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Vegetarian and Vegan Passion

363K views 4K replies 268 participants last post by  cyclelicious 
#1 ·
Okay all you fellow hippies, check in here. Share recipes and other BS, tree-hugger stuff - ethical cycling gear (non-skin) perhaps?

By the way, do I still get to be part of the club if I'm a strict vegetarian (for ethical reasons) yet have a gun collection and a proud member of the NRA? :D
 
#2,573 ·
Making and passing an egg requires so much energy and labor that in nature, wild hens lay only 10 to 15 eggs per year. It is a common misconception that chickens are always just naturally "giving" eggs, because modern egg hens have been intensively bred to lay between 250 to 300 eggs a year.
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#2,574 ·
Some good news from the UK:

Animals to be formally recognised as sentient beings in UK law
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Animals are to be formally recognised as sentient beings in UK law for the first time, in a victory for animal welfare campaigners, as the government set out a suite of animal welfare measures including halting most live animal exports and banning the import of hunting trophies.

The reforms will be introduced through a series of bills, including an animal sentience bill, and will cover farm animals and pets in the UK, and include protections for animals abroad, through bans on ivory and shark fins, and a potential ban on foie gras.

Some of the measures - including microchipping cats and stopping people keeping primates as pets - have been several years in preparation, and others - such as the restriction of live animal exports - have been the subject of decades-long campaigns.

George Eustice, the environment secretary, said: "We are a nation of animal lovers and were the first country in the world to pass animal welfare laws. Our action plan for animal welfare will deliver on our manifesto commitment to ban the export of live animal exports for slaughter and fattening, prohibit keeping primates as pets, and bring in new laws to tackle puppy smuggling. As an independent nation, we are now able to go further than ever to build on our excellent track record."

The action plan for animal welfare includes measures that will involve cracking down on pet theft, which has become a growing problem in the "puppy boom" sparked by the coronavirus lockdowns with a new taskforce. Controversial e-collars that deliver an electric shock to train pets will be banned, and import rules changed to try to stop puppy smuggling.

Illegal hare coursing will also be the subject of a new crackdown, and the use of glue traps will be restricted. In response to worries from farmers over dogs loose in the countryside during the lockdowns, police will be given new powers to protect farm animals from dogs.

However, the use of cages for poultry and farrowing crates for pigs will not be subject to an outright ban, as campaigners had called for. Instead, their use will be examined, and farmers will be given incentives to improve animal health and welfare through the future farm subsidy regime.

The government also repeated its pledge to uphold UK animal welfare in future trade deals, but will not put this commitment into law as campaigners have urged.

James West, senior policy manager at Compassion in World Farming, a pressure group, said some of the measures were the subject of protracted campaigns: "We have long been calling for UK legislation that recognises animals as sentient beings and for sentience to be given due regard when formulating and implementing policy. We are also delighted the government has confirmed it will legislate for a long-overdue ban on live exports for slaughter and fattening. We have been campaigning for this for decades: it is high time this cruel and unnecessary trade is finally brought to an end."

He called for the government to go further, and stop the import and sale of foie gras, and ban the use of cages for the UK's 16 million sows and laying hens that are still kept in cages.

He added: "All of these positive announcements must be supported by a comprehensive method of production labelling, and it is essential that the government ensure these much-needed animal welfare improvements are not undermined by future trade agreements."

The ban on the import and export of shark fins, the subject of a campaign by the chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and others, was also welcomed. Steve Backshall, the Wildlife TV presenter and patron of the Bite-Back campaign on shark finning, said: "[This] will be significant in helping restore the balance of the oceans [and] sends a clear message to the world that shark fin soup belongs in the history books, not on the menu."

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, said: "Delivering on the plan will require understanding and real commitment from across Whitehall. Respect for animal welfare is not only the right thing to do for animals, it will also play a critical role in tackling global environmental and public health challenges such as climate change, antibiotic resistance, and pandemic prevention."

 
#2,575 ·
Vegetarians Have Better Cholesterol Levels, and More, Than Meat-Eaters

Vegetarians have more favorable levels of a number of biomarkers including cardiovascular-linked ones - total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and apolipoprotein A and B - than meat-eaters, shows the largest study of its kind to date.

Results of the cross-sectional, observational study of 178,000 participants were presented as an electronic poster at this year's online European Congress on Obesity (ECO), by Jirapitcha Boonpor of the Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK.

"We found that the health benefits of becoming a vegetarian were independent of adiposity and other sociodemographic and lifestyle-related confounding factors," senior author Carlos Celis-Morales, PhD, also from the University of Glasgow, told Medscape Medical News in an interview.

Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations for vegetarians were 21% and 16.4% lower than in meat-eaters. But some biomarkers considered beneficial -including vitamin D concentrations - were lower in vegetarians, while some considered unhealthy - including triglycerides and cystatin-C levels - were higher.

Vegetarian diets have recently become much more popular, but there is insufficient information about the health benefits. Prior reports of associations between biomarkers and a vegetarian diet were unclear, including evidence of any metabolic benefits, noted Celis-Morales.

Importantly, participants in the study had followed a vegetarian or meat-eater diet for at least 5 years before their biomarkers in blood and urine were assessed.

"If you modify your diet, then, 2 weeks later, you can see changes in some metabolic markers, but changes in markers of cardiovascular disease will take 5 to 10 years," he explained.

Health is complex and individual markers tell you just part of the story," said Mathers, of the Human Nutrition Research Centre, Newcastle University, UK.

He says a vegetarian diet can be nourishing but cautioned that "just because someone excludes meat from their diet does not mean necessarily that they will be eating a healthy diet."

"Some of the biomarker differences seen in this work - such as the lower concentrations of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, GGT [gamma-glutamyl transferase], and ALT [alanine transaminase] - are indicators that the vegetarians were healthier than the meat-eaters. However, other differences were less encouraging, including the lower concentrations of vitamin D and higher concentrations of triglycerides and cystatin-C."

Also reflecting on the results, Jose Lara Gallegos, PhD, senior lecturer in human nutrition at Northumbria University, UK, said they support previous evidence from large studies such as the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), which showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of heart disease.

"A vegetarian diet might also be associated with lower risk for liver diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease," Gallegos said, but added that some levels of biomarkers considered to be 'healthy' were lower in the vegetarians and it is important to remember that strictly restricted diets might be associated with potential risks of nutritional inadequacies.

"Other, less restrictive dietary patterns, such as a Mediterranean diet, are also associated with...health benefits," he observed.

Large Data Sample From the UK Biobank Study
"Specifically, we wanted to know if vegetarians were healthier because they are generally leaner and lead healthier lives, or whether their diet specifically was responsible for their improved metabolic and cardiovascular health," Celis-Morales explained.

Data were included from 177,723 healthy participants from the UK Biobank study who were aged 37-73 years and had reported no major dietary changes over the last 5 years. In total, 4111 participants were self-reported vegetarians who followed a diet without red meat, poultry, or fish, and 166,516 participants were meat-eaters.

Nineteen biomarkers related to diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and liver and renal function were included, and the associations between vegetarian diet and biomarkers, compared with meat-eaters, were examined.

