December 2012
Marin Vegetarian Education Group

E-Mail Address Lists Lost
Mea Culpa! In the midst of a stressful week I inadvertently re-named and then deleted forever the MarinVEG mailing list.  As a Buddhist, I am accepting this as
practice in letting go.  As an activist for animals and health I am grieving the ability to send a monthly newsletter to you and others.  We are working to restore the lost lists, but we may not succeed.  So, while you can always read the monthly newsletters at www.MarinVEG.org, if you wish to receive it by email every month , please  send an email to  Eatplants@earthlink.net with the subject line  NEWSLETTER.  Please share this new hassle with anyone else you know who may have been on the list or who may want to join.  I apologize for this lapse in communication. May your holiday season be stress free and error free. And if it isn't, may you accept stress and errors with a sense of humor and a measure of equanimity.

In Loving Memory of Marti Kheel
We mourn the death of Marti Kheel, activist, feminist, friend. She was the co-founder of Feminists for Animal Rights and the author of  Nature Ethics, an Eco-Feminist Perspective. For a longer tribute to Marti, go to http://caroljadams.blogspot.com/2011/11/marti-kheel-collective-tribute.html.  An excerpt from that blog:  Marti's compassionate life, like her work, was fully engaged; she didn't just theorize about nonviolence and care, but she lived and died by those values.  We will miss her.

Cafe Gratitude to Close
All of the Northern California Cafe Gratitudes and Gracias Madre will be closing, according to the Cafe Gratitude web site http://cafegratitude.com.  They report that a series of "aggressive law suits' is to blame, but the Huffington Post reports that there may be more to the story than that http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/cafe-gratitude-closes_n_1119452.html  We may never know the full story, but we will always love the restaurants. Albeit pricey, the food was always wonderful, and the spirit of gratitude always appreciated.  The restaurants will still be open for several months, so enjoy Cafe Gratitude while you can.

Genuto Now In Stores
Barry Schenker and Diana Rebman's delicious Genuto, a vegan gelato, is now available in Oakland's Whole Foods Market and slated to come to Fairfax's The Good Earth during December. These smooth, nut based alternatives to soy and rice based  frozen desserts are made with organic nuts and very few other ingredients.  Congratulations and thank you to Barry Schenker on bringing these delicious desserts to the public. To learn more, go to http://genuto.com

Time for Giving
As this holiday season becomes more frenzied, I want to recommend a calming ritual that supports the spirit of joy and generosity. Write a check and send it to an organization that makes your dreams come true.  When I write a check to Vegan Outreach or The Food Empowerment Project, I know that I am putting my money where my mouth is, supporting work that creates a sustainable, vegan world. When I write a check to the Animals and Society Institute or to Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine, I know that I am funding the end of violence and indifference toward animals.  Money I send to The St. Vincent dePaul Society in San Rafael is helping hungry people, homeless people, and those struggling to keep their homes.  I suggest writing a check, not clicking "give now" at a web site, because when you write the check you can add a note of gratitude for the work you are supporting.  Go to the web site to learn the mailing address, and write the check with a joyful heart.  You can even ask the organization to make your gift work twice: Give in honor of a friend or loved one, and that person will receive a note  from the organization, telling her that you made a gift in her honor.. (Be sure to ask for this and be sure to include the honoree's address.) By sending a check to a group that shares your world view,  you cut back on buying stuff for people who don't need more stuff and instead bring them into the warmth of your caring and generous heart.  One final note: Please choose an organization other than MarinVEG. While we appreciate your generous impulse, we are stable financially and know that dozens of other not for profit organizations  need the gifts support more than we do. 

NY Times Bestsellers
It is a striking sign of success when a book appears on the New York Times Bestseller list. This year saw many vegan books on the list, and this is a sign of the growing success of the vegan movement. More and more people can pronounce the word vegan, and more and more restaurants are catering to vegans with at least one vegan option.  Currently on the NY Times bestseller list are Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, and  Forks Over Knives, edited by Gene Stone and with an introduction by Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. T. Colin Campbell.  If you haven't read these wonderful books yet, now is the time.  Or give one as a gift to anyone you know who wants to be healthy. 

Vegetarian or Vegan House Mate Wanted
There is still one room available in a beautiful shared home in San Rafael. For more information, call Louise at 472-7786. Also, you can read more about the home in our November newsletter: http://www.marinveg.org/newsletters/

Peace On Earth
For many years I have reprinted this short essay by C. David Coats in the MarinVEG December newsletter.  Jennifer Raymond included it in her marvelous cookbook The Peaceful Palate, and I included it in my book,  How to Eat Like a Vegetarian, Even If You Never Want To Be One  The author is from Australia, which explains the references to kangaroos and dingoes. Wherever we live, the message is still timely.  May you enjoy peace at your table and in your life during these holidays and always.

Peace on Earth

  <>            Isn't man an amazing Animal? He kills wildlife—birds, kangaroos, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice, foxes, and dingoes—by the million in order to protect his domestic animals and their feed.  <>
            Then he kills domestic animals by the billion and eats them. This in turn kills man by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative—and fatal—health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer.  <>
            So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases.  <>
Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals.  <>
            Meanwhile, some people are dying of sad laughter at the absurdity of man, who kills so easily and so violently, and once a year sends out cards praying for “Peace on Earth.”

Old MacDonald’s Factory Farm by C. David Coats

 

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Founded in 1991 as Vegetarians In Marin, Marin VEG is now a project of the VegNews Network, and a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization.  With any gift of $20 or more you will receive – along with our gratitude – a one year subscription to VegNews magazine (or a one year renewal of your current subscription). To receive a monthly e-newsletter from MarinVEG, please send an email to Eatplants@Earthlink.net with the word Newsletter in the subject line.