EarthSave Baltimore

"Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.”
~ Karl Barth~

Hi Earthsaver,

Here’s all the latest info from Earthsave Baltimore. We are a completely volunteer operated nonprofit that helps people make healthier, earth friendly food choices. We have good news for you!

It’s been a while since our last Earthsave potluck gathering, so we are really licking our chops in anticipation of all the wonderful and varied veggie dishes that are likely to show up at our next event, this Saturday, Jan 30th. Hope that you will join us for our first event of 2010; the featured speaker will be Sierra Club official Mike Hudak, who will talk about why Americans revere cowboys so, and how it is that we allow them to cause so much environmental destruction. See all the details below.

Be sure to watch or set your VCR to tape the Oprah show this Wednesday, January 27th. Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma, and other best selling books, will talk about where our food comes from.

Earthsavers had a fun time at our final 2009 event, the Pre-Thanksgiving annual Meet ‘N’ Greet celebration, with wonderful live music from Lorna Sampson, Michael Harris, Norm Hogeland, and myself, Don Robertson. We all got together for a sing-along at the end and rocked on into the night!

The Earthsave fundraising day on Saturday, December 5th, at Great Sage in Clarksville, also went well, despite the snowy weather that surely kept some of our friends home. Thanks again to Great Sage for their generous donation!

And there’s more good news from Great Sage: that very classy restaurant now features an all-vegan, all organic menu, which will make it real easy for those who wish to enjoy meals derived entirely from the plant kingdom. If you haven’t experienced the wonderful veggie cuisine of Great sage, you might like to make a day of it by including a shopping trip to Roots Natural Food Market, which is in the same complex. Also check out the Nest, right next door to Great Sage. The Nest is a socially responsible gift & clothing boutique, supporting independent artists, fair trade importing, organic farming & recycling.

Earthsave Baltimore’s 5th annual Earth Friendly Food Choices speaking event (not a potluck) will be held on Saturday, May 1st, from 5:30 until 9:00, at the Women’s Club of Catonsville. There will be two featured speakers for the event, one of which will be a real Earthsave favorite, Bruce Friedrich, who is the Vice President of PETA. He will speak on “Veganism: The Only Diet for a Small Planet.” Our other featured speaker will be announced soon.

Another real exciting project - we are working on developing a series of informational 30-second radio spots, promoting a shift toward plant centered food choices. Hope to have more info for you soon!

If you have a product or service you’d like to let folks know about, please see the advertising opportunity from On Purpose Woman magazine below, which offers a great way to get the word out and to support the Earthsave group at the same time.

Now might be a good time to notify our employer that you would like to take a few days off, from July 7th – 11th, to enjoy one of the finest educational gatherings available. The North American Vegetarian Society will present this year’s Veg Summerfest, which is likely to feature some of the best speakers you will ever hear, As always, we especially look forward to Dr. Michael Greger’s newest report of “the Latest in human Nutrition.”

For those who would like to help educate and support others in making healthier food choices: Facebook offers folks a terrific opportunity to connect with others for mutual support and inspiration. It’s a wonderful way to get to know others and their friends real quickly, and find out about their musical tastes, favorite books, movies, activities, quotes, etc. If you go on Facebook, please add Earthsaverdon (me) as your friend. And feel free to forward to your Facebook friends any of the information updates that I post about healthier, compassionate, earth-friendly food choices.

Another other way that we can support ourselves and others is to join the Baltimore Vegetarian Meetup, the Baltimore Vegan Meetup group, or both. And if you join the email list of those groups, you will occasionally receive updated info on local restaurants and events, potlucks at member’s homes, information on food bargains, and more. If you have a question about a recipe, a juicer, a health condition, food ingredients, humane mouse traps, or any aspect of the veg or vegan lifestyle, you may send it to the group’s email list, and you will most likely receive a helpful and courteous reply within a few hours.

Earthsave continues to offer a terrific deal on membership, which includes a free 12-issue subscription to Vegetarian Times, reduced admission fees to most events, and a free half-hour consultation with Dietitian Mark Rifkin. We hope that you’ll consider supporting the good work of our nonprofit by becoming an Earthsave member.

Hope to see you soon! Be well!

