Last year about this time, PETA Prime kicked off our very own book club with Ellen Kanner‘s wise and witty book Feeding the Hungry Ghost. In the past year, we’ve spotlighted everything from kids’ books and cookbooks to books about clever crows, dejected dogs, and extraordinary elephants. If you haven’t already joined the book club, sign up today to receive information about upcoming reviews, author interviews, special discounts on books, signed copies, and more.
To celebrate our one-year anniversary, we caught up with Ellen to talk about Feeding the Hungry Ghost, tips for new vegans, and her kitchen mantra.
Feeding the Hungry Ghost is one of the most distinctive books we’ve read in recent years—it’s part memoir, part cookbook, part guide to living mindfully. Can you talk a little about the concept behind it?
I’m Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger, the Miami Herald‘s Edgy Veggie, a contributing writer to The Daily Basics, and more. I love it, but the articles and posts I do for these pubs are by their nature short and very focused—this chef, that nutritional focus, this seasonal vegetable, that farmer. Food is a much bigger story. Feeding the Hungry Ghost let me talk about all of it—how food connects us to the planet and to each other and also connects us to our minds, bodies, and spirits.
The title comes from the Taoist concept of humans who are so clingy and grasping that they’re still hungry even beyond the grave, and you write that like hungry ghosts, we are also “hungry for so much more than food.” How does deepening our connection with our food nourish our spirits as well as our bodies?
Toward the end of Feeding the Hungry Ghost, I quote a Buddhist prayer—”May we accept this food for the realization of the way of love and understanding.” Well, who doesn’t want that? But the really cool thing about this as far as I’m concerned is the Buddhists aren’t saying love and understanding come from spending years in an ashram or from contorting yourself into some weird yoga pose; love and understanding can come from a simple meal. They can come to us every day. We just have to be willing to receive not just the food but the life force it represents.
When I’m at the farmers’ market or in the garden or in the kitchen, surrounded by fresh local produce, fragrant green herbs, and healing spices, I feel pleasure but also a sense of reverence and gratitude for the food that nourishes me and the planet that provides it. I also can’t wait to prepare it and share it with people I love.
What advice would you give to people who say that they don’t have time to cook?
The good news is you won’t starve—there are some fabulous commercial vegan food products on the market. But I’d ask everyone to DIY their dinner a little more often. Stop relying on processed food and get in the kitchen. Cooking has benefits far beyond the next meal. As I mention in Psychology Today, it’s good for you.
You don’t have to be a chef on Chopped or spend all day in the kitchen to create a meal that nourishes and pleases. Everybody probably has 10 minutes. I have a 10-minute pasta recipe in Feeding the Hungry Ghost. I created it out of desperation after a hurricane when we had no electricity. It’s great, quick, and full of vegetables. You get multiple meals in minimal time, and you’ll have made it yourself. Everyone’s big on conscious eating, and if you want to do that, start with my mantra—less processed, more produce.
You stopped eating meat when you were 13 and never looked back. Even a few years ago, “vegan” was a foreign concept to many people, but now everyone from Bill Clinton to Beyoncé is singing the praises of vegan eating. Why do you think we’re seeing this shift toward plant-based foods?
Because PETA, I, and the whole battalion of animal advocacy and vegan foot soldiers have done such an awesome job spreading the word? We’ve had a little help. When Beyoncé or Jared Leto talks about being vegan, people think, whoa, hot, I wanna look like that. When innovative chefs show what a party produce can be, people say, wow, I wanna eat that. More companies are investing in vegan products, not because they love us, but that’s what consumers are asking for. And finally, we’re connecting the dots, realizing that the consequences of our actions and our eating extend far beyond the dinner plate. For the first time ever, the preliminary draft of the new USDA Dietary Guidelines links reduced meat consumption to a more sustainable planet.
There’s a growing awareness that we need to step up and take an active role if we want a healthier planet, a healthier life, or a healthier karma. It’s going to take all of us. And you know, one of the best ways to bring people together is over a meal that we can all enjoy.
Do you have any tips for Prime readers who are just starting on the vegan path?
Compassion is a cornerstone of being vegan. Usually, we think about it in terms of being compassionate to animals. But be compassionate to yourself, too. Change is challenging.
That brings me to the second thing: You’re not alone. Join a vegan group, whether it’s in your community or online. There are so many wonderful, inspiring, delicious resources, so many people who want to welcome you and cheer you on and help you with the challenges. “Vegan” doesn’t mean less. It means more—more color on your plate, more flavor in your mouth, more nourishment for your body and spirit and the planet, and more friends to connect with.
We’re always looking for new book club recommendations. What is your favorite vegan- or animal-related book?
E. B. White’s classic Charlotte’s Web. It’s wonderful to read at any age and has everything to do with compassion and our precious bond with animals.
Do you have plans to write more books in the future? A “Hungry Ghost” cookbook perhaps?
I’m crazy about the intersection of the culinary and the curative. I’m working on a project now featuring herbs and spices—they not only make food delicious, they’re our ancient sources of healing. It’s got lots of new recipes, some botanical back story, and maybe some video, too, so stay tuned.
