Whether vegan or omnivore, we are a powerful ship steaming into the future in the form of example-setting. It’s our only chance to get enough strength behind an idea which faces Goliath opposition. But the opposition isn’t only over food issues but miriad issues, all of which we face right NOW. It’s a tad overwhelming – vegan food one day, organic food the next. Health issues, animal issues, environmental impacts, where does it all stop? Can I afford to be that spread out?
I suppose it comes down to the way we look at things. When I get a flier through the mail about the latest tragic event, asking me for a contribution, it feels like plugging a hole in a leaky bucket. Where does one stop? But then why not start? Slipping a fiver in an envelope won’t solve the world’s problems but it’s a start, and every gesture we can make helps … but CAN we be like this? The pressure is always on us to conform, to take the easier way, to go the cheaper way and that translates into our own consumer habits. Our involvement in waste is as regular as our involvement in cruelty. Being profligate with paper isn’t much different to ruining the land or hens being ’wasted’. Abuse, cruelty, taking advantage of resources, it’s all much the same thing: we do it and we don’t believe we can STOP doing it. We don’t think we are good example-setters.
The trick is surely not to be overwhelmed by all the issues but to do what we feel comfortable about doing. And in the doing we can realise the potential for us to keep on learning and keep on going deeper; in that way the world will eventually benefit from what we have understood … about ourselves.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Communicating compassionately
Friday 28th May 2010
Vegan principle needs to be spelt out if only to stop the rot amongst omnivores. If we can overlook something as obviously wrong as factory farming (immobilising animals to make them work more like machines) then this needs deconstructing. Vegans might seem like people snatching the chicken nugget out of the hands of children. So we need to turn that around. From snatcher to attracter, we need to show how the alternative can be so much more fulfilling, breaking the attachment to the ubiquitous chicken nugget.
‘Not-wanting’ is a long step away from ‘addictive-wanting’ especially when guilt is so heavily associated with the wanting, of say chicken nuggets. The omnivore will want to keep quiet about the wrong of it, and will do almost anything not to have to face facts. If we look at any damage we do to others (something we may want to do and someone else wants to persuade us NOT to do) we’ll avoid looking, if we can get away with it. Vegans themselves avoid certain truths too and this helps us to understand ‘avoidance’. For most of us our vegetables and fruits come from a monoculture that is destroying the land but we want these products and want them cheap. These vegetables must be produced by ‘intensive means’, by farmers who want to stay in business. Competition is the main reason intensive methods are used, so whether it’s animal farming or arable farming, these operations provide us with our food and our very energy and life. If we move away from the standard food product (whatever it might be) we enter a world of ideal conditions and high prices. At sometime we’ll have to deal with the ‘wrong’ of it. That may mean vegans themselves have to eat less so that they can buy better, which means changing habits and denying what we want. All this helps us to understand omnivores better. If we can experience what they are facing we’re in a better position to help. And that involves a compassionate communication of vegan principle.
Vegan principle needs to be spelt out if only to stop the rot amongst omnivores. If we can overlook something as obviously wrong as factory farming (immobilising animals to make them work more like machines) then this needs deconstructing. Vegans might seem like people snatching the chicken nugget out of the hands of children. So we need to turn that around. From snatcher to attracter, we need to show how the alternative can be so much more fulfilling, breaking the attachment to the ubiquitous chicken nugget.
‘Not-wanting’ is a long step away from ‘addictive-wanting’ especially when guilt is so heavily associated with the wanting, of say chicken nuggets. The omnivore will want to keep quiet about the wrong of it, and will do almost anything not to have to face facts. If we look at any damage we do to others (something we may want to do and someone else wants to persuade us NOT to do) we’ll avoid looking, if we can get away with it. Vegans themselves avoid certain truths too and this helps us to understand ‘avoidance’. For most of us our vegetables and fruits come from a monoculture that is destroying the land but we want these products and want them cheap. These vegetables must be produced by ‘intensive means’, by farmers who want to stay in business. Competition is the main reason intensive methods are used, so whether it’s animal farming or arable farming, these operations provide us with our food and our very energy and life. If we move away from the standard food product (whatever it might be) we enter a world of ideal conditions and high prices. At sometime we’ll have to deal with the ‘wrong’ of it. That may mean vegans themselves have to eat less so that they can buy better, which means changing habits and denying what we want. All this helps us to understand omnivores better. If we can experience what they are facing we’re in a better position to help. And that involves a compassionate communication of vegan principle.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The vegan sell
What happens to the people who become rich off the backs of animals? Or take advantage of any other resource to the detriment of the general good? Perhaps they suffer for it in their own way but this is the story of the human race itself, we use resources in an unsustainable way, not to mention sometimes a cruel way. The arguments for restraint and acting for the greater good don’t seem to be very convincing. It seems ‘bad’ works better.
But laying all that aside for the moment if we are one of those people who can’t forget the part animals play in our lives, who want to drop their own use and persuade others to joint them, we have to sell the attraction of the alternative. A vegan approach is not perfect but it deals with non-violence and doing things for the greater good rather than out of self interest, and that in itself is an inspiring position to take up. A vegan diet doesn’t solve everything, for instance it doesn’t address how plants are grown and how arable farming in the form of monoculture destroys the land, but it’s a start.
But laying all that aside for the moment if we are one of those people who can’t forget the part animals play in our lives, who want to drop their own use and persuade others to joint them, we have to sell the attraction of the alternative. A vegan approach is not perfect but it deals with non-violence and doing things for the greater good rather than out of self interest, and that in itself is an inspiring position to take up. A vegan diet doesn’t solve everything, for instance it doesn’t address how plants are grown and how arable farming in the form of monoculture destroys the land, but it’s a start.
Animals as a living
Wednesday 26th May 2010
Why is animal cruelty happening? Why is there this mad addiction to animal products? In effect there is no choice, these are the products which get all the promotion plus lots of government subsidy and they are made to taste so good that they are hard to resist. In contrast, in almost all countries, the non-animal choices are negligible. People are so used to getting what they want they just can’t help buying what’s on offer, thus sponsoring the animal industries. By buying the goods we encourage the producers in what they do, and they just can’t help inflicting cruelty on animals.to keep pace with the competition. Profit takes precedence over ethics.
