From left: Kramer, Redcross, me, and Scott

Vegan and vegetarian cookbooks are all the rage now, but How it all Vegan, with 1/4 million copies sold, is one of the originals known for making vegan cuisine accessible and easy for newcomers. The book’s 10th anniversary was celebrated at a benefit held by Compassion Over Killing and Positive Television. Sarah Kramer, who co-wrote the cookbook with Tanya Barnard, was honored at the event held at 2HeadedHorse Production/Art Studio in Los Angeles, which has recently been hosting numerous vegan events.

Kramer’s sassy, down-to-earth personality shined as she autographed books and 2010 GO VEGAN wall calendars full of fun photographs. Many dedicated folks making their mark in the vegan world attended, including Shaun Monson who made the film Earthlings, Stephanie Redcross who markets vegan and vegetarian businesses via Vegan Mainstream, Carolyn Scott of Healthy Voyager,  and others.

After writing four vegetarian cookbooks, Kramer told the group she will pursue different projects. With mixed feelings, she discussed with the audience that which can’t be ignored — veganism is suddenly becoming a fad, and vegan and vegetarian cookbooks are everywhere, including the top 100 list on Amazon.com. Kramer is concerned the conversation is more about getting skinny than about helping the animals.

“Ellen’s talking about it and Oprah’s talking about it (veganism) – it’s freaking me out,” she said.

Still, the attendees enjoyed the company and inspiration of Kramer and others sharing the same passion, and dined on delicious vegan cuisine – some of it raw – provided by Veggie Grill, Happy Veggie, Cinnamon Vegetarian Restaurant, The Spot, and SunPower Natural Cafe.

Kramer Jokes with the Audience

Kath Rogers and Annie

Kath Rogers became a vegetarian at age 9, when as an only child very bonded to her dog, she felt like animals were meant to be friends.  At 13, she looked up “animal rights” on the Internet, realized eggs and dairy involved cruelty to animals, and became a vegan.

“Once you know (about cruelty), then it’s a conscious choice,” said Rogers, 24.

In 2003, at just 19, she co-founded a non-profit, Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL), with her husband Bryan Pease as Pro Bono Attorney. Now volunteering at APRL, Rogers is also a full-time student finishing her Bachelor’s degree.

Today, APRL is powered by seven employees and about 50 active volunteers.  Through APRL, five California cities passed resolutions regarding foie gras. Pease spearheaded the passing of a state law allowing the seals to stay at the Children’s Pool in La Jolla, and APRL urged the City of San Diego to install hundreds of educational signs about feeding squirrels leading to unnecessary poisoning. Rogers and company led one of the largest signature-gathering efforts to support Proposition 2, setting more humane standards for confining farm animals. Persistence was the key to making a big impact.

In early 2009, Rogers was one of the activists featured in VegNews article “20 Under 30.”

“If you have confidence, you can make change. In the coming generations, we’ll see a vegan world. Most social movements have seen that a small percentage leads the rest of society to do the right thing,” Rogers said.

To fuel her body for her busy life, Rogers mainly eats fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains – from teff and quinoa to amaranth and millet. Another daily boost is her smoothie with frozen mangos/berries/spinach, spirulina, acai, hemp, soymilk, and cocoa. A favorite meal is blended cashew cream over rice noodles with tempeh bacon.

She suggests people wanting to become vegetarian or vegan try new foods at the grocery store, and explore cookbooks like How it all Vegan and recipes at vegcooking.com.