The Gist: Good afternoon VegNews Book Clubbers! It's hard to imagine, but we are now in our final week of discussing Veganist by Kathy Freston. I received some great questions for our Q+A with Kathy, and her answers will be posted with the wrap up on Friday. We will then have a week off from the book club, and will begin to discuss Vegan's Daily Companion by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau on Monday, April 4. Speaking of which, we have signed copies of the book in the VN Store, so be sure to get your copy before the discussion begins!

The rest of Veganist consisted of the final "Promise," and the afterwards, which details helpful tips in making the switch to veganism. The 10th promise says that a vegan diet will help you to evolve along with the rest of the world. By adopting a vegan diet, you are saying no to the terrible conditions of animal agriculture, and helping to create a more peaceful world. Freston mentions that our food choices are one of the best ways to express your worldly views, and that more people are becoming aware of this fact. All in all, veganism is catching on, and it's up to us to keep it going!

As mentioned above, the "Afterwards" includes tips from Freston regarding making the switch, like removing one animal from your diet at a time and how to eat vegan while traveling. There is also a frequently asked questions section, in which she has Dr. Neal Barnard contribute answers. Finally, she includes menus for a total of three weeks, a vegan shopping list, as well as a list of cookbooks and helpful websites.

The Discussion: Here are two discussion points to help get the conversation started. I look forward to hearing from you!

1. What's your favorite vegan-related website—blog, or other—and why?

2. What did you think of Kathy Freston's new book? Do you think it will help spread the vegan message to more people?

The Assignment: Please read the introduction to Day 115 of Vegan's Daily Companion for our discussion on Monday, April 4.

~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig

The Summary: Happy Friday VegNews Book Clubbers! It was quite a busy week (at least for me) and discussion was a little bit lighter, so thanks to Crystal for keeping the discussion alive! Also, I want to thank those who submitted questions for Kathy Freston—her answers to those questions will be posted next Friday.

For this week's discussion, I asked how you reduce your carbon footprint other than being vegan, and what is the hardest thing you've done for a cause. As mentioned, Crystal gave some great tips on being more environmentally friendly, such as using reusable bottles and letting laundry air-dry when possible. No matter how conscious we are of the environment and the problems it faces, I think it's always important to be reminded of useful tips on how to do better. For the second question, Crystal mentioned that the hardest thing when supporting a cause is to stand up for it even when faced with discouragement from others. This is definitely important because it's inevitable that we will come across differing opinions when it comes to social-rights movements and other causes.

Please finish Veganist for next week's discussion. Have a great weekend!

~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig

The Gist: Good morning VegNews Book Clubbers! We are in the third week of our discussion of Veganist by Kathy Freston, which I hope you guys are enjoying. Just a reminder, you have until this Wednesday to submit your questions for Kathy, which she will be answering at the end of next week. Looking forward to it!

We read three more "Promises" for our discussion today. First, "Promise" six states that by adopting a vegan diet, you are helping the environment by reducing your carbon footprint. We all know how completely wasteful factory farming is, and Freston reiterates that fact in this chapter.

Freston continues about the wastefulness of factory farming, which leads into the seventh "Promise." In this section she states that you will be helping to feed the global poor by adopting a plant-based diet. The amount of grain fed to animals to be slaughtered is incredible, and could be used to feed so many starving people. It's really hard to fathom.

Finally, the eighth "Promise" talks about the suffering of animals, and how by being a veganist, you can reduce that suffering. I don't want to go into all of the terrible details, because the plight of animals in factory farms is so dire, and it is a very sad subject to think about. I think it's important for people to read and learn about though, in order to get the message across. Freston features several personal and investigative stories, from such people as Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary, Josh Balk of the Humane Society of the United States, and Nathan Runkle of Mercy for Animals.

The Discussion: Here are two discussion points to help get the conversation started. I look forward to hearing from you!

1. Being a vegan drastically reduces your carbon footprint. What other things do you do to reduce your footprint?

2. The stories mentioned in "Promise" nine are of some very courageous people, who put their comfort aside to help animals. What is the hardest thing you've ever done for a cause, be it for animal rights or another cause?

The Assignment: Please read the rest of Veganist for our discussion on Monday, March 21. And send in those questions!

~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig

The Summary: Happy Friday VegNews Book Clubbers! I am reporting from Anaheim, Calif. where the VN staff is attending the Natural Products Expo West. We are really busy scouting all of the awesome, new, vegan products, but there's still enough time to wrap up our discussion of Veganist this week. Just a quick reminder, don't forget to email your questions for Kathy, which are due Wednesday, March 16. Don't miss out on getting your questions answered!

Thanks for the comments this week! We talked about what your favorite promise is in the book, and what you do to save money. It seems like Promise 3 is the most popular, which says that a vegan diet will help you to live a longer, and healthier, life. This is definitely important, due to the preciousness of life. We all want to be in this world as long as we can, and staying healthy on a vegan diet will help us do that.

