Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living2
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 3
Vegan Villager™ is published six times a year by Carr, Quinn & Small, Inc. We accept photos, opinions, shortarticles, stories, poems and drawings from the general public, but assume no responsibility for failure to publish a submission or for typographic errors published or incorrect placement. The contents of this magazine consist of copyrightable material and cannot be reproduced without the expressed written permis-sion of the author and the publishers of Vegan Villager™. We reserve the right to refuse any advertising for anyreason. We reserve the right to require editing to any advertising that is accepted for publication. Opinionprinted herein reports views of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the magazine, its publisher, or Carr, Quinn & Small, Inc. We invite varying opinions and information from ourwriters and readers, wishing to provide a public forum for well-tempered, well-reasoned thoughts, ideas andopinion. Letters can be sent to: [email protected].
ADVERTISING OFFICE: 508-347-7077
If your business is in eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine or New Hampshire, contact Lisa Bouley at ext. 3 Or contact her on cell at: 978.973.5736.
If your business is in central or western Massachusetts,Connecticut or Vermont: contact Karen Rothweiler at ext. 2Or call her on cell at: 774.230.4573.
National advertising, or to speak with the publisher directly,contact Paul Carr at ext. 1Or contact him on cell at: 508.450.8198.
ADVERTISING DEADLINE: Camera ready: the 15th of each month prior to publication. EDITORIAL DEADLINE: The 17th of each month prior to publication.
VEGAN VILLAGER™MAGAZINE | CARR, QUINN & SMALL, INC.P.O. Box 418, Sturbridge, Ma 01566 tel. 508-347-7077 fax 508-347-8150 veganvillager.com cqsmedia.com
© 2013 by Carr, Quinn & Small, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Distributed freely through selected venues throughout New England.Home delivery available by subscription.
Bi-weekly newsletter, Vegan Insight™, distributed freely by email.Website will always have most of the content you’ll find in this magazine and much additional content. Refreshed daily.
veganvillager.comVegan Villager™Magazine
New England Vegan Insight™ Newsletter
VeganVillagermagazine
New England’s Journal for Vegan Living
prEviEW issuEmay, 2013(launch issue: june-july, 2013)
publishEr & Editor paul CarrassoCiatE publishEr johN small
advErtisiNg dirECtor karEN rothWEilEraCCouNt ExECutivE lisa boulEy
advErtisiNg artist tErri raCCa
WritErs miChaEl aNthoNylisa boulEymarC dElaNEysuzaNNE kvilhaugg.E. shumaN
ext. 3Eastern
Central/Western
National
ext. 2
ext. 1
Vegan Villager™ is printed on partially recycled stockwith an ink mixture that includes vegetable-based ink
™
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living4
Introductions
Coming together as a vegan village
Paul CarrPUBLISHER
John SmallASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
So here we are, coming together as a vegan village, knowing we allshare at least one passionate thing in common: our thoughtsabout food.
As a community, we are one, but as individuals we come in all col-ors, creeds, shapes and sizes. So let’s dive right in with each other. I’llgo first. “Hello, I’m Paul, and I’m Vegan”. … Okay … Now what’s thatlook on your face? You might be wondering … Is this zoftig guy reallyVegan? Really? … On the other hand, you might glance over to the manjogging in place next to me, our associate publisher, and my partner inlife, John, and you might say: “Now there’s a vegan man”. I’m sitting,eating nuts. He’s jogging, pushing weights. Sitting. Jogging. Eating.Lifting. ... My point? Here at ground zero of vegan village, you’ll seestellar examples of how not all vegans look or act alike. Proof that wedon’t all think alike will come later as we travel together over the com-ing months (and hopefully years) as a dynamic community.So you get the idea that I don’t look like a marathon runner. Okay, I
don’t even look like someone who likes his veggies. A foodie beforethere were foodies. Here’s a story my brother Joe likes to tell about me.I had come home from school one day and passed through the kitchenbefore seeing my mother, who was waiting for the ladies of her sewingclub to arrive. I could hear her chatting on the phone in the other roomand listened for a while before going in to kiss her.“Boy, Mom, those cream puffs are great!” I chirped.“That’s nice, honey,” she whispered and returned to her call.“I ate EIGHT!” I announced proudly before trotting off.It didn’t dawn on her that this could be true until she went in and
actually saw the two freshly-made cream puffs sitting, where, minutesearlier there had been 10.If way-back-when I had attending the casting call for Leave it to
Beaver, I would have waltzed effortlessly into the role of well-fed side-kick Larry Mondello. I know this because among my earliest set of palsI’m remembered as The Boy Most Likely to Devour a Bushel of Apples.When I run into anyone from my hometown who knew me in the late60s and early 70s, I am told that I conjure an image of a boy runningdown the street, baseball mitt tied to my belt, swinging a full sleeve ofsaltines. Yes, that was me winding up for a pitch with a pickle behindmy ear and a full wad of Bazooka gum stored in my cheek. I was the kidwhose mother never had to call him in for supper. I was already there.Waiting.Okay. You get the idea.At the age of eight or nine, a little after the cream puff incident, I
was walking down High Street in Babbitville, where I grew up, and
came upon an egg that had fallen out of its nest. It had cracked openand revealed a partially developed beak, head, and furry, veiny body; itwas a sad mess. The situation was immediately clear: there would beno future for this egg. I picked it up reverently and carried it home,where I confirmed with both parents and my teenage brother Ned thatnothing could be done. Within minutes, Ned and I were outside con-ducting a burial. Afterward we repaired solemnly to the dining roomwhere I was consoled by my mother with half an apple pie and a cup ofwhipped cream drizzled with maple syrup (she was French, had a cer-tain flair, and knew all my buttons). Skinny handsome Ned watchedwith a worried look.Up to that point I hadn’t reconciled anything between the eggs on
my plate and those which came out of the bodies of pretty birds. Overtime, I connected the dots between eggs and chickens and then, oneday, at a farm in Dover, MA, I looked into the face of a lovely youngcow and it all came together. That sweet creature would be eaten oneday. What was worse, it could happen from the forks inside my ownfamily in the town next door, because I belonged to a tribe who ate ani-mals, not quietly, but noisily, adamantly. My father ate Steak Tartare. Ifyou don’t know what that is, good for you, keep it that way.My voyage through vegetarianism started early and took many forms.
I have been strident, moderate, lax; I have fallen off the chuck wagonand landed at Hilltop Steak House swilling Gin and Tonic and chewingbeef fat on stag nights, but mostly I have been what the label lovers calllacto-ovo pescatarian, which is to say I consumed dairy, eggs and fish.One thing I have never been is preachy, because I have learned fromexperience that I don’t know everything.A year ago I hit another wall and my relationship with eggs, dairy and fish
ended. I couldn’t close off the thundering truth that shadowed me every timeI opened my mouth and put in something I knew was wrong for myself andother living creatures. John was always nutritionally a bit ahead of me, butnot on the vegan reality. One day I woke and knew there could be no othercourse and I pored over the Forks Over Kniveswebsite and ordered all of theEsselstyn/Campbell material. John, who you’ll be getting to know soon, thebrighter and more interesting of the two of us, agreed, and we’ve been en-joying a plant-based diet ever since. I learned, of course, that a plant-based diet leaves plenty of room for
things that can keep me fat if I play it right. But it isn’t as easy as it usedto be. I remember that within the first three weeks I lost 21 pounds.Weight loss does continue without much thought and I’ve never felt better.If you’re new to this and that particular perk inspires you, climb onboard— it’s a great life. (Continued on next page)
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 5
Coming together
Peaches and Herb By Rhonda Sowden
Listed alphabetically with location indicated if it not inferred readily byname. To have your group included in this printed listing and on our on-line listings, send your information to: [email protected].
Boston Vegetarian Society (BVS)http://www.bostonveg.org/
Maine Vegan Meetup Grouphttp://www.meetup.com/Meatless-Mainers
Massachusetts Animal Coalition www.massanimalcoalition.org
Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition (MARC)massanimalrights.org
New Hampshire Animal Rights Leaguehttp://www.meetup.com/vegan-204/
Northern Connecticut Vegetarian Societyhttp://wwww.northctveg.org/
Rhode Island Vegan Awarenesshttp://www.veganawareness.org
South Central New England Critter’s Association(ScNECA)http://www.scneca.org
Sunny Meadow Sanctuary (Central/Western Massachusetts)ww.sunnymeadowsanctuary.org
VegMe (Maine)http://www.vegme.org
Vegan Metrowest Network (Massachusetts)http://www.meetup.com/vegan-516/vegnetwork.org
Vegans of North Central Masshttp://www.massvegan.org/
VegWorcesterwww.vegworcester.com
VINE Sanctuary (Vermont)vine.bravebirds.org/
Western MA Animal Rights Advocates (WMARA)groupspaces.com/WMARA
© 2013 Vegan Villager Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
John and I are not new to publishing, so we saw an opportunity, grabbed our skillsand jumped in. We have met some wonderful and talented people along the way tobringing this to you, particularly Lisa Bouley, whose magnanamous zeal for the causeof veganism/animal protection and deep passion for nutrition has been instrumentalin helping build the foundation for this company which is on target to create somejobs and bring together all vegans in New England.As a community, we are wonderfully different so this should be interesting and a
lot of fun. Please take a look at the established groups listed on the next page and getinvolved in one or more of them. We look forward to telling the stories that come outof those groups and from other sources as we move together, as a vegan village, into anew era for New England-based communications around the subjects we hold sovery dear.
