Moving Towards a Vegan Option in Canada

Hello everyone!

I wanted to give you all a quick update. You may remember two of my previous blog posts, letting you know about a petition calling on the Canadian government “to require public canteens under federal jurisdiction to provide a vegan option, and to raise this issue and work with provincial and territorial counterparts to require the same at all levels of government.” In practice, this means that a vegan option would be required to be served in all public schools, hospitals, prisons, and other public institutions. This is an important step that our country can take towards animal rights and vegan rights. A similar law is already in place in Portugal.

I didn’t start the petition, but I signed it and mentioned it on my blogs because this issue matters a lot to me.

In total, the petition received 3106 signatures from the public, and it was presented to the House of Commons on February 7, 2018. The government’s response was disappointing—basically, they implied that they don’t plan on taking action on this issue.

Fortunately, however, the dedicated vegan advocates who are working on this issue are not giving up! A new organization, Vegan Option Canada, has been founded to advocate for this new law. Vegan Option Canada is currently running two versions of their petition: an official paper petition and an unofficial, supplementary online petition. You can sign both, as the signatures for each petition are counted separately. You can access the online petition directly by clicking here. Check out Vegan Option Canada’s website to learn more about this issue and to find a paper petition near you.

Alternatively, you can order sheets of the paper petition so that you can collect signatures yourself!

I feel quite confident that this initiative can succeed. Let’s work together and make it happen!

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins by Carolyn Harris.

Update on Petition Calling on Canadian Government to Provide A Vegan Option at Public Canteens

Recently I received an e-mail from the House of Commons Electronic Petitions website notifying me that on February 7^th, 2018, petition e-1205 was presented in the House of Commons. The e-mail goes on to say, “You will be notified once a government response has been tabled.”

This is a petition that I mentioned on my blog previously—it was calling on the federal government “to require public canteens under federal jurisdiction to provide a vegan option, and to raise this issue and work with provincial and territorial counterparts to require the same at all levels of government.” You can see the full text of the petition here, although it is no longer open to signatures.

On the House of Commons website, it is mentioned that this topic was brought up as well, but it doesn't say if or how anyone responded to it. You can see what I am talking about here.

I am looking forward to seeing how the government responds. I will post on this blog again to let you know how they responded once I receive further information on the subject!

Next Steps for the Revision of Canada's Food Guide

Happy New Year, everyone!

Those of you who have been following this blog for a while probably have heard that Health Canada is currently in the process of revising Canada’s Food Guide, the government-created resource that provides dietary recommendations to Canadians.

Now that it’s 2018, I thought I would give a re-cap of what has happened so far in that process and let you know what Health Canada is planning for the process in the coming couple of years or so.

 

From October 24, 2016 to December 8, 2016, Health Canada held Phase 1 of the online public consultation in which Canadians could share their views and experiences about Canada’s Food Guide. During that time period, I wrote a blog post entitled “Fixing the Problems on Canada’s Food Guide”, in which I discussed why and how Canada’s Food Guide needs to change. I also included my response to a question on the survey that I completed for the first stage of the online consultation. Additionally, I had an Op-Ed published on the Epoch Times website called “Health Canada Should Recommend a Vegan Diet”.

From June 10, 2017 until July 25, 2017, the second phase of the online public consultation was held, in which Canadians could comment on some of the proposed dietary recommendations for the new Canada’s Food Guide. The proposed new Guiding Principles showed that Health Canada is planning on recommending that Canadians shift towards eating more plant-based foods. I wrote an in-depth blog post on the subject here.

 

The Government of Canada has also held some focus groups amongst Canadians to learn more about how they use the dietary recommendations. In one series of focus groups, participants were presented with a series of proposed “foundational statements” that may be used in Health Canada's dietary recommendations and were asked to give their feedback. The statements were as follows:

 

“Make it a habit to enjoy a variety of nutritious foods and beverages each day. Many foods fit healthy eating, choose those that you enjoy and that reflect your culture and traditions.

§ Choose mostly plant-based foods.

§ Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit, whole grains and some protein foods, especially those foods that come from plants.

 

§ Include foods that have healthy fats.

