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Ahimsa lights the way
For this celebration, we invite people to try vegan food—creating awareness of the proliferation of options. Restaurants, diners, delis, cafés, universities, colleges, schools, religious groups, workplaces, service clubs, and social groups are encouraged to get involved.
Learn the history of vegan cuisine and new recipes to prepare delicious vegan cuisine.
Hashtag your vegan food photos #VeganCuisineMonth. Ask for vegan cuisine at restaurants. Attend events.
Get involved! Do something easy such as encourage your local pizza parlor to have vegan pizza. Or plan a big celebration! Resources below.
Events provide opportunities for chefs to learn about and showcase the bounty of healthy compassionate fare that should be offered on every menu. Here are basic steps for a big celebration, additional ideas abound below!
*For cafeterias (schools, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.), adjust the above guidelines: you might not need to get prices and make reservations. You may want to emphasize creativity such as having chefs do a vegan cooking competition. Maybe invite a cookbook author to speak and feature recipes from the book.
American Vegan Society (AVS) President Freya Dinshah is the least likely person to seek any sort of recognition. However, she wrote The Vegan Kitchen (1965), the first cookbook in the U.S. to use the word vegan in the title and explain the ethics of veganism.
AVS was founded in February 1960 by Freya’s late husband, H. Jay Dinshah, who is widely considered to be the father of the vegan movement in America. Freya is often referred to as the mother; Jay and Freya were the first inductees in the Vegetarian Hall of Fame in 1993.
Freya negotiated with food service personnel for conference catering (1974-1999) and created the first vegan volume recipes for use in colleges, restaurants, hospitals, and other institutions. Vegetarian Cooking for 100 is a card-file system originated for the 1975 World Vegetarian Congress. She conceived the book Apples, Bean Dip, and Carrot Cake: Kids! Teach Yourself to Cook (2012) to empower the next generation. Freya has taught cooking classes since 1969. She currently is the nutrition educator at a neighborhood afterschool program.
Freya prefers not to be honored; she tips her hat to many heroes (the #VeganCuisineMonth honorees) and says,
“The range and stature of vegan cuisine has advanced tremendously through the years by the efforts of many people who must be honored. Let’s celebrate their accomplishments.”
Vegan Cuisine Month is a time to praise those who have brought vegan food into esteem, a time to share its bounty, and a time to help fulfill its promise. For each of the February days we honor these heroes: (Many of the books are available from AVS.).
1. Irene Grace Dinshah: Freya Dinshah’s mother-in-law provided Freya early experiences in vegan cooking
2. Pietro Rotondi, DC: Vegetarian Cookery (1942), Los Angeles dinners drew a cast of characters
3. Disease-prevention cooking classes: Dr. J. A. Scharffenberg (1960s+) & 7th Day Adventists
4. Rosalie Hurd: Ten Talents Cookbook (1968)
5. Joy Gross: beautiful demos of natural foods
6. Eva Batt: What’s Cooking (U.K.1973), mentor
7. Louise Hagler et al.: The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook (1975), Tofu Cookery (1983). The Farm Community
8. North American Vegetarian Society: cooking classes at vegan-catered annual Summerfests on college campuses since 1975
9. Gentle World: Cookbook for People Who Love Animals (1981) achieved mass distribution
10. Vegetarian Resource Group: dining guides, food ingredient guide, quantity catering, books
11. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: disease-prevention cooking classes
12. Farm Animal Rights Movement: campaigns
13. Ron Pickarski: Friendly Foods, organized vegan Culinary Olympics team, gold medalist; executive chef for AVS conventions 1991 to 1999
14. Ken Bergeron: Professional Vegetarian Cooking, first gold medal at Culinary Olympics by a vegan dish
15. Bryanna Clark Grogan: World Vegan Feast
16. Jo Stepaniak: UnCheese Cookbook, Vegan Sourcebook, vegan scholar and “encyclopedia”
17. Vegan RDs: George Eisman A Guide to Vegan Nutrition; Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis Becoming Vegan, established adequacy and benefits of vegan nutrition
18. Jennifer Raymond: Peaceful Palate, corporate, dining services, and heart patient advisor.
19. Christina Pirello: Back to the Cutting Board, Cooking the Whole Foods Way, TV chef on PBS show Christina Cooks,
20. West Coast Restaurateurs: Eric Tucker, Millennium; Ann Gentry, Real Food Daily; Tanya Petrovna, Native Foods chain founder
21. East Coast Restaurateurs: Joy Pierson, Candle Café; Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, Vedge
22. Food developers: Tal Ronnen, Miyoko Schinner
23. Gwen Foster: former director of Fit Philadelphia
24. Raw food chefs: Cherie Soria, Matthew Kenney
25. Bryant Terry: Afro Vegan, Vegetable Kingdom
26. Fran Costigan: Vegan Chocolate, dessert queen
27. Linda Long: Great Chefs Cook Vegan, food connoisseur and photographer
28. Dining Guides, since 1999: VegDining.com and HappyCow.net
29. Seth Tibbott: Tofurky founder
56 Dinshah Lane, P.O. Box 369, Malaga NJ 08328 856.694.2887
Copyright © 1960-2023
AVS is a registered 501(c)(3) organization, EIN 226058533. All donations made to the American Vegan Society are tax deductible in accordance with applicable law..