LA FASHIONISTA COMPASSIONISTA SPRING 2017
Issue No. 9
#fashcompash FIND YOUR GLOW WITH LATHAM THOMAS
COMFORT FOOD! A terrific and healthy stew
ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT ON: Holly Feral, Driftwood Magazine…and your Foxy Business tip!
STRESS MANAGEMENT ADVICE
FROM THE DESK OF ADRIENNE BORGERSEN Many of us are feeling great upheaval in our country and in the world, these days. Social Justice is at the forefront of our lives and It can certainly seem as though all of the work that was done in the name of equality feels like it’s unraveling. And so, for some, we stand up, speak out, fight back. To see both sides, we’re scared that our freedom is in jeopardy and want to protect ourselves and our loved ones. At the same time, in trying to create and ensure protection, we could be jeopardizing the very ideals that are the very foundation of freedom. We have to ask ourselves, how are we free if we are not all treated equally? It’s such a strange contradiction, but humans are complex. I created this magazine as a platform to advocate for animal rights. Every product and person in every issue is an example of what’s possible when we just open our minds and our hearts to a more compassionate way of life. When we go deep and decide that we want to live in harmony with the world, there is no need to disrespect, disregard or use up our precious lives and resources at will for our own convenience. This issue in particular contains some strong opinions, that whether or not you agree, are the kind of passion for human and non-human animal rights, that showcase the best we have in us all. I’m honored to include these voices. I hope you will read carefully, do your own research and consider who we want to be and in what kind of world we want to live. Peace, Love, Fashion and Compassion,
Editor in Chief LA Fashionista Compassionista Magazine www.lafcnyc.com
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Table of Contents 2 FROM THE DESK… 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 CREDITS 6 CONTRIBUTORS PAGE 8 THE RELATIONAL VEGAN April Lang answers your questions about managing Social Media induced stress.
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11 COVER STORY Latham Thomas, the founder of Mama Glow talks to us about women’s issues, her personal journey to success and standing in your truth. 28 FASHION EDITORIAL Boho Chic with LoveShackFancy and Hippie Soulstice.
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42 BEAUTY FROM THE INSIDE OUT Indulge in warm, comforting root veggies, nourish your body, care for yourself. 47 THE A LIST Editor’s Picks! A new app, non-toxic nail polish, a great, new cookbook and great advice.
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47 Iconic Recipes for a Taste of the Big Apple Michael Suchman & Ethan Ciment The Vegan Mos
Foreword by Alan Cumming
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48 MOVIE REVIEW Is “What the Health” the Most Important Movie of the Year? 49 FEATURE Kat Mendenhall tells us about her new vegan boutique in Dallas, TX! 51 ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT Fellow magazine publisher Holly Feral gives her insights into the independent publishing world and her personal advocacy. LAFCNYC.COM
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CREDITS Editor in Chief: Adrienne Borgersen Content & Art Direction: Adrienne Borgersen Graphic Design & Art Direction: James Lucas Copy Editor and Proofreader: Nell Alk Contributors: Katrina Fox, Sunny Gandara, April Lang, Kat Mendenhall Cover Story Photography: Steve Zak Fashion Editorial Photography: Steve Zak Cover Story Makeup: Ashley Dalton Cover Story Wardrobe Styling: Latham Thomas and Adrienne Borgersen for It Factor Image Consulting Fashion Editorial Hair, Makeup and Wardrobe Styling: Adrienne Borgersen for It Factor Image Consulting Fashion Editorial Models: Danielle Legg, Marketa Pilatova, Nancy Cullen Marketing and Social Media Interns: Tiffany Negrea Graphic Design Intern: Dania Gonzalez Website Design: Linda Albertini Publisher: InJeanious Publishing Jeanne Williams, injeanious1@mac.com Interested in contributing an article? Collaborating with your vegan, cruelty free product? Advertising? We’d love to! Contact us at info@lafcnyc.com
THANK YOU! Connect with us! We’re real people and we want to hear from you! LAFC was co-founded by Adrienne Borgersen & Lois Eastlund
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CONTRIBUTORS Please take some time to read about our contributors. Many, many thanks to the people who offered their time and talent with this issue and/or every issue. My gratitude is unending to this community of entrepreneurs who believe in collaboration and support. Connect with them and tell them LAFC sent you!
Adrienne Borgersen Editor in Chief, Co-Founder In addition to being Editor-in-Chief of LAFC, Adrienne is a 25 year veteran of the music industry, an FIT certified Image Consultant and Vegan Lifestyle Coach & Educator (VLCE). She founded It Factor Image Consulting, where she works with a wide variety of people to develop their personal style and personal brand. She specializes in educating on the use and abuse of animals in the fashion industry, with the goal of encouraging people to make compassionate choices. Adrienne also enjoys volunteering her time and talents to human and animal rights causes. Previously a long-time vegetarian, Adrienne became 100% vegan in 2008 after reading Skinny Bitch. She is committed to promoting cruelty-free fashion, beauty and every day products as her way of saving animals and support a cruelty free lifestyle. LA Fashionista Compassionista magazine is a perfect extension of how she works with her clients, guiding them to look their best and feel their best, so they can take on the world! Website * Facebook * Twitter Instagram * Pinterest
April Lang LCSW, SEP The Relational Vegan April Lang LCSW, SEP is a vegan psychotherapist, activist, and writer. She is in private practice in New York City. Website
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Katrina Fox Entrepreneur Spotlight
Kat Mendenhall MendRT Vegan Boutique
Katrina Fox is an award-winning journalist, media coach, content marketer and editor of the vegan business blog VeganBusinessMedia.com. She is the author of Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business and has written extensively for niche and mainstream media for 17 years on animal advocacy and ethical business issues. Originally from the UK, she lives with her wife Tracie in Sydney, Australia. She loves glitter, disco and internet cat videos.
Kat Mendenhall, Purveyor of Handmade Vegan Goods, is on a mission to mend the world through whole plant-based food and crueltyfree products. After establishing an online shop of non-leather cowboy boots and western wear, she recently opened the first all vegan boutique in Texas. At MendRT, vegan retail therapy for the home and body, Kat is proving that animals should not suffer for fashion.
Katrina Fox Website Vegan Business Media Website
Website * Facebook Twitter * Instagram
Sunny Gandara Beauty from the Inside Out Sunny is a vegan chef and transformational lifestyle coach for women with demanding jobs and lives and who are striving to find balance between being healthy and happy. She is a certified health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, holds a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from eCornell, and a professional Culinary Certificate from the Institute of Culinary Education. Sunny is also is a Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist through NASM as well as being a Certified Wine Educator and Specialist of Spirits through the Society of Wine Educators, and a holder of the DWS Diploma through the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET).
James Lucas Graphic Design James has been a graphic designer for over 20 years and owns Grape Cat, the online vegan clothing and accessories store. James started Doylestown Movie Fans, who meet once a month to see movies at the County Theater in Doylestown, PA. He and his wife, Chris, started Bucks County Vegan Supper Club in 2009, whose members meet once a month to have a vegan potluck dinner. They are currently working through the Veganomicon cookbook, which inspires experienced and recent vegans to try new recipes. James is proud to support The Humane League and Have a Heart Ranch. Website
Website * Email * Blog * Facebook Instagram * Instagram * Twitter
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CONTRIBUTORS Steve Zak
Tiffany Negrea
Linda Albertini
Photographer
Marketing and Social Media Intern
Web Designer & Developer
Steve is a Brooklyn, NY based photographer. When not shooting in the studio, you can find him on the red carpet on behalf of Getty Images. Website * Facebook * Instagram
Nell Alk Copy Editor & Proofreader Nell is a freelance copywriter and copyeditor based in New York City. Clients she’s been hired by include Condé Nast, McCann Worldgroup, The New York Times, MAC Cosmetics and the Ad Council, among others. She likewise works with small business owners, startups, entrepreneurs and authors, helping refine their messaging through language. In addition to proofreading and wordsmithing, she frequently collaborates with plantbased brands and cruelty-free companies (e.g., Jay Astafa Catering, Nicora Shoes), as well as animal rights nonprofits (e.g., Nonhuman Rights Project, Animals United Movement). From public relations, direct marketing and social media to VIP/influencer outreach and event production, Nell’s elevated exposure for a number of reputable people, projects and platforms across industries. To learn more about her background, track her vegan ventures in NYC, or connect with her directly, visit nellalk.com, follow her on Instagram, or shoot her an email: nell@nellalk.com
Tiffany is a student at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business studying marketing and global business. Her biggest passions are traveling, linguistics, and improving animal welfare. She is a dedicated vegan and a fervent advocate for animal rights. She adds, “It’s a great joy and honor to contribute to the movement that maximizes empathy and shows others that clothes can be fashionable and cruelty-free at the same time.”
Dania Gonzalez Graphic Design Intern
Linda is a freelance web designer hailing from sunny San Diego, CA. Her credentials include a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Science and a Specialized Certificate in Web Publishing from UC San Diego, and she continues to learn and expand her repertoire. Making us look pretty online, Linda uses her creative and technical skills to help vegan and ethical businesses define their brand, develop their web presence, and reach more customers. Website * Food Blog Pinterest * Twitter * LinkedIn
Dania began her college career pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine. Soon into it, she decided that her real passion was art design. She is now in her happy place as a graphic design student at York College in Queens, NY. She loves contributing to a magazine that supports animal welfare. Dania is also very interested in astrology and Adrienne tells her she may be the most chilled out, laid back Scorpio, ever. Website
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THE RELATIONAL VEGAN By April Lang
Hey, April.
Hi, Gerri!
I never wrote to a magazine before and you probably won’t pick my letter, but I’m writing anyway. I feel CRAZY these days! Since the election, I’m always PISSED OFF! I’m pissed at how mean and negative people are on social media. Three people unfriended me on Facebook! I’m pissed at all the e-mails I get. Give money! Sign a petition! Call this person! Go to that protest! Ahhhhhhh! Even my family can’t agree on anything anymore! Am I crazy to feel crazy? Advice PLEASE?
Surprise! I did choose your letter! The primary reason I selected it for this issue is that its subject speaks to concerns that many others are facing in these uncertain times. So, I’m addressing my response both to you and the multitude of people I know are also struggling these days — with both the political and social climate.
