Vegan FAQs

No, honey is not vegan.

2011-04-25T09:52:00.001-04:00

There. I said it.

You're vegan, which means that you're judging me.

2010-01-19T09:00:00.002-05:00

This one isn't quite a statement, as much as it is an observation. It's a culmination of so many different questions, that it's hard to pinpoint it to any one of them, which is why I've tagged this one with so many of the questions. To be honest, I've been uncomfortable with addressing this issue for a while now, but I figured that I'd better, or else I'm letting the issue get the better of me.

Before I move forward, it may help to give a bit of background on my own journey to veganism. I was born and raised as a vegetarain. My mother would take the family to various vegan potlucks. I knew what veganism is from a very early age. I may not have known their full reasons for it, because as a kid, people mostly feed you platitudes like, "I'm vegan because animals are my friends." To a 10 year old, this is not only condescending, but also unhelpful.

My own reason for being vegetarian didn't come to light until I'd questioned my mother about it, who later on thought it over, and came back to me with, "We don't like to kill animals. It's not right." "Oh, so that's why dairy is OK, right?" "Yeah, exactly."

It was the best I had at the time, and I went about my life blithely unaware of the intricacies of it. Finally, I heard Bob and Jenna Torres, of Vegan Freak fame, go through and explain it in terms that made sense to me. It clicked in my head, but not completely. It had to sort of percolate in there, and I had to make the leap when I was good and ready for it. When I did, there was no turning back. It's been one of the easiest decisions I've ever made.

Notice what I said there. Easiest decision that I have ever made. Not my husband. Not my parents. Not someone screaming angry slogans at me in the streets. The decision that I made, after weighing the arguments in my own mind, and coming to my own conclusions.

At the end of the day, you're going to have to live your life on your own terms. If you're comfortable with what you're doing, then there's really not much I can do to change that. If you're not comfortable with what you're doing, you might want to examine why.

Either way, realise that I have extremely limited mental real estate. At the end of the day, I haven't got the time to judge you. You're doing a fine job of that on your own.

Would you make an exception because I cooked it just for you?

2008-12-18T09:17:00.003-05:00

I'm a cook, and for me, food means more than just nourishment (although that is an important factor!), so I sincerely understand where this sentiment comes from. When I cook for someone, however, I always take into account their needs. My dear friends Blue (name changed) and Lilly both despise tomato. This means that when they come over to eat with me (or we eat out together), I ensure that there's no tomato to be had in their food. I have other friends who are watching their weight. When cooking for them, I either omit the fat, or severely restrict it, so that they can enjoy themselves too.

These two scenarios are based mainly on likes and dislikes, and things where the only person whose life is affected is the person making that decision. It means that if you truly did care about me, you'd ask me what my likes and dislikes and needs are. It's not about you (when you're cooking something for someone else), it's about the person who's going to be eating it. Just as I wouldn't serve peanut butter sandwiches to someone with a gluten and nut allergy, I'd ask that you don't serve animal products to a vegan.

Unfortunately, the animals that you killed to make me that "special something" didn't have a choice in the matter. That's the worst part of it all.

What Does it Mean to Do "Enough"?

2008-06-29T22:24:00.004-04:00

Hey Everyone,

P_M here again, this time with a specific user in mind, so if someone with the s/n "anastasia" is reading this then thank you for your review of my last post and this is for you.

The question I'm answering today is a bit specific. I personally cannot tell you, the individual reader I've never met, what it means for you to do "enough" for the the sake of the billions of non-humans that face death and exploitation everyday on this planet. I can't tell you what to do or how to do it, because lets face it, if I did I'd be a stuck up power mad authoritarian jerk or just a person with way too high an opinion of herself and an overestimation of her influence. That said ,what I can do is give you some questions to ask yourself next time you feel hopeless or powerless.

Next time you watch an Animal Rights video and get that feeling like you aren't doing enough, ask yourself these questions, and remember... "enough" is standard based on love. Think about it. If someone you love almost if not more than yourself gets sick, enough becomes no less than everything you can possibly do to comfort and assist them, right? But if one those distant relatives whose names you'd forget if they weren't on your Christmas card list gets sick, enough might be a prayer and cheap get-well card. If you want to get technical about it "enough" also has a bit to do with the severity of the situation, our moral responsibilities to other beings and other factors but, as I happen to be a bit sentimental right now, I'll say that love has a bit to do with how a person looks at those other factors. (you may feel free to agree or roll your eyes at me, but since you're still reading this I can only assume that on some level you care what I think)

Any way, These are the questions that you should ask yourself to help you assess whether or not your doing enough for the cause of Animal Rights.

1. Am I vegan? - step one to taking down animal oppression is always a bit obvious (STOP SUPPORTING IT). this is the one I'd insist on. No, vegetarian isn't gonna cover it. No, don't even step to me with "cage free" "humanely raised" "read fairy-tales to and cuddled before killed" products. Going vegan is the "prayer and cheap get-well card" equivalent from my example, using the example of a sick person, anything less ranges from ignoring them to slapping them.

2. What good am I doing already by just answering yes to the first question?
3. Knowing the answer to the previous question, do i feel the need to do more? - remember this one

(If you answered yes to the last question keep on reading, if it was no, congrats your doing enough for you)

4. What do I feel comfortable doing ( leafleting, feed-ins, screenings of AR films ect.)?
5. Am I doing it and doing it effectively to inform the public of what they are supporting (factory farming, animal agriculture, legalized murder/torture) and what they can do to help stop it ( go vegan)?
6.Am I making time to do non-activism related activities that I love and other things ( like eating and sleeping as i should and not abusing the animal that I can help the most (yourself)?
7. What good am I doing by answering "yes" to question 5?
8. repeat question 3 and note in ( ) that follows it
9. If you answered yes to question 5 and still feel that you must do more, (which, if you did what i asked in #8, and are still reading is the case) Is there anything else I can actually do? - get creative.
10. Can I do it without answering "no" to question 6?

If at any point in time you answer "no" to question 6, stop!!! You're doing too much. you're probably a wonderful person to feel such a need to help, but if you burn out...well...how much can you really help anyone?

Don't let anyone (yourself included) make you feel like a bad person or a lazy activist because your definition of enough involves less activism than someone-else's. And you're not obsessed or radical if "enough" for you means doing more than others either. Like I said, It's a standard measured in love, and any amount of love, or effort, is important and has meaning far greater than what we can see in the moment.

I hope this helps,
yours ( because doing this is part of my "enough"),
Plant_Murderer

PS. anastasia, don't give up the art if you love it. It'll keep you sane. Thanks again (for the idea for this post)

Commitment and Me, or How Important is it to stay focused?

2008-05-20T17:18:00.002-04:00

Hey All,
P_M back after what feels like a long struggle with commitment, namely my commitment to Animal Rights, and in part to my status as a proud, and joyful vegan. ( the vegan part never faltered, the "proud and joyful" part got side tracked).

At the tail end of this struggle, I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of how to focus on activism and veganism and not block out other interests, or to let my other interests stop me from being the best activist I can be, but here's what i've learned so far.

There has to be a balance.

veganism encompasses so many parts of who I want to be, that I sometimes obsess over it and while making Animal Rights the center of my world felt good for a bit, it also made me resent the podcasts and chat rooms i'd loved before. After a while, it was like that fifth container of Toffuti soy ice cream, too much of a great thing.
Likewise, not having enough animal rights in my life made me feel like I was losing a part myself.

I dont know what balance will mean for you but figure it out and keep it in mind. It'll keep you from burning out and ward off friends who try to say that you're a fanatic or a zealot.

Its important to stay focused, but if you drive yourself to distraction trying to be all vegan or activist and dont leave room for every other part of who you are, you wont be focused you'll be insane.

yours as long wanted and allowed,
Plant_Murderer

I eat moss. Apples and moss.

2008-05-05T18:45:00.004-04:00

Lentils for special occasions.

VEGANS EAT FOOD. Yes, I screamed that. And when I say 'food', I do not mean sticks, I do not mean plain raw tofu, I do not mean dry iceberg lettuce with sprouts. I mean foooooooooooood.

Let's start with some breakfast food you might should you find yourself an herbivore. There are delicious and nutritious vegan alternatives to non-vegan breakfast foods you may be used to. Many cereals (even a lot of the sugary, popular ones) are “accidentally vegan” and you can just pour soy, rice, almond, or one of the other many vegan milks out there on top of it. Scour your local health-food store for brands of vegan waffles, because they do exist, or find a recipe and make your own. Same for pancakes – a surprising amount of regular mixes are vegan and you can simply use non-dairy milk/butter with them. Make toast and spread it with jelly, peanut butter, or vegan butter/margarine. Make a smoothie with fruit and soy yogurt. Spread a bagel with vegan cream cheese or peanut butter. Have a bowl of oatmeal (most brands are vegan) with dried fruit and peanut or cashew butter in it. Have some granola like the hippie you are. Scramble tofu with spices and veggies. Take that scrambled tofu and throw it in a tortilla with potatoes and vegan sausage for a breakfast burrito. Top a rice cake with nut butter and fruit. Fruit by itself is always a good, light, healthy breakfast. Make muffins the night before and heat a few up in the morning. Break out of the breakfast mold and just heat up leftovers from the night before – I love having miso soup for breakfast. If you’re in a hurry, take a banana and a bag of dry vegan cereal with you – take a bite of the banana and then dip it in the cereal, it’ll stick. You can also find individual juicebox-style soymilk cartons to take with you. One meal down, and did I use the word 'sprouts' at all?

Lunch and dinner I'll lump in the same category. There's much than salad, that’s for sure. Not that salad isn’t great and healthy. But salad is just one of the many, many things that vegans eat for dinner. A vegan cookbook, or even a veganized recipe from a non-vegan cookbook, is a great place to start. But you don’t necessarily need a cookbook every night. Like with breakfast, in most cases you can simply replace what you used to eat with its vegan equivalent, and there are also a lot of delicious vegan dishes that don’t rely on these substitutes. Use mock beef crumbles in pasta sauce instead of beef, or just leave them out and use nice fresh tomatoes and herbs. Make quesadillas or burritos with roasted vegetables and beans. Have a bowl of soup made with veggie broth instead of chicken or beef broth. Top a baked potato with vegan sour cream, vegan butter, broccoli, mock bacon bits, nutritional yeast, or whatever other toppings you can think of. Stir-fry veggies with rice or noodles and teriyaki sauce. Make veggie and seitan kabobs. Use beans in chili instead of meat. Explore different ethnic foods you may not have tried, like Indian, Mediterranean, Thai, or Japanese food. Peanut butter and jelly is a classic. Mashed potatoes can be made with vegan butter and non-dairy milk. Replace chicken with seitan in casseroles. Use silken tofu instead of eggs in quiche recipes. If you want comfort food, try macaroni and vegan cheese. Roast potatoes with olive oil, rosemary, pepper, and salt. Marinate tempeh in barbeque sauce. Have a sandwich with vegan lunchmeat slices. Grill portobello mushrooms and serve on buns with fries. I'm done thinking. No twigs.

Snacks are of course important. Let's see...popcorn with nutritional yeast (Act II Butter Lover’s is ironically vegan, or make your own), grapes, bananas, pretzels, granola/energy bars, fruit leathers, melon, a bagel half with peanut butter, soy yogurt, frozen juice bars, trail mix, peaches, applesauce, crackers, oranges, pita/veggies and hummus, cherries, chips and salsa, peanuts, cashews, almonds, or other nuts, dried fruit, oven fries, apples and peanut butter, sandwiches, cereal, rice cakes, plums, muffins, vegan ice cream sandwiches, graham crackers, vegan nachos, salad, or rice crisps.

Vegans! eat! food!

You're so brave/strong/etc.

2008-05-05T17:32:00.003-04:00

I really do not understand why this even comes up. So many times have I told people about my veganism, or heard stories of others doing the same, only for the person to say "You're so strong!" or something along those lines. I understand that this person is just wrapping their head around the idea of veganism, the idea of giving up some convenience for some principles, and that if you've never really been vegan it does seem like a gargantuan choice with lots of struggle, but, really....

it's not.

Are you strong for not enslaving another human being even though it would be easier for you to have someone else do all your work?

Does it take courage and grit for you to not use gender epithets (e.g. slut, skank) even though other people around you may do so?

I don't wake up in the morning biting my lip, thinking about all the challenges I've brought upon myself for being vegan, glad I've got moral steel instead of mere moral fiber.

I just wake up. I wake up and live my life in line with my ethics, square against the things I think are wrong and cruel and shameful, celebrating the things I think are good and true and beneficial for the world. That's all I do. That's what veganism means to me, and it's not hard at all.
It seems hard to non-vegans simply because it doesn't seem ethically necessary to them. It seems difficult to me to, say, never wear the color green because one thinks it's unethical. I can't wrap my head around why wearing green would be morally wrong, so, to me, it seems unnecessary, overly hard, and I think a person committed to not wearing green would indeed need some fortitude. Same thing with being vegan! An omnivore can never truly step into a vegan's pleather shoes (without ceasing to be an omnivore), so the task of consuming absolutely ZERO animal products might seem daunting, but for us it's the exact opposite. It's just what we do. Hell, it would take strength for me to not be vegan! It might be more convenient, sure, but silencing my conscience would take pounds, tons, endless amounts of strength, far far more than being vegan ever would.

"The Animal Was Already Dead (By the Time It [S/he] Reached My Plate)"

2008-04-26T15:50:00.002-04:00

I'll respond to this in two ways.

Response 1:

This statement might be true if you scraped roadkill off the highway and ate it. (Although even then, there is a valid argument that you should leave the heap of rotting flesh to the scavengers who are truly dependent on it.)

The meat on your plate (and, indirectly, the eggs and dairy products on your plate) came from animals who were created and killed only for one reason: You, and others like you, were going to buy the flesh, bodily fluids, and eggs from the animals. In other words, you are financing - in effect, dictating - that those animals be killed. They are killed because of your demand.

If you stopped eating meat, fewer animals would be killed. If many people stopped eating meat, the number of animals killed would drop precipitously.

The choice is in your hands: You decide whether animals are going to be bred and killed for your pleasure.

Response 2:

You're not that stupid. You know this rationalization is bogus. Imagine an alien shooting and killing you, chopping up your body parts, and feeding it to another alien who says "The human was already dead."

You may not be an expert on animal agriculture, but you know that animals are killed because the meat industry can bank on people like you buying the killed animals' flesh.

So I have to ask, why bring up such a flimsy, illogical, unsupportable defense? I think it's ultimately because you have a conscience. You know at some level that killing - and inflicting torture - for pleasure is wrong. Instead of confronting that harsh realization, you make up woefully unconvincing excuses. It's an avoidance mechanism.

With full respect and best intentions, let me make this proposal: Don't fight your conscience. Superficially, maybe you get some satisfaction from making up excuses for doing something that you know is wrong. Maybe they're even clever sometimes. But you're not fooling yourself or anyone else - or the victims. Moreover, it's never really satisfying when you engage in activities that you know deep down are morally troubling. There is still turmoil inside, and one way or another, it will manifest itself, and it could be ugly and could get in the way of your leading a fulfilling life.

Give in to your conscience. Thank God and/or biology that you have one. It is perhaps humanity's best feature, and saving grace. Follow your conscience, honestly, even though it may be difficult at times, and you're likely to have a truly satisfying life, and help others - humans and non-humans - do the same.

"Since I can't prove to myself that they feel pain, I should treat them as if they don't feel pain."

2008-04-07T16:20:00.003-04:00

This is a selfish, oppressor-centric viewpoint. The more moral stance is:

"If there is more than a remote chance that they feel pain, I should treat them as if they feel pain."

As pointed out in the comments in the previous post, the argument shown in this post's title is sometimes used by people who want to exploit bees for their honey.

Since bees are sentient, avoid danger, possess memories, make choices, learn about their environment, communicate with each other in fairly sophisticated ways, and appear to have interests that they pursue, there is more than a remote chance that they feel pain. They may also derive pleasure from gathering nectar, or from discovering a meadow of newly-opened blooms and leading their hive members to it. They may have a will to live; they certainly take measures to escape from harm.

When considering whether our non-essential, easily avoidable actions may cause pain to other beings, the benefit of the doubt should go to the most vulnerable, the ones who have the most to lose, the ones who would be forced to make deep sacrifices because of our demands.

Consider that:

- Most marine biologists now agree that fish feel pain; 50 years ago that was not the case. (Recent studies also show that fish have individual personalities, use tools, play games, and have long-term memories.)

- Two or three generations ago, a majority of scientists thought that non-humans were incapable of emotion; that position has been completely overturned.

- In the 19th century, when the animal experimentation industry started, researchers claimed that animals were automatons; the animals' screams in response to being tortured were merely mechanical sounds.

- Only in the last 10-15 years have scientists in any number concluded that chickens, with far smaller and simpler brains than humans, not only have impressive cognitive skills and a sense of the past and future, but a rich emotional life.

- Recent scientific research supports suspicions that lobsters, crabs, and other crustaceans feel pain.

We have consistently underestimated animals' sentience and, particularly, their capacity for suffering and experiencing emotional states.

Some humility would be in order.

(Actually, I suspect that our intuition about animal sentience has been fairly on target throughout the ages; it's our science and reasoning on this matter that has been deficient, or blatantly self-serving.)

Suppose we assume that bees feel pain and we're wrong. What is the cost? Honey in our tea and on our toast. An indulgence. A pleasantry. Agave nectar and other sweeteners are excellent substitutes. In other words, the cost is trivial.

Suppose, on the other hand, we assume that bees don't feel pain (perhaps because the notion suits us) and we're wrong. What's the cost? Widespread infliction of pain on helpless beings, for no good reason. And possibly an irrecoverable deficit in our moral obligations to fellow sentients.

But our relationships with animals, and with other beings who are less powerful than us, are more than utilitarian equations. By developing compassion and empathy for individuals across a vast spectrum of species, we foster peace - both inner and outer. We cultivate harmony and goodwill. We rejoice in our kinship with the sentient creatures with whom we share the earth. We become allies, partners, and friends with animals, not oppressors and dominators. Our hearts are gladdened not by extracting resources from them, but by seeing them thrive, and helping them fulfill their goals. Their satisfaction is our happiness. We have no desire to exploit them or steal from them, or to look for excuses for doing so.

Living in peace with our nonhuman neighbors provides benefits that are profound, mutual, and non-violent. Enslaving nonhumans for their flesh, reproductive capabilities, or bodily functions provides superficial, fleeting benefits that are extracted at the expense of the enslaved, and that produce inner turmoil and less-than-honest self-dialog in the enslavers.

