#VeggieDag Thursday: Quick Links for March 2014.

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

*************
Quick links for March 2014:

• According to a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, a diet that is high in animal proteins is four times more likely than a low-protein diet to cause death by cancer, and several times more likely to cause death by diabetes. Via Washington Post Health.
  
  
• Do lobsters, crabs, and other invertebrates feel pain? New research at Queen's University Belfast says yes. Via Washington Post.
  
  
  
  
• The chemistry of hot sauce: capsaicin and endorphins. Via NPR.
  
  
• Today's fruits and vegetables in the U.S. are less nutritionally dense than those grown only a few decades ago. Via Scientific American.
  
  
  
  
• U.S. nutrition labels to be re-designed with an emphasis on calories, sugar content, and realistic portion sizes. Via Washington Post.
  
  
• Vegetarian or omnivore: the environmental implications of diet. "The argument that a vegetarian diet is more planet-friendly than a carnivorous one is straightforward: If we feed plants to animals, and then eat the animals, we use more resources and produce more greenhouse gases than if we simply eat the plants. As with most arguments about our food supply, though, it’s not that simple." Many inputs enter the equation. Via Tamar Haspel (in the Washington Post).
  
  
• Popped teosinte —an ancestor of modern corn— may have been crucial food for the nutrition, and hence, growth of, the Aztec empire. Popped, it was called "totopoca." Via NPR.
  
  
  
  
• Via extrapolation, a study claims that the human nose can detect at least 1 trillion odors, up from previous model of 10 thousand. Via Science Magazine (as reported in the Washington Post).
  
  
• A comprehensive list of 2014 Washington, D.C.-area community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs). Via Washington Post Food.
  

************
RECIPES

• Okonomiyaki: Japanese-style cabbage pancakes. Via The Guardian Food.


• Brussel Sprout Fried Rice. Via Isa Chandra Moskowitz at Post Punk Kitchen. "The rice has to be cold for this recipe to work correctly, otherwise it will get mushy and sticky. "


• St. Patrick's Day recipes made vegetarian. Via Jolinda Hackett at About.com.


• Kale and Black-Eyed Peas with Smoky Grits. Via "Global Vegan," Robin Robertson (as posted in Washington Post by Joe Yonan).


• Crisp Baked Tofu. Via David Lebovitz (from a recipe by Joe Yonan in Eat Your Vegetables).


• Vegan whipped 'cream.' Via EveryDayDishTV.


• How to make gluten-free 'seitan'. Via Happy Herbivore.



• New cookbook by Lucy Saunders: Dinner in the Beer Garden. "Pairing craft beer with plant-based recipes, with profiles of brewery gardens and other social spaces." Purchase at toll-free number, 800-760-5998. More details at Facebook.

-----more-----

• Why the name VeggieDag Thursday? Here.
• Read all the posts: here. Follow on Twitter with hashtag: #VeggieDag.
• Suggestions and submissions from chefs, writers, and home-cooks welcomed! Contact me here.