UCSD Veg

Cow on the Run!

2009-09-30T18:27:00.001-07:00

Halloo Veggers!

Today I saw an awesome video about a cow that escaped slaughter and was taken in by FarmSanctuary.

It even features a meat eater who, upon meeting the cow, decides to stop eating meat :D

Yay Vegetarian Propaganda!

Here's the link:

http://current.com/items/87240591_a-cows-dash-for-freedom.htm

Banning Puppy Mills

2009-08-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

Halloo Happy Veggers!

I got an email today from APSCA that reminded me of the movie "Earthlings" Veg club attempted to watch (but it reminded me in a good way.)

When we tried to watch the movie, one of the scenes that stuck most in my mind was the unceremonious stuffing of dogs into gas chambers as a result of puppy mills.

The email I got said, "Hey you californian! You can call you senators to ban puppy mills in your state!!"

Naturally I was really excited, since I like puppies and don't like it when they're tortured/die a painful death.

This is the link it sent me: it asks you to put in your address to make sure you're a constituent in California, then leads to a link so you can contact your senators (Boxer and Feinstein, gotta love 'em.)

https://secure2.convio.net/aspca/site/Advocacy?alertId=2593&pg=makeACall&JServSessionIdr001=5vhaeltwm1.app224b

--KR

Citizen's Climate Lobby

2009-07-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

Halloo all!

Just today I went to a meeting with the La Jolla group of the Citizen's Climate Lobby. Its was pretty neat!

The Citizens Climate Lobby is a nationwide group composed of ordinary citizens, who are sick of Washington's playing to deep pockets and vested interests instead of what citizens and the world need.

So far we've sent people to D.C--real people, students even--to lobby congress as a counterbalance to the moneyed interests.

They're super cool! Want to get involved? Maybe talk to some congresspeople or send some letters to newspapers? Send an email to Veg to find out how :D)

--KR

Fuel Efficient Cows?

2009-06-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

That's right.

Fuel-Efficient Cows.

From Canada.

Figures.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2009/discovery-news-05-20-2009.html

Webcomic

2009-05-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

Halloo all,

Finally got my F.eminist E.nvironmentalist V.egetarian A.ctivist H.umor (aka FEVAH) webcomic up.

It's going to be updating weekly :D

here's the first page:

http://kuakistar.comicgenesis.com/

hope y'all have fun :D

Petition: ban the gas cambers for animals in Michigan!

2009-05-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

Halloo,

Found a relevant petition: banning gas chambers for animals in Michigan (its evil and nazi-like! Can't abide by it!)

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/900398769?z00m=19761254

Can food kill you?

2009-05-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

Got this interesting article in my inbox:

http://food.change.org/blog/view/4_reasons_why_modern_agriculture_is_bad_for_you

I'm putting both the link and the full text article here because a: easier to read a full-text article if its in your face, b: the original website is pretty c: giving credit where credit is due, d: a lot of people wrote pretty intensive comments on the article--they merit reading.

"4 Reasons Why 'Modern' Agriculture Is Bad For You"
By Natasha Chart

The agribusiness and crop chemical companies are enamored of the word "sustainability" these days because, I guess, they think it's a magic word that can wipe the slate clean.

I just don't think anything can be considered sustainable that has such obviously bad effects on our health, and the health of the world around us. Swine flu's all the rage these days, but industrial agriculture didn't start being bad for us just this year.

So here are four of the negative effects of industrial agriculture on the well-being of people and the ecosystems we depend on, things that I don't think we can afford to keep doing in the long-term:

Genital feminization of male humans and animals: This one always gets them where it hurts, but the industrial pesticides used in agriculture are among the class of chemicals that mimics or stimulates estrogenic activity in the body and are linked, or suspected of being linked, to decreased sperm counts and genital abnormalities in male animals up and down the food chain.

Herbicides linked to cancer, neurological disorders: Nanaimo, British Columbia, has recently banned the use of herbicides on residential lawns based on the growing body of evidence that they're linked to a host of cancers, reproductive problems, respiratory illness and neurological effects from learning disorders to full-blown Parkinson's disease. The herbicides used on lawns are often just repackaged versions of the same chemicals, like Roundup, sold in bulk to farmers.

