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I’ve been in this business a long time—as both an activist and a dietitian—and I must say, I’ve never been so confused about all of the terminology and events and opportunities surrounding plant-based eating. My head is often spinning but I’m starting to see that this is a good thing. The reason there is so much going on is that lots of people are talking about animal agriculture.

When I first became a vegan the only people who even knew the term factory farming were other vegans. Now almost everyone knows what it is and that it’s bad. And little by little, people are starting to respond. The responses are often weak, that’s for sure. And the activist part of me feels disappointed about that.

I’ve been writing in my examiner column about some things to watch for when evaluating vegan nutrition resources. Today I listed my favorite websites for finding reliable information on vegan diet and, for those who don’t read the Seattle Vegan Examiner, I want to reprint them here.

Eating well—both from a culinary standpoint and a health standpoint—is good activism for animals. After all, when studies reveal health problems among vegans, it’s obviously bad for the image of vegan diets. And when vegans make diets needlessly complicated, it makes others view veganism as a chore.

So, when it comes to sources of vegan nutrition information, I’m picky. There are very few websites that I can comfortably recommend. The list below is short, but you can ... Read More >

I blog recipes only occasionally since there are so many great vegan cooks on the internet—and I’m merely a good-enough cook. But sometimes I stumble over a recipe that is so fantastic or I find myself pulling together such an exceptional menu that I feel compelled to share. And that’s the case with last night’s dinner. Here is the menu:

~Tempeh Marinated in Tequila

~Rice with Corn, Coconut Milk and Lime

~Spinach (fresh from the garden)

~Salad (even fresher from the garden)

I think this menu sounds a little fancy, and it would, in fact, be perfect for company. But believe me, it was super easy. Once you have the tempeh marinating and, if you cook the brown rice ahead of time, the ... Read More >

Dr Atkins must be turning over in his grave. Researchers from Canada and the United States have taken his diet and—yikes!—veganized it. Their findings were published in the June 8, 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Everyone knows about the infamous Atkins Diet, of course. It promised weight loss to anyone who severely restricted carbohydrate intake and filled her plate with fatty meats. For whatever reasons—and the possible explanations are hotly debated among nutritionists—the diet works for weight loss.

But there are some obvious problems with the Atkins approach. First of all, while weight loss almost always results in lower LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol), that doesn’t happen on the Atkins plan. In fact, not surprisingly, cholesterol often goes up. High meat ... Read More >

Are you sad? I often am. Anyone with a genetic predisposition to depression knows what it’s like to have the blues for no earthly reason. And when you are an animal rights activist, it can make things a whole lot worse.

Let’s face it, when you care about animal suffering, it’s pretty easy to feel despondent and despairing. How many of us can read about factory farming or puppy mills or fur farms without feeling anger at the least, and more often a sense of overwhelming sadness.

Maybe we can’t change our genes or control all of the things in the world that make us unhappy. But lifestyle, including diet and exercise, can make a big difference. For example, vegans can be at higher risk ... Read More >

What is this love affair that everyone seems to have with bacon these days? It seems to appear in every other recipe published on the internet. The most recent ones I saw were for bacon candy and bacon brownies.

Now the latest internet claim is that lard—which is rendered fat from pigs—is supposedly good for us. Ugh. The basis for this idea is that much of the fat in lard is either monounsaturated (like the fat in olive oil) or is the type of saturated fat that doesn’t affect cholesterol levels.

I don’t know–maybe so. But, dietary fat is a bit more complicated than that. Some types of saturated fat (including the palmitic acid in lard) have been shown to have other effects in ... Read More >

I’ve never had a very high opinion of the foodie movement. To me it’s no great coincidence that foodie (sort of) rhymes with snooty.

Sure, I like food that tastes good. But I can’t help being turned off by an extreme and expensive obsession with luxurious foods in a world where 2 billion people don’t have access to clean water and another billion don’t get enough calories. Who cares if your goat cheese is handcrafted or your guindilla peppers were cooked in the Basque tradition? Shouldn’t we just be happy to have enough?

And, I admit it—I don’t trust most foodies to make ethical decisions about food. Foodie-ism tends to be about pleasure, not making the world a better place. If paté foie gras ... Read More >

I take some flak for my stance on raw foods and low-fat-vegan diets. But that’s okay; I stand by my opinion that neither is a good idea. I’m bothered as a dietitian because I don’t think these diets are the most healthful way to eat. But it bugs me way more as an activist since I don’t think either approach helps animals. In fact, I think it hurts them.

If our goal is to put an end to the inhumane treatment on factory farms, we need to encourage as many people as possible to embrace vegan diets. To do that, we need to show them that this way of eating is healthful and practical and appealing. Promoting additional restrictions that have no known health ... Read More >

Okay, I’m no food photographer. But when I plated up this dinner last night, I was so impressed with myself that I had to take a quick photo. It’s not just that this meal is fabulously healthy, delicious, and pretty. It’s that it took me all of 10 minutes to pull it together.

Granted, the grains were leftovers. But if I hadn’t had those, I would have substituted something quick-cooking, like quinoa, or maybe just a nice slice of toasted grainy bread.

I started with a veggie patty made by Don Lee Farms and sold at some Costco stores. It’s not frozen but is fresh chopped veggies and grains, and it doesn’t pretend to be meat. (I have nothing against veggie burgers that ... Read More >

I treasure my wonderful group of vegan friends and colleagues, people I know both on and off the internet. They provide a sanity-saving little oasis for me in this non-vegan world. They are also a source of information and inspiration, which I think helps me to be a more effective activist.

Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world where everyone shared our vegan values and goals? Where you could always find vegan food on the table and didn’t have to watch other people eating meat? How great would it be if no one made fun of your diet and lifestyle and not one person ever asked where you get your protein? This question came up a few weeks ago on Twitter: If ... Read More >