To minimize confounding, the findings were adjusted for age, sex, deprivation, education, ethnicity, smoking, total sedentary time, type of physical activity, alcohol intake, body mass index, and waist circumference.

Compared with meat-eaters, vegetarians had significantly lower concentrations of 14 biomarkers, including total cholesterol (21% lower); LDL (16% lower); lipoprotein A (1% lower), lipoprotein B (4% lower), and liver function markers (GGT: 354% lower, and ALT: 153% lower), IGF-1 (134% lower), urate (122% lower), total protein (29% lower), creatinine (607% lower), and C-reactive protein (10% lower).

However, the researchers found that, compared with meat-eaters, vegetarians had significantly higher concentrations of some unhealthy biomarkers, including triglycerides (15% higher) and cystatin-C (4% higher), and lower levels of some beneficial biomarkers including high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (5% lower), vitamin D (635% lower), and calcium (0.7% lower).

No associations were found for A1c, systolic blood pressure, and aminotransferase.

"Some biomarkers, for example urate, were very low in vegetarians, and this served to verify our results because we expected meat-eaters to have higher levels of urate," remarked Celis-Morales.

Diet Commitment and Cardiovascular Outcomes
Many people, whether vegetarians or meat-eaters, follow short-term diets, for example, the Atkins or the 5:2 diet, and often lack continuity switching from one diet to the next, or back to regular eating.

"They are healthy, but they do not commit for long enough to make a difference to metabolic markers or potentially long-term health. In contrast, vegetarians are usually fully committed but the reasons behind this commitment might be a concern for the environment or animal welfare, for example," Celis-Morales pointed out.

However, he added that many vegetarians replace the meat in their diet with unhealthy alternatives. "They often eat too much pasta or potatoes, or other high energy food with low nutritional value."

Having identified metabolic markers specific to long-term vegetarian diets, Celis-Morales wanted to know what happens to vegetarians' long-term cardiovascular health. He analyzed and published these outcomes in a separate study published in December 2020.

"Over 9 years of follow-up, we have found that vegetarians have a lower risk in terms of myocardial infarction in the long-term, as well as other cardiovascular disease," he reported.

Asked whether there was an optimum age or time in life to become a vegetarian to improve health, Celis-Morales explained that the healthier you are, the less likely you will reap the health benefits of dietary changes - for example to being a vegetarian.

"It is more likely that those people who have unhealthy lifestyle risk factors, such as smoking, and high consumption of high-energy foods or processed meat are more likely to see positive health effects," he said.

Lifestyle changes to improve cardiovascular outcomes are usually more likely to be required at 40 or 50 years old than at younger ages. He also noted that metabolic markers tend to show clear improvement at around 3 months of adopting a particular diet but improvements in disease outcomes take a lot longer to become evident.

Celis-Morales and his team are currently conducting a further analysis to understand if the vegetarian diet is also associated with a lower risk of cancer, depression, and dementia compared with meat-eaters.

 
#2,577 ·
An interesting article/opinion to share. There are very strict rules governing the ethics of animals used in medical experiments (although some labs get called out when animal suffering is discovered) Pharmaceutical companies could use synthetic alternatives but it is 'the way it has always been done'. Nowadays there are lots of sensitive engineered 'reporter' cell lines that could be used instead. There should be more research on using synthetic means for testing etc than using animals. I continue to believe the treatment of animals by way of animal agriculture/factory farms is atrocious

Animals are our overlooked allies in the fight against Covid

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'Limulus amebocyte lysate tests, the standard for screening vaccines for dangerous bacteria, are manufactured using the blood of horseshoe crabs.

A few weeks ago, I received my first shot of a vaccine against Covid-19. As the newly vaccinated exited the clinic, there was a mix of relief and elation on people's faces. We exchanged little smiles of solidarity. If we could have burst into spontaneous applause, I'm sure we would have done.

Recently, the lead scientist for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, Prof Sarah Gilbert, was honoured with the RSA Albert Medal. There are rumours that Gilbert's team, along with the pioneers of the mRNA vaccines, are up for a Nobel prize. It is quite right that gratitude should follow their game-changing achievement.

But the success of the vaccines offers an opportunity to acknowledge a different constituency. If we think back to clap for carers, the ritual of recognition that marked those grim weeks of Britain's first lockdown, its value was in shining a light on the keyworkers who are kept from view by circumstances and sometimes snobbery. For 10 weeks of the pandemic, we reflected on those otherwise invisible individuals on whom society depends.

Yet in every stage of our journey to create vaccines, we've had a large number of assistants we've neither appreciated nor applauded. Millions of animals have been a part of our rigorous process of drug safety and efficacy testing. The main reason we don't honour them is that they possess an uncertain moral status in our eyes. That may be uncomfortable, but does that mean that the role of animals should be ignored?

To take a few examples: Limulus amebocyte lysate tests, the standard for screening vaccines for dangerous bacteria, are manufactured using the neon-blue blood of horseshoe crabs. Pretty much any vaccine you've had will have been safety-tested using this because it's chock-full of immune cells that are super-sensitive to bacteria.

Acquiring this blood is not a pretty business. The crabs are harvested, often by fishers, and then strapped in rows and bled. And these spectacular creatures are already under threat due to fisheries and habitat loss. In the US, manufacturers are careful to try to secure the wellbeing and release of the crabs. Only about 15% die. But in China, where the regional species is endangered, nearly all will be killed in the process. There are synthetic versions of the test, but they haven't been taken up by many pharmaceutical companies at present and the US is yet to give regulatory approval.

When it comes to preclinical trials of vaccine candidates (trials that aren't ethically permitted on humans), mice are the most popular animal. Early in the pandemic, scientists discovered that wild lab mice are largely unaffected by this coronavirus. So transgenic mice have been bred, genetically engineered to simulate our immune response. And ferrets, which do show a similar progression of disease to ours, have also been used in early trials. Some of these animals will play a role in the development of the antiviral treatments the UK government hopes patients may be taking by this autumn.

In Britain, the bar for using primates in biomedical research is very high. But scientists working on Covid-19 vaccines have used both rhesus and crab-eating macaques, along with common marmosets, especially for efficacy testing. Animal testing is largely justified by the idea of some hard moral border between us and other species. Using animals within our own order unsettles us: scientists choose primates precisely because they're genetically similar to us, but that closeness is disquieting. Primates have rich and complex social lives. They also experience their pain and captivity, and their inability to consent creates rather than resolves the ethical problems. Yet we are rarely given the chance to reflect on all this.

The trouble is we often hide animal testing from public view. That is broadly true of the infrastructure that enables us to eat and wear animals, too. Many labs that run animal experiments are highly secretive because of the considerable threats they face from activists. And scientists and companies are also sensitive to the fact that public opinion is on the move. Before the pandemic, public acceptance of animal testing in biomedical research had been consistently trending downwards for decades.

For now, the UK's Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act of 1986 is the strictest law governing research animals anywhere in the world. That is something to be proud of. Most research is conducted using the "three Rs". These principles of "reduction", "refinement" and "replacement" were initiated in 1959 by two British scientists, William Russell and Rex Burch. They have become the standard for minimising the use of animals and any associated suffering.

