My name is Claire Erickson, and I’m the new Tabling Coordinator for CAA. I’m a U of M student who is looking forward to meeting new faces and advocating for animals.

In the first few months of 2015, we have the opportunity to host pay-per-view tabling events at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. We hope you will come out to support the cause.

Dates:

• Thursday, Janurary 29, 2015
• Thursday, February 5, 2015
• Thursday, February 19, 2015
• Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Location: Coffman Memorial Union, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

The pay-per-view program is a great way to help animals. We’ll be paying people one dollar to watch a five-minute video about factory farming. We engage in positive conversations and educate the public. Come out to take action for animals by introducing people to compassionate eating!

For more information or if you would like to volunteer, email me at [email protected] or check out the events on our Facebook page.

It’s about time for a nondairy option at the Dairy Queen, don’t you agree? Wouldn’t you just love to take a nostalgic trip to DQ, but this time for the simple joy of a vegan soft serve cone? We sure would!

With nearly 6,000 locations worldwide, Dairy Queen has an opportunity to expand its reach by offering a vegan ice cream option. This new campaign, organized by Nicholas Coughlin, seeks to influence Dairy Queen to do just that.

To make this happen, Dairy Queen needs to hear from YOU! Let them know that a growing number of consumers are looking for vegan options, and that you’re one of them. Some consumers are concerned about their health, some are lactose intolerant, and some just want to make kinder food choices.

Compassionate Action for Animals supports this initiative, as it makes another vegan option available for those moving towards a plant-based diet. We want the marketplace to continue to change to reflect the growing awareness that factory farming is simply not okay. More and more, the public is asking for more humane food options. A nondairy option at the Dairy Queen is an obvious step in that direction.

Chain restaurants such as Chipotle, Subway, and Dunkin’ Donuts have responded to consumer demand and are now offering vegan options. Tell Dairy Queen you think they should follow suit and offer a vegan ice cream option!

Hello to all! This column was born from my desire to share recommendations for vegan products that will simultaneously amuse your taste buds while fostering collective support for a cruelty-free marketplace. I asked, “Why not start a CAA column that sings the praises of such vegan goodness?”  Alas, I was elected to be the bearer of good news. I’ve decided to focus my maiden article on Punk Rawk Labs Nut Milk Cheese. The holidays are here, it’s time to indulge and impress. These nondairy cheeses are the perfect ticket for you and your guests. May this column be the first of many!

Riddle me this: has a trusted confidant ever navigated you towards such-and-such vegan cheese because it’s to die for? They say you’ll never crave real cheese again and you’ve just gotta try it asap? You take the plunge, plunk down about four clams (or more!) for a package, try a nibble, and exclaim, “Like, wh-a-a-a-a is this? Cheese replacement extraordinaire? I don’t think so!” You let it loiter in your fridge, hoping the opportunity will arise for you to just eat the dang thing and get your money’s worth, but it never does. Attempting to dodge the guilt you feel about wasting four dollars, you try not to let it catch your eye when hunting for other items on the shelf. Eventually, the cheese is simply too moldy and rank to ingest, and you have no other choice but to pitch it. Has this ever happened to you?

I’m here to tell you that Punk Rawk Labs Nut Milk Cheese is here to save the day. Not only are these little beauties a delicious dairy-free cheese, but they’re also made locally in Minneapolis! The consistency is similar to goat cheese, thick and creamy, and it can be spread like peanut butter. These nut milk blends have a mild, unobtrusive taste that doesn’t overpower other flavors, making it multifaceted. It comes in four varieties: Plain, Herb, Smoked, and Nacho. I’ve purchased the Plain a few times and had the pleasure of taste testing the Herb and the Nacho. Smoked is the only variety I have yet to sample. The Plain is the most versatile. Add it to pizza, make a mean hoagie with it, or how ‘bout use it as an appetizer accompanying fresh tomatoes and basil drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette? Or perhaps smother it in chutney or cranberry sauce and use it as a dip? The Herb flavor has the ability to shine on its own, gracing the top of a cracker in the buff. The Nacho has a bit of a giddyup factor and is delicious for all y’all who like to kick things up a notch past Minnesota Mild.

