Vegan - Wikipedia

Wikipedia entry for Vegan

In its adjective form, vegan describes:

* a philosophy and practise of respect for animals, which avoids the use of animals for food, clothing, and other human purposes
* people who ascribe to such a philosophy and practise
* food, clothing, other products, or diets that avoid the use of animals in line with the above.

Vegan Action | About Veganism | Animals

A good basic primer on veganism to send your vegan curious friends.

VEG BAY - an auction for the green community - Vegetarian Auction

A new auction site for the green and vegetarian community

Vegan Passions - 100% Free Vegan Dating, Vegan Personals & Chat

A free online dating site for meeting single vegans. If the thought of kissing a 'meat eater' turns your stomach, Vegan Passions is the site for you. Why not date someone who not only understands what you like to eat, but they agree with you! Sign up now to enjoy free chat, message boards & email.

What more could you ask for?

Wisconsin takes step to OK wild cat hunts - Apr 13, 2005

The proposal would allow licensed hunters to kill free-roaming cats, including any domestic cat that isn't under the owner's direct control or any cat without a collar, just like skunks or gophers -- something the Humane Society of the United States has described as cruel and archaic.

?!?!?!?

VeggieGirl.com

Veggie Girl gives us good reasons to "Go Veg"

Approximately fourteen million Americans are vegetarians, and more people convert to a plant-based diet every day. Most people are concerned with the issues that lead to vegetarianism, such as health, animal welfare and the environment, but have yet to become veggies due to conditioned thinking, lack of knowledge on the subject, and fear that there won’t be anything to eat. Becoming vegetarian is extremely simple, however, and once you become one, you’ll wonder why it took you so long!

Choosing Compassion -- April 20, 2005 Vegan Outreach e-Newsletter

Veganism and compassion.

Choosing to act with compassion is the ultimate affirmation of our humanity. From children and athletes to celebrities and grandparents, compassionate living is spreading -- and easier than ever! Today, even small-town grocery stores can feature a variety of veggie burgers, dogs, deli slices, plant-based milks, nondairy desserts -- a bounty unimaginable only a decade ago!

Grow trees, vines, fruiting plants in ecosystems for World Food

A raw fruit diet advocate's website. Interesting.

City bred humans being estranged from nature, often consider themselves to be the most advanced animal, yet so far humans globally are the most destructive to ecosystems. This macro role does not lead to advancement of our species when it could result destruction of our only known home planet !

Fortunately, help is at hand, - a simple formula to get out of our path of destruction, - if we go more natural and seek out the world's best raw food diet.

The Importance of Breastfeeding Your Vegan Baby

Interesting article

Most of you probably know how important it is to breastfeed your baby, but it's even more important when you're vegan. As of this writing there are no commercial soy infant formulas on the U.S. market that are 100% vegan. They all contain Vitamin D derived from an animal. And cow's milk formulas are out for obvious reasons. What does that leave you with? Not much choice. If you want your baby to be vegan, you've got to breastfeed or find a milk bank that has collected and stored milk from a vegan mom (difficult at best).

ALDF: Animal Legal Defense Fund

This site has recent news about legal efforts to end cruelty to animals.

For nearly a quarter-century, the Animal Legal Defense Fund has been pushing the U.S. legal system to end the suffering of abused animals.

Nerve.com - Sex Advice From . . . Vegans by Molly Townsend

Answering such pressing questions as, "Is semen considered non-vegan?" (Probably not safe for work)

Building an original: science and politics in the blender

Interesting article about the food pyramid.

Nestle -- who is now the chair of New York University's Department of Nutrition and Food Studies -- managed the production of the first (and only) Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health in 1988. She chronicled the food industry's influence on government dietary guidelines in her book Food Politics, writing, "My first day on the job, I was given the rules: No matter what the research indicated, the report could not recommend 'eat less meat' as a way to reduce intake of saturated fat....The producers of food that might be affected by such advice would complain to their beneficiaries in Congress, and the report would never be published."

In a similar vein, Nestle says, the USDA weighed industry interests along with nutrition science as the food pyramid was built. The National Cattlemen's Association, for instance, launched a heavy campaign to stop promotion of the pyramid's release -- a campaign that resulted in a year long delay in the pyramid's release.

