VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN – HOT TRENDS

The National Restaurant Association conducted an online survey of 1,791 members of the American Culinary Federation in October-November, 2011. The chefs were given a list of 223 food and beverage items, cuisines, culinary themes, and preparation methods, and were asked to rate each item.

Under appetizers, vegetable/vegetarian appetizers was number one! On a general list, meatless and vegetarian items were ranked number 75 as far as what’s hot. Twenty two per cent said meatless/vegetarian items were yesterday’s news and 25% said they were a perennial favorite. Vegan entrees were ranked number 107, with 47% saying it was a hot trend and 21% a perennial favorite.

As far as main dishes, meatless/vegetarian items were ranked as number 13 with vegan items ranked as number 16. Locally sourced meats and seafood were number one.

Dairy-free milk was listed number five under nonalcoholic beverages. Milk was number 14.

Under ethnic, Cuban cuisine was number four. (See recipes on VRG’s website at http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2006issue3/vj2006issue3cuban.htm)

North African was number 6. (See recipes on VRG’s website at http://www.vrg.org/blog/2011/03/11/eggplant-dishes-from-the-middle-east-and-north-africa/)

Korean was number 7. (See recipes on VRG’s website at http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2004issue2/vj2004issue2kimchi.htm)

Middle Eastern cuisine was at number 11. (See VRG recipes at
http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vjmesoup.htm
http://www.vrg.org/recipes/egypt.htm)

Vegetarian restaurants can also be found at
http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

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How to Use Life Insurance to Donate to a Charity Such as The Vegetarian Resource Group

A recent article on AOL’s Daily Finance Site explains how you can use life insurance to help charities like The Vegetarian Resource Group.

How to Use Life Insurance to Donate to Charity

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Below is a release from the Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) which has been conducting research on vegetarian questions for some time.

The interesting headlines from this poll — 2% of Americans say they are vegetarian while 3% say they are vegan.  And more men are vegan than women, which is surprising from our own experience. 

 VRG asked in a 2011 National Poll:

How Often Do Americans Eat Vegetarian Meals?

How Many Adults Are Vegan in the U.S.?

With numerous groups pushing Meatless Mondays, Tofurky Tuesdays, or other campaigns to cut back on meat one meal or day per week, The Vegetarian Resource Group wondered how often Americans are eating vegetarian meals. In order to find an estimate, VRG commissioned Harris Interactive® to conduct a national telephone poll.

Seventeen percent of Americans stated that they “don’t eat meat, fish, seafood, or poultry at many of my meals (but less than half the time)” and 16% don’t eat these foods at more than half of their meals (but not all the time). Thus, 1/3 (33%) of the country are eating vegetarian meals a significant amount of the time (in addition to vegetarians)!  This is certainly good news for companies producing vegetarian foods.

In a 2008 Vegetarian Resource Group national telephone survey, 40% said when eating out they often order a dish without meat, fish or fowl. For those of you trying to get a handle on the population very interested in vegetarian foods, though not vegetarian, it appears to be 30% – 40% of the country.

How Many Vegetarians Are There?

In this survey, approximately 5% of the country say that they never eat meat, fish, seafood, or poultry. About half of these vegetarians are also vegan; that is they also don’t eat dairy or eggs. Note that we had respondents select that “I never eat meat, fish, seafood, or poultry” or “I never eat meat, fish, seafood, poultry, dairy, or eggs.” Because we use the word “never” and give the definition rather than having respondents self define, our numbers may be lower than other polls. We also did not ask about honey.

Methodology

This survey was conducted by Harris Interactive by telephone within the United States on behalf of the Vegetarian Resource Group between March 30 and April 3, 2011 among a nationwide cross section of 1,010 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, region, number of adults in household, and number of telephone lines were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results for the overall sample have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. There are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (e.g., non-response), question wording and question order, and weighting. It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors.

                                  ****

How Often Do Americans Eat Vegetarian Meals (no meat, fish, seafood, poultry)?

6% One meal per week
4% One full day per week
17% Many of my meals, but less than half the time
16% More than half my meals, but not all the time
5% Never eat meat, fish, seafood, or poultry
______________________________________
48% Thus we estimate this is the audience for good tasting vegetarian foods that fit individual needs.

48% Say they eat meat, fish, or poultry at all my meals.
(The remainder didn’t know, refused to answer, or said none of the above.)

                                  ****

Never Eat Meat, Fish, Seafood, Or Poultry

Male    Female

5%      6%     One meal per week
2%      5%     One Day per week
13%     20%     Many of my meals, but less than half the time
15%     17%     At more than half my meals
2%      2%     Never (though not vegan)
3%      2%     Never eat meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs

                                  ****

Don’t Eat Meat, Fish, Seafood, Or Poultry At More Than Half Of My Meals

16% Total
15% Male
17% Female
17% Northeast
16% Midwest
17% South
13% West
15% Republican
15% Democratic

FACEBOOK COMMENTS:

source: http://www.vegsource.com/news/2011/12/new-poll----there-are-more-vegans-than-vegetarians-and-other-data.html

ScienceDaily (Apr. 13, 2011) — Vegetarians experience a 36 percent lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome than non-vegetarians, suggests new research from Loma Linda University published in the journal Diabetes Care. Because metabolic syndrome can be a precursor to heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, the findings indicate vegetarians may be at lower risk of developing these conditions.

Metabolic syndrome is defined as exhibiting at least three out of five total risk factors: high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, high glucose levels, elevated triglycerides, and an unhealthy waist circumference. The Loma Linda University study found that while 25 percent of vegetarians had metabolic syndrome, the number significantly rises to 37 percent for semi-vegetarians and 39 percent for non-vegetarians. The results hold up when adjusted for factors such as age, gender, race, physical activity, calories consumed, smoking, and alcohol intake.

“In view of the high rate of metabolic syndrome in the United States and its deleterious health effects, we wanted to examine lifestyle patterns that could be effective in the prevention and possible treatment of this disorder,” says lead researcher Nico S. Rizzo, PhD.

“I was not sure if there would be a significant difference between vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and I was surprised by just how much the numbers contrast,” he continues. “It indicates that lifestyle factors such as diet can be important in the prevention of metabolic syndrome.”

The study examined more than 700 adults randomly sampled from Loma Linda University’s Adventist Health Study 2, a long-term study of the lifestyle and health of almost 100,000 Seventh-day Adventist Christians across the United States and Canada.

Thirty-five percent of the subjects in this smaller sub-study were vegetarian. On average, the vegetarians and semi-vegetarians were three years older than non-vegetarians. Despite their slightly older age, vegetarians had lower triglycerides, glucose levels, blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI). Semi-vegetarians also had a significantly lower BMI and waist circumference compared to those who ate meat more regularly.

“This work again shows that diet improves many of the main cardiovascular risk factors that are part of metabolic syndrome,” says Gary Fraser, MD, PhD, principal investigator of Adventist Health Study 2. “Trending toward a plant-based diet is a sensible choice.”

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

1. N. S. Rizzo, J. Sabate, K. Jaceldo-Siegl, G. E. Fraser. Vegetarian Dietary Patterns Are Associated With a Lower Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: The Adventist Health Study 2. Diabetes Care, 2011; DOI: 10.2337/dc10-1221

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110413133026.htm

ScienceDaily (July 19, 2011) — Vegetarians are a third less likely to get a common bowel disorder (diverticular disease) than their meat eating counterparts, finds a new study published on the British Medical Journal website.

Diverticular disease has been termed a “disease of western civilisation” because of the higher numbers of cases in countries like the UK and the US compared with parts of Africa. The condition affects the large bowel or colon and is thought to be caused by not consuming enough fibre. Typical symptoms include painful abdominal cramps, bloating, wind, constipation and diarrhea.

Previous research has suggested that a low fibre diet could lead to diverticular disease, and that vegetarians may have a lower risk compared with meat eaters, but there is little evidence to substantiate this.

So Dr Francesca Crowe and her team from the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford set out to examine the link between a vegetarian diet and intake of dietary fibre with the risk of diverticular disease.

Their findings are based on 47,033 generally health conscious British adults who were taking part in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Oxford study. Of those recruited, 15,459 reported consuming a vegetarian diet.

After an average follow-up time of 11.6 years, there were 812 cases of diverticular disease (806 admissions to hospital and six deaths). After adjusting the factors such as smoking, alcohol and body mass index (BMI), vegetarians had a lower risk of diverticular disease compared with meat eaters.

Furthermore, participants with a relatively high intake of dietary fibre (around 25g a day) had a lower risk of being admitted to hospital with or dying from diverticular disease compared with those who consumed less than 14g of fibre a day.

Consuming a vegetarian diet and a high intake of dietary fibre are both associated with a lower risk of diverticular disease, say the authors. The 2000-1 UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey showed that 72% of men and 87% of women were not meeting the recommended average intake for dietary fibre of 18 g per day and so the proportion of cases of diverticular diseases in the general population attributed to a low fibre diet could be considerable, they add.

These findings lend support to the public health recommendations that encourage the consumption of foods high in fibre such as wholemeal breads, wholegrain cereals, fruits and vegetables, they conclude.

In an accompanying editorial, researchers from Nottingham University Hospital discuss the implications for the health of the population and the individual.

Based on these findings, David Humes and Joe West estimate that “about 71 meat eaters would have to become vegetarians to prevent one diagnosis of diverticular disease.”

They add: “Overall the opportunity for preventing the occurrence of diverticular disease and other conditions, such as colorectal cancer, probably lies in the modification of diet, at either a population or an individual level.” However, they stress that “far more evidence is needed before dietary recommendations can be made to the general public.”

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal References:

1. Francesca L Crowe,
   Paul N Appleby,
   Naomi E Allen and
   Timothy J Key. Diet and risk of diverticular disease in Oxford cohort of European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): prospective study of British vegetarians and non-vegetarians. BMJ, 2011; 343:d4131 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.d4131
2. David J Humes and
   Joe West. Diet and risk of diverticular disease. BMJ, 2011; 343:d4115 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.d4115

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110719194358.htm

Fancy Pants Vegan Brunch

 “The works” by Karam
Vegan Chef Doug McNish developed the new vegan brunch at the Windsor Arms Hotel (18 Saint Thomas St. 416-971-9666). Jennifer writes: “Just to let you know I dined there last week and the food was awesome. We had the cornmeal crusted tempeh with the beet carpaccio and avocado tempura for appetizers. They give unlimited vegan foccaccio bread with hummus, sundried tomato spread and olive tapenade. We shared a brownie for dessert. Everything was very good and the price was very reasonable.”

TVA volunteer Karam blogged about it here: “As far as vegan brunch goes in Toronto, this is the place. You are not going to find this level of service and food quality at this price anywhere. And you’ll be comfortable in plush chairs and warm surroundings. Doug McNish and the Windsor Arms got it right. I look forward to making this my new brunch spot. My goal is to have a table here. I know, I watch too many mafia movies.”  See the menu here.

Beauty Products

Pelle Beauty offers a wide variety of skin care solutions ranging from gentle cleansers, toners, skin creams, lip balms, body powders and intense facial concentrates. Everything is vegan except one vegetarian product. They “use essential oils in our products, and avoid synthetic fragrances that contain phylates. Our products are also free from mineral oil and parabens.”


Vegan Restaurant

Rise Above (120 St. Paul Street, St. Catharines. 289-362-2636) is Niagara’s first vegan restauarant. Their hours are are 10-9 Tuesday through Saturday. They do special orders and also offer lunch and dinner. Their menu boasts: enchilatas, chipotle seitan wraps, salads, soups and of course, their signature doughnuts like Maple Walnut Doughnut, Peanut Butter Cream and Chocolate Dip Doughnut to name a few.

Food Products

Nutrisoy has just launched an enriched low calorie almond beverage to their roster. It’s “made with California almonds, all the vitamins and calcium the body needs. Great hot or cold, over cereal, in recipes or as a delicious non-dairy creamer.”

Hundreds of Sobey’s across Ontario are now carrying Sweets from the Earth Gluten-Free Cake Pans, so even when you are visiting family out of town you can indulge and share.     

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Authentic Thai Tattoo has closed.

source: http://veg.ca/content/view/1158/72/