If you start a debate with “I fight for animal rights, but I’m no vegan” don’t expect applause

If you fight for animal rights, you fight for the rights of all animals, there are no exceptions for those you think taste good.

Apparently my previous post upset a lot of people. (Justifying Meat Eating – ridiculous things meat-eaters say), even more so than my anti-vegetarian posts or where I point out that eating cheese isn’t actually vegan.

But the comments and insults are the same….

– Cut the vegan-cheese eaters some slack. Cut the meat eaters some slack. You are too militant and give vegans a bad name.

I even had one person say that I am too critical of meat eaters and that makes me a bad vegan. She justified her OPINION saying:

“I fight for animal rights, but I’m no vegan…”

Say what?

No really, say what? You fight for animal RIGHTS by EATING THEM??? or wearing them??

Did I miss something? How is it that you think consuming any animal product contributes to their rights?

I do not understand how someone who says they believe in animal rights can consume a product that is produced from slavery and torture and murder.

Perhaps they don’t truly believe at all.

Seriously, I do not understand – perhaps someone can explain it to me.

 

 

Eggs, consumed by animal loving vegetarians…
Does this look like “animal rights”?

 

 

How about dairy production?
What part of this Mercy for Animals video represents the rights of these cows?

Yeah, I can see how some animal rights activists might confuse this for liberation… um, no, I don’t.

Like a vegetarian who sees nothing exploitative with consuming, dairy or eggs or honey (some thoughtful reasons why this is a confusing rationale for a vegetarian to make, here: Why Veganism is a Feminist Issue). There seems to be a disconnect when people say they fight for animal rights, but continue to personally consume their corpses or products from their bodies.

If someone willingly and knowingly consumes any commercial animal product and does not see they horror behind it, they either cannot know where their food (and other consumables) comes from or they know and simply do not care.

As this previous post discusses, Cheese: The Other White Meat (why cheese eaters are problematic for vegans), the problem with cheese / dairy is that there is so much death involved. Similar stories are found in egg production and honey production.

And these are the people I’m not being NICE enough too?

You have got to be kidding me!

If you want someone being NICE about the reason people consume corpses, perhaps a blog called “vegan animal liberation” is not the place to go looking for it.

and, Why is it that VEGANS are always having to modify what they do, so they don’t “offend” those who eat the corpses of slaughtered animals. Ooh careful, don’t want to upset the very people whose selfishness is the direct cause of this exploitation, cruelty, slavery and murder.

Oh, and is it even possible to be too MILITANT when it comes to fighting for justice and liberation for animals, all animals.

Why must I, as a vegan, compromise. (As I am so often told I must)

From a vegan viewpoint, people who say they fight for animal rights, but aren’t yet vegan, make the fight a whole lot harder.

Outsiders who look at these people see them eating animal products or wearing animal products, may think that it is acceptable.

This is a common complaint that vegans, and in particular abolitionist vegans make against groups like PETA. When PETA campaigns for larger cages for the chickens used by companies like McDonalds or KFC, the message that non-vegans get is that animal rights activists think that there is an acceptable size of the cages. A concept that Gary Francione has called “New Welfarism”.

New welfarists … believe that welfarist reforms such as making cages bigger will eventually lead to empty cages

These welfarist campaigners are a worse than people who do nothing, that just make it a lot harder for real animal rights changes. (Imagine it from the other side – the meat producers say “what? you want no cages? no meat? no eggs? only last week, you said that if we increased our cages by an inch, you would consider that a victory”… such as the ludicrous demands from PETA to Sonic that “The company just agreed to begin purchasing eggs and to double the amount of meat it purchases from suppliers that use less cruel production methods.”)

I’m not laughing.

Although, I do appreciate what they do, I appreciate that they can contribute to fight, and I accept that meat eaters can do a lot, I don’t understand how they can say what they are fighting for is animal rights, but rather “animal welfare”.

