuffed with Garlic and White Beans
Romaine Stuffed Cabbage
Almost-Stuffed Cabbage
Peanut-Veggie Rollies
Savory Rice in Lotus Leaves

The Green Scene
Mary Clifford provides these recipes:
Warm Curried Greens and Pasta
Country-Style Greens
Greens and Apples
Braised Bok Choy with Mushrooms
Creamy Rice and Greens Casserole
Greens Quiche

How to Cook Mouthwatering Greens
Cynthia Laier gives readers several recipes:
Watercress Salad with Creamy Ginger Dressing
Tofu-Kale-Mustard-Dill Supper Pie
Bok Choy and Buckwheat Noodles in Garlic Ginger Broth
Szechwan Tempeh with Swiss Chard
Golden Potato and Collard Green Soup

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, go to:
Subscribe to Vegetarian Journal

If you’re attending any of the events below, be sure to stop by The Vegetarian Resource Group’s booths at the following events and say hello:

FARM Animal Rights Conference
Hilton Mark Center
5000 Seminary Rd
Alexandria, VA 22311
August 3rd – 6th from 10:15 AM – 6:00 PM

Western New York VegFest
LaSalle Park
Buffalo, NY 14201
August 6th from 11 AM – 7 PM

Vegan SoulFest
Baltimore City Community College (BCCC)
2901 Liberty Heights Ave
Baltimore, MD 21215
August 26th from 12 PM – 7 PM

DC VegFest
Lot H/I at Yards Park
355 Water Street SE
Washington DC 20003
September 2nd from 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM

To support our outreach efforts, please donate:
Donate to VRG

If you started growing herbs in the spring, you’re probably wondering what to do with them all now. We have you covered. Here’s an article that previously ran in Vegetarian Journal that will give you many ideas.

http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2013issue2/2013_issue2_cooking_with_fresh_herbs.php
Chef Nancy Berkoff offers general information on herbs and these vegan recipes:
Garlic-Parsley Spread
Lemongrass Rice
Whipped Minted Yogurt
Parsley-Cheddar Rice
Vegetable Dumpling Soup
Dill and Mustard Salad Dressing

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, see:
http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Nothing beats a delicious cold drink when it’s hot outside. Here’s some recipes for creative beverages from Vegetarian Journal:

Our Coolers are the Coolest!
Christine Day shares recipes for:
Minty Watermelon Cooler
Pineapple Tangerine Margarita
Pina Colada Licuado
Ginger Lemonade
Vampiro
Jamaica Fresca
Horchata

Dessert Smoothies
Ivy Grob serves up smoothies that taste like dessert:
Strawberry Shortcake
Banana Chocolate
Berry Cobbler
Peanut Butter Cup
Peach Pie
Apple Pie

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, visit:
Subscribe to Vegetarian Journal

Air India announced that it has cut meat out of economy-class meals on domestic flights “to reduce wastage, reduce cost and improve catering service.”
For more information see:

http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/10/news/india/air-india-flights-meat-vegetarian-food/index.html

By Julia Schoenberg

It might seem stressful to host non-vegan guests. What can you serve them? What will they like? The answer is simpler than you think. Many non-vegan consumers eat vegan products everyday without knowing it. Being non-vegan myself, participating in a vegan meal seemed daunting at first. In reality, however, vegan products are all around us and make up some of our favorite dishes.
   
Ethnic food seems to be the common denominator when it comes to bridging the gap between omnivores and vegans. Many cuisines, like Mexican, are primarily vegan to begin with. For example, try vegetable fajitas, refried beans (without lard), and taco shells. The great part is that it isn’t “vegan Mexican,” it’s just food that happens to fit the vegan diet.

Another great option is Indian food. Indian cuisine includes a wide variety of meatless dishes and wholesome vegetables. In addition to curried tofu and chickpea flour-based breads, Indian cuisine offers dozens of vegetable based soups and rice dishes.

