If you’re in the mid-Atlantic region, be sure to stop by The Vegetarian Resource Group’s booths at the following events:

BaltimoreVegFest
UMBC College Campus
on Erickson Field
1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250
Saturday May 6th, 2017 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Washington DC Green Festival
Located at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Hall D
801 Mt Vernon Pl NW, Washington, DC 20001
May 13th – 14th
Saturday: 10 AM – 6 PM
Sunday: 10AM – 5PM

By Casey Brown, VRG Intern
 
Paul’s Place is an organization located in southwest Baltimore that serves its community, providing programs and services to empower and support individuals. These include a soup kitchen, food pantry, programs designed for the youth, and health and wellness programs that provide many benefits to this community. Paul’s Place also holds an annual Spring into Good Health Festival, which invites local health organizations to the area. People visiting the festival can hear about these beneficial programs or take part in fun activities like yoga or zumba to support their health.
 
It was my first time visiting this festival, and I was looking forward to it since the other VRG volunteer told me that it had been fun in the previous years. He said the people tended to be receptive to and supportive of our message. I definitely noticed this, as many people recognized our booth and were excited to pick up another copy of Vegetarian Journal. Everybody was so friendly, and many people expressed their interest in going vegetarian or vegan.

We were able to have great conversations with these individuals and address many of their concerns. Numerous people were interested in reducing their consumption of animal products for the health benefits. They found our “Heart Healthy Eating Tips” and “Veganism in a Nutshell” brochures to be especially helpful for addressing their concerns. Others expressed that they had been wanting to move towards a vegetarian lifestyle, but they were having trouble thinking of meal ideas. We were able to share some of our favorite recipes with them, as well as provide them with a copy of Vegetarian Journal, which contains many vegan recipes. They were also interested in signing up for our monthly newsletter, so they could receive additional recipes online.

One man described how he was having trouble finding a good replacement for vegan cheese, but he had given up all other animal products. We shared our favorite vegan cheese brands and discussed some of the stores in the area that might sell these products. He is hoping to find a good replacement, so he can officially remove dairy from his diet. A lady told us that she used to be vegetarian, and she felt much better when she was eating this way. She was planning to go back to vegetarianism, and she was glad she could pick up many of our different resources to help get her started again.

In addition to the conversations we had, we also had many children visit the booth with their parents. They were all excited when they found out we had something fun for them too – “I love Animals and Broccoli” coloring books! While we met with a lot of people interested in the lifestyle, we did meet multiple people who were already vegetarian or vegan. It was really exciting to hear their stories and learn about the reasons and documentaries that inspired their decision.
 
We informed multiple people that we would also be at Baltimore Vegfest next weekend at the University of Maryland Baltimore County campus.

To volunteer to help at other VRG outreach booths, contact Brigette at [email protected]

To support Vegetarian Resource Group education, donate at www.vrg.org/donate

Or join at http://www.vrg.org/member/cabdacae.php

Want to learn more about how you can lead a sustainable lifestyle? Shop green at the 13th annual Green Festival May 13-14th 2017. See VRG there!

Green Festival® is a vibrant, dynamic marketplace where companies and organizations come to showcase their green products and services, and where people go to learn how to live healthier, more sustainable lives.

Green Festival offers something for everyone, with the widest selection of products and services to work green, play green and live green from food, fashion and health to energy, construction and design. People can shop and enjoy vegan, vegetarian, organic foods, hands-on demos, educational activities and inspirational speakers.

Come see The Vegetarian Resource Group at the DC GreenFest show and you will receive $5.00 off your ticket when buying tickets using the code XDC17798D here:
https://www.greenfestivals.org/washington-d-c-2017-may-12-14.html#!014

Vegan in Volume is published by The Vegetarian Resource Group and has been greatly received by people working in the food service sector, as well as those that enjoy throwing parties in their own home or simply cooking in volume. This book by Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD offers 125 vegan recipes serving 25. It also offers a lot of helpful advice including A Fast Course in Vegan Nutrition, The Mechanics of the Operation, Food Safety Pointers, and a section on Vegan Ingredients.

The quantity recipes greatly vary depending on the audience you’ll be serving. Nancy includes recipes for breakfast such as Lots of Grains Pancakes and Peachy Keen Breakfast Crumble. A section for kids serves up Squiggly Noodles and “Not-Meatballs.” For dinner parties and elegant dining for adults try French Onion and Olive Tart and Eggplant “Caviar.”

You will also find quantity recipes for special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, bar/bat mitzvahs, communions, and more. Enjoy Watermelon Gazpacho, Spicy Bean Cakes with Fruit Salsa, Curried Vegetables with Polenta, and Sophisticated Poached Pears. Next, move on to college campuses and try Vegetable Tagine, Two Alarm Four Bean Chili, Jumpin’ Veggie Jambalaya, and Gooey, Chewy Peanut Butter Bars.

