Vegans of Instagram

Your body requires dietary fats (Lipids). Fat provides essential fatty acids that the body can’t produce on its own and must be consumed through polyunsaturated fats in our diet. Polyunsaturated fats provide two essential fatty acids: 

1⃣ Linoleic Acid (LA) - Omega-6 

2⃣ Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) Omega-3

The U.S Institute of Medicine recommends an daily ALA intake of 1.6 grams for men and 1.1 grams for women. Diets should aim for a ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 of Omega-6 to Omega-3. The western diet, which is high in refined oils, consumes far too much Omega-6. Today, most people are averaging a ratio of 10:1 and even 20:1 Omega-6 to Omega-3. 

But is eating more fish the the answer to balance? Not necessarily. Fish don't manufacture long chain Omega-3. Their diet is high in Omega-3 rich plant foods like algae. They eat them which their body converts to DHA and EPA. We can go straight to the source and avoid the host of health and environmental troubles that come from consuming fish. Fish oil is loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol. They’re highly concentrated sources of contaminants and pollutants. More recently, studies have shown that eating fish and taking fish oil supplements are not as beneficial to the brain and heart functions as previously thought. In fact, fish has been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Consuming fish products is not sustainable as it leads to overfishing which impacts the entire eco system.

Another contributing factor to the decline of animals as sources of Omega-3 comes from our farming practices. Today people are eating meats, dairy products, and eggs that contain far fewer of these needed nutrients. John Robbins writes that "You’d have to eat 20 of today’s supermarket eggs to get as much omega 3’s as are provided by a single egg from a free range chicken.”

Get The Dirt on Veganism and Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is important for the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system and for the formation of blood. It is the only vitamin synthesized exclusively by microorganisms (bacteria). Vitamin B12 is produced by soil microbes that live in symbiotic relationships with plant roots. It is a water soluble vitamin, meaning the human body can not store it because it dissolves in water, so it should be consumed on a daily basis. B12 is the most chemically complex of all vitamins. It is essential for our health.

Anyone can be B12 deficient, regardless of diet. A whopping 15% of the population suffers from a B12 deficiency. A deficiency in B12 can cause a number of symptoms from dandruff to dementia. It can cause Anemia, which can be fatal if left untreated. 

The B12 in animal products comes from the soil that the animal consumed, making it part of their bodies, which is then consumed by people who eat their flesh. However, pesticides prevent essential bacteria from producing B12. In fact, 90% of B12 supplements produced in the world are fed to livestock on factory farms. Vegans can find a reliable source of B12 in fortified nutritional yeast, fortified plant-based milks, and dietary supplements. Some claim that B12 is available in organic fruits and vegetables grown in rich soils. However, this is such a tiny amount of B12, you’re honestly better off just eating the dirt from the ground. 

Most people only require 2.5 micrograms of B12 per day. The less frequently you consume B12, the higher the total amount needs to be to give the desired absorbed amount. Studies show there are no negative side effects of taking too much B12. HOWEVER, absorption decreases drastically when the capacity of Intrinsic Factor is exceeded at 1–2 mcg of vitamin B12. Studies also show there is no difference in efficacy between oral and sublingual (under the tongue) form.

Many commonly eaten plant based foods are high in iron. In fact, some of the top iron sources are vegan. So why are vegan and vegetarian diets dismissed by disapproving omnivores as “anemic?” Not understanding the science behind nutrition is what leads to common misconceptions in plant based diets. So let’s set things straight: Iron is an essential nutrient because it helps red blood cells deliver oxygen to the body. However, taking too much iron can result in iron overload. Excess iron can lead to a number of complications, so it’s important to keep track of your intake. There are two types of iron: 1⃣ Heme iron, which is found in animals (meat, poultry, and fish) 2⃣ Non-heme iron, which is from plants.

Heme iron is better absorbed than non-heme iron. However, it is easier to overload on heme iron than non-heme iron. Interestingly enough, vegans and vegetarians are no more likely to become anemic than an omnivore. There’s also evidence that shows that low-normal iron (which is what vegans and vegetarians store) are actually beneficial and lower rates of heart disease and cancer. Now that we know vegan iron is non-heme iron, it’s just as (if not more) important to focus on iron absorption than to just eat a lot of iron rich foods.

Here are some tips:

One of the more disturbing cases of Greenwashing belongs to Dawn Dish Soap. They claim that “Dawn Saves Wildlife” by donating soap and funding to clean up animals after oil spills. Instead of truly saving animals, they’re using the photos of cute animals to sell dish soap. However, in order to ACTUALLY donate to the animals, you have to register the soap you bought on their website along with giving over your personal information.

