The 1st Annual Vegan Soulfest Comes to Baltimore City (2014, neighborhoods)

[Infinite_heights77]

*FIRST ANNUAL VEGAN SOULFEST COMES TO BALTIMORE CITY

http://http://afro.com/the-first-ann...altimore-city/

THE FIRST ANNUAL VEGAN SOULFEST COMES TO BALTIMORE CITY

by: AFRO Staff Vegan SoulFest (Courtesy Photo)Oct 23, 2014

A local vegan restaurant and a public health organization have joined forces to bring the first annual Vegan SoulFest to Baltimore City on Oct. 25. This festival is to engage people in conversation about the vegan lifestyle in a way that is culturally sensitive and takes into account the whole range of socioeconomic levels in the city.
For many residents, conditions like poverty, food insecurity and poor health are an everyday reality. The striking health disparities that exist in low-income neighborhoods in Baltimore are due, in large part, to the lack of information about proper nutrition and how to make healthier lifestyle choices. In an effort to address these pressing issues, the Better Health, Better Life organization and The Land of Kush restaurant have teamed up to bring Vegan SoulFest to Baltimore. The festival will take place noon to 5 p.m., Oct. 25 at the Downtown Cultural Arts Center, 401 N. Howard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.

[picardlx]

Thanks for sharing.

I'm probably the only obese person who thinks vegetarian or even vegan alternatives to most foods taste better than their meat-based counterparts. My only problem is that I'll I eat all three!

It'll be nice to learn how to prepare vegan/vegetarian dishes myself instead of only eating encountering them at restaurants. Hopefully, nothing gets in the way of me attending.

[Infinite_heights77]

You're welcome! I may stop through.

Originally Posted by picardlx

Thanks for sharing.

I'm probably the only obese person who thinks vegetarian or even vegan alternatives to most foods taste better than their meat-based counterparts. My only problem is that I'll I eat all three!

It'll be nice to learn how to prepare vegan/vegetarian dishes myself instead of only eating encountering them at restaurants. Hopefully, nothing gets in the way of me attending.

[Infinite_heights77]

I heard this event was a raging success!

[nifear]

Dang it! Saw this too late

[ktaadin]

I was there near the end of the day. Enjoyed a spicy bowl of vegan bean chili.

[B.K.]

As I've mentioned before, most of my career has been spent in food service industries. For a few years I was sous chef at a restaurant that had a menu that was half "normal" food, and half vegan/vegetarian.
One thing that I noticed was that there did not appear to be any sort of hard and fast definition or manifesto of what constituted veganism, other than that they would eat no sort of flesh-no meat, fish, fowl, insects, what have you, nor animal-based products, i.e., dairy and eggs.
Some believed honey was OK, some insisted that only plant-based sweeteners were permitted, maple syrup, e.g. Why this made them opposed to sugar, or corn syrup for that matter, was never fully explained.
Some would not eat bread, because yeast might be an animal (never saw any that refused to drink alcohol, tho'). Some would not eat anything containing white or wheat flour because they believed animal bones were somehow involved in the bleaching or refining process. Most would eat seitan (a gluten protein found only in wheat), tho'.
Cheese made from artificial casein was okay for some, but only if it contained microbial rennet or some other non-animal coagulant-try getting this stuff to melt on a black-bean burger, it's like the wrapper never came off the Kraft singles!
Not to be judgmental of people's eating habits, but those who truly followed what they thought of as a strict 'Vegan" diet often looked to me to be malnourished and unhealthy-pale, rail thin, sunken eyes, no color, flaky hair, anemic, just fragile-looking.

[Infinite_heights77]

Yeah, you're making some interesting points! Some of these so-called vegans are making this a passing fad, as opposed to a positive lifestyle change.

"Not to be judgmental of people's eating habits, but those who truly followed what they thought of as a strict 'Vegan" diet often looked to me to be malnourished and unhealthy-pale, rail thin, sunken eyes, no color, flaky hair, anemic, just fragile-looking."

*Yup! I've seen that as well. Inaddition to obese and unhealthy people eating these types of foods, then going back later eating a Big Mac later that evening?!!

Originally Posted by B.K.

As I've mentioned before, most of my career has been spent in food service industries. For a few years I was sous chef at a restaurant that had a menu that was half "normal" food, and half vegan/vegetarian.
One thing that I noticed was that there did not appear to be any sort of hard and fast definition or manifesto of what constituted veganism, other than that they would eat no sort of flesh-no meat, fish, fowl, insects, what have you, nor animal-based products, i.e., dairy and eggs.
Some believed honey was OK, some insisted that only plant-based sweeteners were permitted, maple syrup, e.g. Why this made them opposed to sugar, or corn syrup for that matter, was never fully explained.
Some would not eat bread, because yeast might be an animal (never saw any that refused to drink alcohol, tho'). Some would not eat anything containing white or wheat flour because they believed animal bones were somehow involved in the bleaching or refining process. Most would eat seitan (a gluten protein found only in wheat), tho'.
Cheese made from artificial casein was okay for some, but only if it contained microbial rennet or some other non-animal coagulant-try getting this stuff to melt on a black-bean burger, it's like the wrapper never came off the Kraft singles!
Not to be judgmental of people's eating habits, but those who truly followed what they thought of as a strict 'Vegan" diet often looked to me to be malnourished and unhealthy-pale, rail thin, sunken eyes, no color, flaky hair, anemic, just fragile-looking.

[clairefromsd]

The honey thing is still an issue. I don't eat it, but a friend who considers herself much more strict than I am does eat it. Never heard of anybody avoiding yeast, though. Odd. Sugar - I don't worry about it personally, but the issue is that it can be filtered with bone char. Some people avoid it for that reason. Also, try Daiya cheese. So much better than typical nasty vegan cheese! It melts, too.

Anyway, I wasn't able to go to the SoulFest unfortunately, but my husband went and picked up some food for me! Yum. I hope it happens again next year.

Some of the people who are super strict might also have other issues - food fears, avoidance of healthy fats, not eating enough, etc. Veganism certainly isn't a disordered eating pattern, but some people do use it as an excuse for poor eating habits. I'm vegan (though I don't worry about whether sugar was processed with bone char, admittedly), but that doesn't mean I starve myself. I'm actually a little overweight, and trying to lose it. It's just like with anybody else - some people have food issues, some avoid processed foods, some go for extremes. I promise I"m not malnourished, pale, rail thin, with sunken eyes, no color, flaky hair, anemic, or just fragile-looking. Heehee.

[B.K.]

Claire, this is sort of my point: no-one has a definition of what a "Vegan" is. I know many people who are vegetarians and eat a well balanced diet, and are able to do so by incorporating several incomplete vegetable proteins and non-animal based fats healthily. Talk to different people who describe themselves as "Vegan," and you'll get many different interpretations of what that means-as well as different explanations of why one food is okay, and another is not.
My youngest brother was a vegetarian for several years, and he too gained weight while doing so; his complaint was that he had to eat so much bulky, starchy food (root vegetables, beans, rice, etc.) to feel sated and maintain nutritional requirements.
Oddly enough, he didn't become vegetarian because he developed an aversion to meat, or thought that its consumption was morally wrong. He did so because he was repulsed by the concept of "factory" farming of animals: penned cattle, three-tier hogs, birds that never left a cage from egg until slaughter, etc. Then he rediscovered his love of hunting...and now eats only the animals he shoots or catches. He lives in rural Georgia and he hunts several times a month.