Who wouldnt be a fan of vegan soul food? Take the cruelty to animals out of shrimp and grits or fried chicken and you get all the taste with none of the guilt. Foodies everywhere are opting for plant-based fare as more people change their minds about the proper treatment of animals, not to mention meats contribution to environmental destruction and its damage to our health. The word is getting around, and the proof is in the (banana) puddingcheck out this lengthy list of vegan-friendly soul food restaurants around the country.

Chef Michelle Grandy has joined the conversation with a vegan soul food cookbook titled Ohhlicious. She has spent years uncovering plant-based food flavors and perfecting recipes that mimicked her grandmother Gussies cooking. Now, you can get your hands on these special vegan culinary secrets!

Grandys gradual transition from eating animals to going 100 percent plant-based involved years of learning about health, food ingredients, and cruelty to animals within the meat industry. The final step occurred during a flight from Washington, D.C., to San Diego, as she read a pro-vegan book and finally decided to make the switch. She had suffered from a chronic lung disease her whole life, but after three months of clean eating, she was no longer dependent on prescription asthma medications. Grandy credits her vegan lifestyle with healing the asthma that doctors insisted was incurable.

Ready to try some vegan soul food? Here are two of the scrumptious recipes from the Ohhlicious cookbook:

1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 Tbsp. tamari or soy sauce 1 bunch collard greens (about 12 leaves), stalks discarded and leaves preserved in large pieces 1 Tbsp. coconut oil 1 pkg. Beyond Meat Beefy Crumble 1 large onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 2 medium carrots, chopped 1 jalapeo, seeded and diced 1 tsp. basil 1 tsp. thyme Pepper, to taste 1 cup vegetable broth 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped 1 cup cooked brown rice, wild rice, or quinoa

Makes 6 servings

Adapted from Ohhliciouscookbook

3 Tbsp. vegan butter 1 tsp. yellow mustard Pepper, to taste 23 drops Tabasco sauce 3 Tbsp. flour 2 cups unsweetened nondairy milk 2 cups Follow Your Heart Cheddar Shreds 1 16-oz. pkg. elbow macaroni or pasta of choice, cooked 1 cup Cashew Cheese Sauce 1 cup Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds Panko breadcrumbs and paprika, for garnish

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Adapted from Ohhliciouscookbook

Have you been thinking of going vegan? Order a free vegan starter kit to help you make the transition!

I Want a Vegan Starter Kit!

Read more here:

Chef Reveals Her Vegan Soul Food Secrets in New Cookbook - PETA (blog) (press release)

A new Seaport restaurant, opening Thursday, is putting a vegan twist on traditional New England foods. At By Chloe (stylized as by CHLOE), diners will be able to chow down on lobster rolls made of hearts of palm, celery, smoked paprika, and dill, and spoonclam chowder made of cauliflower cream, shiitake mushroom, corn, potato, and parsley.

Theall-vegan fast-casual restaurant chain, which is opening its first Massachusetts location on Seaport Boulevard, will dish out four items exclusive to Bostonthe chowder and lobster roll, aBoston cream pie ice cream, and a Boston cream whoopie pie alongside the plant-based,Instagrammable meals that have gained the eatery a cult-like following since its New York City debut three years ago.

The 2,400-square-foot Seaport space will seat 43 people, featurethe restaurants signature hanging swing chairs in the window, and offer an outside patio for dining. It will also pay homage to the neighborhoodvia black and white, seaweed-patterned wallpaper leading to the bathroom.

Its our nod to the Seaport area without feeling too cliche, said Samantha Wasser, By Chloes co-founder, president, and creative director.

Wasser and Chloe Coscarelli, winner of the Food Networks Cupcake Warsin 2010, have opened five locations in the past three years in New York City and Los Angeles. The team will open five more locations in 2017, two in New York and three in New England: the Seaport one, a Fenway spot slated to open this spring, and a Providence, Rhode Island, location set to open later this year.

Wasser said shes thrilled to bring By Chloe to Boston and thinks the Seaport area, which she calls a little city within a city, is a perfect fit.

The restaurants menu is 100-percent plant-based and includes no meat, dairy, egg products, saturated animal fat, added preservatives, or artificial flavors. The restaurant has worked hard to shatter misconceptions about vegan food, Wasser said.

Vegan food can be delicious and flavorful and also filling, Wasser said.We make everything from scratch.

Wasser said vegan eaters make up less than 10 percent of By Chloes customers because the food appeals to everyone. The menu includessalads, soup, sandwiches, burgers, fries, pasta, juice, smoothies, dairy-free ice cream, fresh-baked sweets, and more. The restaurant also serves beer and wine, and even treats for dogs (also vegan).

The food is also aesthetically appealing, which has helped the restaurant gain a healthy following onsocial media, Wasser said.

The dishes are so beautiful and have so many different colors, Wasser said.When we were putting together the menu, we really kept in mind how the food is photographed. Social media is so important. People want to document what theyre eating.

For example, the restaurants popular quinoa taco salad is layered in a very specific way to make sure its photogenic, she said.

The Fenway location thats set to openthis springdate yet to be determinedwill become the chains largest, Wasser said.The 2,948-square-foot space will have six hanging chairs.

I think that location is going to be very beautiful, she said.

The Seaport restaurant will serve food from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. Brunch will be served from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.

Heres a look at By Chloes menu:

Top picks for things to do, free from the Globe.

Get the Globe's free newsletter, The Weekender, delivered to your inbox every week.

Thanks for signing up!

Excerpt from:

Eat vegan lobster rolls and clam chowder at this new Seaport restaurant - Boston.com

You wouldnt expect the son of a Saudi billionaire to be a vegan. You wouldnt expect him to be passionately involved in animal rights and environmental matters. Yet there he is His Royal Highness Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed. Hes all that and more.

Bin Alwaleed is one of the wealthiest men on the planet. Hes Saudi royalty, the only son of philanthropist and billionaire investor Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, known to the media as the Arabian Warren Buffett.

The Making of a Vegan Saudi Prince Environmentalist

He hasnt always been devoted to environmental sustainability issues. In his younger years, bin Alwaleed was much the same as any other fabulously wealthy Saudi citizen. He had luxury cars, lavishly appointed yachts, and enjoyed life in the family palace. It took a trophy huntin the late 1990s to startle him into change.

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, at right. Photo credit: @khaledalwaleed Instagram account

What he saw during that exotic animal expedition haunted him. Shocked, he realized hunting animals is what he calls a cowardly act. Shortly after returning home, bin Alwaleed became an animal rights advocate, vocally opposing blood sports and all forms of cruelty. He went 100 percent vegan around 2012.

He made a host of other life adjustments as well. He no longer owns any interest in the oil and gas industry, investing instead in supporting sustainability, high tech, solar power, renewables, green construction, plant-based restaurants and more. He gave up his fleet of 200 pricey oil guzzling cars and now drives only one the Tesla Model X P90D. Thats the eco-friendly one with vegan synthetic leather options.

Hes a self-described geek and Crossfit enthusiast. When he flies anywhere, bin Alwaleed buys carbon offsets to limit the carbon impact of his travels. He doesnt even live in the opulent family palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, anymore.

Taking Action that Matters for the Middle East

At SAUDIMEGA 2015, an oil industry conference held in Riyadh, bin Alwaleed took a stand that might be considered outrageous by contemporaries who are heavily invested in fossil fuels. He urged action on climate change.

Climate change and the unjustified consumption of energy are two of the most serious issues we face today at the macro-level, he told the assembled crowd. Its another issue he feels strongly about.

You dont have to be a rocket scientist or scientist to understand that climate change is real, bin Alwaleed told The National Observer. Ive seen the data out there and it is worrying, honestly.

Bin Alwaleed does more than talk, though. He acts. One of his biggest achievements to date is a project to transition the country of Jordan to 100 percent LED lights and solar panels. In time, this change may save that country an impressive 60 percent on its power costs.

