Upheaval and Empowerment

 

When your eyes open to the truth, it can be overwhelming. Everything you knew – everything once so familiar - so suddenly the upheaval. Do not become bewildered or overpowered by what can feel a daunting challenge. Instead let it further motivate you, and hold tight to the fact that you are taking part in something tremendous. Let the spirit that started you on this new path lift you to higher realms of thought, and continue the journey of knowing. This is an opportunity for true empowerment. You will likely find heartbreak and you will mourn. This is because you are an amazing and wonderful person. You will also likely find pure gratitude and joy, often along with a strange feeling of relief…even though you never actually knew you were burdened. Many will grieve for the actions they took prior to their finding understanding. The future is what matters. You matter. You are taking your power back. May your eyes always be open.

Don't You Care About Human Problems?

 

Vegans help other humans on a tremendous scale every day with the choices they make. This little boy’s country exports grain to feed animals for YOUR steak. Edible grain that could be fed directly to him and his family. Did you know it takes anywhere from 5-20 times the amount of grain to make a small amount of animal protein? Eating meat greatly contributes to world famine and ecological destruction.

“Imagine sitting down to an eight-ounce steak...then imagine the room filled with 45-50 people with empty bowls in front of them. For the ‘feed cost’ of your steak, each of their bowls could be filled with a full cup of cooked cereal grains.”
- Diet for a Small Planet author Frances Moore Lappe
"Realize that 82 percent of the world's starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, which are then killed and eaten by more well-off individuals in developed countries like the U.S., U.K., and in Europe. One-fourth of all grain produced by third-world countries is now given to livestock, in their own country and out."
- Dr. Richard Oppenlander

“Much as we have awakened to the full economic and social costs of cigarettes, we will find we can no longer subsidize or ignore the costs of mass-producing cattle, poultry, pigs, sheep and fish to feed our growing population. These costs include hugely inefficient use of freshwater and land, heavy pollution from livestock feces, rising rates of heart disease and other degenerative illnesses, and spreading destruction of the forests on which much of our planet’s life depends.”
- Time Magazine Report: Visions of the 21st Century, “Will We Still Eat Meat?”

A 2006 United Nations report “Livestock’s Long Shadow” summarized the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." The report also recommended that animal agriculture "be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity”…”As forests are cleared to create new pastures, livestock is a major driver of deforestation, especially in Latin America where some 70 per cent of former forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing."

“Though some 800 million people on the planet now suffer from hunger or malnutrition, the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs and chickens. This despite the inherent inefficiencies: about two to five times more grain is required to produce the same amount of calories through livestock as through direct grain consumption, according to Rosamond Naylor, an associate professor of economics at Stanford University. It is as much as 10 times more in the case of grain-fed beef in the United States. The environmental impact of growing so much grain for animal feed is profound. Agriculture in the United States — much of which now serves the demand for meat — contributes to nearly three-quarters of all water-quality problems in the nation’s rivers and streams, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.”
- The New York Times “Rethinking the Meat Guzzler”

THESE ARE HUMAN PROBLEMS! This doesn’t even begin to cover the health effects, the water and land pollution, the climate change impact, the antibiotic resistance, the superbugs, the spreading dead zones in our water, etc. People really need to place a higher priority on being informed if they claim to care about ANYTHING – themselves, their children, their family and friends, their neighborhood, the air they breathe or the food they eat, or their entire planet.

Help the animals, help yourself, help your family, help starving children, help our ecosystem, help everything and everybody.

Face the reality, face the facts, and GO VEGAN.

Can You Be Fed Fear?

 

Many people each day talk about "karma" and "energy" and "peace". I find this intriguing. Since we know that many chemicals are released in our body when we are in fear, or pain, or distress, and since we already know that animals that are slaughtered are commonly in pain, fear, and distress…does anyone wonder exactly what people are eating? How does this affect karma? Energy? Peace?