§ Limit processed and prepared foods high in sodium, sugars, or saturated fat. If you choose these foods, eat them less often and in small amounts.

§ Cook with foods that are lower in sodium, sugars and saturated fats.

§ Make water your drink of choice.

– Replace sugary drinks with water. (Option 1)

– Choose water instead of sugary drinks. (Option 2)

– Avoid sugary drinks. (Option 3)

§ Plain milk, unsweetened fortified plant-based or soy beverages can also be healthy beverage choices.

Healthy eating is more than the foods you eat. It is also about how, where, when and why you eat.

§ Be mindful of your eating habits

– Enjoy your food.

– Take time to eat.

– Notice when you are hungry and when you are full.

§ Plan. Cook. Eat together.

– Plan what you eat.

– Cook more often.

– Eat with family and friends often.

– Share your foods skills, food traditions and culture.”

It is encouraging to see that “plant-based foods” are mentioned in the first statement on this list, as well as “foods that come from plants” making an appearance in the second statement! Also notable is the de-emphasis of milk (as compared to previous Canada’s Food Guides) and the inclusion of dairy-free beverages. However, these things are not particularly surprising, as the previously-released proposed Guiding Principles already showed us that Health Canada is most likely going to recommend a shift towards more plant-based eating, anyway. Of course, I would like them to recommend that Canadians eat a purely plant-based, whole-foods vegan diet. That being said, these statements show a clear improvement over Canada's previous dietary recommendations, and that is something to be happy about. There is still definite room for improvement, however.

According to the Government of Canada’s website, in 2018, they will release “Part 1 of the new dietary guidance policy report for health professionals and policy makers, which will consist of general healthy eating recommendations”, and “supporting key messages and resources for Canadians”. In 2019, they will release “Part 2 of the new dietary guidance policy report, which will consist of healthy eating patterns (recommended amounts and types of foods)”, and “additional resources for Canadians”. It remains to be seen what exactly these resources will be like, but I’ll be sure to report on them for this blog once they come out!

Petition to the Government of Canada Regarding Food Policy

Recently I found out about a new petition that was posted on the Parliament of Canada’s E-petitions website. The petition, which is being sponsored by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, is calling for all public canteens under federal jurisdiction to serve a vegan option (and for the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to implement this law at their levels, as well).

The main part of the petition reads, “We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to require public canteens under federal jurisdiction to provide a vegan option, and to raise this issue and work with provincial and territorial counterparts to require the same at all levels of government.”

Judging by the way that the petition is worded, it sounds like, if the petition becomes law, this could lead to hospitals, schools, universities, colleges, prisons, and other public institutions to be required to serve a vegan option. This would be a win for vegans, for, as a matter of human rights, it is essential that vegans have access to vegan food. Furthermore, this law would help animals, as it would make it easier for more people to eat a vegan diet, and it could help to indirectly raise awareness about veganism and to help people realize what vegan food actually is.

In March 2017, Portugal passed a law requiring all public canteens (at hospitals, schools, prisons, etc.) to serve a vegan option. Canada needs a law like this, too!

Canadian citizens are able to sign the petition and read more about it here. The petition is open until November 29, 2017, at 2:32 p.m. EDT.

Photo copyright Carolyn H. 2017

World Vegan Day is November 1st!

World Vegan Day takes place every year on November 1^st, and the entire month of November is World Vegan Month.

The annual celebration started in 1994 on the 50-year anniversary of the first meeting of the Vegan Society in the UK, which took place some time in early November 1944.

According to the Vegan Society’s website, “In a natural progression, World Vegan Day evolved into World Vegan Week and now, what we celebrate as World Vegan Month, where vegans and veganism is celebrated in workplaces, shops, restaurants and in homes all over the world.”

In November 2017, to commemorate World Vegan Month, the Vegan Society will be releasing a new app called VNutrition, which helps people achieve their nutrition goals on a vegan diet. They also will be launching a new campaign called “Vegans on the Go”, which will aim to get more retailers to serve on-to-go vegan lunches. You can check out the World Vegan Month webpage here; here is their Facebook Page.

 

Of course, every day is a good day to advocate for a vegan lifestyle, but this special day is an especially useful opportunity to raise awareness about the “why’s” and “how’s” of going vegan, as well as to celebrate the lifestyle and those who follow it!

Here are some ideas of ways we can make a difference on World Vegan Day and throughout the month of November:

1) Obviously, if you aren’t already vegan, please go vegan. You can take The Vegan Society’s 30-day Vegan Pledge to help you go vegan as quickly as possible!

2) Share the Vegan Pledge with your friends and family, on your blog, and/or on social media.

3) On November 1^st, why not wish the people in your life a happy World Vegan Day? It may help spark conversations that could lead them to consider going vegan.

4) On social media and/or your blog, share something related to veganism and/or World Vegan Day. For example, you could share your own story of why you went vegan; a picture of a vegan meal you made; a link to the Vegan Society’s website; a vegan recipe; or even just a quick post saying “Happy World Vegan Day!”

5) Host a vegan meal or potluck for family, friends, and/or your local community. If it’s a potluck and not everyone attending is already vegan, make sure that everyone knows to avoid using any animal-derived ingredients in the food they bring; it can be helpful to ask people to bring an ingredients list.

6) Perhaps you could go leafleting, and wish passersby a happy World Vegan Day!

7) With your local vegan or vegetarian association, you could even help organize a talk from a vegan speaker or a vegan-related movie screening.

8) Bring vegan food to work or school, and share it with your peers. J You could just casually share it with them, or you could set up a table in a busy place where people can take the free vegan food and literature on veganism.

9) Try to get World Vegan Day or World Vegan Month recognized by your school or workplace. They could introduce a vegan menu in the cafeteria starting in November, for example (if there isn’t enough time for them to plan out a complete vegan menu in time for World Vegan Day, they can still start working on it by November).

10) If you’re a writer, write a letter to the editor, Op-Ed, or vegan recipe and submit it to a newspaper or magazine.

 

Have a great World Vegan Day and Month!

Published on Elephant Journal website: "Healthy Vegan Breakfast Ideas to Start the Day off Right"

I recently wrote an article that has been published on the Elephant Journal website. The article is titled "Healthy Vegan Breakfast Ideas to Start the Day off Right"; I hope it helps encourage people to go vegan!

Our Voices Are Being Heard!

Health Canada has proposed new dietary recommendations for Canadians, recommending a shift to more plant-based eating! You can learn more (and find out how to get involved) in my blog post on Vegan-Forget-Me-Nots at http://veganforgetmenots.blogspot.ca/2017/06/our-voices-are-being-heard.html.
Thank you for caring!

6 Ways to Distribute Vegan/Animal Rights Literature (besides leafleting)

Leafleting is a good way to get the vegan/animal rights message to people who otherwise might not see it. However, to those vegans who might not want to stand on a street corner and hand out literature to strangers, there are still other ways you can spread vegan/animal rights literature! Here are some ideas:

1. Place some brochures for your local vegan association, or some Vegan Starter Kit booklets, in the rack of free magazines and newspapers at your local grocery store. When people are grocery shopping, they are already thinking about food, and will probably be more likely to pick up a vegan starter guide than they would be at other times.

2. Place some leaflets, booklets, or brochures around your school or at your workplace.

3. Go to your local health food stores, eco-friendly stores, and other like-minded shops and ask if they will set out brochures for your local vegan association at the cash register. Now that veganism is becoming increasingly mainstream, you may find them very willing—or even eager—to see your literature!

4. Stop by the local library or community centre and ask if they will set out the literature.

5. Put up “Go Vegan” posters on telephone poles around your city.

6. Bring booklets, leaflets, and other literature with you when you go out—you never know when you’ll run into someone who might want some vegan/animal rights information!

Ten Things You Can Do To Help Animals Today

1. Print out posters advocating for veganism, and put them up on telephone poles and public bulletin boards around your city or University campus. Make sure to be aware of your local postering laws first! You can find printable posters online, or make your own, or order some from an animal rights organization.
2. Order some leaflets promoting veganism (or print them off your computer-- have you seen the ones I've designed?). Once you have your leaflets, hand them out to passersby on a busy street corner!
3. Write a letter to a local grocery store, restaurant, or cafeteria asking them for more vegan options. Remember to give them specific examples of vegan foods that will be used instead of animal products! One thing you could ask for is the new VeganEgg, for example.
4. Bake vegan treats and give them to your co-workers, classmates, friends, and/or family. Don't forget to tell them that it's vegan!
5. Order some animal rights stickers to stick on your laptop, wallet, or water bottle.* When you take these items into a public place, people who see them will be reminded of the animal rights and vegan ethic.
6. Write a Letter to the Editor or an Op-Ed on a recent vegan-related or animal-related issue, particularly if it's something about which the newspaper has recently published a story. Even if your letter doesn't get published, the newspaper staff will still see it and may be influenced by your message in some way.
7. Get some sidewalk chalk and write pro-vegan messages on the pavement outside (in places where it's legal to do so, of course). Bonus: if you take a photograph of your chalk creation, you can send it in to Vegan Chalk Challenge and they'll post it on their Facebook Page!
8. Put together a little booklet of your favourite vegan recipes to give to family and friends. Alternatively, you could make the recipes into an e-book, and then send the e-book to people by e-mail and/or post it on Facebook! Bonus: include photographs of the foods in your booklet!
9. Send a nice note or e-mail to your favourite vegan activists to thank them for the work they do. A thank-you letter can really make someone's day, and encourage them to keep working for animal rights.
10. The ideas I've given above are just a few ways to inject some activism into your everyday life, but there are also more long-term projects that you can do to help animals. If you have the time and energy for long-term activist projects, why not take some time out of your day today to brainstorm about how to combine your talents, skills, and interests for animal rights? For example, you may wish to start a blog, host a podcast, give presentations at local schools, write a book, start a vegan business or organization, or run vegan cooking classes.

If you're really keen to dive into animal rights activism, you could try doing one of these things every day for ten days! Or, just pick and choose from this list whichever activities you'd like to try. Thank you for working to create a kinder, and more just, world.

2017 Animal Rights and Vegan Conferences!

Every year, several conferences and events for vegan/animal rights activists take place across North America and around the world. These events can provide a forum for activists to network, learn about issues and advocacy strategies, and be inspired to make a difference! Below is a list of some of the animal-rights-related conferences that will be held in 2017. Please note that this is not a complete list, and, as I haven’t been to any of these events in previous years, I can’t say which ones are the best/most worthwhile to attend!

Animal Rights National Conference 2017: According to this conference’s website, the Animal Rights National Conference is the largest and longest-running animal rights gathering—the first one was held in 1981! It is organized by the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM). If you can go to only one conference this year, consider making this the one you go to. Here’s what they say you can expect:

“The Animal Rights National Conference is designed for people who wish to improve their animal advocacy skills or simply to network with other animal activists. The Conference offers a number of educational and networking opportunities, including:

• Sessions on animal advocacy, organizing, tactics, and issues
• More than 100 speakers from 60 organizations
• Eyewitness reports on key campaigns
• 100+ free exhibits
• Video premieres
• Newcomer Orientation
• Nightly networking receptions
• Awards Banquet on Saturday evening
• Closing celebration on Sunday evening
• Post-conference protests on Monday”

When: August 3 – 6

Where: Alexandria, Vermont (just outside of Washington, DC), USA

Vegetarian SummerFest 2017: This is an annual vegan festival and conference. The 2016 conference was jam-packed with world-renowned vegan speakers, cooking classes, fitness classes, vendors, and more!

When: July 5-9, 2017

Where: last year it took place in Pennsylvania.

 

 

International Animal Rights Conference: This conference took place in Luxembourg in September 2016. Their website does not yet mention if there is going to be a 2017 conference, but I speculate it is likely that there will be, as they have had six of these conferences to date.

 

Conscious Eating 2017 Conference: This conference, hosted by United Poultry Concerns and Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy, will focus on the ethics of eating and the role that religions play in the issue of animal liberation.

When: Saturday, March 11, 2017, 10am-6pm

Where: Berkeley, California, USA

Cost: $15/person (free for students)

The Anti-Fur Society Vegan Conference: This conference is focused on promoting vegan alternatives to fur in clothing.