Antibiotics fed to livestock have created antibiotic-resistant bacteria: Called MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, these difficult to treat infections commonly only attack people with compromised immune systems and were once more commonly associated with hospital environments. They don't seem to have developed forms that are very easily transmissible, but they keep showing up in farm environments where low-dose antibiotics are used as growth promoters and infection preventives.

Plants absorb antibiotics from soil amendments: If you use manure from an animal that's been given lots of antibiotics as a plant fertilizer, the plants will incorporate those antibiotics into their tissue. Even people who eat organic food, even people who have a totally vegan diet, can thus get our livestock antibiotics passed on to them in low, irregular doses - just about the worst possible way to take antibiotics. The genes that confer antibiotic resistance in bacteria don't necessarily help them survive any better in the environment at large; which is why penicillin has become useful again, because the resistance genes faded from the active bacterial population after it fell into disuse. Maintaining regular exposure of bacterial populations to antibiotics puts positive selection pressure on antibiotic resistance genes.

And these are just a few of the lowlights of factory farm and livestock production. I could go on.

Sustainability very specifically means something we can afford to keep doing for the forseeable future, but this ... How much more poison can the living things on this planet, including us, take? How much more endocrine system damage, how many more birth defects, can be incurred without risking the most basic means of continuing animal life on Earth? How many more superbug evolutions can we encourage without setting off a global pandemic that our rapid international travel can spread around the entire planet in days?

Any single one of these practices poses serious health threats if continued, in fact, poses serious health threats now. Is becoming steadily sicker and weaker as a population a sustainable proposition? Is our food going to literally kill us, and not just because of the diabetes and heart disease?

Truly sustainable agriculture needs to take into account not only issues such as phosphorus scarcity, but the injury limits on the health reserves of living beings.

Battery/Cage Dilemma Resolved

2009-04-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

So ever since I read the two articles in favor of the battery-caged hens, I have been haunted with uncertainty and self-doubt. I finally emailed Kath Rogers, a fellow environmentalist on the UCSD campus, about the whole matter, and here is the email I got back:

"Hey Steph!

SO good to hear from you!

I'm so glad you asked that question - I saw that article too and here’s my response to it (sorry it’s lengthy!!!).

The farm described in that article is called Armstrong Egg Farms, and they are not objective in this debate. Armstrong contributed $65,000 into the "No on Prop 2" campaign in California. The owner, Mr. Armstrong, was the guy flying around the state to defend battery cages during the Prop 2 campaign. He was the sole person who showed up in opposition to us when lots of us testified in support of Prop 2 at the San Diego city council meeting (the council ended up supporting Prop 2!). He regularly speaks out against cage-free egg production and was a spokesperson for the agribusiness coalition that unsuccessfully fought against Prop 2.

Armstrong Farms is a huge egg farm which uses lots of battery cages. He created a (very) small portion of his farm which produces "cage free" eggs. His "cage-free" hens are crowded, dirty, old and many are losing feathers--and he wants to keep it that way for his public tours, so that he can "prove" that battery cages are good. He offers "comparative tours" of very young (ie, white and fluffy) hens in battery cages and then a tour of older (missing some feathers) cage-free hens, and then say: "See -- hens are better off confined in battery cages."

In reality, scientific analyses of the various systems all come to a far different conclusion from that of Mr. Armstrong. The definitive review of the science on this topic is at http://tinyurl.com/5rbkkl , and concludes: "Regardless of how a battery-cage confinement system is managed, all caged hens are permanently denied the opportunity to express most of their basic behavior within their natural repertoire. The science is clear that this deprivation represents a serious inherent welfare disadvantage compared to any cage-free production system." A much shorter summary is available from the Humane Society at: http://www.hsus.org/farm/camp/nbe/compare.html

This is not to say that cage-free is totally cruelty-free because I still have problems with the fact that all farms destroy the male baby chicks because there is no use for them, etc. However, battery cages are one of the worst forms of animal cruelty - caging animals so that they can barely move for their entire lives. This is why all of the animal welfare and environmental organizations pushed so hard to pass Prop 2 to ban battery cages, including The Humane Society of the United States, ASPCA, Center For Food Safety, California Veterinary Medical Association, Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Center for Science and the Public Interest.

