Political Suicide?

November 21, 2008 | 3 Comments

Sarah Palin held a news conference in front of turkey slaughter:

This is the small farm. So if this disgusts you, imagine the factory farm.

Actually, don’t imagine it, watch it:

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Politics, veganism
3 Comments to "Political Suicide?"

Vlogging For Veganism Videos

November 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

So, I’ve made a bunch of youtube videos. Not all have been posted here. In case you missed some and want to watch them, I’m going to post more here, now. They’re all “Vlogging for Veganism” videos. I tried to make one video everyday for the month of October. Now I’ve settled down and will make videos whenever I feel like it. And eventually I’ll make videos with Ed.

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Animals deserve better than empty excuses:
I would love for everyone to go vegan tomorrow. But I know that’s not going to happen. So I focus my attention on the people who ARE likely to go vegan: the leaders, the change-makers, the revolutionaries, the ones who will change the world.

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Eat Like A Vegan, Think Like A Vegan:
Until vegan options are as plentiful and available as nonvegan options, no one who “chooses” to eat animals can be said to be making an entirely free choice. So, vegans who want to help create more vegans show help make vegan options available. We can have potlucks, do “feed-ins”, start vegan businesses, promote vegan businesses, share recipes, etc.

People tend to find ways to justify their behavior regardless of whether or not the behavior is truly justifiable.

Meat-eaters do it all the time (for example, “animals eat other animals” or “God gave us animals to eat” or “meat is healthy”). They rationalize away all the wholly unnecessary cruelty to animals involved in food production.

Vegans and vegetarians do it too. I know. As a vegetarian for virtually my entire life, I realized that my habits of non-meat-eating were stronger than my philosophy du jour.

We are our habits.

In order to change other people’s habits (to get them to stop eating meat, or even to stop smoking or stop drinking or start exercising, etc.) they simply need to develop a new habit. To get people to eat a plant-based diet, feed them a plant-based diet.

The more they eat as a vegan, the more they’ll think like a vegan.

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The Halloween Edition: Candy and Parenting

Resources…
Vegan Candy: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/10/31/pr…

Vegan Parenting Forums:
http://www.postpunkkitchen.com/forum/…
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/mb/comp…

Vegan Cooking For Kids:
http://www.veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/10-books-…

More stuff for vegan parenting:
http://www.vegfamily.com/

PS - Nevada Day:
http://www.nevadaday.com/

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Depressed Vegan? Some tips…

When you first go vegetarian or vegan you might be overwhelmed by the enormous problem of animal exploitation. The reality of how our society treats animals (and farm workers and human health) is truly quite depressing and it’s normal to feel sad about it. But regardless of the normalcy of your feelings, you probably want to feel better. So.. here are some tips for overcoming depression:1) Make sure you’re getting proper nutrition. Take a look at your diet and see if you might want to add new foods, a supplement, or fortified foods. Make sure you get a wide variety of vegan foods. Use a food diary to monitor your nutrition and to show any medical professionals. Treat your body/ your health like a scientist would treat it - keep detailed and accurate records. This can help you identify deficiencies or triggers. (Don’t necessarily trust the average doctor, though, because many haven’t had much nutrition training. Get a second opinion if your doctor says, “just eat meat” or prescribes antidepressants.)
More info on vegan nutrition:
http://www.veganhealth.org/

2) Get regular exposure to sunlight. It will get you some vitamin D (deficiency can mimic depression) and also just “getting out” helps me. It might help you, too.
Wikipedia on light therapy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_th…

3) Get regular exercise. Besides the endorphins produced from exercise, many studies have shown exercise is just as or more effective than antidepressants and exercise doesn’t have the same negative side effects.
More info on exercise: http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide…

4) Reasoned optimism: Try to find the good in every situation. Consciously try to be hopeful and optimistic. You CAN change your thought patterns for the better.

5) Find support from family, friends, and/or professionals. Get online and find a vegan forum or blog. Others know what this feels like and they can help you.
Try this vegan forum:
http://www.postpunkkitchen.com/forum/

6) Avoid triggers when possible. For example, if you’re upset by images of tortured animals, try to limit viewing those and try to balance that with positive images of happy animals.

This tips apply to any kind of depression, but I’ve specifically targeted them to the kind of depression that occurs with some vegans and vegetarians. Take care of yourself!

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Veg People Unite:
Stand up and say you’re a vegan or vegetarian!

Vegans and vegetarians, let’s all stand up and show our faces. We’re varied. We come in all shapes, sizes, colors, nationalities, ages, genders, politics and more. If your food isn’t flesh, say so!

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, veganism
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Whale Wars Review

November 8, 2008 | 2 Comments

Last night’s Whale Wars was good. I liked the show and plan to watch it regularly. It’s been edited to make it a pretty high drama show and well, I like that :)

It should also be noted that Ed, my husband, wasn’t interested in watching the show last night. He wanted to play a video game, but he caught a few scenes and he got hooked. Afterwards he remarked, “It’s a series!? Damn it, now I have to watch even more TV.”

Here’s an official Whale Wars description:

“During the 2007-2008 campaign, Animal Planet captured the intensity of Sea Shepherd’s mission and the trials and tribulations of the crew in a new seven-part, hour-long weekly series WHALE WARS, premiering Friday, November 7th at 9 PM. The series draws attention to this global conservation issue that has caused friction between several nations over the practice of whaling in oceanic territories. Highlighting both the controversial whaling trade and the tactics that Sea Shepherd and its staff and volunteers use to attempt to cripple it, the series documents the group’s three-month sojourn across the icy Antarctic waters at the far end of the globe. Each week on WHALE WARS, Animal Planet will take viewers on a powerful and adrenaline-fueled adventure to spotlight how the group takes action against these whaling operations.”

