Vegan Agents

veganfeast:

Veggie Tacos on Flickr.

OMG!

Like Glee and vampires, vegetarianism and veganism appear to be a growing trend for Canadians. Approximately four per cent of Canadians describe themselves as vegetarians. Many restaurants also offer a number of vegan options now, with some having an entire menu dedicated to the vegan crowd.

But why now? Veganism has been around since the 1940s but it has never been quite as prevalent as it has been recently.

Bridget Burns, who has been a vegan since 2009, says “veganism is an issue now because it’s seen as a possible solution for certain environmental strains on the planet.” An increasing number of prominent figures are also being recognized as vegetarians and vegans such as Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, and Mike Tyson.

Burns said she became a vegan for several reasons, including her love of animals and for her health. “There are so many healthy, flavourful options available that won’t damage your health and put you at risk for diabetes, heart disease and obesity,” said Burns. “To my knowledge, no harm has come from reducing one’s meat and dairy consumption.”

Burns, Jessica Grajczyk and Jennifer Hanover, founders of the Vegan Project, made an educated decision to become vegetarians and then vegans after an in-depth exploration of their diet, where they intensively researched where their meat and dairy products came from.

“We decided we didn’t like the practices in the mainstream dairy industry, so we challenged each other to be vegan for 30 days,” Burns explained. Burns describes herself as feeling much healthier and stronger after changing her diet: “I feel amazing and look a lot healthier … some call it ‘the vegan glow’.”

But aside from the many benefits of being vegan, Burns also admits there are some hardships that vegans and vegetarians occasionally encounter.

Burns is often asked where she gets her protein. “Unfortunately, many people are unaware of what foods have protein,” she said. (Many believe protein can only be found in animal and dairy products. However, proteins can be found in abundance in vegetables and fruits, which is where most animals receive their protein.)

“Holiday dinners can (also) be a little stressful,” said Burns, and there is often the general prejudice that vegans are judgmental towards non-vegans. “People are often apologetic for eating meat in front of (us).”

Although they are a minority in Vancouver, the city has quickly adapted to the growing needs of the vegetarian population. “I would give Vancouver a seven out of 10 for being vegan-friendly,” said Burns. There is usually a “vegan option or two at even the most carnivorous establishments … and vegan products are popping up more and more in the grocery stores.”

Burns, Grajczyk and Hanover began the Vegan Project in 2009. Initially, the three began a vegan blog in which they described their vegan experiences. But soon, with the attention and interest which their experiment garnered, the trio decided to launch the Vegan Project, in which they compiled vegan meal plans, the experiences of other vegans as well as vegan recipes and restaurant reviews. Today, it has evolved into a vegan lifestyle website for Vancouverites. “It appeals to vegans and non-vegans alike” said Burns, “I’m pretty sure most of our readers are not vegans — they’re just looking for delicious, healthy and fun recipes.”

For those interested in trying out veganism, Burns suggests beginning with “incorporating one vegan meal a week, then try being vegan one whole day per week.”

It can seem a little pricey at first when you are replacing all your non-vegan items. One great tip from the Vegan Project is to replace the items as you run out so you won’t be spending too much all at once.

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/food/recipes/2011/04/26/little-taste-vegan-life

1.       It’s fun to annoy and alienate your friends with smug, self righteous comments like “do you know how many animals were murdered just so you could eat that?” Or sometimes just mildly vomiting at the site of their cheese-smothered beef burger is quite effective.

2.       It gets you out of stuff you don’t want to do. Awkward office birthday parties, bridal showers, anniversaries, bad dates etc. can all be avoided with the “Darnitall, I would love to but I’m REALLY trying to avoid temptation” excuse.

3.       You get drunk really fast.

4.       Further to reason three - tequila is vegan.

5.       An excuse to make every conversation about you.  Almost any conversation topic can somehow be manipulated into your veganism. For example: Bob: “Hey Kim, I have some bad news – I got fired today.” Kim: “Oh no Bob that’s terrible. I can totally relate – my boss hates me because I’m vegan.”

6.       People automatically expect you to be crazy so you can really put it all out there.

7.       Anaemia +calcium deficiency=frequent napping!

8.       Two words: Paul McCartney.

9.       You get to use this pick up line: “I don’t normally like meat, but that was before I saw you in those jeans (insert tiger purr).”

10.   Bread.

As someone who typically works from my home office, I have the luxury of a fridge full of soy, rice and almond milk for my morning coffee.  There are days, however, that I work from the office of a client and use whatever they have in their fridge.  This has never been a problem because I will, from time to time, dabble in dairy…before April 1 that is.  So today, I got into the office and to my horror realized I had two choices under my vegan regime: black coffee or no coffee at all.  To be fair, the ‘no coffee at all’ option really didn’t stand a chance so I went black.  Below is the face that resulted from my experience.

