How Would You Choose?

Last night, I went to see the 1988 film, Gorillas in the Mist; it is part of an eco film festival they have at the movie theatre several times a year.

I have seen Gorillas in the Mist many times before; I own it on DVD, but I went to the theatre to see it on the big screen, to support the cause, and to hear an animal rights lawyer speak at the end of the film.

The AR lawyer is animal welfare, meaning although he may be for all animal rights, he focuses on specific animals to actively fight for. Most animal welfarists choose to specifically fight for mammals--especially large mammals, and he is no exception. His particular fight right now is for elephants.

I'm for all types of animal rights people working to end animal suffering and exploitation, but with animal welfarists, my question to them is:

How do you choose which animal to actively fight for?

For example, it would be like for children's rights; instead of fighting for the rights of all children, you just fight for the rights of girls, or children of a certain age, or fight for the rights of children with green eyes....This sounds absurd.

How  would you choose?

This is why I'm an animal rights activist who actively fights for all animals; I would never want to pick a certain animal to fight for--I wouldn't know how to choose which animal to fight for anyway. I tend to promote animal rights by way of veganism: simply educating and encouraging people to not eat or use animal products in any way, as well as not supporting the exploitation of animals, like not going to places where animals are used for entertainment.

In this way, I can effectively help ALL animals.

@RomeshRanga asks: why do people hate vegans?

"Veganism has been shown to be, like, one of the two best things you can do to save the planet. So why are you annoyed at me?"

Click below for answer:

@RomeshRanga asks, why do people hate vegans?

V-EGANISM Updates

I've had this blog for quite some time here, but in the past, I had not been posting much news--until recently.

I now want to focus more on this blog, keeping you up-to-date on any big news going on in the vegan/animal rights world.

Years ago, when I would post information on a more regular basis, things were different. People didn't know a lot about veganism/animal rights. There were many people on Tweeter or other social media asking, "How do you become vegan?" and asking for simple cruelty-free recipes.This this current time, I notice there are far less people asking about how to become vegan and wanting more information about cruelty-free recipes because there is so much information in the world now, especially on the Internet.

So my blog will mostly focus on veganism/animal rights in the news. I will also provide links to interviews I think are interesting.

As many animal rights people seem to be fading out of social media, I want to be one of the people still providing news in the vegan/animal rights community and world.

I will also be adding more vegan links on this blog in the "Links We Love" section. I have already weeded out the "dead" links and added a few new ones.

Finally, if you have any questions about veganism, animal rights in relation to animals, people, or the world, please contact me for more information. 

Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Countries Revealed By New Data

"Using Google Trends data, online food blog Chef's Pencil, compiled the list which compares the popularity of veganism across the world."

Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Countries Revealed By New Data

Defining Vegan Revisited

"Although the vegan diet was defined early on it was as late as 1949 before Leslie J Cross pointed out that the society lacked a definition of veganism and he suggested '[t]he principle of the emancipation of animals from exploitation by man'.This is later clarified as 'to seek an end to the use of animals by man for food, commodities, work, hunting, vivisection, and by all other uses involving exploitation of animal life by man'."

Read the entire post at: We’ve come a long way!

Vegan Fashion and Accessories, Vegan Bodycare and House Products

Since I have talked mostly about animal rights veganism here, I now want to also do blogposts on the often forgotten other cruelty-free items (products besides vegan food and vegan cosmetics).

Sadly, I rarely hear podcasts and bloggers post about vegan fashion and accessories, vegan bodycare and vegan household products; so look for more blogposts about these items.

Gary Francione and Others Just Don't Get It

Here are some quotes from Twitter and Facebook I made that I feel belongs permanently on my blog for my blog readers to see:

"Awesome Morrissey is now vegan!!Reasons about veganism he gave n interviews r incorrect, but main thing he's vegan! That should b the focus."

"I long realize @garylfrancione main thing is to criticize people who are not vegan or saying things wrong;that's all he's doing to Morrissey"

"I bet in @garylfrancione @GoVeganRadio podcast today he won't b happy Morrissey is vegan,but instead spend entire show berating what he said"

"Morrrissey should be criticized BRIEFLY,but then congratulated & talk about all positive things Morrissey is already doing now he's vegan."

"But no, @garylfrancione always love the negative more than positive, and will go on and on about how terrible Morrissey still is. So sad."

"I'm really tired of @garylfrancione love of criticizing--especially vegans. Call people out--great, but then mention their positives."

"I guess unless one thinks ,behaves, does EVERYTHING EXACTLY @garylfrancione way, he'll always put people down. His way or you're ALL wrong."

". @garylfrancione & others keep flippantly saying "Going vegan is easy. It's not hard." yeah, for us, but others think it is.Understand them"

"Ask them, 'Why is it hard for you?' Give them answers. Work with them and HELP them instead of saying, "it's easy"--that's counterproductive"

"I didn't mention this on @garylfrancione Facebook because if anyone disagrees with his way of doing things, you get blocked."