Still, animal research is actually growing rather than declining. New gene-editing technologies allow us to modify an animal's immune system so that it is more like ours, making it a better research model than it would be naturally. That has undermined the move towards replacement. And this pandemic has also intensified demand.

There are some new initiatives, such as the Center for Contemporary Sciences, spearheaded by scientists Aysha Akhtar and Jarrod Bailey, set up to explore cutting-edge human-based methods: the "human-on-a-chip" model, for example. In essence, a human organ is used to produce a micro-version of itself on which tests can be conducted. This is exciting technology, but we're not yet at the point of substitution.

This moment in history has prompted a reassessment of our relationship to the rest of nature, not least because the origins of this pandemic, in one way or another, lie in our invasive use of other animals and their habitats. At the same time, throughout the past century, the use of animals in biomedical tests has hugely reduced deaths from disease outbreaks. Forty years' worth of research using monkeys, rats and mice led to the polio vaccine in the 1950s, which saved millions of lives. Then there was the TB vaccine. The flu vaccine. To put it bluntly, countless animals have given their lives to save ours.

On 12 May, the UK government launched its action plan to "reinforce its position as a global champion of animal rights". Key to this is the recognition by law of the sentience of other animals. It's a positive move. But the current plan is uneven in its rationale and silent on a number of fronts, including animal testing.

Acknowledging the animals that have had a role in life-saving vaccines and treatments for Covid-19 is not to take a position for or against their continued use in research. It is instead to accept that there is something wrong in obscuring or forgetting their part and the price they pay. Supporters just as much as opponents of animal testing should recognise the magnitude of their role. It would be the mark of a conscientious - and grateful - society.

 
#2,580 ·
I guess chickens can't wear masks because they don't have ears... so control the urge to kiss your chicken

CDC urges Americans not to kiss chickens amid salmonella outbreak

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged people to refrain from kissing live poultry amid an outbreak of salmonella.

The CDC and public health officials are investigating salmonella outbreaks after 163 people were reported ill in 43 states.
The infections have been linked to contact with backyard poultry.

"Don't kiss or snuggle the birds, as this can spread germs to your mouth and make you sick," the health agency said.
It warned that poultry, like chicken and ducks, can carry salmonella germs even if they look healthy and clean, and these germs can easily spread in areas where they live and roam.

Infection can cause fever, diarrhoea, stomach pain and vomiting. Most people recover without treatment, but more severe cases can cause death.

According to the CDC, one-third of the people reported ill in the recent outbreaks have been under the age of five.
Some 34 people have been taken to hospital since mid-February, but no deaths have been reported.
The CDC's advice also includes washing hands after coming into contact with poultry, and preventing children from touching the birds.

It estimates that salmonella bacteria - which can be found in raw or undercooked meat, eggs or other food products - causes about 1.35 million infections in the US every year, and 420 deaths.

The CDC is the US public agency in charge of issuing health advice; last week for example, it changed the guidance on face masks, saying that people who had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 no longer needed them in most places.
 
#2,581 ·
Meat-eaters are showing their teeth in the new culture wars

s a gesture of solidarity with the tens of millions of carrots murdered every year to facilitate #Veganuary," typed failed mayor Laurence Fox while still in his folk music period and presenting as a flaccid tree, "tonight I forsake vegetables." Then he uploaded a picture of his steak. As a piece of food photography it was poor; as a statement of resistance it was powerful. Last week Fox News apologised after airing a piece titled Up in Your Grill, which claimed Biden wanted to curb meat consumption. This would include, they said, a plan to cut 90% of red meat from the American diet, leaving them with 4lb of meat a year, or "one burger a month".

It wasn't true, but that mattered little, because it had the green taste of something true, and it pricked in all the right places. "I'm pretty sure I ate 4lb of red meat yesterday," Donald Trump Jr tweeted in response, a cry of freedom. Fox's steak and little Trump's tweet were self-portraits - food as a symbol of their identity politics. They were grenades lobbed into a culture war that is playing out in meat and soy and sausage rolls, and what it means to be a man.

Such wars are not new, but each battle updates its weapons. Prosaic objects and domestic choices come to symbolise the politics of each side, whether cars, lattes or bras, burned. Food has always been a key marker of who we are and how we see ourselves, so inevitably becomes a marker of identity, especially at a time when so many certainties, the economy, health, the environment, gender roles, are being challenged. When posted with a Veganuary hashtag, a steak is no longer just a steak.

There are battle lines being drawn in gravy. On one side vegans who, despite growing significantly in number, are viewed "more negatively than immigrants," said a 2015 study. And on the other side meat-eaters who, at a time when the production of meat-based food is (according to a Lancet report) "the largest source of environmental degradation", see their personal liberty as under threat. They hear the rational argument against burgers, but the confrontation breeds defensiveness. In the US, Ted Cruz wrapped bacon around the barrel of a rifle to cook it; his fans found the juxtaposition delicious. In the UK, the steaks of Fox and meats of Morgan (Piers) are wielded against what they see as an incoming tide of "wokeness". Morgan, a man desperately moved by the advent of Greggs's vegan sausage roll, once conjured up the image of a whole coach of conservative media personalities revving up to Farmacy in their jeans and shoes when he asked: "If I was to storm a vegan restaurant and demand meat, would they discriminate against me?" Would they? It's certainly something to think about, one night maybe, when alone.

The main problem here is suitably chewy - most meat-eaters don't want to harm animals, but unfortunately they also do want to eat them lightly grilled with a little rosemary. The cognitive dissonance is most clear in the language that turns a cow into beef when hot on a plate. And meat-eating overlaps with so many other of our contemporary anxieties. Thirty years ago, Carol Adams published The Sexual Politics of Meat, linking meat-eating to notions of masculinity and virility in the western world. The idea was that men and meat lean on each other, using the other's weight to survive like drunk people walking home, both terribly fragile. Since then the need to assert meat as a signifier of male identity has intensified. On her website Adams logs hamburgers "named for rapists - the Harvey Weinstein burger in England or the Bill Cosby in Pakistan", and maintains that when we remove meat from a meal, we're threatening the patriarchy. Which, to some, is terrifying.

And to the rest, it's becoming clear that conversations about vegan sausage rolls are not really about lunch. Sausage rolls are symbols of a changing world. Sometimes the objects are the thing (eating a vegan diet could be the biggest way to reduce one's environmental impact on earth) and sometimes they're an expression of the thing. Adams found a political pamphlet from 1902 that called for Chinese exclusion: "Meat v Rice: American Manhood Against Asiatic Coolieism, Which Shall Survive?" Immigration, it warned, would bring down the American worker, leading to them being forced to give up their meat. She likens it to pro-Trump T-shirts that read: "THIS IS AMERICA. WE EAT MEAT. WE DRINK BEER AND WE SPEAK FUCKIN' ENGLISH."

