Vegetarians in Iowa

Are you afraid to ask how that sausage you had for breakfast was made? Does the pollution from hog confinements and the smell from cattle crowded into trucks make you dream of carts full of squash? Are you tired of asking your grocer what drugs your chicken was fed? Maybe it is time for you to check out the Vegetarian Community of Iowa (VCI).

October 1st is World Vegetarian Day. This annual celebration of the healthand environmental benefits of vegetarianism was started in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society and endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978. The Iowa group was formed to offer vegetarians an opportunity to share meals and recipes with each other. All who want to participate in or just to explore the vegetarian option are invited to join VCI.

There are members of VCI who use dinners on the town as a means to get back to vegetarian dining. Other members press their own soy beans because they eat enough tofu to make the extra work cost-efficient. A quarterly newsletter and a web site include recipes, inspirational quotes about vegetarianism, restaurant reviews, and information on upcoming gatherings. Annual membership costs $20 for an individual.

Some members are vegan, which means they do not eat meat, fish, eggs, or dairy products. Other members will eat eggs and/or dairy products. Some members became vegetarians for their own health and a few took up the diet for global health. About once a month members will meet at a restaurant where chefs often add extra vegetarian dishes to that day’s menu or they will hold a pot luck at a member’s home. Upcoming events include a road trip to Ames on Saturday, October 27th to dine at Café Shi and dinner at Café di Scala in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines on Friday, December 7th.

There are still challenges in finding vegetarian dishes in many restaurants and the vegan members face even greater difficulty. Yet, the days of being stuck with a wedge of iceberg lettuce made slimy with watery dressing, while dining companions enjoyed thick steaks warmed with melted better, beside a baked potato buried beneath sour cream and bacon bits, and a side of hollandaise sauce over asparagus spears, finished with a plate of lard-crust apple pie ala mode have passed into memory.

Mediterranean and Asian cuisines still offer the greatest variety for vegetarian and vegan dining. American food, while based heavily on meat, can be adapted to vegetarian cooking with very satisfying results. Nuts add to the richness of a dish while spices in recipes are the same whether the protein is beef or tofu. As with a pork tenderloin, the quality of the food and the portion of coating to the primary ingredient are important with a vegetarian sandwich.

If you order tacos with chorizo on Cinco de Mayo, swallow oysters with your valentine, or fight for the turkey leg on Thanksgiving, try eating a meat-free meal on World Vegetarian Day.

Guest Writer: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.