Sunday, 4/24: Carpool to Michigan VegFest.

Vegfest, Michigan’s premier vegan event, will be held Sunday, April 24, in Novi, MI. Featured speakers include actress Simone Reyes, former NBA star John Salley, president of Mercy For Animals Nathan Runkle, and author Dr. Alan Goldhamer. There will also be cooking demos, exhibits of vegan causes and products, children’s activities, and much more.

More info / complete schedule here.VegFestLogo1

We urge all Vegan Kalamazoo members to attend–and we especially urge you … Continue reading

Sunday, 4/24: Tour the New Bronson Healthy Living Campus Open House

This is a cool, innovative, fascinating new thing in our community; and although it’s not a pure-vegan campus there will be a plant-based component to the teaching and other activities. Faculty will be available during the tour to explain the various programs, and we may come up with some ideas for collaboration. Let’s meet at 2:00 p.m. at 418 E. Walnut Street (see map). — Hillary 

The Food Innovation Center opened at the beginning of the winter 2016 semester. The first students to use the facility are enrolled in Introduction to Sustainable Food Systems, Food Safety Essentials, Winter Crops Practicum, … Continue reading

Monday 4/25: Living Vegan Social Club Pot Luck (Portage)

Living Vegan is a social group/discussion group where we come together informally for fun times and fun discussions. Need a recipe? A vegan fashion tip? Tips for dealing with non-vegan family/friends? You’ll get it all at Living Vegan! We also have plenty of fun discussions on non-vegan topics like movies, TV, gardening, photography, and science fiction. And sometimes there’s a pool game or two!

The Portage Living Vegan Social Club will meet Monday, April 25 at 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at the home of Laurie Oldfather, 10252 S.Westnedge Ave., Portage. Bring any vegan dish; Laurie will provide plates, … Continue reading

Our Community’s Tragedy

Our community experienced a terrible tragedy over the weekend. I hope all Vegan Kalamazoo members and their loved ones are safe and sound. If anyone has ideas about how our group can support the victims and their families, or the larger community, in the wake of this tragedy, please email me or leave a comment on our Facebook group.

we love you kalamazooI hope it’s some solace to know that, as vegans, … Continue reading

Five Ways To Go Invisibly Vegan

Here’s to a healthier, kinder, and more environmentally sustainable future! Okay, let’s not talk about bacon or cheese. Let’s talk about chili, stir fries, and muffins. Below are five ridiculously easy things you can do to invisibly veganize your cuisine. By invisible I mean that, in a blind taste test, you wouldn’t know the dish is vegan.

1. Join Harvard, 7-Eleven, and many others and dump the mayonnaise: use Hampton Creek’s vegan Just Mayo instead. Winner of a Serious Eats blind taste test, it’s clearly freaking out Big Mayo (a.k.a., Unilever, maker of Hellmann’s/Best Foods), … Continue reading

Thursday 3/24: Veganism and Religion Discussion at the Kalamazoo College Arcus Center!

Please join Vegan Kalamazoo for an exciting and wide-ranging discussion of Veganism and Religion, led by Kevin J. Wanner, professor of religion at WMU, who teaches a class on Animals and Religion.

Among the topics we might cover are:

*Comparisons of different religious approaches to animals and veganism

*Ethics and relevance of kosher, halal and other humane laws

*Veganism as an imperative of stewardship

Some recommended readings below: read one or all and come prepared to share your ideas, thoughts, experience, and concerns on this important topic.

This event will be held at Kalamazoo College’s award-winning Arcus Center for Social … Continue reading

Monday 3/28: The Connection Between Eating Animals and Worldwide Violence

Tolstoy famously said, “As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will always be battlefields.” The link between carnivory (eating animals) and violence has long been recognized, and is one reason many of history’s top thinkers, including Hippocrates, Leonardo da Vinci, Shaw, Einstein, Gandhi, and of course, Tolstoy himself, were vegetarian or vegan.

But just how real is this link, and how does eating animals affect us?

Come join us for a presentation and discussion on this fascinating and important topic.

Our presenter is Nathan Poirier, a graduate student of Anthrozoology at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. Nathan’s work focuses on … Continue reading

Tuesday 3/01: Supermarket Shoparooni! (Kalamazoo / Oshtemo)

NOTE: WE HAVE RESCHEDULED THIS EVENT DUE TO THE IMPENDING SNOW EMERGENCY. THERE WILL BE NO EVENT ON THURSDAY 2/25. NEW DATE IS TUESDAY 3/01.

Join us for Vegan Kalamazoo’s first-ever Supermarket Shoparooni!   We’ll be walking through Meijer (West Main St.) checking out all the cool vegan foods and talking about how you can use them. We’ll be exploring:   *fruits and vegetables  *whole grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts  *plant based milks and yogurts  *condiments, herbs, and spices  *ethnic selections  *frozen / convenience foods    We’ll also be discussing low-oil, and oil-free cooking, cooking healthy for kids (our … Continue reading

Saturday, 3/19: Living Vegan Social Club (Kalamazoo)

Living Vegan is a social group where we come together informally for fun times and fun discussions. Need a recipe? A vegan fashion tip? Tips for dealing with non-vegan family/friends? You’ll get it all at Living Vegan! We also have plenty of fun discussions on non-vegan topics like movies, TV, gardening, photography, and science fiction. And sometimes there’s a pool game or two!

We hope you’ll join us for our next get-together on Saturday, March 19 from 9:30 a.m. to Noon at Fourth Coast Cafe (816 S Westnedge Ave, Kalamazoo) Event is free (except the cost of your … Continue reading

Sunday, 5/8: Tabling at the Kalamazoo Marathon

The Kalamazoo Marathon is Sunday, May 8, and we’ll be tabling from 7:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Please join us for all or part of that time. We’ll be handing out water to the runners, cheering them on, and generally having a blast–all while promoting joyful veganism. Email Hillary if you can volunteer, and please stop by even if you can’t.

More info on the run here.

Parking info here.

Note: our location on the route hasn’t yet been assigned, but we’ll update this when it … Continue reading