When: Saturday, April 8, 2017

Where: Manhattan, New York, USA

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine "Food For Life" Training: Interested in getting certified by PCRM to teach healthy vegan cooking in your community? Anyone interested in this can register to attend the next training! This isn't a conference, but I've included it because vegan activists may be interested in it anyway.

When: Wednesday, May 3 - Friday, May 5, 2017

Where: Washington, DC, USA

 

Your local VegFest: Don't forget to find out when your local VegFest will be taking place this year!

There's also:

• The Animal Film Festival on February 25, 2017 in California
• The World Vegan Summit (date not yet announced) in the USA (I cannot confirm that there will be one in 2017, but it sounds like there will be)
• Animals and Social Change Conference from June 29 - June 30, 2017 in Liverpool, UK
• Conference on Animal Rights in Europe, which took place in 2016 in Warsaw, Poland (I don't know if there will be a follow-up conference to this)
• Animal Activists Forum 2017 in October 2017 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• Vevolution Festival 2017 (date not yet announced) in London, England

There is also an animal welfare conference taking place in Ottawa, ON, Canada in 2017. It doesn't look like it's related to animal rights at all, but if you live in Ottawa, it might be good to bring your vegan voice to that conference, to raise awareness! 

The events that I've listed above are the ones that I believe are the most relevant, but you can find a list of some other events at All-Creatures.org, and a list of some major vegan festivals at Vegan.com.

Veganism in Politics-- Britain's new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vegetarianism and Veganism

Good news-- in the UK, an "All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vegetarianism and Veganism" has been formed. This group will be made up of politicians from various UK political parties, and it will aim to promote legislative change that will have a positive impact for vegetarians, vegans, and the issues that matter to us (which may include "food and medicine labelling, vegetarianism and veganism as protected beliefs, impact of diet on climate change, and institutional catering provisions", according to the group's website,).

Photo from the Vegan Society's website.

The Vegan Society, the Vegetarian Society, and Vegetarian for Life are collaborating to form this group. The groups has four "Officers": Christina Rees (Labour MP), Kerry McCarthy (Labour MP), Henry Smith (Conservative MP) and Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party Peer).

I don't know whether all the Officers of the group are vegan or not, but I do know that Labour MP Kerry McCarthy is vegan, according to The Vegan Option podcast (see link below).

According to the Vegan Society,

"The APPG on Vegetarianism and Veganism will be a great platform for discussion and learning, with the aim of encouraging legislation change.

This will be a forum for exchanging ideas and concerns relating to vegan and vegetarian issues. Speakers will be present at each of the quarterly meetings, providing an insight to their various expertise. Experts, leaders in their fields and parliamentarians are all welcome to join."

As the Vegan Society mentions, "The APPG on Vegetarianism and Veganism is an important opportunity to get veganism on the political agenda."

I think that it's extremely important for veganism to be acknowledged in political forums. If we want to create a world in which all animals are free from abuse and exploitation, it's important for veganism and animal rights to enter all major areas of society, including (but not limited to) popular culture, industry, media, commerce, law, education, and, indeed, politics.

I'm glad that this group plans to put a focus on veganism, rather than farm animal "welfare" reforms. Although I respect my fellow vegan activists who take a "welfarist" approach to farmed animals, I never spend my time advocating for farmed animal "welfare" reforms. The problem with simply enacting more farmed animal "welfare" reforms (such as putting chickens in bigger cages, etc.) is that "welfare" reforms don't work to eradicate the underlying exploitation of the animals, and they often don't translate into a big change for the animals, anyway. Rather than encouraging people to go vegan and therefore stop the inherent cruelty of exploiting and killing our fellow sentient beings, arguing for farmed animal welfare reforms is ignoring the fact that exploiting and killing animals is fundamentally wrong. Although I wouldn't advocate against farmed animal welfare reforms, I believe we can save more of these animals and transition to a vegan world faster if we focus our energies on veganism and animal rights. I hope, therefore, that this group will keep the focus on veganism and the rights of vegans and vegetarians.

