Ve-gan [vee-guhn]-a person who does not eat or use animal products.

Despite its long history, veganism is still considered unusual by many in this carnivore world of ours. But, in the United States alone, there are 3 million plus vegans and the ranks are growing, especially in the under thirty crowd. Becoming vegan requires learning a whole new way of eating and thinking about food, and Linda Long's handy guide educates you on planning meals, understanding new ingredients, products, and brand names, and knowing protein and vitamin needs among so many other topics, including tips on simple adoptions like six ways to use a veggie burger. She also offers a host of tasty recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and parties, several from some of the top vegan chefs in the world.

Linda Long has been a committed vegan for 30 years and writes and photographs for vegetarian magazines such as Vegetarian Journal, American Vegan, and VegNews. She is the author of Great Chefs Cook Vegan and lives in New York City.