Gerri Beaverton, Oregon
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We are indeed living in deeply polarized times. People are impassioned in their views and, unfortunately, more often speaking at, rather than to, one another. Listening skills seem to have gone out the window. Uncertainty about what will unfold is causing many to be fearful of the future and, sometimes, when we believe our lifestyle and/or person is threatened, we lash out at others. We don’t know what else to do with our feelings, so we find the nearest and easiest scapegoat. This lashing
out makes it difficult for our peers to hear us or, for that matter, even want to hear us. And what’s happening today, especially on social media, is that disagreements are being perceived as personal attacks. And, in some cases, they actually are. This is also happening in our communities and with our friends and families. You bring up several important issues, so I’ll address each separately. Regarding social media (and here I’ll focus on Facebook, since that is what you specifically referenced) we must all remember that many of the people who are our Facebook “friends” are people we’ve never met or even conversed with outside of our timelines. Also, people are on Facebook for a variety of reasons. For example, many join to stay connected with friends and family, some desire to engage in discourse with like-minded people, while others want to disseminate information to large audiences for their business or LAFCNYC.COM
cause. Facebook also attracts people who are angry about aspects of their own lives, but who lack meaningful personal and social outlets in the real world. The sense of anonymity on social media often translates to a lack of accountability; manners and respect may be considered superfluous. When you think about the three people who unfriended you, are they people you’ll miss in your life, or on Facebook? If not, ask yourself why it bothers you that they’re gone. Additionally, all of us need to be mindful of how many posts we’re reading and interacting with on a daily basis. It is advisable to pace ourselves or we’re likely to become overwhelmed, which is exactly what is happening to you. If you’re perusing social media several times a day, consider limiting your exposure to once a day or maybe even every other day. The more posts we read, the greater the likelihood we’ll get emotionally triggered. And, as we browse posts and contemplate becoming part of a discussion, I recommend pausing for a moment to ask ourselves what we’re hoping to gain from engagement. During that brief pause, we might discover that conversing with someone faceto-face would be infinitely more gratifying — and cordial. As to all those emails that have been clogging your inbox, you’re not alone. Activist groups of all persuasions are making their appeals to the citizenry on a grander scale than
we’ve seen in a while. Whether they’re beseeching us to make a donation, sign a petition, or call a legislator, the frequency and urgency of these requests can feel overwhelming. Of course, it’s crucial that these groups keep reaching out for public support and funds. But it’s equally important that you keep your sanity, by managing how many you receive. I’d suggest winnowing the list to the two or three organizations you deem most effective, and which best reflect your interests. As for all the entreaties for donations, think long and hard before forking over your entire rainy day fund. When one of them says, “give what you can,” take those words literally! And now, to your family. That’s a big one, to be sure. First let me say something about the word family. Many of us think that family refers exclusively to those connected through DNA. The truth is, many people also consider good friends or members of their social clan their family. Regardless of how one defines the term, there’s always the potential for the familial relationship to become strained. We may love these people and want to feel close to them, but as in all relationships, people often have very different views about politics, religion, morality, veganism, etc. So polarization is not exclusive to factions within societies; it can and does occur within all kinds of tightknit groups. So, what happens if your “family” is compromised of Democrats, Republicans, Evangelicals, Orthodox Jews, and you, the vegan/animal activist/ Buddhist? Yikes! Before you engage in any polemics with these folks, assess the likelihood of an open and respectful discussion. If the chances seem slim, ask yourself if it’s worth going to battle and, if so, what you hope or expect to achieve. There are times when the most pragmatic decision is to steer
clear of provocative topics for the sake of group harmony, and focus instead on what you can agree upon. Of course, there will be times when someone close to you says something you believe warrants a response. For instance, they might be misstating facts, or denigrating or misrepresenting a person, race, religion, etc. Staying silent may be perceived as tacit condonement of their views. I will end by telling you, Gerri, that none of your reactions are “crazy.” As for being so “pissed” all the time, you have every right to your feelings and you should pay attention to what they’re telling you about what you need, and what’s important to you. I do recommend that each day you devote some time to engaging in pleasurable pursuits. And make sure you surround yourself with nurturing people who “get” you. I’ve always been a big advocate of everyone having a strong network of people to share thoughts and feelings. Another suggestion is to be open to listening to those with disparate views. Doing so may broaden your understanding of the person and even foster empathy, as you come to understand how issues personally affect others. It’s also an opportunity to learn something you may not have known about a topic. The more knowledge you have about both sides of an issue, the better situated you’ll be to engage in thoughtful debate. Finally, as you listen to a different perspective, you may be surprised to discover a few things about yourself, such as your own biases or degree of tolerance for dissenting opinions. Best of luck with everything, Gerri. And remember: never be afraid to take a chance on something that matters to you. You wrote a letter to a magazine and it got published. That’s something to be proud of!
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Coach & Educator (VLCE) in a magical 6-day intensive in New York City. Learn from founder Victoria Moran and a roster of vegan luminaries including MDs, RDs, animal rights attorneys, publishers, professors, podcasters, fashion designers, and entrepreneurial experts. Plus fabulous field trips! Our grads are coaching, writing books, and opening businesses including Riverdel Cheese (Brooklyn), Kat Mendenhall Boots (Dallas), and Pleasantville Creamery (Toronto). And our post-course support and networking opportunities are unparalleled. Visit mainstreetvegan.net/academy or call 212-289-1808 for info & to apply
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LATHAM THOMAS THIS MAMA GLOWS! Interviewed by Adrienne Borgersen Photography: Steve Zak Makeup: Ashley Dalton Wardrobe: LoveShackFancy and Latham’s own
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person” luxury, a “first-world-niceto-have”? Or have we forgotten and stripped away the right of a woman — or, more accurately, the need of a woman — to listen to her own body, get educated and make her own decisions as to how she wants her birth to be? Latham Thomas, certified doula and celebrity wellness expert, has some very progressive opinions about becoming a mother in our modern age.
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oday’s feminist issues often center around a woman’s choice — to not get pregnant at a particular time or to choose to terminate a pregnancy or to never get pregnant at all. Many consider the right to choose the ultimate freedom, and it’s often the subject of polarizing disagreements and fodder for political platforms. Women are frequently ridiculed, belittled, and criticized for their decisions, and we are currently witnessing these long fought for and long held rights being stripped away. But what about the rights of women who do choose motherhood? How are we treating women through pregnancy and in the delivery room? How do we perceive how a birth should go? Is the modern concept of a hospital — which is usually reserved for sick people — really the best place to welcome new life? What are the real roles of midwives and doulas? Are they just a “rich 12
Born in the hills of Oakland California, where city life and country life are juxtaposed and symbiotic, Latham spent her early childhood studying botany and creating plant medicines with her mother in their backyard. At a very young age, she learned to understand the importance of respecting and being connected with nature, never forgetting we are just a small part of the grand system of the Earth and universe. Now a mother herself, she maintains that children deserve the beauty of the outdoors. They deserve an anchoring in nature — whether you live in the city or the countryside — in order to understand that it’s our actions that make it so difficult for plants and animals to thrive. She feels we have to inspire and inform the next generation to make choices that align with not only their own personal health and growth, but also that of the planet. She claims that her upbringing really solidified the significance of this. Articulate, well educated in her field and focused on her mission, success and celebrities seem to gravitate to her, by what she calls, “some act of God.” We chatted about how contemporary society has changed women. She shared her thoughts on attitudes in the modern medical field, the impact of the current political climate and media brainwashing in African American communities. And, of course, we discussed her fabulous style! Read on
for more from this amazing woman, who believes in teaching selfless determination to maintain our positive feminine energy and reclaim our inherent power. How did Mama Glow come to be? I went to Columbia University, stayed in New York, and, about a year, later had a baby. That became the rudiments of Mama Glow, the whole experience of this illuminated pregnancy with my son Fulano. Not only did it turn on my “Glow Power,” but it also really helped me balance some of these areas of neglect of women: I felt people were not doing a good job serving expectant and new mothers. I knew we could acknowledge the internal resources we have as mothers, so I sought to create that. I had a really beautiful experience at Seton Childbearing Center on 14th Street [in NYC], which no longer exists. Fulano was one of the last births there, as he came in July and they closed in September 2003. I walked in at 9 a.m., had the baby with a midwife whom I loved at 1:09 p.m., and walked out at 6 p.m., just 9 hour later. It was so surreal, but women are doing this. Sometimes they are in a field and they have to squat, pop it out, and keep it moving. Or they’re Nomadic and are with their tribe and find themselves nestling somewhere with the baby and then have to catch up on the hike. It’s just everybody doing what they do. We are no different. We just have these modern luxuries and things we don’t necessarily need. The people within the medical system will sometimes use rhetoric to push people to not trust their bodies, medicalizing this experience that is encoded in us as something we instinctively know how to do. I knew that I wanted to help women cross the threshold into motherhood in a way that they felt safe, empowered, and exalted by LAFCNYC.COM
I feel vibrational because I’m eating things that vibrate - plants that are alive. To raise your vibrations, you should be aligning yourself with that type of energy, whether it’s through your food or your relationships or the choices you make in life.
the power of their bodies. That’s how Mama Glow came to be. Right after I delivered my son, I was holding him and thinking, I have to help women experience this. People are being gypped, where they think that it’s something else. It can be this. It can be whatever they want it to be. But it should be what you want it to be, not like something was taken LAFCNYC.COM
from you or you feel incomplete afterwards. It should be something where you come out the other side and there is grace; you feel empowered and supported. That’s what I want for women and what drives me to do the work that I do. I believe that it touches every other aspect of your life. How you birth is how you do everything else. If you feel confidence and 13
support and an awakening within yourself, that will translate to you being able to ask for a raise or speak up for yourself. All of that stuff is intertwined. The internal satisfaction for me is the path to self-confidence. I think it’s important for women to be protected. And babies, too, on their birthday! I really strive to hold space and be protective over these two people, one whom I haven’t even met yet and one whom I’ve come to know over the course of her pregnancy.
ple who are deeply sensitive or have a history of depression or anxiety (which a lot of people have in this country) will be at risk to experience something like post-partum depression. A lot of people have “baby blues,” which is normal, a hormonal shifting; but actual depression can be amplified, especially if you’ve had an experience that was jarring, traumatic, or disempowering. Think about “hospitality” when we go to a hotel or a restaurant.
ence. In labor she’s in a heightened state of awareness. It’s going to affect her experience. When I walk into a [hospital] room, if I see two nurses that have had an argument or there is some tension, I’m looking to diffuse that tension, before the people walk into that room with a client. I am always looking for ways we can do this more smoothly and embrace the energy with ease and be in that situation first. Because that also affects how a woman will give birth. Our hormones are governed
Commitment is the only way to raise consciousness and raise children with happy values. To raise the cultural bar as a society, we have to commit ourselves and grow. Otherwise we’re all going to be in this drive-through Chicken McNugget mindset…
Are you saying that women don’t necessarily need to be in the hospital for days and days if it’s a normal pregnancy and perhaps things like postpartum depression might even be induced in the way that women nowadays typically have children? I wouldn’t say everything is inextricably linked, but there are studies that show that the way a mother experiences labor — whether it was a C-section or she had complications or it was more medicalized with drugs administered — [dictates how she] navigates the post-partum period, [versus] someone who didn’t have intervention. Not to say that these are standard, like if I had a C-section I’m not going to love my baby. What it does mean is that peo14
You’re judging your experience, not just on the food or the sheets, or the amazing tub, but on the service, right? From the moment they open the door, showing you to your room, putting the food on the table, checking on you, refilling your water glass. When you see outstanding service, it really hits you in a certain way. And we expect that in places where we get service, except in the hospital! It’s like somehow there is this loophole for people to whom we are paying exorbitant amounts of money — whether it’s out of pocket or through insurance — to provide a service, and they act like they’re doing us a favor! How is this right? It should include a bedside manner, how we meet patients, bring them into the room, the language we use…all of that is a woman’s experiLAFCNYC.COM
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by our emotions. What that means is, if I don’t feel safe, then that is going to create a cocktail of hormones my body produces in that moment. So, in my mind, I feel this isn’t good, I don’t feel safe, so all my physical responses — because the body is
45% of women having C-sections? It’s not. Something’s going wrong. What is that saying about our society? And even if it is true, what is that saying about the women that show up at the hospital? They don’t feel like they can do it. We have to change that. That is part of what my work is: to claim their bodies as sacred and recall in themselves that they can do this. I’m not against people using pharmaceuticals that they need. But it’s not our first line of defense. It should be the last thing we go to, if we need to. But we start with the tools that we have. There are tons of natural tools because, before all of this, women were not using these things. It wasn’t even a thought. We know that we can do it because our ancestors were able to do it. So that’s why I start with empowering women, making them feel like it’s possible, giving them positive stories…and then, from there, figuring out what we have to do based on what the situation calls for.
very obedient — will come. The job of the doctor is to make sure the mother feels safe. It’s not just the job of the doula. It’s also the job of the mother to protect herself and have these skills and mind-body tools to get through the process. That’s why you have a doula. Then with a midwife or a doctor, objective advice is important — and no one is giving that. They get super [judgmental] and moms second-guess themselves. Then, later on, they say, “I knew this didn’t feel right,” but they get led down a path according to what [the doctor] wanted, because a surgical delivery was easier for them, not for the mom. Sometimes it’s medically necessary and we are grateful for all the tools that [they] have. But if it’s not medically necessary, why are
People aren’t thinking about women in this way. Our bodies have been colonized and no one is thinking about how it affects this woman down the line. Are we experiencing a lot of the angst or anxiety because of how these procedures are being carried out? I think so, and I think a lot of it is post-traumatic stress and not being able to process how emotional it is for you, because right away there is a baby in your arms.
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There is joy and love in all of this, but there are also crises that we’re up against, because our bodies are under attack. Look at what’s happening in this political administration. Whatever side of the fence you’re on, we’re under attack — it’s not safe for women here. Which is
crazy, because we are the reason everyone exists! We should feel safe and at home in our bodies and in this country. [We need to] reclaim our bodies and feel confident, speak up and fight for what we know, because not everyone is intimate with their bodies and understands what they are fighting for. This has to include standing up for women in birth, because birth isn’t even on this feminist agenda. It should be at the top, because that’s why we’re all here. So that is what my mission is and what my work is about. I want women to walk into this experience feel[ing] amazing and walk out feeling even more so. I feel like a lot of the time it’s the opposite, because of the constriction of where mothers are delivering, because they’ve made it more difficult to deliver at home. There are so many impediments and hurdles to jump through for home birth. They are finding ways to write laws and legislations to wipe out midwives. All of this is impacted by the way we give birth and the places we give birth. We are sending a signal to women that you just have to bow down and suck it up, the doctors are in charge and you have to listen to what they say. But you are the client. It’s your money, your insurance, your body – Hello! We have to remember that as we move forward and make a case for motherhood. For those who don’t know, what exactly is a doula? What is their role and why is it an important part of the birth team? One of my clients says it’s like having a “producer” for your birth. We think about everything, so the mother or the couple doesn’t have to. We serve as educators, advocates, hand holders. We show up to support the mother earlier on in the pregnancy, not just at the point of delivery, but leading up to it, so she feels secure and educated around how the birth process flows. Then, obviously, we LAFCNYC.COM
support her through the birth and post-partum. It’s like having a girlfriend — who’s skilled and versed in these practices — support you. We also learn her buttons and triggers, so we are uniquely prepared for anything that comes up for her along the way in the birth. Then we have all these tools we can use to help her through the process. What is the difference between a doula and a midwife? A midwife actually delivers the baby, as an obstetrician would, and the doula is more of an emotional support and a liaison between the medical staff and the client. The midwife is on the side of the practitioners. She would do everything the obstetrician would do, besides surgery. So, she doesn’t just show up LAFCNYC.COM
with towels and hot water. She also comes with oxygen and everything we might need for a home birth, or at the hospital. You can have a midwife in the hospital. You have to ask if your hospital provides that service or has a birth center. The doula is also a constant point of support. The midwife will check on your cervix, step in and out, like a doctor or nurse. The doula is with you, even if you’re sleeping, until the baby is born, so you feel safe, that someone is always watching you, which is so important for so many moms. Not everyone chooses to work with a doula, possibly for personal or financial reasons. In your absence, what principles
would you offer, that can be incorporated into the often chaotic life of an expectant or new mother? I always think that having a childbirth education course is helpful, as well as figuring out some comfort measures. It’s important that whoever is with you — your husband or partner or family or friends — knows how you like to be touched. Practice therapeutic touch, like what pressure feels good or massaging the lower back, so when you’re in the process, someone knows how to help you feel good. Figuring that out in the moment is much harder. Also, establishing what I call a “Sister Circle,” which is like a cohort of girlfriends and elders in the process. Someone who’s already had a baby (if you’re having twins, some17
I THINK AS MUCH AS WHAT’S GOING ON IS REALLY UGLY AND HARD TO UNDERSTAND AND UNCOMFORTABLE, THERE IS ALSO THE BEAUTY IN THAT THIS HAS AWAKENED EVERYONE. THOSE WHO WERE JUST RUNNING AROUND, GOING THROUGH THE “DRIVE-THROUGH OF LIFE,” HAVE HAD TO AWAKEN THEMSELVES AND STAND UP AND SAY, “THIS ISN’T RIGHT
one who has had twins), so you have a model for how it’s done and you can ask questions and have support along the way. People who can help you after the baby comes to cook for you or bring meals, so that you have help on the home front. People think about preparation leading up, but they don’t think about post-partum and how to get through those first hundred days. But even if you don’t have labor support there, there’s all kinds of things you can use to soothe, like guided meditation, apps with music that you can set up, warm packs for your back, things that make you feel comfortable and supported. The other thing I encourage is set[ting] up the hospital room like home. When you pack your birth bag, bring things that remind you of home. Things like your dog or family members, flowers, a little Buddha, so that when you are deeper into your active labor, you’ll be reminded 18
that you’re safe, like you’re at home. I had a client who was a painter and, for their son, we put up affirmations that we came up with together for his wife. He also painted some stuff and put them up on the walls. The first thing the wife saw after birth was a sign that [said], “You are safe here.” He kept saying it to her, “You are safe here, you are safe here”. It was awesome. It seems so simple, but that reminder is so powerful. Words are a powerful reminder of grounding. While these things are helpful, we intuitively know what to do. I hear people argue the opposite, that we are being too “Kumbaya” or “hippiedippie,” but that’s not true. We are not listening on a regular basis to our intuition. All of this information is encoded within us. No one has to teach you how to have sex, you just figure it out. No one has to teach you how to go the bathroom, you know how to push and release so it comes out of you. It’s the same with hav-
ing a baby. The idea that we need to be taught all these things? Often we need to be untaught. We can listen to the ancestral wisdom that kicks in at the time of birth. When women say they don’t think they can do it, it’s because they are afraid. We have this fear that we don’t know, and we are carrying it into the process. That is why confidence is so key, to walk in feeling like you can do this. You need to be open to the wisdom that kicks in, no matter what the outcome is. So, if it is a natural birth or an assisted birth, if you feel empowered and confident, the process goes the way it is meant to go. That’s always important in the end. Tell us about your vegan journey. I never grew up eating a lot of meat. I never had steak or hot dogs or chicken nuggets. My mom never gave it to us. We had some fish and chicken. It’s not that there weren’t opportunities to have it, my Mom just didn’t do that. Also, growing up in California, there were so many options for healthy cuisine that just didn’t include animal products. There was a place called The Food Mill that my mom would go to and she get these fiber cookies that were so hard to chew! And she would make these little pizzas with raw broccoli. So, we were already kind of eating that way. Then, when I was twelve, I had this babysitter — until she went away to college. When she came back for the holidays, I would hang out with her, because I loved hanging out with her, and we ended up as friends, even though I was way younger. She told me she was vegetarian. I asked, “What’s that?” and she [explained]. I thought, “OK, I can do that,” because I wanted to do everything like her. My mom figured out how to make dishes she knew I liked without meat. And there weren’t options like there are now. I think there was Rice Dream rice milk and Eden Soy soy milk, not the flavors we have now. Really rudimentary options. I LAFCNYC.COM
