Veganism

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On Tuesday March 17, 2021 a white gunman walked into three massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia and killed eight people, most of them Asian women. On March 18, 2021, a thirty-nine year old man was attacking people of Asian descent in San Francisco, starting with an 83 year old Chinese man. The attacker’s second victim was 76 year old Xiao Zhen Xie, who grabbed the first stick she found and fought back, resulting in her attacker having to be brought to the hospital on a stretcher.

Outrage exploded online in response, and hashtags like #StopAsianHate and #stopwhiteterrorism began trending. As an Asian Canadian, an artist, and an activist, I simply rolled my eyes and sighed.

Though the Chinese have been in North America since before Confederation, Asian Canadians are no strangers to racism. I’ve been fetishized when online dating due to misguided notions of Asian women as exotic and submissive. I have white relatives who refer to Filipinos – my and my mother’s people- as “the help”. Stereotypes about the alleged dangers of MSG, the exotic foods we eat, and myths about Asian bodies continue to exist among whites, even while they appropriate our fashions, our cooking methods and our fighting styles.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has only made things worse. It’s not just violent assaults like what happened in Atlanta and San Francisco. It’s the vandalism of Montreal’s Chinatown. It’s white vegans like Bryan Adams blaming Asian meat eating for the spread of the virus. It’s politicians calling COVID-19 the “China Virus” and “Kung Flu”. It’s harassment in the streets. It’s the refusal to support Asian businesses. For those of us who are mixed, like myself, it’s the refusal to accept “Canadian” as an answer when asked what we are. Whatever form it takes, it’s a pathetic attempt by whites to terrorize people and remind us of a truth we are well-aware of:

That no matter what we do, no matter how long we’ve been in Canada, no matter how well we speak English and French, no matter how much money we put into the economy, we will never be acknowledged as Canadians because we’re not white or white-passing.

It must be said that those attacking Asians are weak, pathetic, and stupid. They are weak and pathetic because those committing anti-Asian hate crimes are largely targeting women and the elderly, probably thinking they’d be an easy mark.

They are stupid because they cannot tell the difference between the Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, Vietnamese etc., and are particularly dumb because they think that myself and the rest of the community will be polite in the face of all the abuse. The fact that an elderly Chinese woman with no grasp of English was able to put her attacker in the hospital is proof we won’t go quietly. When I saw that article I smiled because I know my mother and late grandmother would have responded in the exact same way: by fighting back.

It is reassuring that most responses to the hate crimes have been outraged and supportive, but it’s not enough. If you don’t speak out against hate crimes, you are complicit in perpetuating them, and you leave us, Canadians and Americans, to fight alone.

Speak out if you hear someone using anti-Asian slurs or speaking of Filipino immigrants as a commodity that can be bought and sold. Call out cultural appropriation and whitewashing when you see or hear it, and support organizations like the Center for Research Action on Race Relations that promote racial equality and combat racism in Canada.

That said: if you are fine with all of the harassment and assault and you truly believe Asians are to blame for this pandemic, do us a favour. Put down the soy sauce, the Sriraracha, sesame oil, and the Sushi. Quit the martial arts class you’re taking, give away your Bruce Lee movies and posters, and avoid our markets. You do not get to profit off the contributions of Asians in North America if you won’t treat us with the same dignity you expect from others.

We’re better off without you, and we’re not going anywhere.

Featured Image: Screengrab from WXIA Atlanta

CultureFood & DrunkWith Amore

cotoletta

As you noticed, I veganize everything, including breaded cutlets, known as “cotoletta” in Italian. For this recipe, I combined a whole bunch of organic veggies and black beans, then breaded and baked them. You can also fry them, as is typical for cutlets, but I find it easier to bake and also appreciate the fact that we don’t have to use any additional oil.

This recipe is somewhat time consuming just because there are several vegetables to chop, and they should be chopped into small pieces. The other tricky part is once the mixture has been blended, it tends to be quite sticky.