We are a fear-based society, and fear is often strongly encouraged by our leaders and media. Isn’t it an interesting thought that one could also be FED fear and/or violence? That some foods could leach you of beneficial energy or clarity of thought? When I stopped eating animal products, something lifted from me. I am not speaking of morals or beliefs – that is why I gave them up in the first place. It is what happened to my level of clarity in the months that followed which cause me to recognize the very real possibility that animal use and intake of the dead impedes us to our core.

Benjamin Franklin: "My refusing to eat flesh occasioned an inconveniency, and I was frequently chided for my singularity, but, with this lighter repast, I made the greater progress, for greater clearness of head and quicker comprehension"

Tolstoy: "Flesh eating is simply immoral. By killing, man suppresses in himself, unnecessarily, the highest spiritual capacity.”

“It’s a Beautiful Day”

For whom?

For the millions and millions of hens living in battery cages or broiler sheds?
For the cows, pigs, and chickens getting their bodies mutilated without anesthesia?
For the cows standing on feedlots of mud and disease and manure, packed together as tightly as they possibly can?
For the animals getting anally electrocuted or their skulls crushed then being de-skinned while conscious and experiencing a painful, slow death for a fur coat?
For those having their feathers viciously and repeatedly ripped out for a soft Down pillow or bedspread?
For the mulesed or flystruck sheep that provide wool, and/or who are transported long distances in cruel confinement with no food or water?
For all the fish who will be suffocated to death?
For all the lobsters who will be fried or boiled alive though there is clear unflinching evidence that these beings can feel pain?
For the tigers, bears, elephants, whales, dolphins, and seals who were kidnapped, enslaved, and forced to perform inane tricks?
For the snakes, alligators, crocodiles that are brutally murdered for the sheer ‘like’ of their skin?
For those who will have their necks or legs broken today at the rodeo – those bulls and horses spurred into aggression they do not even possess?
For all the dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, and other ‘disposable’ pets that will be euthanized today while uncaring people go buy MORE animals, many of whom will also end up homeless or being euthanized because they are ‘unwanted’?
For all the rats, mice, monkeys, dogs, cats, and other animals stuck in animal testing facilities so researchers can do more nonproductive science for no cure and ever-rising disease rates to keep the profits flowing?
For all the lizards, snakes, turtles, spiders, fish, etc., that are banished to a life in a glass bowl?
For all the wildlife choking to death on our plastic refuse all over the world, or being ruthlessly culled to protect FARM animals?
For the approximately 925 million people starving people in the world?
For all the cold, homeless and forgotten beings, both human and animal?
For the rainforest - of which approximately 20 acres is cut down or clear-burned each day? (mostly because of our thirst for animal products/meat)
For our waterways and the aquatic life (frogs, toads, fish, etc.) that the manure lagoon are leaking into and turning it into a giant ecological toilet?
For all the beautiful, docile animals who possess a will to live and be free - just like you like you and I - standing terrified, waiting in line for their brutal death as they hear the screams and terror of others being slaughtered?

It is only a beautiful day for some. If you are having “a beautiful day” then you are very lucky indeed.

Your everyday choices matter a GREAT DEAL to those who are not so lucky - every day, every choice...IT MATTERS. You affect someone with every single choice you make, no matter how small.

I sincerely wish for every being on Earth to have a beautiful day - filled with love and compassion for all

There is Nothing "Better"

“Don’t you have any better things to worry about?”
(e.g. when checking labels for animal products or GMOs before purchase)

Cacophony of sounds in my head…the rumble of tires, airplanes flying, spraying sounds, water running, cries for help and screams of pain, the sound of a gun, the loud BOOM of an ancient tree hitting the ground, fire popping and crackling…and I say to them, “No, actually I don’t have BETTER things to worry about.”

Vegan for animals, humans, and Earth, vegan for LIFE.