Paul Carr can be reached at [email protected].
Continued from previous page
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living6
My Story
IN ONE RESPECT, MY JOURNEY TOVEGAN LIVING was relatively unique in that itwas never planned, it just happened. But it’s pos-sible that you experienced the same sort of sud-den out-of-the-blue transformation. I have alwaysthought it was unique because I didn’t have anyfriends or family who were vegan; I didn’t live nearany vegan restaurants or businesses and I didn’tknow all that much about the vegan lifestyle.Sure, I was familiar with vegetarianism but veg-anism, well, as you know, that was quite anotherthing. To my way of thinking, veganism seemed ex-
treme and rooted deeply in a set of ethics thatstruck me as challenging and restrictive. And Imust admit to having held certain quirkly preju-dices; for example, when I met someone who wasvegan, I assumed he or she would drive a hybridcar covered in bumper stickers, perhaps theymade their own soap and subsisted on lettuce andbananas. I always quietly respected and admiredtheir decision but never presumed I was slated tomake the choice they had made. I know that I considered the many things veg-
ans were living without: cheese pizza, ice creamsundaes, and cream in their coffee. At the age of 10, I began to think more deeply
about what I was eating. Thanks to the movieBabe, I was able to connect the sweet pig to the
pork chops on myplate and sud-denly became afourth grader inca-pable of eatingham sandwiches.By the time I was18, I had stoppedeating most meatexcept for chick-en, turkey, and anoccasional Arby’sroast beef sand-wich.On my 21st
birthday, as I wasglancing over themenu at a restau-rant, I blurted outunexpectedly: “Ican’t eat animalstoday”. An unex-pected awarenesshad crept in thatwas so strong thatfrom that day onmy days of eatingmeat were behind me and I officially labeled my-self a vegetarian.
The transforma-tion was effortlessand I lived the nextseveral years quitehappily living withoutmeat. One day I picked
up a book titled“Vegan Freak: BeingVegan in a Non-VeganWorld” by Bob Tor-ress and Jenna Tor-ress. I sat down andread the book, every-thing resonated withme so intensely thatfor the first time inmy life I highlightedwhile I read. Thefunny thing is, I hadnever highlightedbooks in high schoolor college. The book was
shatteringly honestand I loved what was
on every single page. Truth is a hard thing to comeby in this world and every sentence rang true inmy heart. Everything about veganism made per-
Suzanne’s journey to the village
perhaps not unlike your own
BY SUZANNE KVILHAUG
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 7
fect sense to me and, I realized hap-pily, gratefully, there would be noturning back. I would be vegan.Soon.I was thinking the way many peo-
ple do who are transitioning to a newway of eating. I would have one lastpizza. This had been one of my fa-vorite meals and I didn’t want to beleft craving it and struggling with thisvegan decision for the rest of my life. When I went to dial the phone
number to my favorite pizza place, itcame upon me. I didn’t need this. Ididn’t want this. I hung up the phone. When people ask me why I am
vegan, I can’t seem to ever find theright words to articulate the reasons.After trying for so long, I realized thatmaybe I won’t ever be able to. Therereally are no words that can explainwhy I am vegan and why I love livingthis way. It is my truth, and when youfeel and live your truth, words almostminimize the magic behind it.As someone born and raised in
Massachusetts, my reaction to a NewEngland magazine was similar to thatof a vegan who goes out to eat to amainstream restaurant and unexpect-edly spots a bunch of vegan choiceson a menu. Vegan Villager was one ofthe best unexpected surprises that Ihave come across in a long time. Whether you are vegan, consider-
ing going vegan, know someone whois vegan, or picked this magazine upbecause something told you to, I amglad you are here. Knowledge ispower and you never know what onearticle can lead to. You might learnthings about food that will help youstick to your vegan diet or maybeyou’ll read an opinion piece that is acatalyst for you to start transitioninginto a vegan lifestyle. Maybe you arereading this magazine for no specificreason at all, and that’s great too. Re-gardless of why you’re reading VeganVillager, you will always be welcomehere no matter how you live your life. That’s the one misconception I
can clear up for you right now aboutvegans. We are a welcoming bunchand are not always trying to shove ourbeliefs down anyone’s throat or con-vert people to our way of living...butwe’d love it if they did.
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living8
WhatWeEat
w h y w e e a t
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD. It’s the foundation of life. Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, or an omnivore you have
reasons that fuel your food choices. Some of us allow our taste buds to “direct traffic.” Food
choices are based on flavors and tastes that are appealing.Others allow their brains to govern their decisions. They edu-cate themselves about what is best for their bodies, and thefood they purchase and ingest reflects what they have learned.And then there are cravings, those intense desires for particu-lar foods. Cravings are generally influenced by either our psy-chological or physical state. Playing detective, learning what nutrients are in the foods
we crave, is crucial for cravings that are rooted in dietary defi-ciencies. This information arms us to make the best decisionsin our food selections and cravings for foods that we no longerdeem acceptable, based on our current knowledge and ethics,fade away.
If craving sweets, perhaps our bodies are low in energy andseeking carbohydrates. All vegan foods provide some carbohy-drates. Fruit can provide quick energy and digests oftenwithin half an hour, while grains are a bit more “complex” andcan provide energy that is balanced and long lasting.Cravings for chocolate can be a signal that we are low in
magnesium, a mineral that plays many crucial roles in our
BY LISA BOULEY
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 9
body, including maintaining healthy bones andacting as a muscle relaxant. Or perhaps it is themood elevating properties of chocolate that keepus coming back for more. The same endorphinsthat are released in conjunction with chocolateconsumption are released by exercise. A briskwalk, running, even in place, or the activity ofyour choice, might alleviate this desire.If someone craves red meat, they might not be
getting the balance of amino acids they need, orsufficient iron, so giving a good scanning ofvegan food lists that are high in iron, or adding agood variety of beans and grains to ensure thatall needed amino acids are obtained on a regularbasis, is a wise way to go. Those who feel stressed by life often crave
creamy, soothing foods. In our dairy-free veganworld, silken tofu is used as a base for sauces,puddings, and other smooth creations. Nuts andseeds create delicious, nutritious raw, creamy de-lights. For many of us, our previous desire fordairy-based items is easily replaced by a hanker-ing for these vegan alternatives. Sometimes we seek crunch. When we are
watching something suspenseful on television, orwhen our minds are thinking, that active crunch-ing of food satisfies a need. Often we reach forchips. We know they are not ideal for ourhealth, as most chips are cooked in oil and oilsare damaged by heat. It is likely that the mosthealth-promoting option is to grab some raw veg-etables, such as carrots, celery, or cucumbers.But if that does not seem to “fit the bill,” thereare other options in the crunchable foods cate-gory. Items such as rice cakes or popcorn don’tcontain the damaged oil that can be found inchips, but they don’t offer much in terms of nu-trients. Luckily, it is relatively easy to make yourown chips. If you have ever left a tortilla in theoven too long, while attempting to just warm itup, you realize that a few minutes can mean thedifference between a soft, warm tortilla or a bigchip. Next time that you want to buy a bag ofchips, consider replacing them with a bag of tor-tillas. Natural food and grocery stores offer 100percent corn tortillas, whole wheat wraps, andeven wraps made from sprouted grains. You canadd salt and other dry seasonings and heat in theoven, on a baking sheet. They are done whenthey make that snapping sound when you at-tempt to break them into smaller, more “userfriendly” bite size pieces. The result is you havechips free of cooked oil, but full of taste.We are logical beings and all our choices are
based on what we think and feel, and informed
by our body signals. Remember, the reason weneed to eat is to fuel our bodies, in the same wayour cars require gasoline. If we eat primarilyprocessed food, containing few nutrients, ourbrains and bodies will not function optimally.They can’t. So make a conscious effort to “upthe ante” on your food choices. Your efforts willnot go unrewarded. The gifts of better healthand greater energy await. Need help? Staytuned….. The coming months will bring ideas toupgrade your diet without overcomplicating yourlife.
