Why Veg?
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”
~Albert Einstein
What is Vegetarian / Vegan?
Vegetarian: do not eat meat, fish or poultry, but will consume animal byproducts like eggs, dairy and honey.
Vegan: do not eat meat, fish, poultry or any byproducts that come from an animal including dairy, eggs, honey or any foods that contain these ingredients. Many do no use leather products, fur, wool, honey, or any products which have been animal tested.
The Dandelion menu offerings are completely free of all animal byproducts, with the exception of offering an organic raw cheddar and an organic feta cheese (vegan versions of both are available). So that makes us mostly vegan.
A Matter of Personal Choice you crazy Flexitarian, You!
Learn How to Go Flexitarian
Diversity is something we hold in extremely high regard and we are happy to have a wide spectrum of folks from all walks of life that enjoy coming to the cafe. The menu collaboration between Julie and Sandra Diaz (vegan super-hero) yielded such a delicious offering that omnivores of all stripes have discovered their inner flexitarian so our customer base is a homegrown mix of omnivore, pescetarian, vegetarian, vegan and raw vegan guests. All munching happily on our food because it is delicious, not just because it’s vegetarian! You do not have to be a vegetarian to eat vegetarian food – learn how to go flexitarian!
Our Journey to Vegetarianism
Fresh Veggies!
Proprietors Chris & Julie had a dream to open a cafe that reflected their values of moving towards a more sustainable lifestyle. During the planning stages of Dandelion, they considered themselves flexitarians – making values based decisions about their food choices. They had learned enough about our industrialized food system to know that the factory farm method of raising animals was unhealthy for both animals and the humans who ate them, and caused massive environmental harm. Selectively eating only humanely raised organic animal products was a natural step from the Standard American Diet that they had both drifted away from.
Opening a community-focused cafe that honored the wellness of our planet and our bodies further educated them about the impact of a vegetarian lifestyle. The dramatic positive impact they experienced on their physical & spiritual wellness as they eliminated animal products from their diet was empowering. It was decided early on that the cafe would offer a vegetarian only menu since a truly green cafe had to be vegetarian. As they immersed themselves into this lifestyle, discovering the deliciousness of vegetarian cuisine & learning more about the mass slaughter of animals for human consumption caused, they both took that final leap into becoming vegetarians.
Luckily they found a rather large vegetarian community in Orlando that embraced their vision early on and supported it whole-heartedly.
Resources for the Veg-Curious
Locally
- Vegetarians of Central Florida (VegCF) and their Meetup Group
- VegFest – Annual Event Held in October & Their Vendor Listing
- Vegan Orlando Live Journal
Further Reading
- The Vegetarian Resource Group
- Famous Vegetarians in History: Pythagoras to Ben Franklin
- The World Peace Diet
- Pregnancy & The Vegan Diet
- Introduction to Vegetarian Food Service & Nutrition
- Why You Should Consider Adopting a Vegetarian Diet
- Vegetarian Recipes
- Vegetarian Cooking Made Easy
Please feel free to list any of your own resources and recommendations below.
Dear Dandelions,
I love your cafe and have been there many times. I respect your ethical practices and everything you stand for, but there is one thing that’s been on my mind. I’m wondering why you guys decided to keep cheddar and feta cheese on the menu? Although you use organic, the lesser of two evils, dairy products still have a negative impact on the environment. So, I guess I’m curious to hear the reason. =) thanks, keep up the good food!
-Amanda
Hi Amanda,
That’s a good question. The simple answer is that we (the owners) are conditioned to love cheese (like so many of us) and have not made the transition to a vegan diet yet, although I personally feel my body is telling me to give it up. I wonder how long it will take me to listen! Some habits are hard to give up and I know cheese is sorta the final frontier for a lot of people who make the transition. We are happy that our vegan queso is often selected by non-vegans on a regular basis since we make this from scratch using peanut butter, nutritional yeast, roasted red peppers and more wholesome, healthy ingredients. We attract a large and diverse clientele, the majority of whom are not vegan or even vegetarian so we would rather have a familiar option and keep them engaged than freak em out too much and send them running away from the wholesome offerings and opportunity for continuous education. Personally, I think it’s a toss up overall between organic dairy cheese which is a product of nature and processed vegan alternatives (that may or may not be organic) which is a product of some scientist somewhere.
I hope that answers your question. Thanks for thinking, connecting and considering!
Julie