Sweet Treats This Holiday Season; Sprinkles of cheer through baked goods and Mitzvahs!

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This show features an interview with co-owners and partners of the vegan bakery and cafe called Yellow Rose , Caitlyn and Stephen. Our producer and host this week, Grace Wampold, also speaks on the intersection between Judaism and veganism in Israel.

Vegan Baked Goods at Yellow Rose to Fill the Holidays and the Heart

Yellow Rose was a true passion project for both Caitlyn and her partner, Stephen. The duo met while in college at Seton Hall University in 2017. Together, Stephen and Caitlyn ran their campuses animal rights organization which Stephen had founded. They remained close friends for years but knew that they shared such a passion for animal rights and had similar aspirations when it came to animal rights and creating a career that matched their moral beliefs. In college, they were making a change on campus and cultivated a community of activism that they have now extended into their local and national community through baked goods.

Yellow Rose is vegan-owned and operated with baked goods that are 100% vegan. Conscious consumption does not require a sacrifice in flavor! Both Caitlyn and Stephen came to veganism separately but they both went vegan for the animals. In this episode, I sit down with Caitlyn and Stephen to talk about how we can have conversations about the sentience of Animals through the disarming act of sharing a baked good. We can discuss how non-human animals deserve basic fundamental respect and a life free from exploitation. Check out their website to read more about their ethics and how to order from Yellow Rose if you are in the USA.

Veganism in Israel and the Village of Peace in Dimona, Israel

Why there are so many vegans in Israel? There are some competing answers but overall, Israel is a country of immigrants who are not afraid of innovation. In this segment, Grace discusses how a country the size of New Jersey is leading the way in vegan activism. She also discusses how race and segregation in America led to the creation of the Village of Peace in Dimona where the largest settlement of African Americans have been living a fully vegan lifestyle for the past 50 years. The vegan village is home to around 3,000 people who are the spiritual descendants of African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem. 

Vegans in Israel base their veganism off of this passage from Genesis 1:29; “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree on which is the fruit yielding seed; to you, it shall be for food … everything that has the breath of life in it, I give every green herb for food.”

The community reduces their consumption of foods like sugar and caffeine as well. The village residents are also alcohol and smoke-free, exercise regularly, and receive monthly massages.  It’s not just about humans – the villagers adopted a vegan diet to protect all of God’s animals.

The Village of Peace even started a vegan food business in the 80’s called Teva Deli which is now a national success. The village paved the way for vegan options in Israel and their vegan cheese was even used by Domino’s for the trial of its dairy-free pizza in 2013. “We were the pioneers,” said factory manager Ben Koliyah. “[We] gave options when no one else gave options. And we are still the only totally vegan community.

Here are the links to our suggested organizations that we at Animal Voices think are deserving of Holiday donations this year:

Show produced by Grace Wampold with web content written by Grace Wampold and formatted by Asami Hitohara. The Animal Voices radio show on 100.5fm Co-op radio is produced on Unceded and ancestral Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, and Squamish Territories in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.