Category Archives: VegNews

Summer 2006

Intentional plant-based living is nothing new. The modern development of ethical vegetarianism and veganism in North America and Europe is just the latest manifestation of something humans keep coming back to, independently, again and again. The Indian subcontinent is justly famous for its veg traditions that date back countless thousands of years, but you can find similar lifestyles nearly anywhere you look. From traditional and contemporary currents in the Middle East and east Africa, to traditional meatless feasts in China, South East Asia, and Northern Europe, to the Baha’i faith, which prophesies a worldwide shift to vegetarianism 873 years from now, human cultures recognize again and again the moral indefensibility of eating meat—that killing is incompatible with grace.

It is compellingly natural sentiment, one that seems to be an essential part of our search for meaning in this universe. And while plant-based living is easy enough for everyone to comprehend, a few traditions stand out by putting it at the center of their ways of life. (more…)

August 2005

Moby is the very portrait of successful idiosyncrasy. Best known as an eclectic musician—his work has ranged from hard-edged punk rock to electronic dance music to pop ballads to ambient experiments—Moby is so much more. He’s a businessman (Teany, his New York teahouse, opened in 2002), and an artist (he is part of the Little Idiot, a collective of illustrators). But the reason he is a perennial favorite among Vegnews readers (who voted Moby “Favorite Musician” for the past two years) is because of his activism. (more…)

June 2005

South India is a vegetarian paradise. With the world’s largest veg population, every street is crowded with restaurants that proclaim VEG (no meat) and PURE VEG (no meat or eggs). Even those places that do serve meat feel compelled to say so in veg terms: NON-VEG. It’s my kind of place. And at the core of the distinctive cuisines of South India is thali, the ubiquitous set lunch. (more…)