Allison’s Gourmet: What inspired you to go vegan? How old were you?
Nathan Runkle: I went vegan when I was 15 years old. I grew up on a small crop farm in rural Ohio and always had a natural affinity and connection with animals. Even at a young age, I felt that cruelty towards animals was unethical and unnecessary. When I was 11, I came across literature about factory farming at a local Earth Day event. I remember reading with horror about the way pigs are locked in tiny gestation stalls barely larger than their own bodies, how hens are crammed into tiny wire cages where they can’t spread their wings, and how baby calves are torn from their mother’s side and chained in tiny crates for veal production. I immediately went vegetarian and became active in animal rights advocacy – circulating petitions, giving presentations, and learning more about the issues. At the age of 13, I convinced my parents to drive me to Washington, DC, for the National Animal Rights Conference. That event had a profound impact on me – inspiring me to become even more dedicated and committed to speaking up on behalf of farmed animals. The more I learned about the dairy and egg industries, the more disturbed I became. I knew, in good conscience, I couldn’t support these cruel industries – which often subject animals to abuses worse and more prolonged than the meat industry. It was then, at the age of 15, that I went vegan. It’s the best choice I’ve ever made.

Going vegan was the best choice I’ve ever made too! I am grateful to have the privilege of living this lifestyle.

AG: You run Mercy For Animals, one of our very favorite animal advocacy groups. How has the experience been for you and what’s your biggest challenge?
NR: It’s a complete honor and joy running Mercy For Animals. I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to work with a group of amazing individuals, who are amazingly talented, dedicated, focused, strategic, and most of all, compassionate. Although it can be difficult constantly facing the brutal reality animals endure on factory farms and in slaughterhouses, at the end of the day I am filled with deep hope. I truly believe we are making great strides – moving society towards a day when all animals are treated with the respect and compassion they so rightly deserve. We’re on the right side of history and justice.

AG: With your numerous truth-revealing, leading-edge expositions, is there an MFA victory that’s most meaningful or memorable for you?
NR: There are so many. Each investigation we release – whether it be at a pork, dairy, or egg factory farm, hatchery, or slaughterhouse – brings us one step further in raising important awareness about these issues, pushing for new laws and regulations, changing corporate animal welfare policies, and inspiring more people to adopt a vegan diet.

AG: You’ve been named one of the country’s “Top 20 Activists Under 30 Years Old.” Would you like to share any advice for young people eager to adopt a vegan lifestyle and support our animal friends?
NR: Go for it! It’s never been easier, or more enjoyable, to go vegan or become an animal rights advocate. With Facebook, YouTube, and a million other online resources, all the information, tips, advice, and support you need to get started are just a click away. When doing advocacy work, I think it’s important to also think about what’s most effective, the best use of your time, and what will help the most animals. We owe it to the animals to be as strategic as possible – and that involves thinking about the most impactful and positive ways to reach out to others and inspire them to begin the journey towards a plant-based diet. Mercy For Animals has lots of “how to” guides and resources on our website – detailing ways to being highly effective and easy grassroots outreach efforts in your community, such as passing out literature, setting up educational displays, video screenings, lectures, and even promoting the cause on your Facebook page and to friends.

AG: Running MFA, surely you clock countless hours! Do you have any time at all to cook? If so, what is one of your favorite vegan meals to make at home? Are there any whole-food staple grocery items you can’t live without? (Favorite fruits, veggies, beans or grains?)
NR: Unfortunately, I don’t find much time to cook – but it’s a New Year’s resolution to do more of it. The closest I get to culinary artistry on a regular basis is in the morning when I make smoothies – filled to the brim with bananas, frozen blueberries, goji berries, strawberries, mango, pineapple, orange juice, flax seed, and kale. So good, and so good for you. I’ve also been on a quinoa kick recently– a real superfood.  And I’ve been really into dried seaweed snacks.

Maybe I’ll come to L.A. and cook for you sometime.

AG: Do you have a favorite goodie from Allison’s Gourmet or an AG gift you most enjoy giving?
NR: Oh wow. I love it all!  For holidays and special occasions, I typically give Allison’s Gourmet vegan gift baskets – that way I can share a wide variety of all the tasty, delectable offerings with my loved ones.

As an advocate for both animal rights and gay rights, I want to share the link to your insightful and in-depth interview on Our Hen House, which is another organization we love. You speak eloquently about extending the circle of compassion throughout our society as well as the connection between the LGBT and AR communities. Thank you for speaking out and thank you for being born to do this work, Nathan.

