Today’s interview is with speaker Caryn Hartglass! Come see her talk “It’s All About Food” at the Berkeley Vegan Earth Day TODAY at 3:55om!

What do you think is the easiest yet most effective change a person can make in their own lifestyle to help the environment?

Going vegan! Choosing plants over animals is much gentler on the planet. I also think that once people give up eating (and exploiting) animals they begin to open their minds and see all the lives, human and non human, and resources that are exploited and do what they can in their own lives not to support it.

Did you identify as an environmentalist before or after becoming vegan, or do you believe the two go hand in hand?

I always loved nature as a child and wanted to be outside in it, playing in the dirt, planting seeds, walking in the woods. I was on my own because the rest of my family did not enjoy these activities but I was drawn to nature. When I was a Girl Scout, my favorite activity was camping outdoors. I was also born on Earth Day, April 22. I believe being an environmentalist and a vegan do go hand in hand and I wish more people who call themselves environmentalists would see it as I do. I don’t believe is causing pain and suffering – to all living things and damaging the environment creates a lot of distress.

Why did you become a vegan?

I was 15 when a friend in school told me he was going to be a vegetarian. I had never thought about what my food was before. I went home and announced I was going to be a vegetarian. It’s been a long journey since that moment, negotiating with my parents what I was going to eat, and learning about diet, nutrition and animal agriculture. Red meat and chicken went first, I ate fish on occasion and gave it up entirely a few years after finishing college, after seeing Epcot exhibit showing fish farming. At 30 years old I gave up eggs and dairy, now convinced that these were not healthy foods and how cruel and environmentally destructive animal agriculture was. This was all before the internet when the information was not as easy to find.

What are common mistakes that people make when they are transitioning to veganism, and how can they be avoided?

There’s no mistake when someone decides to give up animal foods and eat plant foods, this is a good thing. I think the problem is that we have gotten so far away from eating whole, minimally processed natural foods. Whether a meat-eater, vegetarian or vegan, eating a lot of junk food increases risk of disease and decreases quality of life and longevity. Many who give up meat, do not know anything about healthy eating and bulk up on white flour foods and cheese – an ideal recipe for auto immune diseases as well as increased risk of chronic disease. The trick is to turn off the television, turning away from advertising that is encouraging us to eat (and become addicted to) junk foods. Whether we are eating animals or not, humans need to eat their vegetables. Learning how to prepare food at home, getting organized in the kitchen, planning ahead to have meals ready for the busy work/school week is how mistakes can be avoided.

Who or what motivates and inspires you?

Knowing that animals are being tortured inspires me to do what I do. It is something I can not think about or focus on because it is so horrible. But in the back of my mind I know this is why I do what I do. When I was young and I learned that there were people that went hungry, this did not make sense to me. I got involved from time to time raising money for different charities fighting for a cure for a specific disease. When I became vegetarian and ultimately vegan, I was convinced promoting a vegan diet was the best thing, the most powerful thing I could do to help solve most of the world’s problems. I prefer working on the big picture.

I have been hosting the radio show “IT’S ALL ABOUT FOOD” for 4 years now and “ASK A VEGAN” for about 3 years. The comments I receive from listeners about how these programs have changed their lives in a positive way is what fuels me to continue and work harder. I recently decided to have my “IT’S ALL ABOUT FOOD” shows transcribed and I have about 20 volunteers now doing the transcribing, many of whom are not vegan or vegetarian. They write to me, telling me how much they are learning and how it is changing the way they look at life. This is so inspiring to me. They volunteered to help me, and they are, in a big way, and I had no idea they would get something in return.

I am also motivated by all the love I have around me, from my family and friends, my listeners and nonprofit supporters. My biggest cheerleader is my life partner, Gary, who became vegan in 2006. He sees me at my best and worst and is there for me when I need to be re-energized. When I talk to people about eating plant foods and going vegan, I may touch on the dark side of exploitation, but for the most part I like to focus on the light, the joy, the love, health and well-being, the benefits of this lifestyle. In doing so, I continue to re-inspire myself.

Founded in 2010 by Berkeley vegan Katie Cantrell, the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition does presentations across the country to raise people’s awareness not just about the suffering of animals, but also the many other ways that factory farming negatively impacts our Earth and culture.  They address such issues as the enormous greenhouse gas impacts of this practice, the water and air pollution, the poor treatment of the non-unionized slaughterhouse workers, and the dangers of creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria as a result of rampant antibiotic usage on animals living in filthy factory farm conditions.

Come meet and talk with them at the Berkeley Vegan Earth Day this year, and find out how you can get involved!  This locally-based group is doing vital work to spread understanding about the topic of factory farming and shake people out of their complacency before it is too late.  Check out their literature and see what you can do to help this Saturday.

When designing the lavish feasts he prepared monthly at an exclusive club, vegan gourmet chef Barry Schenker would wander the streets of Berkeley’s world famous “Gourmet Ghetto,” where the menus of its innovative international restaurants inspired him to create luscious vegan versions of their fare. Rich house made ice creams served at the legendary birthplace of California Cuisine, Chez Panisse, gave Barry a bold new goal.

Genuto is a 100% nut-based gelato that is handcrafted in a 24-hour infusion process complemented by the addition of beneficial probiotic cultures and carefully selected natural spices and flavors. Each serving contains an ounce of heart healthy nuts. Sometimes the best things in life really do grow on trees. Try a sample for yourself at Berkeley Vegan Earth Day, where they will be launching two new flavors: Simply Dark Chocolate and Lemon Almond.

In addition to those two new flavors, they will also have
-Simply Pistachio
-Madagascar Vanilla
-Double Espresso
-Tropical Mango
-Chai Latte
-Crystallized Ginger
-Chocolate Hazelnut
-Chocolate Cardamom

Each one is vegan, gluten free, and made with active probiotic cultures!

Photo courtesty of Ellovi

If you’re sick of looking at beauty product labels and seeing ingredients that you’ve never heard of and things that sound like they’re derived from harsh chemicals and plastics, you’re not alone.  Ellovi has one product so far called Butter, a moisturizing cream made from all natural ingredients — macadamia nut, coconut, marula nut, hemp seed, and shea.  No preservatives, nothing that didn’t come directly from the Earth, all vegan and cruelty free.  It also contains no water, unlike most moisturizers, because water can drain moisture from your skin as it evaporates.  Founded by two awesome vegans-about-town, Kelly Winterhalter and Ryan Pamplin, Ellovi is a company that both your heart and your skin can get behind!

We love Dogs of all sizes, shapes and scruffiness. Actually we love all animals, including cows, pigs and chickens – we don’t discriminate. Our mission is one of compassion for all animals and for our great green planet. We are grateful for the opportunity to educate dog owners and spread our passion through our 100% animal-free and cruelty-free V-dog food.

Our first commitment is to the health of Dogs and we’ve done our research – Dogs are truly omnivorous animals that will thrive on a high-protein nutritiously balanced plant-based formula. Our second commitment is to minimize our contribution to Global Depletion. With an estimated 80 million dogs in the USA alone, a vegan dog, like a vegan human, leaves a much smaller paw print on our environment for reasons outlined on our website & eco-friendly packaging. Stop by the V-Dog booth at Berkeley Vegan Earth Day for samples and more information.

Photo courtesy of Farm Sanctuary.

In an ideal world, there would be no need for Farm Sanctuary. There would be no factory farms or stockyards, and cows, pigs, chickens, and other farm animals would not be abused. They would be free to laze in the breeze, bathe in the sun, scratch at the earth, and enjoy life.

Unfortunately, animals raised on today’s industrialized farms are treated like unfeeling commodities, and their basic needs are completely ignored. They are crowded in factory farm warehouses, and confined so tightly that they cannot walk, turn around or lie down comfortably. Farm animals are de-beaked, de-toed, tail-docked, confined, crowded, neglected and denied the very basics of life: fresh air, wholesome food, room to move and, most importantly, freedom.

Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 by Gene Baur (who is also one of this year’s speakers at the Berkeley Vegan Earth Day) to combat the abuses of factory farming and to encourage a new awareness and understanding about “farm animals.” At Farm Sanctuary, these animals are our friends, not our food. Visit their booth at Berkeley Vegan Earth Day to learn how you can participate in the campaigns to help animals.

Delectable, one-of-a-kind vegan tamales lovingly made in Berkeley, CA from the finest natural ingredients.  Tamale Love uses organic coconut oil and corn masa, and wrap our tamales in beautiful banana leaves for a uniquely tropical and non-GMO twist.

Tamale Love is the creation of two local UCB grads whose dream is to spread the love through tasty food, healthy for both you and the planet.  ¡Somos Tamaleras de Veras!

Tamale Love will be exhibiting at Berkeley Vegan Earth Day 2013!

Visit Tamale Love at http://tamalelove.wordpress.com/

Farm Fresh to You (FFTY) is a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) that offers home-delivery of fresh, organic, California produce, in addition to selling their delicious fruits & veggies at the Ferry Building Farmers Market. Two UC Davis graduate students, Kathleen Barsotti and Martin Barnes, founded the farm in 1976, and began offering home-delivery services in 1992. Now a 300-acre farm with deep roots in the Bay Area, FFTY has shown unyielding dedication to sustainable agriculture since Kathleen first purchased the original 20-acre plot in the earliest days of the organic foods movement. She  notes that “the world is slowly waking up to the realization that the way we have lived for the last fifty years may not be sustainable. More and more of us are beginning to realize that humans are part of the ecosystem, part of a delicate relationship with all living things. And realizing the way we live is causing harm to the planet.”

If the British didn’t coin the word ‘vegetarian‘ in 1862, we might be known as the ‘San Francisco Pythagorean Society,’ as people who followed a plant-based diet were once known as ‘Pythagoreans.’ Instead, the all-volunteer and non-profit San Francisco Vegetarian Society (SFVS) has been working in the Bay Area for over 25 years promoting a vegetarian diet as a healthful and humane way of life.

“Vegetarians Unite!” A small classified ad starting with these words appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle in October 1968. It invited interested people to a meeting at the home of Fred and Hilda Baldus; from that meeting of 30 people, the San Francisco Vegetarian Society was born.

Over the years SFVS has hosted most movers and shakers in the movement, including John Robbins, John McDougall, Dean Ornish, Howard Lyman, Ann Wigmore, Helen and Scott Nearing, Bill Shurtleff and many others. Many speakers had their first experience in front of a vegetarian audience with SFVS. Visit their booth at Berkeley Vegan Earth Day and plug into the organization’s current issues and events.

AT BERKELEY VEGAN EARTH DAY
SATURDAY APRIL 20TH 12:00-2:00pm
IN THE LOBBY OF THE DAVID BROWER CENTER
2150 Allston way in Berkeley

No animals have been harmed in the making of these “cast off couture”designs.
Some animals may have been saved from ingesting the discarded plastic used.

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are the trademarks of their respective holder.
Artist has no affiliation with holder of trademarks.