The bread crumbs come in handy here, as they coat the cutlets, they become manageable. The bread crumbs (I make my own with sprouted whole grain bread which I dry and grate) also add to their deliciousness once baked.

I especially love this served with iceberg lettuce, with a simple lemon vinaigrette. This week, I share with you both recipes.

I also want to share a very informative and quite entertaining video that captured my attention recently. Dr. Michael Greger is a medical doctor, author and speaker who analyzes and presents the latest medical research on nutrition.

In the video, he presents some truly eye-opening information regarding the incredible benefits of a vegan diet. Can you believe that just two weeks of a completely plant-based diet can stop cancer in its tracks? From the research, it appears that a vegan diet is even more important than exercise for cancer prevention!

There you have it: in addition to the obvious ethical and environmental reasons to adopt a plant-based diet, medical research also indicates that it is the single most important thing we can do to improve our health, as well as reverse and prevent disease.

Enjoy this delicious, fully plant-based meal! Live your best health!

Sweet Potato Veggie Bean Cotoletta with Iceberg Lemon Salad

Ingredients:

Makes approximately 12 cutlets

2 cups black beans, presoaked and cooked
1 cup kale, stems removed, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 teaspoons sea salt, more to taste
1 tablespoon steak spice
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chipotle
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup kamut flour
½ cup bread crumbs, more to coat cutlets
5 tablespoons ground flaxseed
½ cup water

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
  2. Line baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, combine flaxseed and water and set aside.
  4. In a large pot, heat grapeseed oil on medium heat. Add all chopped veggies (make sure veggies are chopped into very small pieces), including onion, garlic and ginger. Add all spices and sea salt. Sauté on medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until all vegetables are very soft. Remove from heat.
  5. Add chopped parsley and beans. Mash with a potato masher.  Add soaked flax seed, bread crumbs and flour. Mix well.
  6. Place half of the mixture into a food processor (we will only blend half of the mixture) and blend briefly. Return mixture to pot with mashed veggies and mix well.
  7. Form patties by taking a small amount of veggie mixture with your hands and coat with bread crumbs. Lay the patties on the parchment paper.
  8. Place in the oven to bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Flip them over after 15 minutes.
  9. Remove from oven. You may sprinkle more sea salt overtop if desired. 


Iceberg Lemon Salad

Ingredients:

1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 or 2 lemons
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. In large salad bowl, combine lettuce, oil and juice from one lemon. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste. Toss. Taste test to see if salad has enough lemon for your liking. If desired, you may add the juice from a second lemon.

Join me on my Facebook page where I share vegan recipes and health-related articles every day!

The greatest wealth is health.  ~Virgil

 

CultureWith Amore

Last week, I shared with you five popular myths regarding veganism. Here are five more and my attempts to address them:

6. A vegan diet does nothing to help major world problems like pollution, global warming, world hunger, water waste, etc.

This is completely inaccurate. With respect to pollution and global warming, by adopting a plant-based diet, we are dramatically lowering our impact on global warming, since the number one contributor to the production of greenhouse gases is the livestock industry. Most people assume that too many cars are the problem, however, enslaving the billions of animals for food and all that is involved with these industries produces 18% of the global emissions of greenhouse gases, as compared to 13% produced by all means of transportation combined. Furthermore, the animal food industries are notorious for water waste.

Adopting a vegan diet on a large scale would greatly reduce world hunger, since the massive amounts of grains that are grown to feed to animals (who eat way more than humans) could be used instead to feed humans directly. It is more efficient and cost-effective.

7. Vegans only care about animal suffering; what about all the people suffering?

As if we vegans only have room enough in our hearts to care for one species! Caring about animal welfare is not mutually exclusive with other causes. This cause happens to be dear to us, hence many vegans are also animal activists. We don’t choose a cause; a cause chooses us.

