City of Mountain View, CA / Plant-Based Eating Series

The City of Mountain View kicked off our new Plant-Based Eating initiative with the founder of the Food Empowerment Project, Lauren Ornelas. The Food Empowerment Project seeks to create a more just and sustainable world by recognizing the power of one’s food choices. They encourage healthy food choices that reflect a more compassionate society by spotlighting the abuse of animals on farms, the depletion of natural resources, unfair working conditions for produce workers, and the unavailability of healthy foods in low-income areas.

By making informed choices, we can prevent injustices against animals, people, and the environment. Food Empowerment Project also works to discourage negligent corporations from pushing unhealthy foods into low-income areas and empower people to make healthier choices by growing their own fruits and vegetables. In all of their work, Food Empowerment Project seeks specifically to empower those with the fewest resources.

For the third event in our plant-based eating series, Monica Chen, Executive Director of the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, shared about the environmental impacts of our food choices. Through an engaging and informative presentation, Monica shared how to make a big difference for the environment and your own health by including more plant-based foods in your diet.

The Factory Farming Awareness Coalition is an educational nonprofit that contributes to the eradication of factory farming through a range of educational programs. Every year they educate and empower thousands of people about the social justice, health, and environmental impacts of our food system.

As part of our Plant-Based Eating program, the City of Mountain View hosted our first plant-based eating cooking demonstration on September 7. You can find recipes from the event at https://docs.google.com/document/d/13HrinDVpxs7qOXC7IdQsU2TGO5CUu5hb/edit.

We were grateful to be joined by chef Alex Bury. Alex was trained as a classical (non-vegetarian) chef at the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America. In 2001, she opened a restaurant in California called Sparks with an entirely plant-based menu. Sparks quickly became well-known for its outstanding food, even among non-vegans. Alex is now a professional fundraiser and serves as Vice President of Development for the international organization Vegan Outreach. When she’s not raising money to change how animals are treated she jumps back into the kitchen: She has taught healthy cooking techniques and recipes at Whole Foods Market, for the McDougall Program (a nationally renowned preventative health program), and for local groups and companies since 2000. Alex is now based in Anchorage, Alaska, where she enjoys pancakes with wild Alaska blueberries and searching for the best soy cappuccino in the 49th state!