April 2010

  • Is it Teaching, Force-Feeding, or Necessary?

    By sarajean on 4/30/10 10:32am
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    Every day a battle rages within my blood—to do it or not do it? A huge part of me wants to raise my daughter as a vegetarian. She’s four, completely healthy, having come a long way from her premature birth, and absolutely loves animals. Right now she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up (the same thing I wanted to be at four, actually)—a step up from wanting to be a cat when she grows up, which is what she told me just a year ago!

    A vegetarian lifestyle is one of the most humane, ecologically important things I could teach her. It’s about caring for the earth, about being a humane person, and about respecting our fellow sentient creatures. She’s already asking questions and becoming troubled with the responses I’ve been giving her about the chicken and fish she eats. I try to give straightforward responses, too, because therein lies my dilemma—I don’t want to “force” my beliefs onto her.

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  • Will The Hexane In Soy Burgers Kill You?

    By erika on 4/27/10 1:02pm
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    VeggieBurger Super Deluxe!VeggieBurger Super Deluxe!In a word: No.

    Next article!

    Just kidding.  But surely I can't be the only one who's getting heartily tired of fear-based news stories.  I imagine a primitive time, before the news media learned that fear catches the attention.  When they reported on, you know, NEWS ITEMS.  Instead of just trying to scare the **** out of you at every turn.

    The news item here is that a biased research group found trace amounts of a neurotoxin in soy products that didn't belong to their core constituency.  Shock!  Surprise!  

    First of all, I also wish that the news media would stop treating "research findings" from "research groups" that are just special interest press release companies as, you know, NEWS ITEMS.  The research group here is the Cornucopia Institute, which supports local sustainable organic agriculture.  


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  • "Vegan Before 6"

    By erika on 4/20/10 3:11pm
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    Mark BittmanMark BittmanAuthor Mark Bittman is one of my favorite food authors out there these days.  He takes a remarkably sane approach to both cooking and the "big issues."  As a New York Times food blogger, Bittman walks the walk - he has a ridiculously small kitchen (me too!) but manages to cook well anyway.  His instructions for popovers (just to name something off the top of my head) were a revelation.

    So it was with interest that I read about Bittman's latest thing: "Vegan Before 6."  Put simply, Bittman eats vegan before 6PM, then anything he wants after that.  Now admittedly, this kind of thing is rife for abuse.  If you go dutifully vegan before 6, then pig out on ice cream and baby back ribs and KFC Double Down sandwiches from 6PM until bedtime, it's not going to do you any good.

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  • Poor Misunderstood Broccoli

    By erika on 4/15/10 3:44pm
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    Orecchiete with BroccoliOrecchiete with BroccoliOh broccoli, that most maligned of dinnertime vegetables!  No less an authority than George HW Bush has publicly slammed broccoli, and officially banned it from Air Force One.  The New York Times has an article attempting to coax its readers into giving it another try.  

    You know you should eat it.  We all know that broccoli is ridiculously healthy.  As a dark green vegetable, it is packed full of vitamin C, fiber, potassium, iron, and all those oddball phytochemicals and micronutrients.  It's practically the perfect food!  

    And yet.

    In my experience, people have two problems with broccoli.  And both of them are related to improper and careless handling and cooking.


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  • It's Double Down Day - Try The Vegan Version!

    By erika on 4/13/10 7:09pm
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    Yesterday was the official release day for the KFC Double Down nation-wide, and bloggers everywhere had a field day.  They are universally reporting that - the primary overwhelming taste is "salt."  Mixed with "fried."  

    The Double Down, if you've missed the disgusting news, is basically a club sandwich with two fried chicken breasts instead of bread.  The Consumerist dubs it "the bacon sandwich on fried chicken bread."  In between those chicken breasts, KFC has tucked bacon, cheese, and a mystery sauce.  Hurf!


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  • San Francisco's "Meat Free Mondays"

    By erika on 4/7/10 3:50pm
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    The Board of Supervisors of the city of San Francisco has voted to make Mondays vegetarian throughout the city.  Their initiative encourages San Franciscans to give vegetarian meals a try, and encourages restaurants and stores to make an extra effort to offer vegetarian items on the menu.

    I find it interesting to contrast this with Earth Hour, which happened last month.  For Earth Hour, in order to save natural resources, everyone turns out their lights and sits in the dark.  This is a nifty idea, and an interesting observance to remind us to reflect upon ecological themes.  But I think we can all agree that it is not a sustainable lifestyle.  


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