Conscious Choice Seattle: Rose By Another Name

February 2005

Rose By Another Name

Call Stewart Rose a vegetarian organizer extraordinaire

by Bob Condor

We were just settled into our seats for a Café Flora lunch when Vegetarians of Washington leader Stewart Rose started to unpack the wonderful statistics of VegFest, which this year is March 12 and 13 at the Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion (10 a.m. to 6 p.m., $5 for adults, free for kids 12 and under, www.vegfest2005.org, 206-706-2635).

“We have more than 152,000 food samples total,” said Rose, who has directed VegFest full-time for four years. “We counted them. There are 400 different kinds of food. You can nibble your way through the fest.”

About 7,000 individuals do just that each March, while a remarkable 350 people volunteer their time, efforts and free weekend to keep the event humming. That’s strength in numbers. Over a plate of delicata squash and sage polenta with oyster mushrooms, winter kale and onions cooked in brown butter, Rose provided more reasons why he is this month’s Evergreen Citizen:

Becoming a vegetarian, then a vegan, Part 1: “I’m an Orthodox Jew, which explains the beard. My wife and I have modernized a little bit [including a baseball cap he wore during lunch]. We have always read Bible passages on Saturday mornings. My vegetarianism was biblically inspired by Genesis 1:29. But I am not pushing the Bible on anyone. I don’t have one with me, as you can see.”

Becoming a vegetarian, then a vegan, Part 2: “On my 40th birthday I found myself in the hospital for surgery. When I saw the food I wouldn’t eat it: beef, baked potatoes already smothered with butter, a chocolate cake made with eggs. The nurse came in to ask why I was refusing the food. I told her it was because I am a vegan. She said, ‘That’s funny, we thought it was because you were Jewish.’ ”

Becoming a vegetarian who speaks out: “When I got out of the hospital and felt better, I decided it was time to raise awareness [about vegetarianism].”

Four legs of the vegetarian (or better yet, vegan) table: “One, eating vegetarian meals leads to a longer, happier life. The research supports that statement.

“Two, the days of Old McDonald’s Farm are over. Today it is all about factory farming. It’s not good for the animals and not good for us.”

Three, Rose says, consider the fossil fuel dedicated to raising beef. “Fifty percent of domestic water is fed to livestock. ... The University of California-Los Angeles says it takes 1,100 gallons of water to produce one pound of ground beef. The national cattlemen’s association says the number is 400 gallons. Either way, that’s an enormous burden.

“Four, vegetarianism can be spiritual. Whatever your motivation, we embrace all faiths. Vegetarians of Washington [1,600 members, www.vegofwa.org] has Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians.”

Open-arms approach: “Twenty to 30 percent of our members are not vegetarians. We don’t ask and we don’t tell. Vegetarians of Washington believes food is to be enjoyed. We accept nothing less. We have no scary pictures to show you, no tofu that you must eat. If somebody changes just one dinner each week, say Tuesday becomes veggie night, we’re thrilled.”

Recommend this page to a friend

Top Ten pages recommended to friends: