We find vegan diets to be nutritionally superior to omnivorous diets, with great potential to protect people from disease. Plus it's the most ecologically sustainable and compassionate of all dietary patterns. "Becoming Vegan" provides people with reliable, comprehensive information, including an almost fool-proof food guide.

VHO: How well was your previous book, "Becoming Vegetarian," received?

VM and BD: "Becoming Vegetarian" was extraordinarily well received by both the medical and lay communities. Indeed, we believe it went a long way towards bridging the gap between the two groups. "Becoming Vegetarian" has sold close to 100,000 copies and is one of the most highly recommended books on vegetarian nutrition, and is now in nine countries (in North and South America and Europe), and 3 languages. We weren't expecting "Becoming Vegan" to catch on so quickly, however its release came at a time of immense interest in this topic. As a result, this book is similarly welcomed by dietitians and other health professionals, who appreciate the well-researched information.

VHO: What kind of person did you write this book for?

VM and BD: Our target audience for "Becoming Vegan" is everyone who consumes a plant-based diet, or is interested in shifting towards such an eating pattern. It definitely includes those who are already near-vegan or vegan, although this is not well reflected by the title. For those who are vegan, it is a tool for fine-tuning the diet, providing detailed answers to many of our toughest nutrition questions. Also, many of our readers are health professionals.

VHO: Are you a vegans yourselves? What made you decide to go vegan?

Brenda: Yes. I became vegan because I simply cannot justify causing torment, injury and death to animals when such an amazing variety of delicious and nourishing plant foods are available to me. I feel so fortunate to have such an abundance of wonderful foods, as I know there are many people in the world who have little choice in what they consume.

Vesanto: I have been vegetarian since 1978, and vegan since 1993. Over the years, I gradually replaced more and more animal products with plant foods, and found ways to make a plant-based eating "healthy, delicious and easy." It's real adventure, pioneering how to do this well, and to find foods, and other consumer goods, that don't exploit animals and the planet. In my experience, most people are happy to be compassionate consumers when these options are easy for them. So I'd like to help make it easy. To do so, I have to figure out each step of the way.

VHO: As vegan Registered Dietitians, do you often meet colleagues, among other RDs and other health care professionals, who question your choice, or question the nutritional soundness of your diet?

VHO: Has that reaction changed in the past 10 years or so, as vegetarianism and veganism has become more widespread, and certainly in the past few years after many food-borne pathogen outbreaks such as E.coli, listeria, salmonella and mad cow disease?

Brenda: Most definitely. When I was in university over 20 years ago, vegetarian diets were considered risky, and downright dangerous for infants and children. Today they are considered not only safe and adequate, but protective, even in the eyes of conservative nutrition authorities such as the American Dietetic Association.

Vesanto: It helps that we now have solid science showing that people can thrive on vegetarian, including vegan, diets at any age. The proven benefits in preventing chronic disease such as cancer and heart disease, and even in reversing heart disease, just add to the appreciation of these dietary patterns.

VHO: Are you finding more colleagues who share your food philosophy?

VM and BD: Yes, the numbers are steadily climbing.

VHO: It seems difficult to me to separate vegetarianism and veganism from its politics. For example, the fact that my diet is healthier for me is only a fringe benefit. I made the switch after discovering in myself a profound connection with animals and the Earth. But your careers are in nutrition, and it has been my experience that people tend to react positively to vegetarian "propaganda" when it focuses more on the health aspect and less on the animal rights aspect. I found your book to do minimal moralizing and the very detailed and thorough chapters on nutrition clearly argued the nutritional side superbly. However, there are passages in the book that subtly but unequivocally discuss the compassionate and political implications. So perhaps the social and political side of vegetarianism can't be denied. What role do you see it playing in the "vegetarian/vegan movement?"

VM and BD: People are interested in their own health - in preventing illness, in curing disease, and in attaining an excellent state of physical and mental health. They recognize the impact that food choices can have. Yet often we are so far removed from the sources of our food, that we fail to recognize how serious the consequences of our choices can be, in terms of environmental damage, or exploitation.

We write primarily about nutrition, because that is our expertise. At the same time, we recognize the connection between all things. The reality is that if we destroy the planet in the process of raising and growing food, we destroy ourselves. Intensive animal agriculture is not sustainable. Equally important, it involves tremendous cruelty to animals. People are initially drawn towards plant-based diets for a variety of reasons: ecology, ethics, compassion, health. Yet with time, we understand that it makes sense from any perspective.

VHO: How do you think these recent pathogen outbreaks will affect vegetarianism in the short run? Do you see it making people think more about their food in serious and thoughtful ways, especially folks on the our side of the world, being told every day that their meat supply is safe? What about Europe, do you see this decline in meat consumption and interest in vegetarianism as something with staying power? Or once the meat supply is deemed safe again, do you think people will go back to their steaks? Do you see more food borne pathogens appearing? Is this just the tip of the iceberg?