So far no one has come up with any ideas for us about World
Vegetarian Day on Oct. 1. There is still a bit of time, though; so if anyone out
there has thought of something, come to a potluck or phone Jody and David at
414-764-7262 or me at 414-962-2703 or email us at chuckgyver@aceweb.com.
Speaking of having ideas for vegetarian outreach, we were contacted by a group in Naperville, IL who are holding a Veggie Fest this very upcoming weekend: Saturday Aug. 2 (11 to 6) and Sunday Aug. 3 (11 to 4). There will be booths and speakers and food and food demos and kids’ activities. If you’re interested, you can call 630-955-1200 or 800-222-2207. Admission is free, but you might want travel directions to the Science of Spirituality Meditation Center where it is being held.
And speaking of worthwhile, vegetarianism-promoting activities that can only happen if a bunch of people get involved, it is time to start deciding what job you want to do to help make this year’s PreThanksgiving Feast another great one. As always, we’ll need publicity/ flyer distribution, some ahead-of-time food preparation, help setting up in the afternoon, a line supervisor, an announcer, servers, and clean-up crew. Join the fun! Come to a potluck or contact us as above.Sunday, Aug. 3, 5 PM, regular potluck at the Friends’ Meeting House, 3224 N. Gordon Pl. in Riverwest (from Humboldt Blvd., go east on Auer a few short blocks to the parking lot). Theme is veggie hors d’oeuvres/ finger food.
Subsequent regular potlucks will be on Sept. 7, Oct. 5, Nov. 2, and Dec. 7. The September potluck theme will be “Let’s talk tofu.”The date for the PreThanksgiving Feast is Saturday, Nov. 22
The August macrobiotic potluck will be on Sun., Aug. 17 at noon (note the time), hosted by Emily Keelty (formerly Pedersen), at 6506 Silver Beach Rd. North. Phone 262-258-3331 to confirm and get directions.
The Urban Ecology Center’s vegetarian potluck should be on Thursday, Aug. 21 at 6:30 PM at 1500 E. Park Pl. – bring plate and fork as well as your meatless dish. Phone 414-964-8505 to confirm.
To find out about Vegan Meetup’s possible August events, check the Vegan Meetup website.“The silver lining is that this is one of the easiest ways for individuals to reduce their environmental footprint. Whereas switching to a hybrid car or worrying about coal stacks may be beyond our daily means, choosing more plant-based meals is something where we can stand up for animals and the environment every time we sit down to eat.”
-- Paul Shapiro, senior director of the Humane Society’s Factory Farming CampaignAs usual, there are various ways in which animal foods are bad.
Good Medicine, the publication of the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine, had several different items to report. One is that processed meats are definitely related to colorectal cancer. Another is the finding of further evidence linking milk protein to type 1 diabetes. Then there was the finding from the Nurses’ Health Study II that animal protein may harm women’s fertility; and the Harvard Physicians’ Health Study I finding that people who ate one or more eggs per day had a higher risk of earlier death than people who mostly avoided them. The situation is such that the American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending cholesterol screening for children over age 8. Also, a new paper in Nutrition Reviews has debunked the notion, heavily pushed by the dairy industry, that drinking milk can help with weight loss.
Then there was the recall of over 5 million pounds of ground beef products from Nebraska Beef, Ltd., after a number of people were sickened by them. But last month’s tomato recall was cancelled when the FDA discovered that it was the jalapenos in the salsa, not the tomatoes, that sickened over 1200 people. It is not clear how the salmonella got to the peppers.
Canada confirmed yet another new case of mad cow disease. A sheep confinement facility in Iowa had a manure spill into a river, and a Tyson Foods hog operation had one in Oklahoma. A different aspect of problems with water lies in conflicts over its use: in California, water needed to preserve the wildlife and environment of the Sacramento River Delta is also needed by California farmers, while the Middle East and North Africa face choices between water for people’s needs versus growing food so they don’t have to import so much. A third, unrelated, note about water was an item in Prevention explaining that bottles of water that boast of containing vitamins really have far too little to do any good.
Meanwhile, the ongoing food crisis continues to make news. At least 29 nations that normally export rice, wheat, and other grains, have capped or halted exports in order to have enough food to feed their own citizens, but of course this has driven food prices higher. Catfish farms are now closing up all over the U.S. due to the soaring cost of corn and soybean feed; hog, chicken, and cattle producers are also being squeezed. The use of ethanol for fuel is reported as increasing the squeeze, especially given the possibilities for bad weather affecting crops. Although it’s now pretty clear that ethanol fuel is a problem worse than the disease it’s supposed to be curing, the Bush administration is still pushing it. It’s a ray of hope that a Tennessee company has abandoned plans to build several ethanol plants in Illinois – but not so good that a Minnesota farmer coop is using corn to make vodka…
Nonetheless, some good things are also starting to happen. A report that a Texas supplier of milk to Organic Valley coop was in fact in violation of organic practices led to an uproar among the coop’s farmers – who made their board stop taking milk from that operation. E magazine again did a lengthy cover article on all the various environmental evils of livestock raising, and the need for environmentalists to consider some level of vegetarianism. The Outpost Exchange noted the various burgers that they make and sell – 2 of which were fish but the other 5 of which were vegetarian (3 vegan). Healthwise printed an article titled “15 food facts that could inspire you to eat more like a vegetarian;” the facts included both whys (mostly personal health) and hows for eating less animals and more plants. And the NY Times ran an article about people buying shares of the produce of local farms, and another about people who want their own produce but not the work of growing it, so they actually hire others to do their vegetable gardening for them… So the word is really starting to spread.
