Vegan-inspiring moment

September 8, 2002

> Karen Detling said: There was one cow who stood at the wall along the drive

and was looking at the two newborn calves across the road. Her moo was

agonizing. It was not a short, gentle moo, but prolonged and very strong. I

went up to see her and it was like I was not there. She was so focused on the

calves. I stood right in front of her and could feel the force of her mooing.

When one of the men went by I asked and he confirmed that one was her calf. I

cannot tell you how that opened my eyes to the suffering I cause by drinking

milk, and consuming other dairy products. I just kept imagining my own children

being taken away from me right after they were born. The fact is too that if

you are going to be a dairy cow, I suspect that this is a pretty good place to

be one, compared to the huge operations. The other factor that I have been

consiously ignoring is that something has to be done about all the male calves

that are born. I'm afraid to ask. I'm not sure that I can ever eat ice cream

again. It's the cheese I don't know what to do about.<

Karen,

Congratulations on the " moment " ! And what a sad story about the cow....

brought tears to my eyes..... I can certainly understand your

reluctance to give up cheese. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 16 years

before becoming vegan. I had cheese on *everything* and LOTS of it. I

was a cheese addict. It makes me ill to think about it now. I gave up

dairy products gradually over a 6-month period. First, I switched to

low-fat cheese instead of full-fat. Then, I went to fat-free cheese.

Then, I started cutting down the amount. (Nobody can ever accuse me of

going cold turkey! LOL) One day, I decided that was it, I wasn't going

to eat dairy anymore. I have to admit, my meals tasted a bit bland and

strange for a few days without the cheese. But, spiritually, I felt

much better since my eating habits were now in line with my life philosophy.

If you decide to give up cheese, know that it will be difficult for a

week or so. But, if that's what you truly want to do, then try it.

Even if you don't give it up altogether, whatever steps you make will

lessen suffering of cows.

Sheri

September 11, 2002

Hi Sheri and everyone -

I've been lurking on this list for a couple months

now, but I have to join in this thread... I'm

currently lacto-ovo, but heading towards vegan...

Right now, I only purchase organic dairy products

(which I know is not the best choice, but it's

something...), and I don't eat dairy/eggs when I eat

out, because I know they come from the conventional

dairy farms (ugh)... I've had pretty good luck with

substituting things for cheese, such as on a sub, I

would use spicy mustard instead of the cheese to give

the sandwich a kick. Yum. Been also purchasing vegan

veggie burgers, and found one variety I really like.

My husband isn't heading towards vegan yet, though,

but he'll probably come around like he did with the

vegetarianism... He was one we thought would NEVER

convert, and one day he just decided he wouldn't eat

meat anymore. Anyway, back to the subject at hand... I

wanted to know if anyone could recommend some vegan

substitutes for cheese (cream cheese and block cheese

mostly) that I could use... I have tried some and they

were SO gross I couldn't even stomach one bite, so if

anyone has any further suggestions, I'd appreciate...

I went to the Farm Sanctuary, and their vegan cream

cheese was SO good, it was like the real thing, but I

haven't gotten around to calling them to see where

they got it or what it's called...

Any suggestions would be appreciated !

Jackie in PA

(mother to Bobby, 2 1/2, who eats a lot of cheese,

too.)

>I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 16 years before

>becoming vegan. I had cheese on *everything* and LOTS

>of it. I was a cheese addict. It makes me ill to

>think about it now. I gave up dairy products

>gradually over a 6-month period. First, I switched to

>low-fat cheese instead of full-fat. Then, I went to

>fat-free cheese. Then, I started cutting down the

>amount. (Nobody can ever accuse me of going cold

>turkey! LOL) One day, I decided that was it, I wasn't

>going to eat dairy anymore. I have to admit, my meals

>tasted a bit bland and strange for a few days without

>the cheese. But, spiritually, I felt much better

>since my eating habits were now in line with my life

>philosophy.If you decide to give up cheese, know that

>it will be difficult for a week or so. But, if that's

>what you truly want to do, then try it. Even if you

>don't give it up altogether, whatever steps you make

>will lessen suffering of cows.

