Two weeks ago, I posted an article about a new 30 story vertical farm coming to Las Vegas in 2010. It was reported here, on other blogs, and on various news services. But is is true?

James Murray, at Business Green Blog, is now reporting that the story may have been fabricated. In his article, Mr. Murray says that he spoke with parties close to the Vertical Farm designer, and members of the Las Vegas and (Clark) County planners offices. According to Mr. Murray's report, none of these people were able to substantiate the story.

Is there going to be a 30 story vertical farm in Las Vegas? I don't know? I certainly hope so. It would be great for Vegans (people who are natives, or citizens, or residents of Las Vegas) and vegans (people who refrain from eating animal products) alike. Regardless, here a couple of links about vertical farming:

• The Vertical Farm's website highlights the idea of vertical farming, and notes recent news stories about the concept. There is no story about a vertical farm coming to Las Vegas on their website.
• A BBC article which discusses a proposal by scientists at Columbia University of a potential vertical farm in New York City

So maybe the vertical farm in Las Vegas is just one those viral stories that circulates the internet. I hope not. It would be nice to see more vegan options in Sin City. I'm not going to gamble on that.

For the last few years, it seems that "the obesity epidemic" has been one of those hot topic issues. You read about it everywhere and hear about it on the news with some regularity. And now that it's January again, it seems like you hear something new every day. I guess it's not so surprising after all. If you do any research on the matter, obesity health-related issues are problems facing most developed and developing countries. According to the World Health Organization there are One BILLION overweight people in the world, and at least 300 million of these are clinically obese. Overweight is defined here as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 25 and obesity is having a BMI over 30. Imagine that, 300 million clinically obese people... That's the equivalent of the entire population of the United States. (You can find a BMI Calculator here.)

The most effective way to combat obesity is to modify your diet and to begin an exercise regime. You know, common sense... eat fewer calories than you expend and you'll lose weight. But the global trend of wealthier and denser populations has lead to a change in the way we live. As humans, our diets are comprised of more refined foods, foods which are high in saturated fats, trans-fats, sugars, and over processed grains stripped of their nutrients. And food is omnipresent. There is food for purchase at almost any event you might attend, including plays on Broadway!

In addition to the dietary changes we have also experienced significant changes in the way we live over the last century. More and more labor saving devices allow us more leisure time, and more time to socialize - which is usually a food-centric event. It seems like home cooked meals are becoming a rarity. The computer, television, and electronic games have all but replaced the physical pursuits we used to participate in during our leisure time. Most of us spend our days behind a desk in front of a computer. All this adds up to a sedentary lifestyle, which coupled with the above mentioned dietary changes, has led to our ever expanding waistlines.

One of the ways to combat this problem is to shift to a vegan diet. Most doctors and health organizations recommend that people should increase their intake of fruits and vegetables while reducing their consumption of saturated fats. Saturated fats are primarily found in animal products (with the notable exception of coconut oil).

The major killers of Americans—heart disease, cancer, and stroke—have a dramatically lower incidence among people consuming primarily plant-based diets. Weight problems—a contributor to a host of health problems—can also be brought under control by following the New Four Food Group recommendations. -- The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Of course, being vegan doesn't guarantee that you will lose weight. If you eat nothing but potato chips or Soy Ice Cream, you'll most likely be eschewing animal product, but you won't lose weight. Generally vegan meals are less calorie dense than those centered around animal product. If you've been following this blog at all, you'll know that I've lost 20 pounds and my wife has lost 11 over a six month period. That may not sound like a lot if you're looking to lose 100 or so, but we haven't done anything else. We haven't stepped up our exercise; we haven't cut our consumption. We just changed what we were eating, for other reasons, and had this very nice byproduct. And we're not the only ones. Apparently, a veg*n diet will result in a 1 pound per week average weight loss, as reported in a study by Nutrition Reviews.

For further reading see:

• A New Food Guide for North American Vegetarians (pdf)
• Veganism: A Weapon to Fight The Obesity Epidemic -- John Livesey PhD, Scientific Officer, Department of Endocrinolog, Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand
• Health Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet

After six-plus months of eating vegan, Jane and I have developed a sense of what foods we might not be able to eat. Since going vegan, we've read countless food labels and many informative articles on non-vegan ingredients hidden in otherwise vegan foods. So we're fairly comfortable knowing what foods we're going to have to scrutinize before throwing them into our shopping cart. Or at least we were until this trip.

Jane and I were at Whole Foods over the weekend, stocking up on some of the vegan products we can't get at our local grocery stores. We stopped off at the olive bar to select some of our favorites and came upon this sign: Oil Cured Black Olives. Ingredients: Black olives, olive oil, salt, lactic acid. Caution: Olives and olive mixes may contain pits or pit fragments. Contains: Milk.

Milk? In my olives? Huh? I'm not talking about olives swimming in some kind of creamy marinade either. These were plain black olives with some spices sprinkled over their wrinkly hides. We looked at each other completely aghast. How many other things did we assume were OK to buy simply because they didn't look like they could possibly have any non-vegan ingredients.

How frustrating! I guess it's back to the Vegetarian Resource Group to check on our hidden ingredients.

I was driving home tonight and the ubiquitous Los Angeles traffic only served to increase my desire to pass on the dreaded lentil loaf leftovers awaiting me at the end of my journey. Sometimes I think Jane has ESP (extra-sensory perception). I walked in the door and there were no clanging noises indicating that dinner was being prepared. No dishes were on the counter. The salad bowl was nowhere to be seen. And then I heard Jane holler down the hall... "Where do you want to go for dinner? " A sweeter sound was never heard. -- OK, I'm really exaggerating there, but I wasn't looking forward to dinner, so the idea of escaping that fate was very appealing.

But I guess you can't escape your destiny, and I was destined to have an unappetizing dinner tonight. Jane and I decided to try a vegan Chinese restaurant in Alhambra called Vege House. The prices were reasonable, cheap even. Each entree comes with your choice of sweet and sour soup or porridge, and bao (a very doughy roll). It certainly sounded like a deal. The staff was very friendly, although they spoke very little English, so we didn't get much help selecting our meal. We ordered a sweet and sour dish with fried and sauteed lotus shoots, and a spicy wheat gluten dish, but I have no idea what they were called. The soup was OK. Jane tried the porridge which was awful. Think gooey oatmeal. The sweet and sour lotus shoots were much better than the wheat gluten. Neither meal was good enough to entice us to return, and we didn't bring home our leftovers (that's saying something!!!). But at least it wasn't the lentil loaf!

FYI: I wouldn't typically write such a negative review after only one visit to a restaurant, however, Jane is unwell and in the bathroom at the moment, and my stomach is starting to complain. Maybe we should have had the lentil loaf after all.

For dinner tonight, Jane tried a new recipe. She made us a lentil loaf. It started out as lentil stew, which was quite tasty, so we both had high expectations.

The loaf wound up reminding me of my early experiences with vegetarianism back in the eighties. It seemed like everywhere I turned the only vegetarian option was a pepper stuffed with rice. In case you can't tell from the tone of my writing, I abhor stuffed peppers. That meal is one of the reasons I re-introduced meat into my diet.

When we were talking about going vegan I revisited my previous vegetarian experiences with Jane. She commiserated with me, but we both knew that things would be better this time around. We knew that there would be commercial products readily available in our local grocery stores. I would never have to resort to the ubiquitous stuffed pepper. So when I took my first bite of this Lentil Loaf, visions of stuffed peppers were unhappily dancing in my head. Needless to say, it wasn't wonderful. But it's far from the worst thing I've ever eaten.

Jane made the full recipe so there's still plenty of loaf left. Yay?