Here’s the real kicker: Dawn contains an antibacterial agent called Triclosan which was recently declared as “TOXIC to aquatic life and birds.” Many environmental groups have called for Triclosan to be banned. Not surprising seeing as Dawn is owned by animal testing giant, Procter and Gamble. Sneakier cases of greenwashing can be found on totally un-natural products claiming to be “100% natural.” The FDA restricts the term “natural” to products that contain no artificial or synthetic substances, such as color additives and flavors. But FDA allows the “natural” label on products containing GMOs, or genetically engineered ingredients, such as soft drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, which is made from genetically engineered corn. General Mills (which owns Natural Valley) recently had a class action law suit brought against them for advertising their GMO-licious bars as “100% Natural” when they’re anything but. Unfortunately, that lawsuit was dismissed, but many other lawsuits going after similar deceptive advertising have succeeded. This has turned out to be quite costly for big food corporations like General Mills and ConAgra, and we can thank the GMO awareness movement for that.

Proteins are huge molecules made up of smaller molecules called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids available to us. Eight of these amino acids are considered essential, meaning you have to get them in your diet (or from a supplement) because your body can’t manufacture them. In general, it is better to get your nutrients from your diet, than a pill.

All plants contain amino acids. The only difference is that some have a lower percentage of amino acids in comparison to the rest of the parts of the plant. 

The term “complete protein” refers to foods that have all nine essential amino acids present in the correct proportion for our bodies to build protein with. The term “incomplete protein” refers to foods which have all the essential amino acids, but are simply low in one or more of them. This is called the “limiting amino acid." While it’s true that most whole plant foods have one or more limiting amino acids and are thus “incomplete” — this shouldn’t send you running for a steak. 

Our bodies are brilliant, and every food that goes into your system must be broken apart and its nutrients absorbed. During the digestion process, amino acid chains from all sources are broken down and made ready for our bodies to use. If you’re eating a good mix of fruits, veggies, grains and legumes, then your body simply collects what it needs from the “amino soup” that your digestion system has absorbed.

Another bonus: Plant based foods are free from cholesterol and tend to be high in fiber. 

Part three of Vegans of Instagram series on common animal ingredients in our food and products.

1⃣ Royal Jelly is a honey bee secretion that is used in the nutrition of larvae and adult queens. It is collected from each individual queen cell (honeycomb) when the queen larvae are about four days old. Royal Jelly makes workers into queens. It is used as as a source of B vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.Most honey comes from full-time factory bee farmers. 

2⃣ Shellac (E904) is a coating or glaze derived from the hardened, resinous material secreted by the female Kerria Lacca Insect. Shellac is scraped from the bark of the trees where they live. Often they are heated until they die of heat exhaustion. 300,000 lac insects are killed for every kilogram (2.2 lbs.) Shellac may be found in a furniture polish and varnish, aluminum foil coating, paper coating, hairspray, shampoos, perfume, makeup, printing inks and paints, and much more. Shellac is often called "Confectioner’s glaze” in candy and donut glaze. 

3⃣ Tallow. Rendered beef or mutton fat. Industrial use of tallow can be just about any type of animal fat (e.g. cow, pig, deer). Tallow is in a variety of products from wax paper, crayons, margarines, paints, rubber, lubricants, candles, soaps, lipsticks, shaving creams, other cosmetics. Chemicals (e.g., PCB) can be in animal tallow. Tallow is sometimes known as "Stearic Acid.” **Some Tallow is vegetable sourced.**

4⃣ Whey. The watery serum that remains after most of the protein and fat have been removed from milk during the cheese-making process. Usually in cakes, cookies, candies, breads, and supplements. 

➡ The purpose of this series was to connect the animals and the cruelty behind the unknown, sneaky animal ingredients we encounter every day. You’re more likely to encounter these ingredients in processed foods. I will now begin working on a new series on #vegan ingredients, because there are A LOT of delicious #AnimalFree goodies in the world. #VegansofIG