Peace, Don Robertson

EARTHSAVE VEG DINNER ED SERIES: On Saturday, Jan. 30th, from 6-9 pm, Earthsave will feature Sierra Club official Mike Hudak, speaking on “Cowboys: Why We Love Them, & How We Let Them Destroy the Earth”.
Western ranching is extremely damaging to the natural environment, responsible for impacting almost as many threatened and endangered species as logging and mining combined. Yet criticism of ranchers and cowboys—the perpetrators of this destruction—is hard to find. Few national environmental organizations speak about the issue. And some of these organizations even have a rancher on their boards.

Why do we love cowboys so much? Mike will give a brief history from the 1880s to the present as to how the "Cowboy Myth" was created, and has subsequently "brainwashed" several generations of Americans as to the unquestionable virtue of these people. There are far reaching consequences of all this—implications involving personal choices for what we eat, which consumer products we purchase, and even which politicians we elect.
We'll then have a reality check on the benevolence of ranchers with a brief look at the environmental damage that ranching inflicts. Mike Hudak will conclude with actions that are underway to curtail ranching's worst environmental abuses, and will have a few suggestions for what people can do to help. More event info is at http://earthsavebaltimore.org/ Please RSVP.

Earthsave Veg Dinner Ed Series events are held at the Learning Center of Your Prescription for Health, at 10210 S. Dolfield Rd. in Owings Mills. Guests are asked to bring a dish made without animal products to serve at least five times the number in their party, along with a donation of $5 (members $2). Or guests may attend without bringing a dish for a $12 fee (members $10). Please give 1 day notice if paying for dinner. Please RSVP to Baltimore@earthsave.org or call 410-252-3043, and join us if you can!

MONTHLY VEG MEETUP DISCUSSION GROUPS offer us a chance to gather in more intimate and less formal settings than does the monthly Earthsave potluck Dinner Ed series. Meetups are casual and are held in restaurants over great vegetarian food. Attendance is usually around 12-20 people, and discussions include a wide variety of topics that support people in making healthier choices in diet and lifestyle. There are two different groups, one vegan and one vegetarian. The vegetarian group currently meets on the first Sunday at noon at the Kathmandu Kitchen in Towson, and the vegan group meets on the third Wednesday, at 7 pm, at Mr. Chan in Pikesville. Both groups welcome all who are interested in learning about healthier eating. For details, or to register and let others know you plan to attend, go to http://vegetarian.meetup.com/9/, or to http://vegan.meetup.com/29/.

DON ROBERTSON RADIO INTERVIEW: Earthsave Baltimore founding director Don Robertson was recently interviewed by Twentieth Century Radio host Dr. Bob Hieronimus, of Ruscombe Mansion. Don talked about healthier eating & his work with Earthsave and the Baltimore Vegetarian and Vegan Meetup discussion groups, and all about promoting a shift toward plant based food choices. Listen at http://tinyurl.com/yzw6njr Don’s segment is midway thru the recording.

SPEAKING EVENT AT GREAT SAGE: Join us on Saturday, February 6th, at Great Sage for a Vegan Dinner Celebration with Farm Sanctuary's President, Gene Baur. Dinner is at 8 pm; talk at 9 pm. Reservations required. Call 443-535-9400 to register. There will be dinner and dessert specials for you to love, and — just in time for Valentine’s Day — a raffle of eco-friendly gift baskets to benefit Farm Sanctuary. Or, buy a copy of Gene’s book, Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food, and have it signed by the author! http://www.great-sage.com/

VIDEO – MCDOUGALL ON MILK: Vegsource recently made available for free online viewing a full 77-minute talk by John McDougall, MD, on “The Perils of Dairy”. In it he shows why dairy products are probably the most unhealthy aspect of the standard Western diet. Dr. McDougall is Board certified in Internal Medicine, and is the author of numerous best-selling books on nutrition. He knows this subject very well and is an excellent speaker. http://tinyurl.com/y9kkkvs

WOMEN’S EXPO AT CCBC CATONSVILLE, always one of our favorite events, will feature more than 200 exhibitors and speakers. The Expo will happen this year on March 13th and 14th. As usual, Earthsave will have an information and book sales table that you will see on your right as soon as you enter, and Earthsave director Don Robertson will conduct a workshop on A MENU OF LOVE: THE VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE. For more info on the Expo, please go to http://www.WomensExpomd.com/. Exhibitor and vendor spaces usually sell out several weeks before the event. So if you’re interested, call Patsy Anderson at 410-744-4042.

