Vegetarianism is the new black

As we near the end of Vegetarian Awareness Month, a columnist from Michigan gives some tips on how to ease into cutting the meat and going all veg. I don’t agree with some of them, but they are the most truthful answers I have seen yet.

Columnist Tricia Woolfenden gives tips on vegetarianism for beginners. She starts by urging converts to start slow and read about it. Not starting slow is also an option, and the one I took. She does say, though: “Just keep telling yourself: ‘Those bacon cheeseburger withdrawal shakes are a figment of my imagination,’” which in a way helps me to understand those weird meat-eating dreams I had in the beginning.

Now the one part I don’t agree with on a health standpoint, but completely practice is to “stop obsessing about protein.” She says Americans fear not getting enough protein (which may be why so many of us choose meat over anything else). But, she says, one has to have a clearly healthy diet to substitute not having that meat. So diet is everything. She writes: “I haven’t eaten a steak in nearly 15 years, and I can play roller derby for hours at a time.”

Woolfenden also encourages eating Morningstar Farms products as well as peanut butter, two food items I very much support. She urges vegetarians, specifically new vegetarians, to stay away from dining out, cheese and negativity, and always have your kitchen stocked with alternatives such as beans and anything else canned.

The article is for sure worth citing but also important for people interested in seeking out more cost-efficient, healthier, vegetarian-friendly alternatives.

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of tofurky

In the last post, I talked about how vegetarians shouldn’t be ashamed of being vegetarians. No time of year is this pertinent than the holidays. Thanksgiving definitely isn’t just right around the corner, but as you vegetarians start making plans to visit family, etc., what you’re going to eat for those special holiday meals should be a priority.

My Thanksgiving meals usually consist of all the sides: mashed/sweet/any potatoes, green bean casserole, carbolicious breads, other vegetables and obviously the pies and other desserts. As incredibly tasty as those things sound (my mouth is watering for a month from now), not one item provides the necessary protein the vegetarians miss in so many meals.

The alternative: Tofurky.

I had Tofurky once for Thanksgiving, and I hated it. It was tough, it was weird, it was stuffed and it freaked me out. As of now I am not a fan, but I feel I can be persuaded. For others, though, the fake Thanksgiving staple is obviously high in protein as it is made of soy (full of protein).

Or, you could head to the Nov. 9 Texas vegetarian chili cook off, learn some recipes and give thanks to that in late November.

Check out this blog/site for some more Tofurky information: Megnut. And here’s what that Tofurky stuff looks like (or could look like).

There’s nothing wrong with being a veggie

I found this brief reference in the South African daily newspaper Business Day. The story is about how the U.S. Army reported that Twitter could be used for terrorist activity. The report apparently says that Twitter has become an activist tool for socialists, communists, human rights activists … and vegetarians. What?!?

The Business Day writer writes, “The Insider couldn’t help but wondering what those pesky vegetarians would be doing to warrant a terror warning. Freeing cows destined for the slaughterhouse or putting soya bean in the water hardly seems like much of a threat.”

I thought this was funny, so I went searching Google for “anti-vegetarian.” Of course many things popped up, but I certainly wasn’t expecting the Anti-Vegetarian Society of Meat Eaters. The name of the group doesn’t even really make sense, especially when AVSME says they aren’t opposed to vegetables or to vegetarians. Maybe I’m elitist or bias, but this group just seems idiotic. AVSME has a store on its site where you can get very clever slogans put on T-shirts, buttons, etc. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Very hilarious and so clever! (Please understand the sarcasm there.)

After I found the AVSME group, I also found a story from about a week ago about a Republican candidate for governor of the state of Montana who was very upset that Democrats spread a rumor that he was vegetarian. The Billings Gazette reported that candidate Roy Brown said, “I am not and have never been a vegetarian. I am disgusted by the baseless allegation that I am a vegetarian and that my personal eating habits should somehow be construed as opposed to the economic interests of Montana’s livestock industry.”

He seems so ashamed. I mean, if you have to issue a statement to specifically let people know that you are NOT a vegetarian, you must dislike vegetarians alot…but I guess it is Montana. And I have to admit that if someone spread a rumor about me that I was a meat-eater, I’d be kind of irritated.

The idea with all of this though is that there’s no shame in being a vegetarian. Vegetarians clearly represent a minority in America, so I urge vegetarians or people interested in becoming vegetarian to ignore anti-veggie groups and people; it just further separates an already small community of non-meat-eaters.

Some upcoming events …

Even though Vegetarian Awareness Month is nearing its end, some special locations (to me) will celebrate in early November.

I have to give a shout out to Boston, Mass. since I lived there for a year and it’s where I became a vegetarian. On Saturday, Boston is hosting its 13th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival, just downt the street from where I went to school. It’s free admission, free parking and free vegetarian food samples. It’s such a good opportunity for vegetarians in the area to talk directly to food producers as well as for curious non-vegetarians to see what the diet is all about. I wish Austin had something like this. Go here for more information about the Boston festival: Vegetarian Food Festival. Go here to encourage the Austin vegetarian network to start a veggie food festival of its own: Vegetarian Network of Austin.

Austin may not be having an entire food festival, but mark your calendars for Nov. 9 — the 20th Annual Vegetarian Chili Cook Off happening at the Austin Farmer’s Market on Koenig. It costs $8, but seems well worth it. Check out this craigslist listing for more information: 894743773.html.

Events such as these help bring together a true community of vegetarians, no matter how big or small. To me, its’ especially important in Texas to be a part of events/groups as these, because a great majority of the state’s residents are almost anti-vegetarian. We truly live in longhorn country, so any time those who believe in leaving the longhorns alone get together, it strengthens the community. Get involved, go to events, do anything that’s veggie friendly.