The choice of caps lock is always interesting, isn't it, as it suggests a level of panic. We are back in the vegan restaurant with our red-socked conservative media personalities, and they are shouting at the waiters and also trying not to cry. There is fear in the caps lock. Though vegans are reportedly viewed negatively, the overwhelming sense is that right-wing meat-eaters are not just angry with them, but scared of the changes they signal.

Could it be that many of the important debates that anchor our culture wars have been passed into legislation (civil rights, for example, however wobbly the legislation itself) and that what's left to argue about are largely the coffee grinds coating the sink? The rows that refuse to wash away, rows about how to live alongside each other despite our differences. Rows about carrots, rows about steaks: are these simply toy soldiers the right and left have been given to battle with in place of actual power, or constructive debate about immigration, gender? About equality? About the end of the world?

 
#2,582 ·
Allergic to nuts? Six seed alternatives to add to your diet

Q: Are seeds a good alternative for people with a nut allergy? Do they have the same health benefits as nuts do?

Plenty of evidence suggests that a regular intake of tree nuts protects against heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Studies have also shown that adding nuts to a healthy diet helps prevent risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, insulin resistance and inflammation.

When it comes to seeds, though, research is more limited. Still, seeds are thought to deliver similar health benefits thanks to their nutrient profiles.

Like tree nuts (e.g., almonds, cashews, walnuts), seeds are rich in plant protein, heart-healthy fats, fibre, vitamins, minerals and bioactive plant compounds.

Whether you have a nut allergy or not, the following seeds are worthy additions to your diet. (Note: Even though seeds aren't related to tree nuts, it is still possible for people to be allergic to seeds.)

6. PUMPKIN SEEDS

Also known as pepita, pumpkin seeds offer protein, fibre, iron, zinc, potassium and plenty of magnesium (191 milligrams per one quarter cup). They're also an outstanding source of manganese, a mineral that's needed for a healthy immune system and strong bones.

Sprinkle pumpkin seeds, raw or toasted, over soups, salads and oatmeal, toss into granola and mix into guacamole. Crush pumpkin seeds for a flavourful crust for fish, and enjoy them toasted as a snack.

5. SUNFLOWER SEEDS

One quarter cup of these little seeds provides 80 per cent of a day's worth of vitamin E, an antioxidant that shields brain cells and immune cells from free radical damage. Sunflower seeds are also an excellent source of folate, magnesium and selenium.

Preliminary evidence suggests that a daily intake of sunflower seeds, as part of a healthy diet, may help improve LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar levels in women with type 2 diabetes.

Add sunflower seeds to hummus, stir into risotto, include in trail mix, sprinkle over roasted vegetables and blend into salad dressings. Use sunflower seeds to make dukkah, a delicious Egyptian spice blend comprising toasted nuts, seeds and spices (you can also make a nut-free version).

4. SESAME SEEDS

These tiny seeds are an excellent source of calcium (175 milligrams per two tablespoons) and provide decent amounts of iron, magnesium and zinc.

Sesame seeds have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and have been found to lower blood pressure in randomized controlled trials.

Make tahini with sesame seeds, or sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over stir-fries, salads and soups. In Canada, sesame is considered a major allergen and must be labelled on food packages.

3. HULLED HEMP SEEDS

Two tablespoons of these little brown seeds offer six grams of protein, 140 milligrams of magnesium and a hefty amount of immune-supportive manganese. You'll also get two grams of alpha linolenic acid (ALA), a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid. (Women require 1.1 grams of ALA daily; men need 1.6 grams.)

Toss hemp seeds into salads, sprinkle over avocado toast, stir into yogurt, add to overnight oats and blend into smoothies and protein shakes. Add hemp seeds to muffin, cookie and energy ball batters.

2. CHIA SEEDS

Two tablespoons of chia seeds deliver seven grams of fibre, 127 milligrams of calcium and 3.6 grams of ALA, along with magnesium, iron, zinc and selenium.

Some research suggests that chia seeds can help lower blood levels of LDL cholesterol while raising HDL (good) cholesterol. Chia seeds are also being studied for their potential effects on lowering blood sugar.

Use chia seeds as you would hemp seeds. Or make chia "pudding" by adding the seeds to dairy or plant-based milk, vanilla and a little maple syrup. You'll find lots of recipes online.

1. FLAXSEEDS

Like hemp and chia seeds, flaxseeds are an outstanding source of omega-3s, providing 3.2 grams of ALA per two tablespoons. Flaxseeds also contain lignans, phytochemicals thought to reduce the risk of breast and prostate cancers.

Studies conducted in people with hypertension have found that a daily intake of flaxseed (30 grams twice daily) helps lower blood pressure.

In order to gain the nutritional benefits of flaxseeds, they need to be ground before consuming. Use ground flax to make a vegan egg replacer (one tablespoon flax mixed with three tablespoons water).

 
#2,585 ·
Nutritional Benefits Of Spinach - Usage Tips and Recipes.
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Definition:

Who among us has not seen or heard of the famous muscular sailor "Popeye", that cartoon program that instilled in our minds from a young age the many benefits of spinach, and it seems that Popeye was not at fault. Spinach is ranked among the healthiest foods you can eat worldwide. Spinach is a vegetable that is rich in vitamins, phytonutrients and minerals and has very little calories. Therefore, it is very suitable for people who follow a weight loss diet. In addition, it is a very strong source of vitamins such as "A-K-D" and it is also rich in minerals. It also contains iron, magnesium, zinc, selenium, phosphorous, copper, protein, folic acid, and finally, dietary fiber. Due to the high value of spinach, it provides health with a set of wonderful benefits, which we will mention in the following.

Benefits:

Heart health. Spinach contains a high percentage of potassium and a low percentage of sodium. Add to that the folic acid present in spinach water, and this helps to reduce high blood pressure, achieve relaxation of blood vessels, reduce stress and fatigue on the heart and blood vessels, increase oxygen access to different parts of the body and improve their functions.

Eye health. Spinach is a rich source of carotene and lutein, which are good elements for eyesight, especially beta-carotene, as it compensates for the lack of vitamin A in the body and thus treats itchy eyes, dry eyes and eye inflammation. Spinach water also contains a high percentage of glutathione, which plays an important role in preventing cataracts.

Immune support. Among the benefits of spinach is that it helps to strengthen the immune system in general, and it also helps to fight infections and diseases by containing vitamins A, C, and E, which are powerful antioxidants that fight free radicals and harmful bodies that attack the body from viruses, germs and others.

Bone health. Spinach helps fight and prevent osteoporosis, as spinach is a source of calcium, phosphorous and vitamin K, all of which are necessary for strengthening the bones and maintaining their density. Therefore, it is advised for those suffering from bone problems to include spinach in their diet.

Lose weight. Spinach is used in special diets to reduce weight, because it is rich in fiber that helps with fullness and a feeling of satiety, not to mention that it is low in calories. Spinach also contains a high amount of iron, which improves the metabolism and also the amount of oxygen that flows, which leads to burning fats in the body and causing weight loss.

