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I wrote yesterday on the examiner site about Meatless Mondays in the Baltimore school system. Some email and twitter responses to that article suggested that serving up vegetarian meals in school cafeterias one day a week is not exactly progress for animal rights. For one thing, the non-meat choices are pretty cheese-laden. Some are more plant-based than others, but there is a grilled cheese option every day and lots of mozzarella sticks on the menu.

It’s true; from the standpoint of animal rights, there is no obvious gain. Baltimore kids simply trade in one animal product for another. And then, of course, they get up the next day and head to school to eat chicken nuggets.

Admittedly, I don’t embrace the Meatless Monday campaign as ... Read More >

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has just released 10 Tips for Following a Vegetarian Diet, and you could knock me over with a feather. It’s not just that it takes a positive approach; it actually takes a vegan approach.

While the fact sheet lists some nutrients that vegetarians need to focus on, it doesn’t have any of that annoying verbiage about the need to carefully plan meals. (Vegetarians and vegans should, of course, carefully plan their meals; so should everyone else.) More importantly, there isn’t a word about animal products in the whole fact sheet, other than how to replace them.

Beans and grains are highlighted as good protein sources. And—amazingly—the only sources of calcium mentioned are soy products, leafy greens, and fortified foods ... Read More >

I was in elementary school when I first heard Mary Travers sing. By that time, Peter, Paul and Mary had already achieved great commercial success, but they were new to me—and I fell head over in heels in love with Mary’s voice and the passion behind it—not to mention that incredible slinky blond hair.

It wasn’t until quite a few years later that I understood what their music was about and that there was more to the group than great harmonizing and sing-along tunes. Peter, Paul and Mary were authentic folk artists. Their music spoke to the social justice issues of the day. They helped bring protest music to the forefront of American culture. Emerging from the early ‘60s bohemian world of Greenwich Village, ... Read More >

Here are some of the especially interesting things I saw on the internet in August. Not all exactly vegan, but all related to our work in promoting veganism and animal rights.

Interesting Commentary

Time Magazine looked at the real cost of “cheap food.”

Erik Marcus shared some perspective on the Whole Foods boycott on vegan.com.

Wayne Pacelle commented on the American Veterinary Medical Association and their support of factory farming.

I’m going to cheat and dip into July because I missed this excellent post last month by Judith Kingsbury, the Savvy Vegetarian on why she supports Meatless Monday.

Tracy, from Digging Through The Dirt blog talked about why even those of us who didn’t grow up on a farm recognize cruelty when we see or ... Read More >

Going vegan is a whole lot more than learning to make chili without meat. Most Americans eat and wear animal products, rely on a multitude of products that are tested on animals, and depend on animals for entertainment (whether it’s playing soccer with a leather ball or spending the afternoon at the zoo). There has been no other social justice movement that has asked all people to change their lives so extensively and fundamentally. Comparisons to other movements and societal changes are pretty limited. We are truly in uncharted territory.

With no one to really show us the way, we definitely need to explore diverse approaches to making people think differently about animals. That means being open-minded about language and tactics. It means embracing different ... Read More >

I’ve been lately dipping into one of my all-time favorite books, Simple Food For The Good Life by Helen Nearing. She and her husband Scott were back-to-the landers, pacifists, and simple lifestyle pioneers in the 1930s through 1970s. They were vegetarian—almost vegan.

I love this cookbook not so much (or really at all) for its recipes, but for the amusing snippets throughout, as well as some delightfully radical ideas (for 1980) about animal rights. But be forewarned: Helen’s thoughts were not in sync with some of the absolutist positions that some activists take today. She was a straight talker and pulled no punches when it came to her disdain for inflexible perspectives.

In her chapter on vegetarianism she says:

“We knew one self-righteous vegetarian ... Read More >

I found so much great vegan stuff on the internet last month that I wanted to do a little round up of my favorite things from July, 2009. (And yes, I know it’s already the end of the first week of August; I blame it on a computer crash earlier this week!)

Here are just a few of the wonderful items that made me laugh or think or want to head straight into the kitchen to cook or out to the street to advocate for animals.

Funny Stuff

From Vance Lehmkuhl, I loved this brilliant video that offers a musical answer to the question: What do you eat, when you don’t eat meat?

In the spirit of The Onion, Edward VII spoofed meat-eating on the veganiseme ... Read More >

A month or so ago, I wrote a little missive to the editor of my local newspaper about the rationale for going vegan. A friend emailed to say how much he had loved my “take no prisoners” letter. Yikes. I wasn’t sure if I was pleased or mortified. But there are times when it makes sense to lay it on the line, and letters to the editor are among many good opportunities for that.

There are also times when it pays to be a little bit more subtle. I’ve written before about what it means to live as a vegan in a non-vegan world. It’s hard. But if we are truly a voice for animals, then being out and about among non-vegans is our very ... Read More >

In my examiner column last week I wrote about Mark Bittman’s decision to add small amounts of meat to his Vegan Before Six plan while training for a marathon. If you don’t follow Bittman, he is a celebrity chef who devised a plan to eat vegan meals before 6:00 p.m. and then whatever he wanted for dinner. He wanted to reduce his cholesterol and weight without entirely giving up his favorite foods.

As I’ve stated here more than once, I don’t like the health argument for vegan diet (not to mention the fact that there is no health argument whatsoever for vegan lifestyle) and Bittman’s VB6 program is a perfect illustration of why I don’t like it. His plan has been perfectly effective in achieving ... Read More >

Will we have a fattening food tax? I doubt it. But even the discussion of this idea is disturbing to me for two rather different reasons.

First, the current conversation about this approach involves some appalling bigotry. In their statement of why they think the food tax could work, The Urban Institute says that part of the rationale “involves personal responsibility, argued as follows: People have the right to buy food that will make them obese. But they need to take responsibility for the costs they impose on the rest of us. They do this by paying a fattening food tax, which helps defray the publicly funded medical costs that result from obesity.”

The last time I read a statement about obesity that made me ... Read More >