issue #0 for FREE here!

Looking past the smoke and mirrors
July 2012
GMOs: what’s in your plate world?
Project
Charity:
Water
A la Mode to
open in
Las Vegas
Interview
with Greg
Straight Edge
Editorial
Voice
Welcome to Global Looking Glass,
We are a magazine comprised of a diverse group of
extraordinary people from all over the world who have
a vision to create social change by bringing our readers together through rich storytelling and in-depth interviews and articles.
and words is the most powerful tool we have. Without it our thoughts, ideas and desire to create a better
world remain silent.
We hope you find our articles enlightening, engaging
and whimsical. And who knows, they may even make
you laugh or cry at times. Most of all, we hope you
enjoy them.
We might be a little unconventional at times, but nobody is perfect. We strive to consistently find unique
ways to raise awareness on
topics such as veganism,
animal rights, human rights,
environmental issues facing people from all over the
world and of course music
and art which is a theme you
will find interwoven throughout every issue.
Jodi Truglio and Glauce Ferrari
Observe and act
Like the mirror in our logo
we hope that our articles
have the power to make people take a good look at themselves and the actions of others, thus wanting to create
positive change. Our voice
Interview with photographer and activist Greg Straight Edge
Text by Jodi Truglio
Pics by Greg Straight Edge
Publishing info
Editor-in-Chief and
Creative Director
Jodi Truglio
Managing Editor
Glauce Ferrari
Photo Editor
Greg Straight Edge
Copy Editor
Kyle Bracewell
Layout and Design
Glauce Ferrari
Cover Picture:
Lyndsay Stradtner
Life in Motion Photography
Location
US:
2139 Burtonsville Drive
Henderson, Nevada, 89044
Web
www.globallookingglass.com
Europe:
Viale Bruno Buozzi 19
Pal A2 Int 14
Roma - Italia 00197
Contributors
Emily Major
Emily Wages
Erika Olivares
Jessica Roberts
“I learned so much from living
on the streets, and all too often I
feel guilty for not remaining that
way. I do hope to get out of the city
and begin to maintain a very simple life of self-sustainability and
sharing,” says Greg Straight Edge
who is a raw vegan, animal and human rights activist and an amazing
photographer.
Recently, Global Looking Glass
sat down with Greg to ask him a
few questions about his activism
and trip to the Galapagos Islands.
What is your photography background?
I started taking photos at the age of
9. I just liked to capture things but
not disturb them. In my early teens
I began going to punk and hardcore
shows and no one was photographing the action on stage or the vibe
of the shows. I felt capturing the
feelings of a show helped communicate the message and unity that
exist in those music scenes. I was
also in to BMX and would photograph friends riding ramps, street,
or dirt jumping. Together BMX
and music helped me to learn more
about photography, capturing action and showing movement in a
still image. In college I majored
in Art History, but had no plans of
doing anything with it. I have no
real formal training as a photographer.
What does protesting mean to
you?
Since my teens I have been a part
of protest and demonstrations in
some form. Either as a silent observer (photographer) or as an actual participant I have taken part in
anti racist demonstrations during
KKK parades, fur demos in which
friends U-Locked their necks to
fur store gates, tax resistance demos in front of the IRS, and many
other forms of demonstration. The
current government crack down
on everything from food to bailouts has given a call to more people who are out on the streets and
saying what they feel is just. To
protest against not just the government but anything we feel is inputs
is a birth rite. Their is no reason for
us to participate in a system that
does not allow dissent.
You mentioned you choose to
live homeless for two years, can
you explain that and how has it
change or challenged your view
of the world and people?
Circumstances made me homeless
for a few years when a roommate
stole a lot of money from me. I had
no money for rent so I moved in
to my school bus which I owned.
I soon got rid of the bus and began living in a mostly abandoned
building. The process of becoming
homeless and the many processes
of how to live day to day have really changed me for better and
worse.
Homelessness allows you to
look at yourself, how you are treated daily and how the world sees
you. You literally have nowhere to
go, so the world sees you all day all
the time. Where to go to the bathroom, where to store your food,
you often see homeless people eating from a Styrofoam container
and not very healthy food, and it’s
simply because they have nowhere
to store food, nowhere to prepare
food. Its a choice of necessity and
not of convenience, and it is for so
many others. Cleanliness is another issue which is on full display all
day all the time. Public restrooms
do exist, but are not the cleanest
and not the most private for one to
maintain hygiene. Once one reaches a certain level of uncleanliness
it’s downhill from there as far as
respect from others and yourself
goes. It truly is a vicious cycle, and
too few are willing to see past an
appearance, and see that homeless
people only want communication
and respect. They are alive just as
you and I, and it’s as simple as that.
Homelessness gave me a new
perspective on other animals and
Homelessness
allows you to look
at yourself, how
you are treated
daily and how the
world sees you.
how we so dearly think we are
helping them. If we wanted to end
suffering, we would. We would not
create organizations or extravagant
homes and such, to house ourselves if we really looked into the
eyes of a suffering animal and felt
empathy. True empathy goes beyond your daily life and tells you
to sacrifice privilege. Give up that
$1000 a month apartment and give
up that cell phone and truly show
you give a shit by reaching out a
hand and helping others, no matter
how one moves or thinks, and giving them all you’ve got and more.
Have you ever been detained by
the police for protesting?
On May 12th of 2011 Unions
around NYC decided to march
on Wall Street in attempt to shut
it down in an effort to voice their
feelings on the bailouts. Since this
was a union demonstration it had
permits and full police escorts. I
wanted to participate not to support the unions but to express my
feelings of dissent for the financial
institutions and corporations that
control so many lives.
Wall Street was heavily guarded
and barricaded, so a few of us sat
down in the intersection of Water
and Wall Streets. The first gentleman who sat down quickly got
up after a detective spoke to him.
Three others remained, one was a
friend who I have participated in
anti death penalty events, and another who was a college student
and an undocumented citizen.
Police told us we had 5 seconds
to stand and leave. We remained
seated and police grabbed each of
us by the arms and took us separate directions. I was handcuffed
and questioned, after the required
information I was released back
into the streets which the three of
us found each other again. By this
time police had begun to block
much of the demonstration with
police trucks and people were
quickly dispersing into the subways.
September 17th of the same
year was to be another demonstration that I was hoping would
be so much more than what the
May 12th demonstration was. Adbusters magazine was publicizing
the event as Occupy Wall Street
and I knew I had to take part. The
Event had a great feeling and attitude, but the demonstrations started to lack emotion and soon it just
became a large sit in. Then comes
May Day of this year. May Day
is an international day of solidarity for freedom amongst workers.
With the Occupy movement still
going in NYC, May Day was certain to be a huge event.
I arrived in Union Square just
after Tom Morello completed an
acoustical set and people were
moving towards the streets. The
streets filled with people and began to move south towards the financial district. Many people were
commenting on how it appeared
the crowd was growing and not
moving. Broadway was packed
with people from Union Square
to the Financial District, easily
100,000 people. Approaching Wall
Street it was easy to notice police
and private security were concentrating heavily on that area. I got
to the barricades blocking Wall
Street and again sat down. As soon
as I touched the ground others began to sit and photographers convened like vultures on a carcass.
Police started to pull the photographers away and grabbed me from
my seated position. I looked to
see the others had left the scene.
I was taken to a truck and locked
inside until the streets were clear
and I could be taken to a precinct.
Once at the precinct about 30 others were being booked, many were
arrested very early in the morning.
Each of us were given the standard disorderly conduct charge and
soon sent on our way. I spent a few
hours in jail and was released and
given an arraignment date.
My arraignment date just passed
and I must be on my best behavior for the next six months or the
courts could prosecute my case.
Arrest from demonstrations are
efforts to express dissent as well
as efforts to complicate and fill
the courts. If we have heros who
have been or currently are in jail,
why aren’t we filling the jails? If
we want liberation and equality for
all life on this planet regardless of
how one moves or thinks why are
we not willing to sacrifice our lives
or at the very least put ourselves in
the way of what harms so many.
Why did you travel to the Galapagos Islands?
Again, at age 9 a friend of my
Mom’s went to Galapagos, and he
brought back stamps which had
etchings of the rare animals on the
Galapagos Islands. I really wanted
to see the tortoises and other crea-
tures that only exist there. I
felt it was a dream that was
too costly and too damaging
to the environment to actually achieve. A few years
ago I met Tod Emko who is
the co-founder of Darwin
Animal Doctors. He came
to a large open rescue I coordinated in the Bronx. I
spoke to Tod about Darwin
Animal Doctors and how I
always wanted to go to the
Galapagos. In a few years
time I saved some money,
packed my bags and went
to Galapagos to assist with
Darwin Animal Doctors
Spay and Neuter clinic on
the Islands.
For people who might not
be aware of the importance of Galapagos and its history
can you give us a quick rundown?
To most people Galapagos may be
known as Charles Darwin’s discovery of evolution. Galapagos is
also home to many other valuable
lessons that we all should know.