A Meaningful Life

I was born ‘in tune’ with death. I am not sure why. It is just something I have spent a great deal of time thinking about. Not in a sad way, in an accepting way. I have no desire to die yet I have never been afraid of the idea. I have had many experiences with death - family, career, pets, etc. I have assured my closest family many times if I were to die that I am fine and they should not worry about me. In my experience, dying is more about the people left behind.

In many cases I am not positive the person dying actually believes that they will cease to exist, right up until their last breath. This does not necessarily mean they did not accept the idea of death, to me it simply indicates human nature and the difficult perception of a world in which we no longer actively participate.

I have long thought photos and videos were good for personal memories but that for some of us they are mostly someone else’s trash to dispose of after death. I have few to no sentimental attachments to objects or tangible items. I have no romantic thought of remembrance or place-holding. I never wanted children, so I it is unlikely I will carry on much after my death. I am fine with this.

I had surgery once and it didn’t go so well - what a crazy thing! The end result was it came to reinforce everything I had ever believed…had I died I would have even not known better. I would have been fine; things were very peaceful when I was at my sickest! There was no fear or anguish present.

I want to be clear - I have no desire to die. This is just an acknowledgment of the realization that it walks everywhere with us, in everything we do, a tiny shadow in the corner of our eyes. Living every day as it if were your last is not just a saying. We live in a fear-gripped society, fear that is not only related to death and dying but fear of EVERYTHING. Our terror of death is just another fear they have instilled upon us to enslave us.

We have no control over anything except our daily actions – we only control what we ‘put out’ to the world each day we are lucky enough to be here. For me, every day comes with the deepest gratitude for life. I have long ago streamlined my life to what matters, to what I want to be doing the day I am to die.

I don’t do what I do for my retirement, for money, for fame (lol), nor for some young, silly aspirations. I simply will not waste my life being inauthentic. I have little or no tolerance to ‘faking’ anything. I try and make every moment matter in a way that is important. Not by spending time with people who don’t even like me, or acting like things are acceptable that clearly are NOT ACCEPTABLE, or attending non-vegan celebrations of ‘life’ that are completely centered around the suffering and death of others.

I am quiet when situation requires, but I absolutely require of myself to be real, speak truth and hold fast to my morals and values, even when my voice may waver or I feel intimidated.

I will NEVER stop. If I did all this for some personal accumulation, at my end I would find life very empty. If I were to be told I had 3 months to live tomorrow I would triple my efforts in activism for the short time I have left. I would not squander my time visiting Disneyland, or ruminating over things lost, I would spend it saving lives and trying to rescue those I truly love from a life of apathy and cruelty, trying to have people realize how much Earth needs love and care, how so many suffer every day, how they can live a life of QUALITY with good health and energy instead of sick and in crisis and in fear while buying and swallowing chemicals and magic supplements that are lining the pockets of criminals.

I would spend my last days still trying to bring the crisis of our fellow man to the forefront, and continue to try to rally good people to care about them. I would try and speak even louder for Earth, and push harder to begin to shift the population to re-feed her energy that is more positive than the awful, horror-filled energy we redeliver to her every day.

I would take one last minute to beg people to care about every single tree in the rainforest. I would plead with them to care about that pig [chicken, duck, cow, etc.] as if it were their dog, or even their child, because they ARE someone’s children – please pay regard to the terminology – someONE, not someTHING. All are someone, and their lives matter too.

I would try again to ask people to care for Earth as they care for their beautiful fancy homes, because it IS their home. I would repeat one last time that we are products of lies and advertising, and I would again try to inform them that they are willfully killing themselves and their families for someone else’s profit and for the contamination and eradication of everything they say they hold dear.

This is simply about doing all I can in the short time I am here. Doing what I can to make a positive impact while leaving very few footprints. I have saved lives. If I die tomorrow I will cherish that to my last breath, and I will try to save ‘just one more’ until I can no longer hold a thought. I will NEVER stop.

