If you’re caught in this crazy snow storm like us, here are some vegan soup recipes to warm up:

http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vjmesoup.htm
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2005issue1/2005_issue1_soups.php
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2000jan/2000janmiso.htm
http://www.vrg.org/blog/2009/11/30/fall-slow-cooked-stew/

And it’s a little late for this right now, but it might be helpful for next time around!

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

Buying flowers for Valentine’s Day? Click the image to order organic flowers and to have VRG receive 10% of your purchase price!

The Vegetarian Resource Group: Internship Report

Yuko Tamura
Global Studies Programme 2008
Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg

(Yuko Tamura is a student from Japan. As part of an international program she was enrolled in at a German University, Yuko interned with VRG for several months.)

The reasons why I came to The VRG for my internship are– to learn more about vegetarianism for my master’s thesis; to understand how non-profitable organization functions; and probably most importantly, to convince myself of being vegetarian, which has been one of my identities for several years, as well as being Japanese or university student.

I think, The VRG was perfect place to do all of these. I learned about vegetarianism from various perspectives of nutrition, animal right or environment, I learned what non-profitable organization is and how it functions, and after two months and a week, I was absolutely more convinced of my being vegetarian. Having being able to learn both of vegetarianism and non-profitable organization was very profitable for me, however I think, the last one was the most important thing I got from this internship.

Staying at The VRG and reading a lot about vegetarianism tremendously broadened my interests, because vegetarianism is in fact related to many fields– not only health or the environment, but also politics or industries. Trying to understand what the obstacles of vegetarianism in this country are, I came to know what is going on behind national food guideline or how government’s subsidy for certain products influences on the society.

As well as reading and talking about vegetarianism with people in the office, participating in some local parties and events helped me understand vegetarianism and the background behind that. Through attending parties and events, I was able to see what role local vegetarian or animal right organization plays, how vegetarian people socialize with other vegetarians, and what vegetarian people’s attitude toward vegetarianism is like.

Helping The VRG’s booth at Veg Fest in Washington D.C. was another interesting experience for me. The number of people who visited the fest astonished me; I could not imagine that many people are interested in vegetarianism. Even though they are not vegetarian or vegan, some of them were thinking of converting to vegetarian and some of them occasionally adopted vegetarianism as a healthier food choice. Since vegetarianism is related to several topics, to see how all the aspects of vegetarianism come together and make a big movement was, amazing.

Attending Natural Products Expo was great experience too. Not only lots of great samples of organic/natural food which made me full during entire three days, but also I enjoyed observing products, chatting with exhibitors or distributors, taking lectures on marketing or current trends. I enjoyed it, and felt that it was great to have this growing market of natural products. On the other hand, I got more or less disappointed to see the definition and standard of natural products. The word “natural” can be interpreted in some ways; consequently natural products can be interpreted in some ways. It is not necessarily organic, or it could even include GMO products. When one non-profitable organization which is supposed to support natural products producers explained so, lots of listeners criticized them of not excluding inorganic and GMO products. However, it seemed impossible for them to change the standard, for their benefits after all. This made me think that distributors or rather customers have to be very careful of what to buy, not to be cheated by labels and bland of “natural.”

Besides interning with The VRG, I observed the US and its vegetarianism in my own way. As I always do in any country I go, I often visited lots of supermarkets. Supermarkets are probably the most interesting place to visit especially in abroad, because they show and explain the country very well. Which kinds of stuffs they have, what is cheap, what is popular, how the shopping system works, these things are quite important for me to know, in order to understand the country and people there. I have a long list of my findings though (one of them, meat in general was not so cheap against my expectation), here, I mention what made me most surprised, as well as the cheapness of soda-soy products.

How many Japanese can imagine how tofu is well-known here? Tofu in the US is maybe 10 times firmer than that in Japan, and it can even be fried with vegetable-so tofu in the US (or Europe) is almost something different from tofu for us, except for that it is made with soybeans and usually curded with nigari. How they consider tofu was very interesting to me too, because some recognize tofu as meat alternative. Although we also call soy beans meat of garden, we never consider it as meat alternative.

