So I'm Thinking Of Going Vegan

veganism -- it ain't just about what we won't eat

Veganism denotes a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude--as far as possible and practical--all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals, and the environment.*

I decided to place and keep this definition on top of my blog to remind myself that while most of the posts below may focus more on the fun aspects of veganism (food, glorious food!), the impetus behind being vegan is a serious one, and that at heart veganism needs to be recognized for the important social justice movement it is.

update:

I think the emphasis of this blog has slowly been changing, and since posting a bit more regularly after taking a break while moving, I find that I've become fascinated with questions like what it means to be vegan, how a vegan identity is formed and maintained, how vegans are perceived by others, whether the vegan population is growing, and the influence of the different factions of the animal rights movement. Blame all that on all the sociology courses I took! Then again, maybe that degree can finally be put to good use, snort. At any rate, while there will still be some posts that are more food-related, expect more of the posts to be about exploring vegan identity, vegan books, vegan humour (yes, vegans CAN be funny) and of course more serious entries on vegan activism. Oh, the vegan quotes page is updated more frequently too.

* from The Vegan Society in England

I do NOT like mushrooms

In fact, as a friend of mine knows all too well, I DETEST them. So you can imagine my surprise then when I found out that the delicious dish I was noshing on (can't remember the specific name) was composed of the fried or breaded (dreaded!) mushrooms. I recoiled when I found out, but have to admit that they were so good that I continued to eat them. ALL of them. That'll teach me! Snort. The buffet to the left at the small but wonderful vegetarian/vegan restaurant called Affinity, was responsible for this minor mushroom miracle. ;)

one soup at a time

I used to joke that I was trying to convert the world to veganism one soup at a time, and while I would LOVE for that to work, snort, I have to be realistic. In the meantime, I continue to make my soups (the one to the right is a broccoli, carrot, tomato, and rice concoction) for myself and for anyone who'll eat 'em. I've even had a few "orders", which prompted me at one time to fantasize about selling my soups locally, but when I thought about the price I'd have to charge to cover ingredients, labour and time, it seemed unlikely that I would make any profit. Besides, no soup of mine is ever the same, so it would be hard to duplicate anything that was successful. Ah, never mind. I enjoy making them (is there anything like the smell and taste of homemade soup?), and chuckle whenever my mom says to others that they're so good you wouldn't even know they're vegan. :)

happy world vegan day!

Today also marks the start of World Vegan Month. I know I haven't been around much (sorry about that!), but veganism is something I'm passionate about, and even though I've been busy with pressing family matters, I hope to be posting more frequently soon.

breaking the tofu barrier

Yep, I finally did it. Made something with tofu the other day and absolutely loved it, which means that I can no longer claim to hate the stuff, and should change the subtitle of my blog if I don't want to be considered a liar. It all started when I decided to bake a vegan cake for my sister-in-law (I'll have to make that a separate post), and bought some tofu in case she wanted coffee icing. She opted for chocolate instead, so I ended up with tofu that I wanted to use up. Consulted my vegan cookbooks, and decided that scrambled "eggs" couldn't be that bad. Chopped and fried a whole onion, threw in some minced garlic, and then added and fried the cup of tofu I had cubed until it had all crumbled and was starting to get browned. Added a big splash of Bragg, and OH MY GOD -- it was heavenly! And so filling, which is great for me as I tend to get hungry right quick. But that all goes to show that it's NOT the tofu, but the tofu maker, snort. I think in my case though I've always had tofu served in fairly big cubed pieces which I found too bland and slippery. So now I know what to do, and hey, I'm even ready to play around with the soft silken stuff for desserts, so bring it on! :)

p.s. haven't forgotten about trying to find some vegan statistics and am working on it

vegans eliminated on The Amazing Race

Well that sure was quick! In a surprise twist this season a challenge awaited the contestants at the starting line, and the team to finish last (in this case the vegan couple Lisa and Eric) was given the boot before the race even started. Talk about pressure and disappointment. The couple reacted gracefully though (must be that yoga, snort), and replied that by being eliminated first, the pain and shame was gone for everybody else. I very much doubt that I would have been gracious about it, so I was kind of impressed. But I wonder what would have happened if they had not been eliminated right off the bat because the very next challenge involved eating sushi! We'll never know.

