Towards a kinder world - Note From The Coordinators - Brief Article

Vegetarian Journal, Nov-Dec, 2001 by Debra Wasserman, Charles Stahler

Congratulations to VRG's Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, and Ginny Messina, MPH, RD (author of The Vegetarian Way), for two well-documented review articles in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association concerning the subject of vegan diets and infants, and vegan diets and children. The articles state, "According to both the American Dietetic Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, well-planned vegan diets can support normal growth and development in children."

Looking for additional holiday recipes? Nava Atlas shares healthy appetizer recipes including Southwestern Tortilla Pizzas, Rosemary Roasted Mushrooms, Baked Barbecue Flavored Tofu Nuggets, and White Bean and Sun-dried Tomato Pate for all your end-of-year festivities. Also check out our website at <www.vrg.org/recipes/holiday. htm>. For those of you who are the lone vegans in your households, try out Vegan Mealsjbr One or Two by VRG Food Service Advisor Nancy Berkoff. This new book (featured on the back cover of this issue) makes a terrific holiday gift. It would even be a great help for loved ones who want to prepare meals for you.

Since many of us are too busy to cook on a regular basis or are new to cooking, this year Chef Nancy began writing a column on Vegan Quick Meals and Vegan Cooking Tips for each issue of Vegetarian Journal (see page 31). Let us know what topics you would like to see covered in future editions.

Busy vegetarians can celebrate all the new vegan and vegetarian "fake" meat sold in markets. Thank you to Turtle Island Foods (maker of Tofurky) for pledging a portion of their holiday sales to VRG. For more information and recipes see <www.tofurky.com> and <www.vrg.org>.

There are many unsung heroes in the world. In this issue, we report on the winner of the Audrey Fluke Vegetarian Award (page 21), and the Ruth Caring Vegetarian Award (page 26), and we review the Cafe Chimes Cookbook by Kathleen Etter, a kind vegetarian restaurant owner who has supported many causes. Let us know about others working in positive ways for a vegan and vegetarian world.

Debra Wasserman & Charles Stahler

Coordinators of The Vegetarian Resource Group

P.S. The year 2002 will be VRG's 20th anniversary year. We have grown from a group of five people to an organization with over 100,000 people a month visiting our website, and we appreciate your partnership in working towards a kinder world. The utterly tragic events in New York City and elsewhere make many of us feel immobilized. But it's even more important today that our members, donors, volunteers, and staff all assist each other and The Vegetarian Resource Group in our role to promote kindness in the world. In the potentially shaky political and economic times ahead, we will especially need your support. Thank you.