Pets Verses All Other Animals

And we are only able to see those animals that are classified by us as a “pet,” or a better description, a companion animal, defined by Wikipedia, “as an animal that is kept primarily for a person’s company, protection, or entertainment–rather than as a working animal, livestock, or laboratory animal,” and are worthy of our human love. Though not yet worthy of respect and equality, as they too are disposable if they should become inconvenient. And whether or not an animal is deemed worthy of the classification of “pet” depends on what culture we happen to belong to. “Food animals” are chosen at our whim, and classified as “less than animals,” and not worthy of any humane treatment at all, as they are merely processed factory objects, broken down into body parts.

Food Choices

However, when we dare to stop our consuming of those dead body parts that make up our conditioned food choices, we are finally able to snap ourselves out of this mass trance, and unchained we begin to dance to our own heartbeat. And suddenly, we can open up our hearts to fully see for the first time in our lives, awakening first to ourselves, and then to others. We begin to colour outside the lines of the limitations that were brainwashed into our consciousness from birth. There is no more perception of “less than,” for ourselves or others, no more blindly following orders, passed on mindlessly from one generation to another, no more numbing of our feelings. Will Tuttle, the author of the World Peace Diet, says we reclaim our intelligence, which he defines as the ability to make connections.  And we remember who we really are, and celebrate our connections to the earth, to each other, and to all living things.

When we tear off our blindfolds, and remove our masks of conformity, we breath in freedom. “We all wear masks,” writes Gaurav Bhalla,“And it’s fear that drives us to do so. Fear of censure and ridicule, or fear of not getting the approval we seek. But these fears reduce dramatically when we commit ourselves to a worthy cause, as our worth is now elevated by the worthiness of the cause. Our commitment to it shields us from censure and ridicule, and significantly reduces our need for approval.”

Vegan Female Superheroes

Our world needs more vegan female superheroes. Women’s Media Center president Julie Burton says, “There isn’t yet enough of an assumption that women can solidly occupy this position of hero, of being the savior.” Astudy titled SuperPowering Girls conducted by BBC America and the Women’s Media Center found that three-fourths of girls 10-19 said their favorite female superheroes make them feel strong, brave, or inspired. And nearly six in 10 said watching female heroes makes them believe they can do anything–with girls of color more likely to strongly agree with that statement.

In her blog “Redefining Leadership,” Katherine Divine, inspired by the concept of ethical vegan leadership as the solution to world peace, writes,“As hard as it can be to break through the masculine created systems on this planet: girls, women and all others who identify as feminine, please keep going. We need you more than ever to be there at the forefront. To lead. Your feminine energies are needed to heal. To heal a world that has become so unbalanced and has fallen into a void of much confusion and lack of meaningful direction.”

And she concludes, “I see so much talent among girls and women wherever I go.

Be confident in your ability.

Let yourselves be seen and heard.

Ignore anything that crosses your path that says you are not enough.

Use whatever skills and abilities you have and develop them further to be the leader you were born to be.”

The post Calling All Vegan Female Superheroes: Save Our World! appeared first on Chic Vegan.

I know someone who’s in her first year of veganism.

She’s reading books, listening to podcasts, watching movies. I remember that phase – soaking in all of the information. She recently asked me how I handle it when people don’t understand. We’ve all been there: the family members who don’t want to hear about animal cruelty. The friends who think they could never give up cheese. The acquaintances who think you’re being too difficult when trying to find a veg-friendly dining establishment. I empathized with her, asked her if she felt comfortable with certain responses. It was nice to relate to someone on this level; the number of vegans I interact with out in the world has gotten smaller over the years.

One thing that hasn’t changed since I read Skinny Bitch a decade ago is my struggle to understand how people can ignore where their food comes from. Knowledgeable, compassionate, progressive people will still choose to eat animals, seeing it as a palate preference and not as an ethical issue. These same people may be livid when they hear that dogmeat is popular in another country. They were cheering for the raccoon who scaled a Minnesota skyscraper earlier this June. But bacon is tasty and plants don’t have enough protein. It’s simultaneously frustrating and expected.

We are conditioned from the beginning of our short lives on this planet by a system that’s older than our closest relatives. Of course it seems logical that a cow feels pain the way a dog would. But cows are raised for food, and dogs aren’t, at least not here. Of course there’s protein in beans, nuts, and other foods, but we grew up with four food groups and meat is one of them. Of course we don’t need to drink cow’s milk, which exists to grow a baby cow into a very large steer, but milk grows strong teeth and bones. Conditioning is very real, and very difficult to break out of.

I told the first-year vegan that we should have lunch and discuss, but she’s doing just fine. She knew about a veg fest I had no inkling of. She listens to a podcast I didn’t know was producing new episodes. She showed a couple documentaries to a friend who stopped eating animals afterwards.

I am so glad that veganism is continuing to spread.

People are realizing that oppression exists everywhere. It’s what we will do with this realization that counts.

Graffiti photo: Paul Sableman
Stop sign photo: Alexander Mueller

The post Veganism Carries On appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Ethical vegans are no strangers to drawing lines. Some of us will not eat at an establishment that sells meat; others do so with the intent of spending their money on plant-based dishes and letting the owners know that more of those dishes will mean more business for them. Some vegans are fine with sharing a family meal with a turkey on the table. I myself haven’t sat at a Thanksgiving table with a turkey since going vegan in 2009, but I will eat with my non-vegan friends and family if there isn’t a carcass present.

I think about these lines often as I consume media. Last month, I began reading Jesmyn Ward’s novel  Salvage the Bones. I had no idea going into it that the story involved a pit bull and dog fighting. After reading a few chapters, I asked myself if I wanted to continue, knowing that things were going to get violent. I decided to shelf the book. I had a similar change of heart last year, rereading Cujo for the first time in decades. I know that story like the back of my hand, and I just couldn’t bring myself to read it to completion, knowing that Cujo was going to get violent quick. I quickly knew I had no interest in watching The Greatest Showman, a film that appears to glorify PT Barnum, he of circus fame and exploiter of animals both human and non-human.

My own lines don’t always seem straight or consistent. I watch films such as The Hobbit, even after hearing of the animals who died during filming. And it goes beyond animal rights. In the face of horrible allegations in the MeToo movement and abhorrent statements from those whose politics don’t align with mine, I’ve seen creators of works I admire become disappointing (on one end) to despicable (on the other end). I struggle with separating a person from their art, and whether it makes sense not to watch a movie, listen to an album, or tune in for a television series when I disagree with someone so fundamentally.

I don’t have a solid answer. This is a non-vegan world, and so we are vegan as far as is possible and practical. This is also a society of flawed people. If we looked at everyone involved in every movie we loved, every book we read, every song on our playlists, we’d find something we don’t stand behind. Do we throw it all away?

This has weighed heavily on my mind as Roseanne has returned to television to huge ratings. The first run of the show was must-see television for me; the Conners reminded me of my family, the characters hit home. I’m a fan of many of the actors, too. I am not a fan of many of the things Roseanne Barr has said on her social media. It’s unfathomable to me that Barr has gone so far in the opposite direction of what Conner seemed to represent in the nineties.

But I watched the reboot, and I enjoyed the first two episodes. For me, it all felt very familiar. Roseanne’s name is on the show, but she isn’t the only one involved, and it’s not just her voice being given a platform. I’ve decided to keep watching, though I understand why so many have decided not to. (Read Roxane Gay’s New York Times op-ed for a great argument on that.)

We’re lucky to have choices in what we consume and how we live. My choices today aren’t the same as they were when I read Skinny Bitch in the summer of 2008. They continue to change, thank goodness. I hope that we all keep thinking, keep changing, keep choosing. I hope we find ourselves able to have conversations that lead us in the a better direction.

The post Where Do Activists Draw the Line? appeared first on Chic Vegan.

The simplicity of a routine haircut always held the elusive promise of ‘a new me, an improved me, a more beautiful me’.

This month, at the age of 46, I’ve taken my shoulder length hair to a shaven buzz cut. This is a first for me – would it be for you?

Extreme behavior? I recon, just like with veganism, ‘extreme’ is an adverb commonly used by those who perceive a big change as being incomprehensible.

‘Extreme,’ to me, is simply a place ventured by those who are brave enough to challenge their long-held perceptions.

It’s taken me over 40 years to truly believe that while a great haircut can accentuate one’s outer beauty, it ends there. As now I place a higher value on beauty that comes from within.

My intention behind this bold shave was the intuitive feeling of opportunity.

As with veganism being outside of society’s norms, I’ve found extreme personal growth in standing up for someone or something else.

Owning my power in individuality of choice and lifestyle, I’ve learnt to embrace change and found freedom in questioning society’s ‘normal’ and ‘acceptable’.

As far as I’m concerned one need only look to our earth’s environmental degradation, appalling treatment of animals and our widespread lifestyle disease fatalities, to know that society’s norms are failing us.

Perhaps I might even touch someone else, by showing them that conventional beauty isn’t mandatory, not even at middle age!

Either way nothing is lost as I donated my hair to The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA).

That’s good enough for me, and that’s all the counts!

The post A shaven head and veganism – how they’re linked appeared first on Chic Vegan.

In the Beginning

What we now call Thanksgiving began with writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale, who campaigned for 40 years to make it a national holiday. At the time, in the early 1800s, Thanksgiving was considered a small regional holiday. Communities celebrated it differently in different parts of the country, at various times of the year. Sometimes the holiday was observed with feasting, but more often it was marked by solemnity, fasting, and spiritual reflection. When a meal was included in these regional holidays, menus varied broadly based on which foods were locally and seasonally available to participants.

Some historians and writers argue that the holiday originated, at least in some regions, as a custom celebrating successful genocidal activities:

The colonists were contemptuous of the Indians, who they regarded as uncivilized and satanic heathens, and the fragile early peace between Native Americans and the early settlers would soon unravel in a horrific manner in what is now Mystic Connecticut, where the Pequot tribe was celebrating their own Thanksgiving, the green corn festival. In the predawn hours, settlers– not the Pilgrims, but a band of Puritans– descended on their village and shot, clubbed and burned alive over 700 native men, women and children.

This slaughter, according to Robert Jensen, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, was the real origin of Thanksgiving— so proclaimed in 1637 by Massachusetts Bay Governor John Winthrop in gratitude for God’s destruction of the defenseless Pequot village. Thereafter massacres of the Indians were routinely followed by “days of thanksgiving.”

Whatever its true origins, Sarah Hale viewed Thanksgiving as a much-needed holiday to bring communities and families together; she envisioned a day of helping the poor, a time to do good works in order to “make every American home the place of plenty and of rejoicing.” She lobbied tirelessly through five presidential administrations to have Thanksgiving declared a national holiday. In the midst of the Civil War, Lincoln embraced Hale’s vision of a fall holiday to bring people together: he issued the presidential proclamation making Thanksgiving a national holiday on November 26, 1863.

Despite heavy glossing-over of the historical ins and outs of exactly who hosted the first Thanksgiving, and why, today the holiday is generally said to commemorate the three-day harvest feast shared by Wamanoag tribesfolk and surviving Plymouth colonists in 1621. What was on the menu, for that feast?

There is no evidence for turkey, it turns out, only some kind of wild fowl– likely geese and duck– venison, corn mush and stewed pumpkin, or traditional Wampanoag succotash. Cranberries, though native to the region, would have been too tart for desert, and sweet potatoes were not yet grown in North America, though grapes and melons would have been available.

The colonists also wouldn’t have had flour for pie crusts, or sugar for pies.

Where did the food modern Americans think of as ‘traditional’ Thanksgiving fare come from? How did turkeys, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie land this gig, when they had nothing to do with it whatsoever? Excellent question!

Two Words: Revisionist History

With the very best of intentions, and with noble causes in mind — “Our busy, wealth seeking people require to have days of national festivity, when the fashion and the custom will call them to the feast of love and thanksgiving,” she wrote in 1857 — Hale used her position as writer and women’s magazine editor to construct ready-made ‘holiday traditions.’ After all, as one writer aptly observes,

A new holiday required more than just legislation, but also cultural traditions and beliefs. In the pages of Godey’s [Lady’s Book], Hale supplied them each fall, barraging her female readers with Thanksgiving recipes for turkeys and pumpkin pies along with heartrending stories of “old-fashioned” Thanksgivings, in which families triumphed over adversity to come together round the table.

Turkey and pumpkin pie were much-loved dishes in New England at that time, among Hale’s reading audience.

Is there any evidence at all that turkey, if not pie, played some small role in that 1621 ‘first Thanksgiving?’ As summarized by vegan author and nonviolence advocate Colleen Patrick-Goudreau,

Everything we know about the first Thanksgiving comes from two sources: a letter by Edward Winslow dated December 1621, and a book by William Bradford written twenty years after the actual events took place. His book was stolen during the Revolutionary War and didn’t reappear until 1854.  In his letter, Edward Winslow wrote, “Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling, so that we might, after a more special manner, rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruit of our labors.”

… In his book, William Bradford mentions that the colonists killed wild turkeys during the autumn season; he doesn’t say specifically that wild turkeys were killed for the first Thanksgiving. Although his book gives clues as to what was on this first menu, it disappeared until the mid-nineteenth century, so it didn’t have any influence on how Thanksgiving was celebrated.

Notice that Bradford’s letter makes no mention of turkeys at all; fowlers’ prey, in that place and at that time, was most likely wild ducks and geese. Also note that the fowling was an afterthought, to make the occasion ‘more special’ — the harvest was in, the feast was on, and they were rounding it out with some extra flair. In Bradford’s book, written twenty years after the event in question and completely absent while Hale was publishing ‘traditional’ Thanksgiving recipes, turkeys are mentioned generally — but not in connection with the holiday.

From There to Here

Even with Hale’s promotion of turkey as the ‘traditional’ Thanksgiving menu centerpiece, it wasn’t widely accepted as the quintessential Thing To Do on Thanksgiving until the mid-20th century. The up-and-coming industrial animal producers saw a market niche; so they bred the Beltsville White to fill it, at the behest of the National Turkey Federation. With new methods like intense confinement, automation, and all the rest of the animal-factory paradigm, they were able to crank out huge amounts of cheap turkey meat — and it was ‘pretty’ to consumers, too, not like those normal wild turkeys with dark pinfeathers and A-cup chests.

Obviously, the turkey industry marketed their product very successfully, embedding it firmly in America’s cultural consciousness as the be-all end-all Thanksgiving Whatchado.

From Here to… Wherever!

Traditions are fluid; as we see in the history of the Thanksgiving holiday, they are absolutely not fixed objects. Dead turkeys on the table don’t make the holiday, any more than they did back before Sarah Josepha Hale and the National Turkey Federation worked so hard to insert them there.

We always invent our cultural traditions, over time; that’s not a bad thing, it’s simply the way traditions work. We pick and choose what traditions we want, and leave the rest behind. We no longer live in a society where it’s considered appropriate to celebrate successful genocidal massacres. No one I know plans to fast this year, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Traditions evolve, to reflect shifting individual and cultural values.

Eating turkeys at Thanksgiving is a completely made-up tradition. It represents nothing more than the well-intentioned fancy of Sara Hale, propagated by the marketing departments of early industrial turkey producers. Those are incredibly weak reasons to support the persistent animal cruelty, unnecessary violence, and environmental destruction intrinsic to the process of putting what was once a turkey on your table!

If you value compassion and sustainability, this holiday season consider a truly traditional approach to your holiday menu: embrace the customs you want, and reinterpret those that no longer fit. You’re not bound to honor social traditions rooted in atrocity — just as we’ve left behind the horrible custom of celebrating mass murder of Native Americans, we can choose to leave behind the cruelty and optional violence that the turkey industry has sold us as ‘tradition.’

I am deeply thankful to live in a land of abundance, where I can easily prepare a joyful feast without resorting to killing anyone. In this land of plenty, I am grateful for the chance to build traditions within my own family that reflect our values of compassion and nonviolence. I see no reason to cling mindlessly to Sarah Hale’s vision of what should or shouldn’t be on my table, as I celebrate a day of thanks.

Image credit: Creative Commons photo by jakesmome.

Republished with permission from Eat, Drink…Better

The post Thanksgiving: Turkeys, Marketing, and Tradition Invention appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Unlike some vegans who have one primary motivation that initiates their transition to a vegan lifestyle, such as the so-called “health vegans” or “ethical vegans,” I had multiple reasons from the start. As a pharmacist and a serious student (and now teacher) of yoga, both health and spiritual/ethical reasons have been equally compelling for me from the beginning.

However, I think I am typical in that as time goes by, the ethical reasons and concern for the well-being of animals become ever more paramount. I do believe that consuming a purely vegan diet affects us spiritually and increases our deeply felt awareness of the interconnectedness of all beings. This realization makes awareness of the ongoing cruelty to animals more painful than ever.

For these reasons, animal activism is something to which I am giving more thought. Up until now, I mostly have felt that the act of living as a happy, healthy, vegan is the most effective way for me to be a force for positive change. The idea of attraction rather than promotion, as espoused by 12-step groups, seemed to provide adequate support for this notion.

Other influences also have caused me to be hesitant to be more involved in animal activism. For example, in a talk at a Farms 2 Forks event I attended in Atlanta a couple of years ago, Dr. Doug Lisle (coauthor of The Pleasure Trap) talked about the psychology of change and how it’s threatening and ineffective to come off to others as a know-it-all or like we have all the answers. Dr. Lisle suggested being self-effacing, acting like you’re just trying this, are unsure of the whole thing, and recognize that it might not be for everyone.

Another example, only peripherally related, involves something I read in a book about relationships (Marriage Rules: A Manual for the Married and the Coupled Up by Dr. Harriet Lerner). In this book, a basic principle suggested for getting along well was not to “operate as if we have the truth of the universe.” Although this referred to marriage in particular, it was suggested, and logically follows, that relationships in general are likely to suffer from us having this attitude. However, I probably am not alone as a vegan when I admit that I do think I have found a “truth of the universe,” and the thought of trying to convince those who don’t agree can seem daunting.

The advice of these experts can seem quite contrary to the endeavors of animal activism. A combination of my hesitancy, as an introvert, to speak up and make noise, along with rationalizations thanks to the aforementioned expert advice, has for the most part stymied any activist actions on my part other than living a vegan life, sharing vegan food, enthusiastically answering questions from interested parties, and signing online petitions.

My usual approach to learning about new things is to read about them, and fortunately, there is a wealth of useful information about effective animal advocacy. One incredibly comprehensive resource list on the topic can be found at the In Defense of Animals web site. Bruce Friedrich’s article, “Effective Advocacy: Stealing from the Corporate Playbook,” is a short but very helpful read, providing doable suggestions such as wearing buttons or T-shirts saying “Ask me why I’m a vegetarian” and always having pamphlets on hand, such as “Compassionate Choices” by Vegan Outreach.

I also have begun reading the book Animal Impact: Secrets Proven to Achieve Results and Move the World by Caryn Ginsberg. The book has numerous examples of effective advocacy campaigns and many concrete suggestions for increasing the impact of advocacy efforts. So far though, the aspect of the book that impressed me most was the way it helped me to better understand how it is possible that not everyone “gets it” right away that cruelty to animals is wrong and that immediately changing our lifestyles to stop supporting this cruelty is necessary and possible. This was accomplished through examples of compelling arguments about other issues.

One example was shopping at malls or large retailers, where goods may have been produced by workers in poor and unsafe conditions and then transported long distances with the associated environmental impact. This example, and the realization that I was not immediately ready to change completely to buying all my clothing and appliances second-hand, helped bring home the realization that as a vegan, I have not cornered the market on moral and ethical living. Although I believe strongly in being vegan and will continue to do all I can to help animals, I have to realize that ethics are complex and that I have a lot to learn from others about areas where they may be causing less harm than I am. And, the most important thing I can do is try to be respectful and compassionate toward all beings, even people whose opinions and choices are different from mine.

What ways have you found to become involved in animal activism? Do you have any favorite resources or charitable organizations?

The post Approaching Animal Activism appeared first on Chic Vegan.

There is an undeniable stigma attached to being a vegan and vegetarian in a prolifically omnivorous country such as South Africa, where I’m situated, and arguably across the world (though admittedly there are also prolific exceptions, such as India, of course). In such a context, it is rather a balancing act to be a diplomatic vegan that wishes to carve out a veggie-friendly space in the world but also not be blind to the fact that one is in the stark minority and is often considered physically and mentally malnourished.

To be honest, I’m rather sick of being considered sickly. I often feel that, by trying not to offend others and trying to be a compassionate, humanist vegan, I’m diminishing a part of myself that wishes to advocate more fiercely as an anti-speciesist – again, without alienating or denigrating my own species. I’m always relieved when websites like Vegans Are Cool or articles like Kathy’s Vegans Are Not Annoying pop up on the blogosphere, and that there are vegans who advocate for a positive attitude on all sides, but at the same time I desperately want to send out mass emails to all my family and friends with videos of cows being separated from their babies for their milk, or articles which advocate for actual reform, not just tolerance.

How does one take a “stand” and actively campaign for veganism as more than just a diet and lifestyle in the broad sense of the word without being perceived as aggressive, fringe or radical? We’ve all seen PETA supporters strip down (it’s pretty much the first thing that pops up if you type in “PETA protest”), or others who have had themselves branded with a cattle iron to get their point across, but is there a space between all so-called extremes where one can exist as a vegan individual without making an argument out of everything and still face yourself in the mirror?

I honestly am amazed and thankful that there are such people out there who make waves and, as Emily points out, whose actions are not as extreme as what we do to animals (you can read her full article on the matter here). I’m in a way relieved when such people make a point of acknowledging that their actions and activism are out of their comfort zone, but that then makes me question my vegan profile even more considering they still manage to be vocal somehow and I just post recipes and get into relationships with omnivores.

As much as it pains me, I often don’t think I’m vegan enough, despite doing my best (in a friendly fashion) to educate and engage with those around me (almost all omnivores in Real Life) on where animal products are hiding, why I gave away my leather wedding shoes (despite being amazingly comfortable), and forgoing all birthday cake that I myself did not make or supervise (no matter how rude it may seem to abstain). I don’t form rallies, don’t troll the internet for anti-vegan sentiments to argue against, nor do I wish to, because it’s not my personality – yet. A few years ago I could barely leave the house because of a gripping fear of people and extreme all-round anxiety, so even blogging or doing my job where I have to sit at a center surrounded by students already pushes my limits. And yet, what is that compared to the cruelty faced by animals – who honestly cares about my fears when other creatures live in fear every day of their lives?

Am I perhaps required by my moral conscience to test myself and put my morality before my human, functional self, and in so doing acknowledge that the two are very different and must function separately in order for me to be outspoken and less tactful as a vegan but still be my diplomatic self in other situations? In that case I have even less reason to rant and “radicalize” myself artificially, because by admitting that it would be outside my comfort zone and outside the realm of possibility without schism would also mean I would have to be tolerant and diplomatic towards non-vegans if I don’t want to make a complete hypocrite of myself.

After all, you do get omnivores and vegetarians that will swear up and down that they love animals, and may even work with animal rescue and the like and still indulge in cheese, meat, or animal products or be party to the process. So, back to square one. Essentially, some vegans, like myself, will have to make peace with the fact that we can’t all be militant or vibrant or out-there activists that challenge people outright, but instead help non-vegans get to grips with the idea and the reasoning through pleasant chit-chat, talking about animal welfare in general, or sharing yum food photos. It doesn’t mean we aren’t any less aware or compassionate towards animals, the environment, or issues of morality and rights.

Being a blogger for two+ years and heavily stalking/admiring vegan and vegetarian bloggers for long before that, however, I must admit that the kind, bubbly, non-“aggressive” vegans are also doing amazing things for bringing veganism as a plight and life purpose to light. I was in no small part convinced that I would survive physically and mentally as a vegan by delicious food recipes and seeing a vibrant, friendly community that made a point of providing easy “how-to” guides for transitioning, or helpful “what the heck is veganism anyway?” pages on their blogs for the randoms who somehow stumbled in their direction. Again, positivity attracts certain people, and the stark reality of what faces animals each and every day speaks to a completely different crowd – they are not mutually exclusive, of course, but in terms of taking action it is difficult to be all things at once.

The UN advocating for veganism for mostly environmental reasons isn’t perfect, in that it doesn’t address animal cruelty as a key reason, but vegans should take what they can get, or is that exactly the point – they shouldn’t, whether as individuals or as a group, and instead fight for more? There is, as is only natural in human society, no conformity, no absolute unity within veganism. For some it’s just code for a health-based lifestyle, for others a trial run, and for others an absolute commitment to eradicating an on-going massacre. In such a set-up then, how can there be set terms and conditions or a consensus on moral duties to which all vegans must subscribe to and advocate? Is it possible to say what is “enough” to be able to truly claim veganism for yourself?

There can surely not be such a thing, but I believe that a positive and supportive attitude makes a big difference, no matter your starting point, in reaching others and addressing issues that spring from veganism, whether it be environmental, ethical or edible. I get mushy when I read that the people who started Veganuary” are described as “working hard” rather than a “dairy-despising” couple who want people to be unhappy (both articles being from the same website, strangely enough), and I want people, vegan or otherwise, to feel good about veganism, even if they don’t actually want to become vegan.

Some might argue I’m letting down the whole of the animal kingdom by saying such a thing, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t watch the gory, heart-wrenching documentaries or read the stats of how many animals are abused, tested on and killed every moment of each day – I just know how to read my audience and when to push boundaries, and when to wait for another day.

I would like to think that if there were a world in which humans were actively being bred, held captive, and eventually slaughtered to be consumed or harvested (a world which in many respects is already real), there would be an outcry of massive proportions, but even now when we have human trafficking, modern day slavery, and even human breast milk for sale, there is still a lack of outrage from every individual or community, so trying to shock people into recognizing that they may have a form of cognitive dissonance when it comes to the experiences of other animals for consumption or exploitation seems rather fruitless then.

After all, people will lovingly feed pond ducks and then eat dead ducks with no qualms. In that sense being a diplomatic, Powerpoint presentation kinda vegan only fulfills a minor function in transforming opinions and society, but so too do the so-called extremists. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean one has to stop trying.

Clare Mann, in an article entitled How to be an Effective Vegan Advocate, says “Let’s be the best example for veganism – in our health, appearance, compassion, outlook and ability to listen – then people will look to us and say ‘Whoa! How can I have this too?’”. When I read articles like this I feel much better about myself; there’s always room for more advocacy, but I don’t want antagonism. Together with Sara Kidd, Clare runs courses that tackle vegan advocacy through communication skills development, and that drives me absolutely wild with glee because it’s good to know there are always different ways of approaching people with your passion; words, in such cases, need not be barren to creating change.

If only it were as easy as laying down the bare facts to fight our case, as Aristotle would say (whatever “our case” may be, when again there are so many types of vegans). Not everyone responds well to being cornered, or are quick to feel that way regardless of your approach, but again, this is where those how-to guides or courses geared for communicating your beliefs and worldview are invaluable tools for some to laying the foundation for future advocacy and change; a starting point or comfort zone, it shouldn’t really matter or be any less important than other less circumspect methods.

Just as you get lazy vegans, obese vegans, snarky and smoothie vegans, I’m trying to get to a space where being a diplomatic vegan is legit and no less than being in-your-face. It makes me a bit despondent that my personality holds me back and forces me to micromanage how I portray veganism, such as very occasionally posting videos of abused or exploited animals to my Marfigs Facebook feed and not to my Margaux Facebook friends page, but I’m still satisfied that people who know me by my actual name aren’t in any doubt about who I am and what I believe in.

I guess my point is that there are so many forms of veganism, and within that so many forms of being visible or actively vegan, that, much like anything else in one’s life, it’s up to each individual to carve out their own way of handling things and to be able to justify their action (or lack thereof) to themselves. I can’t end this article with helpful hints or common pitfalls, because there are too many variables. There’s a lot of shaming going on in the vegan community of people who have “jumped ship” or do things in their own way,  but in a world of misinformation, prejudice and plain old idiocy, I don’t want to be a dead-end for curious omnivores or vegans with different objectives and opinions; I want to be an open door.

For the moment, I hope being a diplomatic vegan is enough, though I will continue to challenge myself as best I can, and can only hope others do the same.

The post Being a diplomatic vegan appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Now, before you say that I don’t care about breast cancer, let me add that I lost the person I was closest to, my grandmother, to the disease, and other women in my family have survived it. So even though I’m vegan, I still consider myself to be at high risk. I would love nothing more than for someone to find a cure for breast cancer—which is exactly why you won’t catch me filling up my shopping cart with pink whatnots.

The problem I have is this: Nearly all the companies churning out these products are “pinkwashing,” meaning that they toss a pittance at a breast cancer charity so they can slap a pink ribbon on their products and rake in huge profits from well-intentioned but uninformed people. And that makes me blue in the face.

My other big problem with most breast cancer charities is where the money actually goes. No, I’m not just referring to Susan G. Komen head Nancy Brinker, who quietly gave herself a 64 percent raise, bringing her annual salary to $685,000. I’m just going to let that sink in for a minute. OK, let’s move on. My big beef with most breast cancer “charities” is that they waste money on archaic and cruel animal experiments that still haven’t produced a cure—and won’t because animals’ genetic makeup is vastly different from humans’. Richard Klausner, former head of the National Cancer Institute, stated, “The history of cancer research has been a history of curing cancer in the mouse. We have cured mice of cancer for decades, and it simply didn’t work in humans.”

Continuing to dump money into these useless and cruel experiments sounds to me like the definition of insanity.

Susan G. Komen, the American Cancer Society, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research all waste your hard-earned money funding experiments on animals. But PETA has extensively studied breast cancer charities that fund modern, sophisticated non-animal research or help provide women with direct care and education about prevention.

The American Breast Cancer Foundation (ABCF) “provide[s] early detection education and screening services to those in need, no matter what age, race, sex, or financial challenge.” The ABCF’s Breast Cancer Assistance Program facilitates mammograms, ultrasounds, and biopsies and gives post–breast surgery care kits to hospitals for mastectomy patients to use. The Breast Cancer Fund works to identify and eliminate environmental and other preventable causes of breast cancer. And the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade funds access to care, education, and modern, sophisticated, non-animal research, particularly through its collaboration with the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation.

Click here for a complete list of breast cancer charities that do and do not conduct animal experiments. And this October, instead of buying up pink, let’s put the charities that are actually helping women in the black.

Written by Michelle Kretzer

The post Want Your Breast Cancer Dollars to Count? Think Outside the Pink appeared first on Chic Vegan.

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The post Making A Difference Is Insanely Easy – Earn $10 Today For Your Favorite Non-Profit appeared first on Chic Vegan.