couple have been vegetarians for almost 40 years and created a successful vegan restaurant chain but fall in love with meat again after moving to vacaville from sf to run a farm. the reversion happened after one of their old cows needed to be put to death. instead of throwing dead meat away, they ate it and never looked back again. now diners and animal activists are outraged that they are running a profit-making business from vegans while enjoying meat themselves.
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/california-couples-return-meat-sparks-163312888.html
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- At the Cafe Gratitude restaurant chain in California, waiters serve plates of vegan rice bowls, vegetable pizzas and tempeh sandwiches with names such as "Gracious," ''Warm-Hearted" and "Magical."
The last two weeks, though, have been anything but kind.
Angry patrons and animal rights activists are calling on vegans to boycott the restaurants after learning that owners Matthew and Terces Engelhart have begun eating meat and consuming animals raised on their private farm.
"The brand has betrayed my trust by turning around and killing the animals that trust them on their property," said Anita Carswell, a communications manager for In Defense of Animals who says she won't eat at Cafe Gratitude again.
Though the restaurants continue to serve only plant-based food, the couple's decision has provoked a heated backlash in a state where vegan restaurants and juice bars can be as easy to find as burgers and barbecue.
Death threats were left at the couple's Be Love Farm in Northern California and demonstrators gathered outside a Cafe Gratitude restaurant in Los Angeles last week. Meanwhile, groups such as In Defense of Animals are calling on the couple to turn their farm into an animal sanctuary.
The Engelharts themselves declined an interview request, but Terces Engelhart's son and Cafe Gratitude's chief operating officer said the feud against Cafe Gratitude has unfairly cast his mother and stepfather as deceptive animal killers.
"I personally feel it's a little illogical to require my parents to remain vegan for the rest of their lives just because they created a vegan restaurant at a point in time that they were vegan," Cary Mosier said.
The family's chain includes six Cafe Gratitude restaurants and two Mexican vegan eateries called Gracias Madre in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Matthew and Terces Engelhart were vegetarians for nearly 40 years, but decided to return to eating meat after leaving San Francisco and starting a farm about 55 miles away in Vacaville. They started with eggs and cheese from the farm's chickens and cows. Then, after one old cow had to be put down, they decided it made sense to incorporate meat into their diets as well.
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/california-couples-return-meat-sparks-163312888.html
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- At the Cafe Gratitude restaurant chain in California, waiters serve plates of vegan rice bowls, vegetable pizzas and tempeh sandwiches with names such as "Gracious," ''Warm-Hearted" and "Magical."
The last two weeks, though, have been anything but kind.
Angry patrons and animal rights activists are calling on vegans to boycott the restaurants after learning that owners Matthew and Terces Engelhart have begun eating meat and consuming animals raised on their private farm.
"The brand has betrayed my trust by turning around and killing the animals that trust them on their property," said Anita Carswell, a communications manager for In Defense of Animals who says she won't eat at Cafe Gratitude again.
Though the restaurants continue to serve only plant-based food, the couple's decision has provoked a heated backlash in a state where vegan restaurants and juice bars can be as easy to find as burgers and barbecue.
Death threats were left at the couple's Be Love Farm in Northern California and demonstrators gathered outside a Cafe Gratitude restaurant in Los Angeles last week. Meanwhile, groups such as In Defense of Animals are calling on the couple to turn their farm into an animal sanctuary.
The Engelharts themselves declined an interview request, but Terces Engelhart's son and Cafe Gratitude's chief operating officer said the feud against Cafe Gratitude has unfairly cast his mother and stepfather as deceptive animal killers.
"I personally feel it's a little illogical to require my parents to remain vegan for the rest of their lives just because they created a vegan restaurant at a point in time that they were vegan," Cary Mosier said.
The family's chain includes six Cafe Gratitude restaurants and two Mexican vegan eateries called Gracias Madre in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Matthew and Terces Engelhart were vegetarians for nearly 40 years, but decided to return to eating meat after leaving San Francisco and starting a farm about 55 miles away in Vacaville. They started with eggs and cheese from the farm's chickens and cows. Then, after one old cow had to be put down, they decided it made sense to incorporate meat into their diets as well.
