So I'm Thinking Of Going Vegan

welcome to 2013

Welcome to the first day of the New Year. Welcome to the first of 365 days where you can make a real difference. Whether newly vegan or a seasoned activist, today is the day where you can improve your health, the health of the environment, and most important of all, the health and happiness of other sentient beings who share our planet. Today is a fresh day of a fresh year, but every day of the next 364 days is a chance to wipe the slate clean and start anew.

The framework for this endeavour is love and compassion. For ourselves (yes, we may stumble), each other (no one is perfect), the innocent beings who suffer mightily at the hands of our supposedly superior species, and even (as hard as it may be) the ones who knowingly or unknowingly inflict such suffering. What would love do is a question that can guide us as we try to make the world better.

Joy may thus seem like a frivolous component when there's so much animal (both human and non-human) suffering going on, but without the lightness and hope that joy brings, it's too easy to get swallowed up in the pain and darkness that most of us confront daily. It would be wise for us to remember that many of us humans are drawn in part to other beings because they instinctively know how to live in the moment, how to derive pleasure and joy in the ordinary activities of living. Some of us may kid ourselves into thinking that we are more advanced, but we would do well to learn from those we denigrate.

You may have asked yourself upon reading my series of previous posts what excitement had to do with being vegan. In short, life's too short to be without it. In my own particular case, coming up with new ideas is when I feel most fully alive and is one of my biggest sources of satisfaction. The point here isn't what actually excites you (like feelings, they're neither right nor wrong), but how you apply your passions to making things better. There's lots of ways activists can contribute to animal well-being, and doing what you're good at, what you en(joy), and what gives you energy, is the surest way to become and stay involved. After all, we're in this for the long run!

What can YOU do? Well, lots. And it's up to you to decide how others will be best served. There's a plethora of skills, interests and knowledge that's needed and for you to draw upon. The key is doing what personally draws you in and what you find satisfying and sustaining. Don't make the mistake though of trying to do too much, thinking you can or should do everything. You can't, and any attempt will backfire. I even sometimes wonder if some of the ex-vegan spectacular about-face stories are the result of burnout. Can't do what I thought I could, so won't do anything at all. The aim here is balance. Be a super duper activist if that's what you want, but don't let it be your whole life. In other words, don't live in a vegan bubble. It won't help them at all, nor you.

Laughter, like joy or excitement, may seem superfluous as well when lives are at stake, but it really isn't. If you're going to try to take care of others, you need to take care of yourself as well. Laughter releases endorphins, releases and provides energy, and is vital especially because of the often-grim nature of what we face and do. A sense of humour is key, even more so because of the stereotype that vegans don't have one! 

Gratitude, as talked about in the prior post (can't believe I forgot to mention Vegg by the way!), can grease the activist engine so to speak. Building upon gains and successes develops confidence and stamina, having a supportive vegan community (even if only online) strengthens your resolve to keep doing what you're doing. And what you're doing is creating a vegan world. Slowly perhaps, but it's becoming more visible, more real and more concrete year by year. You're part of an historical movement (future generations may say with pride that you were the first in their family to go vegan) that will one day change the world forever. And the lives of her inhabitants.

Being a fan of Seth Godin (does that make me a godinite?), I'd like to end with a few questions he raised in his blog post today:

A year ago today, do you remember where you stood?

Are you more trusted? More skilled? More connected to people who care about your work?

How many people [sentient beings] would miss your work if you stopped contributing it? *

Today is the first day of 365 fresh days. So enjoy, and use wisely.

p.s. after drafting this post, I of course stumbled upon a book that covers what I tried to convey here, but likely more convincingly and probably better written -- check it out: The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way

* ironically, as I was typing those words, I received an unsubscription notification from a long-time blog reader, snort, so my final tip would be to stay humble! ;)

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notable dates in October

But first, I'm relieved just to be back online. A few days ago my hard drive crashed, and it looked like everything was gone. By everything I mean hundreds of emails, photos, pictures and countless personal documents accumulated over the past two decades, including resumes, letters, blog posts, humour columns, poetry, quotations, my inventory of Etsy items to sell, and probably most important of all, any and every idea for future posts on this blog. To say I was in shock is an understatement. And then grief set in. Because even though the loss of things isn't as bad as losing a loved one, losing what I created and have yet to create still left me reeling.