And, obviously, plant foods are good for you. The Whole Foods magazine ran an article on 10 foods that fight inflammation, of which 9 are plants: pineapple, walnuts, blueberries, spinach, sweet potatoes, garlic, ginger, onion, and turmeric; the article also named foods that can cause inflammation: hydrogenated fats, refined carbohydrates, and animal products, and for sensitive people, gluten and nightshade family plants (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and peppers). Outpost Exchange had an article about wild herbs, such as dandelion, chickweed, purslane, stinging nettle, and wild mustard: all share the same nutritional goodies as other dark green leafy veggies (immune-boosting vitamins, many minerals, omega-3 fatty acids) as well as spicing up taste. And E magazine coincidentally also ran an article on the fun, delicious taste, and nutritional benefits of foraging for such wild foods as fiddlehead and milkweed shoots, sorrel, cress, and purslane, berries in season, wild grapes, viburnum berries, and cattail shoots. Of course, it is necessary to be sure that you’re foraging from places that have not been sprayed with chemicals, and where you can legally harvest.
Prevention magazine as usual offered several items of interest. One item discussed eating dried versus fresh fruit, and explained that they have the same nutrients, except that fresh has more water and therefore a “serving” is rather larger. Another recommended eating more leafy greens as protection against cancer (due to their vitamin C and beta-carotene/vitamin A content). And a third pointed out that eating yogurt (with active cultures) can help digestion, boost immunity, and be a great way to get calcium in the diet. Suggestions included looking for varieties in which a cup has no more than 200 calories, 4 g of fat, and 30 g of sugar, but does have at least 6 g of protein and 20% of the “daily value” for calcium. And soy yogurts as well as milk ones were recommended.
As mentioned above, we were contacted by the Friends of Veggie Fest regarding their event in Naperville, IL this weekend (Aug. 2 and 3). It sounds like a fun thing to do. Another contact number is 786-293-8123 (the number for Dayu D’sa, the volunteer who phoned me).
An Eat Local Challenge has been announced for Wisconsin. The state-wide Challenge dates are Sept. 5-14, while the Outpost is joining and promoting it for Sept. 1 through 15. Consumers are encouraged to track their grocery purchases with an aim of buying at least 10% of their food as local items (defined as any food grown in Wisconsin or within 100 miles of your residence).
Eating more locally helps to limit the climate-change consequences of shipping food over long distances, helps keep local farms in business, helps keep grocery money in one’s local economy, and helps consumers get food that is fresher and likelier to have been fully ripened before being picked – which makes it tastier and more nutritious. And eating more locally also means eating more seasonally, which can be a lot of fun.
Outpost will be offering demos and networking in conjunction, including an Eat Local Festival on Sept. 13 at the South Shore Farmers Market. To take Outpost’s Eat Local Pledge, go to the Customer Service desk at their stores.
Chuck and I found ourselves in Madison, WI visiting friends, and can report on the restaurant we ate in there.
Weary Traveler is located on Williamson Street, near the Williamson St. Coop and not that far from the capitol. Besides being a “watering hole” with a full range of wine, beer, and other liquor, the food menu offers several vegetarian and vegan options – and the menu actually tells you whether something is vegan. Choices for vegetarians include the Ramblin’ Vegan’s Chili; the sweet corn, quinoa, and black bean salad; the roasted veggie salad; the vegan tom ka tofu stew; the south-of-the-border snack plate, the Mediterranean plate (vegan except for the feta); in addition, the west of the Andes sandwich can be made with meat or tuna or their blend of roasted veggies. Chuck tried the chili, I got the tom ka tofu, and we shared a roasted vegetable salad. Each dish was different and all were delicious. The portions were reasonable, and the salad really could have been a meal by itself. I shared a slice of lemon cheesecake with our friends for dessert, and that was yummy too. Décor was a bit saloon-ish but with big windows, plenty of light, and very comfortable (and smoke-free). Prices for both food and drink were very reasonable.
Weary Traveler is located at 1201 Williamson St. in Madison, on the corner of Williamson and Few Streets. It opens at 4 PM on Mondays, 11:30 AM on Tuesday through Sunday, and the kitchen is open until 1 AM. Brunch is served on weekends from 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM. Their phone number is 608-442-6207.