Vegans Go Glam: Reporter’s Notebook

The first minute of this clip gives my perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpSG554L8Qs

I attended an interdisciplinary MD/ RN/ RD continuing education program about 2 years ago. Excellent RD/ Ph.D. speaker discussing nutrition from various angles. Her meta-analysis of vegan diets and health showed that there was no significant health advantage to this diet. And she added "has anyone met a vegan with a sense of humor?" Her aside was met with laughter and applause.

When a person breaks through the meat, dairy, egg, and fish programming and realizes that there is another world out there, it is liberating. Not only do you feel physically and mentally better on a balanced plant-based diet, enjoying better health, but you no longer contribute to the destruction of our planet and the unimaginable suffering of billions of animals and starving people. You also begin to feel your own agency, as you consciously opt out of an unjust and unsustainable food system.

I could not agree more with the trend not going away. My husband and I are both moving in this direction. So far, I've eliminated dairy and cut way down on eggs and meat. Replacement: legume and nut-based meals, flax and soy milk. We are in our late fifties. We're going solar and moving toward being vegan. Biggest reasons for veganism: terrific for health across the board for every single disease (see nutritionfacts.org - amazing research-based site) and one of the best thing we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. On a trip through the middle of the country last summer, we had no problem finding delicious vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants. Catch up Whole Foods, you're behind!

Don't forget Vedge in Philadelphia - definitely belongs on the Vegan-Glam card and has been named to dozens of "Best of" lists normally reserved for traditional restaurants. Chefs Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby are the poster children for sophisticated, plant-based cuisine. Yep ... tofu and brown rice has their place, but even at home we prefer to chow down on roasted portabello "cheese" steaks with cashew cheese and sauteed broccoli rabe, or gnocchi with spinach and pine nuts in a brown "butter" (Earth Balance) sage sauce. Eating vegan is about love and creativity ... not deprivation!

I think there are a whole bunch of underlying social trends which have lead to a renewed acceptance of vegan/plant-based eating. Yes, there remains the animal welfare theme, but there are also the environmental and health themes, neither of which are necessarily driven by emotional commitment but by data-driven science. This automatically appeals to a wider demographic, not always to the comfort of the longer term granola/hippie vegans, some of whom don't appreciate that it's all good regardless of whether one is a "pure" vegan or not.

Gee , you mean if you eat whole natural plant based foods you can be thin and healthy, wow what a revelation.

Sorry, but vegan diet neglects constant biological regeneration of our organs and the fact that liver, the manufacturing factory of glucose, fat, cholesterol and protein, is using protein sourced fat for energy. People with carbs centered diet in the long term, often face dementia such as Alzheimer's in old age, because of incessant inflammations associated with either excess blood-sugar or gluten infliction.

Hey Jeff: Just because YOU haven't written about it, don't know about it, or don't eat this way doesn't mean that it doesn't exist or isn't popular. You sound as if you need to jump into the 20th C., not to mention the 21st.

"As often as Herman had witnessed the slaughter of animals and fish, he always had the same thought: In their behavior towards creatures all men were Nazis." The quote is from Nobel prize winning writer Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Enemies: A Love Story." There are so many injustices and cruelties in the world most of us can do little or nothing about. We worry about the extreme and growing disparity in wealth between the rich and the rest; about atmospheric greenhouse gases and oceanic acidification, about disenfranchised voters and mass shooters and the relentless assault on the environment caused by our relentlessly growing numbers. World and local problems that most of us can influence only in minor ways and obliquely or not at all abound.

However!--The injustice, the cruelty, the assault on the environment done by our seemingly insatiable appetite for meat and diary is easy to take direct action against, easy to refuse to participate in, easy to do-something-about. It's as easy as ordering the veggie burger instead of meat, easy as picking up a carton of soy or almond milk instead of diary, easy as googling "Vegan recipes." Thoreau said that we, individually, might not be able to save the world, might not be able to eliminate injustice, but we can refuse to be agent of it ourselves.

Considering that animal agriculture is responsible for over fifty percent of greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention the unnecessary deaths of billions of sentient beings each year, I think vegans' "occasional diatribes" – otherwise known as "well-reasoned arguments" – are somewhat warranted.