Also, I'm lost without my computer. That's where I read, write, correspond, and pay bills, buy, sell, view, research, check weather, TV listings, post photos.... In short, that's where I live.

Luckily for me, my tech guy (aka oldest brother), is an electrical engineer by day and a computer fixer-upper whiz by night, and after working incredibly hard the whole weekend was able to retrieve and repair my sub hard drive where I had saved all of my personal stuff. And yes, we immediately backed up everything on a new main drive as well should a calamity like this happen again. We never did determine the exact cause of hard drive death (although it was definitely mechanical and not viral), and in his many years of fixing this is now known as Biggest Computer Headache Ever, but boy am I lucky. The moral of this story though? Back up, BACK UP, BACK UP.

Okay, dates.

• October 1:   National "Cut Out Dissection" Month begins
• October 1:   World Vegetarian Day
• October 2:   World Day for Animals on Farms
• October 2:   Mahatma Ghandi's birthday
• October 6:   Niagara Walk for Farm Animals (Ontario, Canada)
• October 8:   Columbus Day
• October 8:   Indigenous People's Day
• October 8:   Thanksgiving is Murder on Turkeys Day (Canada)
• October 21:  International Day of Peace 
• October 21:  (wouldn't it be nice if it was Interspecies Day of Peace as well?)
• October 2_:  yours truly officially becomes half a century young ;)

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make your vegan goals SMART ones

Resolutions, as I briefly mentioned back in January, are related to, but different from, goals. An easy way to differentiate between the two is to think of resolutions as wishes and goals as plans. And while the ultimate goal of veganism is animal liberation (or is that more of a resolution?), every vegan has (or should have) their own set of goals towards achieving this. So why not make those goals SMART or even SMARTER? 

I'll stick with the SMART acronym for now (although I like the idea of also making goals E = enjoyable and R = rewarding), and for the purposes of this post it stands for:
S = specific, M = measurable, A = achievable, R = realistic, and T = time-based. 

For example, let's say that I want to work on one of my original goals from 2011 and blog more frequently. Using the SMART method, I could state this goal as follows:

Starting in April of 2012, I will post on my blog a minimum of 1-2 times weekly.

This goal would now be specific, measurable, achievable (if the prolific James McWilliams--excellent blogger and writer by the way--can pump out a post daily, surely I can do it at least once a week?), realistic, time-based, and hopefully also enjoyable and rewarding. Now I realize that my little blog won't do much for animal liberation overall, but I think this SMART method is great for accomplishing all sorts of vegan goals e.g., increasing the distribution of vegan literature, trying other methods of outreach, deciding what and how many organizations to support financially, and any number of other vegan objectives.

Remember all the things I wanted to see more of in my veganpreneur post? Well, someone asked if I had tried any of those ideas yet, and as I would love to edit a vegan anthology one day, perhaps I'll make that one of my future goals. So what about you? What would you like to be SMARTER about? :)

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! :) 

@havegonevegan

Yep, I've taken the plunge and am now on Twitter. I did this even before Erik Marcus wrote a couple of posts outlining why it's a good idea, and I think the shift for me took place when it occurred to me that instead of just being a silly social networking site (yes, I've done my share of mocking!), Twitter could also be used as a tool for social justice. I mean, nobody cares about the daily minutiae of our lives I hope, but using Twitter to keep abreast of vegan happenings and to spread the word of awesome posts and videos by other bloggers is pretty cool. I haven't tweeted much myself yet and am still learning how it all works, but I can see the potential now. It's been fascinating recently to see ordinary folk around the globe standing up to dictatorial governments, and if a media mechanism like Twitter can be used to make our world more vegan even faster, than why not?

If you want to follow me, follow the "follow me on Twitter badge" on the left! ;)

so much for resolutions!

I had especially wanted to start 2011 with keeping my first resolution of posting more frequently. But of course a family emergency popped up January 2 (which while still ongoing has thankfully become somewhat more manageable*), and thus no new post until now. And I WAS going to compile a vegan wish list today, but then remembered a couple of resolutions I forgot to include in my last post. So, I also resolve:

• to contact figures like David Suzuki, Oprah, and Dr. Oz because like it or not, these folk (and celebrities in general) can influence more people than you or I
• to order Would Jesus Eat Meat Today? for all the churches in my town 
• to speak up and out more often with family and friends about why I'm vegan
• to avoid burnout by spending time on my other passions too e.g. Pyrex! :)

* unfortunately has slid over to unmanageable again, but I hope to be back soon...

my vegan new year's resolutions

So I never did come back after my last post (as I said and hoped I would), thus it is only fitting that I begin 2011 off on the right foot, and what better way than with resolutions? Snort. Now normally I don't believe in resolutions and figure that if you're going to make changes you make them when you're truly ready because intention is everything. And luckily becoming or staying vegan ISN'T a resolution I have to make, as being vegan is such a part of my nature now that it's not something I have to consciously think about. But the following I do resolve:

• to post more frequently
• to post about the topics I said I'd post about last year!
• to figure out what organizations I'll support financially
• to find animal sanctuaries here in Ontario, Canada 
• to find more vegans offline
• to start (if I'm very brave) a vegan group in my own town
• to read more animal rights books
• to better keep up with other vegan/AR blogs
• to better understand how people become (or sadly, unbecome) vegan
• to learn how to become a more effective advocate
• to order and distribute outreach material
• to write at least one letter to the editor of my local paper
• to be more adventuresome with vegan cooking and baking
• to frequent vegan/vegetarian restaurants when I can (sadly not in my town)
• to ask grocery stores to stock vegan products (failed with soy creamer last year)
• to get a vegan tattoo

Okay, maybe not a tattoo, snort. But really, I can't think of any other cause that I would be willing to endure the pain of tattooing for, and be more committed to physically displaying on my body. And in a sense, "branding" myself could be seen as highly fitting given the literal branding so many nonhuman animals suffer daily.

How about you? Any vegan goals or resolutions? If not, please read Eccentric Vegan's Let 2011 be the year that your life matters most post for inspiration! :)

KJ the veganizer interrupts this blog...

...to wish you Happy Holidays. Okay, I interrupted her nap probably, but she went right back to sleep, snort. I plan to be back before this year is over (where did it go?!), with hopefully either paradox #3, vegan resolutions, a wish list, questions about what animal rights organizations to donate to, or my tale of the last supper. So stay tuned.

And yes, Kazumi Joy played a role in the story of How it took 46 years to go vegan "overnight", which I'll relay some day...

peas please ;)

I know some of you have seen this billboard ad for PETA on Vegan Soapbox or elsewhere, but I liked it so much that I wanted to post it here too. I've been meaning to do a few posts on the relationship between veganism and Christianity (and other religious faiths), because I think this is really important to address. And if nothing else, being able to tap into this segment of the population should not be ignored from a strategic point of view. Do I sound like a marketer? Snort. But yeah, expect this, plus the posts I still have planned on statistics, the paradox of being vegan, a review of the book Ninety-Five, and my series on what it means to be vegan. Whew! That'll be a lot of reading and writing. ;)

still here, still vegan

I know I haven't posted in what seems like forever (how can nearly two months go by so quickly?), but I haven't given up on this blog, so I hope you won't either. Being vegan in a non-vegan world (am I an abolitionist failure for thinking that all the wanting in the world* won't make it so?) can be daunting, and for me one of the challenges is trying to figure out how to be an effective advocate without being angry and pissed off all the time. And that's just at other vegans! Kidding. Well, mostly, snort. 

Besides continuing to explore vegan identity (yes that includes the stats I promised) and the process of veganism (because I believe being vegan is a journey and not a destination), I want to tell you about some new vegan products, and show off my veganalia. Yep, that's my new vegan word of the day! I've gotten some cool buttons, a stamp, and am planning to get vegan-themed T-shirts and I'll post them all soon. Also, expect more posts centered around questions, because for me, thinking out loud is the best way to process.

