Free-range
Eggs:
A Meaningless Term
Free-range" is not a legal industry term; it is essentially meaningless. Farmers use the term to imply that they practice a more humane standard of production but, in reality, there is no regulation regarding how the word is interpreted or used. Although most consumers imagine free-range hens have access to the outdoors with plenty of sunlight, vegetation, and normal social interaction, to most egg producers, the "range" is simply a bigger cage than those in which battery-caged hens are kept.
As an article in Consumer Reports stated, "USDA requires only that growers sign an affidavit that they will provide free-range chickens with access to the outdoors, and submit drawings or photographs with arrows pointing to the coops' doors...If the door was open only one day...or maybe even for an hour or 15 minutes, and no bird chose to go outside, it's still free-range as far as the USDA is concerned."
Just because living conditions might be marginally better doesn't make the industry acceptable — or worthy of support. Free-range egg farming is, above all else, a business. Profit surpasses concern for the animals' comfort, welfare, or behavioral needs. It is common for free-range layers to be debeaked just like battery-caged layers.
But even if free-range hens were treated with kindness and given all the space they could use, they would still be killed for meat when their egg production wanes, usually after one or two years, even though in a natural environment a hen could live 15 years. And, like all other animals raised for food, they will be subjected to the abuses of transportation, handling, and slaughter.
An inherent problem with all egg production, whether free-range or battery-caged, is the disposal of unwanted male chicks at the hatchery. Because male chicks don't lay eggs and don't grow fast enough to be raised profitably for meat, they are considered a financial liability, except for the few used as rooster studs. On average, one rooster is used to service 10 hens. Thus, 9 out of 10 male chicks are considered virtually useless and will be killed by the cheapest means available, including suffocation and being ground up alive (macerated).
Milk:
It does NOT
do a Body Good
Isn't it kind of strange that humans are the only species on earth that drinks the milk of another animal and continues to drink milk past childhood and throughout its lifetime. Milk and other dairy products are full of unnatural hormones and other chemicals Click here to read interesting information that has surfaced recently about milk and its link to certain types of cancer.
Harvard School of Public Health, on the Consumption of Dairy Products
(2005):
“The recommendation to drink three glasses of low-fat milk or eat
three servings of other dairy products per day to prevent osteoporosis
is another step in the wrong direction. … Three glasses of low-fat
milk add more than 300 calories a day. This is a real issue for the millions
of Americans who are trying to control their weight. What's more, millions
of Americans are lactose intolerant, and even small amounts of milk or
dairy products give them stomachaches, gas, or other problems. This recommendation
ignores the lack of evidence for a link between consumption of dairy products
and prevention of osteoporosis. It also ignores the possible increases
in risk of ovarian cancer and prostate cancer associated with dairy products.
Vegan
Iron Chef 2011 Recipes
Here's one of the winning recipes from ARC's Vegan Iron Chef 2011 Contest which was sponsored by Wayfare Foods. Click here for the other winning recipe "Justin's Key Lime Cheesecake" and other yummy recipes from the contest.
Kaylyn's
Mexican Style Chili with Nacho "Cheese" Sauce Recipe
You will need for Chili (Makes 1 large crock pot):
2-28 oz cans of stewed tomatoes (whole or diced)
2-15 oz cans of kidney beans
1-15 oz can of pinto beans
1-15 oz can of black beans
2-packets of taco seasoning
2 1/2 cups-frozen corn
2-packages of soy chorizo (Trader Joes' works great!)
1/2-red onion
1-bunch of green onions
1-green, red, and orange pepper
1-whole bulb of fresh garlic (save 2 cloves for "cheese" sauce)
1-small habenero
2-thai chilis
2 tablespoons-cumin
2 teaspoons-red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon-Cayenne pepper
You will need for "cheese" sauce:
2-containers of Wayfare We Can't Say It's Cheese Mexi Cheddar-Style Dip
1-container of Wayfare We Can't Say It's Cheese Cheddar-Style Dip
1-container of Wayfare We Can't Say It's Cheese Cheddar-Style Spread
2-teaspoons-nutritional yeast
1-teaspoon cumin
1-teaspoon red pepper flakes
1-teaspoon chili powder
2-cloves of fresh garlic
Chili-in large crockpot:
Brown your chorizo and set aside.
Mix beans, tomatoes, taco seasoning, cumin,chili powder, red pepper flakes,
garlic, and corn in crockpot.
