Caryn Hartglass
International Council Member 2005 -

Text from Earthsave International:
Caryn Hartglass was born and raised in New York. After graduating from Bucknell University with Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in chemical engineering, she pursued a career in Photomaskmaking, a specialized area of the semiconductor industry, primarily in California, while actively performing in amateur and semi-professional musical theater companies. She spent four years living in the south of France, studying French, German and music and doing some engineering consulting, as well as giving concerts and competing in vocal competitions. During this time she won two international vocal competitions, one in France and one in South Africa, and recorded a CD with the French company, Ligia Digital. She returned to New York three years ago, and now divides her time between singing, engineering consulting and volunteering for EarthSave. Activities include yoga, running, biking, skiing, swimming, diving and vegan gourmet cooking.

More than 25 years ago, Hartglass, then a child, announced to her family that she wanted to be a vegetarian. She had suddenly become aware of the unnecessary cruelty involved in eating meat and no longer wanted to be a part of it. There was little information available about vegetarian nutrition at the time and her mother was concerned for her health. They visited the family physician, who insisted eating meat was healthy and was beneficial for animals, because more were given the chance to live. Fortunately, the physician's arrogant and patronizing demeanor was not convincing, and Hartglass continued on the path of eating a plant-based diet. Over time, she realized the benefits of improved health and the positive impact of the diet on the environment. Interestingly, persistent stomach ailments, anemia and premenstrual moodiness she had experienced as a child and young teen all disappeared with the plant-based diet.

Her desire to actively promote a plant-based diet and to be an EarthSave volunteer was triggered by the diagnosis of breast cancer and untimely death of one of her best friends. Hartglass has been involved with the core group of EarthSave Long Island for three years and joined the EarthSave International board in April, 1999.

• Cooking With Tofu / It's A Wrap - recipes from the demos by Caryn at the 36th IVU World Vegetarian Congress in Florianopolis, Brazil, 2004
• Caryn also sang at one of the evening sessions, and presented talks and workshops on:
  Genetically modified foods – do we need them and are they safe?
  Factory Farming and the affect on the environment (water use, soil erosion, water pollution, etc.)
  Social aspects of being vegetarian - dealing with family and friends, social events, holidays, traveling.
• "Caryn Hartglass (U.S.) used every means she could to win people over. She sang, gave food demos, and spoke on environmental issues." - Freya Dinshah, American Vegan Society report on the Congress.
• Caryn also attended the 2002 IVU Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland; and the 2006 IVU Congress in Goa, India.
  

Executive Director EarthSave International
- New York, USA