The ventures some people engage in at the expense of animals are their living. Using animals to make a wage is how especially those living in the country regions live. All in all both customers and producers are ignoring the negative consequences of what they do – it’s detrimental to the animals and of course to their own health. Nevertheless they do it.
Why is animal cruelty happening? Why is there this mad addiction to animal products? In effect there is no choice, these are the products which get all the promotion plus lots of government subsidy and they are made to taste so good that they are hard to resist. In contrast, in almost all countries, the non-animal choices are negligible. People are so used to getting what they want they just can’t help buying what’s on offer, thus sponsoring the animal industries. By buying the goods we encourage the producers in what they do, and they just can’t help inflicting cruelty on animals.to keep pace with the competition. Profit takes precedence over ethics.
The ventures some people engage in at the expense of animals are their living. Using animals to make a wage is how especially those living in the country regions live. All in all both customers and producers are ignoring the negative consequences of what they do – it’s detrimental to the animals and of course to their own health. Nevertheless they do it.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Resistance
Eating animals, wearing them, using them, it spoils everything. We do it so much. Our voracious appetite for their products is encouraged by the Animal Industries, and we the customer, respond accordingly. We spend so much of our money on all sorts of crap. We do it even though We know it’s wrong (that is, wrong for the planet, for our health and of course for the ‘health’ of the animals themselves). Nevertheless, we do it.
The Animal Rights movement has tried to swing people over, by pointing out the cruelty and health angles, but it doesn’t work and as communicators vegans eventually will need to understand why.
In the meantime, we will always be there in the community, applying pressure on people in whatever way we do it but, for some activists, we’ll need to foresee how things are going to change. We need to get into the rhythm of change as it happens, see the sequence of things, and recognise when it happens the drive that will take place, where the tipping point is reached and where many people quite quickly see what we’re going on about.
The Animal Rights movement has tried to swing people over, by pointing out the cruelty and health angles, but it doesn’t work and as communicators vegans eventually will need to understand why.
In the meantime, we will always be there in the community, applying pressure on people in whatever way we do it but, for some activists, we’ll need to foresee how things are going to change. We need to get into the rhythm of change as it happens, see the sequence of things, and recognise when it happens the drive that will take place, where the tipping point is reached and where many people quite quickly see what we’re going on about.
The collective consciousness
Monday 24th May 2010
Vegans are out there, say, wanting to communicate. It’s so radically different to the one most people are used to. For the omnivore what we say is contrary to every food acceptance known to them. When a vegan starts speaking about diet change a curtain falls. We are met with an inertia, or worse, a casual dismissing of our vegan values. It’s no wonder vegans feel such a weight of discouragement on their shoulders. But despite this, vegans need to work out how to move ahead, communicating despite the collective resistance.
Vegans are out there, say, wanting to communicate. It’s so radically different to the one most people are used to. For the omnivore what we say is contrary to every food acceptance known to them. When a vegan starts speaking about diet change a curtain falls. We are met with an inertia, or worse, a casual dismissing of our vegan values. It’s no wonder vegans feel such a weight of discouragement on their shoulders. But despite this, vegans need to work out how to move ahead, communicating despite the collective resistance.
Reckless decisions
Sunday 23rd May 2010
What sort of people are vegans speaking to when they do get the chance to speak? We always hope people will be compliant or better still be eager to learn all the stuff we want them to know but it’s likely they’ll bogged down and reluctant to listen..
We have to consider that many people DON’T feel badly about behaving badly. For instance, if they do know about the suffering of animals it might not matter to them. and therefore eating these animals doesn’t concern them. What would get people to pull back a bit on their animal eating?. I’d suggest such a radical move only ever happens if we want it to badly enough.
As vegans we need to appeal to this deeper sense of want. We can appeal to their sense of right-behaviour, to their health, to their compassion, all the time realising the weight of opinion against us that says: “If it’s legal and if most other people do it there’s no argument in the world that will persuade me to change”. They won’t even let their minds rest on the subject of animal rights let alone change their diet. They’d say to us: “This is my food, my favourite food we’re talking about here”. No way are they going to give up the pleasure of the Sunday roast. It’s such a powerful substance, food. It’s the one consistent strand linking all the days of our lives, right up to the present day (along the lines of “I am what I eat”). To attempt to alter any part of that might seem reckless.
What sort of people are vegans speaking to when they do get the chance to speak? We always hope people will be compliant or better still be eager to learn all the stuff we want them to know but it’s likely they’ll bogged down and reluctant to listen..
We have to consider that many people DON’T feel badly about behaving badly. For instance, if they do know about the suffering of animals it might not matter to them. and therefore eating these animals doesn’t concern them. What would get people to pull back a bit on their animal eating?. I’d suggest such a radical move only ever happens if we want it to badly enough.
As vegans we need to appeal to this deeper sense of want. We can appeal to their sense of right-behaviour, to their health, to their compassion, all the time realising the weight of opinion against us that says: “If it’s legal and if most other people do it there’s no argument in the world that will persuade me to change”. They won’t even let their minds rest on the subject of animal rights let alone change their diet. They’d say to us: “This is my food, my favourite food we’re talking about here”. No way are they going to give up the pleasure of the Sunday roast. It’s such a powerful substance, food. It’s the one consistent strand linking all the days of our lives, right up to the present day (along the lines of “I am what I eat”). To attempt to alter any part of that might seem reckless.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Justification
Why are the ‘right’ right? People’s sense of right and wrong is manipulated by the culture we’re born into. It changes very little unless one actively takes to examining values afresh, as vegans have done by looking at animal exploitation. But whether we have or haven’t re-examined the values we grew up with, we nevertheless have a sense of what is right. But the trouble is that vegans and omnivores are poles apart because of the vegans’ re-evaluation on the question of animal rights. Here is the difference in values, the different way of seeing each other. If, to feed my family, I make a living out of burglary it’s because I do it well and can think of many other livings which are worse; livings which may be more socially acceptable but which are morally worse than burglary. What we do defines us and my ‘right’ is to me right..
