Contents Winter 2011 FOCUS Exploring the intersections of oppression & veganism Candlelight Vigils
Vegan treats and tasties Vegan Sausage & Peppers with Polenta Bridget Burns
Dan Hanley Game Birds & Growing Up
Falafel Ben Whipp
Alex Salb Vegan Borderlands Noemi Martinez
SPOTLIGHT Learn more about fellow vegans Walking in Her Shoes: Jodi Ruckley Leigh-Chantelle Koch Ethical Veganism: Breeze A. Harper Kira Petersson-Martin Animal Rights, Human Rights: Jasmin Singer Anika Lehde Awareness With Style: Catherine Mullins Rebecca Wheeler
DIY Making your own vegan world
Balcony Composting Meghan Kelly
RECIPES
Forever Giardiniera Miriam Sorrell Two Simple Juices Daria Zeoli Slow Cooker Iced Thai Tea Concentrate Kathy Hester Brazilian Feijoada Glauce Ferrari Chilled Honeydew Cucumber Creme Soup Daphne Cheng Coconut Cauliflower Rice with Mango Salsa Natalia KW Quick Queso Lindsay S. Nixon Black Forest Mousse Miss Savvy Gluten-free Lemon and Jelly Cookies Valerie McGowan
ACTIVISM
LIFE
Bringing veganism to the masses
Living and breathing vegan
If You Start It, They Will Come Alexandre Gagnon Confessions of a Real Vegan Housewife Robin Fetter Don’t Be a Vegan Bully! Christa R. Shelton Yoga: An Activist’s Path to Enlightenment Erica Settino Modern Vegan: Co-existence is Key Danielle Elliot Publisher, Activist Davida Gypsy Breier Fruit Barons Score the Pirate’s Booty in Apples Gianna M. Shirk Tips for the D.I.Y. Fundraiser Sarah Parker
Vegan Movies and Their Effect on Society Silvia Pikal Made in Brazil Glauce Ferrari 142 Days in Someone Else’s Bed Ashley Riley Green Ghent for Veggie Thursday Karin Ridgers Vegan is More Than Skin Deep Katrina Jones Reboot: One Vegan’s Foray into Juice Fasting Daria Zeoli Old McDonald Had a Farm, Now He’s C.E.O. VeggieDaddy Vegan Pilgrimage to Portland, OR Jess Scone
Click on an article to get to where you want to be. Also, be on the lookout for clickable links for ads, websites, references, contact info, and more. Issue Six best viewed as a two-page spread.
Credits Totally and Obviously Fucked Up
is based in South Korea (for the time being).
Editor in Chief
Ryan Patey ryan@ilovetofu.ca
Creative Director
Kira Petersson-Martin kira@ilovetofu.ca
Online Presence ilovetofu.ca
Advertising
ads@ilovetofu.ca
Cover Design
Kira Petersson-Martin
Returning Contributors
Jess Scone, Ashley Riley, Leigh-Chantelle Koch, and Silvia Pikal
New Contributors
Dan Hanley, Alex Salb, Noemi Martinez, Danielle Elliott, Gianna Shirk, Sarah Parker, Erica Settino, Christa Shelton, Robin Fetter, Davida Brier, Glauce Ferrari, Daria Zeoli, Karin Ridgers, Katrina Jones, Merrill Heald, Mona Reyes, Valerie McGowan, Lindsay Nixon, Natalia KW, Miriam Sorrell, Ben Whipp, Kathy Hester, Miss Savvy, Daphne Cheng, Bridget Burns, Meghan Kelly, Anika Lehde, and Catherine Mullins
Heartfelt Thanks To
Devon Crosby
Kira Petersson-Martin, for putting so much of herself into this issue, and the previous two. Her presence will be missed in the future.
Layout and Design
Devon Crosby, for his knowledge of code and what makes a blueberry pop.
Cover Photography
Kira Petersson-Martin (with help from Ryan Patey and Devon Crosby)
Our advertisers, who continue to support us while staying ethical and paying their bills. VegFund, for continuing to support what we do, even when we’re not exactly sure what it is.
Letters from Us It’s been a long time coming. A Tough Issue
Exit, Stage Left
To say that putting this magazine out is a labour of love is an understatement. Over six issues it has changed tremendously, and I have as well. Like any change, the only thing one can do is hope that it is for the better.
This issue is bittersweet. It is my last issue with T.O.F.U., but more importantly, this issue aims to address a void in vegan consciousness: discussions of privilege, power, and oppression as they relate to veganism.
thanks again,
Ryan
I urge you to dismiss this reaction. Engaging with what you read here could be exactly what the movement needs. Cheers,
Kira
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It had honestly never occurred to me to apply a critical eye to veganism as a movement until recently (due in large part to A. Breeze Harper’s work), and doing so has given me more than just food for thought. Colonialism, racism, homophobia, ableism and sexism pervade Western society, and veganism is no exception. As Ju, of Liberty, libraries & lip gloss, provocatively stated, “Veganism [...] is one activist movement where those Sadly, this is also Kira’s swan song, and I who are supposedly benefiting from said may decide to have it be mine as well. The activism are unable to speak for themselves. [...] Which makes it very easy for those next few months will determine that. who are put off by having to answer to the Whether or not it is, I hope that this issue marginalized in other forms of activism to leads to changes for yourself and those jump on the bandwagon.” around you as well. After all, that’s the most The immediate response to some of what one can hope for with anything we do. you read in this issue may be defensiveness Releasing something that causes our readers to question themselves just as much as others has always been the goal for me. However, it was not until Kira became involved that I can say we truly began to reach that point. The changes in the magazine since issue four have brought us here, and, in some ways, this is right where I have wanted to be since day one.
focus
I was standing outside the coliseum holding my candle and my sign. It was my first protest after having moved to Denver a few months earlier and I was excited to see so many people being a voice for the voiceless at yet another circus demonstration against Ringling Brothers and their continual cruelty towards animals.
and the gathering against hate and violence towards gay people at the state capitol. The two don’t mix. Animal rights activists speak out against torture and cruelty toward animals. Gay and lesbian activists speak out against hate crimes and violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. And these days, speak for full marriage equality.
