The Veggie Shelf

The topic of plastic consumption, specifically single-use plastic, reared its head in a health-oriented Facebook group to which I belong. The crux of the argument I want to highlight is that single-use plastic is terrible for the environment and is a huge cause of global warming, even when you're recycling it.  I have no doubt we should avoid single-use plastic whenever possible in our personal lives. However, what no one ever mentions when they argue about it is that going vegan is still one of the most impactful actions a person can take to save the environment.  Different sources vary in their assessment of how much animal agriculture contributes to global warming. I've seen estimates ranging from a little more than 16 percent ( Sentient Media ) to a much higher number, 57 percent, according to a study reported in Scientific American . (Disclaimer: I'm terrible at reading and interpreting stats.) And while they may disagree over whether or not and how much animal agricul...

(Update #1: I'm publishing this in honor of one of my short stories, "Wolfcall's Children," appearing in the 2022 Los Angeles NaNoWriMo Anthology, Alien Gaze,  which you can now buy at Amazon.com .) (Update #2: I wrote this before the article about lead and cadmium in chocolate appeared in the December 2022 issue of Consumer Reports , which has certainly put a damper on my enthusaism for dark chocolate and inspired me to search for uncontaminated brands. I'm also hoping that the companies listed in their article will do more to mitigate or better yet, eliminate, the heavy metals currently and allegedly present in their dark chocolate.) I'm a chocoholic, a trait I inherited from my dear Grammy Belle. She loved chocolate, specifically See's. But as most of you know or will soon learn, See's doesn't make vegan chocolates. As an ethical vegan, I haven't set foot in a See's Candy shop in more than 20 years. (They do, according to their website,...