Let me know if that answers your question. We should definitely stay and touch and work together on for animals and the environment on campus - I transferred in the fall, and am now officially a senior, so I'll be here for another year! Thanks for all of the AMAZING work you guys are doing with VEG - I'd like to get more involved with it!

Talk soon!

Kath"

I can finally sleep again.

Dude. It's a free online organic lifestyle magazine.

2009-04-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

Dude. How cool is a paper-free, money-free online organic lifestyle magazine?

Pretty fantabulously cool, that's f'sho.

http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/organiclifestylemagazine/20090203/?u1=texterity

Organizations at Balboa Park's Earth Fair

2009-04-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

Halloo all,

Today I went to the Earth Fair in Balboa park and discovered a bunch of neat new organizations.

Non-GMO Project:

The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit collaboration of manufacturers, retailers, processors, distributors, farmers, seed breeders and consumers.

Our shared belief is that everyone deserves an informed choice about whether or not to consume genetically modified products, and our common mission is to ensure the sustained availability of non-GMO options.

www.nongmoprogect.org

San Diego Friends of Fair Trade:

We aim to increase the understanding and use of Fair Trade throughout San Diego through education, policy change, and a shift in economic paradigm.

http://www.fairtradesd.org/

Heifer International: (Okay, not exactly vegetarian, but poor people have to eat too.)
This organization raises money to donate cows, goats, bees, etc. to poor people so they have a source of eggs, milk, etc to consume/sell and help get them out of extreme poverty.

http://www.heifer.org

DAY OF DECISION

Whenever California Supreme Court is going to make the decision on Prop 8, this website is going to announce and call us to mobilize to be present at the decision, to (maybe) help influence it.

http://dayofdecision.com/

THE EARTH ORGANIZATION: ECO SAFARI

Raising awareness of environmental issues through trips to Africa (and elsewhere,) plus part of the money goes to conseration efforts

http://ecosafariafrica.com/

THE N3TWORK

Website dedicated to getting out the REAL news, the stuff mainstream tv doesn't want to tell you. (EG: the bad side of GMOS, Monsanto, etc.)

www.yournetwork.tv

DONATE A PACK FOUNDATION:

You can recycle old outdoor gear!

http://donateapack.org/

PEACE RESOURCE CENTER OF SAN DIEGO

Peace Resource Center of Sand Diego is a membership organization working for peace, social justice and a sustainable environment.

http://www.prcsd.org/

THE H2H PROJECT:

Water is a precious resource--too many people don't clean water and die from infected water. We can make a difference!

http://www.theh2hproject.org/home

Two (short) articles on the controversy behind various types of eggs.

2009-04-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2008/08/10/20080810valdez10.html

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2480/are-cage-free-chickens-really-better

That's a thinker.

2009-04-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30112394/

tee hee

McCruelty

2009-04-04T18:18:00.001-07:00

Halloo all,

Saw this ad on my facebook page about helping PETA pressure McDonald's about their US suppliers' chicken abuse.

If it were any org other than PETA I would help, but since it is anti-feminist PETA, I can't support them.

If anyone is interested in supporting them though, there is more information here:
http://www.mccruelty.com/?c=mccrueltyfb0209

Recipe Update: Mozarella and Tomato Pizza

2009-04-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

Halloo All!

A while ago I made this pizza, tweaked ingredients and ate it. It was delish!

Thought I'd share the recipe (along with the changes I made)

MOZARELLA AND TOMATO PIZZA

A crisp-crusted pizza holiding a filling of herb-flavored tomatos with a topping of sliced black (I used green) olives, peppers, and golden, melting mozarella--yum! To save time, prepare the filling while the dough is rising. makes one 25-cm (10 inch) pizza.

