Buddhism is most commonly associated with the Chinese population in Singapore, but did you know there are also Sri Lankan Buddhists? Join our writer as she explores the perspective of a highly specific community in Singapore.

Something I think most people dont realise is that all our life experiences are very much our own, and hence special. That song by Taylor Swift that I love could be considered banal and pandering to the next person. From the moment we are born, to our last breath on our death bed, we go through vastly different and infinitely unique experiences.

This is why, personally, I find that learning about peoples experiences to be extremely interesting. With each story retold, I am one step closer to understanding your completely unique experience, and my best friends experience of being a Sinhalese Buddhist was sure to be unique.

You might be wondering, why would I be interested in this? With Vesak Day upon us, I started to think about how Buddhism was mainly associated with people of Chinese ethnicity 98% of Buddhists in Singapore are ethnically Chinese.

Bhanuka and his family are Sinhalese Singaporeans. Sinhalese people make up only 0.3% of the population in Singapore. Apart from being family-oriented, he is a proud Buddhist who was eager to share his experiences with me. I was on the cusp of learning something exciting and personal to a highly specific community. But first, I had to learn a thing or two about Buddhism.

Buddhists believe that human life is a cycle of suffering and rebirth, but that if one achieves a state of enlightenment (nirvana), it is possible to escape this cycle forever. There are three main schools of Buddhism: Mahayana, Theravada, and Vajrayana. Bhanukas family practises the Theravada subset of Buddhism.

Vesak Day is very significant for Buddhists it is the day Buddha is born, enlightened and died. Buddha was, according to legend, a Hindu prince who renounced his status and riches to seek enlightenment. He is attributed to have founded Buddhism in India in the 6th-5th centuries BCE.

In preparation for Vesak Day, it is customary in Sri Lanka to make Vesak lanterns at home. Lanterns are traditionally made of wooden sticks and paper, but the more creative Buddhists will use glue guns to design more complex lanterns.

Vesak Day starts early for Bhanukas family. They get up and eat a traditional Sinhalese breakfast consisting of kiribath (coconut rice), sambol (spicy onions) and kavum (oil cakes). On this day, only vegetarian food can be consumed animal by-products cannot be eaten either e.g. eggs, cheese, milk.

Bringing lotus flowers and bananas bought the previous day and donned in white, they drive to Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple. On arrival, they leave their food offerings with the resident monks and proceed to make their rounds making offerings, relighting candles and offering joss sticks at the various altars. At each of the altars, you will find Buddha statues. A prayer is usually said when making offerings.

His family typically spends an hour at the temple, but many of the visitors spend their day there, listening to the monks giving their lessons and enjoying the food cooked by volunteers. These volunteers cook traditional Sinhalese food, not unlike the breakfast Bhanuka and his family partake in.

When Bhanuka leaves the temple, he feels a little lighter like the weight of the world has lessened on his shoulders. He feels a little closer to something divine.

What can we learn from Bhanukas experience?

To me, I learnt something new about my friend another significant facet of his identity. I had a vested interest in his story.

But what about you, my reader? Why should you care?

Bhanukas experience is that of a minority in Singapore. Stories like this matter because we live among these minorities, and they are just as much a part of the wider Singaporean community as the majority. And their experiences matter: they are just as important, even if they arent spoken about often.

The question, Does discrimination against minorities still exist in Singapore? remains relevant in the Singaporean context, seeing that our culture is a mishmash of cultures of the different races and religions here. It is my belief that though we have come a long away in terms of racial and religious inclusivity and harmony, there are still ways to go. There is still suffering today among minorities.

By learning about Bhanukas family, and the practices of his religion specific to the Sinhalese culture, we have taken tangible steps to educate ourselves about a minority group. In other words, we are enlightened.

Buddhist beliefs focus on ones own suffering and enlightenment. By achieving enlightenment, one can escape suffering.

This Vesak Day, I invite you to think about the suffering of others, and how they may one day escape it. I believe the enlightenment of the majority is instrumental to this escape of suffering of the minority. By learning, we understand. By understanding, we empathise. Maybe one day, we can be close to something divine: a world where suffering is no more. One day, we will be greater.

Excerpt from:
Can We Escape Suffering With Enlightenment? - A Vesak Day Perspective - The Pride by Singapore Kindness Movement

A California-based supplier of organic foods said it is recalling walnuts sold in 19 states after it was notified of 12 recorded cases of E. coli.

Gibson Farms, of Hollister. Calif., voluntarily recalled its Organic Light Halves and Pieces shelled walnuts that were sold to distributors in California and Washington state, according to a company notice posted this week on the Food and Drug Administrations website.

More here:

Organic walnuts recalled over E. Coli outbreak sold in 19 states - The Washington Post

Whats thought to be the UKs first all-vegan animal rights conference is taking place later this month.

The inaugural Vegan Animal Rights Conference (VARC) combines workshops and panels led by industry experts with networking opportunities and information on impactful advocacy. Taking place over two days, VARC has over 43 different sessions in total.

Read more: Vegan Women Summit Announces Celebrity Speakers and More for 2024

The event aims to unify and energize the vegan and animal rights movement by connecting activists of all kinds and fostering a sense of shared purpose through talks and activities.

The organizers say that VARC promises to be an inspiring gathering, aiming to ignite new initiatives, strengthen ongoing efforts, and enhance the sense of community among advocates for animal rights and veganism in the UK.

Speaking to Plant Based News (PBN) VARC Founder and Director Liz Flynn said: The UK is a hive of animal rights and vegan advocacy, imagine what we could achieve with our own conference here, dedicated to looking at our unique challenges and opportunities.

There are now approximately 2.5 million vegans in the UK, a 1.1 million person increase compared to 12 months ago. Meat consumption fell to record lows in 2023, and an increasing number of people are moving away from animal diets for their health, the planet, and the animals.

Along with Flynn, VARC was co-founded by Emily Huang and Esther Salomon, who have collectively spent years within UK animal rights working on training and leadership development, direct action, strategizing, and mobilization in various parts of the movement.

Read more: Vegandale Is Coming To The UK How To Get Tickets

The trio describes VARC as a strictly grassroots effort, involving many different people working in their free time to design and organize. In a statement on the events website, Flynn, Huang, and Salomon write: Each of us believes that in order to achieve animal liberation, the movement needs many people working on a variety of different strategies.

These different strategies include and combine both corporate campaigning and direct action, challenging laws and disrupting the food industry through alternative proteins. The organizers add that VARC welcomes both established strategies and novel ones.

The strength of our movement lies in our diversity and unity. With VARC 2024, we aim to showcase the incredible range of voices and tactics within our community, demonstrating that there is not just one way to advocate for animal rights, but a multitude that can unite to form a powerful force for change, explained Flynn.