I know getting all your holiday shopping done is just the beginning, and for most of us, “relaxing” this weekend will mean spending hours in the kitchen preparing elaborate vegan holiday meals, but that’s not such a bad thing. If you’re still wondering what to make, especially if you have omnivorous family or friends coming over, the VegNews Holiday eCookbook is a handy option. It includes all kinds of holiday recipes from the traditional to the unique and fantastic including Allison’s recipe for holiday wellington puff-pastries. For slightly less traditional but no less delicious meal ideas take a moment to peruse some of Allison’s other recipes published in her “Veganize It!” column in VegNews, also featured in the Monday Yumday series on this blog. Highlights for the season include Pumpkin Cranberry Scones, Coconut Nog and Vegan Meatloaf (a great replacement for the traditional Christmas roast).

Thank you for the immense pleasure of creating your decadent holiday gifts. Once you’ve done all that cooking and baking, don’t forget to savor and enjoy every compassionate bite of the holidays. Happy Winter Solstice tomorrow!

We’ve designed five fabulously elegant and decadently delicious vegan gift baskets with green and compassionate corporate gift-giving in mind. In varying sizes to match any office or budget size, these gourmet coffee gifts baskets include a variety of healthy, cholesterol-free baked goods, artisan chocolates, vegan confections, and fair-trade coffee and cocoa. Impress your colleagues and share your good taste; say goodbye to the corporate holiday gift that no one wants and instead offer your business partners premium-quality desserts that everyone will enjoy. Our products even come with a complete satisfaction guarantee!

Something new and exciting has been brewing for several months here at Allison’s. Ever since we began adding new tantalizing confection flavors to our inventory last year, we’ve been meaning to make a new collection to show them off. Well, we finally got around to creating the new Salted Confections Gift Set this week, in perfect time for the winter holidays, which, believe it or not, are just around the corner! This fabulously delicious collection takes confection perfection to a whole new level.

Now, I know this whole salted sweets thing is still kind of a newfangled idea to many people. But I say it’s important to try new things and expand your taste horizons. In this case, you certainly won’t be disappointed. These confections are sweet and a little saltier than their classic counterparts, but they’re also more peanut-y, caramel-y and chocolate-y, too. You see, salt is a flavor enhancer, which is why it is an ingredient in many foods, both sweet and savory. So, for our salted confections all we’ve done is added a little more of the very best pink Himalayan salt to our already exquisite sweet treats.

Want to try some salted confections, but think a whole set might be too much for you? You’ll also find our salted confections making new appearances in several of our vegan gift baskets along with our vegan cookies, brownies, chocolates and organic coffee.

And now for a small confession. While cleaning up after the photo shoot for this new collection, I ate some of the Salted Brittle that was left over. (Eating delectable treats every day is just one of the many perks of this job.) I hadn’t had our Salted Chocolate Brittle in a while, probably since I first tried it when it was a new product, and I had actually forgotten just how outrageously yummy it was! It has now become my new favorite, all over again!

So, how do we please those clients who don’t like shopping or who simply don’t have time to look through our whole product inventory for that perfect present? For these non-shoppers, we’ve done the work for you to make gift-giving easy and enjoyable. Stop shopping around and look no further than our elegant vegan gift baskets. We select and pack them with the utmost care and attention to detail, they make gorgeous and delicious gifts and are available in a range of sizes and prices. We work hard to make sure that our collections include something for everyone. Our gourmet coffee gift baskets pair premium-quality fair-trade coffees with cookies, brownies and confections like toffee, caramels and vegan peanut butter cups, while our price and size selection ranges from modest Classic Elegance to superb Ultimate Nirvana decadence.

As a special bonus for those of you who do love shopping around for your own selection of treats, we also offer a semi-secret custom gift basket option. Simply add this Custom Gift Basket to your cart along with all the things you’d like us to put in it. We recommend that you include at least eight items in your custom basket to ensure an elegant and abundant presentation. Happy shopping (or not)!

If Dad’s really not eating treats at all, there’s always our elegant fair-trade coffee or tea samplers that ensure guilt-free gift giving for every lifestyle.

Worried you might forget to order in time for Easter? We will begin shipping these Springtime items in early to mid-April, but you may pre-order your vegan chocolates and vegan gift baskets now using our delayed delivery date option. Simply choose the date when you’d like your gifts to arrive and we’ll ship them accordingly. Easy and hassle-free, pre-ordering lets you get ahead of the game so you can start thinking about other things like planting your gardens and spring cleaning.

Need specific gift ideas? Our vegan gift baskets, monthly clubs, and fair-trade chocolate items are always big hits and are sure to please even the most discerning sweet-lover. Happy Shopping!

Elsewhere, our Butterscotch Pecan Cookies were highlighted as part of the Ultimate College Care Package in the blog Bohemian Vegan, and our friend and guest-blogger Jessica from Bites and Pieces tried her hand at Allison’s “Veganize It!” recipe for Mac ‘n’ Cheese. To see the tantalizing results check out last week’s Monday Yumday post.

Are you making Allison’s recipes or devouring our delectable goodies? We’d love to hear about it. Post your reviews and photos to our Facebook or Twitter pages and share the love!