Find a Friend

Nothing makes "going veg" easier than finding a friend.

If you can't find one in the real world, check online! There are groups sharing local restaurant tips, cooking classes, shopping information, and all kinds of goodies.

If you're on Facebook, search for a group in your area (I've just been invited to Hong Kong Vegan, just across the border from Shenzhen).

If that doesn't work, try a search on Meetup. And if all else fails, go to Google and put in "vegetarian" or "vegan" and the name of a large city near you.

You may be surprised at how many of us are out there!

Join up with some friends to Live and Let Live!

I KNEW IT!

According to this report from the BBC, smart people become vegetarians. (Read the report carefully; it does NOT say that being a vegetarian makes you smarter!)

Liz O'Neill, of UK's The Vegetarian Society, was quoted as saying, "We've always known that vegetarianism is an intelligent, compassionate choice benefiting animals, people and the environment." Preaching to the choir, Liz!

The report also says, "Vegetarians were more likely to be ... of higher occupational social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians." That's the good news.

The bad news? "[T]hese differences were not reflected in their annual income, which was similar to that of non-vegetarians."

But hey, I'd rather be cmpassionate and smart than merely rich!

Are You Ready? (Resto Quest edition)

Yup, it's time to get ready for Meatless/Mooless Monday.

Here's a little challenge for you: Find one local veg place. Go there tomorrow. Gather information.

Then go to the HappyCow site and either (a) add the restaurant to the growing listings there or (b) add a review of the place to the existing listings.

You'll help the cows, the people, the environment--it's win-win-win!

(If you want to come back here and report on what you did, that's good, too!)

Live and Let Live!

Petition for Official "Meat Free Monday"

When you visit the Meatless/Mooless Monday page on FaceBook, you're automatically directed to the "Notes" tab, where you can read my posts.

But if you click on the "Wall" tab, you'll see occasional comments from "fans" of the page. They're always interesting (and always appreciated!), but recently a couple really stood out. These have to do with petitions to governments to establish official "'veggie' only days."

I urge you to visit this FaceBook group, become a member, then go sign the petition for your country. (Leron Rabinowiz posted the link; Stephen Ma also stopped by to promote the Taiwan petition. Thanks, guys!)

This is huge, friends; the petition page for the U.S. lays out the many reasons to promote "Meat Free Monday" (as they call it). Read it; think about it; but most of all, sign it.

(If you're not on FaceBook, you can go directly to the global website.)

And Live and Let Live.

Funny "Kindness" Quotes from Famous People

Meatless/Mooless Monday 

I selected these from here for their humor content; they also make a point.

Devon Aoki (a "face of Versace"; her father founded Benihana's)
I sometimes think, would I drink the milk from the breast of a woman I don't know? No. So I think, why would I drink it from a cow.

Russell Simmons (funny man; vegan since '98)
I don't eat any animals or anything that has to do with animals. No fish or egg or dairy because I personally don't feel it's a good practice to eat anything that might run away from you.

Ricky Williams (not wimpy; vegetarian, and a supporter of PETA)
I wouldn't eat a chicken if it dropped dead in front of me holding up a sign that said, Eat Me.

Rue McClanahan (class act; lifelong animal-rights advocate and vegetarian)
Fur used to turn heads, now it turns stomachs.

Ellen DeGeneres (funny person; vegan)
You ask people why they have deer heads on the wall. They always say, Because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother's attractive, but I have photographs of her.

Scott Adams (cartoonist; vegetarian)
You're thinking I'm one of those wise-ass California vegetarians who is going to tell you that eating a few strips of bacon is bad for your health. I'm not. I say its a free country and you should be able to kill yourself at any rate you choose, as long as your cold dead body is not blocking my driveway.

Are You Ready?

It's almost Monday again.

In the past few weeks, I've offered several handy tips to help you "go veg," like:

• Locate and patronize veg or veg-friendly restaurants
• Buy veg ingredients
• Get and learn veg recipes
• Find veg "buddies" to share the experience with

These are all nice tips, but frankly, they only work if you do them. Don't just read it, JUST DO IT!

And Live and Let Live.

