So I'm Thinking Of Going Vegan

not vegan yet? then please view farm to fridge

 

Vegan already? Excellent! Then keep calm, vegan on, and scroll down for latest post.

wanna be a veganpreneur?

Excellent! I hope many of you do because we sorely need vegan goods and services. And as a consumer wanting to spend my measly dollars in humanitarian sentientarian ways, here's a small sampling of what I personally would like to see more of:

• vegan-themed calendars (both wall and engagement planners) -- because how many did I come across scouring Amazon back in December? Nada. Tsk, tsk.
• vegan books that aren't cookbooks -- because not every vegan is infatuated with food. At least, I'm not.
• vegan books discussing the politics of food, however, are always welcome
• vegan anthologies -- because it would be cool to have collections of authors discussing their vegan journey or other aspects of the vegan experience
• vegan documentaries -- because they rule!
• vegan humour -- more jokes, comics, standup comedians and funny books, please
• vegan art
• vegan plays and musicals -- why not?
• vegan apps 
• vegan directories
• vegan databases, studies and surveys
• vegan classes and courses
• vegan job boards -- there's one or two, but we need more
• vegan career counsellors, and
• vegan life coaches -- with special emphasis on stress and anger management, snort

So, step up to the plate all my vegan entrepreneurial friends and let's fill in the gaps! :)

how long will it take? MLK

Excerpts from the "How Long, Not Long" (aka Our God Is Marching On!) speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on March 25, 1965:

I know you are asking today, "How long will it take?" Somebody's asking, "How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?"  

Somebody's asking, "When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it?"

I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because "truth crushed to earth will rise again." How long? Not long, (Yes, sir) because "no lie can live forever."

How long? Not long, because "you shall reap what you sow." 

How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. 

 

A few more quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. can be found on Seth Godin's blog. I particularly like:

The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.

While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not have all sentient creatures in mind in his original sermons and speeches, I am sure his vision of justice would extend to all living and oppressed beings were he to be alive today. 

so what are YOUR vegan resolutions?

While resolutions are usually different from tangible and measurable goals (I'll address goals in a later post), they can certainly be useful in their own right. I made a number of vegan resolutions/goals here and there last year (with a bit of success in attaining some of them), but want to start 2012 with two primary aims:

1. To become more focused on solutions rather than problems, and
2. To become more effective in helping reduce animal use and suffering 

The first resolution stems in a way from a selfish desire because 2011 was personally challenging in ways that I don't even want to talk about, and I can only deal with so much added anger, frustration and sadness. Thus, I don't want to be stuck in what the problems are, but rather dwell on ways to overcome them. I need more hope and optimism if I'm going to be in this movement for the long haul, plus I'm starting to think it's more pragmatic to focus on what's working and to celebrate the gains rather than being mired in the muck all the time. What's that saying again? It's better to be pro-peace than anti-war. Not that I think I'll ever turn into a Pollyannaish good-news-only vegan (and I'll definitely still churn out snarky and/or depressing posts now and then), but for the most part I want to become more positive, and frankly, I want to have more fun on this blog. So, the three keywords this year will be solutions, effectiveness and fun! 

Happy New Year. May 2012 be your most awesome vegan advocacy year yet! :) 

maybe it's not too late? ;)

Have a happy, safe and animal-friendly holiday everyone! Hope to be back soon.

* The cartoon above is by the well-known vegan genius Dan Piraro. He's awesome. 

on hips and hopes

I have never been more excited or hopeful about being vegan. This also means I'm frustrated that I don't have the time right now to tell you about the advocacy experiences I've had of late. In the first three years of being vegan practically no one asked me why. In the last three weeks however, I've discussed the answer with seven different people with some pleasantly surprising results. Am I all of a sudden giving off a "ask me why I'm vegan" vibe? ;)

Alas I'm swamped with taking care of my elderly mom who just had her hip replaced, and even though the surgery went well, her recovery is a different story. Thus, I can't share just yet, but if you're patient I promise it'll be worth the wait. 

the fowl/foulness of Thanksgiving

Yep, it's Thanksgiving Day here in Canada (we Canucks are way ahead, snort), and as a vegan I don't have to tell you about the accompanying sadness that this day brings. Sure, I'm grateful for all personal blessings and am happy with whatever gains have been made by the animal rights movement this past year, but the idea of so many folk celebrating by indulging in cruelty and either not giving it a thought or excusing it by citing tradition overshadows what is supposed to be a joyful occasion.

In the days leading up to this annual glorification of unnecessary slaughter of innocents I found myself increasingly in a foul mood, so to make myself feel a bit better I finally (yes, I've been meaning to do it for ages!) mailed out some of the Would Jesus Eat Meat Today? pamphlets produced by the Christian Vegetarian Association. Had no idea my little town has so many churches covering so many denominations, but 16 of them received the "good news", snort. Have to admit I was a bit tempted to mail them out anonymously, but instead I attached a short note saying "Thank you for reading!" a smiley face, my email address and a postal address on the envelope in case any of them want to get in touch. I also made sure to address them to the person in charge. See, I'm hoping for a trickle-down effect so that if even one pastor/minister/priest takes the message to heart then perhaps they will relay it to their congregation.

I don't know if mailing them out so close to Thanksgiving was such a great idea, but since a fowl stench is in the air anyway I figured it was a good a time as any. And, I was pleasantly surprised to have received one response already:

Dear [my name]
I have received the info booklet that you have sent
It is very informative and well presented
Thanks and God bless
Msgr [name]

Who knows? Even if one little seed gets planted...

p.s. I apologize for being WAY behind in commenting (the human animal I call mom is taking up more and more of my time these days), but I hope to catch up soon.

yes, Virginia, there is at least one other vegan in your hometown

And statistically speaking, even if only 1% of the population identifies as vegan that means there should be 220 of us here. The reality though is that I feel pretty isolated in my hick of a hometown as I haven't met another single vegan in the over two years that I've been back already.  

So you can imagine my surprise and delight when I came across a car in the thrift store parking lot covered with vegan and animal rights bumper stickers. (By the way, if you DO have a car, please use your bumper as a beacon of hope for other isolated vegans.) Pure coincidence too as the only reason I had gone back to the store (I'd been there earlier already) was to get out of the rain. I had no idea of course who or how long the car owner might be, but I had one scrap of paper on me so I decided to be bold and leave my thanks and contact information on their windshield. Wrote something like "Hi, love your bumper stickers! Maybe I'm not the only vegan in [name of town]?" Then I left my first name, email address and phone number, put it in a small clear plastic bag so it wouldn't get wet, and hoped they would notice.

Got back on my bike and just as I was about to leave saw the owner approaching their car! Introduced myself, found out her name was a variation of my own, and we had a pleasant if brief chat before going our separate ways. Have no idea if she will indeed ever phone or email (I didn't get her contact information so can't get in touch myself), but no matter. Just knowing that there's another one of us walking around in the flesh instead of only statistically was enough to make my day! :) 

the stories we tell ourselves

"I don't have a choice."

"I don't have time."

These are two stories (not facts) that many of us tell ourselves constantly. At some point, I caught my own inner voice saying I don't have a choice and then noticed just how often that sentence floated through my mind whenever I made a decision. Balderdash. The beauty of being a human adult (in the free world at least) is that we have the power to make (and change) choices all the time. Every thought, feeling and action can be viewed as a choice, and even choosing not to make a choice is in fact a choice. So the real responsibility is to own your choices and to know what they cost. For the flip side of this however read veganelder's proxy post on how our choices are not always our own as much as we like to think.

The fiction of I don't have time is so universally accepted and repeated that it's become clichéd. We all have the same 24 hours and it comes down to choosing (ah, there's that word again) what to fill it with. What would be more accurate instead of claiming we don't have time is to state that a certain activity is not our top priority at the moment. I mean, most of us watch TV or a movie (not that there's anything wrong with that) when we could also be reading a book, watching a sunset or handing out leaflets. The important thing is to recognize that we constantly make choices about time as well. 

Other stories that we tell ourselves (or are told to us) is that we need to eat sentient beings (we call them animals or meat to make it easier) to be healthy, and that their purpose is to serve us in whatever way we choose. In essence, what we're telling ourselves (until we recognize the stories as fiction) is that their time and the choices they would likely make on their own behalf don't matter. Sound fair?

So, what story are you telling yourself right now? ;)

are YOU a sentientarian? ;)

You know, a person concerned with the needs of mankind allkind and the alleviation of sentient suffering. Also, one who is devoted to the promotion of sentient welfare (I use the term here in the traditional sense of well-being) and the advancement of social reforms. Although closely related to the (speciest?) term "humanitarian", think of sentientarian as going one step (or a hundred miles) further, snort.

If you haven't already switched over, please do so now. There are no forms to fill out, and no fees will mysteriously show up on your credit card. Thank you, and Welcome!

the advantages of being an older vegan

And no, I don't mean that you'll have fewer years to endure the mind-boggling and nerve-curdling animal cruelty that passes for normal on most parts of the planet. By the way, if all that crap is getting you down big time and sometimes (on darker days) having you think that the predicted demise of our fair earth in 2012 might not be such a bad thing, may I suggest a refreshing dose of CarpeVegan? Even if you don't agree with their viewpoints of purposeful vegan baby breeding or thrift store leather purchases, these dudes can be seriously funny and laughter-induced endorphins are good for everyone's health. Especially vegans. And those who have to live with them. Kidding! About the last part. But you knew that.

Where was I again? Oh yeah, the advantages of being wrinkled. Sure, most of the materials distributed by places like Vegan Outreach are aimed at younger brains and hearts and that certainly makes sense, but let's not forget that there are distinct advantages to going vegan when you're older. First, no one will pat you on the head and inform you that you're going through a "phase" if you announce your vegan intentions at the ripe old/middle age of 46. Had I gone vegan when I was 16 I'm sure my head would have gotten tired of all those patronizing hands. People expect college-age students to try on different philosophies and identities whereas we more seasoned folk have pretty much figured out who we are by now. And we've certainly been around the block enough times to be fairly serious about our goals (and more immune) when we agree to be maligned by the majority of meat-loving cohorts around us.

Another distinct advantage of most older vegans is that they tend to be established in their careers and finances (not myself personally, snort, but MOST), which means they have more money to donate to vegan causes and a wider sphere of influence. Who has more clout? Somebody in a boardroom or a schoolroom? Bill Clinton, or the girl on Glee?

So while I understand the impetus to recruit the young as they'll have more years to save more animals, let's not underestimate the importance of reaching out to the not-so-young. Like the quantity versus quality argument, young isn't always better and doesn't mean they'll influence more folk to go vegan than we older fogies will.

Um, I know there are other advantages too, but I'm gonna go take a wee nap now... 

p.s. accuse me of being ageist in this post and I'll make sure your funny bone STAYS missing ;)

p.p.s. I MEANT to link to this informal poll, but forgot. Blame old age if you like. Or not.