I went over there, proposed this idea to King Abdullah and he really liked it, bin Alwaleed told The National Observer. He arranged for some meetings with the minister of energy and the minister of municipalities, and thats how it really became what it is now. Were changing the entire countrys lighting infrastructure to LEDs.

Photo credit: @khaledalwaleed Instagram account

What bin Alwaleed wants more than anything is to see his oil-dependent country shift priorities and rely much less on fossil fuels. He can see the day coming when such reliance will become a liability rather than a financial boon.

Has bin Alwaleed had an influence on his wealthy philanthropic father?

Funnily enough, I would usually say no I am influenced a lot by him and I learn a lot from him but recently, yes, bin Alwaleed told The National Observer. I introduced him to Dr. Michael Gregers book, How Not to Die, last August. Two months later, he literally transitioned to being vegan, which has a huge impact on the environment - not necessarily [if] one person does it, but if every person did that, it would have a huge impact.

The prince with Dr. Michael Greger, author of How Not to Die. Photo credit: @khaledalwaleed Instagram account

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed may just be the face of Saudi Arabias green future.

Animal welfare, factory farming, the environment usually theyre solvable if we look at things in an economic way, a humane way and a practical way rather than a greedy way. bin Alwaleed told The National Observer.

Clearly, bin Alwaleed is a voice of reason in an oil-based culture that desperately needs one.

Photo Credit: @KhaledBinAlwaleed Instagram account

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Go here to read the rest:

Vegan Saudi Prince Wants the Middle East to Go Green - Care2.com

Bite into a bevy of vegan dishes during Twains Sunday supper. HANDOUT / Tori Allen PR.

Alpharetta restaurant week. Vegan dinner. Academy Awards watch party. There are several fun, food events happening in metro Atlanta, so add one or all four of the following to your calendar. Be prepared to eat, drink and have a grand ole time.

Feb. 19 25: During Alpharetta Restaurant Week, diners can enjoy a variety of prix fixe lunch and dinner options for $15 and $25 respectively. Participating restaurants include Benihana, Salt Factory, andSouth Main Kitchen. Click here for a complete list. Various restaurants, awesomealpharetta.com.

Every Wednesday: Do happy hour with the Italian tradition of aperitivoa post-work ritual of socializing with friends to kick back with cocktails andantipastiat Dolce Italian. Guests seated at the bar or on the patio will enjoy $7 pizzas, $10 Double Cross Vodka cocktails and live music from 5-7:30 p.m. The Shops Buckhead Atlanta, 3035 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 678-686-2267, dolceitalianrestaurant.com.

Sunday, Feb. 26: For an amuse-bouche plus a three-course Sunday supperfeaturing all vegan dishes, head to Twains Brewpub and Billiards from 6-8 p.m. The menu will include smoked cauliflower hush pups, a vegan pot pie and more. A seat at the table will be $40 per person; for $50 beer pairings will be included. Reservations are required; email Savannah@Twains.net. 211 E Trinity Pl., Decatur. 404-373-0063, twains.net.

Sunday, Feb. 26:If youre going to watch the Academy Awards, you might as well do it in style at Pricci in Buckhead. The restaurant will host its annual Academy Awards viewing party, which will feature signature cocktails and a special four-course, movie-themed menu. Seating, reservations and red carpet entrance will be available at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $62 for the first seating and $72 for the second. 500 Pharr Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-237-2941. buckheadrestaurants.com.

Read The A List: The faces, places, dishes and drinks defining the Atlanta dining scene right now

Read more stories like this byliking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following@ATLDiningNews on Twitterand@ajcdining on Instagram.

Previous

Free beer at Krog Street Market today in remembrance ofveterans

Next

Celebrate 70 years of Moes & Joes in VirginiaHighland

Read more from the original source:

Vegan dinner, Alpharetta Restaurant Week and more in metro Atlanta this week - Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)

If you're in Philly and you like "fair" food, now's your chance to head over to Reading Terminal Market.Fox & Son Fancy Corndogs opened last week.