Other Mondays

In addition to the "Meatless Monday" campaign, the people at the big Meatless Monday site have lots of other good stuff going. They call some of these "Other Mondays." From their website:

• Healthy Monday: Check out Healthy Monday to learn how you and your organization can commit each week to the actions and intentions that will end preventable disease in the U.S.
• Monday Mile (loads a pdf file): Take steps toward a healthier you this Monday. Find out how to get your whole community, school, campus or work site doing the Monday Mile with you.
• Monday 2000: How will you spend your 2000 calories this Monday? After a weekend of indulgence, use the Monday 2000 to reset the calorie budget you have to spend each day.
• Quit & Stay Quit: Learn how to boost smoke cessation success by leveraging Monday as a weekly compliance trigger. Shorten time between quit attempts and strengthen quitters’ commitment to smoke-free living one Monday at a time.

Check it out!

And Live and Let Live.

Get "Stuffed"

The Meatless Monday (.com) people have reviewed an interesting book about eating healthier cutting calories.

Stuffed by long-time corporate food exec Hank Cardello is filled with controversial suggestions. Here are a few:

• "Stealth health": "Big Food" (the food industry) should make food healthier, but not tell us, since most people are turned off by the idea of "healthy food"
• The "trim-10 plan": Government should require "Big Food" to reduce calories by ten percent in all products across the board
• They should also implement an "Eat Responsibly" campaign

Read more at the Meatless Monday site. Or go to Amazon and read more and/or buy the book.

And Live and Let Live.

Are You Ready?

Yes, tomorrow's Monday.

Ingredients lined up? Restaurants chosen? Everything ready?

Look back over recent posts for some ideas.

And Live and Let Live

A Testimony

Christi Fields is the co-founder of this Meatless Monday group on Facebook. In personal correspondence, she sent me this (reprinted with her permission). I thought it might prove inspirational for others:

My personal decision for meatlessness started out from one idea - to live a life of love in every way possible. I saw refraining from meat as a simple choice I could make in which no creature was caused pain by my actions. (A choice for free-range local eggs also followed.) As I explored other ideas and reasoning for vegetarianism, information relating to water and land conservation, as well as health implications followed. It's great to hear the reasoning of others too as we all try to figure out what's important and what our place is in the world.

Wow, I just read that again after receiving it a few weeks ago. Inspiring, isn't it?

"Livestock's Long Shadow"

In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published a report called "Livestock's Long Shadow," cataloging the devastating effects of farm animals on the environment. Not just cows, but all major farm animals (sheep, goats, "ham and eggs") are included in the report.

But the biggest bad guy is our friend the cow. (Not your fault, Bessy.) Negative effects on the environment include such issues as:

• acid rain
• contamination of water by pesticides
• deforestation
• global warming
• water consumption

Let's be honest: There are plenty of disputed "facts" out there. The Greens say one thing, the cattlemen another (they even go so far as to say that "in reality [cattle] are an important tool for land management and environmental preservation.") Government and academia are likely to be more objective (although still subject to various political pressures).

But this is the U.N. One former FAO employee says the FAO "is no reckless foe of the cattle industry. For such a conservative institution to publish this report, you have to know that the problem is very serious."

Read his summary and comments on the report. Or read this summary from the FAO itself, or the one at Wikipedia that includes some criticism of the report.

Or, if you have the time, read the full report. It's sobering.

Meanwhile, eat less meat, use less dairy. Go vegetarian or vegan--at least once a week!

And Live and Let Live.

Are You Ready for Tomorrow? The 101

Last Thursday we pointed out the excellent article "summer express :: 101 simple vegan meals ready in 10 minutes or less™" at The Urban Vegan.

Why not try some of those?

They're easy, fast and delicious--just right for summer (if you're in summer now--sorry, Antipodeans, but they'll work for you, too!)

Easy, tasty ways to Live and Let Live!

"summer express :: 101 simple vegan meals ready in 10 minutes or less™"

Seriously! 10 minutes ("doesn't count time to boil water, cook rice, etc."). And GREAT dishes!

Just to whet your appetite, here are the first two:

1. Chop a cup of fresh mixed herbs with best quality extra virgin olive oil and 4 cloves of minced garlic in a pan. Serve over spaghetti or thin spaghetti, with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

2. Open a can of white or pink beans. Mix with olive oil, salt, minced garlic and a bunch of fresh chopped organic spinach in a pan. Cook, stirring until the spinach is wilted and the beans are warmed through. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Serve with a green side salad.

Go read the other 99 for yourself.

You'll surely find several tasty, easy ways to "Live and Let Live"!

