Your Goal Your Workout--Triple Whopper

Today on the treadmill, I was watching the TV news which comes on a screen above the permanent words Your Goal Your Workout.

Then on came the Triple Whopper!

An Open Letter to Heather Knight

Tina Martin <tina_martin@sbcglobal.net>

To:Heather Knight

Thu, Feb 27 at 12:31 AM

Dear Heather,

A friend and I are going to see "Bullitt" tonight and hoping it will be as much fun as "Sister Act" was.  But I'm wondering whether I'm missing information.  I saw the big Culture Desk section on "Bullitt,"  but I missed the meet-up with Gordon Harvey, who sounds like my kind of man--even vegan!

On the subject of vegan, it did startle me that your big meet-up place on the otherwise environment-friendly 49-Mile Anything-But-Drive Route was a burger place.  The Chronicle is often reporting on climate change, and yet the Food and Wine Section and even the 49-Mile Route is meat-heavy, indicating climate change denial.  (I won't even mention the suffering of the animals in factory farms, including the human animals who work in them.)

So I guess I have  two questions.  How can I find out about meet-ups like that with Gordon Harvey, and why don't the otherwise wonderful Chronicle writers promote a plant-based diet?

(I enjoyed your podcast with Gordon Harvey, but I didn't detect a Southern accent.)

Thank you!

Tina

Soleil Ho Blithely Reaches for a Cheese-Burger

Dear Soleil,

I hate to be whiny, but I'm disappointed that the Food and Wine section has dropped Plant-Based options for Meat-Free Options.  It's so easy in most restaurants to find meat-free dishes.  It's the ones free of meat and dairy that are more difficult to find in restaurants still denying climate change.

You, too, with your pictures of the cheese-filled burgers seem to be in denial.  I fell asleep reading Jonathan Safran Foer's We Are the Weather, but here's something he says in that book:

“We cannot keep the kind of meals we have known and also keep the planet we have known. We must either let some eating habits go or let the planet go. It is as straightforward and as fraught as that.”

Here's what the Guardian says:

First, a warning: this is a life-changing book and will alter your relationship to food for ever. I can’t imagine anyone reading Safran Foer’s lucid, heartfelt, deeply compassionate prose and then reaching blithely for a cheeseburger.

And yet....you've blithely reached.

Tina 

A Southerner Sets San Francisco a Good Example

How refreshing to read about a different Harvey—Gordon Harvey-- in Heather Knight’s column “The ghost of legendary SF columnist Herb Caen has arrived — from Alabama” February 25.

It was also refreshing to find out that this huge fan of San Francisco is a vegan because as much as I appreciate Heather Knight’s column and her and Peter Hartlaub’s Total SF, I’m startled at the disconnect between the many articles in the SF Chronicle warning us of climate change and the Food and Wine section, so heavy on meat, and even the 49-Mile Anything But Drive Route focusing on burgers at Red’s Java House. 

Dana's Visit Lingers in Long, Lucious Noodles

The Song that Bryant Terry Quoted Yesterday at the Ferry Building

Beef

Boogie Down Productions

Beef what a relief
When will this poisonous product cease?
This is another public service announcement
You can believe it or you can doubt it
Let us begin now with the cow
The way it gets to your plate and how
The cow doesn't grow fast enough for man

So through his greed he makes a faster plan
He has drugs to make the cow grow quicker
Through the stress the cow gets sicker
Twenty one different drugs are pumped
Into the cow in one big lump
So just before it dies, it cries

In the slaughterhouse full of germs and flies
Off with the head, they pack it, drain it, and cart it
And there it is, in your local supermarket
Red and bloody, a corpse, neatly packed
And you wonder about heart attacks?
Come on now man let's be for real
You are what you…

Source: LyricFind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfNxM_T9q0I

Letter to the editor: Connecting the Dots

Here’s what I submitted at about 1:06 PM on Sunday, February 9, 2020

Reading Joan Diaz’s alert about the 65 degrees temperature on Antarctica’s Trinity Peninsula and his admonition “wake up, world” (February 8) made me particularly grateful for Joaquin Phoenix’s Best Performance as an Environmentalist (as well as animal welfare advocate) in getting both the Golden Globes and the Oscars to go vegan.   (Not reported in the Chronicle)

Let’s hope Miyoko Schinner wins her suit against the California Department of Food & Agriculture ( sf Chronicle February 7) so that free speech isn't censored and more plant-based products get the support the dairy industry has gotten from the government for so long. 