So, all that remains is for me to ask these people – if you know all that know, why are you not vegan?

Personally, I don’t believe it is possible to fight for animal RIGHTS and not be vegan.

This is not about being militant, it is about the suffering and cruelty and exploitation of the animals.

Feedback welcome

Some people may take offense to this, thinking that I am saying what they do is not good enough. I am just trying to add another side to the debate, and like this post The Dreaded Vegan Discussion… Critical Thoughts Encouraged… shows – the vegan community is large and diverse and all voices are (should be) encouraged.

Why B12 can be important for Vegans (my story)

This does not apply to all vegans, but is my personal story of what happens why B12 levels become critical.

I assume that I am no different to most vegans, in that I read about nutrition and food widely. I think vegans probably read more books about food than most other people.

So I knew that B12 (cobalamin) of all the vitamins and minerals was the most important one, being sourced via animal products.

Image via Wikipedia: vegan breakfast

It is produced by bacteria – so if it is found in plant food, it is in foods such as mushrooms which may have come in contact with dirt, or if it is found in animal products it is still the result of bacteria production.

Which is why, unless vegans pay attention, it can be overlooked.

There is a common idea on vegan websites and books, that there is enough B12 in the body to last five years or so, so when someone first goes vegan there is enough still in their system to last.

Last year, several things happened to me all at once, I got a really bad case of flu, and was not eating, this came after several weeks of dental treatment, where I hadn’t eaten, which came after a personal thing, in which I’d lost my enjoyment of food.

As a result, my weight had dropped by almost 10 kilos. My diet was shocking, I knew there was chance I would be low in some nutrients.

But I had begun to get strange symptoms.

My feet had started to get permanent pins-and-needles, then my hands. And then what was really scary, my memory was being affected.

Several instances stand out:
I was with a group of friends discussion how long we had known each other. I looked at one of my closet friends who I met in 2000 and the word that formed in my mind was 1990, when I spoke it, it came out as “1900″. No, that’s wrong, I mean 1990. My friend wasn’t born til 1991, so I wrote on a piece of paper 2000, which my hand wrote as 1880.

Another, I was with the same friends, trying to find something on a map, I pointed to the red section, the word that formed in my brain was “orange” even though I knew it was red, I told myself “it’s red” but again the word “orange” took the place of red. And as I spoke, the words that came out of my mouth were “I think it’s that purple section”
… So not only did I know that it was red as a colour, yet the letters in my mind were “orange”, my mouth said purple.

I was losing my nouns. I couldn’t remember the names of things, even though I could describe them.

I couldn’t remember the world “Cucumber”, and I was trying to describe it to my dining companion, “it’s long, and round, and hard…” (no, I am not flirting with you) “it’s cold, you eat it in salad, it had a dark green skin…”

It was time for action, this wasn’t a hold over of my flu or dental work.

I have occasional blood tests as part of my job, so during one routine blood test, I asked for my Iron and B12 to be also checked. We discussed my dental work, the flu I’d had and my lose of appetite, so I expected some of my readings to be a little low.

When the results came back, my doctor said my B12 was fine, but my iron was low.

I’d read in several places that low iron can mask a B12 deficiency, so while I expected my iron to be low, but Not out of range, I really thought my B12 would be low too.

pills and medications

I knew these results had to be wrong.

I occasionally take a vitamin supplement that has a B12 component, and I read the instructions: Take 2 every day with food.

I probably would have been taking not even 2 a week. But I made sure I took the recommended dosage.

And within a week and half, or so, the numbness in my hands and feet went, my memory returned. I don’t know that it was B12 deficiency, but I really, sincerely believe that it was. I don’t believe the blood tests told the wole story.

There are four foods I consume regularly that are fortified with B12, and I try to eat them often. And I try to get motivated to take vitamin supplements.

