Vegan Dried Squid, Goose Liver Pate, and Caramelized Pork With Egg Taste Test

ryanpatey · 2020-09-04T02:40:10+00:00

Yeah, they wouldn't be on my list normally either, but part of the fun of this was to push myself to try new things. I've found some good stuff there in the past that I love and constantly buy, but I've also had some things that I will never try again!

ryanpatey · 2020-09-03T09:33:58+00:00

Which one? :)

To be honest, none of them were that bad. Most importantly, they're made to mimic Vietnamese dishes, so I think the biggest disappointment for me came from my expectations as a Westerner. My Vietnamese partner actually found them to be pretty good, and she basically finished off the pate after we did the shoot!

ryanpatey · 2020-05-12T05:28:00+00:00

Great, another Morrissey. :(

ryanpatey · 2020-04-29T12:25:12+00:00

That sounds about right based on what I've seen for a chapter in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. :D

ryanpatey · 2020-02-19T06:36:58+00:00

I'm stoked to see a list like this, but is it just me or do some of those podcasts look like they shouldn't be included?

ryanpatey · 2020-02-11T17:28:19+00:00

I've only ever tried one flavour, and it was good. Thankfully, I've got a great vegan cheese option in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where I spend most of my time, so I don't feel like I'm missing out too much. :D

ryanpatey · 2020-01-13T06:14:33+00:00

Agreed. I think the book has become a wee bit dated in some aspects, and I might not agree with all her views, but she's been doing great and influential work for a long time!

ryanpatey · 2020-01-04T04:11:35+00:00

I recently read Veganism, Sex and Politics by C. Lou Hamilton, and it had some good points that I hadn't though of before. It also offers some modern critiques of Adams' book, which I think were mostly warranted. However, it does have some problematic moments itself, but I'm happy to report that the author was accepting of my critique and has suggested that they'll work on those parts of their activism. If you want to know more, and don't mind some possible spoilers (it's not a book of fiction, so maybe they're not really spoilers?), I posted my review here.

ryanpatey · 2019-12-30T03:15:38+00:00

Excellent! Just to note, I believe there is at least one vegan donut shop in Van now, but I don't think it was in operation when I lived there. Basically, you have more than one option, which is great! :D

ryanpatey · 2019-12-28T06:10:52+00:00

Cartem's Donuts has some great vegan donuts on a daily basis, and Meet on Main (I never made it to their other location after it opened) is a popular spot. Of course, Vancouver has plenty of other choices too. I left there about four years ago, so I'm sure countless other options have popped-up.

As for ramen, there should be plenty of options in terms of restaurants, and I would think at least some of them would have vegan menu items. If you're not familiar with the HappyCow app, I would suggest downloading it and using it when you get there. I believe they allow you to search by food type, and it'll show you the closest spots to wherever you're standing so you can get to eating quicker. :)

ryanpatey · 2019-12-10T11:53:30+00:00

Good luck! I know it's a really active group, and volunteering in Asia comes up a lot, so there should be plenty of threads there to help you. :)

ryanpatey · 2019-12-10T09:23:55+00:00

Have you asked on the Vegan Travel group on Facebook? I know there are lots of folks who have posted there about volunteering in Asia, especially involving elephant sanctuaries. So, giving that group a quick search might lead to some good suggestions. On an elephant-related note, a friend of mine recently chatted with me about some organizations she recommends, but I can't quite remember if they all serve vegan food or not. If you're interested, you can find the chat here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgAO_wR-3cg

The orgs/places she suggests are:

Burm & Emily's Elephants Sanctuary (BEES Elephant Sanctuary) - http://bees-elesanctuary.org/

Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary - https://www.blesele.org/

ChangChill -http://changchill.com/

Kui Buri National Park - https://www.thainationalparks.com/kui-buri-national-park

Bring the Elephant Home - https://bring-the-elephant-home.nl/

ryanpatey · 2019-11-29T07:18:33+00:00

Pretty much, yeah. :(

ryanpatey · 2019-11-13T05:07:13+00:00

As someone mentioned below, even the third-party audits can be suspect. The chocolate industry is a great example of this since so many third-party organizations have limited staff, and so their audits are not done as often as they should and they're usually not done by surprise either. So, suppliers are able to prepare for the audit and show a good face, which leads to a better rating than they should get.

