Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Reflection: Vegan Gourmet is Not an Oxymoron!

Bill Landauer
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Palo Alto, CA

About 5 years ago, I began eating a vegetarian diet. One year ago, I began eating only vegan food (a diet that does not include animal products of any kind; including meat, fish, eggs, milk, butter, etc.) Since changing to these diets, I have felt so happy inside knowing that I am not harming animals. It is a deep, inner joy for me. As a practicing vegan, do I feel deprived, that I am missing the chance to taste great foods? Let me tell you about a dinner my wife and I ate in Charente, France at a vegetarian B&B, Le Luquet, run by Pete and Angie Weston. Our evening meal began with a glass of white Bordeaux wine. The first course arrived: Tuscan Bean Soup — A creamy soup of butter beans and garlic, made using soy milk and vegan stock and served with French bread. Then the main course: Stuffed peppers — peppers filled with green lentils, rice, onions and mushrooms, and baked in a vegan cheese stock, served with a green salad. And for dessert: Vegan chocolate sponge cake — a light sponge cake sandwiched with vegan buttercream and jam and served with soy cream! This meal was truly a gourmet’s delight, if there ever was one. France is not known for its vegan food, but at Le Luquet we found ourselves in a hedonistic garden of Eden. I give heartfelt thanks to our hostess, Angie.

But, why eat vegan anyhow? Number 1. From the deepest most place in my heart, it is for the animals. The mistreatment of animals on factory farms today is truly a disgrace! The animals raised for human consumption suffer in crowded and filthy conditions until the terrifying day of their slaughter. And the animals raised for dairy products and eggs fare no better. They are crowded, drugged, and tortured and the chickens’ beaks are cut off. This is all done in order to sell us eggs and milk at a lower price. And of course eating vegan is not just for the animals; it is for the humans too. We experience a deeper peace when eating humanely.

Number 2. Eating vegan is better for the planet. UUCPA is working on becoming a green sanctuary. Here is a most important fact: A recent United Nations report states that cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse gases, as measured in CO2 equivalent, than transportation does. This means that eating less meat is more helpful than driving an energy efficient vehicle towards reducing global warming. Now that we know this, let’s consider doing our part.

Number 3. Eating vegan will help bring an end to world hunger. Raising animals for food is an extremely inefficient way to feed a growing human population. The livestock population of the United States consumes enough grain and soybeans to feed over five times the entire human population of the country. We feed farm animals 80% of the corn we grow and 95% of the oats. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by only 10 percent, it would free 12 million tons of grain annually for human consumption. This alone would be sufficient to feed each the 60 million people who starve to death each year.

And finally, number 4: Eating vegan is better for your own health. Vegan foods have less cholesterol and saturated fats, and avoid the antibiotics and hormones that are pumped into the farm animals. Meat also contains 14 times the amount of pesticides as plant food.

In Palo Alto, we are fortunate to have easy access to all kinds of vegetarian and vegan foods. We don’t have to eat a 100% vegan diet to make a big difference to the animals, the planet, the starving inhabitants of earth, and to our own health. As an important start, consider eating less meat. It doesn’t even have to be a hardship. Vegan and Gourmet are two words that now go together! Experience the love you have in your heart for all beings and let it be expressed through your food choices.