Vegan Machine - In This Week - February 24, 2011 Issue

Every diet and lifestyle comes with a label. We?ve moved from terms like omnivores or herbivores to define our diets with words like low-fat, low-carb or gluten-free.

Abstaining from animal products comes with an array of labels; terms like vegan, lacto-vegetarian and pescetarian which confuse the matter when searching for a diet that is healthy and has a positive impact on the environment.

Choosing a specific diet or abstaining from certain foods is much more than labeling yourself. Yet, despite hating labels, I found a diet term that I didn?t make up and that accurately describes me: A veganist.

Kathy Freston, a New York Times best-selling author, coined the term and wrote a book of the same name. She defines a veganist as ?Someone who looks closely at all of the implications of their food choices and chooses to lean into a plant-based diet.? That definition is followed with a second definition: ?Progress, not perfection.?

That second part of her definition is important to me as I?m far from perfect, but strive to be a better inhabitant of this planet.

A plant-based diet (aka, vegan diet) isn?t about eating only vegetables or protesting at a fast-food joint, it?s about eating and living better. Freston turned to a veganist lifestyle in her 30s not just for her own well-being, but for the many benefits it brings to our ecosystem.

Everyone chooses a plant-based lifestyle for their own reasons, but it all comes from a desire to be a better person.

In this issue, we talk with locals who are living a vegan lifestyle.
Crystal Hansen became a vegan when she was 17 and says she had been a vegetarian for a couple of years before that. Now in her 30s, she says, ?I started learning more about meat production and factory farming through pamphlets from organizations like PETA and the books Diet for a New America by John Robbins and Animal Liberation by Peter Singer.? Hansen and her husband Nic have two children who they are raising vegan.

Blogger Amanda Rock went vegan in 2007 after many attempts including being a ?sushi-eating ?vegan?? for a few years. ?I dropped dairy after realizing that cows are constantly pregnant and their babies were stolen and sold as veal.?

Now working on the vegan mastery program, a yearlong course that discusses basic nutritional information as well as recipes, Rock says she anticipates helping others to learn how to eat healthy and be a happy vegan. ?It?s easy to feel like you?re missing out on a lot of stuff (like macaroni and cheese) when you first go vegan, so to have knowledge of what creates these cravings, how to deal with them and what to eat instead is critical,? she says. ?I wish I had a mentor when I first went vegan!?

After being vegetarian for nine years, Kaycee Bassett transitioned to a vegan diet three years ago. Her love for animals also led her to the lifestyle and she says ?I could not support something that harmed or killed animals, because they were living creatures with their own individual emotions and personalities. I realized that I needed to speak up for them because they don?t have a voice and they cannot defend themselves.?

Why go Vegan?
Many reasons people embrace the vegan lifestyle is because it?s compassionate, it has positive effects on your health as well as the environment.

In The China Study, T. Colin Campell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II list a few of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle: You can live longer, look and feel younger, have more energy, lose weight, lower your blood cholesterol, prevent and even reverse heart disease, lower your risk of prostate, breast and other cancers, preserve your eyesight in your later years, prevent and treat diabetes, avoid surgery in many instances, vastly decrease the need for pharmaceutical drugs, keep your bones strong, avoid impotence, avoid stroke, prevent kidney stones, lower your blood pressure, avoid Alzheimer?s and beat arthritis.

Those are just the health benefits.

According to myfootprint.org, it is estimated that 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are associated with meat consumption. Plus, farm animals consume much more protein, water and calories than they produce. The web is full of  statistics about the damage on the environment that goes hand in hand with meat consumption.

Learning about nutrition and cooking have been among the benefits Rock has witnessed first hand. ?I spend less on groceries,? she says. ?Healthy vegan food is cheap!? She adds that she sleeps better knowing that ?no animals are suffering for me to eat or wear them.?

Bassett noticed health improvements within the first few months of changing to the vegan lifestyle. ?I had regular headaches and pain in my legs,? she says. ?I had seen a doctor about these issues, but there were no conclusions made. After the first week or so of the diet, both problems were gone. She adds that her complexion is clearer than ever before, she has more energy and it?s easier to wake up in the morning and stay awake during long work days. ?I sleep better than I ever have before. I feel great!?

Making the Transition
Some might cut out animal products from their diet cold ?tofurky,? but most of those interviewed in this issue started out as vegetarians and took their compassionate diet a few steps further.

?The process had a few challenges,? Crystal Hansen says about making the change. ?It took some time to learn what to eat, and there weren?t as many great meat and dairy substitutes around at that time.? She adds that it only took a few months for the lifestyle to become second nature to her. ?The one thing I remember being the hardest was learning to accept the fact that not everyone I cared about would want to become vegan. I thought once my friends and family members learned the same thing I had about the meat and dairy industry, they would all follow my lead.? 

In The China Study, the authors explain some of the main challenges of the transition:

? In the first week, you may have some stomach upset as your digestive system adjusts.

? You?ll need to put some time into this. Don?t begrudge this time ? heart disease and cancer take time too. Specifically, you?ll need to learn some new recipe, be willing to try new dishes and discover new restaurants. You?ll need to pay attention to your tastes and come up with meals that you really enjoy. This is key.

? You?ll need to adjust psychologically. No matter how full the plate is, many of us were trained to think that without meat, it?s not a real meal.

? You may not be able to go to the same restaurants you used to go to.

?Your friends, family and colleagues may not be supportive. For whatever reasons, many people will find it threatening that you are now a vegetarian or vegan.

Living as a Vegan
Each vegan that I interviewed acknowledges how easy this lifestyle is, even when it comes to dining out. Still, there are occasional setbacks and the diet doesn?t start off so easy when you are new to the lifestyle.

?Once in a while you fall into an uncomfortable situation? Hansen says. ?One prime example is work lunches and parties. As an employee, you?re often given a menu that doesn?t have any vegan options and you?re told to choose something from it. Then you have to have the awkward conversation of explaining to your employer that you are vegan and don?t eat any of these things.?

By following Rock?s blog, amanda-eats-slc.blogspot.com, readers can see how easy it is to dine out in Salt Lake City as a vegan.

Rock explains that social situations have been difficult, but she says her family has been great, however work has presented some challenges. ?I?m a shy person and I felt singled out and uncomfortable because of my ethics,? Rock says. ?When a vegan enters a room of omnivores, they become very defensive of their choices to eat animals.?

Rock said the book Vegan Freak by Bob & Jenna Torres helped her greatly in these circumstances. ?I embraced my vegan freakiness and didn?t look back. Eating animals and their secretions is not worth a few minutes of social anxiety!?


Veganizing the Family
As Hansen and her husband are raising their children, they have educated themselves on feeding their children to keep them healthy. ?A little research is all it takes,? Hansen says.

Her worries lie with them feeling different or strange because of their diet, but overall they haven?t seemed to mind. ?We make sure they are getting enough protein and getting enough vitamin B12.?

When the children ask questions about living vegan, Hansen says it?s important to be honest with them. ?I don?t go into the details of slaughterhouses with them, but I tell them what meat is and that we love animals and don?t want them to have to die for us when they don?t need to.

Hansen recommends getting a supportive pediatrician and work with teachers and caregivers and adds that ?we have found most people to be helpful and supportive of our lifestyle.?

Understanding that their children may one day be curious to try meat, Hansen says, ?I?m sure it will be difficult, but I?ll always love my kids unconditionally. When the time comes, they will have to choose what feels right to them.?

Rock doesn?t have children, but she does have a spouse who is not vegan. She boasts that there haven?t been any challenges by eating different. ?We both love good food and a lot of amazing food is vegan.?

As a vegetarian who enjoys vegan food, I have managed to impress my husband and stepson with my vegan cooking with dishes like tofu scramble, vegan pastas and every kind of baked good you could imagine.

But what about Protein?
Every vegan is asked about getting an adequate amount of protein. When I talk to my mother, she gives me the talk about calcium supplements and protein. The good news is that when I was tested almost a year ago, I had a slightly high level of protein and everything else measured in the normal areas.

Much has been written and researched on the topic of protein and where a vegan or vegetarian might be able to get it from. Here are some facts from savvyvegetarian.com about protein:

? Too much protein is as harmful as too little, and is linked with shorter life expectancy, increased cancer and heart disease risk, widespread obesity and diabetes, osteoporosis, kidney stress, and bad digestion
? High-protein diets bring about temporary weight-loss, at the expense of overall health, and people quickly regain weight once they return to a normal diet
? A varied vegetarian diet with a balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates, and adequate calorie intake provides more than enough protein
? Complete animal protein is not superior to complete protein from more than one plant source ? they give the same result in different ways
? Protein from plant sources doesn?t include excess calories from fat, toxic residues, or an overabundance of protein, which stresses the kidneys

Challenge Yourself
Recently Oprah and her staff took on the challenge of a vegan diet for one week. In that seven-day experience, the 378 participants lost weight and learned something along the way. It went over so well, that they have joined the Meatless Monday movement at the Harpo offices.

Whether you try it out for one day a week or take on a 30-day challenge, you?ll find it?s easier than ever to find faux meats (I?m a big fan of Soyrizo and Morningstar Bacon) and cheeses in your grocery store. Even ice cream and frozen dinners come in vegan varieties. With a little research, you?ll learn that treats like Laffy Taffy, Twizzlers and original Sun Chips are also vegan.

Finding recipes and products that sound good is one of Hansen?s tips. ?If you?re a person who is having a hard time leaving meat or dairy behind but you really want to, maybe start with a few vegan or vegetarian meals a week until you find a lot of food you really love,? she says.

It?s simple to transform a dish that you already love into a veganized version with faux beef or chicken and Daiya vegan cheese. Making the change also opens the door to exploring foods you may have never considered before.

Small steps are important in the process and Rock encourages going all out. ?The meat and dairy cravings will go away in two weeks. Get ready to learn so much about food and recreate all your favorite dishes,? Rock says adding that the Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero is the only vegan cookbook you?ll ever need.

?It?s a hard thing to get used to, but the benefits are too good to pass up.? Bassett says. ?There is so much support out there within your community and on the web; utilize these options.?

Local Vegan Blogs
Amanda Rock ? amanda-eats-slc.blogspot.com
Crystal and Nic Hansen ?bestvegancookierecipes.com
Kaycee Bassett ? veganmachine.com
Krystina McIntyre ? vegansalt.com

(photos top, cover for the Feb. 24 issue o IN // Kaycee Bassett, veganmachine.com ? Amanda Rock, amanda-eats-slc.blogspot.com)

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