I purchased my little bundle of joy at The Wedge. The Plain runs slightly north of $10 for 6 ounces, and the flavored cheeses are a few bucks more. Yes, it’s a luxury item but well worth the price. One caveat: be sure to check the “sell by” date. This product will start to deteriorate not long after, and I’d hate to see you waste your hard-earned money. An unexpected bonus: each cheese wheel comes in a lovely metal tin that’s perfect for upcyclers or crafters who want to give it a second life as a handy-dandy caddy that will hold safety pins, paper clips, cottons balls — heck, you name it!

Cheers to a happy and compassionate lifestyle!

T.H. Waters (aka Tera) is a Minneapolis freelance writer and author of three books, including Letters to Bert. Feel free to send her a jingle jangle at [email protected].

A recent study by the Humane Research Council (HRC) shows that 10% of U.S. adults ages 17 and over are former vegetarians/vegans, while 2% of the adult population are current vegetarians/vegans. Many of the former vegetarians and vegans reported that they had felt a lack of support or a sense of isolation in their veg lifestyle. What these findings suggest to us is a need for animal advocates to focus more on supporting existing vegetarians and vegans in their choices so that they don’t feel compelled to return to eating animal products.

As much as we encourage others to embrace their empathy and move towards a plant-based diet, we should also focus on supporting them after they have chosen a vegan lifestyle. We want to teach them not just why to go vegan but also how to do it in a sustainable way. While the outreach that motivates people to make a change is essential, we also need to offer the support that keeps them on the path. Beyond the videos of the factory farms and the message of compassion, we need to provide additional resources.

At Compassionate Action for Animals, providing these resources has always been a key aspect of how we work towards our mission. Community building may take a variety of forms, from social events to volunteer opportunities. What these activities have in common is that they allow participants to interact with one another. In the company of other like-minded individuals, we are reminded that we are not alone. With these relationships, we get a sense of validation. When compassionate lifestyle is experienced as the norm, new vegans and vegetarians are more likely to continue to continue on that path.

Social media is also proving to be a valuable forum for building community. Whether through a Facebook page or a Twitter feed, interactive online media is another way to be part of a larger group and is perhaps most valuable to those who live in an outlying area and are unable to attend live events on a regular basis.

Building a community is an ongoing endeavor. We must strive to welcome new people and truly embrace others wherever they are on their path to compassionate living. And we must offer support and resources to those who are already on board. With more focus on sustaining our compassionate community, we can do more to help farmed animals.

Growing up, I had always considered eating animal meat to be a bit disturbing. I had a hard time thinking about the animal that was running around prior to being on my plate. I would try to hide the meat with breading, buns, and condiments. As an adult, I prepared meals for my husband and our two children based on my upbringing, and I did the best I knew how.

About a year ago, I discovered that I’m lactose intolerant and eliminated dairy from my diet. But for most of my life, I rarely ate vegetables. I just didn’t get excited about a cooked carrot or a celery stick. When my 20-something daughter invited me to Twin Cities Veg Fest, I was not overly excited about it. My niece, a freshman at a nearby college, also really wanted to go, so I agreed to take her and meet my daughter there. We walked around, sampled some good healthy snacks, and discovered some new vegan food options. I turned down an aisle and stopped to look at the t-shirts. I laughed at the sassy sayings on some of the T’s. Then, I saw it, the shirt that made my stomach turn. It pictured a sweet little pink pig with the caption “Please don’t eat my insides.” I quickly turned away to avoid its impact on me.

Later at the festival, I sat down with my daughter, my niece, and my daughter’s best friend. We spoke for a few minutes, and then I decided to talk about the t-shirt that I had seen. I told them about what it brought up for me. When I was a child, I was hospitalized for a serious operation, and, in the hospital gift shop, there was an adorable pink stuffed pig. I desperately wanted that cute little pig and let my mother know how much I loved it. After surgery, the pink pig was waiting for me in the recovery room. It meant the world to me to call that little pink pig mine. I still have it 40 years later.