First, many animals exist only
on the Galapagos Islands and nowhere else in the world. Why these
species only exist there is not completely understood, and we should
see that as a reason to protect the
Islands from over population and
greater tourism. The geographic
location of the islands is also important. The Islands are located
and exist because of tectonic plates
underneath the sea which create
volcanic activity, therefore forming islands.
What are some issues currently
facing the Galapagos Island?
Invasive species are what most
people hear of if they dig into
the history of the islands. Goats,
bores, dogs and cats are killing the
species which are endemic to the
islands. But the number one invasive species on the islands are humans. Many Ecuadorians move to
the islands because employment
is better on the islands than on the
mainland. The better employment
is due to tourism, which is also creating a burden the islands can not
sustain. The more tourism grows,
the more people want to live there
for employment. This also brings
more domesticated animals.
Did you have a wow moment
while you were there, if so what
was it?
Seeing the blatant corruption of the
islands was amazing. Charles Darwin Research Station should be the
pinnacle of conservation, but it is
far from conserving anything.
Many who work there do not understand that if the animals are not
respected then the humans will
have no jobs. Often I saw employees from the research station, who
were to regulate the size and maturity of the fish that were sold at
markets, go home with the very
fishermen they were to regulate.
Conflict of interests is just a way
of life there and it creates an inputs
system for the animals to live in.
Many side with the fishermen by
saying they have to travel too far
out at sea to catch larger fish and
that is dangerous, but there is so
much vegetation growing on the
islands that is wasted in which the
fishermen could feed themselves
and their families with. Bananas,
papayas, maze, too much to list I
saw thrown away at the local markets. Such waste should not exist
on such a small scale eco system.
Since Galapagos is known for
its diverse species, is there a particular animal you wanted to see
while you were there?
Frigate birds are very amazing to
see flying through the sky. Frigates
can not swim or dive into the water
due to their feet not being webbed.
So to see them gently scoop down
onto the surface to catch food was
amazing. Blue footed boobies are
just funny to watch, they are certainly the cartoon characters of
life. Then there are marine iguanas
which can just go anywhere they
please. Just being around all the
animals and seeing how they exist
amongst humanity even at humanity’s worst was amazing.
Did you achieve what you set out
to do there?
In some ways yes. I wanted to help
others, others including all life, no
matter how it moves or thinks. I’m
certain I made a difference and
some people to this day are thinking of the crazy tattooed vegan
guy who they met. But more importantly I found where I need to
be. As humans we do not need to
be traveling all over the world setting a course for others as if missionaries for the animals. There
is so much to do right here, wherever here may be and that is what
is most important. Do all you can
where you are.
What were some of the cultural
differences you experienced while
you there?
How domestic animals are cared
for and respected was very strange.
In the states if we see a dog running
in the street we want to help. In Ecuador if you don’t see a dog running in the streets you may wonder
what is wrong. The general care
and respect for life was not there.
It may be a cultural thing, but it is
not something that should be tolerated just because a man made culture has learned to accept it.
Was it challenging being vegan
on your trip there. What did you
eat and were you turned on to any
new vegan foods?
Eating was fairly easy, although
expensive. It took me a while to
learn when and where produce was
cheapest. Often farmers would
travel to the populated areas from
the highlands and sell their produce which was always cheaper
and fresher.
The tree tomato was a great discovery. It is a heart shaped tomato with a slightly tough skin that
should not be eaten. The skin is
very bitter. The tree tomato makes
a great salsa because it has a warm
spicy flavor to it. There is also a
fruit which looks like an orange
but has a very bitter taste to it. I do
not remember the name of it, but it
made for some great salsa as well
because it was more like a sweet
lemon.
“Waste
was
everywhere”
Finding that Ecuadorians have a
dish known as ceviche which normally contains an animal from the
sea but due to impoverished conditions most eat it without animal
products, therefor it is vegan and
also raw. Ceviche is nothing more
than lemon, lime, cilantro, tomato,
cucumber, onion and sometimes
hot pepper. It’s simple to make, no
cooking required.
Was there a lot of waist, if so
what?
Waste was everywhere. I saw a lot
of plastic bags, which they claim
to be compostable, but I saw no
signs of one eroding in water or
the extremely relentless sun. Trash
is on the roadsides, on the animals,
in the water, it was everywhere. I
think the tourists overlook so much
trash because they are in such a
fantastic place.
Is there a lot of homeless and if so
how are they treated?
There are a lot of homeless people and many live in shacks on
the outside of town. Most of them
work and even have money for cell
phones and such. No one really
separates them from others there.
It’s almost accepted as homeless
people having a different set of
priorities. Considering the weather, not living in four walls can be
easier there.
What was one of the worst things
you experienced while you were
there?
Seeing the macho attitudes at cock
fights was pretty bad. I would almost compare the act of killing or
letting a bird die in a fight to be the
same as just having an attitude of
male dominance. The attitude is
really no different than the act itself.
What is the biggest threat to the
Galapagos Islands?
Overpopulation, which is directly
caused by tourism. There needs
to be a dead stop to the growth
of population and tourism on the
islands. In the short time since I
have left the islands a new airline
has moved in and has increased
“Seeing the macho
attitudes at cock
fights was pretty bad.
I would almost
compare the act of
killing or letting a
bird die in a fight to
be the same as just
having an attitude of
male dominance.”
island to island traffic by plane.
This should not have been allowed
and cannot continue if the islands
are to flourish. There is also talk
of building a new “green” airport.
The words building and green do
not coexist. To build something
is not green for it requires the destruction of something else. This
new airport is to replace the existing airport which sees most of the
traffic to the islands. Very few people travel to the islands by boat, so
almost everyone has to go through
one airport. Making that one airport “green” is only going to create
more waste from the construction.
People
Run, Rafa, Run!
By Glauce Ferrari
From the land of great barbecues and meat culture, Brazilian runner Rafa Alves
shows that it is possible to adopt a plant-based diet and be a successful athlete
A training day starts at 6am for
Alves, a Brazilian young man from
Sao Paulo who dedicates his life
to running and spreading veganism. After a breakfast full of fruits,
such as bananas, and a few slices
of wholewheat bread, he leaves his
house to train, at 7:30 a.m. After
running from 6 to 20 kilometers in
the biggest and most beautiful park
of the city – Ibirapuera Park – it’s
time to hydrate with plenty of water and an energetic smoothie, usually made with acai (the popular
Brazilian berry full of protein and
with antioxidant qualities).
In 2003 when Alves adopted a
plant-based diet and lifestyle, he
didn’t imagine that a few years
later he would be running in the
streets and mountains of Sao Paulo
and other cities in Brazil and South
America, spreading the word about
his choice. At 28 years old, he became part of the team “Força Vegana” (“Vegan Force”) and has been
running since 2009. His first race
was a five-kilometer night race in
the city of Sao Paulo, and he never
thought about stopping after that.
Alves has a very structured daily
routine, fundamental for any athlete. He trains four days a week,
between runs, resistance and speed
training, and the gym. The intensity of his weekly preparation varies according to the length and
modality of the marathon he will
run next. Allied to a careful plantbased diet, he is careful to remain
healthy and in shape to represent
and spread the word about veganism in the streets.
“On an athlete’s diet, it’s fundamental to have fruits and whole
grain cereal for breakfast, and I
also make sure to have balanced
meals which include grains, vegetables and, of course, protein. I
love tofu, always make recipes
using it,” said Alves.
Speaking about protein, Alves
said that this is still the biggest
myth between people who argue
how someone can have a plantbased diet and be an athlete, but he
makes sure to explain to his nonvegan marathon colleagues that
there are many cruelty-free options
to obtain protein from nature, soy
being one of the easiest options in
Brazil.
Another important aspect of his
daily routine is trying to find time
to be with friends and family to relax. Alvez also studies and works.
“It’s very important to have time to
chill as part of recovering from the
long training,” Alvez explains. The
athletes of the team became more
than colleagues, creating a great
circle of friendship and hanging
“There’s no reason
to be a complicit in
animal exploitation.
The world we live in
needs peace, love and
freedom, and souls
free from cruelty”
out together to exchange experiences about marathons, diet and
veganism, among other things.
Alvez believes that practicing
sports has a direct connection with
a healthy lifestyle: “Health, peace
and freedom” define him. He believes that veganism reinforces all
these bonds and he strongly defends that it’s possible to achieve
the same levels of physical performance than non-vegan athletes.
“There’s no reason to be a com-
plicit in animal exploitation. The
world we live in needs peace, love
and freedom, and souls free from
cruelty,” concludes the runner.
Rafa and his vegan team try to carry a very positive message during
the marathons, showing other athletes that it’s possible to run long
distances and to have a great quality of life adopting a plant-based
diet.
One of the longest marathons
Alves ran was a 24-hour one in
the city of Campinas (close to Sao
Paulo), where together with the
“Força Vegana” quartet, he ran 217
kilometers in a sandy runway. The
young group hasn’t made the podium yet, but they’re training hard
to achieve this goal. Keep running,
“Força Vegana.”
