August 22, 2006

Vegan Women & Anemia, Food Sensitivities, And The 4 Top Nutrition Tips

Vesanto Melina
Becoming Vegan

As representatives of veganism, if we let our health deteriorate because we're not taking proper care of ourselves, we fail ourselves, the vegan movement, and the animals we're trying to save. Vesanto Melina, MS, Registered Dietitian, co-author of Becoming Vegan and several other well-known books, will join us to highlight what we need to know to maintain optimum health. From preventing anemia in vegan women, to assessing food sensitivities, to the 4 top tips for vegans (and vegetarians and near vegetarians), we'll discuss everything you need to know nutritionally to stay (or become!) healthy and honour the privilege of being vegan.

Vesanto Melina, MS, Registered Dietitian, did her undergraduate and graduate work at the University of London, England and the University of Toronto. She has taught nutrition at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and at Seattle's Bastyr University. She is co-author of the most recent “Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian Diets” and the Vegetarian Nutrition section (Chapter 10) of the American Dietetics Association's Manual of Clinical Dietetics. Vesanto is widely known in the media -press, TV and radio and regularly consults for government and industry from Langley (near Vancouver) British Columbia. The books she has co-authored include Becoming Vegan, Becoming Vegetarian, Food Allergy Survival Guide, Raising Vegetarian Children, and Healthy Eating for Life To Prevent and Treat Cancer.

Download mp3s of the interview: part 1 (2.95 MB) and part 2 (3.03 MB)

Tags: Nutrition
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2006-08-22 10:01.

What is your opinion of a vegan raw food diet?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2006-08-24 07:19.

You have to wonder about this SPCA boiling crab business. It's hard to know whether to laugh or cry. With respect, one would have to be pretty dimwitted to let the proposal go as far as it did (Surely someone should have noticed the hypocrisy before Paul Watson, et al, had to point it out? One doesn't even need to be concerned with animals, 'public relations' alone should have condemned the proposal seconds after the bright sparks though it up). Of all the possible fundraisers, a society for the prevention of cruelty comes up with... boiling crabs alive. It's surreal and it certainly plays into the hands of those who would argue that animal rights is animal welfarism taken seriously, etc. With 'friends' boiling crabs alive, who needs enemies, etc?

Dan (UK)

Submitted by Rob Moore on Thu, 2006-08-24 19:28.

To: Anonymous. Sorry I didn't get your post in time for the interview. I know a lot of vegans are interested in raw foodism so I'm sure we'll raise the topic again soon.

To: Dan. Yes, I think it speaks to how well we've been trained to compartmentalize animals into 'these are the ones we care for' and 'these are the ones we're supposed to eat'. It's pretty sad, but a good opportunity to educate these "humane" societies. Here's a petition to the BC SPCA to prevent further fundraisers in which animals are on the menu. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/spcacruelty/