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March 2008 Edition
Brought to you by VegNews Magazine
vegnews.com
In This Issue
**VegNews Celebrates 60!
**V in the News
**Event Spotlight
**We Won!
**New Blog! Introducing Press Pass
**Recipe: Vegan Omelette for One
**Product Review: Hair Fix
**March Question and Giveaway!
**February VegNewsletter Giveaway Winner
**1st Ever Reader Recipe Showdown!
**VegNews Seeks Office Space
**April VegNewsletter Preview
We're glad you've discovered VegNews, America's premier vegetarian lifestyle magazine. The VegNewsletter arrives in your e-mailbox just once a month and clues you in on vegetarian news, dining, recipes, products, activist alerts, reviews, culture, giveaways, and all the other good things in life. It's the perfect accompaniment to a VegNews subscription.
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Inside our 60th Issue!
We all know that there's no better time to be veg than right now, right? Considering all the amazing vegan restaurants around the world, the rising awareness of animal issues in the general public, and the growing enthusiasm for the cruelty-free lifestyle, it's a pretty darn sweet vegetarian life these days. It wasn't always so, you know. There was even a time when soymilk came in powdered form—and powdered form alone. Brown rice and steamed veggies for dinner, anyone? Well, okay, to be fair some of us still like our rice brown and our veggies steamed, but it's nice to know that those aren't the only dinner options anymore. In celebration of the long way we've come, we give you our Special 60th Anniversary Edition: 30 Years of Vegetarianism. Here's what you'll find inside:
**A History of the Modern Veg Movement
**The New Demographics
**A Cross-Country Road Trip, Veg Style
**A Legal Definition of Vegan?
**222 Reasons to Be Veg
**Karen Dawn's Thanking the Monkey
**Hemp: It's Not Just for Clothing Anymore
**Irish-Style Feasting
**Restaurant Review: VegiTerranean
**Plus... All the great reads you're used to, including the latest vegetarian news, book reviews, new products, health advice, hard-hitting features, celebrity buzz, and so much more. It's all in VegNews. Haven't subscribed? What are you waiting for?!?
Order our brand new issue for just $5
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V in the News
Rising Grain Prices
The BBC recently reported that the UN's World Food Program may need to begin rationing. The rapidly rising costs of wheat and corn are contributing to the greater cost of food overall, which rose 40 percent in 2007. The WFP faces the challenges of continuing to feed the people in impoverished countries who are already dependent on the program, while also providing some relief to those for whom food is quickly becoming too expensive. While the BBC's article doesn't mention the option of wealthier countries switching from a meat-heavy diet to a plant-based one, the fact that 70 percent of the grain grown worldwide is used as livestock feed can't be ignored.
An End to Animal Testing
While it seems just too good to be true, there may, in fact, be an end in sight for the absurd and horrifically cruel practice of animal testing. According to a recent article in USA Today, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Toxicology Program, and National Institutes of Health have signed an agreement to implement new procedures which will eventually take the place of animal testing. To the 10 million animals used every year in toxicology testing, "eventually" can't come soon enough.
US Meat? No Thanks
The much-publicized Westland/Hallmark Meat Copmany beef recall has brought awareness of the shocking and sickening methods used to get downer cattle to the slaughterhouse, but that's not all it's done. According to a recent story from the Associated Press, the recall—in addition to casting doubt over the safety of the beef used in national school-lunch programs—may have closed doors in Japan and South Korea to beef imported from the US. These countries previously banned American imports in 2003 over concern about mad cow disease. In addition, the story quotes Jeremy Russell—a spokesperson for the National Meat Association—of which Westland/Hallmark is a member—as saying that the recall has marred the association's reputation and done damage to the image of the "entire supply chain." Hooray! It seems to be slowly sinking in to the public's understanding that consuming animals is needless and barbaric.
March, sans Meat
Runnersworld.com, the website of Runner's World magazine, currently features a challenge to its readers: go veg during the month of March. The site links to an article which ran in 2006 about the possibility of improving athletic performance by going meat-free, and has forums where the newly veg-friendly runners can discuss their mile times, strategies for meatless meals, and other runner-centric topics. While most of the posts are a long way from vegan, it's refreshing to see a mainstream, health-conscious magazine endorsing what us veg-types have long since known: plant-based diets power strong, fast athletes!
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Event Spotlight
The 22nd Annual Genesis Awards
It's time to get out your most dapper of duds and hightail it over to one of the glitziest events of the year. The VN-sponsored Genesis Awards—which will be held at the Beverly Hilton on March 29—honors major media's efforts toward bringing animal issues to their viewers. Founded by the late Gretchen Wyler, the awards celebrate the idea that people will change their habits if they become aware of the issues behind their habits. Oh yeah, and it's a fun chance to dress up and rub elbows with celebrity types (like Zooey and Emily Deschanel at last year's ceremony, at left).