I am well aware of the bargaining and deals and dreams that relate frequently relate to the dying process, but I also strongly believe if you have already had the right conversations with yourself and have already been doing things that do not squander life or the time we have, then we do not question the value, or, at least, we do so minimally by comparison. I am not so ignorant to think I will throw my arms open when death comes. Just because I feel I have enough substance to carry me out with a good measure of life satisfaction does not mean I would ever have any desire to die!

As an example, when I started a garden, I planted pretty flowers. This alone was not satisfactory to me. Everything was so pretty, but so much was wrong. As I absorbed every detail life has to offer, I began to have a deeper understanding what was truly valuable. I began planting native trees and berry-bearing bushes, beneficial nectar plants for Earth and all creatures. I left messes and brush piles. I piled rocks for no clear reason. I grow food and I am not angered if wildlife invades my garden, I am grateful to have planted something they enjoy. 

I hope someday my small personal paradise will be cherished by another who also shares their garden with the both the deer and bunnies and snakes and spiders equally. Of this I know I have no control. With the way our Earth is being abused, there may be only barren wasteland left here in my ‘paradise’ in 20 years. These thoughts do not deter me from planting. I can simply refuse to recognize futility. I can do the best I can. I can coexist and nurture and appreciate. And, simultaneously, I can also recognize that ultimately this is all completely out of my hands to control. 

Life is not about appearances and reputation. Life is about actions and impact and fulfillment and returning something more positive and good than what you were first given, and you don’t have much time.

I got this email almost 4 years ago on one of my YouTube channels:
"I saw your channel when it first started and I thought it was just another fly by night vegan site but you keep fighting and fighting for the cause against these relentless people that just want to argue and crush your passion. I lost that passion though I must admit. I had it for a while but I just hated hated arguing against these people that just want to argue without any desire to seek the truth and I gave up. I turned into one of those people that say "whatever, I don't care"... but I did care… I just didn't want to deal with the negativity. I wouldn't be able to keep it up like you are now and I'm so glad you are because it's so important. Thanks :)"

If that person is out there right now…I am STILL HERE. I will NOT lose my passion. I will not consent and I will not be silent. Together people can make a wonderful world. Only when more people realize their complicity in our current societal evils and understand the individual power they have to change it will change actually happen.

Is It Ignorance or is it Apathy?

I read a story about turkeys one night…I thought to myself that maybe I wouldn’t eat turkey anymore, and went to bed. I woke up in the morning vegan. Like really. Suddenly, without any deep reflection on the matter I just decided I didn’t want to be a part of it anymore. I went to my closet and boxed up every single thing that had animal products in them, many almost-new articles of clothing and jackets - into the box - taped up and donated to an animal org that advocates veganism. 

 

I actually think my housemates (my elderly mom and hubby) thought I had finally gone off the deep end! I still didn’t know much…I didn’t know even a fraction of what I know now, but that action changed my life, for the better. Now, living on hummus and still craving ‘bad’ stuff at times I began learning. I wasn’t going back, no way, no how. I was too happy, even basically living on hummus (and the occasional PB&J, which I HATE) to go back. Once I was told the reality, saw the truth that had been right in front of me the whole time, I could not morally participate in such violence. 

 

Though a possible fad as they probably saw it, both mom and hubby began to change to help me adjust. Many things I could think of to eat that were ‘vegan’ I HATED (like spaghetti/pasta, pizza without cheese, etc.). We came up with a few staple meals that provided survival minimums (!!!) and learned. No one says change is easy, but often change is WORTH IT. I have had a pretty active full life so far, and I can easily say without hesitation that going vegan is the BEST thing I have ever done. Our home is cruelty-free now, our food choices are varied and delicious, and we are not ashamed to say we are very proud and happy about that!

 

Now that I have been vegan for several years I can no longer understand those who do participate. I have forgiven my former ignorance, and I dedicate at least some time almost every day to trying to seek justice for the innocent - both human and non-human - but for many it is no longer ignorance. There are stories everywhere now. No one except utterly blind fools can say they do not have some inkling about what animal agriculture does and the negative impact and death toll it has on all species, REGARDLESS of the ‘size’ of the farm or whether ‘family’ run or not.