And if anyone wants to say, “but that just shows the inadequacies of being vegan”, take a look around your kitchen/bathroom, at how many pills and medications you take. I only take B12 occasionally, and that is it, that is all.

mmmm toast

What happened to me was not just because I am vegan, it happened because there were 3 things in my life at the same time, that occurred one after the other, which meant I was barely eating…

and even having barely eaten in the 6 weeks or so before the medical tests, I still had an Iron level that was in the normal range (allbeit, the low end of normal)… and of all the people I know who have ever been prescribed iron tablets, they have been meat eaters, so I got a smile out of that result.

This is not medical advice, this is my personal story, I don’t blame it on being vegan, I chalk it down to being a young woman, who sometimes has changing life circumstances.

Being vegan is not hard, being a person is.

Edited to add:
Recommended Supplements for Vegans: by Ginny Messina RD
29 November 2010

Jillian Michaels diet to save the world

Image via Wikipedia

Jillian Michaels diet to save the world – or maybe a small corner of it

Jillian Michaels, the celebrity fitness trainer and television host, her diet is making headlines, and not for the usual reasons.

As a celebrity and as a person who has attained that fame through fitness training, her food and fitness routine is put under a microscope by a media that thinks the latest celebrity diet can sell magazines – Jillian Michaels Diet, Jillian Michaels: From NBC’s Biggest Loser, Join the Black Team Now!, Jillian Michaels – Biggest Loser Black Team Trainer – Diet Review , Jillian Michaels Diet Review – she even has her own personal website to learn more about how she says to maybe get a body like hers Jillian Michaels: America’s Toughtest Trainer Helps You Lose Weight complete with daily email newsletter for signing up.

Recently, however, Jillian Michaels diet has gotten some interest for reasons other than weight-loss. Although, how accurate these stories in the online media are, is hard to know. But they make a change from celebrities such as Angelina Jolie close to death saying “vegan… nearly killed me.

In an article in Vegetarian Star: Jillian Michaels Avoids Beef, Chicken Because Of Slaughter Practices,

Jillian Michaels has whittled down her animal intake to sustainable fish, citing her reasons to the Houston Chronicle as being for animal welfare.

“Personally I’m not eating chicken or beef right now. It’s not about health; it’s about the slaughterhouse practices. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, organic yogurt and eggs and a lot of beans and nuts. But I also eat things like dark chocolate.”

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In this interview with treehugger.com: Jillian Michaels Wants You to Master Your Metabolism, the Green Way

I began exploring different avenues of “greening” my life – getting a hybrid, water conservation, air pollution etc. I was also in the process of reading books about the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry (Selling Sickness, Appetite for Profit and Food Politics). These books horrified me. I knew there was corruption in the government and corporate America, but didn’t begin to fathom the extent or the depth of it. …

I have gone off the deep end on this. I find that when one has the knowledge and the means they have a responsibility to make the ethical choice. With regard to my diet, I always go organic. I shop at local farmers’ markets whenever possible. I have given up all animal products except for fish that has been ethically fished like ocean caught salmon, farmed arctic char, farmed trout, pacific cod, tilapia, crab, shrimp, and farmed oysters. I use all natural beauty products like Olive Oil, brown sugar for scrubs, avocado and ethical organic brands. My cleaning products are all green – and got rid of paper towels almost entirely and use rags instead. I use a Kangen water filter for drinking water and put in stainless steel canteens- never bottled water.

This is an extract of that article, for the full interview, Jillian Michaels Wants You to Master Your Metabolism, the Green Way

If these are true quotes, regarding the use of animals for food and the perceived nutritional qualities, it is saying the treatment of animals is affecting the choices Jillian is making, and she is eating with awareness.

When someone who makes her living via her body, such as Jillian Michaels, comes out saying that what happens in the slaughterhouse has an impact on her food intake makes a powerful statement for anyone who follows her. It may also get her fans to begin to question their own food intake and why they eat death.