* in reference to the abolitionist slogan "THE WORLD IS VEGAN! If you want it."

vegan slogans page

Don't forget to keep checking out the Vegan Slogans page up in the right-hand corner! There you will find the most up to date list. Yes, there are a few in a couple of January posts, but not all of the best or current ones. Also, if you have slogans to contribute, please do!

p.s. I've changed the layout -- do you like the main column better on the right, or left?

vegan slogans

Download George the Vegan cat

I know! It's been a while. And where have I been you ask? Well, I'm still recovering from the stomach flu after helping the old folks (my parents) recover from their stomach flu. And I'm still cleaning. No, not after them or myself (at least, not any more), but this wee little blog. Did I ever tell you by the way that the most frequent Google search that brings people here lands them on the "vegans poop more" post? Snort. But it's true, vegans DO poop more, or they should, as they tend to consume more fiber. So I guess in a sense we're not only better, but also cleaner--kidding! Oh, and stomach flu will definitely make you poop more too. See now what I mean about having to clean? And did you visit George in the link above? Tried to insert the image right into the post, but I think I may have gotten a bit of brain flu too.

I hope to be blogging regularly again real soon. But in the meantime, one of the things I want to bitch about is the lack of good vegan slogans. Oh I know, there's the old Meat Is Murder (which I somehow doubt is effective because how is labeling someone a criminal going to entice them to join our movement?), but why can't we have better slogans like the feminist The Personal is Political or the gay I'm Here, I'm Queer, Get Used To It? But even adapting them doesn't quite work. The Culinary is Political? Nah. I'm Here, I'm Vegan, Get Used To It? Doesn't have the same ring, does it? Oh, I did come across one that I kind of liked (sorry, can't remember from where), and it goes like this: Veganism - Saving Millions One Bite At A Time. So, do you know of any great punchy slogans? Or do we need to make more up?

Oh yeah, I'm Vegan - Bite Me, isn't too bad. And I just read this: I Think, Therefore I'm Vegan. Gotta love that!

p.s. please view the Vegan Slogans page for the most up to date list.

vegans who clean too much

I know! The post title doesn't even make much sense, but when it popped into my head it struck me as funny (yes, that probably says more about me than you should know), so I've decided to keep it. And no, I certainly don't clean too much, although I do need to spend a bit of time cleaning up this blog. You see, I've decided to integrate my animal rights blog with this one, and while I've already imported the posts and comments, I still need to do a bit of editing and rearranging. So please bear with me while I get the blog all spick-and-span, and prepare spanking-new posts. And links too!

why NOT animal rights?

145 million animals are killed every day for food; 53 billion are killed every year.* 

And that doesn't even include fish and other sea animals! I'll let those numbers sink in for a bit because if you're anything like me I find them staggering and almost unbelievable, although it helps to have a clearer picture because I bet most of us don't really think about the sheer number of animals that humans do eat. And this is only one way in which we consume other animals, and only one element of the numerous ways in which we treat other species as if they are our personal property. So how can we then deny that it might not be time to rethink our relationship with other living creatures? Because I'll also bet that none of the animals killed for food every day actually want to end up on our dinner plates.

* from the "Go Greener, Go Vegan" brochure produced by the Vegan Party of Canada (www.veganpartyofcanada.blogspot.com)

don't go away

While I know I haven't posted in this blog for quite some time (this post was originally in my retired Animal Rights blog), I have a feeling that that is about to change. Even though I've been busy with moving tasks, part of my settling-in process has been discovering that the area I've moved back to (I originally grew up here), isn't exactly animal-friendly. Now while the city that I lived in for over twenty years probably isn't either, it just seems that more noticeable here. As in opinion pieces in local papers by editors who make it pretty clear where they stand when it comes to issues concerning animals. Yikes. So stay tuned, cuz I think I'm gonna start talking again! ;)

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.