Digestive health. Spinach helps to promote the health of the digestive system, because it contains a large amount of fiber, which is necessary to improve digestion and bowel movement. Spinach also works to protect the gastric mucosa, which reduces the occurrence of stomach ulcers and increases the strength of the lining of the digestive system.
Other benefits. Spinach helps prevent and treat anemia. Increase blood flow to the brain, improve focus and cognition. Strengthening the muscles, especially the heart muscles. Reducing various body infections and the associated pain. It also helps remove toxins from the body.

Usage Tips and Recipes:

Wash the spinach well in cold water before using it for cooking, then rinse it well to dry. Spinach can be used in all types of recipes in the kitchen, for example, try preparing spinach soup or use it in your side dishes minced, such as a green omelette with mushrooms. The most common use of spinach in the kitchen is kept in delicious pies, such as spinach and cheese pancakes. You can also chop spinach and add it to your salad, along with more vegetables.
Recipe. Rinse the spinach well in cold water, then let it dry. In a large pot, heat the olive oil, then fry the garlic on a low heat for a minute until it turns yellow. Add salt, spinach and pepper and cover the bowl for two minutes. Uncover the lid, increase the temperature, and let the spinach simmer for another minute. Stir the spinach until diced, then serve with lemon and salt and serve hot.

 
#2,588 · (Edited)
This is big news

Judge Rules That California Must Answer Lawsuit Calling for Processed Meat to Be Added to State Carcinogen List
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The Superior Court of California has ordered the state to answer a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine lawsuit to require California to include cancer-causing processed meat-such as hot dogs, bacon, and deli meat-on the state's list of substances known to cause cancer, as required by Proposition 65. In a hearing on May 28, 2021, the court rejected the state's request for judgment in its favor.
"We've spent years asking California to follow the law and add carcinogenic processed meat to the Proposition 65 list," says Mark Kennedy, Esq., vice president of legal affairs for the Physicians Committee. "Now, the state must stop stalling and allow this case, which could help protect Californians from certain cancers, to proceed."
On March 11, 2020, the Physicians Committee filed a lawsuit arguing that California has neglected to follow a state law requiring the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to include on its carcinogen list

 
#2,591 ·
How Vegan Eggs of the Future Are Made
In the near future, a pastry chef may whip up a batch of macarons, a colorful French confection made from meringue and almond flour, without having to crack an egg. In another kitchen, a baker pulls a light, fluffy, egg-free brioche loaf out of the oven. And in my home kitchen, I might recreate a family recipe for tiramisu, replacing eggs with a liquid or powder that functions just the same as chicken eggs.

It sounds like something out of a cyberpunk setting, but this is where the food system is headed. And it's thanks to a technique that humans have been using for thousands of years: fermentation.

From sauerkraut in Germany and kimchi in Korea, to yogurts and aged cheeses in Europe, to tempeh in Indonesia, natto in Japan, beer, and more, nearly every major civilization has its own type of fermented food.

And, that beer you crack open during (digital) happy hour is created through that same ancient technique. Evidence of a fermented alcoholic beverage made from rice, honey, and fruit produced in the Henan province in China has been discovered in ancient pottery that dates back to 9,000 years ago, according to the Penn Museum.

It's thanks to beer-brewers that Clara Foods, a San Francisco-based food technology startup, is nearing the launch of its animal-free egg protein. Earlier this year, the venture capital-backed company, a "graduate" of Indiebio's accelerator program, announced its partnership with ZX Ventures, the innovation arm of the world's largest brewer, AB InBev-the parent company of Budweiser, Corona, Modelo, and other well-known beer companies.

The relationship between the two is synergistic. Clara Foods uses precision fermentation, formerly called microbial fermentation, which is using microorganisms like yeast to produce specific proteins, such as whey, casein, and egg albumen, without the use of animals. And, ZX Ventures provides its know-how behind implementing fermentation on a large scale with the end goal being to make animal-free eggs accessible to a wider consumer base.

The Weird Science Behind the Next Vegan Egg
Simply put, precision fermentation adapts an age-old process to create proteins that contain the same amino acid profile, nutrition, and functionality of their animal-derived counterparts.

"In the same way that brewers use yeast to convert sugar into alcohol to make beer and wine, or that bakers use yeast to convert sugar into carbon dioxide to leaven bread, yeast can also be used to convert sugar into protein," Clara Foods Arturo Elizondo tells LIVEKINDLY.

Elizondo likens the behavior of the yeast during this process to computer coding. "Only, instead of working with zeros and ones, they work with DNA. You insert a code for a particular protein and as the yeast eats sugar, instead of making alcohol, it starts producing protein."

At the end of the fermentation process, you have a pure protein that, in a practical sense, is identical to the proteins that occur in nature. Identical, that is, without the cholesterol and all of the consequences that come with raising animals for food.

A former employee of the USDA's Food and Safety Inspection Service, Elizondo is acutely aware of animal agriculture's inefficiency in terms of resources. The behemoth of an industry accounts for 14.5 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. It takes 18 to 24 weeks before chickens begin to lay eggs, and it takes an enormous amount of resources to do so.

But a company like Clara Foods can create animal-free egg proteins in less than a week without harming chickens and with significantly less impact on the planet.

Why Do We Need a Vegan Alternative to Eggs Anyway?
Egg substitutes are nothing new. You can use ground flax and chia seeds, applesauce, vinegar mixed with baking soda, powdered egg replacers, and the JUST Egg, to name a few. Aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas, can be whipped like egg whites, but it has its shortcomings. (In the Facebook group Aquafaba (Vegan Meringue - Hits and Misses!), angel food cake remains the elusive white whale for professional and home bakers alike.)

At the end of the day, easy alternatives that function just like the ingredient they're replacing have a strong appeal. And as reliable as many egg replacers are, they just don't have the same chemical composition as a chicken egg, so they're not a shoe-in for everything.

In cooking, every part of the cracked egg has a function, which is why it's tricky to replicate certain recipes, like souffles and brioches, that call for eggs using vegan substitutes. The protein in eggs gives structure to baked goods, acting as a glue that binds ingredients together.

According to the Science of Cooking, egg yolks act as emulsifiers, which prevent fats and liquids from coalescing. (Think of it like shaking oil and water in a jar. When you shake the jar, the oil droplets disperse, but they eventually pool together again. Emulsifiers prevent that. Egg yolks contain a specific emulsifier called lecithin, a fat also found in soybeans.)

The protein-rich egg whites foam, bind, and jell, and they provide leavening-which is why angel food cake is so light and fluffy. The air that you introduce into egg whites when you whip them forces the proteins to unfold and then reform around the air bubbles into a foamy texture.

Cooking With Vegan Eggs Is Getting Easier Too
Clara Foods, Eunite Foods, and other egg alternatives are up against the beast of the industrial egg industry. According to the American Egg Board, 275.3 million U.S. eggs were distributed in 2019 for retail, foodservice, institution, and export

Similar to what Berkeley-based precision fermentation company Perfect Day is doing by selling its vegan whey and casein to companies to produce dairy-free ice cream (and soon, cheese), Clara Foods' technology could replace chicken eggs in brioche, fresh pasta, cookies, and more.