“A life in chains” I politely said as more people walked by. “Faggot”. Faggot was a response, not common, but certainly not uncommon. It seems the worst thing one can call a protestor is a faggot. “He was a faggot,” exclaimed one of Matthew Sheppard’s torturers.
I was kindly reminding people entering “Please don’t go in” I pleaded. the circus of the lifelong saga of elephants
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who are kept in chains a large part of their lives. Many elephants had died in Ringling Brother’s captivity and, sadder yet, many of the elephants were born free, captured, and now were performing throughout the US to satisfy the entertainment needs of a carefree society. (If you have never seen a video of how an elephant is “domesticated” Across the US there were candlelight in a torture cage, and you have the stomach vigils going on that same night with tens for it, check it out.) of thousands of people gathering to speak Matthew Sheppard was 21 when he met for the voiceless, well, one voiceless. These two men at a local bar in the college town people were not protesting the horrendous of Laramie. The two were locals, apparently cruelty towards animals in circuses yet were had some drinks with Matthew, and then remembering a young college student named went for a ride. On the outskirts of Laramie Matthew Sheppard who had been savagely all three got out of the truck and the two men beaten that week in Laramie, Wyoming. proceeded to beat Matthew unconscious. I had attended a protest two days earlier They left him bleeding, tied to a fence, in at the state capitol in Denver, joined with the cold. He never regained consciousness several hundred others who were outraged and died a couple of days later. This all by the beating. I was most likely the only happened about two hours northwest of person who attended both the circus protest where I was living with my male partner.
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It’s quite amazing to me how many thoughts can pass through my mind in just one minute. I was all of a sudden thinking of the faggots in my life. My best friend was one and died of AIDS in 1992; my life would never be the same. This was in my pre-vegan years and I had done very little work to help animals. Aside from fighting against animal cruelty, I also fought for equality and against hate towards faggots. I, after all, am one.
I love this comment. A constant voice for the voiceless, an unapologetic animal rights and human rights activist, Christian, veteran, in recovery, a pretty decent part of my society. I spend most waking hours trying to make the world a better place for all living beings. He wants me to get a life.
“Please don’t support cruelty”, I ask as the entering crowd thins just before the circus is NOTE: I should add here that although I about to begin. am using the word faggot in this story, the reasoning is because the word is part of Over one hundred and fifty people attend the this story. The word to me is deplorable, circus protest that night. I was the only openly gay man protesting that evening. Although demeaning, hateful and violent. there are those in the gay community that As I stood outside the coliseum holding my are entrenched in the leather community candle I thought of the thousands of my and others who believe animal testing is lesbian and gay brothers and sisters who absolutely necessary, it is difficult for me to were also holding candles that night for a comprehend that I am the sole, openly gay young “faggot” who would die due to his representation at this protest. beating. Their outrage was my outrage. I also shared outrage with my fellow protesters Present day, AIDS is killing thousands of holding signs and candles and trying to let people annually (just over 18,000 in 2010). good people know that they have no place Gay communities across the US were destroyed in the late eighties through the midattending a circus. nineties. Activists joined together to fight “Get a life,” a man told me while walking against discrimination towards people with past me with his wife and three children.
Move to the present. Now married to the love of my life and living in the burbs. On any given day my husband and I are judged for being gay, gay and married, vegan, militant vegan, not vegan enough, Christian and the list goes on. The judgment, just like the similarity in candlelight vigils, comes from both communities. Yet I keep coming
Yet as millions of animals suffer, many groups spend time fighting or attacking other groups because of different opinions rather than fighting the torturers. Those who profit from killing animals smile when those who are the voice for animals fight publicly. Some animal groups have become more like Focus on the Family by telling people you either agree with us or you don’t. If one doesn’t agree with these groups 100%, then stay away. No discussion, no invitation to sit down and discuss what they might have in common. Our message is correct and yours is not. Meanwhile, millions continue to suffer.
back to the simple point that we all have much more in common than not. Regardless of the reason for the candlelight vigil, I look forward to the day when all voices for the voiceless can work together for our common vision.
Another candlelight vigil. Angie Zapata was a transgender woman living in Greeley, Colorado. In July, 2008 Angie was beaten to death with a fire extinguisher in her apartment by a man who discovered she was not born a woman. Her community was devastated. I was devastated. Will I be the only animal rights activist at her vigil? ----
See you at the next candlelight vigil. Dan The Gay Vegans vegandude@msn.com www.thegayvegans.blogspot.com
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HIV/AIDS and to fight for federal dollars to find a cure. Fighting amongst groups could not happen while friends, lovers and partners were dying. Fighting together could create change. Those fighting to end the torture of animals, whether the torture happens on a fur farm, factory farm or a circus, all have a common denominator.
activism
If You Start It, They Will Come
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Alexandre Gagnon
It was around 2003 that I took the first steps towards creating a vegetarian association in Montreal. I was aware of the existence of other associations in other cities, and I wished I was part of a similar group near home. I had visited Toronto in the summer of 2003 and I had brought back the Toronto Vegetarian Association’s restaurant guide/ directory. When I got home I decided to get in touch with them for advice. Someone called me back and suggested I advertise a meeting and then people would come. “Do like it already exists” the person told me. That seemed pretty simple. But at the same
time, I had no idea where to advertise the so-called meeting.