Why do we do right? Perhaps because wrong usually fails and fails badly. We innately know that by unleashing our naked, most selfish powers onto the world (without moderating them for the ‘greater good’) we always fail. We know when we’re being destructive and we know that it will come back to haunt us. We all know that by adding to the general state of destruction we go against the grain. Earning our dollars by being destructive reminds us of our past, when as dominator-destructors we tried becoming more beautiful, or at least not so knuckle-dragging. We cut enough ethical corners for the best reasons, or for reasons of profit, or if an absolute bastard, for lining our pockets egregiously. And over the centuries we have continued to act this way, justifying what we do, confirming our own sense of ‘doing right’.
The truly ‘right’ go beyond the pragmatic and know they’re in the right when they exercise restraint. So that when I’m tempted … say with the urge to play my music loudly late at night, if I restrain, if I withhold because people are sleeping next door, I might feel this is the ‘right’ thing to do. Now, if on the other hand I play my music and to hell with the neighbours I know it’s wrong but I do it all the same because I don’t want to forgo my pleasure. This makes me the sort of person who ends up living their life on the backs of others. Our reasoning might be that if I don’t exploit the situation someone else will beat me to it. They will steal my opportunity. They, not me, will benefit. This is why I’m reluctant to leave behind any chance of gaining an advantage.
Why do we do right? Perhaps because wrong usually fails and fails badly. We innately know that by unleashing our naked, most selfish powers onto the world (without moderating them for the ‘greater good’) we always fail. We know when we’re being destructive and we know that it will come back to haunt us. We all know that by adding to the general state of destruction we go against the grain. Earning our dollars by being destructive reminds us of our past, when as dominator-destructors we tried becoming more beautiful, or at least not so knuckle-dragging. We cut enough ethical corners for the best reasons, or for reasons of profit, or if an absolute bastard, for lining our pockets egregiously. And over the centuries we have continued to act this way, justifying what we do, confirming our own sense of ‘doing right’.
The truly ‘right’ go beyond the pragmatic and know they’re in the right when they exercise restraint. So that when I’m tempted … say with the urge to play my music loudly late at night, if I restrain, if I withhold because people are sleeping next door, I might feel this is the ‘right’ thing to do. Now, if on the other hand I play my music and to hell with the neighbours I know it’s wrong but I do it all the same because I don’t want to forgo my pleasure. This makes me the sort of person who ends up living their life on the backs of others. Our reasoning might be that if I don’t exploit the situation someone else will beat me to it. They will steal my opportunity. They, not me, will benefit. This is why I’m reluctant to leave behind any chance of gaining an advantage.
Friday, May 21, 2010
The divide
It’s impossible just to remain passive when you’re with a meat eater, but our best work is done when we are quiet. The values we represent need to be drunk in by others, almost subliminally, because on the surface the omnivore has a value perception very far from our own. That’s why we must try to neutralise and abandon our value judgements of them because we’re always shown us up by them. If we can move right away from making judgements, even in our own minds, we’ll be better placed to observe their point of view. And once we’re familiar with that we are half way to helping them make a transition to new attitude.
Spending time with omnivores
Thursday 21st May 2010
If we can spend time regularly with people who not only disagree with us but adamantly oppose the whole concept of animals having rights, we may just come to understand their point of view. We won’t agree with it but we will be able to see how they think they are leading blameless lives and doing the ‘right thing’. They do have a sense of ‘right’. They act ‘right’ for most of the time so they do have a view about ‘being right’. On the subject of eating animals this is usually something in a special category. They’d say to us perhaps, “Who knows what is right?” What’s right for one isn’t ‘right’ for another. As vegans we hear many convoluted arguments. We need to know these as well as we know our own arguments for animal rights.
If we can spend time regularly with people who not only disagree with us but adamantly oppose the whole concept of animals having rights, we may just come to understand their point of view. We won’t agree with it but we will be able to see how they think they are leading blameless lives and doing the ‘right thing’. They do have a sense of ‘right’. They act ‘right’ for most of the time so they do have a view about ‘being right’. On the subject of eating animals this is usually something in a special category. They’d say to us perhaps, “Who knows what is right?” What’s right for one isn’t ‘right’ for another. As vegans we hear many convoluted arguments. We need to know these as well as we know our own arguments for animal rights.
People behaving badly
Wednesday 20th may 2010
There are those who don’t feel badly about behaving badly … it’s as if they are impelled to cause damage and don’t know how to pull back. Better behaved people do know. They can moderate their urges and therefore don’t do as much damage. They try not to ‘do’ destruction but aren’t encouraged by their culture. The easily become disappointed by the majority around them who seem to be pulling in the opposite direction.
If you get talking to people who behave badly but don’t feel badly for it, who don’t seem to care, they’re not nevertheless UN-interesting people. They’re worth getting to know and find out about to see the way they justify their views on animals. In order to best see how their minds work, as vegans we should observe them, talk with them, make them feel at ease but never show any trace of disapproval or value judgement. If we can manage to do this we’ll be able to influence people with our point of view, but on a subtle level, where there’s no ego-resistance to what we have to say.
There are those who don’t feel badly about behaving badly … it’s as if they are impelled to cause damage and don’t know how to pull back. Better behaved people do know. They can moderate their urges and therefore don’t do as much damage. They try not to ‘do’ destruction but aren’t encouraged by their culture. The easily become disappointed by the majority around them who seem to be pulling in the opposite direction.
If you get talking to people who behave badly but don’t feel badly for it, who don’t seem to care, they’re not nevertheless UN-interesting people. They’re worth getting to know and find out about to see the way they justify their views on animals. In order to best see how their minds work, as vegans we should observe them, talk with them, make them feel at ease but never show any trace of disapproval or value judgement. If we can manage to do this we’ll be able to influence people with our point of view, but on a subtle level, where there’s no ego-resistance to what we have to say.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Meeting resistance
Tuesday 19th May 2010
What sort of people are vegans speaking to when they do get the chance to speak. We always hope they’ll be compliant and eager to learn all the stuff we have to tell them about but it’s likely they’ll bogged down and reluctant to listen..
We have to consider that many people don’t feel badly about behaving badly. If they do know the suffering of animals it might not matter to them, and therefore eating these animals doesn’t concern them. There is nothing to get these people to pull back a bit on their animal eating if they want it badly enough. We can appeal to their sense of right-behaviour, to their health, to their compassion but if it’s legal and if most other people do it there’s no argument in the world that will persuade them to change. They won’t even let their minds rest on the subject of animal rights let alone change their diet. This is their food, their favourite foods, we’re talking about here. It’s the one consistent strand linking all the days of their lives right up to the present day. To attempt to alter any part of that might seem socially suicidal.
The vegan is out there, say, wanting to communicate about an entirely different reality to the one they’re used to. For the omnivore what we say is contrary to every food acceptance known. When a vegan starts speaking they’re met with a great inertia, or worse, a casual dismissing of the values we’re espousing. It’s no wonder vegans feel such a force of discouragement against them. But despite this, vegans need to work out how to move ahead, communicating despite the collective resistance.
What sort of people are vegans speaking to when they do get the chance to speak. We always hope they’ll be compliant and eager to learn all the stuff we have to tell them about but it’s likely they’ll bogged down and reluctant to listen..
We have to consider that many people don’t feel badly about behaving badly. If they do know the suffering of animals it might not matter to them, and therefore eating these animals doesn’t concern them. There is nothing to get these people to pull back a bit on their animal eating if they want it badly enough. We can appeal to their sense of right-behaviour, to their health, to their compassion but if it’s legal and if most other people do it there’s no argument in the world that will persuade them to change. They won’t even let their minds rest on the subject of animal rights let alone change their diet. This is their food, their favourite foods, we’re talking about here. It’s the one consistent strand linking all the days of their lives right up to the present day. To attempt to alter any part of that might seem socially suicidal.
The vegan is out there, say, wanting to communicate about an entirely different reality to the one they’re used to. For the omnivore what we say is contrary to every food acceptance known. When a vegan starts speaking they’re met with a great inertia, or worse, a casual dismissing of the values we’re espousing. It’s no wonder vegans feel such a force of discouragement against them. But despite this, vegans need to work out how to move ahead, communicating despite the collective resistance.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Judge and jury
Young people are better informed these days, and they're starting to make the links between ethics and personal judgement. With a computer and a few mouse clicks, we can get all the information we need to be our own judge and jury on these issues. And then it's just a matter of prioritising things, to make our own life easier and to help us be more effective as animal advocates.
If we are someone rushing to the rescue, we can start it by making the simple switch away from crap food and towards vegan food. Then we're in a better position to take up the work of communicating animal rights issues to people.
If we are someone rushing to the rescue, we can start it by making the simple switch away from crap food and towards vegan food. Then we're in a better position to take up the work of communicating animal rights issues to people.
Health horrors
Sunday 16th May 2010
Surely the Western educated and well-informed person has twigged by now that the decline in people's state of general health is related to conventional eating habits. We are far less healthy and far fatter than we need to be. Surely the connection is obvious, between the large numbers of sick humans and the cruel animal farming practices. It's surely a case of ethics interfacing with health consequences: obstinacy characterising present day, free-willed decision making.
Surely the Western educated and well-informed person has twigged by now that the decline in people's state of general health is related to conventional eating habits. We are far less healthy and far fatter than we need to be. Surely the connection is obvious, between the large numbers of sick humans and the cruel animal farming practices. It's surely a case of ethics interfacing with health consequences: obstinacy characterising present day, free-willed decision making.
Stirring things up
Saturday 15th May 2010
If vegan food seems grim then vegans must show it not to be so. Prepare it, cook it and discover ways to wow them with it ... but that's another story. In the meantime we should find ways to restore the balance by being kind. Animal Rights must start with kindness and a certain sense of kin-ness too. We are deling with animals and people and our approach to both should be warm and instructive, but that's not to say we shouldn't be bold and challenging at the same time. Perhaps there's room for some old fashioned unkindness but just to stir things up, just to get people thinking about the absurdity of what they do and the misunderstandings they have about why vegetarians are vegetarian.
As vegetarians we may be seen as always talking about food or only interested in having a nice body but there are deeper reasons for being as we are. We're concerned about animal slavery. And to see what that really means we might have to make it clear that humans have let things get badly out of hand and in the process put their own health at risk, by helping to ensalve animals and by eating them.
If vegan food seems grim then vegans must show it not to be so. Prepare it, cook it and discover ways to wow them with it ... but that's another story. In the meantime we should find ways to restore the balance by being kind. Animal Rights must start with kindness and a certain sense of kin-ness too. We are deling with animals and people and our approach to both should be warm and instructive, but that's not to say we shouldn't be bold and challenging at the same time. Perhaps there's room for some old fashioned unkindness but just to stir things up, just to get people thinking about the absurdity of what they do and the misunderstandings they have about why vegetarians are vegetarian.
As vegetarians we may be seen as always talking about food or only interested in having a nice body but there are deeper reasons for being as we are. We're concerned about animal slavery. And to see what that really means we might have to make it clear that humans have let things get badly out of hand and in the process put their own health at risk, by helping to ensalve animals and by eating them.
Repair
Friday 14th May 2010
By being vegan we are, to some extent, in a state of food control. We're energised by our foods and better able to think eating this sort of lighter brain food. And this is as good a basis for repair as any. We may be saving forests or saving starving children or saving exploited creatures but the initial emphasis is always on repair. We can't start any new intitiative withough first repairing the damage already done or the damage we ourselves are doing. In the business of saving animals we have to be vegan at the very least. From there effective repair is possible ... but 'repair' sounds like such dull and unrewarding business. But perhaps we have to take the attitude that repair is the new creative. Unless we are making repair in our attitude concerning the use of animals, other damaging habits can never be mended
By being vegan we are, to some extent, in a state of food control. We're energised by our foods and better able to think eating this sort of lighter brain food. And this is as good a basis for repair as any. We may be saving forests or saving starving children or saving exploited creatures but the initial emphasis is always on repair. We can't start any new intitiative withough first repairing the damage already done or the damage we ourselves are doing. In the business of saving animals we have to be vegan at the very least. From there effective repair is possible ... but 'repair' sounds like such dull and unrewarding business. But perhaps we have to take the attitude that repair is the new creative. Unless we are making repair in our attitude concerning the use of animals, other damaging habits can never be mended
Rushing to the rescue
Thursday 13th May 2010
Obviously boycotting animal products isn't easy, especially at first. Our addiction to many of the animal products on the market is entrenched. Changing away is daunting. And yet we know, as a species, we're highly adaptive and that change isn't foreign to us.