According to Elizondo, it's key that its egg alternative works like a chicken egg would. That's because he believes that working with companies to replace eggs in existing products is how Clara Foods will make the biggest impact.

"We can make our own meringue [using our egg] but ultimately, our goal is to partner with bakeries to have them use our eggs to make products that they already make, like macarons and cakes," Elizondo adds.

Early plant-based companies have helped build consumer familiarity with products that replace animal-based foods, which has helped pave the way for ingredients companies like Clara Foods, Motif FoodWorks (dairy and meat), Perfect Day (dairy), MeliBio (honey), and others whose products can act as one-to-one replacements for a specific animal-derived ingredient.

The challenge for companies that want to swap out eggs is finding a replacement that will provide the same binding, texture, and mouthfeel that consumers are already accustomed to.

Another company, Ontario, Canada-based Noblegen, also aims to replace chicken eggs with one made using a single-celled organism called euglena gracilis. This microorganism is found in fresh and salt water that is rich in organic matter, and it has both plant and animal characteristics. Noblegen's euglena, which is processed into a flour, does not mimic any specific proteins found in chicken eggs. It is adjusted during the fermentation process to naturally change the nutritional profile.

"Protein from euglena doesn't exactly mimic animal protein but it is built similarly from an amino acid perspective," Bryan Reid, manager of communications at Noblegen, tells LIVEKINDLY. "Euglena also has the same ability to build muscle that animals do, making it a potential game-changer in the meat and dairy analogue industries."

Through its food and ingredient brand, Eunite Foods, the company has launched a powdered vegan whole egg replacer called "the egg" made from pea protein and its proprietary "euglena flour." It also contains methylcellulose, a plant cellulose-derived ingredient that acts as an emulsifier and that gels when hot temperatures are introduced.

Eunite Foods' vegan egg also functions like a conventional chicken egg. It can be scrambled or be used for baking cakes. Unlike Clara, though, the Canadian startup is selling its products to consumers through its website in order to show foodservice companies what its products can do and to gain consumer feedback. The company is currently in the process of formulating a liquid version of its egg.

This vegan egg is made via fermentation, though not precision fermentation, like Clara Foods and so many other startups. However, it is part of a group of emerging brands that are using this age-old process to create new, more sustainable alternatives to foods that have been part of the human diet for thousands of years.

 
#2,592 ·
Yes! :)

VEGANS ARE HAPPIER THAN MEAT-EATERS, STUDY FINDS

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Vegans are happier than meat-eaters and more accepted than what's commonly believed, according to a new study by organization Tracking Happiness. The study surveyed 11,537 people from the United States, grouped into four categories: vegan (1,179), vegetarian (948), pescatarian (422), and meat-eater (8,988). Respondents were asked: "If you look back at the last year of your life, how would you rate your happiness on a scale from 1 to 10?" The average happiness rating was 6.9, with meat-eaters scoring the lowest happiness rating of 6.8 on a scale of 1 to 10 and vegans scoring 7 percent higher.

The study also found that happier individuals consider themselves more likely to become vegan in the future. Of the nearly 9,000 meat-eaters surveyed, researchers found those who reported higher happiness ratings were more likely to adopt a plant-based diet. Additionally, they found that not only are happier individuals more likely to become vegan, vegans are also more likely to stay happy.

Positive attitudes towards vegans
The study explored the attitudes toward and acceptance of veganism and the motives for going vegan. The survey asked the participating meat-eaters what their opinion of vegans or veganism is, and findings showed that less than 15 percent had a negative opinion of vegans and that the average meat-eater thought positively of vegans (3.44 on a scale of 1 to 5).

The study also pointed out that only 16 percent of meat-eaters consider themselves likely or very likely to adopt a plant-based diet, with older respondents significantly less likely to do so. Notably though, among people already reducing their consumption of animal products, the study found they are 220 percent more likely to adopt a plant-based diet in the future.

Vegans' motives and happiness levels
Among vegans, the study found that the environment was the biggest motive for their dietary choice, followed by personal preference, animal cruelty, and intolerance for meat or dairy products. Of those individuals, researchers found that those who are vegan to help reduce their impact on the environment reported a higher average happiness rating (7.72 on a scale of 1 to 10) compared to those who are vegan to counter animal cruelty (6.77 on a scale of 1 to 10).

"Sustainable behavior is linked to increased mental health, which is why it's so important to talk about the consumption of animal products. Even though the positive environmental effect of veganism cannot be disputed, there is still a negative stigma surrounding people who claim to be vegan," Tracking Happiness Founder Hugo Huijer said. "We believe that happiness and sustainability go hand in hand. We hope that our findings help people make informed decisions regarding sustainability, happiness, and the consumption of animal products."

Eating more veggies makes you happier
A similar 2016 study carried out by the University of Warwick and the University of Queensland found that people who ate more fruit and vegetables experienced substantial increases in happiness over a two-year period.

For this study, researchers examined the food diaries of 12,385 Australian adults to measure their happiness levels and concluded that people who transitioned from eating few fruits and vegetables to eight servings per day felt increases in life satisfaction comparable to getting a job after being unemployed.

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#2,596 ·
More reasons to eat your veggies :)

Time to ditch the burgers? Vegetarians and pescatarians are up to 73% less likely to develop severe Covid-19 than meat-eaters, study finds
Eating a vegetarian or pescatarian diet reduces your risk of developing severe Covid-19 when compared to people who eat meat, according to a new study.

Plant-based vegetarian diets reduce the risk of moderate to severe Covid-19 by up to 73 per cent and a fish-based pescatarian diet reduces the risk by 59 per cent.

Previous studies have shown a link between diet and the severity and duration of a Covid-19 infection, which the team wanted to examine in more detail.

Drawing on a survey of 2,884 frontline doctors and nurses exposed to the virus between July and September 2020, the team from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland looked into diet and Covid-19 severity.

The survey asked about diet, medical history and instances of Covid-19, revealing the notable link between avoiding meat and reducing the risk of severe coronavirus.

As it was a self-reported observational study they couldn't say why this was the case, but suspected it may be due to increased vitamins, nutrients and minerals in a plant-based diet that are vital for a healthy immune system.

Volunteers involved in the survey faced extensive exposure to SARS-CO-v2, the virus responsible for Covid-19 infection throughout the pandemic.

They were working in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US last summer and were all part of the Survey Healthcare Globus market research network.

The researchers used this network to identify medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, at high risk of COVID-19 infection as a result of their jobs.

The survey also gathered information on personal background, medical history, medication use, and lifestyle.

They explored three diets: plant-based that was higher in vegetables than meat, pescatarian that was high in vegetable and fish, and a low carb-high protein diet.

Of the volunteers involved in the survey, 568 said they had Covid-19 symptoms or no symptoms but had positive swab test for the infection, and another 2,316 said they hadn't had any symptoms or tested positive.

Among the 568 cases, 138 clinicians said they had a moderate to severe Covid-19 infection and the remaining 430 said they had a very mild to mild infection.

The team then factored in several influential variables, including age, ethnicity, medical specialty, and lifestyle factors, such as smoking and physical activity levels

They found that those taking part in the survey who eat a plant or fish-based diet had significantly lower odds than meat eaters of developing a severe strain of Covid.

