News

Featured Leader Series: Gabriela Iannaccone

Darina Bockman Aug 12, 2015 Featured Leaders

Brazilian-born Gabriela Iannaccone, vegan IBM Project Manager in Mexico City, talks about the Latin America vegan boom and her vision of veg employee initiative at IBM. As a savvy world traveler, Gaby easily found vegan options during her recent month-long work trip to Kenya.

Where are you originally from, and how did you end up working for IBM in Mexico City?

Gaby: I’m from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and I have been working for IBM since Dec 2004. I initially supported the Anheuser-Busch InBev account from Brazil. Once Anheuser-Busch acquired Mexican company Grupo Modelo, they signed a major contract with IBM Mexico and asked for me to be brought in as the project lead. My husband and I always thought about living abroad, and this opportunity made it happen for us!

What had led you to embrace the vegan lifestyle?

Gaby: I already did not eat red and pork meat for many years when I found out about the shocking treatment of all other farm animals, especially chicken. At that time I wasn’t too familiar with the vegan concept but luckily I enrolled in a “How to become a vegetarian in a healthy way” course. The teacher was a vegan nutritionist and she challenged me to be be vegan for 24 hours. This prompted me to learn about the milk and egg industry and about veganism. A few months later, I made up my mind to become a vegan as I could no longer endorse the atrocities inflicted on farm animals. The truth is that veganism brought a new meaning to my life.

Are you seeing any encouraging vegan developments in Mexico or Latin America (more options at restaurants and stores, a shift in societal attitude towards veganism and so on)?

“Back in Sao Paulo, veganism was booming with many vegan events and restaurants. The trend soon followed in Mexico City.”

Gaby: When I left Sao Paulo, veganism was booming with many vegan events and restaurants. After moving to Mexico, at first finding vegan options was tough. Then a few months later, someone organized the Vegan Fair of Mexico City, which was so successful that it led to a recurring event now being held bi-weekly. Many new veg restaurants opened and veganism is growing in popularity. I see more and more people interested in the subject.

You recently spent a month in Kenya on a work assignment. Was it possible to eat vegan there?

Gaby: Since Kenya’s cuisine is highly influenced by Indian cuisine, this was not a problem except at very traditional local restaurants (where bone soup is served for breakfast!) In this case I’d order a chapati bread and cooked vegetables such as kale or cabbage. Generally speaking I ate a lot of great food in Kenya! (Editor’s note: See Gaby’s amazing photos and stories from the Kenya trip, including magnificent ones from an elephant orphanage she visited.)

We heard through a grapevine that you were considering launching a veg group at IBM! Can you tell us more?

“Veg employees should come together and use group power to raise awareness within the company.”

Gaby: IBM is known for supporting diversity. I’m already a Straight Ally member of the Employee Alliance for LGBT Empowerment. My role is to help create a more inclusive environment for LGBT employees and raise awareness about the cause.

This concept applies similarly to the veg employees. I believe veg employees should come together and start an informal community, to get to know each other but mainly to use our group power to make the company and colleagues aware of us and our ideas. By gaining visibility we might get more people interested in the subject and we could pursue better veg options in the cafeteria and company events. Maybe start a debate on ethics toward animals since ethics is another strong element of our internal culture at IBM.

Featured Leader Series: Annie Ellerman

Darina Bockman May 27, 2015 Featured Leaders

Can vegans work in the mainstream food manufacturing industry? Absolutely, says Annie Ellerman who has a Food Science degree and has worked in the industry for 12+ years as an Engineer, Manager and Specialist, most recently as a Finished Product Testing Quality Manager at General Mills. Throughout her career, Annie has been responsible for the quality of many well-known food products. Originally from Akron, Ohio and a graduate of the Ohio State University, Annie currently lives in Philadelphia where she enjoys hiking and traveling when she is not working.

What does a food quality testing manager do? Does the work ever pose a challenge for a vegan?

Annie: My most recent Finished Product Testing Quality Manager role involved coordinating the analytical testing of products across numerous U.S. manufacturing facilities. The role did not require me to eat the foods with which I interacted. However, in a past Quality Manager role, I did work in a facility that manufactured many products I chose not to consume. Since I was ultimately responsible for product flavor so that consumers received the same product every time, I empowered my employees to make product decisions by developing programs, procedures and standards for product quality in addition to taste.

What had initially moved you to become vegan?

