VeganStart Newsletter: Early March

Hello everyone!

Spring has asserted itself in Vancouver, BC, where I’m located, and on this warm, sunny day I’m preparing another VeganStart Newsletter for you all! This update focuses on recent news and changes with VeganStart (we’ve got another new contest), news stories, informative links and other items that might be of interest to our subscribers.

We’re now 3 months old – thank you everyone for joining us! We’ve been having a blast interacting with people on our social media, and it’s exciting to see we’re already making a difference, hearing back from people who are making the switch, or who have already begun their vegan journey and need a little help. Also, hearing from experienced vegans who appreciate our approach and will be recommending us as a resource – that’s what we’re here for!

VeganStart News

First up – a big congrats to Bev from Petoskey, Michigan whose name we drew in our first give-away on Freaky Friday (Friday, February 13th).

We’ve also launched a second contest, teaming up with VeganProteins.com for a give-away on Instagram. Click here for all the details, and good luck!

We’re excited to be making our first public appearance as well at the Seattle Vegfest on March 21st & 22nd. If you’re going, be sure to stop by and say hi! We’ll be sharing a table with the Fur-Bearer Defenders.

There’s a really great program in the UK called TeenVGN which is a Social Network and Support Group for compassionate young people (age 12-19) and puts on a vegan summer camp for teens (which sold out in 34 hours!) They included a nice little write-up of us on their blog as well.

We’ve also added a new article focusing on flax seeds, centered on the health benefits and how to quickly and easily prepare your own flax meal – make sure you’re getting your omega 3’s! (And a special thanks to Ginny Messina for some help with editing and suggestions.)

And, just because, here’s another photo of rescue hamster Fiona, our Director of Munching. =)

Have you met Fiona? She's the #VeganStart Director of Munching, and ain't she just peachy. =)

A photo posted by VeganStart.org (@veganstartorg) on Feb 23, 2015 at 3:44pm PST

 

News We Choose (For Yous!)
(How’s that for a catching heading. ;)

Here are some recent news highlights that might be of interest to readers:

• The glycemic index is what low-carb programs from Atkins to Paleo depend on for their arguments…but the scientist who created it has other thoughts:
  Why the man who brought us the glycemic index wants us to go vegan
  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/the-not-so-simple-reasons-for-becoming-vegan/article23123391/
• A really positive report on vegan food in the Canadian national Globe & Mail: Vegan cuisine moves into the mainstream – and it’s actually delicious
  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/vegan-cuisine-moves-into-the-mainstream/article22430440/
• This is pretty neat:
  James Cameron to Launch Nation’s First #Vegan Elementary School
  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/james-cameron-launch-nations-first-777607
• A headline we can all get behind:
  Adults Should Not Be Drinking Milk
  http://jezebel.com/adults-should-not-be-drinking-milk-1685033047
• Some helpful tips for the new vegan:
  Huffpost: 6 Ways To Ease Yourself Into Eating Vegan, According To A Professional Chef
  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/10/vegan-cooking-tips-chef-isa-chandra-moskowitz_n_6648410.html
• Validating results from this study:
  Vegan diet is best at reducing heart disease risk in children
  http://www.treehugger.com/health/vegan-diet-best-reducing-heart-disease-risk-children.html
• This last item is pretty remarkable – it’s a study featuring before and after photos, 23 years after taking cattle off US public lands, and comparing the difference. It’s pretty startling how much damage cattle, who are not native to the US, do: http://dailypitchfork.org/?p=742 Link to the study with photos: http://www.cof.orst.edu/hart/hartimages.html

We also posted this commentary on Facebook about a ‘MilkTruth’ video advertisement the dairy industry released:

What We’ve Come Across

Here is a selection of other informative links and highlights from around the web!

• Every year the Environmental Working Group posts their list of the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 foods, with the most and least pesticide residues, here’s the 2015 version:
  EWG Clean 15 http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean_fifteen_list.php
  EWG Dirty Dozen: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php
• A really informative infographic & stats on food waste from the UN FAO: http://www.fao.org/save-food/resources/keyfindings/infographics/fruit/en/
• Ginny Messina has an informative article on staying healthy on a vegan diet in Today’s Dietitian: http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/021115p40.shtml
• Here’s a handy book: Raising Vegetarian Children by Joanne Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina helpful – it says vegetarian, but it’s vegan. Here is a review of this book which is really helpful in navigating relationships, as well as nutrition: http://www.vegsource.com/jo/books/rvc_flyer.htm
• Here’s a comprehensive list of ‘Vegan Athletic Shoes’: http://vegan8.me/vegan-athletic-shoes/vegan-athletic-shoes-2014/ And if you’re big on the outdoors, check out Vegan Outdoor Adventures who have great listings and reviews of vegan hiking gear: http://veganoutdooradventures.com/
• And finally, from our friend at It’s Got Vegan In It, an Epic List of Vegan Cheese (products & recipes): https://itsgotveganinit.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/epic-list-of-vegan-cheese-products-recipes-books/

This was one of the nicest tweets we’ve received recently, thanks Library Vegans!

Last RT: @VeganStart is ace – full of tips, advice and inspiration for your vegan journey!

— Library Vegans (@LibVegan) February 12, 2015

We’ve also come across a few videos you might get a kick out of.

The first is an ad for Silk – we’re not sure if it’s legit or not, but it’s definitely hilarious:

This second video is a cute and honest video of people sampling non-dairy milks:

And finally, a BBC video from 1976 (the year I was born!) with supporters of The Vegan Society – it seems strange people keep asking the exact same questions 40 years later..

Coming Up

As we mentioned, we’re looking forward to heading over to the Seattle Vegfest, plus we’ll be launching our first leaflet to encourage people to take their first steps at eating vegan. We’ll be sharing this in the next week or so.

Also, we put the fun in fundraiser – we’ve got some nifty new VeganStart stickers, and the Fur-Bearer Defenders have donated some of their wonderful stickers as well, and if you donate $10 or more, we’ll send you a bunch! Details here.

Cheerio

Can you believe we’ve been here for 3 months now? All the warm welcomes and new friendships have been really great, and we’re looking forward to offering even more high quality vegan info.

Until next time, have a great breakfast!

– Dave

#Bizarro sums it up nicely in today's Saturday morning cartoon. :)

A photo posted by VeganStart.org (@veganstartorg) on Feb 21, 2015 at 9:52am PST

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