Who knew that the word “vegan” was coined 68 years ago on this day? And that the whole month of November is World Vegan Month? Well, now you do. If you ask me (go ahead and ask!), every day should be World Vegan Day, and then we could celebrate every night at the St. Julien in Boulder with a four-course dinner like this one:
Roasted Munson Family Farm Pumpkin Soup
(toasted pepitas, sage, pumpkin seed oil)
or
Udon Soup
(tempura vegetables & mushrooms)
Baby Arugula & Apple Salad
(apple cider truffle vinaigrette)
Hazel Dell Mushroom Crusted Tofu
(portobello tapenade, red quinoa, pumpkin seed pesto)
or
Tempeh Curry
(dried apricots, cilantro, roasted almond slivers, jalapeño, yam chips)
Chocolate Hazelnut Napoleon
(peanut butter ice cream, coconut nutella anglaise
or
Chai Panna Cotta
(cranberry ginger compote, strawberry shiraz sorbet)
Which I did with three of my let’s-make-this-world-a-more-compassionate-place-&-not-eat-animals friends — Anne, Emily & D’Anne. 
Because veganism, to my mind anyhoo, is about connecting to the world around you, asking if your relationship (the one you have with the world) is mutually beneficial, if, like, um, you are taking more than you need. Yes, for example, by eating meat, which consumes far more resources than it is worth in terms of nutrition (I could bore you with some facts, but I’ll save those for another post), & creates way more toxic waste than you’d want to read about before indulging in a four-course dinner of sublime sensory sensations. So just trust me, giving up meat will lower your carbon footprint way more than putting your car in storage & throwing away the key will. (O.K., I can’t help myself: A couple of years ago, two environmental specialists for the World Bank, Robert Goodland — the bank’s former lead environmental adviser — and Jeff Anhang, claimed, in a World Watch article, that meat production is responsible for 51 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions. Put that on the barbi & smoke it!)
Connecting to the earth, being a responsible citizen, isn’t just about not eating meat — although it is a great good thing to think about, for all of the above reasons! It’s about taking a look around & thinking about the impact your lifestyle decisions have on the entire planet — the people, the animals, nature — & whether they’re sustainable.