BASE
3 tablespoons fresh yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1.5 cups plain (white) flour. (*I used 1 cup white flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and it turned out fine--using all wheat flour doesn't work very well though, as I learned the previous week when I tried this recipe and failed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

FILLING
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon yellow asafetida powder (asafetida is basically something akin to garlic and onion powder put together. I like lots of these ingredients, so I used way more than 1/4 teaspoon)
1 400g (14oz) can whole Italian Tomatoes, chopped and undrained, or 1.5 cups fresh tomato puree.
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

TOPPING
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese (Personally I'm not a mozarella fan--I used feta and goat cheese, and way more than just 1//4 cup. Vegan cheese should work perfectly fine as a substitute as well).
2 tablespoons grated parmesean (or grana padano) cheese
1 cup thin strips of eggplant, deep-friend until dark golden-brown, then salted (honestly I'm not a HUGE fan of eggplant..and there was asparagus in my refrigerator. Tastes AWESOME).
1 small red (green, yellow, orange) pepper, diced
1/4 cup black (green) olives, pitted and halved.

INSTRUCTIONS
Cream the yeast with the sugar in a bowl, add lukewarm water, and let stand for 10 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.

Sift flour and salt into a bowl, make a well in the center, and add oil and yeast mixture. Mix to a firm dough. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch down the dough with your fist and knead into a small ball. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin and roll into a circular sheet of pastry that will just fit a 25-cm (10 inch) pizza pan (or, in my case, cookie sheet). Place dough carefully on the pan.

Prepare your filling: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over moderate heat. When hot, add the asafetida and saute momentarily. Add the undrained canned tomatoes or tomato puree, tomato paste, oregano, basil, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat, and stirring occasionally, simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce is thick and smooth. Allow the filling to cool somewhat.

Spread cooled filling over pizza base, leaving a little border uncovered. Combine half the grated mozzarella cheese with the parmesean and sprinkle over the tomato filling. Top with the eggplant strips, chopped peppers, and olives. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven (220C/430F) for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Serve hot.

Pressing Matter

2009-03-14T01:29:00.000-07:00

A proposed bill in US Congress, S. 527 – exempts greenhouse gas emissions due to LIVESTOCK from regulation.

As global meat consumption is predicted to double by 2050, governments MUST address the #2 cause for global warming (UN FAO) and minimize the impact of livestock production!

If you have a minute please join the campaign or - let Congress know that you oppose this today!

Join the campaign!
http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/congress-regulate-livestock-emissions-vote-no-on-s-527

10 WTF Statistics on Meat and Global Warming
http://priceofmeat.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/10-wtfs-on-meat-and-global-warming/

Cow Farts, Burps and Global Warming: No Laughing Matter
http://priceofmeat.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/cow-farts-burps-and-global-warming-no-laughing-matter/

Carob/Chocolate Fudge Cake.

2009-03-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Halloo All!!

A few days ago I made this Carob/Chocolate fudge cake from the Hare Krishna recipe book. It was intensely fantabulous, I don't think I could ever make brownies/cake from a box again.

A few notes: the recipe calls for Carob powder, but not having any of that, I used cocoa powder. Personally, I think carob is more socially responsible, because it mostly comes from the Mediterranean region where people are more likely to have been paid a living wage for their efforts, but I'm trying to get rid of all my chocolate.

For the vegans: This recipe called for milk, and also asked to put lemon into the milk. HOWEVER: the recipe also said, "This works great as an egg substitute"--so what you could probably do is make an equivalent amount of vegan egg substitute, or use unsweetened soy milk. (Since it was the first time doing this recipe, I was afraid experiment.)

CAROB FUDGE CAKE:
This two-tiered carob cake is light in texture without the use of eggs. The cake's light texture is due to the sour milk. Filled and iced with Carob Vienna Icing, it is an irresistable dessert. Makes one two-tiered 20-com (8-inch carob fudge cake.*)

125g (6-7 tablespoons) butter (or vegan butter), room temperature
1 cup caster (superfine) sugar*
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup carob/cocoa powder
1/2 cup hot water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup milk*
1 2/3 plain (white) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
pinch salt
jam and cream for filling*
Carob Vienna Icing (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 180C/355F

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy

Whisk carob powder into the hot water and mix to a smooth paste.

