Book Reviews
The Vegucated Family Table
By Marissa Miller Wolfson and Laura DelhauerAre you searching for a book geared towards feeding vegan babies, toddlers, and kids? The Vegucated Family Table features 125 vegan recipes, helpful nutrition information (written by The Vegetarian Resource Group's Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels, PhD, RD), and numerous tips. The book certainly will make raising vegan children easier and provides solid information you can show your family and child's doctor to ease any of their concerns.
The nutrition information includes charts listing good sources of protein, calcium, iron, zinc, omega-3s, and various vitamins. You will also find sample weekly menus for 6- to 12-month-olds. Another section of the book covers information on handling kid-centric holidays, as well as school lunches.
Featured recipes include Cashew Creamed Kale, White Bean Wonder Waffles, Baked Kale Chips, Roasted Herbed Chickpeas, Sesame Tofu Sticks, Tempeh Tacos, Moo-Free Fudge Pops, and more.
The Vegucated Family Table (ISBN 978-1-98485-717-0) is a 240-page book. It is published by Ten Speed Press and retails for $24.99. Find this book online or at your local bookstore. Debra Wasserman/VRG Co-Coordinator
Vegan Revolution
By Richard H. Schwartz, PhDRichard Schwartz has been promoting Judaism and vegetarianism for almost 40 years, since the publication of his book aptly named Judaism and Vegetarianism in 1982. Richard uses his books as a “business card” so he can advance the cause of vegetarianism in media ranging from The New York Times to The Jerusalem Post to Mad Magazine. Richard and his publisher Martin Rowe/Lantern Publishing's goals are not fame and getting rich, but promoting ideas they consider important.
Not all Jewish people or those in or outside of the vegan movement will agree with the statements in their newest book, Vegan Revolution, Saving Our World, Revitalizing Judaism. However this is a good start for an overview of ideas related to Judaism and veganism. You can then explore more in depth topics that pique your interest. Since Christianity and Islam have their roots in Judaism, the book would be helpful to readers interested in those other religions by giving a starting point.
Many people see religion as a way to promote a better world and become a better person. Religion is also used to justify your being above others, whether it be economic or political, and even extending to slavery and killing. Religion for both sides generally means community, traditions, comfort in bad times, and celebration in good times, ranging from birth to wedding to death. As humans, most of us, including atheists, generally use our beliefs for all of this.
Richard starts with the idea that G-d's original diet in the Garden of Eden was vegan. Even religious people who believe in a strict interpretation of the bible would agree with this. Richard then makes the case how this is the diet that G-d really wants us to follow for health, compassion, respecting G-d's creatures, and environmental reasons. Eating animal products becomes a concession to man and woman's weakness, not a command. According to Rabbi Kook, first chief rabbi of pre-state Israel, and others, the Messianic period would be vegetarian, based on Isaiah's prophecy that “a wolf shall live with a lamb... and a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw... They shall neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mount.” The two ideal times in Jewish thought are vegan — The Garden of Eden and the Messianic period. Richard makes his case about health, the environment, world hunger, and treatment of animals, and how all these are related to the Torah, Jewish thoughts, and Jewish teachings throughout the ages. He gives opinions on how Jewish holidays are connected to veganism, and a vegan view of biblical animal sacrifices. A chapter talks about use of leather ritual objects such as tefillin (used at times when praying) and mezuzot (on Jewish doorposts). He is trying to strike a compromise. This may not make strict vegans happy, but reminds people that veganism isn't the religion, but veganism is a way to practice your religion. For vegan activists out there, understanding religious ideas, can be an additional method to promote their cause. For religious people, veganism can be another way to live their religious beliefs.
The Vegan Revolution (ISBN 978-1-59056-627-5) is a 272-page book and can be purchased from your favorite online retailer or at lanternpm.org/books/vegan-revolutionCharles Stahler/VRG Co-Coordinator