For anyone wanting to know what these slaughterhouse practices are getting people such as Jillian Michaels to change her diet…

Earthlings

watch the full video here – http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/video-full.php
which has been described as “Powerful, informative and thought-provoking, EARTHLINGS is by far the most comprehensive documentary produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests.”

or this brochure:

View this document on Scribd

Feedback welcome.

Alicia Silverstone goes Vegetarian

Hollywood nice girl, Alicia Silverstone, author of “The Kind Diet” goes vegetarian.

Yah, the Vegan / Vegetarian community has another role model to inspire and delight. Hollywood actress Alicia Silverstone, of Clueless fame, and also author of “The Kind Diet” has made the leap to vegetarian.

A good role model for people who are wanting to make the transition from omnivore to vegetarian. There by showing that vegetarian is not an extreme diet, and vegetarian options are everywhere.

Going vegetarian is so easy, every meat eater should try it… and then go vegan.

*Alicia Silverstone’s use of the word flirt has a specific meaning: “Flirting” (going meatless and dairy-free when you can)
Alicia Silverstone Quit Counting Calories – With Her “Kind Diet”

Can’t you just take the meat out?

Can’t you just take the meat out?: Just one more of the stupid things people say to vegans.

I know, in my soul, that to eat a creature who is raised to be eaten, and who never has a chance to be a real being, is unhealthy. It’s like… you’re eating misery. You’re eating a bitter life.”
– Alice Walker

It’s Mother’s Day, and to celebrate I went out with my boyfriend, MacLeod, and his parents to a rather up market restaurant, the kind where they charge you for the air you breathe. Owned by a relative of Macleod’s boss, we choose that place to support a new establishment.

Knowing that we would be dining there, I rang up several days before to check and double check whether they had any vegan options on the menu. They assured me that they did. I rang up again before we left for the restaurant, to make sure one last time.

When we arrived, and settled, it was a gorgeous place, so warm and inviting. I looked at the menu, and noticed two items specified as vegetarian. Everyone else ordered, and began discussing drinks, while and the vegans ordered last, so as to not make a fuss.

When the waiter described the ingredients in the “vegetarian” meals, we discovered the accompanying vegetable dish to the stuffed mushrooms was green beans which had bacon and home made mayonnaise and seasonings stirred through, and whole baby pumpkin hollowed out and filled with roast seasonal vegetables was cooked with chicken stock.

Of the two “vegetarian” dishes, neither of these was actually vegetarian, and neither could be veganised (although, I don’t know, do vegetarians eat chicken stock, or do they not care if they can’t see it?).

We asked perhaps they could put together a special dish for us, after all, we called the restaurant beforehand and explained that vegan meant no animal products, and they said they could accommodate our wishes.

The waiter consulted the kitchen and came back shortly after and discussed our meal options, which involved more questions. Other guests at our table were served their entrees, so we finally settled on fresh fruit and garden salad of green leaves, cucumber, tomatoes and vinaigrette.

Image via Wikipedia

My sister-in-law mockingly rolled her eyes and loudly complained about the embarrassing fuss we were making. Couldn’t we compromise, just for one meal, she asked. Ignoring the fact that we had compromised in the first place going to a non-vegan restaurant. “Can’t you just take the meat out?” well no, it doesn’t work like that, plus, I’m not sure how to take the chicken stock out of pan roasted vegetables.

This was a place that had assured us on several occasion they could do meals without any animal products, and when it came to the crunch, no they couldn’t. This establishment was suffering a serious case of “pants on fire” syndrome.

At the end of the meal when the discussion of desserts came up, the dessert list started “home-made toasted almond milk ice cream, leatherbox honey comb and banana brûlée” – at this point I stopped reading.

The night ended with lots of embarrassment, tension, an expensive meal which only some people could enjoy and others endure.

Lesson learned: if you want to eat the food, go to a vegan or vegetarian restaurant

Feedback welcome.

ETA
MacLeod was shortly after promoted. So it all worked out in the long term.