Fold together carob mixture and butter-sugar mixture

Combine lemon juice with the milk to sour it (this makes an excellent egg replacer)

sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), and salt, and add it to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour milk. Mix thoroughly.

Spoon the cake mixture into the two buttered 20-cm (8-inch) cake tins.

Bake for 30 min. or until the tops spring back when lightly presed. Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 10 minutes.

Turn out and allow to cool completely. Fill with jam and ream and ice with Carob Vienna Icing.

CAROB VIENNA ICING:
125g (6 tablespoons) butter/vegan butter
2.5 cups icing (confectioner's sugar)
4 tablespoons carob/cocoa powder
2 tablespoons hot water

Beat the butter until creamy. Sift the sugar. Blend the carob powder with the hot water. Add the icing sugar to the butter alternatively with the carob mixture until it reaches a spreading consistency.

*I never have 20-cm baking pans around, so I used pie tins instead. (I should really get re-usable pie tins...)
*milk: check above recipe for possible things to do if you don't want to use milk
*I didn't really know what "cream" this recipe could have referred to, so what I did was use ice cream instead. (probably could get away with using vegan ice cream, too.)

In order to turn your cake into an ice-cream cake, after letting the cakes cool, put them in the freezer for maybe 15min-1/2 hour. Meanwhile, put ice cream in the refrigerator to let it soften. IT shouldn't melt--just soften.

Take the ice cream and cakes out, cover one of the cakes with ice cream, then put the other cake on top and squish it down a little until it stays. If it doesn't stay, you could cover it with saran wrap, then put it back into the freezer.

Take out when people come over, smear over with frosting, and top with berries or nuts or whatever you feel like to make it a beautiful confection

Cow Bomb

2009-03-01T22:27:00.000-08:00

Halloo all--

Repost from Animal Rights blog:

Cow Climate Bomb
A new study is saying what most people have thus far been refusing to acknowledge: it doesn't make a difference whether you raise cattle organically or conventionally; the practice is still a major contributor to global warming. Depressing, right? Animal Rights blogger Stephanie Ernst makes lemons out of lemonade, spying a chance to bring the eco-conscious over to full-on veganism. (Read more)

hm...for some reason I can't get the html to work: here's the url: http://animalrights.change.org/blog/view/researchers_even_organically_raised_cows_are_a_climate_bomb

Petition!!!

2009-02-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

Our petition is up and looks lovely! Please take a couple seconds to sign it.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/livestock-production-reduction-for-the-environment

I'm also working on a little hand-drawn quarter-sheet flier we can put up on suite doors around UCSD. Let me know if you want to get involved in this mass-fliering endeavor.

Love
Steph

Knitting for Charity

2009-02-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

Halloo!

So I know this doesn't exactly have to do with vegetarianism, but it does have to do with DIY, which I'm pretty sure some people here like :D

This is a link to a charity that you can knit squares to make part of a blanket for cold people in impoverished nations.

http://www.knit-a-square.com/

--happy trails!

Microwave broccoli rabe risotto

2009-02-19T11:06:00.000-08:00

You will need:

* one bunch broccoli rabe, rinsed and chopped
* 1 cup arborio rice
* 3 tbs olive oil
* 1/4 cup parmesan
* salt and white pepper
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
* 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the broccoli rabe for 7 minutes. Drain, reserving 3 cups of the cooking liquid.

Heat 1 tbs of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until just golden. Add the broccoli rabe and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Combine the rice, cooking liquid, remaining olive oil, and broccoli rabe in a microwave-safe casserole. Cover and microwave on high for 10 minutes. Carefully uncover and stir. Cover and microwave on high for an additional 10 minutes.

Let stand a few minutes. Carefully uncover, stir in parmesan and white pepeper to taste.

Serves 4.

this cute little piggy

2009-02-12T22:28:00.001-08:00

Kingsford Goes to the Beach - The top video clips of the week are here

PETA would have so much more success if they showed videos like this instead of objectifying women.

Five recycling mysteries solved

2009-02-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

I copied this link from Yahoo.

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/46/five-recycling-mysteries-solved.html

Famous Vegetarian Quotes

2009-02-07T12:47:00.000-08:00

Look how many famous people believed in vegetarianism!

