There are plenty of websites claiming that vegans are healthier than non-vegans. But simply eschewing animal products doesn't guarantee optimal health. I heard someone comment today that it is almost impossible to find a fat vegan. But I think that might be changing. In the past, being vegan meant you needed to have a serious commitment to feeding yourself. Convenience foods were scarce, and often the only option in a restaurant would be a salad with oil and vinegar dressing.

Today, it is very easy to be vegan and eat nothing but junk food. They're making some truly wonderful vegan snacks out there. Vegan restaurants are springing up everywhere (ok, that's an exaggeration), and look at all those sinful vegan cookbooks out there. I'm not talking about Veganomicon or Quick-Fix Vegetarian... But just look Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Vice Cream and The Joy of Vegan Baking! The recipes in these cookbooks are fabulous, I know, Jane's made a few of them already. But if you eat enough of these things, you could be a fat vegan too!

It seems that until now, most of the studies which claim that a vegan diet is healthier than a vegetarian diet have relied on extrapolation (based on differences in the vegetarian and vegan diets) to come to these conclusions. Vegan Health.org is advocating long-term studies on vegan health and for the vegan community to focus on nutritional concerns, something Jane and I have not been doing as much of as we know we should. According to Vegan Health.org:

Nutritional myths have a way of going from one extreme to the other - either something is such an issue that people should not be vegan, or it is not important at all. The truth is often in the middle. Protein, calcium, and vitamin D are examples.

People once believed that in order to rely on plant proteins, you had to combine particular foods at every meal. We now know this is not true, but in countering the myth, claims have gone from "You don't need to combine proteins," to "It's easy to get enough protein on a vegan diet," to the harmful "It's impossible not to get enough protein!" On average, vegans get enough protein, but vegans who avoid legumes and soyfoods might not be getting enough and could feel unhealthy...

We've certainly been guilty of espousing the "it's easy to get enough protein on a vegan diet" philosophy. Jane has definitely noticed a difference in her energy level on days when she focuses on protein and days when she probably doesn't get enough. (I start out my mornings with a protein shake every day, so it's much less of an issue for me. I'm getting 20+ grams for breakfast.)

I guess this means we'll be looking a little more carefully at what we're eating.

Jane was planning on making this recipe for dinner tonight. It's an Indian dish that looks rather intriguing. We have all the ingredients on hand and so I was looking forward to a new and (hopefully) delicious meal. Alas, it was not to be.

It was gardening weather out there today, which means that we spent a good portion of the late morning/early afternoon working. OK, weeding. It's time to start working on getting the vegetable beds ready. Living in the Los Angeles area, and not being billionaires, we don't have a huge plot of land to "farm." Typically I plant tomatoes, peppers and sometimes zucchini or blue beans, and once (very unsuccessfully) acorn squash. We also have a lemon tree which seems to be productive every 18 months or so. And Jane keeps an herb garden which is usually comprised of the standards: basil, dill, thyme, mint, and of course, the ubiquitous rosemary. So even though we don't have a farm, there is a reasonable percentage of our property devoted to raising produce. Unfortunately, we tend to be a little lazy once football season starts. So there is always a good deal of work to be done at the beginning of the gardening season.

After all that hard work we had some hummus and veggies for lunch. But, when it came time to think about dinner, neither of us felt like getting dressed enough to go out, and Jane didn't have the energy to try a new recipe. Instead we had Trader Joe's Vegetable Biryani with tofu, and a green salad. The Biryani was great, light and fluffy. I'm not sure how it would compare to home-made biryani, but we both loved it. Jane cooked some tofu and threw it in with the rice. It was a super-quick, super-easy dish, absolutely perfect for those nights when you come too tired to even think about what's for dinner.

An article published by the Associated Press, dated February 14th, indicates there may be an end in sight to live animal testing of potentially toxic chemicals and products as it relates to the safety of human usage of these chemicals.

The Environmental Protection Agency, the National Toxicology Program and the National Institutes of Health have signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" to develop and implement new methods of testing. The "new" technique is known as high throughput screening (HTS). It is currently being used in the pharmaceutical industry for drug development, and by genomics researchers. It involves combining chemicals with human cells. Robotic machinery can then determine, within minutes, if there are any signs that the chemical being tested requires further investigation -- i.e. damage to the cells, changes to cellular structure, or even cell death. Similar technology is expected to help reduce animal testing in Europe.

