On October 25, 2006, the Supreme Court of New Jersey unanimously ruled in Lewis v. Harris that the “unequal dispensation of rights and benefits to committed same-sex partners can no longer be tolerated under our State Constitution.” With the Harris decision, same-sex couples were granted the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as heterosexual couples with respect to their relationships. The court left it up the state legislature to decide how to implement the law. On December 14, 2006, the New Jersey Legislature passed a Civil Unions bill that Governor Corzine signed into law on December 21, 2006. New Jersey’s civil union law took effect on February 19, 2007. Over the next 5 years, multiple studies were conducted and found that despite the requirement set by SCNJ, Civil Unions did not provide equality to same sex couples. In 2011, the state legislature passed a bill that would change Civil Unions to
Everyone who is vegan has undoubtedly been asked the same litany of questions. There are even videos all over the internet making fun of them. I watch them and laugh along with every other vegan who sees them. It seems to be a rite of passage for all vegans to have to field these questions. For anyone who doesn’t know the questions here are a few of them: Can you eat bread? Where do you get your protein? Don’t you miss meat? The list goes on and on. How to address them can be tricky based on the circumstances. I have a blanket rule for all questions someone asks me: you are free to ask me anything you want, but whether I answer it is my choice and, almost more importantly, once I give you the answer, you will never not know it. When these questions get asked, I find that a
We just had another incredible breakfast/brunch at Killer Vegan, and it inspired us. For those of you who don’t know Killer Vegan, it is Janelle Soto’s passion come to life. After a lifetime of animal rights activism, she is expanding her advocacy by sharing her delicious vegan food as she prepares to open New Jersey’s FIRST and ONLY 100% vegan diner. In these final months before opening, she is holding bi-weekly brunches at Lalibela, a local Ethiopian restaurant that has a huge vegan menu in its own right. Back to breakfast. People say it is, “most important meal of the day,” and yet 31 million Americans skip breakfast daily. Maybe because we are all rushing in the morning, we don’t think we have the time to make a healthy, hearty, satisfying meal. We think this is a shame. After all, gay men love a good weekend brunch. So we have
Within hours of going live with this blog, I was immediately inundated with questions on the health benefits and risks of consuming soy products. With lots of people asking the same thing, it became abundantly clear that the healthfulness of soy needs to be our first topic of conversation here! Soy products include a wide variety of foods including soy flour, soy milk, tofu, edamame (young whole soybeans), soy protein isolates, texturized vegetable protein (TVP), soy curls and soy oil. Tempeh, natto and miso are fermented versions of soybeans. Processed soy food items include soy meats, cheeses, ice cream, yogurt and the list just keeps growing. Soy lecithin is used as an emulsifier to retain moisture in food. Lecithin is easily extracted from soybeans and, hence, is found in an astonishing array of foods, mostly processed foods. In fact, nearly 60% of processed foods in the US have some
All of my friends can attest that I love Palm Springs, California. I love the dry heat, the desert, the people and their laid back attitude, I love how gay-friendly a town it is and I adore all of the mid century modern architecture. Most of all, I love the date palms that are grown there; not just because they’re beautiful, but because of their amazing fruit! Dates aren’t just deliciously sweet, they’re also quite healthy. Dates are loaded with a great mix of vitamins and essential minerals like vitamins A and B-6, iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium and copper. They also have anti-oxidants and loads of fiber. It’s no wonder these delicious gems have a thousands of years long history in the Middle East and the Indus Valley. There is archaeological evidence that date cultivation was happening in Eastern Arabia as far back as 6,000 years ago. I love eating
At the outset of any discussion about veganism and the health benefits of a whole foods, plant-based diet, I feel compelled to declare an allegiance. This is not said with intent to place labels or alienate anyone. Rather, it’s an attempt to clarify my position because I find myself wearing two different hats when it comes to advocating for veganism and for a plant based diet. I came to veganism long after becoming a physician. In fact, nothing I learned in my medical education ever discussed veganism or vegetarianism other than to warn us of the dangers that vegetarians can encounter if their diet is imbalanced. To be fair, much has changed since then. Today, medical schools are increasingly incorporating education about plant-based diets into their nutritional education curriculum. I learned what I know about the healthful effects of a plant-based, whole foods diet after I made the decision to
Ethan and I were fortunate enough to attend the world premier of Speciesism The Movie in New York City last week. This fantastic documentary follows writer, director and star of the film, Mark Devries’ journey from what began as an investigation into PETA and their activist campaigns to an exploration of factory farming in the United States. When Devries first encounters the term, “speciesism” it changes the thrust of his search to a journey of understanding and ultimate awakening. Simply put, speciesism is a belief system that assigns different values, rights, or special considerations to individuals solely on the basis of their species membership. Specifically, speciesism is an assumption of human superiority. Throughout the film, Devries attempts to understand the rationale human beings use to justify their consumption of animal products. While watching Devries’ exploration I couldn’t help but see the parallels between speciesism and homophobia. Both of these concepts
Welcome to Vegan Mos! We’re so excited to be starting this blog. Preparing delicious food has been an integral part of both of our lives. When we first met in 2004, our mutual love for cooking and baking was a common ground on which we instantly connected. Since going vegan this connection has expanded and deepened vastly. Initially, we enjoyed the challenge (and still do) of taking old non-vegan recipes and veganizing them. As time went on, we opened our palates to foods we’d never known and we now enjoy a greater variety of foods than either of us ever did as omnivores. It has been a pure joy learning to cook and bake on a plant-based diet and we’re excited to share this joy and our recipes with you. So put on an apron and let’s get cookin’!