 

I find this very sad. When I once believed it was simply ignorance I was POSITIVE people would be OUTRAGED when they ‘found out’ all the truths. Now, I am less convinced it is ignorance and that often it is actually more a narrow-minded egotistical apathy and blind insistence, regardless of rationale. Mostly decent people justifying very bad behaviors, forsaking decency and shirking personal responsibility. We are in some dire trouble with many global issues, yet many of those not in immediate direct dire peril just go about their day as if their self-created bubble will always protect them and their loved ones.

 

My husband said yesterday, “Sadly, many will not see or care unless it were THEM directly in harm’s way.”

 

I would like to believe that is not the case. At the very least I hope upcoming generations will turn this around…I am unwilling to accept futility as an option when it comes to creating a nonviolent world where we place moral value and education as a higher priority than dumbed-down passivity.

 

If you are non-vegan please THINK. . . . . Ask yourself “why?” Do some reading. Go visit a farm sanctuary. Understand the negative impacts we make with our daily choices (environment, health, antibiotics, resource consumption, superbugs, etc.).

 

Keep asking yourself “Why?”

 

Because if you actually thought about it, you could not possibly find one good reason. I’ve read thousands of articles, scouring them for even one supportive argument a non-vegan could make…there is not one that makes the slightest bit of sense to be found.

 

THINK.

So Happy to be Awake

My life has changed in countless ways
since I allowed myself to see
The pain inflicted onto others
the pain that reflected upon me

I didn’t want to know
yet I didn’t feel much choice
I strive to live a decent life
and lend the harmed my voice

Since that day of open mind
I could no longer turn away
Some things are clearly right or wrong
even simple things we do each day

When I accepted what I’d done
I was saddened and confused
What to eat, wear, or do?
All the beings I had used

One thing that was for sure
my life in disarray
I would not be returning
to how I had been the prior day

At first all change is hard
it can be unclear just what to do
But quickly a new way emerged
while finding other knowledge too

Now I feel awakened
like I had lived parts of life asleep
So much meaning makes me joyous
to live a life so very deep

Never would I go back
my will won’t ever break
I’m so grateful for my life
and I’m so glad to be awake

People and the 'Funny' Things They Say

People say they ‘love animals’ but turn a blind eye to the most extreme forms of animal cruelty imaginable just so they can indulge in irrational and unnecessary habits.

People say they are against vivisection while wearing make-up or household products produced by unethical animal testing.

People say they care about children, future generations, and Earth, but they engage in activities that are creating severe crises’ that WILL negatively affect future generations, and greatly harms our planet and future prosperity.

People say they love their dog or cat with all of their heart, yet they slaughter, eat, wear, and use other animals who have also shown to develop close bonds, to understand love, to hold intelligence and independence of thought, and to understand misery and fear.

Furthermore, people will say they seek truth and knowledge, but when asked why they love their dog and eat a pig or wear a cow, they are unable to adequately explain in any way that makes rational sense.

People say they want to ‘feed the hungry’ and ‘heal the sick’ yet they perpetuate practices that both creates and perpetuates global famine and disease.

People say they care about their own family, yet the nourishment they bring to the table has contents of severe harm.

People say they are vehemently opposed to bullying weaker beings, yet they forcefully confine and slaughter billions of weaker, innocent beings every day.

People say they are opposed to oppression, yet they visit circuses, zoos, and marine parks, where other beings have been kidnapped from their families and forced into a life of slavery.

People say they are compassionate and empathetic to others, and say they would not want any earthling to suffer unnecessarily, but they covet ignorance so they do not have to act on these claims.

Unfortunately, often when people talk about all the things they care about, what I hear is empty words.

The World is Vegan!

