Wellness Central is Doing Well!

Last night's turnout at Wellness Central at the Opera Plaza shows how people of all ages are getting the messages that What You Eat Matters (the name of the documentary we watched together)--not just for our health but for the welfare of animals (not insensate objects) and the environment.

"What you Eat Matters" is available free online NOW for a limited amount of time. 

https://www.hope-theproject.com/

Positive Response on Vegan Tea

How wonderful to get a response that's respectful and positive!

---

From: Amy Dean <amyteacake213@gmail.com>
To: Tina Martin <tina_martin@sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2018 11:19 AM
Subject: Re: Almond milk, plant-based sandwiches

Hi Tina,

Thank you for your email regarding a vegan Afternoon Tea. We do in fact get many requests for a complete vegan tea experience and I so appreciate you sending the link about “How to serve a Vegan Afternoon Tea”. It is  fantastic! 

We do serve a complete gluten free afternoon tea service and our regular tea service is vegetarian as well as a non vegetarian tea service. Our events at The Sir Francis Drake Hotel are usually at the Holidays or for special events. We strongly think that we will implement a vegan tea service and your email has spurred us on so thank you for that! 

We hope to see you one day soon and thank you again for your input!

All the best,

Amy Dean

Owner

Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon

Dinner and 2018 Documentary "What You Eat Matters"

Dear Members of OWL,

I'm sending this as a follow-up to Saturday's presentation on what we can do for the environment.  Glenda explained how what we eat affects the planet.  

FYI every Wednesday night at the Opera Plaza, there's an earth-friendly plant-based dinner.  I don't go every Wednesday, but I've gone several times for both tasty food and special documentaries or speakers.  (I paid $50 to hear Jonathan Kaufman speak at the Commonwealth Club and later had the chance to hear him for free at this gathering.)

Dinner is only $15.00, and we can even use those containers Glenda mentioned to take home leftovers!

This Wednesday's presentation is a 2018 documentary "What You Eat Matters."

Even if you can't attend, you might like to read the menu and the write-up!

Bon Appétit

Tina 

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "rsvp@wellnesscentral.us" <rsvp@wellnesscentral.us>
To:
Sent: Monday, May 28, 2018 5:00 PM
Subject: RE: Its Movie Nite! Wed. May 30 at 6 pm

Ooohhh LOOK at this menu!!!

Herbed Artichoke & Purple Asparagus Chopped Salad

Prized Peppers Mediterranean Style

Cacciatore Chickpea & Veggies with Golden Polenta

Almond Choco Bites

Basil & Cold-Pressed Apple Refreshment and Herbal Tea Beverages

ALL vegan. ALL health-supporting. And ALL you care to eat! Delicious and healthy. Come and ENJOY!

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Its Movie Nite! Wed. May 30 at 6 pm
From: <rsvp@wellnesscentral.us>
Date: Thu, May 24, 2018 8:13 pm
To:

IT'S MOVIE NITE! SCREENING OF "WHAT YOU EAT MATTERS" + VEGAN DINNER. WED. MAY 30 AT 6 PM

On Wed. May 30 at 6 pm, enjoy this superb, brand-new, 2018 documentary directed by Nina Messinger, founder of project H.O.P.E.--Healing OF Planet Earth. "What You Eat Matters" features internationally renowned experts such as Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Dr. Melanie Joy, Dr. Marc Bekoff and others.

"What You Eat Matters" is a life-changing documentary revealing the effects of our typical Western diet on our health, the environment and animals. It has a clear message: by changing our eating habits, we can change the world!

Nina speaks glowingly of "the conversations with farmers and people from all walks of life, who have recovered from severe illnesses, simply by changing their eating habits. These encounters and conversations have led me, my family, my team and those people who have watched my film to become more conscious of what they eat. I was also able to experience the blessing of seeing my own father’s health improvement through switching to an organic, whole food, plant-based diet. He radically changed his diet during the making of my film after a cancer diagnosis. His condition improved and he is fine today despite the negative prognosis of doctors and his refusal of conventional cancer treatment."

Enjoy the movie in the ambiance of a premier downtown location, on a huge screen with sound by Bose, and in the company of like-minded people who share the vision of HOPE, the healing of planet earth, and the importance of what you eat!

And, enjoy a full-course vegan dinner along with the movie! Planned by a certified Nutrition Consultant, the dinner includes beverages (plural) and desserts. ALL vegan. ALL health-supporting. And ALL you care to eat! Containers available to take some home, or bring your own container!

Location is the Opera Plaza Community Room, 601 Van Ness, San Francisco. Take the elevator to the mezzanine, then follow the sign down the hall to the right.

What is the cost? You get the FULL-COURSE vegan dinner, including beverages and dessert, PLUS the movie, for the price of a movie ticket alone! Fifteen bucks! And you get to enjoy pleasant socializing to boot! This is not like a theater where you file in, sit and just watch a movie. There is great interaction during dinner, making for a truly enjoyable evening.

Hurry and reserve your place! Our last movie nite was literally sold out, a full house, with every seat filled. So RSVP here, or email to: rsvp@wellnesscentral.us OR call (888) 234-1361.

So, come and ENJOY!!

https://www.facebook.com/events/611120102588093/

Vegan Food for OWL's Focus on the Environment

After two representatives from 350 spoke to OWL this past Saturday, Glenda spoke about how our diet is connected to environmental issues.  I brought food I hoped would entice people to try plant-based dishes, and my coffee cake turned out to be edible in spite of the fact that I put the batter into too shallow a pan, causing the batter to flow over and create new land masses in the oven.

I realized only this morning that the delicious crackers contain milk, so I hope I didn't sell too many people on those!

Is the Diaspora Dinner Plant-Based?

A Vegan's Letter to the Creators of a Royal Wedding-Watching Tea

Dear Staff,

I read Beth Spotswood's  charming write-up on your Royal Extravanza Tea this morning and felt disappointed that I'd missed your fun-filled event!  I've had tea with friends at St. Francis in the past, but I don't remember the name "Crown and Crumpet."  I have some catching up to do!

Recently a number of us tea-devotees have moved to a plant-based diet for the welfare of animals and the good of the environment.  There are also people with dietary restrictions so they can't eat dairy or eggs.

I'd like to know whether you offer almond milk and savory and sweet treats free of eggs, dairy, and meat.  I understand that you have a set menu, but it would be wonderful if one of your set menus was a vegan one.  

Looking forward to hearing!

Tina Martin

How To Serve A Vegan Afternoon Tea

How To Serve A Vegan Afternoon Tea How To Serve A Vegan Afternoon Tea

http://www.veganfoodandliving.com/tea-total-host-spectacular-vegan-afternoon-tea/

Vegan Meals for Jonathan's Visits

Just a couple of hours after Jonathan's plane landed, we were at the Shizen Japanese Restaurant, named in 2016 the Best Japanese Restaurant in SF.  This year it was named the Best Vegan Restaurant in SF, so that's where I took Jonathan for the first of his belated (March 24) birthday celebrations.  I'd already made him an almond cake, and the next morning I made him a tortilla de patatas.  Then yesterday after returning from Healdsburg he treated me to dinner at Bursa.  Yum!

Shizen Vegan Restaurant Named Best Japanese Restaurant in San Francisco

Jonathan just arrived from NYC, and we celebrated his March 24 birthday at Shizen, the restaurant named Best Japanese in SF--and it's vegan!  

You can see the long line of people waiting even before 5:00 PM, and it was easy to understand its popularity!  I was by far the oldest person there, and that give me hope for a future that based on veggies, not on livestock--kinder to the environment and to animals.

Don't Want to Get Even with KQED!

I really don't want revenge on KQED for their failure to learn and teach about how our diet affects animals and environment.  But I might "pay them back" simply through my incompetence.  I've just written to the friend who has coordinated the volunteer (almost) work we're doing this afternoon:

Hi, Kim!