Team
Força Vegana
Pic: Esther Havens
Planet
Charity: Water
By Emily Major
magine the single most important entity that governs
all life on earth. Now imagine that there is the very
real chance of it disappearing forever. Water is the building blocks
of all life on this planet, engraining
itself into the very core of human
biology. It is amazingly flexible
with its multitude of uses, surrounding us in all its forms. It has
become something that has been
taken for granted in Western societies, where its abundance is abused
and treated like a right, not a privilege. It is estimated that as many
as 1 billion people are without access to clean drinking water, a statistic that screams at us that we are
doing something horribly wrong.
But there is hope. We all just need
to work together and offer a lending hand.
Charity: Water is a non-profit
organization that works toward
providing clean drinking water to
many developing nations across
the world. Established in 2006, it
has helped more than 2 million people in dozens of countries across
the world gain access to fresh water. The charity works on a simple
principle. Rather than celebrating
your birthday with a traditional
party and wrapped presents, you
can instead ask your loved ones to
make a donation to the charity in
your name. A simple $20 donation
will be enough to give one person
access to clean water, a gesture
that expands to benefit many other
aspects of that person’s life, such
as health, education and employment opportunities.
Diarrhea has commonly been
a problem that afflicts children
among these communities if proper sanitation or water filtration
is not practiced. Not only is the
state of their health affected, but
their school attendance also dramatically decreases. In a Swissengineered program titled SODIS
(short for solar disinfection), simple bottles of contaminated water were disinfected on a sheet of
metal by the sun’s rays in a short
6 hours. In this region of Tanzania
(as with many other African nations), diarrhea is the main cause
of absenteeism in school, resulting
in only 10 to 15 percent of children
passing the national 6th grade exams. With the introduction of this
simple water disinfection method,
the percentage is now a high 90 to
95 percent. It is clear that a multitude of problems can be solved by
simply offering fresh water.
Gender equality can also be dramatically improved with the introduction of clean, accessible water.
world. If every person gave up
their birthday and asked guests to
donate $20, imagine how much
money could fund projects that
could build wells and provide water. Charity: Water promises to
donate 100 percent of all publicly
donated funds directly to field projects, while operating costs would
be covered solely by corporate
donations. Stores have given up
window space for advertisements,
while celebrity-endorsed commercials have been aired on television
and the web. Photos of the communities receiving the water were
provided, as well their personal
stories. Outdoor exhibitions in
New York displayed tanks full of
local, untreated water, showing
what these communities would
have to drink were they not filtered.
People can raise money by selling
wristbands, sky-diving, running a
marathon – you name it! All these
work to empower us to make a
change, and a simple one at that.
Make your birthday about helping
people, knowing that by giving up
a few unnecessary presents, you
can literally change lives.
Charity: Water is expanding at a
rapid rate, raising millions of dollars to buy new drilling rigs that
have the capacity to provide water
to 40,000 people a year. The organization vows not to stop until water
is provided to all people around the
world. By providing water, we can
help create self-sufficient communities and give the gift of opportunity. There are many ways that you
can help, but start by visiting the
Charity: Water website at: www.
charitywater.org. Start today. You
can make a difference!
Pic: charitywater.org
I
A non-profit organization providing clean drinking water to
many developing nations across the world
Women from these communities
often walk hours to the nearest
stream or well to fill a jerry can
full of water, though it is often
contaminated and exposed to toxins and pollutants. Charity: Water
claims that, in Africa alone, 40 billion hours per year are consumed
by water-related problems or diseases – just imagine what can be
done if that much precious time
was freed. Children can then focus on improving their education,
while women can apply their time
to earn an income and take care
of their family. The organization
views their project as a steppingstone to all sorts of social advancements.
The charity operates with a very
unique approach. People can donate their birthday in a selfless act
that has the power to change the
M
Voice
The Machine Revolution:
IOU Project Weaves Back
Text by Emily Major
Pics: IOU Project
onths ago on a backpacking trip through
the western hills of
Thailand, I was watching a middle-aged Karen woman weave.
She was mesmerizing, making
the brightly coloured yarn dance
around the weaving frame. The
purples, oranges and whites flowed
together in a traditional tartan-like
pattern for one of the community’s
families.
I vividly remember standing
there, in awe of the fast-paced
sashay of her hands. Gathering at
the bottom of the frame was a neatly assembled ribbon of a woman’s
sarong. One of our community
leaders explained to me this woman was an expert weaver, taking
only several hours to a few days to
complete even the most intricate of
textiles. She did not mind an audience as she crafted her piece, intensely focused on the ebbing and
flowing of the thread.
The trip enlightened me with a
plethora of questions about local
economies, diverse cultures and
the interconnectedness of human
life. I was able to purchase several pieces from the Karen women
at reasonable prices that compensated for their hard work and time.
I recall thinking it would make
a wonderful business for these
women to send their children to
school, pay for necessities and
bring up their overall standard of
life. I then learned about a company called IOU (IOWEYOU)
Project and their goal to make a
socially and environmentally responsible clothing company based
on uniqueness, transparency and
empowerment.
The real story starts with an
extraordinary vision - to use the
power of the Internet to prompt
a new age of social and environmental change. IOU is shifting
the way clothing brands operate in
an era where the machine has full
economic control over how our society works. They pump out hundreds of thousands of expendable
products daily, offering the latest
designs and covertly marketing
them as something we want rather
than something we need. Clothing brands design items and manufacture them so we all can wear
the same shirt, pants or scarf, in a
variety of colors and sizes.
IOU seeks to change all of this,
revealing full transparency to the
consumer and having a unique
identity for each item in the form
of a QR code. We as humans need
identities to feel relevant and different, that our individuality and
opinions are valued. The company fuses social media with an
eco-friendly brand of hand-made
clothing that guarantees traceability, transparency, authenticity and
uniqueness.
The item’s unique QR code employs a storyline with each item,
using the Internet to chronicle the
life of the particular piece, from its
origin in India as a hand-woven
fabric, to its European assem-
blage, and then to its purchase by
a customer on the Internet. Using
a smartphone or other electronic
device, the buyer can then upload
a picture of them wearing the item,
completing the piece’s lifecycle.
To have the entire production process so open and exposed is such
a unique concept; IOU has got it
right - and just in time!
The company appeals to the
Generation Y, post-Baby Boomer
cohort, a group classified as being
highly in-touch with communications, new media, and digital technology. There is a growing movement for social and environmental
consciousness, where the World
Wide Web is the crucial avenue to
rally for such change.
What makes this company so
unique is its transparency with its
production process, deliberately
involving the consumer to feel socially responsible, empowered and
connected within the greater nexus
of a social revolution. The revolution is against the machine. The
best and most complete way to describe this revolution is visualized
with a three minute introduction
video on the IOU Project website
(www.iouproject.com).
Planet
pieces right away. The site gives
you the name of the exact weaver
that designed the piece in question,
as well as the tailor in Europe who
fashioned the piece. There is a list
of products, from scarves to vests
to the “come-buy-me-right-now”
halter sack dress that stole my attention. The pieces published on
the site are the exact items for purchase, with magnified images of
the exact fabric colors and design.
The item on the site is the item you
buy, with no two pieces the same.
IOU has brilliant forward thinking, noting that a machine-driven
economy is dying as the world’s
Pic: Uncornered Market
The introductory video detailed
the inspiration for IOU Project,
describing the world’s largest revolution: Mahatma Gandhi and his
1920’s movement of weaving for
social change. Using his ideas as
inspiration, IOU is fighting back
against the plague of the machines,
empowering weavers in India to
link with tailors of Europe, and to
provide a fully traceable product to
a consumer through a computer or
smartphone.
The company’s website has been
expertly designed to appeal to an
eco-friendly shopper; it was hard
to resist the urge to order several
Example of a
piece’s storyline
population surges. People are
starting to realize we need to work
together if we are going to live
sustainably on this planet together.
They employ a terrific sense of accountability, giving the power back
to the artisan and taking it away
from the ever-hungry machine.
The expensive retailers are cut out,
providing cheaper costs for the
consumer and paying more to the
artisans and tailors. The IOU story
is a beautiful connection between
people that are separated by geography, but united by technology.
By freeing the reigns from machines, IOU is giving the power
back to the individual to directly
influence a more sustainable and
environmentally-conscious society. We owe it to ourselves as individuals to right the wrongs of our
machine economy and to support
more grassroots companies and organizations. We owe it to the other
human and non-human life cohabiting with us and we owe it to this
planet. We can weave our way to a
better, more sustainable world and
IOU is giving us a fashionable way
to do it.
$25 To Save A Life:
Developing Nations & Microcredit Loans
A
bout once a week, I receive a new letter from
a charitable organization asking for a donation. This
adds countless amounts of stickers and notepads to my already
large pile of stationary items. As
a young woman looking to save up
for a graduate degree, I personally
cannot afford to sign up for monthly donations at this point in my life.
Many charities rely on these regular donations in order to operate
and fulfill their mission; however,
imagine if a single donation of $25
or more could change the entire
course of a person’s life, alleviating them and their family from
poverty and providing crucial opportunities for employment. That
simple donation offers a world of
promise – and get this, you can get
all of your money back!
