By David Carter

The recent 3rd annual Vegan SoulFest in Baltimore, Maryland marked my first presentation at a vegfest organized specifically for people of color (POC).

My talk—Oppression in the Food System—was about how systematically underserved areas are kept subjugated through a lack of proper access to nutritious food and food education.

I’m well aware of the food oppression in the area I grew up in—Los Angeles, California. However, in order to understand what the people of Baltimore City were going through, I reached out to friend and colleague, and Baltimore resident, Brenda Sanders.

Brenda graciously sent me an essay she wrote about her work—Food Sovereignty in a Racist Food System—and she spoke with me about the current and ongoing situation in the low-income POC communities in Baltimore. I also did some research myself—and pouring over statistics and studies were the key to truly understanding the severity of the issue.

When we arrived in Baltimore a few days prior to Vegan SoulFest, I decided to use the additional time I had to get out in the neighborhood and see first hand what access to real food looks like in the city of Baltimore. This is what I found—namely, poor and low quality food of the fast and junk food variety at the local corner stores.

Block after block nothing changed. In fact, it only got worse the closer I got to the low-income housing projects.

I currently have more produce in my refrigerator than most of the corner stores combined. How is this happening? How is this the reality when not too far from here children grow up without food insecurity and have the privilege of shopping at upscale grocery stores like Whole Foods Market?

Can you imagine for a minute—should you find yourself privileged enough to not be in the situation being described—walking into your local grocery store and your produce options there being comparable to what you might find at a gas station?

Children in these systematically underserved communities grow up never knowing what butternut squash is, or what an artichoke tastes like. I wasn’t sure what I’d see during my tour, but what I found was injustice.

When Saturday rolled around and Paige and I arrived at Vegan SoulFest, it was a sight for sore eyes. Seeing every color under the sun being represented harmoniously at one beautiful festival was unbelievably restorative for me.

Seeing a community with all the odds stacked against them still rise reminds me of a beautiful proverb I recently read—“They tried to bury us but they didn’t know we were seeds.”

The Vegan SoulFest exemplifies the resiliency that lies within all oppressed people. It’s the desire for empowerment, fellowship, and knowledge—it’s community.

I cannot thank enough Brenda Sanders and Naijha Wright-Brown—the Vegan SoulFest co-founders and co-organizers—for seeing a need in their community and having the hearts to put this life-changing and life-saving festival together. We were truly blessed by what took place at Vegan SoulFest. The spirit of those two phenomenal women is why Baltimore is beautiful.

By Lori Stultz, VO Rocky Mountain Outreach Coordinator

Check out David Carter, The 300 Pound Vegan, as he enjoys a Follow Your Heart breakfast quiche in bed! This clip will certainly bring a smile to your face.

By Josie Moody, VO Office Manager

They say dogs are a man’s—or woman’s!—best friend, and here at Vegan Outreach we consider ourselves a best friend to animals. Our new collar combines the best of both worlds! Show your favorite furry friend how much you care about all animals by ordering one here today!

The VO collar is:

• black synthetic webbing with woven VO logos;
• includes side release buckle, slide adjuster, and D-ring hardware;
• 3/4″ wide and 12″ to 20″ long (size medium);
• made in the USA;
• $12, plus shipping.

(A very special thanks to our adorable model, Tiger!)

By Lisa Rimmert, VO Director of Development

I don’t consider myself a sentimental person, but boy do I love a good wedding. What’s even better? A vegan wedding!

On May 21, 2016, VO donor and volunteer, Corinna Fish, celebrated a vegan and green wedding with her now-husband Chad Stockdale in Sacramento, CA. We asked Corinna to tell us about it, and I think you’ll love how they incorporated VO into their special day. We certainly did!

Lisa Rimmert: Tell us about yourself, Corinna.

Corinna Fish: I’m a proposal writer for the University of California – Davis. When my hands aren’t typing, they’re pressed against my yoga mat or crafting—I love crochet, embroidery, and paper crafts.

Lisa: How did you become involved in animal protection?

Corinna: My best friend became vegan when we were teenagers, and in my early twenties I had a vegan roommate who was an incredible chef and baker. I didn’t know how to cook at all, so I lucked out in that she helped me with my first vegan cooking attempts, and everything she made turned out delicious. She also had a lot of animal rights literature, including Vegan Outreach booklets, that influenced me.

To be honest I’m only vegan when it comes to grocery shopping and cooking at home—I’m still flexitarian at family holiday gatherings and when I’m dining out with friends or coworkers. But part of the reason I support VO is because its work made me realize I can still help animals even if I’m not a perfect vegan. And staying involved with VO inspires me to keep striving toward a completely cruelty-free diet.

Lisa: How did you first get involved with VO and what inspires you to donate and volunteer?

Corinna: In my early twenties I struggled with wanting to be 100% vegan and activism burnout. Around 2004 I read most of what VO had published up to that point and the essays were a huge influence on me, especially the ones about working toward a vegan world instead of a vegan club and making the movement as effective as possible. I appreciated the transparency and solid analysis behind choosing to focus on leafleting, and I really trust that my donation dollars are having the maximum impact on ending animal suffering.

Lisa: You got married this summer. Congratulations! Will you tell us why and how you incorporated VO into your special day? What did your guests think?