By following our instincts we can make great breakthroughs, and in this age where so many of us want to be rushing to the rescue we need to be adept at change. As vegans, we are up against stone-wall attitudes and widespread pitilessness. The tragedy of domesticated animals' lives is the big lesson for all of us. It tests the pity in us and it tests our empathy, and that in turn brings change. Hopefully it lifts our self-interest into such a level of altruism that we become kinder, more 'green' in attitude and more 'vegan'. But this 'vegan' thing, even if it weren't about animals or health, would still be the most logical and inteligent way to go.
Obviously boycotting animal products isn't easy, especially at first. Our addiction to many of the animal products on the market is entrenched. Changing away is daunting. And yet we know, as a species, we're highly adaptive and that change isn't foreign to us.
By following our instincts we can make great breakthroughs, and in this age where so many of us want to be rushing to the rescue we need to be adept at change. As vegans, we are up against stone-wall attitudes and widespread pitilessness. The tragedy of domesticated animals' lives is the big lesson for all of us. It tests the pity in us and it tests our empathy, and that in turn brings change. Hopefully it lifts our self-interest into such a level of altruism that we become kinder, more 'green' in attitude and more 'vegan'. But this 'vegan' thing, even if it weren't about animals or health, would still be the most logical and inteligent way to go.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Towards vegan
Wednesday 12th May 2010
Being optimistic is such a positive attitude to nurture, but veganism needs a bit more than just attitude-change - it needs habit change, although why that shouldn’t be a pleasant experience I don’t know.
But realistically, going vegan isn’t a breeze. It’s a challenge, mainly on the food front, because it’s this habit change (concerning food choices) that poses the main difficulty for most people. It alters the course of our own lives quite dramatically but we also know that what we do now will have a massive impact on all our futures. In short, animal farming emits more greenhouse gas than all the cars and planes put together, so vegan food is not only good for animals and human health but also for the planet.
By moving towards veganism we can start to address the big questions, like the ethics of animal farming, slaughtering, laboratory vivisection, zoos, etc. By envisioning a world where none of this happens any more, great opportunities open up to us. It’s a truly spine tingling prospect. It’s almost like deja-vue, emboldening us to look back at our own futures and giving us the courage to finally take the plunge.
Being optimistic is such a positive attitude to nurture, but veganism needs a bit more than just attitude-change - it needs habit change, although why that shouldn’t be a pleasant experience I don’t know.
But realistically, going vegan isn’t a breeze. It’s a challenge, mainly on the food front, because it’s this habit change (concerning food choices) that poses the main difficulty for most people. It alters the course of our own lives quite dramatically but we also know that what we do now will have a massive impact on all our futures. In short, animal farming emits more greenhouse gas than all the cars and planes put together, so vegan food is not only good for animals and human health but also for the planet.
By moving towards veganism we can start to address the big questions, like the ethics of animal farming, slaughtering, laboratory vivisection, zoos, etc. By envisioning a world where none of this happens any more, great opportunities open up to us. It’s a truly spine tingling prospect. It’s almost like deja-vue, emboldening us to look back at our own futures and giving us the courage to finally take the plunge.
Non-violence leads to optimism
Tuesday 11th May 2010
It might seem obvious to most of us, to apply non-violence to almost everything we do. But not everyone would agree with that. They’d be people who mix up the non-violent ethic with passivity and ‘do-nothing-ness’, and therefore they don’t see any point in pursuing non-violence as a central aim … and therefore see no point in changing their values accordingly.
But then there are other people in our society who are purposely avoiding all the routine violences in their lives. They see the future another way, a more optimistic way. They’re always wanting to contribute towards a better world.
Optimists don’t say it’s too late or “ We humans will never change”. They have enough faith in humans’ ability to will themselves into self confidence, if only to counter the prevailing pessimism of ‘the collective’.
If we are optimists we know it starts at home, in getting rid of bad habits and replacing them with better ones; recycling, buying environmentally-friendly products, eating more ethically. And as a result of that we feel better about ourselves and more optimistic about the future.
It might seem obvious to most of us, to apply non-violence to almost everything we do. But not everyone would agree with that. They’d be people who mix up the non-violent ethic with passivity and ‘do-nothing-ness’, and therefore they don’t see any point in pursuing non-violence as a central aim … and therefore see no point in changing their values accordingly.
But then there are other people in our society who are purposely avoiding all the routine violences in their lives. They see the future another way, a more optimistic way. They’re always wanting to contribute towards a better world.
Optimists don’t say it’s too late or “ We humans will never change”. They have enough faith in humans’ ability to will themselves into self confidence, if only to counter the prevailing pessimism of ‘the collective’.
If we are optimists we know it starts at home, in getting rid of bad habits and replacing them with better ones; recycling, buying environmentally-friendly products, eating more ethically. And as a result of that we feel better about ourselves and more optimistic about the future.
Sanctuary
Monday 10th May 2010
In the long term, collectively, there’s another stumbling block, practical considerations concerning the provenance of our food, namely the animals from which it comes. These are the animals on our farms especially. What of them? What, if we were vegan, would become of them? Do we retire all the millions of them? It would be costly even if the decline in meat eating were gradual and animals were purposely not bred into existence, nevertheless there would be a need for retiring those which still survived. We’d need special funding and perhaps a special tax imposed to pay for it all. And in these economically and ecologically straightened times would we want that?
But then, just think. Imagine all the advantages of a meatless society. Apart from ending the violence of mass killing of animals, the advantages to our health would become dramatically obvious. Plant-based diets would herald a peaceful world. As ‘refusniks’ who don’t any longer eat meat, no longer do we ‘do’ war either. As with so many of us even today, the very idea of violence is totally ridiculous.
