Vegan news you can use (8/5/12)

Good morning from NYC! I want to thank you for your kind tweets and Facebook messages about my interview on Our Hen House yesterday! It means so much!

BlogHer 12 wrapped last night but I stayed an extra night in the city so that I could enjoy a night out with two of my favorite people!

Gail, Lee and I enjoyed a fabulous meal…

…at Cafe Blossom West Village (more on that later this week).

After spending five of the last six nights in a hotel – four days in Miami and three days in NYC – I am looking forward to being home and getting back into some semblance of a routine. While I head home, here are a few vegan news items and links of interest.

This week’s vegan links and news

Let’s start with the disturbing: Vegetarianism, Eating Disorder Study Reveals Worrisome Relationship Among Women:

Women suffering from eating disorders are four times more likely to be vegetarian than women without eating disorders, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The researchers found that 52 percent of women with a history of eating disorders had been vegetarians at some point in their lives. In contrast, only 12 percent of women without eating disorders had experimented with a vegetarian diet.

Ugh. What do you think about this? (Gena, I would love to hear your thoughts!)

What’s the beef about eating vegan? is on the Fox News site. Some vegan-hater says:

They’ll use “raw spinach, raw cashews and canola oil” instead of the Parmesan, basil, pine nuts and olive oil of traditional pesto. “Why?” she asks.

Because vegans prefer to let calves have their mommy’s milk? Because vegans are culinary geniuses? One such exceptionally creative person, Chef Chloe Cascorelli, whipped up this plant-based pesto for Shape Magazine: Avocado Pesto Pasta.

Here’s another culinary stroke of genius: 20 Great Ways to Use Nutritional Yeast. And yet another: Beyond meat: The most real faux chicken ever. (I had this stuff – at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary‘s Thanksliving event last year – and it is so good!)

Always on the quest for more compassionate health and beauty products, I’ll have to hunt this new Vegan Line of Natural Mineral Shampoos, as well as this gluten-free and vegan lipstick.

Finally, I learned about a campaign to fund a new Veg-Toons series this week and wanted to pass it along:

Vegtoons is an animated series promoting plant-based diets. A rare medium, well done.

Learn more about the series here.

This week on the blogs

JL goes Vegan

TUESDAY: Shine with Rosie Molinary

WEDNESDAY: Escopazzo Organic Italian Restaurant (Raw, vegan options!) in Miami

THURSDAY: A tremendous meal at vegan Sublime (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

FRIDAY: JL meets LJ at T.H.R.I.V.E. (raw + vegan) in Miami

SATURDAY: Today you can hear me on Our Hen House! (Hello from BlogHer12!)

Stop Chasing Skinny

This week: Marissa’s Story: We can all be kinder and gentler to ourselves and others. Have you stopped chasing skinny? Submit your story today!

This week I will be preparing for my first public cooking demonstration – next Saturday at the John Joy Homestead Farm Market – and will share the process with you. I am really excited!

Tagged as: vegan news, weekly round-up

GetSkinnyGoVegan

Miami Food looks great!!
- http://jlgoesvegan.com JL
  
  SO good!
http://twitter.com/AbbyHasIssues Abby Heugel

I’m a vegetarian and not vegan in that I will occasionally eat local organic eggs (and therefore don’t feel qualified to use the “vegan” tag on myself.) However, I suffer from OCD and have been “in recovery” from an eating disorder for years and know that I’m addictive/obsessive personality is something I have to keep in check. While veganism can open up so many doors for people and is in no way a restrictive lifestyle choice, for me, restricting certain foods can be a slippery slope. First it’s dairy, then it’s eggs, etc. I am very conscious with all of my choices and keep things whole and simple, mostly because that’s what makes me feel best–physically and mentally–but I hate that I question my motives at times. Am I using it as an excuse to restrict or am I truly making the choice to cut out (organic local) eggs for ethical reasons? Right now, I am leaving a few non-vegan items in to ensure that I get the amount of calories I need to take care of myself physically before I decide if I’m mentally strong enough to maintain a vegan lifestyle.

Ramble aside, yes, I read this story last week and agreed to a point. I don’t believe that people who go vegan to lose weight have the same motivation as those who do it for ethical reasons, meaning they use it as a means of restriction instead of education, compassion and a diverse plant-based diet.

Something I rarely hear mentioned is the “typical” personality of someone with an eating disorder and how that can factor into the decision to be vegetarian or vegan. While perfectionism and obsessiveness are often noted, I think a lot of ED sufferers are also very compassionate and sensitive to their environment and those around them. One of my main goals for recovery is to get healthy enough to be able to make the decision to go vegan for ethical reasons. I want to 100 percent show my compassion for animals and the environment–not to people please, but to please myself–but know I have to have compassion for myself and my health first. (Sorry for the novel. I’m in “a place” right now with this and a wee bit on the fence on the direction I should go myself )
- http://jlgoesvegan.com JL
  
  No apologies! I really appreciate your perspective! I think your point about the ethics is really interesting – I’ve been reading Barbara McDonald’s work – in which she has studied vegans and it appears that people stay vegan when it’s connected to ethics – so this is of particular interest. I wish you strength on this journey!
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http://www.facebook.com/gena.hamshaw Gena Hamshaw

I understand the “UGH” moment, but, having logged into PubMed and read the study from start to finish, I think it shares one sad reality (a lot of women use veg diets to restrict — which we knew already) and doesn’t really explore a second reality (in the study, 13% of fully recovered women who are still veg. How do they feel? Might veganism have actually saved them, rather than hurt them? That’s what interests me, personally, and that’s what the study can’t really relay.

More on my blog today
- http://jlgoesvegan.com JL
  
  Thank you for this! I knew you would have some insight and I loved your post today.
http://jlgoesvegan.com JL

Kate, thank you so much for contributing to this discussion!
http://jlgoesvegan.com JL

Sarah – yes! I’m so glad you brought up the veganism = diet or “skinny vegan” concept here. I definitely think they are related.
http://twitter.com/PeachyPalate Michelle Hunt

Just found your blog via Heather’s! She was sharing the same article. I’ve said my piece over there but delighted to have found your blog!
- http://jlgoesvegan.com JL
  
  Michelle, welcome!