A Spotlight on Vegan Companies and Businesses
throughout the United States and a few beyond - updated May 2006
by M. 'Butterflies' Katz
co-author of Incredibly Delicious; Recipes for a New Paradigm
by Gentle World www.gentleworld.org
| International Vegetarian Union (IVU) | |
|
|
|
A Spotlight on Vegan Companies and Businesses throughout the United States and a few beyond - updated May 2006 by M. 'Butterflies' Katz co-author of Incredibly Delicious; Recipes for a New Paradigm by Gentle World www.gentleworld.org |
|
|
|
|
Vegan Food Companies (including chocolate) based in the USA/California: Grainaissance, makers of Amazake sell only vegan products, however the owner and staff are not vegan. The company has been in business since 1979 offering Amazake Rice Shakes: 14 flavors and Mochi Bake & Serve Rice Squares: 8 flavors. Tony Plotkin; President, started the company when he was following a macrobiotic diet. He still is mostly macrobiotic. They are located at 1580 62nd
St., Emeryville, CA. 94608 Organicville sells all certified vegan products. The company owner is vegan, in fact, she is a third generation vegetarian who has never eaten animal products. The company has been in business for 2 years offering 9 organic vegan vinaigrettes: olive oil and balsamic, sun dried tomato and garlic, herbs de provence, orange cranberry, miso ginger, sesame tamari, tarragon dijion, pomegranate, sesame goddess. The owner, Rachel Kruse, has this to say to us, "I grew up in the Midwest. I am a third generation vegetarian who simply can't get enough salad. As I have been a lifelong lover of salad, so too have I been a lifelong organic consumer. However, I couldn't find an organic dressing that tasted great. So I created Organicville. We gather superior ingredients from organic food artisans from around the world. We use traditionally aged vinegar and high quality blends of expeller pressed oils. It is the only product line in the marketplace that is certified organic, gluten free, dairy free, vegan, no added sugar, and it tastes great too! Organicville's Organic Vinaigrettes incorporate our commitment to quality, health benefits, and great taste!" Location: 1200 65th Street
Suite 107, Emeryville, CA. 94608 Spice of Life Meatless Meats sells ONLY vegan products. The owner is Spice Williams, actress and stunt woman, who has been a vegan for 30 years and is a fine example of physical fitness. All the staff is vegan. The company has been in business for 13 years. They produce jerky made from defatted soy flour, Bragg Liquid Aminos, sunflower oil, and natural spices. Spice of Life Meatless Meats are wheat-free, cholesterol-free, high in fiber and protein, and have the look, taste and texture of a wide range of meats. Absent are the animal drugs (sterols, antibiotics, hormones, etc.), and high concentrates of agricultural chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, etc.), and other animal waste residues that make meat and dairy consumption so unhealthy. Spice Williams Crosby (her husband is the oldest grandson of singer Bing Crosby) became vegan at age 26. When asked why she chose to become vegan: "I had my 3rd drug and alcohol overdose and made up my mind to turn my life around. I took my medicinal knowledge and searched for a truth. I was a treatment nurse, medical transcriber and grew up in a medical world on a ranch with lots of meat and dairy. The American Way!!! I knew I had to go into the truth of the body and find out biochemically why I had a weight problem, health problems, skin problems, etc. However, how I was eating and living my life, I knew wasn't working. So I took my blinders off and went for it. I then stumbled across a book called Food Combining by Herbert Shelton and my concept of food and life totally turned around. "I began to study digestion time and realized that animal flesh and diary was rotting and putrefying in my gut lining. Pleasant thought, Uh? As I began to eliminate the foods that took the longest, I took on a lifestyle of eating that changed my body and my sense of well being. One day, someone asked me what I eat. I told them and they began to tell me I was a VEGAN! I replied, 'A what'? I had no idea I had transformed myself into something that actually had a name for it. "Then I was asked if I chose this lifestyle for health or for love of animals. I had never really thought of why, but the time of my change, it was purely for health. However, the cleaner my body became, the evidence of not wanting to participate in the killing of animals became extremely apparent and now I know it's for both reasons." She continues, "Not only do I feel better, but safer. I talked to many people every week who are dealing with cancers, auto immune diseases and feeling bad, over weight, headaches, hormonal imbalances etc...I don't have to worry about any of that stuff. I feel clean and safe." Another thought she had, "I died in a car accident when I was 18 years old. I went towards the light and saw people and animals. How dare we take an animal's life! Think about it...when we kill animals, we TAKE their life away. Who died and made us God? We are ignorant and full of excuses for doing this. I will have no part of this action of man." In conclusion Spice reminds us, "Remember, a picture is worth a 1,000 words and the first thing I'm always told is ;you don't look like a vegan!' Well, that's because, most vegetarians or vegans don't do it right and don't look healthy! I'll be 48, April 26, 2000 and I was kick boxing and lifting weights the day my water broke 5 years ago. I try to live my life with using all my knowledge to guide me to make the right choices. If you change to a very healthy lifestyle and you set an example of love, and high energy then the world will come to you asking you the same question they ask me... What do you eat that makes you look so healthy, full of energy and strong. I just smile and proudly say, 'I'm a VEGAN!' Stay strong and Sweet." Spice Williams-Crosby. Spice of Life Co., 15445 Ventura