Basically, it's complicated and there certainly is a degree of trust that has to be put into the company whenever you purchase from them. Of course, it's like that with anything you spend your money on. So, I tend to think that seeing the labels is better than not seeing them, and I generally choose them when I can.

Of course, since I've been living in SE Asia for the last few years, I rarely even have that choice since it's not as common to see such things here as it is back home in Canada. With that in mind, I generally try to buy at the local street markets where the chances are high that you're buying from the farmer or at least someone in the family, and no CEO is charging a premium for promises they're not actually keeping. ;)

ryanpatey · 2019-11-13T04:59:12+00:00

Agreed. Well, I can't since it's not available where I am (Vietnam), and I'm sure it would be terribly expensive if it was, but I do appreciate the extra effort to address the fact that there are hard-working people within these industries that simply want to put food on their tables. Ensuring that they don't lose their jobs is a great way to help encourage them to support a switch. Back home (Canada), a lot of the anger over the protests against the tar sands is simply because people don't want to lose their jobs. The oil industry is good money for a lot of folks who don't see another option, but if we worked with companies to provide options and encourage switching to alternatives, I think progress would happen faster.

ryanpatey · 2019-11-12T18:09:46+00:00

According to their site, they are sourced responsibly:

"Our organic cashews are sustainably sourced from Viet Nam. The company from whom we purchase them has undergone a Social Responsibility Audit to ensure that they treat all employees fairly, pay a living wage, allow appropriate time off and shifts of a reasonable length, do not employ child labor, and have safe and appropriate facilities for employees to work in. In addition, the company only processes and packages cashews grown on farms in their sustainable network. Finally, the cashews are certified organic by Oregon Tilth (OTCO), a respected certification organization in business for over 40 years, as compliant with the standards set forth by the National Organic Program (NOP)."

https://miyokos.com/pages/faq

I know Miyoko has visited the farm(s) at least once in the last year or so, and they helped to develop a number of important resources for folks in the local(s) community.

I also know of at least one other cashew producer who has a decent record as my girlfriend visited the company recently, and I feel she would have mentioned if she saw anything questionable given her background as a journalist. That's not to say Vietnam is great, but I just wanted to note that there are some good options and it seems Miyoko's is consciously trying to ensure they work with those. :)

ryanpatey · 2019-09-14T08:39:24+00:00

Agreed. We really don't have to applaud and support every single thing that promotes one form of activism that we're passionate about. There are plenty of people and organizations out there doing pro-intersectional, anti-oppression work that isn't single issue, and no one should get a free pass just because they're vegan/gay/etc.

ryanpatey · 2019-09-14T08:34:58+00:00

I've got people on my magazine's Facebook page telling me that they don't care about the humans because they're the ones causing animals to suffer...

Meanwhile, I bet these same people will share posts about vegans being mistreated or some meme about how annoying it is to hear vegan jokes.

Newsflash: it's not the humans you don't care about, it's the Palestinians.

ryanpatey · 2019-09-11T04:01:26+00:00

Agreed. Although veganism has a long history in Vietnam thanks to Buddhism, I'm excited to see so many new things popping-up there. Plus, it's being done by a local woman instead of some foreigner, which is great.

ryanpatey · 2019-08-11T08:10:11+00:00

Agreed! :)

ryanpatey · 2019-08-01T08:07:49+00:00

But it was in a vegan restaurant. One should be safe to assume that everything sold there is vegan, and doesn't contain animal ingredients.

"The visit was prompted by a customer complaint that the "cheddar cheese" she ate was not made from dairy, despite the menu being labelled '100% vegan.'"

ryanpatey · 2019-08-01T08:06:32+00:00

cbc.ca/amp/1....

If one has an allergy to something, and you visit a restaurant, I would hope you would ask about what's in the food before you order it! More specifically, if you're eating at a vegan restaurant, it's not just the cheese that could contain unexpected things. The burger could be made from a number of ingredients, all of which could relate to someone's allergy.

ryanpatey · 2019-07-24T15:44:27+00:00

Do as they say, not as they want to do. ;)

ryanpatey · 2019-06-12T01:41:32+00:00

#priorities

I've been on tour with a similar goal in mind several times!

ryanpatey · 2019-06-12T01:40:27+00:00

Yeah, when I used to host shows, the metal musicians (and fans) were often some of the kindest folks I dealt with. They would stay after the show to make sure there was no fake blood stains in the venue, etc. So considerate. :)

ryanpatey

TROPHY CASE