As I retold the story and thought about that t-shirt, tears ran down my face. I thought, “What am I doing eating animals?!”

That’s what it took. One t-shirt changed my life. Since that day, I have adapted to an entirely new lifestyle. As a new vegan, a whole new world has opened up to me. To my surprise, cooking is now much more fun. I realize that raw meat had been appalling to me and that I had forced myself to cook with it. Now, I love making meals and get excited to find new recipes. I honestly had no idea how delicious vegetables could be. I’m so happy when I think of all of the beautiful animals running around in the world, and I’m happy to help them run free!

I have no intention to ever eat animals again. I have found happiness in my new lifestyle and look forward to sharing my discovery with others.

Join AmyLeo Barankovich for a vegan cooking class at Whole Foods Market Lake Calhoun on Thursday, December 11 from 6:00 to 8:00pm.

As the weather cools down, warm up your kitchen and your belly with sweet and savory comfort foods! Usually heavy and rich, comfort foods can be lightened considerably by focusing on plant-based foods. Learn how to create a flavorful high-protein bean salad, a rib-sticking mock chicken hot dish, decadent brownies, and your own rich and creamy nondairy milk. These cozy dishes will warm you all winter long. This class offers hands on opportunities as desired. Preregistration is required at least 48 hours in advance. To register, visit the customer service desk, call 612-927-8141, or register online.

On the menu:

• Two Bean Succotash with Coconut and Plum Vinegar
• Mock Chicken Enchilada Bake with Chilies
• Decadent Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Chocolate Ganache
• Creamy Cardamom Almond Milk

An excerpt from this post was originally published as part of Vegan Street’s All-Star Guide to a Meaningful Thanksgiving. 

Being a snazzle-frazzle vegan for more than a dozen years, I’ve had a spectrum of holiday experiences, from omnivorous family gatherings that feature not only turkey but also ham and mac and cheese, to veg-friendly feasts where, though turkey was served, I supplied a vegan entree and dessert and the other guests, though not vegan themselves, thoughtfully veganized the side dishes that they brought. Though I can happily hobnob with my omnivorous peeps (and try not to think too hard about the turkey on the table), my very favorite rendition of Thanksgiving happened for the first time last year. I hosted a queer vegan potluck with some of my very best friends – my chosen family. Though not all of them are vegan (or even queer), every one of them could eat anything on the menu. In that way, it truly felt like a celebration of gratitude, rich with an abundance of food and friendship. We created our own paradise where the virtues of love and compassion felt especially alive.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I haven’t always had the opportunity to create my own paradise with a queer vegan Thanksgiving potluck. I’ve most often had to venture outside my comfort zone for the holidays (and that’s saying a lot since the comfort zone for a pink-haired showgirl is abnormally large). Many years ago, maybe a year after I went vegan, a burly boyfriend took me to meet his family in the sticks. Once there, I learned that he was from a family of hunters who relished casseroles comprised of every animal product under the sun. Egad! It wasn’t my ideal way to spend the holidays, especially considering my newly minted vegan ethic, but I made the best of it. I did exactly what any smart vegan showgirl would do when she’s invited to an omnivore’s dinner party: I made sure to bring good vegan food to eat and to share. And I made sure that whatever I brought looked and tasted delicious. And I wore sequins. I was going to have a good time, dammit! And not just for my own sake but also for the sake of veganism, to show others that going vegan isn’t about a life of deprivation. Au contraire!

I know one vegan stud muffin who tells the story of a Thanksgiving long ago. He decided to spend the day fasting as a personal protest. He sat there with an empty plate while his family, surrounding him on all sides, stuffed their faces. Oh, what a pathetic scene! Many years later, he tells this story with regret, admitting that his protest was in vain; it only reinforced others’ preconceived notions that vegans are living a life devoid of pleasure. Let’s avoid this scenario at all costs. Now, how do you do that?