Boulevard, Suite 115, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403, The Natural Whole Food Bar products are all certified vegan. The certification was granted by Vegan Action (Richmond, VA.) (www.vegan.org) which has long been recognized for their reputation and integrity in the governance of ensuring products meet the standards necessary to achieve the distinction of becoming Vegan Certified. The Natural Whole Food Bars have earned several notable distinctions within the market place, aside from being certified vegan, they also recently received notification of being classified as 'low glycemic' after having submitted to rigorous lab testing over a 10 week period. Additionally every Natural Whole Food Bar is also kosher, wheat and gluten-free, dairy and cholesterol-free and contains no trans fat or GMO's. What further sets the product line apart from it's contemporaries is the fact that the bars contain 20-25 grams of protein, not more than 10 grams of natural and/or organic sweeteners, 5-7 grams of soluble fiber and are chock full of heart healthy fats. The owner and designer of the bars, Dan Armentrout, eats a lot of vegan food, but also includes fish. The company started in August of 2005. All under the brand name The Natural Whole Food Bar, varieties include: Crunchy Peanut, Crunchy Almond, Apple Dapple Crunch, Soyberry Crunch, Crunchy Cashew, Crunchy Walnut, Crunchy Sunflower Seed, Asci Berry Crunch, and Date/Fig/Almond. Dan tells us, "My primary reasoning to develop The Natural Bar was because after years of working in the nutrition industry, I grew more and more disheartened about the products being brought to market. It got to the point that it was all about the bottom line and cutting quality for the sake of mere profits. I could not ask my family to eat the very products the companies I worked for were making! As I get older I see things from a different perspective. I believe it is more important now, more than ever, for me to leave the planet in a better position that it was in just yesterday. Knowing that industries of every sort take the same approach to business as that of my former employers, it makes me shudder to think what is being done to get food sources to market today. As evidence, we see the proliferation of animal borne illnesses like 'mad cow disease' and 'avian flu'. It is unprecedented that these two plagues would hit at the same time in history and the simple facts are that the mitigating circumstances surrounding their arrival are years of human influence within these species." Location: Oceanside, CA. 92069.
/ Phone: (760) 435-1128 The Ultimate Meal markets ONLY vegan products. The owner, Sam Gerard, is a
staunch vegan of 24 years. All his staff are vegan. He's been in business
24 years. He offers the world these fine products: 1980 . . .Pink Floyd . . .Animals album . . .the song: Sheep. After reading the lyrics of that song while listening to it, Sam Gerard became an ethical (though junk eating) vegetarian THAT NIGHT. Nine months later, he became a health fanatic Vegan. Soon after (being a perfectionist), he started making his OWN superfood concoction. Within 1 year, his serious hobby forced him into treating it as a bonafied business. The rest is history, accomplished without multi-level-marketing, big profit margins, company reps, distributors, brokers, or advertising. Just FIERCELY loyal customers and unprecedented word of mouth. The Ultimate Life is located
in Santa Barbara, CA. Phone: 800-THE-MEAL (843-6325) or Vegan Dream was incorporated in 1988. They sell 3 flavors of vegan, non GMO soy jerky. The CEO saw the need for a
vegan jerky in the marketplace that was actually tasty and better than
beef jerky. Vegan Dream is excited about offering a great tasting jerky
that is both healthy and earth-friendly. Located in Humboldt County, Arcata
CA. Whole Soy Company sells 100% vegan products, however the company owner and staff, are not vegan. But lucky for us vegans, Whole Soy has been in business for 8 years offering us Whole Soy Yogurt (6 oz. size, 9 fruit flavors, plus plain and vanilla). Whole Soy Yogurt (24 oz. size in plain and vanilla), Whole Soy Frozen Yogurt (9 flavors), Whole Soy Organic Soy Smoothies (4 fruit flavors), and now WholeSoy Cream Cheese Style Soy Spread (Original and Garlic/Herb). Almost 30 years ago, Whole Soy's founder, Ted Nordquist, learned the natural Chinese and Japanese methods of converting whole soybeans into dairy-like products. In 1979, Ted utilized that knowledge to start a small soy foods plant near Uppsala, Sweden. From that point forward, Ted was hooked on soy and he has devoted his life to developing great tasting dairy-like products from whole soybeans. In 1996, Ted moved back to the United States with his family and began making WholeSoy yogurt. Though they are now a little bigger, all of their products are still developed by Ted in cooperation with food scientists and processors. "We at WholeSoy maintain the globe as our logo to signify our dedication to protecting the planet. WholeSoy's commitment to the environment is in our name. We use only whole organic soybeans free from genetic modification" explains Biasha Mitchell. Ted developed a soybean processing technique that is entirely chemical-free. Ted Nordquist believes by reducing our dependence on animal products for protein and replacing it with soy protein, we will be able to further reduce our impact on the environment. It takes a considerable land, water, fertilizer and other resources to produce animal protein which could otherwise be utilized in the direct production of plant-based protein for human consumption (www.vegan.org). "WholeSoy does not use any genetically modified organisms in our products. Unfortunately, soybeans are one of the most genetically modified crops. We purchase our organic, GM-free soybeans from a single organic supplier to ensure our soybeans are the highest quality soybeans on the market. In fact, we recently tested our products for any traces of genetically modified organisms and were given a clean bill of health! WholeSoy understands the negative impact of pesticides and herbicides on our environment and farmlands. We utilize only certified organic soybeans. We use certified organic ingredients whenever possible." explains Biasha of Whole Soy, located at 353 Sacramento St., Suite 1120, San Francisco, CA. 94111 Phone: (415) 434-3020 / Fax:
(415) 434-2003 |
