Since we’ve been doing our vegetarian and vegan discussions at the Hays Public Library, we were asked to do a presentation at the Center for Life Experiences for their Community Connections program. The purpose of this program is to connect international students (we have a large international student base for our local university) with local community members, and each time they meet they have a different presentation. Well, just this past Friday we gave a presentation about vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, as well as local resources for various ingredients or food substitutions.
We got a lot of great questions, which I thought that, between my husband Ryan and me, we were able to answer clearly and thoroughly. Many of the community members who attended were senior citizens, and some of them were quite traditional. We were met with some skepticism from some, but I think that we are able to hold our own while still being respectful so that our message came across without ruffling too many feathers. I was frustrated when one person mentioned the egg as being “the perfect protein, since everything in it goes to produce a chick.” I replied that yes, the egg is a perfect protein … for the embryonic chick itself, but not necessarily for people, considering the huge amount of cholesterol in one tiny little egg.
Besides the small amount of frustration we experienced, we heard from many people who were quite interested in the topic and who were eager to learn about our lifestyle. On another positive note, we served barbecue tofu and chocolate mousse (made from silken tofu). There were about 30 people there, and all the barbecue tofu got eaten, and we only had a few cups of the chocolate mousse left. In fact, many people took seconds! It’s great to get such a good response to your own cooking.
Anyway, this was a great opportunity, and I hope that there are a few more western-Kansans who are now considering reducing their meat consumption.
Here is a PDF copy of the Powerpoint presentation we gave: Veg Overview
marleah 