I just looked at the video and will watch it again (and again and again?)!  Things have changed a lot since I last did this back in the 1980's or 1990's!  I'm so awful with forms, so the combination of forms and phones is unbeatable.  But I'll give both a try and hope I don't sabotage things too much!

As for outrage, I didn't and don't feel outrage about KQED's statement that "There is usually a vegetarian option."  I feel frustration that people--even people who work for what's called the education channel--aren't getting the message of how our diet affects both animal welfare and the environment.  They are as slow in learning and teaching about this as I am about filling out forms.  By now, they should know the difference between vegetarian and vegan or plant-based.  The United Nations has stated that we need to move towards a plant-based diet--so many organizations and individuals are aware of that-- but KQED doesn't even  provide non-dairy options!  

But again, as I say, it's not outrage I feel.  It's frustration!  I sometimes vent my frustration in letters to the editor, and I'm grateful that two of these letters have been printed in the SF Chronicle since September  even though the SF Chronicle itself fails to focus on more than car emissions.

I like you, and I'm sure I'll like the crew, and in no time at all this ordeal will be over!

Hugs,

Tina

An Open Letter to Matier and Ross on SB 1138

I just sent off a message to Matier and Ross on SB 1183.

Dear Matier and Ross,

I always read your column with great interest, and Monday's column about SB 1138, proposed by Nancy Skinner,  particularly interested me because I think it's so important that we connect our diet with the environment and other living things.   (I hope you're not rolling your eyes.)

Your column motivated me to look up SB 1138, and I see how it has been amended.  Apparently, it originally mentioned the health aspect of plant-based food.  There was and is no mention of the environmental impact.  But at Nancy Skinner's press  conference on April 25, she focused on the environment, saying "Offering plant-based options...gives California a chance to further its climate protection and water conservation goals."  She quotes a  2014 study in the journal Climatic Change finding  that vegetarian diets were associated with a 50 percent reduction in food-related greenhouse gas emissions as well as a 2013 study by the British Institute of Mechanical Engineers:  "While each pound of beef required over 1,800 gallons of water to produce, tofu only required about 300 gallons of water per pound and pasta only about 222 gallons."  She pointed out that offering plant-based meals is providing "not just a healthy choice but  a way of reducing food-related greenhouse gas emissions."

You're right that the focus of SB 1138 is on "being fair" to those whose diets are not in the mainstream.

But I hope your readers won't be scared by your raising the question of  the cost of  adding the vegan option.  We really need to think of what raising livestock  costs the environment.

In today's world, plant based should really be the default rather than the exception!

KQED sent its volunteers a letter saying it would provide dinner for those on the 3:00 to 7:00 shift, adding "There is usually a vegetarian option."  I made a $500 donation towards making sure there is always a plant-based option.

At the COP 23 in Berlin at least 60% of the food was vegetarian or plant-based, and beside each food item, they gave the carbon footprint to make people aware that what we eat affects the environment.

Like those at KQED and COP 23,  you at the SF Chronicle are in a great position to further education on how what we eat affects the planet.  People who eat a plant-based diet are doing  volunteer work with every bite-- for both animal welfare (eye roll) and the environment.

Your faithful reader,

Tina Martin

Matier and Ross Don't Seem to Understand the Importance of SB1138

This is what the "vegan part" of  Matier and Ross looked like this morning.

They don't seem to understand the significance of this bill, assuring a vegan option for prisoners.

An Open Letter to Nancy Skinner--Thanks for proposing Senate Bill 1138

Wanting to contact Nancy Skinner of Berkeley, I filled out a form obviously meant only for voters in Berkeley.


Bravo on proposing SB 1138!  I read about this in Matier and Ross, who seem to think this is/would be an extreme and costly measure.  I plan to write to them to point out the price we pay--in environmental degradation, animal suffering & health problems -- in basing our diets on livestock, but I first wanted to look up SB 1138 itself.

