Have Gone Vegan

vegan lit for little ones

Because, after all, A person's a person, no matter how small. -- Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears A Who!

Have to admit I never gave much thought to vegan kid lit until Harry lamented the lack of vegan nursery rhymes in response to my last post. The only children's book I had actually heard of before was Ruby Roth's That's Why We Don't Eat Animals, but luckily, Bea provided a great Vegetarian-friendly Kids Book List. Thanks Bea! And this prompted me to do some rooting around on my own. So here's a few other booklists to peruse in order to help our pint-sized vegan heroes of tomorrow:

• 10 Great Books for Vegan Kids
• Vegetarian & Vegan Friendly Books for Kids
• Top 5 Books for Kids
• Vegbooks -- Reviews of Kids Books and Movies

If there are any specific books that you would like to recommend (To Market, To Market, for example, looks fabulous!), please let us know in the comments.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better. It's not. -- Dr. Seuss,
The Lorax

p.s. I was actually, and quite tragically, Seuss-deprived as a child (didn't even know any English until I was nearly eight), but I figure it's never too late... ;)

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! :)

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. 

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.

vegan videos by John Sakars

Had never heard of him until The Vegan Spyder sent me a Flickr message one day saying, hey, check this out:

  

Turns out it was pretty funny and John certainly has a unique voice/style to add to the vegan choir. Then on Provoked I saw this brilliant piece and was really impressed:

 

So thanks to both my pals for introducing me to this cool Canuck (slang for Canadian), and be sure to check out his other works. I know I certainly will! :)

Update: As it turns out, YouTube decided that the work of vegan activist John Sakars was in violation of its Community Guidelines whereas the numerous animal crush videos and other videos celebrating hunting, dogs being barbecued, people tossing live goats to lions in Chinese zoos for entertainment and all other manner of sick crap is, well, perfectly fine. And yes, some may find a few of John's videos too crude for their taste, but really? Actual violence against animals is okay, but speaking out against said violence is not? But that, my friends, is where YouTube stands. So, YouTube terminated John's original account, but he has uploaded 25 videos to his new one (from where I uploaded the Vegan Marriage Counsellor above), and he can always be found on Facebook.

help me finish bad vegan joke

Q: How many vegans does it take to change an omnivore's mind?

A: Only one. But which vegan will it be?

A: None. The omnivore needs to change it themselves.

A: Fewer than the number it takes to change a Francionist's mind, snort.

A: No idea. But what did you do with the lightbulb?

A:________________________________________________________

Yes, I can hear you groaning right through my computer screen! So please salvage sad joke by submitting your own line. ;)

don't give a hoot about animals?

Dear Vegan-To-Be:

Don't care about other animals? Don't understand all the fuss vegans make when there's enough human suffering already? Annoyed that we spend time and money helping critters when you feel people should come first? Wish bleeding-heart vegans would just STFU?

Then go vegan because you love people more. 

Go vegan because you want to help end world hunger and feed children instead of cattle. Why should all that grain go to feed animals when it can be used for human consumption? Think of the number of people that could be fed (about 800 million!) if all the crops grown to feed livestock were diverted to them instead. Why should beasts be fed first when people are starving? Kinda crazy if you think about it, no? 

Sincerely,

Vegan who gives a hoot.

================================

Dear Vegan-Already-Reader:

Why did I write the above? Am I not vegan because of ethics? Of course I am, and so are you, but you're not the person who needs to stop eating meat. And while I would prefer that everyone become vegan for what I feel are the right reasons, I think there's a case to be made for having as many compelling reasons as possible for people to go vegan period. Let there be a smorgasbord of reasons so that no one can have an excuse not to! Besides, I'm sure it doesn't matter to the other animals why any of us are vegan, just that we are.

Sincerely,

Vegan who gives more than a hoot. 

a simpler and sweeter video

 

Maybe the last one was too snarky?

But I ran across the one above the other day and was moved by the infectious joy shared between baby and dad. Couldn't help wishing though that babies of ALL species were able to revel in the myriad pleasures of being alive.

veganlly incorrect no doubt, but funny nonetheless

 

 

Well, alrighty. The video that WAS once here, has obviously left the building. Awwwww...

