When Loving Hut burned down it left a void in our plant based foodie hearts, Loving Vegan Pizza has brought back pizza Amore! The pizza was the best thing at Vancouver’s Loving Hut, so it’s fitting that they’ve gone with a pizzeria concept for the new spot.

Loving Vegan Pizza offers up a selection of pizzas, lasagna and pastas all served with an assortment of toppings and using my all time favorite cheese “Daiya Cheese” Have you tried this cheese? It melts, it’s delicious and it’s vegan! Need I say more?

It seems plant-based living is getting quite mainstream, with all the little shops popping up all over Vancouver it seems to me that there is definitely a niche in this city for plant-based restaurants and retail outlets. Vancouver got its first vegan retail bakery recently called Edible Flours (2280 West Broadway) and Vancouver first vegan shoe store Got Nice shoes has also opened up recently (3568 Fraser Street) Way to go Vancouver, you’re growing up so fast!

With all this spring rain I think I’ll stay in and watch a movie and order in my Loving Vegan Pizza, and if by chance the sun comes out we might head down to the beach and watch the sunset, either way with all these choices the hardest part will be what wine to open.

Loving Vegan Pizza is located at (2119 Kingsway) Open seven days a week, offering takeout and delivery.

Do something, Learn something, Share something, Change something

What is a Meatless Meatup?

Even though this was filmed in 2002, I would say it is even more relevant today as more and more attempts are made to bring additional GMO crops into the food chain, both in the US and abroad. We are also seeing the real cost for oil beyond what we pay at the pump. Most food is trucked an average of 1500 miles, large scale commercial agriculture uses huge amounts of oil and those chemicals used on crops are usually petroleum based. Did you know that the USA is borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf, this oil is destroying the planet and our food.

The greatest thing to me is when people get involved change happens, just by saying no. We can use this as an inspiration for all of us to ask questions and make real choices about what path we take on what foods we put in our bodies; our loved ones too. Discover how to make better choices, buy local, buy organic when possible, get your food from places that care about the food they sell, educate each other and collaborate with your family on how you can all work together to attain optimum food for health and earth.

If we all “deconstructed” our meals what would we find; if we knew would we still want to eat what was on our plate? Shopping local is an easy way to do this in order to know what you are eating. When you eat out ask questions so restaurant owners know that this is important to their customers, after all they need us. It was because of customers asking questions that John Bishop investigated the state of food and made a change in his restaurant to serving primarily organic and locally produced products.

I leave you with this: keep in mind that we have the power to make change as consumers. Businesses operate by our demand. Big and small companies need our business. It is time to stop following the dictates of these companies and tell them what we want and what we will buy. Watch the film, keep learning, ask questions and let’s keep working together to achieve what we all deserve: optimum health, healthy food, healthy land and a long happy life.

Bishops 2183 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver BC Canada V6K 1N7
604 738 2025

Your food choices can have impacts beyond your own kitchen. Food deserts, exploitation of workers and animals, environmental racism – learn about how what you eat and drink might not necessarily be connected to animal exploitation but might indeed have direct connections to human exploitation! And learn what you can do to help create a more just and equitable food system.

lauren Ornelas is the Food Empowerment Project’s founder and serves as the group’s volunteer executive director. She is also the former executive director of Viva!USA, a national nonprofit vegan advocacy organization. lauren has been active in the animal rights movement for over 20 years. After spending four years as National Campaign Coordinator for In Defense of Animals, lauren was asked by Viva!UK to start and run Viva!USA in 1999. In cooperation with activists across the country, she worked and achieved corporate changes within Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s, and Pier 1 Imports, among others. She currently serves as Campaign Director with the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

This event is free & open to the public. No pre-registration is required.

WHEN:
Saturday, May 21, 2011
7:00pm – 9:00pm

WHERE:
Vancouver Public Library, Main Branch
350 West Georgia Street Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Room, Lower Level
Vancouver, BC V6B 6B1

ORGANIZED BY:
Liberation BC

Assisted By

become the voice

Vancouver has long needed a bakery offering egg free, gluten free, wheat and soy free all natural baked goods for a long time. The NYC couple who moved to Vancouver were just not satisfied with the lack of and started their own bakery. I’m glad they did.