Annie: Growing up, my parents never cooked much meat, due to health factors along with interest in healthy ethnic food (i.e. 1980’s style Asian.) Therefore, we enjoyed many vegetable dishes but the occasional fish and chicken. When I got to college, I thought a lot about how my actions could affect the well-being of the environment and animals. Luckily, The Ohio State University had an outstanding vegetarian commons where I not only met my best friends, but realized how easy it was to forgo meat. After about five years, my lactose intolerance along with new awareness of the cruel treatment of animals – not to mention the health benefits – prompted me to go fully vegan. It’s been about 12 years now and I couldn’t be happier with that choice!

During your time at a major food company, have you seen any shifts in the direction of the industry (more focus on development of plant-based products, a more favorable perception of vegans in the workplace etc.)?

“Large food companies are increasingly shifting to offering healthier and “incidentally vegan” products as well as clear vegan labels.”

Annie: I definitely observed that more companies were shifting to offering healthier options for consumers and increasingly labeling them as vegan. It became clear that this language was important to consumers who did not wish to read the whole ingredient list. The other part I learned while working for a large food company is that allergen, sanitation and regulatory management could be real challenges in manufacturing meat and/or dairy products. Therefore, I saw much more development efforts focused toward products that just happened to be vegan!

Do you have a favorite way to “recharge your vegan batteries”?

Annie: Yes! I love cooking, especially for larger groups. It is so rewarding to hear “this is so good, I can’t believe it’s vegan!”. I have either hosted or attended vegan thanksgiving for almost 15 years now – always a great success!

What advice would you give to vegans working in a traditionally vegan-unfriendly industry or living in a location with few vegan options or no vegan community?

Annie: Hang in there! I have been there. For me, it was a great opportunity to develop my cooking skills, expand my network (I found Meetup very helpful), and educate others on my choices… let them see firsthand that I am not unhealthy, I get plenty of protein and have a ton of tasty food options.

Business Meal Dilemmas: 5 Tips for Vegans in Work Situations

Darina Bockman May 11, 2015 Advice and Guides

If you are a vegan (or even a vegetarian) professional, chances are you have experienced some awkward moments around work-related meals. While the vegan lifestyle is no longer considered odd and it continues to gain in popularity, most business functions will still cater to the omnivore majority. You probably found yourself at meals with virtually nothing to eat – while expected to enjoy yourself in the midst of the “delicious pork chops” remarks.

How should you navigate through situations where you are expected to take a client to a steakhouse, or you have to attend a function with few or no vegan options? Where should you draw the line between personal views and the career demands? Here is collective advice from Vegan Leaders, successful vegan business professionals.

1. You may get your best-ever vegan meal at a steakhouse!

Say again? “One of the best vegan meals I ever had was at Tom Collicio’s Craftsteak,” says Janie Gianotsos, Marketing Director of a large non-profit, who is vegan and gluten-free. “Nothing vegan on the menu, but the special meal they made for me was spectacular and prepared perfectly. Sometimes I’ll just let the chef surprise me with something. Creative solutions that won’t compromise your values or your job can be surprisingly easy.” Guy Rittger, Assoc. Director at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, shares a similar experience: “My sailboat team recently took me to the new BBQ restaurant Swine, in Miami (yes, you can imagine my concern). While others looked at the menu, I consulted with our server and we constructed vegan options from existing menu dishes and ingredients. The resulting meal was phenomenal, and led to a conversation about veganism with one boat owner, a cattle rancher from Texas!”

2. Call the restaurant up front.

The vast majority of kitchens will happily accommodate vegans with a special dish or a menu, especially if asked ahead of time. Be courteous and appreciative, and even compliment the creativity of the regular menu before asking for vegan tweaks. Manuel Lynch, Founder of Sabor Vegan Culinary Academy in Mallorca, likes the challenge of eating at any restaurant, relying on his positive approach. “I often request to mix and match components of existing dishes, or ask for substitutions. I’ve had restaurant chefs come out and say “thank you for letting me make that special dish for you”. Some even take my card and ask how we might help them add a vegan menu!”

3. If you are hosting, do research on vegan fine dining options.

Larger cities usually have upscale all-vegan restaurants that can give your clients or colleagues un forgettable, classy experience. Candle 79 in New York, Plum Bistro in Seattle or Vedge in Philadelphia are just a few examples of posh vegan restaurants; do not overlook them! In addition, virtually any city or town will at least have some fine dining establishment with above-average vegan options.

4. Exercise your veto power.

You may be able to redirect a group reservation from a steakhouse to a vegetarian-friendly restaurant. Mark Aggar, Sr. Director of Cloud Efficiency at Microsoft and a founder of Vegetarians @ Microsoft, will at times unleash his inner activist: “When appropriate, let the restaurant know that vegans have disproportionate influence on where a group of otherwise non-vegans will eat. It is in the restaurant’s best interest to have well publicized vegan options, even though they don’t get many vegan patrons. Otherwise they risk losing revenue from large group bookings if a vegan is attending.”

5. Most of all, handle the situation with great political skill.

Acting difficult, righteous or morose will not serve your career or the vegan cause. Work-related situations are not the time or place to advocate veganism, unless invited to discuss it. “You don’t want to appear fussy in front of clients or colleagues – instead, show how easy and appealing it is to eat vegan,” says David Benzaquen, Founder and CEO of PlantBased Solutions. Theresa Czajkowski, Sr. Loan Processor at Merck, suggests with some catered meetings it’s better to eat beforehand or even bring your own snacks. She acknowledges the positive trend: “I have not yet seen tofu in the buffet but the vegan options at company functions are getting better as executives and employees become more health-oriented.”

Featured Leader Series: Axel Lieber

Darina Bockman Mar 30, 2015 Featured Leaders

Do you think it’s hard to be a vegan businessman in Texas or in Poland? How about being a vegan executive recruiter in Japan? Meet Axel Lieber, founder and Managing Director of an executive search firm Progress Ltd. who has now lived in Tokyo for 17 years. Axel shares his remarkable story as well as practical thoughts on living in this fascinating country where veganism is still mostly unheard of.

Where are you originally from, and how did you end up living and working in Japan?

Axel: I am from Germany where I studied political science, economics and Japanese studies at the University of Bonn. I wanted to be exposed to a culture that is fundamentally different from western culture. A scholarship allowed to me to spend a year in Japan in 1993-4 at Keio University. I fell in love with the country and its people. What an intelligent, cultured, quirky, funny and generally impressive society – sophisticated and spirited women, awesome cities and beautiful outdoors! After finishing my studies in Germany, I jumped on an offer to work as a recruiter in a boutique executive search firm in Tokyo. I moved to Japan in 1998, and started my own executive search firm in 2001.

When and how did you originally become vegan?

“Volunteering with animal rescue during the 2011 Fukushima disaster helped me make the connection with the suffering of farm animals, and my own responsibility.”

Axel: In the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima triple disaster, I became aware of the suffering of companion and farm animals that were abandoned in the “zone” in great numbers. I joined an animal rescue organization and helped rescue a couple of dozen dogs and a few cats. The suffering I encountered there hit me hard. I couldn’t understand how people just left their animals behind. Being judgmental of such disloyalty and irresponsibility forced me to look at my own behavior – my delegating cruelty to the farmers and butchers. It took about a year but finally I couldn’t avoid the conclusion: if what they had done was wrong, then what I had been doing was just as wrong. So in June 2012 I went vegan.

What is it like to live vegan in Japan? How are the vegan values viewed in the Japanese culture?

Axel: Veganism is nearly unheard of here. The very word means nothing to most people. Even vegetarianism is a curiosity. Life as a vegan in Japan in general is not easy because fish is such a ubiquitous ingredient, even in broths, sauces and condiments. Tokyo is better than the rest of the country but compared to, say, Berlin, this is vegan frontier territory.

Are you seeing any new trends regarding the acceptance and availability of vegan options in Japan (in line with the major positive changes happening for instance in North America)?

Axel: No, the explosion of vegan food, clothing and cosmetics options in western countries has yet to spill over into Japan. Eventually it will happen but that’s still at least a few years out.

What does your typical daily meal plan look like?

Axel: I cook most meals myself, mostly whole foods, across a variety of different cuisines, mostly south-east Asian, middle eastern and Mediterranean. I do enjoy the occasional junk food that I get shipped here in cooler boxes from the US and Europe during the cold months and keep in my freezer.

Does your lifestyle ever come up in interactions with your clients or colleague? What’s the typical reaction?

Axel: Mostly this comes up when I need to do lunch with someone. I always arrange to eat where I can be accommodated. I never had any problems with it.

Are you involved with any vegan groups or initiatives?

Axel: I am a moderator of the biggest and most active English language vegan/vegetarian Facebook group for Japan, and also plan on setting up a vegan advocacy website in part modeled on vegankit.com but with some important localizations.