The assertion that victims of our exploitation do not feel pain is a defense mechanism. It is a self-protective, weak rationalization to control and plunder for pleasure. Spreading our compassion as widely as possible, following the golden rule to the best of our ability - basically, living according to our deepest morals - rids us of exploitative desires and the need to conjure up justifications for morally questionable behaviors.

Thoughts on Honey

2008-04-06T19:06:00.001-04:00

Farming bees for honey is essentially an act of domination. You can have bees, just as people running farm sanctuaries can take care of chickens, but things get... hm... 'sketchy' once you begin to take the things that they make. And bees make honey for themselves - namely, for their pupae. If you're taking that honey, they may not have enough to sustain the hive - that's one reason for CCS. Another is the idea that, because commercial bee farmers often take all the honey and give back only sugar water, the bees have been physically and psychologically susceptible to diseases because of that deficiency.

Taking honey from bees is an act of violence... It is an act that says, 'because I can, and because I 'own' you, I will do this.' It is might makes right all over again. Is veganism not against that? Is veganism not against all exploitation of animals - be they cows, mollusks or even bees? Why call yourself vegan if you do not subscribe to its implicit ethics - that animals are not ours to exploit? That animals are not ours to brutalise? That animals are not ours to steal from, however 'nicely' we may do it?

If I am correct, and eating/taking honey is an act of violence against bees just as is taking an egg from a chicken - for, by taking the egg from the chicken, you doom her to a short life of osteoporosis and nutritional deficiencies - then eating/taking honey is morally unacceptable.

It is acceptable, however, to begin colonies on your land to support your land without taking the honey. In this way you become symbiotes. In this way you become, not necessarily friends - which cannot happen when two live in such different worlds - but allies nevertheless. Just as it would be acceptable to put up birdhouses, it is acceptable to take care of bees - because you do not steal from them...

If they pollinate your fruit trees and plants, and if you eat those fruits and plants but do not take their honey, then you are truly symbiotic. You need each other, and you live in peace with each other, rather than either of you taking what was not made for you, but for someone else.

It boils down to this: you are an exploiter even if you exploit 'nicely' - so why not just not do it?

What About Plants? And the Topic of Sea Creatures

2008-03-18T00:20:00.004-04:00

For starters, let me just say that the "What about plants?!?!" question strikes me an awful lot like, "What about the men?!?!" whenever somebody brings up a feminist topic. There doesn't seem to be a genuine interest in the ethical implications of it; it's just a way to distract the question-asker from their own underlying feelings of guilt and threatened privilege.

Now. Ask yourself: do you honest-to-gods believe that cutting up a head of lettuce and cutting up a live, unanesthetized dog is the same ethically?

If you do, let me just say that you don't need to be on the internet. You need to be on a video with the caption, "This is what drugs did to me."

Now, since you likely do not believe that at all, let me ask you: why? Well 'cause, guess what, likelihood is that you don't really think that plants feel pain, just as you wouldn't think that bacteria (also alive by a scientific definition) feel pain. That's an important consideration. Just because something is alive does not mean it feels pain. While I have been told by several now-graduated students of marine biology that, in fact, most sea critters do feel pain because they possess, rather than a central nervous system, a "nerve net", plants have no nerves whatsoever. You can't use oysters as your scapegoat (hah) in this situation.

If there is nothing there to feel pain, if there is nothing there to feel at all, why worry about it? One only needs rights if one possesses emotions; rights only apply to those who will suffer if they do not have them.

Life, liberty, and bodily integrity. These are the three basic, essential rights of my moral code to any being with a self.

"Self" need not be humanlike to be important. Yes, sure, we know that we have selves, and we can recognise them in other mammals, avians, reptiles, amphibians and cetaceans where we cannot so easily recognise them in sea creatures. That doesn't matter; just because someone is different from you doesn't mean that they're unworthy of those essential rights.

However, again, there has to be something there.

Most people who honestly think that there might be a chance that plants feel pain point to the book The Secret Lives of Plants, which contained the results of a "study" (I use this word loosely) on plants that supposedly showed that they feel things and/or think. I'll note here that the author has actually not allowed anyone else to replicate his experiments through the withholding of information about his method, therefore it is extremely unlikely that it was true in the first place.

Another "study" was done on a plant using a polygraph test that supposedly showed "reactions" in the plant with random events. Now, if you know jack shit about polygraph tests, the results might in fact seem plausible. However, I do know something about polygraph tests. They are the so-called "lie detector test" machines, and they rely on the measurements of three physical characteristics that plants do not have: heart rate, skin perspiration, and... damn, I forget the last, but I believe it was muscle tension.

How the hell would you be able to tell anything from a test that depends on criteria that your subject doesn't even have?

But really, let's get back to why we're really being asked this question, which goes back to my first point: this is a distraction. It doesn't really matter if plants feel pain - the ones we're discussing are animals.

First, if you were really serious about plants feeling pain (which you're not), then you wouldn't eat animals because animals need plants to grow and you'd be eating several dozen to hundreds of times the plants that you would need to go directly into your body to sustain you - calorie expenditure, after all - in fact, you would be morally obligated to become a fruitarian so as to never cause plants pain again, which is also vegan.

Second, even though you can't fix everything doesn't mean you can't stop the pain you directly or indirectly cause others through your intentional actions. Or, put another way: just because you can't be perfect doesn't mean you're excused from trying to be better than you are. Life is, as they say, a series of trials and tests. You either grow as a person or you go back to the starting block because you keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

It is, however, the second that leads people to ask this question. So to all of you who have this question to ask, I say:

Stop fucking making excuses and go vegan.

Because the animals don't care about your excuses.

"The Indians Killed Buffalo and Used the Whole Animal. When I Eat Meat, I'm Honoring Indians."

2008-03-05T16:00:00.004-05:00

The Plains Indians of the 19th century didn't have the same choices as us.

The greater lesson of the Indians referred to in the title quote is not that they killed buffalo, but that given their constraints, they obtained their food and clothing in the most sustainable, least invasive way. To follow those principles today means to go vegan.

The Indians didn't kill buffalo gratuitously. To kill animals strictly for pleasure, as is nearly always the case when we eat meat, dairy, or eggs in the "developed" world and have some awareness of alternatives, may in fact be quite disrespectful to the memory of the Indians. The same should be said for severely confining animals, mutilating them, and distorting their bodies to be obese and top-heavy or to overproduce milk and eggs - all standard practices in modern animal agriculture.

The buffalo of lore ran free. But even if you consume no animal products other than those from free-ranging animals you kill yourself (which rules out virtually everyone in the Western world), from an environmental standpoint alone you're still irresponsible. If everyone hunted, we'd kill off all the wildlife and create an ecological disaster in no time.

Here's another way that eating meat (especially beef) and dairy dishonors Indians. In the 1880s, ranchers took over much of the land on which the Indians lived. Often the takeover was violent and deceitful. The Indians were killed en masse and relegated to reservations. The ranchers imported huge humbers of cattle, who chewed everything in sight and displaced native flora and fauna and greatly reduced biological diversity. In some cases, thriving ecosystems were turned into dry, dusty deserts. To support the beef or dairy industries is to add insult to the Indians' and the land's injuries.

One more thing I should add is that I'm quite sure that some of the people who claim to be honoring Indians when they eat meat don't seem to be that knowledeable about Indians, or care much about them, or mention them in other circumstances. In other words, the whole Indian thing is often just another seat-of-the-pants excuse. It's much more satisfying, and honorable, and honest, to be as kind and respectful as possible to all sentient beings, and to strive to leave as small an environmental footprint as practical, and in almost all cases in this neck of the woods, that means - among other things - transitioning to a peaceful plant-based diet. In that way you'll honor all life.

The Environmental Problem With Honey

2008-02-27T12:13:00.005-05:00

The problem with honey is not that it's not raw. The problem with honey is not that it's not organic. The problem with honey is not that it's fair trade.

The problem with honey is not that we're doing it wrong. The problem with honey is that it's honey.

See, a lot of so-called raw "vegans" don't know this, but the problem is honey itself. The problem with Colony Collapse Disorder is just one in a long string of problems with the honey industry, starting with the idea that other creatures on Earth are ours to do with as we wish. (That's speciesism, dear, and real vegans are against that shit, sorry to pull the Real Vegan stuff with you - but it's not just a diet. It's ethics.) The next problem came when we started domesticating bees, historically a sign that things are gonna go real bad real soon. And once we started domesticating bees, like farmed salmon, we began crowding out - environmentally, food-wise or just in terms of space - the native bees. This is always a dangerous precedent: once you have a breed of "good ____ producers", you tend to use that exclusively, and so do all your neighbors, until finally you have very little diversity.

You can see where this is going, right? Listen to me: the reason that CCD is happening at all is because humans commercialised bees in the first place, and then continued doing it. To me, it's perfectly natural that CCD would occur, given that commercial beekeepers usually take all the honey, or most of it, and then feed the bees on sugar water over the winter. (They also tend to kill off most of the bees during this time, too. And we were saying that honey was vegan how... ?) See, if humans are take this supposedly "life-giving" honey, then the bees are not getting it, they're getting an inferior substance to the stuff that they have been "designed" to produce for themselves throughout millions and millions of years. I honestly wonder how we could have done a better job of precipitating CCD.

So yeah, dudes. It's your fault that we have CCD. Stop eating honey, because eating "raw, organic, fair trade" honey is NOT going to make the problem go away - it'll only make it worse!

And a note for the health nuts (and by "nuts" I mean actually insane, because their logical faculties clearly have been bamboozled by the nutzoid but highly charismatic David Wolfe):

Yes, honey is full of digestive enzymes. They're bee enzymes, not human enzymes. Cow enzymes would probably be as useful to us as bee enzymes, you know. (Yeah, I'm not actually promoting eating cow vomit, I'm just pointing out that little logical fallacy, there.)

So, short answer: when you eat honey, you destroy the environment as well as bees' lives and humans' claim to being a species that can make moral decisions.

Are Feathers And Shells Vegan?

2008-02-24T14:45:00.007-05:00

Hey All,
This is PM here to give my answer to a question many of you will be asking as summer draws closer. You want to know if using / buying / collecting shells / feathers is vegan. Short answer: NO!!!!!

Here's the part when some one says "But PM, why not? It doesn't hurt the birds or the sea creatures. They weren't gonna use them. Can't I take what is essentially their trash and recycle it?"
To understand why it's not vegan to use shells and feathers maybe it would be prudent to have a small science lesson.

Shells - Lets expand our definition of shells, because lets face it from sea shells to tortoise shells there are alot of varieties we could talk about. To quote wikipedia "A shell is a hard, rigid outer layer developed by a wide variety of different animal species, including mollusks, crustaceans, turtles and tortoises, armadillos, and microscopic organisms.Shells are used for protection, locomotion, defence, structure or in ways that relate to feeding."

Please note the "mysterious" absence of uses like decoration, or to entertain bored humans. Like most things in nature shells have a role to play, some animals use abandoned shells for shelter, and even if the shells aren't used over time they are weathered down and reworked into other parts of the natural world that created them. similarly...

Feathers- Feathers insulate birds from water and cold temperatures. The individual feathers in the wings and tail play important roles in controlling flight.
As to what the feathers just laying around are for, well to put it simply: They're for the birds. Birds will often use found feathers in making nests.
now the tricky part about feathers is that found feathers aren't the only sort you're likely to come across.

Don't forget down: the following info on down comes from Veganpeace.com : Most down is plucked out of live geese. The geese are put through extreme agony when pluckers tear out several ounces of their feathers. about 5 weeks after having been plucked, the geese will have grown new feathers and are sent through a machine which will pluck their longest feathers. After this they will go to the slaughterhouse.

The Point: The animals don't make their feathers and shells for us to use. Using them is making the statement that it is ok to use animals and their creations. It supports the idea that they are commodities. Besides... I could be wrong but doesn't the whole concept of Veganism center on not using animal products if it is in our power to chose an alternative? There is no life or death choice involved in this case. Because, where shells and feathers are concerned, it is always in our power to seek an alternative, it's never vegan to use them.

As always this is just my sensible opinion and not the universal one,
Yours as long as wanted,
Plant_Murder

The Plant_Murderer's Plea for Innosence

2008-01-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

Hey, This is PM here ( well duh , right?), anyway this is the one that any of you with an overly developed sense of irony have been waiting for.

I, the plant murderer who for safety reasons must remain nameless, do hereby come before the court and plead innocent on all charges relating to the supposed murder of various members of the plant kingdom. In the absence of my lawyer, I cite the following reasons as to why this case should be thrown out and why, if the proceedings stand, I am innocent.

Exhibits A-PM : The definition of the term murder: the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought.
My Defense:
Despite my misnaming moniker ( non-fitting name) it is impossible to murder a plant because a plant is not a person. They don't feel, they dont have a sense of themselves, they don't feel pain. they are not people.

Besides, if we don't eat them the broccoli will take over the world.

Seriously: If plants had feelings then:
walking across your lawn would be genocide.
kids could opt out of flower dissections on moral grounds.
and there would be humanly harvested spinach on sale at Whole Foods.
+
all meat eaters would STILL be more guilty than most vegans.

when you eat meat you support the killing of all the tons of grain that got filtered through the animal prior to slaughter.

I rest my case. So Judge, what's the verdict?

Hoping there's good vegan food in prison,
Plant murderer

PS. The name is my way of being ironic and funny. the joke is that if you've been vegan for a while and told anyone then you've probably been hit with the plants have feelings line, and therefore been accused of being a Plant Murderer.
PPS. Read the other post on this topic, it's good and scientific and wasn't written by a 17 year-old trying to be funny.

Isn't Being Vegan Difficult?

2008-01-16T04:13:00.000-05:00

Any current difficulties with being vegan -- such as having to decline cake at birthday parties, answering "Where do you get your protein" questions once a week, or knowing too much when you drive by cows grazing -- are society-imposed, not intrinsic.

It's profoundly more difficult to make excuses for inflicting avoidable violence on innocent beings, or to deny it, or to try and not think about the consequences of your actions, or to fend off your conscience. That wears on you, one way or another.

The difficulties in being vegan that one must endure for the time being are miniscule compared to the compassion generated, the suffering spared, the justice restored, and the peace of mind gained.

(Inspired by the previous post.)

Isn't Being Vegan Inconvenient?

2008-01-07T19:20:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

This is PM here to tackle a question that I must confess is a bit of a problem for me when I'm asked in person.

I went vegan less than a year ago. When I went vegan, I was sixteen and didn't know how to cook or follow a recipe. A teenager to the core, I didn't know how to plan meals or how to anticipate my food needs when grocery shopping. When I first made the switch, my dad left me to save up lunch money for meals. That was inconvenient. Trying to go vegan without support from my family and subsisting on saved up lunch money for a food budget was inconvenient;but being vegan isn't about family enforced poverty. My mom sent me care packages and I eventually moved in with her, problem solved.

That's it. That's my big inconvenience story. I don't feel inconvenienced when restaurants become exercises in patience, or when I've read the whole ingredients list only to realize that it said it had dairy in it in bold print at the bottom. I don't feel inconvenienced when by best-friend gets in a fussy mood and calls me a rabbit-food eating hippy or when I have to bring my own lunch to school every day. Those small and acceptable consequences are the trade-offs that I hardly notice for looking at the pay-out.

As a vegan, and an activist I am doing more to help the world than I ever thought I was capable of. I'm learning to think for myself and what it means to believe in something and to value life enough to change who I am to protect it. I'm healthy. I'm not meek anymore ( ask the vegan freaks : meek vegans suffer). Looking at all of that I can only think that being an omnivore, or at least being who I was as an omnivore was more inconvenient than anything veganism has thrown my way.

Being vegan can be anything from in-expressibly amazing to insufferably alienating, but for me at least, it's not inconvenient. It's a big part of who I am and things like label reading and lunch taking are part of how things are. Does that make sense? Well that's how I see it, and i can't explain it better.

yours till Bush grows a brain,
(like that's going to happen),
Plant_Murderer

Who wants to marry an omnivore? or "Vegansexual?!?"

2007-12-31T18:12:00.000-05:00

Hey All,

For the last time in 2007, this is P_M here to give my point of view on the whole "vegansexual" thing. For those who you who either don't know, or can't guess vegansexual is a term coined to represent vegans who only sleep with other vegans. Before I continue I should mention that it is a preference and therefore individual ( I don't speak for every vegan living or dead so don't think that anything i say holds true for all of us).

now that the disclaimer is out there, I will say that while I would not have sex with an omnivore. I will never refer to myself as "vegansexual" because I think the term is insipid and unneeded. there is no term for people who don't kiss smokers , or for Christians who don't date outside of their religion, so why should there be one for vegans who would rather not have physical relationships with omnivores.

At present, my dating policy is that I'll go out on a first date with anyone I find worthy, omnivore, vegan, vegetarian, republican, whatever. if the person is vegan then the relationship will progress normally, and if it's meant to be ( it's an old saying go with it) there will be wedding bells and little vegans corrupting the world. If the person is not vegan, things get interesting.

If the person i'm going on this hypothetical first date with is a vegetarian, then i'll try to encourage them to go vegan and if they do, it's all good, if they don't then as things start to get serious i'll talk with them and level about my desire for a vegan household and if they are willing to comply (order non-vegan food at restaurants and keep it out of the house/ raise the kids vegan) then the relationship will progress if not...bye bye, it was nice while it lasted you cheese addicted little something or other.

if the person is an omnivore it works the same way, because I couldn't be with someone for a long time if they could kill or condone / support the killing of sentient beings. Life is too precious to me to spend it with people who throw it away for the sake of taste.

But what about love? someone reading has got to be thinking that right now. well, love could lead me to compromise ( allow him to keep non-vegan items in a small section of the refrigerator) , but love is an unpredictable variable. i like to think that love involves sharing values on some level, and that my expression of those shared values as veganism is something that the man i end up with will share. it takes more than love to build a lasting bond with another person. Besides...

Asking me if i could love a speciesist is like asking you if you could love a white supremacist or a sexist or a racist. Could you love and marry someone who you didn't think was ethical or morally sound in their actions towards others?

to wind this up, let me say that I know the term vegansexual is usually purely centered on sexual relations, but in this post I've opted to extend it to refer to long term relationships and marriage, because thats where I thought it most relevant to me ( I'm one of those classy chicks who need a ring before i let a guy go there), hope I haven't confused anyone with the term stretching.

thats all for now,
comment so I wont forget why I do this, ( or even so I'll know that you think I should do it better),
yours till I'm not anymore,
Plant_Murder

Where Do You Draw the Line?

2007-12-22T13:44:00.000-05:00

What about plankton? What about bacteria?

I draw the line below cows. Below chickens. Below pigs, turkeys, sheep, goats, rabbits, and all the other animals on farms.

Below fish. I don't say that for shock value. The evidence - scientific and observational - is overwhelming that fish are sentient, feel pain, make decisions, and seek happiness. They appear to experience fear and anticipation, and in all likelihood they possess a wide range of emotions.

Don't worry about where the line is. You don't need to know exactly where the line is to stop killing animals who are clearly sentient, feel pain, have the capacity to experience joy and suffering, and have a will to live.

Where do you draw the line for assault? Rape? Murder? Any form of moral transgression has gray areas near its boundaries. But we don't defend assault, rape, and murder by saying "Where do you draw the line?" We don't commit grand larceny just because we can't precisely pin down where one draws the line for theft.

Try to be as kind, non-violent, and non-exploitative as possible and you won't be concerned about where the line is. Try to make the boundaries of your compassion as wide as you can.

I strongly suspect that "Where do you draw the line" is not so much a serious intellectual inquiry as it is a delaying tactic or a reflexive, defensive response. You're probably a decent person and to be reminded that you're participating in the wholly avoidable killing and torture of innocent animals hurts. It's normal to come to your own defense.

I would advise asking yourself honestly what it is that keeps you doing this and prevents you from moving toward a more compassionate and non-violent diet. Common factors are habit, ignorance, and fear.

Habit. You started eating meat, dairy, and eggs when you were a baby, and it's what you're used to. You practically have a "muscle memory" at this point: You go to the store and almost automatically pick up chicken breasts or ground beef and a carton of milk.

Ignorance. You don't know what you'd eat if you were a vegetarian. (The variety is almost endless - really.) You think we need to eat meat. (We don't and in fact, our bodies process it quite poorly.) You may think animals on farms are treated well (they're not). You may think cows need to be milked (they don't) and that we don't kill laying hens (we do, when they're quite young). You may think that farmed animals are killed swiftly and painlessly (it's actually quite brutal).

Fear.

You may be afraid that a vegetarian - or to be more precise, vegan - diet will be strange and unsatisfying. (With the plethora of good-tasting meat, dairy, and egg substitutes on the market, you can transition to an animal-free diet without changing your routine or cuisine much at all. But I recommend expanding your horizons or you'll miss out on a world of tasty flavors. A vegan diet is very satisfying both in terms of variety and healthfulness of food and the fact that you no longer have to engage in denial or unconvincing rationalizations for killing and inflicting suffering on animals.)

You may be afraid of not getting enough protein. (You'll get plenty of protein, as well as other nutrients that you may be short on now, and you may very well lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. Unless your new diet consists of nothing but tortilla chips and Dr. Pepper.)

You think you could never give up cheese. (Trust me. After six months of no cheese - and possibly much sooner - you'll see cheese as a big glob of unappealing, fatty, artery-clogging animal secretions, with added pus from mastitis infections. One reason is that cheese contains concentrations of casomorphins, which have a narcotic effect. Within a few months you clear your body of the cravings. But if you must, there are some good vegan cheese substitutes.)

You may not see yourself as a "vegetarian" or "vegan." Perhaps you think that only pasty-face aging hippies or spoiled in-your-face radicals are veg*ans. (I say this with love and respect: Get over it. Be who you are, just a kinder version. Don't worry about what your friends think. You'll probably unintentionally make them feel guilty. Simply explain what you're doing with confidence but respectful understanding of their unease. They'll come around.)

There are a million sites on the Net, and plenty of groups and cookbooks and brochures and starter guides for showing you how to reduce and eventually eliminate - as much as feasible in this society - the animal products from your diet. The main barriers are psychological. But those can all be overcome. Where there's a will - not to mention sufficient resources and support - there's a way.

I grew up a die-hard meat-eater. I had all the aforementioned habits, ignorance, and fears. I'm not Superman, I don't have super-human willpower, I'm not into eating bland rice and steamed vegetables every night, I'm not a great cook, I'm not into hackey-sack, I like jazz and I think the New England Patriots are having a phenomenal season. If I can become vegan, so can you. And when you do, not only will you not ask questions such as "Where do you draw the line," but you will probably respond to them just like I'm doing now. Do the right thing, and good luck. Remember, help, support, and information are two or three clicks away.

Why Are Omnis So Frustrating? or Why are vegans so angry?

2007-12-15T15:02:00.001-05:00

hey all,

this is p_m back after a long war with my ineffective computer to talk about why vegans are so angry. to start off let me tell you about a couple of my very omniverous classmates.
The two of them are the most considerate omnivores one might ever hope to meet. they apologies when they mention meat around me, ask me frequently if it will bother me if they should happen to show a picture of someone eating meat or eggs or dairy in a class project, and one even makes a point of saying that she "would" go vegan if not for x then apologizing for both consuming said non-vegan x and for mentioning the vile thing in my presence.

the two of them annoy the crap out of me. they do their best to avoid offending and in the process tend to make me feel as if my very presence is making them feel like murderers(which it should and if it lead to them going vegan i'd cope but anyway). while they over compensate and i reluctantley console them i'm left with two more people that are nice and intelligent that i cant stand to be around.

dont get me wrong people being too considerate isn't the only anger causing obstacle vegans have to face.

SOCIETY AT LARGE IS SUPPORTING MURDER / DEATH/ TORTURE / THE MAKING OF SENTIENT BEINGS INTO NOTHING MORE THAN THINGS OR COMMODITYS!!!!!!

that is fucked up. really fucked up. and they ( if your vegan) or you ( if your not) seem to get it even though its in their/ your faces at nearly every moment of life.

it's like being the first one of your friends to stop believing in santa claus. it's so obvious you want to shake them all, hell sometimes you want to straight up slap the sight from their eyes and the sense into their heads. it's a pain, literally.

vegans are "so angry", because omnivores are so oblivious.

finally let me tell you about my family. at thanks giving my uncle greeted me with "your looking vegan today" and the food that my mother and i made enough of for everyone, which took hours of time and effort and planning, was set in a dark corner next to the bones of some poor turkey and proptly labled "vay-gun" food and therefore distasteful.

ask me again why vegans are so angry...i dare you.

yours till the grand return to Vega ( which i know is not a planet for who ever didnt get the joke),
Plant_murderer

ps. go vegan, the hardest parts have little to do with the lifestyle and much more to do with omnis.

Here's what's really hard

2007-12-10T01:27:00.000-05:00

Here's what's excruciatingly difficult - impossible, actually: Participating in violence against animals when it is so easily avoidable. I know how badly the animal wants to live, and the meaning he or she gets from life, and I know animals' capacity for pain and suffering, and I know right from wrong, and the Golden Rule. I know I have a profundity of vegan options. I could cook something different for every meal just from browsing the Internet, and have a hugely satisfying and diverse vegan diet - and I'm not kidding and I'm not exaggerating.

I would have difficulty living with myself if I knew I was contributing to the misery and death of animals simply for pleasure, or out of habit, or because I felt like it, or out of moral laziness.

I desire peace of mind - as we all do - and I can think of no more surefire way to achieve that than by doing good, by doing right, by being as kind as compassionate and respectful of life as I can, by being non-violent, by obeying the golden rule.

Knowingly engaging in violence against innocent animals - that's hard. No matter how good you are at rationalizing or denial, deep down you know you're doing something unmerciful, unkind, unjust, and wrong. That catches up to you one way or another.

Being vegan is easy. It's beyond easy - it's simply the right thing to do. It's deeply satisfying to bring your diet in line with your morals.

On dealing with other people...

2007-11-25T18:21:00.000-05:00

Also known as the freak out.

I think most vegans have had at least one, if not more.

I remember my first one vividly. I was grocery shopping. (This might be a good time to insert that I hate grocery shopping, or shopping in general.) I usually stock up on things like soy milk because they have a fairly long self life. I had some tofu, some soy yogurt, soy milk and some other veggies. The woman in front of me in the check out line asked if I was lactose intolerant. The exchange went something like this.

Annoying Lady (AL): So you must be lactose intolerant. It's too bad you have to buy all that expensive stuff.

Me: No, I am vegan.

AL: So you don't eat meat? Do you eat sea food?

Me: No.

AL: Why?

Me: (sounding like Satan) Because I don't think that animals or anyone else should be forced into slavery.

Could I have handled this better? Yes. This woman, who really was not that rude, most likely thinks that all vegans are psycho. Oops.

I have had a couple more and I try not to beat myself up over them. I mean really, I can only take so much poking and prodding before I lose it. What if I asked omnivores to justify their meat consumption to me at every turn? What if I would have asked AL what it felt like use murder to get her food? This is what it is like for a vegan every day. We are constantly asked to justify why we eat the way we do.

I have another example. My husband is an omnivore (I don't want to hear it, that's for another post) and we went to a vegan restaurant in Chicago. He is really trying very hard, but had noooooo idea what to eat. I asked him how that felt. I then let him know that's how I feel every other time that we eat out.

Are you one of those vegans who wants the world to go vegan?

2007-11-23T11:11:00.000-05:00

Ofcourse I am!
What kind of vegan wouldn't dream of a world without animal abuse, but with everyone's belly being full, with acres of lush woods in the Amazone, with healthy, beautiful people and no more bloodshed?
When I tell people of my veganism, some of them look like they want to run away on the spot, scared of another lecture on how vegans are better. I respect that you don't want to hear about chicks being de-beaked, male chicks being shredded (!!!), cows being raped, ...
So I try not to make it so obvious when I slap it in your face!
Because, hell yeah, you're gonna hear about it.

Next time you're eating scramble, I'll whisper that there are 5 chickens in one cage the size of a letter...
Next time you show me your nice nex leather boots, I'll tell you about Indian cows being dragged across the border to die.
Next time you eat a juicy steak, you'll hear about what it feels like to get a heart attack. In detail.

I'm sorry. I can't help it.
It's because I love you and want you to a healthy and good person, not because I have it in for you!

How Do You Handle Sudden/ Unexpected Cravings?

2007-11-22T23:19:00.000-05:00

hey inquisitive people! the Plant_Murderer has returned with some advice.

Cravings.

we all get them at least once and there are a myriad of wonderful substitutes for the lucky fellow who, because they are the personification of a walgreens commercial, happens to be fully stocked with the right one at the right time.......

but life doesnt always indulge the prepared. to put it simply *stuff* happens, and sometimes you find your self staring down an omni food that you want more in that moment than you have ever wanted anything in your life. thus, we have this article: How Do I Survive When its here and I'm here And I Feel Like I'll Die If I dont Get It or Immediate and Strong cravings sans substitutes.

The 4 step plan

#1 : Get the _ _ _ _ Away from it - if all you can smell or see is the thing you crave saying no will drive you crazy, get out of the immediate area surrounding your craving. if step 1 isn't followed step 2 will kill you or at least harm your self control
# 2 : Get Calm- calm your self and relax while taking a moment to think about the source of your burning desire for _______ and what the consequences are if you give in, and how that action would affect your sense of self worth.

# 3: Get Active- dont sit around thinking about wanting it, write, draw, plan to get a hold on that substitute
# 4: Get gone - leave the place where the craving had you in its grips and get some fresh air ( if possible do this when the craving hits the other steps assume that you are stuck in the place with the craved object or food item.

there is no real way to satisfy a craving in the moment sometimes but that plan may just help until you can get out and get satisfied. i tried the plan last week during an impromptu in class pizza party and it worked for me so... here's hoping you never need use these skills but if you wind up doing so, then good luck, they should work :)

Yours if you comment,
P_M

Isn't being vegan really inconvenient?

2007-11-14T15:12:00.000-05:00

At first, not having so many options when it comes to being a consumer might seem a bit daunting, but once you know your stuff and get a little organised, it's really quite incredibly easy!

There might not be quite so many ready meals out there, but once you learn to cook (can I use this oppurtunity to plug my other, food blog for easy recipes for beginners here? ;) ) you can make large batches of food and freeze or refridgerate some and then heat these up later for those times you are busy, tired and can't be bothered cooking- voila!- ready meals!( plus home cooking is generally a whole lot healthier than ready meals too). You can also take these into work for packed lunches if your work has a microwave, and sometimes even have your omni colleagues wondering what the nice smell is.

As far as eating out goes, you soon get to learn what local places carry vegan options (and do a happy dance when you find them!) and if you're going out for an event with omnis, many places will make a vegan meal up for you so long as you call in advance and explain what a vegan is to them. Even if you're stuck, you can carry snacks in your bag to nibble on (ie nuts, seeds, Nakd or Lara bars etc) until you get home and heat up that yummy thai curry you put away in your freezer earlier.

As far as toiletries and cleaning materials go, I usually bulk buy everything I need from the co-op (a UK chain of supermarkets who are BUAV approved and clearly mark their products as vegan, not to be confused with US co-ops!) or online stores like veganstore.co.uk (who also carry obscure grocery items like nutritional yeast, powdered soya milk etc). By bulk buying every few months I keep travelling or postage costs and time to a minimum.

As you can see, a little bit of organisation makes a vegan lifestyle quite easy and convenient.

Cravings

2007-11-12T14:54:00.000-05:00

What if I crave...

animal flesh (e.g. chicken, beef, pork)

There are several "fake meats" out there; heck, there are even "fake turkeys" for Thanksgiving! Search your local health food store. Also, try experimenting with tofu, tempeh and seitan: bake it, fry it, steam it, grill it, sauté it. It'll be "chewy" and dense enough to give a similar satisfaction--without the cholesterol, without the murder.

sea animal flesh (eg. fishes)

Dino recommended this: scout for nori, hijiki, and dulse. It'll bring back that briny taste of the sea in no time. Add some tofu, maybe, for some denseness, if you so prefer. Otherwise, stick to sea vegetables, also like sea kelp, etc. Top it over brown rice=HEAVEN.

eggs

Get soft tofu, then scramble it. Voila: scrambled tofu, aka "scrambled eggs"

Baking? Use an overripe banana, then mash it up--you get the emulsifying quality of an egg. Another alternative would be soaked flax seeds. Very nutritious, too.

cheese, yogurt, ice cream

Cheese-- Besides "soy/rice cheese", even better, look for nutritional yeast. Add some mustard, soymilk, a little salt, some olive oil/spread, heat everything, and voila, you'll have your very own "cheese" dip, with the same taste, and none of the pus and cholesterol.

Yogurt-- You can make your own by buying a "culture", or if that's too difficult, look for soy/rice yogurt in the dairy section of your supermarket: they're there; seek, and you shall find. If you worry about probiotics, there is an alternative you can take which is kombucha. They're pretty pricey, but you can make your own. There are books out there, even websites that spout their benefits. Again, ask your local health store staff about them.

Ice cream-- There are alternative dairy-free varieties, like the Rice/Soy Dream variety, or from Turtle Mountain, NadaMoo...Again, they'll be found at the freezer section of either your supermarket or health food store. Also, why not try sorbets? They are even more refreshing, plus they clear up your taste buds.

honey

Look for agave nectar in your local health food store or maybe even in your local grocery's sweetener section. Made from the agave cactus, it's pretty sweet, and to me mirrors the taste of honey best. There are other sweeteners out there like maple syrup, and stevia, but I think agave nectar is the best replacement for honey. Seriously, even as honey has all those health benefits, honey is for BEES; it is their food, their source of life. With the epidemic of bees leaving their hives now, it simply isn't cool to ingest more honey, thereby supporting the honey industry and robbing bees of food. Besides, honey=BEE SALIVA. Um, gross?

*****
Another thing to ask: are you getting enough nutrients in your body on a daily basis? It would be highly beneficial to invest in a good multivitamin, especially with a high amount of B vitamins in them, as they are normally found more in animal flesh/by-products.

The whole plant kingdom is at your disposal. There are a plethora of nuts, seeds, pulses, green leafy vegetables, juicy fruits, in a variety of sizes, shapes, tastes, and textures. Everything our bodies need can be met right here; no need to look to the animal kingdom. Lower on the food chain=lower energy expended--ecologically, physically, even monetarily. And more to ingest, which isn't a half-bad deal at all, I think.

I confess I crave sea animal flesh, and sometimes, the occasional sharp smelly cheese. My parents are gourmand omnivores, and I grew up in a tropical archipelago, where fresh seafood is not difficult to come by and the sea or some body of water (clean or dirty) is never too far away. So amidst all the omnivores is me, the vegan. And it IS hard (see previous post), but I think of how badly depleted the sea bio-system is due to overfishing, and destruction of habitats caused by fish farms and dynamite fishing, and how cows are kept pregnant to keep producing milk, kept chained, standing on cold stone floors year in year out until they are depleted and then killed... so I just STOP. That, and grab a B-12 supplement!

So stay vegan!

BUT if you fell off the vegan wagon, it's not the end of the world...as long as you jump right back in and be vegan again. Just try to stay on this time ;)

How Do I Stay Committed?

2007-11-12T14:41:00.001-05:00

How do I keep the fire burning in me, etc? It's too hard, I'm all alone...

If the above has ever entered your subconscious, then rest assured you are not alone. If say you are the only one in your household/family having a vegan lifestyle, or worse, if people are questioning its very core, hold tight. Everything will be alright.

There are forums out there for support, be they the online kind, or you can find resources in your local market, or library: there usually are postings that lead to them.

And always at the core, is to alleviate suffering, leave a smaller "energy footprint" behind, for the earth's conservation. Don't believe that by just being one person you cannot make a difference. Every step counts. Remember that. You CAN make a difference.

Peta and PM or "Do you support Peta?"

2007-11-10T18:11:00.000-05:00

This is Plant_Murderer and I'm writing today to give my official statement regarding how I feel about Peta, People for the ethical treatment of animals.

Alot of what I came into contact with when I first began my ascent to vegan life came from peta. their forums were my connection to other vegans and their videos kept me motivated and fueled my desire to be an activist. I joined peta's street team, their network of activists, and I was ready and willing to save the world and carry out any action necessary to be a good member of the vegan community, which at the time, I hadn't known was bigger than peta. I was new and naive.

My career with peta ended once I was further along in my development as a person and as a vegan. Though I will be forever grateful for the support that they gave me in my first days I must admit that peta though a fine organization with noble intentions, is often very problematic and is headed down a road that i dont want to join them on.

The point:

1. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals seem to aim to be the People That Everyone Talks About. for the most part there are more people that know about peta than there are that know about veganism or animal rights. That is not good.

2. They are becoming far too welfarist by paying homage to the happy meat propaganda they are doing more harm than good.

I refuse to support the organization as long as they continue to be more about self promotion than activism and advocacy for animals, or when much of their activism leads to expanding the cult following that "humane" meat is developing.

I have other issues with the organization but those are my main two.

Yours till the revolution and beyond,
PM

Does it make you sad when I eat meat?

2007-11-03T13:43:00.000-04:00

I have been asked this question on occasion and could give a simple 'yes' or 'no' response. Before I do, I would like to deconstruct the assumption that this question is based on.

Many people assume that people who are vegetarians or vegans choose those lifestyles because of purely emotional reasons. The characterization is that we are overly emotional people who can't handle harming poor innocent creatures. I know that people think this way about vegans and vegetarians because I have thought that way myself in the past. The fact is that most people don't understand the logical and rational thought process that is behind ethical veganism. Most people don't even understand that there could be logic and rationality behind veganism.

I can only speak for myself, but my belief in basic rights for animals is based soundly in logic. I believe that when we consider how we ought to treat other animals (humans are animals too), we cannot make a moral distinction based on species. That is to say that all sentient beings have the right to equal consideration, and that no arbitrary characteristic such as race, gender, sexual-orientation or species can be used to exclude any group. So, my main reason for being vegan is not based solely on emotion, but on a logical rejection of speciesism.

Now that the basic reason for my being vegan is known and the assumptions of most omnivores have been shown to be false, I can comfortably answer the question: Yes. Yes, violent and unnecessary death after a life of torture does make me sad.

That being said, I believe my emotional response to suffering and death is normal. When faced with images and accounts of suffering and death, most humans feel an emotional response. Whether these images be of human suffering such as occurred during the holocaust or of animal suffering such as occurs daily in slaughterhouses, we all feel something when confronted with this reality. Therefore, it is not me or other vegans who can't handle harming the innocent creatures, it is the omnivores who are practiced at dissociating their meal with the reality of what horrors went into that meal.

Return to sender : "how can you do this?"

2007-10-29T16:26:00.000-04:00

hello all,

PM here again to report the grievous misdirection of a certain question. Commonly posed to newly outed vegans, this question has been asked in many ways, "how do you survive?" "You must be really brave" "how do you live without X?" and many, many more. so i feel that its time the real people this question needs to be addressed to answered it.

ANY OMNIVORES PRESENT ?!?!?!?

Veganism is a lifestyle centered on doing as little harm as possible. Many vegans respect the buddist concept of ahisma, which is essentially living in just such a way that you do the least harm and the most good. even those who don't identify with that will agree that on some level veganism is love, and or respect for life.

carnism/ omnivorism/ non-veganism uses and participates in death and torture for the sake of taste. it involves ruthlessly discarding lives and making sentient beings into objects, just as slavery did to the Africans, just like Hitler did to Jews, just like rapists do to victims. It enforces the false belief that might makes right and encourages violence. someone smarter than me ( like that narrows it down) once said that as long as there are slaughterhouses there will be battlefields. think about it.

Knowing all this, is there any doubt why this message is being returned?

The question is not "how can we care?" the question is "how can you not?"

The question is not "how can we live? the question is "how can you live with yourself?"

We are not "brave" we are humans treating other sentient beings humanely.

rant completed and thanks for your time,
yours upon request,
PM

Where do you eat when you travel?

2007-10-29T12:21:00.000-04:00

I personally am a cityhopper, so I know there will be enough to eat, because veganism is more known in cities than in Hillbilly Ville.
I don't like to be surprised or hungry, so I ask my fellow vegans who were there before me to give me some good advice.
The vegan community is huge and still growing, so you'll always find someone who went somewhere before you.
There even are sites full of tips for travelling vegans and I must say, I was never disappointed.
In France, I found a cute little B&B that served vegan food to die for, In Paris we found a restaurant that was so good that now we drive to Paris just to eat there!
In Barcelona I had a blast stuffing my face and this weekend I'm going to Amsterdam with a list of 10 restaurants!
*siked*
When I don't know whether there'll be something to eat on a trip (like on ski-trips) I pack some nuts, some tartex or other spreads and loads of fruit.
You'll always find some bread to make a good Tartex-sammish.
And you can always find some Italian place that serves Penne Arrabiata or something as boring.
Or you can ask for pizza (European pizza's always vegan) without cheese!

So there's nothing to worry about.
The world's packed with food.

What do you eat when you're in a hurry?

2007-10-29T07:21:00.001-04:00

If I want a meal I'll throw a veggie burger in the microwave or on the skillet and fry it up with some veggies and put it on some multigrain bread, usually takes less than 5 minutes.

I also have vegan ravioli for when I need, or want to, make something nice in a pinch. That requires putting a pot on to boil, and 8 minutes to cook.

The more expensive option, in the inflated state of Maryland the microwave meals cost $4 from Amy's but they are clearly mark them vegan. Many regular grocery stores in my area carry them now.

If you like obsessively reading labels, there are lots of instant noodles, including cuisines like Thai.

I also have some quick fix vegan cookbooks where everything therein takes a half hour or less to cook, and then you have a homemade wholesome meal.

In terms of snacks, I eat tons of fresh fruit. Your body will love you. I also make a lot of hummus, it is quick to make, and easy to stash in a reused plastic container to bring to work. Salsa also makes a wonderful snack.

I plan out my week in food in advance, and attempt to make something fresh and hot every night, but when I am too tired I have quick vegan treats on hand. I never go hungry.

Why are you (vegans) so angry?

2007-10-25T06:20:00.000-04:00

Why am I personally so angry? I've been working on that, and I'm not nearly as angry as I used to be. It's an ongoing process though, but I am much happier than I used to be.

Why are vegans in general so angry? Vegans live in a very anti-vegan society. We are ridiculed and treated as outcasts for having moral beliefs that run contrary to what most people do without thinking every day. We have to deal with people joking about how much they love meat, people claiming to be vegan but still having a little fish/cheese/honey every now and then (NOT VEGAN), and ex-vegans who try to make everything we do seem so fucking hard. (No really, it's not hard! Go get a decent cookbook and try it for yourself.) When we go to a restaurant, we have to ask a ton of questions, and sometimes end up with the same old dry salad, pasta primavera, or steamed vegetables. We're treated as outcasts for putting our moral beliefs above convenience or comfort.

It's not hard (just avoid non-vegan-friendly restaurants), but non-vegans (and even some vegans) make it fucking annoying sometimes. But even so, once someone knows what animals suffer to create or become food, how can anyone go back? What other choice is there? (This is a rhetorical question.) I for one will not sacrifice my principles for taste. In the meantime, until the world realizes just how fucked up eating other creatures is, I'm going to do everything I can to dispel the myth that vegans are always angry.

Does vegan pie exist?

2007-10-22T13:59:00.000-04:00

For some reason, people believe that there's no such thing as vegan pies, cakes, muffins etc. They still worship the holy egg. They think that the whole dessert is made or broken by that one little bomb of cholesterol.
NOT!
I have been baking and eating vegan desserts for years now and not only are they more healthy and cruelty free, they taste better too.
Pancakes can be made by just pouring some 'milk' into some flour. If you want sweet pancakes, you just add some raw sugar. It's as simple as that.
And pie crust can be made with some oil, flour and some sugar.

However, some recipes really do need something extra, but that still doesn't mean you have to go steal a hen's baby from under her butt.
There are great vegan powder egg replacers on the market, so that's a start.
Or you can mash up a banana or some apples for that sticky effect.

So remember, if you go vegan, you can still have your cake... and eat it too.

Are you still doing that vegan thing..?

2007-10-20T12:35:00.000-04:00

Why yes, yes I am, coming up for my 3 year veganniversary this new year, and my 15 year vegetarianniversary to boot(both were new years resolutions, and possibly the only ones I've ever kept).

This question seems to show how people presume veganism is just a phase we are going through, and while, sadly, I've heard my fair share of depressing stories of vegans falling off the wagon for various reasons ( and almost always pathetic reasons, I can sympathise to some extent if it's for a perceived health reason and they feel guilty about "having" to do it, but I wish people would see a vegan nutritionist for advice before making that decision and taking the advice of an uninformed doctor- remember people- docs aren't qualified nutritionists!) this is not the case for me and I intend to stay vegan for life.

I remember overhearing my mother on the phone talking to my godmother a few months after I went vegetarian as a teenager "Yes, Kristen's still a vegetarian... she seems quite serious about it..." Indeed. Serious enough to actually take it to it's logical conclusion and go vegan on discovering why vegetarianism alone wasn't enough some years later. :)

I just cannot understand how, knowing what they know, knowing the cruelty and torture and exploitation involved, anyone who had ever gone vegan for ethical reasons could ever go back to eating animal products without feeling overwhelmed by guilt. This is why I'm never tempted to cheat and will be staying vegan.

In fact, to prove my commitment, whenever I get some money put aside (probably not until the new year *mutters something about xmas being too expensive and bah humbug*) I'm going to get a vegan tattoo, likely the UK vegan society's sunflower logo. That's my new years' resolution for 2008, make sure to get vegan tattoo :D

I'll probably be getting landed with even more stupid questions like "Won't you regret that when you're old and wrinkly and start eating [insert animal product] again...?" in addition to just the old and wrinkly that I already get for my other 4 tattoos, but my answer will be "No, because I don't intend to ever use animal products again." I wonder how old and wrinkly I'll have to get for them to stop asking...?

Do you have enough energy as a vegan?

2007-10-20T09:22:00.000-04:00

Why yes, I do. Seriously. I've been vegan since July of 2006, and after making that switch, I've never felt better in my entire life. In fact, just recently, I went to yoga teacher training that went on for 9 weeks. We were advised to throw away all dietary restrictions and eat whatever we needed. I was one of the few "veg-heads." I am ashamed to admit I ate dairy cheese for the first few weeks, but I also realized those were the weeks I felt congested, phlegm-filled, and sluggish. I converted to eating avocados in wheat bread for protein. Right away my mind was clearer, my (yoga) practice better, my immune system healthier: I am proud to say I never got sick ONCE during those 9 weeks.

Animal by-products are not meant to be digested by our human bodies. Even less, we don't need it! With all the advancements in human technology, in nutrition and the medical arts right now, it is appalling and deplorable that we still stick to the SAD (Standard American Diet--yes, it is sad!). Where do animals get their energy? From plants, nature's powerhouses! There are an array of all kinds of produce from which we can gain all the nutrients needed in our body and more besides! In the food chain, carnivores eat herbivores to gain the plant energy, but also occasionally eat some plants themselves to supplement their diet. Our teeth are not sharp like carnivores (see wolf's sharp fangs, for example) but flat and blunt, like herbivores (see a monkey's teeth). Eating plants--vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains--are the way to go. Admittedly you do have to eat a bit more versus eating animal by-products, but I for one am not complaining. I can eat more without feeling guilty, without feeling bad, without feeling sluggish. That, for me, is a wonderful thing.

-themedusachild (aka Therese)

Do I miss omni foods?

2007-10-14T21:40:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,
This is plant murderer and to answer this question in a way that makes sense is relatively tricky. So before I actually answer let's line up some facts, cool? great.

Fact # 1 : I haven't eaten an omni food (on purpose or to my knowlege) since my last bar of milk chocolate, half a year ago.

Fact # 2 : I have no idea what alot of my used-to-be favorite foods taste like outside of remembered preferences and intellectual knowlege ( like, i know that melted cheese on anything tasted nice or that vanilla milkshakes were sweet, or that baked anything beat fried foods by a long shot.)

Fact # 3: I may not know how they taste but I know what my faves were, and am sometimes still a bit sad about never ever eating them again ( it's not my fault, blame the food, it's addictive and sometimes withdrawl pains are crippling)

Fact # 4: The "I want it" mental signal in my head is way faster than the "Is it right?" signal.

So at long last I have to say that yes, for brief moments when my mother brings out the mac and cheese, I miss eating it, what can I say? It's an emotional response brought on by happy memories of stuffing my face while family drama sowed the seeds for the next year's insanity.
Maybe someday I won't miss it, maybe missing old favorites is a newbie thing and I'll get over it but, missing milk chocolate and mac and cheese doesnt make me a bad person or even harm my crediblity as an amature activist. Missing things you loved before you knew better is normal.

yours indefinitely,
PM

Isn't it expensive to be a Vegan?

2007-10-13T14:19:00.000-04:00

There is no one answer fits all for this question as it obviously depends on your personal choice and what you're eating.
For me it's not at all expensive. I'm a 18 year old University student living in the UK so I don't have much money to spend at all on food. I eat a lot of beans,pulses,pasta,cans of tomatoes, tofu, peanut butter.....basically all the cheap staple foods that won't go out of date for 3 years and that cost very little. I do eat fresh fruit and veggies but because i'm saving money by not buying meat this means that I have a little extra to put towards fresh foods. I occasionally treat myself to fake meats (sorry Dino!) as I did love meat (can't remember why now) but as with all processed food I know it's better for my health and my wallet to give it a miss.

Aren't you forcing your beliefs on your kid?

2007-10-10T14:59:00.000-04:00

The fact that my daughter has been vegan since conception really riles some people up, as if by being vegan she's being sheltered from all the joy and fun there is in the world. Frankly, this is bullshit.

ALL parents "force" beliefs on their children. Passing your beliefs down to your children is a fundamental part of parenthood, and people do it in hundreds of ways that are never questioned. People indoctrinate their children with religious beliefs all the time; no one bats an eye if Pastor Fred teaches about sin and damnation and gives a child nightmares about burning in the fires of Hell. Yet, if a parent teaches a child about treating animals with care, and how every living creature has a fundamental right to bodily autonomy, it's seen as deviant and potentially harmful.

In the case of infant circumcision, a parent's beliefs are literally carved into their son's bodies - a newborn baby has no religious beliefs, and cannot consent to or decline the operation to remove a perfectly healthy, functional piece of his penis - and yet this is seen as less damaging and controversial then raising a child without animal-derived food, clothing, and entertainment.

As a parent, I feel that it's my duty to try to raise my daughter to be a caring and compassionate person, and to extend those feelings to all creatures, not just other humans. From the time she could communicate with us, her father and I have taught her to treat animals gently and to approach them with care and respect. At 5 1/2, she's the kind of kid who stops to watch the ants on the sidewalk, moves snails so they don't get accidentally stepped on, and who apologizes to the cats if she accidentally startles them. She knows that we share this planet with lots of animals, and that most don't want anything to do with people, and she's perfectly ok with that. She doesn't feel the need to dominate animals the way other children appear to.

With regard to the "fun" she's missing out on, most people mean junk food. Believe me, there are lots of ways to veganize junk food. The only difference is that we usually have to provide our own for birthday parties and activities at school. Being vegan does not mean a lifetime of carrot sticks while the rest of the class has chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles, it just means you have to be a little more organized and make your own.

Fast food is another thing that people bring up as a vital part of childhood, but we've never found to be a problem. From the time she started eating table food, my daughter has eaten the same meals her father and I do. When we go out to eat, she eats Chana Masala, or Sesame Tofu, or Kik Alecha with the rest of us. She asks for olive oil to dip her bread in. She will never be stuck in the "chicken fingers and hush puppies" rut that a lot of kids go through. The innate and uncontrollable longing that all kids are supposed to have for greasy fries and fluorescent light has yet to manifest itself, and her penchant for small, instantly-broken toys is more than indulged by her grandmothers.

Don't you feel weak and tired?

2007-10-08T13:11:00.000-04:00

When the topic of veganism comes up with my co-workers I hear a lot about iron deficiency or excessive tiredness as a reason why they're no longer vegan. And while iron deficiency is a cause for concern, particularly with young women, the people who say this have never had blood work done to determine iron deficiency. Furthermore, you can supplement iron with, well...supplements. And a variety of veggies. The point I'm trying to make is that you can be healthy and running at full speed and be vegan.

As for feeling tired and sluggish I can't say that I've experienced that; in all actuality I feel more energetic. In my pre-gan days I would feel wiped out after a day at work, which would usually lead to poor food choices, often in the form of greasy fast food. Since I don't live in the most vegan-friendly of cities (as in, there are no vegan restaurants) I frequently cook at home. With the assistance of a few cookbooks, particularly ones geared for slow cookers/crock pots (and *ahem* a certain cookbook by a certain contributor to the Vegan Freak podcast) I'm able to make tasty meals while I'm working and prepare a lot of dishes in less than an hour. I also cook and bake in large batches for leftovers. So at the end of the day I don't stress over what to make. And since I'm not eating a ton of junk food, I don't feel lethargic.

I've noticed that with time I've started to get more physically active. I'm by no means a health nut or exercise fanatic (I can't stay motivated at the gym) but I walk everywhere - to the grocery store and the post office; a few bus stops away from work; on walking paths near work and home, etc. And when I get home -surprise!- I don't feel run-down. This doesn't mean that I'm super-psyched every single day - there are times when I just like to lounge and do nothing. And as a result of working around sneezing and sniffling students it's only a matter of time when I come down with a cold. I'm suggesting that citing 'low energy' as an excuse to not go and stay vegan is baseless. Veganism is about becoming informed and educated - that includes your health and overall well-being.

I can't worry about animals when so many people are suffering.

2007-10-07T13:48:00.000-04:00

Vegans here this a lot. Usually from some one very well intentioned, and supportive, but mislead none the less.

There is no reason that animal suffering and human suffering have to be separate. There is no reason that you cannot work towards ending both. In fact, if you look at the parallels between animal and human slavery, it doesn't make sense to separate the two.

I don't know how many times I have heard "It's just cow/chicken/pig, it doesn't really know any different". Now try a little experiment. Insert a race, gender or sexual orientation for the animal. With in the last 100 years (and it is probably still going on today) I am certain people said "It's just a black. They don't know any thing different than being a slave". "It's just a Jew...", "It's just a fag...", "It's just a woman...". The list could go on and on. Hopefully, these last few statements have made you cringe. Our goal is the first one ("It's just cow/chicken/pig, it doesn't really know any different".) will too.

Historically, it hasn't been long since people were legally bought and sold as slaves. And don't kid yourself, illegal slavery is alive and well. And it's not just in "some other country". There is still a market here in the US. There are some great websites (do a Google search) that will help you learn about total abolition. Slavery is wrong. It doesn't matter if it is a black person, white person, cow, pig, chicken, or turkey. It's wrong to use sentient beings for our personal gain.