I'm not sure though if I'll continue watching. I'm considering eliminating myself as a viewer not so much because I can no longer cheer on the vegans, but because I'm getting to be more and more uncomfortable with the animal-related challenges. Even the relatively innocent duck herding in last weekend's episode made me uneasy. I wasn't vegan when I first started watching this show, and I guess it wasn't really until Season 14 that it became apparent that my consciousness was finally starting to shift. In the comments section in my last post there was a bit of a discussion of how elephants in Thailand are treated, and I'm glad to report that even though I felt uncomfortable with the episode involving the Phuket Zoo but didn't do anything, there were people who actually complained both to The Amazing Race and to CBS.

But it's a bit of a dilemma. Do we have a right to judge how people in other countries treat animals? What about respecting cultural differences? How do we define cruelty and abuse? Because the reality is that while some of us may not like what goes on in Thailand zoos (or in any zoos for that matter), more people (perhaps even most) would argue that it's absolutely fine, and that our concerns are absurd and laughable at best. Plus there's the question of how we treat other animals right here in North America. As a vegan, I would say that we're not much better, and in terms of how farm animals are treated, not better at all. Then there's the argument often put forth that because human rights trump animal rights, vegans are misguided. I don't feel misguided of course, and despite cultural relativism, think it necessary to declare certain practices (whether they involve human or non-human animals) universally wrong.

So, what about the show? Do I stop watching? Dunno.

vegans on The Amazing Race!

Yep, there will be two vegans on The Amazing Race premiering this Sunday evening. Eric and Lisa are married yoga instructors, and it'll be interesting to see how they fare. But apparently there was a vegan last season as well (Mike, who appeared with his father Mel), although I don't remember this ever being mentioned. I wonder what he thought of the challenges involving animals at the Phuket Zoo in Thailand? I certainly wasn't too impressed with the elephant portion of the show, and the posing with the tiger just made me sad. In fact, the exploitation almost made me stop watching The Amazing Race altogether.

And what about the food challenges? How as vegans will Eric and Lisa react? Usually the food is meat or fish-based, so would they make an exception and eat items they normally wouldn't? In Season 13, Terrance, a vegetarian, ended up eating sheep, and I think he regretted it. But being vegan means an even greater commitment to not consume animal products in any way, so I wonder how the vegan couple will handle this ethical dilemma.

How would you?

what I think I know about veganism so far

Having been vegan for over a year I decided I wanted to know more about veganism and animal rights, so I gingerly dipped my toe into the pool of knowledge that's on the Internet, and boy the learning experience has been a humbling one! Here is what I've gleaned so far, but please keep in mind that my observations (in no particular order) are subjective, and may change over time. I will probably also expand on some or most of the points below in future posts.

All I think I know for sure in this moment is that:

