Over 148 million birds have been ordered euthanized in the US because of the bird flu, and I can’t help thinking that’s a mercy killing when I consider the way egg-producing birds are treated when they’re alive.  “Cage free” really doesn’t mean what our Dick and Jane primers depicted on family farms. 

The SF Chronicle, in the past two weeks, has given egg-free recipes for pastry, as if egg-free pastry were a revelation, something really hard to find.  I hate to use the V-word because I recently found out—in a NYTimes article defending vegans-- https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/opinion/vegan-food.html  —that vegans are viewed more negatively than atheists and immigrants, and are only slightly more tolerated than drug addicts.

But if you want to get an egg-free version of whatever you crave, all you have to do is Google vegan cornbread, vegan chocolate cake, vegan whatever-you-crave, and recipes will come up.  You can even make vegan “egg” salad—surprisingly good—and the best potato omelet I ever had was an egg-free omelet in Madrid! A French omnivore with me agreed.   That belies the adage that “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs,” used to justify violence and killing in a revolution. 

Too bad that the food industry surveys find that “vegan” is the least appealing label that can be applied to food—worse than “diet” and “sugar-free.” 

 

At the rally for Muni this past Tuesday, the Transit Justice organizer announced that burritos were available for whoever wanted one, and I asked, "Are any vegan?"

    She said, "No, and I'm a vegan but didn't order any vegan.  Are you a vegan?"

    I told her I was and just sent a follow-up message. 

I know you probably felt that you shouldn't order vegan burritos for others since most people are not vegans, but I keep thinking when I provide vegan snacks or meals that I'm doing it not for myself but for animal welfare and the environment, so ordering vegan could be considered a civic act rather than a selfish one! 

What do you think?

   I'm not sure that "civic act" was the best phrase.  Maybe this is civil disobedience!

 It's not just slaughterhouses that are a horror.  It's the way animals are caged all their lives before they're slaughtered.  I think, too, that everyone would be a vegan if they animals are put through and denied (like almost every instinct).

But the reason I bring this up is that I read in today's paper that Peet is ending its upcharge for plant-based milk, a surcharge I knew nothing about.  Paul McCartney had written a letter to Eric Lauterbach, president and CEO of Peet’s Coffee about the surcharge, saying he was surprised that Peet's was charging more for plant-based milked because "your company is committed to reducing methane emissions and water waste, yet cow's milk significantly contributes to them." .  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZvBocihNSM

But the reason I bring this up is because Peet's has ended its upcharge--an upcharge I knew o about--for non-dairy milk. 

Got this off at 8:21 am this morning:  

Bio:  I love the Chronicle and will be checking things out at the SF Chronicle's Restaurant Night!

 

After  reading “Sales booming for egg alternatives” and “Ag subsidies are a good place for cutting government waste,” I wonder why  the SF Chronicle’s Food Section  continues to feature eggs even in its vegetarian recipes, discriminating against the much-maligned minority that’s--pardon the V-word—vegan!

 

 Yes, as the article on egg alternatives points out, there are egg substitutes like Just Egg;  I’ve enjoyed scrambled eggs with them that the carnivores with me  thought tasted just like eggs.  But since I’ve been doing volunteer work for the environment and animal welfare with every bite, I’ve discovered that if I Google “vegan cookies” or “vegan potato omelet” or precede any dish I like with “vegan,” recipes pop up.  There are a lot of delicious egg-free, plant-based dishes that Food and Wine ignores. 

 

I have my ticket for the Chronicle’s Restaurant Night, but I fear that the minority group I belong to will see still more discrimination against us and the causes we believe in.  Ironically, it's through information we’ve gotten from the SF Chronicle’s reports on climate chaos and the treatment of animals in factory farms that we've taken up a plant-based diet--something the Food and Wine Section ignores.   

 

I got this off to the Chronicle a 9:49 March 6, 2025

Bio:  For most of my life I was unaware that cakes, cookies,  cornbread, and even omelets could be made without eggs, but they can--and at the risk of sounding preachy (yes, I know)--they should be. 

https://www.noracooks.com/the-best-vegan-cornbread/

https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-chocolate-cake/

I thank the SF Chronicle for printing  Gene Baur’s “Ag subsidies are a good place for cutting government waste” while I wonder why  the SF Chronicle’s Food Section doesn’t connect with informational reports. We read of the shortage of eggs, the cruel treatment of factory farmed animals including birds, and the high cost of factory farming to the environment and to the taxpayer.  But even the vegetarian page of the Food Section  rarely has a recipe without eggs. Many readers may be unaware, as I was for  decades, that cakes and cookies can be delicious without eggs, and that’s true even of omelets.  The best potato omelet I ever had was in Madrid’s B13 Bar, and it was totally free of eggs, contradicting that adage that “you can’t have a revolution without breaking eggs.”  

  We read that Nevada, to deal with its egg shortage caused by the bird flu resulting in the killing of millions of birds, has rescinded its law requiring less horrific treatment of factory-farmed animals in terms of space.  In 2018’s Prop 12, California voters supported a “Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act” 63% to 37%. 

Could  the Food Section offer egg-free plant-based recipes to help consumers  while also doing something good for the environment, animal welfare, and us  concerned citizens and consumers?  

 

 I'm concerned about what identifying the cult killers as vegan  is doing to the already negative view of vegans.  

I found this in a Farhad Manjoo opinion piece in the NYTimes.

One survey found that vegans are viewed more negatively than atheists and immigrants, and are only slightly more tolerated than drug addicts.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/opinion/vegan-food.html

https://vegnews.com/new-york-times-stop-mocking-vegans#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20vegans%20are%20right.,writes%20opinion%20columnist%20Farhad%20Manjoo.&text=In%20a%20recent%20op%2Ded,from%20animal%20products%20all%20along.

 

The montage above shows the vegan dishes I had between January and November 2023.  There are so many possibilities!  But the SF Gate Best of the Bay Area doesn't have a vegan category at all, and the suggested restaurants, cafes, etc. that it lists aren't vegan.  

https://www.sfgate.com/best/vote/#/gallery?group=506913

 

I was waiting for the #38 Geary at the corner of Geary and Divisadero, when one of three teenage boys asked me, "Could you spare five dollars so I can get a hamburger."

I was keeping my five dollar bills for servers who take pictures of us at the table because I don't think that's part of their job description, and I want to reward them.  But I really didn't need the five dollars that day--no eating out plans--so I gave him the five dollars.  Then it occurred to me that I didn't want him to get a hamburger.  

"Oh, my goodness!  I forgot!  I don't want you to get a hamburger.  They're the worst thing for animals and the environment.  Please get something else."

"He can get a salad," one of the other boys said.  "or a veggie burger."

He asked me, "Are you a vegan?"

"Yes," I said.

"Now I hate you."

"Then give me back my five dollars."  

I couldn't believe I was losing an opportunity to give him a little lesson.

He said, "We need meat for our bodies."

"That's what a lot of people believe," I said.  I could have said so much more.   I should carry around a flyer showing how animals are treated every day of their lives.

I really failed to rise to this occasion!  

The #38 bus was soon there.  

We ate well--and always vegan--in NYC this month!  (But the dish with the halved avocados wasn't in NYC.  It was at the Mission Rock Resort.  
 

You can see the variety of plant-based dishes we enjoyed in New York City between January 10th and January 18th.  We ate at Luanne's Wild Ginger, Aunt and Uncles (in Brooklyn) and Coletta, Mitr Thai, Frenchia's, Ras Ethiopian, and PS Kitchen among other places.  I even found a good vegan dish at Campbell's Bar and at a sandwich shop across from HELL'S KITCHEN! 

 

I forgot to take pictures of my buffet on January 6th--all vegan dishes-before people started eating, but here you can see some of the dishes after a few minutes of friends serving themselves.