Veggie Bits.

We Have Agave 

Organic Agave nectar, a honey-like sweetener culled from the Blue Agave plant, is now available from Sweet Cactus Farms. The sugar substitute contains no sucrose and is 93% fruit sugar.

For more information, please contact the Original Beverage Corporation, 28926 Boniface Drive, Malibu, CA 90265, or call [phone].

Charter School in Florida Offers Veggie Meals

The Alachua Learning Center, a state-funded public school, opened last September in Alachua, Florida. The K through 8 school's program uses a Florida Standard Curriculum, but the Center is also able to teach skills through whatever content they consider appropriate, as long as it remains non-sectarian. They integrate of universal aspects of Krishna consciousness, which they say is a positive conduit for such values as peacefulness, self-control; tolerance, respect for all life, responsibility, and compassion. The 96 students share six classrooms, all multi-age, the advanced students helping beginners and the older assisting the younger ones, creating a harmonious, family-like atmosphere.

All meals served at the school are vegetarian, prepared by certified brahmanas in the temple kitchen. They are approved for school distribution under the USDA Free/Reduced Meals program.

No Gel Jell-O

Admit it. You miss Jell-O. You miss that wiggly, neon, translucent staple of your childhood dessert repertoire. Becoming a vegetarian meant that you had to give up some of the things that made you happy, made you a kid, made you American. Fortunately, your friendly neighborhood food scientists from Purdue University have developed NuSoy, a wiggly Jell-O substitute that is fortified with calcium and vitamin C. The inventors, Ryan Howard and Faye Mulvaney, have developed three flavors (orange, cherry, and lemon), and are currently working with a company to improve the formula and develop other flavors. They won $4,500 from the "Innovative Uses for Soybeans" competition sponsored by Purdue's Agronomy Department and the Indiana Soybean Board, and the hearts of millions of grown-up vegetarians can't wait to "watch it wiggle" again. Although the products are not available yet, we anxiously await their debut.

Soy Sausage Available on East Coast

Sunergia Soyfoods, based in Charlottesville, Virginia, is now offering "More Than Tofu" and "Soy Sausage" in east coast natural foods stores. Both products are vegan and pending Kosher and OCIA certification. "More Than Tofu" is made with organic textured soy flour, veggies, herbs, spices, and organic soybeans, and is packaged in either a shoyu or shoyu-mushroom marinade. The flavors available are: Savory Portabella (sic), Porcini Herb, Garlic Shitake (sic), and Italian Herb. The "Soy Sausage" is available in Spicy Italian, Chorizo, Breakfast Style, and Smoked Portabella (sic).

Please contact Sunergia Soyfoods at PO Box 1186, Charlottesville, VA 22902, or call [phone] or [phone] for more information.

Staff and Volunteers Needed for Vegetarian Kitchen

Legacy International's Global Youth Village, a youth-leadership summer camp situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has openings for the food service staff in their vegetarian kitchen. The 80 youth and 40 counselors enjoy their sugar- and meat-free meals family-style. Some positions are paid and others are volunteer. Twice a session, a poultry dish (not vegetarian) is provided to those who wish to partake in it, but it is prepared outside of the premises.

For more information, please contact Legacy International at 1020 Legacy Drive, Bedford, VA 24523, or call [phone]. They can also be reached by e-mail at [e-mail]. Other positions Legacy needs to fill are volunteer counselors, nurses, teachers, builders, and performers. For more information, please visit their website at <www.legacyintl.org>.

Spicy Koku Rice Cakes

Lundberg Family Farms has new koku (Japanese for good tasting and high quality) topping on their sesame rice cakes and seaweed with wasabi flavor rice cakes. Koku tastes similar to Japanese rice crackers, slightly sweetened with cane juice. Both products are vegan and use organic rice.

For more information, please contact Lundberg Family Farms at 5370 Church Street, PO Box 369, Richvale, CA 95974-0369, or call [phone]. You can get a good sense of the range of Lundberg Farms' products and also check their ingredient labels at <www.lundberg.com>.

For Teachers Only: Super Song that Celebrates Vegetarianism 

The Fund for Animals is offering a song called "Animals Are My Friends," written by Blair McFarlane and Joel Schomberg, free to teachers only. The lyrics are animal-friendly with a true vegetarian message: "I like deer with their big brown eyes, / I like owls who look so wise, / I won't eat piggies with their curly ends, / `Cause animals are my friends." The sheet music is simple and fun, perfect for teaching to young students in music class, or as an afternoon sing-along activity.

To receive the illustrated song sheet (black, white and grey so your students can color in the pictures), please write to The Fund for Animals, 8121 Georgia Avenue, Suite 301, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or call [phone].

Fresh Falafel Balls

Taste of Nations, Inc., has introduced vacuum-packed falafel balls, available by mail order for $10 per 60 balls. The falafel are vegetarian and are pre-cooked. The VRG staff here can attest that they are indeed quite tasty.

For more information, please contact Taste of Nations, Inc.; 2550 West Addison Street, Chicago, IL 60618, or call them at [phone]. You can also place your order over the internet at <www.falafelbymail.com>.

Fantastic Soup!

Though perfect for work or on a trip, cup-of-soup convenience foods are not always vegetarian or vegan and are almost never organic. Fantastic Foods has introduced four new flavorful Big Bowl Noodle Soups: Hot & Sour, Miso with Tofu, Sesame-Miso, and Spicy Thai. All of the soups are vegan and can be found at most natural foods stores. For more information, please contact Fantastic Foods, 1250 North McDowell Boulevard, Petaluma, CA 94954, e-mail [e-mail], or check the website at <www.fantasticfoods.com>.

Documentation Service

PSYETA, Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has announced a new free documentation service available to interested organizations. They will provide summaries of studies relevant to your particular agenda taken from their two journals: Society and Animals and the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. If your organization is interested in receiving this service, you can request your particular study of interest from PSYETA, PO Box 1297, Washington Grove, MD 20880-1297 or e-mail <[e-mail]>. You may also find more information about this service or review abstracts of the available studies at their website, <www.psyeta.org>.

Brand New Boca Burger

Boca Burger has just introduced a new variety of meatless, vegan burgers: Roasted Onion. The new flavor should be available in local supermarkets and health food stores, and wherever else you can purchase other Boca Burger products.

For more information about this or other Boca Burger varieties, please visit <www.bocaburger.com>.

Blame it on Rio

Rio Caliente Spa in Mexico is a perfect place to get away worry-free and enjoy vegetarian meals. Spa services include Swedish Massages, Dermabrasions, Foot Reflexology sessions, and Detoxifying Mudwraps. Mention the VRG special and receive 10% off any of the packages they offer! For more information, please visit <www.riocaliente.com> or call [phone]. You can also write to Rio Caliente, PO Box 897, Millbrae, CA 94030. Please note that Rio Caliente does not accept credit cards.