1. Vegans piss people off. Both within and outside of the animal rights movement.
2. The word I see most often in connection with vegan is self-righteous. True, this usually comes from people who aren't vegan themselves.
3. The thing most people who aren't vegan seem to object to the most is the attitude of moral superiority they perceive most vegans to have. I sympathize. But what do you do when you feel that veganism IS a morally superior stance?
4. Veganism has a language all of its own. And abbreviations to boot.
5. The words vegetarianism and veganism are sometimes used interchangeably, which is inaccurate and confusing.
6. There's a bit of vegetarian bashing going on right now by some vegans, which I don't think is particularly helpful.
7. As much as I used to hate proselytizing by Christians, I'm now much more sympathetic as I would love to be able to convert everyone RIGHT THIS SECOND!
8. Having said that, I'm not convinced proselytizing is effective.
9. Veganism is not A diet, which my mom still doesn't get every time she offers me something that only has "a little bit" of milk or egg or anything else.
10. Veganism is ABOUT diet, environment, and most of all, other animals.
11. But vegans become and stay vegan for any of the above reasons, and I'm not sure we can decide which one is more valid for any one vegan in particular.
12. Vegans hold themselves and others to very high standards, and can be awfully hard on, again, both themselves and others.
13. If compassion is to be the underpinning of this movement (and in my opinion it should be), then that compassion needs to be directed not only to other animals, but also to ourselves and to each other. Each other would include vegans, vegetarians, omnivores who try in their own way to help animals, liberationists, abolitionists, and animal welfare activists.
14. Derisively calling animal welfare activists new welfarists doesn't strike me as particularly compassionate. Or helpful.
15. I am an abolitionist in the sense that I am vegan and support the long-term goal of abolishing all animal use, but I'm uneasy about the abolitionist movement (although I think the proper term is faction) itself. Just as I don't believe that Christianity is the only path to God, I don't believe that abolition is the only path to animal liberation, especially when animals need our help NOW.
16. Because it scares me when any one individual or group is convinced that they have the only, and the right, answers.
17. And I think it's dangerous to be so married to your own group ideology that you're not willing to listen to and consider any other perspective.
18. Any person brave enough to head any large enough animal welfare or animal rights group or organization will be vilified by at least one other group.
19. I have read different takes on Michael Vick and the NFL, and even though I think he's a complete and utterly vile scumbag, I can see valid points for both supporting and opposing his reinstatement.
20. But no, I don't think gleefully torturing dogs (including companion animals) with your bare hands is quite the same as sitting down to dinner. For those who can't see the difference, I would point to intent, level of involvement, and participation in a socially and legally sanctioned activity, however criminal we may think it is. Besides, if the goal is to convert omnivores to veganism, treating them as morally equivalent to Vick is going to help how?
21. I honestly don't believe I would have eventually turned vegan (I was 46) had I not adored my cat and finally made the connection of "if you wouldn't eat a cat, why eat a cow?"
22. I think taking advantage of the love that people feel for their companion animals is a perfectly good place to start vegan outreach.
23. Dismantling any ism is necessarily complex, and while it's easy to pay lip service to the idea of inclusion, in any movement largely led by white, privileged men, only those who are most affected can say whether there is racism, sexism, or any ism left in the movement. To declare otherwise is naive.
24. Animal liberation is not only not going to happen overnight, it won't happen in our lifetime (at least, not mine), and unless we're willing to be a bit more co-operative for the sake of the animals, and come up with a flexible enough framework that takes the best of all approaches OR represents the majority of activists that fall in the middle, then there's real danger of movement collapse.
25. And that, would suit those people who think vegans and animal rights activists are all whacko, just absolutely fine.

Finally, what I really know for sure (depite my tone), is that I have no answers, and definitely not even all of the questions.

vegan characters continued

A comment to my last post made me realize I'm not quite done yet with addressing TV. First, I goofed, as there are currently two minor bisexual characters in mainstream TV today (House and Grey's Anatomy). Wow--two! And I also remember bisexuality being dealt with on Sex and the City, but was shocked because for a show that supposedly dealt with sexuality in such a frank manner, they perpetuated almost every single stereotype of bisexuality still out there; bisexuals are fence-sitters, and bisexuality is a brief experimental phase before coming out as gay, to name just two. Mind you, I thought the gay male characters on that show were treated as practically just another accessory for the female characters anyway, so I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised.

But back to vegans! I forgot to mention I heard somewhere that if you haven't been spoofed on SNL, The Simpsons, or South Park, then you haven't quite made it yet. South Park was never my cup of tea, and I haven't watched SNL for years (although watching clips of Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin was priceless), but The Simpsons I always liked. Unfortunately, without cable (and now TV) I haven't been able to watch them either, so I Googled, and what do you know--Lisa went vegetarian way back in 1995! Where was I? Oh, and Apu is vegan. Still, not enough spoofing going on yet, snort.

Another part of the comment suggested that it would be interesting to see what influence things like orientation, gender, marital status, religion, education, race, and travel have on becoming vegan. I completely agree, especially because unlike some of the above factors, becoming vegan is usually a choice, and that makes me wonder if being a member of one minority group affects a person's decision to become part of another. But even the other variables would be fascinating to look at, so I'm going to see if I can find any statistics out there. A sociology of veganism and vegan identity, hmmm, makes me want to go back to school!

are there vegan characters on TV?

But before I get to that, I came across a line today while doing a Google search that although offensive, rather made me laugh. This person proposed that a campaign be started which would change the word 'gay' in the derogatory phrase that is so gay, to that is so vegan, snort. Now I've always hated the above line myself, and I think this individual was simply trying to shift a bad connotation from one minority group to another, but instead of being too offended, I thought hey, at least that means that vegans are becoming more visible. Because you certainly don't deride groups you're not even aware of.

So back to the question in the post title, are there vegans on TV? Or in movies? I can't really think of any myself, but I don't have a TV anymore, so am probably media-deprived at the moment. And just like it took forever for gay characters to become mainstream (a good indication that society is still really biphobic is in the lack of any bisexual characters, let alone those portrayed in a positive light), once vegans begin to receive airplay (even if it's initially more negative), there ain't no stopping us.

Or how about in books? There's got to be fictional vegans running around somewhere! And, um, once we do start getting caricatured, let's make sure we're not depicted as lacking a sense of humour, okay? Although, isn't that what they say about feminists? Can't win! LOL

what does it mean to be vegan?

I've been thinking a lot about this lately, especially as I'm learning more about the various ideological positions within the animal rights movement. So what DOES it mean to be vegan? It's a label obviously, a shorthand way of identifying certain objections and practices, a personal choice, a political statement, a group identity, a philosophy, and I suppose, a lifestyle. The last term I'm actually a bit uncomfortable with as it reminds me too much of its negative use as a way of defending homophobia, but in this case, it seems fitting.

But does being vegan mean that you're an animal rights activist? In a way, I think it does, even though there may be some vegans who are vegan more for health or environmental reasons. The result though, regardless of motivation, is that fewer animals are being consumed. But I want to explore this topic more fully over time by writing a series of posts on the angry vegan, the self-righteous vegan, the militant vegan, the reluctant or invisible vegan, the discouraged vegan, the hopeful vegan, the compassionate vegan, and the effective vegan. I also want to comment on the state of the animal rights movement as it is today (if the two major camps were a couple, they would be in major need of marital counselling indeed!), and what I think my own position is shaping up to be. So stay tuned.

my good vegan deed of the day

Although I could argue that just by being vegan, I'm doing a good deed every day! ;)

Anyway, this morning I spotted the BIGGEST spider I've ever seen in my life. I was both fascinated and repulsed as I saw her/him sitting cozily right by my cat's water bowl, but I knew he/she couldn't stay. Now I have to explain that I used to have this enormous spider phobia when I was younger (and I think there may be something to the theory that you attract what you fear as during the reign of this phobia I once spat out a spider that had been in my coffee, was bitten by one, and encountered countless spiders in beds, bathtubs and basements!), so am not overly fond of these creatures although I no longer fear them. Or attract them, snort. So before Kitty Kazoo could come along and be equally fascinated by the water bowl visitor, I quickly grabbed a plastic container, scooped up Ms. or Mr. Spider, and released the captive outside. And not harming any living being if you don't have to is definitely the right thing to do, but I've already released a cricket and a centipede (a former cat used to eat them -- eeeeww), so I sure seem to live in a buggy place right now!

vegans poop more

It's true! Snort.

So I was in a bad mood the other night when I happened across this "I'm Vegan, and I Poop 3 Times a Day" sticker, and I must say that after laughing out loud I realized that while I had always been regular anyway (thanks to lots of fiber), since turning vegan I probably poop three times in the MORNING already, never mind the whole day! ;)

back, sort of

As some of you know, I've been busy the last couple of months with moving, although that hardly excuses the lack of consistent posting in this blog. And if truth be told I've been wondering if I should continue with the vegan blog as it isn't my primary one (that would be Think Outside The Piggy Bank), and I never seem to have enough time for them all. But I don't want to give up on this one yet, so I'll leave it up and see if I can contribute at least once in a while. I also want to put up some links on vegan resources, and other vegan blogs that DO post regularly.

made my own jam!

I'd been meaning to do this for a while ever since my neighbour gave me some of his. So I found a recipe for sugar-free berry jumble jam in The Garden of Vegan cookbook (click on link in Amazon widget if you want more info on the book), and it was super easy. I decided to use a 600 gram bag (equals about 3 cups) of mixed frozen berries instead of fresh, and 1/2 cup of frozen apple juice concentrate. Couldn't be bothered putting it in a blender, so just used my potato masher to squish the berries a bit more. Cooked them for about 10-15 minutes, added the frozen apple juice concentrate, brought it to a boil until it reached a consistency I liked, poured it into a warm glass jar with an air-tight lid, let it stand overnight, and voila! Tasted really good, although I have to admit that buying store-bought jam IS cheaper. But hey, not half as much fun and making my own jam really impressed my mom. :))

Will take and upload a photo when I can, although it might take a while what with moving and all. Hope to be back soon, and hope to post more regularly then too.