The other point that bears mention, is that working in a slaughter house is not an easy job, not by a long shot. In general, it's something most Americans do not want to think about. They don't want to think that their steak used to be a cow, and they don't want to think about the worker that has to murder that animal. I can't even begin to fathom what it would be like to take an untold number of lives daily. Also, violence breeds more violence. I am sure every one has heard the statistic that a higher percentage of mass murderers abused animals as children. Or that animal abuse leads to violent crime. What type of violent habits does murdering animals for your livelihood lead to? Plus, no one should have to make their living as a murderer.

Lastly, many of the workers in slaughterhouses are injured by equipment or repetitive motion and are often illegal immigrants (I hate that word, but I don't know what else to use). This means that more often than not, they do not file workers compensation claims or receive treatment. Drug abuse is prevalent (mostly uppers) because of the long hours workers put in.

It goes with out saying that when you go vegan, you aren't just helping animals, you are helping people too. The two issues aren't separate.

So how about you go vegan?

Where do you get your... iron?

2007-10-07T11:06:00.000-04:00

I get this question a lot, especially from women, since iron-deficiency anaemia is very common amongst menstruating women, due to blood loss from heavy periods.

There are two types of iron, haem iron, from animal sources, and non-haem iron, from plant sources. While haem iron is more bioavailable so less is needed than with non-haem iron, that's not to say vegans are any more likely to become anaemic- rates are the same between vegans and non-vegans. However, vegans should try to eat more iron to make up for the lower bioavailability than the RDA for omni's.(Guidelines for RDA's differ from country to country but I reckon for vegans, about 23mg-ish +, is about average for a menstruating female, 30mg+ if pregnant and about 15mg for everyone else.)

Try to eat something iron rich at every meal. Iron rich foods include quinoa (it's very high in iron and good for replacing rice, porridge and other grains), amaranth, fortified cereals, tofu, legumes(ie beans, lentils), nuts and seeds, green leafy vegetables, dried fruit, and molasses(licorice and gingerbread, chilli or black bean sauces are good ways of using molasses in cooking).

Also, swop from white processed rice/bread/pasta to the brown wholegrain stuff(as well as more iron, it also has more zinc, fibre, and a lower glycaemic index, plus it fills you up more) and don't peel your potatoes as there's iron in the skin.

To increase absorbtion of iron, have something vitamin C rich with every meal(you should be eating 5-9 portions fruit or veg a day anyway!) since this helps absorbtion. You could also try cooking with cast iron- as the name suggests, it, um, casts iron when you cook with it and gives your food more iron! Avoid taking things which interfere with absorbtion at mealtimes, wait at least an hour. These include tannins(found in coffee, tea and fizzy drinks) high strength calcium supplements and smoking.

Is horseback riding vegan?

2007-10-03T18:47:00.000-04:00

The simple answer: no, it isn't. No leeway, ifs or buts. Unlike some, I really do not believe that it is a gray area.

To use any animal for our amusement is exploitation, and hence, not vegan. Others would likely argue that horses do, in fact, gain pleasure from the activity. However, do you see horses queuing up to be rode, yelling "Pick me! Pick me!"? No, of course not.

Would you enjoy carrying personnel on your back at various speeds whenever said personnel felt like it? Would you like to be periodically locked up? Would you like to be "broken in" during the early stages? I'm guessing no. Moreover, as to any "bond" that exists between the human and the horse - an apparent bond also exists between dogs and dog fighters.

And, to the welfarist line, whether the horse is treated fairly/kindly/companionably ("happy horse riding!") whilst being ridden is utterly irrelevant as he or she is still used. Period. That is, the defining characteristic of veganism is that we do not believe that animals should be considered property, and therefore we respect their needs and wants that demand that we do not exploit them.

Where do you get your protein?

2007-10-03T16:05:00.000-04:00

This seems to be the common follow-up to the, "What do you eat?" question. This inquiry is rooted in the Western culinary view that meat equals protein, end of story. If you are a cooking show addict (guilty!), you may note that in higher echelons of food preparation, chefs often use the terms "protein" and "meat" synonymously. So where the heck do vegans get their protein? For those of you playing at home, take note, for the next sentence will almost always be the answer to any "...where do vegans get essential nutrient X?" question. The answer--from a wide variety of foods and a naturally diverse diet.

First, let's cover what protein is. As keeping with the spirit of this blog, I am going to do this from my own understanding. I obtained most of this information from various health guides for vegans and maybe a few random biology lectures still bouncing around in my brain. Proteins are chains of amino acids, all which are necessary for healthy growth and living. There are 20 total 9 highly important essential amino acids which the human body needs to function properly. A protein is considered "high quality" or "complete" when it provides all 9 of the essential amino acids in one food. Though, this terminology often causes improper conclusions about food quality: the body needs all nine, there are no detrimental effects to one's health if they come from different sources, as long as proper quantities of all of the essential amino acids are consumed.

One of the most common sources of protein for vegans is soy/tofu/tempeh products. This is a "high quality" protein source meaning it contains all 9 essential amino acids. This leads to a common misnomer. Many people with a small amount of knowledge of veganism believe that this is our ONLY source of protein. I know plenty of vegans who are allergic to tofu, soy or choose not to eat it for various reasons. It is quite easy to get sufficient protein from other sources as well!

Legumes (think beans and nuts) serve as another excellent group to satisfy protein needs. Additionally, raw vegans and those looking for less processed foods will happily choose items from this family to fulfill daily protein requirements. Legumes stand as an excellent choice for any diet; they are cheap, delicious, rich in protein and loaded with both fiber and iron.

Textured Vegetable Protein, as the name hints, is another great protein provider. Many vegan faux meats and substitutes offer substantial amounts of daily requirements. These are great supplement foods but especially new vegans should be warned they are highly processed and often loaded with sodium. Sodium, even for vegans, should be kept at moderate levels as it reduces the bioavailability of many helpful chemicals and nutrients. In simpler terms, one's body cannot absorb the good stuff when a diet is overloaded with salt.

Almost all vegetables offer protein, just in smaller amounts than the previously mentioned foods. Have no fear, a well planned, diverse vegan diet will provide you with plenty of protein. So how much protein does one need exactly? This depends on your size and level of activity. A 150 lb man that is not particularly active requires about 70 grams of protein per day, where a woman at 130 lbs will probably need around 60 grams. Those readers in countries smart enough to use the metric system (cough, cough, side rant) will find the calculation very easy....about 1 gram of protein per kg of body weight for those with average amounts of daily exertion.

Those in strenuous cardiovascular sports will most likely need around 1.5 the amount of those listed for sedentary individuals. If you are weight lifting to be a swarthy vegan pro-wrestler, you could need almost double the standard amount. This might sound like a huge challenge, but as a former weight lifter (several years ago) you will most likely find that heavy resistance exercise will leave you prone to seconds, thirds, fourths at dinner followed by covering the sofa in balsamic vinaigrette and devouring that as well.

I give you all of this information with the massive disclaimer that I am not a nutritionist. If you are particularly concerned about a well balanced cruelty-free diet, especially as a vegan newbie (I say this with complete love), a few consultations with a dietitian might be a worthwhile investment. This brings me to another warning, find a certified individual that is knowledgeable and friendly toward vegans. There are countless brilliant, intelligent, open minded nutritionists out there. There are also ones as ignorant as the general population. If you are going to drop the cash, a little investigative work will ensure that it is money well spent.

In closing, vary your diet. Don't skip the legumes. Soy and tofu are another great source if they are to your liking. If you still struggle to meet your requirements, consider nut butters and possibly vegan supplement shakes and drinks. Consulting a professional can help you thoughtfully plan out a protein packed menu, but a little foresight and some healthy habits go a long way.

How Do I Stay Motivated?

2007-10-01T19:51:00.000-04:00

Hi, I'm Plant_murderer, a seventeen year old newbie (6 months and counting) and trust me when I say that I know a thing or eighty about people who straight up couldn't care less about factory farming, animals, veganism, or anything else more important than the next episode of your average "reality" t.v show. When surrounded by these people, it is almost a given that the all-consuming homesickness for our home planet, ( Vega), can leave a person ready and almost willing to return to old ways (omnivore-ism or vegetarianism). In this post I will attempt to show some of the miriad of ways that i've found to talk myself out of turning back on the road that is veganism ( and by extention turning traitor on the the animals and the defendors of their rights).

1. Remind yourself why!!! Those who forget are doomed to...get all meek and lame and "cheat". look at slaughter house videos, read some animal rights novels, whatever you do, if you catch yourself forgeting why, a good reminder is always a good motivator.
2. Get active or take a break!!!! if your not active and need motivation, get out and do something, you've made it, you're "tampering in dark-sided stuff" (its an inside joke if you didnt catch the reference) going out and spreading the information can make you feel alive and useful. if you've been burning at both ends of the soy candle and are tired, take a break and then show 'em how its done once the spring hits your step again.
3. Find and maintain a support network!! make friends with other vegans and meet online or in person to hang out and complain about omnis, veggies and ex veg*ns. It'll give you a chance to vent and a place you can go to ask things like "is ____ vegan?" and a couple of new friends, too.
4. REWARD YOURSELF!!!! every year take at least one day to celebrate the beauty and wonder that is veganism. why? ...do you neen a reason to celebrate?!? in case you didnt know VEGANISM RULES!!!! and celebrating anually will give you a reason to stay vegan ( if you convert back, you dont get to party)

It is not within our powers to make other people care, but no one can stop you from being the one person who always will. Make veganism a part of who you are and not something that you do, and the motivation is never further away than your next breath or thought.

thats my advice,
PM

Is it Vegan?

2007-09-30T05:51:00.000-04:00

But is it vegan? Seriously, pick up any item that didn't come from the produce section of the grocery store and the question has to be asked. There is fish in some orange juice, sugar in canned goods, whey and lactose in countless items. To keep myself sane while shopping I do a number of things:

1) Get familiar with the bad ingredients: There are tons of lists of animal derived ingredients on the internet. People load them onto their palms, crackberries, and ipods. Some vegans even print them out and carry them around on paper! For me, my palm pilot is my best friend. It even has internet which allows me to do research on exotic ingredients and possibly animal derived ingredients on the fly.

2) Work out a method of scanning labels: The FDA finally did something I like, allergens must now be listed on labels in big bold print. I look for milk and eggs in bold first, and if I see either one I immediately put the "food" item down. If I don't I begin a careful scan of the label looking especially for casein (even though it's dairy it sneaks through), sugar, and chicken stock or fat (not considered an allergen).

I'm also paranoid so I check for whey too, even though that is usually counted as a milk product and ends up in the bold print. After that scan I look again and see if there is any suspicious looking ingredients, this is when lists (electronic or otherwise) come in handy.

3) Avoid processed foods all together: There are a number of ways to do this, go to your regular grocery store and buy more fresh produce and frozen veggies. Or frequent your local produce stands and farmer's markets, along with local natural food stores. Even the corporate natural food stores will make shopping easier for you.

When I go shopping I get bulk items from our local natural food store, then hit up produce stands and farmer's markets, after that I go to the corporate natural food store, and any items I miss I try to get at a regular grocery store.

4) Support Cruelty-Free companies whenever possible: It saves you headaches, and it helps some people who are consciously doing the right thing like you. Most vegan friendly companies will say so on their packaging or websites. I also usually double check by searching for the company name followed by the word vegan.

Oh! I forgot to explain the fish in the orange juice, which brings me to a salient point. Fortified foods often contain animal derived vitamins and minerals. The fish in the orange juice was Omega 3 fortified orange juice, where the omega 3 happened to come from fish oil! Some soy milks have been known to be fortified with animal ingredients as well. When in doubt ask the internets.

Also, remember, humans are animals too. Support fair trade items, local produce, small businesses, and union made goods. Not only will you be doing a good thing, but usually the products are of better quality, and contain fewer mysterious ingredients. Be a conscientious vegan.

Does eating omni-subs mean you crave animal products?

2007-09-26T17:03:00.000-04:00

I don't crave animal products at all, like I mentioned in my last entry.

While every vegan is individual, I myself enjoy eating some omni-sub products, for example, tofu cooked or prepared in a similar way to omni food(like tofurkey or tofu ricotta, or in a quiche or frittata, or many more ways) but I'm just as happy to eat simple veggies, grains and legumes.

I'd say my enjoyment of a certain food was more about the sauce or seasoning than the animal product itself... in fact I rather wish at times that they'd rename fake meat "bean curd marinated in cajun spices" or whatever!

Fake "cheese" tastes quite unlike real cheese, and I reckon anyone could easily tell the difference, but I enjoy it just for itself.

While I say I enjoy omni subs, there is a limit to that- it's only if I prepare them myself or eat them in a vegan restaurant or vegan friends' house that I feel comfortable eating them- there have been moments in omni restaurants where I feel uncomfortable eating anything that resembles meat, like a tvp burger, just in case they've made a mistake and muddled my order up or something! It's been so long I'm not sure I could tell whether it was a really good fake or a dead thing! If I'm eating in an omni restaurant and there's a choice between an omni sub and a vegetable dish, I'll take the vegetable dish every time!

Do you ever crave anything non-vegan?

2007-09-26T16:45:00.000-04:00

In a word, no. Certainly not anymore.

I have been vegetarian since 1993 and vegan since 2005, and kind of forget exactly how non-vegan food tastes now.

Even before I kicked meat, I felt slightly grossed out by the fact it was a dead animal. I no longer see meat as food, but as a corpse, and that's just not very appetising!

As for eggs and dairy, there have been moments in the beginning where I've missed a certain thing, but I found them extremely easy to overcome simply by telling myself why I was doing this- remembering images I'd seen on AR websites, baby boy chickens being ground alive, things I'd read, the heartbreaking sound of a dairy cow crying out after her calf being took away for her... no way did I want to be a part of that cruelty and the urge to eat whatever it was soon subsided.

Nowadays, I don't miss anything non-vegan at all.(If anyone is struggling with cravings then I'd advise them to watch some AR footage, read some leaflets- even carry a leaflet in your pocket or bag to look at!)

How do you remain so disciplined?

2007-09-26T06:47:00.000-04:00

Working in the healthcare environment that's the question that I get the most, and it always catches me like a deer in the headlights. Why? Because it makes no sense.

See, being vegan, at least an ethical vegan, means that veganism isn't about losing weight. It can be spiritual (because saving lives has that effect), but it is not a religious quest of sacrifice.

It is indeed about the animals, it is about bettering the environment, the conditions for other humans, and the world in general. My veganism is me taking a small step to end suffering, simply by doing the right thing!

Yes, being vegan is about doing the right thing. Is it right to kill another person? Do you consider yourself disciplined because you don't run around killing people? That is what is like for a vegan who understands animal suffering, we recognize that milk, cheese, eggs, and meat come a tremendous amount of suffering.

Which makes bringing my lunch to work not that hard for me to do, because I don't like blood in my food. Do you? Because unless the food is vegan, I can guarantee it's there!

Throw away everything not vegan?

2007-09-25T09:17:00.001-04:00

When I went vegan, and everything in my brain clicked, I immediately freaked out, and pitched all the nonvegan food items that I had bought before. I then took inventory of my stuff, and started culling out the leather and wool. It was an arduous process, but because I've always had good fashion sense, I found new homes for most of those clothes. Finally, I got to the shoes.

I used to have a LOT of shoes. Many of them were hard to find, and fairly unique. For me, it was a complete freak out thing to wear those leather shoes. Every time I'd slip on a pair, I'd hear calves screaming for their mothers. It was a visceral thing for me. I couldn't escape from the knowledge. Because of that deep, emotional reaction to the situation, I got rid of the leather shoes as well. I physically was incapable of wearing something that came at the cost of such cruelty.

Meanwhile, like I said, I had (and still have) a lot of shoes, clothes, bags, etc. I'd built up my wardrobe over many years, and still had plenty of things to fall back on. I didn't need to replace very much, because I still had more than enough to work with. Remember this as you read the rest of the entry, because I'm about to get to the important part now.

GOING VEGAN DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TO SUPPORT CAPITALISM.

Just because you're a vegan doesn't mean that you have to run out and spend a lot of money. Frankly, not everyone can afford to buy these things. Because I had a good foundation for my wardrobe, I was able to pitch pretty close to everything nonvegan within a month, tops. If you can't afford it, deal with what you have, and use it up. Frankly, if other people have something snarky to say about it, you let them know that they're more than welcome to replace it for you. :)

So you support PETA, right?

2007-09-22T19:27:00.001-04:00

It seems that every single time I tell someone that I'm vegan, their second question (the first varies from "what do you eat" to "what the fuck is vay-jun?") is always "So you like PETA? Ugh, I HATE PETA!"

PETA- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
(nope, it's not called People Eating Tasty Animals or People Enjoying Torturing Animals.)

I am not going to go into the debate whether PETA is good or bad. No no, because opinions vary widely among the Vegan social.
I will say I am horribly offended at this assumption that, since I'm Vegan, I AUTOMATICALLY support their projects, causes, naked women, advertisements etc. Wouldn't you be offended if someone made a wide generalization about your lifestyle, religion, sexuality, race, appearance?

Okay, so saying I support PETA isn't the worst insult I've ever heard, but it still irks the hell out of me and I think it needs to be addressed.
Other annoying generalizations:
All vegans are pale, sickly thin people.
Vegans eat salad... a lot.
Vegans are hippies! Yeah dude!

Okay, what's the lesson we learned?
Let's say it out loud!
Assume makes an ASS out of U and ME!
(but more U)

Now, if I misunderstood the people asking me that question ("So you like PETA huh?") and they really meant "pita", as in that tasty puffy bread that goes well with hummus, then I apologize... and yes, I DO support pita!

But don't you miss dairy/eggs?

2007-09-21T21:03:00.000-04:00

I confess. I am a recovering cheese-aholic. I am not even joking. I also am a recovering egg-aholic.

As aforementioned, I live in the land of cheese. With out giving too much away, I live in a city where people wear blocks of cheese on their head (granted, its foam rubber, but still). I was a vegetarian for a while before becoming vegan and I ate cheese at least three times a day. I wish I was exaggerating. My addiction was so bad that when people I knew as a vegetarian find out I am vegan they will often comment on my past addiction. "You loved cheese!"