Moreover, from soy-burger to soy-sausage, then from soy-yogurt to soy cheese, soy turned into incredibly various kinds of stuffs. It was ironic that America started to produce these alternatives with soybeans, and Japan encourages its citizens to having certain amount of meat and lots of dairy every day. It was only 50 years ago that ordinary Japanese started to consume meat and dairy products, however it is so difficult to find vegetarian dishes now.

Now, I again think of vegetarianism and my being vegetarian. It is true that the more I know about vegetarianism, the more I feel confident and comfortable with being vegetarian. Since the idea of vegetarianism is not known well in Japan, it was Germany where I became vegetarian. However, now I think I just try to be like a Japanese 50 years ago, who had almost no meat and lots of rice, and regionally grown vegetable. Japan has developed and modernized at incredibly rapid pace in last 150 years, introducing and imitating a lot from Western countries. This is really worth being appreciated, but we did not have to adopt Western nutrition or eating style too. We already had what we needed and what fitted us. Not only Japan but in many places called non-West, the same thing is happening. This is what I feel about being vegetarian, after traveling to several countries.

Again, staying at The VRG was a great opportunity for me, and it made my interests in writing master’s thesis on this topic stronger. Now, I am working on the thesis, which is about vegetarianism and the environment. Thank you very much again to everyone in the office, for their encouragement, advice and patience, and lots of fun.

Julia Driggers, R.D., shares a recipe for vegan party mix:

Vegan Party Mix

(Makes 18 Servings)

Ingredients:

3 cups Air-Popped Popcorn
3 cups Vegan Wheat Cereal
3 cups Mini Pretzels
1 cup Peanuts
1¼ cup Vegan Chocolate Chips (or Carob)
½ cup Smooth Peanut Butter
¼ cup Earth Balance Margarine
1½ tsp Vanilla
2 cups Vegan Powdered Sugar

Directions:

In large bowl mix popcorn, cereal, pretzels, and nuts. Set aside. In microwaveable bowl microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter, and margarine for 1 minute. Take out and stir. Replace in microwave for 30 more seconds or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over popcorn mix and stir until evenly coated. Pour popcorn mixture into large storage sealable bag. To bag add vegan powdered sugar and shake until popcorn mix is well coated. Pour out on cookie sheet to cool. Enjoy! Make sure to store in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Analysis per Serving

VRG received this question:

“In the 2007 first issue of the Vegetarian Journal you state that alpha linolenic acid in whole flaxseed can not be absorbed well. Can you please explain why.”

Thanks for your note. This is what the Canadian Flax Council has to say: See http://www.flaxcouncil.ca/english/index.jsp?p=faq

Which is better for me, whole or ground flax seed?

Ground flax seed provides more nutritional benefits than does whole seed. That’s because flax seeds are very hard, making them difficult to crack, even with careful chewing. Grinding flax seeds breaks them up, making them easier to digest when eaten. Then the body can profit from all that flax goodness.

If whole flax seeds remain unbroken, they may pass undigested through the body, reducing the nutritional advantage of eating flax seed in the first place.

So, based on this, I suggested using ground flaxseeds or flaxseed oil.

Hope this helps.

Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
Nutrition Advisor
The Vegetarian Resource Group

The first wave of International Food for Life Global volunteers are in the Dominican Republic and have joined the local FFL staff to finalize set up of their vegan food relief base camp. More volunteers from the UK, USA, Brazil, Mexico and Canada are set to arrive soon after.

Click here to donate to their efforts.

The Global Youth Village, a residential, international leadership camp in the Blue Ridge foothills of Virginia, is seeking seasonal food service staff in their vegetarian kitchen. Sixty youths and thirty staff enjoy their meat-free meals family style. 2010 highlights include youth delegations from Indonesia and Iraq. The camp season is June 16 – Aug 6, 2010. Housing, meals and salary are provided. Seeking both experienced cooks and those who want to learn!

For more information, please visit Legacy International’s web site at http://globalyouthvillage.org. Or contact Leila Baz, Global Youth Village, 1020 Legacy Dr., Bedford, VA 24523. Phone 540-297-5982, email: [email protected]

Each year, VRG awards $10,000 in college scholarship money to two high school seniors who have promoted vegetarianism in their schools/communities ($5,000 to each). The deadline – February 20 – is right around the corner, so if you want to apply, or know someone who should apply, click here for more information.

VRG also offers The Eleanor Wolff Scholarship which is a paid summer internship ($2,500 plus $1,000 toward housing) at VRG’s Baltimore office. Here’s what our interns Kristen and Rachel had to say about their internships at VRG last summer: http://www.vrg.org/blog/2009/08/21/notes-from-two-vrg-summer-interns/

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Would you like to sponsor a scholarship or internship? This provides a tremendous opportunity for students who are doing some great work promoting vegetarianism.
Click here to read about past scholarship winners (right-hand side).
Click here to read about past Eleanor Wolff Scholarship winners.

By Ben Shaberman

Organic farmers, specialty growers, and agricultural professionals from throughout the Midwest braved arctic-like conditions to attend the 2010 Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, and Organic Conference in Springfield, Illinois, from January 6-8, 2010.

Making its first appearance at the annual event, the Vegetarian Resource Group was warmly and respectfully received by attendees. At VRG’s exhibit booth, visitors collected and perused a variety of books, brochures, and handouts to learn more about vegetarian cooking, nutrition, and health benefits. While most conference attendees were not completely vegetarian, most also acknowledged the benefits of being meat-free, and expressed an interest in moving more toward a vegetarian diet.

Several attendees representing farmer’s markets, herb growers, and community-based nonprofits were grateful to receive free VRG brochures and literature to hand out at their events. They noted that they either had customers or constituents who were vegetarian, or they were interested in promoting a vegetarian lifestyle at their events.

Here are some examples of the people and vendors who took an interest in VRG’s materials:

• An organic community agricultural project will use VRG materials
  to enlighten people about our nation’s food supply and a more
  healthy and sustainable approach to eating.
• A veterinary professor picked up the Vegetarian Journal to learn
  more about the dietary and cultural habits of his students, many
  of whom are vegetarian.
• A vegan and owner of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company in
  Mansfield, Missouri, took VRG literature to distribute to his
  customers.
• A representative from the USDA’s National Resources Conservation
  Service came by the VRG booth to learn about new vegetarian food
  alternatives for him and his family.
• A representative from Eden Place Nature Center, located in the
  South Side of Chicago, picked up VRG materials to hand out to
  visitors, many of whom live in urban neighborhoods.
• Several people took VRG materials to give to their vegetarian
  friends and family members.

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VRG extends special thanks to Patricia Wieland for introducing us to the conference and supporting our presence there, as well as Ben Shaberman for staffing the VRG booth.

Check out Ben’s book, The Vegan Monologues.

VRG’s new brochure, Save Our Water: The Vegetarian Way, is now online!

The beginning portion is excerpted below:

We all need clean water. No doubt about it. HOW to get it and keep it running clean and plentiful is becoming a problem almost everywhere. In fact, the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) predicts in a report titled Livestock’s Long Shadow, that by 2050, two-thirds of people worldwide will lack clean water to meet even their basic needs.

The good news is that one part of the solution is easy and close at hand! It all starts with your fork.

“Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.”

H. Steinfeld, senior author, Livestock’s Long Shadow, A report from the United Nations

Saving Earth’s Water By Eating A Vegetarian Diet

Did you know that the largest user of fresh water is the livestock industry? Water is directly needed for drinking and cleaning of animals. And that’s a lot of water when we’re talking about over 10 billion animals raised for food in the United States alone every year.

But the biggest way animal agriculture consumes water is indirectly. A large amount of fresh water is used to grow the feed that livestock animals eat.

Click here to read the rest of this brochure.