Letters

Vegetarian Times, Dec, 1998

Easy to Be Green

Kermit the Frog may have sung "it isn't easy being green," but Danny Seo begs to differ.

As president of a protection organization and a working actress, I don't have the time to go shopping. But Danny Seo's "It's Easy Being Green" (September, p. 80) article made me want to go shopping!

Danny's inspiring and delightful text surely made this well-researched and informative shopping guide worth the read. It was not only earth- and animal-friendly but also reader-friendly. I am well aware that many of your readers are nutritional vegetarians versus ethical vegetarians, and I am encouraged to believe that perhaps this enlightening feature might become a most welcome monthly addition to the magazine.

Gretchen Wyler

President

The Ark Trust, Inc.

Encino, Calif.

After traveling an hour to the Kenneth Cole shoe outlet, I found that the Unlisted shoes were made of leather. Please dedicate some space in your magazine to truly vegetarian sources of nonleather shoes and accessories.

Karen Hallam-Kossi

New York, N.Y.

Editor's response: According to Danny Seo, Unlisted makes both leather and nonleather shoes. He suggests calling Nordstrom's Brass Plum shoe section at 800-285-5800 for nonleather shoes.

The Dairy Case

Thank you for publishing "The Case Against Dairy" by Charles Attwood, M.D. I'm vegan and have often wanted to educate others about the health effects of dairy products. This article finally provides me with the information I need in a concise, easy-to-read format.

There is another reason to give up dairy that your article didn't mention--that is its impact on animals. While driving through northern California recently, I passed a dairy farm and noticed a pile of dead calves, their little bodies stacked up neatly as if it were the most normal thing in the world. I asked someone working nearby how these calves died. He told me that the farm usually only keeps its female calves, sending the male calves to live in veal crates. The pile of little bodies were the excess males that the farmer didn't have room for. I drove away thinking the dead ones were the lucky ones and with a new understanding of the connection between the meat and dairy industries.

Besty Swart

West Boxford, Mass.

Shopping List

The "7 Days of Low-Fat Meals" with its shopping list (September, p. 32) was great. I am a new vegetarian learning how to transition from the fast and easy meals I used to be able to just do from memory. I strongly urge you to include a section like that in each issue. The shopping list is the key for a comer like myself. Thanks.

Lisa Christiansen

Via e-mail

Attention Vegans

I would like to thank you for your article "Into the Mouths of Babes" (September, p. 69). I plan on raising my son as a vegan, and your article was perfect timing.

I am currently working on a research paper about raising children on a vegan diet and am hoping to receive first-hand information from people who have raised or are currently raising vegan children. I would love to hear from everyone regardless of whether the experience was good or bad. Please send comments to:

Students of Compassion

c/o Lisa Tokarz

Purdue University, Calumet

Hammond, IN 46323