By Emily Major
This is the principle of Kiva, a
non-profit organization committed
to transferring and assisting in microcredit loans for people in developing countries. Millions of people lack safe and reliable access
to financial institutions, fueling a
constant cycle of hunger, poverty
and lost opportunities. They are
simply missing the start-up capital
needed to boost and maintain their
business – and that is where microcredit loans come in. They are essentially very small loans offered
to people in developing countries
that wish to become sustainably
self-employed. The unique part
of this charitable process is that
the donation is gradually given
back as the business begins to earn
more money, providing a return on
the initial investment. Even better,
the money can be “recycled” and
applied towards another loan to
help yet another person. In theory,
this single $25 can recirculate and
improve countless lives over the
course of several years.
Kiva has become a leading nonprofit organization in providing
and organizing safe loan transfers
within a large global community.
Founded in 2005, Kiva has administered over $324 million dollars in
loan transfers, with a solid 98.97%
repayment rate. They believe everyone deserves the power to create
opportunity and operate on a lending basis to help alleviate poverty.
A lender can search on their easyto-navigate website (kiva.org) and
scan through dozens of profiles
from people across the world who
are in search of a loan. Once a person is selected, a donation of $25
or more can be applied to their
account, linked with numerous other donors from across the
globe. Kiva works with microcredit organizations to help set up
a plan for the person to slowly pay
back their loan. A lender can log
on to the Kiva website and receive
regular updates on their donation,
along with the “Kiva credits” that
are slowly reimbursed into their
account. A lender can choose to
cash out their donation after it has
been successfully paid back, or
they can choose to donate it again
to another profile.
The success of this organization
lies in the safety and security of the
whole process, allowing the business owner to safely conduct their
business while maintaining a sense
of control and dignity. By loaning
a small amount of money, an entire family in Paraguay or Kenya
can dramatically improve their
living situations. By providing
stable economic opportunities, a
plethora of other social ills can be
improved, such as hunger, school
attendance and overall health. The
benefits are endless.
There are many other ways to help
the organization, from becoming
a lender, spreading awareness or
volunteering for the Kiva Fellows
program. The Kiva Fellows is an
unpaid volunteer position that is
crucial for smooth operation of the
program. They are essentially the
eyes and ears for the organization,
A loan of $1,150 helps
Leona, from Peru, to
purchase sweets,
drinks, and other
food items for
her stall
acting as a liaison between Kiva
and the smaller microcredit institutions in that area. If you are interested in helping out for a great
cause, log on to their website and
see which opportunities are currently available.
Charitable giving is becoming an
important way to help lessen the
gap between the world’s rich and
poor. By making a small donation,
the course of an entire family can
be dramatically improved, aiding
a small business to purchase new
goods or machinery. The money
lent to them is returned as they
slowly pay back the initial loan,
benefiting both parties. It gives a
sense of dignity to the person using the loan, as they are able to pull
themselves out of poverty and give
back to those who lent to them.
If you are reading this, you are
likely to be one of the world’s rich-
est people, with access to either a
computer, smartphone or other
electronic device. If you have a
spare $25 in your pocket, dig deep
to help others who are in need.
You will get your money back if
you would like, but it is more than
likely you will want to recirculate
it again. The solution is empowerment and providing opportunity
– if we all donated $25, imagine
what the world could be. We are
living in an increasingly global
community and we need to help
out our neighbours. Share your
wealth, improve lives and feel the
wave of change.
For more information on donating
or volunteering, log on to kiva.org.
*Kiva does not guarantee the return on investment as there is a
slight chance (1.03%) of principal
loss.
Special: GMOs
Genetically engineered ingredients:
where’s the labels America?
O
ff to the grocery store to
fill your cart with natural,
healthy food. You’ve read
every food label and are making
smarter choices. But did you know
those foods could be filled with
harmful ingredients not on the
food label?
That’s right. Genetically engineered ingredients (GE) account
for approximately 60 to 70 percent
of foods available in North American food stores contain GE ingredients. And some of the most popular “natural” and healthy products
are being called into question for
containing GE ingredients.
Consider Kashi
Pic: kiva.org
Kashi, the popular natural food
empire, has built its brand on
healthy alternatives to junk food
cereals and snack foods. A report
in 2011 from Cornucopia Institute
stated that numerous Kashi products were contaminated with high
levels of GE ingredients, sometimes as high as 100 percent.
You might be asking yourself
right about now, “Why aren’t GE
ingredients labeled? How could
Kashi get away with calling their
foods “natural” when they contain
GE ingredients?”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has never defined “natural” for labeling purposes. Kashi
can legally label their products as
By Jessica Roberts
“natural”. They never made claims
the products are organic. Products
that bear the USDA organic label
cannot legally contain GE ingredients.
Kashi has joined the Non-GMO
project and had seven products
verified as non-GMO. All new
products introduced to consumers
will be completely GMO-free. But
you will have to wait until 2015 to
enjoy your GMO-free Kashi.
Other companies are being
questioned for advertising natural
ingredients. Brands including Ben
& Jerry’s, Frito-Lay, Naked Juice,
Snapple and Trader Joe’s are facing lawsuits for making “all natural” claims.
Everyday another health claim,
new diet, or news brief challenges
your nutritional know-how and
food choices. How do you navigate, integrate, and prioritize all
the information?
The issue of GMOs needs to
be a priority; the consequences of
GE ingredients in our food supply
affect you, your children and our
planet. Let’s take a closer look:
GE ingredients come from foods
made with genetically modified
organisms. A genetically modified
organism, GMO, is an organism
whose genetic material has been
changed.
The most controversial and
widely used application of GMO
technology is patent-protected
food crops. GMO technology has
produced food crops resistant to
commercial herbicides. The USA
is the largest commercial grower
of GMO crops in the world. Corn,
soybeans and oil from canola or
cotton are the most common GMO
crops. The largest share of GMO
crops planted globally are owned
by the US firm Monsanto.
What’s the big deal?
Serious health risks are associated with the consumption of GE
foods. Several animal studies have
identified the following health
risks:
* Infertility
* Immune problems
* Accelerated aging
* Faulty insulin regulation
* Gastrointestinal system problems
Other reasons to avoid GM
foods?
* Lack of sufficient human safety
studies
* Increase herbicide use
* Production of new toxins, allergens, carcinogens and nutritional
deficiencies
* Lack of government regulation
assessments
* Harmful to the environment
* Animals subjected to GE modification are harmed
How can you avoid GMOs if so
many foods contain GE ingredients? Follow the tips below to fill
your pantry and refrigerator with
non-GMO foods:
Buy products with the NonGMO Project Seal: The NonGMO Project (www.nongmoproject.org) is the only organization
offering independent verification
of testing for GMOs in the U.S.
and Canada. However, the seal is
not a guarantee the product is 100
percent GMO-free. The seal means
the product has been produced according to rigorous practices for
GMO avoidance. The ingredient
must be below 0.9 percent GMO:
a requirement in alignment with
laws in the European Union.
The Non-GMO Project has a project called Search Verified Projects, where you can find a list of
brands and products committed to
ensuring the sustained availability
of non-GMO options.
Ask Questions When Dining
Out: Don’t be afraid to ask questions when dining out! A few
guidelines will help you navigate
the menu and stay GMO-free
while dining out.
1. What oils are used to prepare
the menu item? You want to avoid
soy, cottonseed, canola, and
corn oils.
2. Try to avoid processed foods
and order meals featuring fresh
food items.
3. Avoid salad dressings, condiments, sugar and bread.
4. Avoid dairy, meat, fish and eggs
unless the restaurant uses organic, 100 percent grass-fed, or wild
caught products.
Buy Organic: Organic produce
and other ingredients are grown
without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge,
genetically modified organisms,
or ionizing radiation. Animals that
produce meat, poultry, eggs and
dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones.
Avoid foods likely to contain
GMOs: Infant formula, salad
dressing, bread, cereal, hambur-
Image: www.justlabelit.org
How To Avoid GMOs
Pic: www.nongmoproject.org
A new GE crop has been produced by Dow under the brand
“Enlist” or otherwise known as
“Agent Orange Corn”. The crop
is immune to 2,4-D, an ingredient
used in Agent Orange. Numerous
studies link 2,4-D to cancer, reproductive problems, liver toxicity and Parkinson’s disease. Lab
studies also demonstrate that 2,4D causes endocrine disruption, reproductive problems, neurotoxicity and immunosuppression.
“Agent Orange Corn” Is probably not something you want in
your Sunday morning corn muffins. More than 140 advocacy
groups have campaigned to urge
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to
reject the introduction of the herbicide and GE crop. Thirty-five medical and public health professionals have also warned the USDA
of the potential health threats of
2,4-D. Some farmers are deeply
concerned about the new herbicide
causing further pollution of the air
and water in their communities.
gers and hotdogs, margarine, mayonnaise, cereals, crackers, cookies, chocolate, candy, fried food,
chips, veggie burgers, meat substitutes, ice cream, frozen yogurt,
tofu, tamari, soy sauce, soy cheese,
tomato sauce, protein powder,
baking powder, alcohol, vanilla,
powdered sugar, peanut butter, enriched flour and pasta.
Use The Non-GMO Shopping
Guide: An excellent comprehensive online guide and free phone
app to help navigate the grocery
stores:
www.nongmoshoppingguide.com
When will GMO’s be labeled in
the US?
50 countries, constituting more
than 40 percent of the world’s population, currently label genetically
engineered foods, including the
entire European Union. Why isn’t
the US on board yet?
The problem lies in getting state
legislators to enact a labeling bill.
Fourteen states have labeling bills
in legislation just sitting there.
California is attempting to become
the first state to require GMO labeling within the state.
California is pursuing another
avenue to get GMO labeling by
employing the initiative process.
People can come together and get
a law on a ballot to vote for directly, instead of relying on legislators
to enact the law.
On November 9, 2011, The
Committee for the Right to Know
submitted the California Right
to Know Genetically Engineered
Food Act to State Attorney General and the 2012 Ballot Initiative Campaign began. Meeting the
April 22 deadline, California has
reached its target goal of 850,000
signatures needed to get the issue
on the state’s November 2012 ballot.
Will the initiative succeed? Far
more scientific information, greater public awareness and support
are present this time around. Powerful health, environmental and
consumer coalitions are providing
the momentum needed for success.
Special: GMOs
Organic vs. Genetically Modified
Foods: Labeling in Canada
By Emily Major
Studies claim that genetically
modified organisms are completely safe for human consumption;
though allergies to soy sky-rocketed in the UK by 50% with the introduction of genetically manipulated soy.
Genetically modified (GM) and
genetically engineered (GE) foods
have exploded onto North American markets, providing larger,
cheaper and seemingly innocuous products to Canadian society.
Unless a product has been labeled
“Organic,” current laws in Canada
do not require mandatory labeling
for GM or GE foods. There has
been much debate over genetically
modified organisms (GMOs) and
whether laws should instate mandatory labeling. Full transparency
should be a vital pillar in consumer
interests, as the long-term effects
of genetically engineered foods are
not yet known.
Labeling is arguably the most
important and direct means of
communication between the consumer and the producer. In Canada, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
(CFIA) both share considerable
responsibilities in the administration and safeguarding of food labeling policies, following laws set by
the Food and Drugs Act of 1985.
Health Canada is responsible for
safeguarding health and safety for
Canadian consumers, while the
CFIA is accountable for protecting
consumers from misinterpretation
and fraud.
Canadian laws require mandatory labeling if there is a health or
safety issue with a certain food that
could be mitigated through the use
of a label. This generally refers
to the presence of common allergens, any nutritional information
or any change of food composition. Before a product can be sold
on supermarket shelves, they must
pass through a pre-market regulatory process by Health Canada. All
products currently for sale in supermarkets and grocery stores have
passed the safety assessment, but it
does not mean they are without genetic manipulation. Health Canada
follows a stringent seven- to tenyear process in which scientific
evaluators research, develop, test
and assess the safety of a new GM
food. There has been much criticism over the process, especially
with NGO-giant Greenpeace, who
is urging for the paralleled use of
an independent party.
Alarmingly, Canadian standards
only allow voluntary labeling of
GE foods, though they are in no
way mandatory. Unless a company is dedicated to providing full
transparency, it is highly unlikely
they will voluntarily label their
product as containing genetically
modified ingredients. The average
consumer in Canada is relatively
naïve about the products they purchase on a daily basis, forgetting to
ask where their food comes from.
The only sure way to avoid GMO
foods is to buy certified organic
products.
The labeling of organic products
undergoes many restrictions and
regulations according to the Organic Products Regulation of 2009.
Under this regulation, a product
can only be labeled organic if the
percentage of organic content is
greater or equal to 95 percent. The
product must be certified by a credible certification body and it must
be present on the label. For multiingredient products with 70 to 95
percent organic content, the law
states the label can only declare
the product contains “x% of organic ingredients”, which must be
certified by a credible institution. It
cannot be labeled as organic or use
the organic logo. Multi-ingredient
products with less than 70 percent
organic content can only claim ingredients as individually organic,
not the whole product.
Alarmingly, Canadian standards only
allow voluntary
labeling of GE
foods, though they
are in no way
mandatory.
There are many issues with labeling in Canada, as product advertising and marketing can often
mislead the consumer into purchasing a product less healthy than
it is presented to be. Laws are
slowly becoming more stringent,
though there remains a large gap
between the strict regulations for
organic labeling and the relatively
non-existent laws for GM food labeling. In August 2011, both the
Codex Alimentarius Commission
of the United Nations’ Food and
Agriculture Organization and the
World Health Organization declared that countries are free to decide whether to label GMO foods
derived from modern methods of
biotechnology. The standard encourages labeling, as labels are effective in avoiding potential trade
issues in a growing global economy.
Ron Doering, former president
of the CFIA, claims that imposing mandatory labeling on all GM
or GE products in Canada would
be impractical, since “almost all
processed food contains genetically engineered ingredients, such
as corn, canola or soy.” Since the
CFIA’s main penchant is to reduce
deceptive labeling, Doering suggests GMO labeling will further
confuse the consumer as most
products on supermarket shelves
contain GE components. This approach ignores the fact that many
consumers have a blind faith in
food labeling; they assume companies are being truthful about
the product’s origin and ingredients. It would be interesting to
see how consumers would react if
labels notify a buyer of GMO ingredients. Doering claims there
is no scientific evidence to render
genetically modified foods as un-
safe for consumption, though there
is much speculation refuting that
statement.
Health Canada has approved
more than 100 genetically modified foods since 1994, including
insect-resistant corn and herbicideresistant canola. Listed on their
website, Health Canada publically
releases information regarding the
novel foods deemed fit for human
consumption. Novel foods are
products that lack a history of safe
use as a food or have been genetically manipulated. The list is overwhelmingly dominated by Monsanto Canada Inc., with additions
by Coca-Cola and Parmalat Canada. The list of approved products
ranges from orange juice products
enhanced with phytosterols to GE
tomatoes. The Flavr Savr tomato,
produced by Calgene Inc., has been
genetically manipulated to ripen
slower, meaning the tomato can
be shipped at a riper stage and still
arrive fresh at the produce section
of a supermarket. Health Canada
claims there are no differences in
composition or nutritional characteristics, and state the Flavr Savr is
as “safe and nutritious as other tomato varieties.” This statement is
rather alarming, that a tomato has
been developed to go against the
grain of nature to ripen at a slower
pace -- and it’s seen as scientifically equal to
regular tomatoes. Current
laws state that,
since
there
are no noticeable allergies
or safety concerns, there is
no need to inform the consumer of its
less-than-natural growth cycle.
There is hope for Canadian consumers as the government is currently working on the preliminary
stages of creating an appropriate
federal approach of labeling novel
foods, though the process is quite
slow. A consumer should have the
right to know the origins of the
food they are purchasing, even if
the items are deemed essentially
equal to non-GMO products. Even
if Canada were to change its labeling laws, ideally it would occur
alongside the evolution of American labeling laws. Huge trade issues could arise if one country
was lax on GM-labelling policies
and the other had stricter policies
in place. As one of the largest producers of genetically engineered
food, it is surprising that Canada’s
regulatory system is as weak as it
is. Always read your labels and
buy organic whenever you can – it
is the only way you can positively
know what you are putting in your
body. The consequences of using genetic modification are not
yet known, but it is safer to take
all necessary precautions. In the
words of Greenpeace, “Life is not
a commodity.”
Non-GMO Month Demo
Desk at The Big Carrot
(Toronto, ON)
Special: GMOs
Brazil: what’s in your plate?
S
Like the US, Brazil is full of GMOs, and the population may not know
what exactly they are consuming
ince 2008, according to
Greenpeace Brazil, the
country had become the
biggest consumer of commercial
herbicides, with more than half of
the consumption used in soy plantations. Also, soy beans were the
first GE crops to be introduced in
Brazil. Now even corn crops are
GE, and according to Gato Negro,
an animal rights local group, almost 100 percent of corn derivate
products have the GMO label.
“It’s practically impossible to
find corn products that are not GE.
There are only a few organic options resisting,” said Koji Pereira
from Gato Negro.
“Today, we consume various
foods with GMO ingredients, produced to kill bugs and resist pesticides. You probably think that
exhaustive tests were made, and
all surveys show that potential
risks were taken into consideration
so that transgenics were released.
However, this does not happen,”
Greenpeace Brazil stated.
Genetically engineered ingredients arrived clandestinely in the
country in 1997, and in 2003 a law
decree of labeling (4680/2003) was
published. It forced companies in
the areas of supply, producers, and
anyone else who works with food
sales, to identify with a black “T”
on a yellow triangle all the food
with more than 1 percent GE ingredients. But it’s not that easy to
make all the companies obey the
By Glauce Ferrari
law, and there’s not enough supervision. Even today, some products
don’t have the proper label. Also,
since 2007 rural members of the
Parliament are proposing laws to
end the labeling of GMOs.
“What we can see is that some
supermarkets and brands obey the
law and label the GE products, but
it seems that just in the last few
months the labeling is getting better in Brazil,” Pereira said. “Some
brands now have the label, but you
don’t know if they have always
used GE ingredients and for how
long. And many other soy and corn
products are still with no labels, so
it’s better to choose organics to be
sure.”