expanding culinary horizons

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very brave when it comes to food. I like dishes that I'm familiar with, am not too fond of anything too hot or spicy, and tend to make the same stuff over and over. And even before I turned vegan I would order favourite items from restaurant menus (not that I ate out a lot), instead of trying something new. But I was in a mall the other day and realized that I was hungry enough that I wouldn't be able to make it home before having to eat. So I walked around the food court looking for something quick, cheap, filling, and vegan. Quite the order! Luckily, I then happened across The True Indian Gourmet where the staff patiently filled me in on what the different dishes were. When I explained that I was vegan, they right away understood and pointed out the dishes that contained no animal products at all. I ended up trying the vegetable samosa, and they let me sample the chana masala (chickpea curry) with basmati rice and boy were they both ever good! Spicy, yes, but I didn't seem to mind, and it occurred to me that maybe I should try more ethnic dishes that I wouldn't otherwise consider in order to literally spice things up a bit. Hmmm.

good soup, but not vegan!

good soup, but not vegan!,
originally uploaded by Tulip Girl.

I could have sworn it was as I checked the label in the store, but after making and eating this quite good soup, I checked the ingredients again and found it contains parmesan cheese. What a bummer. And here I've been eating only vegan stuff without fail for almost a year!

earth day

Happy Earth Day! Did you see the cool new badge? Click on it and find out how you too can contribute to one million acts of green.

My local grocery store finally got in the act today and from now on will charge five cents for every plastic bag given out. A good idea for those who don't already use their own cloth bags and maybe it will inspire less use of plastic overall. A ban on certain pesticide products is in effect here in Ontario as of today as well, and that's another step forward. Hey, have you heard about the new Disney film called earth? I really want to go see it, but I don't think it's showing at a theatre I can get to. Pity.

So I decided to post this entry on each of my blogs, as it's relevant to all three. Being environmentally friendly can be cost effective in many ways; not only can it help your wallet in the short run, in the end, the less damage we do to this planet the less we'll have to spend to clean and fix it up. Making sure our habitat becomes safer is good for all the species our earth has to support, and veganism's emphasis on compassion for all ties in neatly with environmental concern. Again, Happy Earth Day however you decide to celebrate, and think green all the way!

vegan joke

(Taken from Sarah Kramer's La Dolce Vegan!)

Q: How many vegans does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: Two! One to change the bulb ... and one to check for animal ingredients.

Snort.

my Easter temptation

* note: this post also appears on my animals rights blog

As some of you know, I work weekends in a small rest home (17-20 residents), where a big part of my responsibility is the serving and cooking of meals. The menu is prefixed, and the night staff person prepares part of the hot meals, so I usually end up reheating most of the food. Now this usually works out well for me because it means I don't have to cook most of the meat, but once a month I'm the one who prepares either the beef or pork roast and on special occasions, there's either a turkey or a ham. I started this job before I became vegan and when preparing meat wasn't an issue, and I have to say that as soon as I made the switch I had no problem with not eating non-vegan items there. I didn't especially like making meat dishes anymore, but on the other hand I recognized that the residents didn't have any say in what was prepared, and that meal and snack-times are the highlights in their otherwise boring day. I also have to say that even though I don't consider myself to be a great cook, I'm actually quite good when it comes to dishes that I have to simmer for any length of time. So this past Easter I had to make a ham (which I've only made once before), and by the comments I received it apparently turned out fantastic (I used pineapple chunks and juice to baste and simmer). I was pleased because it had been a big meal to make and because I wanted Easter to be special for them, but I was so taken aback by how many of them went out of their way to let me know how much they had enjoyed dinner that I was strongly tempted to taste a piece myself! And it wasn't because I still have cravings for meat, or was hungry, but I simply wanted to know what all the fuss was about, snort. Happily though I didn't give in to the temptation, but took their word for it.

It does raise the issue though of whether I want to have jobs in the future that involve the preparation of foods that I myself for ethical reasons no longer eat. Luckily it won't be an issue for much longer in this particular job as I'm leaving at the end of May, but I suppose I have to think carefully about whether I want to even apply for these types of jobs again. Hmmm.

an accidental soup

So I was standing in my kitchen today looking at my fairly bare cupboards wondering what to make (haven't gone shopping yet!), when I spied a can of black-eyed peas. I only had about 1/2 cup of red lentils left, but then remembered the head of cauliflower languishing in my crisper, and voila, another pot of soup was born! Kind of an odd combination of ingredients, but I let it simmer for a while, and it tasted pretty good. :)