I gave cheese up, cold tofurky. And eggs, I used to eat omelette's all the time. I wouldn't say that I crave cheese. This to me means that I am sitting around dreaming about it and thinking of ways to get it. I have in the past smelled cheese and it smelled good to me. I do realize that sense of smell is more of a reflex than an actual craving.

For instance, if I go out to the bar with a bunch of friends and some one orders a cheese pizza, for one instant, it smells good. In this example, it has more to do with association than anything else. Beer + Pizza = WI Good Time.

I am getting over it. If you look at what cheese and eggs really are, it's gross. Especially eggs. I can't believe I used to eat that. Both cheese and eggs are just plain bad for you (as is meat, but I assume you know that if you are reading this). High in both fat and cholesterol, there is really no need for either.

You may note that there are a lot of "fake cheezes" out there available to vegans and non vegans alike. I have yet to try one. I have only been a vegan for 8 months and I think it is too soon. I don't think it will taste like I expected to and I would rather save the money and spare the disappointment.

To answer the original question: But don't you miss dairy/eggs? No, I don't miss them. For the most part, milk, cheese, and eggs don't even look good to me any more. I understand that much of my connection with these products is tied up in experiences and not the actual food. I have found ways around it. If I am craving something greasy while out with friends, I get fries. In a mexican resataraunt, I get chips and gaucamole (making sure there is no sour cream in there). I make it work. I have new favorites.

I feel a little like a skipping record (if any of you kids don't know what that is, ask your parents). But I will say it again: I will not promote the suffering of animals simply for my taste buds.

On dealing with hostility

2007-09-21T13:46:00.000-04:00

Fortunately this is something that, until yesterday, I had yet to encounter, but I understand that it happens fairly frequently in some circles.

First, we must understand that someone else's anger (I suppose towards veganism?) is not directed at us and we can't take it personally. I have no idea what would move someone to say ugly things to strangers, whether it be directed at a vegan, a homosexual, a minority...whomever, but I do know that the object for the game is to elicit a reaction.

Forget the notion that good manners are antiquated and ask yourself this question:

What would Miss Manners do?

No. Seriously. Stop laughing.

It's never appropriate to meet rudeness with more rudeness, and getting down in the mud with the sort of people who would lash out at someone for choosing to live peacefully isn't going to help your cause in the slightest. Our only reasonable option in this situation is blissful indifference, the same thing your mother taught you when you were young, dealing with the same ignorant bullies.

Ignore them, and I promise you, they will, in fact, go away.

But it's so hard!

2007-09-20T20:25:00.000-04:00

This is actually what I hear from a lot of people; they'd go vegan but it's so hard! And I, myself, went around for a while telling people, "I am the only vegan you will ever meet who says that veganism is easy." (Sigh. This was before I met any other vegans, though.) These days, I just say, "Nah man, veganism is ridiculously easy. Just ask any vegan!"

And it's true! The hard part is in the first two or three days, when you still have your omnivorous habits, and it gets to dinnertime and suddenly you're looking at the stove wishing you could have mac'n'pus or a slab of a cow's/pig's/chicken's/fish's body. That, as far as the materials goes, is really the only thing that's hard about veganism: it's the But what am I supposed to eat?! mentality.

I understand that. The emotional comfort of eating animal products is what really drives us to do it - and addiction is included in that - 'cause really, let's face it: plain meat and cheese tastes like dirt. (I'm talking no salt either, you know, the way true carnivores and omnivores like it.) The thing is, we associate animal products with family situations; for me, everything was easy - but once I got this twinge the time I went to Germany for wurst. It was completely bewildering - but I realised it wasn't because I was a bad vegan: it was because I was feeling lonely and isolated, and because my dad and Oma (German for "grandmother") had me grow up with that, I associated that with love, family, being included. (This was easily cured by remembering that there was someone killed to make the wurst, not a something.) And if any of you reading don't have some of the same feelings (love, family, friends, togetherness, comfort) about one animal product or another - barring those of you who were raised vegan - I'll eat my hat.

The thing is though, that was momentary, and other than that I have had not a thought, twinge, or pang of wistfulness towards animal products. I mean, come on - I have more than enough yummy vegan foods to snack on, even without plant milks, nice creams, fake meats, etc. (all of which I rarely if ever eat anymore). And more than that, I have an ethical backbone - I can't, I won't, I refuse to eat any animal product simply because that would be a. hurting animals and b. reinforcing, even if only to myself, that animals do not deserve to have their right to their bodies respected (which they do!).

And you want to know the truly hard part? It's dealing with all the people who know nothing about veganism and who don't want to know. They're the ones that really piss me off - they're the ones telling me, through both word and action, that they simply can't be bothered. And when you're part of the oppressing group, I think it's your duty to learn about your privilege, and then - this is key - to actively fight against it. You are obligated. It wasn't their fault they got born into the right body - and you're the one with the power: they can't force you to not engage in your privilege, the privilege which hurts them economically, emotionally, mentally, sexually, physically, whatever - so you have to make the conscious choice to not do that.

So what you're really saying when you say, "But it's so hard!" is a few things:

1. You want to remain safe in your idea that veganism is impossible so you can continue your physical/psychological addictions with animal products,
2. You want to believe that you are doing as much as you possibly can so you don't have to incriminate yourself for not doing more, and
3. You don't want to really, truly care about animals so much that you'll be forced by your own conscience to make "sacrifices" for them.

But the thing is, the first ("it's impossible") isn't true, the second is inevitable (you must, at one point, realise that you're doing something, yes, wrong), and the third ("sacrifices") is empowering and not at all deprivation.

So why not take the jump? I mean it. Why not? Simply saying "we're all at a different point on the path" doesn't work if you know about what goes on and you choose to ignore that so you can continue your physical/psychological addictions to animal products - frankly, though you must keep in mind that I am a very, erm, bold person, I'd say that doing something you know is wrong does indeed make you a bad person. And I mean, you want to be a good person, right? At least, I hope so (if not, I can safely assume that you're in your teens).

Here's another thing to think about: while I don't advocate selflessness by any means, I do think that there comes a point where we integrate thinking about the needs and wants of others into our hourly, daily, weekly, etc. plans - and that is when we become an adult. We become adults when we abandon egocentrism - the focus on the self to the exclusion or near-exclusion of all others - and instead retreat into a happy mixture of taking care of ourselves and considering (and, yes, changing our plans to respect) the preferences of others. "Others" includes animals, since they definitely have preferences - at the bare minimum, the wish to avoid pain, suffering and death, and usually the want for, if not friendship, then companionship.

So it comes down to: are you ready to be an adult? Because veganism is the result of looking at our relationship with animals and realising that we need to respect their wishes, even if it causes minor inconveniences to us.

I'm not fully an adult yet, but hell, I'm on my way.

All the vegans I've ever seen are pale, thin, and sickly!

2007-09-20T18:33:00.000-04:00

... Usually followed by either, "But you're not like that," or the ever-so-polite, "You, um, don't look like a vegan..."

You can say it, you know. I'm fat.

Yep. Cat's out of the bag. I'm a fat vegan. A fat vegan feminist lesbian radical progressive science geek, or whatever other labels you want to stick on me - s'okay, really; I fit the labels, so I'm not offended. But what does offend me is the idea that vegans have to look a certain way - especially if they want to be taken seriously as a vegan.

Consider, for a moment, that despite the weight-loss/medical industry's brainwashing, humans come in all shapes and sizes naturally. Consider now that, whether or not they are thin naturally or artificially, vegans have lots and lots of yummy vegan things to eat - cake, cupcakes, frosting, nice cream, cookies, macaroons, candies, and so on (and that's just the unhealthy yummy vegan things!) - which we may or may not ingest on a regular, semi-regular, or semi-annual basis. Consider next that many vegans have reconciled their sense of self and need for confidence with their not-conventionally-acceptable body and so may not wish to do this. Then consider that, believe it or not, some people actually consider it against their morals to diet.

What does all this mean?

Quite simply, it means that vegans can and do come in all shapes and sizes. Vegans can be short and thin or thin and tall or tall and fat or short and fat or tall and average or short and average or simply average. Just like vegans can be feminists, pro-feminists or antifeminists, they can be pro-life or pro-choice or pro-abortion or anti-choice, they can be conservative or liberal or moderate and everywhere between those, they can have tattoos or piercings or scarification or corsets or no body modifications at all, they can be businesspeople or wage slaves or free-livers, they can be gay or straight or bisexual, they can be atheist or Christian or Muslim or Wiccan or Hindu or Jewish...

And any combination of any of the above +infinity.

So, next time you look at someone weird when they tell you they're a vegan because they just don't look like it, remember this - humans are not standard. In terms of personality, no animal - including humans - is. This includes vegans. We can be any kind of person - get to know us, and see if you like us!*

* (And for god's sake, don't tease us or tell us how you ate X animal product for Y meal the other day. It's not very nice.)

Q: Where can I locate information on veganism/animal rights/vegan cooking/etc?

2007-09-20T18:18:00.000-04:00

Another alternative answer to this same question.

You can order "starter kits" completely free from many of the AR or veg*n societies, just google "free vegan starter kit" and many will appear.

There's also loads of information on these subjects that you can get from the internet, again, just google whatever it is you're looking for and at least a few suggestions for reading will appear in most cases. Sometimes it's good to talk with fellow vegans, and since we can be difficult to find IRL the best way to contact us is to join an online discussion forum for advice and support.

I agree the best way to learn how to cook is to invest in a good vegan cookbook, but if you can't afford one atm, there are plenty online vegan recipe sites to choose from, try googling "vegan recipe" and maybe a food you'd like to use, ie "lentils." Just be aware that published cookbooks are far more likely to have tried and trusted recipes that work than some random thing posted on the internets!

Again, many AR and vegan groups sell little recipe booklets fairly cheaply if your budget doesn't stretch to a whole book right now.

If you're in the UK, you can also request books from your local library for a small fee(pennies).

Becoming Vegan: Throw away everything not vegan?

2007-09-19T21:45:00.000-04:00

I can distinctly remember the very day I realized I wanted to be Vegan; I got up from my computer chair, stomped to my kitchen, and threw away my milk, creams, cheeses, eggs, mayo, ice cream, canned broth, cereals, marshmallows, beef bullion - everything I knew was an animal product. Within half an hour my refrigerator and cabinets went from "well stocked" to "sad".
(This scene was very familiar, because I did the same thing when I decided to become Vegetarian the week before.)

After dragging the trash outside, I felt relieved. I won, I am vegan!

Unfortunatly, for the first few weeks of being "vegan", I didn't realize that I owned a leather wallet, belts, sandals, a suede purse, that my makeup was not animal friendly (or animal free! Dead stuff in my lipstick? Ew...), that I owned a pearl necklace and that nearly all my moisturizers, lip-balms, and even my soap was tarnished with products or pieces of someone!
It wasn't even until a few days ago that I noticed a few pair of pants had REAL leather logos on them, my toothpaste has what in it? And don't even mention the glue used in my all-time favorite brand of sneakers.
I stood back and said "Holy shit, I can't throw out all my stuff!"

...
So, should you throw away everything not vegan?

If you truly feel uncomfortable (or disgusted!) with items you own that are not vegan, like I felt with my food, then by all means don't keep it!

(But be intelligent about this, don't put emotions over your wellbeing: if it's your only wool sweater and that damned sweater is the difference between hypothermia and keeping adequately warm, I'd say calm the heck down and save up a little money before you dispose of it! A dead vegan isn't helpful, you know. )

If you're totally not in a position to do so, then don't worry, as long as your intent is to replace the item.

If you feel like a hypocrite, that's one thing, but it's different if you're worried someone else will think you're a hypocrite.

There are going to be people who "call you out" on this if they notice you wearing not-vegan items. Be calm dude, just tell them you understand you're wearing this-n-that and you're looking/saving up for a compassionate alternative before you get rid of it. If they still wont let you down, say you'll be glad to get rid of the item up their ass if they wanted to be helpful. (Would work best if the items were heavy boots.)

...
It's been about 5 months since the day I rampaged my kitchen, and during that time I've veganized almost all of my make-up and bathroom-type products (there are still a couple of elusive- and expensive- items that I need to replace). I saved up to purchased new pillows, belts and a decent pair of sandals, and I donated my leather, silk, wool and suede clothing.

It's a slow process, and well worth the wait for the day when you know you're truly making a difference.

Where can I locate information on veganism/animal rights/vegan cooking/etc?

2007-09-19T20:39:00.000-04:00

Now I don't want to disagree with the resident librarian, but I am going to.

I live in a small, sort of redneck-y town in NE Wisconsin. I went on Amazon to find a cookbook. I never thought about the library for some reason. Amazon will often recommend books based on past selections, so this led me to find more and more cookbooks and AR books.

I kept buying books and realized that I was spending quite a bit of cashola. So then, I thought: library. So I went to my local library and did a search on words like; vegan, veganism, animal rights, and I even tried vegetarianism. My library had SIX books. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Three of these were anti-animal rights hunting publications. I had the feeling I was barking up the wrong tree.

From there I decided to try the local colleges. My luck wasn't much better and I would have to pay a fairly hefty fee to be a "friend of the library". To top it off, neither of the schools were in a convenient location.

So whats a vegan girl in a cheese laden town to do? Well, I ration my book purchases. I really only allow myself to buy two a month. Really, I can't read much more than that.

Another option is to create wish lists. Amazon started this process but now most online companies have this option. You can go to the company and start a list of the books/videos/items you desire. Then when Aunt Edna says she has no idea what to get you for your birthday/wedding/insert holiday here, you can direct her to said website to purchase directly off your personalized wish list.

Lastly, if you know enough vegans with an interest, start a book club. That way you can all share your knowledge, make friends, and good vegan food. No one loses in that situation!

My Makeup isn't tested on animals, it's vegan right?

2007-09-19T19:35:00.000-04:00

WRONG. There is a difference between being cruelty free and being vegan. Cruelty free can mean that a product just wasn't tested on animals, these products however may still have animals in them. You may be following the PETA List, but that list only covers animal testing not the individual ingredients in makeup.

Let's go through a quick review of some of the common animal derived ingredients found in "cruelty free" makeup. These are some of the ingredients found in Revlon products including glycerin, silk, and carmine. Those are only the ones that I know how to pronounce. Revlon doesn't test on animals, but they are also most certainly not vegan. Some Revlon products are vegan accidentally like their Mitchum deodorant.

Which leads to the inevitable question number two:

Where do you get your makeup?

There are lots of truly cruelty free companies that neither test nor use animal products. Such as Beauty Without Cruelty, ELF (careful some products contain beeswax), Zia, and Bare Minerals. There are also online stores that are truly cruelty free such as Vegan Essentials, Pangea, Different Daisy, and Vegan Unlimited. The online stores also carry vegan makeup lines that don't have their own websites.

It is still important to check ingredients. Many cosmetics may still contain beeswax or silk, even if they are all natural or mislabeled as being vegan.

What if I want to see the makeup first?

I would check out your natural food stores, both the small local ones and the bigger chains like Whole Foods. However, I caution against listening to what employees say about what is and isn't vegan. I once had a Whole Foods employee tell me that their makeup was vegan, and the first bottle I checked contained silk and carmine. However I have heard that some Whole Foods carry Zia products and possibly other vegan brands as well.

Moral of the story? It is possible to be glamorous and vegan. Just know your ingredients and vegan brands when you shop, and you'll be pretty in no time.

Where can I locate information on veganism/animal rights/vegan cooking/etc?

2007-09-19T14:31:00.000-04:00

A: Go to the library!

As the resident librarian I can’t stress enough the importance of checking out your local library. If you are undecided on purchasing a particular item, see if your library has a copy or if they can request the item through inter-library loan. Most libraries belong to a state or regional consortia where they share resources among member libraries. Some well-to-do libraries will just purchase a title if it’s requested often enough.

Visit your library’s website and their respective catalog to see what items are available. Better yet, search and/or install the Worldcat browser toolbar. Hundreds of thousands of libraries use Worldcat to catalog their materials. Subsequently, you can search the catalogs of all of these libraries and see if an item is available near you.

Libraries are big on statistics. If they notice a spike in interest in a particular topic or subject matter they will order relevant materials. They determine this ‘spike’ through circulation statistics, so every time a patron requests or checks out an item these trends are recorded. If you pull an item from the shelf but leave it on the reading table they also record in-house usage, so pull out the vegan books and leave them on the tables! This also exposes patrons who may walk by and pick up the items.

Finally, let your local library know how they are doing. Many libraries have comment forms on their website or paper surveys in the buildings. Support your library though visiting every so often. Ask if you can display or drop off pamphlets or leaflets. Book a community room and host a monthly get-together. Many libraries and library staff are willing to accommodate; you just have to ask!

Look at this list! It's all about products that are "accidentally vegan!"

2007-09-19T13:43:00.001-04:00

Well, I'm sorry to rain on your parade, but pay attention to the little disclaimer near the bottom, in small print:

"*Items listed may contain trace amounts of animal-derived ingredients. While PETA supports a strict adherence to veganism, we put the task of vigorously reducing animal suffering ahead of personal purity. Boycotting products that are 99.9 percent vegan sends the message to manufacturers that there is no market for this food, which ends up hurting more animals."

Seems perfectly fine at first, right? But let's take another look at this. First, if something even has a teensy amount of an animal product in it, it's not vegan. So they are trying to make veganism "easier" by promoting... non-vegan products. Yep. That's right. PETA (regardless of their other sins/accomplishments) is trying to make vegans into non-vegans.

Second comes when you take a look at the next sentence. You know, the second one - specifically, the second part of that second sentence. "Personal purity." Ouch. So my wanting to eschew all animal products is about "personal purity"? Okay, I'll give you some of that - it can make and has made me feel extremely guilty to accidentally eat an animal product (because all vegans, even long-time ones, can fuck up!), and I don't like to do it at all. But accusations of not caring about animals and just being squeamish to actual vegans? With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Third, I think it's a big mistake to say that if we don't buy non-vegan products, it shows that there isn't a market for vegan products - after all, vegan =\= non-vegan and non-vegan =\= vegan. It pretty much just shows them that there's a market for animal products, so keep buying!

Y'see, the reason I'm vegan is not just because of "personal purity". It's not just because I don't want to be a part of the commodification and suffering - it's because I want the commodification and suffering to stop. It's because I know that, even though I'm just one person, many vegans would be a force to deal with. You know. "Together, we are strong." Call it following the herd, I don't care - I'm pushing the inevitable revolution rather than resisting it. And I wouldn't want it any other way.

So save your money, and go buy a can of chickpeas and make hummus rather than serve us (processed) non-vegan crap - which, if we're knowledgeable, we'll end up turning down, and make you feel bad. Veganism is easy! - it's just that there's a lot of people spreading misinformation about how not everything has to be vegan to, um, be vegan.

So what, do you just like, eat salads?

2007-09-19T13:16:00.001-04:00

Almost every vegan I know has gotten this question, and then thoroughly and practically answered it by ordering sesame veggies with the Thai basil vegetables, or the tempura vegetables with the sauteed mushrooms, or the garlic-fried green beans, or the pasta puttanesca, or the...

Well, you get the point.

While some vegans love salads, others absolutely hate them. I'm somewhere in-between: I like salads, but I'm very picky about them. They have to be just so. No sweet stuff except for balsamic vinegar. They must have green leafy vegetables and some sort of allium ground vegetable. They cannot have too much oiliness. And, of course, vegan.

Verdict: Easier to serve me a plate of fruit, nuts, and sea vegetables. For other vegans, it'll be pasta, bruschetta, cole slaw, grilled portabellas, or whatever else that's vegan.

So go easy on yourself and skip the salad - make them something else. A vegetable pot pie will usually work - you can find lots of easy recipes for them on the Internet (which you obviously have if you're reading this). If all else fails, go to the vegan themselves and ask them, what do you like? I guarantee that there will be something that's easy to cook, cheap, and readily available. By ignoring the vast amounts of information at your fingertips, you're practically guaranteeing that the vegan in your life will be difficult to cook for!

How about fish/chicken/eggs?

2007-09-19T12:22:00.000-04:00

My favourite response to this one is from my friend Dana: "Find me the seeds to grow them, then get back to me."

Back when I did consume dairy/eggs (which really isn't much of a moral stance; you're still exploiting animals if you're using the products of their bodies), I'd get this question constantly. Nowadays, there are people who understand lactose intolerance, so they never question that. They also seem to understand that many Hindus do not partake of eggs. Again, not a huge leap. But after all those options are done, the "other" stuff starts.

Let me set the record straight: Just because they don't show pain like you do does not mean they are incapable of pain. Just because they cannot speak in your language to tell you to leave them alone does not give you a right to use them for your desires. They're still sentient beings, and I'd rather leave them alone, thanks.

"You're so brave!"

2007-09-19T00:35:00.000-04:00

Whenever I hear this, really, it makes me want to be violently ill. Is the state of our world really so terrible that no one stands up for what they believe in anymore? But to the point...

Yes. Yes I am.

I am brave to be vegan in the face of a world of humans that tells me, "It's not natural," "You're going to starve," "You're a freak," "What? That's crazy!" "I could never do that," "Oh, I forgot to order the vegan meal for you," "You're a self-righteous fanatic," "You're a terrorist," and, yes, "Oh, you're so brave!" (Usually followed by, "I could never do that...")

Shit yes I'm brave to face off to that from nearly everyone I meet. Shit yes I'm brave to face off against the FBI, CIA, whatever organisation it is that's calling us terrorists these days. Shit yes I'm brave to face off against hunters (note, they're armed).

You know why I'm brave enough to face ridicule, loss of food, even imprisonment?

Because I know...

If I don't do this, someone will get hurt.

Or rather, because I am not doing something, it is:

If I do the opposite (using animals), someone will get hurt.

Yes. So they're "just animals". So what? You're "just" a human to them. Why shouldn't I look at it from their point of view rather than yours? Their lives are infinitely more worthy of existence than yours to their point of view.

In a world where hundreds of millions of animals are slaughtered and abused every day, I can do no less. In a world where millions of animals are force-fed, in a world where millions of animals are starved, in a world where millions of animals are beaten, in a world where millions of animals have their throats slit for no other crime than being born into the wrong body - every day - I can do no less.

So think about why you admire me, and instead of hanging by the sidelines, get in there. Learn. See. Hear. You'll become brave too.

Shit yes I'm brave.

How do I live cheaply on a vegan diet?

2007-09-18T23:47:00.000-04:00

Drop the processed products - fake meats, packaged plant milks, and especially the vegan caviar. You don't need it. No, really, you don't. No, not even for protein.

Cut it down to the bare basics - grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes.

Organic barley is $.69/lb.
Organic hard red wheatberries are $.59/lb.
Organic speltberries are $1.39/lb.
Organic oats are $.50/lb.
The really expensive organic potatoes are $.91/lb.
Organic kale is $1.39/bunch ($2/bunch at some places).
Fruit ranges from $.39/lb. (organic minneolas whoohoo!) to $4/lb. (Avoid!)
Growing 20 bunches of your own leafy greens in a square foot gardening box, $1.50 and a whole lotta time.
Weekly/daily B-12 tablet or spray: $.12-$.50/tablet or spray.

Compare that to (prices from Harris Teeter):

Bologna: $4.99/lb.
Honey-Baked Ham (or, as we vegans affectionately call it, "pig butt"): $4.49/lb.
Sockeye Salmon: $9.99/lb.
Ballpark Franks: $3/pack
Smoked Bacon: $3.99/lb.
Whole Chicken Body: $1.99/lb.

And oh man, if you want to get organic flesh so you can eat someone's carcass and feel good about it, well fuck...

So, say you're eating in a week:

4 lbs. of potatoes ($3.64)
1 lb. of oats ($.50)
3 lbs. of barley ($2.27) (keep in mind that this is about 2,000 calories).
2 bunches of kale ($4)
6 lbs. non-organic and organic fruit ($7-$9)
Daily B-12 tablets ($3.50)

And, drumroll please.. $24.49.

Yep, that's right. You're still under $30/week; add a few more bunches of kale and you'll still be under $30/week. Now, I don't know about you, but the rest of my family spends about $800/month on food alone, because their diet's made up of mainly non-vegan products, which are more expensive. There's the feeding costs, the space costs, the lighting costs, the water costs, the construction costs, the worker costs, the equipment costs - beak cutters and such, the transportation costs (to the slaughterhouse and away), the economic cost to the citizens for having the government subsidise it, the health care costs, the environmental costs, etc. etc. Meanwhile, we vegans are over here munching on our cheap dinner that was comprised of: watering costs, space costs, harvesting costs, transportation costs (actually, harvesting costs could fall under this), worker costs, offset by lowering health care costs, (usually) lower environmental costs, etc. etc.

So, what you're really saying is...

How do I not cook and still live cheaply as a vegan?

Answer: you can't. But wait!

I didn't much like cooking either, when I started as a carnist. I hated it so much that I refused to learn! Then, of course, I became vegan, and because I didn't have many prepackaged foods available, I began to cook - and I liked it. Says my girlfriend:

With veganism, I actually enjoyed learning how to cook. It was far more simpler to handle plant-based foods than it would ever be to handle animal flesh. It is less time consuming, and more frugal to cook (or uncook, for raw vegans) plant-based foods. Animal flesh is expensive, hazardous to handle, time-consuming to handle and cook it properly and NOT only that, but to cook it in a way that would render it appetizing (people commonly load up on salt, spices, marinades, sauces, breading, frying, etc to mask the actual "taste" of death.

So go on and save your pocketbook.. and the animals, too.

(P.S. Potatoes do well in the microwave, for quick meals.)

What about plants?

2007-09-18T23:21:00.000-04:00

This is a question I sometimes hear (though I have no reason on Earth why...).

What about plants? They feel pain too!

Let me take this piece by piece.

First, you have a factually incorrect premise and a logically incorrect premise: that plants feel pain (factual) and that if plants felt pain, and we eat plants, then it's not wrong to eat animals (logical).

The factual premise is wrong, well, because of science and because of common sense. First, the science-y part of it is broken up into three parts: behavioural, evolutionary, and anatomical.

Behavioural: Even mollusks will pull away from a painful touch. Clams will snap closed; bees will start stinging more easily; fish will writhe. Yet, plants do none of these things. Part of the reason that we know animals feel pain is that they show it - yes, even cows, if you know what to look for! Plants cannot scream, writhe, pull away, or move at all to get away from pain. This leads us to the next segment...
Evolutionary: Plants can't move. They can grow, but they can't move. (Corals are, believe it or not, collections of animals, so they don't count.) So why would they have any reason to develop or retain the ability to feel pain? Not only that, but being in pain constantly - say, from being eaten by bugs - tends to send someone into shock, unable to function. All plants that had the ability to feel pain would have died out because they wouldn't have been able to function. Sure, they'd respirate and whatnot, but they wouldn't actually be able to do anything. And that leads us to the last segment...
Anatomical: Yes, surprisingly, having a central nervous system doesn't mean much (mollusks, clams, mussels, etc. can feel pain; they just react to it later because they have a nerve net rather than a CNS); having a nervous system does. One must have nerves that transmit pain to feel pain, as well as the neurotransmitters to feel pain with; and no, the veins you see on plant leaves are not nerves. Das Ende.

Then there is the common sense argument: do you really believe that slicing a lettuce in half is the same as slicing a dog in half? (Hint: if you said "yes" to this, you're lying or off your meds.)

The second fallacious premise - that it can't be wrong to eat animals if plants feel pain and we eat those too - stands on the idea that veganism is impossible to do "perfectly" unless you're dead - it's used as an excuse to not go vegan, and nothing more. All of you out there who are reading this know that, because you've had it used on you or you've used it. But if you do really believe it, think about this:

It kills more plants to eat animals than it does to just eat plants.

Yep, that's right. It's not even, it's not balanced. It takes 10+ pounds of wheat to have a cow pack on a pound of flesh (let's remember that there's a someone in the equation, eh?), three lbs. for chickens. Meanwhile, us vegans are happily chowing down on that lb. of wheat ourselves, while the carnists are eating a lb. of steak and along with it, those 10+ lbs. of wheat. (I'll let someone else do the environmental implications of "grass-fed" cow flesh.)

So, if you're really concerned about plants, the best thing to do is, yep, go vegan! Or fruitarian, since theoretically you don't have to kill any plants to remain on that diet. (Go to http://fruitarian.org for more. ;))

Remember... don't get mad... get vegan!

"But I'm addicted to cheese!"

2007-09-18T22:29:00.001-04:00

"Oh I could never be vegan. I'm addicted to cheese!"

Yes, indeed you are addicted; but you *can* go vegan!

Let me explain. You see, all mammalian mothers (including cows and humans) secrete a protein called casein in their milk which when consumed by their babies converts into a substance called casomorphine. Yes it's related to *that* morphine. Nature puts a little of this calming "drug" in there so that babies of all species want to go back to mom for milk and grow up strong and healthy eating what's best for them.

Now, having messed with the natural order of things, stealing milk from other species and continuing to drink it into adulthood, humans are consuming large amounts of casein every day. Unconsciously we're getting that subtle high as our bodies process casomorphines. The product that is most concentrated with the stuff is cheese. Casein is what makes cheese melt (which is why some manufacturers put it into soy cheeses-- so always read your labels!) and also what makes it addictive to us.

I know what you're saying; "hey, it's a natural high; what's wrong with that?" Well... It's not really *natural* for humans to be drinking food designed to make calves gain hundreds of pounds of weight within a few months. The authors of Skinny Bitch say that if women give up one animal product to lose weight it should be dairy. Kinda makes sense, doesn't it? There's also the fact that many, many people, especially people of African, Asian and Latino backgrounds are actually allergic to dairy in some capacity. its been linked to frequent stomach irritations, constipation and acne among other common health complaints. Furthermore The China Study singles out casein as the most dangerous animal protein we consume. Seems that what makes your butt grow too big for your jeans is also what can make a few anomalous cells grow into cancerous tumors. Scary stuff.

"But I need calcium!"

You certainly DO need calcium, but you're way better off getting that from plant foods as they generally offer more absorpable sources of calcium without all the heart-clogging saturated fats and harmful animal proteins present in dairy. The dairy industry has spent a ton of money on "Got Milk" ads and other campaigns to get you to think dairy products are the only sources of calcium but this isn't true at all. If you're eating a well-balanced, varied vegan diet then getting the calcium you need is no problem. Did you know that tofu, sesame seeds, collard greens, figs, almonds, flax seeds, arugula, white beans, kelp, kidney beans, black beans kale and LOTS of other foods actually have more calcium that cow's milk (per 100 grams)? If you're still worried about getting enough, add some fortified soy milk or orange juice or maybe some blackstrap molasses to your breakfast. Easy and yummy.

So if that doesn't get you off of the cheese, there are other points to consider too. For instance, did you know that the veal industry is a byproduct of the dairy industry? You see, cows need to have babies to give milk, and while female calves will become dairy cows themselves, the males will be turned into veal (typically after living a short, miserable life in a dark crate deprived of the nutrition they need-- to keep their flesh pale) or, if prices are low some factory farms will simple kill them straight away. In any case all calves are taken away from their moms within hours of birth since it is their milk farmers are after-- and they won't be sharing it. Something else to consider is the rennet used in cheesemaking. Traditionally rennet (used as a curdling agent) is made of baby cow stomach. Some cheaper cheeses use vegetable or microbial rennet from non-animal sources, but if you're eating fancier-type cheeses (including cheddar, parmesan and brie), or eating out in a restaurant where you can't check the labels-- you can't really be sure you're eating a product that can even be labeled vegetarian. Oh, and goat cheese often requires rennet from goat stomachs too. So you aren't off the hook there either.

Finally, I'll attempt to simply gross you out: dairy products are fulla pus. Yup, you're eating... pus. Since dairy cattle are generally kept in pretty heinous conditions (standing on dirty pavement hooked up to machines all day and never getting to see the sun or step foot on grass) they tend to get an infection of their udders called mastitus which causes the area to become inflamed, pus-filled and really painful for cows. Pretty much all milk and cheese in the U.S. contains unbelievable levels of pus.

"Ok, you got me you crafty vegan demon; what can I eat now?"

I highly recommend the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak. Her recipes are all-natural blends of healthier ingredients like tofu, nuts, sea vegetables, tomato products, tahini, vegetable oils, beans, herbs and spices. I also like some of the commercial products on the market such as Follow Your Heart brand vegan cheeses or Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese (make sure to get the trans fat free version with the yellow label!) but you may want to give yourself some time away from cheese before you try some of these recipes and products. They don't taste *exactly* like cheese and you'll appreciate them more once you've conquered your post-addiction jitters (they really do go away after two weeks or so, honest!) Health and compassion will taste so much better than concentrated cow pus ever did. :)

The delicious picture up top is the "Gooey Grilled Cheez" from Ultimate Uncheese cookbook on whole grain oat bread with slices of a farmers' market tomato. The recipe is very easy and fast and probably have all of the ingredients you need to make it already. I love how it has that crazy orange Kraft Single look (fun fact: Kraft Singles cannot legally be labeled "processed cheese food" anymore as they don't even use milk, but some weird milk byproduct. Now it has to say "processed cheese product" on the package. Scary eeh?) to it even though it's colored only with nutritional yeast and tumeric! I promise it's really, really yummy too.

What do you eat? (Raw Vegan Edition)

2007-09-18T19:08:00.001-04:00

Well, when I first began my veganity, I got a lot of that question. "What do you eat, anyways?" And I would need to have a list on hand, simply because there was so much I ate and still do eat. But that list has changed some from the past now that I'm edging into being raw. So this list concerns raw vegans.

Now, let's get one thing straight: There are raw vegetarians (omnivores - milk and/or eggs and/or honey) and raw carnists (omnivores - all animal products) and raw vegans (herbivores - no animal products). I'm a raw vegan, and hoo boy, if you come up to me and tell me you're a vegan, you had best not be eatin' honey if you want your ovaries/nads to stay away from your nose. But I'll leave the "why not honey?" question for someone else. :)

So, to start this list off, this is what I had today:

Breakfast - Raw cashews; an apple; a grapefruit; green tea.
Lunch - Arame pasta with miso-(raw) tahini sauce and leek, zucchini, and anaheim pepper; kale salad with a similar miso-tahini dressing; strawberries; an apple; "wakame" (what Toshki, one of our Japanese exchange students, says is actually called "kom"); green tea.
Afternoon snack: Raw hummus with red bell pepper sticks; coffee with raw agave nectar.
Dinner: More kom with some apples; a chard/leek/cabbage/zucchini/carrot salad with raw tahini-dill-sage dressing; green tea; and whatever else that I feel like eating (hint: it's not gonna be non-vegan).

See? Looks pretty filling, and I mean "lyk woah" kind of filling. Extrapolating from this, raw vegans can eat everything that non-raw vegans do (yes, the hummus was made with garbanzos!), just prepared differently. So, raw vegans (and vegans!) eat:

Fruits: Lychees, bell peppers, habanero peppers, anaheim peppers, serrano peppers, chile peppers, more peppers!, apples of all kinds, pears of all kinds, oranges of all kinds, plums of all kinds, lemons, limes, butternut squash, carnival squash, acorn squash, buttercup squash, more squash!, cherries of all kinds, pineapples, mangoes of all kinds, kiwis, bananas, apricots, nectarines, peaches, grapefruits of all kinds, zucchini, watermelons of all kinds, summer squash, avocados, dates (yes please!), cherimoyas, tamarind, citron, guavas, passionfruit, figs, currants, blackberries, raspberries, marionberries, gooseberries, coconuts, raisins, olives, acai, papayas, grapes, eggplants of all kinds, tomatoes, cantaloupe, muskmelon, dragonfruit, and all other fruit from every other place on the globe.

Vegetables: Potatoes of all kinds, lettuce of all kinds, leeks, carrots of all kinds, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, Brussels sprouts, fennel, watercress, onions of all kinds, garlic of all kinds, rhubarb, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, beets of all kinds, radishes of all kinds, yams, sweet potatoes, turnip greens, capers, asparagus, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, okra, pickles, cucumbers, saurkraut, weisskraut, mushrooms of all kinds (I know they're not vegetables, I didn't want to make another category!).

Dark Leafy Green Vegetables: Chard of all kinds, kale of all kinds, spinach of all kinds, mustard greens (I consider this a DLG because of its extremely high nutrient content), collard greens.

Nuts & Seeds: Pistachios, Brazil nuts, cashews, walnuts, almonds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, macadamia nuts, pecans, hazelnuts (filberts), sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, carob, chestnuts, pine nuts.

Grains (raw vegans can eat these sprouted): Corn (raw already), barley, rye, spelt, wheat (and wheatberries), quinoa, oats, kamut wheat, rice of all kinds, millet.

Legumes (again, raw if they're sprouted): Chickpeas (garbanzos), kidney beans, green beans, wax beans, peanuts, black beans, pinto beans, canellini beans, peas of all kinds, red beans, more beans!, cacao beans, lentils of all kinds.

Spices & Herbs: Black pepper, pink pepper, white pepper, basil, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, dillweed, dillseed, chamomile, lavender, cumin, turmeric, fennelseed, fenugreek, marjoram, tarragon, sage, thyme, cayenne pepper, rosemary, oregano, anise, Chinese star anise, allspice, vanilla beans, cloves, orange peel, applewood, lemongrass, savory, peppermint, spearmint, saffron, paprika, horseradish, asafoetida, wasabi, soy sauce.

Sweeteners: Agave nectar, raw/unrefined sugar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, molasses, blackstrap molasses, stevia, xylitol.

To drink: Water, white tea, black tea, green tea, oolong tea, herbal tea, juices (as long as they're not animal tested or have fish in them - yeah, I know), smoothies (dairy-free), vegan wine and beer and other liquors, (sorry Dino!) vegan hazelnut milk, etc.

Now, I've missed more than a few things on this list, but it's long enough that it'll let the curious know exactly - what does a vegan eat? And it would be cool if vegans could just point to this list and say, "this!" Just remember that, in reality, a vegan eating cooked food eats far more than this - wheat and non-wheat pasta, grain breads, and so on. (Yes, some of these can be imitated, but not replicated, by raw foods - but I prefer not to go to that.)

So the next time someone asks you, "What does a vegan eat, anyways?", you have somewhere to go!

You're so brave!

2007-09-18T08:12:00.000-04:00

It's inevitable that this one comes up at some point during the discussion. In fact, I'd say it's one of the most common misperceptions about being or going vegan: that it requires this great amount of will power, or that you're doing something difficult or self-sacrificing. I would like to address this issue, because I find it to be problematic.

First and foremost, it's not hard to do. With the amount of food available to me, for the asking, I'd hardly call what I'm doing difficult. In fact, seemingly by magic, food turns up at the grocery store all ready for me to buy. I rarely have to worry about spoiled food (unless I left it in the fridge too long), nor do I have to walk a few kilometres to access my food. It's right there at the nearest store, and Steve has a car that can get us to that store and back. We're not living in my grandfather's time, where there was no refrigeration, and food had to be purchased daily—at the market which is five kilometres away—or the family would starve. Not only did he have a family of seven to feed (himself, wife, five children), he also had to go to his work and cook the food himself as well. I don't live in a developing nation, where such things as regular access to food is a big deal. This is hardly a difficult lifestyle here, folks. Let's keep things in perspective, hmm?
Secondly, it's not hard to cook the food either. Again, I point to the fact that I live in a country where I have a gadget to do pretty close to anything I want done. I have a food processor to chop, slice and mince my vegetables, leaves, herbs, and beans to exactly the size I want. I have a bread maker to make fresh loaves of bread whenever I want them. The yeast that I use is premeasured into little packages that are perfect for one loaf of bread. I've got both a single burner gas stove, and a four burner electric stove. My oven works very efficiently. My blender can do a number on some oil, acid, and herbs for salad dressings. I have a crock pot, where I can dump dried beans, and come out with cooked at the end of a work day. I never have to babysit the programmable little dream. Again, not that hard, people. I remember my mother spending all that time with her knife, her cutting board, and pots and pans just to get a meal on the table.
Furthermore, since when is living according to your principles considered hard? When I was a Hindu, nobody thought me "brave" or "heroic" for avoiding cow's flesh; it was simply assumed that since it's my morals, it's normal for me to follow it. Similarly, my Jewish, Muslim, and Christian friends don't get equal praise for following their respective religions; for them, it's merely their way of life. If you can accept a Muslim person's avoiding pig's flesh, why is it so hard to understand that I'm doing the same when I avoid the products of all animals? Sure, Muslims don't need pig's flesh to live, but neither do I need the products of torture to live a fulfilling life. Is there some part of this I'm missing here?
Willpower. If you know me, you know very well that I lack it utterly and completely. It's not a question of willpower. It's a question of knowing what I know, and being unable to un-know.

What I'm trying to get at with all of this is that I'm not this saint for following what I know to be right. I'm not a martyr, I'm not making huge sacrifices, and what I'm doing is certainly not difficult. I appreciate the sentiment, because it shows that people to recognise that I'm doing something important by holding true to my values. That being said, it's certainly not hard!

But dairy and eggs don't actually harm animals, right?

2007-09-17T21:37:00.000-04:00

I am not sure if I have ever heard a statement more false. There are so many reasons that this statement just doesn't add up.

1. I don't know which is worse, being brought into the world solely for slaughter or being brought into the world to be used for your milk/eggs and then slaughtered. Put very simply, when a dairy cow can no longer produce milk, she is slaughtered and made into cheap beef. Same with chickens. When they no longer lay eggs, they are slaughtered. Plain and simple. This applies to organic, free-range, and factory farmed.

2. One word - Veal. I assume that any one reading this would know what veal is, but if not I will explain it to you. In order to produce milk, a cow must give birth (no, cows aren't just milk machines, they give milk for the same reasons humans do). If the cow gives birth to a female, that female is raised to also produce milk. If it gives birth to a male, that bull is raised for veal. This means that the calf is confined to a crate just big enough for him to stand up and turn around. He is given formula to ensure that he doesn't build up too much muscle. While we take the milk intended for him. No thanks.

3. Related to Number 2 (sort of). When male chicks are born in a layer house, they have no economic value. They are often ground up alive, suffocated, or simply thrown in a dumpster. Reading this statement makes my stomach turn.

4. It greatly decreases the lifespan of the animal. A cow can live to be well into it's thirties. The average age of a dairy cow is 5.

5. Its cruel. In other words, we do not need these products to survive and forcing cow/chicken to live in such horrible conditions simply because we like the way something tastes is wrong.

But don’t you miss dairy?

2007-09-17T19:19:00.000-04:00

“One day I was visiting my parents and all of a sudden I started to crave manicotti!” So were the words of a long-time friend, a person that inspired me to go vegan, but who ultimately (after 5-plus years, no less) went the way of so many ex-vegans that seem to surface the moment I mention that I’m vegan.

The answer I give people who ask if I miss or crave cow’s milk, cheese, ice cream (insert creamy cheesy product) is a resounding “No.” I don’t crave dairy products, because like most of the brown people in this world I am lactose intolerant. While signs of lactose intolerance can be spotted in premature babies and young children - regardless of race or ethnicity - the inability to properly digest lactase enzymes are prevalent in Native American, black, Asian, and Hispanic populations.

When I learned that I was lactose intolerant in my early 20s it forced me to seek out alternatives for calcium, which was not hard, much to the relief of my worried mother, since so many foods are fortified. When I started moving to a plant-based diet I was surprised to learn how much calcium leafy green vegetables pack in a serving. And all that time I thought the way to strong and healthy bones was through the mammary secretions of herbivorous animals. (Side-rant: If we called milk for what it is, would people still clamor for a slice of that hideous American single?)

When people talk of craving milk products, they are not too far off; casomorphins (think casein + morphine) in cow’s milk is a protein compound that draws baby calves to their mother. Humans who consume large amounts of cheese can actually experience cravings for the stuff, similar to a coffee drinkers’ need for their morning cup.

Just like hardcore coffee drinkers can cut back and ultimately stop drinking coffee, so too can those hardcore cheese eaters. I personally stopped consuming dairy products all at once, but for those products that you think you cannot live without, chances are there are vegan alternatives. If you’re craving something salty along the lines of parmesan, toast some walnuts or use a soy sauce, two products that contain high levels of naturally-occurring glutamate (of MSG fame.) There are plenty of options for non-dairy ice creams, and I’ve found that extra firm silken tofu achieves a texture very similar to cheese cake. Beware of some soy cheeses that contain whey and casein. Or better yet, give your taste buds time to adjust and appreciate the multitude of foods beyond dairy.

An Animal's Dinner, or Animals for Dinner?

2007-09-17T17:04:00.000-04:00

I was recently asked, "Why are you vegan, because if an animal had a chance to eat/kill you, it would."

1. Fear: If a Bear approached you in your yard, would you embrace it and be kind, or use some type of defense mechanism? Most likely, you would attack or run.

If an animal attacks a human it is most likely due to fear. It does not know your intentions or understand your language; and if anything, has been introduced to a hunter or two or a thousand. We cannot blame animals for trying to protect their homes, young, families, or self. If anything, having the type of intelligence that we do, we should understand that the burden for peaceful interaction falls on us.

2. Hunger: If the animal does attack out of hunger (which is unlikely) it is because that animal sees you as you are - another animal. Non-human omnivorous/carnivorous animals have not yet taken to gardening nor can they analyze animal rights philosophy, and human occupation of their lands is making it a great deal harder for them to find food. My point is, animals interact with the world instinctively and with a different type of intelligence than humans do. Let's not fail to note that humans have been known to eat humans under severely strained circumstances (that's not including psychopathic behavior).

3. Let's be honest: Veganism in no way states that a person cannot harm an animal (human or non-human) in the case of self-defense. But when omnivores eat animals, it is only for tradition and personal enjoyment, not self-preservation. Cows, Pigs, Chickens, Fish, etc. are bred and tortured for nothing more than fun and enjoyment...

ANIMAL PRODUCTS ARE NOT NECESSARY FOR SURVIVAL!

Would you eat meat if ...you were stranded on a desert island ....?

2007-09-17T11:49:00.000-04:00

(or any other highly implausible hypothetical scenario...?)

I hear this one all the time and it is so fucking annoying!

My latest answer to this is "No, I'll just wait for the Dharma Initiative to drop off the peanut butter!" (Lost fans will get it. If you don't watch Lost, then please do, it's really rather good.)

Seriously though (if you're going to keep on at me, or add new conditions to the hypothetical) it's not very likely to happen is it? And if it does, and I have to choose between eating the McDonalds or starving to death (wait... why is there a McDonalds on the island...?)* then, I might just think about it...

But!! Did anyone else die in the plane crash? Are there any human bodies? Hey, I could try cannibalism, like those guys whose true story was made into that film, Alive! Might just do that then have the animal meat for dessert! I've heard it's rather nice, tastes a bit like chicken. (This is always a good one to fire back at any irritating omnivore.)

But just as I'm not about to go cannibal in everyday life, I'm not about to give up my veganism either just because of the very unlikely chance that one day I might be stuck in a situation where I'm left with little choice for survival.... so please stop asking me stupid questions, kthxbye.

*someone actually said this to me

What's all this business about vegansexuals?

2007-09-17T06:39:00.002-04:00

Vegansexuals is a term coined by Dr. Annie Potts of the New Zealand Centre for Animal and Human Studies to describe those vegans who are repulsed by the idea of engaging in sexual activity with non-vegans. Since the study that prompted the term hit mainstream presses, all sorts of talking heads have jumped on the bandwagon of stupid. Google "vegansexual" to see what I mean.

Anyway, some vegans do not like being with non-vegans, because of taste, not wanting to kiss someone who has put something in their mouth that you find repulsive, and ethical reasons. People in general tend to be turned off by other people who do things they find morally reprehensible. It only makes sense. For the non-vegans out there, would you be attracted to someone who you found out likes to drown puppies in his/her spare time? It's the same sort of situation; eating meat just happens to be more socially acceptable.

Also, not all vegans are fortunate enough to be with other vegans. Some are married to vegetarians or omnivores, and they find ways to work it out. The media may talk about "vegansexuals" as a new movement or a new tactic for the "vegan movement," but it's garbage. While I'd never have sex with someone who wasn't vegan, I would never call myself something as stupid as vegansexual, nor would I pressure others into breaking up or not having sex if one of them is vegan and the other is not.

To sum up, vegansexual is just another way the media makes veganism look ridiculous.

Is (human) breast milk/semen vegan??

2007-09-16T13:01:00.000-04:00

AAAuuurggghhhhhh!!!!!!

Although they are technically animal products, they are given with consent (particularly the latter!) so nobody is being exploited, and it is perfectly ethical for vegans to consume them, or indeed donate them for consumption.

Since the dreadful case of the ridiculously stupid parents of Crown Shakur, a poor baby who died after being fed only soya milk and apple juice, I have heard this question come up rather alot. The carton even stated on it this was not suitable for use as formula for babies. (The same would have applied to cows' milk, but had a baby been fed only cows milk by a negligent parent and died, all this media frenzy would not have happened in the same way.)

Vegan babies should ideally be fed breast milk from a mother eating a nutritionally balanced diet, and there plenty are books on the subject for mothers to do their research, one of the best being Becoming Vegan by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis. If for any reason mothers are unable to breastfeed, babies should be fed a proper formula and not soy milk or cows milk for that matter, there are some soya formulas out there, mainly for lactose-intolerant babies.

Onto the semen, and it has been well documented that vegans taste a lot better than omnivores, so many (but by no means all) vegans won't swallow simply because omni's taste nasty- so it's not an issue of ethics so much as one of taste. So gentlemen, best way to increase your chances of receiving oral sex from a vegan partner might be to go vegan yourself! ;)

But, it's so hard?

2007-09-16T08:48:00.000-04:00

Or, alternatively titled, "Isn't it hard to go vegan?"

This question, I think, is right up there in the frequently asked column. Like every single day frequent. It comes in all shapes and sizes: 'I don't have the will-power', 'I could ... except for the cheese', 'vegetarian maybe, but definitely not vegan' etc. However, unlike some questions (think along the lines of Plants Have Feelings), this one is genuinely valid. To some, and I guess all at some point, it's a looming transformation. Gotcha; understood.

It can probably be attributed to two things: 1) an honest (or not so honest) skepticism about what it is exactly that vegans eat, or 2) the traditional disconnect between the consumption of food and our behaviour towards other animals.

As almost everyone who even considers veganism in passing wonders this, the first reason makes some sense. Veganism is strongly associated with a dietry category, and therefore, a viable solution to the 'If not meat or dairy, what else?' idea must be accounted for. We are nothing without a practical solution to this ... erh ... crisis. Culinary King (or Queen ;) ), Dino, already has this covered so I won't rehash it.

On the second point, I think ethics come into play. Yep, I said it - that dreaded word: ethics. On the outset, veganism comes off as a pretty radical change. And, I'm not going to lie to you, in many ways it is. For most vegans that I know, this change is more of a change in outlook rather than anything else of significance. Put simply, it opens new doors and avenues previously unexplored instead of closing them.

More to the point (and less of my rambling), I don't think this perceived superhuman will-power even comes into the equation. Once your truly sold on the idea of compassion for all animals and stopping horrific exploitation, there is no need to somehow measure your courage, and wonder if you can muster the strength to climb that ledge. You just do it. You match behaviour to ethics, and you feel all the more joyous for it. This is not to say that it must be an overnight, cold-tofu approach, but you create stepping-stones in that direction if that is what will work best for you.

For me personally, veganism can be likened to a reward - I have sacrificed nothing and gained absolutely everything. Yes, I know - it sounds cliche. However, it also happens to be completely true.

So, in a belated answer to the original question, no it's not too hard.

Don't you miss being able to eat meat/cheese/etc?

2007-09-16T07:58:00.000-04:00

"Since you sometimes eat seitan, TVP, tofu, and other things commonly used as a substitute for meat, and you seem to like nutritional yeast and vegan cheeses, doesn't that mean you miss the real stuff?"

I was raised on the Standard American Diet. I've eaten more dead animals than I care to admit. But having not had any meat in nearly 5 years, and other animal products in well over 2 years, the sight and smell of the "real stuff" makes me both very sad and physically ill. The one time I was accidentally given something with real cheese in it, the cheese tasted like rubber, and the moment I realized what it was, I didn't want to eat it.

In short, no, I do not miss meat, eggs or dairy. And the fake meats and cheeses are things I can - and frequently do - abstain from. Most of the stuff is overprocessed chemical Frankenfood, and some of it is so creepily close to the original it disturbs me.

Furthermore, I'm not depriving myself. My diet has been much more varied since going vegan, and I no longer eat compulsively. I'm free to eat whatever I want. I simply don't want to eat the products of torture.

What do you eat!?

2007-09-16T07:52:00.000-04:00

Of all the questions that I've ever gotten, this one has to be the most common one. Although I do have an easy out for it, which is, "I eat everything that I used to, with the exception of the dairy and eggs. See, I was raised Indian vegetarian, and we generally eat a lot of food that's already vegan. This tiny little step was easy for me." This is what I call my quick and dirty answer. It's my default for if I'm in a hurry, can't be bothered to spend more time with the person, or am really not in the mood to launch into a dissertation about my dietary habits. It's also an easy out for me, and I know that I shouldn't use it quite so much, because it's going to start making vegans who weren't raised with my lifestyle seem like they're deprived or something.

If I do have more time, I'll go into further depth. "Well, there's grains, pasta, fresh and cooked vegetables, nuts, seeds, berries, dark leafy greens (which I hope you're getting enough of!), lots of beans, legumes, and other such things that I eat all the time." That's closer to reality for me, because although a lot of my food is heavily based on Indian cuisine, there's plenty of it that I improvise, or randomly make up on the spot. Calling the food that I make at home "Indian vegan" would be a gross underestimation from reality. Come to think of it, I eat a huge variety of foods, straight from the produce aisle, and eat more of a variety, now that I've realised that not everything need have dairy in it to be a meal (the pitfall that many Indian vegetarians fall into).

Finally, if I'm reaching the end of my rope, and the person's getting on my nerves, there's always the, "I eat such a variety that I wrote a cookbook about it, that's available on Amazon, which people are buying as we speak. How 'bout you?"

So here it is!

2007-09-16T07:41:00.000-04:00

I remember going vegan, and being astounded by the sheer volume of information and resources that I had available to me. Unfortunately, the resources that my friends would direct me toward were either by someone else, or so long and bulky that my head started spinning after reading a paragraph or so. I started this project in the hopes that if a group of vegans get together, our complaining can be channeled into something useful.

Enter VeganFAQs. The reasoning behind this project is simple: I want to see how my fellow vegans navigate the world of omnivore questions. Everything from the serious, "What do you eat" to the silly "What if it just has a little bit of cheese in it?" The responses can be serious, funny, introspective, or anything else the author desires to include. The important thing is that we all get a chance to share how we'd answer a question. We hope you enjoy our little slice of the web.

Writing Prompts

2007-09-01T09:02:00.000-04:00

This is a place to keep all of our ideas for new posts. If we're ever feeling writer's block, all we have to do is read the comments on here, and we'll get the brain juices flowing. :)