Pereira says that even with popular rejection, GMOs are still gaining space in Brazil. But at the same
time, he asserts that the great majority of the Brazilian population
still don’t know what GE ingredients are, and “many don’t understand the political, environmental
and biosafety issues behind it and
think it’s just something about the
health.”
Comparing Brazil to Europe, it
seems to be unlikely that the South
American country will follow the
old continent steps regarding to
GMOs. Pereira believes that Brazil will need a huge popular questioning and opposition to see any
significant change.
Food
Bakery and ice cream shop A la Mode will be opened soon
Get ready to be treated, Las Vegas
For our readers that are not familiar with Atomic 7 what was it?
Atomic 7 was an ice cream experience like no other! A place where
everyone was able to
gather &
enjoy ice cream & waffle cones,
no matter what their dietary preference or choice. We allowed our
customers to create their own tailored flavor & froze it in front of
them using our patented freezing
process that included liquid nitrogen. All our ingredients are certified organic, gluten free & vegan.
Our process in making the frozen
desserts allowed our customers to
not only pick their milk base (i.e
coconut, almond, soy & rice) but
also pick their flavor choice, sugar
preference & of course toppings
and fruit or candy mix ins.
How does A la Mode compare to
Atomic 7?
A la Mode is all that Atomic 7 was
we have simply streamlined the
freezing process and introduced a
full line of vegan, gluten free & of
course organic bakery items.
T
he Las Vegas, NV. Vegan community
has slowly been growing over the
years as veganism has become more
mainstream. It was heart breaking when the
very successful vegan ice cream shop Atomic 7
that was owned by Ginger Corbett was forced to
close its doors in 2011. It is safe to say everyone
including its owners were heartbroken.
However, this wasn’t the end for Atomic 7 it
will live on in the hearts of its many customers.
Corbett is currently in the process of looking
for a location for their new vegan bakery called
A la Mode, which will also sell ice cream. In
the meantime you can purchase A la Mode’s
cupcakes on their website.
Recently, Ginger Corbett took some time
out of there busy day of delivering cupcakes
to sit down at a local Whole Foods to talk
with Global Looking Glass about A la Mode
and their dedication to creating a high quality
cupcake that brightens their customers day.
All pics in this article by A la Mode
How hard is it to source your ingredients?
It’s not hard to source them it’s
just a little more time consuming to seek out suppliers and find
products you can trust. Once the
leg work is done it’s just a case of
using the same company as we are
limited to who we can source from.
What challenges have you faced
when it comes to creating a yummy tasting cupcake that vegans
and non vegans will enjoy?
By removing familiar ingredients
such as butter and eggs poses as
a slight challenge not only when
baking. But also when serving the
final product. People are used to
these flavors and have a certain expectation when cupcakes are presented. The minute you say they
are vegan and gluten free non vegan/gluten free people turn up their
nose. However, once people try our
cakes and cupcakes they are often
surprised at how yummy they actually are. I challenge myself to bake
to a high standard where you cannot tell if you are eating a ‘main
stream’ cupcake or that which has
different ingredients. Just because
we are switching out the run of the
mill ingredients doesn’t mean we
have to lack in flavor or taste.
From your own observation,
search and interaction with your
customers have you noticed that
there are more children developing food allergies?
Yes, I was very surprised by the
rice and corn allergies that seem
to present and growing. I was unaware of such allergies until parents
would come into the store asking if
our products were rice and/or corn
free.
From your observation what is it
like for the parents and you to see
a child be able to eat ice cream or
birthday cake for the first time?
It melts my heart. To see not
only the child bite into their
first scoop of ice cream or
cake but the impact it has on
their parents. Knowing they
can now join the masses
and go out for cake and ice
cream. This is why I love
what I do.
By Jodi Truglio
What are your food and utensil
segregation practices?
Everything is labeled between
dairy and non dairy. We also have
separate washing practices and
serving/prep areas. Everything has
and must be kept separate.
After everything that happened
with Atomic 7, why open up a new
shop?
I have received so many heartwarming emails and kind words
from our regular customers. Atomic 7 was part of a community that
allowed everyone to be equal. We
had created a family and I was
more heartbroken to lose this than
anything else. It saddened me to
think a birthday would be missed
or a celebration with no cake and
ice cream! I wanted to rejoin the
community and see all those happy faces again. Knowing the joy it
brought to everyone and the support they have given me makes it
all worth doing again.
What has been your most memorable experience when it comes to
serving ice cream or cupcakes?
Having a family come in with their
little boy who was autistic, he had
brought his friends with him and
wanted to celebrate his birthday
at Atomic 7. They picked out their
treats and were sat enjoying them
when a song came on that he
loved. He got up and began dancing and singing to it. I looked over
and his mom had tears in her eyes.
She looked at me and told me he
never talks when he is out and very
rarely at home let alone dance! It
brings tears of joy to my eyes and
still gives me goose bumps when I
think back to that day.
What has been the most challenging thing you have experienced with both companies?
Finding funding for the business
has been challenging. Also products are more expensive. However
I don’t let this dictate that I will
then mark up my prices just because of this. Our prices are on par
with main stream bakeries and ice
cream parlors out there. I don’t believe in over charging people just
because they want to eat a higher
quality dessert or because they
have a dietary choice/restriction
Since you are currently in the process of finding a space to put A la
Mode, what is your dream for A la
Mode to look like and will it serve
both ice cream and cupcakes?
A la Mode will serve both ice
cream and cupcakes. We will have
a full bakery line and of course
offer our regular smoothies, teas,
coffees etc. We want people to
come in and hang out. Visit and
relax. We have streamlined a few
of our procedures but this doesn’t
mean we will lack in the taste or
experience department! We want
people to have a home away from
home!
What are your best sellers?
Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate or vanilla frosting as far as
cupcakes go. For ice cream people loved peanut butter ice cream
which always surprised me!
What is the craziest thing someone has ever asked you to make?
A chocolate Chai tea ice cream
with blueberries mixed in. I have
to admit I was pleasantly surprised
by this combo!
What is your food guilty pleasure?
I love cookies and cream ice cream
or sipping on a coffee and enjoying a slice (or two) of our banana
bread. I’m one of those converts
that does not have a sweet tooth
but I can never turn down a second
slice of our banana bread!
With everything you have gone
through, what advice would you
give someone looking to start
their own business?
Be organized and have perseverance! Have everything ready to go
and be ready for the days where
you are rushed off your feet and
others that are mellower! Know
that there will always be that one
person who wants you to fail but so
many others cheering you on. Take
pride in what you do, believe in
your products and don’t let anyone
allow you to lower your standards
or change something you strongly
believe in. At the end of the day
this is your business, if you’re not
happy putting your name to it or
you don’t fully back your company no one else will.
Food
US Vegan Ice Cream Guide
By Erika Olivares
Perhaps you’re on a summer vacation and in the
mood for something sweet. Or maybe you just want
to enjoy a scoop of ice cream on a warm summer
evening at home. It can be difficult for vegans to find
ice cream options outside of a grocery store’s frozen
food aisle.
If you’re in one of the below cities, though, you’re
in luck! The following list comprises shops offering
vegan ice cream in major US cities.
New York City
The Big Apple has tons of different food options,
and vegan ice cream is no exception:
* Lula’s Sweet Apothecary
www.lulassweetapothecary.com/
516 East 6th St.
New York, NY 10009
Lula’s is entirely vegan and dairy-free with organic
and gluten-free options. Flavors are made in small
batches fresh daily, on the premise, and rotate regularly.
conscious approach. Flavors are rotated daily; see
website for a complete listing of flavors offered.
Chicago
* iCream - www.icreamcafe.com/
1537 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
iCream is not your ordinary ice cream shop. You
won’t find premade flavors or soft serve machines
– everything is made on the spot according to the
customer’s choices. A nitrogen machine zaps the
created flavor and instantly freezes your customized
treat.
Los Angeles
* Scoops
712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Scoops offers vegan ice cream in a variety of unique
flavors including oreo cookie, chocolate jasmine,
and strawberry coconut. Be warned – Scoops is cash
only!
* Maze’s Creamery
www.facebook.com/mazes.creamery
2236 Forest Ave
Staten Island, NY 10301
Maze’s is not fully vegan, but they offer an impressive selection of coconut, soy, and hemp ice cream
in several different flavors. Vegan options are clearly
marked.
* KindKreme - www.kindkreme.com/
Several different locations in the LA area, check
website for addresses.
KindKreme is a gourmet, raw, vegan, organic dessert shop offering their vegan icekreme. Virtually all
menu items are also gluten-free.
* Stogo - www.stogonyc.com/
159 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
Stogo offers dairy-free ice cream using organic
dairy-free ingredients with no refined sugars, animal products, gluten, preservatives, or artificial flavorings. Every flavor is made from scratch and the
shop is committed to a health-conscious and earth-
* Full Tilt Ice Cream
Multiple locations in the Seattle area, check website
for addresses.
Full Tilt has an offering of vegan ice cream flavors
that are coconut-milk-based, including Almond Joy.