And by "fair" food, I don't just mean the associations with stuff like corn dogs and poutine, but it has them in vegan versions, offering fun-food enthusiasts a choice to forgo animal use and its intrinsic unfairness.

Now it's been quite some time since I've had a corn dog, maybe as long as it's been since I've been to a county or state fair. But either way I can say this item - a jumbo-sized soy dog in a crispy, tasty coating on a stick with your choice of condiments for $5.99 - surely hit the spot both nostalgically and fillingly, making me hungry to try Fox & Son's other vegan offerings on my next visit.

I chatted briefly with founders Rebecca Foxman and Ezekial Ferguson, from whose last names the business gets its title. Ferguson said he recalled enjoying the Luzerne County Fair as a youngster, and when they decided to open a place for this "fun comfort food," both partners agreed that "we wanted to accommodate as many people as possible, and also to bring something into this space that hasn't been here."

To that end, the batter for the vegan item is coconut milk-based, with organic sugar, and there's vegan gravy, and even vegan cheese, for the poutine - a friendly, welcoming vibe befitting the carnivalesque menu, which is entirely gluten-free. There is also fresh-squeezed lemonade, also with organic sugar. The duo is also mulling a veganized funnel cake, but that's not yet on the menu.

Foxman and Ferguson are serious enough about the vegan dogs that they're installing a second fryer to cook them in separate oil from the animal products. This setup should be ready in a couple of weeks, but this report couldn't wait, so yes, mine was cooked in the same oil. It was still good! But if that skeeves you out, target early March for a drop-in.

With food outlets throughout greater Philadelphia now introducing more, and more creative, vegan options, I can't spotlight every menu change or venue change, but hey: A block from City Hall? Vegan corn dogs? And they're delish? That's a kind of progress I can get in line for.

Fox & Son could be a good fit for RTM, doing with conviction something a little different but well within the comfort zone of lunching tourists and businesspeople. And the multiple vegan items are a savvy gambit for a growing future, offering food that's fair for all.

Published: February 22, 2017 5:00 AM EST | Updated: February 22, 2017 10:47 AM EST Philadelphia Daily News

See the original post here:

Real vegan corn dogs in the big city? - Philly.com (blog)

Aaron Out will no longer touch the Turkey Shortis. Talk about a loss of street cred.

Wawa rapper Aaron Out

Earlier today, we told you about the amazing new Wawa Hoagies video from Philly rapper Aaron Out, a 2011 Abington High grad. Here, the East Falls-based emcee tells us all about it.

What possessed you to make a rap about Wawa hoagies? I was at work one day, and I forgot my lunch. I hadnt eaten. I was pretty stressed and tired, and I went to Wawa and smelled the deli food, and I just thought, I should try to make a song about it.

Whats your background in music? None, really. I mean, I am very active on the battle rapping scene. Ive been doing that for a little over a year. Its really gritty and intense, more like boxing. But this is my first song.

So you just went home and started writing? Yeah, I wrote the first verse in about 20 minutes and another 20 to write the second. My friend and roommate IrCasim has been producing for a long time, and so he started making the beats. I wanted a different beat at first, more of a hyper beat, but he was totally against that, and Im so glad he was. He was right.

What did the managers at Wawa think when you started showing up there with cameras? That was something I really worried about. We dont know the legality behind filming in the stores. Some of them didnt ask anything. Some of them asked, and we said we were doing a school project.

Were you? No, Im a laborer. I do masonry work. Im building a fence right now. So I guess we basically lied to them.

Which Wawas did you shoot at? Over five or six months, we got the scenes at the one in Roslyn down the street from the house I grew up in, Glenside or maybe thats Cheltenham, Jenkintown and Willow Grove.

None in the city? Lame! Ha. We were using the ones we thought might be less crowded. But my friend who works at the big new Wawa on Broad Street supplied the shirts.