 Tomorrow a small group of friends will be joining my sister and me for  a post-Oscar discussion and dinner with plant-based versions of the dishes in the Oscar-nominated movies—the ramen in "Parasite," the pecan pie in "Marriage Story," the ice cream sundaes in "The Irishman," etc.    I’m grateful that we have food and film loving friends who understand what Joaquin Phoenix has made clear:  vegan dishes aren’t just for the vegans.  They’re for the environment and for the welfare of all the animals on this warming planet.

  I left this out:

I notice that  Janelle Bitker, who reported on this and is the “food enterprise reporter,” ordered the vegan peanut stew” form Old Skool Café”  at the Chase Center, and Bernadette Fay chose the veggie x’ian and garlic Brussels sprouts,” showing that there’s not a total disconnect between the Chronicle’s warnings and many articles on climate change and the Food and Wine Section of the Chronicle.   

Tomorrow we’re hosting a post-Oscar discussion and dinner with plant-based versions of the dishes in the Oscar-nominated movies—ramen in Parasite, the pecan pie in Marriage Story, the ice cream sundaes in Irishman, etc.    I’m grateful that I have food and film loving friends who understand that vegan dishes aren’t just for the vegans.  They’re for the environment as well as for animal welfare.

The Complete Text of Joaquin Phoenix's Acceptance Speech

I’m full of so much gratitude now. I do not feel elevated above any of my fellow nominees or anyone in this room, because we share the same love – that’s the love of film. And this form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life. I don’t know where I’d be without it.

But I think the greatest gift that it’s given me, and many people in [this industry] is the opportunity to use our voice for the voiceless. I’ve been thinking about some of the distressing issues that we’ve been facing collectively.

I think at times we feel or are made to feel that we champion different causes. But for me, I see commonality. I think, whether we’re talking about gender inequality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights, we’re talking about the fight against injustice.

We’re talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender, one species, has the right to dominate, use and control another with impunity.

I think we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world. Many of us are guilty of an egocentric world view, and we believe that we’re the centre of the universe. We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.

We fear the idea of personal change, because we think we need to sacrifice something; to give something up. But human beings at our best are so creative and inventive, and we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and the environment.

I have been a scoundrel all my life, I’ve been selfish. I’ve been cruel at times, hard to work with, and I’m grateful that so many of you in this room have given me a second chance. I think that’s when we’re at our best: when we support each other. Not when we cancel each other out for our past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow. When we educate each other; when we guide each other to redemption.

When he was 17, my brother [River] wrote this lyric. He said: “run to the rescue with love and peace will follow.”

Joaquin Phoenix Got Golden Globes to Go Vegan!

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/joaquin-phoenix-golden-globes-vegan-1203457761/

https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-joaquin-phoenix-applauds-golden-globes-for-vegan-men-20200106-3eabk32thzhkdbh7ycr5zz55d4-story.html

Just Eggs--So Good for Animals and the Environment but the Ingredients Scare

A friend sent me this link.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/2/6/21126419/eggs-just-sodexo-plant-based-protein

It sounds so good for animals and the environment.  Note this:

Just’s plant-based eggs, the company says, “use 98% less water, 83% less land and emit 93% less CO2 than conventional animal sources.”

The deal, then, lets Sodexo reduce its environmental footprint while consumers get a product that tastes pretty much the same. (I couldn’t tell the difference when I tried it.)

I wrote to my friend:

Maybe I told you that when I was eating at Zazie, a French restaurant, and saw a full page of omelets, I lamented that I'd have to have a veggie burger, but the server told me all of those omelets were available with Just Eggs.  

The only negative thing is that the ingredients look so unappetizing to those who read the label.    Mug Bean Protein Isolate, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, less than 2% of Dehydrated Onion, Gellan Gum, Natural Carrot Extractives for the color,  Natrual Turmeric Extractives for the color, Potassium Citrate, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Sugar, Tapioca Syrup, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, Transglutaminase, Nisin as a preservative.  