They also have vegan waffle cones and you can buy
their ice cream wholesale!
Seattle
Pic by A la Mode
What is the one thing that always
surprises people when they taste
your treats for the first time?
That they don’t taste like they are
vegan and gluten free. I think people have become so accustomed
to a sub-standard dessert because
that’s all they have available to
them. The treats available out
there aren’t bad but they’re not really fantastic either. If we want to
appeal to everyone then we have
to raise the bar! I’ve had friends
and customers take our cupcakes
and ice cream to parties just to see
people’s reaction after they eat one
and they tell them they are vegan
and gluten free. People are always
shocked and often those who are
the biggest converts are those that
don’t even like sweets. After eating an a la mode cupcake you’re
often reaching for another and you
find yourself even eating the frosting. Not scraping it off like you
usually do!
Food
Portland
* Oregon Ice Works
www.oregonice.com/product.html
3221 SE Division
Portland, OR 97202
Oregon Ice Works creates a frozen treat that is not
exactly ice cream – the dessert is a frozen mix of
fruit, water, cane sugar, and natural stabilizers. Flavors include mango, marionberry, and coconut vanilla.
* Ruby Jewel - www.rubyjewel.net/
3713 North Mississippi Ave
Portland, OR
Ruby Jewel makes its own ice cream locally, in
small batches. Though the entire shop is not vegan,
they offer 2 vegan flavors daily – Pink Lemonade
and Oregon Berry. Ruby Jewel is also committed
to sustainability and supporting the local economy.
Boston
* FoMu
481 Cambridge St
Allston, MA 02134
FoMu uses a coconut-base to make their vegan ice
Food & Travel
Vegan ice cream guide
for summer travelers
cream, and offers flavors such as salted caramel,
peanut butter, and bananas foster. They can even
turn your scoop into a vegan sundae!
* J.P. Licks
www.jplicks.com/default.htm
1310 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138
J.P. Licks has 10 locations around the Boston area
and its entire menu items are Kosher certified. The
shop offers several dairy-free options such as chocolate coconut.
Text and pic by Glauce Ferrari
San Francisco
* Rocket Ship Ice Cream
www.sarah-smart.com/
1666 Market St
(between Van Ness Ave & 12th St)
San Francisco, CA 94102
Rocket Ship Ice Cream is the creation of Sarah
Smart, and is completely vegan, made with coconut
milk and rice milk. Flavors range from the common
(coffee, vanilla chocolate swirl) to the unique (lavender honey, peppermint lime).
Pics by A la Mode
* Holy Gelato
www.holygelato.com
1392 9th Ave
(between Irving St & Judah St)
San Francisco, CA 94122
This San Fran gelato and coffee shop has 2 sections of gelato, each containing 12 flavors.
One section is traditional gelato; however, the other section
contains all vegan varieties.
Twelve flavors of vegan gelato
to choose from, including Irish
Morning and mint cookie!
Fresh, creamy and delicious ice
cream is many times the dream of
vegan people around the world.
And when summertime arrives
they sound like heaven, but vegan options are not so easy to find.
Usually when people want ice
cream – not sorbet - they have to
go to grocery stores to buy boxes
of products from brands like Tofutti. But the joy of the summer
is having a cone while walking
around, whether in New York or in
Barcelona.
Because the market is beginning
to react to the rise in people adopting plant-based or dairy-free diets
– for ethical or health reasons – today it’s possible to find shops that
offer dairy-free ice cream options.
If you’re traveling around Europe, you’ll have the opportunity
to have chocolate, hazelnut, vanilla or coffee dairy-free ice cream in
many cities:
Barcelona: There’s one regular
ice cream shop there that sells soy
and rice options, such as chocolate and vanilla. Gelaati! Di Marco
(http://www.gelaaati.com/) is located in the core of the old town,
close to many tourist attractions.
Dublin: Ireland doesn’t generally offer very many vegan options,
but there’s one shop called Aussie
Ice, located in the biggest mall in
Dublin (Dundrum), that usually
has at least two dairy-free options
(chocolate, vanilla or coconut).
Berlin: Hazelnut and vanilla are
popular dairy-free flavors in Berlin, and you’ll find them during
the summer in a few shops, such
as Eissalon Tanne B (http://www.
tanneb.de) and Caramello Eis &
Coffee (http://www.caramello-eis.
de). And in both places the cones
are vegan too!
Rome: there are two shops in
Rome where you will find amazing options. Italy is well known for
its ice cream, and vegans will have
the chance to try “the best gelato
ever” too. Il Gelatone (address:
28 Via Dei Serpenti) is located
close to the Coliseum and they
offer around ten soy options that
include fruit flavors and other classics (chocolate, vanilla, pistachio,
etc.). And Gelarmony has an entire
section of dairy-free options in the
back of the shop, offering soy- and
rice-based ice cream and a delicious homemade weep cream.
They have vegan cones and they
make clear that all the soy they use
is GMO-free.
Even in Brazil, you’ll find
a few shops to
cool down a little bit (and don’t
worry, because
even if it’s not
summer there,
the weather is
always
warm
enough for a
cone or a scoop!):
Sao Paulo: the biggest city in
Brazil is home to Soroko, a regular
ice cream shop that offer around
ten vegan flavors, and they also
make dairy-free milk shakes and
banana splits. Beside that, you can
try the amazing acai fruit cream,
very popular in Brazil (not ice
cream but it’s worth a taste!).
Porto Alegre: Bonobo CafeVegano (http://www.cafebonobo.
com.br/) offers chocolate, hazelnut
and Brazilian nut dairy-free options. There’s also another shop,
called Cronks (address: Rua Felipe
Camarão 611), that offers soy ice
cream.
And if you’re planning to go
to South Korea for a summer vacation, know that there are many
So Delicious Cafe (http://turtlemountain.co.kr/index.html) shops
across the country that offer a variety of dairy-free options: in Daegu, Busan and most likely Seoul. It
couldn’t get any better!
I
Food & Travel
Barcelona, te quiero
By Glauce Ferrari
Get your flip flops ready and be ready to walk around one of the most
colorful and vibrant cities of Europe
n the south east of Spain is
located the most popular
city of Spain: Barcelona.
The capital of Catalonia is full
of colors and offers a vibrant
nightlife and delicious food. It’s
difficult not to fall in love with
the city. It has the modern characteristics of a metropolis with
a great littoral. You will breathe
culture and entertainment. You
will drink and eat and you will
walk a lot, because this is the best
way to know the city, mainly the
historical downtown. You will
need a few days there to get to
know the city and enjoy some of
its pleasures.
Gothic Quarter
Pics by Flavia Massara
and Glauce Ferrari
The Gothic Quarter (Barri
Gòtic) is the best place to walk
around and to know the history of
Barcelona. It’s the old centre and
many of its buildings are from the
medieval era. If you are into visiting churches, the Cathedral (Plaça
Nova) is there and also the Santa
Maria del Mar, both amazing examples of the gothic architecture.
A few steps from the Cathedral,
there is an ice cream shop, Gelaaati!, which offers soy and rice
delicious options. After refreshing yourself, walk to the City Hall
(Casa de la Ciutat) and go to Plaça
del Rei for more site seeing of the
medieval past.
If you fancy a plant-based version of a Catalan dish, your place
to have lunch will be Vegetalia.
The small restaurant offers a vegetarian menu, full of vegan options,
including paella. And it is 100%
worth it to eat paella in Spain. But if
you are more of a fast food kind of
person, a few steps from Vegetalia
there is a vegan fast food heaven:
Gopal. It’s not an overstatement to
say it is the most popular place in
town, attended by locals and tourists. Gopal offers around twenty
options of burgers – be ready to
get back there more times if you’re
sticking around for more days – a
small buffet for lunch meals, donuts and a great selection of cakes
from Lujuria Vegana, a must of vegan treats in Barcelona.
Still in the surroundings of the
old downtown you’ll find Juicy
Jones. From the street it looks like
a small juice bar and in fact it is.
At least the first part of the place.
In the entrance you’ll find a great
juice menu and you can refresh
yourself again – if you’re in Spain
during Spring or Summer you will
need a lot of liquids because it’s
very warm there! But the place is
also a vegetarian restaurant, serving food all day. They have a daily
special, which includes starter,
main and dessert but you can also
choose from the menu. There you
will have the chance of trying a
few vegan options of the famous
Spanish tapas too.
La Rambla
After walking through the
tiny streets of the Gothic Quarter it’s time to know the most
famous street of Barcelona:
La Rambla. Going to Barcelona and not walking along it
it’s like going to Rome and not
seeing the Pope (you’ll never
actually see the Pope in Rome,
but that’s what it’s said). Dated
from 1766, La Rambla is full of
sounds, colors, music, art, life –
and tourists. It’s a meeting place
for everyone and it’s worth to
walk its 1.2 kilometers, until
getting to the point where the
street meets the sea.
Walking through La Rambla
you’ll find a historic market, Boqueria Market, where you can enjoy a great sort of fresh fruits and
vegetables and much more. From
the famous street you’ll also see
the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the
Palau de la Virreina, breathing a
little bit more of art and national
culture.