As I said before, bring a bounty of scrumptious vegan goodies to your holiday celebration. Chances are that people will want to eat what you’re eating. Chances also are that people will ask you why you won’t eat the turkey. Now, how does one respond to such a question in that moment? In my experience, the Thanksgiving dinner table is not the place to expound upon the evils of factory farming. Say something brief and innocuous but true for you, such as “I do it for the animals, my health, and the planet.” You can respond joyfully, respectfully, and with reserve. If they have follow-up questions right there at the dinner table, say that you’d be happy to chat with them about it at another time. Though they’ve expressed an interest, if they are eating animals at that meal, they are unlikely to be receptive to your vegan philosophy. They are more likely to be defensive, and who knows where the conversation will go from there. If fisticuffs have to break out at the holiday dinner table, let it be over whom gets to have the last serving of Mistress Ginger’s Apple-Blueberry Crisp and not about something so highly charged as our food choices.

If you want to be a voice for the animals during the holidays, consider how you can most effectively do that. The outspoken, confrontational approach is not always the best one to take, especially at holiday celebrations. Aim for harmony. Focus on the common ground, what you share. In my experience, just being present as the joyful, compassionate (and devastatingly gorgeous) creature that I am, I can create positive experiences for others around the image of veganism.

In summary, your Mistress recommends that you show up at your holiday gatherings with some glorious vegan food in tow, keep the conversation light and nonjudgmental, and, if at all possible, wear something sequined.

Mistress Ginger is a vegan showgirl based in the Twin Cities. She is the author of Mistress Ginger Cooks!: Everyday Vegan Food for Everyone. Join her for a book signing at Magers & Quinn Booksellers on Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm.  Check out her blog for more of her sassy words of wisdom, vegan recipes, videos, and upcoming events.

My dad is a biologist and, when I was growing up, he brought to life the quote, “teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as important to the child as it is to the caterpillar.” Together, we picked up worms off the sidewalk after a rain and moved them to the grass. We watched spiders build webs and caterpillars build cocoons. We observed birds and mice in their nests and fish and tadpoles in shallow waters. We once parked at the end of our driveway for weeks while baby turtles hatched and made their way across the pavement. My dad knew the scientific names for all these creatures. We marveled at their beauty, and he taught respect for them and their role in the world around us.

Unfortunately, this compassion did not extend to farmed animals. Admittedly, we did not encounter them in our daily outings. My dad grew up working on farms in Iowa, and farming is part of our family history. I still get teased about the week I spent at my uncle’s farm when I was eight years old. The chickens, I’m told, didn’t lay for a week after I sneaked into the hen house to try to hold and pet them.

When I was growing up, I never made the connection between these individual beings and the food on my plate. My mom bought hamburger at the store in a plastic wrapper; it didn’t look like a cow.

I never heard of vegetarianism until sometime after college when a close friend became a vegetarian after reading Animal Liberation and Diet for a Small Planet. She loaned me the books, and they motivated me to stop eating meat — for a while.

Another 20 years passed before the connection clicked for me in a more lasting way. My husband and I were invited by friends in Florida to come down for “lobster season”. The process involves going out before dawn in a boat, donning scuba gear, and, when the sun is officially up, diving into the reefs to find lobsters in their burrows. When you find a lobster home, you use a “tickle stick” to encourage him to leave the hole and run into your net.

I loved the scuba diving part of the experience. The underwater world was something out of a fantasy or dream. We were diving over white sand and coral reefs teeming with brightly colored fish, squid, sea cucumbers, and other magical creatures that I’d never before seen. At last, I spied a hole in the sandy ocean floor hidden in the gently drifting sea grass. Not sure if it would work, I tickled the burrow, and out came a lobster. Once he was in my net, I began to have doubts. I wasn’t a hunter. I had never sought or caught an animal before. The others in our group saw my catch and motioned me back to the boat. I took the lobster back with me, and he was put into the tank with the others. I felt terrible. I wanted to take him back to his home. I felt ill about what I had done, essentially kidnapping a creature from his home to be killed for my use. Back at the dock, the heads were twisted off the bodies because “it’s all about eating the tail.” I couldn’t watch this process and felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and grief. I was struck by the fact that this being had a life, a home, and a purpose beyond meeting my needs.