Curious about what exactly qualifies as "major media's efforts at bringing animal issues to their viewers?" Some of this year's nominees include CBS for shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which featured an episode inspired by Michael Vick's dogfighting trial, and ABC for Boston Legal's many animal-issue-driven episodes. News shows are also in the running, like CNN's Planet in Peril, and NBC's NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. There are also nominees in the Written Word category, and the annual Wyler award—which highlights the work of a celebrity who uses their fame to further the cause of animals.
Want to attend this elegant evening? Make sure to read "Whole Lotta Love" by our esteemed publisher, Joseph Connelly, in the March+April issue of VN and find out how to win tickets. Added bonus? In addition to getting to see your favorite veg-friendly stars up close, you'll be sitting at the hippest table of them all—VN's of course!
Click here to learn more about the Genesis Awards
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We Won!
This is the way to start off a year: Winning a Nichee Magazine Award! VegNews is the proud recipient of Best Magazine Design. The Nichee Awards honor magazines with medium-sized circulations, and we are thrilled to have been chosen from the many quality publications which comprise this group. The awards were given out on February 26 in Austin, Texas, during a ceremony that capped off a two-day publishing conference, and VN Publisher Joseph Connelly and Associate Publisher Colleen Holland were on hand to receive the award. As you may recall, last year we took home a Nichee Award for Best Niche Magazine, along with a Maggie Award for Best Signed Editorial, and an Ozzie Award for Best Table of Contents. Here's hoping we can continue the winning streak! Kudos to our fantastic Art Director, Ms. Sutton Long, and to the whole team here at VN.
Click here to subscribe to this award-winning publication
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New Blog! Here's Your Press Pass
That's right, we've had a taste of blogging, and now we're hooked. Our constant goal is to keep our readers up to date on all the goings on in the fabulous veg world, and with this in mind we would very much like to present to you Press Pass: Out & About with the VegNews Editors.
As editors, we're forever on the lookout for great new veg-related products, restaurants, and places. While covering the country's largest veg events every year, or even when traveling for leisure instead of work, we scope out the local veg scene. There are always great stories to share from these adventures, and we just couldn't keep them to ourselves anymore! We'll tell you where we're eating, who we're seeing, and just what our busy lives are like when we decamp from the VNHQ. Press Pass is your behind-the-scenes pass to the most fantastic veggie events and goings on, and, really, who else would you trust to bring you the best of the best?
Of course, we can't be everywhere at once, so if you know of a fantastic veg restaurant or even if your local coffee shop just happens to make the world's best soy latte, give us the inside scoop! The comments section is a great place let us know about all the hidden—or not-so-hidden—gems in your area. Or, to put it another way, leave comments and hip us to your local veg jive, if you will.
Click here for Press Pass!
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Recipe: Fat-Free Vegan Omelette for One
Okay, so this recipe isn't actually 100-percent fat free: It contains a whopping four grams of fatty goodness. It is, however, the brainchild of 2007 Readers' Favorite Veg Blog Veggie Award winner, the FatFree Vegan Kitchen. The lovely Susan V says that she came up with this recipe as an incentive to get herself into the breakfast-eating habit, and since anything goes for omelette fillings, this recipe doubles as a great respository for your dinner leftovers. Quick, simple, healthy, and delicious, this recipe has everything that we want in a breakfast. Oh yeah, did we mention that it's a vegan omelette?! As always, Susan gets huge points for creativity on this one.
What You Need:
6 ounces silken tofu
1 tablespoon soymilk
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
1 teaspoon tahini
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch chipotle pepper or smoked paprika (optional)
Olive oil for spraying
Omelette filling of choice
What You Do:
1. Blend together all ingredients until smooth.
2. Spray a large non-stick skillet with olive oil and heat on medium-high until very hot. Pour the batter into the center of the skillet in a circular pattern about 6 to 8 inches across, and use a spoon or spatula to smooth over the top. Place your filling ingredients over the batter, and reduce the heat to low.
3. Cover and cook for about 2 to 4 minutes, checking often to see if it's done. When the edges have dried out, lift a small section with a spatula to see that the omelette is set. It will be golden in color, but not browned. When it's ready, loosen the omelette by sliding the spatula under it from each direction, and then fold one side over the other. Cook for about one more minute. Carefully lift or slide it onto a plate and serve immediately.
Click here for the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog
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Product Review: Hair Fix Dry Shampoo
For those of us whose hair could use some cruelty-free help looking clean whilst staying dirty, the fix is in. Hair Fix, that is. This secret weapon claims to be "not your Grandma's dry shampoo" on its label, though, you know, if you happen to have a really hip Granny she might like the white-colored version. Oh yes, unlike the powder that is generally used for babies' butts, Hair Fix comes in more than one shade—brown, black, red, and white to be exact. All four colors are comprised of completely vegan ingredients, and are also made of mostly organic ingredients. Recyclable packaging? Check. What about effectiveness, we bet you are asking yourselves. Well, the inside scoop is that when VN columnist Rory Freedman stopped by our offices in January for lunch during her whirlwind book tour, she freshened up Hair Fix before a booksigning and said that she had never before found a hair powder that actually worked for her. If it's good enough for Ms. I-Have-To-Go-Sign-My-Bestseller, it's good enough for us! You can only find Hair Fix online, so be sure and check out their website. Oh, and as for the scent issue, Hair Fix's mix of organic mint, rosemary, lavender, and tea tree essential oils will keep both ladies and gents alike from smelling anything like baby butts.
Click here for Hair Fix's website
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March VegNewsletter Question of the Month + Giveaway
Blogs: They're freakin' everywhere. No matter what you're looking for—from serious news content to the opinions of more than a few lunatic minds—you can find a blog to fit your fancy. Naturally, there are about a bajillion vegan blogs of all stripes: food blogs with coma-inducing photography, abolitionist blogs with political content, and blogs dedicated to veg resources. Those categories don't even begin to scratch the surface of all the other kinds of blogs that happen to be written by us veggie types. So this month, what we really want to know is: What are your top five favorite blogs?
No, there is no extra credit for mentioning our lunch blog, Café VegNews, though if you do just happen to like it, we just might like to hear about it. Send us an email by March 31 and tell us all about which blogs you love and why. Is it their design? Their in-depth recipe details? The amazing products they feature? Whatever the reason, we want to hear it. You may just see your favorite blog honored in our VegBloggy Awards, coming soon to a July+August issue of VegNews near you!
To even out the technology-heavy question this month, we'll be selecting one respondent to win a '70's Throwback Gift Bag. We're sure you've all read the groundbreaking "History of Vegetarianism" article in the current issue, which covers the emergence of the ever-expanding modern veg movement (and if you haven't, you may want to step away from the screen and give it a gander). Remember what the animal-product-free lifestyle was like before there was The Web, much less Web 2.0? In honor of times past, this month's giveaway will feature our signature VN tote bag filled with goodies that are sure to take you right back to the golden age of disco.
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February VegNewsletter Giveaway Winner!
Wow! You guys sure have a lot to say when it comes to birthin' babies. In one of the most-responded-to VegNewsletter questions of all time, we asked whether your veg lifestyle included room for wee ones. The answers were just about split in terms of "Yes! Bring on the progeny!" or "No! There are too many humans already!" With a question like this it would be highly unfair—what with that journalistic integrity we so enjoy—to pick one viewpoint over another, so we simply randomly selected a winner! This is great news for Elizabeth Walradt, since it means that we'll be sending her a whole basket of vegan chocolaty goodness from Endangered Species Chocolate.
Here's what Elizabeth had to say:
Humans’ overpopulation causes increasing degradation on the planet. To be more environmental friendly, I will not have my own children. I am not completely opposed to adoption, especially since two of my brothers are adopted. Adoptable children are already here without parents; but I cannot justify my birthing any.
To see what others thought on the subject, be sure to look for our "To Breed of Not to Breed" feature in the May+June issue of VegNews. Thanks to everyone who wrote in and a big congrats to Elizabeth!
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1st Annual Reader Recipe Showdown
This September, VegNews will be featuring our first-ever Reader Recipe Showdown! Readers, we challenge you to send in your all-time favorite vegan recipe for a chance to gain international fame and win great prizes (would we ever let you down?). This is your opportunity to show off your culinary prowess, whether you've created a dish that has your friends going veg or simply veganized your mom's famous chocolate cake. Whether or not you choose to don a chef's hat is up to you, of course. If it's mouthwatering and memorable, we want to know! Simply submit recipes to Food Editor Elizabeth Castoria by April 30, and let the food fun begin.
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VegNews Seeks Office Space
Yep, your favorite veggie magazine is expanding leaps and bounds, and we're quickly growing out of our current office space. Although we love our beach-front location, we're in need of more square footage (3,000+ to be exact) with ample room to grow. Know of an affordable office space for rent in San Francisco? Contact VN Associate Publisher Colleen Holland with details.
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Preview of the April VegNewsletter
Satisfy your between-issues cravings with this complimentary supplement, featuring exclusive product reviews, musician, artist and event spotlights, slammin' recipes, giveaways, plus the lowdown on how vegetarianism is bettering the world—one delicious bite at a time.
Share the VegNewsletter with your friends. Or, if it was forwarded to you, sign up yourself at vegnews.com to join the thousands of readers who are tuning in to America's hottest vegetarian publication. Can't get enough? Read up on past editions FREE by clicking on "See our past VegNewsletters" at vegnews.com. Because you are what you read, and don't forget it.
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