The Vegan Forum

It's a Vegan Forum. Not much else to say really.

Pam Rotella's Vegan Vegetarian FUN Page!

Well, it isn't that fun, but there are some interesting articles and some good recipes.

Vegan is easier to define say UK FSA

The UK Food Standards Agency ( FSA ) has issued new draft guidance on the use of the terms vegetarian and vegan in food labelling.

The move is designed to address the problem of growing consumer distrust of the way the terms are used by food manufacturers. The FSA believes that the main reason for this distrust is the lack of a universally accepted definition of what constitutes a food that is suitable for a vegetarian or vegan diet.

The FSA says that it was relatively easy to reach agreement from stakeholders ( manufacturers, vegetarian and vegan organisations, and religious groups ) on use of the term vegan broadly, the exclusion of any foods made from, or with, animals or animal products.

The term vegetarian was more difficult to define.

Tony Bishop Weston Author of Vegan ( ISBN 0600611906 ) says 'Vegetarianism's bottom line depends on the theory of avoiding the responsibility of having to directly kill something in order to obtain the product - it's not really about cruelty'

Exclusive interview with Triple Tofu Tower writer/director Kirby Ferguson

While other reporters chase B-list celebs for interviews, Meatfilter has the put them all to shame with this exclusive interview of Kirby Ferguson, who wrote and directed Triple Tofu Tower

Meatfilter: Why did you make The Triple Tofu Tower?

Kirby: Because vegan comedy is so hot right now! I wanna ride the meat-free gravy train, baby.

Requisite comedy aside, I like parodying things that are part of my life but never show up in comedy. I've previously dealt with things like yoga and new age spirituality and polyamory. If you only see one polyamory sketch this year, it should be mine.

MF: Are you Canadian?

Kirby: Extremely.

MF: Why are Canadians so damned funny?

Kirby: I'm not sure that Canadians actually are that funny. Sure, we've got some greats like David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, and Joni Mitchell, but have you ever seen The Royal Canadian Air Farce? You may never laugh again after that.

But if we are funny, it would definitely have something to do with us being outsiders, with being able to see absurdity that might be invisible to natives. We're just as familiar with American culture as most Americans, yet we don't identify it as "us". It's a good perspective to have for comedic thinking.

MF: Are you making a living off your films?

Kirby: Lord no. Here and there I make a little money, but I'm very far off from making a living at this.

MF: So what's your day job?

Kirby: I'm a mild-mannered graphic designer by day.

Goodie Bag TV: The Triple Tofu Tower

The Triple Tofu Tower
Written and Directed by Kirby Ferguson
WMV file.

Become vegan and help planet: scientist

A British scientist says the best way to cut greenhouse gas emissions is for everyone to become a vegetarian.

Alan Calverd says livestock animals bred for their meat produce 21 per cent of the carbon dioxide that's due to human activity.

So cutting out meat can do more to stop global warming than cutting down on oil and coal.

Calverd writes in this month's issue of Physics World magazine that he's not a vegetarian himself.

But he says it's clear that getting rid of meat animals would be an easy way to reduce greenhouse gases.

And it would also free up huge tracts of farmland for production of biofuels, which would further reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Paper Says Edible Meat Can be Grown in a Lab on Industrial Scale

Would you eat this stuff?:

Experiments for NASA space missions have shown that small amounts of edible meat can be created in a lab. But the technology that could grow chicken nuggets without the chicken, on a large scale, may not be just a science fiction fantasy.

In a paper in the June 29 issue of Tissue Engineering, a team of scientists, including University of Maryland doctoral student Jason Matheny, propose two new techniques of tissue engineering that may one day lead to affordable production of in vitro - lab grown -- meat for human consumption. It is the first peer-reviewed discussion of the prospects for industrial production of cultured meat.

'There would be a lot of benefits from cultured meat,' says Matheny, who studies agricultural economics and public health. 'For one thing, you could control the nutrients. For example, most meats are high in the fatty acid Omega 6, which can cause high cholesterol and other health problems. With in vitro meat, you could replace that with Omega 3, which is a healthy fat.

'Cultured meat could also reduce the pollution that results from raising livestock, and you wouldn't need the drugs that are used on animals raised for meat.'

Post Punk Kitchen Forums: Show us your mitts! / The Tofu Container Challenge!

The Tofu Container Challenge!

I hate when I get a package of tofu in one of those plastic containers and all that packaging goes to waste, and I know you do, too. So let it be known that this is THE TOFU CONTAINER CHALLENGE! Use your creativity to come up with fun/functional/decorative ways to use those things.

(via the veg blog)

Epidemic of Vegan and Vegetarian websites during National Cruelty Free Week.

Hot off the Vegan newswire:

Yes folks, just in case you blinked and missed it, it’s National Cruelty-Free Week, 4-10 July 2005 and the militant fringe of the vegan army are up in arms busily posting on forums and message boards that BUAV are breaking trade descriptions law by calling it National Cruelty-Free Week when some of the products they endorse aren’t vegan.

Good point. BUAV didn’t say “nearly cruelty free”. Cruelty free is weighty claim, a phrase that probably even the sixty-year-old Vegan society would avoid using. Their shopping guide is called the Animal Free Shopper – a lot easier to define and now online at www.animalfreeshopper.com

Meanwhile in the virtual world of the World Wide Web there is nothing virtual about the number of new vegan websites. There seem to be literally thousands of new vegan sites sparking to life around the world from the usual suspects recipe sites such as www.recipes.for-vegans.co.uk to websites gently making fun of vegan militants ( such as Vegan Bitch at www.veganbitch.com ) by vegan police at www.vegan911.com

Even the world of adult entertainment, porn and the ubiquitous sex industry has jumped on the vegan bandwagon. With various sex toys, aids and appliances it goes all the way to sites portraying hairy young naked punks and unshaven hippy teenagers. A veiled attempt to prove that vegans can be as un PC as the UK Sun readers and breast and thong obsessed UK public at large. Search for ‘Naked Vegan’ on Google or Yahoo if you really must see for yourself. www.vegporn.com boasts a recipe section with nude vegan girls and boys cooking vegan recipes, whilst www.veganerotica.com has vegan ‘pleather’ bondage gear.

Raw truth about vegan diets exposed

Fontana expected the vegans to have low vitamin D levels because they avoid dairy products, which are fortified with the vitamin.

But in fact their vitamin D levels were 'markedly higher' than average.

Vitamin D is made by the skin when the body is exposed to sunlight and is the key to keeping strong bones.

'These people are clever enough to expose themselves to sunlight to increase their concentrations of vitamin D,' Fontana said.

And the vegans had low levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory molecule that is becoming linked with the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic disease.

Furthermore, they had lower levels of IGF-1, a growth factor linked to risk of breast and prostate cancer.

Fontana does not advocate a raw food diet. But he said that to lower the risk of cancer and heart disease people should eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.