A Lovely Banquet at Which Vegans Could Eat Seaweed

I went to a lovely banquet in a Chinese restaurant not very conscious of the plant-based movement.  I enjoyed the event--especially the people being honored and the people at the table--but seaweed was the only dish that was really friendly to the environment and to animals,  though I was able to eat some of the decoration on a tray.

Food and Wine Illustrates 30 Days of Delicious Vegan Dishes

http://www.foodandwine.com/special-diets/vegan/vegan-recipes



Just got this from a vegan friend--a whole month of vegan dishes!

Dr. Kellog, Vegetarian Crusades

I'm reading a fascinating book, Vegetarian Crusades, and I see someone online making reference to the part I'm reading about now:

http://www.vrg.org/history/DrJohnHarveyKellogg.htm

Factory Farming Awareness Coalition's Special Event

The FFAC event on Sunday, December 3, 2017 made me grateful that, when it was sold out, the ticket takers let me get in with people I knew from SFVS, in their cluster.

 Later, after the speeches, I paid them and made a donation.

The photos include some very young women, Luna Morales and Jamie M. Smith.  I also met Yolanda Calderon and her friend, who's holding the petition for Prevent Cruelty CA. 

The handout she gave me states the situation well:

 "Cruel conditions on factory farms serve as breeding grounds for dangerous diseases and bacteria, which often end up in our food.  Voters across California are signing petitions to place a commonsense measure on the ballot that would help prevent animal cruelty and ensure a safer food supply."

www.PreventCrueltyCA.com

I didn't eat anything because I didn't want to pay until I was sure they'd let me hear the speaker and I didn't want them to run out of food because of me, an interloper, but I heard that the bites pictured here from Butcher's Son were like Thanksgiving dinner in a bite.



Katie Cantrell introduced Veg News/The Hen Hub  Jasmin Singer (Always Too Much and Never Enough). 

Katie Cantrell  also presented a plaque honoring VegNews to its editor and co-founder Coleen Holland.  Others announced were Jesse Tandler, Educational Program Director and Amy Helpern Laff, Director of Strategic Planning. 

It's amazing--and encouraging--how this organization has grown since Katie Cantrell started it in 2010!  People care!

Factory Farming Awareness Coalition December 4, 2017

Last night at the very lively, well-attended SFVS gathering at Delancey I heard about an event today.  I thought it was a demonstration, but it turns out to be a sold-out gala.

DESCRIPTION

While 2017 was a turbulent year politically, the movement to end factory farming has never been more hopeful. Join us as we recount our successes from the year, and look ahead to big plans for 2018.

The festivities will include savory & sweet hors d'oeuvres from favorite local restaurants, a fabulous silent auction and raffle, and a talk by special guest Jasmin Singer (VegNews Magazine, Our Hen House).

Google Community Space

188 The Embarcadero

San Francisco, CA 94105

Even though it's sold out, I might go because there's a chance of getting in, and even if I don't, I'll know where it is.  

Great People at SFVS Gathering December 2, 2017

More later!

Open Letter to Governor Brown on a Plant-Based Diet

Dear Governor Brown,

For years I've thought of you as a champion for the environment, but it puzzles me that you've been so quiet lately on the connection between the environment and what we eat.

I quoted you recently in a letter to the editor.  (Forgive me while I cite myself!)

I enjoy reading Willie Brown’s column, but he needs to connect the dots. In “Willie’s World,” Sept. 17, he’s gleeful about Bill Clinton’s weight gain, suspecting that “he has ditched the vegan diet that he took up after his heart troubles and is now back to the cheeseburgers that made him great.” Then he extols Gov. Jerry Brown as “the nation’s leading voice on climate change” but ignores what Brown said in 2015 about the impact of our diet on the environment: “I think you should all be eating veggie burgers.”

But my heart sinks (or is it my stomach?) when I read about COP 23 in Bonn, Germany, and can't find anyone urging people to move towards a plant-based diet.  Even Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the sole voice at COP 21 in Paris in 2015 (where and when vegetarian attendees couldn't find enough to eat) left that out of his talk. 

Can you make a statement to support plant-based diets, or is that too politically sensitive an issue? 

Sincerely,

Tina Martin

An Open Letter to Al Gore on Urging a Plant-Based Diet

Dear Al Gore/Staff~

I was surprised that in your latest documentary "An Inconvenient Sequel:  Truth to Power"  you barely mentioned the connection between the environment and what we eat.

My heart (or is it my stomach?) sinks when I see this lost opportunity, but I'm witnessing this strange silence more and more now.

It was ironic that  the vegan and vegetarians attendees  in Paris at the COP 21 had trouble finding anything to eat--either because the host chefs didn't consider them or because they underestimated the number of environment-conscious attendees.  (I later read that they had made 30% of their food vegetarian.)

There was advance information about the COP 23 in Bonn, Germany, saying that 60% of the food served would be vegetarian, but in newspaper articles I couldn't find any speaker  urging people to move towards a plant-based diet.  Even Arnold Schwarzenegger, who urged eating less meat at COP 21 in Paris in 2015, left that out of his talk this year. 

Yet in Germany, the minister of the environment said they would not serve meat or dairy at official dinners.  That's leadership!

Can you make a statement to support plant-based diets, or is that too politically sensitive an issue? 

If you can't or if you don't want to, I'd like to know why.

Respectfully,

Tina Martin