Celebrating Earth Day with cookies and more

We have two new cooks joining our email circle----Ruth H here in Portland and Helen P in San Jose, California. Helen heard about us from Nancy A, also of San Jose, who has been with us for a long time. Welcome, Ruth and Helen, and thanks, Nancy!

I heard from several of you this week. Christel in Germany sent an enthusiastic endorsement of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's book, "The Joy of Vegan Baking":

It's a special book... for ....let's say....visiting or inviting skeptical friends, family-members ( all from the standard -diet - fraction ) and presenting them the you-will-never-ask-again-if-vegan-baking-tastes- good-because-you-will-see-it-tastes-wonderful-cakes or -cookies from Colleen's book.

Here is a statement ( below an interview with Colleen ) of Lani Muelrath, which I think is very helpful in honoring Colleens commendable work:
http://engine2diet.com/the-daily-beet/interview-with-author-colleen-patr...

In the evening hours yesterday I baked the Chocolate Chip Cookies from "The Joy of Vegan Baking" and daughter and husband gave them a try and then a thumbs up !
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Justina in Colorado let us know about a project for Earth Day week (starting soon!-- April 21) offering lots of support for both new and experienced vegans:

Thought you (and your readers) would be interested in this url below. It contains an invitation to pledge to go vegan for a week beginning April 21, which begins the US Veg Week. Earth Day is April 22. Why do this besides the many health benefits? If you do, they will send you several links to brochures/booklets/info that includes recipes, nutrition information, meal ideas, etc. I did it and found the material to be very useful. And yes, even if you are already vegan, you can do this. It also includes info on all the other ways a vegan diet helps, such as the environment, the animals, etc. Here’s the url for the easy signup.
http://usvegweek.com/pledge/

Mary in Michigan sent a note about palm oil and global warming, including a link with an opportunity to contact corporations using palm oil:

An article in Catalyst, published by the Union of Concerned Scientists, features Palm Oil as the hidden ingredient in global warming. Nothing about orangutans. But the article is hopeful that purchasers of palm oil can commit to sourcing "deforestation-free" palm oil.
We as consumers are invited to send a message to our favorite corporations about this subject. The website to visit is www.ucsusa.org/palmoilaction

I looked at the link and learned that pressure is making a difference----three of the targeted corporations have already pledged to use only palm oil that is not linked to deforestation! There are still three corporations that need a nudge. I mused about the absence of a mention of orangutans. They do mention the threat to endangered species, and I recall that orangutans are on a list of species all threatened by the deforestation. I suppose we hear about them more than the others because it is easier to focus on one species than a list of several----and because they are the species that looks most like us. Maybe we care more easily for our kin?

Happy Earth Day to all of us, and all of Earth's beings---

Eve