don’t know if anyone expected me to stay vegetarian, but I did. Then I went to boarding school and my mom would ship me cases of Rice Dream and Spiru-Tein protein powder, because I was still growing. There weren’t a lot of options for vegetarians at the school dining hall. I quickly found other people who were on the same diet and we asked for things that were dairy-free and plant-based. They accommodated us and created a whole little bar with a section for just our food. But then all these other people started eating from our cart! We were like, “Hey, we can’t eat the other stuff!” But it was really cool that the school supported us. That made it easy for me, because being away from home, I needed the options. Then when I came to New York [to attend Columbia University], I wouldn’t say it was easier, but I cooked for myself because the dining hall was horrible. I just bought my own food. My mom bought me a bread maker and pots and pans so I would have everything I needed. The other kids wanted to try what I was making, but then I wouldn’t have any leftovers. I said if they wanted to buy the food, I would cook. So, they started giving me money for the groceries and two of the strongest guys would help me carry everything. And the 16 of us in the co-ed dorm would all eat vegan, because that’s what I was making. If they wanted meat, I didn’t let them use my pots to cook so they would get it from the dining hall and supplement it with whatever I was making. And that’s how I did it and I didn’t even gain the “freshman 15” because I was eating plant-based. I think people feel like they can’t do it, but it’s just about commitment, like anything else. I know that I feel my most powerful, satiated and comfortable in my skin eating this way. I can’t LAFCNYC.COM
even imagine eating something that I know contributes to physical ailments. And I know people get attached to their food and don’t want to eliminate it, which is crazy. I feel blessed that I don’t have that “need” for coffee or cheese. I am also lactose intolerant, so I knew early on that I couldn’t have what other kids had. My mom took me for a milkshake as a reward for good grades once and I remember feeling so sick. I knew then that I wouldn’t try it again. I’m actually grateful that happened. And, along the way, there have been pivotal moments where I knew a certain food wouldn’t work. For me, it’s a choice of wanting to feel good and align myself with that same energy that I was talking about before, aligning myself with the plants and animals in the ambient landscape. I feel vibrational because I’m eating things that vibrate — plants that are alive. To raise your vibrations, you should be aligning yourself with that type of energy, whether it’s through your food or your relationships or the choices you make in life. They should lift you. Our liberation depends on the liberation of all things, animals included. We don’t have any right to have dominion over animals. Growing animals for consumption and the wasteful way that it’s done and the industry that supports it is inhumane, but it’s also not aligned with our highest level of good. No matter what people say about feeding the hungry, people developed this dependency on animals and agriculture when we decided to start farming. The agricultural revolution is when we developed this idea of needing to own animals and this land. When we were nomadic, we weren’t eating animals. They were few and far between. It was a diet closer to apes. Look at their muscular structure and their diet of plants. It’s not to preach to people or make them feel like they’re doing something wrong, but to lead by ex-
ample. People ask me how I have the energy to do all this and I say, “This is how I eat.” I’m not preaching, I’m just being. I’ll give them literature. I use this book a lot, especially when people feel they can’t give up cheese: Whitewash: The Disturbing Truth about Cow’s Milk and Your Health by Joseph Keon. Everyone I’ve given it to has read it [and] given up dairy cold turkey. This idea that we need to be weaned needs to be more prominent, because people are in an uproar over breastfeeding, and yet they are drinking the milk of a mother cow, which is designed for a baby calf, and think that’s OK. A cow is an entirely different species, encoded with tons of hormones and chemicals and immune factors that are designed to protect and transform a calf from 65 pounds at birth to 500 pounds in its first year of life. And you’re drinking that? That’s crazy to me. And again, it’s this repulsion [surrounding] the female body. Why is breastfeeding gross? It’s the most natural thing. We create [milk] for our babies through our bodies that’s the perfect ratio of fat, protein and carbohydrates to water, with all of the nutrients that come through. And the love that’s transmitted through breast milk is so important. So, whatever education I can give from my vantage point I do, but mostly I try to live the principles. My first book, Mama Glow, is really a book about plant-based pregnancy. It’s about all aspects of the journey, but the food is all plant-based. I don’t say that in the book, but once people get in there, they figure it out. I do that because I don’t want people to be turned off to veganism. I think there are so many people afraid of being judged and so many layers of judgement and politicism that’s not necessarily anchored. People perceive the [vegan] movement through a[n] outdated lens. There’s a mod19
I SAID [TO MY SON], “YOU ARE GOING TO FACE SCHOOL, YOU ARE GOING TO GO INTO THE WORLD, WE ARE NOT GOING TO FALL INTO DESPAIR. WE ARE GOING TO STAND UP AND WE ARE GOING TO ORGANIZE. NOW YOU DEAL WITH WHATEVER COMES WITH THIS. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, BUT YOU’RE GOING TO GO. WE DON’T AVOID FACING LIFE.”
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ern lens that we can look through, but people don’t see it yet. It’s like these archetypes that people have about women and we’re put in certain boxes. But there are updated version of those boxes. So, people are looking through this vegan lens and feel like “this person is going to attack me.” Or they see these organizations like PETA and they are afraid. So, I try, in whatever space I’m in, to bring “right” — speak to the issues in a non-judgmental way, also asking questions. For example, when people ask me where I get my protein, I ask where they get theirs. People now are embracing [veganism] because of celebrities, because people they admire are doing it. I appreciate people follow[ing] the lifestyle [who] [speak] up and used their influence as a voice for the movement, to help people understand that it’s not just how you eat, it’s also the choices you make in the marketplace, the clothing that you choose to wear, your furnishings… it’s a lifestyle! It’s not just a fad. People are following people living this type of lifestyle, seeing that it’s cool and a way for them to not just feel and look their best, but also participate as a member of this planet in a low-impact way. This [is] important for our children, too. When I had my son, everyone [said] he wasn’t going to grow. I gained 14 pounds [during] pregnancy — he was 7 lbs. 11 oz. — and I [returned to] my pre-pregnancy weight in two weeks or so. During the pregnancy, I knew exactly what I wanted. I didn’t fill myself with ice cream; I needed seaweed sandwiches with daikon from Angelica Kitchen. It was so clear what my body was asking for. When Fulano was small, he loved wheatgrass, which is crazy because I only liked wheatgrass during my pregnancy. After he was born, I couldn’t stand it. He must have known I was having it during the pregnancy. LAFCNYC.COM
A journey — sustaining a practice — like this is choice. I’m not saying people are lazy, but they have a hard time committing because there are so many things to choose from and so many new diets, so people are constantly moving around from fad to fad and not committing themselves to anything. It’s not lack of willpower, it’s lack of commitment. People don’t want to commit because it’s much easier to have the chicken nuggets at the drive-through. They don’t think about the impact on their health or how it’s expensive to be sick or what it “costs” to actually make those chicken nuggets, or what animals they are eating. Commitment means that you have to be educated and you have to be awake. You have to prime yourself for the choices you make: they impact everyone and everything around you, not just you in that moment. Commitment is the only way to raise consciousness and raise children with happy values. To raise the cultural bar as a society, we have to commit ourselves and grow. Otherwise we’re all going to be in this drive-through chicken McNugget mindset, which is a transfixion that a lot of people are in. I agree 100%. Our society is brainwashed and the media rules everything we do. Everything we do is based on advertising, which is just a madeup story to sell things. Yes, I used to teach this course with vegan chef Bryant Terry. He’s [won] awards for Vegan Soul Kitchen and Afro Vegan. He and I would work with these young kids and try to teach them literacy around food. They would say, “This is our food. You are taking away our food!” And I would say, “How is McDonald’s ‘your food?’” And they were so adamant about it because of advertising. We had to deconstruct these ads to help them understand what was really being marketed. By the end these kids were so upset that this
is marketed towards them. A lot of them became advocates and chefs in their communities. I think everyone right now is feeling a sense of great change and transition in our country and in our world. Some good, some not so good, particularly as it relates to social justice issues. I’d love your perspective. The changes and transitions that come with bringing new humans into the world is the focus of your work. As an African American woman and mother, are you feeling these changes and experiencing any challenges in the current climate of our society? What advice would you give to help people through challenging times? I’m definitely feeling the movement and the changes. I went with my son to the Hillary Clinton election headquarters the night of the election. I brought him to meet with some friends of ours who flew in for it, because it was an historical event. The kids were hanging out and they had all been studying the polls and statistics in government in school, so they all knew what was happening. They were all refreshing their feeds on their phones and I saw they were starting to get nervous. We were going to go down to the area where she was going to [give] her speech. It was so crazy how that night unfold[ed]. We were all so terrified and mortified at the end. At 11:30 p.m., we were like, “Oh my God, what just happened?” My son said to me, “I want to go home, I don’t want to be here and cry. I just want to go home.” We went home and I remember thinking that I can’t remember any event where children — babies — felt the existential stress that their parents were feeling, because of politics. Children had identified this was a bad man. I grew up in the Reagan era. I was small, so it didn’t really settle in for me until the Bush, then 21
WE ARE NOT LISTENING ON A REGULAR BASIS TO OUR INTUITION. ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS ENCODED WITHIN US.
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the “W.,” periods, that there could be incompetent people in government. My son woke up the next day hoping it was a bad dream and I remember he wanted to sleep in. I let him, because we got in late. I wrote to the teachers and said my son [was] devastated, so he’s not coming in until later. I forced him to go. I said, “You are going to face school, you are going to go into the world, we are not going to fall into despair. We are going to stand up and we are going to organize. Now you deal with whatever comes with this. I don’t know what that means, but you’re going to go. We don’t avoid facing life.” I remember my stomach being in knots, like a seismic shift in my digestive system. I felt off for months. What I thought about and what I think about is, my son is 13 and taller than me now; he’s still a boy but he’s becoming a man. Being African American in this country and having the future be so anchored to the past, people at the end of their lives deciding what’s good? That we’re going to be living under these laws and governance they put in place is frightening. These are people who are set in their ways and not thinking about the well-being and welfare of our country and our citizens. What is sadder is that people watched this campaign unfold and listened and watched and made excuses for a man who had the audacity to even join the race when he wasn’t and still isn’t qualified. Then all the horrible things came out about him, the things he’s done and continues to do [but] isn’t being punished for. And the people who voted saw a leader in him. That’s what’s more frightening. In all of the things that came out, people still saw a leader. That, to me, shows the lack of unity, where we are in terms of education, where we are in terms of understanding, where we are in terms of empathy. I do think all of these things tie back to the choices
we make on a regular basis. If you feel like you can shoot a duck or a deer, just for fun; or if you feel like you have a right to everything and nobody matters, except for you, and you think that animals are different from you or some people are different from you and none of it matters. If that’s the constant you’re operating from, then we’re in a really bad place. I think all these things touch everything else. There is a parallel between people who are denigrating animals and denigrating human beings. How can we create a more conscious [world] and how can we restore our consciousness in this country? I think it is taking hold. I mean, thank God for social media, helping people come together and organize en masse. All the [organizers] of the Women’s March are my friends and [they’re] still organizing today. Seeing them on the front lines of this movement and knowing what just happened with Bill O’Reilly [being fired from Fox News for alleged sexual harassment] is interesting, because it took the action of women to finally stand up. I think as much as what’s going on is really ugly and hard to understand and uncomfortable, there is also the beauty in that this has awakened everyone. Those who were just running around, going through the “drive-through of life,” have had to awaken themselves and stand up and say, “this isn’t right.” Advertisers [with] women at the helm are making choices, saying “we won’t stand for this, we are pulling out.” That speaks volumes. If we continue to activate and make sure we use our voices in a way that gets our point across, people will think about the choices they make and the consequences thereafter. This has to go across the board, because there is a lot of hate going on and a lot of this stuff stems from people not feeling integrated and secure or
a part of something to take action. Because, when you feel loved and received and heard and validated, you don’t have a need to hurt people. That’s where we are at. We have to restore and this has to start at home. So, bringing it back to my work, we have to protect the way babies are born and mothers are born into motherhood. We have to make sure women have — along with equal pay — maternity and paternity leave. Parents need to be in the home — to [foster] a foundation of emotional literacy, intelligence, love and security for the human beings that are going to grow in this country and in this world — so they can feel good when set[ting] up house as adults. We have to think about what it mean[s] to have a woman or a man stay home for six months with their children, what that do[es] to our bottom line. It means they are more productive when they [return] to work. We should be looking at other countries, like Sweden, as models. But we have to stop treating people the way we treat animals, too. We’re rounding them up and overworking them. We’re trying to do that to people and it doesn’t work. We shouldn’t do it to either. So that’s what I have to say about that. That was awesome. OK, now the fun questions! You have such great style! You look on point in every photo. Has this always been inherent? Where does your love of fashion come from? I really love style. Style is personal and everybody has one. For me, it’s finding something that really speaks to me and is calling out something in me that I want to express that day, in a certain way. I love fashion as a vehicle for selfexpression. I always like “dressing,” but I changed it to “adorning” myself, making it more like a ritual. When my son was about three, I
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took out some clothes for him and he said, “I’m not wearing that. Mommy, clothes give you power and that doesn’t make me feel powerful.” And he told me, “These sneakers make me feel this and those sneakers do that.” So, I took what my son said and use it as a rubric to follow. Certain things make you feel your best. And if you put on something that doesn’t feel like you, your body language changes. When it feels like you, your shoulders are up and your back is aligned, your hips are forward. So, I started to pay closer attention. And now I have this child who loves to dress and loves fashion also. He’s been picking out his clothes since he was three and, at age five, he wanted a sports jacket. He calls it dressing “fancy” and he dresses for the occasion, even if it’s going to the park. I took that as a message that I should also be looking at how my clothes give me power. I put more thought into it and gave myself more time, so I could look the way I wanted to feel. I would drop him off at school, then come back and get dressed for the day. And now that he’s old enough to dress himself, I get up early and getting dressed is part of my ritual. I can take my time and what to wear is revealed to me. It’s a process that I really enjoy, adorning myself for the day. Once you get comfortable in the process of your personal style, then it’s really fun to find things. I really love accessories because, whatever you have on, you can change anything from something super simple and basic and merchandise it up. It’s so much fun! What does personal image mean to you? How important is it in your life and your business? It’s about how you carry yourself, how you set foot into the world and what people see. But it’s also what you perceive yourself to be and what you want people to see. It’s an overarching sensation or aura that peo24
ple pick up, so they see you [visually], but also feel something when they are in your presence. For me it’s important to convey a sense of safety, like I’m a safe person —I’m loving, I’m a mother, I have maternal energy and can be supportive of people while we’re on this journey. I don’t necessarily try to convey it, but I try to enter spaces and allow people to see that. What I mean is that in the opportunities that we have, like with media, I’m never going to be in a space where people won’t perceive me in the way I want to be carried, in terms of my image. For example, aligning with a magazine like yours is one of those opportunities to have people see me in the way that I want to be seen, in the light I want to share.
“Each time any of us along the path have an opportunity to shed light or be recognized for what we do, it opens doors for other people.” So, it’s about where you align yourself, the choices you make, the company you keep, the way you move, the types of environments you bring yourself into. All of that is part of image because, for example, if people only see me at rock concerts, in leather and studs, people will think I’m like a rock star. But they also layer on whatever they think about those types of people living that lifestyle. So, it’s not just what I’m doing, it’s the perceived connections that might be made based on what people think about a particular line of work or type of person. So, while I make sure I’m always myself, I can also make sure that whatever I allow to touch me, or that I’m in touch with,
really resonates on the same frequency that I’m trying to be on. Most of it is perceptive, rather than visual, even though visual is obviously the first entry point with people. You’re such an inspiration to your readers and your followers. Who inspires you? Who are your heroes? My son inspires me, every day. I get to get up and do what I love to do because of my child. He always says he’s the inspiration for Mama Glow, which is true! I also feel like every woman inspires me; it’s not just one person. I’ll hear a quote or an interview and there are so many elements of the human experience that will touch me in a certain way. Or the way people carry themselves through a certain challenge is also inspiring. Vulnerability is very attractive and inspiring, when they just lay it out and [are] open about what’s going on for them. It’s the facet of human experience, those who are standing up and speaking out — [like] the women of the Women’s March and their dedication. Other friends of mine, the co-founders of Black Lives Matter, these three women who are so under the radar, they are so committed to the work; they are not trying to be the face of the movement. I find the work they’ve done extremely inspiring, which has obviously been misappropriated and misinterpreted. It’s really about justice for all people and changes that we need to make that are systemic in targeting people of color. I just love when women are standing in their power, and these are examples of it. But also when women [enter] the delivery room and didn’t think they could do something they’re about to do, and join a lineage of women who have done it before them. Every single time I show up to a birth, I’m always deeply moved by the mothers who go through that process and bring our future into the world. That’s the thing that keeps me stirLAFCNYC.COM
ring. I tend to like things that lift me in the moment that are powerful. I use it as fuel. Speaking of Oprah, you’ve been featured and interviewed by some of the best in the business, like Oprah, Dr. Oz, Martha Stewart and Marie Forleo. How did you come to be on Oprah’s Top 100 Super Soul Teachers? As an entrepreneur and business owner, what do you learn or take away from these high exposure experiences? The Oprah thing was really just by the grace of God. I was totally surprised by that. I was deeply moved and grateful. All of these experiences just make it easier for me to do the work that I do with women, because more people see it and maybe they hire someone in this process [to] help them get through a harder birth or whatever is going on for them. Each time any of us along the path have an opportunity to shed light or be recognized for what we do, it opens doors for other people. So, for me, it’s opening doors for other doulas or other people in the birthing net. Whatever your particular area is, when someone opens a door, it makes a path for you also. I’m able to make more space for those behind me [and] honor those that came before me, and obviously use influence to spread a message. I love that. Not for my ego, but for what I’m trying to accomplish. It’s a booster to help me along the way. And for all the people I’m able to come in contact with and touch, it helps them, too. Now they might believe more in the ability of a doula to serve. What I learned is that we have to do our work and steer ourselves in the direction of excellence and keep trying to deliver a quality service or product and be authentic. That’s what makes people recognize you — not trying to be anybody else. We all LAFCNYC.COM 25
have our own arc, our own unique and rituals and reflections of oureven more refined with yourself in way to get where we’re headed; there selves. It’s just so beautiful. I’m exyour actions. It’s important that all Glow Medicine Beautyit’s Lab of us together raise the vibration of is no one way. My way is not the onlyMama cited for +itGood to come out, because Ritual about Beautyself-care Collection way. We’re all having a different and- Self-love it’s going +toSelf-Care help the planet, and I think that we can experience. You can’t use someone a lot of people slow down. I want to do so together. It takes all of us, and else’s pathMama to getGlow there. I knowa beauty if I allow everybody to be part ofproducts this even those of us who are on the side launches capsule of 5 essential self-care in partnership with forge my path, it is unique. And it conversation I’m having with moms. of “right,” need to engage in peaceGood Medicine Beauty Lab. Wellness maven, beloved doula and founder of Mama Glow, will help carry the message forward ful dialogue. Because, as we know, Latham Thomas wanted to create a product line that reflected her personal values and for others. Birth isn’t about me tryI like to end with my “Oprah on the other side, there is a lot of teachings in self-care. “I am a lover of all things beauty and enjoy taking time to rhetoric, slow down andwe don’t want ing to get on Oprah. That’s not ever Questions.” Fill in the blanks: hateful and It’s essential. to the goal. nurture I thinkmyself. when you have a I am always recommending the best that green to be beauty a part ofhas spreading that. So, in offer, so it was time to create a self-care line that embodies all that I want women to product or a book and you want to The world needs… “Love.” whatever ways we can, pay attention hit certain benchmarks, to how we are carrying ourselves in experience. It’s allthat’s aboutone mothering yourself first.” thing. But when you want to deliver Animals are… “Precious gifts from the world, and make sure it’s always an impactful service, the goal is not God.” going towards the light. Glow Time is the radical self-care practice that a signature part of Latham’s ministry. From to get on the Today Show, the goal Instagram posts to the Mama Glow website, and even in her first book back in 2012, Mama is to do the work. [Media exposure] My life’s work is… “To hold womGlow: A Hip Guide to Your Fabulous Abundant Pregnancy, she preaches these principals of comes as the result of the work, and en’s hands as they cross the river.” slowingFocus down and ritualizing that’s awesome. on the work your beauty and wellness routine. As part of the helping women theirworth Glow Time, Latham created a RITUAL for GUIDE GLOW TIME, a booklet that and [do] reclaim something talking Any last thoughts our to readers? about! accompanies each product set and Owncontains your glow! Really lifestyle tips,explore rituals, the how-to’s, mantras, ingredient dimensions of yourselfaffordable that information, and inspiration to hidden help make self-care accessible, and actionable for Speaking of books, you have a new you’ve not become familiar with and women everywhere. one coming out! Tell us about Own see how that can help you become You can find Latham and all her Your Glow and how it’s different your most powerful. We all can Glow Power at Mama Glow. As a single mother who single-handedly grew her maternity wellness business from the ground from Mama Glow. and should do that, especially now. up, Latham believes it is imperative to establish a glowTalk timeto routine Challenge yourself. peo- as a pathway to self-love, Watch for her new It’s awesome. It’s about radiance and ple. For example, talk to a vegetarRitual Beauty Colwomen standing in their power and ian and see if you can get into that lection. (above) reclaiming their freedom. How we space to get them to become vegan. are all integrated in this journey and If someone is already vegan, see And her new book this life. It’s different from Mama how you can fine tune your dietary Own Your Glow: Glow in that it’s for all women. It’s habits to be more aligned with this A Soulful Guide to learning how to embrace the dark consciousness that you want to be in Luminous Living. sides of ourselves. It’s got exercises and elevate it. See how you can get 26
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BOHO CHIC WITH LOVESHACKFANCY & HIPPIE SOULSTICE
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oveShackFancy is a beautiful example of the romance of this flowy, comfortable, feminine style. We love the French lace, pretty ruffles and patterns. This brand is not 100% vegan, as some pieces in their collections are made with silk. But it is a great example of being able to shop compassionately anywhere, by reading labels and making educated choices. Always remember that you vote with your dollars and companies are only going to make more of what sells. All of the pieces shown here are just a few of the plentiful designs made with 100% cotton.
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ippie Soulstice is a new, 100% vegan brand, cofounded by our very own former intern Savannah Sarmento! Laid back, comfy styles, paired with edgy faux suede and beaded denim are feminine and strong looks. We love that all of the designs are fairly sourced and many are made with upcycled and organic textiles.
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Danielle is Wearing the Shaka Top and Josie Faux Suede shorts by Hippie Soulstice
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Marketa is wearing LoveShackFancy
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Danielle is wearing LoveShackFancy
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Marketa is wearing LoveShackFancy
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Nancy is wearing LoveShackFancy
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Danielle is wearing LoveShackFancy. Shoes by Mink.
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Nancy is wearing the Mirrored Sunset Dress by Hippie Soulstice. Shoes by Cri de Couer.
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Danielle is wearing the Sarai Jacket in blue by Hippe Soulstice.
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Marketa is wearing the Lucy in the Sky dress by Hippie Soulstice. Shoes by Cri de Couer.
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Nancy is wearing LoveShackFancy
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Marketa is wearing LoveShackFancy. Shoes by OlsenHaus.
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Nancy, Danielle and Marketa are wearing LoveShackFancy.
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Beauty e h t m o Fr t u O e d i Ins
By Sunny Gandara
TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF THROUGH FOOD; THE ULTIMATE COMFORT
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or many, the concept of “selfcare” or “self-love” may sound indulgent, luxurious, and a tad, well, selfish. In today’s busy world, we are somehow conditioned to believe that the needs of others — whether they be our children, animal companions, bosses, colleagues, neighbors, or friends — are more important than our own. There is an innate obligation in us to address their requests first and, if there is any time left at all, we will tend to ourselves. How did this belief come to be? Showing love for yourself is about abandoning the all too familiar “all or nothing” perfectionistic attitude that we have to do things 100% and by the book all the time. Self-care is about self-awareness, realizing that 42
— unless you take care of yourself first — you will be no good to anybody else. To me, it also means being kind to myself, listening to my body and giving it what it needs. One day, I might feel like eating only raw foods, while on another day my body craves heftier dishes because I’ve either been extra active or simply because the temperature has dropped outside. Being in tune with yourself is way healthier than restricting yourself to following a cookie cutter “plan” that someone else designed and decided is good for you. Because I’m a fan of healthy eating, does that mean I’ll never indulge in chips and chocolate and an additional glass of wine? Of course not. I’ve learned that if I set realistic
expectations for myself when it comes to my diet, the pressure comes off, and a miraculous thing happens: I am not tempted to make bad or less ideal choices because I haven’t deemed it “forbidden” in my head. Thus it doesn’t feel as exciting. I’ve given myself permission, so what’s the big deal? Much like when people tell me to do or not do something, and all I can think of is doing or not doing it — whatever the opposite of what that person instructed me to do. Our mind works in mysterious ways! To me, self-care means making a dish that nourishes me, but that also makes me feel happy and thankful for what is on my plate. There are so many ways comfort food can be deliciously invigorating, without havLAFCNYC.COM
ing to be heavy and filled with lots of unhealthy saturated fat, additives, and other questionable ingredients. When I feel like eating a hearty, satisfying dish but don’t want to fill my body with loads of fats, sugars, and excessive calories, I often turn to root vegetables for a variety of meals. While many are not particularly attractive to look at, root vegetables are packed with health benefits. Because they grow underground, they absorb a ton of nutrients from the soil and contain high amounts of vitamin A, B, and C. They’re also a great source of iron. These vegetables are also high in antioxidants, as well as fiber and slow digesting carbohydrates, which fills you up and helps keep you fuller longer — excellent if you’re eating for weight loss while seeking to feed your body nourishing, healing foods. If you’re looking for foods that contain anti-cancer antioxidants, help lower cholesterol, and improve heart health, consider adding root vegetables to your diet!
Root vegetables are available year round, although most commonly they are found in farmer markets fall through winter to early spring. The exception is beets, which you will find in the summer through fall. To me these beautiful vegetables symbolize love; a vibrant, deep color red, this ancient pre-historic produce is one that helps protect your heart health, boosts your stamina, and helps purify your blood and liver. The ultimate self-care food! I also love to experiment with the wide variety of heirloom winter squash that are available—like blue hubbard, delicata, pattypan, banana, Canada crookneck and acorn—in addition to the more common butternut squash. Winter squash have protective antioxidiants, such as alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lutein, essential for eye health and preserving vision. They also feature high starch contents and polysaccharides, which have anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic properties. Part of my journey to self-love is discerning how I respond to food.
Is the food giving my body energy, does it please my taste buds and give me pleasure, and do I feel in a higher vibrational state after I eat a meal? If I answer “yes” to all of these questions, I know I’ve chosen well and I get inspired to continue to treat myself well. A case in point is the root vegetable stew I want to share with you today, inspired by a dish from my home country of Norway. Because of the cooler climate, we eat a lot of root vegetables, as they can withstand all kinds of weather. Plus, clearly it’s a satisfying and filling food. This is comfort food at its best, providing not only a cozy feeling, but also all of the nutrients and health benefits described above. If you don’t have the specific kinds of root vegetables called for in the stew, feel free to substitute any other kind. I promise the dish will be just as delicious! Try turnips, kohlrabi, celery root, yams, yucca, daikon, Jerusalem artichokes, and jicama, just to mention a few. If you don’t want to bother with the additional work
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Directions: In a large, heavy duty pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in the onions, carrots, garlic, celery, and leeks with a pinch of kosher salt. Sautee for 4–5 minutes, until the mixture starts to soften. Add the fresh herbs, smoked paprika, and tomato paste, and cook for another minute while stirring, properly coating all the vegetables.
of making the dumplings, the stew will stand on its own, although the dumplings come together in no time at all! I encourage you to make this dish and ask yourself every time you go to cook: why think you have to choose between healthy and delicious when you can have both? That is the power of whole foods, plant-based eating! Bon appétit! Nordic-Inspired Root Vegetable Stew With Dill Dumplings For the stew: • • • • • • • • • • • 44
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 Vidalia onion, diced small 2 large carrots, peeled and diced 2 celery stalks, sliced thin 4 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed, and roughly chopped 1 large leek, thinly sliced 2 tsp smoked paprika 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary 1 heaping tbsp organic tomato paste
• ¼ cup organic and vegan white wine (optional, or add 1 tbsp white wine vinegar) • 2 tbsp arrow root powder mixed with 1 tbsp water into a thick paste • 1 medium rutabaga, peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes • 2 medium parsnips, peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes • 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes • 1 14 oz can or organic canned beans, such as chickpeas or white beans, drained and rinsed • 5 cups vegetable stock For The Dumplings: • 1 cup whole spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour • 2 tsp baking powder • 1 tsp kosher or sea salt • 1 heaping tbsp chopped fresh dill • freshly ground black pepper to taste • ½ cup unsweetened almond milk • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Deglaze the pan with the white wine or white wine vinegar and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drizzle in the arrow root mixture and combine, then adding the rutabaga, parsnips, potatoes, chickpeas/beans, and most of the vegetable stock (reserve about 1 cup to add later as needed). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until vegetables are starting to soften. Meanwhile, prepare the dumplings. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and fresh dill. In a measuring cup, combine the almond milk, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Drizzle into the dry mixture until you have a batter that is sticky and wet, but light. When ready, heap generous mounds of batter atop of the vegetable stew, making sure stew is not bubbling or boiling, but simmering gently (low heat). This should yield 6–8 dumplings covering the surface of the stew. Cover with a lid and cook for about 25 minutes, until dumplings are firm to the touch. Serve the stew with dumplings on top and more fresh herbs if desired.
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THE A LIST
Editor’s picks for fun and cool, cruelty-free living! Fave Cookbook: NYC Vegan The fab duo Ethan Ciment and Michael Suchman, A.K.A. the “Vegan Mos,” have created a brand new cookbook. These ahmazing recipes veganize all your favorite iconic dishes typically found in NYC, from our staple diners to ethnic comfort food. For breakfast, make your own diner-style pancake “short stack.” For lunch, have a Reuben sandwich. Need a snack? How about a street pretzel or a black-and-white cookie? For dinner, choose from brisket, mofongo or lentil dal. You know for dessert you gotta have New York-style cheesecake, complete with blueberry sauce. It’s all here and all 100% vegan! Beautifully designed and photographed, with a lovely forward by actor Alan Cumming, these genius ideas will make you want to get into the kitchen and cook up a “melting pot” of yumminess. Iconic Recipes for a Taste of the Big Apple Michael Suchman & Ethan Ciment The Vegan Mos
Foreword by Alan Cumming
Fave App: Vegan NYC In New York City and hungry? Matthew Marshall has developed a super organized way of finding one of the many 100% vegan eateries in NYC. Check it out, whether you’re local or planning a visit.