Lisa Bouley is a nutritionist/writer for VeganVillager Magazine, and an advertising sales repre-sentative for our company.
some of us allow our taste buds to direct traffic
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living10
Walking the Walk
Making a difference with
Helen&SteveRayschick
We have all heard the expression “An-gels walk among us.” Whether or notwe believe in angels, we all likely un-
derstand to whom this label refers. Occasionallyin life, we find individuals who stand out be-cause of their compassion and their actions….
Meet Helen and Steve Rayshick, foundersof Sunny Meadow Sanctuary (Barre,
MA) and Massachusetts Animal Rights Coali-tion (MARC). The coalition is on the leadingedge of animal activism and protection in Mas-sachusetts, with the assistance and dedicationof Helen and Steve. Through the organization they founded in
2003, Helen and Steve have been able to at-tract local animal rights activists and inspiremany to make animal rights and protectiontheir mission.Although Steve and Helen grew up in Penn-
sylvania mill towns, just a few miles apart, theydid not meet until they attended college atCarnegie Mellon. Helen became a vegetarian some years prior
to meeting Steve and says of the decision toavoid animal foods: “As an environmental sci-entist in the civil engineering department atCarnegie Mellon, I learned and saw the greatextent of water pollution that resulted fromfactory farming ‘waste’ (excrement of animals).” After the couple met, Steve was influenced
by the information and choice Helen describedto him and he . In 1997, Helen and Steve tookthe next step, becoming vegan because in theirwords, “We realized that no animal agriculturecan exist without animal cruelty." In 2001, Helen and Steve moved to Massa-
chusetts, to be closer to Helen’s daughter.They settled in Barre, MA, after Steve washired as professor of English and Critical
Thinking at Quinsagamond Community Col-lege. They were delighted because this al-lowed Helen to retire and pursue her dream ofdevoting her time to working “for the animals.”The property had a small barn, which was abuying point for them, as they had dreamed ofcreating a sanctuary for rescued farm animals.Helen comments, “I always thought farm ani-mals were interesting and beautiful. I feltsorry for them…”Sunny Meadow Sanctuary became a reality
in 2009 when Helen and Steve rescued twoyoung female goats. Helen had seen a noticeon a bulletin board at their local feed store. Itadvertised that two goats would “be at auc-tion.” Helen knew this meant that they weredestined for goat milk and, ultimately, meat in-dustries. Understanding this, Helen felt com-pelled to call ask if the advertiser would giveher the goats instead, and they agreed. From that point on, Helen and Steve have
kept watch for other animals on that bulletinboard. They have never bought an animal.They offer to pick up the animals or pay fortransportation and that is often all that isneeded. It is likely that the heartfelt love thesetwo people feel for all sentient beings is evi-dent to all. People who had the intention tosell their unwanted animals now give them toSunny Meadow. These days, Helen and Stevereceive phone calls about animals in need ofrescue; one example: a parent had bought achick for a child’s science project but it “gottoo big.” There are cases of abused and sickanimals and sick animals in need of specialcare. Over time, the small barn was not large
enough and more structures had to be built forthe growing community. Right now, SunnyMeadow is home to Annie, a former dairy cow,
two aquatic turtles (Buddha and Scout), Cisco,a wild mustang originally rounded up by theBureau of Land Management, rescued hens(Martha, Prudence, Daisy, Tess, and Rosie),Nell, a rescued “log hauling” donkey, and sevenducks (Sylvie, Jude, Polly, Albert, Willow,Wicker, and Mister). Steve says: “Every day, taking care of farm
animals reinforces the need for activism. Wecan only save a small portion of farm animals.It is important that the Sanctuary movementfeeds the activism. Activism is what is going tosave animals. One person turning vegan cansave a couple of hundred animals…” Helen and Steve have never lost sight of the
goal to protest actively animal abuse and suf-fering. When they moved to Barre in 2001,they looked for local animal rights protests andgroups. But they did not find membersprotesting regularly. Both Helen and Steveagree: “We would have been perfectly contentjust going out and joining in, holding signs, butthere was nothing happening.” Then theythought, “If we are looking, others must be outthere looking for a local animal rights group.”In 2003, they started the Massachusetts Ani-mal Rights Coalition. In less than 10 years, MARC has made
great strides, bringing animal rights issues topublic awareness throughout Massachusetts.MARC members are visible many Saturdays,holding signs and passing out literature on thestreets of Boston, whether protesting outsideKentucky Fried Chicken, in Allston, at a pro-vegan rally at Boston University or Harvard, orat a fur store in Brookline. Their rallies andprotests are noticeably quieter then some.Helen explains: “At one rally we used a bullhorn and passed out 200 pieces of literature; atanother protest, at the same site for the same
By Lisa Bouley
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 11
Meet the Boston Vegetarian Society!
We are trying to help animals, people, and the environment by providing education, community,
and resources that advance enjoyable herbivorous living.
We do this by offering:
Free monthly speaker events
Dinners
Vegan cooking classes
Holiday events
Outreach
eNewsletter and...
We are the organizers of:
The 18th Annual will be
Saturday & SundayOct. 26 & 27, 2013
Free admission Free food sampling Free parkingTop national speakers and chefs
120 exciting exhibitors
Join our low-volume list to get event updates:
issue, we were there without a bull hornand we passed out over 1000 pieces ofliterature.” They consider the situation and what
would be most effective. For example, ata laboratory that tested on animals, theyused bull horns, with the intention ofbeing heard by the workers. In suchcases, Helen says, “Making noise makessense.”MARC members and founders,
Helen and Steve Rayshick, constantlysee the fruits of their labors, as theirprotests play a role in bringing aboutchange. When the Woof & Co. petstores, at which MARC had protested in2004, closed in 2005, all felt that theirefforts to raise public awareness andmedia attention to the results of selling“puppy mill” offspring had not been invain. MARC’s protests may have cap-tured the attention of the Boston Herald,a Boston tabloid which ran a special re-port in December 2004, highlightingcomplaints about how the Woof & Co.
chain handled their puppies, and howthey had been cited for numerous vio-lations of state pet store regulations.The chain’s two Massachusetts storesclosed soon after. When the Cosmo Fur store closed
on Newbury Street (Boston), and thetwo oldest fur stores in MassachusettsIJ Fox Furriers and Klaff Furs were putup for sale and ultimately bought by acompany that combined the two storesinto one location, the dedicated mem-bers who regularly protested at theseshops, let out a collective sigh of relief.Their work had not been in vain. From protesting the hunting of
Canadian Geese on a golf course inBraintree to picketing circuses andbull riding events, to MARC attorneysworking on a state-wide bill to ban foiegras, MARC members are there dis-tributing literature, holding signs, andanswering questions. Whether theissue is animal testing or raising ani-
“One personturning vegan
can save a coupleof hundred animals”
Steve Rayschick
Continued on page 17
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living12
village recipe box
Lemon-Blueberry PancakesVegan Gluten-FreeRecipe & Photo submitted by John Small
NO EGGS, DAIRY, OIL OR EVEN WHEAT is needed to make these delicious, Lemon-Blue-berry Pancakes. That’s right, no wheat so these are not only vegan, they are gluten-free.
We found that oat flour gave these pancakes a more delicate texture. If you’re not sensitive togluten, you could use whole-wheat pastry flour instead of the oat flour.
We used no oil in the recipe and none on the frying pans as we have the new non-stick ceramicpans and had no trouble flipping these flapjacks.
This is a filling breakfast which you can top with maple syrup, jam or lightly dust with pow-dered sugar. Add fresh fruit and vegan sausage on the side and you have a satisfying start to theday.
1½ cups oat flour½ cup quinoa flour1 Tbs baking powder 1 Tbs (heaping) ground flax meal1/8 tsp sea salt1¾ cups soymilk (or any plant-based milk; rice, almond, oat, etc.)¼ cup applesauce1 tsp vanilla extractJuice of half a lemonZest of 1 lemon1 Tbs Greek-style, dairy-free, blueberry or vanilla yogurt (the ones made withcoconut milk have a fuller, rich flavor due to the high-fat content).1 cup fresh blueberries
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: Oat and quinoa flour, baking powder, flax mealand sea salt. Whisk ingredients together.
In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients: Soymilk, applesauce, vanilla, dairy-free yogurt,lemon juice and zest together. Mix until well blended.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well blended. Once the batter ismixed together, fold in the blueberries.
Using a non-stick pan at medium heat, pour a large scoop of batter onto a pre heated skillet, ina couple of minutes you will notice some bubbles on the surface and that is a good indication it issafe to flip the pancake.
This recipe makes 8-12 pancakes (depending on desired size) and should be ample servings of 4 to 6.
V | GF
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 13
cookie monster
Vegan Gluten-FreeV | GF
gohspa350 Cambridge Road
Woburn, MA 01801
781.281.7097
our skincare products and cosmetics are:
• vegan and gluten-free• non-comedogenic
and contain:
• No parabens• No petrochemicals
our nail polishes contain:
• No toluene• No formaldehyde• No DBP (phthalates)• No camphor
we are committed to:
• ecologically-driven business practices
• no animal testing
• synthetic-free products
• products manufactured in an FDA-registered production facility
• certified organic and/or wildcrafted ingredients
Present this coupon for 20% o!a service of $50 or more at
gohspavegan owned & operated
Expires May 31, 2013. Limit one coupon per customer. Can only be used towards services of $50 or more. Appointments required and subject to availability. Cannot be combined with any other o!er or promotion. Coupon subject to forfeiture per merchant.
spahgombrida350 C
Woburn, MA 01801
spage Roadmbrid
Woburn, MA 01801
781.281.7097
www.goinfo@go
781.281.7097
mspa.cohwww.gomspa.cohinfo@go
we are committed to:
• ecologically-driacticesbusiness pr
• no animal testing
• synthetic-free products
• products manufactured
we are committed to:
en vecologically-driactices
no animal testing
synthetic-free products
products manufactured
d and cosmetics are:our skincare products
• egan and gluten-freev• non-comedogenic
and contain:
• No par• No petroc
products smetics are: ncare products
egan and gluten-freenon-comedogenic
and contain:
abensNo parhemicalsNo petroc
products manufactured A-registered in an FD
production facility
• certified organic and/orafted ingredientswildcr
products manufactured A-registered
production facility
certified organic and/orafted ingredients
our nail polishes contain:
• No toluene• No formaldeh• No DBP (phthalates)• No camphor
our nail polishes contain:
No tolueney
lNo formaldeh
DBP (phthalates)yde
No camphor
esent this cPrvica ser
oupon fesent this ce of $50 or morvic
spahgo
!or 20% ooupon fe ate of $50 or mor
spa
es May 31, 2013. Limit one cExpir
veg
. Can only be used tomeroupon per custes May 31, 2013. Limit one combined with any other oCannot be c
spahgotedaperan owned & oveg
es of $50 or morvicds serarwo. Can only be used tomotion. Coupon subject ter or pr!ombined with any other o
spated
ed and subject tequire. Appointments res of $50 or morchante per merureitorfo fomotion. Coupon subject t
. ailabilityo aved and subject t.chant
It took me by surprise when afriend of mine gushed about a line ofvegan snacks and food bars made bya New England based company,Mom’s Munchies. As a self-proclaimed vegan snack
expert and past vegan food buyerwho had never heard of Mom’sMunchies before so I was instantlyeager to try them out. Weeks later, I was shopping at
Whole Foods and there they were —Mom’s Munchies, staring me in theface. I stepped to theside where the dis-play case stood andtossed a few SkinnyMint Cookies in thecarriage. They lookedlike they had promise,but there was somedoubt in the back ofmy mind. How couldthese vegan cookiestaste like the “real” GirlScout cookies? I hadnever come across avegan version of the clas-sic thin mint cookies before and itseemed like one of those traditionalfavorites that couldn’t be duplicated. After my first bite I realized these
cookies were better than the ones Iremembered from the Girl Scouts.Betty Crush, founder of Mom’s
Organics in Freeport Maine is on acrusade to change the way we eat.After undergoing many health tests,Crush learned that she had celiacdisease, candida, and issues digest-ing meat. Crush, like many Americans, was
sick and knew it was time to takecontrol of her health by changing herdiet. She had to avoid anything con-taining dairy, meat, and gluten if shewanted to get back on track and re-gain her health. As she navigated the grocery store
with her new restrictions, she no-
ticed a void in the marketplace ofsnacks that catered to these re-strictions.Most people in Crush’s position
may have become discouraged andfrustrated but she was determinedto feel good again. Instead offalling back to unhealthy eatinghabits and giving up before shestarted, Crush took matters intoher own hands and ventured intothe kitchen.
She began developinghealthy innovative veganand gluten-free recipesby substituting for tradi-tional ingredients. Wherethere is a will, there is away, and Crush wasconfident there was away to make good foodwith healthy ingredi-ents.
She began sharingher creations withfamily and friends
and it quickly became ob-vious from the positive reviewsthat she was on to something. Shemade the decision to try to startselling her products to local storesand soon after Mom’s Munchieswas born.Crush is a stickler for taste and
quality. Mom’s Munchies doestheir best to source as many fairtrade and organic ingredients be-cause making food with integrity isone of the company’s top priori-ties. Mom’s Munchies currently of-
fers a line of real food bars anddecadent desserts made with nu-tritional ingredients like organicgoji berries, organic pumpkinseeds, organic almond butter andpure dark chocolate. When Iasked Betty why all of Mom’sMunchies products are vegan, she
Mom’s Munchies: the solutionwhen you’re out scouting cookies
By Suzanne Kvilhaug
Continued on next page
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living14
quickly answered, “because I love ani-mals.” Mom’s Munchies receives a lot of
praise from customers who range fromvegan to gluten-intolerant to just plainsick of bad quality. “I am so grateful forthis opportunity to really help peopleenjoy what they eat,” Crush says. “Thisis my way of giving back and creatingsomething people can feel good aboutbuying.“A five-year-old girl told her mother
that our cookie tastes like love. I couldn’tbelieve she said that. That has been mygoal since the beginning. To make foodfrom scratch that tastes like love, and forpeople to feel the love that goes into theproduct from start to finish.” In five years, Mom’s Munchies has
developed seven incredible products andcounting, opened their own gluten freeand dairy free commercial space, hired
five local employees, and have landedtheir products in the entire North At-lantic Region of Whole Foods. Mom’sMunchies continues to grow and expandso much so that Betty’s son Craig Mor-gan, who ran a health and wellness cen-ter in California moved back to Maineto help his mother run the booming fam-ily business. The mother and son duo areon a mission to continue to build theireco-friendly business and become a na-tionally recognized brand.Mom’s Munchies products can be
purchased throughout the New Englandarea and also online at their websitemomsorganicmunchies.com.
Mom’s Munchies
“A five-year-old girltold her motherthat our cookietastes like love”
Betty Crush,founder of Mom’s Munchies
cookie monster
Continued from previous page
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 15
Made in Hardwick, Vermont
Vermont Soy’s Artisan Tofu is hand-crafted to deliver the highest quality and freshest taste. Our Organic tofu is made with 100% Vermont-grown soybeans, and it is made Fresh, without the use
of preservatives. Firm in texture, our Artisan Tofu is versatile and easy to cook with. Our Artisan Tofu is GMO free, gluten free,
vegan safe, and organic.
VERMONT SOYARTISAN TOFU
FRESH ORGANIC LOCALHand-crafted to deliver the highest quality and freshest taste.
100% recyclable packaging
ORGANICVERMONTCERTIFIED
PROCESSOR
STORAGE TIPS: 4 week shelf life, keep refrigerated, consume with in 5 days of opening.
802-472-8500 [email protected]
www.vermontsoy
em
etailm Rirlain FP
tI
Unit
14 o8-33486-00011-6
deoUPC C
ack
z14 o
ase PCUnit
m Bucket
amblecrofu STTofu S
m Block
irlain FP
etail
irlain FP
m Rirlain FP
8-33486-00026-0
8-33486-00031-4
8-33486-00009-3
8-33486-00010-9
z
1/5lbs
1/5lbs
40/8o
z6/14o
SSORORGANIC
ECPRO
EDFITIERRTICTONMVERRM
401-419-8869www.like-no-udder.com
Now Serving Rhode Island, M� achus� s and Conne� icut
MOBILE Non-Dairy Soft Serve
and Vegan Treatssoft serve shakes frozen lemonade candy bars
Follow us on Facebook & Twitter for our daily location
kiss me or pass the tabouli
Pleasesupport ouradvertisers
veganvillager.com
Subscribe for home deliveryand to our free biweekly
newsletter
They’re an essentialpart of Vegan Village
Thank you!
Continued on next page
By Michael Anthony“How come we never go out any-
more?” My girlfriend, Emily, asked, forthe third week in a row. It was a rhetor-ical question, something not to be an-swered immediately, if at all. But shewas right, we never went out anymore.When we had started dating years
ago, the question of “What do you wantto do tonight?” seemed like one thatneedn’t be asked; because we were al-ways on some type of adventure: hiking,sailing, cooking classes, ghost tours, etc.But as the weeks, months and years ofour relationship carried on, our datesbegan to dwindle. Before we knew it,routine engulfed us and weeks and
Four ways to spice up your nextVEGAN DATE NIGHT
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living16
months would pass without even the casualdinner and a movie. Eventually, we had de-cided to try the all too typical approach ofweekly “date night,” but even that, after years,came to a standstill. Television became our lifeand each night was a rerun: we made dinner,watched repeats of Seinfeld, and then slept.We were on the precipice of the worst thingthat could happen in any relationship: terminalboredom.Time and time again we tried to implement
the infamous “date night,” but it never seemedto stick, things had always felt too forced, toocontrived. And both of us being vegan certainlydidn’t help. In fact, as we finally talked itthrough one night, we realized that it was onlyafter we had become vegans that we hadstarted to have trouble with our weekly “datenight.” After we had both become vegan suddenly
even dinner and a movie seemed like a chore: “Did you check out that restaurant, are they
vegan friendly?” “Yes. I checked online, every-thing looked fine.” “Well, call ahead anywaysto double check.” “Ok. I called. They’ve got aspecial vegan menu: we can get either pasta orsalad.” “That’s it? Oh God. Let’s just stayhome…”
“There’s this new great vegan restaurantopening…but its ninety minutes away. Do youstill want to go?”
“Do you want to go see a movie?” “I hatethat movie theatre all I can smell is butter whenwe’re there.”For a long time we tried to consolidate the
idea of being vegans and being able to have afun, easy date night. We fought, we laughed,we cried and then finally, after days and weeksand months of bad date nights, we came upwith an unbeatable plan for unforgettablevegan date nights.
What we’ve learned:1) Save up. Instead of forcing ourselves
to go out once a week for “date night,” we real-ized that it can be better to plan just one reallyspecial date night per month, something thatwe could really look forward to. No one looksforward to dinner and a movie every week—es-pecially if you’re vegan and your restaurants areseverely limited. And since dinner and a movieonce a week can certainly add up. Instead,save up that money and use it all on one specialdate night. Do something out of the ordinary.Something a little more expensive—since yousaved all your date night money for one nightinstead of four. Go to a spa together. Go to thetheatre. Or mine and Emily’s favorite: Drive tothat really great vegan restaurant that’s twohours away and stay at a nice bed and breakfastfor the night. It’s better to have one unforget-table date night per month than four forget-table ones.
2) Stay in. We all know that cooking canbe a chore, especially the cleanup afterwards;but we often forget how much fun it can be;there’s a reason why every cheesy romanticmovie has a scene in a kitchen with one personplayfully putting frosting or flour on someoneelse’s nose. It’s because cooking is fun and canbe a very sexual, sensual thing. Put some softjazz on and by the time the kitchen fills withthe scents of seasoning and fresh foods all yourstresses will have washed away. Surprise eachother with different meals. Try the new recipethat you read in The Vegan Villager. Make asampling of foods for each other and wearblindfolds—the blindfolds could be used forafter dinner fun, too. For dessert have somestrawberries covered in dark chocolate. Addi-tional option: Make the food and take it to adrive in movie theatre.
3) Start something. The fact of thematter is, most vegans aren’t activists—al-though that’s how it’s often portrayed—butmost vegans DO want to be more active in thecommunity. Join that vegan society or go tothat vegan Meetup group together. Grab a cupof coffee and leaflet your local college campus.It might not seem like a fun date night, but acrisp fall evening, with a warm cup of tea, on abeautiful college campus, talking to peopleabout issues near and dear to your heart, it canbe a life changing night. Kill two birds with one
Continued from previous page
Vegan date night
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 17
MARC members dedicate theirtime to raising public awarenessand concern. Steve and HelenRayshick have served as the back-bone of all these endeavors.If you wish to learn more about
MARC, visit their website athttp://massanimalrights.org/.There is a contact page if youseek more information or wouldlike to join. Donations are ac-cepted and are tax-deductible.You can learn more about SunnyMeadow Sanctuary, volunteer op-portunities, and how to donate to-wards the care and upkeep of thisever growing community of ani-
mals on-line at http://www.sun-nymeadowsanctuary.org/ or bymail at Sunny Meadow Sanctuary,Barre, MA. As you can see, Helen and
Steve have done much to take an-imal activism in New England tonew heights. Their steadfastcommitment, both to rescuingand providing for animals in need,as well as their dedication to ac-tivism, is awe inspiring. They setthe bar a bit higher. Their goalsare clear. They will not rest untilanimal suffering is a thing of thepast. They may have their workcut out for them, but they are upfor the challenge.
Continued from page 11
Steve and Helen Rayschick
stone: have a fun, unusual vegan datenight, and change your community.
4) Shelters. Go to an animalshelter. Although the idea mightseem like a depressing date night itcan also be really fun and memo-rable. An old brother of mine hasvolunteered for years at a shelter andwhen single he would take his datesto the shelter with him. Animal shel-ters often have large grassy areas nearthem and my brother and his datewould take several dogs for a walk,play with them in the grass, and thenhave a picnic with the dogs. Wecan’t save all animals, and you mightnot be able to save all the animals inthe shelter, but an afternoon spentplaying catch with a half dozenfriendly dogs, and then a picnic inthe grass—bringing treats for yourfurry friends, too—it’s a vegan datenight that will leave a lasting impact.And, of course, you could alwaystake one, or two, or three of the pup-pies’ home with you afterwards…
Bonus tip: If you want to sur-prise your loved one with a fun vegandate night, tell them that you’ve gotan amazing surprise date nightplanned for them in one month.Then ask them to guess what it is. Inreality, you won’t have anythingplanned…yet. But as they tell you
all their idea of what would make an“amazing surprise date night,” you’vealready got a head start on what youshould do.
Michael Anthony is an Iraq warveteran and vegan. He is the authorof: Mass Casualties: A Young Medic’sTrue Story of Death, Deception andDishonor in Iraq, and he regularlyblogs on his website about vegan andveteran issues: MassCasualties.com
Michael’s book, Mass Casualties isavailable on Amazon in print andin a Kindle edition, which can bedownloaded for $11.99.
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living18
ORGANIC FARMINGWhat comes from the land is considered vegan. What often goes into it, is not.
AS I BEGAN TO RESEARCHPURELY VEGAN PRODUCTS fora vegan, organic café and marketthat my husband and I owned andmanaged, in 2008 (Vej Naturals,Malden, MA), I came upon ashocking realization. My husbandhad asked me,” How far back in theprocess are we going to take ourstandards?” Puzzled, I asked himwhat he meant.It was then I learned that organic
farmers often use fertilizer contain-ing a variety of combinations of an-imal feathers, blood, bone meal, orfish emulsion, on their fields, aswell as manure. At first, this was dif-ficult for me to comprehend. I as-sumed that to be “organicallygrown” there were no animal by-products incorporated into the soilduring the preparation, planting, orgrowing process. I also assumedthat there must be farmers out there
who grow their crops using “veg-anic” methods, without the use ofmanure or animal products. That’sthe type of produce we wanted topromote and stock in our marketand utilize in our cafe.The next day I called NOFA, the
Northeast Organic Farming Asso-ciation, to ask if they had a list ofveganic farms in the area. They in-formed me that they had no suchlist, but that they would be inter-ested in receiving such a list if Icreated one. I then began to askquestions regarding the use of ani-mal products on “organic” farms.Did these animal products need tobe from organically-raised animals,so as to be appropriate for use onorganic farms? They did not. I wastold that I should speak to an or-ganic certifier, and was given thename of the executive director ofBaystate Organic Certifiers, Don
Franczyk. Don confirmed what Ihad learned up to that point.I spent some time discussing the
use of animal products, in organicfarming practices, with Don. Iwanted to understand why theseproducts were included in the com-monly used fertilizers, and why ma-nure was used so often, instead ofplant-based compost. My concernswere two-fold. First I was disturbedthat the vegan foods I chose to eatwere being raised in soil into whichanimal products were added bygrowers. And equally disturbing tome was the possibility of residuesfrom antibiotics, hormones, pesti-cides, and genetically-modified in-gredients making their way into theground. Until this time, I had beenunder the impression that my vegan,organic diet had allowed me to avoidthese substances.I inquired about the possibility of
residues ending up in the soil, aswe’re all aware that commerciallyraised animals are often given feedthat contains genetically modifiedcrops, as well as crops that havebeen sprayed, often heavily, withpesticides. These animals are alsofed a mix of hormones and antibi-otics to achieve the results desiredby their “owners.” Don explainedthat an animal’s digestive processbreaks these substances down thor-oughly and assured me that “negli-gible amounts,” if any at all, wouldmake their way through that processintact. He also explained that plantswould not take up the strands ofDNA from GMO residue, even if itwere found in the soil. These sub-stances would most likely all be bro-ken down to their constituent“natural” components.I appreciated Don’s explanation,
but did not feel at ease with growing
plants in this way. He suggestedthat I could go on the website forhis organization – http://baystateor-ganic.org – and find the contact in-formation for the local organicfarms. I thought, “Great! Surely I’llfind veganic farms if I call everyfarm in Massachusetts…”And so I did call all 50 or so
farms. Not all farms had voice mailoptions, and I wasn’t able to reacha human being in all cases. Atthose that did have voice mail, Ileft messages, explaining that I wasdoing research on organic farmingpractices and was seeking informa-tion about the use of fertilizers andmanure on their land. Some farm-ers I reached easily, while otherscalled me when they received mymessage. In all, I spoke to about 30farmers, and they confirmed thewidespread use of animal productsin current organic farming meth-ods.I spoke with only one farmer
who doesn’t use any animal prod-ucts on his land. His name is DanKittredge. In 2008, he was farminga plot of land on his family’s farmin Barre, Mass. His parents raiseanimals and use the manure andfish emulsion fertilizer on theirfields. But Dan has researched thetopic and has concluded – and hasproven – that you don’t need ani-mal products to grow healthyplants. He stated to me, “My per-sonal predilection is to maximizeplant nutrition and nutrient den-sity. This is what I’m working on,and the lack of animal productshappens to be a coincidence.” Heuses a combination of rock dust –see his group’s website http://rem-inerali`ze.org – and good bacteriawith which he “inoculates” theearth. The plants achieve the ap-
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 19
propriate balance of minerals andare resistant to pests, all without theuse of animal products.I attempted to pass this informa-
tion on to some of the farmers Ispoke with, all of whom still usedanimal products on their land, inthe days following my conversationwith Dan. I was told repeatedly thatDan’s method is too expensive forlarge plots of land, and therefore notrealistic for most farms. This feed-back was confusing to me, as Danhas told me that this method is costeffective and being used by farmersaround the world, often on hugeplots of land. It appeared that get-ting Massachusetts farmers to lookinto and try different methods tothose which they are accustomedmight be a challenge!I found a couple of farms that
only used manure from organically
raised animals as fertilizer. Thisgenerally meant that the farm wasraising animals, directly or indi-rectly for slaughter, or had a farmdown the road that raised animals.From a vegan standpoint, this isnot a huge improvement, althoughit does mean that factory farmedanimal remnants are not beingadded to the soil. But from the an-imal’s perspective, they’re stillbeing raised and treated as a com-modity. And so I continued to re-search.On the last day of my research,
I left a message at Heavens Har-vest Farm, a certified organic farmin New Braintree. Owner AshleyHoward, who raises producemainly for CSAs, Community Sup-ported Agriculture, and sometimesfor local stores, returned my call.He explained that he doesn’t cur-
rently raise animals, but occasion-ally, as needed, spreads manurefrom an organic chicken farm downthe road, on his fields. Like many ofthe farmers with whom I spoke,Ashley was not aware of the ingre-dients in his fertilizer, but recog-nized that it might containingredients derived from animalsources. As we were speaking, anidea was born.