"The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men."
Leonardo da Vinci, artist and scientist

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel Prize 1921

"In their behavior toward creatures, all men are Nazis. Human beings see oppression vividly when they're the victims. Otherwise they victimize blindly and without a thought."
Isaac Bashevis Singer, author, Nobel Prize 1978

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
"To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being."
Mahatma Gandhi, statesman and philosopher

"I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn't...The pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further."
Mark Twain, author

"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."
Thomas Edison, inventor

"For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love."
Pythagoras, mathematician

"To a man whose mind is free there is something even more intolerable in the sufferings of animals than in the sufferings of man. For with the latter it is at least admitted that suffering is evil and that the man who causes it is a criminal. But thousands of animals are uselessly butchered every day without a shadow of remorse. If any man were to refer to it, he would be thought ridiculous. And that is the unpardonable crime."
Romain Rolland, author, Nobel Prize 1915

"I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being."
Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President

"You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist

"As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields."
"What I think about vivisection is that if people admit that they have the right to take or endanger the life of living beings for the benefit of many, there will be no limit to their cruelty."
Leo Tolstoy author

"While we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts, how can we expect any ideal conditions on this earth?"
"Atrocities are not less atrocities when they occur in laboratories and are called medical research."
George Bernard Shaw

Two interesting restaurants for next quarter

2009-02-04T10:57:00.001-08:00

Found two possible restaurants we could visit next quarter:

Spread the Restaurant

Vegan Zone

Organic and VERY VERY LOCAL

2009-02-02T21:26:00.000-08:00

Interested in farmers markets, or Community Supported Agriculture, but don't want to have to travel very far to find one?

Would the GREAT HALL be close enough for you?

Introducing Garden of Eden Organics, a community-supported agricultural group that provides local produce and delivers it straight to the Great Hall EVERY THURSDAY!

$108 will buy you four weeks of locally grown and harvested, fresh, organic vegetables that you could pick up every Thursday at the Great Hall!

$284 would buy you the same for 12 weeks.

My brother's picking up his box this Thursday and I'm going to try out some of the vegetables to see if they're yummy.

In case we don't find a movie...

2009-01-28T19:37:00.000-08:00

Halloo all!

I found a website with cartoons for kids that are aimed at teaching more about green-ness.

http://www.greengorilla.com/

(In case we don't find a movie, we could just show an episode. I think there are not very many people who don't like some sort of cartoon.)

Farmer's Markets!

2009-01-26T19:21:00.000-08:00

Looking for locally grown, sustainable food?

Check out localharvest.org to find a farmer's market/grocery/co-op/restaurant near you, or, try theUSDA's Community Supported Agriculture resource guide

Happy earth-friendly food shopping :D

VEGAN CRANBERRY-BANANAS COOKIE (variation)

2009-01-26T08:22:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:
(A) 2.5 cups organic flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

(B) 3/4 cup organic sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup softened/melted vegan butter

(C) 2 teaspoons EnerG egg replacer (I'm guessing any kind of egg replacers will work fabulously well)
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla

(D) 1 whole chopped banana
3/4 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
preheat oven to 375 degrees F

1. mix ingredients in (A) and set aside

2. mix ingredients in (B) well until texture is uniform

3. mix ingredients in (C) and add to (B) mixture

4. add in the (A) mixture to that of step 3

5. add in ingredients in (D) to make the final mixture; make sure the mashed bananas are added in first and well mixed into the mixture before adding in chocolate chips and cranberries.

Rounded tablespoons will make about 18 cookies; each batch of 6 cookies need to be baked for 9-12 minutes :) (ovens vary slightly from one another, test first batch with the recommended time and decrease/increase according to how crisp you like your cookies)

For variations, you may also try any type of nuts like chopped walnuts, pecans, cashews instead of cranberries or chocolate chip. The most important thing is to have fun!

PETA's VegPledge

2009-01-21T23:39:00.000-08:00

Through the foray of websites I found, I ended up deciding to take PETA's VegPledge. Unlike the other, trademarked VegPledge, this one is only for thirty days.