And as far as the perceived elitism and inaccessibility of a plant-based diet, it's worth noting that vegetables are cheaper than animal products, and "vegan" is not synonymous with "organic."

I don't wish the vegan thing would go away. But I could never feel safe eating at a vegan restaurant. I have a handful of serious food sensitivities that I've worked out over 15 years of trial and error. They're all to plant-based foods. Soy, wheat, corn, nuts, and other things. Plants are chemical factories. That's how they fight their animal predators. For me, animal products are a lot safer. Even with all the stuff they put in. It doesn't trigger anything allergic or autoimmune, at least. Not like what happens when I indulge in nut butters or unwittingly consume soy.

I love high quality creatively prepared vegetarian dishes. Although they can take more time to prepare, I like to cook so I take the time. I eat a mostly vegetarian diet as I find it easier to control weight.

How tiresome Americans are with their gimmicky, "spiritually" influenced diets. We are built to be omnivores. If you have certain food likes and dislikes - fine. Don't eat those things. However, by not doing so you are not a "better" person. Additionally, foisting your preferences on others while adopting a self-righteous attitude is obnoxious. Hey America, it's easy - just avoid cheap processed foods - they are straight up unhealthy. Otherwise, as the Italians say, "Everything in moderation" - enjoy what you like just don't eat vast quantities of it.

Not that there's anything wrong with a good brown rice bowl ---- maybe topped with ginger-glazed tofu, steamed vegetables, and a nice tahini sauce dribbled over. I used to get something like that at Common Ground in Brattleboro, VT in the late '70s and have wished I could find it in every city and small town and village.

One vegan trend that I'm not happy about: using cashews in almost everything. Apparently, the result is marvelous, but for someone like me who is highly allergic to poison ivy, cashews (in the same family) are out of the question.

Wild Ginger in Brooklyn serves up wonderful pan-Asian vegan dishes. I have become a regular.

I'd like to see more recipes featured in the NYT that are dairy free, gluten free, and sugar free. It is relatively simple to make a delicious meal or dessert using classic ingredients such as dairy products, flour, and sugar. It's more impressive and gratifying to recreate the taste of that meal by using substitute ingredients that are either vegan and/or low allergen alternatives.

The best thing about vegan eating? Better health, longer life.

Bonus: Knowing you're not contributing to the sufferings of sentient creatures who live brief, terrible lives as inmates of industrial farming.

I like vegan food. I respect vegans who do it for ethical reasons. But I'm happy being a plain ol' vegetarian. It's worked for me for four decades now. Would never go back to eating meat.

Veganism is not exactly new. I was exclusively vegan for a decade of my 22 years as a vegetarian and I will tell you that vegan food is delicious and tasty and still remains my ideal of a lovely meal. But it *is* time-consuming to prepare and shop for and can be expensive depending on your accessibility to fresh produce and ingredients not easily available at your local Publix or Kroger. Making a meat based meal for my family takes significantly less of my time after work than preparing all the disparate parts of a vegetable and grain heavy vegan meal.

FWIW, brown rice bowls are delicious with roasted squash and asparagus and a tahini miso dressing.

Is this article in The New York Times or the Los Angeles Times? From reading it, I would think that there are many vegan restaurants in LA, including fancy ones, but only one casual restaurant in NYC. Can the NY Times not find a writer who can use the Internet to find vegan restaurants in New York City and eat at them?

Glam or not Veganism is better for the planet, the animals, and our health.

Jeff,
If you're ever in the Bay Area, I invite you to visit my humble shop in Burlingame: Que SeRaw SeRaw. We are a plant-based, all raw and organic café. Not too "glam," but vegans, carnivores and everyone in between usually find our fresh food delicious and satisfying. If you tell me you're coming, I can set up a temporary celebrity entrance through the back door.

I wish that the S.F. Bay Area had the proliferation of vegan restaurants that Southern California has. Restaurant cuisine here tends to be traditional in the European style and ethnic of all types. Non of this food is actually healthy for you. Perhaps someday Bay Area restauranteurs will wake up and start being creative with plant based menu items. Let Chicago and New York excel in the traditional old school cuisine. It suits them better.

Try Madison, W.:I --Very eaaasssy to be a "Vegan" here, as well as; grow your own, CSA, farmer's market, organic, etc. Many (we are "blessed")! vegan restaurants/vegan friendly options here in Mad-Town, and spreading throughout WI! Go Pack! :)

Vgan cuisine isn't the problem. Vegans are.

Number one: Veganism is not expensive; the ingredients cost less. The meals are easier to prepare. You feel better afterward.

Number two: Of course haute cuisine is expensive no matter whether vegan or not.

I have to give The Strand House in Manhattan Beach a shout out because of what they did. Neither vegan or even vegetarian fare, they prepared a vegan feast for eight that was so good that it felt like heaven. The three carnivores oohed and aahed. The wine pairings were exquisite. Every course was introduced by its chef. Naturally, it was not cheap to have a custom-made multiple-course dinner served in style. That's one extreme.

At home, you can make avocado sandwiches. You can sprinkle yeast flakes on your marinara instead of Parmesan. This food can be very delicious while being good for you and the planet. Try it.

I must have moved in the wrong vegan crowd. When I was studying Traditional Chinese Medicine in LA, most of the vegans I knew looked like they belonged in an anorexia clinic. Perhaps the quality of their meal was less than "glam" - I know that most of us - vegans, vegetarians, or evil meat-eaters - couldn't afford a $13 burger.

Veg in Philadelphia was voted best restaurant in Philly a year ago. That upset a lot of omnivores. if you live close by, try Veg. It is fantastic!

Thank you for revealing the giant elephant in the dining room! The SAD (Standard American Diet) of cholesterol laden meat burgers and dairy shakes is beyond tired and is contributing to heart disease, obesity and climate change, not to mention animal cruelty of mind-boggling proportions. Everyone needs to watch Cowspriracy (now on Netflix) to see how the so-called smartest people keep looking the other way at the massive wreckage being cause by meat production. There is another way and it is fun and glam and healthy! Let's hope that the intelligencia picks up on this and finally connects the dots on what is the biggest problem in our "cruelty culture."

Good to be apprised of the trend, and even better if the taste is superlative. Worth endeavoring to increase one's partaking of vegan meals.

Veganism is magic!

I've said it before and I will say it again: I've eaten at some well regarded places in my life, both high and low brow, but my meal at the vegetable focused restaurant Ubuntu in Napa with Jeremy Fox as the chef before it shuttered, is still the most transcendent and delicious meal I have ever eaten.

Here's a joke, "If a vegan does crossfit, which one do they tell you about first?"

Vegan food, if prepared properly, is delicious. I recently had the opportunity to dine at Sage, a vegan restaurant at the uber-hipster neighborhood of Echo Park.

I ordered a "burger" consisting of portabella mushroom on some sort of bun. Delicious. However, the dish was 13 dollars. Also, as described in the article, the crowd looked like a Vice Magazine launch party.

For most Americans, veganism is just another province of the rich. People do not the time, money or effort to go vegan when they are barely making their food budget work as it stands now.

I am sure the benefits of going partly or fully vegan will be better understood. However, unless the economics of food (read: organic and expensive) change drastically, "going vegan" will still be a coastal, elitist endeavor.

Too bad. That burger really was delicious.

UNESCO reports that plant-based meals, on average, consume half the amount of water than a meat-based meal. Furthermore, studies have shown that meat production methods are simply unsustainable and heavily contribute to pollution on earth.

I think you're right to say veganism isn't go away anytime soon.

So many of this articles repeat the idea that there is a perception it's all brown rice and tofu balls, and that vegans are spartan hippies, but I think high quality vegan food and vegans of all types have been around long enough that these stereotypes no longer hold. The only place I see the stereotypes rolled out are in articles pointing out how it's no longer the case, despite what everyone thinks. Maybe everyone doesn't think that anymore, and we can retire this old line of reasoning.

Why is everything in a bowl now, as if we've all become toddlers? Will food ever be served on plates again?

'Glam' is the ultimate off-putting word. It is superficiality, not substance; bling, not quality; nouveau riche. Yuckky!

The New York Times, being pulled kicking and screaming into the 21st century. It sounds as you have a lot of catching up to do, if you are among the walking dead who have thought vegan cuisine is all about granola and bean sprouts.
But thank you for finally taking notice. Now get out there and enjoy.
You'll be helping the planet, your health, and the animals.