Bay Area Vegetarians Events

03/13/10 - Food for Thought Book Club: Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisnitz - canceled

Bay Area Vegetarians has two book clubs; "The Vegan Book Club" reading fiction books, and this one, the "Food For Thought Book Club", reading primarily nonfiction books on the topics of vegetarianism, animal rights, and nutrition. While our sister book club, the Vegan Book Club may be full, we, The Food for Thought Book Club, welcome new members to join us. As a general guideline, everyone is welcome to join us (both veg & non-veg), and we especially encouraging aspiring and new veg*ns to join us.

We are a supportive, low-key, and friendly group. Please note, in consideration of others, including our animal friends, all food and drink consumed during book discussions are vegan.

This month's selection Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisnitz

From google books

"What started out, with a single complaint about a Florida slaughterhouse turned into a tale of intrigue and suspense as investigator Gail A. Eisnitz unearthed more startling information about the meat and poultry Americans consume. This shocking story follows Eisnitz as she becomes submerged in a slaughterhouse subculture, venturing deeper and deeper into the lives of the workers. As the stakes become higher in her David-and-Goliath-type battle, this determined young woman finds herself courageously taking on one of America's most powerful industries. Slaughterhouse takes readers on a frightening but true journey from one slaughterhouse to another throughout the country. Along the way we encounter example after example of mistreated animals...intolerable working conditions...lax standards...the slow, painful deaths of children killed as a result of eating contaminated meat...the author's battle with the major television networks...and a dangerously corrupt federal agency that chooses to do nothing rather than risk the wrath of agribusiness...before the whole affair is blown wide open in this powerful expose. In an effort to understand how such rampant violations could occur right under the noses of U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors - the individuals charged with enforcing humane regulations in slaughterhouses - Eisnitz examines the inspectors' track record for enforcing meat and poultry safety regulations, their primary responsibility. Following a long paper trail, she learns that contaminated meat and poultry are pouring out of federally inspected slaughterhouses and, not surprisingly, deaths from foodborne illness have quadrupled in the United States in the last fifteen years....."

Please check your local library for this book, and check it out -- keep great books like this in circulation in public libraries.

Time: 1 pm
Location: Vegi Food, 2085 Vine Street, Berkeley
RSVP: Please RSVP by clicking on the host's name above.

If you can't make this discussion, but would like to join us for a future book, please stay-tuned for an upcoming announcement to the monthly newsletter or SFBAVEG mailing list.

03/13/10 - Have a Heart, Go Veg Leafleting with the Leprechauns!

more photos

Have a Heart, Go Veg Leafleting!

If your goals for 2010 include...
-making the world a kinder place
-meeting new people
-getting out more
-making time for fun and yummy vegan food

then Have a Heart, and Go Veg Leafleting

Parades are great to leaflet as there is crowd queued and waiting, and they enjoy receiving materials to read as they wait. We'll be leafleting a parade in SF that celebrates a favorite Irish holiday and tradition .... and it's fitting that it's color is also GREEN!

Parade route is 2nd and Market to Civic Center Plaza and there will be crowds along the entire route. Ideally we will have one group of people meet at EACH end of the parade to start leafleting, and we will meet in the middle.

Parade starts at 11:30, so we'll gather beforehand to get setup.

Meeting Location/Time:
-Leafleters - we'll meet at 10:15 am at 2nd & Market Street, SF (in front of Citibank)
-Cart Wranglers (need one or two): we'll meet at 10:00 am at my car (a couple blocks from the main meeting location)
BART - use the Montgomery St station

Last year, we distributed 1500 leaflets! In one hour! Please join us again.

Too shy to leaflet? We also need 2 volunteers to help push the carts!

Note: We have only a small window to leaflet before the Parade actually starts so it's VERY important to show up on time.

RSVP: Please click on my name above to RSVP, please include your cellphone # and I will confirm all RSVPs with my cellphone.
-Please indicate "YES" if you are a definite, or a "Maybe" if you are interested but not sure.
-RSVPs are important because we need accurate RSVPs to forecast how much literature to bring.

Vegan Food: After leafleting, we'll enjoy good food & fellowship over vegan vittles at one of SF's vegetarian restaurants (the closest is Ananda Fuara, at Civic Center, or we could hop on BART to Herbivore or Cha Ya in the Mission)
--If you can't attend the dinner, then just join us for the leafleting. If you can't make the leafleting, we'll be doing this another time, so maybe you can join us then.

Rain cancels!

Important Leafleting cirumstances are dynamic, and we may change locations or leafleting routes spontaneously. So it's important to meet at the starting location promptly. We encourage taking public transit when possible and allow yourself a few extra minutes so you're at our start point by the designated time.

03/21/10 - Vegan Book Club Discussion

The Vegan Book Club, established in January 2006, gathers on 8 Sundays a year for informal discussions of a pre-selected book. Unlike other book clubs, vegan refreshments that everyone can enjoy will be part of the experience. The 8 books discussed in this group are usually fiction and occasionally general non-fiction.

There is a separate section of the book club, formed by Tammy, that meets 6 times a year, called the Food for Thought Book Club, that discusses vegetarian/animal rights books.

The Vegan Book Club meetings are generally full. We're therefore encouraging alternates and newly interested people to form other section(s) of the Bay Area Vegetarians Book Club, but it may be possible for new people to attend certain meetings of our section: The Vegan Book Club. Please let Lisa know if you're interested by contacting her. (click on Lisa's name above and she will receive an email with your message)

Note, the Food for Thought Book Club is a separate group, and is accepting new members. Please look for their separate event listings and contact the organizer if you're interested.

Book: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
(If not listed, please visit the Book Club discussion forum to review what book is currently being discussed and which books are scheduled for future discussions.)

Decisions about books and meeting places will be determined at meetings and you can also post your ideas in the forum. If you've been following our book club thread at http://bayareaveg.org/forum/ under the category BAVeg Book Club, I've edited my own posts there to reflect the changes in books, meeting times & places, and the number of members that we will accept.

Keeping the meetings to a limited number of participants and eating while we talk should make the meetings more informal and enjoyable, and will allow for full participation by all attendees.

Please check out the web site. You should find answers to all of your questions there:
http://www.bayareaveg.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=49

FYI: Regular members and those seriously interested in keeping informed about and who want to contribute to the discussion about our schedule, will be asked to join (if they are not yet members) www.goodreads.com in order to get access to our message board site at:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/102.BAVeg_Vegan_Book_Club

This has been a fun activity for those who have participated in our meetings to date, and it's a terrific opportunity to to join others who enjoy reading, eating vegan food, and meeting other vegans/vegetarians/interested people.

03/27/10 - Secrets of Vegan Baking: The Chocolate Trio

The Secrets of Vegan Baking Class

Have you ever wondered, "Is it possible to bake rich and delicious Vegan Desserts without dairy or eggs"? Have you ever tried to bake without dairy or eggs and found that your desserts did not come out right?

Learn the secrets of baking amazing desserts without dairy and eggs! Desserts that taste so rich and delicious that you will be raving about them for years to come.

In this class, you will learn the secrets of baking perfect chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cream-cheese bundt cake, and chocolate hazelnut torte.

What: Secrets of Vegan Baking: The Chocolate Trio
Where: Whole Foods, 1010 Park Place, San Mateo (directions)
Please plan to arrive by 12:45 to check-in and enjoy tea/coffee and vegan treats. Class to start promptly at 1pm.

Registration - Register directly through Bay Area Vegetarians for this class.

Register

Pre-registration is required to reserve your space. Once your registration is received, you will receive a confirmation including directions. You are considered a tenative sign-up until payment is received.
CLASS LIMIT: 22 participants. Walk-ins will be accommodated as space permits.

Christine's classes get rave reviews. "After we tasted the cookies and cake at class we knew we found something special. It seems to me that you have a rare gift and I hope that you continue to experiment and find ever more wonderful desserts that vegans can enjoy and feel proud to serve their non-vegan friends."

[ Register online or by mail today ] To read more about the Secrets of Vegan Baking classes, visit the SecretsOfVeganBaking.com.

***Thank you to Whole Foods for generously offering their kitchen and ingredients to Secrets of Vegan Baking instructor Christine Dickson and Bay Area Vegetarians.

03/27/10 - Vegan Pizza Party at Amici's

Vegan Pizza Party at Amici's East Coast Pizzeria
69 E 3rd Avenue, San Mateo 94401

Gather at 4 pm, order at 4:30 pm

We welcome all pizza lovers to join us, especially vegans and vegetarians who have not yet tried the vegan Daiya cheese. And, we're always interested in meeting folks interested in organizing and leading activities group activities.

About the restaurant: Amici's pizza sauce and crust are already vegan, and they do not charge anything extra to use the vegan cheese instead of dairy. They are offering the vegan Daiya cheese at their 12 restaurant locations (Cupertino, Danville, Dublin, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Redwood City, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo, San Rafael, and Vacaville).

Daiya is one of the latest vegan mozzarella cheeses to enter the marketplace. It melts, and has that somewhat familiar stringy texture, and best of all -- no baby calves were deprived of their mother's milk to produce it.

Their menu features the Asanté pizza, with Daiya vegan cheese, baby spinach, broccoli, red onions, tomatoes, and fresh basil (no tomato sauce). It's especially delicious with the complimentary fresh garlic. And, of course, it's easy to customize a pizza to be vegan with typical toppings most pizzerias offer (i.e. pineapple, olives, mushrooms, etc).

About the dinner: One large pizza (8 slices) can feed 3 averagely-hungry adults or 2 pizza-loving adults. To be fair to everyone, we'll split the cost of the pizza based on number of slices people want (so someone eating 4 slices will pay twice as much as someone wanting 2 slices), and folks pay for their own drinks and any other extra items they order, such as garden salads.

While only vegan foods are eaten at BAVeg group events, everyone (vegan and non-vegan) are invited to attend. Particularly if you're curious about the vegan pizza but didn't want to order a whole one on your own.

Logistics
Gather: 4:00 pm
Order: 4:30 pm

RSVPs are requested. Please RSVP by clicking on hosts' name above if you would like to be seated with the group. RSVP deadline - Wedn 3/24.
-- If your plans change and you're unable to make it, cancellations are appreciated. Or if it's very late, call the restaurant and ask that a message be relayed to the host. No-shows are strongly discouraged from BAVeg events.

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Please support dining at exclusively vegetarian and vegan restaurants. (If you need a list, please visit the Ultimate Guide. You can also purchase "Vegetarian Bay Area: The Ultimate Guide", a handy vegetarian travel guide for locals and tourists.)
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Okay, we love pizza and vegan pizza with cheese .. so we have made an exception! :-)