Birth of a Veganic CSAI asked Ashley if he would con-
sider farming a veganic CSA, ifthere were enough support for theproject. He said if at least 50 peoplewere looking for such a CSA, hewould commit to farming vegani-cally, and seek alternatives to hisusual fertilizer and manure for allhis CSA crops. And so the searchfor enough interested members
began. Posters went up, e-mailswere sent, and postings on web-sites, all with the goal of attractingenough members to make it finan-cially worthwhile for Ashley tospend a bit more money, to do a bitmore research, and to, in the end,provide truly vegan produce.As I embarked on this venture,
some questions remained: If rockdust and inoculating with the rightbacteria and fungi are perceived astoo expensive by many local farm-ers, what would be other replace-ments for manure and animalproduct containing fertilizers? Firstwe have to understand why farmersare using feather, bone, blood, andfish emulsion. The main reason isfor the wealth of minerals and nu-trients contained within them. Inparticular, blood and fish emulsion
“I spoke with only one farmerwho doesn’t use any
animal products on his land.”
Continued on following page
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living20
are very high in nitrogen. Manyfarmers I spoke with, as well as DonFranczyk, noted the importance ofnitrogen to plant growth. Nitrogenis found in the amino acids thatmake up protein, so it makes sensethat animal products would containa higher proportion of nitrogen thanplants, as they are often higher inprotein. But what are current veg-anic gardeners using as nitrogensources?
Veganic fertilizersIn the days following my conver-
sation with Ashley, I spoke with acranberry farmer, Edward DeNike,owner of DeNike Bog, in South Ply-mouth. He informed me that cran-berry leaves are very high innitrogen, and this was a good lead.If someone had access to cranberryleaves, this could be one source,added to a plant-based compost, toincrease nitrogen. But not all of usare near a cranberry bog, so I con-tinued to research.Helen and Steve Rayshick, of
Massachusetts Animal RightsCoalition (MARC), have gardeneda plot of land veganically for manyyears. Their comments, whenasked, were as follows: “We usecompost, grass clippings, haymulch, lime, rock phosphate, andliquid seaweed fertilizer fromJohnny’s Seed in Maine. Johnny’sliquid seaweed fertilizer is great forproviding micronutrients but not ni-trogen.“We’re currently researching two
veganic natural fertilizers: seaweedand cottonseed meal. Our researchindicates that at least one red sea-weed, Chondrus crispus, which isharvested in New England, is highin nitrogen. It was used in the pastas a fertilizer and would make agreat veganic fertilizer for mostcrops except for beans.Cottonseed meal fertilizer is sec-
ond to blood meal in nitrogen. How-ever, one needs to add extra limebecause cottonseed meal is an acid-ifier. Nine pounds of lime is neededto neutralize the acidity caused by100 pounds of cottonseed meal.
Continued from previous page
Organic farming
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 21
Some combination of thesewould be great and a farmer orgardener would want to use com-post and any local source ofgreen matter one can get cheaply.For example, grass clipping arefairly high in nitrogen.”I decided to conduct my own
Internet search. I found a varietyof useful sites and links on veg-anic farming methods. An in-formative site on veganicgardening that lists veganic fertil-izer options is the Vegan Organicsection on The Vegetarian Site. Ilearned that neem cakes, fromthe neem seed, are rich in nitro-gen, phosphorus, and potassium.I found a site that sold single
ingredient fertilizers, some ani-mal derived, and others vegan,such as alfalfa meal, relativelyhigh in nitrogen, as compared toother vegan options. They alsosold a multi-ingredient vegan fer-tilizer, Vegan Mix 3-2-2. How-ever, soybean is the primeingredient, in this vegan mix,which concerns me becausemost soy is genetically modifiedand laden with pesticides.GMO soy is allowed as an in-
gredient in “organic” fertilizers.Don Franczyk explained, “If thegenetically modified part of theplant is expressed in the plantresidue, then it’s not allowed foruse in organic production. If thegenetically modified part of theplant is not expressed in the finalproduct then it is allowed.” Ac-cording to Don, in the case ofsoy, the GMO part of the plant isnot “expressed” in the meal,whereas in corn or cottonseed itis.
Finding the right balanceOnce again, I contacted Dan
Kittredge. Of all the farmers I’dspoken with, he was the mostknowledgeable regarding theneeds of the plants and how onemight accomplish this goal ofgrowing produce without any an-imal products. I mentioned thevarious responses to his methodsthat I’d received from the other
farmers. Dan explained, “I do dis-agree with farmers that argue thatusing rock dust is too expensive. Ihave data and numerous farmersto back that up, and would arguethat these farmers do not knowthe facts.”“You need a variety of rock
dusts; often two of the most valu-able required by volume for typicalfarms in this region are calciumlime and soft rock phosphate, andyou need the right balance of soilmicrobes (achieved through soil‘inoculation’ to achieve a more nat-ural, ideal balance of beneficialbacteria and fungi). Nitrogen-fix-ing fungi and bacteria have a rela-tionship with legumes, such asbeans, peas, and clover. Legumeshave nitrogen-fixing nodules intheir roots, designed to feed sugarto the bacteria that draw nitrogenfrom the air and put it into thesoil, thus feeding the legumes in amutually beneficial relationship. Iwould argue that the techniquesrecommended are much morecost effective that others, becausethe increase in quality and quan-tity of yield makes following a bio-logical vitality producing protocolmuch more lucrative than otherprocesses.”Dan also explained that the
soil’s mineral balance determineswhat bacteria and fungi can existin the soil. So if the mineral bal-ance is not correct, you have toadd nitrogen to the soil. Thusfarmers who need these high ni-trogen sources in their fertilizerhave less than ideally mineralizedand colonized soil. He suggestedthat the first step for a farmer whowishes to farm veganically is tohave the soil tested, by a companysuch as International Ag Labs. For$25, Ag Labs will test the soil, andfor an additional $25, they’ll sug-gest what to use on your soil,though not necessarily organic orvegan products. However, if thefarmer specifies that he or she isfarming organically and does notwant to use animal derived ingre-dients, the recommendations pro-
Continued on page 23
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living22
the shopping news
In step withScot Fitzsimmons,owner of Sudo Shoes
If you are living a vegan lifestyle and thinkyou have all the bases covered, you may haveassumed since you aren’t wearing shoes madefrom leather, you’re in the clear and they’revegan. Scot Fitzsimmons, owner of SudoShoes in Cambridge debunks that myth. If afactory doesn’t enforce a policy about usingonly vegan glues and materials, then there’s agood chance they are not vegan.