Fave Nail Polish: K Squared Nail Paint I found this women-owned brand at the Artists & Fleas market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The polishes are handcrafted, custom-blended and 5-Free (sans the following harmful chemicals: formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, formaldehyde resin and camphor). They’ve got everything — trendy to classic, sheer to matte to glossy, along with fun glitter and confetti. The best part is that you can get as creative as you like by mixing and layering. Of course, they are all cruelty-free!
Fave Read: Animal Persuasion: A Guide for Ethical Vegans and Animal Advocates in Managing Life’s Emotional Challenges Our very own resident psychotherapist, April Lang, who writes the column “The Relational Vegan,” has published a groundbreaking new book to help us navigate the vegan lifestyle in a world that’s 97% non-vegan. True stories told by vegans about their successes and challenges are comforting, reminding us we are not alone. We are the pioneers and early adopters of this social justice movement. The world is changing and consciousness is rising — slowly, but surely. It’s good to be reminded we’re not alone in this, and April is the latest to formally reiterate: We’re all in this together and we’ve got this!
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MOVIE REVIEW Is “What the Health” the Most Important Movie of the Year? that plague our society. Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and cancer have become common words woven through our vocabulary as a constant but casual reminder that sickness is status quo. These ailments are often dismissed as “genetic,” or a natural part of aging. Meanwhile the truth is that dietary habits are much more closely connected with our health than we tend to acknowledge.
Written by Tiffany Negrea
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n a country like the U.S., where medical treatments seem endless, you would think the logical outcome would be increased overall health. However, the opposite effect seems to take place every single day. As people get sicker and sicker, filmmakers Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn ask audiences, What the Health? Conceived by the creators of Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, this film uncovers what seems to be medical mayhem in America. While their first documentary explored the exploitation of animals by large corporations and Big Ag’s impact on our environment, this time the duo dug deep to discover just how much control large companies, Big Pharma and the government have regarding our health. Prior to researching the topic, an average citizen might never know the actual cause behind the diseases 48
Providing some empowering statistics discovered through years of research, the film begins to expose the massive scheme cloaked from the eyes of those that it most negatively impacts. The medical industry as a whole has a complex, interwoven network of profiting businesses hidden in plain sight. From pharmaceutical companies and health organizations to agriculture and government, all are connected and prey on the trust of unwitting consumers.
As long as we consider those “food pyramid” diagrams the standard for “healthy” eating, created and funded by an interest in profit, the large organizations advising us on our well-being have nothing to wor-
ry about. With the aid of renowned plant-based medical professionals, the film debunks some of the health myths we were all taught in school, which kids still learn today. From eggs to milk to meat and other additives, Andersen and Kuhn did an amazing job spreading the message that we should always be mindful and critical of what we put in our bodies. The root of our health epidemic begins with an absence of prevention, and that is a powerful fact that can help save lives. To see this important film, you can stream it through their website for $9.99 or purchase a DVD for $19.95. You can also host a local screening yourself, through Tugg. It’s as easy as picking a date and theater and spreading the word far and wide within your community. If enough people RSVP, the screening takes place! One-time screening licenses are also available for non-traditional venues so long as you have a projector handy. K–12 schools, universities and libraries can purchase a screening license that lets them host free showings of the film as many times as desired. If you haven’t made the plant-based switch yet, be sure to check out the 30-day vegan challenge featured on the website. The daily messages and informative podcasts and videos are fantastic resources to help make your transition to a cruelty-free lifestyle easier. For more information, visit whatthehealthfilm.com and be sure to check out the online shop for a companion book and cookbook! Yum! LAFCNYC.COM
MEND RT A NEW VEGAN BOUTIQUE IN DALLAS, TEXAS
Written by Kat Mendenhall
Vegan Dresses
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t doesn’t seem too long ago my unhealthy addiction to cowboy boots coupled with an awareness of leather industry practices prompted me to start my own vegan boot company. It’s even harder to believe three years later my little boot business has delivered boots around the globe. The joy of knowing that fewer people buying animal leather translates to less cruelty in the world helps me sleep better at night. Better, but not great. Why, you ask? As long as people continue buying fashion and other wares made from animals for their homes and bodies, cruelty to people, the planet, and animals will still exist. Minimalists and their waste not want not motto make the reductionist solution seem simple. Yet with the global fashion industry bringing in more than $3 trillion a year, I don’t see that as a viable solution any time soon.
MendRT 1130 Dragon Street, Suite 240C Dallas, Texas 75207
Let’s be real: People are not going to stop shopping. Advertisers are going to continue to tell us what they think we need; fashion magazines are going to continue to entice us with the latest must-have looks; and Joanna Gaines will keep us striving to have the perfectly decorated home. As much as I hate saying it, people will keep eating, wearing, sitting on, and carrying animal products.
This is what keeps me up at night. This is why I opened MendRT (a combination of my last name and “retail therapy”), the first 100% vegan boutique for the home and body in Texas. My mission is to provide vegan fashion alternatives to mainstream, high-end customers. I want to educate consumers that it’s possible to think consciously and choose compassion over cruelty — without sacrificing luxury. I’m taking the old adage to heart: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em — sans animal exploitation. As with developing the leather-free boots, I’ll admit there are selfish motives involved with this endeavor, too. Searching and coming up emptyhanded in a commerce environment where label-reading proves a necessary step, I’m taking matters into my own hands: At MendRT, you can rest assured every product we carry is vegan, local when possible, and U.S.A. sourced. I’m also utilizing the space to host vegan events, such as the recent Texas Vegan Tour with Renee KingSonnen of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary and Jane Velez-Mitchell of Jane UnChained. Upcoming events include book tour stops featuring JL Fields with her cookbook The Vegan Air
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These boots are the first 100% vegan true Texas style cowboy boots on the market. This cruelty free version of your favorite Western wear is proof that animals don’t have to suffer for fashion or comfort. The boots are uniquely and artistically designed for all, your kick butt needs.
Fryer and Victoria Moran with her Main Street Vegan Academy Cookbook (also with JL Fields). There’s also a vegan “library” where visitors can drop off a used vegan book or an unused cookbook. Shoppers can acquire them on a donation basis. Each month I will empty the contribution jar and give the collection to a local shelter. My current website, katmendenhall.com, is currently undergoing a refresh — with new boot designs, fabric colors, the addition of wallets and bags, and the same vegan goods on offer at the brick-and-mortar. But, don’t fret; you’ll soon have equal access to all the vegan products online. 50
The felt is made from 100% post consumer recycled water bottles. That are melted down and turned into these beautiful, really high quality soft felt that are used to make pillows.
Whether you’re local to Texas or in from out of town, I’d love to meet you face to face. Find us at 1130 Dragon Street, Suite 240C, Dallas, Texas 75207. Our store is open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m.
to 5 p.m. We are also available by appointment at kat@katmendenhall. com. We believe animals should not suffer for fashion, and our walls and racks reflect this is not only possible, but also proven. LAFCNYC.COM
ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT Holly Feral of Driftwood Magazine
Interviewed by Katrina Fox
Photographs by Holly Feral, except where noted LAFCNYC.COM
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Driftwood is a two-year-old print and digital publication for the ‘graduated vegan.’ Going beyond the typical ‘entry-level’ content seen in many other magazines — such as recipes and celebrity lists — Driftwood focuses on travel and adventure, explorations into the global vegan community, with in-depth articles celebrating what’s possible in a vegan world. Now in its third issue, the quarterly magazine is the brainchild of editor-in-chief Holly Feral and
Driftwood contributors are seasoned vegans with centuries of world travel under their collective proverbial belt. Photo by Jade Sturms
managing editor Michele Truty.
Holly took time out from her busy publishing schedule to discuss why the pair launched the project, the challenges involved in producing an independent vegan print publication, and the importance of creating a product that stands out in a crowded market.
Launching a print publication, in addition to a digital format, in a time when mainstream media companies are moving away from print — even those that have been around for decades — is a bold move. Tell us your reasoning behind this. Much as you see in the forest, when the storm comes, it’s the old growth that gets uprooted. It gives way for the young saplings to grow.
What motivated you and Michele to start Driftwood? Michele and I are word nerds. We’re just huge fans of the traditional art of publishing. We wanted to see a vegan publi“There are no shortcuts cation that went beyond the with a grassroots business.” starter kits. Tell us about the name and why you chose it. My original concept — something I’d still like to work towards — was to launch a land-free press aboard a ship. As my concept evolved, Driftwood took on new meanings and relevance. The thought of driftwood evokes a sense of evolution, age, and fundamental change.
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In the print industry, the giants have been falling, but small publications that address an underserved niche have weathered the storm. And when it comes to long-form content, there’s nothing that competes with print for focus and retention.
Of course, we’re very much still in our struggling toddler years. Check back with me in five to 10 years if you want to know more about actually succeeding in this market.
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What startup challenges have you encountered and how have you tackled them? Starting a publication is especially difficult when it depends on advertising. Businesses typically want to wait until you have several issues under your belt. Unfortunately, you can only get several issues under your belt if you have advertisers, so it’s a classic catch-22. Still, we kept at it and found business partners who share our mission and our love of print. In the end, I think it’s an important process, because you do want to find partners who fit the niche you’re talking to. For Driftwood, that’s primarily going to be companies that are Vegan with a capital V. Some other challenges have been marketing. We’re such a bare-bones crew, after doing the work of getting the magazine put together, we don’t have a lot of bandwidth left for promoting. We’re learning, though. And we’re growing. There’s a natural evolution that happens with anything that you stick with. What’s your professional background and what skills have you found most useful from your previous career in running Driftwood? My background is in journalism, but I spent the last decade studying the art of photography. Sometimes I wish I had more of a marketing background, but the fact is,
vegan faces Vegan faces attempts to photograph every vegan in every continent is an effort to uplift and celebrate the vegan community. Vegan Faces will span the life of Driftwood and involve vegan photographers and subjects of all ages, regions, and backgrounds. Send your submission or inquiry to info@ driftwoodmag.com LAFCNYC.COM 53
I wanted to create a stellar magazine with quality content. A marketing background would have helped me sell it, but it wouldn’t have helped me create it. We play the cards we’re dealt. There is more vegan media now than ever before: blogs, print publications, digital media, online magazines, podcasts, video channels and so on. How do you make Driftwood stand out, not only in the general media space, but also in the ethical/crueltyfree/eco space? There are a few things that make Driftwood stand out.
interested in traveling in a more eco-conscious and culturally sensitive way.