And here are my first impressions of Whale Wars after watching the first episode last night*:

While on the ship, they eat 100% vegan. Great! If only other organizations could take this simple first step. Why are vegans, the people with clearly demonstrated commitment to animals, second class citizens at some pro-animal events and organizations?
I appreciate and approve of the Sea Shepherd’s goals to save animals’ lives. I even approve of most of their methods,
I like their pirate flag. It’s fun, it’s hip, it’s appropriate,
I think this show will give people a better impression of direct action and animal rescue. They’ll see it more as rewarding, adventurous, noble work than as “terrorism,”
They kept saying “the Japanese” instead of “whalers” or “whale killers” or some other more descriptive, less xenophobic term. Ed noticed this too. We both disliked it. It doesn’t matter if you *mean* ‘Japanese government’ or ‘Japanese whalers,’ when you say “Japanese” to refer to a small segment of Japanese people, particularly when you say it as a white person from a country that fought Japan in WWII, you sound like a bigot. It promotes comments like this one found at YouTube in response to the video above:

“The Country of Japan Disgusts me whether it be from the whales they kill, to the Tigers they say they don’t kill and eat,And to the Bears they kill and Eat. The Nasty Bastards they would rather kill and make a profit and kill to eat a Delicacy rather than to preserve The animal life that’s dwindling.”

As if the USA is any different.
The crew is mostly composed of volunteers/ adventure seekers. This means there’s bound to be chaos. This is good for TV, bad for real life,
Animal Planet has a special warning before the show saying the show doesn’t represent Animal Planet’s views… blah, blah, blah. I don’t see that warning before other animal rescue shows. It annoyed me that Animal Planet felt the need to dismiss the ideals and discount the intelligence of many of their viewers
I don’t like the “shepherd” connotation. I don’t love the mission statement:

Sea Shepherd’s Mission Statement
Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.

Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.

Why don’t I love it? Because it’s focused on biodiversity and species, not individual’s lives. It’s not about rescuing individual animals, it’s about some nebulous ‘environment.’ It has a human supremacist perspective.

*I haven’t read any other review yet. I wrote this without being influenced by other bloggers. That means, my opinion may change :)

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, Politics, TV and Film, veganism
2 Comments to "Whale Wars Review"

America’s Adopted Pets

November 7, 2008 | 5 Comments

Best Friends Animal Society has put together a photo pool of “America’s Adopted Pets.” The pool is part of the Obama Family Dog website and campaign to encourage the Obamas and others interested in adopting a dog to rescue one from a shelter rather than get one from a pet store or breeder: No More Homeless Pets. People who’ve rescued animals are encouraged to post their pictures. From the website:

“In America’s shelters, millions of purebred and mixed breed dogs are killed each year. Millions. And despite what some groups may want you to believe, the majority of these dogs are not sick, are not vicious, are not old. They are loving, healthy, adoptable dogs who just need a second chance. These dogs are victims of today’s throwaway society, and we all, as a society, need to do better by them.”

I’ve thrown a few pix into the pool, mostly of Floyd, because he’s similar to the kind of dog the Obamas claim they want, a dog who doesn’t shed (much). There’s no such thing as a “hypoallergenic dog” and I really wish people would stop saying that, but… poodles come pretty close. I submitted a photo of Floyd wearing an Obama bandanna, Floyd at the Capital Building, and Floyd in Central Park.

Here’s the Central Park picture:

I want to help show the Obamas and the world that shelter dogs come in all sizes, colors, ages, coat types, and personality types. ANY dog you want can be found at a shelter or rescue group. There is NO reason to buy from a pet store or breeder - EVER.

Anyway, if you’ve got adopted pets you might want to share your photos >>

PS - I can’t imagine any action the Obamas could currently take that symbolizes HOPE more than rescuing a shelter dog. If there’s any hope for our country, if there’s any hope Obama will keep his promises, if there’s any hope for future generations, it should start with this VERY simple act: adopt a shelter dog. Give hope to the hopeless.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, Homeless Pets, Politics
5 Comments to "America’s Adopted Pets"

Recent Vlogs

October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Challenge to meat-eaters:

Go vegan for 30 days.

Here’s some help:
http://veg.ca/content/view/26/56/
where you can get emails or you can call for advice.

Or how about The Thrive Diet:
http://www.brendanbrazier.com/book/in…

Vegan Starter Kits
http://www.veganoutreach.org/starterp…
http://pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/in…
http://www.petaliterature.com/VEG297.pdf
http://www.tryveg.com/img/vsg0501.pdf
http://www.afa-online.org/starterpack…
http://www.vegkit.org/

Breakfast:

Soyrizo (vegan chorizo alternative):
http://www.elburrito.com/soyrizo.html
Soyrizo recipes:
http://www.elburrito.com/recipescomin…

Vegan Family Cookbook:
http://www.lanternbooks.com/detail.ht…

Fair Trade Coffee:
http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/f…
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaig…
http://www.transfairusa.org/content/W…

Background music: Butterfly Boucher

More info about veganism:
http://www.tryveg.com/
http://www.goveg.com/
http://www.govegannow.com/

Vegangelism:

I should have studied marketing rather than philosophy. Marketing is where it’s at…

Anyhoo… Here’s a vlog about vegangelism. Here are my thoughts on angry vegans and whether or not they should promote veganism. Ultimately, I think it’s far better to have all vegans be vocal than to try to control, silence, or condemn the vegans who don’t promote a particular brand of veganism. That is, I think the notion that we ought to condemn vegans and animal advocates who have unpopular opinions is a morally repugnant notion. If we don’t agree with someone, we can disagree, but we’re all entitled to free speech.

More on this topic:
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/a-good-an…

More info about veganism:
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/the-post-…

Music: Cake & Thrice

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under veganism
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