The event will begin with a keynote speech titled Lessons from 30 Years of Vegan Advocacy by Generation Vegans Director of Communications Kate Fowler, while panel discussions range from How We Can Use Science to Improve Public Support for Animal Freedom to Why We Need to Work Effectively With the Farming Community.

Weve curated sessions that challenge, inspire, and educate. From undercover investigations to legal battles for animal rights, each session is a piece of the larger puzzle of advocacy. Its about showing the multifaceted ways we can fight for change, said Flynn.

Other speakers and discussion leaders include Plant Based Universities Regional Co-ordinator Alistair Stewart; Humane Society UKs Senior Public Affairs Manager Amro Hussain; Animal Justice Project founder Claire Palmer; Animal Think Tank founder Laila Kassam; Viva!s Head of Investigations Lex Rigby; and ALF founder Ronnie Lee.

For the full VARC agenda including timing, read on here.

The inaugural VARC will take place at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel from April 13 14, 2024.

Ticket prices are tiered depending on income from GBP 89 per person up to 168. (There is also an option to donate an additional 10 plus fees to subsidize someone elses entry.)

Read more: The UK Is About To Open Its First Ever Vegan Theater

VARC 2024 is more than an event; its a beacon for change in the animal rights and vegan community. Were crafting a space where advocacy meets action, knowledge meets passion, and individuals become a movement, added Flynn.

Find more information on the VARC website here and purchase tickets here.

See the original post:

A Major New Vegan Conference Is Coming To The UK - How To Get Tickets - Plant Based News

Tonya Plachy balances a toddler on her hip as she bends down and scoops up a newborn goat. The brown-and-black patchwork kid snuggles into her arms as her (human) baby reaches out to pat its head. At The Goat Conspiracy, a working goat farm and creamery-turned-sanctuary in Brown County, Indiana, Plachy has her arms fullboth literally and figuratively. She raises her family in a straw-bale house next to the farm. Plachy and her team (including her husband, Josh Jackson, and co-owners Nicole Schonemann and Mark Veldman) lead goat yoga classes and operate an on-site Airbnb.

Kevin J. Miyazaki

Its very much a grassroots, organic operation. Plachys kids run around the property, forging bonds with the animals they raise. Plachy walks through the pastures, evaluating the goats impact and determining where they need to rotate next in order to not exhaust the land. That was a really big part of our theory, she explains. We want to be as sustainable as we can. We needed to get back to the soil because thats where our food comes from.

Its also the reason they decided to cease their creamery operation in early 2024. We enjoyed the creativity that goes into making cheese, says Schonemann, who previously ran the creamery. But after learning that meat and dairy are two of the largest contributors to climate change, we felt that we were on the wrong side of that equation. The team has now turned the farm into a retirement home for goats and chickens. Visitors can book a farm tour or sign up for a yoga class, and plans for concerts are on the horizon too.

Kevin J. Miyazaki

Before founding The Goat Conspiracy, Plachy and Jackson worked in social services and then nomadically traveled the country via bike for several months before being called back to the land. Its grounding for me, Plachy says. I enjoy this and feel very thankful to be here. But what keeps me going is the outside filter of new energy that comes here.

More here:
Do Yoga With Goats at This Farm in Brown County, Indiana - Midwest Living

Summary

Jake Gyllenhaal put immense effort into getting his body in shape for Road House, and his personal trainer praises him for his efforts. The new movie is a remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze film and stars Gyllenhaal as a former UFC fighter who is recruited to work as a bouncer. With Conor McGregor's Knox posing an existential threat, Gyllenhaal's Dalton has to be in perfect shape to stop his rampaging enemy.

Since there were multiple shirtless scenes and several real-world UFC fighters in the Road House cast, Gyllenhaal needed to get in shape to match everyone else. Men's Health spoke to Gyllenhaal and his personal trainer, Jason Walsh, about what it took to help him look like a UFC fighter.

While Gyllenhaal praised the entire team, Walsh wanted nothing more than to commend Gyllenhaal for his work effort. He emphasized that the actor was willing to engage in a variety of drills, including sled work, chain push-ups, and climber sprints, and he did so without faltering. Check out Walsh's quote below:

"The way he looked throughout the movie, there [are] peaks, right? People don't see the valleys. They don't see the time in between the peaks, it just looks like one continuous thing. It doesn't work like that... You can have a great trainer, a great program, great team none of this matters if you don't have the right person to do it all. Jake did the work . He earned it."

Walsh has good reason to praise Gyllenhaal's workout routine. To properly prepare for the movie, Walsh explained that he took part in mobility drills, isometric exercises, heavy sled work, squats, bag drills, push-ups, and presses. He also worked on sprints, push-pull machines, and various other drills that worked every muscle that Gyllenhaal needed to train. Many of the exercises were designed specifically to mimic the movements that he needed to make in Road House fights.

Gyllenhaal also needed to follow a specialized diet to build muscle. While putting aside sugar, he increased his caloric and protein intake. After discovering an allergy to his protein supplements, Walsh put together a specialized protein blend that Gyllenhaal could safely consume. Gyllenhaal also cooked much of his food for himself and his family and stuck closely with his plan.

Considering Road House was filmed in numerous locations, including the Dominican Republic, Florida, and Las Vegas, Gyllenhaal likely needed to maintain his physique for some time, even in various unfamiliar environments. While Walsh accounts for the "peaks" and "valleys" in Gyllenhaal's figure, it is still an impressive display, especially for a 43-year-old actor. With considerable effort, Gyllenhaal tailored his diet and exercise plan for Road House to make the movie as realistic as possible.

Road House is available for streaming on Prime Video.

Source: Men's Health

Road House is a remake of the original 1989 film, which followed protagonist Dalton, a Ph.D. educated bouncer at the roughest bar in the south known as the Double Deuce. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Dalton, with two major changes including Dalton being a retired UFC fighter and the bar locale being in the Florida Keys.

Read this article:
Jake Gyllenhaal's Road House Transformation & Diet Revealed By Actor's Trainer - Screen Rant

If you have lunch at Follow Your Heart vegan cafe on Sherman Way in Canoga Park, you may see a friendly-looking guy hovering around. Hes there for a few hours every day, doing a little bit of everything.

Its kind of my job to eat different things on the menu to ensure consistency. One cook teaches another cook and recipes totally change.

Take note that man is not just the food taster. Hes Bob Goldberg, now a wise elder to the vegan food scene in Los Angeles. He began Follow Your Heart with friends in 1970, as a vegetarian hippie hangout in the valley.

Bob Goldberg and his partners

Courtesy Follow Your Heart

Today, more than 50 years later, its a vegan grocery store and diner, with a college town food co-op vibe, selling plant-based diner food: sandwiches, pot pies, chili cheese fries. And even more importantly, Goldberg has had a massive impact on plant-based eating, creating Vegenaise and starting the Follow Your Heart and Earth Island brands.

The Follow Your Heart cafe first started as a juice bar in the back of Johnny Weissmullers American Natural Foods on Owensmouth. Weissmuller was an Olympic gold medalist and star of the Tarzan movies.

In 1973, Goldberg, along with partners Paul Lewin, Spencer Windbiel and Michael Besanon, bought out the market, and got rid of all the meat and dairy products.

When we first started, this strip was still Antique Row wed get thrifted plates from the Salvation Army, he remembers.

The place soon attracted a loyal following, with people traveling long distances to the West Valley, because back then, as Goldberg says, "vegetarian places were few and far between."

By 1976, they outgrew the store and moved into a former butcher shop, which is the current Sherman Way location.

"I grew up in a family of grocers, says Goldberg. His grandfather Sam Kapitanoff opened Crystal Foods shortly after the turn of the century when he arrived in Beloit, Wisconsin from Eastern Europe very New Agey name, he laughs. Hed visit the store as a kid with his parents from Chicago, an hour-and-a-half away.

The other side of Goldbergs family was in the model airplane kits industry. In those days, Carl Goldberg Products was a hugely inspiring company for would-be aeronautical engineers. However, model planes later fell out of popularity in the 70's with the emergence of the space program. I was a national champion as a child, he says with a smile.

Chef Proof Fujiyama-Ahira and owner Bob Goldberg at Follow Your Heart Market & Cafe in Canoga Park.

Brian Feinzimer

/

LAist

In 1967, Goldberg got drafted into the army. Initially, he thought hed have to travel overseas, but he received a last minute change of orders to join the Army Band. (Goldberg had played trumpet since he was 10 and studied music at Indiana University).

Goldberg says he wasnt yet critical of the war in Vietnam. It was a bad time a turbulent time. But I was on board for everything. I didn't question authority ... that came later.

In the barracks he was assigned to a room with one other guy who had the "opposite of my background. Hed been in trouble with the law and a judge had given him the choice to go to jail or enlist. His barrack-mate showed him something rolled up in aluminum foil he didn't know what it was. "I'd never seen marijuana, he says. They went into a closet and got high.

A moment later Bob remembers sitting down on his bed and thinking Everything I know was wrong it just hit me. I remember an overwhelming feeling that I'd been lied to.

In the Army Band hed travel to midwestern states playing a lot of parades, Bob pauses, but also Taps at a lot of funerals. This experience made him see the impact of what war can do, which led to his embrace of meat-less eating.

I became vegetarian for moral reasons. I was against unnecessary killing. And sometimes the practice of killing animals can lead to the killing of people.

Out of the Army, in 1969, Goldberg drove across the country to Los Angeles. He spent the first few weeks on a buddys couch in Woodland Hills before finding a place up the street from Johnny Weissmullers.

Goldberg was glad to find somewhere he could get camaraderie and vegetarian food. I was meeting my people and getting an education in living in a more peaceful way.

A promotional image for Vegenaise that shows the product when it was first introduced in wide release in 1995.

Courtesy Follow Your Heart

Their customers included many seeking a more spiritual parth, and would suggest books, which theyd sell in the corner of the shop. The Whole Earth Catalog, books on environmentalism or eastern philosophy, Hindu- buddhism, the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Michael Besanon was a follower of a guru whose followers culinary practice excluded meat, fowl, and eggs (though dairy was okay). So the menu at Follow Your Heart applied that approach to their familiar diner fare.

But they wanted to serve that part of the community that didnt eat eggs. And without mayonnaise, the cafes sandwiches were less than appealing. They still needed a lube," laughs Goldberg.

So they set about finding a mayo alternative. They went through lots of options before stumbling upon a guy whod created a product called Lecinaise which was supposedly an egg-free substance made from lecithin, which helped emulsify lipids.

They began using it in the restaurant. But a few months later they started hearing that there were actually eggs in this Lecinaise. Eventually, Goldberg says the guy got busted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture he was soaking jars of regular mayonnaise to get the labels off and then putting his own label on top!

The fried chicken sandwich from Follow Your Heart Market & Cafe in Canoga Park.

Brian Feinzimer

/

LAist

The sprouts sandwich love plate, fried chicken, reuben and club sandwiches from Follow Your Heart Market & Cafe in Canoga Park.

Brian Feinzimer

/

LAist

They immediately had to look for other options. But when they approached food manufacturers, they were told an egg-free mayo alternative wasnt possible.

So Goldberg started experimenting. What could be a good plant-based solution? He tried mixing various oils and fats trying to find the best way to make them cohere. It took a lot of trials, my whole fridge [was] full of various stages, he says.

He finally came up with the answer in a dream. I bolted up, and then sat in bed, waiting two hours for light then mixed tofu scraps in a blender and combined them with oil, he says, which gave the consistency he was looking for. Eventually they replaced the tofu with isolated soy proteins and began making it themselves, as Vegenaise.

We didnt want to be a manufacturer, but that became the only option, he says.

It was so popular that in 1988, Follow Your Heart started a manufacturing division, Earth Island, which expanded from Vegenaise into other plant- based products like salad dressings, dips, and cheeses.

It was highly successful but around that time the original Follow Your Heart partnership started to dissolve. Goldberg says we all wanted to do different things. Like many bands we broke up. We lasted about as long as The Beatles.

Goldberg and Lewin bought out their other partners. Goldberg says Spencer went into early retirement, and Michael went on to become an executive at Whole Foods.

At that time Follow Your Heart and their Earth Island products were vegetarian, which meant they made some dairy products in their factories.

But when they started making white label products for Trader Joes, they were forced to wrestle with whether to go vegan. Trader Joes Caesar and Blue Cheese salad dressings had been made with a plant-based rennet. But when that became unavailable, they faced a choice.

"I wasn't comfortable with the company using a natural rennet the enzyme used to coagulate cheese from the intestine of a baby cow when the vegan one ran out, he says.

They ultimately decided to give up that part of the business, and became completely plant-based. I wasn't willing to be involved in the slaughter of animals.

He says they walked away from millions. "We saw a short-term drop in sales, but eventually it paid off.

Goldberg spent nearly 30 years building Earth Island. In that time, their products became available at grocery stores across the country and around the world. Their offerings helped spread the ubiquity of plant-based eating to a new generation that could now more easily access vegan food.

In 2020, Bob's long-time friend and business partner, Paul Lewin, unexpectedly passed away. "His passing was a big part of why I was ready to close that chapter of my life" says Goldberg "as it was something that we had done together for 50 years, and without him, it just wasnt the same". So in 2021, he sold Earth Island for an undisclosed amount to French food-product corporation Danone, famous for their yogurt, who also had a dairy-free division, including the plant-based milk alternative, Silk.

At the time, Goldberg felt like he had spent enough time at the factory. It was a good thing but it was just so big, he says. I wasnt having as much fun as the first ten years with the four partners behind the bar. I didnt know everyone on the staff anymore. I didnt know our customers, it was all big grocers. It wasnt the same personal experience.

Part of the sale required Bob to stay on at Earth Island/Danone for an extra year to help the transition, but now Bob is back where it all started at Follow Your Heart in Canoga Park.

He still has an eye to the future, seeing trends and wanting to be part of them.

"I have a sense, and a vision that Canoga Park is beginning a real renaissance of development, with the Rams building a training facility and Warner 2035. If you look around, this was an almost affordable area. Over the next twenty years it's gonna be very much in demand. Were hanging in there we want to be a part of the next phase.

Diners eat in the cafe at Follow Your Heart Market & Cafe in Canoga Park.

Brian Feinzimer

/

LAist

They own the building across the parking lot, which still says Mr Jacks Wig Shop (which was never actually a business, just the set design from the movie Licorice Pizza).

In that space they are going to build out a bakery and a coffee roaster. We still have our wholesale bakery but we want to get into the retail side, says Goldberg.

When I visited Follow Your Heart to interview Goldberg recently, we had a lunch of plant-based Reubens. Afterwards, he gave me a copy of his 2020 book The Vegenaise Cookbook, Great Food Thats Vegan, Too and signed it To Josh my great new friend. Integrity is the answer.

For Goldberg, integrity means making sure that ones actions are congruent with ones beliefs. That you are living in your truth. And when you arent, those relationships get fractured. Integrity is what makes things cohere.

Kinda like Vegenaise.

Have An Idea For A Food Story?

Send it our way. We cant reply to every query we receive but we will try to help. Wed love to hear from you.

Read more here:

Vegan OG Of The Valley - Los Angeles - LAist

Keep up with LAist.

If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily morning newsletter, How To LA. Every weekday, you'll get fresh, community-driven stories that catch you up with our independent local news.

If you have lunch at Follow Your Heart vegan cafe on Sherman Way in Canoga Park, you may see a friendly-looking guy hovering around. Hes there for a few hours every day, doing a little bit of everything.

Its kind of my job to eat different things on the menu to ensure consistency. One cook teaches another cook and recipes totally change.

Take note that man is not just the food taster. Hes Bob Goldberg, now a wise elder to the vegan food scene in Los Angeles. He began Follow Your Heart with friends in 1970, as a vegetarian hippie hangout in the valley.

Bob Goldberg and his partners

Courtesy Follow Your Heart

Today, more than 50 years later, its a vegan grocery store and diner, with a college town food co-op vibe, selling plant-based diner food: sandwiches, pot pies, chili cheese fries. And even more importantly, Goldberg has had a massive impact on plant-based eating, creating Vegenaise and starting the Follow Your Heart and Earth Island brands.

The Follow Your Heart cafe first started as a juice bar in the back of Johnny Weissmullers American Natural Foods on Owensmouth. Weissmuller was an Olympic gold medalist and star of the Tarzan movies.

In 1973, Goldberg, along with partners Paul Lewin, Spencer Windbiel and Michael Besanon, bought out the market, and got rid of all the meat and dairy products.

When we first started, this strip was still Antique Row wed get thrifted plates from the Salvation Army, he remembers.

The place soon attracted a loyal following, with people traveling long distances to the West Valley, because back then, as Goldberg says, "vegetarian places were few and far between."

By 1976, they outgrew the store and moved into a former butcher shop, which is the current Sherman Way location.

"I grew up in a family of grocers, says Goldberg. His grandfather Sam Kapitanoff opened Crystal Foods shortly after the turn of the century when he arrived in Beloit, Wisconsin from Eastern Europe very New Agey name, he laughs. Hed visit the store as a kid with his parents from Chicago, an hour-and-a-half away.

The other side of Goldbergs family was in the model airplane kits industry. In those days, Carl Goldberg Products was a hugely inspiring company for would-be aeronautical engineers. However, model planes later fell out of popularity in the 70's with the emergence of the space program. I was a national champion as a child, he says with a smile.

Chef Proof Fujiyama-Ahira and owner Bob Goldberg at Follow Your Heart Market & Cafe in Canoga Park.

Brian Feinzimer

/

LAist

In 1967, Goldberg got drafted into the army. Initially, he thought hed have to travel overseas, but he received a last minute change of orders to join the Army Band. (Goldberg had played trumpet since he was 10 and studied music at Indiana University).

Goldberg says he wasnt yet critical of the war in Vietnam. It was a bad time a turbulent time. But I was on board for everything. I didn't question authority ... that came later.

In the barracks he was assigned to a room with one other guy who had the "opposite of my background. Hed been in trouble with the law and a judge had given him the choice to go to jail or enlist. His barrack-mate showed him something rolled up in aluminum foil he didn't know what it was. "I'd never seen marijuana, he says. They went into a closet and got high.

A moment later Bob remembers sitting down on his bed and thinking Everything I know was wrong it just hit me. I remember an overwhelming feeling that I'd been lied to.

In the Army Band hed travel to midwestern states playing a lot of parades, Bob pauses, but also Taps at a lot of funerals. This experience made him see the impact of what war can do, which led to his embrace of meat-less eating.

I became vegetarian for moral reasons. I was against unnecessary killing. And sometimes the practice of killing animals can lead to the killing of people.

Out of the Army, in 1969, Goldberg drove across the country to Los Angeles. He spent the first few weeks on a buddys couch in Woodland Hills before finding a place up the street from Johnny Weissmullers.

Goldberg was glad to find somewhere he could get camaraderie and vegetarian food. I was meeting my people and getting an education in living in a more peaceful way.

A promotional image for Vegenaise that shows the product when it was first introduced in wide release in 1995.

Courtesy Follow Your Heart

Their customers included many seeking a more spiritual parth, and would suggest books, which theyd sell in the corner of the shop. The Whole Earth Catalog, books on environmentalism or eastern philosophy, Hindu- buddhism, the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Michael Besanon was a follower of a guru whose followers culinary practice excluded meat, fowl, and eggs (though dairy was okay). So the menu at Follow Your Heart applied that approach to their familiar diner fare.

But they wanted to serve that part of the community that didnt eat eggs. And without mayonnaise, the cafes sandwiches were less than appealing. They still needed a lube," laughs Goldberg.

So they set about finding a mayo alternative. They went through lots of options before stumbling upon a guy whod created a product called Lecinaise which was supposedly an egg-free substance made from lecithin, which helped emulsify lipids.

They began using it in the restaurant. But a few months later they started hearing that there were actually eggs in this Lecinaise. Eventually, Goldberg says the guy got busted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture he was soaking jars of regular mayonnaise to get the labels off and then putting his own label on top!