There are so many reasons to choose natural unrefined goodies and desserts. Whether you are lactose intolerant or have celiac. Whether you are vegetarian for the animals or trying to do the best that you can for the earth. Even if you are just looking for the healthiest and best quality products you can find Edible Flours natural bakery offers them all. Treats can be made to order, and delivered too!

Check them out! Located at 2280 West Broadway, Vancouver (Kitsilano) 604-734-8351

You can change the world one bit at a time~ Paul and Alli (Edible Flours)

I think leaving a small footprint is so important, it’s also important to buy and eat organic food as much as possible. I also think we should try to eat vegetarian as much as possible too. If our earth gets any more polluted with pesticides and fertilizers for rasing food than having a small footprint won’t even matter. Not eating organics allows the conventional farmer the right to pollute our earth and our bodies.

Eating locally also called the 100 mile diet or Locavore celebrates every aspect of real food. Where it comes from, how it grows and how you can enjoy it.  This initiative can set out to create change for something  good and something we can all be a part of.

Grassroots grocery delivery services are popping up all over the place. In Vancouver the one that appeals to me the most is SPUD.CA I mean of course one of the biggest appeals for me to sign up was the fact that I don’t have to lug around heavy bags  from the supermarket to my apartment anymore. I also liked that they had a vegan recipe section.

There are many reasons why I have decided to sign up for SPUD.CA some of them being. I am doing my part in supporting local farmers (contributing to BC’s sustainability) I am reducing my carbon footprint (no bags, limited imports) I have access to organics all the time. It forces me to explore other foods.  There is also a section on your invoice that will tell you how far, on average, your items have traveled and how much less they have traveled compared to the average for a supermarket. (Super Cool) I know it in my heart that I am doing the right thing and I am single-handedly saving the world  (ok not really but it’s a start) you know the quote:

“I am only one, but I am one.  I cannot do everything, but I can do something.  And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” ~Edward Everett Hale“

Sustainability

Most people who think about food and sustainability are aware of the 100-Mile Diet. While many would love to achieve a 100-mile diet, most of us leave it as an ideal to work toward rather than one we work to achieve. The 100mile diet, under new definition states that all protein and produce must come from within 100 miles. So for source less available such as rice, flour and spices from further afield, this makes a lot of sense. It means that the “fresh” foods, i.e. those that will perish rapidly, are traveling less.

The negative side of eating locally and the negative side’s positive side

It takes a while to become re-accustomed to what’s in season. This means that you can’t eat peaches in winter (unless you take the time to preserve some during that season) Something I am going to try this summer for sure. Also it could make it challenging for international dishes that call for things like mangos and coconut. I say stock up in summer and find a way to preserve.

The positive side of making this shift is that the seasons begin to take on greater meaning. Fall becomes more than “the season between volleyball and skiing.” and you start to look forward to root vegetables, brussel-sprouts and cozy family dinners. There are ways to join in on the 100 mile diet in Vancouver.

Vancouver Peeps check this out

The 100 mile diet Vancouver is providing local resources, FAQ’s, recipes, information. Also a great get started guide. Check out the Why Eat Local? section.

For a larger-scale perspective, thinklocal.ca provides a snapshot of how much milk, beef or salmon Canada imports (that’s right, we import salmon), how far it travels on average and how many grams of greenhouse gas emissions are saved by buying locally. As well as informative articles, the Vancouver based site also has a directory and links for buying locally.

This seasonal food chart is also very useful for priming your taste buds for the seasons (it also works well as a shopping list).

There are some great blogs out there about eating local and being local, like Sarah Eltons Locavore, or the blog Locavore, I like this one. Another interesting one is the Glenbrook North Zero Waste Blog and a good food blog Once Upon A Feast, though it’s not vegan it’s easy to replace the products with vegan ones. I also really enjoyed a film called No Impact Man, though some of his ideas were a bit extreme it gave you perspective on what NOT to take for granted. Hey meat eaters! If you are going to eat meat for peat sakes make it local at least. If you are eating for the 100 mile diet send me your thoughts, Id love to hear from you.

“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority”

~Elwyn Brooks

“Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables.  They probably get jet-lagged, just like people” ~Elizabeth Berry