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March 1, 2012 -- Vegparadise News Bureau
VIP Exposed! Admits to Vegan Accusations
We confess. When we began publishing this ezine in January 1999 we adopted the name Vegetarians in Paradise. Although we were vegan ourselves, we wanted to welcome all vegetarians, flexitarians, pescatarians, and others to join us in a healthy lifestyle that would recognize our need to care for the planet and protect its animals from harm. With those goals in mind, we used the term "vegetarian" generically.
Although our name sported the word "vegetarians," all of our features and stories promoted a vegan way of life. In 1999 when we traveled to a food show and asked if a product was vegan, we were often greeted with a blank stare. That same question asked today would elicit a knowing response. Times have changed. Vegan has come into the mainstream. One example is the success of Kathy Freston's book Veganist.
Since we live in a non-vegan world, we have had to make accommodations in the information we provide to our readers.
Some readers have written to recommend we list only vegan restaurants instead of Los Angeles Vegetarian Restaurants. In a perfect world, we would definitely follow that advice. But we have found ourselves in situations where we dine with friends who do not follow our dietary lifestyle. No doubt, other vegans share mealtimes with friends and family who are not vegan and feel grateful there are vegan-friendly restaurants. For those cases we have chosen to list restaurants that are "vegan friendly," offering what we consider a substantial number of vegan options. We will continue to list vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants while always searching for those that are totally vegan.
In our Great Produce Hunt farmers' market reports we have extolled the merits of fresh fruits and vegetables while ignoring the carnivorous food offerings. In one instance we were ecstatic about a farmers' market operated in the parking lot of a Seventh Day Adventist Church that permitted only vegetarian food to be sold there.
Our Vegetarian Food Companies features businesses that offer vegan products, even if the organization sells other products that are not vegan.
Our Vegetarian Basics 101 and The Road to Vegetaria both present tips on following a vegan lifestyle, even though the titles do not suggest that intention. Again, we use "vegetarian" generically because the term is more familiar to people.
We write this message not to announce a change in policy, but to explain a change in labeling. Starting this month you will notice some small changes. Our homepage announces, "A Los Angeles Vegan Web Magazine." The word "Vegan" replaces "Vegetarian." This is now "A Nonprofit Vegan Service Publication." Our homepage welcome paragraph now refers to the "vegan community" and "vegan resources."
To those who might ask, "Why not become 'Vegans in Paradise'" we say that we have established a brand name recognized around the world. We proudly boast about our over 100,000 visitors monthly with over 1 million hits.
The information we will continue to provide is the same as always--it will be just as useful to vegetarians as it is to vegans. The focus of the content has not changed, just some of the labeling.
As always, Vegetarians in Paradise will continue to be your source of vegan enlightenment.
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