AYURVEDIC VEG COOKING CLASSES AT BREATHE BOOKS: Susan Weis, the proprietress of breath books, is a Chopra Institute certified Ayurvedic Instructor who is now offering Ayurvedic vegetarian cooking classes. You will probably have to register in advance, since her class sizes are limited to 10 students. Breathe books offers a wonderful book selection on spirituality, meditation, and all things holistic in the Hampden neighborhood in Baltimore City. They also offer the most extensive and varied speaker series on similar subjects in the Baltimore area. See http://www.breathebooks.com/.

NEW VEGAN CAFE IN MT. WASHINGTON! Baltimore now has another all vegan place to eat! Emily's Cafe & Desserts opened November 1st with a menu featuring vegan pancakes, vegan paninis, a vegan version of the Egg McMuffin, macaroni & cheese, vegan pizza, salads, sandwiches, coffee, drinks, and, last but not least, lots of dessert! So, make sure to visit this wonderful new eatery soon. They are located near Ruscombe Mansion at 4901 Springarden Drive, Baltimore, MD 21209. http://www.emilysdesserts.com/emcade.html

NATURAL BROTHERS’ DELI & CAFÉ in Timonium offers wonderful vegetarian fare, most of which is vegan. They are located just to your right as you enter The Natural Market health food store, right across from the Fairgrounds. See http://www.thenaturalbrothers.com/NatBros.php or call 410-560-2264 and ask to speak with the Deli.

MONTHLY RAW DINNERS AT ZIA’S IN TOWSON: Earthsavers have enjoyed the gourmet raw vegan cuisine that Chef Daniella offers at Zia’s Café at 13 Allegheny Ave., in Towson. You may still be able to reserve a spot for the next dinner on Feb. 13th. For more info, go to http://www.ziascafe.com/ or call 410-296-0799.

ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITY: ON PURPOSE WOMAN magazine founder and publisher Ginny Robertson has generously offered to support the Earthsave nonprofit group by donating 25% of all advertising fees of the new accounts of those who mention our group. On Purpose Woman is a free, bi-monthly publication which features great articles and interesting ads on personal growth, health, community service, and entrepreneurship. It’s available in nearly all Baltimore metro area public libraries and other locations, and has a circulation of 17,000. The Feb/March issue of OPW will be out in the first week of February. All ad copy is due by Monday, Feb. 1st. Contact Ginny Robertson at ginnyrobertson@comcast.net, or call 410-252-2703.

YOUR PRESCRIPTION FOR HEALTH TALK RADIO (10 am until Noon on Sunday mornings) offers lots of good information and tips on health, nutrition, and fitness. Holistic pharmacist Dr. Brian Sanderoff, does a great job hosting and interviewing his guests. You can listen live on WCBM, 680 AM, or anywhere in the world on the inter-net by going to http://www.wcbm.com/. And there is a tremendous archived library of previous programs that you can listen to. For more info about the radio show, go to http://www.illnessisoptional.com/aboutus/default.htm.

EARTHSAVE MEMBERSHIP is a great way for you to contribute to our important educational mission. All members may receive a free 12-issue subscription to Vegetarian Times magazine and Earthsave’s national bi-monthly newsletter. Folks who attend meetings may check out books from our well stocked EarthSave Library, they may place literature on our networking tables, may make a brief announcement to the group, and receive discounted attendance fees and EarthSave bookstore prices. You may join our group online at http://www.earthsave.org/, or you can send a tax-deductible check for $35, or $50 for family membership, or $25 for student or senior, to EarthSave at 517 Talbott Ave. Lutherville MD, 21093. Thanks for your kind support!

PLEASE REMEMBER to be the peace that you wish to manifest. Be well!

EarthSave … May all be fed, may all be healed, and may all be loved.