January 1, 2020

We are not surprised to report that it is finally official…the world has gone vegan. Now that humankind has come to the realization that exploiting animals is unethical there is every indication that our Earth will begin to heal immediately from the insults our collective ignorance has forced upon her. It is a great day for all of us, as we evolve to a non-violent peaceful society. The last known war ended last year amidst much hugging, as the entire population came to the realization that all beings are important, that each individual life matters, and that violence is unnecessary and counteractive to solve our problems. Recent polls have shown that people report feeling “happier than ever” and animals and unique ecosystems all over the world are in the process of being protected so to secure their beauty for generations to come. The positive energy actually crackles in the air as you walk around town today.

The Offense of Vegan

It strikes me that there are times the vegan message is rejected by non-vegans because the non-vegan does not actually LIKE the vegan, disapproves of their approach, is offended by the picture, or how they wrote the message. This is a bit frustrating. Facts and reality are not changed because one does not ‘like’ hearing them or the person speaking them. Each individual is responsible for their own actions – ‘blaming the messenger’ is just another way of finding excuses to continue to behave badly.

It doesn’t really matter whether or not you like us, or like the picture we chose, or like the wording…do you like abuse? Killing? Violence? Exploitation? Ecological Destruction? Famine? Poor health? Those are the questions one should actually be asking themselves.

Face reality. Go vegan.

 

 

The March to Death

I am trying to imagine being an animal standing in line for slaughter. I know what it sounds like, I have seen countless videos. But I cannot even begin to imagine what it FEELS like.

I’d think (although non-vegans don’t like the comparison) it would feel much like standing in line at Auschwitz or a similar death camp. You don’t know what is happening, you are petrified, and you can hear all these strange sounds that strike terror in your heart. If your children are with you…you desperately seek a way to protect them, to assure and comfort them. You desire to live - and struggle to live - but there is no path for escape.

Then I imagined my precious, beloved pets in line for slaughter. Having seen multiple slaughterhouses, I am well-aware they can hear the terrified screams of other animals before them, and I know how my companion animals react to a distressed animal sound on the television or computer…the fear I can imagine, the terror…it overwhelms my heart to even envision such horror.

Then I think of the babies. Veal babies. Lamb babies. Calfskin coat babies. How frightened and alone. I think of their mother’s desperate desire to protect them…if they only knew what we do to their beloved babies.

Suffocating in a World So Cruel

Sometimes I feel like I am suffocating. My chest burns and I feel an inner sorrow so deep that I simply do not know how I can live another minute in such a world. I always bounce back…always….but in those times I feel such weight, such burden, and such shame.

Sometimes, while watching footage or reading articles, I sometimes find myself struggling to inhale. I am dumbfounded every single day at how out-of-touch we are, how much we fail to see. I am often deeply ashamed and distressed by our callousness and disregard for fellow beings, both human and animal.

I believe in “sharing the wealth” and I believe “It takes a village.” I believe in living simply, so others can have some, too. I believe in compassion, and helping others. I believe in feeding hungry people, even if I have to share something I worked hard for. I believe in treating the sick, without burdening them for life with medical bills. I believe in love for our Earth and our fellow beings and I believe in treating everyone as an equal. I believe in supporting the poor and the elderly.

There are times when I am immersed in yet another injustice to fellow beings when I feel such despair, such powerlessness to help…then I realize that if I don’t say or do something, even something small, then it is ME who is giving away my power. It is ME who should be blamed if I say nothing. It is MY fault if I give up, if I take the easier path and just acquiesce to an oblivious society.

I am glad for those who ‘cherish their happiness’, on ‘don’t focus on the negative’ or ‘see the glass half full’ or ‘have inner peace’ – I am glad they are lucky enough to be able to use such trite euphemisms. Some are not so lucky. Much of the human race is asleep even when ‘awake.’ The zombies have already arrived and have been here for a long time…in fact, they outnumber the ‘living’.  

For any new vegans (and with love for any existing vegans)

For any new vegans (and with love for any existing vegans!)

This awakening may be difficult for some of you at first. Many long-term vegans such as myself have similar stories – of when we finally SAW the world for what it really is…and realized we had been brainwashed.

We initially feel encouraged and enthusiastic and feel absolutely sure that people will change once they KNOW what is really going on, and how much we have been misled. We seek ways to get the information to others, and share our newly discovered realization of the discrimination and exploitation we inflict on others.

Then the reality begins to seep in - your enthusiastic response to stopping these horrors and complete planetary destruction is met by those who seek only to absolve themselves of responsibility for their choices, or rationalize them. It is possible some members of your family will ridicule you or even shun you, and many will simply refuse to listen to you or hear you at all. There is little in life as frustrating and hurtful as being utterly dismissed by people you love and respect.

If you make posts, comments, or videos about veganism you may get a range of hurtful, ignorant comments, some so mean you can hardly believe your eyes/ears. Some of your friends may distance themselves from you, some may even mock you. Coming face-to-face with the horrors they support can sometimes even cause a very angry reaction.

You may get intimidated initially (this wears off for most of us!!!) at the response you are getting, and can even feel a bit confused or down. You may even wonder if you really have gone bat-shit crazy! I assure you that you have not and you are NOT alone! Stand your ground and do not let people insult you or your incredibly admirable and noble ethics.

You can be as kind and as tactful as possible and still people may be upset. Eventually you worry less about how others will react, but recognize that it is often impossible to state fact and not have some claim to feel insulted. Always be as kind as you can, but ultimately remember that the actions of nonvegans every day is FAR WORSE than anything you could ever say about it (sticks and stones), so do not let them place blame or burden their negativity onto you.

With regards to educating others – Be prepared for insistence on positions that are easily disproved. Be prepared to prove them false and still be insisted upon!!! You will soon realize that educating the willfully deaf and blind is impossible! NEVER let anyone’s disinterest in reality and truth quell your passion for justice and peace.

You may never know how many lives you have touched/impacted, but you should ALWAYS KNOW that you ARE making a difference! People who comment will suddenly become an expert on nutrition, protein, health, environment, raising animals, farming, etc. Feel confident in your ethical choices, but it is also critical that you back up your ethics with education and knowledge so we can be best effective in reaching the thinking humans out there and having educated discussions.

People who want to learn will seek truth. You cannot accept sole responsibility for the dissemination of knowledge or the behavior of others. People will blame your approach, your style, your tactics, your pictures, etc. This is purely defensive tactic. One who seeks information will learn information. All you can really do is ensure the information is readily available and circulated as much as possible. You are not to blame for anyone else’s chosen ignorance or questionable character.

We are a vicious species. Your mind may be blown by the things you will read and see. Some really appalling, scary, and incredibly sad things are happening every day. Sadly, you will sometimes find an utter lack of true empathy from your fellow humans. This too is terrifying.

It is unlikely anyone is going to stand up and cheer for you. You have to have a solid backbone and you should NOT allow people to bully you or make you feel embarrassed for being RIGHT. Vegans are on the correct side of history.

Vegans are looked upon as extreme - you will be seen as extreme.
Let me tell you something that is 100% INDISPUTABLE:

BEING COVERED IN THE BLOOD OF VULNERABLE ANIMALS IS WHAT IS *EXTREME*.

Vegans have simply woken up to a backward society of shocking violence that is wrongfully considered *normal*.

IT IS NOT NORMAL.

VEGAN IS NORMAL.
NONVEGAN IS EXTREME.
<3 <3 <3

But That Doesn't Make Any Sense...!?!?!

We hope for clean water while we pollute it.

We wish for the starving to have food while we eat our own food that contributes to world starvation.

We yearn to be free from illness while we put things in our bodies that make us sick.

We aspire for kindness and love while being unkind and brutal to others.

We desire for all to have shelter while we help rip ancient homes down for our self-serving desires.

We long for future generations to have prosperity while we waste and abuse everything they will need to achieve this.

