Barefoot Vegan Mag Jan_Feb 2017
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Hello beautiful people!<br />
IF – AS GANDHI SAYS – ‘COMPASSION IS A<br />
MUSCLE THAT GETS STRONGER WITH USE’,<br />
IS JUST BEING VEGAN ENOUGH? I’ll be honest,<br />
some of the nicest people I’ve ever met have been<br />
vegan and some of the meanest people I’ve ever<br />
met have also been vegan too. I strongly believe<br />
that if we truly want to promote radical change in<br />
this world, then we need to exercise our<br />
compassion muscles in all areas of our lives – not<br />
just in promoting veganism. And so the theme<br />
for this issue is compassion – and that’s a<br />
wonderful theme to start the New Year with,<br />
don’t you think? As usual we’ve got lots of beautiful and inspiring content to help us identify<br />
areas in our lives where compassion plays its part. Founder of Free From Harm and author<br />
of the new book ‘Farm to Fable’, Robert Grillo is our front cover interview and he gives us a<br />
fascinating insight into the marketing strategies of the animal agriculture industries; how<br />
fact is mixed with fiction to make myths our reality and it’s the animals that suffer. We<br />
meet the super cool Jez Haur from Hipster Veggie to discuss compassion for self and how to<br />
promote veganism in our communities; author Sarah Withrow King explains how caring for<br />
animals can help shape our faith in God, and Dr. Casey Taft shares his thoughts regarding<br />
oppressive behaviours in the vegan anti-natalist movement. We’ve also got some delicious<br />
recipes from leading vegan children’s book author Ruby Roth, from her new book ‘The Help<br />
Yourself Cookbook for Kids’, a few favourites from ‘Homestyle <strong>Vegan</strong>’ by Amber St. Peter<br />
that will take you back to the taste of home, and we caught up with Tess Masters (a.k.a The<br />
Blender Girl) to get her top tips for setting health goals for the New Year and her favourite<br />
recipes from her new book: ‘The Perfect Blend’. Plus there’s so much more! As vegans we<br />
already seek to live a life reflective of our values of kindness and compassion. So I’ll leave<br />
you with this thought… What other ways are there that we can turn this compassion into<br />
action to help bring more love and justice into the world in <strong>2017</strong>?<br />
With love,<br />
Emma Letessier
Regular Contributors...<br />
Anneka Svenska is the founder of<br />
‘Green World Television’ & ‘Angels for<br />
the Innocent Foundation’. To view<br />
some of the Green World TV Films<br />
Anneka has released please click here .<br />
You can also visit her website & connect<br />
with her on Facebook & Twitter.<br />
Valerie McGowan is the Director of the<br />
<strong>Vegan</strong> Society of Humboldt & studied<br />
Holistic Nutrition . She writes about<br />
intersectional veganism & how Christian<br />
teachings support a vegan lifestyle. You<br />
can read Valerie’s writing at her website<br />
& connect with her on Facebook.<br />
Katrina Fox is an award-winning<br />
journalist, media and PR consultant,<br />
founder of the content and events<br />
platform <strong>Vegan</strong> Business Media and<br />
host of <strong>Vegan</strong> Business Talk podcast.<br />
Visit her website & connect with her on<br />
Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.<br />
Julia Feliz Brueck is an illustrator &<br />
runs a vegan craftivist page, where she<br />
posts about cruelty-free craft. She holds<br />
two diplomas in illustration, as well as<br />
undergraduate & graduate degrees in<br />
marine science & conservation ecology.<br />
Connect with her on Facebook.<br />
Linda Monahan is an ethical vegan,<br />
writer, poet, priestess & flower<br />
essence practitioner. You can find out<br />
more about Linda’s work by visiting her<br />
website.