That’s the breakthrough al through history humans have been waiting for.
In the long term, collectively, there’s another stumbling block, practical considerations concerning the provenance of our food, namely the animals from which it comes. These are the animals on our farms especially. What of them? What, if we were vegan, would become of them? Do we retire all the millions of them? It would be costly even if the decline in meat eating were gradual and animals were purposely not bred into existence, nevertheless there would be a need for retiring those which still survived. We’d need special funding and perhaps a special tax imposed to pay for it all. And in these economically and ecologically straightened times would we want that?
But then, just think. Imagine all the advantages of a meatless society. Apart from ending the violence of mass killing of animals, the advantages to our health would become dramatically obvious. Plant-based diets would herald a peaceful world. As ‘refusniks’ who don’t any longer eat meat, no longer do we ‘do’ war either. As with so many of us even today, the very idea of violence is totally ridiculous.
That’s the breakthrough al through history humans have been waiting for.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Fixing dinner
Animal Rights is the ultimate confrontation. Big issues stirring up big guilt.
So, people are reluctant to discuss it. Surprise, surprise! You can understand why, because there’s nothing to discuss – if animals have rights the abattoirs must close. And meat, milk, eggs and cheese disappear. No surprise that people are reluctant if it means no more goodies. The thought of it is not pleasant.
Plant-based diets seem so radical and, one might presume, difficult. But once the safety of the diet is established there may be nothing stopping us actually ‘going vegan’. And of course, it follows that the more who do the better the variety of products in shops. Thus it all becomes that much easier for people to make the transition from omnivore to herbivore.
All that will not happen until vegan food stops looking like war-time rations, especially these days when food is such a comforter. (And in this highly pressured society we do need a heap of comfortin’). The security blanket is food. And that’s why is has to be attractive, look attractive be attractive to the taste.
It’s not just at the restaurant we have to enjoy our food but at home. And that means every night’s dinner. We have to aim to make it so for others eating our food. Ideally we’re after enthusiasm, contentment and a looking forward to feel about the food we dish up.
So, people are reluctant to discuss it. Surprise, surprise! You can understand why, because there’s nothing to discuss – if animals have rights the abattoirs must close. And meat, milk, eggs and cheese disappear. No surprise that people are reluctant if it means no more goodies. The thought of it is not pleasant.
Plant-based diets seem so radical and, one might presume, difficult. But once the safety of the diet is established there may be nothing stopping us actually ‘going vegan’. And of course, it follows that the more who do the better the variety of products in shops. Thus it all becomes that much easier for people to make the transition from omnivore to herbivore.
All that will not happen until vegan food stops looking like war-time rations, especially these days when food is such a comforter. (And in this highly pressured society we do need a heap of comfortin’). The security blanket is food. And that’s why is has to be attractive, look attractive be attractive to the taste.
It’s not just at the restaurant we have to enjoy our food but at home. And that means every night’s dinner. We have to aim to make it so for others eating our food. Ideally we’re after enthusiasm, contentment and a looking forward to feel about the food we dish up.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Information is optimism
Saturday 8th May 2010
So much becomes clear when you see it through vegan eyes - the horror all around us, the brilliant breakthrough that plant foods represent, the issues take on a fresh dimension and therefore it would be good if we became vegan just for that. But, hey, that is almost certainly what is happening right now!
Young people (and a few older ones too) might already be there, already getting their clarity by using technology adeptly. Even very young people may already know more than we older ones do. And that may well include knowing about important things better than we do. Here’s the potential - people already networking information, practising how to do it for the day when really important information is being passed. And here with this cluing up, we are more in control of our personal future. And that brings a sense of optimism.
Once we are surer of our ground (and we’re no longer being poisoned by misinformation and meat) self-confidence grows and shows itself in our demeanour. Who knows but it might attracts others. Once we have a truly educated generation, confidently addressing the big problems of the day, keen to network what they’re finding out, then we’re half way to solving our main problems, and that’s half way towards a repairing and optimistic society.
So much becomes clear when you see it through vegan eyes - the horror all around us, the brilliant breakthrough that plant foods represent, the issues take on a fresh dimension and therefore it would be good if we became vegan just for that. But, hey, that is almost certainly what is happening right now!
Young people (and a few older ones too) might already be there, already getting their clarity by using technology adeptly. Even very young people may already know more than we older ones do. And that may well include knowing about important things better than we do. Here’s the potential - people already networking information, practising how to do it for the day when really important information is being passed. And here with this cluing up, we are more in control of our personal future. And that brings a sense of optimism.
Once we are surer of our ground (and we’re no longer being poisoned by misinformation and meat) self-confidence grows and shows itself in our demeanour. Who knows but it might attracts others. Once we have a truly educated generation, confidently addressing the big problems of the day, keen to network what they’re finding out, then we’re half way to solving our main problems, and that’s half way towards a repairing and optimistic society.
If it works for you ...
Friday 6th May 2010
If new information is well researched we can use it to establish our views. Then we may break through the misinformation barriers and find something pretty close to the truth. While we’re looking into veganism, it becomes our ‘main thing’, something we can take up, get completely involved in and even commit to. It’s as if we’ve made an important discovery (like driving one’s first really reliable car). If it works we want to know more. If ‘vegan’ starts to works for us then the more we get to know about it the better it works for us. Eventually it becomes something worth passing on. To others. The more we get to know about vegan principle, the clearer our understanding of all the important issues becomes.
If new information is well researched we can use it to establish our views. Then we may break through the misinformation barriers and find something pretty close to the truth. While we’re looking into veganism, it becomes our ‘main thing’, something we can take up, get completely involved in and even commit to. It’s as if we’ve made an important discovery (like driving one’s first really reliable car). If it works we want to know more. If ‘vegan’ starts to works for us then the more we get to know about it the better it works for us. Eventually it becomes something worth passing on. To others. The more we get to know about vegan principle, the clearer our understanding of all the important issues becomes.
Independence
Thursday 5th May 2010
If what we’re taught is no longer believable, we have to rely more and more on our own devices. Our learning, albeit made easy, has to be from books and most often via our computers.
