Will you be attending the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus this weekend in Nashville?

UPDATED 2/18/10

Mellow Mushroom has long be heralded by vegans and vegetarians as one of the few places to munch on tempeh subs or get a tempeh or tofu topped pizza. Up to recently those pizzas and subs had to be cheeseless for vegans due to the casein in the soy cheese they used.   Now Mellow Mushroom is beginning to use casein-free vegan cheeses although the only locations in Tennessee are in Knoxville and Murfreesboro.

The following is a list of locations presently using casein-free soy cheese:

• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
• Conyers, Georgia
• Carrollton, Georgia
• Raleigh, North Carolina
• Durham, North Carolina
• Columbia, South Carolina
• Greenville, South Carolina
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Douglasville, Georgia
• Hiram, Georgia
• Northlake, Georgia
• Lexington, Kentucky
• Decatur, Georgia
• Fayetteville, Arkansas
• Spartanburg, South Carolina
• Charelston, South Carolina
• Austin, Texas

If your location does not carry the casein-free alternative they can be persuaded!  Just ask! If you do get vegan cheese at a location not listed above please let me know so I can add it to the list.

If you’re a vegetarian or vegan then you have heard of PETA. In fact, there are probably few people in the US who have not. If the circus is in town then you will likely find caged scantily-clad women somewhere in the vicinity touting the virtues of a meat-free, furless, petless life. Today PETA protesters were reported to be showing up at Buena Vista Elementary School in Nashville wearing bloody elephant costumes to protest the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Of course, the mere mention of this event in the local newspaper drew vile comments.

I’m not a supporter of PETA for reasons I won’t discuss here though I will say they’re not of the typical anti-PETA reasoning. It isn’t easy to find a PETA supporter in the vegan ranks. They are out there, many of them celebrities who lend their voice to the cause and can be found plastered on billboards or on pages of vegetarian magazines but the usual day-to-day vegan doesn’t always support PETA and many are as vocal in the distrust of the organization as the are the love they have for tempeh or tofu.

Many people point to PETA’s euthanization practices as a disconnection point. Many others claim their tactics are far too in-your-face to be worthwhile. You can find all of the information you desire agaist PETA simply by searching for “anti peta” and I won’t list what can easily be found elsewhere. There’s equally the same amount of information in support of PETA. That’s not what this is about. This is about my curiosity. I simply want to know why people are so set off by the mention of PETA. The local story I mentioned earlier has a list of comments from people blasting PETA.

Do you agree or disagree with PETA? If you disagree and want to blast them feel free to do so in the comments but back your remarks up, don’t just post hearsay and rumors without the facts. Yes, those anti-PETA, non-veg, pro-meat people are free to post but remember, we all know what junior high, imbecilic minds think PETA stands for.

2009 has passed and with the new year there are new resolutions. Many will be promising to put down the cigarettes, lose weight and save money. Some will make a promise to themselves to spend more time with family or travel more. There will also be some choosing to stick with a vegetarian or vegan diet. Many of these resolutions will go forgotten for whatever reason in a matter of weeks, some a matter of days. While I might not be able to help with some of those promises you might make to yourself I would like to think I can help with the vegan or vegetarian choice. Even if it is a question you have regarding a vegan diet that I may not immediately be able to assist with there are plenty of people here who lurk in the comments to give you pointers.

If you did decide to go vegetarian or vegan in 2010 stick to it! The benefits will surprise you and you will be glad you did!