SoulVeggie

Book Review: "Off the Reservation" or "Hail to the Vegan President?"

Give or take a few wks., I've been vegan for 14 yrs. last month, and 20 yrs. vegetarian before that.  It started out as a spiritual/physical health "experiment," and evolved to incorporate environmental and animal rights issues.

For many, being vegan is a lifestyle choice, and not just a diet that omits meat, dairy, eggs, and honey (etc.).  For them it is an all-encompassing philosophy of how one live their life, relates to other living entities, and respects our common local and global environment. 

For those of us who've gone down this path, it hasn't always been easy.  In my earlier years, harassment or ridicule was often the case.  So-called nutritional authorities, food corporations, and even our government, seemed to co-conspire to make our lives as vegans a living hell of having to defend ourselves at every turn and go hungry at restaurants.

I can't imagine there isn't a self-professed vegan living who hasn't at one time or another, wondered what it would be like if the President of the United States (or an individual running for that office), was a true vegan.  How many of us were impressed, maybe even thrilled, when vegan Congressman Dennis Kucinich threw his hat into the Presidential race?  How many of us hoped that the values he expressed as a vegan would translate into better and more rational governmental policies?   

Even though he's not President, how many of us take pride in Bill Clinton has been trying hard to maintain a vegan diet?  How many of us didn't ponder on how the media and general population would respond to a philosophical approach and lifestyle so diametrically opposed to the average in this country?

The very talented author Glen Merzer has addressed these issues, and done so with creative flair, acute insight, and small measures of whimsy and wit scattered throughout.  His new novel, "Off the Reservation," could have been full of stereotypes, predictable confrontations, and a godawful lot of preaching.

Instead, he's accomplished a masterful feat of presenting a touching, moving, thought-provoking and intriguing story of the first vegan to win his party's Presidential nomination and the consequences before and after this unusual feat.  Glen wisely avoids the direct issue of diet until well into the story.  I write "wisely," as at first I was puzzled as to "why?"

Upon more reflection, I realized it was, in part I believe, because a person's diet shouldn't be an issue (something any vegan can fully relate to).  His political philosophies and rational reactions to political chaos and the governing of this country ARE the issues that are important.  In this day and age of a 24/7 news cycle and faster-than-light social media, the focus is often on the ephemeral and superficial, which is alluded to throughout the campaign.

It's a smart and subtle approach to the lead character, Evan Gorgoni.  A reader learns more about the man from his speeches, interviews, private introspections, and approach to running for office (originally deciding to not run for Congress again and go back to teaching), then realizing that he had deeper responsibilities and potentialities.  We learn much more about the man by the context of his life than a quick stereotype related to what he does and doesn't eat: 

"Congressman Gorgoni, why haven't you been open with the American people about your dietary inclinations?"

"I never imagined it was relevant.  If I get elected, I thought they'd be playing Hail to the Chief, not Hail to the Chef." (p. 158) 

A smart read, Glen's done his homework on parsing out the true solutions to the REAL problems besetting this country (and indeed, the world in general).  Simple answers to complex issues as posed in one debate denote an almost zen-like ability to break difficult issues into easy to, well, swallow solutions.  Throughout this book Evan remains steadfastly true to his internal integrity, despite intense differences of opinion with some of his closest friends, advisors, and family.

I don't want to be a spoiler to anyone not having read this marvelous novel.  However, it wouldn't spoil any surprises to note that one of the climaxes to this odessy is aptly entitled "The Speech."  Here are a few selected passages from Gorgoni's nomination acceptance speech (given off the cuff without a teleprompter).  It is awesome in scope, depth, and vision.  I urge Glen to release it as a standalone for printed and social media.  I'm only barely scratching the surface of this seriously amazing tome with the following excerpts: 

"...Folks, the time has long since come to declare an end to the age of ideology.  It is, quite frankly, a nuisance.  Let us stop thinking of ourselves as liberals or conservatives, Democrats or Republicans, hawks or doves, Keynesians or supply-siders, cat people or dog people, right-brained or left-brained, and let us remind ourselves that we are all human beings standing on a planet that is spinning on its axis and revolves around the sun.  Spinning and revolving.  Think of that.  It will be hard for many in Washington to understand this, but it is possible to do two things at once..." (p. 115)