The fried chicken sandwich from Follow Your Heart Market & Cafe in Canoga Park.

Brian Feinzimer

/

LAist

The sprouts sandwich love plate, fried chicken, reuben and club sandwiches from Follow Your Heart Market & Cafe in Canoga Park.

Brian Feinzimer

/

LAist

They immediately had to look for other options. But when they approached food manufacturers, they were told an egg-free mayo alternative wasnt possible.

So Goldberg started experimenting. What could be a good plant-based solution? He tried mixing various oils and fats trying to find the best way to make them cohere. It took a lot of trials, my whole fridge [was] full of various stages, he says.

He finally came up with the answer in a dream. I bolted up, and then sat in bed, waiting two hours for light then mixed tofu scraps in a blender and combined them with oil, he says, which gave the consistency he was looking for. Eventually they replaced the tofu with isolated soy proteins and began making it themselves, as Vegenaise.

We didnt want to be a manufacturer, but that became the only option, he says.

It was so popular that in 1988, Follow Your Heart started a manufacturing division, Earth Island, which expanded from Vegenaise into other plant- based products like salad dressings, dips, and cheeses.

It was highly successful but around that time the original Follow Your Heart partnership started to dissolve. Goldberg says we all wanted to do different things. Like many bands we broke up. We lasted about as long as The Beatles.

Goldberg and Lewin bought out their other partners. Goldberg says Spencer went into early retirement, and Michael went on to become an executive at Whole Foods.

At that time Follow Your Heart and their Earth Island products were vegetarian, which meant they made some dairy products in their factories.

But when they started making white label products for Trader Joes, they were forced to wrestle with whether to go vegan. Trader Joes Caesar and Blue Cheese salad dressings had been made with a plant-based rennet. But when that became unavailable, they faced a choice.

"I wasn't comfortable with the company using a natural rennet the enzyme used to coagulate cheese from the intestine of a baby cow when the vegan one ran out, he says.

They ultimately decided to give up that part of the business, and became completely plant-based. I wasn't willing to be involved in the slaughter of animals.

He says they walked away from millions. "We saw a short-term drop in sales, but eventually it paid off.

Goldberg spent nearly 30 years building Earth Island. In that time, their products became available at grocery stores across the country and around the world. Their offerings helped spread the ubiquity of plant-based eating to a new generation that could now more easily access vegan food.

In 2020, Bob's long-time friend and business partner, Paul Lewin, unexpectedly passed away. "His passing was a big part of why I was ready to close that chapter of my life" says Goldberg "as it was something that we had done together for 50 years, and without him, it just wasnt the same". So in 2021, he sold Earth Island for an undisclosed amount to French food-product corporation Danone, famous for their yogurt, who also had a dairy-free division, including the plant-based milk alternative, Silk.

At the time, Goldberg felt like he had spent enough time at the factory. It was a good thing but it was just so big, he says. I wasnt having as much fun as the first ten years with the four partners behind the bar. I didnt know everyone on the staff anymore. I didnt know our customers, it was all big grocers. It wasnt the same personal experience.

Part of the sale required Bob to stay on at Earth Island/Danone for an extra year to help the transition, but now Bob is back where it all started at Follow Your Heart in Canoga Park.

He still has an eye to the future, seeing trends and wanting to be part of them.

"I have a sense, and a vision that Canoga Park is beginning a real renaissance of development, with the Rams building a training facility and Warner 2035. If you look around, this was an almost affordable area. Over the next twenty years it's gonna be very much in demand. Were hanging in there we want to be a part of the next phase.

Diners eat in the cafe at Follow Your Heart Market & Cafe in Canoga Park.

Brian Feinzimer

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LAist

They own the building across the parking lot, which still says Mr Jacks Wig Shop (which was never actually a business, just the set design from the movie Licorice Pizza).

In that space they are going to build out a bakery and a coffee roaster. We still have our wholesale bakery but we want to get into the retail side, says Goldberg.

When I visited Follow Your Heart to interview Goldberg recently, we had a lunch of plant-based Reubens. Afterwards, he gave me a copy of his 2020 book The Vegenaise Cookbook, Great Food Thats Vegan, Too and signed it To Josh my great new friend. Integrity is the answer.

For Goldberg, integrity means making sure that ones actions are congruent with ones beliefs. That you are living in your truth. And when you arent, those relationships get fractured. Integrity is what makes things cohere.

Kinda like Vegenaise.

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The OG Vegan: Bob Goldberg On Creating Vegenaise And Popularizing Plant-Based Eating - LAist

Vegan cafs, bakeries, and restaurants are a vital part of New York dining. Yet these establishments dont always get the coverage they merit. This series of stories this week by Mayukh Sen highlights immigrant-owned, plant-based eateries across the city and the people behind them.

Sommay Jaijong doesnt miss the frog curry she grew up eating as a girl. The perfumes of dill, lemongrass, and galangal would punch up a dish that she ate happily and often when she was growing up in a village in the Sisaket province in Thailands northeast.

Hers was a family of farmers. Vegetables and rice grew in abundance on the land, and meals that incorporated the snakes, rats, and grasshoppers roaming around her shaped her early palate.

Thats why we eat what food we have, Jaijong remembers one day. We cannot choose.

She looks back on these dishes fondly, but its been decades since shes had them. Jaijong, who goes by the name May Kaidee (May is her nickname, a variation of her given name, while she says that Kaidee means, roughly, good business in Thai), is the owner and proprietor of a constellation of vegan Thai restaurants spread across Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and New York (plus two cooking schools in Thailand).

New Yorks sole outpost of May Kaidee now on the Lower East Side (215 E. Broadway at Clinton Street) her first restaurant in the United States, which shes been operating since 2016, after her Thailand locations is tucked away in a basement with a karaoke machine in the back. Here, she serves coral-hued clumps of pumpkin hummus woven with coconut milk, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and turmeric; and specials like tuna salads made from soy protein alongside lettuce, Thai herbs, sticky rice, and cucumbers. (Beyond the restaurant named for herself, she also operates Chakra, a Thai vegan spot with Indian-inspired inflections, in the East Village.)

Jaijong wears a plum-purple flower in her hair and caparisons herself in village wear from the Isan region she once called home. She offers regular cooking classes, fruit carving classes, and dance classes at May Kaidee. She sees her restaurant as a vehicle for spreading the beauty of her homeland. Cooking, dancing, she says. I bring the culture.

Jaijong fell into restaurant work accidentally. As a child, shed wake up in the morning to hear cows and buffalo crooning around her. She didnt go to high school. Her mother would rise early to cook for the family, and Jaijong would pitch in.

She resigned herself to thinking farm work, which she loved, was all life would have to offer her until 1988, when an aunt of hers said she needed Jaijongs help. Her aunt had a food cart in Bangkok; the place didnt have a name, but it served vegan and vegetarian food. Jaijong jumped at the chance to go to the big city.

She was fifteen when she made her way to Bangkok, bringing essentials like her mosquito net and bedding. Once there, she put herself through her paces by doing prep work, like cutting vegetables. Though she didnt know a lick of English upon setting foot in the city, interacting with customers forced her to learn. Jaijong was cooking vegan food then boiled eggplants with basil, summer rolls, green curries with tofu and mushrooms but she wasnt vegan herself. She still loved the taste of chicken.

But Bangkok was a hectic change of pace for her compared to more regimented village life; the city never seemed to slumber. She was eating until midnight some nights, and this rhythm began to hamper her health.

By 1993, her aunt retired, leaving Jaijong to manage the business on her own. This new responsibility coincided with an increasing awareness of her bodys limits. When she ate fried rice with chicken, she would notice herself subconsciously moving the chicken to the side of her plate, as if her soul were trying to tell her something.

She started to realize that her constitution couldnt really withstand milk, either. Eggs upset her stomach, too, so she chucked those. She eliminated oyster sauce and fish sauce; soy sauce, sugar, and lime would suffice as flavoring agents. After ten years, she was fully vegan for reasons relating to her health.

Those years were boom times for her business: She upsized the original iteration from a humble cart to a more proper storefront, and then opened a second location in the city of Chiang Mai, in Thailands north.

One of those tourists was Eric Brent, founder of the website HappyCow, an online citadel for vegans. As Jaijong remembers it, he noticed that her restaurant didnt have a name, but he wanted to list it on the website. So she decided it would be christened after herself: May Kaidee.

Television appearances on Thai, French, and Canadian airwaves soon became routine for Jaijong. Her patrons begged her to write an English-language cookbook, and she obliged. (It was first published over two decades ago and has been reprinted twice; copies line shelves of the restaurant.) More locations spread throughout Bangkok, and one even in the neighboring country of Cambodia, would follow. This attention nudged her out of Thailand in the aughts as she began to tour the world cooking.

Soon enough, she was eyeing a global expansion. One of her Bangkok visitors, Jonathan Daniel now one of her three employees at this Manhattan location encouraged her to open in New York. With his help, she made the leap, moving to the city in 2016 and initially starting the restaurant near Murray Hill. She relocated to her current, larger place in 2018.

Even through the worst of it, Jaijong has prided herself on her restaurants resilience. It was a time when each of her locations in Southeast Asia closed for two years, though the New York satellite remained open for delivery.

Two of her restaurants in Thailand, one in Bangkok and the other in Chiang Mai, woke up again after the pandemic subsided. Jaijong has since resumed her work in spreading her vision of Thai vegan cooking full-throttle.

Jaijong doesnt worry about making gobs of money; she just wants to earn enough to pay for herself and for her employees to survive. Peace, she says, is more important than material luxury. After all, that quest for health however one may define that loaded word is what drew her to veganism in the first place.

When you have enough healthy, she says, You have enough.

Mayukh Sen is the author of Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America. He has won a James Beard Award for his food writing, and his work has been anthologized in three editions of The Best American Food Writing.

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A Vegan Thai Restaurant That Started as a Bangkok Street Cart - Eater NY

Spring is in the air and tiny vegan cinnamon rolls and other brightly colored treats just rolled out at national chain Cinnaholic.

Unilever-owned Breyers is stepping up its ice cream game with a new animal-free chocolate flavor made in partnership with Perfect Day.

Perhaps the biggest ice cream news of the week is Ben & Jerrys annual Free Cone Day, which gives fans a chance to try the companys new oat milk-based Strawberry Cheezecake flavor for free.

Read on for more.

When it comes to vegan burgers, wed say we have quite a lot of options to choose from. However, meatless steak is another story, and this week at trade show Expo West, Hong Kongs OmniFoods is wowing us with a mushroom-based steak thats perfect for a meaty meal.

Part of the Omni Garden series, the new Lion Manes Mushroom Steak highlights OmniFoods prowess in creating plant-based alternatives that dont skimp on the taste or texture meat lovers seek.

OmniFoods

Omni is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of plant-based food and delivering remarkable culinary experiences, David Yeung, Omni co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. We are thrilled to unveil the Lion Manes Mushroom Steak at Expo West, and we believe it will become the new generation of fungi innovation and revolutionize the way people perceive plant-based alternatives.

In addition to its new mushroom steak, OmniFoods is also introducing four new dessert bao flavors, including velvety molten chocolate, delicate matcha, luscious red bean, and fragrant black sesame.

For your coffee fix, two companies are working to bring dairy-free innovation to ready-to-drink lattes. Elmhurst just launched a line of creative lattes made with a blend of nut milk bases and its Arabica Cold Brew.

The lineup includes Pistachio Crme, with notes of vanilla and sweet cream alongside pistachio; Brown Sugar Oat, capturing the essence of a shaken espresso; Caramel Cashew, blending buttery caramel for a creamy sweetness; and Maple Walnut, a mix of maple syrup and toasted walnuts.

Tche, known for its pioneering pistachio milk, is also launching a pistachio latte this weekwhich will start shipping on March 19. Developed over two years with input from specialty coffee roasters, the Tche Pistachio Milk Latte aims to fill a market gap with a pistachio milk-based latte that prioritizes pistachios distinct taste for an innovative beverage with a balanced nutritional profile.

Breyers

If youre craving a little dessert, Unilever-owned Breyers has an exciting new flavor. While the company offers non-dairy flavors made with plant-based milk, its new Breyers Lactose-Free Chocolate is uniquely made with animal-free whey protein developed in partnership with Perfect Day.

This collaboration between Unilever and Perfect Day, a pioneer in creating whey protein through precision fermentation, is a major step towards more sustainable dairy alternatives. Perfect Days process mirrors cows whey protein in taste and function while drastically reducing environmental impacts, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 97 percent and blue water consumption by up to 99 percent.

Were grabbing the keys and heading immediately to Costco because meal delivery company Daily Harvest just launched its plant-based meals at the big-box retailer. Initially rolling out in 82 warehouses across 12 Midwest states, Daily Harvests first Costco offering is its most popular smoothie: the Strawberry + Peach Smoothie which features a blend of sweet and tart fruits, oats, and flax seeds.

Daily Harvest

This launch expands Daily Harvests physical retail presence, following its success in more than 1,000 Kroger family stores and recent additions to Wegmans and New Seasons Market.

If youre a Publix shopper, youll be pleased to know that plant-based meat company Abbots has recently made its debut at more than 1,300 locations of the grocery chain across eight states. This new availability brings Abbots chorizo, ground beef, and Fajita Chickn to the supermarket chain, offering shoppers a range of wholesome protein options made from a base of pea protein, mushrooms, and extra virgin olive oil.