Baltimore Chapter events http://earthsavebaltimore.org/ Call us at 410-252-3043, or email us at Baltimore@earthsave.org

Hope the approaching holiday season finds you in good spirits and good health. Here is some local event info that we thought you might like to know about.

Our last Earthsave veg potluck turned into a real nice Thanksgiving holiday celebration. About 50 of us enjoyed each other’s company and shared some great thoughts and food. The wonderful live music went on into the night and had Earthsavers shaking their booties! We are real thankful for the gifts of the good vibes & voices of musicians and singers Norm Hogeland, Michael Harris, and Lorna Sampson. And we hope to have them back again before too long.

Our attendees loved the Raw Lasagna that Deanna Cook prepared, and voted it the evening’s favorite in the uncooked category. Deanna is co-owner of the Pizzazz Tuscan Grille restaurant in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and makes sure the Pizzazz menu provides many healthy and tasty choices for her fellow vegans.

Listed below are a few things we thought you might like to know about. We especially hope that you will join us for the Dinner & Discussion at Great Sage restaurant in Clarksville this coming Saturday. Great Sage has generously offered to donate 10% of the entire day’s proceeds to our nonprofit.

The dinner event at Emily’s Café and Desserts should also be fun. The gifted humorist & award winning cartoonist Dan Piraro will be the featured guest.

We know there are many nonprofits doing wonderful work, and we count Earthsave among them. Helping people to make smart food choices is one of the most powerful ways we can affect change for our health, for the planet, and for all those who share it.

Please take a look at the Earthsave membership info. Your tax free donations and memberships can help Earthsave make an important difference in the Baltimore area and in the world.

There are still a few more days before ad copy is due for the Dec./ Jan. issue of On Purpose Woman. A portion of the ad fees from new clients who mention Earthsave will go toward supporting our group. Please reply to this email for more information.

Have a peaceful and joyous holiday season. Hope to see you soon!

Peace, Don Robertson

FREE NETWORKING EVENT: The Towson group of ON PURPOSE NETWORKING FOR WOMEN will have their special annual networking event this Wednesday, Dec. 2nd, from 5-9 pm, and it’s open to everyone. Here's a nice opportunity (and a rare one for guys) to get together with the cool women of On Purpose, many of whom will have table displays for their products and services. All attendees will get a free opportunity to make a brief announcement about themselves, or their products or services. Complementary light refreshments will be provided.

Don Robertson will have a large selection of books for sale, including many Earthsave titles on nutrition and the veg lifestyle, at reduced prices. He will also have lots and lots of former library books, with many health, self help, and spiritual titles at super low prices!

Also, students from The Community College of Baltimore County Massage Therapy Program will be offering seated massage throughout the evening. In lieu of payment for your massage, a donation can be made to The Light of Truth Center, a recovery house for women in Baltimore.

An RSVP is really appreciated so we can plan for food and seating. Please also invite your friends! Here are the details: On Purpose Networking for Women Baltimore County, Wednesday, December 2nd
5:00 - 9:00 PM - Come when you can and stay as long as you can
The Church of the Good Shepherd
1401 Carrollton Ave. in Ruxton (Towson area)

Agenda:
5:00 - 7:00 - Networking, Eating & Visiting Vendors
7:00 - Everyone in attendance can do a short introduction. Then we'll draw for door prizes. You must be present to win. After that we'll continue networking and visiting vendors until 9:00.

Please register by midnight Tuesday, December 1st by emailing ginnyrobertson@comcast.net, or by calling 410-252-2703. Hope to see you there!

EMILY’S CAFÉ & DESSERTS will host, on Friday Dec. 4th at 6 pm, a special event for the benefit of Maryland Votes for Animals. It will be a great time for a great cause and at a great price---only $25 for food, drink and entertainment! Join us---and special guest Dan Piraro (comedian, cartoonist and animal activist, best known for his award winning syndicated cartoon, Bizarro)---for MVFA's first annual holiday party!

