January 23, 2007

Thinking About Animals and The Alternative Vegan

We connect with John Sorenson, professor of Sociology at Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario. He'll tell us about the upcoming conference "Thinking About Animals: Domination, Captivity, Liberation" happening from March 15-16, 2007. We'll find out about the state of animal studies today, the creation of the new Concentration and Minor in Critical Animal Studies at Brock, and some of the flash points the conference hopes to explore. (As in, get excited about the conference! Submit an abstract! Plan to attend!) As the call for papers states, "We are all at a critical moment. The existing order of global capitalism and industrialization is unsustainable, directly linked with global warming and massive extinction of species. New social movements offer an alternative future and require a different consciousness about our place in the world. The animal liberation movement, once dismissed as a 'single-issue' cause is increasingly recognized as the logical step in a broader emancipatory struggle."

Dino

Then, we speak with Dino Sarma, author of the soon-to-be-released cookbook Alternative Vegan, which "provides a fresh take on vegan cooking that eschews omnivorous substitutes and encourages readers to experiment, innovate, and expand their cooking repertoire." This enthusiastic and inspiring book offers friendly advice for the new vegan, the vegan-curious, and the vegan skeptic. Drawing on his mother's cooking repertoire and years of honed wisdom, Dino lovingly shows the reader all the necessarily little tips to make your spices pop and your mouth sing. Dino teaches you not "what to cook, but how to cook".

Download mp3s of the interview:
lower quality / smaller: part 1 (2.32 MB) and part 2 (3.66 MB)
higher quality / larger: part 1 (4.74 MB) and part 2 (7.32 MB)

Tags: Cooking
Submitted by Justin (not verified) on Sat, 2007-01-27 01:46.

I thought the segment involving the vegan cook book with Dino was incredible. I think he spoke about what was on everyone's minds about being afraid of wasting food, or just flat out your own ability to cook. From personal experience as a college student, I find it troublesome to make great food on a budget, but from what I've heard in the interview, it is not only plausible, but achieveable. I would like to say that I love the show, and I think that what you guys are offering is great. Keep it up, you've gained a listener!

-J.
Charlotte, NC

Submitted by Lauren (not verified) on Sun, 2007-01-28 13:21.

Hi Justin,

Thanks for your comment, and for listening to the show. I'm glad you also thought Dino was a great guest, with lots of important things to share. The cookbook is really stellar, and I hope you enjoy cooking with it once it's published!

You might also enjoy this cookbook, if you haven't already check it out:
http://www.akpress.org/2005/items/veganonashoestring

We interviewed the folks from the People's Potato who put out Vegan on a Shoestring. The interview can be found here:
http://www.animalvoices.ca/node/40

Submitted by Dino (not verified) on Wed, 2007-01-31 09:39.

Thank you to all the people who listened to the interview. Your support means the world to me. <3 And double super thanks to Lauren for being an excellent show host.

J -- Cooking on the cheap is very easy to do, as long as you master the basics of vegetables. Sometimes, it takes a bit of effort when it comes to chopping and doing the other prep work. However, you gain speed and efficiency when you do it over and over again. Those cool chefs you see on the TV aren't a product of an overnight crash course. Rather, it's the product of lots of time spent in doing the chopping, cutting, mincing, and crushing. If you just have tools that are nice, you'll enjoy it, trust me.

I really hope that you do enjoy the book. That's the important part--that the book be something fun and interesting to own for people.