We assert belief in nonviolence while we are violent.

This makes NO SENSE.

Our actions are what define us and define our morals.

GO VEGAN.

A Vegan Evolution is Coming

I used to be an ‘animal lover,’ and I would have been EXTREMELY offended if anyone had told me I did not ‘love animals.’ I have always been in the company of rescue animals, I certainly would NOT have worn fur, and I would never hesitate to help an animal in need when the opportunity arose. I ‘loved’ animals fiercely. Then something happened that, at the time, was horrible and tragic…

…I found out.

Initially I found out about factory farming, but then I found out everything…the lies, the diseases, the environmental destruction, the people we affect, the horror…and I had to accept my shortcomings in the very idea that I had never THOUGHT about it much, had never bothered to learn.

So I faced the facts…the reality I had never considered. Any rational reason I could find to shirk responsibility was evaluated and rejected, as can be easily evidenced when looking objectively and scientifically. Some like to call this subject a ‘debate’ or an ‘opinion.’ It is neither. It is a moral stance that says it matters…what you do to them and what you do to this planet matters.

Initially I had little idea what to eat and had little prior experience with anything but easy, fast food, and I could not IMAGINE never eating certain ‘choice’ animal products again…but my morals would not allow it. Once you know the whole story it becomes an ethical decision, not simply a ‘personal choice.’

I was kind of mad at myself initially - for being unaware for so long, for never having given the idea rational thought. Such an important subject – how I treat my own body and what defines my ethics. I was poisoning myself. If not from the chemicals and hormones and antibiotics and virulent organisms, I was poisoning myself with their neglect, their fear, their sorrow, their pain, and their death…I was also poisoning my world and doing great harm to others.

Although I would have probably been hopping mad at you at one time had you said I did NOT ‘love animals,’ now I must fully agree with you. I only loved SOME animals back then.

Now I can truly say I love each and every one of them as individuals, I do what I can to do no intentional harm to others, both human and non, and I am also quite pleased to avoid the catastrophic side effects of eating an animal-based diet.

It matters, and most vegans (in my experience) are perpetually amazed how much love and meaning there is in every single thing we do. It adds a dimension of awareness to life that we were unaware of prior. I had no idea I had a guilty conscience, but I think I did…and I think that is probably why most people react to the subject with avoidance…I think many of us already know that if we look, we will be horrified at what we would find.

The fact is, living beings are not patents or products, no matter how much a discriminatory society insists that they are. The fact is, treating animals and their lives the way society does is nothing short of slave ownership or the way Hitler viewed Jewish people…with a casual dismissal that these Earthlings are below us and do not feel as we do or are not as valuable as we are.

The effects are awesome: kindness and compassion, a clean planet with sustainable resources (safe food and clean water – increasingly hard to find), an informed society, improvement in countless lives (both human and non), a MUCH lighter tread upon this Earth, and statistically, a longer life with less chronic disease.

I have said many times – initially I thought we only needed to tell people what was happening and they will not allow such horror…but I was wrong…the challenge actually is to make people give the subject any deliberation whatsoever, at least to do any research or critical thinking and stop following along with the rest of society.

I say it every day, but it is true…every single thing I do and eat and choose matters…it matters who I support, it matters who I fund, it matters what I eat and wear, because this ultimately defines my morals, and my morals are not for sale nor are they flexible.

No matter how much some may want to argue – there IS such a thing as doing the least harm possible…to say differently is just the persistence of irrational thought. Morally I can no longer accept any involvement in viewing other Earthlings as profit margins, patents, or inanimate products - I know I would not harm them if I knew them.

Each killed is an irreplaceable individual. I could not come take your dog, give you another, and have it not matter – it MATTERS because each is unique and has their own identity. A simple concept but hard to allow, as allowing it means society must accept what we already know (and why most won’t look or think about it)…that we are abusing sweet gentle animals for no rational purpose other than an over-inflated sense of self-importance and willful ignorance.

GO VEGAN.