Grab and Go Fast Food recipes include Sweet Potato Burgers, Cold Noodles with Peanut Sauce, and Fragrant and Fast Tofu Sandwich. Un-Hospital Food items include Orange and Wild Rice Salad, Sweet Potato Soup, New England Baked Beans, Eggplant Lasagna, and Cinnamony Baked Apples. And a section for senior citizens includes recipes for Chesapeake Corn Chowder, Southwest Tomato Rice, Pasta with Vegetable-Marinara Sauce, and Homestyle Molasses Cookies.

Vegan in Volume can be purchased from The Vegetarian Resource Group Book Catalog:
http://www.vrg.org/catalog/

Written by Julia Mathew

I represented The Vegetarian Resource Group at the Harford County Earth Day Festival in Aberdeen, Maryland along with two other VRG volunteers. The festival was originally scheduled on Saturday, April 22, but was moved to Sunday because of the rain. The event was a great experience!

I talked to many people who were very interested in becoming vegetarian or vegan. The event was very child-friendly, making our I Love Animals and Broccoli coloring books a huge hit. A young girl who appeared to be about 10 years old showed genuine curiosity about going vegan. She expressed her concerns about not eating meat and wanted to learn more about vegetarianism and veganism. I gave her a journal for some recipes, our Vegetarianism in a Nutshell packet, and answered her personal questions.

About 150 people came across our booth, most of which received a copy of Vegetarian Journal. Many people were excited to use our Greater Baltimore Veggie Restaurant Guide, stating that it would be very useful. An enthusiastic, young vegan man stopped by our booth and took some of our materials to pass out to members in his community. He went vegan about two months ago and discussed how life changing the experience has been for him. Another older couple came across our booth and thanked us for the work we were doing. They gave us a donation while we told them more about our Journal. One mother told us that she had recently made her family go vegan after watching the documentary “Forks Over Knives” together. She took some of our nutritional resources and skimmed through a couple of our books. One friendly man stopped by and we discussed a little about the VRG and he ended up signing up for our email newsletter.

We also networked with DineKind Harford, a local vegan group who was also at the event. They were extremely kind and showed us some of the vegan children’s books that they were selling. The group also had a copy of our My Vegan Plate handout on one of their information boards. We discussed how nice it was to have a fellow vegan group at the event also promoting this lifestyle.

Overall, it was really wonderful to interact with the local community in Aberdeen. The weather was beautiful and we met a lot of optimistic people who were genuinely curious about adopting a vegan lifestyle, or at the very least, reducing their consuming of animal products. I think we exchanged a lot of influential information and conversation with the people who stopped by our booth. I’m already looking forward to the next event where I’ll represent the VRG!

On Easter at five years old Samantha Illius looked up from her family meal and complimented the food her mom and grandmother slaved over in the kitchen. Her uncle said, “It’s baby cow.”

“Needless to say, I was sickened by meat and scarred by this event for the remainder of my life,” stated Samantha. After a five year struggle with her family because she had allergies to nuts and soy, Samantha became a strict vegetarian at ten.

In sixth grade Samantha started putting vegetarian brochures into mailboxes and continued in other housing developments throughout high school. She put out information in her church and started a business www.gottahavsoaps.weebly.com selling cruelty-free vegan soap.

Her Vice-Principal said, “I am familiar with her impact on our school lunches. She came to me … and I guided her toward the business director for our district. She took off from there. She scheduled meetings with the director and our head kitchen staff. She persuaded them to provide additional vegetarian selections which proved to be a success. Because of her influence, more and more students are benefiting from vegetarianism.”

Samantha was told by the school district business department that her meatless efforts have had an impact and that over $22,000 of the school’s lunch budgets have shifted over to purchasing non-meat alternatives as opposed to animal products. At her school’s health fair, she requested samples from Dole Food Company, and gave away 720 fruit cups and 480 cans of pineapple juice, as well as materials such as a vegetarian food pyramid.

Samantha has given numerous vegetarian presentations in and out of her city, including over 20 in January of this year. A biased reference stated, “Not only has Samantha stood up in front of hundreds and hundreds of kids, but she sets up every single presentation on her own. She just walks into a school and speaks with administrators, always following up. And you know how hard it is getting around the bureaucracy of public schools…”

Samantha has a long term dream of becoming a writer who inspires open-mindedness and acceptance in others. She states, “With this I hope to make the world a more loving and caring place. In my free time I completed a manuscript after three years and countless drafts, which I’m finally working to garner publication for … I will continue vegetarianism and changing lives as long as I live.”