If you're interested in learning more about vegan politicians and how veganism has begun to make its way into the political realm, The Vegan Option podcast has a three-part series called "Veganism in Politics". Part 1 includes interviews with some vegan or vegetarian MPs from Britian, the US, and India who were in office at the time the episode was recorded. Part 2 has a Q & A with three vegan British MPs, and Part 3 is the recording of a debate in the British House of Parliament on World Vegan Day. You can also read about two more vegan politicians in a blog post on The Vegan Option's website here.

If you are a member of the British public and would like to attend the first meeting of the APPG on Vegetarianism and Veganism, you can RSVP on the group's website. If I lived in Britain, I would be very keen to go!

Fixing the Problems on Canada's Food Guide

Some of you may remember the blog post I wrote for the NCVA blog a little while ago, on teaching kids about healthy vegan nutrition. In that post, I mentioned how the dietary recommendations of Canada's Food Guide were influenced by the dairy, meat, and egg industries, according to this CBC article. For example, the 2003 version of the Food Guide was revised by a panel that included food industry lobby groups. More shockingly, when the 1992 revision of Canada’s Food Guide was released, the meat, dairy, and egg industries successfully lobbied the government to increase the recommended number of servings of these products, according to the CBC article. You can see the effect that these lobby groups had on the government-endorsed dietary recommendations in the article "Canada's Food Guides from 1942 to 1992" on the Government of Canada's website-- in 1982, the Food Guide had 2 servings of "Meat and Alternatives" and 2 servings of "Milk"; but in 1992, these numbers increased to 2-3 servings of "Meat and alternatives" and 2-4 servings of "Milk". These new, increased recommendations continue to exist on the most recent Food Guide to date.

Canada's current Food Guide consists of four food groups: Vegetables and Fruit, Grain Products, Milk and Alternatives, and Meat and Alternatives. In school, children are taught that the recommendations on the Food Guide comprise the fundamentals of a healthy diet. Growing up, I, too, assumed that the Food Guide was based upon scientific fact. More recently, however, science has been finding something different: meat, dairy, and eggs actually increase the risk of many chronic diseases, while a vegan diet is a very healthy way to eat and can prevent certain diseases.

Although many vegan activists are already spreading the message about the healthfulness of veganism, it isn't just activists who are willing to point out the health benefits of an animal-free diet. Here are some statements on veganism and plant-based diets from just a few high-profile organizations around the world:

• Dietitians of Canada: "A healthy vegan diet has many health benefits including lower rates of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer."
• American Dietetic Association: "It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases."
• World Health Organization:
• "Specific recommendations for a healthy diet include: eating more fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and grains; cutting down on salt, sugar and fats. It is also advisable to choose unsaturated fats, instead of saturated fats and towards the elimination of trans-fatty acids."
• The WHO has declared some types of meats to be Group 1 carcinogens (right up there with cigarette smoking) and Group 2 carcinogens.
• According to a study conducted by students at the University of Oxford, if the world went vegan, millions of human lives would also be saved due to dramatic reduction in the incidence of chronic disease: "A global switch to diets that rely less on meat and more on fruit and vegetables could save up to 8 million lives by 2050, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two thirds, and lead to healthcare-related savings and avoided climate damages of $1.5 trillion (US)... ...They found that adopting diets in line with global dietary guidelines could avoid 5.1 million deaths per year by 2050. Even greater benefits could come from vegetarian diets (avoiding 7.3 million deaths) and vegan diets (avoiding 8.1 million deaths)."
• British Dietetic Associaton: "Well planned vegetarian diets [including vegan diets, which they mentioned as a form of vegetarianism] can be nutritious and healthy. They are associated with lower risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, certain cancers and lower cholesterol levels."
• United Nations Environment Programme: "A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products." (Found on page 82 of this document, or page 84 of the PDF)

Based in the United States, an organization of medical professionals called the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine more actively promotes a vegan diet as a way to prevent and reverse chronic disease. They've devised a new food guide made up of "The New Four Food Groups", which include Fruit, Vegetables, Legumes, and Whole Grains.

Click on the image to see it in full-size!