Are you actually trying to jumpstart your rap career, or is this just for fun? I was hoping for 10,000 views in a week, and its on track to do a little better than that. I can do more than make funny songs about Wawa, but this is a way to generate some publicity. But I cant make any money on it. I mean, legally speaking, Wawa is trademarked, and Im still not sure whats legal and what is not.

But if you get sued by Wawa, it might improve your street cred. Ive been saying that too, man.

How many times do you eat at Wawa per week? And Turkey Shorti or Meatball Shorti? I feel bad admitting this, but in January, I changed my diet. Im a vegan. Before that, a Turkey Classic all day. Im a big guy, so I get a Classic. My usual order was a Turkey Classic with tomatoes, lettuce, bacon and then Id change up the condiments, sometimes horseradish sauce, sometimes honey mustard. And always with the Wawa Half-and-Half Iced Tea Lemonade.

But your turkey days are gone. How sad. I did stop in there recently and get a veggie hoagie with the works. But I still stop there a lot for my cigarettes and other stuff.

Do you have one in walking distance? Nah. Theres one a quarter-mile from my parents house. But Ive been in East Falls for six or seven months. The first thing I said when we moved here was, Damn. Theres no Wawa nearby. Thats literally the first thing I said.

Note: Video is definitely NSFW.

Follow @VictorFiorillo on Twitter

Be respectful of our online community and contribute to an engaging conversation. We reserve the right to ban impersonators and remove comments that contain personal attacks, threats, or profanity, or are flat-out offensive. By posting here, you are permitting Philadelphia magazine and Metro Corp. to edit and republish your comment in all media.

Read the rest here:

Rapper Behind Wawa Hoagies Video Admits He's a Vegan - Philadelphia magazine

Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 7 a.m.

Sushi Garage's lemon negetarian roll.

Courtesy of Sushi Garage

Who says sushi has to involve fish? Let 'em stay in the ocean, because Sushi Garage has your fish-free sushi cravings covered. The Sunset Harbour eatery now offers an array of menu options that are all good for vegan and vegetarian eaters.

Vegans can dig into the bok choy ($5), truffle shiitake nigiri ($8), lemon vegetarian roll ($11), kapparoll ($7), vegetable roll ($10), shishito ($6), and watercress salad with no dressing ($11). Vegetarians can eat all of the above plus the vegetable tempura ($11) and avocado tempura ($8).

So why add vegan sushi to the menu at an omnivorous restaurant? "I'm not vegan or vegetarian, and I have never looked at food in that way," Sushi Garage's executive chef, Sunny Oh,says. "The vegetarian dishes Imake at Sushi Garage is food I love to eat; it just happens to be vegetarian or vegan. The lemon vegetarian roll originally had salmon, but we decided to take it out because it wasn't needed the flavor was already there."

"I have been looking to expand the vegan and vegetarian options, so I'm currently experimenting with other things," Oh adds.

If you need to veganize any menu items, staffers should be able to assist. "The servers are trained to work with most dietary restrictions," Oh says. "We also have members of our staff who are either vegan or vegetarian."

And according to Zarko Stankovik, the restaurant's director of beverage, all cocktails are also vegan- and vegetarian-friendly, so you can raise a toast to tasty food. Try the Fat Qcumber, made with cucumber vodka, St-Germain, and grapefruit juice ($13), or the lychee mule, containing Tito's vodka, lychee pure, and ginger beer ($12).

More than a trillion fishes and marine animals are pulled from the oceans every year, so opting for meat-free sushi is a wise idea.

Excerpt from:

Vegan Sushi Is No Oxymoron at Sunset Harbour's Sushi Garage - Miami New Times

Youll remember, Im sure, the debacle involving 5 notes during the tail end of 2016. You can find my original articles on this hereand here. It seems the story has progressed even further down the rabbit hole since, and its with great annoyance that I find myself having to talk about it again.

The petition that started it all was rejected by the Bank of England and subsequently, the new 10 notes arriving this September will also contain tallow. The bank is, however, toying with the possibility of using a plant based substitute for the new 20 notes, which will not be in circulation until 2020.