 "...President Clinton famously said, 'it's the economy, stupid.'  I say, it's the food, stupid.  We need to eat healthier foods, and stop being the sickest, fattest population ever to walk the face of the earth.  Of course our health costs continue to skyrocket on a diet so extraordinarily rich, so dangerously high in fat, so preposterously high in sugars, and so tragically low in nutrients.  We can't go on eating the same lousy food and imagine that we will be saved by drugs and interventions.  That again is an arrogant fantasy. The elegant solution is always the the simplest one.  Eat healthy food..." (p. 117)

"...Our government has been in the business for generations now of subsidizin precisely the farmers who grow our unhealthiest food with the highest demands for water and energy.  That costs needs to stop now..." (p. 119)

"...I say to you with deep conviction in my soul, let us do away, totally, irreversibly, and permanently, with leaf blowers.  What a foul, execrable piece of machinery tht is.  To state what should be obvious to all, no human being should make his living wearing an internal combustion engine strapped onto his back.  It simply makes no sense to burn fossil fuels for the purpose of blowing leaves from one yard to the next..." (p. 121)

"...It's an age-old battle.  Greed versus decency.  Ignorance versus reason.  Intolerance versus inclusion.  Fear versus love.  I have chosen my side.  You have Election Day to choose yours..." (p. 131) 

"The Speech" is full of amazing raw, clarifying, and indisputable truths that are so often obfuscated or ignored by mainstream and social media.  Rational, connecting, and important perspectives on important issues generally not shown on TV.

It's obvious that Glen has put a tremendous amount of soul searching and effort into this thought-provoking and unique novel.  Even as he's been behind the scenes, so to speak, in co-authoring the landmark books "The Mad Cowboy" and "No More Bull!" with Howard Lyman, as well as "Food Over Medicine" with Dr. Pam Popper, "Unprocessed," with Chef AJ, and more books than I can list here, he's obviously been absorbing a lot of ideas and knowledge, and in this wonderful novel, steps up to the plate and hits a solid home run.

I will most likely read this book a second time, which doesn't happen to often these days.  The amount of subtleties, deep concepts, the underlying messages, and ideas presented are well worth re-visiting.  Again, "The Speech" alone, is worth the price of admission.

Oh, and I'd be remiss in not mentioning that the meals eaten by Evan and his family mentioned in the novel are presented as actual recipes by Glen's wife in a second section of the book.  How clever!  Another example of the creativity, thoughtfulness, and desire to help us all learn, think, and eat better for ourselves and our planet.

Kudos, Glen!  I recommend this novel highly.  It is not so much a "vegan" novel as it is a true inspiring "call to arms" and a rallying cry for rational approaches to solving society's (and indeed, our planet's) most serious problems.  A thoughtful thought experiment that explores the question of what if a truly rational politician ran for the highest office in the land.

And the amusing digs at a few prominent media commenters are also great sport (Chris Matthews beware).  Glen's sense of humor shows throughout this speculative journey.  Buy a copy and enjoy the ride!

BTW: "Off the Reservation" would make a great movie (hint to any smart producer out there....).

----------------

The website:

www.offthereservationnovel.com

Book available in print & e-book at:

http://bit.ly/OffTheReservationNovel 

The author on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/GlenMerzerAuthor

Short video of author speaking about being veg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD1NoGqL-q0

Victoria Moran Interview: Happy Cow, Jill Nussinow, & Me

Victoria Moran ("Main Street Vegan") interviewed Eric Brent (Happy Cow), myself (Heart Healthy Pizza), and Jill Nussinow (aka, "The Veggie Queen" and author of the cookbooks "CHAMPs" & "The New Fast Food") just over a week ago.  I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Eric and Jill, and my session with Victoria covered much more than my book (my relationship with Howard Lyman, aka, "The Mad Cowboy," diet, nutrition, yadda).  The audio of the interview is now available at the link below as a streaming file or a downloadable mp3.  Enjoy!  I hope to do it again with Ms. Moran... she's quite articulate, interesting, and knowledgable.  There are many excellent interviews in her archive, which I highly recommend.

