I'll be honest, it's getting harder and harder to pick topics to write about - not for lack of topics, but because I am constantly being bombarded with new information and studies; in school, in my inbox, and in the mainstream news. Every day I see at least a couple of things that I think to myself "I should blog about that!" but then something else takes my attention away and much as I try to make a mental note to come back to it, sometimes that doesn't happen.
I think it's best to just sit back and absorb all of the information and then let topics align themselves into a posting.... sort of like today when I realized that I'd been immersed in information about veganism.
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| Being vegan is like, totally hip now. |
Last week I finally got a chance to watch the documentary
Forks Over Knives which details how a vegetable-focused diet can prevent (and improve) many chronic diseases. The next night I went to an upscale vegan restaurant in Somerville,
True Bistro and at my roommate's suggestion tried the
delicious cornmeal-crusted oyster mushrooms with horseradish and dill aoli. Today I spent time researching whether or not children can benefit from a vegetarian diet for a lab report (they can).
Yet, when I read on CNN.com just now that veganism is
"officially mainstream" I had to stop and think. To me, a health conscious, active, nutrition student, a vegan diet is something that I'm extremely familiar with (though I don't follow it myself). But is it really possible that cutting out meat and dairy products has become mainstream? Would you be able to find a single restaurant in say, Alabama, that would be happy, willing, and able to provide a nutritious vegan meal? I'm doubtful, but hopefully nonetheless.
What do you think? Will we see the day when a vegan has not one, but several options on the menus of restaurants across the globe?
I don't see that day coming any time soon. Those who are vegan in their convictions have a right to eat from a kitchen where they know that there is no commingling of vegan and animal-based products. Most people don't care that their food has touched cookware that has been sullied by a steak, but from a brigade p.o.v., it just doesn't make sense yet to have a kitchen standard to accommodate full vegan and carnivorous menus.
ReplyDeleteFor most who are vegetarian, commingling is not an issue. Cooking completely vegan requires a near Kosher-for-passover level of cleaning the kitchen, one which most restaurants would be unlikely to subscribe to.
More than suggesting that veganism is the way to go, a diet which is "Plant-based" or even "Flexetarian", allowing some meat or animal products without attaching the stigma of full veganism, seems like it is coming into fashion. Especially with autumn menus in full swing, it would be advantageous of restaurants, a la the recent "Meatless Mondays" trend, to offer more plant based dishes with an emphasis on variegated greens, nuts and legumes, rather than a strict vegan menu side by side with their own.
Does that make it more of a reality? Maybe not, but it's a step in the right direction.
I don't even think vegetarianism is fully mainstream! I think it's more widely accepted, and I can usually (but not always) find something on the menu at almost any restaurant. But often times the vegetarian option is just a meat-free version of a meat-containing dish. As I'm sure you know, a bowl of pasta is not ideal vegetarian food. I don't think most people understand that for (most) vegetarians, it's more than not eating meat; it's also eating healthy fats, lean protein sources, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. A true vegetarian meal would consider all those aspects, and not just give us boring old salads. For example, this weekend I was out to dinner and ordered a side of escarole and white beans, thinking that would be a healthy option to pair with my wild mushroom risotto, but it was mixed with pancetta, an ingredient not even listed.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Americans and their (our?) "don't tell me what I can't do" attitude will ever allow this country to decrease its meat consumption. I think the only way will be to tax meat and subsidize the production of seasonal vegetables. Even then I'm sure most people would just fry them.
Tim, I agree that restaurants should start offering more plant-based dishes even if they aren't strictly vegan. The reality of a truly vegan kitchen does seems a long way away at least at restaurants that don't tout that as their focus.
ReplyDeleteStephanie, good point that even vegetarianism isn't mainstream. If only there were a term for a diet someone follows that does not just imply absence of meat but also implies the presence of veggies and a lean-protein. Like... healthavegetarian or something. Then you could say "I'm sorry, this pasta with just cheese and cream and butter is not suitable for me, I'm not just vegetarian, I'm a healthavegetarain."
Knowing what to do to get Americans (stubborn as they are) to eat less meat and more vegetables is something that we may never figure out, but many of us will try!
This article in the Wall Street Journal is about negative perceptions of the word "vegan" when attached to baked goods, and how many vegan bakeries are just using egg-free dairy-free or some other terms to described their goods. I thought it was pertinent to this conversation.
ReplyDeletehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203388804576617533728150892.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Definitely relevant, especially because it also brings up the issue of people who do it for animal-rights reasons and people who do it for health reasons... thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm personally on Bill Clinton's side though - he eats a plant-based diet but doesn't call himself vegan because occasionally when he travels will eat animal product. I think a lot of vegans would take issue with him calling himself vegan but then not being 100%.
What we really need is for everyone in the country to eat a plant-based diet and then throw in a little animal product here or there if they feel the need. So many health problems would be eliminated!
If you need to find out what things are good that are labeled dairy and egg free, look no further than Sugar River Country Bakery at the Farmer's Market. All the fruit bars are dairy and egg free, and the brownies are dairy free as well. Yes, brownies. Best brownies ever.
ReplyDelete