Author: VegOttawa

Yes, but the NCVA needs your help to make it happen!

By Edelweiss

Being vegan at home is easy once you’ve have worked out how to make your favourite foods without animal products, know what brands of foods to get and have a routine for getting them.

Eating out, however, is a different story. How many times have you gone to lunch with coworkers and quietly asked the waitress what they have in the line of vegan options, and she pauses with furrowed brow, as though trying to figure out a complicated calculus question in her head, and then smiles, at which point you feel hopeful, and she says, brightly, “We have salad!” and your heart sinks.

I’ve suffered through salad meals, or those consisting of a stirfry with none of the good stuff (ginger, garlic, thai basil, and so on), or pale, boiled celery and carrots and unappetizing plain rice, or pita with hummus, and forked over good money for it.

The National Capital Vegetarian Association (NCVA) wants to let restaurant managers and cooks know that preparing vegan dishes can be easy, and that people will buy them if they put them on the menu. So, to get an idea of what you’d like, and what would sell well, how about throwing some ideas for awesome vegan restaurant food out there?

I am compiling recipes on behalf of the NCVA to share with local restaurants, as well as to eventually have an online resource for anyone looking for the best vegan recipes on offer. This initiative can only be as useful and dynamic as its contributions, so let your voice be heard!

I personally would like to see on a menu vegan fast food (pizza, burgers), ethnic dishes (stirfries without hidden fish sauce, curries), interesting wraps (loaded with sauteed eggplant, grilled red pepper and other tasty fillings), ice cream, breakfast food (pancakes, french toast, waffles) and even croissants! I lived in France for four months and loooooooved croissants, especially pain au chocolat. Here’s a link to a pain au chocolat recipe. I haven’t tried it but just knowing it exists makes me happy.

So, what would you love to eat when you eat out? And do you have any recipes online you’d like to recommend? Just put your thoughts and links to recipes, if you have some, into the comments below.  Be a part of getting this off the ground!

By Nadia W.

People who knew me before I went vegan are always surprised to learn that I am vegan. After all, I grew up on a typical west Indian diet which consisted largely of oxtail, pig feet, pig legs and other animal parts. After I moved to Ottawa from Montreal for university, I remember going home on breaks and my request for a homemade meal would be oxtail with rice and beans. This was a favourite of mine before I went vegan, and before I really understood what I was consuming.

So, how does a person go from eating all parts of an animal—even the ones most people consider to be “gross”-and consuming their secretions, to never eating any animal ingredients at all?

My pathway to veganism began with yoga. Before I become vegan, and to this day, I practiced yoga on a regular basis. As you may know, one of the teachings of yoga is non-violence. As I continued to practice and then would go home to a meal of dead animal flesh, I became consumed with guilt.  I became acutely aware that the roasted chicken on my plate had been a living being, a being who wanted to live. My need—or rather, my desire—for flesh to satisfy my taste buds, played an important role in ending that life.

With my consciousness raised, I began researching and reading about vegetarianism, and eventually my research led me to veganism. I must admit that giving up dairy was not difficult for me. Once I was aware of the pain associated with diary, the decision to remove it from my diet was simple. No hand wrenching, no tears, no thinking, “I can’t do this.”

I realize some people find it more difficult than I did. I’m fortunate that the transition was easy for me, but it was easy in part because of the reality that faces dairy cows. The life of a dairy cow is tragic. She is forced to breed constantly to satisfy the taste buds of human beings, who steal something which she creates not for us, but for her unborn calf.

I wonder sometimes whether society would be willing to accept this if this practice was associated with dogs. Would we sit back and allows dogs to be milked over and over again to simply satisfy our desires? Or would we revolt and gather our placards and march on Parliament Hill and demand change?

My point is, there is no difference between a cow and a dog, at least not one that justifies the systemic abuse of one over another. Or any other animal. I refuse to buy into the attitude that we are the stronger species, and therefore animals exist for our use. I will never accept that the animals are put here for us to do as we please with them. After all, this was the same mentality which allowed for the enslavement of blacks for so many years.

