VeggieDag Thursday: Quick Links

VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on an animal-free diet and its issues.

• Some thoughts on whether or not to promote veganism as a weight loss diet. Via The Vegan RD.

  The latest research on weight management —some of which was highlighted in a recent article in the New York Times— raises questions about the pursuit of a slender body. ¶ The evidence suggest that the majority of people who lose weight regain as much as 95 percent of it within five years. <...> People who diet may have to exercise more and cut back more stringently on calories to maintain their weight loss compared to same-weight people who haven’t dieted. <...> For many people, however—especially those who have dieted unsuccessfully numerous times—resolutions that focus on healthy lifestyle rather than on dropping pounds could be the best and smartest option. <...> Go vegan, or at least get started on the transition. Eating more plant foods can improve your health no matter what your body size.



• A new 'crop' of farmers in the Washington, D.C. area. Via Flavor Magazine.

  There’s a crisis in farming: The average age of a farmer in the United States is between 57 and 59. Thirty percent of our farmers are beyond retirement age. And the USDA says we need 100,000 new farmers a year – that’s right, every year – to continue American food production at current levels. ¶ Meet the new generation of farmers in the Capital Foodshed. The 29 local farmers under 40 on these pages combine a love for good food and hard work with scientific inquiry, bountiful philosophy, and, in most cases, a finely honed aversion to cubicles.



• Bugs are developing resistance to GMO corn (up to 60% of US crop). Via Yahoo News.

  One of the nation's most widely planted crops — a genetically engineered corn plant [Bt corn introduced in 2003] that makes its own insecticide — may be losing its effectiveness because a major pest appears to be developing resistance more quickly than scientists expected. ¶ The U.S. food supply is not in any immediate danger because the problem remains isolated. But scientists fear potentially risky farming practices could be blunting the hybrid's sophisticated weaponry.



• One of the features of Atlanta, Georgia's Botanical Garden is a year-round 'Edible Garden.'

  The garden boasts colorful vegetables to eat 365 days a year, from orange cauliflower in spring to purple beans and burgundy okra in the summer to a kaleidoscope of apples, pears, persimmons, figs, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and muscadines in fall [to cabbages in the winter].

  
  The garden includes an Outdoor Kitchen where Atlanta's top chefs present Cooking Classes, and, every weekend May through October, the Garden Chef showcases seasonal recipes using ingredients harvested from the Edible Garden. Any harvested food not used in educational programs is donated to local charities.



• From the New York Times' Recipes for Health: Sweet Potato Soup with Ginger, Leeks, Apples.


• A beer blogger has an edible New Years' tradition of Black Eyed Pea & Jicama Salad. The recipe, via Musings Over A Pint.


• Prince Fielder, a baseball slugger, is a vegetarian (most of the time). How about vegan bodybuilders? Via New York Times.

  There is little official data on competitive bodybuilders who are vegan, though the Web site veganbodybuilding.com has more than 5,000 registered users. <...> Nutritionists and bodybuilders have argued that a disciplined vegan diet, consisting of things like hemp-based protein supplements, peanut butter, nuts, vegetables and legumes, can yield similar, if not better, results than a meat- or dairy-filled diet. Carefully monitored, vegans can get the same amount of protein with less fat or toxins, they argue.

And ...
• An exasperated mother admonishing her children, as overheard in a supermarket: "No! Olives are NOT a food group."

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• VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on vegetarian issues. Why the name? Here.
• Prior VeggieDag Thursday posts: here. Follow on Twitter: #VeggieDag.
  
• Suggestions and submissions from chefs and homecooks: welcomed!