Corinna: It was important to Chad and me to have a green wedding, so we looked into purchasing carbon offsets. But after some research we decided they weren’t very effective. So we used a carbon footprint calculator, which also provides a suggested offset cost, and donated that amount to Vegan Outreach instead. We included a short explanation of why we did that on our wedding website, along with a link to VO’s Diet and Global Warming article.

We also displayed a small sign near the guestbook to let guests know we made donations to Vegan Outreach and another animal organization we support. That sign hangs in our house now and is one of our favorite keepsakes from that day.

Lisa: How was it planning a vegan wedding? How did guests respond?

Corinna: We are lucky enough to know Joshua Ploeg—the Touring Vegan Chef and author of many cookbooks including In Search of the Lost Taste—and we both adore his cooking, so it was an easy decision to hire him.

I did read wedding planning forums where there was a passionate consensus against serving vegan food to non-vegan guests, but it seemed like the primary concern was the common perception that vegan food is flavorless. So I think the key is to make the quality of the food a priority. Top shelf alcohol helps too!

We specified on our invitations and wedding website that there would be a vegan buffet. Nobody asked about it before the wedding and as far as we know everyone was happy. Many omnivores commented on how good the food was, including a die-hard carnivore uncle.

Lisa: What is your favorite vegan meal to eat with your new spouse?

Corinna: Our favorite quick-and-easy meal is soyrizo and spinach in a tortilla. When we want something fancy and have the time, we love Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Caramelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping from Veganomicon. I don’t think we’ve ever tried a recipe by Isa Chandra Moskowitz that we didn’t like!

Lisa: Thank you, Corinna, and congratulations to you and Chad!

Photos: © The Goodness

By Lori Stultz, VO Rocky Mountain Outreach Coordinator

For anyone who doesn’t consume dairy, we’re all too familiar with the line “hold the whip” when ordering a tasty beverage from our favorite large chain coffee shop.

Good news! Those days are slowly, but surely, coming to a close. Peet’s Coffee and Tea in the U.S. announced earlier this year that they’d be offering a housemade vegan coconut whipped cream as a permanent addition to their menu that will leave your sweet tooth satisfied!

And if you act quickly, you can add this delicious vegan whipped cream to one of four coconut-themed coffee beverages, which can be made vegan upon request. These are part of Peet’s “Coffee Meets Coconut” campaign, but they’re only available through Tuesday, August 30, 2016.

Peet’s coconut whipped cream can be substituted across all beverages offered, and will cost an additional 35 cents.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for my coffee date…

By Josie Moody, VO Office Manager

The Compassionate Chick’s Guide to DIY Beauty by Sunny Subramanian and Chrystle Fiedler is so much more than a guide! It’s an awesome, easy-to-read encyclopedia on hair, skin care and beauty products, and, despite the title, it’s not geared only towards women. It’s accessible and full of so much information about why you should be vegan, what ingredients and cruelty go into many traditional beauty products, and of course tons of recipes. Now you’ll know EXACTLY what’s going into your body care products and on to your body! Bonus—it’s chock full of beautiful photography by Vegan Outreach’s own Michelle Cehn!

There was so much that I wanted to share with you, that I’ve decided to divide this blog post into two parts. Stay tuned for Part II!

Peppermint Toothpaste

I’m a practical person, and I just happened to get this book the same day that I wrote “toothpaste” on my shopping list, so that was the first concoction I decided to create.

This recipe was so easy—I thought maybe I’d missed a step! I’d never used essential oils before, and I fell in love with the peppermint scent…it wasn’t overwhelming the way that synthetic fragrances can be, it was just a bright, appealing smell.

There’s an option to add stevia for taste, and I enjoyed it both with and without the added sweetness. I’m a salt-aholic, so I didn’t mind that this was very salty tasting, but for those who aren’t, I’d suggest halving the amount of salt this recipe calls for and then adding more, bit by bit, until you get the taste just right.

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 packet stevia (optional)
• 15 drops peppermint essential oil
• Coconut oil

Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir together baking soda, sea salt, stevia (if using), and peppermint essential oil until well combined.
2. Mash in coconut oil, a little at a time, until a paste forms and the mixture is the desired consistency. Spoon into jar.
3. Dip a clean toothbrush into toothpaste. Moisten with water and brush teeth. Rinse mouth with water.
4. Store at room temperature for up to 6 months.

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Hair Spray-bilizer

This DIY hair spray is no joke! My hair is very fine, so I liked this because it added both texture and control. I’d compare this to an ultra-hold hair spray, so you may want to add less sugar if you’re looking for less hold. My biggest concern was that hummingbirds were going to swarm my head, but as of this writing, it hasn’t happened yet. A final note—the spray bottle I used shot more of a stream than a spray, so make sure that you’re using a bottle that will actually spritz your head to hold that style!

Ingredients

• 1 cup filtered water
• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 4 to 6 drops essential oil of your choice (optional)

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring water just to a simmer. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat. Let cool completely.
2. Stir in essential oil (if using). Using funnel, pour into bottle.
3. Spray mixture over styled hair to set in place.
4. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

There’s more of Sunny and Chrystle’s DIY goodness to come, so be sure to look for more recipes in an upcoming blog post! In the meanwhile, be sure to check out Sunny’s blog, Vegan Beauty Review.