Vegetarian lifestyle
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:
Maxwell Lee of the International Vegetarian Union reports that Britain has two vegetarian retirement homes, one at Hastings and the other at Rhos-on-Sea, with a third, giving preference to raw food eaters and vegans, being developed by a German millionaire. The Vegan Society, adds Lee, is collecting funds to start such a home. The growth of interest comes after two other vegetarian retirement homes failed from lack of support. “A problem encountered here,” Lee explains, “is that many people do not wish to move away from their community, and now vegetarianism is so common in the U.K. that many ordinary retirement homes will cater to special diets. Another aspect is that many people gave money to help develop vegetarian retirement homes and this seemed to reduce support for the vegetarian societies––and also probably led to less in legacies.”
Ralph Nader, seeking the Green Party presidential nomination in the March 25 California primary, is the second high-profile vegetarian presidential contender of the decade. Former California governor Jerry Brown, a sometime vegetarian, ran for the Democratic nomination in 1988 and 1992.
The Vegetarian Resource Center offers online bulletin boards for vegetarians in each major region of North America and for vegetarian parents and vegetarian teens. Info: >>vrc@tiac.net<<, or >>http://www.tiac.net/users/vrc/vrc.html<<.
Fifteen health insurers reportedly now
allow heart patients to opt for the Preventive
Medicine Research Institute program of vegetarian
diet, meditation, group support, and exercise
developed by Dr. Dean Ornish, in lieu of
$15,000 angioplasties or $40,000 bypass surgeries.
Ornish sold them on the program with a two-year
study sponsored by Mutual of Omaha, during
which 190 of 200 volunteers stuck with it and only
one required surgery. Mutual of Omaha saved
$6.50 per dollar spent during the first three years
after the study started, and expects to save at least
three times as much in the long run.
Vegetarian Travelers, a new magazine
published by Kate Ryan and J. Rubino, promises
to “take the worry out of eating on the road,” and
invites article submissions about what various
locales have to offer veggies. Info: POB 2202,
New Orleans, LA 70176; 504-866-1255.
Consumers for Healthy Options in
Children’s Education, a.k.a. CHOICE, has
formed to promote “the use of accredited plantbased
nutrition education programs and availability
of wholesome plant-based foods in school cafeterias.”
For info, call 1-800-470-3276, or write
POB 30654, Bethesda, MD 20824.
Tony’s Restaurant of St. Louis in
January lost a rare Mobil Travel Guide five-star
rating it had held for 22 years because it doesn’t list
vegetarian menu options.
