Published Letters and Op-Eds from
COK’s Writers Group

Vegan Spread

Portland Mercury
July 3,  2008

DEAR MERCURY,

I was both excited and disappointed to hear of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's recent move to Portland ["Vegan with a Vengeance," Feature, June 26]. While I welcome further validation of the Pacific Northwest's status as something of a vegan Mecca, I can't help but think that Isa's abundant charm is needed more elsewhere. Couldn't Isa's diplomatic skills and easygoing joshing be deployed to combat anti-veg prejudice in Mississippi? Might not a taste of Ms. Moskowitz's scrumptious-sounding (I haven't tried it yet) banana rabanada convince a few staunch omnivores in Montana or Texas to ease up on the animal products, thus lessening overall suffering? But then again, with her popular cookbooks and website, Isa has already done more than her share of the legwork necessary to realize the "cruelty-free food future" she envisions. She sets an example that other less proactive vegans would do well to follow.

Katharine Merow