The intent of the agreement is to increase the number of chemicals tested, and improve the validity of the data. Tests done on animals do not always accurately predict how human cells will react with a particular chemical. In addition, the expectation is that the cost to test new drugs and chemicals will be markedly decreased as the time and resources required to fully test a new chemical will be drastically reduced.

According to a related article in the New York Times today (Feb. 15), the main testing agency, the National Toxicology Program, has fully tested just 2,500 chemicals in 30 years. The new approach could screen that many chemicals, at 15 different exposure levels, in a single afternoon, said Christopher Austin of the NIH's Chemical Genomics Center. That could significantly reduce or even eliminate the backlog of new drugs awaiting testing/approval.

Information from these tests will then be combined with data from previous animal tests and computer modeling to predict likely outcomes. Scientists will have to retest proven chemicals with the new technology (HTS) and compare the results with years of previous animal research to see if the new testing is as reliable at predicting harm. Currently HTS is used to test positive results as scientists are searching for chemicals and drugs which perform a certain function. HTS will now be used to look for negative results: damage to human cellular structures.

The agencies acknowledge that full implementation of the shift in toxicity testing could take years because it will require scientific validation of the new approaches.

It's a wonderful example of what scientists always hope for, says Francis Collins, director of the NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute. "You develop a technology for one purpose, and you realize, 'Goodness! We can use it for something else!' "

We're still a bit removed from the day when animal testing will no longer be deemed "necessary." The expectation is that HTS will be tested and further refined over the next five years.

According to Dr. Catherine Willett, of PETA, "These agencies have been resistant to change in the past and this represents a paradigm shift in their thinking. There is no reason to use animals for specific toxicology tests. You can replace them with a battery of non-animal methods designed around the biology."

Valentine's Day is upon us. I don't know why I keep blogging about it, Jane and I really don't buy into all these Hallmark Holidays. We typically exchange cards and share a nicer dinner than usual. Occasionally there are chocolates involved.

If you still haven't figured out what your doing tomorrow here are a few menu ideas from VegCooking.  Fat Free Vegan has posted the winning recipes from this year's Vegetable Love competition, which include Curry Chickpea Crepes and a truly decadent looking Vegan Molten Chocolate Cake.

And if you're thinking of vegan chocolates, the Baltimore City Paper Online had a humorous article in their "Eats" section today. Mr. Blake-Plock discusses the potential pitfalls of chocolates (hidden ingredients). Oh, can I relate. Isinglass, gelatin, bone char. You think you're doing the right thing! But he does give a few recommendations for truly vegan chocolates which make the grade:

Just when I was about to call it a day on vegan chocolate, I happened upon a Tropical Source Rich Dark chocolate bar. It's not a particularly romantic-looking bar, but sweet Jesus, what a taste. I kept checking and rechecking the ingredients; I couldn't believe I wasn't eating milk chocolate. This was silky and decadent--as well as dairy and gluten free.

... But even this could not prepare me for the gloriously seductive Nirvana Belgian organic dark chocolate with pomegranate bar. This was a true European artisan candy composed of organic unsweetened chocolate, organic cane sugar, and orgiastic organic cocoa butter, pomegranate, and vanilla. Amazing.

And finally, if you're still trying to come up with a gift idea for your sweetheart, here is a list of a top ten list of vegetarian instruments of seduction as compiled by PR Log.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all.

It might be time for a road trip to Portland, Oregon. Clearly there's a lot more going on there than I've ever imagined. Oregon seems to have more vegans per square foot than any other state in the United States. Portland has the most strip clubs per capita in the United States. So I guess it comes as no surprise that Portland now claims to play host to the first vegan strip club in the world. When I first moved out to California almost twenty years ago, California was deemed to be the "land of fruit and nuts." We've got nothing on Oregon!

Does anyone else find this extremely bizarre? According to the owner, the only meat you'll find at this place is on a pole. He also claims to be moved by a desire to expose people to veganism. Is his pun intended? Are his strippers vegans themselves? Is his intent to expose his patrons to vegan strippers or vegan foods?

So what is his tagline going to be? "Where's the beef?" or how about "Try our BLTs: Buns, Legs and Tits." If it's a vegan strip club, can it still be referred to as a meat market?

I'm not going to pass any value judgments as to whether strip clubs are good or evil, the fact is they exist. (I deliberately haven't mentioned the name of the strip club because I'm not promoting it. You can google it if you're really interested.) But I am presenting this information to point out that the mere existence of this gimmick serves to show how mainstream veganism is becoming.