Scot Fitzsimmons opened Sudo Shoes inPorter Square, an all-vegan shoe store in
the fall of 2010. Upon entering the store, it’snon-vegan status isn’t readily apparent. Theplace Scot has created has a welcoming andnon-intimidating vibe with something foreveryone, and I mean everyone. A suburbanMom looking for a high-quality pair of shoesthat are comfortable is in luck. A college stu-dent hoping to find fashion-forward shoes:Bingo. A business man who needs a newpair of shoes for work is all set. Admittedly,I was surprised with the store’s depth, vari-ety, and stylish selection. Since opening in 2010, Sudo Shoes has
consistently added more brands and newproducts like vegan bags and vegan wallets.When I was inside the store I overheard agirl trying on shoes say, “This is all vegan, allof it?! This is the greatest store I’ve ever beento!” Needless to say, she took the words rightout of my mouth.After stopping by the store, I caught up
with owner Scot Fitzsimmons for an inter-view.
What’s the why behind Sudo Shoes? The why is pretty simple, until we opened
the nearest vegan shoe store was in Manhat-tan! Roughly five-percent of the local popula-tion identifies as vegan or vegetarian. TheBoston commuting area is home to a little overseven million people, that’s 350,000 veg folkswithout a shoe store, not to mention those alittle farther out in New England.
What percentage of customers wouldyou guess are vegan?
Surprisingly it’s about fifty-fifty.
If you had a mission statement, whatwould it be?
I believe that most people truly live accord-ing to their principals only when doing so ismade possible and practical by the society ormarket which they exist within. For example,if the nearest vegan shop is hundreds of milesaway many people will indeed just take thenext best thing, a cheap synthetic shoe likelymade with animal glues, in other words not atall vegan.
If we had a mission statement it would besomething like: “Sudo strives to create a mar-ket where veg minded people can easily findshoes and bags that don’t ask them to sacrificetheir principals.”
Did any other vegan stores influenceor inspire you?
Moo Shoes in New York City, how could itnot? I just love the store and they were the pi-oneers, in the U.S. anyway. That’s where Ibought all of my shoes...until now of course.
Ten years ago, did you imagine your-self owning a vegan shoe store?
Nope, but I did always assume that some-one else would open one in Boston. It sur-prised me that it never happened so I decidedto open Sudo.
Before opening, did you have a fearof the business failing?
I always believed that Sudo would work, ifI didn’t truly believe it I never would havebeen able to follow through with all the vari-ous tasks and challenges required to getopened in the first place. It did work too! We’rea small team and we are always growing butSudo was paying the bills from day one.
Do most people know that it's an allvegan shoe store before stepping footinside?
Yes, most do know what we’re up to, but notall! It’s funny but when you allow people to
figure it out for themselves they’re almost al-ways excited and supportive of this cool shopwhich they discovered, there’s a sense of beingin on something. If you just blurt it out andthey don’t happen to be veg they often feel im-mediately unwelcome.
Has Cambridge proved to be a goodchoice?
Cambridge was a great choice, the neigh-bors are really supportive and friendly andCantabrigians are just very educated and con-scientious people in general.
What's the farthest place anyone hastraveled to shop at Sudo?
There’s a lot of competition for that title!Boston is a big hub for international businessso we regularly get people from literally theother side of the world. We have regular cus-tomers from San Francisco, Japan and manyfrom France and the U.K.
What is the best part about owningthe store?
Saving animal hides!
Besides the assumption that syn-thetic shoes are automatically vegan,what are other misconceptions aboutvegan shoes?
I have experienced a lot of misconceptionsabout vegan shoes. People think that they’resaving animals if they buy vegan shoes but theyare also making a much more environmentallyfriendly choice when they stop buying leathershoes. They often forget to take into accountthe impact that raising cattle has on theplanet.
Also, I’ve been wearing this same pair ofvegan Chelsea Boots every day for over fiveyears! Vegan shoes last as long, maybe evenlonger than leather shoes.
What advice would you give some-one opening a small vegan business?
Believe in it and hire people who believe init.
By Suzanne Kvilhaug
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 23
vided will meet vegan and organicstandards.I asked Dan his feelings regarding
the possibility of GMO residuesmaking their way from animal prod-ucts into the soil. He agreed thatthere was reason for concern, as hehad seen research noting that genet-ically modified DNA has been foundincorporated into the stomach liningof animals. This raises concernabout whether it is also incorporatedinto the blood or bone.Dan agreed with Don that the di-
gestive system is impressive, if oper-ating at full capacity, but noted thatif an organism – plant, animal,human, or other – is demineralized,not getting the ideal mineral balancefor health, then it likely is not func-tioning in the ideal manner. So the-oretically, pesticide, hormone,antibiotic, and GMO residues maystill be present in manure and thesoil. How this could potentially af-fect the plants growing in the soils,and ultimately us is the fuel for fu-ture research.
In conclusionI’ve learned that the vegan food
that I cherish is for the most partcurrently grown using products thatI’ve avoided for most of my adult life.From my research, I’ve developednew concerns, beyond the simpleaddition of animal based ingredients.I’ve found a link in the organic farm-ing industry that leads directly to thefactory farms that I’ve despised foryears. I see that the “renderings”from such farms are making theirway back into “organic” gardens and
farms. But I also see an opportunity.The opportunity is to educate our-selves and the so-called farming “ex-perts.” Most won’t change theirstandards based on animal suffering.Unless someone is vegan or hugelycompassionate, most people don’tconnect this use of animal productsto animal cruelty.But if we can shed some light on
possible plant uptake of DNA that isstill “changed” or any lingering effectof pesticides, hormones, or antibi-otics originally fed to the animalswho now grace our fields in fraction-ated form, then we may have a Pan-dora’s Box on our hands. If we openit carefully, perhaps we can changethe organic farming industry.
*Author’s note. The research andoriginal printing of this article tookplace in 2008. It is possible that somefarms have changed their practicesand it is my hope that this is so. Un-fortunately, it is likely that not muchhas changed, as change often requiressome effort, and if there is no push,things often remain “status quo.” Asthe season for farmer’s markets andCSAs is upon us, I urge you to speakto farmers and inquire about theirpractices. Begin putting the idea intoreceptive farmers that there is a grow-ing group of individuals seeking or-ganic produce grown veganically.
Although Ashley Howard, theowner of Heaven’s Harvest of NewBraintree, MA, was open to farmingveganically in 2008, despite my bestefforts, only 21 folks answered my pleato join with me. Hence, Ashley hasnot “gone veganic.” If enough peoplewalk past a farm stand that uses ani-mal matter on the field, informing thefarmer that they choose to buy pro-duce that is grown without animal de-rivatives, perhaps that farmer will takea hint. Better yet, copy the parts ofthis article that inform about veganicpractices, and spread the word. If youhave ever read The Hundredth Mon-key, by Ken Keyes, Jr., you understandthe theory that each of our individualefforts towards change contributes toultimate change, a sudden sponta-neous and mysterious leap of con-sciousness achieved when an allegedly“critical mass” point is reached (ofpeople doing things another way, theveganic way)…
I’ve learned that the vegan food that I cherish is, for the most part, currently grown using products that I’ve avoided for most of my adult life.