They were delicious, and I'd still rather eat Just Egg than support the abuse of chickens, but it's very off-putting to friends I've given it to once they've seen the label.

Is Samovar Offering a Vegan Menu for Valentine's Day?

Here's how Samovar expressed its offerings:

(I don't know why it looks as if this was crossed through!) We've just released both the omnivore and vegetarian menus for our Four Course Valentine's Day Dinner.  From Sturgeon Caviar, Lion's Mane Mushrooms, and Harissa Marinated Roast Lamb Roulade to our Hemp CBD Butter Mochi Cakes, Steamed Chaga Chocolate Milk, and many more culinary delights, each dish has been designed by our new Michelin-starred chef to stimulate the body and open the heart.  I've looked at the menu, and I think they're using the word vegetarian when they really mean vegan.

I just wrote the following e-letter:

Dear  Samovar Tea Ambassador Pepper,

I really enjoyed the special dinner Samovar served on December 2nd last year,  when you offered a choice between vegan and omnivore.

I'm wondering whether you're saying vegetarian and meaning vegan or whether you really aren't offering a vegan menu.  A couple of the items you mention sound as if they might be vegan, but the word you're using is vegetarian, which includes dairy and eggs.

My sister is visiting from Chicago, and I would consider making a reservation if there is truly an ample vegan menu.  She and I are both vegans for the good of the environment and for animal welfare.  We prefer a true vegan menu, not a vegetarian one that simply removes the dairy products.  Could you let me know?

Thank you,

Tina Martin

Will Crown and Crumpet Tea Ever Offer Vegan?

I like the New People Cinema and the tea place adjoining it, but unfortunately so far all that Crown and Crumpet Tea  has done to accommodate vegans (who in our turn are trying to accommodate the planet and the welfare of animals) is planning to offer plant-based options. 

While my sister Dana is here from Chicago, I'd love to treat her to a special "happening" there, so here's my response to the ad-invitation I just got in my email:

This sounds wonderful, and I'd love to reserve a place for my sister (visiting from Chicago) and me--but only if you have vegan options for the milk, crumpets, sandwiches, and other taste treats.

Please let me know!

Tina Martin

Pizza--Vegetarian vs. Vegan

I went to a brain-storming meeting at CCSF this afternoon--to see how we can support the under-staffed African-American Studies Program.  It was very stimulating (although I left my notebook behind so I can't give all the details of just how stimulating).  Someone thoughtful, Yvonne, ordered food for us--a salad and two pizzas, both vegetarian.

Vegan is where vegetarian was 20 years ago.  We keep hearing "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good," and I agree, but I still wish there could have been two vegan pizzas, as there were at the dinner last year of the Women's Environmental Network.  That's when the son of our Mothers Out Front asked, "How many vegans are there, anyway?  Just two?"

I said, "These pizzas aren't for the vegans.  They're for animal welfare and the environment."

That's the message I wish I could get across. 

I didn't even try.

But when I got home, there was a package waiting for me--the chocolates Libby made!

Survey on Favorite Vegan Products Showed Many I Knew Nothing About!

I just sent this to Monica Chen, one of my favorite vegan leaders.

Hi, Monica~

I finally got around to looking at the "We Need Feminism in Our Food Systems"  brochure.   Very well done!  I'm going to share it with a friend who's very active in social justice and women's rights but hasn't yet embraced the movement towards a plant-based diet.

I also finally went back to the survey from VegNews (?) that I took earlier in order to vote for Katie Cantrell.  At the time I voted, I didn't have time to note all the vegan products I didn't know about, but today I returned to the survey, and not surprisingly it was no longer available.

I'm wondering whether I could get the nominated products.  I noticed so many things I'd like to try, but I can't remember what they were.  I'm afraid that when the results of the survey are printed, they won't give the nominees, just the winners.

Hope all's going well.

Tina

Some Friends Don't Like Vegan Dishes

I try not to put my causes before my friendships, so I was sorry that my very generous friends didn't like the food at Ananda Fuara--althought Mikhail like the red lentil soup, and I reminded him that Esau sold his birthright for just such a bowl of soup.

They did like the dessert.

Maybe they should have ordered the portobello ravioli instead of the meatloaf.  The portobello ravioli doesn't pretend to be meat.