I have struggled these past few days to come up a blog posting, hence why it’s been so long since my last post.  I was feeling guilty about neglecting my online commitment so have been sitting in front of a blank computer page for a while trying to think of what I was going to write.

Then, it occurred to me that not having anything to write about was in fact something to write about! I now feel fully immersed in my veganism to the point that it’s become second nature and I have no unique experiences or frustrations to share.  

I finally told my dad this weekend about the challenge and being a meat and potatoes kind of guy, he flat out asked me why I was torturing myself. I told him it was temporary and took him to Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company in Kits where he asked for battery farm eggs and unfair trade coffee. Oh Poppa Hawk – you just can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

I feel like my diet is balanced to the point that I am not extremely hungry. I feel no urge to cheat and have faced temptation (in the form of a fresh apple turnover) directly and won the battle. Don’t tell my boyfriend, but life as a vegan is pretty good.

A few people have asked me if I am going to keep the vegan thing going at the end of the challenge. While I don’t think I will be strict about it, I am considering some overall changes based on this experience.

Stay tuned for more on that but know this: I do miss pizza. Alot.

- Erin

This summarizes my vegan experience over the last two weeks.  While I don’t really miss things I thought I would like cheese and yogurt, avoiding these items is much more difficult than I ever anticipated. 

As a long-time vegetarian, finding food options in Vancouver has never ever been an issue.  I can enter into any eating establishment with great confidence that I will find something on the menu  I can eat and enjoy.  As a vegan, life is not so simple.  Cheese, butter, milk, mayonnaise, eggs haunt me around every corner.  Looks of ‘why are you so difficult’ follow me.  Pangs of hunger torture me.

Okay, okay I am exaggerating slightly, but the bottom line it is much harder to be a social vegan than a social vegetarian.  For example, three nights last week I was out with friends for drinks and dinner. From three different venues, these were the vegan options listed on the menu: edamame, olives, over-priced popcorn and yam fries.   In one case, I was able to flutter my eyelashes into a specially-made vegan meal (thank god for male servers!), in another I had to lie and say I am allergic to dairy so I got a salad (lettuce) without the standard cheese and creamy dressing and in the last, I suffered through the worst edamame I’ve ever had in my life.  In each case, I left hungry, grumpy and slightly more intoxicated than I should or would be if I’d had a proper meal.

Entering into this challenge I thought my experience would be the opposite of what it is: that I would be ready to maim for a small square of cheese, but that eating out would be a cinch.  Living in one of the world’s most liberal and healthy cities, I assumed nearly every restaurant would have a few vegan options… to this I continuously think - imagine if I still lived in Calgary??!!

So while life seems to be ticking along quite happily and normally when I’m building my own meals (cravings for cookies aside) the verdict remains unknown about how easy this lifestyle would be to continue past the challenge.

Kelly

THE VEGAN FOOD PYRAMID.  

This is a great little tool to help those of us stunted vegans out there (hello, Agent 2!).

(via beautifully-vegan-deactivated20)

The agents enjoying an afternoon with one of our favourite Canadians - George Strombolopoous.

Imagine my glory when, once again faced with the challenge of going out for a couple of drinks with friends, I discovered there are endless tools to help with the seemingly difficult task of figuring out what I can and cannot drink. 

As Agent One, insightfully pointed out in an earlier post, most wines are not vegan. This was huge and utterly devastating news to me.  As my friend, I’m sure she did not realize she was crushing my soul in one fell swoop of a ‘submit’ button, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t quite a blow.

Alas, as my social life hung on the brink of extinction, I did what any self-respecting person would do and madly researched what my alternative options were.  As it turns out, there are many.  And what’s more, there are endless apps to help navigate the options by alcohol type, brand and manufacturer.

My two favourites are: iVegan and VeganIsEasy – both are free and both are available through iTunes.  Each one allows you to search by alcohol type and brand.  For example, a search for Sleeman Breweries allowed me to learn that all of their beers are vegan with the exception of the Honey Lager (which is only non-vegan for the honey naysayers out there).  Cool, right?!  Cool, easy and a social lifesaver!

Sadly, Agent One was not kidding around about wine – following fermentation, wines are cleared using  ingredients like: edible gelatins (made from bones), isinglass (made from the swim bladders of fish), casein and potassium caseinate (milk proteins) and animal albumin (egg albumin and dried blood powder).  In contrast, most beers and hard alcohols are entirely vegan.  Sounds like a green light for tequila shots to me!

-Kelly