“We focus on vegan culture, while many focus on helping folks cross over into veganism.”
Who is your predominant target market and readership? Worldly vegans who love
to travel or simply love a good read. Also, a lot of omni and vegetarian folks
How do you decide what kind of content to include and who to interview? Driftwood contributors are seasoned vegans with centuries of world travel under their collective proverbial belt. They’re a great resource for determining what kind of content to include. We talk with them, listen to them, and see
First, we focus on vegan culture, while many focus on helping folks cross over into veganism. Second, our travel focus helps us highlight global vegan culture. Part of the vegan battle is feeling outnumbered and estranged from society. By checking in on vegan communities around the world, we’re proving that veganism has a richly diverse culture. Third, the print quality of Driftwood immediately sets it apart. We work with the Vegan Printer out of Los Angeles to create a thick and durable package. We feature amazing vegan photographers and we strive to print on luscious paper to bring that photography to life.
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what they’re interested in and want to read. You’ve also created a Driftwood podcast series and are currently working on a video series. Tell us about the reasons for branching out into this multi-media approach. The name of the company is actually Driftwood Media. We have always intended to branch out slowly. The magazine is merely the flagship. We know that people are diverse in their media pref-
erences and we want to let our storytellers use all of their strengths and talents. You’re passionate about social justice and take an intersectional approach. Tell us about this and some of the causes you’ve been involved in over the years. Most recently I’ve been following the resistance at Standing Rock, North Dakota. The events at Standing Rock might be the most important boon
Holly Feral
Photo by Jade Sturms
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to the social justice movement in Western society in my lifetime. I think that Western Civilization history books hundreds of years from now will be separated into Pre-Standing Rock and Post-Standing Rock.
water, the Missouri River. Because we know that pipelines leak constantly, we know that it isn’t a matter of if but when the oil will spill, contaminating the water source for not only the Sioux Nation, but five states of people.
Western civilization has a long, sordid history of land theft and oppression of indigenous peoples around the world, and that history is very much alive and at work in the United States. The issue at Standing Rock is a recent expression of that imperialism and white supremacy.
Despite the fact that thousands upon thousands of people showed up and made camp at Standing Rock for long-term resistance, including more than 300 different tribes of indigenous peoples, Unites States veterans, and clergymen of nearly every faith, the administration supported the use of police officers as brutal force for the corporation against the people.
In short, an oil corporation decided to put a pipeline through treaty land owned by the Standing Rock Sioux, which threatens their only source of 56
In February this year, they finally succeeded in shutting down and evacuating
the camps; however, they did not succeed in undoing the unity inspired in the people and all of the decolonization that was processed at the camps. Thousands of people have now brought the fight back home and have taken it on to new sites of resistance. The collective subconscious has been permanently altered. For good or ill, things will not go back to the ease of oppression as were before. Using our platforms to tell the story from the perspective of the people and rejecting the misinformation perpetuated by corporate media are ways that independent publishers can help steer this ship away from the rocks. Or, possibly more astute, help build an entirely new ship.
Over the years, I have also been involved with homeless housing, another issue of possession and property. I suppose that was actually my first cause. I started volunteering at Room in the Inn when I was a child. My mother’s church hosted it in the church basement once a week and it was a beautiful thing to behold. People in the church turned out every week to set families in dire need up with houses, jobs, fresh clothes, and resources. It went well beyond just feeding them and sheltering them for a night. People’s lives were turned around and saved. Now, in my daily life, I see people on the streets having their scant resources stripped away by police. It begs the question: “Who owns the land?” The issue, LAFCNYC.COM
again, is white supremacy. These patriarchs feel they are entitled to everything, to every inch of land and to every resource, even to the point that others are left starving in the streets. Greed on this scale will never stop on its own; it will only escalate. Their primary tactic to keep this oppression going is to turn everyone against one another using race, gender, sexuality — anything they can use to carve lines between us. We all need to open our eyes to one another’s experience. It takes a lot of painful unpacking, but is so worth it.
Intersectionality is becoming more wellknown and discussed in vegan circles, including within the business sector. What does intersectionality mean to you and can you give a couple of examples showing how you take an intersectional approach with Driftwood? UCLA Professor Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw brought this concept back into the mainstream and sort of coined the phrase to bring to light the issue of intersecting identities. Specifically, she has focused on the invisibility of black women in the U.S. Because they are black and female, they are
subject to a double dose of discrimination, but it also frequently leaves them without any opportunity for recourse. For instance, in the case of Degraffenreid v. General Motors, black women were unable to get hired, but the courts ruled it wasn’t discrimination because black men were hired for the factory floor and white women were hired for the office. Therefore, they reasoned, the black women could not argue that black people were discriminated against or that women were discriminated against. They refused to acknowledge that black women specifically were discriminated against.
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They refused to acknowledge that intersection. In a 2014 interview with The New Statesmen, Crenshaw said: “It’s up to us. Granted, the space has to be open and there has to be a sense of receptivity among the sisterhood, but I really don’t want other women to feel that it’s their responsibility to theorize what’s happening to us. It’s up to us to consistently tell those stories, articulate what difference the difference makes, so it’s incorporated within feminism and within anti-racism.” With that in mind, I say that my role in taking an intersectional approach is to use my publication as a platform for diverse voices to tell their own stories through their own lenses. I try to apply that to the entire magazine, but the photo series “Vegan Faces” is where it maybe shines the brightest. It’s a community project open to submissions from vegan photographers all around the globe, and we love watching it grow in diversity. What does image mean to you? Image is a funny word, I guess. My first thought, of course, is image as a piece of visual art. But I assume you are asking about image as reputation and impression. I suppose image can refer to brand recognition. Omnivores tend to have an image of vegans as being either an58
gry despots or crunchy hippies. One of our extreme pleasures in Driftwood is breaking out of that image. We are still young, but I hope we eventually have the image of an intersectional, cross-cultural group of vegans exploring deep into vegan life around the globe.
amount of work there is to do, but I’m committed to doing it. The problem is patriarchal white supremacy, and we’re all oppressed by it. Men are taught to conduct themselves as monsters. Women are taught to submit. We’re all taught to shut ourselves off from empathy for our fellow humans.
With the upheaval in the political landscape, not only in the U.S. but also globally, our image as humans, as world citizens, has been exposed for all to see. How is this important? Self-reflection can be difficult. Selfawareness can be downright depressing. But, if we don’t take off our rose-tinted glasses to see what’s actually going on around us, we can’t address the problems.
We’re taught a version of history that says “To the victor goes the spoils” and insinuates that the white man is entitled to everything he can take. More than that, it says that a man isn’t a man if he isn’t out taking as much as he can get, building for himself an empire. It tells the white man, “Don’t waste your energy thinking about how your actions affect others. This is a dog-eat-dog world. CONQUER!”
When I was in college, I was in a class called Political Communication. I recall someone — a white cis male, of course — trying to convince us that the Civil Rights Movement was finished. Ha! Can you imagine? And that was over a decade ago.
As publishers, we get a chance to change the narrative. We have the opportunity to allow new voices to share a different view of history and of the future.
I hate how things have turned out, but I’m encouraged by how many new participants I’m seeing take a stand, become politically charged, and join the Resistance. How does it make us feel — as vegans, as women, as ‘first world’ participants? As a first-world, white, cis, vegan female, I feel overwhelmed by the
How do we respond, as activists, on various levels and issues, particularly when we’ve only got so much time and energy? Finding balance is the key. I’m not going to lie and say that I’ve done that yet, but I’m working on it. One thing to know is that we can’t fix everything. Sometimes it’s more important to take a backseat, to be quiet, to allow other voices to have the floor. LAFCNYC.COM
What are the key lessons you’ve learned while running Driftwood? I guess the main lesson I’m learning is that there are no shortcuts with a grassroots business. It takes time and constant diligence. It takes a lot of resilience in the face of disappointment and rejection. There is a lot of trial and error that goes with it.
There are no quick and short answers. White Supremacy is woven deep into Western Culture and it’s not going to be rooted out overnight.
Oh, and you have to learn how to ask for what you want and tell people what you need. That’s been pretty difficult for me, but I’m getting there. Work in progress, as they say.
How does it, will it, or could it affect our businesses, as well as the rest of our lives, for the foreseeable future? It’s still very difficult to promote a project that doesn’t fall in line with the Western values of self-centeredness and easy and quick gratification. It is a long, hard road. It takes a lot of energy, patience, and faith.
What personal qualities are required, whether innate or learned, to be a successful, ethical entrepreneur? I’ll let you know when I get to a place that I would consider ‘successful.’ Maybe check back in five to 10 years. That’s how long other successful entrepreneurs have told me to expect it to take. Maybe more.
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What advice would you give to aspiring and existing ethical business owners and entrepreneurs, particularly those coming from an activist and/or creative background? Don’t spend the rest of your life tuning your instrument. Play.
What are your plans for the future of Driftwood? We have always wanted to eventually turn our website into a clickable map. We’re cultivating the information that would go into that. We also plan to make travel guides available for specific areas. Any other comments you’d like to add? Long live indie vegan media! Check out Driftwood Magazine: driftwoodmag.com
Foxy Business Tip
Holly Feral
Photo by Jade Sturms
may be the case, but — because they contain dairy — they are highly unethical.
by Katrina Fox
Running a business on vegan principles is awesome, but that alone may not make your business ‘ethical.’ As much as you can, it’s wise to take an intersectional approach, to ensure that your product or service is good for people, animals, and planet. For example, many non-vegan yet fair trade chocolate manufacturers tout their products as ethical. From a human rights perspective that 60
Conversely, if you make vegan chocolate products, of course it’s fantastic that there’s no dairy in them. But, if the cocoa is harvested by children or adults in slave labor conditions, it’s hypocritical to champion as ethical. While acknowledging we are forced to operate within imperfect and often exploitative systems of commerce and production, it’s important for vegan entrepreneurs to run our businesses as ethically as we can. Check out the Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business book and the weekly Vegan Business Talk podcast for more business success tips and interviews with entrepreneurs from across the globe. Find out more at www.veganbusinessmedia.com LAFCNYC.COM
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