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.

San Francisco Veg Society Gathers at Nick's on Grand

This is the best picture I took at the San Francisco Veg Society's dinner last night at Nick's on Grand in South San Francisco.  Here you see Christie and Christa, the president of the SFVS and a new board member, respectively.

But you can see that there was a good turnout--about 25 people--at a place that wasn't exactly centrally located or close to good public transportation.