Animal Rights- Divisiveness or Unity?

I've been witnessing quite a lot of infighting among vegans in the animal rights movement between those who call themselves "animal welfarists" and those who call themselves "animal abolitionists".

"Welfarists" put forth that first and foremost animals should be treated with compassion and in ways that prevent their mistreatment and suffering. They assert that even small improvements in animals' lives are important steps in moving toward alleviating suffering, such as passing laws to improve conditions on factory farms. On the other hand, "Abolitionists" vehemently support the immediate and total liberation of animals from being used by humans. They assert that no intermediary steps are acceptable in working to achieve this goal, and actually perpetuate animal suffering by allowing people to feel that subjecting animals to use for humanity's purposes is "okay" as long as they aren't hurting as much or have access to more fresh air.

Some would try to label me a "welfarist" over an "abolitionist", but I reject both labels. They add to the divisiveness in our community and ignore that each vegan or vegetarian falls along a spectrum of beliefs and ethics and choices. In my opinion, there's room for everyone. We all ultimately share the same goal: free animals from suffering. The essence of the disagreement is the most effective path to make this happen.

The truth is, the welfarist and abolitionist stances are not mutually exclusive. Making inroads toward lessening suffering, as welfarists express, is better than maintaining the status quo of treating animals without love, respect, and kindness. But only as long as the end goal of eliminating suffering altogether is not forgotten. And in terms of the abolitionist approach, if it were up to me or anyone with an ounce of compassion, of COURSE the optimal solution is to abolish suffering of any kind- people included- immediately and completely. I think all vegans believe that to the core. And indeed, there are those in society who might feel better about eating eggs if they know that the chickens have grass to run around in. However, smaller steps are preferable to no action, and the reality is that in the world today most of the population will not or are unable to commit 100% immediately to liberating all animals from suffering at the hands of humans. That probably won't happen for a very, very long time. The all or nothing approach is unrealistic and allows for no forward movement- in fact, it obstructs it. So what to do until the day when freeing animals totally from the bonds of slavery, abuse, and suffering?

Horrible suffering by animals at the hands of humans exists. The eradication of all suffering will not happen for a terribly tragic length of time. Subsequently, reducing suffering until this is possible is the ONLY solution. Looking into the faces of those being neglected and brutalized and subjected to painful deaths and denying them some relief of that suffering because some activists claim it doesn't go far enough is so not acceptable! If suffering must exist, we must minimize it by advocating for better living conditions and more humane treatment until that suffering can be ended. It's not about what activists believe is the most viable solution, but about doing all we can to reduce the suffering of the exploited. Taking no action because "ideal" action can't be achieved does not benefit the beings who are hurting and struggling NOW! Acting together does! Divisiveness and judgement accomplish exactly nothing.

WE in animal rights, no matter what our stance on how to liberate animals, are aware and see the truth and are willing to open our hearts and minds to commit to end suffering, but WE are a very small minority (sadly). In today's world, animal exploitation and consumption continues to grow. Society will not hear a message that makes veganism and/or ending animal suffering seem extreme and judgemental, an unattainable goal they must to put into action in their everyday lives or else it's pointless. Setting people up for failure is not the way to get their attention and gain their support. That's like walking up to someone and telling them that if they don't accept such and such a religion they will go directly to hell. Most people will not *hear that*.

In making the message more universal, more openness is created in those who hear it. An attitude of embracing intention and small action vs. no action welcomes involvement and fosters a feeling of relation. People who hear "your action doesn't matter if you don't commit 100% and do it *this* way will react to the hostility and turn a deaf ear. Effective action must consider the environment in which it will be taken. And that means accepting and reinforcing the steps everyone makes toward compassionate living, looking for common ground as we work towards a day when all beings will live as equals. This is how we and our movement will grow.

Here's a very similar article, much better expressed. :)

Pittsburgh Walk for Farm Animals 2010!

I am thrilled to be part of the upcoming Pittsburgh Walk for Farm Animals 2010 next month! On Saturday, October 2nd, Pittsburgh will host its very first Walk for Farm Animals to support the lifesaving rescue, education and advocacy work of Farm Sanctuary! This event takes place annually in more than 75 cities across the United States and Canada to celebrate and promote compassion for farm animals and raise funds to enable Farm Sanctuary to continue its vital work. One of the amazing walk organizers, Kim Piper of Sunstone Soap, states, "Our goal is to walk together as a compassionate community while we have fun, raise money and help better the world for all beings!"

Please consider walking with us! Everyone compassionate about animal welfare is invited, and non-vegans and non-vegetarians are absolutely welcome! You can walk solo, create your own team, or join my team called "Team Craftastic." :) When you go to register for Pittsburgh's walk, you will be given the option of choosing a team. Register here by clicking ‘Get Started’ & selecting the Pittsburgh Walk. Advance registration is only $15 and includes a t-shirt. Or visit my page and follow the registration links. I hope you'll join me!



You can also help by sponsoring me in the walk. Any amount donated, whether $1 or $100, is hugely helpful. Visit my fundraising page or look for the widget on my left blog sidebar to contribute!

If you would rather, you can also donate by sending to me directly via PayPal- let me know if you'd like my email address for that.

You can also donate a prize for the event, whether handmade, a gift certificate, or other item. Contact me to arrange this.

GIVEAWAY ALERT: Every fan of my Facebook Fan Page who donates toward the Walk for Farm Animals via my fundraising page will be entered in a giveaway to win two 5x7(ish) art prints of your choice! Yay!

Just donating any amount gets you one entry. Every $10 donated gets you another entry. So a donation of $10, for instance, would mean one entry for donating and one entry for $10 and so on. :) Just "like" my Facebook page and comment there to let me know you've donated!
ANY AMOUNT IS WELCOME! :)

Thanks so much for your support!

Lady Gaga... WTF?

Okay, so I adore and am a huge fan of Lady Gaga, but I am so disappointed in her and so pissed off about her wearing an outfit entirely made of meat for a recent magazine cover and for the Video Music Awards. I won't post a picture, but you can Google it. To Ellen Degeneres she claimed she did not want to disrespect vegans and vegetarians, but how is wearing meat as a fashion statement NOT disrespectful?!?! Never mind whether or not she offends us veggies, but what about the animals who died to make her outfit and the million more who will die because society is still sending the message that commodification of animals for human use is okay? For fashion, for food, for sport... It's so f***ed up and WRONG! :( >:[ It's the ultimate disrespect of life!

Going once, going twice, going three times... SOLD to the compassionate landowner instead of the slaughterhouse!! (If we'll give a hand, that is...)

Thanks to Vegan Etsy's Melissa Bastian of BrightDesign, who shared this post from the Vegan Etsy Blog!

Animal lovers everywhere, here is a story you won't want to miss.

EtsyVeg member Jodi of the amazing shop This Is It! Creations made a terrible discovery over the weekend: that these three bulls who graze on her property were to be sold for slaughter in short order. Being a person of high ideals, naturally Jodi immediately started looking for an answer - that is, a way to keep these three gorgeous animals from such a brutal and unnecessary death. The solution? Buy them! But cows don't come cheap; their freedom can indeed be purchased, but it will come to the tune of about $3600. Not only that, but the payment must be made by the end of next week! As of this posting, Jodi and her supporters have raised almost 1/3 of the total- $1300! :)

And so, friends, we ask for your help. Chip in to save Pooka Cow, Spotty Friend, and Less Spotty Friend!



Important note: though the ChipIn widget here says that the final date to donate is March 13, in reality it is February 13!

A bunch of generous EtsyVeg, Vegan Etsy, and Etsy for Animals' (EFA's) member shops are donating portions of sales through the zero hour. More shops are adding sales donations all the time - Jodi is keeping an updated list on her own This Is It blog.

OoohShiny- donating 50% of sales through 2/11
Kimba's Critters - donating 50% of sales through 2/11
Lean Dog Pottery - donating 20% of sales through 2/13
3 AM Art Productions - donating 100% of sales through 2/13
Veganosaurus - donating 50% of sales through 2/13
Holistically Heather - donating 100% of sales through 2/13
AuntFlosPads- donating 100% of sales through 2/13
Cards and Jewelry by Michele - donating 10% of sales through 2/15
Lola Lynn - donating 100% of bracelet sales through 2/13
SilentLotus - donating 25% of sales through 2/13
This Is It - donating 100% of sales on both 2/3 and 2/10

So get shopping already!

Just a few dollars from each of us can make a big difference. These lives matter! Help Jodi to help her friends. What's their alternative to a terrifying slaughterhouse? Says Jodi:

"We've been asked where the cows will go if we do raise enough money to save them - they will stay here, at least for the short term. We have 11 acres of land, a barn, and a stream. We are planning to create a line of products where all of the profits will go toward their care (hay, vet bills, fence mending, etc.) If we can find a loving family with enough land to adopt them, we are definitely open to that as well."

Country idyll or the abattoir - three lives are on the line. So, wanna buy a journal? :)

Activism Out Loud: Should We Numb Farm Animals so They are Immune to Pain?

I just read an article in early September’s New Scientist magazine about research into numbing animals raised for food so that they don’t feel pain. Researchers are working to genetically alter the DNA of farm animals so that when they are exposed to pain and suffering, they aren’t “bothered” by it. What do you all think about this?

Personally, I feel this is simply a way to justify and continue animal abuse, neglect, and torture. It creeps me out, feels eerie, and feels viscerally immoral and ethically wrong. It may *seem* well-intentioned, but I think it’s a guise to continue using animals to meet human needs in whatever way suits them, no matter the consequences to the being, and to keep money flowing!!! Animal rights awareness is the factory farmer’s worst nightmare- this is such a crock of sh**! What do you want to make a bet that the meat and dairy industries are backing this research? I imagine altering perception and experience of pain and suffering in human slaves just so heinous practices and inhumane treatment could be continued. Why would anyone think this is okay to do to animals?

An editorial about this in this same magazine issue sums up my view pretty perfectly:
Yes, logically speaking, pain-free animals make sense. But only in a world that has already devalued animal lives to the point where factory farming is acceptable. Our visceral reaction to pain-free animals is actually a displaced reaction against the system that makes them necessary.

Too many of us are too attached to the pleasures of affordable meat to consider the plight of factory-farmed animals. If the proposal to create pain-free animals achieves anything, it is to force us to confront the pain and suffering that our diets inflict. End factory farming, and the "problem" of pain-free animals goes away, too.

And more fodder for discussion: Cloning Animals for Meat & Milk

Interesting Holidays & Observances- Veg, Animals, Health, & More!

The next couple of months will celebrate a plethora of veg-, compassion-, and animal-related holidays, plus lots of important issue-awareness days/weeks that are important to me. Check'em out! Party, anyone?

The Veg Calendar

September: World Animal Remembrance Month, Yoga Awareness Month

September 15-21: National Farm Animals Awareness Week (U.S.)

September 18th: International Day of Peace

September 19th: Puppy Mill Awareness Day

September 25th: Hug A Vegetarian Day (I'm expecting some love, gang!)


October: Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, LGBT History Month, Emotional Wellness Month, National Depression Education and Awareness Month, National Animal Safety and Protection Month, Vegetarian Awareness Month, & National Pet Wellness Month

October 1st: World Vegetarian Day

October 2nd: World Farm Animals Day

October 3rd: Alternative Fuel Day

October 4th: World Animal Day

October 5-11: Mental Illness Awareness Week

October 6th: Ecological Debt Day

October 8th: National Depression Screening Day

October 10th: World Mental Health Day

October 11th: Coming Out Day

October 17-24: National Primate Liberation Week (U.S.)

October 18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week

October 18th: NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE DAY! Woot! :)

October 19-25: Freedom of Speech Week

October 23-31: World Go Vegan Week

October 28th: National Chocolates Day- yay!


November: Vegan Awareness Month

November 1-7" National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week

November 1st: World Vegan Day

November 9-16: World Kindness Week

November 13th: World Kindness Day

November 15th: Transgender Day of Remembrance

November 16th: International Day for Tolerance

November 21: National Survivors of Suicide Day

November 25th: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

December 10th: International Animal Rights Day


Find awareness days and observances of your own!

The Web Out Loud: What's Worth Paying Attention To This Week?

My latest finds worth paying attention for the ethical web surfer: great articles, awesome sites, and other juicy tidbits!

Articles

Animals Don’t Want to Eat GMOs, So Why Are We?, healthychild.org

There is No Vegan's Dilemma, PowellsBooks.blog

4 Million Pounds of Space Junk Polluting Earth’s Orbit, ecoworldly.com

In-vitro meat: Would lab-burgers be better for us and the planet?, cnn.com

Monsanto's Global War on Farmers, organicconsumers.org

New Film on Ocean Acidification Reveals Unseen Face of CO2 Pollution, solveclimate.com

Elephants Pass Self-Awareness Test Passed Only By Humans, Gorillas, and Dolphins, ecoworldly.com

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism, MelanieJoy.org

Activism

Protest Ringling Brothers' Animal Cruelty! Sign PETA's petition calling on the USDA to seize the abused, neglected, and heartbroken elephants Ringling hauls around the country in filthy boxcars and forces to perform under the constant threat of punishment. Watch PETA's undercover videos from RinglingBeatsAnimals.com if you need convincing.

Tell your Senators that the path out of world poverty isn't through Monsanto and GMO crops. Sign this CREDO petition to promote helping farmers in developing countries produce and distribute their own food, rather than implementing an Obama administration goal to use genetically modified seeds and chemicals as tools to fight hunger.

Cool Sites

Your Daily Vegan: the daily vegan spin- Your source for all things vegan: intriguing facts, thoughtful editorials, intelligent quips, food talk, news bits, and so much more, all in one place.

Green Lashes and Fashion- Love this blog by a fashionista with a compassionate conscience! Stay informed about ethical fashion, natural beauty, green living, and vegan/vegetarian food- way cool!

Environmental Graffiti- A veritable playground for the eco-conscious, planet loving, ethical, and off-the-wall. An "eclectic mix of the most bizarre, funny and interesting environmental news on the planet... on behalf of all environmentalists who don’t take themselves too seriously and compile it into a daily blog." What lured me in initially were breath-taking, brilliant photos of animal life, like these.

Other Stuff

T-shirts upcycled from plastic bottles?
Two companies, be present and A Lot To Say, launched tees made from recycled plastic last week! They are super cute on top of being super green! be present states on their site that 3-5 plastic bottles are diverted from landfills with every tee made, and A Lot to Say calls their 100%-recycled-bottle tees "eco-revolutionary." Maybe plastic is fashionable after all. ;)

I am in love with this bike! Madsen's Cargo Bikes are dream cycles for those who rely on or choose biking for doing errands like grocery shopping and even moving! I swoon every time I see one... If only I could even think of affording it... ;)

Quote of the Week

"The life spark in my eyes is in no way different than the life spark in the eyes of any other sentient being."

~Michael Stepaniak

Vegan Out Loud: Why Vegan?

I've been vegan for over 11 years now. Originally, I went vegetarian without knowing much about it other than that it involved choosing not to eat animals. I became vegan a year or two later for health reasons (milk allergy and lactose intolerance), again, not really knowing much about it. My understanding and knowledge about being vegan has grown a thousandfold since then. Once I started meeting other people who were veg/vegan, my whole idea about it changed. Through reading, asking questions, and listening well, I became more educated about veganism and the impact on the planet and on animals themselves of consuming living creatures for food and utilizing them for human purposes. I choose it as a lifestyle now for deep ethical, spiritual, and moral reasons. Every year I have been vegan, my veganism and the ethics, morals, and beliefs that have formed around it and because of it have grown more complex and more deeply ingrained.

Today I am vegan because I want to try my best to honor and respect all beings as equally deserving of compassion, love, and freedom. Being vegan is about intentionally living compassionately and with love toward all beings, and choosing a way of being in the world that has as little and as positive an impact as possible. I am vegan to give back to Earth, to help to heal it rather than take from it. I am vegan to maintain a healthy mind, body, spirit, and soul. As best as I can, I want to live as an example of how to walk tenderly, harm minimally, love fully, and lead with a compassionate heart, and to learn from others who are doing the same. Living compassionately spreads love. I am vegan to hopefully help to counter all of the fear, hatred, and cruelty out there with peace, kindness, and openness, while also attempting to make up for my own negative crap I send into the world.

My reasons for being vegan aren't all pretty and all about love and peace and happy-happy, joy-joy, though. There's an ugly, insidious part of it. Every day, millions of animals endure intense, incomprehensible suffering or die lonely, prolonged, painful deaths at the hands of humans who treat them as worthless objects. Animals have souls, too. They are sentient beings that think and feel and hurt, develop lasting communities and families, and build strong attachments and loving relationships. Most of us live in a society where exploitation of animals for human purposes is not only condoned and justified but also turned a blind eye to, the experience of many other marginalized populations around the globe.

On farms, in rodeos or circuses, in puppy mills or fur farms, trapped in a pharmaceutical lab or the home of a callous pet owner, or hunted in the wild, so many animals are destined for lives filled with chronic abuse and neglect, hurt and confusion, grief and loss, and mistreatment of unimaginable proportions. And related industries like factory farming wreak havoc and destruction on the health of the environment and people. Most experience horrible, prolonged, painful deaths. I feel that any use of animal products on my part says that I'm okay with this, puts a stamp of approval on animal cruelty to further human ends and reinforces living beings being treated as objects. And from an energetic standpoint, the last thing I want to put in my body is any animal product that carries with it the trauma of a life and/or death of tragic suffering. For me, being vegan is a way of giving the animals a voice and honoring their lives so that they are no forgotten- they so desperately deserve and need that. I definitely do not live a "perfect" vegan life, if there is such a thing. I am fallible, and I find it hard as hell and pretty near impossible to be 100% vegan 100% of the time. But I try with all of me to do so.

It's kinda been a natural progression to move toward eliminating everything reasonably possible from my life that isn't compassionate, including materials used in creating my art and jewelry. Anything else feels 'unnatural' and incongruent with who I am, what I care about, and the impact (or lack of one) I want to make in the world. Plus, I put so much of my true self into creating things that to me (and hopefully others) are pure and convey beautiful things. Cruelty isn't beautiful. Materials that are derived from cruel methods or that dishonor other beings aren't beautiful.

Living a vegan lifestyle is strongly aligned with my spiritual and religious beliefs. I am a yogi and a Buddhist, as well as an advocate of rights for all beings, humans and animals and plants and the planet. Animals, human beings, and the planet- all are one, and in essence, of the same energy and spirit. I also don't think humans are any less valuable or have any less potential to be pure of heart and spirit than animals- we're all created equal and are all sacred beings. We just have much more of a chance and likelihood to become deluded or or lost and disconnected from love and compassion. Anyway, all of that stuff is entwined with being vegan for me, really hard to separate out.

I don't judge people for not living a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. At any given time, everyone falls on a spectrum in terms of global awareness and what compassion means to them. That tends to change for people as they go through life and have different experiences. Each of us makes the decision that is best for us at the time, something only we can know. In my opinion, it's compassionate awareness, living from the heart, and deep understanding of the impact of choice and the consequences of inaction that are most important- how we live our lives tends to naturally follow intention and thought. The heart is never wrong.

A Global Movement for Weekly Meat-Free Days

Recently, the Meat-Free Mondays campaign and the city of Ghent, Belgium's meat-free Thursdays started an important effort to promote vegetarianism and reduce the consumption of meat to help the environment. Going meat-free even just one day per week will have a huge impact in helping to curb climate change, reduce world hunger, and improve animal welfare (guardian.co.uk). Participating is a way any one of us can help the environment. According to Veg News, there is a global movement happening to encourage cities and countries around the world to skip meat one day per week on an ongoing basis, which would save enormous amounts of land and water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The people at meatfreepetition.com would like everyone to sign their online petition to make this happen in the US and Canada, EU and UK, Australia and New Zealand, Israel, Indonesia, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. A cool thing is that anybody anywhere can vote for a meat-free day in any other city or country, not just their own.

Sign here now, and help the planet, people, and all beings!

Pigs Have Feelings, Too, and Other Reasons Not to Eat Them

In this powerful article, GoVeg.com reminds us that there are plenty of reasons not to eat pigs! Please note that some of the videos linked to here may show graphic images of animal cruelty.

1. Porking You Up
It’s a fact—ham, sausage, and bacon strips will go right to your hips. Eating pork products, which are loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat, is a good way to increase your waistline and increase your chances of developing deadly diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, asthma, and impotence. Research has shown that vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease, and they have 40 percent of the cancer rate of meat-eaters. Plus, meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than pure vegetarians are. Every time you eat animal products, you’re also ingesting bacteria, antibiotics, dioxins, hormones, and a host of other toxins that can accumulate in your body and remain there for years. Learn more about animal products and your health.

2. Pigs Have Feelings Too
Ninety-seven percent of pigs in the United States today are raised in factory farms, where they will never run across sprawling pastures, bask in the sun, breathe fresh air, or do anything else that comes naturally to them. Crowded into warehouses with nothing to do and nowhere to go, they are kept on a steady diet of drugs to keep them alive and make them grow faster, but the drugs cause many of the animals to become crippled under their own bulk. Learn more about cruelty to pigs. Check out these videos from pig farms in Oklahoma, North Carolina, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

3. Pigs and Playstations
Think that you can outplay a pig on your Playstation? You may be surprised. According to research, pigs are much smarter than dogs, and they even do better at video games than some primates. In fact, pigs are extremely clever animals who form complex social networks and have excellent memories. Eating a pig is like eating your dog! As actor Cameron Diaz put it after hearing that pigs have the mental capacities of a 3-year-old human: "[Eating bacon is] like eating my niece!" Learn more about [the hidden lives of] pigs.

4. Pigs Prefer Mud, Not Crud
Pigs are actually very clean animals. If they are given sufficient space, pigs are careful not to soil the areas where they sleep or eat. And forget the silly saying “sweating like a pig”—pigs can’t even sweat! That’s why they bathe in water or mud to cool off. But in factory farms, they’re forced to live in their own feces and vomit and even amid the corpses of other pigs. Conditions are so filthy that at any given time, more than one-quarter of pigs suffer from mange—think of your worst case of poison ivy, and imagine having to suffer from it for the rest of your life. Learn more about what happens to pigs in factory farms. Check out the mange-ridden pigs on these South Dakota and Nebraska pig farms.

5. Farming Family Values
Factory farms are pure hell for pigs and their babies. Mother pigs spend most of their lives in tiny “gestation” crates, which are so small that the animals are unable to turn around or even lie down comfortably. They are repeatedly impregnated until they are slaughtered. Piglets, who are taken away from their distraught mothers after just a few weeks, have their tails chopped off, their teeth are clipped off with pliers, and the males are castrated—all without painkillers. Learn more about cruelty to pigs.

6. The Manure Is Blowing in the Wind …
A pig farm with 5,000 animals produces as much fecal waste as a city of 50,000 people. In 1995, 25 million gallons of putrid hog urine and feces spilled into a North Carolina river, immediately killing between 10 and 14 million fish. To get around water pollution limits, factory farms will frequently take the tons of urine and feces that are stored in cesspools and turn them into liquid waste that they spray into the air. This manure-filled mist is carried away by the wind and inhaled by the people who live nearby. Learn more about how factory farming damages the environment.

7. Bacteria-Laden Bacon and Harmful Ham
Extremely crowded conditions, poor ventilation, and filth in factory farms cause such rampant disease in pigs that 70 percent of them have pneumonia by the time they’re sent to the slaughterhouse. In order to keep pigs alive in conditions that would otherwise kill them and to promote unnaturally fast growth, the industry keeps pigs on a steady diet of the antibiotics that we depend on to treat human illnesses. This overuse of antibiotics has led to the development of “superbacteria,” or antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. The ham, bacon, and sausage that you’re eating may make the drugs that your doctor prescribes the next time you get sick completely ineffective. Learn more about the effect of eating meat from sick, diseased, and drugged animals.

8. Hell on Wheels
More than 170,000 pigs die in transport each year, and more than 420,000 are crippled by the time they arrive at the slaughterhouse. Transport trucks, which carry pigs hundreds of miles through all weather extremes with no food or water, regularly flip over, throwing injured and dying animals onto the road. These terrified and injured animals are rarely offered veterinary care, and most languish in pain for hours; some even bleed to death on the side of the road. After an accident in April 2005, Smithfield spokesperson Jerry Hostetter told one reporter, “I hate to admit it, but it happens all the time.” Learn more about cruelty to pigs during transport.

9. Killing Them Without Kindness
A typical slaughterhouse kills up to 1,100 pigs every hour, which makes it impossible for them to be given humane, painless deaths. The U.S. Department of Agriculture documented 14 humane slaughter violations at one processing plant, where inspectors found hogs who “were walking and squealing after being stunned [with a stun gun] as many as four times.” Because of improper stunning methods and extremely fast line speeds, many pigs are still alive when they are dumped into scalding-hot hair-removal tanks—they literally drown in scalding-hot water. Learn more about what happens to pigs at slaughter.

10. Ditch the Bacon and Get Fakin’
Save pigs from hell and yourself from bad health by feasting on faux pork products instead. Stuff a sandwich full of Yves brand veggie ham slices, or throw some Lightlife Smart Bacon into a sizzling skillet—the freezer and “health food” sections of your local grocery or health food stores are packed full of these and other tasty substitutes. Check out VegCooking.com for hundreds of recipes, product recommendations, vegan meal plans, and a shopping guide. Think before you eat another sausage link—order a free vegetarian starter kit full of delicious recipes and celebrity features today!

Activism Out Loud: FUR HURTS!

The consequences of the fur industry are deeply & horribly morally, ethically, and spiritually TRAGIC. Using fur in any form to make toys, car accessories, fashion, or whatever, whether off the runway or from a local vintage/resale shop, perpetuates humans using other beings for their own selfish purposes, no matter the cost of life. Being a consumer of any item made from fur justifies the horrific, unimaginable, unspeakable suffering of beings who feel and think and experience pain, condoning an industry of needless death and the devastation of innocent lives.

I struggled down to my core with my own pain and tears after seeing these photos (thank you to FB pal Jess for sharing them), but I knew I had to share them. I know the images are shocking and graphic, but the truth is sometimes. I shut my eyes to them as I post here. How could I stay silent about this? The animals need someone to speak for them and tell their story... They need someone to see them, to remember them. Right now, it's me. And you...

Think about these images the next time you reach for that nice, fluffy fur product bleached cleaned of blood to disconnect it from the death that made it possible, from the tortured souls whose lives were taken and discarded meaninglessly. Hardness of heart becomes evident with indifference to the pain and suffering of another living being- that indifference can be seen in what people eat and wear (Earthlings on Facebook).

Any questions?

Persia White in an ad for PETA's FurIsDead.com.

From all-creatures.org.

From EARTHLINGS - Official Animal Cruelty Awareness Group on Facebook.

From care2.com: "The aftermath of a seal killer. Hit seal bleeding tears from its eye. The seal cannot move and air from its nose is causing bubbles to be blown out its nose from its own Blood. This seal is still breathing. The seal crying a tear out of its own blood is still alive: It's not enough only to sit and feel mad or sad, and do nothing, vow to take a stand and spring into action."


Please take just a minute sign this petition: http://www.animalsaviors.org/petition.html.

Vegan Out Loud: Making the Transition to Vegan (or Vegetarian) Easy

I've been vegan for over 11 years now, and it's an ever-evolving process. Having talked to plenty of newer vegans and vegetarians or those thinking about making the switch, folks who express having a hard time with the process express many of the same concerns/issues. Here are a few happy tips to make the journey a little easier, based on my own experiences. :)

I. Make it a fun culinary adventure.

Lots of times new vegans/veggies simply cut out foods that aren’t vegan/veg-friendly without finding nutritious subs, or they view being vegan/veg as ‘cutting out’ foods rather than opening themselves up to a whole new world of culinary delights. There are bunches of ideas that can help it feel like an adventure instead of a sentence!

Take your time to find healthy replacements for the foods you are choosing not to eat. Be open-minded and experiment. Variety is key- the most well-rounded diet is one that incorporates lots of whole foods and lots of color! Making sure to eat all sorts of different foods is a great way to get all your nutrients. Try different brands/types of cheese/milk/protein substitutes sold in stores before deciding it all sucks. Ask other veggies about brands/products to try. Buy/borrow cookbooks and be adventurous. Set the goal to try one new food every week. Find delicious replacements for your favorite non-vegan/veg dishes. Have fun with vegan baking (including finding healthful ways to reduce fat and sugar without sacrificing taste and texture). Make eating exciting by trying new foods, new markets, and new restaurants that are a good fit for your veg lifestyle.

I find it really helpful to a) to stock up on frozen/processed food options for whenever I don’t feel up to or have the time for cooking; b) find a small collection of easy vegan/veg recipe favorites that I use again and again; and c) making larger amounts of favorite recipes and freezing some for meals in a pinch. Sticking with what works is always good advice.

Two of my favorite cookbooks in the fab Vegan With a Vengeance series by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Also check out her site, PPK!

III. Becoming vegan/veg doesn't have to happen overnight. Take it Slow.

Making the switch to being vegetarian or to being vegan doesn't have to be cut and dry or cold turkey, which can be hugely overwhelming to the point of making it seem impossible! Start by reducing/eliminating one non-vegan/veg food a week or month, perhaps. Or start by eating one all-vegan/veg meal a day/week and move toward two and then three and then all, over time. Making small goals makes the switch feel manageable, and accomplishing each little goal is encouraging and empowering, keeping us moving toward the larger goal!

Be patient with yourselves! I promise eating veg will become second nature and you won't think about how to eat healthy at all after a while. In the meantime, give yourself time to adjust. Some people feel energetic and inspired and awesome when they first make the switch. Some feel sluggish or get stomach/digestive issues, or get discouraged because they don't feel amazing right away or it's not as easy as they'd expected. Usually all it takes it is some playing around with foods and nutrients (i.e., more or less protein or carbs, different amounts of soy or sugar or wheat) or getting used to suddenly eating lots more fiber. :P ;)

I also suggest these same steps if you are trying to make broader lifestyle changes in becoming vegan/veg, like not wearing animal fibers/leather in clothing or eliminating use of products that tested on animal. Take your time. Make small changes. Take baby steps. Allow each change to take hold and settle before adding another.

IV. Educate yourself.

Success really is more likely when starting the journey loaded with knowledge, prepared for challenges, and with eyes wide open. Do your research, and take notes on things like what a well-balanced vegan/veg diet looks like, common challenges you may encounter, and tips on making the transition easier. Learn about all the reasons people have for going veg. Read. Read more. And keep reading (check out the resources on the EtsyVeg and Vegan Etsy blogs). Subscribe to magazines or newsletters that keep being vegan/veg relevant and new (my favorite is VegNews).

Joining up with other vegans/vegetarians is a super way to find support, ideas, and guidance. Even after being vegan for 11 years, I continue to learn so much from other veggies- there's so much knowledge and wisdom that we collectively have to share. Connect with local or online groups that provide resources and info to support a healthy vegan lifestyle. Find a community, whether virtual (check out this one) or locally, that supports one another on the vegan journey. Be open with your struggles- chances are very likely that someone else has been there or has known someone who has. Ask questions. Ask more questions. Stop by local natural foods stores or co-ops and browse their book selection, peruse food options and supplements, and use employees as a resource. And keep reading. And keep asking questions. And keep reaching out.

I. Let go of the "Shoulds".

You will likely hear lots of them along the way. Vegans/vegetarians shouldn't eat this/wear that/use this/say that/do this/be that way. Those voices are hard to get rid of sometimes, but try to let them go and find your own answers. Using another person's standards for whether or not you are "measuring up" to being a *true* vegan (whatever that is) is a sure way to sabotage your own accomplishments, your own voice, your heart and what you find meaningful, and finding your own identity as a vegan/vegetarian. Likewise, being another persons "should"er is not helpful to either of you.

Don't judge yourself. Going vegan/vegetarian doesn't have to be forever if you don't feel healthy or "right" after you've had some time to adjust. Having a 'slip' and indulging in something with eggs or dairy doesn't make you a 'bad vegan'. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing.

Veganism/vegetarianism is a different journey for everyone. We each fall along a spectrum of lifestyle choices and have a unique and complex set of reasons for traveling on the path. And that often changes as time goes on and life unfolds. Along the way, especially when meeting others on the path, you're bound to encounter a bazillion judgments about what being vegan/veg should/shouldn't look like and be about. Those judgments are not helpful, and have a tendency to create inside of us all sorts of pressures and "shoulds" and "should nots" about our own vegan/veg journey, including a harsh inner critic. This can be a controversial view, but forget about what others are saying that living a vegan/veg lifestyle is and is not, and find within your Self what it means for *you*.

V. Return to whatever motivated you to become vegan in the first place.

Stay in touch with the reasons you became/are becoming vegan/vegetarian to stay focused. Whether it's for health, weight maintenance, ethics, spiritual or religious reasons, compassion for animals and the planet, or any combination of these, connecting again and again with that motivation is a great way to refocus, re-energize, and re-center to make the path ahead a little easier. Get active with an animal or health- related veg cause in some capacity, whether online or local; follow the blogs and websites of like-minded individuals and organizations; and check out animal rights and veg websites for links to articles and other resources.

For me, staying focused means doing things like staying informed about animal rights and the negative impact non-veg lifestyles perpetuate on the environment. A friend of mine keeps a picture of a sweet baby cow with her to look at when she feels tempted to indulge in ice cream at her favorite shop. Reflecting on the enormous positive impact being vegan/veg has on oneself, the planet, etc. makes the difficulties seem more surmountable. It's so worth it! And it gets easier all the time... :)


Note: Another difficulty mentioned about the switch to being veg is the notion that it's more expensive than eating a non-veg diet. Check out this great little article on eating Vegan on the Cheap on the Hungry Hungry Veganos blog!

Cows are Too Sweet to Eat!

The "Top Ten Reasons Not to Eat Cows" from GoVeg.com. And check out the myth behind "Happy Cows" from HumaneMyth.org.


photo from mothercow.org

Quote of the Week: The Danger of Inaction & Indifference

"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph."

~Haile Selassie I