The Interview entitled "Food, Glorious Food" here!

 

The "Healthy Librarian Interview"

The Healthy Librarian has been an inspiration to me for years, and constantly impresses with analysis and interpretation of current studies on nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.

A little over a year ago she interviewed me, and it was long.  Since then, our lives have been quite busy and she was unable to finish the project.  Over the past couple of weeks, I've been able to complete the work and just now posted the results.  She asked some great questions that I've not been asked before in a public forum.  We talked about my relationship with Howard Lyman (the Mad Cowboy), my diet, my youth/family, many aspects about my book, how I came up with my "non-cheese" sauces and why I wrote the 1st vegan pizza cookbook, my screwing with the FDA, interacting with various vegan cookbook authors, and much much more.

Here's the primary link to the, admittedly, long interview (broken down into 4 parts). 

http://www.hearthealthypizza.com/14_0223_HHLMSSiview01.html

I've embedded many hyperlinks to make it easy to learn more about what we were talking about.  It's the most detailed and informative interview I've ever given, and might be of interest.

A great experience... she's an impressive soul, and gave me full permission to post this all.  

Thanks, Deb!

Enjoy!

 

The "Go Vegan Radio" Interview!

My 1st National Radio Interview w/Bob Linden on "Go Vegan Radio" is now available for streaming or an MP3 download:

http://www.goveganradio.com/2013/12/11/8-december-2013/

It was a great experience, although the 5 minutes on, 4 minutes of commercials (cut out in these audios, 'cept for a plug or two by Bob), 5 minutes back on, 4 minutes of commercials, etc., threw me initially.  I was honored that the previous speaker, Dr. Gary Francione, well-known academic and animal rights activist, mentioned that he just bought my book and was excited to receive it!  So cool.  Gary ends his bit mentioning my book around 42:11 and Bob segues into my interview.

Many thanks to Bob for the opportunity, and to Gary for really making my day!

P.S. - you can get an autographed sent to you at a special Holidaze Discount here.

"The Devolution of Thanksgiving" - my lecture to Olgethorpe University

"My recent lecture. The History of Thanksgiving, fasting/prayer, corporate excess, the modern turkey, the kitchen as a biohazard laboratory, a no-fat plant-based diet, veganism, metabolic syndrome (heart disease, type II diabetes, alzheimer's disease, etc.), pesticides, gmos, advice for dealing with Thanksgiving, and a host of other related issues.  Roughly a 35 minute talk, and I cut loose a bit in the subsequent 30 minute Q&A.

This slideshow accompanying the audio (the lecture was given via Skype) was a quick'n'dirty assembly of related images to the topics I was discussing.  By no means comprehensive, they seem to augment the whole experience." 

"A Vegan Should Be Able To...."

A re-post from 2007.

2007.10.11

A Vegan Should Be Able To:

The following is one of my all-time favorite quotes ('cept the hog bit).  In mentioning it to a friend yesterday, I had intended to just post it on this blog without much comment:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." ---Lazarus Long in "Time Enough For Love," by Robert Heinlein.

However, upon reflection, I thought maybe I could write a quick "vegan" version.  Normally I'd wait a day or more to review and re-edit, but we're having an extended harvest due to warm weather and I've too much else "on my plate" (actually, the 50lbs. of tomatoes are in boxes on the floor).  So, here it is as it is for now:

"A vegan should be able to:  press a block of tofu, roast vegetables, sprout beans, grains, and seeds, grow vegetables and herbs from seed, harvest lettuce or greens, water or pressure can produce, bake homemade bread, create a stir-fry from scratch in a friend's kitchen, boil three kinds of grains successfully without a recipe, make seitan, saute stuff without using oil, use rice or soy milk to make a thickened sauce, own a crockpot, blend a good pesto, eat a variety of colors every day, wash salad greens, mix an ad-hoc low-fat salad dressing, cook more than two kinds beans and grain dishes, know three types of "egg replacers" for recipes, use nutritional yeast, list plant sources of Omega 3 and calcium, suggest alternatives to ingredients on a restaurant's menu, answer the question "why are you vegan?" or correct the protein myths in 30 seconds or less, identify trans-fats and "hidden" dairy products on labels, comprehend what "calores from fat" means and why that's important, cite some environmental statistics regarding factory farming and modern food production when asked in line at the supermarket, remember at least three websites to recommend for aspiring vegans or vegetarians, vocalize the problems with dairy and cheese if asked to, have listened to or seen at least one talk by Howard Lyman, summarize Dr. Cauldwell Esselstyn's research and McDougall's Diet recommendations, have read a NotMilk column by Robert Cohen, have attended a Veg'n'-related Conference, design a flyer, write a convincing "letter to the editor," laugh often and for the right reasons, stop and smell some flowers, listen gracefully, be non-judgemental as much as possible, encourage all healthy eating habits, never stop learning, do volunteer work for a worthy cause, help build relationships in the veg'n community where you live, make love often, be polite to your carnivorous friends and family members, place a small footprint in the environment, then ultimately die peacefully with the knowledge that you made a difference..." --- Mark Sutton

Feel free to pass it around, but please include @2007 by Mark Sutton, and the address of this blog with the quote.  Thanks!

 

Audio: Orson Welles Meets "Vegan World"

Dr. Don Wagner and I did an "Orson Welles War of the Worlds" in a radio interview last week, with the concept of "what if the world went vegan last night?" 

It was quite the improv experience. 1st few minutes, my book, the rest, a "thought experiment" in real-time on what the implications would be for the planet and global society.  Apparently, some listeners actually thought it had happened and went looking online social media for reference to the event!

It's about 45 minutes streamed or as an MP3 audio download:

Don and I had talked about the possibility the night before, and I said, "sure, you lead, I'll follow."  We were basing the idea upon a recent blog anniversary essay I wrote, "While You Were Sleeping..." 

A wild ride ensued.  We covered, among other things, farm animals, Global  Climate Change, water, companion animals and cancer, the entertainment industry, the health profession, the military-industrial complex, and more. Don has interviewed so many "biggies" the past several years (Barnard, Esselstyn, Tuttle, Goldhamer, Greger, etc.) and was quite knowledgeable and obviously "on fire" during the discussion.

In many ways the interactions encapsulated some distilled essences of many of those interviews and what he's learned in his efforts to "change the way we eat, and in effect, change the world." We riffed on a war between two worlds: plant-based and current.

My thanks to Dr. Don for a wonderful bit of time thinking about the future, and the fun we had.  It was a tightrope walk, and I'm honored to have been on the rope with him.  We all DO need to ponder about and plan for the future inevitability of most of the planet being whole foods plant-based.  It's gonna happen.

Check out his archives for so many marvelous and informative interviews (over 600 he's done, don't know how many are in the archives) with authors, nutritionists, scientists, and movers'n'shakers swimming upstream society's river of ignorance.  You won't be disappointed.

While you were sleeping...

BTW:  you might have missed this, but the entire world adopted a "plant-based" diet last night.  This has freaked-out global markets and promoted high-level fiscal concern for most countries as economies across the world are now drastically collapsing; billions of people are suddenly without work, and small farmers don't have the capacity to deal with the demand for whole, unprocessed, non-GMO'd, real food.  Issues of what to do with, literally, billions of tortured factory farmed animals is suddenly a major concern on many levels.

It's not clear what the cognitive tipping point was in helping people understand that the best medicine for most of what ails them is preventative and restorative from whole, unprocessed, real food.  Certainly Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn, John McDougall, Neal Barnard, Michael Greger, Fuhrman, and T. Colin Campbell, among others, may be culpable in their dedicated, scientifically documented, and tirelessly consistent efforts to point out that a plant-based diet can effectively prevent, let alone reverse, many types of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and hyper-tension in humanoids.  They been ridiculed for years, and maybe now they'll get the praise they deserve for swimming up the so-called nutritional knowledge stream for so many years.

