The Inspired Vegan Book Summary - The Inspired Vegan Book explained in key points
Listen to the Intro
00:00

The Inspired Vegan summary

Bryant Terry

Seasonal Ingredients, Creative Recipes, Mouthwatering Menus

3.7 (20 ratings)
28 mins
Topics
Table of Contents

    The Inspired Vegan
    Summary of 7 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 7

    Watering the food deserts

    When Bryant Terry moved from Brooklyn, New York to Oakland, California in 2007, he thought he’d died and gone to food paradise. His new apartment was steps away not only from an independently owned organic grocery store, but a weekly farmers’ market with the freshest seasonal, local produce. If he couldn’t find what he needed at either of those, there was always a 40,000 square foot Whole Foods to fall back on.

    Sounds great, right? Well it is, for the people privileged enough to live there.

    Directly adjacent to Oakland is the community of West Oakland. If Oakland is a food paradise, West Oakland is a food desert. It’s home to 53 liquor stores and not a single full-service grocery store. Many of West Oakland’s primarily African American residents don’t own cars, which makes it difficult for them to travel to other neighborhoods to shop for food. They tend to get their groceries at the liquor stores and convenience stores, which rarely stock fresh produce.

    Food deserts are very common throughout the US. Those who live in them – predominantly African Americans and Latinos – are consistently denied the basic human right to healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable way. Unsurprisingly, these communities have higher-than-average rates of obesity and diet-related diseases. 

    Terry’s mission is to create community-based solutions to the problem of food injustice. To accomplish this, he wants to make cooking – and even eating – a political act. You’ve heard the buzzwords a million times: local, sustainable, seasonal. We can talk about them for hours. But to really feel inspired to fight for food justice, sustainability has to become more than a trend. People have to feel connected to the experiences of cooking, eating, and growing food for themselves. 

    By way of the sensual pleasures of the table, Terry’s goal is to shift people’s attitudes and, eventually, their politics to ensure that everyone has a place at the table – regardless of their income or address. Terry uses not just recipes for meals, but formulas for entire experiences that include film, music, and literature. This way, he communicates a holistic message, which respects history, acknowledges injustice, and inspires solidaristic action for a better future.

    Want to see all full key ideas from The Inspired Vegan?

    Key ideas in The Inspired Vegan

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is The Inspired Vegan about?

    The Inspired Vegan (2012) is a plant-based cookbook featuring original recipes as well as reimaginings of traditional soul food favorites, from johnnycakes to jambalaya. But it’s also a collage of inspiration – author Bryant Terry annotates recipes with recommendations for music, literature, and art to nourish not only readers’ appetites, but their creativity and culinary experimentalism. 

    Who should read The Inspired Vegan?

    • People looking to break out of their cooking ruts
    • Home gardeners – or people who would like to be
    • Anyone who thinks that vegan food is boring tofu and bland beans

    About the Author

    Bryant Terry is an award-winning vegan chef and the author of several cookbooks, including 2020’s Vegetable Kingdom. He’s also a food justice activist and the founder of b-healthy!, an initiative that empowers young people to create a more just and sustainable food system. 

    Categories with The Inspired Vegan

    Books like The Inspired Vegan

    People ❤️ Blinkist
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked

    Start growing with Blinkist now
    27 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    91%
    Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
    *Based on survey data from Blinkist customers
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial