The Vegetarian Alliance

Welcome to The Vegetarian Alliance!

The purpose of this site is to bring together and educate people on the benefits of being vegetarian or vegan and provide a community for those dedicated to the cause.

If you are vegetarian, vegan or just curious about the lifestyle, you can use this site to educate yourself and others, meet new people, and share tips, stories, recipes and advice with others. Help us tell the world that one of the best ways to help the planet, achieve a healthy body and save animals from cruelty is to simply change your diet.

We will be adding new events and info, so check back often!

What is a Vegetarian?

A Vegetarian is a person who's diet excludes all meat and fish. Some vegetarians also replace all dairy products with substitutions such as soy milk, soy or rice icecream, egg replacers and soy cheese. They may also choose to refrain from wearing clothing made of fur or leather.

What is a Vegan?

A Vegan is a person who's diet excludes all food, items and ingredients that contain animal products or by-products. Some of the items excluded from the diet are dairy, eggs, and honey. A Vegan will also avoid products containing silk, wool, leather, fur and down feathers.

How do I become Vegetarian?

The transition can be difficult at first, and you may choose to phase out meat instead of going cold turkey (no pun intended). Either way you choose, make sure you do some research and learn about all the different food options you have and the benefits. There are many books and websites with useful information on vegetarianism...use them! Be sure to have variety in your diet and that it is well balanced. Make a plan and stick to it. Don't be discouraged by the comments made by others...they will come around once they see how healthy and happy you are.

Why go vegetarian?

The benefits to becoming a vegetarian are immense. Whether you do it for the health benefits, for ethical or enviromental reasons, the result is the same…better health, reduction in greenhouse gases and saving animal’s lives is just the beginning! Let’s start with the health benefits:

• With proper exercise and a vegetarian diet your body will naturally regulate it’s weight (as long as you do not have any circumstances preventing this…thyroid problems, for example). Yoga and vegetarianism are a great combination for achieving this. Visit www.rayhoytyoga.com for more info on yoga.
• You will feel lighter and more energetic.
• Vegetarians are 40% less likely to get certain cancers related to meat-eating (colon and prostate cancer, for example).
• The risk of heart disease and strokes drops about 50%.
• Mucus that forms in the throat and nasal passages is reduced or eliminated with the elimination of dairy products.
• Lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
• Vegetarians have been found to have stronger immune systems.
• Lower risk of osteoporosis, Alzheimer's and asthma.
• Life expectancy is 6 to 10 years longer than that of a meat-eater.

Ok, now let’s look at the ethical and enviromental reasons:

• Reduce the demand for factory farming and the horrible animal cruelty that is associated with mass producing meat and dairy.
• Reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants – Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions and 64% of ammonia emissions which contribute to acid rain.
• Farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population of the United States. This contributes to water pollution, air contamination and the destroying of top soil.
• Animal production is highly inefficient. Animals raised for food use up 70% of the grain, 80% of the agricultural land and nearly 50% of the country’s water supply in the United States alone.
• The average vegetarian save about 95 animal lives a year.

Don't think you can give up meat?

If you like the idea of becoming vegetarian but just can't live without your favorite meat dishes, try the following meat substitutions. They come real close to tasting like the real thing without the animal cruelty or damaging your health:

• Nate's Italian Style Meatless Meatballs
• Quorn Chik'n Nuggets (great for the kids!)
• Quorn Garlic and Herb Chik'n Cutlet
• LightLife Smart Stuffers
• LightLife Gimme Lean Sausage
• LightLife Smart Ground Soy Crumbles
• Morning Star Ground Meatless Burger (try it in American Chop Suey, pasta sauce or Shepherds Pie)
• Boca Italian Sausage (great with fried onions & peppers or in pasta)
• Veggie Patch Veggie Dogs
• Boca Flame Grilled Meatless Veggie Burgers
• Quorn Meatless Chik'n Tenders (perfect for stirfry or kebabs)
• Yves Veggie Brats
• Yves Deli Slices
• Yves Lemon Herd Chicken Skewers (great for grilling)
• Yves Pepperoni Slices (great on Amy's Soy Cheese Pizza)

 And if you are looking for dairy replacements of your favorite foods, try these:

• Silk Soy Milk (this comes in chocolate too!)
• Silk Live! Soy Yogurt
• Purely Decadent Soy Ice Cream (dairy free) from Turtle Mountain
• Green & Blacks Organic Chocolate (both vegetarian and vegan chocolate available and it's delicious!)

Events and Announcments

Check here often for updates on events and announcements around the globe. If you have an event you would like people to know about, send an e-mail to tdamon@vegetarianalliance.com listing the name, date, time, location and a brief description of the event.

JANUARY 25th - Northern Connecticut Vegetarian Society's Vegan Potluck at 5pm. For more info visit www.northctveg.org

JANUARY 31st - 2nd Annual Vegan Chili Cookoff from 2pm-5pm at 88 Nassau Street in Toronto, ON. For more info visit http://leftfeet.ca/splash.html

MARCH 7-8th - Whole Health Expo at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Northampton, MA. For more info and additional expo dates click here

MARCH 28-29th - Green Festival at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. For more info and additional dates/locations visit http://www.greenfestivals.org/

JUNE 12-14th - 31st Annual Harmony Festival at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, CA. For mor info visit http://www.harmonyfestival.com/

JULY 8th-12th - 35th Annual NAVS Vegetarian Summerfest at the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown, PA. For more info visit http://vegetariansummerfest.org/

AUGUST 16th - Tour d'Organics Bike Ride starting at the Sebastopol Community Center, 390 Morris Street in Sebastopol, CA. Registration closes August 9th. Organic, whole foods are available at every rest stop and a vegan meal will be provided after the ride. For more info click here