Click HERE for Part One: Albumen- Isinglass

Part two of our series on common animal ingredients in our food and products. In their natural form, these ingredients are #NotVegan or #NotVegetarian. Vegan or Vegetarian alternatives are typically synthetic. 1⃣ Keratin: Natural Keratin is an extremely strong protein that is a major component in skin, hair, nails, feathers, hooves, horns, and teeth. Used in hair rinses, shampoos, and permanent wave solutions. Keratin is not naturally found in vegetables. Vegan keratin products might contain the amino acids necessary to produce keratin naturally. 2⃣ L-cysteine/L-cystine (E920) Animal: (Poultry. Typically duck feathers) Hog’s hair as a source is likely when the hair/feather supply is low. Used as a dough conditioner in most bread products. It is most common in pizza dough and bagels. Einstein Bros, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, and McDonalds have all confirmed the use of poultry feather-based L. Cysteine in many of their other products. 3⃣ Lanolin. (Wool Fat. Wool Wax) A product of the oil glands of sheep, extracted from their wool. Used as an emollient in many skin-care products and cosmetics and in medicines. Most chewing gums list “gum base” as one of their ingredients, masking lanolin as an ingredient. The starting material used to produce this vitamin D3 is Lanolin. 4⃣ Pepsin. In cow and hogs’ stomachs. A clotting agent used in some cheeses and vitamins. Pepsin is a component of rennet (see below) used to curdle milk during the manufacture of cheese. 5⃣ Rennet [Rennin] Enzyme from the stomach of slaughtered newly-born calves. Used in cheesemaking, rennet custard (junket), and in many coagulated dairy products. The coagulation of milk is achieved by the addition of rennet. Most cheeses (especially Parmesan, Grana Padano, and Gorgonzola are NOT vegetarian.

➡ Up next: Part Three (R-W) #VegansofIG

Click HERE for Part One: Albumen-Isinglass

Here are some common animal ingredients that sneak their way into our food and products. This is part one of the series starting with letters A-I. These ingredients are almost always #NotVegan. I'll make a separate series for ingredients like "Glycerine" which can be #Vegan or sourced from an animal. 

1⃣ Albumen {Albumin} In eggs, milk, muscles, blood, and many vegetable tissues and fluids. In cosmetics, albumen is usually derived from egg whites and used as a coagulating agent. In cakes, cookies, candies, etc. Egg whites sometimes used in "clearing" wines. 

2⃣ Carmine. Cochineal. Carminic Acid. Red pigment from the crushed female cochineal insect. Reportedly, 70,000 beetles must be killed to produce one pound of this red dye. Used in cosmetics, shampoos, red apple sauce, and other foods (including red lollipops and food coloring). 

3⃣ Casein. Caseinate. Sodium Caseinate. Milk protein. In "nondairy" creamers, soy cheese, many cosmetics, hair preparations, beauty masks. May soy cheeses are not vegan because they contain casein. It's what gives soy cheese its (slightly) cheese-like flavor and texture. 

4⃣ Gelatin. Protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones in water. From cows, pigs, and more recently, horse hooves and fish by-products. Used in shampoos, face masks, and other cosmetics. Used as a thickener for fruit gelatins and puddings (e.g., Jell-O). In candies, marshmallows, cakes, ice cream, yogurts. On photographic film and in vitamins as a coating and as capsules. Sometimes used to assist in "clearing" wines. 

5⃣ Isinglass. A form of gelatin prepared from the internal membranes of fish bladders. Sometimes used in "clearing" wines and in foods. 

➡ Up next: Part Two (K-P) #VegansofIG

Click HERE for Part Two: Keratin-Rennet

VEAL is a by-product of the dairy industry. For female cows to produce milk, they are kept in a constant cycle of being pregnant and giving birth.

All forms of dairy farming involve forcibly impregnating cows. This involves a person inserting his/her arm far into the cow’s rectum in order to position the uterus, and then forcing an instrument into her vagina.The restraining apparatus used is commonly called a “rape rack.” 

If given the opportunity, a dairy cow and her calf would remain companions for life. The forced separation on factory farms causes cows and calves an incredible amount of pain and grief. 

Once separated, the cows are then hooked up to milking machines, enslaved to produce milk for humans that was intended for their baby that was ripped away. And when they stop lactating, they’re impregnated again. The same vicious cycle continues until the cows can no longer produce milk. When they're all dried up they’re sent to slaughter. 

Male calves are useless for milk production. Dairy cows are a different breed of cattle from the ones raised for beef. Dairy cows, female and male, lack the musculature necessary to maximize profits for beef producers. About half of the female calves will become dairy cows, to replace their mothers. The other half of the females are useless to the dairy industry. Nearly all of the male calves and half of the female calves are taken from their mothers, to be turned into veal. 

Calves raised for veal are forced to spend their short lives in individual crates that are no more than 30 inches wide and 72 inches long. These crates are designed to prohibit exercise and normal muscle growth in order to produce tender “gourmet” veal. The calves are fed a milk substitute that is purposely low in iron so that they will become anemic and their flesh will stay pale. After four months "living" in these conditions, they're sent to the slaughterhouse. 

"Orcas Have Feelings Too" —Tune into @CNN now and watch #Blackfish!