We may have been deprived, misled, frustrated because of that, but this way we’ve been forced to make our own choices. We can re-examine things for ourself instead of having to find a vaguely credible existing organisation whose beliefs we can “approximately” agree with.
If what we’re taught is no longer believable, we have to rely more and more on our own devices. Our learning, albeit made easy, has to be from books and most often via our computers.
We may have been deprived, misled, frustrated because of that, but this way we’ve been forced to make our own choices. We can re-examine things for ourself instead of having to find a vaguely credible existing organisation whose beliefs we can “approximately” agree with.
Googling eggs
Wednesday 5th May
Because we can Google we don’t need to learn from established authority sources. Anyone’s access to the Net (or to publishing on the Net) helps to shed light on big and small issues as quickly as it occurs to us ... that we want to know something. In a flash we can find it.
Take an egg for example. We can Google ‘eggs’ and find out about their nutritional qualities, their means of production and what foods contain egg. With that information at hand (if we use eggs) we can learn how to use them and if we don’t use them we can find out more about why we don’t. This ability to gather information makes us more self-reliant. We know we can’t trust the words of politicians or advertisers (they’ve never told the truth!) and we can’t trust teachers and priests either because they don’t necessarily know much true information. And you can bet the authorised version is probably dodgy because so much has been deliberately designed to misinform.
Because we can Google we don’t need to learn from established authority sources. Anyone’s access to the Net (or to publishing on the Net) helps to shed light on big and small issues as quickly as it occurs to us ... that we want to know something. In a flash we can find it.
Take an egg for example. We can Google ‘eggs’ and find out about their nutritional qualities, their means of production and what foods contain egg. With that information at hand (if we use eggs) we can learn how to use them and if we don’t use them we can find out more about why we don’t. This ability to gather information makes us more self-reliant. We know we can’t trust the words of politicians or advertisers (they’ve never told the truth!) and we can’t trust teachers and priests either because they don’t necessarily know much true information. And you can bet the authorised version is probably dodgy because so much has been deliberately designed to misinform.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Equipped for lifestyle change
We’re further helped in finding what we need by search engines. It’s all been done for us the referencing and indexing. There are great possibilities now open to anyone with a computer and Internet access. What a world this has become!
In the future we’ll ask ourselves how we could have swallowed so much nonsense and misinformation (and meat!). We’ll ask why it all went so unchallenged. Why did we waste so much money buying crap commodities in the belief that we couldn’t do without them? In the future we will likely have forgotten just how information-starved we actually were - ‘back then’.
Evolution has arrived at a turning point. It seems to be the first time in history that so much vital information has been so readily available. We've satisfied our need to know the truth but there can also be a feeling of panic, as if we’re in a race against time. Our education has gaps which must be filled. For example: We’ve been taught virtually nothing about how our body works, nothing about the vital life supports we need and nothing that’s been truthful concerning nutrition. In practical terms, we aren’t equipped to do certain vital tasks. We aren't taught how to prepare food and we’ve been told virtually nothing about the living conditions of ‘food’ animals nor about animal foods being poisonous to our system, nor anything about the impact of production of these foods on our environment. Today's easy access to information equips us for an entirely new lifestyle. It helps us fight back!
In the future we’ll ask ourselves how we could have swallowed so much nonsense and misinformation (and meat!). We’ll ask why it all went so unchallenged. Why did we waste so much money buying crap commodities in the belief that we couldn’t do without them? In the future we will likely have forgotten just how information-starved we actually were - ‘back then’.
Evolution has arrived at a turning point. It seems to be the first time in history that so much vital information has been so readily available. We've satisfied our need to know the truth but there can also be a feeling of panic, as if we’re in a race against time. Our education has gaps which must be filled. For example: We’ve been taught virtually nothing about how our body works, nothing about the vital life supports we need and nothing that’s been truthful concerning nutrition. In practical terms, we aren’t equipped to do certain vital tasks. We aren't taught how to prepare food and we’ve been told virtually nothing about the living conditions of ‘food’ animals nor about animal foods being poisonous to our system, nor anything about the impact of production of these foods on our environment. Today's easy access to information equips us for an entirely new lifestyle. It helps us fight back!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Access to information
Having ready access to reliable information changes everything. Vegan information makes for new possibilities. We can “Google” anything, and with practice, we can weed out the kosher information from the rubbish. We can usually find just what we need - information, ideas, inspiration - at the click of a mouse. What occurs to many of us now is that there’s no excuse for ignorance.
Decades ago, we would spend all day in the library, scratching around for vital information. Now, it takes no time at all. Most information is reliably sourced. When we find answers there’s a thrill. The same thrill you get when, as a child, you struggled with maths homework and an older brother showed you how a formula worked and the pain of the homework is replaced by a ‘eureka’ feeling. Learning by Internet has been made possible by imaginative people setting it out for us. They know how information should be communicated without being boring and dry.
In the area of Animal Rights there’s a lot we can usefully learn and there’s much pleasure in the learning of it. Each day another vital gap is filled in our education on a subject that is so important. What we have to learn can now be learnt efficiently.
We can pick and choose vegan issues from information banks set up by a lot of altruistic people who want to give our vegan experiment the best possible chance of succeeding. In the past, there was too little reliable information; where once we had information kept from us, now we’re swamped by it! But now at least we have choice to take it on board or ignore it.
Decades ago, we would spend all day in the library, scratching around for vital information. Now, it takes no time at all. Most information is reliably sourced. When we find answers there’s a thrill. The same thrill you get when, as a child, you struggled with maths homework and an older brother showed you how a formula worked and the pain of the homework is replaced by a ‘eureka’ feeling. Learning by Internet has been made possible by imaginative people setting it out for us. They know how information should be communicated without being boring and dry.
In the area of Animal Rights there’s a lot we can usefully learn and there’s much pleasure in the learning of it. Each day another vital gap is filled in our education on a subject that is so important. What we have to learn can now be learnt efficiently.
We can pick and choose vegan issues from information banks set up by a lot of altruistic people who want to give our vegan experiment the best possible chance of succeeding. In the past, there was too little reliable information; where once we had information kept from us, now we’re swamped by it! But now at least we have choice to take it on board or ignore it.
Getting ourselves informed
Sunday May 2nd
We pick up information from all over the place, but these days mainly from the Net. Let’s say you are worried that there’s something missing in the food these days. What if you generally felt ill all the time? Let’s say you have ‘conventional eating habits’ and then, suddenly it occurs to you to try something a bit different, in the hope of escaping stomach cramps from eating rubbish food. Of course, you mightn’t know at the time that a vegan diet will solve this problem in one hit. But once you try it, once you’re into ‘clean plant food’, you find you have a smoother running machine (your body) at your disposal.
People moving towards veganism have their heads full of positive sounding information. They have stomachs full of powerful food. “At last!” Here's something to be optimistic about as opposed to the pessimism we felt before, living in the grip of misinformation and meat. Then we ask ourselves why it’s taken this long for the penny to drop - to see what these vegans have been on about all the time.
We pick up information from all over the place, but these days mainly from the Net. Let’s say you are worried that there’s something missing in the food these days. What if you generally felt ill all the time? Let’s say you have ‘conventional eating habits’ and then, suddenly it occurs to you to try something a bit different, in the hope of escaping stomach cramps from eating rubbish food. Of course, you mightn’t know at the time that a vegan diet will solve this problem in one hit. But once you try it, once you’re into ‘clean plant food’, you find you have a smoother running machine (your body) at your disposal.
People moving towards veganism have their heads full of positive sounding information. They have stomachs full of powerful food. “At last!” Here's something to be optimistic about as opposed to the pessimism we felt before, living in the grip of misinformation and meat. Then we ask ourselves why it’s taken this long for the penny to drop - to see what these vegans have been on about all the time.
Saturday 1st May
Computers
New information leading to our “GOING VEGAN” means learning where to get our protein, vitamin B12, tasty burgers, chocolate, etc. These ‘start-up’ tips make things go safely and smoothly. The deeper we get into ethical veganism the more urgent it is that our little cravings don’t haunt us, we make things comfortable for ourselves, then it’s all the quicker we’ll be able to drop our old misinformed beliefs, in the healthiness of meat and dairy products.
These days we are awash with information. Young people are adept at going to the Net and sifting out useful stuff. In fact it’s the ease with which we can access information these days that allows us so painlessly to take up new ideas, and run with them. It’s like being given a fuelled-up Ferrari with a set of keys – straight away as you start the engine you get the feeling that it ‘works’.
Now, if we’re just given the raw materials from which to build the car from scratch, the car would probably never happen. Information, as workable as our Ferrari, lets us move fast, so fast we can escape, escape the attitudinal traps. Let’s not forget the experimental victims we’ve been, dosed with misinformation to make us move slowly. Today’s information blasts its way through the sludge so that we can pursue new attitudes in the virtual realm. Via our computer we can see what’s ‘out there’, and see if any of it works. And if so put it into practice.
Computers
New information leading to our “GOING VEGAN” means learning where to get our protein, vitamin B12, tasty burgers, chocolate, etc. These ‘start-up’ tips make things go safely and smoothly. The deeper we get into ethical veganism the more urgent it is that our little cravings don’t haunt us, we make things comfortable for ourselves, then it’s all the quicker we’ll be able to drop our old misinformed beliefs, in the healthiness of meat and dairy products.
These days we are awash with information. Young people are adept at going to the Net and sifting out useful stuff. In fact it’s the ease with which we can access information these days that allows us so painlessly to take up new ideas, and run with them. It’s like being given a fuelled-up Ferrari with a set of keys – straight away as you start the engine you get the feeling that it ‘works’.
Now, if we’re just given the raw materials from which to build the car from scratch, the car would probably never happen. Information, as workable as our Ferrari, lets us move fast, so fast we can escape, escape the attitudinal traps. Let’s not forget the experimental victims we’ve been, dosed with misinformation to make us move slowly. Today’s information blasts its way through the sludge so that we can pursue new attitudes in the virtual realm. Via our computer we can see what’s ‘out there’, and see if any of it works. And if so put it into practice.
Vivisection dulling the mirror
Friday 30th April
Some of us have considered becoming vegan; some have tried it. Gradually numbers are growing, slowly at first and then, as it merges with the spirit of this new age, it moves rapidly.
How quickly this happens depends on where we are now. With veganism, the speed at which this idea sparks a revolution is determined by our own faith in the idea. And that starts with an initial association with vegan food. Once we have enough faith in our discovery (and feel optimistic about it), once we start feeling less ill all the time (by eating decent food), once we link mental clarity with the release within that single idea, then faith and food are aligned. Then we can re-educate ourselves and help to re-educate others.
When the really interesting experiments take place, when people start to experiment with a vegan lifestyle, they’ll know immediately that they’re investing in their own future and that of the planet. And it all comes about via information. This is the information age. It’s here and it’s free and it’s accessible. And it’s the real stuff, the true stuff, the universally available stuff. Imagine all the misperceptions we’ve swallowed! We’ve almost become vivisected, experimental, laboratory creatures who’ve been dosed with misinformation and then observed.
Some of us have considered becoming vegan; some have tried it. Gradually numbers are growing, slowly at first and then, as it merges with the spirit of this new age, it moves rapidly.
How quickly this happens depends on where we are now. With veganism, the speed at which this idea sparks a revolution is determined by our own faith in the idea. And that starts with an initial association with vegan food. Once we have enough faith in our discovery (and feel optimistic about it), once we start feeling less ill all the time (by eating decent food), once we link mental clarity with the release within that single idea, then faith and food are aligned. Then we can re-educate ourselves and help to re-educate others.
When the really interesting experiments take place, when people start to experiment with a vegan lifestyle, they’ll know immediately that they’re investing in their own future and that of the planet. And it all comes about via information. This is the information age. It’s here and it’s free and it’s accessible. And it’s the real stuff, the true stuff, the universally available stuff. Imagine all the misperceptions we’ve swallowed! We’ve almost become vivisected, experimental, laboratory creatures who’ve been dosed with misinformation and then observed.
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