It makes me glad to see stuff like this in every day mainstream newspapers, because a lot of people just don't know this stuff.
But it makes me want to punch the screen (in a non-violent vegan love kinda way of course) when, otherwise probably quite intelligent, people make comments like this bloke from the National Farmers Union.
Jonathan Scurlock, of the National Farmers Union, said: "Going vegetarian is not a worldwide solution. It's not a view shared by the NFU. Farmers in this country are interested in evidence-based policymaking. We don't have a methane-free cow or pig available to us."
A methane-free cow? What sort of ignoramus is he? Did he mean to expose exactly the reason why going vegetarian isn't a view shared by NFU - that is, not because of his doubt it would reduce climate change, but because farmers would have to stop making money from animals because, yep, animals produce methane.
Going veg might not be a worldwide solution for livestock farmers to continue making money out of torture but that certainly doesn't mean it wouldn't reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
If he really wants a methane-free option for feeding the world maybe he should educate himself on the topic that cows aren't a necessity in our diets.
Methane-free cow? Is he serious?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Karma, baby.
I spent my lovely, sunny Saturday at a friend's place for my first BBQ of the season. Armed with veggie sausages and some massive mushrooms I turned out to be one of 4 veg people there (ok no one else was vegan but in this situation it was mostly one and the same) which was possibly the most veg people I have ever been in the same room/backyard with in my life!
This, to me, seemed to be the biggest sign of proof that more and more people are going veg - the typical Aussie BBQ used to be based entirely around snags, prawns and steaks on the barbie with the wilted lettuce salad shunted to the side.
Dessert was another thing however, non-veg cupcakes and a strawberry cream pie. The pie looked incredible, although my stomach felt a bit queasy just looking at all the cream. But in order to not feel like the freak who avoids dessert I took the strawberry garnish that was on the side.
And then realised it was coated in red jelly which would have been gelatine. Sob! The (not very strict) vegetarian I was sitting with, whilst I love him, told me to stop being crazy and just eat it anyway. I told him not to give me shit for avoiding animal products and that I don't want to eat hooves and hair and he agreed he should shut up with his heckling. And then for some crazy reason, I thought "Sod it, it's one strawberry with a thin coat of gelatine, I have already taken it - I can surely just do it." I took a bite and the jelly was pretty gross. But that was the least of it... I bit a huge chunk out of my cheek on that one bite and ended up nursing a saw mouth for the next half hour whilst my heckling veg mate laughed at my expense. Needless to say the rest of that strawberry ended in the bin.
That's karma baby.
This, to me, seemed to be the biggest sign of proof that more and more people are going veg - the typical Aussie BBQ used to be based entirely around snags, prawns and steaks on the barbie with the wilted lettuce salad shunted to the side.
Dessert was another thing however, non-veg cupcakes and a strawberry cream pie. The pie looked incredible, although my stomach felt a bit queasy just looking at all the cream. But in order to not feel like the freak who avoids dessert I took the strawberry garnish that was on the side.
And then realised it was coated in red jelly which would have been gelatine. Sob! The (not very strict) vegetarian I was sitting with, whilst I love him, told me to stop being crazy and just eat it anyway. I told him not to give me shit for avoiding animal products and that I don't want to eat hooves and hair and he agreed he should shut up with his heckling. And then for some crazy reason, I thought "Sod it, it's one strawberry with a thin coat of gelatine, I have already taken it - I can surely just do it." I took a bite and the jelly was pretty gross. But that was the least of it... I bit a huge chunk out of my cheek on that one bite and ended up nursing a saw mouth for the next half hour whilst my heckling veg mate laughed at my expense. Needless to say the rest of that strawberry ended in the bin.
That's karma baby.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Exciting new ingredients
I can spend hours in asian grocers and healthfood stores, I love checking out all the weird and exciting bits and pieces. I usually end up buying a bunch of random things with all the best intentions but never actually get round to doing anything with them. I really should make a rule that I'm not allowed new stuff until I have mastered the old stuff....
Anyway, today I went to the South Melbourne Markets and picked up a few things I had been thinking I should try.
Virgin Coconut Oil
Blackstrap Molasses
Chia Seeds
Cacao Nibs
Chewy dried bananas (ok, so these aren't new to my pantry but I am in love with them)
I don't actually know what to do with these, but I'm gonna try the seeds and nibs with my muesli. Maybe um, mix in a teaspoon of the molasses with my muesli too?? Perhaps a tahini and molasses 'coffee' - surely that would be great? Perhaps the molasses can go with soysauce, mirin, and rice wine for a richer teriyaki?
And I'm thinking the coconut oil can go in stirfries and curries. No other ideas for it though.. not sure how coconutty it tastes and smells.
Does anyone use these ingredients regularly?
I also spotted some chili fermented tofu in a jar which I think I will have to try next time - Chinese Blue Cheese so I hear. Has anyone tried it?
Plus I saw Rose Water - I loooooove rose flavoured stuff (ok, I've only had icecream and turkish delight and tea, but I looooove it). What else can you do with it?
Anyway, today I went to the South Melbourne Markets and picked up a few things I had been thinking I should try.
Virgin Coconut Oil
Blackstrap Molasses
Chia Seeds
Cacao Nibs
Chewy dried bananas (ok, so these aren't new to my pantry but I am in love with them)
I don't actually know what to do with these, but I'm gonna try the seeds and nibs with my muesli. Maybe um, mix in a teaspoon of the molasses with my muesli too?? Perhaps a tahini and molasses 'coffee' - surely that would be great? Perhaps the molasses can go with soysauce, mirin, and rice wine for a richer teriyaki?
And I'm thinking the coconut oil can go in stirfries and curries. No other ideas for it though.. not sure how coconutty it tastes and smells.
Does anyone use these ingredients regularly?
I also spotted some chili fermented tofu in a jar which I think I will have to try next time - Chinese Blue Cheese so I hear. Has anyone tried it?
Plus I saw Rose Water - I loooooove rose flavoured stuff (ok, I've only had icecream and turkish delight and tea, but I looooove it). What else can you do with it?
Conquering the cheese addiction
You know, I used to be omni 'til about 2006 when I went lacto-ovo vegetarian (ok, I ate fish too, I really wasn't very vegetarian at all!) And it's only this year that I have been vegan. I, like so many others, thought I could never go vegan because I could never give up cheese. Oh how I loved super cheesy pizzas, cheese plates with the stinkiest bluest cheese available, good ol' comfort foods cheese on toast and macaroni cheese, ricotta and spinach anything, parmesan with pastas and risottos... I loved it. I had already stopped drinking milk and using butter but cheese was so hard! Cheese was the last thing for me to quit.
The only way I think I managed it was by educating myself on the horrific truth about it - about the miserable, painful and short lives of the cows, the millions of newborn calves born to keep their mothers lactating then sent to veal crates before being slaughtered as babies, the no longer profitable cows sent to slaughter whilst pregnant and the unborn calves being cut out of their stomachs. For some reason I had always thought cows just produced milk all the time and never really thought about how that makes no sense. Of course, these details are kept secret from the general public, the dairy industry doesn't want people to know the nasty side of it.
Add a little common sense in there - why on earth would the human body be so poorly designed as to need the milk of another animal, past weaning, to survive? Touted as being a good source of calcium and protein (ignoring the high saturated fat content) it could still be good for you, right? The protein provided by milk releases acid into the blood, and in order to neutralise this acid your body draws calcium from your bones which is then excreted in your urine. The calcium in milk is not easily absorbed by your body, hence the HIGHER rates of osteoporosis in dairy consuming populations. If that wasn't enough, the high mineral content of cows milk puts a dangerous strain on human infants' kidneys hence the recommendation that infants don't drink normal milk in their first year.
And if all this was not strong enough for me to rely on when confronted with a cheese plate, I could count on reminding myself what it was I was tempted to eat. Secretions from an animals reproductive organs, full of both cow hormones, artificial growth hormones and antibiotics, mixed with the pus that inevitably gets squeezed out of the cows udder due to the mastitis most dairy cows get from constantly being milked (there is actually an acceptable level of pus allowed in milk measured by the 'somatic cell count', gross). To aid in the cheese making process, juice from a slaughtered calf's stomach is also added. Then this already revolting mix is left to rot, for bacteria and mould to cover and predigest it.
And people look at tofu, essentially mashed up beans, and think THAT is revolting...
But, through all of this I knew I would always love the taste of cheese regardless. I could quite happily not eat it anymore because the thought began to really gross me out. But I knew it would still taste DIVINE. That is until I ordered a takeaway pizza from Mr Naturals and asked for vegan cheese as usual. But halfway through the pizza I realised something tasted funny, that it tasted a bit weird but familiar. And realised that the strange flavour was real cheese on the pizza - they must have mucked up my order. And it was gross. It tasted a bit rancid, was cloying, and overpowered the other flavours on the pizza. I couldn't be 100% sure that they mucked up my order but it made me feel sick and I couldn't finish it. That was my first realisation that I really no longer liked cheese at all.
This wasn't a one off either. Having found bits of cheese hidden in things I have found the familiar flavour rancid and rotten tasting.
So the good news is the one thing I thought I would always secretly want is now repulsive to me. Cheese addiction conquered!
I really don't think I could ever go back to an omni or lacto-ovo diet, it repulses me so much. So what really puzzles me are vegans who go back to a diet with dairy despite knowing all this? How do they do it?
The only way I think I managed it was by educating myself on the horrific truth about it - about the miserable, painful and short lives of the cows, the millions of newborn calves born to keep their mothers lactating then sent to veal crates before being slaughtered as babies, the no longer profitable cows sent to slaughter whilst pregnant and the unborn calves being cut out of their stomachs. For some reason I had always thought cows just produced milk all the time and never really thought about how that makes no sense. Of course, these details are kept secret from the general public, the dairy industry doesn't want people to know the nasty side of it.
Add a little common sense in there - why on earth would the human body be so poorly designed as to need the milk of another animal, past weaning, to survive? Touted as being a good source of calcium and protein (ignoring the high saturated fat content) it could still be good for you, right? The protein provided by milk releases acid into the blood, and in order to neutralise this acid your body draws calcium from your bones which is then excreted in your urine. The calcium in milk is not easily absorbed by your body, hence the HIGHER rates of osteoporosis in dairy consuming populations. If that wasn't enough, the high mineral content of cows milk puts a dangerous strain on human infants' kidneys hence the recommendation that infants don't drink normal milk in their first year.
And if all this was not strong enough for me to rely on when confronted with a cheese plate, I could count on reminding myself what it was I was tempted to eat. Secretions from an animals reproductive organs, full of both cow hormones, artificial growth hormones and antibiotics, mixed with the pus that inevitably gets squeezed out of the cows udder due to the mastitis most dairy cows get from constantly being milked (there is actually an acceptable level of pus allowed in milk measured by the 'somatic cell count', gross). To aid in the cheese making process, juice from a slaughtered calf's stomach is also added. Then this already revolting mix is left to rot, for bacteria and mould to cover and predigest it.
And people look at tofu, essentially mashed up beans, and think THAT is revolting...
But, through all of this I knew I would always love the taste of cheese regardless. I could quite happily not eat it anymore because the thought began to really gross me out. But I knew it would still taste DIVINE. That is until I ordered a takeaway pizza from Mr Naturals and asked for vegan cheese as usual. But halfway through the pizza I realised something tasted funny, that it tasted a bit weird but familiar. And realised that the strange flavour was real cheese on the pizza - they must have mucked up my order. And it was gross. It tasted a bit rancid, was cloying, and overpowered the other flavours on the pizza. I couldn't be 100% sure that they mucked up my order but it made me feel sick and I couldn't finish it. That was my first realisation that I really no longer liked cheese at all.
This wasn't a one off either. Having found bits of cheese hidden in things I have found the familiar flavour rancid and rotten tasting.
So the good news is the one thing I thought I would always secretly want is now repulsive to me. Cheese addiction conquered!
I really don't think I could ever go back to an omni or lacto-ovo diet, it repulses me so much. So what really puzzles me are vegans who go back to a diet with dairy despite knowing all this? How do they do it?
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Despressing and ignorant article of the day
Have these people been hiding under a rock?
I thought everyone knew the links between meat and cancer.
I thought everyone knew the links between meat and cancer.
Sucked in.
Eschewing dairy makes so much sense if you even take a moment to think about it logically.
I enjoyed this story today on Animals Australia which just makes it so crystal clear you wonder how anyone can be confused.
I enjoyed this story today on Animals Australia which just makes it so crystal clear you wonder how anyone can be confused.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Eating 20,000 calories a day
My workmate always comes up with inane bits of news to tell me, and today's topic was the world's fattest man. The discussion about him personally lasted about 3 - 5 seconds, but the discussion about what you gotta eat to manage his whopping 20,000 calories a day went on for a good hour. And as a vegan, trying to meet that challenge is even tougher!
But we worked out I could meet my 20,000 calories a day if I had any of the following:
110 slices of wholegrain toast with margarine and peanut butter (that must be only about 5 loaves, right?)
90 pints of cider (that's only 1 every 10 mins for 16 hrs, I'm sure one of my mates has done that before)
95 pints of Guinness
58 cups of vegetarian penne arrabbiatta
And if I was omni:
10 Bogan Burgers from The Napier Hotel
Only 10! Not surprising as it contains enough crap to give you a heart attack halfway through.
Right, I'm off to Grumpy's Green tonight for the Wednesday Grumpy's Pub Quiz and something much nicer and more animal friendly than the above. The only problem with vegetarian places is I get lost in the menu - not used to having more than 2 options!
But we worked out I could meet my 20,000 calories a day if I had any of the following:
110 slices of wholegrain toast with margarine and peanut butter (that must be only about 5 loaves, right?)
90 pints of cider (that's only 1 every 10 mins for 16 hrs, I'm sure one of my mates has done that before)
95 pints of Guinness
58 cups of vegetarian penne arrabbiatta
And if I was omni:
10 Bogan Burgers from The Napier Hotel
Only 10! Not surprising as it contains enough crap to give you a heart attack halfway through.
Right, I'm off to Grumpy's Green tonight for the Wednesday Grumpy's Pub Quiz and something much nicer and more animal friendly than the above. The only problem with vegetarian places is I get lost in the menu - not used to having more than 2 options!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Reviewing The Vegetarian Myth
Wow, I am quite amazed at this review written by a raw vegetarian. All I can guess is that this is the only 'educational' book she has read on the matter because the arguments against a vegetarian diet are poorly thought out and inadequately researched - from obligate carnivores to vegangelical ideas caused by brain problems due to a lack of saturated fat. And how does the author's arguments against soy, valid or not, give animal products a big tick?
The reviewer's 'realisation' that agriculture is murder because mice, etc, get killed when harvesting crops is a bit slow off the mark, and really, quite irrelevant. What has that got to do with going veg? Does she think that eating meat will actually stop animals dying? Does she know that animals raised for meat eat most of these crops?
Does she really think "Grains kill"??
The solution is that we should buy locally and animals belong on ecologically sound farms. With the demand for meat to be part of billions of peoples meals every day there is no ecologically sound way to farm all these animals. The ecologically sound way to save the planet is to stop with the animal products!
Admittedly, I haven't read this book myself, but the arguments raised in this review are naive and simplistic non sequiturs. And I am surprised that the reviewer has not heard them all and debunked them before.
Has anyone else read this?
The reviewer's 'realisation' that agriculture is murder because mice, etc, get killed when harvesting crops is a bit slow off the mark, and really, quite irrelevant. What has that got to do with going veg? Does she think that eating meat will actually stop animals dying? Does she know that animals raised for meat eat most of these crops?
