Another vegan restaurant is about to shutter in Denver. Govinda's Garden Caf, operated by Nandini and Carlos Rossi at the Radha Krishna Temple at 1400 Cherry Street, will call it quitson Saturday, April 29. The Radha Krishna Temple is retaking control of the restaurant space and may operate a vegan eatery out of there as it has before the Rossis brought their business in.

Govinda's and its owners became an active part of the vegan community and its shutter adds to others that occurred recently. In early March, Handy Diner, a small vegan eatery located in the Cole neighborhoodwas closed by city officials for lacking the necessary permits. In August,Love Peace & Sol closed after a short stint in Park Hill.

This is what the owners of Govinda's posted for its patrons and fans:

Dear friends and customers,

It is with a heavy heart that we are writing this communication to all of you. You all are very dear to us and we have developed wonderful personal relationships, friendships and connections with you. It has been our deepest satisfaction getting to know so many and to serve you over the past years.

The Temple had informed us that they want to take over the management and running of the restaurant awhile back. This was unsettling to us and we were hopeful in our numerous meetings and discussions with the temple management that things might change, but this was not to be. So, the sad news; my husband Carlos and I will be closing our Govinda's Garden Vegan Caf as of April, Saturday the 29th and as of that date we no longer be serving our healthy vegan buffet to you all, as we have for the past three and half years. We are so sorry.

At this point we do not have any information about what the temple plans are. When they plan to open? How many days and hours? We do not feel they plan to continue to be a 100% vegan buffet. We hope that they provide us with this information so that we can pass it on to you all before our departure. Our prayer is that the temple continues to run their buffet successfully that it remains the special place.

As the saying goes, "that which appears to be the end, may only be the beginning". Our favorite spiritual songwriter George Harrison sang in his first solo album: "All Things Must Pass". We see the signs and humbly accept the plan of our Sweet Lord.

My husband and I will be taking some time for rejuvenation and healing and to take care of some personal things. When the time is right, we plan to open a vegan catering business... a cookbook book perhaps with all the Govinda's Garden Vegan recipes you love so much. We will be dividing our time between Denver and Dallas, so we are still looking forward to see many of you in the future.

We will have our last event on Saturday, April 22, Earth Day. A combination of a farewell and celebration for Mother Earth. We will post about this happienng soon.

We hope we can see you and give you a big hug perhaps on our Earth Day Finale Celebration, before our departure, and look so forward to seeing and serving you all in this our final month.

In closing, we want to thank you all so much for your support, encouragement, appreciation and yes, love.

Many blessings and best wishes for you all.With gratitude

Your friends and servants

Nandini and Carlos Rossi PS: On a side note: The temple does not wish to the beautiful mystical art that so many of you have asked to purchase. We will a post with the price we paid for each art piece and also post under each piece in the cafe.

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Vegan Emporium Govinda's Garden Vegan Cafe Will Close - Eater Denver

While it may seem like vegan beauty has never been more popular, holistic esthetician Tammy Fender notes that plant-based remedies have always been a staple: If you think about it, throughout history the plant kingdom has provided some of our most potent medicines, from penicillin to aspirin, which was first isolated from the bark of the willow tree, she says. Though Fender admits that the demand for vegan beauty products does seem to be at an all-time high. And Google has the data to back it up: Since 2000, searches for vegan skin care have grown by 83% year over year in the U.S., according to research by the all-knowing search giant. Jessica Wu, MD, dermatologist and author of Feed Your Face can understand why. More of my patients are looking for vegan skin care because they've made a conscious choice to avoid animal products in all aspects of their lives, including their diet, clothing, and now beauty products, she says. For many, it's no longer enough for products to be cruelty-free.

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Vegans (& Everyone Else) Will Love These Skin-Care Brands - Refinery29

Vegan restaurant raises a ruckus with baby milk policy - BBC News BBC News A restaurant in Spain doesn't want parents feeding their babies animal milk on its premises. and more »

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Vegan restaurant raises a ruckus with baby milk policy - BBC News - BBC News

Newser

Vegan Restaurant Bans Bottle-Feeding Cow's Milk Newser (Newser) A vegan restaurant in Spain has caused quite a ruckus by posting this on its door: We like mothers, of all species. That's why we don't like bottle feeds based on cow's milk. Please don't use them in the restaurant. According to El Pas ...