Food is information; it can either heal or harm, Kerry Song, founder and CEO of Abbots, said in a statement. At Abbots, were deeply committed to crafting plant-powered proteins that not only taste absolutely delicious but give your body what it needs to thrive.

Abbots is also expanding its product line with a Whole Burger that is now hitting select Whole Foods Markets. Like other Abbots products, this new offering is made from wholesome ingredients, including vegetables, healthy fats, and superfoods like spinach, chia seeds, and flaxseeds. The Whole Burger features 22 grams of protein per patty and a unique blend of mushrooms, herbs, and spices for a satisfying taste and texture.

Abbots

We recognize a growing interest in wholesome options within the plant-based community, Kara Maloney, Category Merchant at Whole Foods Market, said in a statement. Our shoppers want to trust whats in their food, so it made sense to collaborate with Abbots on their launch of the Whole Burger.

This April at Whole Foods, you can also find Good Planet Foods latest additions: Sharp Cheddar and Smoked Gouda cheese slices, suitable for topping burgers or other dishes. These slices utilize olive oil as their base, providing an alternative for those looking for plant-based cheese options with lower saturated fat and cholesterol levels.

Since its Brooklyn, NY soft-serve shop opening in 2019, Urban Dessert Lab has been capturing our attention with its oat milk desserts with gooey centers covered in perfectly dispersed toppings. And we have good news for Los Angeles residents as the Black-owned family business has hopped across the country to open its second location in West Hollywood, CA.

Urban Dessert Lab

The new WeHo store features a mix of plant-based creations similar to the New York flagship, including artisanal soft serve; a Bakery Collection of cookies and other baked goods; brled croissants creatively coined Brlesants; and the signature deconstructed brled cake collection. Exclusive to the new WeHo location will be hard scoop ice cream.

Because West Hollywood is known as a creative, trendsetting, and community-driven area, we are excited to call WeHo our newest home, the duo said.

Cinnaholic

Whos ready for spring break? The bakers at Cinnaholic sure are with a new lineup that celebrates the seasons vibrant flavors and colors.

The vegan chain is rolling out specialty spring flavors, including the Lemonberry Crunch and Rainbow Sorbet Roll, which combines lemon cake frosting, fresh blueberries, lemonberry coffee cake bites, and crunchy almonds for a colorful and flavorful treat.

Also featured is the Rainbow Sorbet Roll, a zesty creation topped with citrus sorbet frosting, fresh strawberries, marshmallows, homemade key lime drizzle, and rainbow sprinkles.

For fun pastel hues, the Spring Break Baby Bun Box offers mini cinnamon rolls in pink strawberry, zesty orange, and purple frostings, all adorned with rainbow sprinkles. Additionally, the Lemonberry Coffee Cake brings a homemade touch with its lemon and blueberry filling, streusel topping, and lemon glaze.

St. Patricks Day celebrations get a sweet addition with the Over-the-Rainbow Baby Bun Box, featuring baby buns with shamrock green marshmallow frosting, Cnnadoodle pieces, marshmallows, and rainbow sprinkles. All of these seasonal offerings are available at Cinnaholics locations nationwide until May 1.

Ben & Jerrys

And if you love free ice cream (who doesnt?), mark your calendars for April 16. That day, Ben & Jerrys will host its annual Free Cone Day when you can go try the ice cream companys newest vegan flavor, Strawberry Cheezecake, made with creamy oat milk at scoop shops nationwide for free.

Free Cone Day originated in 1979 as a gesture of thanks from co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield to their community in Vermont, following a particularly harsh winter. The popular global event returned last year after a four-year hiatus and fans scooped up approximately 970,000 free ice cream cones.

This year, the company is challenging customers to beat its record by giving away one million free cones. Flavors vary by location and there is no limit to how many times you can hop back in line for a free cone. Were on it, Ben & Jerrys!

Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.

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Vegan Food News of the Week: Free Ben & Jerry's Cones, Animal-Free Breyers, and Mini Cinnamon Rolls - VegNews

Consumers and legislators in the EU are pushing for food production methods that neutralise carbon emissions. What impact will this have on food availability, costs, exports and imports? Lindi Botha asked Michal Wilde, director of Bionext in the Netherlands, a body that represents the organic food industry.

Do you foresee that food production in the Netherlands will decrease due to more stringent regulations from the Green Deal? Would it be a bad thing if it did? If we consume less meat and dairy products then it would be beneficial. Some 80% of our agricultural land is used to produce animal protein, of which most is feed for livestock.

This is not the most efficient way for us to get our protein and we are running into a lot of problems in the Netherlands as a result.

READ Get ready to profit from plant- and insect-based proteins

We have a huge problem where the soils are so full of nitrogen it is running off into the water systems. We are European champions in biodiversity loss and 99% of our water is polluted.

Although we are getting a lot of cheap food, the external effects are negative. We are all in agreement, including conventional farmers, that we need to change the way we grow and consume food.

The Green Deal stipulates that we need to reach a 50% reduction in pesticide use, and a 20% reduction in synthetic fertilisers by 2050. These are goals we are very happy about.

In the Netherlands, organic farmers make up 4% of the farming sector, and our goal is to get to 15% this year, and eventually 25% as per the Green Deals specifications. That leaves 75% of food production that can be farmed conventionally.

The whole transition to greener food production means that we need to rethink how we are producing food.

Not all the land on which we currently produce animal protein and feed for livestock can be transitioned to human food crops, but we need to be very critical of where we grow what.

Is it smart to be growing barley and oats to feed animals instead of making bread or other food for people? Importing soya from South America, where rainforests are being cut down, to feed our animals is not a smart way to produce food.

Consuming game meat from gazelles roaming the Karoo, on the other hand, has minimal environmental impact and would be a perfectly suitable protein source for South Africans.

Would the planned reduction of animal protein production in the European Union not lead to counter-balanced diets?

We should all be eating a more vegetarian and plant-based diet. Animal protein should be more of a luxury item that we eat a few times a week not every day in big quantities.

Some of the biggest problems we are seeing in the environment are as a result of animal farming. Animal husbandry is the largest emitter of emissions within the agriculture sector. Furthermore, we need to change our whole outlook on animals and how we treat them.

In 20 years time we are going to look back to the years we treated animals like we do today, considering what we know about what animals feel and their level of intelligence, and be appalled.

With regards to South Africa, Ive seen the portions of meat you eat its huge. As a human being, you dont need that amount of protein in one sitting. Ideally you should be having 100g of meat a few times a week, not every day.

If South Africans can just reduce the portions of meat they eat and include more salad it will already go a long way to greater sustainability.

In the Netherlands, this topic is front and centre and I realise that there are many more pressing issues in South Africa, but I would strongly advise South Africans to rethink their diets, especially those who can afford to do so.