The Vegan Society or as I like to call them, the You Dont Have To Be Vegan Society had thisto say in response:

While it is unfortunate that the new 10 note will contain tallow, The Vegan Society is pleased that the Bank of England has been transparent in their response to this important issue, and has taken the beliefs of the public into consideration.

We look forward to the consultation around the 20 note and hope that any future bank notes will be free from ingredients produced through harming animals. We hope that other companies will follow this positive example and review the use of animals in their products.

Along with the many other folks upset by this development, the Vegan Society are missing the point. The problem isnt that tallow a byproduct of animal slaughter is used in currency, its that the system of exploitation that results in tallow exists in the first place. Focusing on this byproduct assumes the legitimacy of the underlying exploitation. There are many non-vegans who consider the use of tallow unnecessary but who consider their own exploitation of animals to be perfectly acceptable. The outrage over 5 notes does nothing but tell these people that there is something different about this form of animal use to the use that they themselves engage in.

The use of tallow in our currency is wrong. Just as the use of animal products in our roads, computers and automobiles is wrong. But you dont change that by drawing arbitrary lines and forming campaigns that tell people that these products exist in some kind of vacuum. They exist because there is a demand for animal exploitation. Take tallow out of our currency and tallow would still exist in the exact same quantities. We have to get to grips with the fact that the use of animal byproducts will not cease until we have a sizeable population of vegans. At that point, demand will decrease to the point that slaughterhouse byproducts are not as cheap or readily available as they are now.

Until that point, anything less than promoting veganism merely ensures that the systems of exploitation resulting in these products continue on as ever. The people who are campaigning over 5 notes need to explain why there is a difference between this and any other unavoidable byproduct we encounter in our daily lives. There is literally something everywhere you look. It is as nonsensical as basing a campaign on tarmac. This hasnt stopped Doug Maw, founder of the original tallow petition, being quite angry over the 10 note news. He claims that they are forcing people who have religious and ethical objections to use something thats against their religious beliefs and their ethical beliefs. But the same could be said for credit cards and house bricks. This is nothing but yet another form of self-indulgence on the part of advocates, who are incapable of recognising the very real exploitation they promote through normalising all others.

Doug goes on to say this: Im most definitely as of now looking at legal advice and we will definitely be bringing a test case against them because Im pretty sure we will win it. Wonderful. A victory would not mean any decrease in demand. It would not mean that there is any less tallow being brought into the world. All it would mean is that people can feel better that an animal product is not being used unnecessarily. Well Ive got news for you, Doug. Such a victory does literally nothing for animals. But what it does do is tell the public there there is something different about that form of animal use to their own. It makes them feel better about their own exploitation by implying that there is some necessity or compulsion involved.

People need to stop advocating for themselves and see the bigger picture here. A non-vegan world equals millions of tons of byproducts whether theyre used in our currency or not. A vegan world equals no byproducts in existence in the first place. Advocating for the end of byproducts in the former merely normalises the legitimate forms of exploitation that people consider to be acceptable.

Want to do right by animals? Be veganand advocate veganism. Want to end animal byproducts? Advocate veganism. There is no other option that doesnt throw animals under the bus.

Originally posted here:

5 Note Nonsense & The Vegan Society - Ecorazzi

Kiki Adami is coming for your meat.

The 28-year-old restaurant consultant wants to veganize every restaurant in New York City, and shes setting her sights on Bleecker Street. The fact that the Greenwich Village stretch is home to meaty mainstays like JG Melon, Faiccos and Murrays Cheese Shop doesnt deter her.

I want the whole street to be a vegan mecca, says the Hoboken, NJ, resident and adamant vegan of 10 years. Like, the Great White Way is where all the Broadway shows are I want this to be the Great Vegan Way.

Adami launched her company, Veganizer, in 2015 with the goal of converting restaurants all over the city to a menu in which half the options are meat- and dairy-free. She has also convinced several restaurants around the city to hold vegan pop-up nights, including Pagani, on Bleecker Street. This year, shes decided to focus her efforts on Bleecker because the thoroughfare is home to a location of the constantly packed vegan restaurant and bakery By Chloe (185 Bleecker St.). She believes that when restaurant owners see By Chloes success, theyll want to replicate it with similarly plant-based options.