8. A vegan diet is too complicated, impractical, and expensive!

Actually, the opposite is true. It is very easy to have your diet focus around fresh, vegan produce. Furthermore, preparing plant-based meals, even mostly organic, is cheaper than animal-based meals. Vegetables, beans, whole grains, fresh fruits, when bought in season, locally whenever possible, are far less expensive than meats and cheeses. Once you make the decision to adopt a vegan diet, you find your favorite places to shop which are practical and affordable. Even eating out is not a huge dilemma by simply speaking to the staff and letting them know your dietary preferences. Visits to friends and family are also easily solved by bringing along vegan dishes for everyone to share. Since people generally love to eat tasty food, they will be delighted.

9. A vegan diet is unhealthy

On the contrary, a vegan’s diet has the potential to be healthier than a diet based on animal-derived foods. I say “potential” because it takes some effort and education to maintain a healthy diet, be it a vegan or non-vegan one. Certainly we have unhealthy vegans, just as we have unhealthy non-vegans. Furthermore, there is more to health than diet alone. This I know to be true based on my own quest to restore my health.

Let’s look at this optimal health potential a little closer:

• Fiber:

Plant-based foods contain more fiber than animal-derived foods. A diet high in fiber brings with it regular bowel movements and issues of constipation, common among meat-eaters, is practically non-existent. Healthier bowel movements decrease the risk of colon cancer and other diseases.

• Avoiding animal protein, especially casein:

In The China Study, Drs. T. Colin Campbell ad Thomas M. Campbell, present the research linking animal protein, in particular casein, which is the protein found in dairy milk to cancers such as prostate and breast. This is a highly important book in the field of nutrition and demonstrates clearly how our diet can significantly contribute to obesity, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

• More minerals and vitamins:

In general, unprocessed, fresh vegetables and fruits contain more vitamins and minerals than animal products. They are also more alkaline, rather than acidic, like meats and dairy. Disease thrives in an acidic environment.

• More antioxidants:

Antioxidants protect against cell damage. Vegetables and fruits are much higher in antioxidants than animal-derived products.

• Lower cholesterol, triglycerides and BMI:

Vegans typically have lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and have a lower body mass index (BMI). This all converts to better cardiovascular health.

• Bacteria, disease and contamination:

Since animals are unfortunately raised and killed in filthy conditions, and since they are in such poor health for their short, miserable lives, the risk of bacteria contamination is very high. We can see evidence of this by the number of meat recalls just this year alone. Also, you will notice that when you adopt a vegan diet, illnesses like the stomach flu or other infections become so much less frequent than previously.

10. Animals eat other animals in the wild, so if we don’t eat them, they will eat us!

Carnivores do eat other animals, and their physiology is designed to digest meat. Our physiology is not. Our physiology is not even that of an omnivore. Our physiology resembles one of a herbivore or frugivore. We are not meant to eat animals; this is just a custom that has become part of our culture of carnism.

The animals we typically eat are the gentlest and meekest of the bunch. They are precious beings that deserve our love and protection, not exploitation. They are artificially inseminated in massive numbers and genetically modified to grow quicker and heavier. If we stop consuming them, they will stop producing them. We are not talking about things here, we are talking about living, feeling beings.

I hope you found this analysis informative.

Check out my Facebook page and get vegan recipes every day and useful health-related tips!

“People look at me as a vegan and conclude that since I stepped on a snail or because the vegetables I eat resulted in a tractor death for a squirrel somewhere in Paraguay that somehow vegans are hypocrites, which of course they’re not since perfection is an unattainable goal and is something to be driven towards, never actually achieved. The difference between you and the vegan standing next to you is that while you’re both going to step on a bug tomorrow, they’ve decided to dedicate their lives to as little harm as possible, completely independent from what you do. So in no way does the protozoan life form they step on negate your responsibility for the lamb you’re paying a stranger to cut tomorrow. And falling 1% short of an unattainable goal is really good when you’re standing next to someone who won’t even try.” ~Shelley Williams