The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group college scholarship contest for high school seniors is February 20, 2018. For details and information about other winners, see: http://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

To support Vegetarian Resource Group internships and scholarships, donate at: www.vrg.org/donate and indicate the purpose.

Fish-less tacos from Curia on the Drag

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Below are some recent 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

Curia on the Drag
2029 NW 6th St.
Gainesville, FL 32609
Curia on the Drag is a vegan café and wine bar. The interior of the café is very eclectic and outdoor seating is available. In addition to coffee, tea, beer, and wine, the café offers a small menu of unique, flavorful vegan items such as Pulled Jackfruit Roti, Thai Curry Roti, Mac N’ Cheese, and Mandarin Pear Salad.

Flora Kitchenette
1004 Barret Ave.
Louisville, KY 40104
Flora Kitchenette is an excellent brunch destination. They use cashew cream “cheese” on their “lox” toast. Turmeric tofu is a tasty add-on. Flora offers a wide variety of scrumptious baked goods. Outdoor seating available.

Goldie Falafel
1526 Sansom St.
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Goldie serves falafel, fries, salad, and tehina shakes. Their falafel salad consists of Falafel, Baby Kale, Romaine, Carrot, Cucumber, Tomato, Tehina, Za’atar, Sumac, Parsley, Dill, and more.

KarbonStar Vitality Vegan Café & Juice Bar
1542 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd.
Atlanta, GA 30310
KarbonStar offers a rich, all vegan menu that is designed to thoroughly nourish the body, mind and spirit through good food and a loving atmosphere. The menu is as creative as it is varied and wholesome; they provide carefully crafted, soul-warming soups, custom wraps, tacos and pizza, all with their respective customizable vegan options, as well as an extensive list of grains and house made vegan cheeses, dips, desserts and juices.

Kind Kravings
121 W. Douglas Ave.
Wichita, KS 67202
Kind Kravings aims to provide a menu that is as locally sourced as possible, entirely plant based, and free from chemical pesticides and preservatives, all through a sustainable business model. Their truck uses biodiesel, they serve their food in plant-based compostable containers, and plans for solar panels on the truck are in the works. Their menu is well balanced and varied, with items like roasted cauliflower tacos, Asian noodle salad, and grilled portabella sandwich–all of which are crafted with a thoughtful balance of fresh ingredients along with house made sauces and spreads.

Natural Selections Café
1520 Bull St.
Savannah, GA 31401
Natural Selections Cafe serves breakfast wraps, “omelets,” pastries, soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts. They offer an assortment of plant based milks, teas, and freshly squeezed juices. The black bean burgers and “crab” cake sandwiches are popular menu items.

Ten Forward Café
115 East State St. 2nd Floor
Ithaca, NY 14850
The cafe serves sandwiches, coffee, and baked goods. They are located above Autumn Leaves store.

The Gold Leaf Collective
120 W. Laurel St.
Fort Collins, CO 80524
The Gold Leaf Collective restaurant offers vegan breakfast, lunch, and dinner options such as a tofu scramble breakfast plate, roasted vegetables served on a bed of greens, and various seitan and tofu dishes. The ingredients used in the meals are seasonal and local to Colorado.

By Anna Lam

Sarah Guerra recalls the time when sitting in her environmental science professor’s office (after going over a test) the idea first came into her mind to create the Baylor Vegetarian Club. A vegetarian himself, Dr. Bruce Hudson mentioned to Sarah that he hadn’t heard of many other vegetarians at Baylor. When Sarah said she’d met a few before, she was startled when Dr. Hudson cheerily suggested that she start a club for vegetarians. Not taking it too seriously at the time, she didn’t dream that she’d go on to found not only the Vegetarian Club, but also the Baylor Stream Team, a group that monitors the water quality of Texas streams.
 
When another professor encouraged her to take the reins for these organizations, Guerra says she was terrified. “I was unsure of myself as a leader…but I got the papers anyway.” It was with the encouragement of her professors and peers that Guerra was able to build the organization from the ground up. “I never dreamed that I would be the founder of an organization, much less two, but I am forever grateful for those instructors who influenced me to get out of my comfort zone and start these clubs.” Guerra went on to graduate from Baylor in May of 2016, with a degree in Environmental Science, and is now working towards her Texas Master Naturalist certificate.
 
I got the opportunity to discuss her experience starting the club, and asked her about advice she had for those looking to start clubs in their own schools in the following conversation:
 
Q. What advice would you have for someone at a different college who wanted to start a club?
 
Sarah: If you’re interested in starting a vegetarian club at your school, first of all I want to say Yes! Go for it!!! The process will probably be different depending on your school, but whether you think you’ll have 50 members or just 5, starting a vegetarian club really is worth it and surely will benefit however many members there are (especially if you’re in an area where it’s uncommon). Having a welcoming community with like-minded people is sometimes what a vegetarian or vegan really needs to stick with it. So I think your first step would be to check with your university’s student activities office to see what you can do to get a Veg Club going at your school. 

My other advice would be to utilize your resources, develop strong networking skills, and take advantage of recruitment opportunities. Originally what I hoped the purpose of this organization would be, in addition to providing a welcoming community, was to allow the campus and even city to realize that this vegetarian/vegan community existed so that local restaurants and the campus dining halls could accommodate.

By utilizing resources and building networking skills, I mean that you should see what your school and surrounding city has to offer to make your club a success. For example, I reached out to the campus nutritionist the first semester that the club was active and she’s helped us and is a guest speaker at meetings each semester now. Also, see if any local restaurants are interested in fundraising with your club or want to be guest speakers at a meeting to advertise their veg-friendly menu.

Another example is when I was at a tabling event and the VP of student activities came up to discuss the club with me and connected me with the head of the Dining Hall Advisory Board, where I was able to be a voice for vegetarians and vegans. I also met the current president of the club, Taylor McCants, while on this board. So see if your school has a dining hall committee so that a member can sit in and represent. And never miss a recruitment opportunity!

Social media is a great advertising tool—we’ve gotten members because they found us on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and even YikYak. Tabling events, flyers, and sidewalk chalk are important because they get the club’s name out there, but we’ve gotten plenty of members who have heard about the club from a friend, so never underestimate the power in word of mouth. But that conversation won’t happen unless you get your club name out there as much as you can.
 
Q. What do you think was the ultimate thing you gained from the experience?
 
Sarah: The ultimate thing I gained from starting a vegetarian club definitely has to be learning more about being a vegetarian in my city and state because of the members’ insight and wisdom. When I started the club I had been vegetarian for five years already, had been living in Waco, Texas for about two and a half years, and Texas all my life. But I had no idea that there was a local pizzeria (Poppa Rollos) that sold vegan pizza; I had never heard of Drug Emporium, this magnificent store in Waco that sells so many meat and dairy substitutes; and I had never heard of the veg fests that take place in Dallas and Austin every year, to name a few. Meeting other vegetarians and vegans through the club gave me a new perspective on how to be a vegetarian, and that’s just one of the many reasons I value the club so much.
 
For more information on starting clubs and activism on campus, see:
http://www.vrg.org/teen/
http://www.vrg.org/teen/#college

Each year the Vegetarian Resource Group sponsors an essay contest for kids. Winners receive a $50 prize. Entrants should submit a 2-3 page essay on any aspect of vegetarianism/veganism. Vegetarianism is not eating meat, fish, and birds (for example, chicken or duck). Vegans avoid all animal products. Among the many reasons for being a vegetarian/vegan are beliefs about ethics, culture, health, aesthetics, http://alwaysvaltrexonline.com 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. Deadline for the contest is May 1, 2017!

Details on the contest, as well as previous winning essays, can be found here:
http://www.vrg.org/essay/

From Patti Breitman

Even Vegans Die, co-authored with Carol J. Adams and Virginia Messina, and with a foreword by Dr. Michael Greger, is a compassionate and practical guide for all vegans – and anyone who has a health routine that they think will help them never get sick.

Even Vegans Die empowers vegans, runners, yoga enthusiasts and their loved ones to make the best decisions regarding their own health, their advocacy, and their legacy. By addressing issues of disease shaming and body shaming, it presents a manifesto for building a more compassionate, diverse, and effective community.

The book celebrates the benefits of a plant-based diet while acknowledging that even vegans can get sick. You will learn how to make the health care decisions that are right for you, how to ensure your efforts to help animals and the planet will not end after you die, and how to provide compassionate care for yourself and for others in the face of serious illness.

This book offers practical, thoughtful, and sensitive advice on creating a will, mourning, receiving care and care giving. Without shying away from the reality of death, this book offers a message that remains uplifting and hopeful for all animal advocates, and all those who care about them.

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who encouraged me as I was creating this book with my two brilliant co-authors, and for everyone who will be buying a copy soon. I am confident that you will learn something new or at least feel supported and better equipped to face illness, aging, loss, and grief – and advocacy for what matters most to you.

I hope you will want to order a copy today You can buy the Kindle version now ($5.99) or order the paperback ($14) . See:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_rsis_1_5?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=even+vegans+die&sprefix=even+%2Caps%2C196

You can also buy the book from the publisher, Lantern Books:
https://lanternbooks.presswarehouse.com/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=511453