密歇根新闻广播 灵魂食物是素食吗

 

Typically, when you think of soul food you don't think vegan. You think meat, cheese and butter. But, can BBQ soul food be vegan? Many might say that is only an oxymoron.

Local Detroiters Kirsten Ussery and Erika Boyd are challenging the soul-food norm with their restaurant Detroit Vegan Soul. The pair opened doors three years ago in an effort to make a plant-based diet accessible to everyone. Just last month, they opened a second location across the city.

"At the time there weren't really a lot of vegan options, food options here in Detroit," Ussery said. "There weren't a lot of healthy options period. We decided¹ we wanted to fill that void."

There are a lot of different reasons to be vegan; Ussery's and Boyd's are health related. They both wanted to stop the cycle of disease — like diabetes², high blood pressure and high cholesterol³ — in their families.

"We were on our own personal journey to improve our health and we experimented with being vegetarian⁴ on and off, each of us, throughout the years, even before we met each other," Ussery said. "But then, Erika's father passed away of prostate cancer. And that was the pivotal point for us. Because he didn't smoke or drink but he had a terrible, standard American diet."

Veganism has gained recent popularity with the release of the documentary What the Health. The film's reasons to be vegan are also health-related, just like Ussery's and Boyd's.

The film claims diet is the primary factor causing heart and cholesterol related diseases. Though the film has been criticized for sensationalism and cherry-picking studies, the foundational idea of improving health resonates with a lot of people.

"I started being vegetarian again three months ago and then I stumbled upon the documentary What the Health, and really have been trying to pick it up from there," Dan, also a Detroiter, said.

Ussery noted⁵ that there are people who are wary⁶ about eating soul food without the meat. But that is why presenting vegan food in this form is so important to Ussery and Boyd.

"I'm familiar with the stereotypes⁷, but there is also a large community of people of color who are very health conscious and have been for years," Ussery said. "But then, there is also the community that was raised knowing that meat is the center of the meal and everything else just comes along with it and they are not focused on vegetables or anything like that at all."

DVS aims to present foods that are not so foreign from what people are used to eating. Ussery explained that if people can feel full and think they can eat this way a couple days a week, then DVS has fulfilled its mission.

"It would be great if everyone became vegan but just by incorporating more plant-based foods, we can cut down on some of the diet related diseases that our community is experiencing."

Listen above to hear what Michigan Radio's Claire Bryan found out when she went to explore how plant-based soul food is working in Detroit.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

3 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

4 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

7 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》