Some people don’t understand why I am vegan, and why I feel so strongly about living a vegan lifestyle.  I’ve been accused of having a “superiority complex.” Being vegan has nothing to do with feeling superior, and everything to do with feeling compassion for these creatures. Knowing what I know, I simply feel that I have no other choice.

It saddens me that any female would be repeatedly forced to become pregnant, and endure the agony of losing her baby, her maternal instincts unfulfilled every time. Her daughter will become enslaved as a milking cow, and her son will be killed as a juvenile to become veal.  I’m not a mother, but I can’t imagine how that wouldn’t resonate with human mothers.

So I implore people, the next time you sit down to a meal, stop and think about what you’re eating. Your juicy steak is not just a steak, but is a cow who had his or her life ended to satisfy your taste buds. The next time you sit down to enjoy your ice cream think of the poor baby calf who had to go without his or her mother’s milk, because you love ice cream. Please, think.

And once you’ve thought about it, please consider going vegan.

Guest blogger Shannon O’Brien-Leblanc volunteered with the NCVA for the first time at the Eco Fair on Saturday.  She wanted to share her experience, so here it is!

As a relatively new member of the National Capital Vegetarian Association (NCVA), I was honoured when I was invited to volunteer to represent the NCVA at the Ottawa Eco Fair. The prospect of having the opportunity to represent the most well-known Vegetarian association in the greater Ottawa area seemed unreal, and exciting.

You see, I am 16-years-old, and live in a very rural community about an hour east of Ottawa.  I can pretty much say my sister Erika, my mom Kelli and I are the only vegans out here, and at times it can be isolating. That the President of the NCVA, Josh Flower, would be training us (my sister and I), would prove to be an experience I will never forget.

On Sept. 17 I walked into the Carleton University fieldhouse, where the Eco Fair was being held, not knowing what to expect. This was my first Eco Fair, despite being vegan for nearly five years and vegetarian before that, and to be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to do.

We had some extra time before our shift started so we gazed around at the other vendors and see what they had to offer. After exploring what the Eco Fair had to offer, I felt highly motivated and ready to start volunteering.

When I got to the NCVA booth, I was met by Josh Flower, the president of the NCVA. He greeted us with a warm smile and welcoming charm. This made me feel very welcomed and appreciated. He said that we could observe for a while to see what goes on. We had never done this type of volunteering before, so we wanted to watch to see how it was done by those who had plenty of prior experience. After a while, we joined in with the other volunteers.

As the day went on, we handed out brochures, educated people about veganism and of course distributed delicious free cookies that were baked by volunteers.  I was getting involved and speading awareness about veganism, which is something that I’ve always wanted to do. The only thing stopping me from doing so before was the fact that I had no support. But thanks to the NCVA’s support, I now feel inspired to spread awareness about veganism to everybody I know.

In addition, I was asked to play a role in developing an up and coming Youth program for the NCVA, intended to educate youth about the benefits of veganism, and offer support to those wanting to move towards a plant-based diet.  The idea is that as a teenager, I’m someone who (aspiring) vegetarian/vegan  youth can relate to. I would be honoured to do so.

By the end of the day, I was delighted by the new responsibilities I had taken on, and with my overall experience as a NCVA volunteer. I look forward to volunteering again and I look forward to my future role within the NCVA. I no longer feel like “we are the only ones,” and I am truly inspired.

Next on my check list, trying to initiate a Veg Club in our very “meat loving” High School (Rockland District). It may only be my sister Erika and I at the beginning, but we are hoping that we can change that. Afterall, if Texas can do it, I think we can too!

Shannon and Erika’s mother, Kelli, operates the Westminster Pet Sanctuary,  a registered charity which specializes in special needs animals. Because she is vegan, she refuses to hold fundraising BBQs or events that harm animals. For more information, or to make a donation, please visit the website.