Set crockpot temp to high and let simmer.
Add soy chorizo
Add habenero and thai chilis, sprinkle with cayenne.
Add diced bell peppers and onions.
Let simmer on low-med for 4 hours.
Nacho "Cheese" Sauce in small crockpot:
In food processor or large bowl mix all 4 containers of cheese.
Add 1/2 cup of med salsa (I used Village hot sauce), nutritional yeast,
cumin, chili powder, and garlic.
Keep on medium for 1-2 hours, then keep warm to be served on top of chili.
Serve chili on top of a bed of mixed greens.
Add a dollop of "cheese" sauce, sprinkle with shredded soy cheese
and fresh cilantro! Top with veggie and flax seed tortilla chips! ENJOY!
Other Good Recipes
Chocolate Cake
As served at the
ARC Holiday Open House
Cake
2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
6 T. vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups + 2 T. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 T. cider, white, or rice vinegar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine
liquid ingredients. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients only
until blended. Pour mixture into an oiled bundt pan. Bake until firm to
the touch, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely.
Icing
1 1/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cornstarch
2 cups soymilk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
In a medium saucepan, whisk
together the cocoa and sugar. In a bowl, combine the cornstarch and soymilk
until no lumps remain. Whisk cornstarch mixture into cocoa-sugar mixture.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping bottom and sides
of pan with rubber spatula until mixture is glossy, about 7 minutes. Remove
from heat and add vanilla. Beat to remove any lumps (strain through sieve
if necessary).
Cool completely, stirring occasionally. Spread on cooled cake.
Un-Tuna Salad
1
(15 oz.) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and mashed
2 scallions or green onions, chopped
2 tbsp. vegan mayonnaise
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
salt and pepper to taste
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve on lettuce leaves or in sandwiches.
Rhymes With Vegan
Check out therecipes and videos at Rhymes With Vegan - an online cooking show sponsored by the Animal Rights Coalition that's all about great food and creating a sense of community.
More Veg Web Sites with Great Recipes
Post Punk
Kitchen
Vegan YumYum
The Vegan Chef
Compassionate
Cooks
Compassion
Over Killing Easy Vegan Recipes
Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine Recipe Archive
VegWeb
Vegan
Outreach recipes
Wondering about Veg Nutrition?
Pretty much anyone who announces they're going veg finds themselves bombarded with questions about where they'll get their protein, omega-3s, iron, you name it. You can find helpful nutrition info here:
Where
Can I Find
Veg Food?
Being veg doesn't mean you have to eat wheatgrass and alfalfa sprouts. Most grocery stores carry an array of great-tasting veg options. Many products, including fantastic faux franks, veggie burgers, chicken-free chicken patties, flavored soy milks, nondairy ice creams, and other sensational soy-based snacks, are available. There's also chips, dips, cookies, candies, frozen pies, soups, and other mouth-watering items by mainstream food manufacturers that are veg.
Click here to see veg options for everything from soups to snacks.
We recommend that you shop at your local co-op grocery store whenever possible. Co-ops are owned and controlled by members to provide sustainable, healthy food to the communities they serve (although you don't have to be a member to shop at local co-ops). Most food from co-ops is organic, although some is "natural" -- produced with minimal processing and little or no additives or preservatives.
Unfortunately, many co-ops that were once were veg-only now have meat departments and try to rationalize them by proclaiming their products to be "free-range" and "humanely raised." They conveniently forget that regardless of how these animals are raised, they are all killed as the end point in the process.
Chains like Fresh & Natural Foods, Whole Foods, Kowalski's, Lunds, Byerly's, Rainbow, Cub, and even Target also carry veg food products, although the selection may be more limited than in a co-op.
And for a great selection of chocolate and snacks, don't forget our own Ethique Nouveau at 317 W. 48th St. in Minneapolis.
The following are links to most local co-ops.
Eastside Food
Co-op (Mpls)
Lakewinds Natural
Foods Co-op (Minnetonka, Anoka, Chanhassen)
Linden Hills Co-op
(Mpls)
Mississippi Market
(St. Paul)
River Market Community
Co-op (Stillwater)
Seward Co-op (Mpls)
Valley Natural
Foods (Burnsville)
Wedge Co-op (Mpls)
City
Center Market (Cambridge)
Just Food Co-op
(Northfield)
St. Peter Food
Co-op (St. Peter)