For a third option, look no further than your own refrigerator. The food you always keep around the house might be vegan! Hummus, carrots, many crackers, and even potato chips. Hors d’oeuvres will be a piece of (vegan) cake.

I spoke with some non-vegans and asked them what vegan foods they would consider eating. Initially, of course, their faces scrunched at the idea, picturing “tofu” and other stereotypical vegan foods. However, after explaining some other, more common options, I got a different response. Almost everyone was open to the idea of a vegetable-based meal. In fact, I spoke with a strict carnivore from Philadelphia who, after having one meal at a new vegan restaurant, now has “Meatless Mondays,” claiming that vegan food is a hidden gem.

Although you may think you have to serve food that is made specifically for vegans, serving any food that fits the criteria works too! The goal is to make your guests forget that what they’re eating is vegan at all. For more suggestions, visit www.vrg.org for vegan recipes and restaurants ideas.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

With the recent announcements by both Reebok and Adidas for their biodegradable shoes to be released sometime in 2017-2018, The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) wondered if the shoes would be 100% vegan. Our short answer based on information we received from these companies: We don’t know. Here’s what we’ve learned thus far:

Adidas
Their new product (still in development) is partially constructed of a synthetic biopolymer, Biosteel®, invented by German company AMSilk®. The fiber is a “nature-based biopolymer” that mimics spider silk protein. It is, according to the company’s website, “100% vegan and biodegradable.” https://www.amsilk.com/industries/biosteel-fibers/#c156

Read more about it at www.adidas.com: http://news.adidas.com/us/Latest-News/adidas-unveils-world-s-first-performance-shoe–made-from-biosteel–fiber/s/88ed218c-68a0-43ba-9ce2-4e87bce30652

In this news release it states that “The Adidas Futurecraft Biofabric prototype shoe features an upper made from 100% Biosteel® fiber…”

We wondered if the rest of the shoe, including the glue, would also be biodegradable and/or vegan. In response to our question we received this email reply from Julia Zellner in Corporate Communications at Adidas in May 2017:

“With our partners, we are actively working on developing materials and processes to help us intercept potential waste and bring it back into the creation loop.
At the moment, the use of biodegradable fibres in our product is at a development stage and the hope is that within the next year we will be in a position to release a product that consumers will be able to purchase.

So far only prototypes have been produced and we cannot confirm details for future products containing 100% biodegradable fibers.

In order for us to label a product as ‘vegan,’ every material used need to be certified so. Currently, we offer a vast number of products for which we do not use animal products or animal by-products. For instance, certain textiles and synthetic leather used by Adidas are animal-free. However, as we want to allow our local suppliers to be able to locally source commodity products (such as glue used in footwear), we do not have a mandate for these products to be certified vegan, as we cannot guarantee local availability of vegan products for all suppliers. Therefore, we do not label our products as vegan even though some may not contain any animal products or animal by-products.”

Does Adidas Have a Coding System for Local Suppliers?

The VRG responded to Julia with another question. We wanted to know if Adidas had a coding system which would permit a consumer to know which local supplier produced a certain shoe component such as the glue. (We know that product coding is practiced by food companies such as Domino® Sugar allowing them to track their foods and know where it was produced. We wondered if shoe companies had a similar system in place.) http://www.vrg.org/blog/2013/01/29/bone-char-free-sugar-from-florida-crystals%C2%AE-and-domino%C2%AE-sugar/

If so, someone who purchased an Adidas product could follow up with the local supplier whose materials were used to manufacture their particular pair of shoes in order to determine if their shoes were vegan.

The VRG received a reply from André Mendes, Senior Manager in Sustainability Communications for Adidas in June 2017. He relayed to us:
“This is information that, at the moment, is not possible for us to share. We keep track of our suppliers but the communication mechanisms between supplier and customer are not in place. We would need to know the supplier and exact purchase order and speak directly to the supplier. Even then, the supplier might not keep records of which locally sourced materials were used.”

Adidas Mid-Sole: Biodegradable?
Here is our question to Adidas: Will the sole of your new shoe be biodegradable as well as the Biosteel fabric on its upper part? If not, what will the sole be made of?

André of Adidas replied:
“The material we use for the midsole of the Futurecraft prototype is BOOST. At the moment this technology is not entirely sustainable but, being a prototype, we constantly innovate and are looking into midsole eco-innovations, such as 3D-printed with ocean plastic. We want to innovate in creating new ideas within an energy intense process in order to use the resources in a responsible way. And this is what we have started to achieve with the upper part of this specific shoe.

Nevertheless, the BOOST manufacturing process (at supplier level) is based on renewable resources, in accordance with Adidas and BASF’s guiding principles of using resources responsibly. We create the best for the athlete, while optimizing our environmental impact. We are committed to steadily increasing the use of more sustainable materials in our production, products and stores.”

We again followed up with more questions to André about his response. Here is the Q&A:

Q: Is BOOST a trademarked name for an Adidas product?
A: BOOST is a trademarked Adidas technology that is used in multiple products.

Q: Are there any petrochemicals involved in manufacturing BOOST? If so, approximately what percentage of the midsole is petrochemical?
A: Yes, Boost is made of TPU which is a plastic (all plastics, unless bio-based, are made from oil – petrochemicals).
[VRG Note: TPU is an acronym for thermoplastic polyurethane. Learn more: https://polyurethane.americanchemistry.com/polyurethanes/Introduction-to-Polyurethanes/Applications/Thermoplastic-Polyurethane/]

Q: You mentioned ocean plastic as a component of your shoes. Can you provide a general estimate of the percentage of any one pair of shoes that is derived from ocean plastic?
A: The upper of the Parley shoes is made of Parley Ocean PlasticTM, which is plastic diverted from the ocean/collected on shorelines. The percentage varies greatly depending on the shoe.

Q: Will the biodegradable shoe which you’re developing now contain ocean plastic? If so, approximately what percentage of it will consist of ocean plastic?
A: No, it will not contain Parley Ocean PlasticTM.

Reebok
In March 2017, Reebok announced its Cotton + Corn® initiative which is based on Susterra® a Dupont Tate & Lyle® invention.

https://www.reebok.com/en-US/Blog/2017-03/Cotton-and-Corn/

http://www.synbioproject.org/cpi/applications/susterra/

Corn glucose-derived 1,3-propanediol is the chemical produced using a genetically engineered microbial catalyst in an industrial fermentation process.
Traditionally, 1,3-propanediol is manufactured from fossil fuels in a procedure that consumes 40% more energy and produces 20% more greenhouse gas emissions than it does to produce it from corn according to a press release by DuPont Tate & Lyle: http://www.duponttateandlyle.com/news_112706

At this point in its development, the top of the shoe is derived from cotton and the sole, from corn. Unlike the current Adidas prototype as of this writing, the Reebok shoe appears to be entirely biodegradable.

We asked Reebok’s Head of Corporate Communications Dan Sarro about the Cotton + Corn shoe. He relayed the following:

“I spoke to the person who heads up our Cotton + Corn initiative… The shoes will be available sometime in late 2017. Here is his response to your question [about vegan materials including the glue]:

‘This is still to be determined. Some of our samples have vegetable tanned leather trim pieces – but we’re not sure if the finished product will have those pieces. We should know in the next few months what the final product will be.’”

NOTE: This is a developing story. Stay tuned to this blog for future updates from The VRG about Reebok and Adidas shoes.

And for those looking for vegan running shoes who can’t wait: http://runnerclick.com/best-vegan-running-shoes-reviewed/ 

According to the author of this article, he considered glue ingredients before ranking his selections. http://runnerclick.com/best-vegan-running-shoes-reviewed/#the-criteria-used-when-selecting-the-best-vegan-running-shoes

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.

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, join at: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php
For more information on nonleather shoes, see:
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/leather.php