Thus far, shes gotten another Italian place, Romagna, to make half of its menu vegan, and shes confident that this is only the beginning.

I have no doubt in my mind that the seed has been planted, says Adami, who hasnt eaten animal products in a decade and gave up wearing leather six years ago.

But most restaurateurs on her target block highly doubt shell be able to get a hand on their meatballs.

Weve been open for 40 years, and people come from all over to have the paella, says Cafe Espaol owner Irene Becerril. We cannot change the menu.

Restaurantgoers on the street are similarly protective of the dishes they know and love. For Money Sealy, its her favorite 50-cent wings at dive bar Wicked Willys (149 Bleecker St.).

To turn a whole street vegan is absurd, says Sealy, a 27-year-old Upper West Sider. Variety is what makes the village.

Adami, a former cruise director, broke into the restaurant business working at GustOrganics, a Greenwich Village restaurant about 10 blocks north of Bleecker. When it opened in 2008, Gust catered to the paleo crowd those who eat only meat, nuts, vegetables and seeds. Adami started working there as a waitress in 2010, then stepped in as a manager and turned the menu entirely vegan in 2015.

I started to feel guilty, knowing that I was paying my rent from a company that was not really in line with sustainability, she says.

The restaurants paleo regulars revolted. Hate mail and bad Yelp reviews poured in, and the eaterys investors sued the restaurant for alienating its original clientele.

This is a case of imposing your own personal views on Gusts devoted clientele, one commenter on Yelp wrote.

The lawsuit was eventually dropped, but the legal fees cost Gust and it closed in 2015. At the time, Adami said the restaurant wasnt profitable, but now she says it was.

While most would take this failure as a sign from the meat gods, Adami ran the other way: I just said, You know what? Screw you guys Im going to veganize another restaurant.

And so her crusade began. Adami approaches restaurants with the promise of money, keeping her real intentions hidden at first.

I dont even use the word vegan. I talk money, I talk p.r., I talk business and I talk market trends, she says. I also wear a really cute outfit when I go to meet the owner You use whatever tools you have you flirt, you giggle, you laugh at them.

At the end of the conversation, she proposes just one vegan pop-up night, like she did with Pagani. After she gets buy-in on that, she suggests an even more aggressive change: making half the menu vegan.

If the restaurant is game, Adami cashes in, taking a 10-percent cut of the restaurants pop-up night profits and acting as the middleman for its vegan food supplies. The business model is how she, and Veganizer, make money.

To turn a whole street vegan is absurd.

Adami says about five restaurants on and around Bleecker Street are interested, and shes looking for more. But when The Post contacted their owners, many say they had never even heard of Adami and werent looking to give up their tasty meats and cheese.

Georgian cuisine doesnt allow it, says Vasil Chkheidze, owner of Old Tbilisi Garden (174 Bleecker St.), whom Adami says she contacted. And if a veganizer were to come by, he says, they would probably turn her away.

Adami also says she had some interest from a staff member at Deninos Pizzeria & Tavern on the corner of MacDougal and Bleecker, but owner Joe Castellano says he has no intention of putting fake cheese on his famous Staten Island pies.

When you put that material on the pizza, it totally takes away the quality of what we captured for the past 80 years, he says. For us to be a 50-percent vegan restaurant I think its pretty impossible.

Abi Sharma, the owner of Indian restaurant Surya (154 Bleecker St.), is even more blunt.

Our chicken tikka masala pays our rent, he says.

Still, Adami isnt discouraged and says her crusade is just beginning. Shes also helping to organize the first vegan dinner at the James Beard House in March and mentoring Veganizer chapters in Portland, Ore., Los Angeles, Brussels and Toronto.

Thomas Watts, the owner of newcomer sports bar JoJos Philosophy sports bar (169 Bleecker St.), says he would never open his doors to Adami. But he encourages her efforts on Bleecker Street.