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Vegan Restaurant Bans Bottle-Feeding Cow's Milk - Newser

africanews

Nigerian born chef in London preparing vegan dishes africanews When I found out I was coming to a vegan restaurant, I was quite intrigued what the food was going to be like. I've never had Nigerian vegan food before. It was really tasty. I really liked the lentils, the lentils were really well done. The couscous ...

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Nigerian born chef in London preparing vegan dishes - africanews

It wasn't an April Fools joke: On Saturday, chef Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook really did open Goldie, an all-vegan falafel shop that no one in this restaurant-obsessed town knew was in the works. But once the secret was out the crowds arrived, with lines stretching out onto the sidewalk. Even a rainbow showed up (in the photos, anyway) to shine down on Goldie and, right below it, CookNSolos Rooster Soup Co., the new luncheonette that gives all of its profits to the Broad Street Ministrys Hospitality Collaborative.

Goldie (1526 Sansom Street) has a short menu, with falafel sandwiches and salads, fries, and tehina shakes a vegan version of a milkshake made with ground sesame seeds. Chef Caitlin McMillan, who was already with the CookNSolo group, runs the kitchen. The restaurant is named for baby Zahav: The venerable Zahav gets its name from the Hebrew word for gold. Its open seven days a week, for dining in (there are cafe tables and a standing counter) and take-out. Good luck getting a seat.

Goldie [Official]

1526 Sansom St, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (215) 454-6939

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Vegan Falafel Shop Goldie Opened Over the Weekend - Eater Philly - Eater Philly

Photo: VeganSmart

Tia Blanco isnt your average surfer. At 19, shes a killer athlete whose resume ranges from working with Playboy to starting a strong and promising competitive surfing career with the possibility of becoming an Olympic athlete in her future. Oh, you might have forgotten that; surfing in the Olympics is actually a thing now. So what more could a girl straight out of high school actually want?

Im not sure where I went wrong on the trek through life, but it looks like I need to start following in the Blanco footsteps. One of the many pieces of Blancos brand is that shes vegan, and has become recognizable as one of surfings influencers in living a healthy lifestyle. Yes, an up and coming pro surfer who won the gold medal both in 2015 and 2016 in the ISA Open Womens World Surfing Championship is a vegan. In 2014 she won PETAs Libby Award in acknowledgment of her work as a vegan ambassador and is currently up for another award from the organization asWorlds Hottest Veg Celeb. All this recognition has now parlayed itself into a role as a wellness athlete for the company VeganSmart. Shes teamed up with the brand and rolled out her own signature peaches and cream protein shake.

Its very important to me that I partner with companies that I really believe in. I travel around the world competing, and having such an incredible support system with the VeganSmart team has really helped to drive me even further, said Blanco.

For anybody unfamiliar with the brand, VeganSmart is a premium line of plant-based nutritional protein shakes working with athletes from around the globe, all swearing by the product. Now they just happen to have one of surfings up and coming names on that same roster. Shes cute, athletic and seems to have her life right on track for a 19-year-old, but is going vegan a new lifestyle the surf community might soon come to follow? I sure hope not, because Ill exclude myself from that group right now. But whatever it is, Blancos killing it.

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Health How Tia Blanco's Building a Brand as a Vegan Ambassador - TheInertia.com

People whose ideologies are close but not identical often seem to hate each other the most. Consider the quarrels among various brands of progressives captured in the phrase the left eats its own. Freud called this phenomenon the narcissism of small differences. Recent research has referred to it as horizontal hostility, which grows as a reaction to distinctiveness threat. The distinctness under threat is differentiation from mainstream groups, a differentiation that minority groups usually value as part of their identities.

Psychologists have studied this dynamic among strict vegans and less-strict vegetarians, finding that vegans often were more hostile toward vegetarians than they were toward meat eaters. The researchers assumed this was about identity protection when vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians (who avoid meat and dairy but arent absolutists) are lumped together, the vegan identity gets diluted by association.

Its not hard to figure out why identity dilution would bother principled vegans. For starters, it leads to confusion and inconvenience. Vegans may be offered chicken, fish, eggs and dairy by family and friends because flexitarians (and sometimes even vegetarians) eat these things.

Another concern seems to be that flexitarians and vegetarians might be getting as much moral recognition as vegans, even though vegans actions are more in line with the ethical code dont harm animals that all of these groups claim to follow. Of course, the average meat eater does even less to help animals than the average vegetarian, but meat eaters dont claim any virtue points for their meal choices, nor do they threaten the vegan identity. In fact, they help strengthen that identity, and so they escape any wrath motivated by these concerns.

Horizontal hostility also can arise when people are exposed to the same information but arrive at different conclusions. If this information inspires life changes for some, it can seem to those people that anyone unexposed to the information is relatively blameless in contrast to those who are exposed but do not change. I know a meat eater who dated a vegan activist. Early in their relationship, the meat eater asked the vegan why he was willing to go out with her. He responded that she was OK because she didnt know the horrible truths about animal farming; it would be different if she kept on eating meat after her eyes were opened.

Horizontal hostility makes sense psychologically, but for those fighting for animals and against factory farming, its a strategic disaster. It leads to infighting among people with overlapping goals, and therefore its counterproductive. Just about everyone who reduces consumption of meat, eggs and dairy for ethical reasons wants to see the end of factory farming. Yet we waste time by focusing on things like virtue points and identity shoring, and disputing each others visions of the ideal post-factory-farming landscape.

In Obligate Carnivore: Cats, Dogs and What It Really Means to be Vegan, Jed Gillen wrote about how his pet store was boycotted by fellow vegans because he sold a flea remedy that contained flea extract. To Gillen, the boycott was perverse because anyone not shopping in his store was probably supporting mainstream pet stores, which undoubtedly committed bigger transgressions. But its possible that Gillens protesters thought they were acting strategically. They knew that if they were to boycott, say, Petsmart over flea treatment, the company would not notice. Gillen, on the other hand, whose store was, in his words, at worst, 99.44% vegan, might actually listen to concerns about insect exploitation.

By extension, vegans may think that vegetarians and flexitarians will be more receptive to the vegan pitch, leading them to spend time debating their fellow travelers instead of focusing on the public at large.

However, as a flexitarian myself, I think theyre wrong. Ive considered the arguments for veganism and thats why Ive decided that reducing animal products from my diet is a good way to start making a difference. I advocate for pragmatic reducetarianism regular, considered cutback in the consumption of animals and animal products. I may commit to veganism at some point, but it wont be the result of someone telling me to go vegan.

Im not suggesting that hard-liners should stop caring about ideological purity and consistency. Those of us fighting against factory farming cannot be an inclusive movement if we say only pragmatists allowed. Some animal activists simply wont be able to abide just making incremental progress for animals. For them, anything less than veganism is in conflict with the goal of abolishing the consumption of meat and the use of animal products. But whether youre practical or ideological, you can accomplish more by reaching out to meat eaters who have never thought to question animal farming than to people who have considered the issues and chosen an approach that is not identical to your own.

Vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians may never fully agree on principles and tactics. At the same time, we will always have overlapping concerns, and those should be our central focus. Reducetarian is an umbrella identity for all who consciously curtail their animal-product consumption. Adopting this broad identity allows us to concentrate not on our differences but on our shared commitment to ending the factory-farming industry.

Brian Kateman is president of the Reducetarian Foundation and editor of The Reducetarian Solution: How the Surprisingly Simple Act of Reducing the Amount of Meat in Your Diet Can Transform Your Health and the Planet, which will be published in April.

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Can't vegans and vegetarians just get along? - Los Angeles Times

By Jennifer Goetz Staff Writer

Imagine learning about farm animals, the food industry and the nonprofit sector all while living away from home and sticking to a strictly vegan diet.