Does organic farming not create more waste since there is more imperfect food being produced that has no market?

Organic is not just about not using pesticides to prevent damage to produce. Its about the whole approach to farming to work in harmony with nature. Its like a person that gets enough sleep, eats healthy and maintains overall health.

READ Making organic fruit farming work

The chances of you getting ill and being susceptible to viruses is less than if you spent your whole life in hospital on a food drip. We have seen that in farming systems where nature is in balance, plants are far healthier and more robust.

They can better withstand pests and diseases and so require far less chemical input. In organic livestock production, the veterinary costs are 50% less than conventionally farmed meat.

As a society we need to learn to accept a spot on an apple or avocado and not expect picture-perfect fruit if we want to reduce our waste.

Will organic farming make food more expensive? It will make food more valuable. Food is already expensive, but the full cost is not paid at the grocery store, but rather through the health system and taxation to be able to clean the water systems, invest in fighting climate change and mitigating its effects.

If we take into account what is causing climate change, like the production and use of synthetic fertilisers, we see the true cost of producing food, and then organic food, with its many benefits, does not seem that expensive at all.

We need to look at the value of food far more closely and ensure that those who cant afford healthy food can still have access to it.

But what needs to be addressed is people who dont want to pay 0,20 (R3,96) more for a kilogram of organic produce, but are flying around the world a few times a year to go on holiday, going to Starbucks for fancy takeaway cappuccinos.

This is the conversation I want to be having. Its not a black-and-white situation where people have the excuse that they cant afford to pay for organic food.

Then there is also the issue of food waste. We are throwing away one third of all the food we produce and this is an extremely bad situation.

When you dont have a big income and most of it needs to go to food then you dont throw any of it away.

But in the Netherlands, where food expenditure makes up 11% of household spending, throwing food away is done without much thought or concern.

The argument has been made that if the Netherlands decreased food production to meet climate goals, it would have no impact on food availability, only on the amount available for export. Do you think reducing exports is feasible?

There are two types of exports we are part of the EU and we export to our neighbours. I have no problem with that.

My problem is that rainforests in South America are being cut down to plant soya which we are then importing to feed our dairy cows, creating all the associated environmental problems in the Netherlands, and then exporting this milk as baby formula to China.

I would prefer that we rather take our expertise to China to set up factories there to produce formula for that market, using cow feed produced in that country.

READ Its time for SA to rethink its food security strategies

Then we dont have a problem that is created in South America and the Netherlands, all to feed Chinese babies.

The excuse of not wanting to reduce exports is often used by those who dont want to reform the agricultural system, because exports contribute to the countrys economy.

But we are not asking the farmers to stop producing food. We are asking them to switch to organic meat production, for example, which has 70% less nitrogen emissions and is better for animal welfare.

Organic farming does not pollute water systems, does not contribute to climate change and contributes to healthy soils. Those that are producing in organic systems should be getting higher prices so they can sustain production while protecting the environment.

But there needs to be political will for this to happen. Yes, there will be less milk if everyone switches to organic dairy farming, but if the farmer gets more per litre then it does not come with negative effects for the farmer.

If you look at the amount of cappuccinos people buy every day, if we were to switch to organic milk, which only costs 0,10 (R1,98) more per litre than conventional milk, it would reward the farmers and the environment, and the consumer would not be unnecessarily burdened.

So I am in discussion with the national trade authority in the Netherlands to get coffee outlets to switch to organic milk.

Some supermarkets here have announced they will only be selling organic potatoes. Some consumers say they want to be greener outside of the store, but when they enter, they somehow become a different person and then they dont want to pay for the greener option.

We cant expect much from consumers; instead we need to reduce their choice for buying non-green. Food companies are being accused of being part of the problem, so I expect that we will be seeing more food companies making procurement decisions like this in favour of the climate.

There are a lot of new innovations that will reduce methane emissions in livestock farming. Why is the focus then skewed towards reducing output?

This story is being held up by conventional farmers as an excuse not to change. Theyre saying, dont worry everyone, go back to sleep, technology will solve the problem.

But the problems are so big we need to take every avenue we can to bring down emissions.

If this technology really works, then great, but we still need to look at farming more sustainably.

should not happen is that we all go back to business as usual and then in 15 years time wake up again to the fact that we didnt do enough when we had the chance.

We cant just ignore the issue and trust the farmer to feed the right additives and employ the right technology to bring down emissions while not making any other changes to the way in which they are farming.

to say we will see any real progress if we dont address the core issue. Emissions are just less with organic farming, so why not just convert?

Change is difficult. There are all kinds of stages and challenges you face when you make drastic changes in your way of operating, and government needs to assist farmers in this transition in whatever way they can to make sure it happens.

The focus in Europe is on sustainability, whereas the focus in Africa is about availability and affordability. Climate emissions are of no concern to those struggling to feed themselves.

It is understandable that sustainability is not a big focus in Africa. When you look at Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, food availability is the most important priority; focusing on environmental issues would be the least important and only given attention when all the other needs are met.

The EU has done a lot to mess up the world socially, environmentally so we have a lot to account for. Its our responsibility to fix the problems.

READ The quest for healthy food

Many farmers in Africa are already part of the solution because they are farming in harmony with nature in extensive systems. To expect them to pay for climate change is unfair.

I agree that there is an arrogance in the West that we have now realised our mistakes and are preaching to everyone, telling them to get on board with the changes that need to be made to lower carbon emissions.

India has the worlds fastest-growing population, and although they are predominantly vegetarian, there is a shift towards meat consumption. To tell them now that they should not be eating meat to save the planet is pretty arrogant.

Yes, it would make a huge difference to emissions if China and India were not to increase meat consumption, but who are we to dictate, after we have been enjoying meat for all these years?

The discussion around organic farming can be polarising. What do you think is key to advancing this cause?

Collaboration between all stakeholders in the food industry is needed to realise our goals. The organic sector cant operate independently from the conventional farming sector.

If we dont collaborate with input suppliers, even those in the chemical industry, we will struggle to transform our food industry.

Farmer organisations, supermarkets, NGOs, government and the private sector need to work together to ensure all the supporting links in the chain are there.

The consumer side also needs to be involved because they need to realise that perfect food is harming the planet.

Produce comes in all shapes and sizes, and expecting everything to conform to packaging or our idea of what it must look like is not helpful.

In the Netherlands we talk about verbinding this means we bring people together from all sectors within the industry to the table.

It is no use being in a polarised position where all we do is say how bad conventional farming is, and how everyone should switch to organic. We need to be involved in mainstream discussions, otherwise organic will never become mainstream.

Email Michal Wilde at [emailprotected].

The rest is here:

Is organic farming the solution to fight food insecurity? - Farmer's Weekly SA