| Maybe you've seen their products in | | | | Under Fire |
| supermarkets. Boca Burgers paving the way for | | | | Veganism has never sat well in the public eye, |
| Smart Links, rice bread showing up an aisle away | | | | even with some vegetarians, who view vegans |
| from Soy Dream. And suddenly more and more | | | | as too extreme, and most meat-eaters, who |
| you're meeting people who refuse eggs and | | | | consider them downright loopy. But recently public |
| cheese along with meat. You may have seen one | | | | opinion shifted from puzzled disapproval to |
| carefully scrutinizing food labels. They are legion, | | | | outright animosity, brought on by a controversial |
| and they have a name: The Vegans. And although | | | | study in 2005 and several deaths. Lindsay Allen, a |
| you've probably only noticed them relatively | | | | professor working for the US Agricultural |
| recently, they've been around for over half a | | | | Research Service, studied the effects of vegan |
| century. | | | | eating habits on African children versus those of |
| VEE-gan? | | | | children given small, daily doses of meat. The |
| Veganism is vegetarianism "turned up to eleven." | | | | meat-eaters experienced healthier development |
| It avoids any product obtained through the | | | | and performed better in school, while the "vegan" |
| use-read, exploitation-of animals. That means | | | | group-fed daily servings of just corn and |
| meat is out, obviously. So are eggs and dairy. But | | | | beans-fell behind. |
| less obvious are things like honey or silk. These | | | | Based on the study, Allen concluded animal |
| are also verboten; after all, those bees made the | | | | products contain nutrients not found anywhere |
| honey for themselves, not for some clumsy | | | | else and that forcing children into a vegan diet is |
| farmer who crushes ten worker bees whenever | | | | unethical and irresponsible. But vegans blasted the |
| he checks on the hive. And imagine yourself in a | | | | study as unscientific and heavily biased; not only |
| silkworm's position: all that effort to create a | | | | were all the children starving, but the beef |
| cocoon, and for your trouble you're boiled in it and | | | | industry financed Allen's study. |
| tossed aside. | | | | The deaths of several children by malnutrition did |
| According to the website of Britain's Vegan | | | | far more damage. Over and over, the same |
| Society (the world's oldest), the movement | | | | story arose: vegan parents fed their infants |
| started in 1944, when a group of concerned | | | | nothing but soy, juice, and crushed nuts. The |
| "non-dairy" vegetarians (as they were then called) | | | | infants took ill and died; the parents were |
| grew tired of seeing fellow herbivores consume | | | | punished heavily for criminal negligence (and in |
| animal products. Led by Elsie Shrigley and Donald | | | | some cases, murder). Again, critics claimed this |
| Watson, they chose a new name for themselves: | | | | proved the flaws inherent in the vegan diet, |
| "Vegans," from "vegetarian's" first and last | | | | saying children needed animal products to survive. |
| syllables. Though the movement met with initial | | | | Vegans countered that the parents were simply |
| resistance from vegetarians unwilling to | | | | irresponsible, and that nothing was wrong with a |
| completely forego animal products, it has since | | | | proper Vegan diet. |
| grown dramatically. Britain is home to at least | | | | While it's true that many vegans load up on daily |
| 250,000 vegans; in the U.S., up to 1.4% of people | | | | supplements (because things like omega-3 or |
| refuse to eat or use any animal products. And | | | | vitamin b-12 are hard to find in simple veggies), |
| with the rise of those vegan-friendly products, the | | | | there are many who don't, and most of them are |
| convenience-factor is drawing more people in. | | | | living healthy lives. It may seem odd to a |
| Why? | | | | carnivore, but to a growing number of people, it |
| Vegans make the choice for a variety of reasons. | | | | makes perfect sense. |
| First of all, it's better for you. Vegan diets are high | | | | If you're hungry for some vegan-friendly food, |
| in fiber and protein and low in saturated fat and | | | | you should try the following recipes: |
| cholesterol. In a time when heart attacks are the | | | | Vegan Chocolate Cake |
| most likely cause of death in America and obesity | | | | Bold Vegan Chili |
| is on the rise all over the western world, this is no | | | | Tofu Burgers |
| small benefit. Cancer risk is lessened, as well; a | | | | Shieldzini |
| regular consumer of red meat is twice more likely | | | | Black Bean Chipotle Burgers |
| to get colon cancer than a vegan. | | | | Wolfgang Puck's Spicy Bruchetta |
| Then there are the ethical considerations. In the | | | | Broiled Vegetable Quesedillas |
| vegan view, snuffing out the life of an animal-or | | | | Brandia's Tex Mex Soy Lasagna |
| even making it uncomfortable-for sustenance or | | | | Black Bean Asian Tostadas |
| comfort is a moral impossibility, even more so | | | | Zucchini "Crab" Cakes |
| than with vegetarians. Many even oppose the use | | | | Wolfgang Puck's "My Mother's Garden Vegetable |
| of yeast in cooking, and why shouldn't they? The | | | | Soup" |
| process kills millions to of yeast molecules. And if | | | | Steamed Yuca with Mojo |
| killing a one-celled organism is immoral, then the | | | | And there are plenty more in our Vegan |
| factory farming of everything from cows to | | | | Vegetarian Section! |
| honey bees is downright intolerable. | | | | |