IVU Membership was Crucial I decided to register MVA in the International Vegetarian Union. I would do like I was advised, I would do things as if it already existed. I then made a simple webpage saying that MVA was in its creation phase and that we needed founding members. I got a few emails and phone calls that didn’t go very far. I met with a nice lady in
a café never to see her again, and someone asked me on the phone if I was interested in founding a larger scale association that would be the Quebec Vegetarian Association (for the whole province). I turned them down as the province of Quebec is very large and not densely populated, and I did not have a car. Although I did want to meet other veg people, I didn’t want to have to drive hundreds of kilometers to meet with them.
One is the loneliest number
vegan promotion, she had met with quite a few vegans in Montreal. She had also met with a local vegan nutritionist, AnneMarie Roy, who had recently written a book on the subject. These two ladies were able to gather enough people to have a first meeting about the foundation of a Montreal Vegetarian Association in a well known vegetarian restaurant. Animal activists, Veganzine Serendipity health professionals and environmentally In late summer 2004, I finally got an email friendly university students showed up at from a lady named Kathryn who had been this first meeting. doing an independent veganzine. In the process of creating this cute, little piece of We discussed things like which type of
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Fact is, I felt very lonely as a vegetarian (I was vegetarian at that moment in my life, but I am a vegan now), and wanted to do something local. I wanted to find friends who wouldn’t question me all the time about my eating habits, etc… People who wouldn’t doubt that animals had some sort of conscience and that they did not deserve to be exploited for food, etc… and it seemed other veg would fit that bill. I did meet like minded people, but the introductory questions didn’t go away! I get asked why I’m vegan all the time, by veggies and nonveggies alike.
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incorporation we should get, how many committees we would need, who could become a member, etc… Someone set-up a yahoo group to facilitate communications, and we were able to hold our first event ever in early December, which was a holiday dinner. About 60 friendly folks showed up! We had formed an administrative council and we worked on a charter for about a year or so, which culminated in the official incorporation of the association on August 19th, 2005.
products from their daily consumption can feel supported in their efforts.
Exponential Growth
As I write these lines, MVA is about 300 members strong. We now have around 2000 subscribers to our monthly newsletter, and close to 1000 members in our Facebook group. That’s 100x more than the two ladies and I had in attendance in the first meeting. Ok. I’m making numbers say what I want them to say. Hehe! Most of the Facebook group members are also newsletter 100% Vegetarian (Vegan) subscribers. I certainly don’t think we can Even though the name says vegetarian, it maintain the same growth rate forever, but, has always been clear among members of then again, I hope we can maintain that the MVA that the main goal was to promote “vitesse de croisière” (cruising speed) for a vegan (100% vegetarian, if you prefer) the next several years to come. lifestyle. Membership is open to anyone, so people in the process of cutting animal
Make it Happen So, if you read this and you’re thinking you’d like to make something similar happen in your area, don’t wait till the perfect moment. Don’t hesitate to work with people that are different from you, and be patient. Building a community from scratch is no easy task. Be prepared to give a lot. People are like squirrels, if I may use such a comparison. If you stop giving squirrels peanuts, they’ll stop coming back. It’s the same for a community, if you stop giving your time, they’ll stop coming back.
Remember the First Time?
September 2004: First meeting of the founding members December 2004: First ever social event – Holiday dinner with 60 guests Winter 2005: First vegan potluck August 2005: The incorporation of the association as a non-profit organization. February 2006: First logo March 2006: experience
First
expo
tabling
April 2006: First vegan sugar shack outing June 2006: First conference
November 2006: First “movie night” March 2007: First pocket vegetarian restaurant guide edition September 2007: First vegan cooking classes October 2007: First vegan business visit November 2007: First annual “Big veggie Gathering” August 2008: First anniversary celebration (3rd anniversary) May 2009: First magazine launch hosting (T.O.F.U.) Fall 2009: First rebate program with membership January 2010: First movie launch event : Terriens ( Fr version of Earthlings) January 2010: First podcast March 2010: First press conference ( Lundi sans viande coalition launch – French version of Meatfree Mondays) September 2010: First movie subtitled by MVA members projected in a commercial theatre (Meat The Truth – La vérité incarnée) September 2010: Recording of the first video podcast
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The first time you do something can be frightening. Remember your first kiss? Your first bike ride? Your first scrambled tofu? The first time is not always the best, and or the most rewarding, but it’s surely the most exciting. Here are the firsts the volunteers and I faced during the last seven years:
August 2006: First sport activity – Urban volleyball + picnic
life
Vegan Movies and Their Effect on Society
Silvia Pikal
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With movies like Forks Over Knives trying to spread the vegan message to the masses, is anyone besides the vegan community hearing it? When Forks Over Knives came to Calgary, I was as giddy as a vegan school girl watching a shirtless Brendan Brazier do pushups. A movie touting the benefits of a vegan diet, showing in Cowtown, no less? I knew I had to get my butt over to that theatre as soon as I could. It opened in Calgary on June 10th and I saw it the next day, on a Saturday night. There were about 80-100 people in the theatre. As I watched certified medical professionals raving about the healing power of a vegan diet on the big screen, I really hoped the omnivores in the audience heard the message. As the credits rolled, I had another thought; how many of the people in the audience actually ate meat, and weren’t vegans or vegetarians, or people already thinking about making the switch to veganism?
How Far Does It Go? I was already aware of most of the information in the movie, and it only reinforced my viewpoint that a plant-based diet is the healthiest diet for humans. The people who would really benefit from this movie are of course the skeptics, as a whole-foods, plantbased diet lowers the risk of heart disease,
cancer, diabetes, cataracts and a whole host of other conditions. It’s normal for me to feel excited about a movie that challenges standard thinking around the meat and potatoes diet so many North Americans cling to, but is it reaching more people than just vegans? I’m going to examine what I think are the most famous and influential movies that have encouraged people to think about their health, the inhumane treatment of animals and ultimately, eating animals. I will look at the movies throughout the years that have had an impact on bringing veganism into the public’s consciousness.
Super Size Me (2004) Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock decides to eat nothing but McDonalds for 30 days and document the results. Withdrawal symptoms, puking, weight gain and a lot of other fun things come Spurlock’s way after eating McDonalds for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The best part about the movie? The only cure to Spurlock’s weight gain, lethargy and depression is a vegan detox diet set up by his wife, who is a vegan chef and health counsellor. The movie was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary, and
with a production budget of $65,000 and an advertising budget of $1,000,000, the film ended up grossing $30,000,000. This movie turned many off fast food, and got more thinking about what they put in their bodies.
Forks Over Knives (2011)
Babe (1995)
Earthlings (2005) Earthlings is narrated by Joaquin Phoenix and features music by Moby, both who are vegans. The documentary examines all the ways society exploits animals; for food, fashion, entertainment and scientific testing. This is one of the hardest movies to stomach in movie land, and one of its taglines is, “the most violent movie ever made... only its real.” The movie features graphic footage and will turn anyone flirting with vegetarianism into a hardcore vegan. For anyone who consumes meat and dairy or wears leather, this movie is a must, no matter how hard it is to watch. For anyone who comes out of this movie a staunch omnivore, they have no soul. Kidding, kidding... The movie is available for free online.
The Cove (2009)
This movie sought to expose the cruelty With a budget of $30 million, this movie of dolphin hunting in Japan, with a group grossed $254,134,910. The classic film of activists filming the annual dolphin
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This documentary takes the health approach to the benefits of veganism, and follows people fighting with conditions like type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol and shows how with a vegan diet, they’ve managed to ditch the pills and lead a much healthier life. There is almost no mention of factory farming in this movie, and instead seeks to inform people on the health risks that come with eating meat and diary. Forks Over Knives has earned praise from Roger Ebert with a straightforward review in the Chicago Sun-Times, “Here is a film that could save your life... What every human being should do is eat a vegetarian diet based on whole foods. Period.” After the movie, the eminent critic decided to ditch his canned nutrition and switch to a liquid diet based on fresh fruits and vegetables. Vegan diet to the rescue!
about an adorable pig raised by dogs has inspired many to go vegetarian. The lead actor, James Cromwell, became an ethical vegan after interacting with some of the real pigs used in the film. This movie had parents and kids alike questioning how they could coo over Babe and then chow down on pork chops for dinner.
hunting drive in Taiji, Japan. The movie opened up some interesting discussions. People horrified at the treatment of dolphins for food could not voice concern without having to look closer to home to see the cruelty happening not in the ocean, but in factory farms across North America. It won an Oscar for best documentary.
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Food, Inc. (2008) Food Inc. exposes the cruelty of modern factory farms, the industrial production of veggies and grains, and Monsanto’s crop monopoly. While informative, the movie’s message of “humane” meat might appease a few guilty omnivores into buying expensive organic meats, but there are people who came from the movie determined to cut out meat altogether. The film was nominated for best documentary, but lost to The Cove.
Entertainment Over Education From my list, it’s obvious that the most successful film is Babe, which is meant to entertain and not educate. Movies like Babe, Charlotte’s Web or Chicken Run may have caused more people to flirt with veganism than more educational and serious counterparts like Earthlings. For one, Babe is kid-friendly, making it easy to take the whole family to the movies. Earthlings, with its graphic content, is not appealing to a wider market and turns off many people not interested in knowing what goes on in factory farms. Second of all, movies like Forks Over Knives are usually only shown in independent cinemas, and thus will have a limited audience. Thirdly, people are always more open to movies that promise to
entertain instead of educate. Movies like Babe may indeed serve to both entertain and enlighten people to the fact that animals experience emotions like fear and joy, that a lower intelligence does not affect a being’s capacity for pain and that they are here for purposes that go beyond the dinner plate. After all, how can you watch a cute, cuddly pig for two hours and not think about what’s on your fork? However, the question is whether a movie like Babe will have much impact after the movie has stopped rolling. Earthlings, or Meet Your Meat, will stay with you forever, as it is difficult to get those images out of your head. Meet Your Meat, PETA’s documentary about factory farming that is available online, is what prompted me to become an ethical vegan. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and movies help to convey the terror, helplessness and cruelty experienced by millions of animals everyday, in a way that words often can’t. Movies like Earthlings provide the shock that many of us need to take the plunge into veganism. What is more effective? The fictionalized blockbuster hits of talking animals have had more of an audience, but documentaries like Earthlings provoke far more discussion. How can we invite omnivores to the discussion, without turning them away, but at the same time providing them with the facts? Short animated films like The Meatrix, with over 15 million views, show the cruelty of factory farms, but approach it with animation and even humour. The movie advocates buying free range meats, but to me “ethical” and “slaughter” cannot go together, and veganism is the only true way to ditch cruelty altogether.
What Can We Do?
5. Review the movie anywhere you can. Leave positive and polite comments on articles about the movies, review it on your blog, etc.
1. Share Meat Your Meat, Earthlings, or another free vegan movie over Facebook or Twitter. Invite a discussion. Be friendly and polite. Insert smiley faces as necessary to Silvia Pikal is a Calgary-based freelance journalist. reassure people you are not going She blogs at The Calgary Journal food blog and The to bite off their heads or call them Vegan Woman. murderers. 2. Buy Forks Over Knives, Earthlings, or any movie that promotes veganism. Show support to the filmmakers. Let them know there is an audience. Gift one of the movies to a friend with the note, “Here’s why I’m vegan! Watch and we can discuss!”
4. Request a screening of Forks Over Knives or another current vegan movie at your local independent theatre. Create an event over Facebook and make a day of it.
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3. Have a screening at your house with a few friends.
activism
Walking in Her Shoes
Leigh-Chantelle Koch
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I have a close friend, Jodi Ruckley, who is an inspiring lass. She’s been a vegan animal activist for years and spends her time in Australia and France spreading the vegan message however she can. Jodi has recently started a not-for-profit group, Our Place on Earth, and aims to open an animal sanctuary around Northern New South Wales as soon as she can. One of the ways Jodi has been spreading the vegan message is via a 500km walk (which is just over 310 miles) from Australia’s capital, Canberra, that ended at Byron Bay on Saturday, July. 2nd.