The Gourmet Vegan

I'm the kind of guy who likes to grab something out of the fridge and eat it over the sink. Some of you know what I'm talking about.

If you can't imagine this, perhaps you're blessed with refined sensibilities, and a sophisticated palate. You need something more. Well, ask and you'll get it.

Presenting The Vegan Culinary Experience, Chef Jason Wyrick's amazing online magazine. Jason calls it "The only vegan culinary magazine in the world!" And I think he might be right.

This month it's all about picnic foods. (Last month's curry recipes were out of this world.)

Their "Features" list includes:

• Fully detailed, photographed recipes
• 35-40 new recipes every month from professional vegan catering and restaurant kitchens
• Instructional articles, healthy eating articles, and more
• Reviews of restaurants, products, books, and web-sites
• Interviews with the hottest vegan chefs in the world and the new up and comers
• A learning community to discuss all aspects of vegan cuisine with the chefs and other subscribers
• Podcasts
• Webcast Classes

It's online, it's free, and it's exquisite. What are you waiting for?

Even you Epicureans can Live and Let Live.

Are You Ready for Tomorrow? Find a Friend

Here's an idea:

Instead of doing it all by yourself, why not find a "Meatless/Mooless Monday Mate"? A friend with whom you can share one or more meals.

Have people over. Do a veg potluck. Swap ideas.

Or just meet a friend for lunch. Or bring a picnic basket.

There's no reason you can't have fun while you do something good for yourself and the planet.

Invite all your friends to join you as you Live and Let Live!

"God Does Not Eat Meat"

"God Does Not Eat Meat" by Arthur Poletti is a charming book, a fantasy that looks back (from the year 2065) to 2008, "when meat was taken out of the food chain." (If only!)

It's free and online.

Lots of inspiration to "Live and Let Live" in a fairly entertaining form.

A Little History

A friend asked me why so many "Meatless Monday" groups were "popping up."

One answer: It's About Time.

And although there is a mega-campaign going on currently, in fact the concept is much older. This is from that same campaign's page on Wikipedia:

"During World War I, the United States Food and Drug Administration urged families to observe 'Meatless Monday,' 'Wheatless Wednesday,' and other measures to help the war effort. Conserving food would support U.S. troops as well as feed starving populations in Europe where food production and distribution had been disrupted by war..."

"The campaign came back into play with the onset of World War II, calling upon women at the home front to play a role in supporting the war effort...."

Why the history lesson? Just this: Apparently the U.S. government, as far back as World War I, recognized what a tremendous strain the meat induistry puts on natural (and national) resources. Notice the "Wheatless Wednesday" campaign? Wheat, too, is precious ("the staff of life"), and beef production uses more than its fair share.

So give the resources a break. If you're a meat-eater, have a vegetarian Monday. And if you're already a vegetarian, go "mooless" and avoid dairy foods for a day.

Already vegan? Good for you! Now tell a friend!

So we can all Live and Let Live.

Are You Ready for Tomorrow?

Go to the market. Check the yellow pages. Clip those coupons. Get your information and supplies together.

TOMORROW'S MONDAY!

Be Prepared!

Meatless Monday Recipes

Christine Kuhns ("Native American Momma") was kind enough to visit the various Meatless Monday groups on Facebook and post links to her page of "Meatless Monday" recipes. Check it out!

The Cows and the Amazon

From Beppe Grillo's Blog on June 5, 2009:

<snip>

"The housewife that buys a steak from the supermarket, a pair of shoes from a main street store, a brand name handbag or a cosmetic product becomes an unwitting accomplice in the destruction of the largest green area on the entire planet."

<snip>

Read more; a Greenpeace report on the Amazon, and great quotes on the effect of cows on the environment.

Are you ready for tomorrow? 10 Ideas

Be sure you have the ingredients on hand to cook veg tomorrow, or know where you're going if you plan to eat out.

A vegetarian friend wrote and said she would try to live on "cookies" on Mondays.

You don't have to do that! There are lots of vegan dishes!

Instead of giving you expensive, complicated recipes, let me just plant ten ideas in your head for things you might try tomorrow. With cheese, they're vegetarian. Without cheese (or with soy cheese), instant vegan!

• beans and rice (lentils or Indian "daal," refried bean and rice burritos, or a simple bowl of cooked beans over steamed rice)
• vegetables and rice (try cooking rice in a rice cooker with vegetables in the top tray; or do fried rice)
• vegetables and noodles (stir fry style)
• pasta w/tomato, basil, onion, garlic (if you can't live without cheese, use soy)
• tofu tacos, burritos, etc.
• veg sandwiches (try avocado, tomato, sprouts--it doesn't have to be boring; Subway makes a great "Veggie Delight" sandwich)
• salads with extras (nuts, avocado--again, it doesn't have to be boring)
• stews, chilis, and soups
• pizza with no cheese or soy cheese
• risotto or paella

And we haven't even mentioned all the products available for the veg market--the mock meats, etc.

So, live it up, while you Live and Let Live!

Mega-Meatless Monday Resource

I'm just a guy with a blog--well, actually, several blogs. I can't compete with the big boys.

But this isn't a competition. Veg campaigning is by its very nature cooperative. So let me tell you about a big, wonderful site that I hope you'll all join.

The Meatless Monday site is a cooperative effort of several major health educators.

Sign up for the newsletter (I did). Recipes, health information, and even "fun prizes" can all be had at www.MeatlessMonday.com

Here's their own overview:

Visit the homepage, where we link to Meatless Monday recipes, articles, and more.

Meal Planning - explore this week's recipes, celebrity recipes, Give it a Try and Did You Know archives, and much more.

Health & Nutrition - with this week's top news story, a new chart every week, and links to health and nutrition resources

Outreach & Action - learn about how you can bring the Meatless Monday Campaign to your school, workplace, or community.

Explore archived versions of our weekly e-newsletter, Eater's Digest. Or, if you haven't yet, subscribe!

Learn more About Us by reading our Frequently Asked Questions, exploring our newsroom, and meeting our Advisory Board.

Enter this week's Promotion for a chance to win fun prizes.

Check out Chili Monday, one of our most successful outreach programs. Learn all the chili terms and try out some meatless recipes.

(You'll see this same overview on the "Thank You" page after you sign up.)

Until next time, Live and Let Live.

More "Meatless Monday" on Facebook

Facebook has several "Meatless Monday" groups.

So why am I reinventing the wheel?

One reason is that activity on these pages is infrequent. I can sympathize: Meatless/Mooless Mnday is slow getting off the ground too. I think that my secret weapon-- Blogger's "Scheduled Posts" feature--will help.

I can write several posts at a time, and schedule them over a period of weeks. This keeps things fresh, and maximizes my efficiency. (I've already scheduled twice-weekly posts--plus a Sunday reminder--until the end of June! (I'm writing this on June 5.)

Another factor that sets M/MM apart from the others is that they mostly concentrate on one reason to "go veg," like the environment, or health. As you know, we have FIVE reasons (do it for Yourself, The Animals, Others, The World, and God/s).

Note that the "Groups" below can only be viewed by Facebook members; "Pages" (like mine) can be viewed by anyone.

Here are the groups, in no particular order:

Meatless Monday group created by JJ McCarthy

• Tidbit from the page: "Miss a Monday? Don't worry, there will always be another one. Or pick another day."

Meatless Monday group run by Cari Lindahl and Christi Fields

• Tidbit from the page: "You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you do by not showering for a year." (And don't miss Kris Rodney's great post "Why Meatless Monday")

Meatless Monday group run by Sam Mac and Sara Ann Macc

• Tidbit from the page: Interesting facts on greenhouse gases

I'm Meatless on Monday to Save the Planet group created by Ophelia Reid

• Tidbit from the page: As the title says, focuses specifically on environmental issues

Meatless Monday, page created by MeatlessMonday.com (Remember, this is a PAGE; anyone can see it)

• This is the Facebook presence for a large health-consciousness campaign, found at www.MeatlessMonday.com. I'll tell you more about them in my next post.

I encourage you to join the other groups and contribute to the activity there.

(And don't forget to contribute to the activity here, too!)

Until next time, Live and Let Live.

Are you ready for tomorrow?

If you're a carnivore who's decided to go vegetarian on Monday, or a vegetarian who's decided to go vegan, you might want to give a little thought to what you're going to do.

If you're going to prepare something (cook breakfast or dinner, pack a lunch), do you have the right stuff on hand?

If you're dining out, have you found a veg restaurant, or confirmed that there's a regular restaurant around with veg choices?

