Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, family! I hope you’re having a powerful 2012 so far.
Over the holidays, a friend served an absolutely delicious vegan carrot cake at her New Year’s gathering that had these words: Dream/Imagine, Make it Come True. I wish that for each of us during 2012.
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What is Vegan?
For the first e-newsletter of the year, I’d thought we go over a few basics about what vegan is, based on questions that people often ask me.
How do you pronounce vegan?
- “Ve” rhymes with “free” and “gan” is pronounced the same as in “organ.”
What is vegan food?
- Food that comes from plants. So foods like green smoothies, blueberry waffles, kale salad, curried chickpea stew with cornbread, and chocolate cheesecake would be made with plant ingredients from fruits, vegetables, nuts, or beans.
- Vegan food does not come from animals—no fish, chicken, turkey, duck, cow, pig, lamb, goat, milk, cheese, or eggs.
What is the difference between vegan and vegetarian food?
- Vegetarian food also comes from plants. The difference is that vegetarian food might also come from animal products such as milk, cheese, or eggs, but not from animal flesh.
What is raw food?
- In the case of vegan food, raw means food made from plants that have not been cooked or not heated above a certain temperature (which might include food prepared using a dehydrator, not an oven).
Why do people become vegan?
- Common reasons include for optimal health, compassion for animals, to save the planet, and spiritual growth.
What is vegan clothing?
- Clothes, shoes, and other wearable items made from plants (like cotton, hemp, and bamboo), and synthetic materials (which could be environmentally-hazardous or environmentally-friendly, fair-trade or unfair-trade…).
- Vegan clothing is not made from animal hair, skin, or products, which includes leather, suede, wool, fur, and silk.
What is the difference between vegan and cruelty-free?
- Products such as skin care, cosmetics, household cleaners, and medications are vegan if they do not contain ingredients from animals or animal products.
- However, if these products were tested on animals, they are not cruelty-free. So if you want to use products that do not contain animals or test on animals, then look for vegan and cruelty-free labels.
These are just a few of the basics. We have 51 more weeks to continue exploring the world of vegan living. And we will!
Don’t forget to send me your questions to tracye@byanygreensnecessary.com and I’ll answer them Q and A style in the e-newsletter.
Have a great day and I’ll talk to you next week!
Vibrantly yours,
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