 I see that some major points were crossed out so that the benefits to health and environment are not mentioned--just the "fair choice" part. 

I'm doing phoning for KQED this Friday (May 11),  and our group got a letter from them promising dinner (unless we had special dietary restrictions) and saying that a vegetarian option is usually provided.  I wrote back to them, giving them a $500 donation towards beginning to provide VEGAN dinners.  (I am now retired and get only 69% of what I got working, so this was for me a major donation.)

 In a better world, vegan would be the default.

I wanted to reach you even though--sorry--I can't vote in Berkeley.  I gave an incorrect address so this mail could get through.  If there's another way to contact you, please let me know. I think even people who can't vote in Berkeley should be heard.

A Donation to KQED to Assure Plant-Based Options--and Maybe Even Awareness

Here's my open letter to KQED:

Dear Staff at KQED,

In spite of my phone-phobia, I plan to join a group of volunteers to phone bank this coming Friday, May 11, and I've noticed that you kindly provide dinner.  I also noticed this paragraph:

FOOD: KQED provides food appropriate to the shift. Keep in mind that all food is donated so if you have special dietary requirements, please make other arrangements. The morning shifts will be 
provided with Bagels & coffee and the afternoon shifts will be served dinner. 

There is usually a vegetarian option.

I'd like to be sure that volunteers always have a vegan option--for the good of the environment and for animal welfare.  

The COP 23 in Berlin acknowledged that at an environmental conference most of the food served should be vegetarian.  (I hope in the future they'll make that plant-based.)  At least 60% of the food was.

Beside each food item, they gave the carbon footprint to make people aware that what we eat affects the environment.

It would be wonderful if KQED could lead in environmental awareness too--specifically in letting all viewers, members, and donors know how what we eat affects our planet. 

 I know getting donations is not easy under any circumstances, but it would be great if you could let donors know that you'd especially like plant-based food and let them know why.  

I would like to donate $500.00 so that you can begin to assure volunteers "There is always a plant-based option."

Thank you for all the good work you do. 

Tina Martin

When I donated online, I had the chance to comment in 255 characters.  This is what I wrote:

For the good of the environment and animal welfare, please use this donation to begin to provide plant-based snacks and dinners for volunteers. Also, please provide more programming to educate viewers on the impact of diet on the planet.

"Think Different" Should be Extended to Plant-based meals

Michael Bauer wrote on "Bay Area & the Freedom to Create" in the SF Chronicle Sunday, April 29.

I wish the chefs with the freedom to create would create more dishes both delicious and good for the planet. 

He says that "Think different" captures the Bay Area ethos, but he's still thinking meat and dairy. 

He also says that the Bay Area is a "petri dish that allows ideas to grow."  What a shame that there aren't more plant-based entrees allowed and encouraged  to grow in that petri dish. 

Is KQED an Educational Channel? If So, They Could Educate on Diet!

I hate phones, but I love the person who's organized our KQED volunteer phone work, so I agreed to participate.

She sent us instructions and guidelines from KQED.

Here's the part--in context and in bold-- that exasperated me:

FOOD: KQED provides food appropriate to the shift. Keep in mind that all food is 
donated so if you have special dietary requirements, please make other arrangements. The morning shifts will be 
provided with Bagels & coffee and the afternoon shifts will be served dinner. 

There is usually a vegetarian option.

Usually?  
Vegetarian?

The COP 23 in Berlin acknowledged that at an environmental conference most of the food served should be vegetarian.  (I hope in the future they'll make that vegan.)  At least 60% of the food was.

Beside each food item, they gave the carbon footprint to make people aware that what we eat affects the environment.

Couldn't KQED do this?

Granted, the food is donated.  But they could also let the donors know that they'd especially like plant-based food and let them know why.  

It's not a question of "special dietary requirements."  It's a question of doing volunteer work for animal welfare and the environment with every bite by making our meals plant-based.