In comparison, those who eat a low carb-high protein diet had four times the odds of developing a moderate to severe infection than plant-eaters.

This means that eating a plant-based, vegetarian diet increases your odds of avoiding a severe dose of Covid-19 if you become infected, they found.

These associations held true when weight (BMI) and co-existing medical conditions were also factored in.

But no association was observed between any type of diet and the risk of contracting Covid-19 infection or length of the subsequent illness.

There were a number of issues with the study, the team explained, including the fact men outnumbered women, so the findings may not be applicable to women.

This was also an observational study, and so can't establish cause, only correlation.

It also relied on individual recall rather than on objective assessments, and the definition of certain dietary patterns may vary by country, point out the researchers.

'Our results suggest that a healthy diet rich in nutrient dense foods may be considered for protection against severe COVID-19,' they conclude.

'The trends in this study are limited by study size so caution is needed in the interpretation of the findings,' said Deputy Chair of the NNEdPro Nutrition and COVID-19 Taskforce, Shane McAuliffe.

'However, a high quality diet is important for mounting an adequate immune response, which in turn can influence susceptibility to infection and its severity.'

He adds: 'This study highlights the need for better designed prospective studies on the association between diet, nutritional status and COVID-19 outcomes.'

The findings have been published in the BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health journal


VEGETARIAN DIETS CAN LOWER YOUR CHOLESTEROL

Plant-based diets really do lower cholesterol, according to a review of nearly 50 studies.

Vegetarians generally eat more greens, fruits and nuts which means they have a lower intake of saturated fat, researchers found.

These foods are naturally rich in components such as soluble fibre, soy protein, and plant sterols (a cholesterol found in plants), all of which lower cholesterol.

The research, led by Dr Yoko Yokoyama, from Keio University in Fujisawa, found vegetarians had 29.2 milligrams less of total cholesterol per decilitre (one tenth of a litre) than meat-eaters.
 
#2,597 ·
Dairy-Free Diet Guide: Easy Tips & Helpful Advice

What is Dairy-Free?
For both health and ethical reasons, dairy products raise serious concerns. On the health side, countless people who've quit dairy witnessed enormous improvements to their well-being. Maladies like nasal congestion, digestive problems, acne, or chronic ear infections may vanish within a few weeks. You might therefore consider going dairy-free for a month to see if doing so significantly improves your quality of life.

Nutritionally speaking, dairy brings lots of bad news. Nearly all of its carbohydrates come from sugar-all of it in the form of lactose, which many people can't properly digest. Upwards of 80 percent of people of Asian descent, and 70 percent of people of African descent, can't properly digest lactose. In fact, lactose intolerance afflicts large numbers of people in every part of the world. So if you suffer from chronic digestive issues, eliminating dairy products may resolve your problems.

Almost half of the calories in whole milk come from fat. Worse yet, this fat is highly saturated-making it as bad for your heart as beef fat (tallow) or pig fat (lard). Dairy also has absolutely no fiber or iron. And if all that were not enough, you might contemplate why the FDA refuses to answer the question about whether milk products contain pus.

Ethical Considerations
Many dairies operate with appalling appalling animal welfare standards. Several of the largest dairies never allow their cows outdoors to graze. Instead the animals spend their lives in cramped indoor stalls. Although cows can live twenty years, nearly all dairies slaughter their animals before age five. Why so young? Because aging cows don't produce nearly as much milk as do younger animals.

So shifting from beef to dairy does not enable you to avoid animal slaughter. Beef comes from slaughtered cattle, whereas dairy products come from cows destined for slaughter.

Dairies impregnate their cows annually in order to maximize milk yields. Generally, these calves get taken away at just two days of age. What happens to these calves? The males commonly supply the veal industry. So if you oppose the crating and slaughter of young calves, know that the veal industry only exists because of the demand for dairy products. For detailed information about the dairy industry's cruel farming practices, see Jonathan Safran Foer's superb Eating Animals.

If the idea of cutting out all dairy products right away seems daunting, you can ease into it. Think for a moment about all the dairy products you currently consume. Chances are that you truly enjoy one or two of these foods, but that you aren't crazy about the others. For example, if you regularly consume a wide assortment of dairy products, perhaps you'd only actually miss eating yogurt and cheese pizza. So get rid of the others, and you've instantly moved to a mostly dairy-free diet!

Recommended Dairy Substitutes
The best approach for eliminating dairy foods involves not cutting them out, but rather crowding them out with superior non-dairy alternatives.

Luckily, there are all sorts of superb non-dairy products on the market. Whether you want to find replacements for milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, or ice cream, you can choose from dozens of excellent dairy alternatives.

Milks
Soy, rice, almond, coconut, and even hemp seed milks are available at all natural food stores and most supermarkets. Vegan milks are sold in two types of packaging: conventional milk cartons stocked in the refrigerated dairy case, and aseptic juice boxes sold at room temperature. You'll cut your sugar intake dramatically if you use unsweetened vegan milks, which are delicious out of a glass or poured on cereal.

It's better, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly to buy refrigerated soy milk. But you may want to keep a couple cartons of aseptic packaged non-dairy milk on hand for emergencies. These products usually have a shelf life of more than a year. Once opened, always store your aseptic packaged milk in the refrigerator.

Finally, note that "coconut milk" may refer to a pour-it-on-your-cereal milk alternative that's similar to soy milk. But it may also refer to canned coconut milk-a much thicker and fattier product ideal for Thai curries. When cooking recipes, it's important not to confuse the two!

Yogurt
Silk's Peach & Mango soy yogurt delivers exceptional flavor and smoothness. Other brands of non-dairy yogurts include Kite Hill, So Delicious, Trader Joe's and Nancy's.

Cheese
You'll have no problem finding excellent non-dairy cheeses with wonderful taste and texture. We list all the top brands on our vegan cheese page. If the label does not say vegan, always check the ingredients for casein or sodium caseinate, which are proteins derived from milk.

Butter
Vegan butters have come a long way. Several brands offer wonderful flavor and are free of dangerous trans fats. Miyoko's Cultured Vegan Butter uses organic ingredients, and compares favorably in flavor to butter made from cows' milk. And most supermarkets carry Earth Balance, an excellent mass-market product. Neither of these products contains dangerous artificial trans fats. If you want to embark on a challenging but rewarding cooking project, you can also make superb vegan butter in your kitchen by following this recipe.

Ice Cream
Ice cream giants Ben & Jerry's and Häagen-Dazs both sell vegan pints, and Häagen-Dazs also offers two varieties of vegan chocolate covered bars on a stick. Turtle Mountain's "Purely Decadent" pints are outstanding, and conventional ice cream producer Double Rainbow makes several excellent varieties from soy milk.

If you love the flavor of coconuts, you owe it to yourself to try Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss.Both So Delicious and Tofutti make vegan versions of those junky but delicious ice cream sandwiches you ate as a kid-you won't be able to tell the difference! Plus don't forget about sorbets, which tend to be vegan and are lighter and often more flavorful than ice cream.