This is exactly what Caitlin Flynn, a senior journalism and political science double major, did last August when she interned for Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, N.Y.

The nonprofit organization serves as a safe haven for rescued farm animals in need of rehabilitation.

Farm Sanctuary, which also has locations in Los Angeles and Orland, Calif., looks for employees, volunteers and interns who care about animal rights.

Fitting the part, the company hired Flynn as a human resources and communications intern over the summer.

I found out about (the internship) because the president (and co-founder), Gene Baur, was on The Daily Show a year or so back, Flynn said.

After watching the show, Flynn decided to purchase Baurs book, where she found the organization to be compelling and worthwhile.

Flynn is one of the many students that have interned with Farm Sanctuary.

Each year, the New York location provides a number of internships for students all over the world interested in nonprofits, communications, public relations and more.

While Flynn worked in an office, the nonprofit also searches for shelter interns to provide hands-on care for the animals.

Additionally, the internship can span anywhere from a month to three months, but according to Farm Sanctuarys website, interns who stay longer have greater opportunities.

(The New York location averages) around 90 individual participants in our program annually, said Holly McNulty, the director of resources and volunteer programs at the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen.

The 175-acre sanctuary also gives interns housing for the duration of their stay and provides volunteer interns an educational opportunity.

Interns have many learning opportunities, whether from conversations with staff or during weekly education presentations, McNulty said. We strive to help our interns use what they gain from their experience to continue to advocate for farm animals and encourage participants to identify how they can incorporate this into their daily lives moving forward.

While students gain educational experience through presentations and discussions, they also gain life experience by immersing themselves in the farms culture. Because the nonprofit is focused on supporting and protecting animal rights, interns are required to commit to a vegan lifestyle during their stay at Farm Sanctuary out of respect for the animals.

I think the best thing about the program is it pushes for progress, not perfection, Flynn said.

Farm Sanctuary brings awareness to issues facing farm animals and the issues of factory farming, which takes a toll on farm animals and the environment, as raising so many animals in one place pollutes our land, air and water, according to Farm Sancutarys website.

Farm Sanctuary is not a factory farm, and because none of the farms animal products are consumed, interns get to experience life on a farm that respects animals.

The cows are not milked, according to Flynn, and the chickens produce eggs at their natural pace, unlike most farms that feed chickens hormones to increase eggs production.

Flynn also said the animal rights organization has led her to be more conscious of her eating habits.

(My experience) made me more mindful of my day-to-day decisions, Flynn said.

Interns are not the only group of people interested in Farm Sanctuary. In fact, the nonprofit has earned attention from comedian Jon Stewart, his wife Tracey, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and actress Emily Deschanel.

We have regularly worked with celebrities throughout our 30 years from creating PSAs to participating in our events to being active on our board of directors, McNulty said.

Due to the efforts of Tracey and Jon Stewart, who proposed the idea last October, Farm Sanctuary will open a new location in Collingsworth, N.J., in 2018. Last year, the couple bought a farm with the intention of partnering with Farm Sanctuary. Since the new locations approval, the Stewarts plan to work with the organization throughout the process.

We are working with them in the early planning stages such as permitting and site development but hope to be open to the public sometime in 2018, McNulty said.

While the new location does not yet have plans to create an internship program, the nonprofit will eventually have volunteer opportunities, McNulty said.

Whether an intern or volunteer, the experience at Farm Sanctuary is unlike any other.

(Farm Sanctuary is) a great nonprofit organization and is a nation-wide entity that influences pop culture, legislation and the food industry, Flynn said. It is the kind of relentless organization that I think many of the politically and socially active students (at the College) would appreciate.

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[ April 2, 2017 ] Student goes vegan for internship at Farm Sanctuary Features - The Signal

Metro

Don't think vegans can run marathons? Think again Metro I asked members of the UK Vegan Runners group what experiences, tips and advice they had for me running my first marathonand first event as a vegan. I found that not only were they all passionate about their own vegan achievements, but that vegan ...

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Don't think vegans can run marathons? Think again - Metro