When one combines the health, environmental, humanitarian, and, of course, animal-related reasons to live vegan, it becomes obvious that the government ought to start supporting it, too!

So, why am I telling you all this? Well, Health Canada is now working on its next revision of Canada's Food Guide. From October 24, 2016 to December 8, 2016, Health Canada is holding an online public consultation on the Food Guide to get the public's input; all Canadians are welcome to submit their opinions through the Government of Canada's website.

In Mid-2017, the government will present a revised version of the Food Guide to the public, at which time Canadians will have another opportunity to provide their feedback on the revisions. After that, the new materials will be published.

I've already completed the questionnaire. On one page of the questionnaire, I was asked whether I find the current four food groupings in the Canada Food Guide helpful. I clicked "no", and then a box came up asking, "Why do you say that?"

Here was my response:

"I don't bother using the Food Guide, because the current recommendations simply doesn't apply to vegans like myself. The Food Guides' current food groupings are actually promoting ill health among Canadians. Furthermore, the current Four Food Groups are not at all accommodating for vegans and others who follow a dairy-free diet.
Dairy is not essential to the human diet. Although it is the perfect food for baby cows, it simply was not designed for human consumption. Some may claim that dairy is healthful because it contains calcium and protein, but the fact is, there are plenty of healthier plant-based sources of protein and calcium available. According to the Dieticians of Canada, calcium can be found in abundance in leafy green vegetables, fortified soy products, tahini (sesame seed butter), and many more vegan foods; protein can be obtained from soy products, beans, grains, nuts, and nut butters, to name a few.
According to the Dieticians of Canada, “A healthy vegan diet has many health benefits including lower rates of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.” (Source: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vegetarian-Diets/Eating-Guidelines-for-Vegans.aspx)
I would like to propose 4 new food groups: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, and Legumes/Nuts. The latter category combines the current two food groups of “Dairy and Alternatives” and “Meat and Alternatives” into an overall “Plant-based Protein” food group. The Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine, an organization of medical doctors in the United States, also promotes this idea (Source: http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vsk/vegetarian-starter-kit-new-four-food-groups).

I hope that Health Canada can start promoting healthy eating in the ways I’ve mentioned above. I also hope that Health Canada can specifically mention the word “veganism” as a healthy diet on the Food Guide itself."

I also gave more information, such as statistics on the environmental benefits of veganism, in response to another one of their questions.

In addition, one thing that Health Canada seems to be focusing on in this revision of the Food Guide is reducing sugar consumption. If you are going to be filling out this survey, you may wish to point out that dairy products are actually quite high in sugar-- for example, there are 13g of sugar in one cup of 1% M.F. cow's milk.

That being said, we must not hesitate to voice our ethical views about veganism-- if Health Canada is aware that people are vegan for ethical reasons, they may be more likely to accommodate vegans in their next version of the food guide.

If you believe that veganism should be better represented and promoted on the Food Guide, please consider taking a few minutes out of your day to fill out the questionnaire. Feel free to copy and paste the quotations from the organizations I've listed above in your responses.

Thank you for caring!

Printable Vegan Environmental Brochures!

Hi everyone!

I've created some more brochures that promote veganism; these ones have a focus on the environment this time. Please feel free to print them and give them out to your environmentally-conscious friends, and/or hand them out while leafleting at environmental events!

The brochures can be downloaded (for free, of course) here.

Photo Courtesy of Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals

Opinion Article: "Canada's Food Guide Should Recommend a Vegan Diet"

An opinion essay I wrote, titled "Health Canada Should Recommend a Vegan Diet", was published on the Epoch Times website on November 2-- you can find it on the Epoch Times website here.

Although the Epoch Times website makes it look like I wrote this Op-Ed on behalf of the NCVA, please note that I only wrote it as a representation of my own opinions.

A longer blog post on Canada's Food Guide is coming soon!

Logo of the Epoch Times

Bringing Education on Plant-Based Nutrition into Schools

I have recently written a blog post for the National Capital Vegetarian Association's blog (I'm currently a member of the NCVA's Board of Directors) that discusses and shares some resources for bringing education on plant-based nutrition into schools. The resources that I linked to in the post are in English, and in the comments section, I've also linked to some that are in French. You can find my post at https://ncva.ca/2016/09/04/giving-kids-a-plant-based-education/
Have a great day!