The location is is Emily's Cafe and Desserts at 4901 Springarden Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21209. Phone: 443-858-7045. RSVP to www.meetup.com/Maryland-Votes-For-Animals Buy your ticket: http://www.emilysdesserts.com/

DINNER & DISCUSSION AT GREAT SAGE: On Saturday, Dec. 5th, we will have an opportunity to sample the exquisite, totally organic, vegetarian cuisine of Great Sage in Clarksville. Great Sage has generously offered to donate 10% the entire day's proceeds to the volunteer operated nonprofit Earthsave Baltimore, a group that educates and supports people in making the shift toward a whole food, plant centered diet.

We think you will agree that Great Sage is one of the finest vegetarian restaurants in the Baltimore metro area. Please bring friends and family and join us for some great food, fellowship and support! Feel free to drop in any time between 10 am and 9 pm. The discussion period will go from 1:00 until 4:00 pm. It might be a good idea to call for reservations, especially during the discussion time.

Great Sage restaurant shares a large parking lot with Roots Natural Food Grocery and an eco-friendly gift shop called The Nest. Great Sage is located at 5809 Clarksville Square Drive, in Clarksville, Md 21029. Their number is 443-535-9400. But please RSVP to Earthsave Baltimore at 410-252-3043. For menu and more info on Great Sage, see http://www.great-sage.com.

DINNER & DISCUSSION AT MR. CHAN’S: On Wednesday evening, Dec. 16th from 7-9 pm, Baltimore Vegan Meetup Group will get together at their favorite location. Mr. Chan’s, which was voted Baltimore’s Best Veg Restaurant, is the site where the Baltimore Vegan Meetup group gathers for supportive discussion and wonderful food on the third Wednesday of each month in Pikesville. Your RSVP at 410-252-3043 is helpful, though not required. Please join us if you can!

EARTHSAVE VEG DINNER SERIES IN OWINGS MILLS will present, on Jan. 30th, from 6-9 pm, a veg potluck will a live presentation by Sierra Club official Mike Hudak on “Cowboys: Why We Love Them, & How We Let Them Destroy the Earth”. Western ranching is extremely damaging to the natural environment, and is responsible for impacting almost as many threatened and endangered species as logging and mining combined. Mike Hudak, Chair of the Sierra Club Grazing Committee, will tell us how the “cowboy myth” was created, show images of the devastation, and give suggestions as to how we can help steer citizens & lawmakers toward reality. See more info at http://www.earthsave.org/.

EARTHSAVE MEMBERSHIP is a great way for you to contribute to our important educational mission. All members may receive a free 12-issue subscription to Vegetarian Times magazine and Earthsave’s national bi-monthly newsletter. Folks who attend meetings may check out books from our well stocked EarthSave Library, they may place literature on our networking tables, may make a brief announcement to the group, and receive discounted attendance fees and EarthSave bookstore prices. You may join our group online at http://www.earthsave.org/, or you can send a tax-deductible check for $35, or $50 for family membership, or $25 for student or senior, to EarthSave at 517 Talbott Ave. Lutherville MD, 21093. Thanks for your kind support!

PLEASE REMEMBER to be the peace that you wish to manifest. Be well!

EarthSave … May all be fed, may all be healed, and may all be loved.

Baltimore Chapter events http://earthsavebaltimore.org/ Call us at 410-252-3043, or email us at Baltimore@earthsave.org

DINNER & DISCUSSION AT GREAT SAGE: On Saturday, Dec. 5th, we will have an opportunity to sample the exquisite, totally organic, vegetarian cuisine of Great Sage in Clarksville. Great Sage has generously offered to donate 10% the entire day's proceeds to the volunteer operated nonprofit Earthsave Baltimore, a group that educates and supports people in making the shift toward a whole food, plant centered diet.

We think you will agree that Great Sage is one of the finest vegetarian restaurants in the Baltimore metro area. Please bring friends and family and join us for some great food, fellowship and support! Feel free to drop in any time between 10 am and 9 pm. The discussion period will go from 1:00 until 4:00 pm. It might be a good idea to call for reservations, especially during the discussion time.

Great Sage restaurant shares a large parking lot with Roots Natural Food Grocery and an eco-friendly gift shop called The Nest. Great Sage is located at 5809 Clarksville Square Drive, in Clarksville, Md 21029. Their number is 443-535-9400. But please RSVP to Earthsave Baltimore at 410-252-3043. For menu and more info on Great Sage, see http://www.great-sage.com.