However, the sudden collective recognition and ability to separate emotional attachment to food from logical recognition of nutritional value and source implications of what we consume, has staggered the industrial-food complex.  They cannot make money on whole plant-based foods, without adding, to varying degrees, oil, sugar, and salt... these food-like products proven to be tremendously detrimental to human long-term health.  Their corporate holdings are now collapsing as fast as an artery with an ill-fit heart valve stent.

The impact of so many people consuming primarily healthy whole foods, eschewing processed food-like products, and embracing a wholistic plant-based dietary lifestyle has been devastating to the financial and political status quo.  Millions of people in restaurants, support businesses, and fast food venues are being laid off, while said businesses must close their doors from lack of customer interest and purchase.  They were not ready for what obviously had to happen, they were not prepared.  There was no long-term strategy based upon the many nutritional realities that have emerged over the past decade. The Health Care Industry is possibly beyond repair.

Civilization, as we conceive of it, has been irrevocably transformed, and the resulting implications cross across literally all human devices, endeavors, and support systems.  What we eat is fundamental to our existence, and the food corporations have been messing with the concept in irresponsible manners long enough, solely concerned for short-term profits and not long-term health.  Their bluff has been called, they cannot force us to buy their products.

Even so, we be in deep nitrogenous do-do, people.  And we must get past our collective political, mental, and emotional biases to deal with this serious New Reality.  Politicians grandstanding on TeeVee eating cheese, drinking milk, and gnawing on steaks isn't going to change this inevitability nor sway us from the understanding and final awareness that meat, dairy, and highly processed food, are killing us by the millions.

It's not going to be easy, such a mega-paradigm shift is going to generate a lot of collateral damage in the manifestation process.  But given the stakes at hand, the entire human race and the ability of our planet to support carbon-based lifeforms, it's abundantly clear that we have no choice.

We have to transcend.  We have to accept transformation of our consciousness from one predicated by lower-based taste addictions to one embracing our knowledge of a healthier way to live, to thrive, and to love.

We... just... have... no... choice...

Namaste, Mark

[This is my personal "Happy Anniversary" post... as one of the very first vegan bloggers, today "marks" my 8 year anniversary.  I started my blog to (1) promote a plant-based diet, (2) communicate well-referenced and related scientific studies/evidence supporting such, (3) to force myself to write regularly (which led, eventually, to my book), and (4) to torque people and organizations when I deemed it necessary.  Of course, too, it became a wonderful vehicle for ranting on occasion, but also, as I've learned, a vehicle for personal transformation of sorts.  I do apologize, somewhat, to those I've pissed off in the process of growing up.

The post above is an "Einstein Thought Experiment" of sorts, and, I believe, suggests all kinds of interesting implications.  As noted in a recent interview, I LIKE TO THINK.  We all need to think more about the ramifications of our belief structures.  I obviously don't have all the answers, which also upsets me at times, as we are collectively headed for a major global conflaguration involving lifestyle, the environment, the animals, and the ability of our planet to support carbon-based lifeforms.  It's going to happen, of this there is no doubt.  

Are we going to be prepared?  That's the really tough question.  It's the question that Congress should be answering, i.e., our water, air, soil, health, and food, in the future, instead of spending an absolutely assinine and absurd amount of time passing over 40 bills to de-fund something, Obamacare, that they cannot do.

Anyway, as a personal indulgence for a day or two, here's a couple of links to some of my favorite posts the past 8 years, along with a link to a special short-term discount for purchasing an autographed copy of my book.

I hope to be around in another 8 years to see what's happened, how I've hopefully grown, and that maybe this civilization can start acting as though they've been blessed by their very existence instead of abusing same.  You are what you eat and don't excrete, to put it bluntly.  The human body has had 4.5 billion years of testing to learn how to optimize good matter input into long-term health.  That conclusion has become inescapable, and imho, is of vital importance to our species if we're going to be around here in any significant numbers several years from now.  We MUST embrace these changes in thinking.  We literally "have no choice."

I love you all.... Mark

 About the Hex Globe

"The Milk Cellar at Chez Ignorante" 

"My Sojourn to Burger King"

"Heart goes BAM!"