Continued from page 21
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living24
By Lisa BouleyVegans are a diverse group. For some, compassion for animals is
the driving force behind their decisions.Through their food choices and actions,they seek to minimize and prevent ani-mal suffering. Others are motivated bythe desire for better health. Whethertheir decisions result from the advice ofhealth care practitioners or their ownresearch, this group of vegans views aplant-based diet as the logical route. Then there are the environmentalist
vegans. They have learned that raisinglivestock is destructive, not just to ani-mals, but to our planet. Upon learningthat livestock production is a major con-tributor to global warming, land degra-dation, air and water pollution, and lossof biodiversity, some environmentalistschoose veganism. These three groups of vegans differ
in their motivations for choosing avegan lifestyle. Is one group more veganthan another? The result is the same,regardless of the initial impetus.Whether due to a deep felt affinity foranimals, a desire to eat a health promot-ing diet, or the goal of leaving a lighter“footprint,” a person who chooses veg-anism is helping the animals, quite pos-sibly improving their own health, andimproving the environment, by lessen-ing the demand for animal products, ifonly by a bit.Some seek vegetarian food in their
efforts to avoid particular animal prod-ucts that are forbidden by their religiousfaiths. In the process, they may grow tounderstand the logic for avoiding con-sumption of animal products altogether. Well intentioned vegetarians avoid
eating flesh, but often assume that dairycows are treated well, until the day thatthey learn about the deplorable condi-tions on many dairy farms. Animalrights groups, such as People for theEthical Treatment of Animals (PETA),have put great effort into bringing theseconditions to public awareness. PETAmaintains a webpage titled, “The DairyIndustry,” detailing the plight of dairycows. An on-line search reveals numer-ous undercover investigators’ videos ofanimal abuse, cramped quarters, andoverall animal suffering, on dairy farms.Once presented with the overwhelmingevidence, that cows raised for the dairy
industry are leading far from ideal lives,vegetarians often take that next step. Life as a vegan can be challenging at
best. With the exception of unpack-aged, whole foods, items that we useand purchase everyday are a combina-tion of ingredients. Likely, most vegansunknowingly utilize products and toolsthat contain animal derived compo-nents. Materials used in construction,such as paint, varnish, adhesives, andplywood often contain animal derivedingredients. Natural materials, such asrubber, itself derived from a plant, fre-quently contain non-vegan additives.Modern conveniences, such as comput-ers, televisions, and other electronicsmay also contain non-vegan parts. Eventhe plastic industry uses animal sourcedmaterials.Although vegans all attempt to avoid
eating or using items that contain ani-mal sourced materials, it is clear that itis not an easy feat, living in the 21stcentury. PETA maintains a list on theirwebsite of animal derived ingredients,which can be accessed at peta.org bysearching “Animal Ingredient List.”Such lists certainly make our researcha bit easier, but to live a life truly free ofall animal sourced products can bedaunting. Likely most of us have someitems that we use regularly and havenever contemplated. Should one veganjudge another for being less compliant? Despite the various reasons that mo-
tivate vegans, we have in common theintentional avoidance of animal prod-ucts. With few exceptions, we can allfind someone who is more or less disci-plined in their adherence to a veganway of life than ourselves. Some peoplespend a great deal of time “thinking itall through,” and some just “wing it”,making the best choice they see in themoment. I believe that we are all “vegan vil-
The many shades of vegan
“I believewe are allvegan villagers on a path”
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 25
lagers” on a path. Some are nearthe beginning, just “checking itout,” and others are further alongand deep into the woods. But weare an extended family. Despitethe reasons that fueled our deci-sions to become vegan, we all sharein common the desire to limit suf-
fering of other sentient beings.There are many shades of vegan inthe vegan village. Our motivationsfor choosing veganism may not beidentical. Our diets may vary. Vivala difference! Let’s help each otheralong the path. There is no need topush ahead. We are all going the
same direction. The many shades ofvegan add variety. Each of us canlearn from one another. Learninganother person’s reasons for choos-ing veganism may strengthen ourown convictions. Those of us whohave not given much thought to nu-trition might learn from those who
are choosing a plant-based diet forimproved wellness. And we allmight sleep sounder, knowing thatour abstinence from animal prod-ucts is having a greater effect on theenvironment than the car wechoose to drive. Long live the manyshades of vegan!
Vegan Villager Magazine New England’s Journal for Vegan Living26
Legislation
Animal rights legislative matters underway currently in Massachusetts(Please support) SENATE BILL 1870. An Act Relat-ing to the Treatment of Elephants (Sen. Robert Hed-lund). Prohibits any person who houses, possesses ortravels with elephants utilized in traveling shows fromusing any implement that would result in physical harmor from keeping the elephants constantly restrained bychain or similar device. For example, the bullhook (orankus) which is a club made of wood, metal, or othersubstantial material, with a sharp steel hook and metalpoker at one end is commonly used to train an elephant.Received a Study Order from the Tourism Committee.See how the Tourism Committee members voted on thislegislation: http://www.malegislature. gov/Committees/Joint/24
(Please support) SENATE BILL 397. An Act Estab-lishing a Wildlife Management Commission (Sen. JamieEldridge): Creates a commission to evaluate and recom-mend methods to wildlife managers and the public tosuccessfully manage and co-exist with beaver, muskrat,coyote and moose.
(Please support) HOUSE BILL 851. (Rep. MartinWalsh): An Act Relative to Hunting or Trapping on Pri-vate Land. The burden is currently placed on propertyowners to post a sign if they do not want hunters tocome on their property. This bill shifts the burden, sothat hunters must get written permission before they en-gage in these activities on private property. In a StudyOrder from the Environment, Natural Resources, andAgriculture Committee.
(Please oppose WITH YOUR SPECIAL ATTEN-TION) HOUSE BILL 736. An Act Safeguarding ourNatural Resource. (Reps. Anne Gobi and George Peter-son): Repeals the current trapping law and instead al-lows fur trappers to follow “best management practices”approved by the Association of Fish & Wildlife, whichinclude the use of body-gripping traps and snares. Spon-sors: Representative Gobi and Representative Peterson.Status: Amended to repeal a portion of the current law,re-numbered as H.4172, and favorably reported from
the Environment, Natural Resources and AgricultureCommittee to House Committee on Ways and Means,which reported it out favorably as H.4943. H.4943passed both the House and the Senate at the end of theformal legislative session, but was sent back to the legis-lature by the Governor with a suggested amendment.
(Please oppose) HOUSE BILL 747. An Act Relativeto the Control of Coyotes. (Rep. William Greene): Ex-pands the use of padded leg hold traps for capturing coy-ote by allowing the Director of Fisheries and Wildlife toauthorize this use (currently the state and federal depart-ments of health can already do this). Received a StudyOrder from the Environment, Natural Resources, andAgriculture Committee.
(Please oppose) HOUSE BILL 745. An Act Relativeto property damage caused by beavers (Rep. WilliamGreene): This bill would allow a pilot program for the useof the body-gripping “conibear” trap in most counties inthe Commonwealth for recreational trapping. Receiveda Study Order from the Environment, Natural Resources,and Agriculture Committee.
(Please oppose)HOUSE BILL 3883. An Act Relativeto Beavers House. (Rep. Paul Frost): Would repeal all therestrictions on body-gripping traps. Deletes section 80Aof Ch. 131. Received a Study Order from the Environ-ment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Committee.
(Please oppose)HOUSE BILL 729. An Act Expandingthe Powers of the Director of Wildlife and Fisheries.(Rep. Paul Frost): This bill would grant additional author-ity to the state’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife andallow them to permit hunting on Sundays. Status: Re-ceived a Study Order from the Environment, Natural Re-sources, and Agriculture Committee.
(Please oppose)HOUSE BILL 740. An Act Expandingthe Powers of the Director of Wildlife and Fisheries. (Rep.Anne Gobi): This bill would give additional authority tothe state's Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and allow
them to permit hunting on Sundays. Received aStudy Order from the Environment, Natural Re-sources, and Agriculture Committee.
(Please oppose)HOUSE BILL 2231. An Act toAllow Hunting on Sunday Within the Common-wealth. (Rep. Anne Gobi): Would allow hunting onSundays in December. Received a Study Orderfrom the Joint Committee on Public Safety andHomeland Security.
(Please oppose)HOUSE BILL 739. An Act Rel-ative to the Moose Population in the Common-wealth. (Rep. Anne Gobi): This bill would allow amoose hunting season to be established in Massa-chusetts. Received a Study Order from the Envi-ronment, Natural Resources, and AgricultureCommittee.
(Please oppose)HOUSE BILL 723. An Act Rel-ative to Deer Hunting. (Rep. James Fagan): In-structs the director of the Division of Wildlife andFisheries to establish rules and regulations allowingfor an annual two-day deer hunt on the Saturdayand Sunday immediately following ThanksgivingDay. Received a Study Order from the Environ-ment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Commit-tee.
(Please oppose)HOUSE BILL 373 and HOUSEBILL 737. An Act providing for the statewide con-servation of inland fisheries and wildlife. (Reps.Steven Brewer and Anne Gobi): Would give the state’sDivision of Fisheries and Wildlife exclusive authorityover wildlife matters, prohibiting municipalities fromrestricting trapping/hunting regulations within theirown borders without approval from the Division.Sponsors: Senator Brewer and Rep. Gobi. Status: Re-ceived Study Orders from the Environment, NaturalResources, and Agriculture Committee.
(Please oppose)HOUSE BILL 795. An ActConcerning The Trapping Of Fur-Bearing Mam-mals House Bill 795. (Rep. David Nangle): Re-quires fur trappers follow “best managementpractices” approved by the Association of Fish &Wildlife. Received a Study Order from the Environ-ment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Commit-tee.
(Please oppose) HOUSE BILL 742. Proposalto Amend the Constitution Excluding All MattersRelating to Fisheries and Wildlife. (Rep. AnneGobi): Would amend the Massachusetts Constitu-tion to prohibit the use of the initiative petition topermit, regulate, or prohibit the taking of, trans-portation of, or to prescribe seasons or methods forthe taking of fish or wildlife. Status: Reported“Ought Not to Pass” from the Environment, Natu-ral Resources and Agriculture Committee.
In June, we will report on animal rights legislationin another New England state.
Vegan Villager MagazineNew England’s Journal for Vegan Living 27
Top Related