On the opposite side of the La
Rambla from the Gothic Quarter,
you will find Barcelona’s newest
vegan restaurant addition: Veggie Garden. It’s a spacious place,
serving meals made with organic
ingredients. They offer a three
course option and many juice options, plus beer and wine. If you’re
lucky and the place is not packed,
you’ll have the chance to enjoy
great food on their terrace.
La Rambla shines day and
night, being a place where you’ll
see yourself walking by more than
once when in Barcelona.
La Rambla shines day and
night, being a place where you’ll
see yourself walking by more than
once when in Barcelona.
The master of arts
Another must see in Barcelona
is Antoni Gaudí’s pieces of art. You
may fall in love with his art or you
may think he was completely nuts,
but you have to know his work! In
the area of Poblet you’ll find his
most famous work, the Sagrada
Família church. The gothic building, still under construction, became a city icon and it’s worth to
spend a couple of hours trying to
unscramble Gaudí’s ideas for this
unique huge piece of art – or best
said, pieces of art, cause you’ll
find different demonstrations of
his style around the church. From
there you can go to Passeig de
Gràcia, where you’ll find the Casa
Milà and Casa Batlló.
If you want to make one of your
days in Barcelona a time dedicated
to the artist, take the subway and
go to Park Güell, Gaudí’s real masterpiece. The park was never finished but it has the artist’s mark
everywhere. It’s a huge green area,
full of color, shapes and fantasy.
And if you still want to breathe
more art, you will also find in
Barcelona great works of Picasso
(Museu Picasso) and Miró (Parc
de Joan Miró and Fundació Miró).
The green and the blue
After diving in a sea of culture
and arts, it’s time to enjoy Barcelona’s parks and beaches. There are
more than ten green areas in the
city and they are all worth a visit.
But if your time is short, make sure
to visit Parc de la Ciutadella, the
urban park of Barcelona, Parc del
Laberint, a great fun, and Parc de
Montjuïc, located in a hill – so you
can have a great view of the city –
and home of some of Barcelona’s
finest museums.
The catalan capital is also home
of 4.5 kilometers of beaches. The
warm weather will make you want
to enjoy its beautiful
sand and sea no matter
when you’re there. The
beaches are all a few
minutes from the city
and the Barceloneta is
the most popular and
traditional one, located
in the neighborhood
with the same name.
If after a great day
at the beach, you prefer to cook or to just
enjoy some snacks in
the hotel, go to Veganoteca (subway stop
Universitat), which is
very close to Veggie
Garden, or to Ecocentre, located close to the
Sagrada Familia (Verdaguer stop).
Or if you miss pizza, Paco Pizza
offers 100% vegetarian options,
even with vegan cheese and it’s
very close to La Barceloneta, so
you can go straight from the beach
there!
Barcelona has a lot to offer and
its weather will make you feel
ready to enjoy everything the city
has, even during the winter. You
will meet nice people, enjoy delicious plant-based meals and always find a festival or event to go.
Service:
Gelaaati! - Plaça de Catalunya
Vegetalia - Carrer dels Escudellers, 54
Gopal - Carrer dels Escudellers, 42
Juicy Jones - Carrer de
l’Hospital, 74
Veggie Garden - Carrer Dels
Angels, 3
Veganoteca – Carrer de Valdonzella, 60
Ecocentre - Carrer de Mallorca, 330
Paco Pizza - Carrer d’Allada
Vermell, 11
Food & Travel
Naturally “cheeseless” pizza
Text and pic by Glauce Ferrari
You don’t need to ask for pizza with no cheese in Italy to get a vegan one
Outside Italy pizza is usually related to cheese. It’s hard for most
of the people around the world to
imagine eating vegan when the
subject is this amazing Italian food.
But because pizza was exported
everywhere it also got different
ways to be done here and there and
it’s hard to say you had an original Italian one unless you go to the
country of pizza and pasta.
In the US you’ll find the Chicago-style pizza, which is a deepdish pizza while in New York
you’ll try a large, wide, thin and
foldable shape. This one is closer
to the Italian one. In Brazil – and in
some other countries too – you’ll
have to ask the ingredients of the
dough because sometimes it has
milk (or whey powder) or even
eggs. When someone decides to
adopt a plant-based diet or a vegan
lifestyle, he will have to be ready
to ask questions when eating out
and this will include pizzerias.
More than asking for the ingredients you will see yourself choosing
one pizza and asking for it “with
no cheese, please” and getting the
weirdest looks from the waitresses
or even hearing thins like “Are you
sure?” or “Sorry, we can’t make
pizza without cheese”.
And if you’re not Italian you’ll
spend your life going through
menus around the world and getting used to ask all these questions,
even when you go to Italy. Liz
Wyman, 40, from Trent England,
had her first “cheeseless” pizza
in Florence a few years ago. She
found in Florence an option with
no cheese, porcini pizza and ordered it. But until today she had no
idea she could just ask for a “marinara” pizza and get a naturally
cheese free pizza.
Emma Attwell, 26, from Luton,
England, went through a similar
experience in the beautiful island
of Sardinia. She went to a lot of
family owned business and learned
how to order pizza in Italian in the
end, but she would ask for a vegetarian pizza with no cheese “and
extra veg”.
Pizza marinara is one of the first
made pizzas in Naples – where
pizza comes from – and with the
“margherita” (with cheese) option
is one of the most popular in Italy.
It’s made with tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and olive oil. Yes, just
that. And yes, no cheese. The name
“marinara” could make some people think it has fish on it because
“marinai” means “sailors” but the
name comes from the fact that its
ingredients could be easily preserved in long trips by sailors. The
fact is that you’ll find marinara
pizza with anchovies outside Italy,
as was the case of Italian Martina
Trovato, 23: “Even when I found
marinara in the UK, it was always
with anchovies, so I had to always
order a vegetarian pizza with no
cheese.” She agrees that most of
the people outside Italy don’t know
what is a marinara pizza. “I found
it several times with anchovies,
pineapple and even aniseed!”, says
Martina.
But if you think this simple –
and naturally vegan - pizza sounds
boring, like Emma thought when
in Italy, you can order a marinara
with whatever you want and it’s on
the restaurant’s menu (olives, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, etc).
When eating out in Italy you’ll
face staff in restaurants who
doesn’t speak English – or speaks
just a few words. So be ready to
order a marinara pizza with your
favorite ingredients knowing how
to say some words in Italian:
cheese: formaggio
olives: olive
artichokes: carciofi
sun dried tomatoes: pomodori
secchi
mushrooms: funghi
pepper: peperone
Voice
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps:
Saving Mountains, Enriching People
For years now, federal and local
funding for mountain conservation
efforts has been low. No matter
the money, our natural resources
in these mountains, as well as the
flora and fauna, still need protection. This is where programs like
the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps
(www.rockymountainyouthcorps.
org/) come to the rescue – troops
of young people willing to work
very hard for little money, all because they want to help in conserving our wild places, experience nature and see our world.
The Rocky Mountain Youth
The Rocky
Mountain Youth
Corps is
responsible for a
variety of
conservation
efforts in the
mountains
Corps is responsible for a variety of conservation efforts in the
mountains. According to Quinn
Orr, a former participant, one’s
Text by Emily Wages
Pics by rockymountain.org
daily activities in the corps range
wildly – some days for him were
spent in the office or creating films
for the program, but other whole
weeks and longer were spent in the
mountains clearing trees, building
paths in national parks, collecting seeds for repopulation efforts
and building fences. Individual’s
talents are tapped in this program
– if you’re great at making media
to spread the word about RMYC,
you may be responsible for making videos and websites. If you’re
great at administrative tasks, you
may be responsible for that, and so
forth.
As well as some “inside” work,
a lot of time for the RMYC is spent
out in the mountains camping and
working a full 40 hours a week.
With a group of ten, that is four
hundred man hours a week – a lot
of work can get done in that time,
especially with dedicated young
adults.
RMYC clears some species of
sick trees – infested with highly
destructive beetles – to stop the
spread of these beetles and thereby save large portions of Rocky
Mountain forest.
Forest fires
help to control the spread of these
harmful insects, but fires have
been so controlled by people in
recent years that the beetles are
beginning to take over and destroy
precious woodlands. They also
collect seeds for forest repopulation of endangered plant species
and build and maintain paths and
fences in national parks to ensure
safety for hikers and protection of
native plants and animals from the
possible destructive steps of humans.
Some young people come to the
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps on
their own. Others, like Quinn Orr,
come through the help of Americorps. He received $10,000 for
a year of work through that program, as well as further assistance
for graduate study. He lived in
Steamboat, Colorado though -- a
resort town -- and it was a stretch
to live on the $10,000. Because of
his dedication to this program, he
made it work and came out with
not just a great experience, but also
the knowledge that he has made a
difference. Youth like him all
over the country do work through
programs like Americorps and
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps -tough work in our forests, mountains and deserts -- all because
they feel convicted to help our
country’s natural spaces.
If you’re interested in the
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps,
take a look at their promotional
videos and websites and take a
minute to contact them. It is programs like this that are picking up
where our government leaves off
when it comes to mountain and
forest conservation.