This is what I posted on Gary Francione's Facebook yesterday. I'm surprised it didn't get deleted like MANY of people's posts get when you disagree with Francione on Facebook:

Lorrie Paige: "There was a poll taken at my church where we asked, what concerns do you have about going vegan? Most said health issues. In this day and age with doctors saying veganism is safe there really shouldn't be a concern but I think many people still have a fear of major health issues and most people are more concerned about their health than any animals. This is one reason vegans should be healthy vegans. While I see many healthy vegans pics online, I see a lot of unhealthy vegans offline when I go to vegan meets. I believe these are more the plant only people (no vegan processed) which more and more vegans are doing as they feel this is the next "level" of veganism. But it's very important to not only be vegan but be and look a healthy vegan. I see so many that look anorexic and that scares people. Also when I became vegan I threw my expensive fur coats away immediately in the trash. Easy for me but maybe some people would find it hard to throw out thousands of dollars worth of clothing, shoes, and buy a whole new wardrobe. But that's something I feel one must do as it would be difficult talking animal rights while wearing animals. Saying, well I bought this prior to being vegan and waiting until it wears out or until I can afford to buy vegan is not a positive thing to say while promoting veganism. Also vegan body care and cosmetics are very expensive so it's not just about vegan food---food is the cheapest in transitioning. Veganism is a major life transition to many people, depending on how much animal cruelty one has done. Just because it was easy for most of us don't assume it's easy for each and every person on the planet. We need to understand instead of making flippant remarks because they may just give up and what does that accomplish? If someone you know is finding it hard financially to buy vegan items, buy them items, like a vegan coat, vegan body care, or whatever to get them started instead of getting angry at them. If they are sincere, help them in the beginning. But in wealthy Morrissey's case, he couldn't make that excuse."


Telling people something they feel is not the case is really stupid. If a person feels something is difficult, even though you feel it's easy to be vegan, they will not believe you because you are not them. So help them in any way you can to help them transition to veganism easy.

V-EGANISM's Official Mission Statement

I needed to create a detailed, official, mission statement for V-EGANISM. This following statement will also be located at the top of this web blog permanently.

There are animal welfare vegans and animal abolition vegans. V-EGANISM is neither. Just as there are positive things and negative things about conservatives and liberals, there are positive things and negative things about welfarists and abolitionists. V-EGANISM avoids all 4 "political parties", and remains as an independent in thoughts and actions, only choosing what is right and just for animals, humans, and the environment. V-EGANISM however does have a mission statement which is how the founder of veganism, Donald Watson, originally coined the word's definition. It was a perfect definition then and it still is a perfect definition now! So the following paragraph is V-EGANISM's official Mission Statement--and nothing more, nothing less, we are simply called, "Vegans", with no additives:

"V-EGANISM educates people and helps people and animals regarding the political and social justice cause, Veganism, which is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude--as far as is possible and practicable--all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, cosmetics, household products, entertainment, services or any other purposes; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals, and the environment."

Being a Diplomatic Vegan

Here is an excellent article about telling others about veganism:

Being a Diplomatic Vegan

Live And Let Live - Trailer

Live and Let Live is a feature documentary film examining our relationship with animals, the history of veganism and the ethical, environmental and health reasons that move people to go vegan.

Check out the trailer:

10 Rebuttals Every Vegan Should Know

Being vegan has some truly positive effects. Veganism is clearly better for the animals, it is healthier for the environment, and it has proven to be amazing for the human body. With veganism sounding so marvelous, you would think that everyone would be vegan. However, there are people out there who are not aware of the details and think that vegans are lacking from this lifestyle.

Read more:

10 Rebuttals Every Vegan Should Know

When Your Family Hates You for Being Vegan

When people become vegan they are often bewildered at the strength of the resistance or criticism they receive from others, particularly their family. They may have faced resistance to many other choices before, but when it comes to veganism there is none of the usual open-mindedness and willingness to embrace change, and little sign of a genuine desire of family members to love them even while they hate their behavior, writes psychologist Clare Mann. 

Why is this so, and what can vegans do when faced with a family imploring them to revert to non-veganism? Read more at:

What do I do when my family hates me being vegan?

Dealing with Annoying Anti-Vegan Comments

If you have one of those annoying relatives or friends who cannot help but needle you with questions and comments about your veganism, it may be that this year it’s time to fight back.

Here are a few of the various things that might come up at the dinner table, and a couple of hopefully humorous suggestions about how you can deal with them, as well as how to turn these questions into teachable moments, too:

How to Deal With Annoying Anti-Vegan Comments This Holiday Season

 

The Problem with Ex-Vegans

3 links regarding ex-vegans and what their issues are:

Stop Blaming Veganism for You not Being Vegan

Disordered Eating, Restrictive Eating, and Ex-Vegans 

How to Gain Fame and Fortune as an Ex-Vegan in Roughly Five Easy Steps

...

Vegans Never Say Die!

So, Why Become Vegan?

Veganism is a combination of everything in coming to understand about life. To inspire others to commit to an eco-friendly and animal-friendly life, author Sandra Kimler has published a new book titled, “So, Why Become Vegan?: A. Nutritional Reasons B. Spiritual Reasons C. Environmental Reasons D. Ethical Reasons E. All of the Above” (published by Balboa Press).