If all the other restaurants go vegan, we could be a home run over here, Watts says, with a laugh. Meat eaters will be pounding at our windows.

Go here to see the original:

Militant vegan drives neighborhood nuts - New York Post

By Anna Johansson

Most people think of veganism as a highly-debated personal issue, one related to health and nutrition, but few outside the vegan community stop to think about how such a diet impacts our environment.

For vegan-centered businesses, however, our food choices arent just about physical health; theyre about global sustainability and long-term economic health. It goes far beyond changing the way we eat, but rather is a statement about how we treat our planet and what kind of future we hope to have and intend to create.

When people talk about veganism, the first question most people ask is: But where do you get your protein? Due to a lack of nutrition education, many Americans think that the only way to get protein is through meat products, and many even over-consume meat products, believing its necessary for their health when its, in fact, bad for their bodies and the environment.

In fact, vegetarians and vegans can get their protein from many non-meat sources, including soy, nuts and nut butters, peas, seeds and even whole grains. Grains like quinoa are actually very high in protein, as are peas. Meat eaters are often surprised to hear that these foods they think of as poor sources of protein can boast more protein than an equivalent serving of meat.

With this in mind, then, companies are rapidly centering alternative protein sources in their business plans. Ruoquette, a French company, is in the process of bringing the worlds largest pea protein factory to Canada. Andin the U.S., plant-based foods contribute $13.7 billion to the economy. And because of its complexity and status as a near-complete protein, pea protein alone is expected to be an $18.5 million industry by 2021.

Health food, in the broadest sense, has become a viable, mainstream marketing point rather than just a niche market, and vegan protein sources are a key example of this. In part, this is because of an increase in health issues. The risks of things like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some kinds of cancer can be reduced by a vegan diet.

In this day and age, however, its not just our health we should be worried about. Rather, we need to consider how what we eat impacts the health of the earth and this kind of ethical appeal works well for vegan-centered companies.

Simply put, a vegan diet has a much smaller carbon footprint than diets that include meat and animal products. In 2017, if everyone across the globe switched to a plant-based diet, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to food-production by 70 percent by 2050. Thats an enormous reduction.

Looked at more carefully, theres an even more intimate link between our health and the health of our earth because of the implications of global warming.

When 80 percent of food-production greenhouses gases are related to meat production, evidence suggests veganism may be the only answer.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a vegan diet has other environmental benefits that could decrease resource scarcity around the world but only if changes are made on a corporate, rather than individual, scale.

A quick look at resources needed to produce a cup of beef versus a cup of kidney beans makes it clear why. From land and water to fertilizer and fuel, it takes fewer resources to grow the kidney beans and theyre better for you. Considering the scarcity of potable water, the amount of land devoted to animal agriculture, and the damages done by fossil fuels, why wouldnt we want to reduce our use of these critical resources?

Finally, its important to put to bed the fiction that vegan diets are not attainable for many people, particularly those living on limited incomes. Lets take, as an example, the fact that veganism and vegetarianism are practiced most widely in the developing world.

Even among those who dont identify with this particular dietary practice, meat tends to be a relatively minor part of peoples daily diets its expensive and ultimately out of reach, saved for celebrations or when guests are invited. It isnt a staple in the way it is in the United States. And the more popular plant-based diets become, the less expensive basic meat alternatives will become.

Animal agriculture is the enemy of the environment and the enemy of our health, but it has distinct advantages for todays food businesses. As advocates for the earth, then, its time to push for a vegan revolution. High-end restaurants are catching on, vegan butchers are opening, and your local grocery increasingly stocks vegan alternatives.

Now, more businesses need to step up and support this change.

Image credit: Pexels

Anna is a freelance writer, researcher, and business consultant. A columnist for Entrepreneur.com, HuffingtonPost.com and more, Anna specializes in entrepreneurship, technology, and social media trends. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Here is the original post:

The Vegan Food Boom is Good for People, Planet and Profit - Triple Pundit (registration) (blog)