BLACKFISH airs on CNN tonight from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm ET (and again from 12:00 am to 2:00 am ET)

If you don’t have CNN, you can still watch Blackfish for free online. Link here: http://viooz.co/movies/21942-blackfish-2013.html 

Bone char is used to filter impurities in sugar and to strip away the brown color. It’s produced using the bones of cows. The bones are bleached in the sun and heated until they become a filter. “Brown sugar” is actually just white sugar that has had coloring and flavoring (molasses) added to it after it already had its natural brown coloring removed. Sugar producers like Domino Foods and C&H will often refer to Bone Char as “natural charcoal.”

Cane sugar is cured using bone char. Beet sugar isn’t. Unfortunately, most of sugar beets in the US and Canada are primarily GMO crop. The majority of commercial fructose on the market is derived from corn or beet source (both of which are fine). FYI: Some companies DO mix beet and cane together.Dextrose is derived from corn as well. Sucrose could be just about anything, so you’ll need to verify with the company.

Beet, Unrefined, Turbinado, USDA Organic, and Raw are all phrases that let you know bone char was NOT used in your sugar. Same goes for organic cane juice. Agave Nectar, Xylitol (birch sugar), Coconut Palm Sugar, Stevia, Maple Syrup (lard-free), Brown Rice Syrup, Fruit Juice Concentrates, Date Sugar, and Fructose are all VEGAN alternatives to sugar. 

I want to thank everyone that came out to The Vegans of Instagram Meetup at Souley Vegan on August 30th! It was my first time meeting everyone in the Bay Area. I wish I could have stayed longer because you guys are super friendly and a lot of fun!

We had over 50+ people come out to the meetup!  Not everyone in our party was on Instagram, but here are all of the Instagramers that signed in:

@labellenuage @cornellbear @veganbreak @mi11rtime @astigvegan @whollyvegan @rose_petalz @veganchoochoo @designbylance @logicalharmony @reflectionsoflight @brewinhand @collardcowgirl @vegangoddess9581  @misschrismiss @aqua6ir1  @sportsoul @veg4life @veganballerina @scissorslinger88  @ironfrontalex @digiyesica @damnitgram @l_m_z @chefveg @lyricalsoul7 @davidselsky @raqueliiita @josieemadri @ena_bobeena @the_lexinator @mayajoyy @amersmc @jennabeanmccormick @michelleschantz @vegerena429 @rachellemcohen @dontmoveaword @_mimi_lee_

Here's the latest on the Vegans of Instagram Meetup Tour:

The next meetup will be in the SF Bay Area on Friday August 30th at Souley Vegan from 8-11pm. 

RSVP on Facebook: Vegans of Instagram Meetup - San Francisco Bay Area

RSVP on Meetup: http://bit.ly/11xwmpz

On Sunday September 8th we will be back in Los Angeles (specifically Culver City) for a vegan ice cream social at SAGE's new location from 7-10pm. 

RSVP on Facebook: Vegans of Instagram Meetup + Ice Cream Social - Los Angeles

RSVP on Meetup: http://bit.ly/1boY2ik

Tag your photos with the #VegansofIGmeetup tag

Here is the calendar of events as of today:

• Portland 9/20

• Seattle 9/22

• Boston 10/5

• Pittsburgh 10/10

• Chicago 10/12

• Las Vegas 11/1

• Phoenix 11/16

• Miami + Orlando — Mid December 

• Austin + Houston — April 2014.

Seeing as I can only book events and my travel arrangements so far in advance, I can only give you guys a notice that there will be upcoming events in the following cities, but the exact dates have not been set just yet:

TBA Cities:

Atlanta • Denver • Honolulu • Minneapolis • Nashville • New Orleans • New York City • Philadelphia • Salt Lake City • Santa Fe • Vancouver • Washington D.C.• 

For detailed event information, please visit: 

Meetup.com/VegansofIG

OR

Facebook.com/VegansofIG/events

It's a really exciting day for vegan footwear fanatics! Nicora Johns, a brand new cruelty free, vegan shoe line has reached their goal and raised over $75,000 on kickstarter!

It's a pretty remarkable achievement, but so is what they're bringing to the world of eco fashion: They are the first line of #‎vegan shoes to be solely made in America. 

Nicora Johns only uses materials that are 100% eco-safe, eco-produced, and made in the USA. They use local materials from factories they can visit, and companies governed by local laws—something that's extremely rare in this day and age.

Not only are they building planet-friendly shoes, produced entirely in the US— their shoes are super cute! I'm really excited to get a pair. 

For those of you on meetup.com, you can now find all of the upcoming #VegansofIGmeetup dates on our group page: