Episode 1: The Vegetarians

Today, the Toronto Junction is a hip, rapidly gentrifying neighbourhood. But for much of the 20th century, the Junction was rundown and economically stagnant. Against this backdrop, a small religious sect called the Students of Light quietly moved into the core of the Junction in the 1970s. Some former members have called the group a dangerous cult, accusing its leadership of mind control, brainwashing, and abuse.

Credits:

Written and narrated by Daniel Munro
Audio editing and production by Carolyn Smillie
Additional research by Robert Munro
Artwork and web design by Megan Hilario
Voiceovers by Robert Munro, Harold Munro, Susanne Munro, Tanya Shum, and Carolyn Smillie
Excerpts of interviews with Genevieve Amaral, Joseph C., Lorne Dawson, Gus Koutomanos, Treva Olson, Stephen Sacrob, Cynthia Watson, and two anonymous contributors.
Featuring the song “Booze and Blues” by Ma Rainey

Sources consulted:

Books:

Lorne Dawson, Comprehending Cults
Marc Galanter, Cults: Faith, Healing, and Coercion (2nd ed.)
Robert Pollock, Twenty-Five Years with Jesus
Robert Pollock, Navigating by Heart
Ellavivian Power, The Auric Mirror

Articles:

Bloor West Villager, “AT ISSUE: The Junction capitalizes on the power of alcohol”
The City, “The Drys Have it”
Globe and Mail, “A Liquor-Free Zone Votes on Booze”
Globe and Mail, “For Vegetarians, Make it Mock Turkey”
Globe and Mail, “Veggies: From the Delicious to the Doctrinaire”
Globe and Mail, “Takes Years to Learn the Art of Making Tofu”
Indie88, “A History of Prohibition in The Junction”
Jamie Bradburn’s Gales of Toronto, “‘Temperance Bill’ Temple Keeps the Junction Dry”
New York Times, “Skid Row to Hip in Toronto”
Toronto in Time, “The Murder that Made the Junction go ‘Dry’”
Torontoist, “Historicist: ‘A Carnival of Vice’”
Toronto Star, “Booze in the Junction”
Toronto Star, “Toasting the End of Prohibition”
Toronto Star, “Junction Gardens has the Bouquet without the Wine”
Toronto Sun, “The Junction Retains Original Small-Town Charm”
Toronto Star, “In Search of a Good Meatless Meal? Go Mainstream”
Toronto Star, “The Vegetarian Restaurant Tofu-Tempeh-Goulash”
Toronto Star, “The Vegetarian Restaurant Strawberry-Blueberry Squares”
Toronto Star, “The Vegetarian Restaurant’s Lemon Poppyseed Cake”
Toronto Star, “The Vegetarian Restaurant’s Tofu burger”
The Villager, “A Mob from City Went to Junction”
Soyfoods Magazine, “Soyfoods in Toronto”
Soyfoods Magazine, “The Unfinished Evolution of the American Okara Press”
The Vegetarian Times, “On the Road for the Fast Food Burger: A Soy Deli Odyssey”

Other:

Docket Entries for United States v. Kollmar (4:19-mj-70677)
The SoyInfo Centre’s “History of Soy in Canada (1831-2019)”