What main advice would you give to vegans traveling to Japan for work or pleasure?

“Check out our VegTokyo Club on Facebook”

Axel: Join our VegTokyo Facebook Group and prepare yourself by reviewing the essential resources in the Files section! They include the Tokyo vegan 101 tutorial, several guides to buying vegan items in Japan, as well as the printable “is it vegan or not?” Japanese translation card.

Power in Numbers: Vegetarians @ Microsoft

Darina Bockman Feb 1, 2015 Advice and Guides

Besides inspiring readers, this article aims to provide a blueprint for forming similar initiatives across other corporations.

What vegan initiatives are possible in the corporate world? A remarkable example is Vegetarians @ Microsoft, founded in 2004 by Mark Aggar, currently Microsoft’s Senior Director of Cloud Efficiency. MSVeg, as it’s known informally, is a group for Microsoft employees, contractors and vendors interested in veg-friendly food choices in the workplace. MSVeg has over 650 steady members (although Mark estimates that many thousands have been part of it through the years). Because of its popularity, MS Veg was eventually co-opted by HR, and it is now even mentioned during Microsoft’s new employee orientation!

How did you grow the group at the beginning, and what methods did you use to advertise it?

Mark: I started by inviting a few veg colleagues (which did not create much immediate traffic). Next, I posted flyers around the campus promoting the Seattle Vegfest and including a mention of MSVeg. That raised our membership to around 70. After that we organized our first MSVeg lunch. I reached out to our company news team and told them about the group. They interviewed me and a few other members, and published a story about us on the front page of our main intranet. About 200 more people joined that day, and the group grew to its present number fairly quickly from there.

How does the group operate? Do you organize any initiatives (e.g. meetups, committees)?

Mark: MSVeg operates as a discussion group on our internal “distribution list” platform. Anyone can s and initiate discussion around veg food issues at Microsoft. In the early days we did organize meetups, but we phased it out due to the planning effort and attendance challenges. Since we have achieved our initial goal (better veg food options available to our employees), we’re generally in the “maintain and improve” mode. Our main initiative is to hold quarterly meetings between the MSVeg representatives and our food service provider (Eurest, part of Compass Group). In those meetings we discuss issues, review wellness or other programs, suggest improvements and even sample Eurest’s proposed new offerings.

Has Microsoft been supportive of your group? Have you seen any changes resulting from your efforts?

Mark: Initially our efforts were solely grassroots. We gained some momentum after an incident involving a mislabeled soup which got the attention of our VP of HR who then escalated it Eurest, our food service provider. Eurest promptly reached out to us to fix the issue, and we have built an ongoing productive relationship (quarterly meetings mentioned earlier.)

Overall, I have seen a significant change since MSVeg became active. Aside from improved choices (the primary goal), there is a much greater awareness of veg issues among all levels of the dining staff. Food preparation is much better (separate gloves, cutting boards and serving utensils) and there are many specialty items such as Field Roast and tempeh. Plus, having veg choices in plain view is definitely moving more employees to eat a lot more veg food now because those choices are available. Some of them are even influencing their families to eat more veg food or have even switched entirely to a veg diet because of the exposure to options and to other vegetarians or vegans.

What advice would you give to others who may wish to set up a similar group within their companies? What are the key success factors?

Mark: I believe having a critical mass of employees in one location is key to having your organization respond with a program. Make sure your company knows you exist! It also helps to gain exposure after “incidents”, e.g. mislabeled food, that escalate the issue to decision-makers (such as VP of HR in our case). Also, if your company has lots of “social” groups, you should not need company permission or endorsement to start a veg group.

In the recent years, the vegan lifestyle became much more mainstream. Have you seen additional recent growth in membership?

Mark: The number of subscribers to MSVeg has remained remarkably steady over the years, but I’m seeing more vegan-centric discussion, from both vegetarians and vegans on the DL. Many vegetarians @ Microsoft seem to moving towards a veganism, a choice that is supported by distinct labeling of vegetarian and vegan options.

What is your future vision for MS Veg?

Mark: My initial goal was to have a critical mass of people who can influence the availability and quality of vegan and vegetarian offerings at Microsoft, and we have achieved that. Having great veg options is not only important for employee satisfaction, but also increasingly for hiring and even sales. I think members of MSVeg can continue to help remind Microsoft on the broader benefits of continuing our great vegetarian program. Beyond that I am keen to take our learnings and have them applied at other large companies, particularly those that use food services from the Compass Group such as Eurest.