Beginner’s Guides
- Living Vegetarian
- PCRM’s Vegetarian Starter Kit
Good health-related info for those ditching meat. - TryVeg.com
The “Whys and Hows of Vegetarian Eating,” by Compassion Over Killing. - Vegan Starter Guide (PDF)
Friends of Animals’ starter brochure - Vegetarian Starter Kit
A great primer from PETA. - Why Vegan/Try Vegetarian
One of the best introductions, from Vegan Outreach. Also, request a free copy of their free starter kits.
Reasons for Going Veg
Environmental
- Meat and the Environment
“Producing just one hamburger uses enough fossil fuel to drive a small car 20 miles. Of all raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S., more than one-third is used to raise animals for food.
- Meat and the Environment
Ethical/Animal Rights
Health
- VeganHealth.org
A project of Vegan Outreach. Most important read here is “Vitamin B12: Are You Getting It?”
- VeganHealth.org
Religious
Not all of these religions outright endorse vegetarianism and, as you can imagine, there’s always debate amongst adherents. The links below will give you a good overview of various religions’ view of vegetarianism. For further reading, The International Vegetarian Union has even more information available and Rynn Berry’s Food of the Gods has been recommended (though I haven’t read it myself, yet). The Wikipedia also has a good rundown of reglious beliefs with regards to vegetarianism.
Baha’i
Buddhism
- A Buddhist Perspective on Vegetarianism
- Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat by Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol
- The Great Compassion: Buddhism and Animal Rights by Norm Phelps
- The History, Philosophy and Practice of Buddhism: Vegetarianism
Argues that Buddha himself may not have been vegetarian, but the general philosophy of “right livelihood (do no harm)” supports it. - Veggie Dharma
CaoDaiism
Christianity
Hinduism
- Why Vegetarian?
Though I obviously disagree with the idea that cow’s milk is required for life, this is still a good look at vegetarianism from a Hindu perspective.
- Why Vegetarian?
Humanism
Islam
Jainism
Judaism
Rastafarianism
Taoism
- I-kuan Tao
Described as a “vegetarian spiritualist form of Taoism,” I-kuan Tao is based primarily in Taiwan. Nearly 90% of the 5,000 vegetarian restaurants in Taiwan are run by I-kuan Tao adherents. - Vegetarian Debate
- I-kuan Tao
Wiccanism
Recipe Sources
- Cat-Tea Corner’s Vegan Recipes
- Compassionate Cooks
- Epicurious
- Fat Free Vegan Recipes
- FATFREE: The Low Fat Vegetarian Recipe Archive
- Food Network
- International Veg’n Union
- Nava Atlas’ VegKitchen.com
Nava Atlas has written a number of great family-friendly vegetarian cookbooks. Her site features many of them and her monthly e-mail list is also well worth joining. - Post Punk Kitchen
A kick ass site run by Isa and Terry. They also do a public access show of the same name. There’s an especially useful guide to vegan baking. - Vegan Cooking
- Vegan-Food.Net
A large collection of vegan recipes (mostly from alt.food.vegan) with the ability to comment on any recipe and search by ingredient. - VeganMania
- Vegetarian Resource Group
- Vegetarian.Allrecipes.com
Restaurant Guides
- HappyCow
- Stumptown Vegans
Reviews of Portland restaurants. - SuperVegan NYC Vegan Restaurant Guide
An absolutely amazing and essential resource for anyone living in or visiting New York. This is how restaurant guides should be done. - Vegan Friendly
Reviews of NYC restaurants - VegDining.com
- Veggie Substitution Blog
Restaurant reviews from Massachusetts. How come I always have to copy-and-paste “Massachusetts”? - VegGuide.org
Probably the best nationwide guide for vegetarian restaurants.
Parenting
Books
AR Books
Cookbooks
- Damn Tasty Vegan! by Kris Holechek
Baked goods are good. - Glad Cow Cookbook by Summer Keightley
A wonderful tome, physically thin but chunky in quality, by the super-nice Summer. - La Dolce Vegan! by Sarah Kramer
Super tasty, simple recipes by Sarah and her friends. There’s rarely a dud here. - The Artful Vegan by Eric Tucker
Not for the faint of heart (ie. these recipes take time), this is gourmet vegan cooking at its best. - The Veggie Queen by Jill Nussinow
A great collection of seasonal recipes that focus on vegetables rather than meat analogues. - Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
CUP. CAKES. - Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
An essential cookbook. Foreword by some jerk. - Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons by Nava Atlas
One of our favorite go-tos during any season. - Vive le Vegan! by Dreena Burton
Wonderful collection of unique recipes that go well beyond the standard fare.
