egan for Life

Our vegan recipe collection

Over 400 recipes. We try to avoid "weird" ingredients or excessively complicated recipes; most of our recipes are accessible to everyone. These are dishes we enjoy ourselves, and we hope you will enjoy preparing and eating them too!
 

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Common expressions and sayings are often based on animals' misfortunes. Here are some life-affirming alternative expressions!

Read what people -- some famous, some not-so-famous -- have written about the animals in our lives and our world.

A special report on Animals in Romania from Associated Humane Societies.

Here's a bonus for all you crafty animal-lovers: fold a flying origami bat!

Lots of links to vegan, vegetarian, animal-friendly, and healthful web sites.

Vegetarian and cruelty-free -- here's why

I've been a vegetarian for more than half my lifetime. A few years ago I decided to stop eating all animal products and became a vegan. A vegan [vee-gun] is a person who eats no products of animal origin. A Vegan [vay-gun] is a person from Las Vegas or an alien from the planet Vega -- although sometimes people think vegans are from another planet too! :-)

It used to be very difficult to find tasty vegetarian/vegan foods. Things have gotten better, and a growing number of restaurants and supermarkets sell an ever-increasing selection of vegetarian foods as more people request them. The increasing popularity of a plant-based diet will surely make us, our planet, and our fellow creatures healthier!

If you want to know more about vegetarianism/veganism, please keep reading. Or check out my list of links to vegetarian-related web sites.

And about the term "vegetarian:" This word can be a noun -- as in "I'm a vegetarian" -- or an adjective -- as in "I'm enjoying a vegetarian meal." If any meals you eat don't contain animal products, those meals would be described as vegetarian (adjective); if some of the meals you eat do contain flesh products, the meal is not vegetarian (adjective), and you are not a vegetarian (noun)! No slight or insult -- just a point of fact. Once you've made the commitment to not eat any more non-vegetarian (adjective) meals, then you become a vegetarian (noun). Simple, no?

Vegetarians do not eat flesh, whether from land, air, or water creatures. People who eat any of these creatures as any part of their diet are not vegetarians, even if many of their meals are vegetarian. Contrary to media rumours, there is no such thing as a "part-time vegetarian:" you either are or you're not! It isn't clear why anyone would want to be called such a thing anyway, especially when there's already a perfectly good word that describes this type of diet: omnivorous (an omnivore is one who consumes both animal and vegetable products). Language is a wonderful tool, and accurate communication aids in mutual understanding.

If you are following an omnivorous diet, I would like to encourage you to eat more vegetarian meals, and to maybe become a vegetarian (or vegan). There are many compelling reasons to choose this diet and lifestyle:

Concern for animals

I believe that non-human animals have souls, just like human animals, and that it is just as wrong to kill an animal as it is to kill a human. Animals have hearts and brains, and they certainly have feelings, so there can be no excuse for deliberately causing pain or fear in a fellow creature -- whether you do it yourself or let someone else do it for you. Non-human animals are not cruel to their fellow creatures; only humans are capable of such acts. Think about it: Somebody has bombed the World Trade Centre, four airplanes, and a Federal office building. There are near-daily attacks on innocent civilians in Israel, France, and elsewhere. One group of people may enslave or murder another group of people simply because they have different beliefs or look different -- one example is the current genocide being committed by Arabs in Sudan. Parents abuse their children. People mistreat animals. When you see all this, you have to wonder whether humans truly are the most highly evolved animals on this planet.

 

Concern for Earth and its inhabitants

Raising animals for food requires a lot more land than it takes to raise grains, beans, and other life-giving plants. If everyone ate plant foods instead of animals there could be about ten times as much food available. No person would ever need to be hungry -- no child would starve to death. No more precious rainforests and ecosystems would be destroyed! Besides the land resources, ranching animals instead of farming crops uses much more water for less return. And the waste products produced either by the animals themselves or as a result of the slaughtering process contribute heavily to the pollution of our air and water.

 

Health concerns

Heart disease, obesity, stroke, cancer. Every day we hear about how a diet high in animal fats, cholesterol, and other animal products contributes to these conditions. Nutritionists, physicians, and scientists have been telling us for years to eat more fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. and to eliminate all (or a good percentage of) animal foods from our diets. It takes much more time and energy for our bodies to digest animal products than plant foods. Studies have also shown that about 70% of the human population can't tolerate dairy milk -- so why do we try to force our bodies to accept it? (Did you know that humans are the only animals on Earth that continue drinking milk after weaning ... or drink the milk of another species?) Many people suffer frequent heartburn, upset stomach, and other digestive disorders after eating these foods. The drug industry does a booming business selling products to help relieve disorders that could be far less common if people ate a more appropriate diet! Try a sensible, healthful diet based on plant foods, and see if you don't feel better.

 

Esthetic concerns

I'm frequently amazed by how much time my flesh-eating friends spend cleaning grease in their kitchens, on cookware, etc. Their food tends to go bad rather quickly, too. And I wonder how many would eat flesh if they couldn't season it, or had to eat it all uncooked? Yes, I'm aware that some people like some of the flesh they eat to be raw, but not all or even most of it. Other than potatoes and eggplant, I can't think of any plant food that doesn't taste good raw. And cooked plant foods taste good, too -- with or without seasoning! Esthetics also influence my choice of clothing, shoes, cosmetics, household products, etc. I do my best to avoid products made of animal skins or other animal parts, or that have been tested on animals. Fortunately, it is becoming much easier to find cruelty-free products because so many concerned people have pressured manufacturers to stop exploiting animals.

 

Concern for peace -- and peace of mind

I believe that acts of violence only beget more violence. I do not want to start the cycle, so I do not want to eat anything that was brought to my table through the violence of slaughter. Perhaps if we all fed ourselves life-affirming foods, rather than dead bodies, we could become more peaceful and more tolerant of our neighbours. Who knows? Maybe we would even see an end to racism, anti-Semitism, and old hatreds. It could happen ...

The Pig's Pick of the Day

George Bates, an officer in Coastal Division 11, participated in numerous operations with [John] Kerry. In Unfit for Command, Bates recalls a particular patrol with Kerry on the Song Bo De River. He is still "haunted" by the incident:

With Kerry in the lead, the boats approached a small hamlet with three or four grass huts. Pigs and chickens were milling around peacefully. As the boats drew closer, the villagers fled. There were no political symbols or flags in evidence in the tiny village. It was obvious to Bates that existing policies, decency, and good sense required the boats to simply move on.

Instead, Kerry beached his boat directly in the small settlement. Upon his command, the numerous small animals were slaughtered by heavy-caliber machine guns. Acting more like a pirate than a naval officer, Kerry disembarked and ran around with a Zippo lighter, burning up the entire hamlet. [Drudge Report, August 12, 2004]

Is this his idea of a more "sensitive" war?