My New Printable "Why Vegan" Brochures!

Hi everyone!

Lately I've been working on writing literature on animal rights and veganism. One of the things I've written is a brochure called "Why Vegan?". In the brochure, I discuss the reasons for going vegan and  include some details on how to make the switch. I also provide links to other websites, so that people can learn more! I've used some of Jo-Anne McArthur's beautiful photos of animals and humans (since she allows advocates to use her photographs as long as they give her credit for her work) in these leaflets, so they are visually attractive, too!

I created these brochures because I felt that there weren't enough options of leaflets out there. I wanted to hand out leaflets that were non-graphic, that promote veganism unequivocally, that focus on the underlying values of veganism, and that would appeal to people in the mainstream.

I have recently made a brochure for the National Capital Vegetarian Association that is very similar to this one, but that one isn't available for download through my blog. If you live in Ottawa, you might see the NCVA version being handed out at events, however!

You can find my brochures at Google Drive at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzC9bTdfS67Pb1VnYldFWXFHUmc/view?usp=sharing

Feel free to print off my brochures and hand them out, if you'd like-- let's spread the word about compassion and justice, one leaflet at a time! :)

Free Downloadable "I Am A Vegan" Posters

Hi everyone!

Want to put up more posters advocating for veganism? I've created some downloadable posters that you can print off your computer and put up around your city or town! Each poster says, "I am a vegan..." and then gives a reason to go vegan. Some of them are in colour, while others are not. There are five of them in all. Thanks to Jo-Anne McArthur for letting me (and all other animal rights activists!) use her lovely photos!

To give an example, here is one of the posters:

To download all of them, see the PDF here!

Thanks, and keep advocating for the animals!

A Big Announcement

Hello everyone! Today I have a big announcement to make... I'm starting a new blog! It's called Vegan Forget-Me-Nots, and it's a blog on which I will share my latest activism projects and provide resources for other animal rights/vegan activists.

I felt the need to start a new blog in addition to this one because I wanted to start a more focused "homepage" of sorts for my activism-- one on which people can be easily find videos, posters, and other content that I'm making.

I am still going to keep posting sporadically (as I have been doing) on The Animal Rights Action Site, however. I started writing for this blog when I was 15, and have been keeping at it for nearly the past 5 years! This blog has been a useful place for me to develop my writing skills and spread the word about animal rights, and I'm so glad I have kept with it for so long. I love this blog, so don't worry, it isn't going away!

On Vegan Forget-Me-Nots, I am working on a project called "Reasons To Be Vegan". I'm making (a) video(s) and posters for this, so please check out my new blog and sign up for e-mail updates of new blog posts!

You can find it at http://veganforgetmenots.blogspot.ca/ .

Have a great day!



Copyright C. H. 2016

Why whether or not one eats meat is not a "personal choice"

Sometimes non-vegans say that vegans shouldn't try to convince others to go vegan, and that "eating meat is a personal choice" that vegans should respect. But is eating animals really a "personal choice"?
I don't think it is. Here's why...
To begin, let's define "personal choice". In this context, a personal choice is a decision that does not harm or seriously affect anyone else, so the individual making the choice has the right to do as they wish, without anyone else intervening.
But eating animals-- and supporting the cruel and exploitative animal industries in general-- does harm others. It harms the animals. Animal agriculture is responsible for the imprisonment, torture, exploitation, and murder of billions of animals every year.
Whether you are a vegan or a non-vegan is technically a choice, but it is not at all personal. It affects others. For this reason, although I respect individuals who eat meat, I do not have patience for the choice to eat meat. I don't try to aggressively push veganism on people, because I respect the personal space of others. However, when people tell me that they eat meat, I don't simply smile and shrug and say "it's a personal choice", either. Instead, I politely mention that veganism isn't as hard as many people make it out to be, and then let them change the subject if they want to. If they do want to engage in conversation about veganism, I am all too happy to talk about it, though!