- John Salley speaking to congress about the importance of vegetarian foods. Salley was joined on Capital Hill by Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich and representatives from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2009, which regulates the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, will come up for congressional review next year. Here’s hoping that congress make smart choices!

-Author Jonathan Safran Foer discussing fishery science and the environment in an interview on the Huffington Post. He speaks the truth, people. Our fisheries are fried and it’s time we chill out on all the ridiculous sushi action. To read the whole interview, visit HuffingtonPost.com!

On a recent episode of his hit show, the good doctor challenged Rocco, a meat-obsessed cowboy, to a 28-day vegan cleanse. At only 52-years old, Rocco’s blood sugar was at 172, his waist size was 49 and he weighed 265 pounds. When all was said and done, Rocco had the heart of an 85-year-old man. Yikes!

Rocco accepted the challenge to go vegan and by the end of the 28-days had lost 6 inches from his waist, reduced his glucose by 73 pounts to only 99 and lost 30 pounds.

I must say, I always have such a reaction to these kinds of stories. When I was 16, I was a meat-obsessed, unhealthy teenager who weighed a whopping 255 pounds. 9 years of veganism and 75 pounds thinner, I truly the understand the power of a plant-based diet.

Take a second and watch the clip below. I guarantee you’ll be inspired.

There was all sorts of madness yesterday on The Tyra Banks Show — which shouldn’t surprise most people, but we were genuinely impressed with the amount of stupidity squished into one full hour of television.

The highlight was Tyra introducing viewers to “The Tapeworm Diet”, which isn’t something you eat, but ingest. That’s right: You eat a parasite so that you can keep on eating tons of food. According to Diet Review, “[The Tapeworm] secretes proteins in our intestinal tract that make our digestion of food much less efficient. A less efficient digestive systems means that you can consume more calories through your food since your “body guest” is also noshing on them for his own growth purposes. Some scientists estimate that those infected with a single tapeworm can lose up to one or two pounds each week.”

Healthy eating? Blah. Exercise? Who needs it! Just swallow a parasite and continue hitting KFC for lunch and dinner. Tyra even had a guy on that sells the worms over the Internet; despite an FDA ban on the practice. Said one woman on Twitter, “I’m still undecided on Tyra Banks’ Tapeworm diet. I don’t know if its a great or just plain ridiculous.” Undecided? What the hell is wrong with people?

Fueling the incredulity, Tyra next turned her attention to “the latest trends in tiny pets”. One woman brought on her pet Capichin monkey all dressed up — further convincing idiots out there that pet monkeys are a cool and awesome pet to own. Even worse, this woman removed all of the monkey’s teeth so that it could never bite her. Said another woman on Twitter, “so, after seeing Tyra today, i want one of those little pigs. & that lady made me want a baby monkey even more. i must get one!”

Thankfully, just when you think the world is doomed, one viewer left this comment on Tyra’s site:

“These animals are NOT pets! We have shelters that are spilling over with pefectly good and loving domesticated dogs and cats! How about you have a show where you focus on this, not dressing a wild monkey up in clothes and removing it’s teeth because it might bite somebody…god forbid it acts like(and eats)what nature/God intended. If people have a void to fill in their lives, how about going and volunteering at a local animal shelter or even the zoo!!”

Well said. But since this is Tyra we’re talking about, chances are it will probably fall on deaf ears.

Did you see the episode? Tell us what you thought below!

If you choose to educate yourself, it’ll be an easy choice for you, too. Click here to take a look at a variety of reasons for living a vegan life.”

- Ellen DeGeneres publicly discussing veganism on her official page. Seriously, there are no words to describe how utterly thrilled I am that Ellen is part of Team V. This just proves why she deserved the title of Ecorazzi’s Number 1 Celebrity Vegan of 2009. Here at the Razz, we support Ellen one hundred percent and look forward to her continued work in the movement. Keep rockin’ the good stuff, E!

Iron Chef is playing in Michelle Obama’s garden and we think it’s just swell!

The popular Food Network program has taped a special episode using produce from the White House garden to help promote local and organic food. The episode will also feature Mrs. Obama discussing her crusade to reduce childhood obesity through better school lunches, community gardens, farmers’ markets and exercise.

Mario Batali, perhaps not the most health-conscious man in America, told the New York Times:

“What’s exciting for us is this is the first time I can remember the White House taking an active interest in doing something about diet and health. They understand this kind of P.R.”

He continued, “If we don’t do something about how kids eat soon, it will be simply the largest problem facing this country.”

The show will premiere Jan. 3 on the Food Network, with Cristeta Comerford, the White House executive chef, and Bobby Flay going up against the combined forces of Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse.

Get ready to get your vegetables on!

via: NYTimes.com
photocredit: NYTimes.com

Last night I had the honor of participating in a small slice of history. For the first time in twenty-three years, the James Beard Foundation honored plant-based cuisine by hosting an all-vegan dinner prepared by the immensely talented owners of Horizons restaurant.

Since all of you couldn’t be there to enjoy it (and since I couldn’t find a doggy bag big enough to share with everyone), I wanted to provide a thorough recount of the entire evening. Warning: you’ll probably be hungry after reading this.

Wearing my favorite suit and my fancy vegan pin (which I wear to all events) I made my way to the James Beard House. Within moments of my arrival, the servers appeared with trays of Oyster Mushroom Fritters, Edamame Puree with crispy sushi rice and Grilled Seitan with whipped avocado. But for me it was the Black Olive Blinis with truffle cream, golden beet relish and seaweed caviar that stole the show. The blinis were cooked perfectly and the seaweed caviar was remarkably similar to the real thing.