When Jodi mentioned to me that she wanted to do a walk to raise awareness for factory farmed animals from Australia’s capital, Canberra, to end up near her hometown in Byron Bay by traveling along the East Coast of Australia, we brainstormed how this walk would be able to have the most impact and who to involve. Jodi and I are similar in that once we decide on something we want to do, we find a way to make sure it happens. While I am more of a planner and a thorough organizer, Jodi intuitively knows when the timing is right and does it then. Jodi has had help from many vegan companies and businesses and been joined by some other activists along the journey, but this was definitely Jodi’s walk, and it would have been undertaken with just herself and her dog friend, Wayne, if needed. Tell me about Our Place on Earth and what you hope to achieve. At Our Place on Earth we use creative solutions to enable human and non-human animals to coexist peacefully, and that encompasses a wide range of projects ranging from my recent book release, video, workshops and events like the Walk for Freedom. Ultimately I believe there is
real power in people getting to know the animals they eat and recognizing that cows, pigs and chickens have an incredible amount of wisdom to share with the human race. That’s why we aim to run a rescue and rehabilitation program for farm animals, so they have the opportunity to share their true selves with more and more people, especially the younger generation.
Why did you decide to do a walk in the coldest time of year in Australia? I make decisions intuitively (and last minute), it just felt right to get on and do the project as soon as possible, and ultimately it has worked out well, it would be sooo hot walking in the animal costumes at any other time of the year.
Did you undertake any advance training? I did a couple of token walks of about seven kilometers, the first one out on the Pacific Highway near where I live in Mullumbimby when it was pouring rain and close to dusk. It was great to know what it would be like in the worst conditions, it was kind of fun and gave me confidence that the walk would be fairly easy. I did research and was grateful to find out two pairs of socks was the way to go - it really works.
The first part of the walk we spent time in Canberra with our Animal Embassy tent where we wanted to get factory farms on the government’s agenda.As I see it, they’re supposed to represent all Australians, including those in factory farms. We then walked between towns giving away free vegan treats and conducting silent protests at factory farms, saleyards and abattoirs. I believe it’s important to concentrate on the outcomes we want, that’s why we pay our respects to the animals on the way and let them know there are people who care. Plus, we demonstrate to the public how tasty living a compassionate lifestyle can be. The last stage was quite different, we were in the hometown of where Our Place on Earth operates. It was about celebration, coming together, teamwork and looking forward to a new way of living - a life where people and animals can live in harmony.
How long have you been vegan and why is being vegan important to you? I’ve been vegan for 11 years and vegetarian for 26. I hold a deep appreciation and great respect for animals. To me being vegan is the ultimate act of kindness I can make to animals. In a lot of ways it is a sacrifice, a sacrifice I make easily. I do it every day for my love for animals.
What were people’s reactions to your outreach, your outfits and your message? We got a lot of great feedback on how tasty the vegan products were, particularly the vegan hotdogs and Bounty Burgers. In some towns, like Goulburn, people were a little surprised, in Kempsey they thought we were strange yet determined (it was raining very hard that day), in most places they loved us. We had a lot of meaningful chats and so many kids got so excited by the sight of the animal costumes and
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What were your main aims on the walk?
loved having their pictures taken with them.
What are some other effective ways people can help the animals?
Your timing was great with all the media surrounding the live export of animals to Indonesia. Did many people comment about this?
I believe people should use their own strengths, passions and drive - whatever inspires them to help animals. We all have different talents, and we all use them in different ways. I encourage everyone to just go for it, our animal friends await us to join forces and make this planet a better place for all species.
Yes, constantly. I was astounded by how many people watched the program, and so grateful to how many hearts it has touched. Many people were commenting on wanting to go vegetarian, so it was great to be able to follow-up and give them information on how they can go about it. People really care about animals and are starting to get the link between meat and animals on their plate. It’s so important we are out there to support and guide anyone who would like it.
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How do you measure the success of the walk? I think it’s been great, every leaflet handed out is always a success - you never know where that will lead. I will always remember a good friend of mine telling me that someone handed him an animal rights leaflet on the streets of Sydney, it changed his life. 30 years later he has done an incredible amount of work for animals, from being president of the Vegan Society in NSW to writing many books on the topic. I wish that person who originally gave him the leaflet knew that she had such an incredible impact on someone’s life and for the animals. It has also been great to see how much support we have had. So many different companies have donated products, and so many people have helped out in such different ways, it’s always so nice to be part of a strong level of teamwork. On a personal level it has also been very profound. I love walking rather than driving a car and I feel it is giving me the confidence to step towards life without a car again, walking and biking is just so much more rewarding on so many levels.
What’s next for you? Deep down I have always wanted to do animal healing. On this trip I gained insights and the confidence on ways to pursue this. I am currently studying small animal naturopathy, and have also decided I would like to study Vet Science in the not too distant future. I will start practising on a small scale with the skills I have in the near future. What else? There is so much. I have just started a school program called Animilia, so I want to build and grow this program, my recently launched book Through the Eyes of a Cow is being translated into French, so I will be brushing up on my French skills with that and I am off to France for a few months to run various workshops relating to animals and also promote the film we made The Animals You Eat, which was shot in France. The priority of course will be the rescued animals, ensuring they have the best life possible and really gaining insights how to create a property where they feel truly free. For more information please see Our Place on Earth and Animilia’s websites. You can also find Our Place on Earth on FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube.
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Confessions of a Real Vegan Housewife
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Robin Fetter
I will be the first to admit that I still get a cheap thrill whenever I see the look on people’s faces when I tell them that I am a vegan. But what really gets me grinning from ear to ear is when my husband is present and he announces proudly that he is a vegan too. The main reason for the shock from others is that we do not fit the stereotypical vegan mold which they might have ingrained in their minds. To them, we come off as a typical married couple in our 30’s with an infant daughter who was not named Earth, Wind, or Fire. We wear
clothing from the same stores they shop at, only more mindful of where our clothes actually come from, refusing to buy anything that does not fit with our beliefs. Last year, our church hosted a festival in which my vegan cupcake creation won second place in their annual “Chocolate Festival - Cupcake Throwdown”. What made my win a huge deal was that my cupcake was the only vegan entry and it blew away the judges as they probably never had a vegan cupcake, nor did they know that my family and I lived that kind of lifestyle. Somehow
It Just Made Sense My husband and I have been vegan together for over three years. It was a joint agreement, unlike most situations I hear with the wife dragging the husband kicking and screaming towards a compassionate lifestyle. For us, going vegan just made sense. All of our friends, who have known us back from our “pre-vegan” years, will agree that since we became vegan, we have been overall more vocal than before. It’s hard for them to hear what we learned about animal cruelty, and it’s even harder for them to try and erase the image we give as they are eating their cheeseburgers off the grill. Needless to say, I am pretty confident our non-vegan friends mentally prepare themselves days in advance before they have us over to visit. What they don’t know is that our approach
is mild in comparison to some vegans we know. My husband and I are not the kind to picket in front of a department store. Instead, we host a lot of vegan potlucks and help organize vegan friendly events in our area (shameless plug - http://www.meetup.com/ Central-Virginia-Vegan-Meetup-Group/). Those events are probably as exciting as our activism gets. It’s not that we don’t care as much as the one who pickets in front of a store, but our approach is different and believe me - both approaches work just as effectively. While the picketer is trying to grab your attention within seconds, my husband and I are trying to make you think a little longer than that. In my opinion, you can inspire a lot of people just by being a living example. I believe that every day you are showing someone, whether it be a random stranger or a coworker, how easy veganism can be. I am proud to say that I know some of the names of those whose lives I touched and as a result they are now vegan. And I am looking forward to raising my daughter in a lifestyle she can be proud of and it probably wouldn’t surprise me if she started leafleting or protesting in front of her school’s cafeteria in the name of animal rights. When that time comes, she will always know that she has her mom and dad supporting her and maybe even helping her put together those picketing signs, who knows?
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to them, we must have blended in too well. For example, I normally do the grocery shopping and you will probably see me reading the labels of everything I purchase (even if it’s something I bought many times before) just like most concerned moms who only want to provide their families with the very best when it comes to nutrition. What people in that same grocery store do not know about me is that my gag reflex goes crazy whenever I pass the aisles of meat and artisan cheeses so I always manage to route around those aisles.
We Can All Do Something
there that are scared of the vegan activists, scared of the effort, and of course, scared of the stigmas that come with veganism. With stars like Alicia Silverstone, Ellen DeGeneres, and even Bill Clinton, veganism is becoming more mainstream. I may not be a star, but I want to show how simple it is to raise a vegan family. I may not get paid to do this, but I am definitely doing something I love and I gladly work for free. So far, the more I blog, the more I am inspired and in turn, I hope I inspire not only other vegan families, but also non-vegan families who have thought about giving the cruelty-free lifestyle a try.
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With all of the subtle hints my family and I put out about our vegan lifestyle, it is no wonder how sometimes others feel we are indifferent to such a great cause. When you think of veganism, there are probably a handful of names you know of from either cookbooks or from the Internet. All of those people who stand out in your mind probably work full time and earn money promoting a lifestyle that they love. As much as I share their love and passion, sometimes I doubt I will ever have a job that I love, supporting a cause I believe 100% in, but I knew that there was something I could do. Last month, I was inspired to blog about my life as a vegan housewife. Being a wife, mother You can read my blog by going to and vegan is not an easy job, but it isn’t therealveganhousewife.blogspot.com/ impossible either; I know there are others out
R ecipe
Vegan Sausage & Peppers with Polenta This dish I whipped up recently uses Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, although any vegan sausage or soy ground would be fine. If you’d like to avoid soy altogether, try a sturdy legume like chickpeas, black-eyed peas or adzuki beans. The soupy-stew is a tad spicy, but is nicely balanced with the sweet potato and corn. It is deliciously paired with crispy pan-fried polenta, full of flavour and surprisingly light.
Ingredients 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion, diced 1 1/2 cups diced peppers (I used green, yellow and orange) 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped
1 can of corn, roasted at 375C for 20 minutes (optional) 1 package soy chorizo or veggie sausage of choice 1 can whole tomatoes (crushed by hand) 1 Tbsp cajun seasoning 1 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper Green onions for garnish 1 tube of polenta, sliced into 1 inch rounds
2. In a large skillet, saute onions in olive oil for five minutes. Add peppers, mushrooms and sweet potato, along with your spice mix, salt and pepper and saute for another five to seven minutes. Now add the whole tomatoes. Add soy chorizo or protein of choice, cover and bring to a bubble. Reduce heat and simmer on medium low until the sweet potato is tender. If you are using corn, add it in the last five minutes. 3. While that simmers, pan-fry the polenta medallions in a bit of olive oil for four to five minutes per side, until crispy. It will stick a bit when trying to flip. Set aside. 4. In a bowl, ladle out a portion of the chorizo-pepper stew, place a couple of polenta rounds on top and garnish with a generous amount of fresh green onions. Bridget Burns of The Vegan Project
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1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
1. Preheat your oven to 375C and roast the drained corn for about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the kernels have some colour.
life
Glauce Ferrari
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Made in Brazil
People outside Brazil often think of it as a huge meat cuisine country, and I couldn’t blame them, it’s so easy to think like that! Most of the typical Brazilian dishes are made with some kind of meat: churrasco (or barbecue), that’s very famous in the south, has many types of meat in it; feijoada (or feijoada brasileira), popular in Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, traditionally has the remains of pork and black beans; moqueca baiana, that everybody can eat in the north, is made of fish. These and many other classics of the Brazilian diet contain plenty of meat. But Brazil has another side when you talk about food. And this one is so much healthier, colorful and cheap, and some big cities have plenty of options for
those who want to try vegan dishes in one of the biggest countries of the world. At least once a year I go to Brazil to visit my family and friends, but the last time was special because I was on tour with a vegan hardcore-metal band, Purification. We played São Paulo, Argentina and Chile in a ten day tour, and I had the chance to spend more time in São Paulo, which meant going to some of my favorite restaurants and trying some new options on their menus. Brazil is still not a veg-friendly country, but São Paulo is getting there. With a population of around 20 million people, the city has options for all types of people and tastes, and it is reflected in the food options too. People are beginning to know what veganism
is, and the topic is getting more and more space in the local and national mainstream media. Another great consequence of the popularization of veganism is the number of vegetarian and vegan restaurants being opened in the big city, and the fact that even restaurants that serve animal products are offering vegan or vegetarian options on their menu. Of course, it’s up to you if you want to go to a veg place or if you’re happy enough with a veg-friendly place to eat.
The Restaurants
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So what are the best restaurants in São Paulo? Before answering that I’d like to say that I really think taste is personal and you might not agree with my choices, but at the
same time, I usually do not regret reading or listening to personal tips about places to eat (never got a bad tip!). So here ya go! In the heart of the neighborhood of Jardins is located Vegacy, a vegan restaurant opened in 2005 by the vegan tattooer Fernando Franceschi (xTetex). During the first three years Vegacy was located in a small and nice gallery in one of the busiest and most famous streets of the city – Rua Augusta. The gallery used to have some restaurants and a common area for people to eat and Vegacy used to offer the “all you can eat” system and also the weight system (pretty common in Brazil). In 2008 they had to find a new place and in the beginning of 2009 the restaurant was re-opened in a larger place, a two storey house on the same street.
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During lunch time, Vegacy offers a buffet with ten hot dishes, ten different salads and also two options for their juice of the day, which is included in the price. The quality of the food is good, and the buffet is delicious. On Wednesday and Saturday the buffet is served with the vegan version of the traditional “Feijoada”, a dish made with black beans. During the rest of the day, it’s possible to order sandwiches, pizzas, snacks, cakes and cupcakes, coffee and much more. The staff is really nice and the atmosphere of the place is great. Another positive aspect is that the restaurant is opened until late in the night (around 9:30pm), when most of the veg restaurants are opened just for lunch time. There are two more vegan restaurants in São Paulo: Vegethus, which also has a very good reputation, but I didn’t have the chance to visit yet, and Loving Hut, part of the international chain of vegan restaurants that was opened in the second semester of 2010. I’ve become a big fan of Loving Hut Paris, but didn’t have the chance to go to the
new address in São Paulo (next time!) If you love pizza just like me, you have to try the pizzas of the Lar Vegetariano, a vegan pizzeria. Unfortunately, there’s no restaurant anymore and the only way to get these amazing pizzas is with their delivery system that works – pay attention! - just on Fridays and Saturdays, but it’s worth it to try! They have a good variety of vegan pizzas and also offer sandwiches. There are many vegetarian restaurants in the big city, some older than others, but all of them have vegan options. Lotus Vegetariano is one of the oldest ones (or at least, it’s the one I’ve known of for the longest period, I think the first time I went there was in 1999). The restaurant, located in downtown, offers a Chinese buffet and you pay by the weight of the food. They have a good variety of vegan foods, but the labels are a little confusing – they don’t mark the dishes as vegan – so it’s necessary to ask for help from the staff. Lotus opens from Monday to Saturday, from 11a.m to 3p.m. Lagoa is another vegetarian restaurant that
Vegacy Rua Augusta, 2061 – Jardins Vegethus Rua Haddock Lobo, 187 Loving Hut Rua França Pinto, 243 Lotus Vegetariano R. Brig. Tobias, 420 – Centro Lagoa Rua Borges Lagoa, 406 – Vila Mariana Lar Vegetariano Ligue: (11) 3978 - 8681
Soroko Rua Augusta, 305
Words to Know Labelling in Brazil is not great, it includes products and places, and most of the people don’t speak English. So there are a few words that might help you when buying food or eating out: Meat - carne Chicken - frango Fish - peixe Ham - presunto Milk - leite Cheese - queijo Eggs - ovos Honey - mel Vegan: vegano 25
I used to visit every time I was in São Paulo from 1999 to 2004. The restaurant has many vegan options and offers the “all you can eat” system. It’s located in a two storey house in a beautiful neighborhood and the food is delicious. If you, like me, have an ice-cream passion, your place in São Paulo will be Soroko. It is a regular ice cream shop, but it also has a complete set of vegan ice cream and milkshakes, including flavors such as chocolate, coffee, hazelnut and much more. They also serve açaí (or acai), a delicious fruit cream made with a berry from the Amazon, which is naturally vegan. Soroko is opened every day from 12p.m to 10p.m. The last time I said food was one of my favorite things in Brazil some people from outside the country disagreed with me, but I keep my opinion – mainly for the fruits and vegetables, which are really amazing. So, if you’re visiting the biggest city of Brazil, try not to get lost and enjoy all the amazing veg food it has to offer.
focus
Trigger Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of violence against animals and mental anguish.
In addition to placing birds in fields, we had a 50-foot wooden tower along a tree line and pond behind our house. We would haul these birds in small cages up by a pulley to the top of the tower. Around this tower were stations marked by hay bales where hunters (usually congressmen and other wealthy businessmen for this more expensive setup) would stand with their guns. Then my dad, one of my dad’s employees or, eventually, I would throw pheasants one at a time off the top of the tower and then duck (to avoid getting
accidentally shot at by any overeager folks below). The pheasants would attempt to fly to the tree line. They would be shot at by dozens of men and then plummet to the ground to be snatched by a trained bird dog and carried off to be cleaned. To clean a pheasant or any other game bird is to cut the head, wings and legs off with scissors, cut through the underside of the bird from its neck to the bottom of its spine and then scoop out the organs into a trash can. To finish, the skin and feathers are pulled off and the body is rinsed.
As a child I spent nearly every day of the on-season deploying, bagging, and cutting up those pheasants This happened to thousands of pheasants and other game birds over the course of my dad’s business. Birds arrived from the hunts in various states of wreckage. Some were little more than feathered pulp shot through with buckshot pellets from hunters using the wrong kind of shells or simply mashed and mangled from a close range hit. Others arrived maimed, but still struggling from a non-fatal shot through the wings or breast. Those living or twitching had to be swung by their necks for a decisive finish. As a child of the family business, I spent nearly every day of the on-season deploying, bagging and cutting up those pheasants.
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I grew up on a game bird hunting resort where my dad owned chicken-houses packed full of captive quail, pheasants and chucker. The pheasants always stood out to me. Unusual and beautiful birds, the males had a long body with a ring neck, long tail feathers and banded, iridescent plumage. Blinders were stapled to their beaks to keep them from attacking each other in the cramped space and thereby reducing my father’s inventory of healthy birds. Our service for hunters was to take these game birds out in cloth bags, swing them around until they were properly disoriented and then dump them into clumps of tall grass in the hunting fields. The hunters would bring their dogs who were trained to point by facing the target animals, then raising a front paw and holding their tail rigid. On command they would flush the birds out of the brush and into flight. Hunters would then shoot the birds in flight, typically with a 12 or 20 gauge shotgun.
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The birds are raised captive, but nothing like a domestic animal. These are territorial birds that dislike close quarters with others of their kind and aren’t especially friendly to people. I thought they were majestic anyway, all the more for their independent natures. The daily experience of working where they were farmed and hunted did not, at first, dampen my visceral sense that what we were doing to them was wrong. I had watched it happen as a very young child, but at eight or nine I had to begin working along with the rest of the family. The moment I became aware that I was a cog in what was essentially an enormous killing machine, my connection to these birds made life extremely difficult. Guilt and nausea congealed in my stomach each time I set these birds in the hunting fields and then watched with horror as their bodies returned in stained bags. Dread at having to do this work seemed so constant and thick it was like I was wading against the day: propelled to do as I was told or risk punishment, but shrinking back with revulsion every time I had to plunge my hands into a pan of dead pheasants or capture live ones knowing I was dragging them to their deaths.
for no reason, I was punished. Looking for any break from this oppressive feeling, I began packing away my sensitivity through little tricks: holding my breath to avoid the smell of blood and tissue, counting or staring to keep myself from crying. When seeing a hurt and struggling bird, telling myself the quicker I worked the less pain it would suffer. It was the family business and I had to do it. So for the first few years, I made it through each day.
Eventually, and to my relief, I noticed myself feeling less and less
My attempts to tune out what was happening seemed to work better over time. Eventually, and to my relief, I noticed myself feeling less and less. I could have conversations and laugh and chat with my dad’s employees while we worked. Pretending to be normal became normal. It’s hard to pinpoint the moment that happens because it’s the sort of thing you can only vaguely sense years later. The inner conflict that weighed me down faded away and at the same time my tortuous sense of responsibility and empathy towards these animals drained away, freeing my hands to capture, kill and These animals so clearly suffered, gut without the mortifying compunction yet nobody ever talked about it that it used to bring. The sense emerged that I’d overcome an unnecessary and The daily cycle of capture and killing unhealthy sensitivity to the real and brutal made me feel desperate and trapped. These world. My dad and his employees said I’d animals so clearly suffered, yet nobody grown up and I believed it. ever talked about it. When I resisted work or asked why they would hurt these birds
Growing up had cost so much, I despaired at the lie of it Even after I began living on my own, the profound aversion that began to return against hunting or eating animals felt like regression. Growing up had cost so much, I despaired at the lie of it. I would take turns blocking out memories and then reliving them tortuously, drenching in guilt and then hurriedly severing any remaining ties to my childhood, to the existences of long-dead birds by the thousand. I wanted feeling and sensation again, but it was on the other side of a pain and history that had been a relief to leave behind. Putting senses to sleep can be done through little tricks and bought time, but waking them up again, I think, takes earthquakes. I quake: remembering these birds and how it felt to love them. Pheasants are two feet long with a crest and a bright red wattle under their eyes. The world splits when the memories come, so I surrender and remember. Their beaks, their bodies, how they could fly. I remember a time when we were both so alive.
Alex Salb is a freelance writer. An autodidact and B.A. holder in humanities and social sciences from UBC in Vancouver, Canada, Alex pursues projects in consciousness, social justice, emerging social technologies, and language.
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Growing up seems to mean shutting down. Perhaps not for everyone, and I envy people who learn a different version of maturity. For those of us raised to grit our teeth, for whom being normal means cutting away our unwanted and too-sensitive reactions to the world around, it’s a kind of growing up that can be hard to unravel. After leaving my parents and the family business (which I did at the first chance I could), this maturity via disconnect started feeling like an anesthetic that wouldn’t wear off. Without the daily suffering around me to block I was simply numb: a person depressed from depressing the senses. I would shut down with people because I had learned to shut down, the specifics of species couldn’t have meant less. Defenses don’t just drop away when no longer needed, instead they like to morph and bleed across the psyche. If there is a hierarchy of the heart saying to love and honor this, but not that, I hadn’t found it. Instead I found that my empathy was simply blocked at the source. Strangle the heart, as I had, and the world around seems to flatten.
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