Does she really think "Grains kill"??
The solution is that we should buy locally and animals belong on ecologically sound farms. With the demand for meat to be part of billions of peoples meals every day there is no ecologically sound way to farm all these animals. The ecologically sound way to save the planet is to stop with the animal products!
Admittedly, I haven't read this book myself, but the arguments raised in this review are naive and simplistic non sequiturs. And I am surprised that the reviewer has not heard them all and debunked them before.
Has anyone else read this?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Things I wish I could find in Melbourne.
Hooray for Asian Grocers.
I started writing this post just before the weekend when I was lamenting the fact that whilst Melbourne is voted as Veg friendly, I couldn't find lots of items I have been after. I don't even have particular recipe plans, I just wanted them, just in case!
And then I went to the Asian Grocer on Brunswick St in Fitzroy, and after wondering up and down in awe for about 30 mins I found a few bits and pieces off my list, woohoo! And then some additional weird bits and bobs just to top it off.
My Where-oh-where-do-I-find-you? list:
Black Rice (found it)
Fermented Tofu
Nut Cheese
Plantains
Cactus or Prickly Pear or Nopales
Coconut Milk Icecream
Fresh Edamame
Hemp Milk
Wheatberries
Pearl Couscous
Sticky/Sweet/Glutinous Rice (found it)
Red Rice (found it)
Dutch processed cocoa
Black Sesame seeds (found it)
And I also managed to pick up some sesame rice paper which is like your normal rice paper for making fresh spring rolls, only filled with sesame seeds and you can get it in black or white sesame. How exciting!
I picked up a bunch of fresh asian mushrooms (oyster, shiitake, shimeji) at exactly half the price of those at Woolworths.
Plus a few different brands of silken tofu (I usually only find the firm or GM stuff at Woolworths) and fried tofu puffs. And some dried tofu which was in a bag and is dark orangey brown and kinda looks a little like beef jerky. Sadly, it wasn't really my thing to snack on, but I'm guessing maybe I am meant to use it in cooking?? I might add it to a stiryfry tonight. Has anyone else had that before? All the dried tofu I have looked up on the net still has the appearance of normal tofu.
And they had heaps of frozen vegan dumplings, yum!
And I grabbed up some of that vegetarian Mock Duck in a can... I'm a bit scared...!
Things I didn't get but were tempted by:
Heaps of different dried seaweeds
Coconut Jelly (in the freezer)
Ginger tea that looked like marmalade (plus other fruity kinda flavours)
Frozen Red Bean buns
So overall it was a great success and I can't believe how long it took to get my arse down there!
I started writing this post just before the weekend when I was lamenting the fact that whilst Melbourne is voted as Veg friendly, I couldn't find lots of items I have been after. I don't even have particular recipe plans, I just wanted them, just in case!
And then I went to the Asian Grocer on Brunswick St in Fitzroy, and after wondering up and down in awe for about 30 mins I found a few bits and pieces off my list, woohoo! And then some additional weird bits and bobs just to top it off.
My Where-oh-where-do-I-find-you? list:
Black Rice (found it)
Fermented Tofu
Nut Cheese
Plantains
Cactus or Prickly Pear or Nopales
Coconut Milk Icecream
Fresh Edamame
Hemp Milk
Wheatberries
Pearl Couscous
Sticky/Sweet/Glutinous Rice (found it)
Red Rice (found it)
Dutch processed cocoa
Black Sesame seeds (found it)
And I also managed to pick up some sesame rice paper which is like your normal rice paper for making fresh spring rolls, only filled with sesame seeds and you can get it in black or white sesame. How exciting!
I picked up a bunch of fresh asian mushrooms (oyster, shiitake, shimeji) at exactly half the price of those at Woolworths.
Plus a few different brands of silken tofu (I usually only find the firm or GM stuff at Woolworths) and fried tofu puffs. And some dried tofu which was in a bag and is dark orangey brown and kinda looks a little like beef jerky. Sadly, it wasn't really my thing to snack on, but I'm guessing maybe I am meant to use it in cooking?? I might add it to a stiryfry tonight. Has anyone else had that before? All the dried tofu I have looked up on the net still has the appearance of normal tofu.
And they had heaps of frozen vegan dumplings, yum!
And I grabbed up some of that vegetarian Mock Duck in a can... I'm a bit scared...!
Things I didn't get but were tempted by:
Heaps of different dried seaweeds
Coconut Jelly (in the freezer)
Ginger tea that looked like marmalade (plus other fruity kinda flavours)
Frozen Red Bean buns
So overall it was a great success and I can't believe how long it took to get my arse down there!
Review: Shakahari Restaurant, Melbourne
Sadly, I won't be able to do this place justice with only my words, I didn't take any photos sorry!
But I have to tell you it was DIVINE.
For those of you who don't know, they are exclusively vegetarian and most of their items are also vegan. Woohoo!
I had actually been once before and thought it was average and wondered why so many people raved about it. And boy am I glad I gave it another shot! All of us, omnis and vegans alike, couldn't stop raving from entree right through to dessert.
We got all the entrees (exluding the soups and salads) which included Gnocchi in Balsamic Reduction, Papaya Salad, Lentil Dumplings, Avocado Tempura Rolls and Asparagus with Wasabi dressing. They were all to die for! I am determined to make the Papaya Salad and the Gnocchi (mostly cos I think they would be the easiest).
Mains were also brilliant. I am used to having only one or two options on the menu so I really struggled big time trying to choose from 8 or so delicious sounding options. I usually like to pick something quite different from what I know how to make at home, but I was stuck as they were all quite different from anything I ever make. I opted for the Satay Skewers with Tofu and Seitan - mostly because I have never had seitan prepared for me before.
The sign of a great restaurant for me is when I even want to try dessert, and that's saying something considering I never do dessert. So despite my being uncomfortably full and my dress no longer looking cute and more like I was squeezed into a tube I got the Black Sticky Rice Pudding with mango which I loved. But it was a tough choice between that and the Tofu Caramel (luckily my mate got it so I could try it - it was perfect!) and the tofu icecream - I have never tried tofu icecream, sounds exciting!
S0, now I can't wait to go back!
Shakahari, I apologise for thinking you were only average for the last 18 months. You have won me over.
But I have to tell you it was DIVINE.
For those of you who don't know, they are exclusively vegetarian and most of their items are also vegan. Woohoo!
I had actually been once before and thought it was average and wondered why so many people raved about it. And boy am I glad I gave it another shot! All of us, omnis and vegans alike, couldn't stop raving from entree right through to dessert.
We got all the entrees (exluding the soups and salads) which included Gnocchi in Balsamic Reduction, Papaya Salad, Lentil Dumplings, Avocado Tempura Rolls and Asparagus with Wasabi dressing. They were all to die for! I am determined to make the Papaya Salad and the Gnocchi (mostly cos I think they would be the easiest).
Mains were also brilliant. I am used to having only one or two options on the menu so I really struggled big time trying to choose from 8 or so delicious sounding options. I usually like to pick something quite different from what I know how to make at home, but I was stuck as they were all quite different from anything I ever make. I opted for the Satay Skewers with Tofu and Seitan - mostly because I have never had seitan prepared for me before.
The sign of a great restaurant for me is when I even want to try dessert, and that's saying something considering I never do dessert. So despite my being uncomfortably full and my dress no longer looking cute and more like I was squeezed into a tube I got the Black Sticky Rice Pudding with mango which I loved. But it was a tough choice between that and the Tofu Caramel (luckily my mate got it so I could try it - it was perfect!) and the tofu icecream - I have never tried tofu icecream, sounds exciting!
S0, now I can't wait to go back!
Shakahari, I apologise for thinking you were only average for the last 18 months. You have won me over.
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