- Damn Tasty Vegan! by Kris Holechek
Magazines
Videos
- Behind the Mask
A documentary on the direct action side of the movement. - Earthlings
- Meet Your Meat
PETA’s well-known introduction to the wonderful world of factory farm cruelty. - Peaceable Kingdom
This one’s essential… it’s incredibly moving but also manages to give you hope that you can make a difference amidst all the pain and suffering. - The Animals Film
- The Witness
- Wegman’s Cruelty
Organizations
- Compassion Over Killing
- Compassionate Action for Animals
- Compassionate Consumers
Producers of the Wegman’s Cruelty video. - Farm Sanctuary
- Friends of Animals
- Humane Society of the United States
- In Defense of Animals
- Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary
Farm animal sanctuary in Poolesville, MD. - Vegan Outreach
- Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary
Based in Woodstock, NY.
Shopping
- Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe
Great service! - Food Fight Grocery
PDX represent! - Goodbaker
Whole wheat, vegan baking mixes. Good food from good people. - Herbivore Clothing
Veggie-themed clothing that doesn’t suck. They also publish the fine Herbivore Magazine. - Moo Shoes
Vegan shoes galore. - Pangea
- Veg Blog Amazon store
Affiliate link. Tosses a little change my way. - Vegan Essentials
One of the original web-based vegan stores.
Blogs and Podcasts
Animal Rights Blogs
- An Animal-Friendly Life
- Animal Ethics
- Animal Person
Mary Martin, Ph.D’s blog - Animal Rights @ Change.org
- Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach-Blog
Professor Gary Francione’s blog on the abolitionist approach to AR. - Animal Writings
Written by one of the nicest guys in the biz. - easyVegan.info
- Invisible Voices
Deb is an excellent writer and photographer. Thought-provoking entries and stunning sanctuary photography. - Of Human and Non-Human Animals
- The Vegan Bug
Food Blogs
Vegan Food Blogs
- Dreena’s Vegan Recipes
- Eat Air
- Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
- Food Snob
- Let’s Get Sconed
- Squirrel’s Vegan Kitchen
- Squirrel’s Vegan Kitchen
Food blog by Kris Holechek (“Damn Tasty Vegan!”). - Stumptown Vegans
Reviews of Portland restaurants. - The Vegan Diet
A vegan food blog from South Africa. - Vegalicious
- Vegan Cook-a-long
- Vegan Friendly
Reviews of NYC restaurants - Vegan Ice Cream Paradise
“All the vegan ice cream recipes you could want.” - Vegan Lunchbox
- Vegan Review
- Vegan*core
- veganimprov
- VeganYumYum
- Vive le Vegan!
Dreena Burton’s blog - What do vegans eat?
- What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway?
One of the first vegan food blogs I can remember reading. - Yeah That “Vegan” Shit
- Your Vegan Mom
Non-Vegan Food Blogs
- 101 Cookbooks
- Amateur Gourmet
- Hot Chocolate Blog
Written by a former co-worker. - The Lazy Vegetarian
- Too Many Chefs
- veg*n kitchenette
“A vegetarian foodie music-addict finds herself with nothing more than a kitchenette: a microwave, an electric skillet, a toaster oven and a sink.”
Podcasts
- Erik’s Diner (vegan.com)
The first vegan podcast. Hosted by author Erik Marcus. - Let’s Get Baked
- Run Vegan Run
- Vegan Cooking School
- Vegan Freak
The crazy successful, profanity-laden, King of All Vegan Podcasts. Hosted by Bob and Jenna Torres. They’re a “brand” now. - Vegan Radio
- Vegan Review
- VegCast
- Vegetarian Food for Thought (RSS feed)
The Compassionate Cooks’ podcast
- Erik’s Diner (vegan.com)
Other Vegetarian-Themed Blogs
- A Liberal Atheistic Vegblog (Veg*n category)
“A Liberal Atheistic Vegblog.” - A Really Angry Cow
Hasn’t been updated in a while, but there are some great essays worth reading. - Almost Vegan
- Generation Vegan
- SuperVegan
From the folks at Lantern Books. - The Chubby Vegan
- Vegan Chai
This one kind of flies under the radar, but it’s still one of my favorites. - Vegan Freaks
Jenna and Bob blog. - Vegan Hope
- Vegan Porn
No porn. Think Metafilter for the vegan set. - Veggie Chic
- Veggie Revolution
From the authors of the book of the same name. - We Like It Raw
Give it to me, yeah, give it to me raw. - Went Vegan
Vegan-themed blog by the best modern blues musician. Yay for Brownbird Rudy Relic!
- A Liberal Atheistic Vegblog (Veg*n category)
