Eleanor Miltimore Wolff became a committed vegan late in life. Once she learned and understood that dietary choices affected not only one’s personal health, but also the health of the planet and the well being of the animals, there was no looking back. Leather shoes and purses, along with non-vegan food products went out the door. Her children and grandchildren were showered with vegan reading material. When she exercised she would sport a T-shirt proclaiming: “I think, therefore I am — a vegetarian”. Eleanor was a military censor during World War II, but there was no censoring her commitment to a plant based diet and lifestyle.

In her memory, the Eleanor Wolff Scholarship is a $2,500 paid internship at the VRG office in Baltimore (plus $1,000 toward housing) for a student who:

1. Wants to be an effective change agent on behalf of vegetarianism
2. Is motivated to use knowledge gained from the internship to make a significant impact within his/her world
3. Could not participate in this development effort without a little financial assistance

Currently, the Eleanor Wolff Scholarship funds one internship per year. VRG also has unpaid internships available.

If you would like to apply for a VRG internship, please send a resume, writing sample, and cover letter detailing your interests, skills, goals, and vegetarian knowledge to:

The Vegetarian Resource Group
P.O. Box 1463
Baltimore, MD 21203

or e-mail to [email protected]

For more information about the Eleanor Wolff Scholarship and to view what past recipients have said of their experiences, click here.

**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.

The following study participation request is from a student who is working on her PhD thesis through Syracuse University:

The study is evaluating dietary practices and beliefs with an emphasis on vegetarian and vegan eating habits (although you do not have to be a vegetarian or vegan to participate in the study).

The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and your identity will be blinded once you submit your responses. Your participation in this research will help to further analyze eating attitudes of the vegetarian and vegan populations in comparison to those following a traditional omnivorous diet.

Please click on the following link to access the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7YSD2BY

Thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,
Chaya Lee Charles, RD, CDN

Need vegan recipes for Passover?

Right now we’re offering a special: get both Vegan Passover Recipes and No Cholesterol Passover Recipes for just $12 and free shipping!

Click here to order, or call us at 410-366-8343, Mon-Fri 9-5.

No Cholesterol Passover Recipes is a must for every home that wants to celebrate a healthy and ethical Passover. Enjoy eggless blintzes, dairyless carrot cream soup, festive macaroons, apple latkes, sweet and sour cabbage, knishes, vegetarian chopped “liver,” no oil lemon dressing, eggless matzo meal pancakes, and much more.

Dishes included in No Cholesterol Passover Recipes have also been featured in The Washington Post, Jewish World, and many other publications.

In Vegan Passover Recipes, Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD provides the basics: Vegetable stock without chicken fat or added sodium, Savory Spaghetti Sauce, Zucchini/Potato Kugel, and Sweet and Sour Stuffed Cabbage (a new spin on an oldie, but goody).

Looking for spicier dishes? Try Minted Carrots with Chilies, Moroccan Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Salad, Spinach and Okra Stew, and Coconut Curry over Greens, and much more.

VRG’s new affinity Visa® Platinum Rewards credit card is now available!

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. The VRG Visa® Platinum Rewards card offers qualified cardholders exceptional benefits including no annual fee, a low APR and reward points for shopping at participating merchants.

Add your support with every purchase when you use the The Vegetarian Resource Group Visa® Platinum Rewards card. To apply, see:
http://www.cardpartner.com/app/vrg

For FAQs about the program, see: http://www.vrg.org/credit_faqs.php

A big thank-you to Bobbi Pasternak who has been sending out VRG’s email newsletter and assisting with outreach for over 15 years!

VRG-NEWS is our monthly email newsletter. VRG-NEWS offers recipes, ingredient information, reviews of new products, announcements of new books, free samples of products, and highlights of activist materials that are available through VRG.

To sign up for VRG-NEWS and to view the archives, please visit http://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/.

by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

New for 2011 on McDonald’s national menu is Fruit & Maple Oatmeal. Made with whole grain rolled oats, it may be ordered with or without cream. This product may also be ordered without brown sugar, diced apples, or the cranberry raisin blend according to Ashley, a customer service representative at McDonald’s who spoke with us about the Fruit & Maple Oatmeal. Patrons must request their preferences upon ordering.

Readers who looked at the Ingredients Statement posted on McDonald’s website in early February 2011 may have been confused by the presence of two entries for this product, one of which omitted the word “cream” but was followed by “contains milk.” The second entry also omitted “cream” but did not have an allergen alert for milk.

We contacted McDonald’s to clear up the confusion. Ashley called me back and said it was an error. The word “cream” now appears in the entry. Later, Amanda, a supervisor on the consumer hotline at McDonald’s, confirmed that cream is a standard part of the menu item. Upon ordering, patrons must request that it not be added.

The word “cream” does appear in the entry at this time but there is no “contains: milk” in bold after it. Other entries containing milk products do have this allergen alert in the Ingredients Statement, but the Fruit & Maple Oatmeal does not. We have mentioned this to a supervisor on the McDonald’s hotline. She stated that “it’s common knowledge” that “cream” is a milk product.

(At the end of February 2011, The VRG noticed a similar confusion with the low-fat granola, served in a separate packet along with the Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait (which contains gelatin, an animal-derived ingredient). Two entries are listed. One entry for granola (which contains honey) includes the milk allergen alert while the second does not. Neither ingredient list appears to contain milk products.)

Readers may also note that McDonald’s acknowledges that there is no maple syrup or maple sugar derived from maple trees in McDonald’s Fruit and Maple Oatmeal. This became an issue in Vermont due to laws regarding how the word “maple” is used in products and how it appears on labels. Through settlement, McDonald’s has agreed to offer maple syrup and sugar as options in its Fruit and Maple Oatmeal sold in that state.

