A life connected

A group called Non violence united has released a group of videos called A Life Connected. On YouTube they're broken into three sections - a) why veganism is better for people b) why veganism is better for the planet c) why veganism is better for the animals.

I like them. They're especially good if you can't handle the intense cruelty depicted in PETA style factory farming videos. These ones leave that topic alone, and instead focus on the life-affirming qualities of veganism.

Part 1: For the People, is here.

Part 2: For the Planet, is here:

As this video shows, the natural resources flat out wasted by meat farming, and the C02 emissions caused by meat farming, are simply staggering. It makes you wonder why the "green" movement is so often silent about vegetarianism as a climate change solution.


Part 3: For the Animals, is here.

touring a local market garden!

Note: Our next meeting is scheduled for 4:30pm on Sunday Sept 7th at the Friends Meeting House (231 Westmount Drive South, Orillia). The theme will be "100 mile diet" so we will all try to bring a dish made from local ingredients.

Our August event took place at Stephen's Organic Market Garden in Severn Township, hosted by three of our "regulars" Natalie, Nora, and Stephen.





We arrived to a scavenger hunt planned by Natalie that had us mapping out the locations of various fruits and vegetables being grown in the garden. Prize for most right answers went to the very knowledgeable John & Kathleen!

For more information about Stephen's Organic Market Garden, please send an email to marketgarden@sympatico.ca




The potluck was full of variety again, including a green salad with mind-blowing "zingy" dressing, two sweet potato dishes, home made salsa, and a beet/carrot/cabbage coleslaw. And we finished off with a Chocolate Cake that was ... shall we say... to die for :) But I'll share that recipe in a future post! For now, enjoy the following recipe for one of the Sweet Potato Salads...



Sweet Potato Salad (pictured in pink bowl above):
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
raisins and/or dried cranberries
sunflower seeds
4 scallions, white and light green parts, finely chopped

Dressing:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook sweet potatoes until just tender, 7 to 10 minutes (careful not to overcook). Drain and transfer to large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over cooked and drained sweet potatoes and add the cranberries, seeds and scallions. Mix together. Serve warm or refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving.

Veggie items in U.S. politics

A little while back we mentioned how Oprah Winfrey was giving veganism a try, as part of a three week cleanse.
Apparently her buddy, Barack Obama, is up on factory farming issues - with factory farming being one of more common reasons that people turn to the veggie life.

In this post on Vegan.com the writer talks about asking a factory farming related question to Obama at a town hall, and being pleased with his knowledgeable response (although, from what I can tell, all he really says is that subsidies need to be taken away from the big concentrated animal feeding operations).

Anyway, let's hear it for the Democrats. At least they've heard of vegetarianism. Heck, they even had a Vegan who was in the hunt for the presidential nomination for a while. Dennis Kucinich is member of the House of Representatives from Ohio, and might have been an even more interesting nomination for President than Obama.

Here he is, discussing healthy eating with Chris Matthews and Lance Armstrong: