Let’s face it: Many of us who are neither vegetarian nor vegan have a hard time considering giving up our favorite, yet sometimes unhealthy, foods.
Consuming mostly fresh fruit and vegetables, and refusing to eat any meat or dairy products may seem like extremely foreign and far-fetched dietary routines to many. To some, tofu is seen as a peculiar piece of spongy nothingness that those of us who are used to eating meat, poultry, and seafood have no interest in digesting. Yet these are some of the eating habits that are practiced daily by vegetarians and vegans worldwide.
These healthwise, natural food enthusiasts have made the lifestyle changing decision to eliminate certain foods from their diets in order to stay healthy. A new vegetarian and vegan group has formed in Elk Grove to educate people about the benefits of choosing a plant-based diet.
The Elk Grove Vegetarian Society (EGVS) will offer information, share stories, and participate in cooking demonstrations that will reveal new ways to make tasty vegetarian and vegan meals.
Nearly 15 members of the group recently gathered at Loving Hut Vegan Cuisine in Laguna to conduct their first meeting around a table of the restaurant’s most popular meals. “I’ve been waiting for someone to create a group like this in Elk Grove for 35 years…so I decided to start one myself,” said Dinah Withrow, the group’s organizer. She began to browse the Internet to find a local group to network with that would help her launch the Elk Grove chapter.
After noticing many different worldwide vegetarian groups online, she ran across the Sacramento Vegetarian Society’s website and contacted the group’s president, Glenn Destatte, who began to assist her along the way. He became a “98 percent vegan” six years ago after watching the movie, Fast Food Nation, a no-holds-barred look at the fast-food industry that reveals “the dark side of the All-American meal.”
Destatte only consumes dairy products in rare circumstances where his choice for receiving a “nondairy” meal is an obstacle. “I decided to change my diet for health reasons after seeing how badly animals were treated,” he said. EGVS member Jerry Fessler is a retired doctor who specializes in family medicine.
He spoke of his decision to become a vegetarian. “Seeing what the cattle industry does in feeding the animals motivated me to make the change,” he said. “The whole process showed me that they’re making a dollar by basically turning cows into pigs.” Fessler said that there are many medical benefits to becoming a vegetarian - including lowering the risks of many diseases such as cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, and obesity.
He mentioned that he lost 10 pounds soon after becoming a vegetarian. “Now I can eat how much I want without struggling with gaining weight,” he said. Ricky Lee is also a member of the EGVS who mentioned the importance of his choice to become a vegan.
“At an early age I recall thinking that killing animals and then eating them couldn’t be right,” he said. “I was 12 years old when I was eating chicken at the family table wondering ‘Why are we eating this?’…I was told that it was good for me.” He added, “I kept making excuses of why eating meat was okay until I decided to become vegan 30 years ago.” Withrow said that it was her daughter - a vegan who specializes in vegan cuisine - who inspired her to drop meat completely and focus on a vegetable-rich diet. “I never ate much meat…even before I became a vegetarian,” said Withrow, who is originally from the Philippines where having meat with a meal was seen as a very rare treat.
“Many people think that becoming a vegetarian means that you will have to eat tasteless meals,” she said. “That is completely untrue.” Withrow mentioned that cooking with different seasonings like garlic, soy sauce, and fresh lemon juice would add a flavorful zing to the meals. She said that in addition to tofu, beans, Portobello mushrooms, and asparagus can all be used as alternatives to meat. “Our group will often have cooking demonstrations at our meetings to show people that vegetarian meals can actually be tasty,” Withrow said.
In addition to the demonstrations, the EGVS’s meetings will include presentations by local nutritionists and dieticians. The group will be meeting on the third Thursday of each month. For more information on joining the EGVS, and for exact locations and times for future meetings, contact Withrow via email at dinahc@comcast.net.
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