Fruit & Maple Oatmeal is offered throughout the day at McDonald’s restaurants. Patrons must make their preferences clear when ordering if they do not wish the cream or other components to be added.

For more information on quick service chains, see:
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2008issue2/veggieRestaurantChains.htm
http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.htm#2009_mcdonalds_l-cysteine

To support VRG’s ingredient and restaurant research, please donate at
https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=1565
or
http://www.vrg.org/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4

The following is a translation of an article that appeared in Vegetarian Journal Issue 1, 2011. To see VRG’s other Spanish materials, click here.

Todo acerca del Soyrizo

Por la Chef Nancy Berkoff, RD, EdD, CCE
Traducción al español por Laura Rico

Chorizo es el nombre de una familia de salchichas originarias de España pero ahora adoptadas en todo el mundo de habla hispana. El chorizo tradicional está hecho de carne de puerco y sasonado con pimientos rojos secos, chiles rojos, ajo y posiblemente, otras especias. Cuando se cocina, usualmente se hace moronas como una fina carne molida. El chorizo puede ser "dulce" o "picante", seco o fresco y con demasiadas especias dependiendo de la región de origen.

La versión vegana de esta salchicha es llamada a menudo "soyrizo" y está disponible comunmente es su variedad fresca y húmeda. Las marcas difieren en la cantidad de "picante", así que seguramente querrás hacer una prueba de sabor para decidir cual de todas es la mejor para tí.

Ten en cuenta que la mayoría de los soyrizos veganos no son bajos en grasa y sodio. Por ejemplo, El Burrito Soyrizo es vegano y kosher. Sin embargo, una porción de 2 onzas contiene 120 calorías (lo que es bueno), pero 80 calorías son de grasa. Además, tiene 440 miligramos de sodio. Esta marca provee algo de calcio y hierro, pero aún así, debes de usar el soyrizo sólo en ocasiones especiales.

El Soyrizo vegano debe estar refrigerado, pero puede congelarse y luego descongelarse cuando estís lista para hacerlo. El Soyrizo queda mejor cuando es cocinado rápidamente sobre fuego alto. Precalienta un sartín sin aceite y pon el chorizo en íl, moviíndolo y presionándolo constantemente para evitar que se pegue. Una vez que el soyrizo estí caliente, está listo para comerse.

Sirviendo el Soyrizo

• Calienta el soyrizo como se describió previamente. Agrega tofu suave y cocina hasta que el tofu haya cuagulado. Sirve la mezcla sola, en una tortilla suave o en tostada, o sobre arroz o granos cocidos.
• Para un platillo horneado, calienta el soyrizo como se describió previamente. Engrasa un molde para hornear, agrega el soyrizo, agrega tofu suave en la parte superior y hornea hasta que estí burbujeante.
• Para una cena en cacerola, corta papas cocidas que hayan sobrado. Calienta el soyrizo como se describió previamente. Luego agrega las papas o arroz cocido, frijoles cocidos, vegetales cocidos, jitomates picados y cebollas picadas.
• Usa soyrizo en moronas para ponerlo sobre papas horneadas, con algo de crema agria vegana, cebollines picados y pimientos verdes o cebolla picada.
• Haz moronas de soyrizo y ponlas sobre pizzas hechas en casa.
• Combina moronas de soyrizo con cebolla y pan molido o mezcla para relleno.
• Rellena pimientos morrones o jitomates y hornea.
• Combina moronas de soyrizo con granos cocidos y mezcla de vegetales cocidos para tener una comida completa en un sólo plato.
• Usa una pequeña cantidad de soyrizo para sazonar frijoles blancos, negros o rojos o garbanzos.
• Es tambiín grandioso para agregarlo a sopas de leguminosas como guisantes o minestrone.

Fuentes de Soyrizo

• El Burrito Food Products, Inc. – www.elburrito.com/soyrizo.html
• Frieda's Inc. – www.friedas.com
• Melissa's/World Variety Produce, Inc. – www.melissas.com/Products/Products/Soyrizo.aspx
• Trader Joe's – www.traderjoes.com
• Yves Veggie Cuisine – www.yvesveggie.com/products/detail.php/veggie-chorizo

Nancy Berkoff es asesora de The Vegetarian Resource Group's Food Service. Ella es dietista registrada y chef. Traducido por Laura Rico.

Saturday, June 18 · 2:00pm – 5:00pm
At Crafts’ historic farm, Conway, MA USA.
Please email [email protected] if you plan to attend.

Picnic with vegan food provided.

Return the forest. Return of the natural landscape.

This year we celebrate ten years of the forest. Dick Stafursky, a biologist, though unemployed at the time, gave away all his inheritance. There are no trails, nor are there plans to design any. Also, there are no WSL buildings near or on the site. It is open to the public for walking only. The DROP plan is used to return these acres to the natural landscape in perpetuity. Species List Forest, Conway, Massachusetts, USA Contact: Richard Stafursky 802-258-7845 World Species List – Natural Features Registry Institute, 155 Belmont Ave., Brattleboro, VT USA, (802) 257-9158, a 501(c)(3), conservation, charitable organization, http://wslfconwaymausa.blogspot.com/, EIN 51-0381202.

In the new Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D developed by the National Academy of Science, published in 2011 by the National Academies Press, the VRG website www.vrg.org is identified as the source of information on how many people in the U.S. are vegetarian (page 420). The American Dietetic Association position paper on vegetarianism co-authored by Reed Mangels is also cited. See http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13050&page=420