That day, I reached the conclusion that if I would not catch and kill an animal with my own hands, then I should not have someone else do it for me.

What I didn’t know at the time, but have since learned, is that lobsters are wonderful creatures who have a highly developed capacity to taste and smell; they can sense the world around them with their antennae and the hairs on their legs. Lobsters can live 60 to 100 years and carry their young for 9 to 12 months. They use complicated signals to form social relationships. They grow throughout their lives and make seasonal journeys covering over 100 miles each year walking across the ocean floor.

I’ll always remember the guilt and shame that I felt that day years ago, but I can’t go back, only forward. Choosing a vegan life is the best I can do to put an end to the cruelty that’s an inherent part of using animals as food.

When I made the change to veganism, I was already a Registered Dietitian. As I did my own research about healthy plant-based eating, I realized there was a lot of information to sift through, some reliable and some just plain wrong. This prompted me to start my own small nutrition counseling business, Move2Veg, to help others interested in cruelty-free eating.

I have volunteered for Compassionate Action for Animals and supported their work for more than 10 years because I believe strongly in their mission: encouraging people to cultivate empathy for animals and move towards a plant-based diet. I am proud to be part of an organization that has such a positive impact in our community through outreach, education, and events like the Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck, Their Lives, Our Voices, and Twin Cities Veg Fest.

Across the nation, hundreds of schools are participating in a historical campaign called “Meatless Monday” that was initiated by the U.S. government back in World War I and again in World War II. The campaign was revived in 2003 by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a response to the vast environmental and public health issues spanning the globe. The primary goal of Meatless Monday is to encourage Americans to forego meat just one day a week, and replace their meat dishes with tasty plant-based alternatives. A group of students at the University of Minnesota are working towards implementing Meatless Monday in student dining halls and around campus — their efforts for the campaign are timely with the rise of chronic diseases across the U.S. and the drought effecting families in California.

Currently, the U.S. spends an alarming 2.8 trillion dollars on healthcare annually. Dr. Dean Ornish, founder and president of Preventive Medicine Research Institute, recently stated that 75 percent of our national healthcare costs are due to chronic diseases that can be prevented through lifestyle patterns — including diet. Americans eat more meat today than nearly any other country in the world, and this dietary trend takes a toll not only on population health, but also environmental health. High consumption of animal products increases the risk of chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases. Shifting from resource intensive food products, such as beef, lamb, and pork, to fiber and protein-rich plant foods like beans and quinoa will not only reduce environmental impacts, but will also help improve population health. Plant-based diets that emphasizes whole plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans, in replace of animal products is associated with a number of positive health outcomes such as lower rates of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and a variety of cancers. Well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets have even been shown to reverse a number of these chronic health conditions, including the number one killer in the U.S. — heart disease.

The large reliance on fossil fuels and the greenhouse gasses emitted during the production of animal products has negative impacts on climate change. Research has shown that carbon dioxide emissions could be cut nearly in half if people switched from a high meat diet to a vegetarian diet. Additionally, adopting a vegan diet could further cut carbon dioxide emissions. Eating more vegetarian or vegan meals would also be less resource-intensive than a diet rich in meat, cheese, and dairy.  For example, 1,850 gallons of water is required to produce one pound of beef, whereas a pound of vegetables requires only 39 gallons of water.

Implementing Meatless Monday at the University of Minnesota would provide an opportunity to educate students on the impact that food choices have on their health and the environment. It would provide an opportunity to expose students to healthy, tasty plant-based meals and allow the University and its students to continue being progressive leaders in our global community. Implementing Meatless Monday campus-wide would allow the University of Minnesota to continue exemplifying their mission to serve the common good of all people.

Kristina DeMuth is a plant-based, Registered Dietitian and a Master’s of Public Health Nutrition at the University of Minnesota. Kristina is a blogger at Moxie Musing and her Facebook page, where she advocates for a whole-foods, plant-based diet. Her piece “Meatless Mondays: A health perspective” was recently published in the Minnesota Daily.