Planet vegan
August 5, 2008
Today during my shift I met one of the owners of Millennium, Anne, who is a very nice, vibrant woman who wanted to know who I was and was very enthusiastic to tell me all about a vegan/vegetarian diet and health when I told her I was cooking and teaching this in Ottawa.
She said this is what she is passionate about and spends most of her time on these days, giving lectures, is involved with numerous organizations such as Healthy School Lunches, and is always handing out information on the importance of a vegetarian/vegan diet to the health of our society (a healthy heart, lower blood pressure, controlling diabetes, cancer prevention, etc) and planet (people are finally waking up she said that the most pollution is being called by emissions from factory-farmed animals).
Anne gave me a number of articles, references and web site links that point to the overwhelming evidence that a plant-based diet is optimum for long-term health. In particular, she said "The China Study" is a must read to become more up to speed on what is happening. A professor of Cornell University, Colin Campbell, has written a landmark book called "The China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health". If you haven't heard of him or his study, in his own words, it's because he "challenges a number of sacred cows in science and medicine", in particular related to the politics of nutrition research funding and institutions corrupted by special interest groups and heavy lobbying. Here's the link for more information www.thechinastudy.com I will try to put up more important references and links when I'm back.
She is also providing the Vegetarian Starter Kit booklet in her restaurant for those who are interested and she says it's online as well. It's published by the Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), based in Washington, DC, which consists of over
6,000 physicians and 100,000 lay members. PCRM promotes nutrition, preventive medicine, ethical research practices, and compassionate medical policy. Do we have something like this in Canada? If not, we should. This booklet is great for promoting what a vegetarian or vegan diet is, how to transition to one, the myths about protein, how to cook without eggs, calcium in plant-based diets, the real facts about milk, losing weight, etc. The basics and simply written. I'll have to try to get copies of this brochure for students in my classes and clients.
Well, this is one woman who "eats" or serves what she preaches, and that's one of the reasons I came to Millennium, not only because they have the best gourmet vegan food in North America in my view, but because of their commitment to organic food production, including sustainable agriculture, supporting small local farms, as well as composting and recycling. They state right up front in their menu that their food is completely free of all genetically modified foods and most important they are dedicated to providing a deliciously memorable dining experience for every guest who walks in the door. That's what I 've always felt is the most important - great food as the starting point for further thought, discussion and hopefully action, on whatever level or however small, in the future.
In the kitchen, there are different bins for different items... one for certain vegetable discards for stock (made every day in huge stock pots half my size), several bins for composting, one for plastic and tins, one area for cardboard that is recycled, and they strive for minimal items in the garbage. It's amazing the amount of garbage that goes through a restaurant in one day so it's important what each and every restaurant can do.
In fact, in a continuous effort to reduce recycling, waste, combat high fuel charges, and offer guests a high quality of drinking water, they started serving water to guests through a high quality water filtration system called Nutra, which offers flat and fizzy water, and they are no longer offering bottled mineral water. This in itself will make a big impact in itself if you can imagine the amount of bottles that are used in a restaurant every day with hundreds of customers. I believe restaurants like Chez Panisse and other green restaurants have already
started this.
I just found out that one of the interns from Portland, Oregon that is working with me is a physician who went to chef's school. She is not vegan but is interested in healthful cooking. That may seem like a big career change, even bigger than mine, but she was already promoting the importance of food and health to clients and seeing the results first hand of people who were not taking care of what they were eating, so this seemed like a natural step and good fit. She will put the two together when she's back. Doctor-chef, doctor of cooking... not sure how exactly what she will do but I will try to keep in touch with her as I'm very interested and curious about her progress as it makes sense to me.
They taught us in our chef school that food is first medicine and is usually the place to start when you're not feeling well, however everyone forgets or denies this and goes to the drugs first to help with the pain, which can often be early signals that something is not right and if looked at and treated earlier, can help prevent more serious problems later in the game. I wish more
physicians were like this intern, not chefs, but just interested more in food and health and truly helping clients, especially in preventative ways.
See the impact one person, one restaurant can have on the environment and others? I think it's always good to open and stretch our minds to what we can do, even in our own small way, and that's why I'm here.
Today during my shift I met one of the owners of Millennium, Anne, who is a very nice, vibrant woman who wanted to know who I was and was very enthusiastic to tell me all about a vegan/vegetarian diet and health when I told her I was cooking and teaching this in Ottawa.
She said this is what she is passionate about and spends most of her time on these days, giving lectures, is involved with numerous organizations such as Healthy School Lunches, and is always handing out information on the importance of a vegetarian/vegan diet to the health of our society (a healthy heart, lower blood pressure, controlling diabetes, cancer prevention, etc) and planet (people are finally waking up she said that the most pollution is being called by emissions from factory-farmed animals).
Anne gave me a number of articles, references and web site links that point to the overwhelming evidence that a plant-based diet is optimum for long-term health. In particular, she said "The China Study" is a must read to become more up to speed on what is happening. A professor of Cornell University, Colin Campbell, has written a landmark book called "The China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health". If you haven't heard of him or his study, in his own words, it's because he "challenges a number of sacred cows in science and medicine", in particular related to the politics of nutrition research funding and institutions corrupted by special interest groups and heavy lobbying. Here's the link for more information www.thechinastudy.com I will try to put up more important references and links when I'm back.
She is also providing the Vegetarian Starter Kit booklet in her restaurant for those who are interested and she says it's online as well. It's published by the Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), based in Washington, DC, which consists of over
6,000 physicians and 100,000 lay members. PCRM promotes nutrition, preventive medicine, ethical research practices, and compassionate medical policy. Do we have something like this in Canada? If not, we should. This booklet is great for promoting what a vegetarian or vegan diet is, how to transition to one, the myths about protein, how to cook without eggs, calcium in plant-based diets, the real facts about milk, losing weight, etc. The basics and simply written. I'll have to try to get copies of this brochure for students in my classes and clients.
Well, this is one woman who "eats" or serves what she preaches, and that's one of the reasons I came to Millennium, not only because they have the best gourmet vegan food in North America in my view, but because of their commitment to organic food production, including sustainable agriculture, supporting small local farms, as well as composting and recycling. They state right up front in their menu that their food is completely free of all genetically modified foods and most important they are dedicated to providing a deliciously memorable dining experience for every guest who walks in the door. That's what I 've always felt is the most important - great food as the starting point for further thought, discussion and hopefully action, on whatever level or however small, in the future.
In the kitchen, there are different bins for different items... one for certain vegetable discards for stock (made every day in huge stock pots half my size), several bins for composting, one for plastic and tins, one area for cardboard that is recycled, and they strive for minimal items in the garbage. It's amazing the amount of garbage that goes through a restaurant in one day so it's important what each and every restaurant can do.
In fact, in a continuous effort to reduce recycling, waste, combat high fuel charges, and offer guests a high quality of drinking water, they started serving water to guests through a high quality water filtration system called Nutra, which offers flat and fizzy water, and they are no longer offering bottled mineral water. This in itself will make a big impact in itself if you can imagine the amount of bottles that are used in a restaurant every day with hundreds of customers. I believe restaurants like Chez Panisse and other green restaurants have already
started this.
I just found out that one of the interns from Portland, Oregon that is working with me is a physician who went to chef's school. She is not vegan but is interested in healthful cooking. That may seem like a big career change, even bigger than mine, but she was already promoting the importance of food and health to clients and seeing the results first hand of people who were not taking care of what they were eating, so this seemed like a natural step and good fit. She will put the two together when she's back. Doctor-chef, doctor of cooking... not sure how exactly what she will do but I will try to keep in touch with her as I'm very interested and curious about her progress as it makes sense to me.
They taught us in our chef school that food is first medicine and is usually the place to start when you're not feeling well, however everyone forgets or denies this and goes to the drugs first to help with the pain, which can often be early signals that something is not right and if looked at and treated earlier, can help prevent more serious problems later in the game. I wish more
physicians were like this intern, not chefs, but just interested more in food and health and truly helping clients, especially in preventative ways.
See the impact one person, one restaurant can have on the environment and others? I think it's always good to open and stretch our minds to what we can do, even in our own small way, and that's why I'm here.
posted by Caroline at 11:27 AM
2 Comments:
This is so inspiring!
Especially to hear about the bins they have to separate the wastes!
I have seen some paper leaflets, I think they are printed by PETA, to encourage a vegan lifestyle and offering some suggestions for the transition. I do have an issue with how aggressive PETA can be, but I guess it takes all kinds to get a message across.
I appreciate reading your updates as they are so positive and passionate without being preachy. I am not quite vegetarian completely, but I am working on it!
Thanks for writing. I love receiving comments.
Yes, not many restaurants do this waste separation and are so environmentally conscious so I find it inspiring as well and love to tell stories about organizations and people that care and are making an impact in their own ways.
Actually, the leaflets called "Vegetarian Starter Kit" are produced from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which is a highly respected organization that promotes nutrition, preventive medicine, ethical research and compassionate medical care. Their web site is www.PCRM.org The seem to have sound, balanced information and advice on plant-based nutrition.
I'm glad that you're enjoying my blog entries. I'm not trying to convince anyone to be vegetarian or vegan but am trying to provide information and resources for people if they want to find out more about putting more plant-based and healthy foods into their lives for many reasons, which seems like a lot of people these days, and just tell interesting stories.
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