Drawing upon years of study in nutrition and iridology, Kimler describes her motivations to live a vegan lifestyle in this new health guide. She begins by introducing the reader to tips on becoming more aware of one’s impact upon the earth and its animals. Continuing with chapters on nutrition and veganism recommendations for recipes, websites and books, and finishing with information about the ethical and environmental reasons for veganism, Kimler makes a case for the lifestyle choice.

What Kimler likes for people to take away is the confidence to change their eating habits, thinking patterns and behavior. Her message is: ‘Be kind to yourself. Never feel guilty--but always learn, change and be fiercely curious.’

7 Common Cooking Problems You May Run Into When Going Vegan

Here is a fabulous article for people who are having some issues regarding the dietary part of veganism:

7 Common Cooking Problems You May Run Into When Going Vegan

What Does ‘Vegan’ Really Mean?

Here is a terrific article that reminds everyone what it truly means to be vegan, regardless of how people or society makes an attempt to redefine it. Veganism can never be redefined unless the person who coined the name/definition redefines it themselves:

What Does ‘Vegan’ Really Mean?

Also according to the Vegan Society, the society who coined and defined the word, Vegan, it also means to love, respect, and have compassion for all beings, not just animals and the environment.

How Veganism Changed These People

(*Note: the first line above is sarcasm, hence the quotes.)

Below is a wonderful, inspirational article of people who became vegan. A Gentle World volunteer did an experiment on her Facebook page where she simply asked people to complete the following statement: “Since I became vegan, I’ve noticed…”

Check it out here:  How Veganism Changed These 58 People

Germany Vegan Supermarket Chain to Come to US in 2016!!

Jan Bredack founded the first vegan supermarket chain called “Veganz“, in Berlin, Germany. The business venture has proven successful with plans to open dozens of branches across Europe and for the very first time, in the US, in 2016.

In 2009, Bredack turned to veganism after suffering burn-out from a less than balanced life. After changing his lifestyle and ethical code, he wrote the book “Vegan für alle: Warum wir richtig leben sollten” ("Veganism for everyone: Why we should live right") to share his transformation with the masses.

After several trips abroad, the veggie entrepreneur, exposed to vegan products in other countries, decided to open his first store. Bredack says his decision to open a vegan supermarket came from a sundry of ideas after coming across various vegan products in the US and Russia. He said that it was difficult to shop normally when one adopts a vegan lifestyle, and he wanted to make the switch to veganism more accessible to everyone.

So for 2016, Bredack plans on taking his vegan chain to the United States. Veganz will open a vegan shopping center in Portland, Oregon--the U.S. vegan homeland.

When Veganz does arrive in Portland, I will never shop at Whole Foods again. Whole Foods is clearly ALL about the money and the owner believes a 100% vegan supermarket would fail. Well Whole Foods look and learn!

What Happened to Vegan Blogs and Podcasts?

I love listening to other vegan podcasts and reading other vegan website blogs but recently I've noticed about 90% of them, throughout the years, are now gone!

I go to vegan directory links, promising me a list of hundreds of vegan blogs and podcasts, but when I click on to these blog and podcast links, most are dead links or might as well be, as their site has not been updated in months or years!

What happened?? Have these vegans found another way to do their activism? Or, have these vegans become apathetic....maybe becoming a minimalist vegan--just living by example?

A good example of 'Where are they now?' is the activist Erin Red. I used to really like her podcast on iTunes, called Red Radio: Vegan Banter with a Bite. But one day she made this 7-minute "special announcement" on her show, saying she had to take a break from her podcast for personal reasons, that she didn't elaborate on; she said she would probably return in a month.

So far, she is a no-show.

Erin has since said time and time again (at her Twitter account) that she will be returning soon....By the way, her special announcement was made on September 16, 2013--almost a year ago.

I read some of her Tweets and she appear to be enjoying her time spent on Twitter, mixing in silliness with animal rights activism. Erin, at her website, has said she plans to update her vegan/animal rights website/blog but she has not really done that either, but instead she continually posts on her blog these absolutely asinine posts--many having nothing to do with veganism. It's an embarrassment; doesn't she realize this? I guess not.

Also, I have since noticed Erin Red has not been as staunch in her veganism as compared to her early days on the Internet. Something happened to her gravely. She has lost a lot of her activism spirit. Is it burn-out? I don't know, but Erin Red--like many, many vegans--seem to have, for the most part, given up fighting for the vegan cause. It's disheartening and disturbing. The animals--the planet--needs all the support they can get from people! Erin was a real fighter; now it's like she's turned over and is playing dead, like so many other activists.

Whatever these vegan activists are going through--personal tragedies, professional tragedies, apathy, burn-out, or have now become ex-vegans--I hope dramatic things change in their life to make them get back into being the gutsy, loud & proud vegan activists they were when they got into the movement.

We need everyone we can get--for the sake of the animals, for the sake of the people, for the sake of the planet.