I really like the email I got from PETA after I signed their pledge, for various reasons. Partly I thought it was funny that one of the suggestions they make is to try tons of fake meat products...makes me laugh. There's a lot of useful stuff in the email too though, so I thought I'd share it:

Dear [insert name]

You have just taken the first step toward a healthier and more
compassionate life. Going vegetarian has never been easier, and
we're here to help! From our fantastic recipes and our list of
our favorite products to our vegetarian cookbooks and online
shopping guide and meal plans, PETA has all the information that
you need to get started.

Top Six Tips for Making the Switch

(1) Make vegetarian versions of your favorite meals. "Veg up"
your favorite recipes by simply replacing the meat with other
foods. For example, replace the beef in burritos with beans,
guacamole, and grilled veggies, or try vegetarian beef crumbles
from Morningstar Farms or Boca instead.

(2) Explore delicious vegetarian recipes. We have more than
1,500 kitchen-tested recipes
http://www.vegcooking.com/searchrecipes.asp to choose from! If
you'd rather thumb through a cookbook, check out some of our
favorites. http://www.vegcooking.com/cookbooks.asp

(3) Try tasty faux meats and dairy alternatives. Sample the
ever-growing lineup of mock meats and the vast array of tasty
alternatives to dairy products. Some of the most popular brands
include Boca, Gardenburger, Morningstar Farms, and Silk. Check
out our top picks. http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp

(4) Sample microwaveable meals and convenience foods. Always on
the run? Check out the variety of vegan microwavable meals in
your local grocery store's freezer aisle or read about our
favorite products
herehttp://www.vegcooking.com/productArchive.asp. There are
also hundreds of "accidentally vegan" items at a grocery near
you. You can read our full list here.
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/default.asp

(5) Find vegetarian-friendly restaurants in your area. Whatever
your budget and wherever you live, you can enjoy great
vegetarian meals. Our "Dining Out" guide features reviews of
some of the hottest vegetarian-friendly restaurants in the
country plus links to all the best online restaurant guides.
http://www.vegcooking.com/diningOut.asp

(6) Explore meat-free foods from around the world. While you can
make vegetarian versions of all your favorite classic American
dishes, http://www.vegcooking.com/CuisineTypeAmerican.asp
delight your taste buds by sampling the many vegetarian foods
that have been popular in other countries for centuries.
Mexican, Thai, Indian, and Ethiopian cuisines all include tons
of tasty vegetarian options and you can try them at home, just
check out our Cuisine Type recipe search engine.
http://www.vegcooking.com/searchrecipes.asp

Thank you again for taking the Pledge to Be Veg for 30 Days, and
if you need additional resources to help you go vegetarian,
check out our guide to making the transition.
http://www.vegcooking.com/makingthetransition.asp

Join others who took the pledge on ExperienceProject.com, the
world's largest network of shared experiences!
http://www.experienceproject.com/mk/challenges.php You can
track your progress on eating vegetarian, get support from
others who took the pledge, and challenge your friends to get
involved too!

Sincerely,

PETA

Goth and Veggies

2009-01-21T23:10:00.000-08:00

I was surfing the net looking for Gothic Lolita style stuff, and on a GoLo page, I found stuff about vegetarianism! It's nice when two interests coincide.

Anywho, the site had tons of links to other vegetarian websites, and I thought they'd be interesting:

This one has a recipe from Jason Mraz on it...so nifty...
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/

http://www.vegsource.com/

GoVeg.com

http://www.vegweb.com/

This is an interesting concept: taxing meat. Heck, since we wouldn't have to pay, why not?
taxing meat? intriguing..

Take the veg pledge, get free stuff!
vegpledge.com

Should be interesting material!!

Vegan cookie/cupcake recipes for food sale

2009-01-18T00:10:00.000-08:00

Hey--

These are a few recipes we're thinking of making for the food sale. (comments of opinion will be appreciated.)

Caramel Apple Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Black and White cookies

Tofu Chocolate Chip cookies

If you have any other ideas, plz post!

2009-01-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

The Veghog!!!