- We Remember

9-11: A tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost

http://dir.remember./tribute

September 12, 2002

Tofutti makes a great cream cheese sub called " Better Than Cream Cheese " .

Not exactly natural, but I don't think it's any worse than regular cream

cheese, which also has strange ingredients, I believe. It's funny, I never

actually liked cream cheese but I like this stuff. I made wraps with this

using tofurkey and fresh baby spinach tossed with Annie's Shitake Sesame

dressing and some roasted red peppers. Ohmigosh was that good!

For mozzerella cheese I use Soymage Vegan. It's really good. It melts when

mixed with something liquid like olive oil or pizza sauce. Try it on

Calzones with veggies and sauce instead of pizza because the steam inside

makes it melt.

Good Luck,

Tracy

-

" AnnieAcid " <annieacid

Wednesday, September 11, 2002 8:42 AM

Re: Vegan-inspiring moment

> Hi Sheri and everyone -

>

> I've been lurking on this list for a couple months

> now, but I have to join in this thread... I'm

> currently lacto-ovo, but heading towards vegan...

> Right now, I only purchase organic dairy products

> (which I know is not the best choice, but it's

> something...), and I don't eat dairy/eggs when I eat

> out, because I know they come from the conventional

> dairy farms (ugh)... I've had pretty good luck with

> substituting things for cheese, such as on a sub, I

> would use spicy mustard instead of the cheese to give

> the sandwich a kick. Yum. Been also purchasing vegan

> veggie burgers, and found one variety I really like.

> My husband isn't heading towards vegan yet, though,

> but he'll probably come around like he did with the

> vegetarianism... He was one we thought would NEVER

> convert, and one day he just decided he wouldn't eat

> meat anymore. Anyway, back to the subject at hand... I

> wanted to know if anyone could recommend some vegan

> substitutes for cheese (cream cheese and block cheese

> mostly) that I could use... I have tried some and they

> were SO gross I couldn't even stomach one bite, so if

> anyone has any further suggestions, I'd appreciate...

> I went to the Farm Sanctuary, and their vegan cream

> cheese was SO good, it was like the real thing, but I

> haven't gotten around to calling them to see where

> they got it or what it's called...

> Any suggestions would be appreciated !

> Jackie in PA

> (mother to Bobby, 2 1/2, who eats a lot of cheese,

> too.)

>

> >I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 16 years before

> >becoming vegan. I had cheese on *everything* and LOTS

> >of it. I was a cheese addict. It makes me ill to

> >think about it now. I gave up dairy products

> >gradually over a 6-month period. First, I switched to

> >low-fat cheese instead of full-fat. Then, I went to

> >fat-free cheese. Then, I started cutting down the

> >amount. (Nobody can ever accuse me of going cold

> >turkey! LOL) One day, I decided that was it, I wasn't

> >going to eat dairy anymore. I have to admit, my meals

> >tasted a bit bland and strange for a few days without

> >the cheese. But, spiritually, I felt much better

> >since my eating habits were now in line with my life

> >philosophy.If you decide to give up cheese, know that

> >it will be difficult for a week or so. But, if that's

> >what you truly want to do, then try it. Even if you

> >don't give it up altogether, whatever steps you make

> >will lessen suffering of cows.

>

> - We Remember

> 9-11: A tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost

> http://dir.remember./tribute

>

> For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at

http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to

http://www.vrg.org/family.

>

September 12, 2002

I made a vegan cheese cake with Tofutti brand cream cheese and no one could

tell the difference! As far as cheese substitutes, I use Veggie Slices (I

find them in the produce section here) on my sandwiches and I can't tell a

difference but they contain casein (a skim milk derivative).

AnnieAcid [annieacid]

Wednesday, September 11, 2002 10:42 AM

Re: Vegan-inspiring moment

Hi Sheri and everyone -

I've been lurking on this list for a couple months

now, but I have to join in this thread... I'm

currently lacto-ovo, but heading towards vegan...

Right now, I only purchase organic dairy products

(which I know is not the best choice, but it's

something...), and I don't eat dairy/eggs when I eat

out, because I know they come from the conventional

dairy farms (ugh)... I've had pretty good luck with

substituting things for cheese, such as on a sub, I

would use spicy mustard instead of the cheese to give

the sandwich a kick. Yum. Been also purchasing vegan

veggie burgers, and found one variety I really like.

My husband isn't heading towards vegan yet, though,

but he'll probably come around like he did with the

vegetarianism... He was one we thought would NEVER

convert, and one day he just decided he wouldn't eat

meat anymore. Anyway, back to the subject at hand... I

wanted to know if anyone could recommend some vegan

substitutes for cheese (cream cheese and block cheese

mostly) that I could use... I have tried some and they

were SO gross I couldn't even stomach one bite, so if

anyone has any further suggestions, I'd appreciate...

I went to the Farm Sanctuary, and their vegan cream

cheese was SO good, it was like the real thing, but I

haven't gotten around to calling them to see where

they got it or what it's called...

Any suggestions would be appreciated !

Jackie in PA

(mother to Bobby, 2 1/2, who eats a lot of cheese,

too.)

>I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 16 years before

>becoming vegan. I had cheese on *everything* and LOTS

>of it. I was a cheese addict. It makes me ill to

>think about it now. I gave up dairy products

>gradually over a 6-month period. First, I switched to

>low-fat cheese instead of full-fat. Then, I went to

>fat-free cheese. Then, I started cutting down the

>amount. (Nobody can ever accuse me of going cold

>turkey! LOL) One day, I decided that was it, I wasn't

>going to eat dairy anymore. I have to admit, my meals

>tasted a bit bland and strange for a few days without

>the cheese. But, spiritually, I felt much better

>since my eating habits were now in line with my life

>philosophy.If you decide to give up cheese, know that

>it will be difficult for a week or so. But, if that's

>what you truly want to do, then try it. Even if you

>don't give it up altogether, whatever steps you make

>will lessen suffering of cows.

- We Remember

9-11: A tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost

http://dir.remember./tribute

September 13, 2002

On Wed, 11 Sep 2002, AnnieAcid wrote:

> Anyway, back to the subject at hand... I

> wanted to know if anyone could recommend some vegan

> substitutes for cheese (cream cheese and block cheese

> mostly) that I could use...

I really like Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese. I've got a killer vegan

chocolate cheesecake recipe that uses it, if you're interested.

I still haven't found a vegan block " cheese " that tastes like the real

thing. I have, however, developed a fondness for mozzerella-style

Soymage. My toddler *loves* the stuff. Just don't expect it to taste

like dairy cheese.

----

Patricia Bullington-McGuire <patricia

President, The Arlington Cooperative Organization

The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered

three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the

purely hypothetical. They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each

nonexisted in an entirely different way ...

-- Stanislaw Lem, " Cyberiad "

September 13, 2002

In a message dated 9/13/02 8:59:43 AM, patricia writes:

<< I still haven't found a vegan block " cheese " that tastes like the real

thing. I have, however, developed a fondness for mozzerella-style

Soymage. My toddler *loves* the stuff. Just don't expect it to taste

like dairy cheese. >>

That's really the key, if you don't expect it to be just like dairy cheese

it's much easier to enjoy it on it's own merits as something else.

Phil Welsher

September 13, 2002

Thanks for all the alternative cheese ideas. I'm going to make a list of the

suggestions to take to the store with me.

Last night we had tacos. Instead of cheese I put on some guacamole, and they

were great. I think I need time to experiment and see what works. I'm not sure

that DH will follow me into veganism or something close. He became vegetarian

on his own a few years after I did, but he thinks that cutting the rest of the

stuff is too extreme and no fun. But, we'll see. I did not bug him about

giving up meat, so I don't plan to nag him now.

Karen

-

Tracy Childs

Thursday, September 12, 2002 10:40 AM

Re: Re: Vegan-inspiring moment