During the month of July 2014, The Vegetarian Site will give 10% of their sales to The Vegetarian Resource Group!

The Vegetarian Site (www.thevegetariansite.com) supports a different non-profit organization each month. This month they have selected The Vegetarian Resource Group. The Vegetarian Site sells vegan footwear for men and women, belts, wallets, bags, and other accessories, food products, books, personal care items, plus much more.

Support VRG by shopping online at:
http://www.thevegetariansite.com/cgi-bin/miva?Merchant2/merchant.mv+

We received this note from Kelsey Maloney at PAX. Note: If you live in Baltimore, Maryland and are interested in hosting vegetarian exchange students, you can contact Meredith Safford at 410-382-5359 or email [email protected]

PAX is a nonprofit Department of State designated international high school exchange program. We have exceptional students that come from over 70 countries around the world. These students have been picked out of thousands of applicants. Students come fully medically insured, and are responsible for all personal expenditures. Host families are asked to provide living arrangements, a suitable study environment, and participation in family meals. During the year, students attend local high schools- the details in which we at PAX arrange. Also, throughout the entire stay students and host families are supported by a local community coordinator.

This year we are searching for host families for some of our exceptional students that are vegetarians. We at PAX feel it would be best to place these students with families that are familiar with a vegetarian diet.

It is our hope that you can share this information about PAX with your members and have anyone interested in hosting or learning more about our program contact me at [email protected]

More information can also be found on our website at www.pax.org.

If interested, I can send over profiles of certain students we have available that will sure to be a match for any family!

It’s that time of year when you might want to grill your next meal. The Vegetarian Resource Group offers a wonderful book called Grill Gone Vegan in our book catalog.

See: http://www.vrg.org/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=94

You’ll find recipes for grilling a wide range of dishes including Grilled Baby Artichokes, Seitan Satay, Roasted Corn Chowder, Portobello Bruschetta, Smoky Buffalo Tofu Wraps, Maple-Glazed Grapefruit, and Grilled Nectarines with Five-Spice Granola. The book also provides recipes for rubs, marinades and sauces, as well as delicious side dishes to go with your grilled dishes. Finally, nutritional analyses are provided, as well as color photos of the delicious meals.

You can also order this book through the mail for $26 (including postage and handling), by sending your payment to Vegetarian Resource Group, PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203. Your book purchases support our outreach work!

According to the Soyfoods Association of North America, retail soy foods sales has topped 4.5 billion dollars, up from 1 billion dollars seventeen years ago. Sales were led by the food bar category (1.6 billion dollars), meat alternatives (776 million dollars), and soy milk (638 million dollars). Other items included condiments such as soy sauce and miso (292 million dollars), tofu (274 million dollars), cereals (201 million dollars), snacks (85 million dollars), edamame (84 million dollars), and soy yogurt (29 million dollars, even with the industry leader temporarily shutting down production). Forty two percent of Americans consume soyfoods or soy beverages once a month or more, compared to 30 percent in 2006. For more information, see soyfoods.org.

For more polls, see

http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faq.htm#poll

http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/market.htm

By Karen Leibowitz

The Vegetarian Resource Group hosted another successful booth at the annual Richmond Vegetarian Festival. It was held in the beautiful Azalea Gardens of Bryan Park. The VRG booth was placed in a perfect location, near the music stage and under a shady tree.

Intern Devlyn and I had the honor of working with long-time volunteer and vegan advocate Elsa Spencer, PhD. The three of us spoke with numerous festival attendees throughout the day. Elsa has her PhD in nutrition and is an expert gardener. She was able to answer a lot of questions that people had relating to the vegetarian diet. Devlyn and I spoke with and handed out related resources to students and new vegetarians about a number of subjects such as local dining options, foods that provide adequate levels of iron for those that are anemic, and ideas for vegan meals without nuts or gluten.

Interns Devlyn Perugini and Karen Abbe Leibowitz discuss vegetarianism with a booth visitor.

One attendee was very excited to see us there. He had lost over fifty pounds of excess weight after becoming vegetarian, and was passionate about sharing his encouraging story with others. Another attendee, a clinical nurse in an assisted living community, talked about the need for healthy vegetarian options, wishing there was “something more than a white bread peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” She was relieved when we provided vegetarian senior care information and told her about assisted living meal ideas on our website.

http://www.vrg.org/seniors/
http://www.vrg.org/seniors/senior_vegan.htm

Hosting booths like this one is rewarding because we have the opportunity to encourage people to continue pursuing the vegetarian/vegan diet by providing resources to make it easier, and we can provide information to those who are curious.

If you would like to volunteer at VRG booths, contact Nina at [email protected]
If you would like to intern at VRG go to http://www.vrg.org/student/index.php
If you would like to support VRG outreach, donate at www.vrg.org/donate
To join VRG go to http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

If you are attending the Taking Action for Animals Conference in Washington, DC this weekend June 28-29th, please stop by the Vegetarian Resource Group booth.

Take 20% off authentic Indian cuisine and organic bean pouches from
Jyoti Natural Foods. Use code: JYOTI20

Basmati rice, “Punjabi Chhole (chickpeas), black beans, and more.

Visit http://www.jyotifoods.com/products/

Funds from our Visa® program help us promote vegan diets, and influence dietitians, doctors, restaurants, food services, supermarkets, food companies, schools, students, and consumers. Your support helps us continue ingredient research, policy work for vegetarians, and our vegetarian scholarships and internship program.

When a cardholder activates the card, VRG receives $50. Then for the life of the program, VRG will receive a portion of every dollar that each cardholder charges. You can choose from four different beautiful photographs featured on these cards. For details on applying for a card see: http://www.cardpartner.com/affinity/app/vrg

by Priscilla Broadwater

It’s that time of the year when kids are out of school and you may want to spend some quality time together as a family. Consider “Lands in Love,” a hotel and resort located in San Lorenzo, Costa Rica, only 75 minutes away from San Jose International Airport. This resort is in the middle of a cloud forest where you can admire nature at its best.

What activities do they offer for the whole family? Once you arrive, get ready to have fun because they have a myriad of activities for you and your children. Among some of the activities you can do are: canopy touring (viewing the forest from above the trees), rafting, rappelling, bird watching, and much more.

When it comes to food, their restaurant has lots of options. From vegetarian to vegan and gluten free to any special prescribed diet. Given that the owners of the resort are from Israel, Israeli food is offered as well. Guests are invited to use the restaurant kitchen if they wish to do so.

The hotel has over 30 rooms all equipped with internet access, a telephone, cable TV, a mini bar, and a coffee maker. The hotel also has two rooms specially designed for handicapped individuals. And that’s not all; within the hotel there is a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, pool table, foosball table, adventure center, and an orchid nursery just to mention some. Also, there is a pet hotel at Land in Love. This means that you don’t have to worry about your four legged friend being away from you. You can include your dog on the trip.

If you want to kick your trip up a notch, the staff at Lands in Love will help you arrange a tour that will allow you to see more of the beauty Costa Rica has to offer. Lands in Love offers tours to the Arenal volcano, Venado caves, hanging bridges, Caño Negro wildlife refuge, La Paz waterfall gardens, and more.

For further information visit their website, http://landsinlove.com/
Contact Information: (506) 2447-9331; [email protected]