"My Vegan Tipping Point"

"Identify This Vegetable and Win Something"

"The Experimental G-BOMBS V-12 Pizza Prototype"

A Special "Heart Healthy Pizza" Cookbook Anniversary Discount

 

My Solution to the California Pizza Kitchen Cruelty Controversy

Still sorting thru all the AR2013 experiences. PETA's campaign to expose the horrific practices on cows and resulting cheese supplies to the California Pizza Kitchen Campaign was something I was totally unaware of (PETA tabled next to my own table where I was selling autographed copies of my cookbook).

I was quite shocked about what was being done to cattle from reading the literature and than, had a neat idea: PETA was pointing out a major problem. What was a solution to people still wanting pizza?  Of course, as the author of the FIRST vegan pizza cookbook, I had a solution. I asked one of the PETA exhibitors to take a few photos of me, my book, and their pamplet. Last day of conference, fried beyond belief, I'm still very very proud of this photo:

Click on photo for larger version

 

Here's a summary from their website of the issue at hand:

"Many people are surprised to learn that nearly all cows used for milk are born with tissue that will develop into horns. That's because most farmers remove the sensitive horn tissue or the horns themselves from the cows' skulls using searing-hot irons, caustic chemicals, blades, or hand saws.

One simple solution is for farmers to breed for naturally hornless, or "polled," cows. A single gene determines whether or not a cow will have horns, and this approach has proved effective in the beef industry. PETA has shared this information with California Pizza Kitchen and asked that it require its cheese suppliers to phase out the practice, yet the company has refused to act to stop this horrific suffering."

You can learn more about this heinous practice, see a video, and voice your concerns to the CPK CEO at PETA's webpage for this activism here.

DC Area AR2013 Conference & "Making a Pizza in 30 Minutes" Clip

Preparing to table at a Conference (in this case, the esteemed Animal Rights 2013 Conference in DC) is a daunting task.  Sure, I've helped others at Conferences, and did several "head photographer" gigs for the the yearly FARM sponsored Conferences (including the 1st ever, "this is what happened the past few days photo slideshows" presentation at the Banquet (back when it was difficult, before Instagram and WannaPeek? or WatchMoreOfMyStuff!, the past two being non-existent, of course).

This time,though, I don't have a team and I've had to invest in books, various resources, exhibiter fee(s), handouts, the early setup, managing my event, talking all day each day for 3 to 4 days, then breaking it all down. Logistically, it's amazing what some of these Activist Groups do so frequently, and they deserve credit from the physically, emotionally, and spiritually hungry people who attend these events, often oblivous to all that these people went through on their behalf, and for the animals.  Then there's the incredible program of speakers, panels, and learning.  And there's the food... gawd, the food...

To support my effort, I've clipped out a 3 minute or so video clip from my recent 1st Cable TV Broadcast, the "up close and personal" stuff on how to make a plant-based pizza in 30 minutes and surrounded it with some text.  I'll be adding this to 2 more minutes of text, quotes, marketing stuff, for an estimate 5 or 6 minute "loop" I can show on a large monitor at my table.  Hopefully seeing how I make pizza will answer a lot of questions early, demonstrate how simple it is, and be encouraged to do the same (maybe even buy a autographed copy of the 1st Vegan Cookbook with a Conference Discount. Stop by and visit! I'll be bored beyond belief unless I get to interact with other quasi-humans.

Here's an imbedded version of the 1st part of my "soon to be created" video piece.  Thanks again to Jorge Meras, at Healthy Food Happy You for his directorial and producing efforts:

Of course, I'm not anxious to "hear my voice" looping over again and again (think Prometheus and the vulture), but I want to help people realize that they can truly make and enjoy "heart healthy pizza."

So, if you're in the DC area the next four days, stop by the Mark Hilton Hotel and visit AR2013.  The entire exhibit area is FREE, there's FREE transport from the Metro to the hotel available, and a LOT of FREE vegan snacks, goodies, and information.  Visit to support the exhibiters, to support the animals, and meet a lot of great like-minded people.  You could spend your time much less wisely in this beastly DC heat.... oh, did I mention the food (FREE samples and hotel-provided?).