Who doesn't want to save money? We've all heard that a vegan diet costs a ton of money, which is totally not true. However, it is easy to waste a lot of money on any diet if you're not careful. This is an important issue in my life, especially right now, being a young woman just a few years out of college, and in a large amount of debt. I used to throw away money, but now I'm much more conscious of it, which is why I asked you to comment on your number one saving tip. Avoiding spending money on processed, vegan food and cooking from scratch seems to be it, which I've been doing myself. Not only has it saved me money, but making meals from whole foods just tastes better!

We will be discussing the next four Promises this Monday, March 14. Have a great weekend!

~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig

The Gist: Good afternoon VegNews Book Clubbers! I hope you guys are enjoying our discussion of Veganist by Kathy Freston so far, and I look forward to having more discussion about this informative read. Before I begin the summary and discussion, I want to make a special announcement—a reader Q+A with Kathy Freston! The wonderful author of Veganist, and our previous read, Quantum Wellness, has agreed to answer some questions from our readers at the end of the month. Please email me your questions for Kathy by Wednesday, March 16, and her answers will be posted along with the wrap up on Friday, March 25. I look forward to receiving them!

I asked you to read the next three "Promises" of Veganist for this week's discussion. The third "Promise," is that a vegan diet will provide you with a longer life, as long as you eat a balanced diet. As we all know, it is very easy to eat an unhealthy, junk-food-laden, vegan diet. A longer life is promised because a plant-based diet helps to prevent heart disease and Alzheimer's, and boosts overall quality of life. She also mentions other things you can do to help to prolong your life, such as regular physical activity, decreased alcohol consumption, and stress management. She concludes the chapter with Ruth Heidrich's story, who is a 75-year-old athlete who thrives on a vegan diet.

In the fourth "Promise," Freston says that adopting a vegan diet will help keep you out of harm's way, specifically from foodborne illnesses, such as E. coli, swine flu, and other viruses. I think this is especially important now, because of the rise of these illnesses, and the threat of a possible pandemic. Freston interviews Dr. Michael Greger on this subject, specifically about how factory farming has given rise to the threat of these foodborne illnesses.

Finally, the fifth "Promise," states that you will save money on a vegan diet. Specifically, being vegan protects your health, so you won't pay as much for health care. Also, you'll decrease your "environmental debt," because the resources that go into the meat industry are much more than expected. Of course, if you rely on a vegan diet that only consists of frozen processed meals, and other prepared foods, you will not save too much money, which Freston points out. So she concludes the chapter with some money-saving tips, such as buying in bulk, buying in season, and cooking for yourself with whole ingredients rather than processed.

The Discussion: Here are two discussion points to help get the conversation started. I look forward to hearing from you!

1. What "Promise" has been most important to you so far, and why?

2. What's your number one money-saving tip as a vegan?

The Assignment: Please read Promise 6 to Promise 9 of Veganist for our discussion on Monday, March 14.

~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig

The Summary: Happy Friday VegNews Book Clubbers! Yesterday, I posted the three new books we will be reading for the next three months, and I hope you guys are just as excited as me to read them. But we have just began the month of March, so let's get back to our discussion of Veganist by Kathy Freston. We read the introduction to the second chapter, or "Promise." Thanks to all those who commented!

As usual, I asked you two questions in order to get the conversation moving. First, I asked about how you went vegan—gradually or overnight. All who commented took it gradually, which is what Freston suggests to do. A vegan diet is quite simple, but the transition from a Standard American Diet can be pretty hard—at least in my experience. I think that Freston's approach to leaning into the lifestyle is realistic, and important to help more people want to adopt a plant-based diet.

Second, I asked if any of you had success stories, like those told within the chapters. Crystal definitely sounds like she truly benefited from the vegan diet, and I myself have benefited by not getting as sick as I used to as a child. I know some of the stories were really incredible, which is why they were featured. They are inspiring to read, and they are my favorite part of the book. Do you guys have a favorite part? Feel free to share this weekend!

We will be discussing the next three "Promises" of the book this Monday, March 7. Have a great weekend!

~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig

Reading List

Happy Thursday VegNews Book Clubbers, and I hope you're enjoying Veganist by Kathy Freston. This is a special post to bring you some very exciting news: the next three books that we will be reading! Without further ado, here is our lineup for the next three months:

April: Vegan's Daily Companion by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
May: The Bond by Wayne Pacelle
June: Fear of an Animal Planet by Jason Hribal

Fear of an Animal Planet will step away from the vegan diet realm, and into the subject of animals in captivity, which I think is another important issue to discuss in regards to animal rights. I am very excited about all three of these reads, and I look forward to discussing them with you!

~VegNews Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig