The Three Types of Animal-Rights Vegans (and summary of how I did with last New Year's resolutions)

People who go vegan due to animal rights concerns can fall under three categories. Of course, there are many different ways to classify vegans, since vegans are as diverse a group as anyone else. However, regarding the diet, there are three main types:

1) The "Oreo-Cookie Vegan". Oreo-Cookie Vegans don't particularly focus on their health. They eat regular food, as long as they believe that it is vegan (I call them "Oreo-Cookie Vegans" because apparently Oreo cookies are vegan, so many vegans-- typically the Oreo-Cookie Vegans-- eat them.) While these people don't necessarily have an environmentally-friendly or healthy diet, they stress that that's not the point, anyway-- it's because they disagree with animal farming and they care about animal rights. One thing I can admire about Oreo-Cookie Vegans is that you know they aren't just doing it as a fad diet (eating Oreos and Wonder Bread doesn't sound like a fad diet to me), which means that they really do care about animals-- which is great, but they also run the risk of ruining their health by eating a lot of empty calories and not enough nutrients.

Oh, and by the way: Even if you don't eat Oreo cookies, you still could be an Oreo-Cookie Vegan. I just call them Oreo-Cookie Vegans because it makes sense to me to call them that. Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia.

2) The Healthy Vegan. Yay-- this is where we all should be at. The Healthy Vegan, being under the category of those who go vegan due to animal rights concerns, does care about animals. This doesn't stop him or her from eating healthily, though. Healthy Vegans usually forgo the Oreo cookies and eat some healthier food instead, maybe a fruit salad or some occasional whole-wheat cookies. Healthy Vegans tend to try healthy recipes from vegan cookbooks, buy some of their food from health-food stores, and go out to vegan restaurants on occasion. Healthy Vegans remember that they went vegan so that they would stop eating animals and start supporting a compassionate lifestyle. Healthy Vegans don't "cheat", and they don't sneak a few cubes of cheese once in a while either, but if someone accidentally drops a cube of cheese onto their plate while leaning over the table, the Healthy Vegan just picks it out and puts it aside and eats their meal anyway. They make the right decisions and aren't obsessive.


Image Courtesy of http://mevegan.com/2010/08/the-everyday-vegan-2/. (Looks like a good website-- check it out.)

3) The Obsessive Vegan. The Obsessive Vegan is like an OCD version of the Healthy Vegan. "Oh yeah," they'll tell you, "I went vegan for animal rights, but I have to remain personally pure, too-- otherwise I can't call myself a vegan anymore!" The Obsessive Vegan probably wouldn't eat something if it said "Made with machines that also process dairy and eggs" on the label, because they'd be too worried that there would be a small amount milk or eggs in it. Obsessive Vegans might end up wrecking their health because they don't eat a great variety of foods. To be fair, I have to applaud the Obsessive Vegan on his or her devotion to veganism and animal rights, but clearly, he or she is misinterpreting the whole concept of veganism. The real idea of veganism is to help animals, but to the Obsessive Vegan, personal purity conquers all. I would suggest looking at it more rationally. Technically, every product we buy in our society is-- in some vague, distant way, or in a very direct way-- going to be linked to the suffering of animals. We can't control the vague, distant things-- like when mice get killed by tractors that harvest our grain-- but we can control the direct things, like when turkeys get slaughtered for meat consumption. Focus more on the direct things than on the less controllable ones, because that is what really will make a difference in the world.


Broccoli is good. I just put a picture of it here because it must be what the Obsessive Vegans, well, obsess over. Image Courtesy of http://www.topnews.in/broccoli-reduces-skin-cancer-risk-study-24453.

If you're wondering which vegan I am, I'll have you know that I've been all three at different times in my life. Right now I'm sort of transitioning from the Obsessive Vegan to the Healthy Vegan, and I hope to stay at the Healthy Vegan stage for as long as I can. As I've said before, that's the best place to be!
You might not fit into any of the categories listed above, and that's okay. You can identify as whichever kind of vegan you think you're closest to, or you could just call yourself a "vegan".
If you have not gone vegan yet, I strongly urge you to stop consuming animal products immediately. Lives are at stake. If you want to learn more about veganism, please visit The Vegan Society's website at http://www.vegansociety.com/.
I know I talk a lot about veganism on this blog-- especially recently!-- but it is a big part of animal rights, and also a big part of one's everyday life, if you think that food is a big part of everyday life.

BY THE WAY, I wrote out some New Year's resolutions for my two blogs-- Hug a Tree Today, Seriously, and The Animal Rights Action Site. For Hug a Tree, I wanted to reach 1000 page views by the end of the year. I did reach that goal, but I also reached a quite incredible number for this blog. My goal was 500 total pageviews by the end of the year, and at the time of this writing, I have reached 3,876 pageviews for this site! WOW! Thanks everyone. Come back again in the new year.

WINNER of the Great International Vegan Soup Competition!

Recipe #3, you take the prize!I love the garlicky flavour of this soup and the hearty chunks of vegetables and butternut squash. Highly reccommended for anyone looking for a tasty soup recipe! It did take a long time to make, however. Still, I said I was judging on taste, didn't I? Besides, I cooked the lentils from scratch, which the recipe didn't call for.
Here is the recipe again, just to exalt it on a throne a little bit:

 

Lentil Butternut Squash Soup

Submitted by Margo, near Ottawa, Canada

(All measurements are approximate)



In a fairly large pot, stir fry, in olive oil, one onion chopped up and one cup washed lentils. Stir fry till slightly browned.

Add (all chopped up): 2-4 cloves garlic, 2-3 celery stalks, 3 carrots, about 1 cup butternut squash, or other squash will do as well, about 5 cups water, Salt to taste, pepper to taste, dried or fresh parsley...about 1/4 cup, and 1 can of stewed tomatoes.

Bring to boil, turn down heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. Stir once in a while while cooking. Taste to make sure lentils and veggies are cooked.

 

For those curious as to what I'm talking about (for some of you might be hearing of this contest for the first time), you can read my previous posts on the contest (in this order ) at the following links:

• Rules and Introduction: http://theanimalrightsactionsite.blogspot.ca/2012/10/the-great-international-vegan-soup.html
• Contestant Recipes: http://theanimalrightsactionsite.blogspot.ca/2012/12/contestant-recipes-for-great.html

Since less than five people entered, there will be no prize-- apart from the happy celebration that comes from winning the contest! Congratulations!

Vegan and Non-Vegan Microingredients

So I've finally taken that picture of Christofer Drew off the sidebar. It's about time, admittedly!
This week I'm finally getting around to writing my post about microingredients and hidden ingredients, which are both a concern for vegans. Here's a quick description of the two terms. When I say...

1. microingredients, I mean those obscure-sounding ingredients listed at the bottom of the ingredients label of a food product (such as calcium chloride, sulfites, etc.)
2. hidden ingredients, I mean the ingredients used in processing a product (which may or may not be in the final product) that (gasp) aren't listed on the label at all (yes, it does happen!).

Which of these should you care about, and how can you figure out whether or not your food really is vegan, then? This is the question that I hope to answer in this post.

Microingredients
When it comes to microingredients, I recommend being as diligently vegan as possible. If you don't know where an ingredient comes from, for example, look it up! I am by no means an Internet worshipper, but I have got to admit that the Internet is a great tool for this. You can use Vegan Peace's Ingredients List as a resource, which is a great website that lists a great deal of ingredients and states where they come from, as well as whether they are suitable for vegans. I have found this an incredibly helpful website over the years.

Hidden Ingredients
Hidden ingredients can be found in flour and sugar among other things.
Flour may be sometimes treated with a "treatment agent" called L-Cysteine, which can come from animal feathers and human hair. This may or may not be true; it's hard to tell. You can learn more about L-Cysteine in a forum at http://www.veganforum.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-3402.html. (Read the fourth post down to find the part on L-Cysteine-- apparently it isn't listed in the ingredients list because it isn't actually present in the finished product.) Now, you might decide that this is not a big deal, and eat flour anyway. After all, it is hard to avoid flour in your foods, and I don't know whether or not "flour" includes all the kinds of flour, including gluten-free ones. However, I find it repulsive that people might be putting derivatives from feathers in my food. Because of this, I don't eat flour. (This is the reason why The Great International Vegan Soup Competition is a soup contest, as opposed to a sandwich contest.) If you feel uncomfortable with eating possible animal products but you don't want to stop eating flour and bread, contact the bread and/or flour company to ask them. Also keep in mind that enriched flour may contain nutrients that are animal-derived.
Sugar sometimes is refined using animal bone char. In Canada, the sugar companies Redpath and Lantic do not do this, however. (My mom contacted the company and asked them.) I suggest avoiding other brands of sugar until you get a chance to contact the company. Again, though, when it comes to this sort of thing, there is more of an ambiguous grey area where you can decide what's important and what isn't. For interest's sake, I do avoid sugar that may be processed with animal products.
Don't become too obsessive over hidden ingredients. True, some company may use a bunch of weird chemicals and ingredients behind the scenes and then not tell you. This could, indeed, be happening with more products than just flour and sugar, but you can't stop eating for the sake of complete personal purity. Veganism is a lifestyle, not a death-style.

My best advice is to read the ingredients label, look up ingredients if you don't know what they are, and contact the company for flour and sugar. This isn't supposed to be extremely hard. If you go out to a vegan restaurant and they tell you it's vegan, you should just beleive them, and the same goes for when you buy a food that says that its vegan on the label.

Speaking of food, The Great International Vegan Soup Competition soups are being made in my kitchen over the week! I've already made one, and it was delicious, but I won't tell you which one it was... yet. I've got to make them all first, and then rate them.

Come back soon for the winners of the contest!

CONTESTANT RECIPES for the Great International Vegan Soup Competition

This week I've got the Contestant Recipes for the Great International Vegan Soup Competition to show you. Entries are now closed, but there were three entries all together. I haven't chosen a winner yet, but I will do so when I have the time to make all these soups! If any of you out there would like to vote, please comment on this post or e-mail rabbit-cat[at]vegemail[dot]com with your selection.
Last week, I promised to talk about something very, very tiny... but I'll have to do that sometime soon, instead, because these recipes take up enough (delicious) space as it is.

And so... here are the contestants, folks...
(You'd better try out these recipes yourselves, okay?)

Recipe #1: Pumpkin Soup

 

Submitted by Carol-Anne (not the author of this blog), near Ottawa, Canada

Ingredients:

Medium size pumpkin about 10 inch radius.

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp medium curry powder

1/4 tsp mild cayenne

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/2 cup rice yogurt

4 cups vegetable stock

 

Method:

Cut top out of the pumpkin and remove seeds (save the seeds and roast them separately)

Roast the pumpkin at 350 degrees Fahrenheit

until tender.

Allow pumpkin to cool enough to handle.

Using a large blender, pour in all ingredients except chives and rice yogurt, and blend until smooth, pour into a large pot and heat until boiling reduce heat to low, allow to stand on low stirring occasionally for 30 minutes..

Ladle soup into bowls, add a tablespoon of rice yogurt in the center of the bowl of soup and garnish with chives.

Recipe #2: Auntie Lu’s Vegan Cream of Zucchini Soup

Submitted by Lucinda, near Ottawa, Canada

You will need a frying pan, a kettle, a measuring cup, a glass or ceramic bowl, a whisk (or fork if you do not have a whisk), a blender and a large sauce pan.

Ingredients:

·         4  tablespoons olive oil

·         4 cups diced zucchini

·         1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

·         4 cups vegetable broth (you can buy non-GMO, organic vegetable broth cubes that you dissolve in boiling water)

·         2 cup plain, unsweetened soy milk (if possible, use non-GMO organic soy milk)

·         Sea salt to taste and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper just before serving

·         1 cup chopped packed fresh parsley or ½ cup chopped packed fresh basil (or half and half if you want)

Preparation:

Stir fry the zucchini and onion in the olive oil on medium heat until the onion is soft and transparent and the zucchini is soft but not mushy.  Take it off the burner.

Boil water and pour 4 cups into a large bowl.  Then crumble the vegetable broth cube(s) (as per the instructions) into the boiling water and whisk it until it is not lumpy.  

Blend (a bit at a time) the zucchini mixture, broth and fresh parsley or basil (reserving about ¼ cup of the parsley/basil to use as garnish) together in a blender until smooth and then pour it into a large saucepan.  It is important to make sure that you blend it a bit at a time so that it doesn’t overflow when you turn the blender on (the blender should only be about half full) and, for each batch of vegies and broth, start the blender on low gradually increasing the speed.  Once you have the entire mixture blended, and in the large sauce pan, gradually stir in the soy milk and a little sea salt to taste (about ½ teaspoon).  Heat the soup gradually over medium to medium-high heat while stirring (to prevent it from burning or sticking to the bottom of the sauce pan) and serve with a sprinkling of cayenne and use the rest of the parsley/basil to garnish each serving.

If you don’t want the soup to be completely smooth and creamy, but want it to have some pieces of vegetable, you can reserve about a cup of the cooked zucchini and onion to add to the soup after adding the soy milk.  Serve with crackers and/or fresh bread with vegan margarine.

ENJOY!

Lentil Butternut Squash Soup

Submitted by Margo, near Ottawa, Canada

(All measurements are approximate)


In a fairly large pot, stir fry, in olive oil, one onion chopped up and one cup washed lentils. Stir fry till slightly browned.
Add (all chopped up): 2-4 cloves garlic, 2-3 celery stalks, 3 carrots, about 1 cup butternut squash, or other squash will do as well, about 5 cups water, Salt to taste, pepper to taste, dried or fresh parsley...about 1/4 cup, and 1 can of stewed tomatoes.
Bring to boil, turn down heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. Stir once in a while while cooking. Taste to make sure lentils and veggies are cooked.

 That's all for this week, folks. Come back next weeks for further awesome-ness. (Hint: the very, very tiny thing starts with an "m" and ends with a "t". And no, it's not meat!)

C.

Vegan on Christmas

Christmas is one of those times when vegans have got to try extra hard to avoid eating animal products and otherwise harming animals. Still, it's extremely important that you don't slack off! (The X-mas turkey won't forgive you for eating it, even if it is on Christmas.)
Last year, I talked about being compassionate to companion animals, buying animal-friendly gifts, eating vegan turkey, and being eco-friendly on Christmas. These are great topics, but that's just the tip of the iceburg, so this year I get to elaborate. (Yay!)

Vegan Christmas Foods
What's on your X-mas grocery list this year? If you're not the one doing the shopping, I suggest talking to the person who is. Often, people will buy things like turkey or ham, eggnog, and milk chocolate. You can avoid these things, however, by buying Tofurkey, making vegan eggnog, and getting vegan treats. Here is a picture of a vegan treat plate from VeganBits.com:

Click on the picture or here to see which vegan treats were purchased to make this delicious-looking plate!
If you have kids, you can get them vegan chocolate advent calendars from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B009H89QQK/lucysveganhous0d.
Vegan Christmas is getting easier every year, folks!

Getting your Relatives to Understand your Awesome Vegan-ness
Unfortunately, sometimes vegans have to cope with annoying questions and complaints about our diet on Christmas. We also have to deal with the unpleasantness of people eating meat while we have an otherwise-nice conversation with them. I cover these issues here in another blog post.

How to Recieve Non-Vegan Gifts When You ARE a Vegan
Has Aunt Sally ever tried to give you a nice warm pair of wool mittens, or Cousin Bob gifted you a bag of bacon strips? Sometimes it does happen, and you have to be prepared. First, make sure your relatives know that you will be remaining vegan this Christmas (sometimes they need reminding), and that yes, meat (including poultry) and wool and honey and eggs and milk aren't vegan. And fish isn't vegan (another thing they need to be reminded of, especially if they think veganism is a fad diet). Let them know that your vegan lifestyle is very strict and that you won't make a few "exceptions" to make people happy. (But please, be less blunt about it than that.)
If someone gives you a non-vegan gift and asks you, "Is this okay? Is it vegan?", tell them the truth. This could prevent further mishaps next year. If they offer to take it back, let them.
If you recieve a non-vegan gift and the person doesn't know it isn't vegan, you might want to tell them. If it's too awkward to tell them in the moment (ie. you're at a huge family party and everyone is watching you open your gift), tell them later, but only if you think they'd understand.
However, if someone gives you a non-vegan gift and they really don't understand that they shouldn't, and you don't think they can ever understand, just smile and thank them and move on. You can always donate it to the Salvation Army or something.
Lastly, if someone gives you a non-vegan gift with a wink and says, "I know you're vegan, so I thought I'd treat you to something you wouldn't allow yourself normally", seriously tell them what your lifestyle choice means to you. It's about saving animals (and maybe also the environment). You don't "cheat" like when you're on a diet for your health (or appearance, as many modern diets are focused on).

Lastly, remember that the holidays are about spending time celebrating with family and friends. It is an unfortunate fact of modern life that most Christmas celebrations in developed countries place a high degree of importance on gifts and food. Your celebrations don't have to be like that, though. You can have gifts and food as an aside to the real importance of Christmas, which is joy, love, peace and hope. Not devotion to the consumer cult.
Adios for now! Next week I think I'll talk about something very, very tiny...

Filler Post

Dear friends, please allow me to write a filler post this week. I am a few thousand words behind on my novel, and today may be my only plausible catch-up day! (And I only have the morning at home, anyway.)
Please come back next week for a delightful treat (it has to do with the winter holidays and Christmas!).
Thank you!

Let's Send Down Sales Down!

Sorry for the bad pun.
Down (the under-feathers of birds) is sometimes an ingredient in pillows, comforters, jackets and coats, and more. Although it may seem harmless, it actually isn't. Birds used for down are not treated well and are repeatedly plucked. Read what Ari Solomon has to say about the down industry for Huffington Post:

Ari Solomon, president and co-creator of vegan candle line

"...if you're taking feathers off a bird, there are two ways to do it: you can rip them off while the bird is still alive, or you can rip them off after the bird is dead. The feather industry considers feathers from live birds better quality, hence they're more valuable. So geese and ducks get "live-plucked" 3 to 4 times a year. This happens from the time they are 10 weeks until they're 4 years old. Then they're sent to slaughter for their flesh. Ducks and geese in the wild have a lifespan of 12-15 years."
The birds are plucked without anesthetics and many are also raised as fois gras (more on that some other time)!
Down is a poor choice for the consumer's sake because it doesn't stay warm when wet and it is expensive. My point: there is no reason why you need to buy down. There are plenty of warm winter coats and cozy comforters that use synthetic materials.
All you have to do to avoid buying down is to read labels. Check to make sure that there is no down in it and instead look for ones that contain polyester fill or another alternative.
Have a good week!

Photo courtesy of United Poultry Concerns (www.upc-online.org)

Be a Foster Parent for a Homeless Animal

Some of you probably aren't able to make any long-term commitments by adopting a pet for the rest of his or her life. I understand-- maybeyou are planning on starting a new job in a year, or a new school, or you simply have only a little bit of stamina. Whatever the reason, though, you should look into being a foster home for  a shelter animal.
Fostering an animal is great because it is a one-time commitment, you can choose how long to keep the animal for (within reason-- you wouldn't be likely to find an animal who needed to be taken in for only a few days!), you don't have to pay for food, litter, or veterinary bills, and you won't be stuck with the animal for the rest of his or her life if it doesn't work out.

Photo Courtesy of the Ottawa Humane Society

You can usually foster an animal from a local humane society or another animal welfare organization. If you live in the Ottawa area, you should consider fostering a rabbit from New Moon Rabbit Rescue or one of many species of animals from the Ottawa Humane Society.
The only problem with fostering an animal is that you are not allowed to adopt the animal who you have fostered. You have to let someone else adopt your new friend-- which can be heartbreaking for many people. As long as you begin fostering with this in mind, though, you should be fine. You'll be doing the animals a favour, too!


I know that this is off-topic, but November is National Novel Writing Month (and this one I didn't make up on the spot, unlike the GIVSC). This is a "contest" (no cash or material prizes, though) in which you have to write a 50,000 word novel in a month! There is also a Young Writer's Program for youth who don't want to write quite so much. I'm writing a YA/sci-fi/old-fashioned/school-story/etc. novel that takes place around 2030. By then, people don't keep pets as much as they used to (in many cities it is outlawed by that time-- and actually, in real-world 2012 pet sale in Los Angeles is outlawed, too!), and "vegetarian" and "vegan" have come to mean the same thing due to the fact that so many people are going vegan (I think; the planning is still in progress). However, it isn't all good-- technology is rampant, stress is high, and there are huge gaps between social groups. I'll let you know when the book is done and published so that you can buy it. ;)

I Was Almost Roadkill, Too!

This week I was riding my bike home from school and got hit by a car. It was partially my fault, admittedly; the driver didn't see me and I assumed that she was going to wait for me to cycle by. Although I didn't get seriously injured (I came away with a slightly discoloured patch on my leg), it did make me think about a number of things, including roadkill.

Aww, so sad...

The question I want to ask today is this: should we stop driving cars in order to prevent roadkill? And, if so, how do we do it?
The lady who crashed into me was very apologetic. Would she have been apologetic if she had run over a squirrel? I think she would have, although it is not a social necessity to feel this way in our culture.
A lot of roadkill is the result of speeding, too-- and, of course, the simple solution to that one is simply don't speed. Speeding puts animals in danger, it puts you in danger of crashing or getting a ticket, it puts poor careless cyclists like me in danger, it bothers neighbours, and it puts the environment in danger due to too much pollution. The only thing that speeding does accomplish is lessening your chances of being late for your next appointment or school or work day. You just need to plan ahead of time. It won't always be easy, and sometimes you will be late. But, well, that's life, as they say!
But I'm skirting the question. Cars-- or no cars?
I want to say no cars, due to my environmental concerns, but I've got to look at it from the roadkill perspective, too. Just how many animals are killed when the person is not speeding? I can't find any statistics, but I'm sure that many roadkills happen within the speed limit (especially on highways). If you are concerned about roadkill, drive your car as little as possible-- and carpool with a safe driver at the wheel whenever you can. If you are an open-minded, eco-friendly, animal-friendly, lovely person who always puts others first, stop driving your car altogether! (And if you're not, stop driving it anyway and I'll give you bonus points for going against your stereotype.) :D
You can't always stop yourself from driving over ants with your bicycle tires (believe me, it's pretty dangerous at times, and I should know), but you can try to reduce your impact as much as possible. Similarly, buses may not slow down to prevent the squishing of squirrels, but bus-ing is so much better for the environment that you should take the bus instead of the car anyway.
Here are some things you can do to stop roadkill:

1. Get your neighbourhood to start an anti-speeding campaign. Some neighbourhoods just need a sign that displays your car's speed as you go by-- others may need more police to hover around. Talk to your neighbours about what would work for you.
2. Don't get in the car with someone who is known to speed (if you have trouble refusing, just imagine me and my poor little bicycle going along the road at the same time).
3. Please be careful with your cats-- do you want them to get hit by a car?

Whew. I hope I didn't ramble there. Remember to enter The Great International Vegan Soup Competition before December 1, 2012, by the way!
Oh, and don't worry. I've learned my lesson not to go out in front of cars without getting their permission first. Your lovely blogger isn't dead yet! ;)

The Great International Vegan Soup Competition!

Hi everyone! Since today is a holiday (Thanksgiving here in Canada), I figure that it's okay to post on Monday instead of Sunday. I hope you don't mind!

So, what is the Great International Vegan Soup Competition? It's a wonderful contest that The Animal Rights Action Site is holding, starting now.

Here are the rules:

• You must create a soup recipe completely from scratch. Just experiment, and then try it. If it is good, send it to me by e-mail [rabbit-cat AT vegemail.com] or post it as a comment.
• The soup recipe MUST be vegan.
• You must not copy anyone else's soup recipe. I'll be checking the Internet to make sure it wasn't copied.
• It would be appreciated if your recipe directions were for a small serving. I don't want you to have to waste any if your experimenting goes awry.
• Entries are no longer accepted after December 1, 2012.
• I will choose the winner based on how tasty the soup is!
• PRIZE: TBD! E-mail me your entry with suggestions. If I get at least 5 entries, I'll add a prize! The winner will also get their soup recipe and bio (optional) posted on The Animal Rights Action Site.

Today I made a really cool soup by experimenting. Here is the recipe (you'll have to beat this to have a chance at winning, but my recipe isn't exactly genius anyway, so it won't be too hard):

1/2 cup chopped vegetables (celery, carrot, cucumber)
1 cup legumes (mix of chickpeas and black beans)
sea salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon herbs (nettle, mint, stevia)
hot water

Pour hot water over vegetables in non-plastic bowl. Add legumes. Add sea salt. Add herbs.
Using food processer, slightly blend the food. Don't overdo it, though!
Put in microwave to heat.

It tasted so good! Who knew that animal-friendly food could taste this good? (Well, I did, but that's not the point, now is it?)

Happy soup-making!

Starting an Animal Rights Club-- Part II: In Your Community

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to talk about how to start an animal rights club in your community. I'm really sorry about being late for this post. I was away at the 2012 Youth Summit for Biodiversity and Environmental Justice. I had a fantastic time!!!

Here are the steps that I would advise for you to take to start an animal rights club that isn't at school:

1. Do you have any friends or relatives who would also like to be involved? Ask them first. You should have a backbone of solid members to base the thing around. Also ask around to see if a friend of a friend, or your cousin's girlfriend, might be interested. Meet with these people all together first, and write the club's mission plan. If you have enough members by now, you can skip step 2.
2. If you can't find anyone using the strategies I have outlined in step 1, skip right to this step: Recruit! Put up posters at your local community centre and coffee shop. On your posters, remember to put a contact number and the details on what the club's about and who is invited. For example, it might be an animal rights club for youth, a vegan mom's club, or a general club that is dedicated to abolishing animal testing.
3. Have your first meeting. Use the tactics that I have explained in my previous post. Have fun!

Ta-ta! I'll try not to be late with my posting anymore.
By the way, you might want to check Hug A Tree Today, Seriously (my other blog) in the next few days. I'm going to be putting up a very special post within the next few days...!

Starting an Animal Rights Club, Part I: At Your School

Hello everyone...
What's up in the animal rights world? Do you ever find it hard to keep track of all that's going on? Do you feel like you are spending so much time keeping up to date that you never get a chance to do any activism yourself?
I know the feeling! A good way to deal with this is to start an animal rights club in your school or community. Having a group of people to work with you is not only fun, but it also keeps you on track.
This is part I of a two-part series on my blog. Part II will focus on starting an animal rights club in your community.
I attempted to start an animal rights club in grade 9, but failed rather miserably. I'd like to use this as an opportunity to warn you about the mistakes I made, so hopefully you won't make the same ones that I did. I also want to share my ideas with you.

1. Choosing a name for your club: I recommend "Animal Rights Club". It sounds nice, and you can use the acronym, too: "ARC". However, you may run into administrative difficulties if you choose such a name. I definitely did, due to the fact that the teacher-sponsor thought that "Animal Rights" was a too politically-charged term. I gave in to her views, and agreed to change it to "Animal Awareness Club". This was a mistake! What teenager wants to join an "Animal Awareness Club"? None at my school, as I soon learned. So please, leave it at "Animal Rights Club", and you'll attract members much easier.
2. Scary Administration: The admin are often closed-minded to students starting new clubs all of a sudden. When I first spoke to the Vice-Principal about starting an animal rights club, it was like talking to an evil villainess about how I wanted to rally her slaves into saving the kittens. The room was dark, she looked at me with these cold, evil eyes, and she spoke about how the school was focused on learning and not activism. I held my ground, and she agreed to let me give it a go, but only if I could find a teacher to sponsor me. I fled from her torture chamber (which was actually a simple office) and later asked my favourite teacher if she would sponsor me, or if she knew of anyone who would. She led me to another teacher who agreed to sponsor me. I then went back to the Vice-Principal, club mission plan and goals printed on a sheet of paper in hand. I handed the sheet to her and waited, like a criminal awaiting a verdict of either guilty or innocent. Her heartless eyes scanned the paper distastefully. She agreed that I could do it, but of course I was in charge of getting it on the announcements and putting up posters.
   I think the important thing to remember here is that the admin usually are restricted from discriminating against you. They have to agree, as long as you are reasonable. So no matter how evil you think the admin are, don't give up.
3. Getting Attention: So how do you attract members to your club, anyway? Just because it is on the list of school clubs doesn't mean that anyone will know about it. There are 3 ways of getting attention for your club: 1) put up appealing posters with all the necessary information on them (you might need permission from admin for this); 2) get it on the announcements (again, go to admin); 3) tell all your friends to come along and bring their friends! I did the first two things for my club, but I didn't have any friends when I was in grade 9, so no one came. Really, guys. It helps if you have friends.
4. Meeting Plans: What are you going to talk about? This is up to you. Certain animal rights organizations want you to start clubs under their name or using their materials (ie. peta2 and Roots & Shoots), but I think it's best if you are independent. By all means, use the resources that you can find from any groups, but keep your options open. You can talk about (and act on) any of the following things:
1. Veganizing your cafeteria (or working for vegan options at your cafeteria);
2. Abolishing dissection at your school (or eliminating the requirement for students to dissect);
3. Stickers, leaflets, and posters: distribute them around school (everybody seems to LOVE stickers!!!);
4. Holding presentations to teach classes about animal rights issues (you can either prepare the presentations yourself or bring in someone from another organization);
5. Fundraising to do all the cool stuff you want to accomplish (but remember, you can achieve a lot for free, too):
6. Supporting group members in living an animal-friendly life-- exchanging recipes, website URLs, books, clothing recommendations, etc.
5. Organizational Structure: I suppose you'll be the president, but don't be bossy. That would be a "turn-off" for your members. Instead, allow others to take the lead once in a while. Accept that others have different opinions, but don't let them steer the club entirely! Try to achieve a balance, okay?

I hope you found that useful! It took me ages to write, so it had better have helped! :)

"Heartless Robots R Us"

Last week I promised to write about my experiences at the local vetrinary hospital, so let me do that now. About 2 years ago, my school sent the students in my year on "Take Your Kid To Work Day", where we got to job-shadow our parents for the day. I was already very aware of my parents' jobs (I frequently visited my mom's workplace, and my dad works out of the home), so I job-shadowed someone at the animal hospital instead. Mistake?
When I got there, I was immediately thrown into the hectic and uncaring atmosphere of the back rooms at the animal hospital (the rooms that the clients don't get to see). One vetrinarian (or vetrinary assistant/technician-- you can't really tell) was talking about "knocking out" a dog, which I learned meant putting him under anasthesia. The vetrinarians were like the worst heartless robots I have ever met-- not like I have had the pleasure of meeting any real heartless robots, but still. They were so overworked and pressed for time that they could not allow themselves to look on each animal with kind eyes and a gentle touch. Instead, they would pick up the animal as though "it" was a fax machine or a squirming water balloon.
It all resembled so much of a factory-- the focus was on quantity, not quality. I started to feel ill, as I often do when I see animals suffering needlessly from violations of dignity and respect. As two women pinned down a dog and started shaving his neck I felt queasy. When a large black dog who I had started to grow to appreciate was dragged away to be euthenized, I felt as though part of me was being dragged to die along with him. And, as I observed the vetrinarian I was shadowing carve away part of the skin inside a little white dog's mouth for a "tissue sample", I collapsed-- yes, collapsed!-- on the ground. (At which point the vets made me get up and sit in the hall, threw a bag of chips at me, and got back to work.)
Before you say that I'm just overly sensitive, let me continue to explain. True, the vetrinarians did, at times, physically fix (I am hesitant to say "heal") their charges, but they also caused them unnecessary suffering. Can you imagine how it must feel to be roughly picked up by a severe-looking stranger and put in pain by them? If you went to the hospital with a strange growth on your gums and the doctor came and shaved it off (collecting a "tissue sample", of course) and sent you home with a bloody mouth and in no better condition, would you ever go back?
It is importatnt to keep our companion animals from getting ill, of course-- but be wary of vetrinarians taking your furry friend out of your sight. They may just transform into the worst  heartless robots you have ever met!

Alternatives

• Independent vetrinarians (no back rooms!)
• Alternative Vetrinary Hospital in the UK: http://www.alternativevet.org/index.htm
• Keep your animals healthy so they won't have to go to the vet as much.

Euthenasia: Dignity vs. Convenience

Today I'm going to write about whether or not people should be allowed to euthenize their animals and the difference between compassion and cruelty depending on the situation.
Is euthenasia really about "putting an animal out of its misery"? Or, is it simply that the owners no longer wish to care for their pets? I think it's both.
In a fascinating book I'm reading called The Philosopher's Dog, the author Raymond Gaita says that you should not euthenize your animals, just as you would not put your granny "to sleep". He makes a good point. The basic rights of humans should typically be transferred to the ethics of animal rights. If it's okay to put terminally ill humans "to sleep", then it's okay to put mortally sick domestic animals "to sleep", presumably. But if it's not okay to do this to humans, then why would it be any better to do this to animals? I am not 100% opposed to the euthenation of sick animals. I am merely saying that we need to develop some kind of moral consistency between when enough is enough for humans and when it is for animals. Also, how will we know when an animal is consenting to euthenasia and when he/she is not?
Some people point to the pet overpopulation problem as an excuse to euthenize healthy animals. But this would only be a valid reason if you also thought that the human overpopulation problem could be solved in the same way. And goodness knows, I certainly don't want to live in a world where the excess human beings are rounded up and gassed. Do you?
I think that these are the reasons that people euthenize their animals, in typical situations, and I also provide my responses:

• The animal (let's call him "Fido") is unable to take care of himself (ie. can't walk, can't go to the bathroom without help, can't eat through his mouth), and so the owner (let's call her "Yasmin") feels that Fido is in too much suffering, and not truly living anyway.
• Maybe it is a good idea in this situation. It depends how bad it gets. If your dog has gotten so bad that he is simply lying on his bed all day and can't move or eat without someone doing it for him, then I think it might have gotten too far.
• Fido's treatment is too expensive for Yasmin to pay for, so she feels she has no choice but to put him down.
• Unfair! If Yasmin truly loved her dog, she could never put him to sleep due to financial issues. She should try to give him up to someone who could provide the treatment. Sometimes this doesn't work out and it truly isn't Yasmin's fault, but she should still try her hardest to save him.
• Fido's treatment is extensive and time-consuming. Although it would possibly cure him of his ailment, Yasmin does not want to invest the time in it.
• Again, so unfair. If I had a serious illness, no one would euthenize me! Thus, they shouldn't euthenize poor Fido.
• Fido doesn't have an owner. He's in an animal shelter. He is just one of many. They don't have space for him any more.
• :( No. That isn't right, either.

Enough of the depressing philosophy (for now!). The real question is this: What do we do with all the extra animals-- the ones that we don't euthenize for medical reasons? Do we keep them in cages in overcrowded animal shelters? Let them all go to wander the streets?
No. I don't think so.
What we need is more people to take animals into their homes-- even if only temporarily, as "foster owners". Many people say, "If you want a pet, go to the animal shelter and adopt one!", and that is great, but we really need to say is this: "Adopt an animal from the shelter whether or not you want a pet-- save a life." (I'm excluding those people whose lifestyles can't even permit the care of a little mouse because they are so busy or don't live in a suitable environment or aren't capable of caring for an animal.)
If we all went out to the animal shelters and adopted a hamster or a bird or another animal, we could save millions of animals in the Western world alone. That, I think, coupled with not breeding your animal and boycotting the pet industry, could be a large chunk of the solution to the problem of euthenizing healthy albeit unwanted animals.

And so, here is another one of my (not-so) famous lists on what you can do:

1. Adopt an animal!
2. Don't buy an animal from the pet store or a breeder-- ever!
3. If you can not take care of your animal anymore, give him or her up to a no-kill animal shelter or a friend.

Next week, I'll tell you all about what happened when I job-shadowed a vetrinarian at a local animal hospital in grade 9-- and how horrible it was. Be careful around animal hospitals...

What to do about the PLANTS issue?

Sometimes people ask you, when you are a vegan, why you think it is okay to eat plants and not animals-- after all, you're still hurting the poor plants! Besides this being one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard, it is also one of the most annoying. This is why I want to answer it on my blog once and for all.
Super-Obvious Point #1: Plants do not have brains. They do not have neurons, nor do they have nerves. Therefore, the notion that they could feel physical, excrutiating pain is very unlikely, if not impossible. Since they do not have brains, it also follows that they can not have conscious thought, as long as conscious thought is defined by having a brain. Some research has gone into whether or not plants have consciousness, which I applaud for its audacity and its open-mindedness, but even if plants did have consciousness, it would not be a reason to eat animals over plants, because...
Super-Obvious Point #2: Animals eat plants! Farmers have to feed cattle, pigs, chickens, etc. vast quantities of grain to get them fat enough for slaughter. And not all those calories become flesh ("meat"), either-- in fact, most of them get burned off when the animals move, digest the food, breathe, think, etc. So it is highly inefficient to raise livestock, and it results in the deaths of more plants anyway.
Super-Obvious Point #3: Animal products are bad for you. I've already given ample evidence of this on my two blogs, but if you haven't read that yet, then perhaps you should read the articles on www.chooseveg.com and www.goveg.com, hm?

PETA T-Shirt Design

Whew. I'm glad I finally did a good job of explaining that. Now I hope that nobody will ask me again, and instead just read my blog!
I'm sorry for forgetting to post last week. I was on vacation. See you next week!

Vegan Travel

Vegan On The Road

Photo Courtesy of www.spencerhopedavis.com

I'm going on vacation, starting today, so I think I should post today instead. For the next two weeks, my posts might be a little... er... spontaneous. It is hard to know when I'll have access to the computer, you know?
But here is my post.... about how to be vegan while travelling!
Preparation is key. You should either bring your own food, or money to buy it at a grocery store, or you should research vegan restaurants along your route.
Bringing your own food can mean a lot of packing and lugging around coolers. Of course, if you are going on a road trip, this shouldn't be a problem, but if you are flying or taking a train or taking another less predictable form of transportation, you need to buy most of your food along the way. If you can't bring all your food with you, bring along some non-perishables, like crackers, granola bars, and cookies. Make sure you use eco-friendly packaging-- take a look at my blog post on Hug A Tree Today, Seriously for ideas about eco-friendly camping for more information. You can also buy special containers of soy milk that don't have to be refrigerated until you open them (these are usually only individual boxes, though).
Grocery/Health Food Stores can be useful, since you can buy things like fruits and vegetables. You can whip up some of the foods you eat at home in your hotel room.
For a directory of vegan restaurants, go to http://www.happycow.net/.

I'd love to write more, but I can't spend any more time on the computer because I have to finish packing!

How to Raise Vegan Kids Who Care About Animal Rights

If you have young children or plan to have kids when you are older, this post is for you!
You might think it is hypocritical for me to tell you how to raise your kids, since I am not even out of high school yet and definitely don't have kids, but I hope that my perspective will help you all the same. I am a vegan, and I have thought a lot about how animal rights should play a role in young children's lives.
Here is my advice:

1. Don't let them eat animal products. To refuse to let them eat animals is not torture or abuse or meanness in any way. Think about all the awful chemicals and hormones that can be found in meat and milk and eggs. Studies have shown that the growth hormones in cattle, pigs, chickens, etc. pass themselves on to the consumer and can even cause obesity. The chemicals can also be dangerous and toxic-- if you would not feed your child arsenic or anti-freeze, then why would you feed him industrially produced animal products? Even organically-grown animal products are unhealthy, and can cause cancer, diabetes, and a shorter life-span. If you need further convincing on the health implications of animal-product-eating, please go to http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/health.html, where you will find more information and links. Another thing to keep in mind is that vegetarians and vegans tend to be more mindful and conscientious than meat-eaters. To conclude, not allowing them access to animal products is actually doing them a favour. When you combine the health implications with the environmental and animal rights arguments, there is really no way you can compassionately feed them meat, milk, and eggs.
2. Once they become teenagers, the choice is more up to them. However, this does not mean that you should cook them animal products if they ask you to, nor should you buy anything that came from an animal. Tell them that if they want to eat animal products, they must do it outside the house or in their room, and they must buy it themselves. I am writing this from the perspective of a teenager, remember, and it sounds about right to me. Hopefully, if you have raised them properly, they will not want to eat animal products, which leads to my next points...
3. From the time when they are very young, educate them on why your family is vegan. Remember, the rest of society is constantly indoctrinating anyone in it that eating animals is normal. If you live in society (which I'll bet you do), then they will constantly be around people who, from time to time, will challenge their beliefs. Over time they will make up their minds for themselves, but that does not mean you can not try to teach them ethics beforehand. To teach them, you can read them books, show them kid-friendly animal-rights movies, or simply explain to them when the topic comes up. Here is a list of children's books that might help: http://www.veganfamily.co.uk/kidsbooksveg.html.
4. Take them to volunteer at an animal-friendly organization on a regular basis.
5. Take them to natural places, so that they earn an appreciation for nature, where most animals live!
6. If you send them to school (I think that home-schooling and unschooling is better, however; click here for details), encourage them to talk about what they experience at school and whether anyone talked about them being vegan. You need to make sure that they are not being bullied about being a vegan.

Resources:
Food ideas and more: http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/treatmentguides/veganchildren.html
Nutritional details: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/kids.htm
One-stop site for lots of information: http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-children/index.htm
Something to further convince yourself: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/realveganchildren

Ellen, who was raised as a vegan and still is at 17. Photo Courtesy of veganhealth.org

Not Dead Yet!

To begin this post, let me tell you a true story.

The Tale of 6 Dead Insects
Or, The Case of The Undead Snail

One day (this most recent Wednesday), a girl named Carolyn (me) was working her volunteer shift at the raw organic vegan gluten-free take-out place, washing vegetables. While taking apart the lettuce and the kale to be washed, she found 6 dead insects in the vegetables. By the time her shift was over, she had uncovered 1 dead little winged black bug, 1 bronze-coloured winged insect, 1 wingless green one, 1 wingless black one, and 2 snails (well, snails aren't really insects, but the title of this story is meant to be decieving anyway).
At first, she had dumped the bronze one outside, and then the first snail. She figured that they were both dead.
Upon finding more insects and the second "dead" snail, she stopped bothering taking individual trips outside for each find. Instead, she just left them on the counter. She continued to wash the produce, spin them in a spinner, and then dump them in the right bins.
Then she noticed something strange.
The second snail had moved ever so slightly up the counter from where she had last seen it.
Ew, she thought, I must have bumped it with the lettuce. Gross. It's dead, though. It couldn't have survived for so long in the freezer, where the lettuce had been. And besides, it just looks dead.
She forgot about it for a while, washing more lettuce. Until she looked again, that is.
It had moved again. Had she bumped it again with the lettuce, or was it still alive?
The snail wasn't dead. But Carolyn refused to accept that it was alive. That left only one possibility... It was undead!

Sometimes we think that a creature is dead, when really, it isn't dead at all. This can definitely lead to problems. I might have thrown that snail in the compost bin or out on the pavement if I had not noticed soon enough that it was alive-- er, sorry, I mean, undead.
Insects are not the only creatures who we think are dead when they really aren't. What about pet fish? People often flush their sick fish down the toilet because they can not help them recover. But please, have compassion. Imagine getting sick with the flu and suddenly someone comes in and flushes you down the toilet! It will not kill the fish right away, but will slowly suffocate them in feces.
And then there is the lobster scenario. When people cook lobsters, they boil them alive. People re-assure themselves that lobsters can not feel or think, so they are perfectly okay with it, or at least, they try to be okay with it. Why, then, do lobsters desperately struggle to escape while being boiled?

Of course, you can't always save every little insect (or snail), but it is important to help when you can. Here are some ways to help:

1. Don't assume an insect is dead if you find one unmoving; take it outside and let it recover. At worst, it will be eaten by a bird, and at best, it will recover and fly away. Either way, someone wins.
2. Be the goldfish saviour. Every time someone you know has an ill goldfish, make sure that they do not flush it down the toilet.
3. Don't eat lobster, obviously.
4. Sign my petition against lobster-boiling. See the gadget to the side of my blog for details. It will be there for most of 2012.
5. Let people know about how lobsters do, indeed, have sensitivity and feelings. You might need to quote some researchers to convince them of this.

See you next week!

Dog Walking: Pleasant Stroll or Power Struggle? You Choose!

This summer I have been walking some friends' dogs while they are away. Collie (not her real name) is a lovely dog, and really energetic. The problem is, however, that she loves to stop and sniff every ten seconds or so! I let her stop sometimes, but I have to pull her along many other times to keep up a decent pace. I sometimes feel like taking her on walks is a power struggle in which one of us has to win and the other has to lose. Either I win (we keep walking) or she wins (we stop for a nice long sniff). Surely there has to be a better way to go about this?

Photo Courtesy of https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VLQjft4yCTz62R7az9v8cg

I am not the only one who faces this dilemma, however. Many dog owners are downright nasty to their dogs if they bark, or tug, or sniff while on a walk. Although I don't act inappropriately to my dog or any of the others, it is a problem with many people (and their poor dogs!). Once I was walking at a large park where dogs are allowed on a leash. I passed by some people and a woman with a dog on a leash. The dog tried to come close to me, jumping and tugging at the leash, but certainly not hurting me in any way. The woman shouted "No! No!" at her dog and dragged him away. I was just dying to scream, "No! No!" back at her, and see how she liked it, but by the time I thought that maybe I would confront her, we had already walked too far in the opposite direction. I suppose it was for the best, really-- I don't want to make her think that animal advocates are a bunch of screaming "extremists"!
Although walking your dog is a great way to give her exercise, sunlight, fresh air, a chance to meet other dogs, and some new places to sniff and explore, it also can provide quite a strain on Collie's neck, prove disappointing when not allowed to stop and sniff, and sometimes even exhaust her.
I feel that if a few considerations are made, dog-walking will become a lot more peaceful and happy.

Here are my suggestions:

1. When possible, use a retractable leash, as shown below. This means that your dog will have to strain less on the leash. When you reach a busy intersection, you can just press the lock button on the leash to keep your dog safe.



Photo Courtesy of BlankTerrMall.com

2. DON'T attach your dog's leash to your bicycle while riding. If your dog falls or tries to stop, he will be dragged along behind you. If you fall, he'll be squished under your bicycle. Yikes!
3. Let your dog stop and sniff at regular intervals, but it's okay to pull her along once in a while.
4. If your dog absolutely detests going on walks and you have to drag him all the way, look for other ways to give him exercise. These "other ways" include dog parks, the backyard, or simply carrying him halfway and setting him down on the ground. He will be trotting along-- in the direction of home-- in a flash.
5. Don't scold your dog while on a walk. That will just make her associate walking with negativity.
1. I find it odd how when people are in the city and walking their dogs and someone (me) comes along, they start scolding their dogs. Do they think it makes them look like responsible owners? It doesn't. It just makes them look mean and stupid.
6. Don't be too passive. If your dog is eating something off the ground or in danger of being hit by a car, you have to drag your dog away.
7. Be sure of yourself, as is necessary when dealing with dogs.
8. Don't bribe your dog with treats. This is not going to contribute to your dog's health.
9. Only let your dog off a leash if it is safe and you know he will not run away.

If we were all good to our dogs, dog-walking could be less of a pain and more of an adventure. Let us work hard to accomplish that.

Surviving Non-Vegan Meals with Family and Friends

Almost all vegans know the feeling: you arrive at a dinner at your friend's or relatives' house, walk through the door, and are suddenly smoted with the scent of roast beef. You blink, try to hold your breath, then realize it's no use and try to act normal, smiling and avoiding the kitchen. You eat the salad and some fruit as your stomach grumbles and whines for the hummus you left in your fridge. Still, every few minutes you find yourself glancing at your watch. Is it time to leave yet...?
This is an unneccessary bit of suffering that us vegans go through at first. Sometimes this twisted social scene drags on for years, like a really bad (but cruelly funny) soap opera that you long to stop watching, but just can't. (Not like I know much about soap operas, but still.)
The smart vegan knows that something has to be done about this-- and quick, too, unless you want to turn your friends and family away from you and animal rights. Instead of meekly going along to the barbeques and pizza parties without a say in the matter, here are some things that you could do instead...

Photo Credit of http://livesuperfoods.com/news/ten-rules-for-eating-safely/

Choice 1: Upon recieving an invitation to a fancy dinner with friends and family, contact the host/hostess to suggest vegan options to be served. Tell the chef that if he or she is not willing to cook a seperate entree, you could always arrive beforehand with something to heat up. If it is a potluck, bring your own vegan dishes (the more the better) for everyone to try. Don't hide that you are a vegan. Make sure that the dishes are absolutely delicious. You may be able to make some converts at the party if the food tastes really good, but don't nag. That'll only make it worse.

Choice 2: If it is an unavoidably meaty meal, such as Thanksgiving, and there is no hope of changing the hostess' mind, don't go. Don't let yourself suffer.

Choice 3: Try to convince the chef to make it an all-vegan meal. Go right up to the host's house with some delicous homemade vegan cookies and perhaps some vegan pasta salad to hold the talk. Show him how wonderful vegan food is. Don't set out to convert him permanently-- not just yet, unless he is open-minded to it. Focus all your attention on veganizing that one meal first. If he doesn't care about animal rights, tell him that you just don't feel comfortable surrounded by meat-eating. You may have to make a compromise-- for example, veganize the entree, but still serve cream-stuffed side dishes. Don't worry about this too much. You can't convert the world in a few hours, but you can help them to start to make the shift.

Choice 4: If these are really good friends just casually meeting up, insist that it be a completely vegan meal. They'll most likely do it for you. Come beforehand to help prepare, if neccessary.

Choice 5: If you are ordering take-out or pizza delivery, take everyone to a vegetarian/vegan place. There are vegan pizza places, too, you know!

Choice 6: If it is a barbeque, set up your own barbeque, loudly but good-naturedly proclaiming that cruelty-free alternatives are over here. Oh, and don't forget to bring the vegan burgers and vegan hot dogs, otherwise you might get a few funny looks!

Top 10 DON'TS:

1. DON'T eat animal products just to fit in. If you are having the temptation to, remind yourself of the abuse and slavery that the animals had to go through to end up on the platter.
2. DON'T force yourself to sit through something that is highly disturbing you. Every vegan has different levels of tolerance. You be the judge of what you can handle.
3. For goodness' sake, DON'T agree to bring animal products to a potluck or picnic. If someone asks you to bring the turkey, tell them no. Or, I suppose that you could sneakily bring a vegan turkey and not tell anyone that it is a mock-meat until they are already eating it. (Muahaha.)
4. Similarly, DON'T agree to carve the turkey. It's just wrong. You may not have harmed the turkey, and you may not be eating the turkey, but to take part in the process of meat-eating is not in accordance with a vegan's beliefs.
5. DON'T yell, scream, cry, turn over the table, or run out of the room if others are eating animal products. This will only earn you the label of "unstable" or, worse, "one of those crazy vegan fanatics". This will automatically make people less open-minded to you and your beliefs. They might even try to send you to a counsellor.
6. DON'T incessantly pressure people to go vegan on the spot, especially if they are eating meat as you speak to them. They will shut off to the animal rights philosophy, becuase they don't want to give up their meal part-way through.
7. If the conversation turns to your veganism, DON'T just call veganism "a personal choice" and be done with it. When people ask you questions about your lifestyle choice, it is becuase they are interested in it, and maybe they even want to try it out themselves. This is an excellent opportunity to (calmly and rationally) explain your beliefs. Before you go to any meal, work out what you are going to say about why you are a vegan. Take along a few leaflets and booklets with you to pull out if anyone is very interested.
8. That being said, DON'T scatter leaflets everywhere all over the house. Again, you'll be seen as rather unstable and the hostess will clean up all the leaflets anyway.
9. DON'T allow yourself to get into a heated debate about veganism with someone. Even if the other person started it, you have the power to come out on top by refusing to furiously argue.
10. DON'T sit through the whole meal without anything to eat. You don't want to give people the impression that you are a half-starved martyr or something. If you really are stuck (and you shouldn't be, given all my suggestions above), find a plain fruit or vegetable to eat, and help with chores (besides the meat-centered chores, of course) so that it is less obvious that you aren't eating much of anything.

To summarize: you can do it! Convert people if you can, but don't give people a bad impression. Don't make yourself suffer. Be courageous, but polite. Eating with others isn't such a drag once you get used to it, and it certainly loses its scary soap-operaness after a while.

For the Love of Horses...

For the love of horses, please do not go on a horse-drawn carriage ride this year. I know there are all too many opportunities to do so at heritage farms and museums, as well as in Montreal and New York City, among other places. But these horses-- especially the big-city ones-- are treated very poorly and are in for a lifetime of suffering.
According to the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages,

"The average working life of a carriage horse on NYC streets is under four years compared to a police horse whose working life is about 14 years. ... On the streets of NY, these horses are constantly nose-to-tailpipe and often show corresponding respiratory impairment. Because they are not given adequate farrier care, lameness is often a problem, especially walking on pavement. Horses must work in hot humid temperatures and in the brutal cold – nine hours a day, seven days a week and go back to stuffy stable where they have no opportunity for turnout. Many of the stables are firetraps with inadequate sprinkler systems and fire protective devices and only one means of egress. Most house the horses on upper floors, which makes it even more difficult to evacuate them if there were a fire. It is not unusual to see urine and feces stains on the horses. Because of their previous uses on the racetrack or on Amish farms, many of the horses come into this industry with preexisting injuries or arthritis and are forced to pull carriages containing heavy tourists – upwards of 7-800 pounds. When these horses are no longer fit to work the demanding streets of NYC, they are “retired” – many go to auction where their fate is unknown. “Killer Buyers” often buy these horses by the pound for the slaughterhouse. Horsemeat is a delicacy in some European countries."

 There is no reason to exploit the horse's strength in this way. Horses may be strong, but they are also delicate. These horse-drawn carriages are outright cruelty, comparable to the trail-riding industry, circuses, and zoos. It is much worse than cockfighting. (Don't believe me on that last one? Read next week's post to learn more. [But next week's post hasn't come out yet, so you'll have to wait!])

I love horses. They are another animal that I have been attracted to for my whole life (along with cats). This one doesn't look too happy, though. Maybe he's getting back at people for treating him like a slave...
Photo courtesy of http://www.extension.org/pages/15174/basics-of-equine-behavior

A Warning for Animal-Rights-Concerned Tourists

There are quite a few things that anyone concerned with animal rights should be aware of when on vacation this summer. Here are all the ones I could think of:

• This summer, I urge everyone to refuse to buy wildlife souvenirs. For example, if you are going to India this summer, please make sure not to buy anything made of monkey fur, tiger skins, ivory, etc. It sounds obvious, but honestly, it is so easy to get carried away with excuses of "just this once" while on vacation! This is especially crucial with endangered species, of course, so that they do not become extinct. However, following the animal rights philosophy, we must also boycott all other animal souvenirs while we are away. Many animals are actually raised just for this industry alone, which dispels all wishful images of some native hunter donating the scraps of a wild animal to the tourist industry.

• Another thing to look out for: the foods of other cultures! If you are going somewhere that seems exotic by your standards, you had better do research on what all the food names mean-- and write them down! For example, hummus may be a delicious chickpea spread, but haggis is a Scottish "food" made from the lungs, heart, and liver of a sheep or calf. (Once when I was about 9, my mom told me there was hummus in my submarine sandwich. I thought she meant haggis, and I freaked out and almost vomited. Mind you, back then I thought that haggis was actually minced calf brains, so maybe it's different.) It is importatnt to keep up your animal rights vegan diet while away. You might have to bring a few of your own foods for this.

Dog Meat, or Gaegogi (in Korean) for sale at market. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

• Pony rides, camel rides, elephant rides... You've really got to consider how this will affect animals. Most of the rides that tourists are allowed to go on are animals specifically bred and raised for this purpose. Talk about unfair...

If I've left anything else out, please leave it in the comments section. I'd love to know!