Organic and vegan eating spawn good health, sustainable environment

Following the eco-mantra, 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,' eating vegan proteins like nuts, soy, whole grains, peas and beans is all about Reduction. Veganism reduces the waste of land, forests, plant crops, water, fuel and wildlife, as well as the pollution of water, soil and air. The simplest way to explain it is that animal agribusiness uses the majority of our nation's farmland to raise crops for feeding farm animals. These pesticide-ridden crops use many resources, like fertile soil, water and energy and leave deforestation and desertification in their wake. For the resources we put into raising these crops and the additional water and energy invested in raising, killing and processing animals, we don't get nearly as much in calories or protein out of the resulting animal products. It's an irresponsibly poor return on an investment.

Interesting article

Group promoting vegan lifestyle

A company called OrganicAthlete is promoting the Vegan diet to athletes.

'I am not a physiologist, but I feel this is a very healthy way to live,' said Vardaros. 'I rarely get sick, my bones are good, I build muscle easily, and I recover quickly from hard training and eating.

'I don't feel that comfortable being a proselytizer, but I can certainly recommend it. The foods are much easier on my body, they're more easily digestible, there's fewer toxins, just as few examples of the benefits.'

Health & Lifestyle - Getting vitamin B12 in a vegan diet

Are you getting enough B12?

Fortified breakfast cereals are an excellent source of vitamin B12 and a particularly valuable source for vegetarians.

Then there's always multi-vitamins.

Vegan Society Shop - Zen Drum (vegan)

A Vegan drum

At last the definitive vegan drum. It has a 16 inch fibreskin (animal free) synthetic head, with Japanese calligraphy for Zen.

Vegan Fitness : Message Board

This is a Vegan message board with a focus on fitness.

Vegan Fitness is a community driven message board which seeks to provide a supportive, educational and friendly environment for vegans, vegetarians and people seeking to go vegetarian/vegan. The subject range covers all matters relating to nutrition, food, diet and sport specific information no matter what the activity or the experience level is.

The Latest: Going raw

Article about new raw food restaurant in Arizona:

This is the new scene of organic and raw food places, which are not just for hippies. Ask anyone at the cafe and they'll tell you that in the past year, more and more of mainstream America, including business people, soccer moms and Joe college student, are trying and liking raw or organic food.

A Vegan Love Story

A charming tale of love, dogs, and veganism. And a car accident. And some other stuff. Rated G

Vegan Porn: Veggie lovers make better people lovers

This blog post says

Want some? Go vegan. . . . In a survey of foods that may make you a better lover, soy, chili peppers and ginger received top marks from the experts

Also see Want better sex? Head to the grocery store which says:

Soy, for example, binds estrogen receptors, which helps the vaginal area remain lubricated, and combats symptoms of menopause--particularly hot flashes. Studies have shown that soy is also beneficial to the prostate, a crucial male sex organ. Chili peppers and ginger are believed to improve circulation and stimulate nerve endings, which could, in turn, improve sexual pleasure.

If that's not hot enough for you, there are these (not safe for work) Vegan Sex Toys

Vegan Action | McVegan

Beginning as a parody of the corporate giant, McVegan eventually led to threats of a lawsuit from the company, a barrage of press coverage and, ultimately, a complete abdication by McDonald's. It's rare that a non-profit gets to beat a corporate giant at its own game -- so we took the opportunity to generate nationwide publicity for veganism.

Their motto is, "Billions and Billions Saved."

Araya's Vegetarian Place settles into new home

The chant started as a soft prayer, then rose in intensity, reaching a crescendo and falling back down to a dull hum. The eight bald men on the floor were identical, barefoot and dressed in brown robes. They were only distinguishable by their eyes -- some closed, others open in a penetrating stare -- and all with heads bowed.

Kneeling on straw mats on the new wood floor that still smelled like earth, the Buddhist monks held a roll of twine linking together their hands raised in a prayer. Seated across from the monks, the staff of Araya's Vegetarian Place prepared for their opening day at their new location on 1121 N.E. 45th St. -- not with frantic, last-minute preparations, but 20 minutes of meditation and prayer.

Vegan lifestyle lessens effects of factory farms

A vegetarian or vegan diet is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Studies of societies that consume high-fat, meat-based diets consistently have the highest rates of every type of cancer. Not only have lung, stomach, breast, colon, prostate and pancreas cancer been linked to an animal-based diet but so have high cholesterol, heart disease and obesity.

PETA Announces the Sexiest Vegetarians Alive!

Tofutti cutie Micah Risk and sultry soy boy Carl Hreha have won PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian Alive contest. PETA received hundreds of entries from gorgeous vegetarians and vegans all over the U.S. and Canada. After a PETA panel narrowed down the list to 10 veggie vixens and 10 hot hunks, we asked visitors of GoVeg.com to choose the winners. More than 200,000 people logged on to vote. The final tally was quite close, but in the end, Micah and Carl came out on top.

Leave it to PETA.

U.N. Study: Earth's Health Deteriorating

Growing populations and expanding economic activity have strained the planet's ecosystems over the past half century, a trend that threatens international efforts to combat poverty and disease, a U.N.-sponsored study of the Earth's health warned on Wednesday.

The four-year, $24 million Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found humans have caused heavy damage or depleted portions of the world's farmlands, forests and watercourses.

Unless nations adopt more eco-friendly policies, increased human demands for food, clean water and fuels could speed the disappearance of forests, fish and fresh water reserves and lead to more frequent disease outbreaks over the next 50 years, it warned.

Raw Food Vegan Diet May Produce Light but Healthy Bones

People who eat vegetarian diets consisting exclusively of raw food have abnormally low bone mass, according to a research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. While low bone mass usually is a sign of osteoporosis and increased fracture risk, the researchers found that raw food vegetarians also have other biological markers indicating their bones, although light in weight, may be healthy.

The study, published in the March 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, was led by Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D., research instructor in medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science.

Rare kidney disease strikes Florida petting zoo visitors; nine children hospitalized after touching animals

At least nine Florida children have been hospitalized, two with life-threatening conditions, after they touched animals at petting zoos across the state. Doctors say the kids all have a rare disease that results from exposure to e. coli bacteria, which then attacks the kidneys. The contagious disease usually occurs in children under 10, the experts say. Florida officials warn all parents to watch their children closely for symptoms: bloody diarrhea, lethargy and decreased urination If you find this article interesting, be sure to also read 'A brief history of nutritional deficiencies and chronic disease.'

Veganism a lifetime commitment to a way of life

This week there was another bit of confusing information reported in the healthcare literature. A scientist in the U.S. Agricultural Research Service at the University of California named Lindsay Allen told a Washington science conference that a strict vegan (pronounced VEE-gan) diet might be harmful to children.

The professor claimed that, after tests were carried out on 544 children in Kenya over two years, the children given a diet that included two ounces of meat (enough to provide nutrients such as vitamin B12, zinc and iron), as opposed to their usual diet of starchy, low-nutrition corn and bean staples, had improved mental skills in tests, had more energy on the playground, and showed more “leadership skills.” On the other hand, the Vegan Society dismissed the claims, saying its research showed vegans were often healthier than meat eaters.

Diet study reaffirms red meat as a culprit in colon cancer

Three studies published in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association shed new light on the role of diet and cancer.

In one article, scientists who studied the eating patterns of nearly 149,000 American adults over two decades found that those who ate the most red and processed meat over a 10-year period had a 30 percent higher risk of colon cancer and 40 percent greater risk of rectal cancer compared with those who consumed the least, says Marjorie McCullough, senior epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society and an author of the study.

In contrast, those whose diets included lots of poultry and fish were 30 percent less likely to get colon cancer compared with people who ate little of those foods. The researchers speculate that it's possible poultry and fish contain factors that may protect against colon cancer.

The article reinforces the results of earlier studies that linked meat and colon cancer, Walter Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, wrote in an accompanying editorial.

Scientists need to do additional studies, he says, to get more detailed information about the relationship between meat and cancer.

Researchers say their findings are especially important today when many people are following popular low-carb diets and eating more red meat. Beef consumption, which began to fall in 1976, has been increasing slowly since 1993, according to the study.