I noticed Joy and Bart from Candle 79 and Michael McGraw from PETA perched in the corner and went over to say hello. After an hour of drinking champagne and filling up on tasty appetizers, we retired upstairs for the much-anticipated dinner service.

A Smoked Eggplant Parfait with preserved lemon aioli and piquillo peppers revved up our palates and left us excited for more. The second and third courses were creatively prepared Portobello Carpaccio with crispy capers and Saffron Cauliflower Bisque with fennel confit crostini and oloroso sherry crema, respectively. Two obvious homeruns!

The next course, my favorite of the evening, was a Caramelized Celery Root Ravioli with charred Brussels sprouts, smoked royal trumpet mushrooms and sage-grain mustard emulsion. To get a better feel for the dish, imagine heaven, now cover it in a sage-grain mustard emulsion and pair it with a 2007 Chaddsford Pinot Noir. There, you have it.

The fifth course was a well-prepared piece of Peppercorn-Seared Tofu that could have made the most stubborn of carnivores beg for more. It was served with creamed leek and truffled parsnip puree, salt-roasted golden beets, hazelnuts and apple cider vinegar reduction. Love at first bite.

A piece of Heirloom Pumpkin Cheesecake with chestnut candy and quince jam completed the evening and received outspoken praise from each of the dinner guests at my table (all omnivores, by the way).

As I finished the last bite of my pumpkin cheesecake, I couldn’t help but feel rather nostalgic about the whole evening. The James Beard Foundation – an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting American cuisine – was recognizing vegan food in a way that had never been done before. By sharing their kitchen with the talented owners of Horizons restaurant they were not only honoring these chefs, but legitimizing the entire cuisine.

A big thank you to the James Beard Foundation for their progressive outlook and to the staff at Horizons restaurant for their thoughtful presentation and supreme execution. It was an incredible evening.

Ever since Al Gore introduced his famous slideshow to the world and stood up as a leader in the fight against climate change, advocates of the vegetarian scene have urged the former Vice President to acknowledge the link between eating less meat and helping the environment. Yesterday, Gore finally jumped on board saying that reducing meat in one’s diet is “the responsible thing to do” when it comes to the fight on climate change.

Talking to ABC, Gore agreed with the UK’s Nicholas Stern that meat eaters have contributed greatly to increased global carbon emissions.”I’m not a vegetarian, but I have cut back sharply on the meat that I eat,” he said. “It’s absolutely correct that the growing meat intensity of diets around the world is one of the issues connected to this global crisis – not only because of the CO2 involved, but also because of the water consumed in the process.”

“You could add in the health consequences as well.”

Gore also added that substituting more fruit and vegetables in an everyday diet was the responsible thing to do. “I’ve made those changes, and while I don’t go quite as far as Nick saying everybody should become a vegetarian – partly because it’s difficult enough to get the agreement without adding that on top of it – it is a legitimate point of view.”

Some on this site have criticized Gore for not mentioning factory farming in his new book “Our Choice”. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but Think Progress says that Gore does indeed address the issue. From the site,

“Chapter Ten of Our Choice, ‘Soil,’ discusses the complex range of challenges and opportunities related to food production and consumption, noting in particular the costs of industrial agriculture. The chapter concludes with a series of recommendations, including practical ones for American consumers, like supporting farmers’ markets and eating less meat. And Gore follows his own advice:

There is a serious issue about the connection between the growing meat intensity of diets around the world and damage to the environment. And like a lot of people, I eat less meat now than I used to. I’m not a vegetarian, don’t plan to become one, but it’s a healthy choice to eat more vegetables and fruits. So it’s not a laughable issue.”

So, what do you think? Gore has reduced his consumption of meat — but is not planning on becoming a vegetarian. He also now publicly links factory farming as a contributor to climate change — and encourages people to reduce the meat in their diets. A good start? Or still falling far short of what you expect?

Sources: The Age and ThinkProgress

The controversial public figure appeared in the Bronx this past week to cut the ribbon on the brand new VBites Learning Cafe.  In the video below, Heather says:

“I had a dream about seven years ago to try and come up with a solution to get children to get off the fast food and save more animals, make them more healthy and ultimately save the planet. Unless we start reducing the consumption of meat and dairy there is no future for the children. It’s the biggest contributor to global warming. Hasn’t been acknowledged yet, they’ve acknowledged it as the second biggest contributer, but the consumptuon of meat and dairy is the biggest contributor to global warming. It will come out in a few years when we get brave enough to say it.”

Can I get an amen?

Say what you’d like about Mills, but I think she’s right on point and look forward to seeing what she has in store next!  Check out the video below!

As a vegan Top Chef watcher I often feel conflicted – inspired by the artistry, but grossed out by just about everything else. So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard that Natalie Portman would be appearing on the show with a super special vegetarian challenge.

Well, the episode premiered last night and I was must say…I was totally disappointed. Portman (who is currently vegan) was vegetarian when the episode was taped and had one simple request: make a delicious herbivore meal.

While some chefs moaned and groaned, others seemed excited for the challenge and left me curiously awaiting their plant-based masterpieces.

As the chefs prepped their entrées, I noticed the kitchen was void of any familiar vegetarian proteins: no tofu, seitan or tempeh anywhere to be seen. WTF? But I hadn’t given up yet — VEG cuisine uses an array of complex ingredients and proteins.

When the meals were finally completed, I shook my head with frustration. Each dish appeared more like an uninspired vegetable medley than a fine dining entrée. Vegan cuisine is dynamic and bold, not soggy and simple.

As the episode came to a close, I couldn’t help but feel as though vegetarian cuisine had been totally cheated. It’s 2010 and that’s the kind of food you’re going to serve?!  BOO!!

What did you think about the episode? Were you happy with the meals? Chime in and share your review!