As the old saying goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

Or as they taught me in the Boy Scouts: Be Prepared.

Until tomorrow, then, Live and Let Live.

Make a Cow Happy!

Last time I told you a few easy ways to start eating veg on Mondays.

This time, I'll tell you something easier still: Find a veg restaurant!

And who better to help you than HappyCow?

Here's their site description:

HappyCow's Compassionate Eating Guide to Restaurants and Health Food Stores is a free worldwide guide created to assist travelers and people everywhere find vegetarian and healthy food options. We promote vegetarianism as a compassionate, healthy, and environmentally sustainable way of living. When planning a trip of travel, or just craving some delicious wholesome grub, be sure visit HappyCow.net first!

The site has reviews of restaurants worldwide. There's bound to be one near you.

If you already know of a veg restaurant nearby, and it's not listed, why not write a review?

The cows will thank you.

Until next time, Live and Let Live.

Lest We Forget

Every meat you eat was some mother's baby.

Home on the range, Utah, 1995

Easing into Meatless or Mooless Mondays

The proposition is just this: If you eat meat, be a Monday vegetarian. If you're already vegetarian, be a Monday vegan.

Simple, right?

But the logistics are not so simple.

Let's start out slow. How can you "give up meat" (or dairy and eggs) one day a week?

I've taken some tips from Rudy Hadisentosa's online book, How to Successfully Become a Vegetarian, at Veggie123.com. In Chapter 4: "Where Do I Begin?" Rudy has a "Ten-Point Plan to Becoming a Vegetarian."

While this is about becoming "all veg, all the time," we can adapt some of the points for the Meatless/Mooless Monday once-a-weekers. Here I've adapted Rudy's first three steps.

Step 1: Eat meat-free dinners that you already enjoy.

Think of foods you love that are already meatless--salads, peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, spaghetti in tomato and basil sauce, beans and rice--and eat those on Mondays.

Step 2: Adapt three favorite recipes to make them vegetarian.

In other words, just take out the meat! I often eat cheese and tomato sandwiches; who needs lunchmeat? (Yes, I'm vegetarian, not vegan--but I'll be a Monday vegan from now on!) Do you really need meat in spaghetti sauce? How about trying tofu tacos?

Step 3: Add brand-new vegetarian meals to your repertoire.

Maybe when I said, "tofu tacos," you said "YUCK!" If so, you've never had tofu done right. Here in China we eat stuff that looks, tastes, and feels like fish, chicken, beef--and it's all veg. Check your supermarket for Boca Burgers or Morningstar Farms; you'll be surprised what you'll find (even ribs!)

OK, next time I'll tell you how to find veg restaurants, and give you a source for vegan recipes.

Until then, Live and Let Live.

Meateater? Go Veg! Veg? Go Vegan!

The proposition is simple:

If you eat meat (from mammals, birds, or fish) give it up for one day a week.

If you're already a vegetarian, good for you! Now how about going vegan one day a week, giving up dairy and eggs?

The reasons are many; in coming pages we'll be exploring them in depth (while encouraging you to keep it up).

But for now, here's a summary:

Why go Meatless or Mooless on Mondays?

Do it for:

• Yourself: Vegetarianism/veganism can be healthier, and give you more energy (it has to do with how hard your body works to digest meat--you know how you feel after a big steak). In addition, we've met veges who do it because they just don't like the taste of cooked flesh.
• The Animals: Compassion and ethical behavior aren't just for people. Would you beat a dog? Strangle a cat? Then why would you eat a cow, a canary, or a cod?
• Others: The amount of resources consumed by meat vs. vegetables makes vegism a social justice issue. Resources are scarce; why consume more than your fair share?
• The World: The impact on water, air, and land by the meat machine means that the more meat you eat, the more you hurt our Mother the Earth.
• God(s): Lots of wise, ancient traditions advocate vegism. What do they know that we don't? Some people avoid eat meat to nurture the spirit and honor The Unseen.

I've mentioned meat above. What I said applies to dairy and eggs also. While the cows and chickens may not die for your meal, all of the reasons indicated--health, compassion, resource use, environment, and spirituality--are impacted by the dairy and egg industries.

So take the pledge: Go Meatless or Mooless on Mondays. If you do, step forward and tell us in the comments. We'll give you our full support!

Everything on these pages is © 2009 by James Baquet.