 

 

Okay, I thought it was funny. Hysterically so, actually. And you know what they say, "Those who can't laugh at themselves, leave the job to others." Amen!

keep calm and vegan on

 

Is this a great print or what? Based on the Keep Calm and Carry On poster phenomenon, this parody made me smile and well, resolve to keep my vegan chin up. Timely too, given the recent Oprah debacle, although I'm starting to think a bit differently about the show too. Oh sure, I'm still annoyed and think the many criticisms raised absolutely valid, but I'm chilling out somewhat. Bea, of Provoked, did a wonderful job of gathering reactions, and reading through the original posts I came across some interesting viewpoints.

 

Vegan Machine's review was probably the most positive of the bunch, and while I didn't agree with all of her observations, I was glad of the mathematical reminder of how many animals were spared that week. And I found some of the comments in Dreena Burton's post quite fascinating. Consider the following by a nonvegan poster:

For people (like me!), the vegan life seems radical, difficult to sustain and dare I say weird. I would have never considered trying it until watching her episode. I'm not certain it's a lifestyle choice I could make, but it got my wheels turning... You have to remember the audience, I think. Majority of those watching having, like me, don't understand it. The show made it seem more attainable... You have people thinking about who otherwise wouldn't be. That' a success.

It made me wonder what other nonvegans thought of the show, and how many of them were inspired to think of veganism differently. It would also be interesting to know how many vegan starter kits were ordered from Oprah's site, or how many clicks there were on the various information links (like the Going Vegan FAQs answered by Dr. Neal Barnard) and vegan menu plans. And what about this last comment?

Well, as someone who watched the show as a certified meat eater I can happily tell you that I went completely vegan on 2/6 after reading most of Kathy Freston's book. I have attempted the vegetarian/vegan conversion intermittently over the past 15 years, but her approach really won me over... The bottom line is that if this gentler approach can get more people on board with a plant based diet then ultimately everyone wins. You really do not win people over to your point of view when you take an antagonistic, I hate to say it this way, but " I'm more evolved than you " attitude because people automatically leap to defend their position no matter how misguided... Just a few thoughts from someone who was affected enough by the not so pc vegan presentation to change her dietary choices.

Bingo! I call that a good result. Apparently, Kathy Freston's Veganist shot to the top of the Amazon list February 1, and is still the #1 book in the Cooking category. Not bad. Her book will fill in the gaps and present the ethics, health and environmental benefits of veganism as well. And what about the term veganish that I wasn't particularly enamoured of? I like This Vegan Life's take on it, and am thinking that if we really want a vegan world then perhaps having people who are becoming veganer, veganish, and veganist is at least a start. Language both reflects and shapes societal attitudes, and the more terms that contain the word vegan as a positive root, the better.

The Vegan Soapbox also reinforced my "well, maybe it wasn't a complete waste of time" reflection, so maybe we can put this episode behind us (or demand a follow-up show where Oprah acknowledges the error of her outrageous retort), and be glad of the opportunity to have more vegan newbies (and curious bystanders) on board. We can answer their questions without being interrupted by commercials or obnoxious meat-endorsing guests, come up with brilliant rebuttals, and offer suggestions and support. 

So next time we hear a celebrity say something incredibly stupid about our cause, let's remember to: a) let them know how they're wrong, and b) keep calm and vegan on! ;)

earth days (Patrick McDonnell - Mutts comic strip)

vegan culinary confessions

Ready? Well, in a nutshell, I don't really like cooking.

Now that probably won't come as a huge surprise given that I've already confessed to a certain lack of enthusiasm for baking. But I was thinking more about it the other day when I was trying to pinpoint exactly what it is that I don't like about baking in particular, and realized to my shame that it all came down to it being too much work. In other words, I'm probably the laziest vegan in the world! Specifically what I find most annoying about baking is all the precise measuring you have to do. And that is precisely what I like about soup (the one dish I do enjoy making): you just throw everything into a pot in whatever amount you like or happen to have on hand. No recipe to follow, no persnickety measurements, and not even a required order of ingredients. Nope, you just do what you want, and then let it do what it wants for a while. Which maybe makes me more of a culinary rebel than the laziest vegan ever? Oh, and I don't ever put soup in a blender either. If I want it all smushy, I just let it simmer longer. ;)

So given my distaste for dishes that require more than five ingredients (including spices), and more than fifteen minutes of prep time, why do I torture myself and even look at the gluttony of vegan food blogs available? Blog after blog showing me just how lazy, undisciplined and pathetic I am for not creating my own culinary concoctions day after day. And that's the problem of course, because just as I admire flowers and gardens maintained by someone else, I like looking at food when prepared by someone other than myself. But all this blog ogling makes me wonder how anyone has time to do all of this delicious cooking, not to mention cleanup and shopping. Am I a bad vegan for sometimes wishing that I could just pop a pill to get all of my nutrients? Snort.

the language of veganism

Every movement or cause needs and develops its own language over time, so I've decided to explore this vegan vernacular if you will. But before I see what's in Google-land, I'm going to list V words that come to mind (ones that I've seen or am making up, snort):

• vegalicious
• veganomics
• veganology
• vegaphobic
• veganacity
• veganize

I really like veganomics and veganology (can you tell I used to be a sociology major?) and I think that as veganism continues to become more mainstream, it would be both useful and interesting to study the social and economic impact of this movement.

I came across and liked the words veganosity, veganniversary and vegangelical, and check out the vegan words on pages 14-15 of this 2003 Spring edition of Vegan Views! I particularly like veganimous and of course, veganoid, LOL.

How about you? Any good V words you'd like to add?

am I the only vegan who DOESN'T like cupcakes? ;)

I know; I almost feel like a traitor just for saying it! Snort. And it's not as if I hate them per se, but they just don't do anything for me. They don't make me squeal with delight, don't make me go ooh and aah, and they don't (unlike a certain cookbook would like) take over my world in any way. Now before you go thinking I'm the grumpiest vegan ever, I've never really liked regular-sized cakes either. The icing, especially, is usually too sweet for my taste.

And that, at the risk of you viewing me as ultra grumpy, brings me to the commonly held assumption that a vegan diet is healthier. Well it can be, but not always. All those cupcakes and other admittedly yummy vegan desserts can be high in both sugar and fat. I myself gained weight after turning vegan in part because I felt I deserved more treats. Using a generous amount of olive oil when sautéing onion and garlic didn't help either. In some ways, I find eating healthy even more of a challenge these days because I've never liked vegetables much, am not keen on most faux products, and find that beans will only take you so far!

Now another perfectly reasonable explanation for my cupcake aversion could be that I'm not only grumpy but also lazy, and not having easy access to vegan sweets in a small town means that I would have to bake them myself. And baking is NOT something I'm good at, or enjoy. Or maybe my appetite is so large that those little cakes are too darn small for me?

So, do you like cupcakes? Is it unveganly not to? Should there be a support group for cupcake-challenged vegans like me? ;)

lactose intolerance

Snort. But I find it funny that people view lactose intolerance as a health problem in need of treatment. Um, maybe the body can't easily digest lactose because we're not meant to be eating dairy in the first place? And ethically speaking, since we shouldn't be stealing milk from animals anyway, shouldn't we ALL be lactose intolerant? Maybe vegans need to reclaim the term! And while we're at it, become egg, honey and meat intolerant as well. ;)

vegan slogans continued

So my favourite slogans from the previous post were:

• Veganism - Saving Millions One Bite At A Time
• I'm Vegan - Bite Me
• I Think, Therefore I'm Vegan

But I'm trying to come up with more and the tricky (impossible?) part is incorporating all the elements of veganism that are important. Anyway, here are a few that have been percolating in my brain:

• Save Billions - Be Vegan
• Have A Heart - Go Vegan
• What Would Jesus Eat Today?
• Cow's Milk - Really?

Okay, now I'm just going to throw everything out that I can in hopes that something half-decent will emerge from the sludge:

• Social Justice Began When You Became Vegan
• Be Vegan - Every Bite Counts
• Change The World By Changing What You Eat, or
• Change What You Eat - Change The World

Actually, I've changed my mind, snort. What I'm going to do instead is start a separate page for Vegan Slogans that you can find in the upper right hand corner beside Vegan Quotes. In it, I'll list the good ones from above and keep adding to it and mucking around with it until there are a number of vegan slogans that I like. Contribute your own slogans in the comments section, and if I like 'em, I'll add 'em! :)

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!

Sarah Kramer -- another funny vegan

 
As seen on Sarah Kramer’s Flickr site.