EcoFont

2008-12-29T20:03:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

If you find yourself printing a lot for your classes, download this font:

http://www.ecofont.eu/behind_ecofont_en.html

It has holes on the inside which uses half as much ink. And brands you for life as a liberal/environmentalist/hippie.

Movie Option

2008-12-29T19:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a website for a movie that links vegetarianism to the environment on an ethical standpoint, and a good candidate for our next movie screening. Check out the brief trailers on this website:

http://www.earthlings.com/

And comment with your thoughts and opinions!

DIY

2008-12-19T00:31:00.000-08:00

It's not that big of a site, but there are still some interesting DIY projects hiding amongst its pages...

http://www.junkmailgems.com/DIY.html

procrastiNATION

2008-12-18T23:36:00.000-08:00

Halloo--

There are various ways to procrastinate--but how many allow you to donate food and learn vocabulary at the same time?

FreeRice is a website with vocabulary games, and for every word guessed correctly, 20 grains of rice are donated through the UN world food program!

Works well as a party game (well, I think it does at least)

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

*edit: you can change subjects to spanish, german vocabulary, art history, pre-algebraic math...among other things. TRY IT!

POWER STEER

2008-12-16T09:21:00.000-08:00

Completely interesting article about how cows are raised, grown, and killed in the US of A. Believe it or not it's actually a fun read.

It was published in 2002, so should be a pretty good representation of what's going on now-- it's very elucidating.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E5DB153BF932A05750C0A9649C8B63

physicians' conspiracy

2008-12-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

Halloo!

I found an interesting article about how a lot of physicians try to tell people they must eat meat because they need vitamin b12 which they claim is ONLY in meat...but of course this article debunks that myth.

http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/why-we-should-not-eat-meat/the-vitamin-b12-hoax.html

Hare Krishna recipes: Raisin and Walnut Halava.

2008-12-10T22:01:00.000-08:00

Halloo Veg-Hogs!

It's finals week and everyone is either studying or not studying; whichever one it is you might currently be engaged in, here's a happy Hare Krishna recipe to either a: keep you distracted from studying or b: fuel you in your endeavors.

Ready. Set. GO!

Walnut and Raisin Semolina Halava

The secret of a good halava is to roast the semolina very slowly for at least 20 minutes, with enogh butter so as not to scorch the grains. Steam the finished halava over very low heat with a tight-fitting lid for 5 minutes to fully plump the semolina grains, then allow it to sit covered for another 5 minutes. Fluffy, pump-grained halava is best served hot, with a spoonful of cream or custard. Serves 6-8

2.75 cups water
1.25 raw (Turbinado) sugar
.5 cup raisins
140g (7 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1.25 cups coarse-grained semolina
.3333333.... cup walnut pieces

Combine water, sugar, and raisins in a 2-liter/quart saucepan. place over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Bring to a boil, then coer with a tight-fitting lid and remove from heat.

Melt the butter in a 2 or 3-liter/quart non-stick saucepan over fairly low heat without scorching it. Add the semolina.

Slowly and Rhythmically stir-fry the grains until they darken to a tan color and become aromatic (about 20 minutes). Add walnut pieces about halfway through roasting. Stirring more carefully, raise the heat under the grains.

Turn on the heat under the sugar water and bring to a rolling boil. Remove saucepan of semolina and butter from heat, slowly pouring the hot syrup into the semolina, stirring steadily. They grains may splutter at first, but will quickly stop as the liquid is absorbed.

Return pan to stove and stir steadily over low heat until the grains fully absorb the liquid, start to form a puddinglike consistency, and pull away from the sides of the pan.

Place a tight-fitting lid on the saucepan and cook over hte lowest possible heat for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and allow the halava to steam, covered, for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve hot in dessert bowls as it is or with the toppings suggested above.

If you're curious to try out other regional recipes, here are some interesting vegetarian food websites:

International Vegetarian Union: http://www.ivu.org/
Vegan Chef: http://www.veganchef.com/recipes.htm
Veg Family, the magazine for vegan family living: http://www.vegfamily.com/

If anyone tries a recipe from any of these websites, you should post it on the blog and rate it!

VEG Movies

2008-12-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

Check out this link for movie suggestions

CLICK HERE!