VegansEatWhat.com is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing delicious answers to the "what do vegans eat?" question! VEW began in 2013 and received tax-exempt status the following year. We are an all-volunteer organization offering great tasting, tested vegan recipes, how-to advice, cookbook reviews and original articles for vegans, vegetarians, and the veg-curious!
After graduating from Wheaton College with a B.A. in Biblical Studies, Doug Meier worked in the refugee camps of Thailand on the Thai/Cambodian border for an international nonprofit relief and development organization. He then went on to become the Country Director in Somalia working in the refugee camps and later in Bangladesh working with children and the “untouchable” caste in the inner city of Dhaka.
Upon returning to the U.S., Doug graduated from law school at the University of Denver and is now in private practice in Colorado. He practices in the area of insurance bad faith and legal malpractice. Doug is married with three children, one grandchild, two dogs, two birds, and one cat. He became a vegetarian 13 years ago and went vegan approximately 2 years ago.
Vegetarian since 1983, Justina Walls adopted a vegan diet in 1990 as a result of a lecture she attended at a conference held at Regis University in Denver. The speaker at the lecture was Dr. Michael Klapper, M.D., who grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Dr. Klapper described the anguished bellowing of mother cows having their babies taken from them immediately upon giving birth. The reality of any mother having her babies forcibly taken away from her at birth as well as the reality that dairy cows are kept pregnant their entire lives had an irreversible impact on Justina. Although a serious cheese aficionado at that time, she became vegan that day. As she later said, “you can’t eat what makes you want to cry”.
Justina received her law degree in 1985 from the University of Denver and her Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 1975 from the University of Texas at Arlington. She recently achieved 20-year Emeritus status as a Practitioner (spiritual counselor) under the Centers for Spiritual Living. Justina holds a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at eCornell and has steered a local vegetarian group since 1998. She is devoted to teaching and educating people about the many benefits of plant-based diets. Justina lives in Colorado with her husband (also vegan) and their kitty kids.
Mark Warren Reinhardt is an attorney and author who has been writing and lecturing on veganism and animal rights issues for longer than anyone can remember. His book, "The Perfectly Contented Meat-Eater’s Guide to Vegetarianism" was published by Continuum in 1998. Mark has previously served on the boards of the Vegetarian Society of Colorado, Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, and Divine Feline, as well as a number of other nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Mark holds degrees in engineering and law from Duke, Harvard, and the University of Chicago. He lives in Denver with his cat Elgie.
Kris Giovanini received her JD/MBA degrees from the University of Denver in 1989. Following graduation she worked as an attorney for the federal and state governments before entering private practice. Believing so strongly in the benefits of plant-based/vegan diets -- for human health, the environment and factory-farmed animals -- Kris started VegansEatWhat.com in 2013.
“The mission of VegansEatWhat.com is to promote the deliciousness and diversity of vegan diets and help educate people on the many benefits of eating plant-based foods. None of us need to consume animals or their by-products to enjoy great tasting food or meet nutritional requirements. Eating a vegan diet is not about deprivation and our mission is to help others recognize this by providing great tasting recipes and resources for a wide variety of delicious plant-based/vegan food". Kris devotes her time to promoting vegan diets. She is married, has one son and resides in Colorado.