For even more vegan ice cream brands, plus information on how to make your own, check out our vegan ice cream page.

Cream Cheese
Once again, you're in luck. Several companies make sensational dairy-free cream cheese: Miyoko's Creamery, Kite Hill, Follow Your Heart, Daiya, and Tofutti.

These brands are available at most natural food stores and many supermarkets.

Sour Cream
Follow Your Heart, Kite Hill, and Tofutti make vegan sour cream.

Mayonnaise
There are also several vegan brands of mayonnaise, the most popular of which is Just Mayo, which is carried by Walmart, Costco, and natural food groceries nationwide. Follow Your Heart also makes "Vegenaise" in several varieties.

Coffee Creamer
There's no need to put cream in your coffee: both So Delicious and Silk make vegan creamers that blend perfectly into coffee.

Pudding.
Bestselling cookbook author Mark Bittman concocted perhaps the best chocolate pudding recipe you'll ever try, and it doesn't contain a drop of milk. Zen makes refrigerated vegan pudding cups made from soy milk and almond milk.

Is Vegan Dairy-Free?
Anyone going dairy-free will find all sorts of vegan offerings helpful. Vegan foods never contain dairy, since veganism excludes all foods of animal origin. This in turns means that:

  • All vegan cookbooks are dairy-free.
  • Any restaurant menu offerings designated as vegan are likewise dairy-free.
  • There are hundreds of vegan products, from chocolate to frozen foods, that can further help you transition to a dairy-free lifestyle.
So even if you would never go vegan, the foods and resources marketed to vegans can help you to go dairy-free. Every time you try something that's vegan, you've found yet another dairy-free item you can add to your diet.

Calcium and Dairy-Free Diets
It's important for everyone-meat eaters, ovo-lacto vegetarians, and vegans alike-to read up on nutrition to ensure their diet isn't deficient in any nutrients.

Most dairy products are rich in calcium, but dairy is absolutely not the only rich source of this nutrient. Other excellent calcium sources include:

  • some leafy greens
  • some beans
  • calcium fortified soy milk
  • calcium-set tofu
For some people, a calcium supplement may be advisable. To learn more, check our calcium overview.

Other Nutritional Considerations
If you're switching to a dairy-free diet, three more nutrients deserve attention: protein, vitamin D, and iodine. Of these, only protein is naturally present in milk-vitamin D and iodine get added during milking and processing. Regardless, these three nutrients are all a vital part of a balanced diet. Luckily, they're all easy to get without consuming dairy products.

Protein:
There's no denying that milk products offer a rich source of protein, but there's nothing about dairy that makes it a better source than other protein-rich foods. Not all dairy products have much protein, either. Cheese has much less protein per calorie than milk, and butter has essentially no protein since it's pure fat.

Suffice to say, when cutting out dairy products, seek out dairy-free alternatives that contain comparable amounts of protein. In particular, that means avoiding almond and rice milk, since neither of these products contain much protein.

Our protein guide has the information you need to make sure your protein needs are met.

Vitamin D:
Government regulations require dairy producers to fortify milk with substantial amounts of vitamin D. If you consume a lot of milk products, most of your vitamin D probably comes from dairy. If that's the case, and you decide to go dairy-free, taking a vitamin D supplement may be sensible, since Vitamin D is never found in non-supplemented foods.

Some vegan milks are also supplemented with Vitamin D. Opt for a brand that contains about 25 percent of the RDA per serving.

Iodine:
Finally, everybody ought to check that they're getting sufficient iodine. About the only two reliable sources of iodine in Western diets are dairy products and iodized salt.

While many foods contain iodine, the levels vary wildly depending on the mineral content of the farmland. Seaweed also delivers an excellent source of iodine, but these levels also fluctuate dramatically from one variety to the next.

Since dropping dairy products from your diet is eliminating a reliable source of iodine from your life, see that you replace it with another excellent source. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers excellent information on iodine.

For comprehensive information on how to steer clear of deficiencies, our Vegan Nutrition Guide is well worth your time. Finally, please check our supplements guide for more information about meeting your protein, calcium, vitamin D, and iodine needs.

Dairy-Free Cookbooks
The easiest way to find a dairy-free cookbook is to choose one with vegan in its title. There are hundreds of vegan cookbooks available covering every sort of food and cuisine you could possibly imagine. By including vegan cookbooks in your search, you'll gain access to a far wider range of titles than if you merely stick with books marketed as dairy-free.

Start with a cookbook offering a diverse assortment of easy recipes that take just a few minutes to prepare. Two excellent choices are Robin Robertson's Quick-Fix Vegan or Mary Mattern's Nom Yourself.

If you want to make meals that are a little more upscale, check out titles like Happy Healthy Vegan Kitchen or Vegan Eats.

Making Your Own Dairy Alternatives
We've already seen that natural food stores sell every imaginable sort of dairy substitute. But you can also make your own dairy replacements from scratch. Catherine Atkinson's The Vegan Dairy, offers recipes for every conceivable variety of dairy product. It's got recipes for milks, various styles of cheeses, yogurt, and more. On top of all this, the book features several dozen hard cheese recipes.

You can also make vegan milks at home-an easy project that offers great savings over commercial non-dairy brands. The New Milks offers complete instructions for making numerous varieties of vegan milk, using your choice of soybeans, nuts, seeds, or grains. It also features recipes for meals that include these milks as key ingredients. The book is beautifully organized and photographed.

If all this isn't enough to keep you going, there are a number of outstanding cookbooks entirely devoted to dairy-free cheese. These titles include:

Trying just a few of the recipes from books like these will surely convince you that cows are obsolete.

Dairy-Free Baking
If baking is your thing, the dairy-free options are endless. Our Vegan Baking Guide gives you all the advice you'll need to get started. Thanks to the growing popularity of vegan lifestyles there are a number of dairy-free baking cookbooks. Two comprehensive titles are The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes and Whole Grain Vegan Baking.

For fantastic dairy-free dessert cookbooks, check out:

Give dairy-free baking recipes a try and you'll achieve impressive results. When it comes to baking delicious breads and desserts, going dairy-free entails nothing in the way of sacrifice.

Your Dairy-Free Diet Will Keep Getting Easier
Whether you want to cut down on dairy or eliminate it entirely, the transition requires surprisingly little effort. And the longer you stick with it, the more new foods you'll discover, and the easier it gets.

So why not make a commitment to try out a dairy-free lifestyle for a month? If you do, you may find the benefits so compelling that you'll never go back.

You might discover, like I did, that dairy products were gumming your body and significantly reducing your quality of life. Looking back now, I deeply resent how much dairy products stole from me, in terms of the nasal terrible congestion I suffered for so many years. And this doesn't even get into how much animal suffering occurred in order to produce all the milk and cheese I once consumed.

So, for me, the "non-dairy" label doesn't go far enough. I follow the lead of the people at Hug Life Ice Cream and embrace an ANTI-dairy lifestyle. There's something uniquely satisfying about kicking this horrible food to the curb once and for all, while showering it with the scorn it so richly deserves.

 
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