turkey talk

Of course it's hard not to talk about turkey today given that it's Thanksgiving in the United States (in Canada we celebrate it a month earlier), and obviously any blog devoted to animal rights is probably not in favour of killing these birds, but to be honest I never gave much thought to turkeys at all before I became vegan. In fact, I never gave any thought to how any animal eventually arrived on my plate and I suspect most other people don't either. But the whole process of how we treat animals before and during slaughter will be the subject of future posts as today I'm just going to throw out a few turkey tidbits (from Ingrid Newkirk's Making Kind Choices) at you. Did you know that wild turkeys:

• can blush? (they change skin colour to reflect changes in their feelings)
• can be personable and friendly?
• can run 25 miles per hour and fly up to 55 miles per hour over short distances?
• have a 270-degree field of vision and excellent hearing?
• tense up when afraid and get stressed when slaughtered? (um, wouldn't you?)

Okay, I've changed my mind. Came across Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-a-Turkey Project, and they have information on what factory farming for turkeys is really like. So if you're going to eat turkey this Thanksgiving then at least be aware of what they have to go through. Better yet, save a life and have a cruelty-free feast instead!

a lazy vegan

Sure, I'm cooking a lot more (no more throwing Stouffers into the stove), but that doesn't mean I don't have any lazy bones left, snort. I've got a whole bunch (well, maybe about a dozen) pictures up on my Flickr site of dishes that I've made since turning vegan, and I'll gradually be uploading them here. All you have to do is click on the photo itself and check on the side where I'll have listed the ingredients that I've used. I'm also going to start posting links to sites that have useful information about veganism for any of you who are interested. But that might take a little while. Cuz you know, those bones. ;)

time to make blog public

And provide an update of sorts. Have chucked the leather sandals (one of the soles had worn out anyway), so the only non-vegan item I still wear is my knapsack. In a way I feel about it as I do the pictures of meat and other animal products on my Flickr site: it's a representation of my former non-vegan life that I'm not yet ready to discard. I've had my knapsack for over five years and liked it precisely because it was leather. Leather meant that it would last forever, age beautifully, and be waterproof. Once or twice I've had food spill inside that might have wrecked other bags, but because it was leather I simply cleaned it up and moved along. I'm reluctant to part with it not because it cost a lot of money (it was only $10 at a flea market), but it has history (I use it almost every day) and I value its beauty and functionality. While I have made a commitment to not purchase any new items that are of animal origin, and may one day be ready to pass this bag along to someone else (I do recognize and appreciate the sacrifice that was made), I'm not quite there yet.

I think what I may do instead is take a cue from what authors Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer say on page 19 in their introduction to their cookbook (highly recommended by the way) How it all Vegan!:

Becoming vegan doesn't mean you are suddenly the vegan police, so don't judge others or try to catch them doing something un-vegan. Pay attention to your own life. What kind of vegan do you want to be? Will you subscribe only to the belief that our animal friends shouldn't be eaten? Will you remove all things from your life that contain animal products? Will you reduce, reuse, and recycle everything you can so that this planet is a clean, healthy place for animals and people? We both wear leather shoes. That's because we're not just pro-animal, we're also pro-Earth. It's our belief that nothing should be wasted. We will never buy new leather products again, but will continue to use the ones we bought before we went vegan. Sarah has had the same leather belt for over eight years, and it will probably last another eight. She wants to use up her possessions rather than litter the garbage dump with discarded leather so that she can buy an animal-friendly replacement. When the time comes for a new belt, she'll opt for the vegan one. That's our personal choice. Our decision to make. What's yours?

Yes, I think I agree with them. Plus, my knapsack could also lead to an interesting discussion should people ask why I still use leather if I'm a vegan. And I do refer to myself as vegan these days, even though there are those who feel that the term vegetarian would be more accurate.

So there you have it. I think I'm finally ready to launch this baby, and will be posting weekly rather than monthly. Stay tuned for photos of food, food, and more food!

cheese in my template!

Snort. Didn't see that before as I was simply happy to find a template related to food that didn't include meat. But this reminds me that I still have lots of non-vegan photos on my Flickr site, and I wonder what I should do about them. Leave in? Remove?