Have Gone Vegan

being vegan means many things

It means, if nothing else, that you are a witness.

On a continual basis, you are bearing witness to the cruelty and atrocity waged on innocent sentient beings, and while that may sound passive, it really isn't. Seeing, recognizing and acknowledging what others refuse to see, is the first step in changing reality.

Being vegan also means that you're a humanist and a feminist. A human rights advocate, animal rights advocate, a poverty advocate, and a peace advocate. In short, and to sum it all up, YOU are a truth advocate.

You're a student and a teacher, learning and imparting knowledge as you go. You may be a mentor and/or mentee, a mover and a shaker, and some of you are even leaders.

You're an artist and a rebel, a dreamer and a visionary (What is now proved was once, only imagin’d. --William Blake), and a poet.

You're an optimist, an idealist, and a realist all rolled into one.

You're a gardener. Literally, if you happen to grow your own veggies or flower beds, or figuratively as you plant seeds of compassion and change. You're an environmentalist, championing the cause of our host planet and ALL her guests. You're even a nutritionist of sorts, as you pay more attention to what your body needs than most.

You're a warrior for all sentient beings, plus a conscientious objector to the unholy and horrific war on animals.

You're an intersectionist, deconstructionist, and systems analyst as you figure out how justice issues intersect, and how different political, economic and cultural forces collide and collude in keeping oppression alive.

You may be tired, or suffer from compassion fatigue, or even PTSD as unrelenting cruelty will affect anyone trying to make this world a better place. What you are NOT though, is crazy (although living in an insane world can certainly be crazy making), and you are definitely not a domestic terrorist no matter what the real terrorists may claim.

What you ARE is strong, and motivated, and perhaps even a bit of a hero.

So don't ever think of yourself as just a vegan.

Because you're not.

++++++++++++

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! ;)

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

what are you truly grateful for?

While it's easy to get down by the seemingly constant barrage of negative news (even more so when you're vegan), being grateful for the things that you have and for the things that go right is a good practice to cultivate. Not only is it an effective coping tool and a pleasant way to increase your awareness of joyfulness, I believe it's what we owe for the privilege of being a guest on planet Earth.

(Having said that, I must admit I positively enjoyed Barbara Ehrenreich's skillful skewering of the positive thinking movement in her insightful and often funny Bright-Sided.)

New Vegan Age made some great observations three days ago about four reasons to feel grateful in 2013 (including our veganism, our past, our present, and our future), but what I thought I'd do here is list a few specific things that I'm personally grateful for. Please add to the list, or make up your own! Oh, and in case you're wondering about the series of one-liner posts that I ran these past six days, they're leading up to a summary post planned for tomorrow.

15 Vegan Things I'm Grateful For:

• Daiya cheese (I now think of my life as BDC and ADC, snort)
• the online vegan community (where would I be without you?)
• Mercy for Animals Canada! (their segment on W5 reached millions)
• Vegenaise (cuz toasted tomato sandwiches wouldn't be the same otherwise)
• organizations like Vegan Outreach (it's not too late to donate)
• vegan friends (a struggle shared...)
• my kitty girl Kazumi Joy (okay, she's not vegan, but helped me become one)
• a host of vegan books like Vegan's Daily Companion, Vegan for Life, and what I'm reading now: Aftershock: Confronting Trauma in a Violent World, a Guide for Activists and Their Allies
• foods that were already vegan to begin with (beans and oranges and apples, oh my)
• positive reactions to my vegan tees (one teenage girl got so excited by my "food is to eat, animals are to love" tee that she made everyone in the check-out line check it out!)
• my 5-year vegan anniversary this coming summer (I'll be celebrating!)
• any person I've been able to help or inspire on this blog (thank YOU)
• French Vanilla Silk soy beverage for coffee (my coffee thanks IT)
• animal rescues and animal sanctuaries everywhere
• increased vegan awareness at large
• and on and on I could go, yo
• add yours! :) 

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ 

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful.  --Buddha

team vegan 2012 final tally

 

$257,410

 

Yep, that's how much (45K more than last year) was raised by lovely readers like you! Who do we do it for? For chicks, piglets, lambs and all farmed animals who deserve a hell of a lot more consideration than they currently get. Are things changing? Yes. More slowly than we would like, but by getting information into the hands of younger generations maybe there's a chance our future world will be a much better one. 

Here's a message from Matt for Team Vegan members I thought I'd share with you:

Understanding how dependent our efforts are on all of us working together is important, because there are many, many demands on our time and energy. Compared to some specific investigations and campaigns, Vegan Outreach's long-term, grassroots efforts can seem less than urgent at times. This makes it all the more remarkable that you spent so much time and effort to help advance our necessary work.

If we are to bring about the new world we all want -- where animals aren't viewed as mere commodities but rather are treated with their due respect -- it will obviously require that people no longer view animals as food. This fundamental change can't take place from the top-down; it has to occur from the bottom up. This new world won't come about through individual battles, but by doing efficient grassroots work.

I am thrilled and honored to be doing this necessary work with you.

Together, we are bending the arc of history, every day.

For the animals,
Matt
[email protected]

why vegan? we do it for the chicks :)

Thanks to everyone so far for helping Team Vegan help chicks (and a lot of other animal species too, of course!) And a special thank you to the lovely readers of this blog for contributing through the Have Gone Vegan page. My own personal goal of $500 was reached and surpassed (it was then adjusted to $700 by Team Vegan) and the tee I'm sporting above was added to my growing t-shirt arsenal thanks to you! :)

If there are other readers who would like to participate, this is your last chance in the campaign to essentially quadruple your donation (e.g. $5 becomes $20) and raise the total funds up to $115,000 which will then be doubled to $230,000! How cool is that? 

You have until midnight Saturday June 30 to donate. Um, sorry, you can't actually use the donation button in the image above -- but clicking on one of the links in the paragraph right below it will get you there!

are you a strategic organizer?

I'm currently reading Melanie Joy's Strategic Action for Animals and am enjoying it enough that I may feature more future excerpt posts. I suck at book reviews however, so check out the ones on Amazon, or take a look at Ginny Messina's review.

Back to the question at hand. Strategic organizers are personnel in key leadership positions whose role is to build the power base of organizations, and to channel this power externally to bring about change. A good understanding of power dynamics is needed otherwise organizers will not only be less effective, but also counterproductive as they risk disempowering staff, decreasing public support, and potentially damaging the reputations of the organization AND the movement. (p. 35) Yikes.

So what characteristics and skills make strategic organizers effective? According to organizer Saul Alinsky, the following traits and behaviours are helpful:

• avoid dogma and remain open to others' ideas while maintaining faith in your own position
• be realistic yet optimistic so that people retain hope and reason to fight
• help people recognize their own power to bring about change
• continue to learn new skills to enhance leadership and organizational abilities such as conflict resolution
• stay focused on goals and helps others do the same
• maintain a sense of humour to keep up morale

Effective organizers should also:

• have excellent communication and facilitation skills
• listen more than speak
• share information freely so that a) others are groomed into taking over if necessary and b) knowledge doesn't die with them (p. 35-6)

Well! A huge task no doubt, and one that I'm certainly not up to (although to be frank, I think some of our current "leaders" could brush up on some of the above skills as well, snort), but if you recognize yourself as having the badly-needed skill set of a badly-needed strategic organizer, then please step up to the plate and enrich our movement already! ;)

p.s. another interesting looking book (although not yet available on Amazon.ca) is: Animal Impact: Secrets Proven to Achieve Results and Move the World -- hmmm, horrible subtitle in my opinion, but...

Niagara VegFest was awesome!

Picked up tons of brochures, menus, cards and guides from vendors, restaurants, the Critical Animal Studies program at Brock University, and organizations like Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary and Toronto Pig Save. The stuff above is just a sampling.

Organizers of the inaugural 2012 Niagara VegFest did a great job and 1250 people dropped by throughout the day. Take a peek at their photos, but don't be fooled -- they were taken BEFORE all the folk were packed in! Kid you not, at times you couldn't even move, which on the one hand was great (yay, there's a huge interest in this event!), but also a bit ironic, I thought, given that one of the things we vegans are trying to eradicate is beings being overcrowded, snort. ;)

There were workshops, great speakers, raffles, lots of yummy food (I sampled oatmeal cookies, raw pumpkin cheesecake, massaged kale salad and chana masala for lunch), there were books, tees and pins to be bought, and the day closed with a screening of Vegucated. I had to leave early in the afternoon so missed the film, but am already looking forward to the festival next year. Well done EVERYONE!

Oh, and because this year's festival was such a success, organizers have already promised a bigger venue next time. Woot!

Niagara VegFest!

Will be happening about 12 hours from now. Woot!

please support me as a member of Team Vegan!

Yep, I'm helping Vegan Outreach raise funds this year, and need your support. As you know, information is key in getting folk to open their minds (and hopefully hearts) in the battle against animal use/abuse, and this organization does a terrific job in getting the word out. Since 2003 their leafleters have handed out booklets to over 7 million students through their Adopt A College program. You can help reach even more young people, and every dollar you donate will be MATCHED by other supporters. 

My goal is to raise at least $500 and to jumpstart the process I put in $100 of my own. Two anonymous donors who wanted to help each Team Vegan member reach a minimum level put in an additional $250 (how awesome!), so I'm already at $350 -- woot! I'm hoping though that blog readers will help raise the final $150, so if any of my blog posts have ever inspired, amused or enlightened, please consider showing me some love and support this great cause. I can easily be found on the Team Vegan page (recognize the familiar name and logo?) or you can skip to Have Gone Vegan directly.

Want to donate but not have your complete name visible for everyone to see? I hear ya, and valuing a bit of privacy as well, got around that obstacle by providing the first letter of my surname only. So whether you don't mind if the whole world knows how terrific you are, or if you'd rather be a bit more anonymous, please donate either way. Thirty readers donating $5, or fifteen donating $10, or ten donating $15, or five donating $30 -- any scenario would get us there! And, $500 would morph into $1000 through the matching program! :)

Thank you in advance for ANY and all help you're able to give. It's highly appreciated. 

Update: A very generous donation has been made by my pal Debbie, so the total raised so far has gone up to $450, which means that through the doubling process $900 will go towards the battle. Awesome! Therefore dear readers, I now humbly ask that ten of you donate $5, or five of you donate $10, or two donate $25 so that our sentient co-beings can count on $1000 being raised from this collective pool. I know we can do it! :)

Update #2: We have reached and even surpassed the goal! Thanks to gentle Harry and a lovely donor couple who wishes to remain anonymous (thank you all very much!), the fundraising amount now stands at $525 -- so $1050 will go towards raising awareness that ALL sentient beings matter. I'm really pleased, and because the goal has been reached I won't badger folk in every upcoming post (although I may issue a reminder of the campaign towards the middle and end of June), but feel free to contribute more to this worthwhile cause anytime you like. :) 

"I'm not an animal rights activist, but..."

Funny how this sounds awfully familiar to what I used to hear all the time back in the 80s and 90s when a person would announce to me, "I'm not a feminist, but..." before proceeding to tell me something they believed or did that sure seemed like a feminist thing to say or do, snort. I hear the animal rights line up above quite a bit, so maybe "I'm not a vegan, but..." will soon become an oft-heard line as well? What comes first? Beliefs or actions? :)

drum roll please!

Ahem, it's that time, dear readers, to announce the lucky recipient of my first vegan giveaway contest. So, let's stroll over to the random number generator site. Ready? Let's go!

Ta dah! The number is 6. And that corresponds to joy olivia. Woot! Congratulations, you'll be receiving Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Vegan's Daily Companion.

I'll email and ship said book before you can even trip over these tongue-twisting words: I have won Have Gone Vegan's (also formerly known as So I'm Thinking of Going Vegan) first vegan giveaway contest! 

Thanks to everyone for participating. Aw, I wanted you ALL to win, but my wallet's not THAT full. It was fun though, so maybe I'll do it again sometime. :)

Valentine's Day vegan book giveaway

Yep, don't blink, you read that right. And because today is supposed to celebrate cheesy soppy over the top schmaltzy commercialized sentiment love and generosity, I've decided that the best way to show appreciation for my readers is to hold my very first vegan book giveaway. Plus, it'll be fun, and who doesn't like fun in February?

One of the most loving vegans I know of is Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, and I continually marvel at her ability to show understanding and compassion toward folk who would possibly receive sarcasm and snark if they were on my receiving end, instead of hers. I'm quite sure her strategy is more effective than mine is, and she's a definite vegan hero. So I'm pleased to offer her Vegan's Daily Companion in my giveaway. But, in case you already have the book, and to make this giveaway doubly fun, I will let you choose between her book and the nutritionally wise and easy to read Vegan for Life. Already have both books? Then pass it along as a gift. Woot!

How exactly is this contest going to work? Good question. Leave a comment indicating which book you would prefer, and on February 21 (a week from today) I will pick a winner lucky and-the-book-goes-to recipient using a random number generator. So remember, let me know in the next seven days* which book you would like to receive via Amazon (one comment per person), and always ALWAYS follow your vegan heart.

Three things in human life is important. The first is to be kind.
The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind. -- HENRY JAMES

Speaking of kind, I somehow missed the kind of vegan I want to be back in November, but it's excellent reading for Valentine's Day as well. So go read. Now. 

* deadline for entry is Monday, February 20, 2012, 11:59pm

Psst! Checking to see who won? Then click on the drum roll post pronto.

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. 

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! :) 

my most successful vegan tee so far

And by successful I mean it's gotten the most attention from strangers. Wore it into town on Saturday and two people actually read it out loud! Cool. One exchange went like this:

Store owner filling in at cash register: "Food is to eat, animals are to love. Pause.
So I guess that means you don't eat meat?"

Me: "Yeah, I don't touch the stuff."

Owner: "And you love pigs?"

Me: "Yes, and chickens and cows too!"

Unfortunately at that point another customer needed serving and the conversation ended, but I like to think that a seed was planted. Or at least, that the owner has now met (if he hadn't before) someone who doesn't think other sentient beings should be thought of as food. And I wonder too if a gentle message like the one above is more effective in challenging typical assumptions then a more aggressive "meat is murder" motto. I mean, while I have no problem with thinking of meat as murder, it's the kind of slogan that is more likely to make people want to defend their habits methinks. It raises walls, instead of helping to tear them down. 

As I may have mentioned in the previous post, the beauty of t-shirt activism too is that it puts a human face on what may be stereotypical notions of who's vegan. In my case, that face belongs to a forty-something female who has given her laugh lines an honest-to-goodness workout, and who isn't bothered by prematurely grey hair. Also, while in some ways it's a real pain to be living in a small rural-based town; maybe it's even more important here than in big cities to demonstrate who vegans actually are.

p.s. more positive response from another clerk: "I couldn't help but notice your t-shirt: eat, eat, kiss, kiss -- that's SO cute!"

international appreciate a vegan day

I know there's World Vegan Day, but I kinda wish that in addition to a day celebrating veganism in general, there were also a special day to appreciate the various efforts and actions that vegans all around commit to daily. But until there is, I want to extend my appreciation to my vegan friends TODAY. Know that I derive strength from your wisdom, support, intelligence, example, humour, and willingness to challenge ideology. You guys are awesome and the world is better for it! :)

words of encouragement

One of the books I'm reading right now is The Longest Struggle by Norm Phelps as I think the adage of "to know where you're going you have to know where you've been" is so true. And because reading about the long history of humans treating other sentient beings badly (which is an understatement if ever there was one) was depressing even if informative, I snuck a peek at the conclusion to see if he would at least be able to end on a cheerier note. Well, encouraging is probably a better adjective, so here are his last two paragraphs:

For more than 2,500 years--since the days of Lord Mahavira, the Buddha, the later Prophets, and Pythagoras--men and women of compassion and goodwill have sustained the struggle for a world in which no sensitive being is imprisoned, enslaved, tortured, or killed simply because it suited humankind to do so. And the end of that struggle is not yet in sight. Today, we still face the same twofold challenge that has existed since the Axial Age: first and foremost, to bring closer the day when all sentient beings will live securely in a world without cruelty; and in the meantime, to relieve as much suffering as we are able.

Our strategy, therefore, must be to accomplish the possible while inspiring those who will come after us to achieve the impossible. We must dream the impossible dream and broadcast that dream so that every year, every decade, every generation, there are more and more of us who share it. All the while, we must never retreat from doing what we can. To abandon either the dream or the work is to abandon the animals, because it is this union of the impossible dream with the possible work that will bring success. Nothing else will. At some time that we cannot yet see, the dream and the work will merge, brought into reality by generations of dedicated dreamers and workers, and the animals will be freed forever from what George Orwell's philospher pig called by its true name: "the tyranny of human beings." p. 310

Amen, brother! If, like me, the negative reaction of those who don't get it yet and the seemingly monumental task ahead of us sometimes discourages you, I think these are good words to keep in mind. Other books if you're interested in exploring vegan and animal rights history while trying to keep your eyes on the better future ahead include: A Vegan History: 1944-2010 by Erik Marcus (Kindle Edition) and For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States by Diane L. Beers.