Clare Mann is a psychologist, bestselling<br />
author & animal advocate. She<br />
provides skills training to help vegans<br />
& animal advocates communicate<br />
more effectively. Visit her website &<br />
connect with her via Facebook &<br />
Twitter.<br />
<strong>Jan</strong>uary/<strong>Feb</strong>ruary <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>Barefoot</strong> <strong>Vegan</strong> <strong>Mag</strong>azine<br />
www.<strong>Barefoot</strong><strong>Vegan</strong>.com<br />
Honey Morris is the creator of<br />
Veggie Yum Yums, a friendly vegan<br />
Facebook page, & she’s also the<br />
Assistant Online Editor of <strong>Barefoot</strong><br />
<strong>Vegan</strong>. Click here to visit her<br />
website.<br />
Editor<br />
Emma Letessier<br />
editor@barefootvegan.com<br />
Advertising enquiries<br />
advertising@barefootvegan.com<br />
Tom Leslie is a lover of endurance<br />
sport, especially running and cycling.<br />
A key reason for opting for the vegan<br />
lifestyle was his love for animals and<br />
his desire for all creatures to be free<br />
from harm and exploitation.<br />
Got a story idea?<br />
Click here to find out<br />
about writing for<br />
<strong>Barefoot</strong> <strong>Vegan</strong>...<br />
Design<br />
Emma Letessier<br />
‘<strong>Barefoot</strong> <strong>Vegan</strong>’ is a trade mark of Letessier<br />
Communications Ltd.<br />
ISSN 2058-9840<br />
© <strong>2017</strong> Letessier Communications Ltd. All<br />
rights reserved.<br />
While every effort has been made to ensure that<br />
information is correct at the time of publication, the<br />
authors and publisher cannot be held responsible<br />
for the outcome of any action or decision based on<br />
the information contained in this publication.<br />
The publishers or authors do not give any warranty<br />
for the completeness or accuracy for this<br />
publication’s content, explanation or opinion.<br />
This magazine is not intended as a substitute for the<br />
medical advice of physicians. The reader should<br />
regularly consult a physician in matters relating to<br />
his/her health and particularly with respect to any<br />
symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical<br />
attention.<br />
No part of this publication may be reproduced or<br />
transmitted in any form without prior written<br />
permission of the publisher. Permission is only<br />
deemed valid if approval is in writing.<br />
All images used have been sourced via Shutterstock,<br />
Freepik.com, and Pixabay.com. Images used in<br />
editorial context have been credited.
Curbside<br />
Compassion<br />
78<br />
CONTENTS<br />
MIND, BODY, SPIRIT<br />
8 The Help Yourself Cookbook for Kids<br />
Recipes from author Ruby Roth’s latest book<br />
17 Homestyle <strong>Vegan</strong><br />
Amber St. Peter shares vegan recipes that capture<br />
that taste of home<br />
24 The Perfect Blend<br />
Tess Masters shares her tips for setting New Year<br />
health goals plus recipes from her new book<br />
36 <strong>Vegan</strong>ism is Compassion<br />
Stacey Cook shares why she believes the two are<br />
inextricably linked<br />
40 Hipster Veggie<br />
We meet London YouTuber Jez Haur to discuss<br />
compassion for self & inspiring your community<br />
46 Compassion Fatigue<br />
Author Jennifer Blough on how to cope with burn out<br />
when caring for others<br />
50 Confessions of a <strong>Vegan</strong> Heretic<br />
With Valerie McGowan<br />
54 Faith and Compassion<br />
A Christian take on what it means to live<br />
compassionately<br />
FRONT COVER<br />
58<br />
Robert Grillo: We spoke with author,<br />
founder and director of Free From<br />
Harm, Robert Grillo, on some of the<br />
myths that prevent us from living<br />
compassionately.
54<br />
102<br />
17<br />
66 Compassion Over Cruelty<br />
A film to challenge what we know about cruelty-free cosmetics<br />
ANIMALS<br />
72 <strong>Vegan</strong>gelical<br />
Author Sarah Withrow King on how caring for animals can<br />
shape our faith<br />
78 Curbside Compassion<br />
Linda Monahan on our attitude to animals killed on roads<br />
82 Compassion for Animals Through <strong>Vegan</strong>ism<br />
With Tom Leslie<br />
SOCIAL JUSTICE<br />
88 Why Compassion is Essential to Social Justice<br />
With Katrina Fox<br />
96 Anti-Natalism is Bad for <strong>Vegan</strong>ism<br />
Dr. Casey Taft shares his thoughts on oppressive behaviours<br />
in the vegan anti-natalists movement<br />
102 Craft as Activism<br />
Author and illustrator, Julia Feliz Brueck on creative ways to<br />
speak up for animals<br />
104 Compassionate Crafting<br />
96<br />
Honey Morris shares her love of crafting and how to ensure it<br />
remains vegan-friendly
“Your kiddos, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and students<br />
are going to go bananas for this book! It's also the perfect<br />
gift for adults who are "too busy" to eat healthy. There's no<br />
easier cookbook, ha!” - Ruby Roth<br />
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Struggling to get your kids to eat their<br />
fruits and vegetables? Try letting them<br />
help themselves!<br />
Ruby Roth is the world's leading author and illustrator of<br />
vegan and vegetarian books for kids and her latest<br />
offering is the gorgeously illustrated Help Yourself<br />
Cookbook for Kids.<br />
Experts tell us the best way to teach kids healthy eating<br />
habits is to involve them in the process. This irresistible<br />
cookbook presents 60 appealing recipes kids will beg to<br />
make themselves, in fun and charming illustrations they<br />
will love. Bursting with colour, humour, cute animal<br />
characters, and cool facts (did you know your brain<br />
actually shrinks when you're dehydrated? Drink water,<br />
quick!), Help Yourself empowers children to take charge<br />
of their own nutrition - for now and for life!<br />
Ruby has shared three of her favourite recipes with us<br />
from the book. So what are you waiting for? Get those<br />
kiddies busy in the kitchen!<br />
Click on the cover image above to<br />
buy your copy.<br />
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Homestyle<br />
VEGAN<br />
Amber St. Peter is known for her delicious and<br />
approachable recipes that inspire the vegan community<br />
to cook at home more often.<br />
In her latest book, Homestyle <strong>Vegan</strong>, you’ll have<br />
access to creative vegan remakes of old favourites.<br />
There’s 80 incredible recipes―each paired with a<br />
beautiful photo―this book will have everyone<br />
round your dinner table begging for more. You’ll<br />
be cooking healthier dishes that remind you of<br />
home in no time.<br />
Amber has very generously shared three of her<br />
favourite recipes from the book with us. Enjoy!<br />
To get your copy of this<br />
delightful cookbook, just<br />
click on the cover image.<br />
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Baked Butternut Squash<br />
Mac ‘N’ Cheese<br />
My mum made a mean baked mac ‘n’ cheese when I was a kid. Cheesy, ooey-gooey and covered in<br />
crispy bread crumbs—it was one of my favourite meals! This butternut squash version blends the<br />
sweet and savory flavours of winter squash into a cheesy sauce to make a meal that’ll totally take<br />
you back to childhood. I covered mine in bread crumbs, too. Mum would be proud!<br />
INGREDIENTS:<br />
SERVES 6 TO 8<br />
6 cups (840 g) peeled and cubed butternut squash (1" [2.5 cm] cubes)<br />
1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
1 lb (454 g) elbow noodles<br />
1 ½ cups (360 ml) unsweetened almond milk<br />
2/3 cup (80 g) nutritional yeast<br />
3 tbsp (45 ml) lemon juice<br />
1 tbsp (14 g) Dijon mustard<br />
1 clove garlic<br />
½ tsp turmeric<br />
1/3 cup (50 g) bread crumbs<br />
Fresh parsley, for garnish<br />
TIP<br />
Creamier mac<br />
more your style?<br />
Skip the baking!<br />
Preheat the oven to 400ºF (205ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.<br />
Spread the cubed squash onto the baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake<br />
for about 30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until fork-tender. Keep the oven on.<br />
While the squash roasts, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Pour in the elbow noodles and a pinch of salt and<br />
bring back to a boil. Cook for 6 to 10 minutes, until al dente. Strain and set aside.<br />
When the squash is ready, pour it into a high-speed blender or food processor along with the almond milk,<br />
nutritional yeast, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, turmeric and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Blend until<br />
smooth, then pour the mixture over the cooked noodles and stir to combine.<br />
Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33-cm) baking dish, top with the bread crumbs and bake for about 15<br />
minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling and golden. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley!<br />
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Vegetable<br />
Pot Pie<br />
Pot pies stuffed with seasonal vegetables are the best. Easy to make and even easier to eat up, they<br />
come together quickly and have plenty of room for experimentation. This healthier, meat-free<br />
version topped with a buttery crust has become a go-to weeknight dinner in our house!<br />
SERVES 6<br />
Filling<br />
1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil<br />
2 cloves garlic, minced<br />
1 cup (150 g) chopped yellow onion<br />
3 cups (475 g) frozen mixed green beans, carrots, corn<br />
and peas (or sub fresh!)<br />
1 cup (225 g) cubed red potatoes ( ½ " [1.3 cm] cubes)<br />
½ cup (63 g) all-purpose flour<br />
2 cups (480 ml) vegetable broth<br />
2 bay leaves<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
½ tsp pepper<br />
1 tbsp (15 g) vegan butter, melted<br />
Crust<br />
2 ¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour<br />
1 tbsp (15 g) sugar<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
½ cup (115 g) cold vegan butter or coconut oil<br />
1/3 to ½ cup (80 to 120 ml) ice water<br />
Preheat the oven to 400ºF (205ºC). Grease an 8 x 8-inch (20 x 20-cm) square baking dish.<br />
Prepare the crust by combining the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry<br />
cutter or fork until small crumbs form. Drizzle in the ice water, using a wooden spoon to stir the mixture together until<br />
a dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge to chill.<br />
To prepare the filling, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until<br />
soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the mixed vegetables and potatoes and stir to combine. Next, add in the flour and stir to coat<br />
the vegetables. Then, whisk in the vegetable broth. Finally, add the bay leaves, salt and pepper and simmer the mixture<br />
until thickened, about 10 minutes.<br />
While the mixture thickens, remove the crust from the fridge and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Split the<br />
dough into two halves. Roll them out to about ¼ -inch (6-mm) thickness, and press one half of the dough into the<br />
greased baking dish, being sure to cover the dish completely. Set the other rolled-out dough aside for the top layer of<br />
the pie.<br />
Once the sauce has thickened, remove the bay leaves and discard. Pour the thickened vegetable filling into the crustlined<br />
baking dish. Carefully place the second crust over the top, using a fork or your fingers to press together the edges.<br />
Poke a few small holes in the top for steam to escape using a fork or a toothpick. Brush the top generously with the<br />
melted vegan butter.<br />
Bake the pie for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.<br />
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Chocolate Chip<br />
Cookie Bars<br />
These bars are FREAKY good. Packed with protein from the peanut butter, they’re basically a<br />
workout food . . . that’s how that works, right? They’re sweet, chewy, ooey-gooey and very worthy<br />
of your next girls’ night Netflix marathon.<br />
INGREDIENTS:<br />
1 cup (192 g) sugar<br />
1 cup (180 g) peanut butter<br />
¾ cup (180 ml) unsweetened almond milk<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
1 ½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour<br />
2 tsp (7 g) baking powder<br />
¼ tsp salt<br />
½ cup (100 g) vegan chocolate chips or chunks<br />
MAKES 12<br />
Tip For denser,<br />
fudgier bars be sure<br />
to refrigerate the<br />
bars for at least 2<br />
hours before eating.<br />
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line or grease an 8 x 8-inch (20 x 20-cm) baking dish and set aside.<br />
In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, peanut butter, milk and vanilla. Pour in the flour,<br />
baking powder and salt and beat until a stiff batter forms. Fold in the chocolate chips, then add the batter to the<br />
prepared baking dish, using a wooden spoon to press the batter evenly into the pan.<br />
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool. Once completely cooled, cut into 12 equal bars and serve!<br />
Recipe credit: All recipes in this article reprinted from Homestyle <strong>Vegan</strong> by Amber St. Peter with the<br />
permission of Page Street Publishing Co.<br />
Photo credits: Amber St. Peter<br />
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Tess Masters - a.k.a. The Blender Girl— is an online phenomenon and in<br />
her new book (The Perfect Blend) she offers up 100 recipes for healthy living<br />
with tasty, crowd-pleasing dishes to help boost nutrition.<br />
The Perfect Blend functions not only as a cookbook but also as a<br />
guide for how to lead a more vibrant and healthy life. Tess lays<br />
out a dozen healthy goals for readers, capitalising on current<br />
trends such as gaining energy, boosting immunity, reducing<br />
inflammation, detoxing the body, and probiotic power. Then,<br />
using her fun, playful voice, she gives easy-to-follow recipes for<br />
smoothies, elixirs, snacks, salads, sides, soups, mains, and desserts<br />
that help get results fast. Including a guide to key ingredients, an<br />
extensive resources section, and optional nutritional boosters for<br />
each recipe, The Perfect Blend will help readers find their own<br />
perfect blend.<br />
We spoke with Tess to get her tips for setting New Year<br />
health goals and she has also very kindly shared some<br />
of her favourite recipes from The Perfect Blend. To get<br />
your copy, just click on the cover image, right ><br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 25
It’s the New Year, and your book is perfect for<br />
those of us who need a health reboot! What<br />
are some of the health goals people should be<br />
setting for themselves?<br />
There are a few easy things people can do to achieve optimal<br />
health:<br />
Hydrate: drink plenty of low sugar fluids like filtered water,<br />
freshly made juices, and herbal teas, as well as increase the<br />
intake of high-water contents raw fruits and vegetables like<br />
melons, cucumber, celery, lettuces and leafy greens, citrus<br />
fruits, radishes, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.<br />
Go Green: increase the consumption of green vegetables<br />
like spinach, kale, chard, collard greens, bok choy, arugula,<br />
lettuces, broccoli, brussel sprouts and other mineral-rich<br />
vegetables. Either use them in a salad, or add them to stirfries,<br />
stews, and soups, or throw them into a smoothie.<br />
Push The Probiotics: include pre-biotic and probiotic-rich<br />
foods to aid gut health and immunity. Include beverages like<br />
kefir, kombucha, or rejuvelac, eat ½ cup of cultured<br />
vegetables with a meal, or add some probiotic powder to a<br />
smoothie or juice.<br />
80/20 Plate: Reverse your thinking about portions. Consider<br />
filling 80% of the plate with vegetables and 20% with clean<br />
protein choices.<br />
Move: engage in some kind of gentle movement – walking,<br />
rebounding, stretching every day, and some kind of weight<br />
bearing exercise a few times a week.<br />
How does the content in The Perfect Blend<br />
support people towards achieving these<br />
goals?<br />
I open the book with a master list of nutrient-dense hero<br />
foods that help keep the body in optimal health. Anchored<br />
to this master list, the recipes are then divided into 12<br />
chapters, all categorised by health goals. You can make<br />
recipes to gain energy, optimise protein intake, boost<br />
immunity, lose weight, combat inflammation, lower carbs,<br />
utilise healthy fats, include probiotics, balance alkalinity,<br />
combine foods for optimal digestion, or just blend fabulous<br />
flavours for culinary pleasure.<br />
Each chapter opens with the top foods that help<br />
you achieve that specific goal, practical information<br />
about their health benefits, and tips for how to blend<br />
them for amazing textures and tastes. Then, there are<br />
recipes for smoothies, elixirs, snacks, salads, sides,<br />
mains, and desserts utilising these foods. So,<br />
incorporating your daily quota of fruits and veggies is<br />
easy and fun.<br />
The recipes are designed to be functional and<br />
flexible, and all include three optional boosters that<br />
enhance flavour and nutrition. So, you can tailor these<br />
meals and snacks to your own preferences to find your<br />
perfect blend.<br />
On your blog, you describe your own<br />
health journey, and explain that one of<br />
the biggest lessons you learnt was that<br />
there is no ‘one size fits all’ diet approach.<br />
What advice would you give to others who<br />
are still searching for the way of eating to<br />
suit them best?<br />
Yes! I dogmatically followed countless whole foods<br />
diets, and the moment I embraced the concept of bioindividuality,<br />
and adopted a flexible and fluid approach<br />
to health and nutrition my whole world opened up.<br />
We all have varying needs depending on our genes,<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 26
“Perception is a huge<br />
barrier to healthy<br />
living. When you have<br />
amazing recipes,<br />
vegetables can be sexy,<br />
mind-blowingly<br />
delicious, and really<br />
enjoyable.”<br />
age, activity levels, overall health, and so on. And there is a<br />
lot of conflicting information about health and nutrition. It<br />
can be confusing to know what to do. But, the one thing<br />
that everybody agrees on is vegetables are a boon to health.<br />
So, I always start there. Vegetables are a great base from<br />
which to build a healthy diet around. Beyond that, keep a<br />
food diary, and note what you eat, and any changes in your<br />
body. After a week or two a very clear pattern develops.<br />
With this personal experience, take this information to a<br />
healthcare practitioner who can help you interpret and<br />
study the information further.<br />
Read books, look at cookbooks or food websites, and<br />
compile a great collection of staple recipes that are plantbased,<br />
taste delicious, and are easy to prepare. Healthy<br />
living must be fun or it doesn’t stick.<br />
What do you think are the major challenges<br />
people face today regarding access to<br />
healthful foods? And what advice would you<br />
give on how to overcome them?<br />
Perception is a huge barrier to healthy living. When you<br />
have amazing recipes, vegetables can be sexy, mindblowingly<br />
delicious, and really enjoyable. Arm yourself with<br />
the tools to succeed – great recipes, friends and family who<br />
want to prepare healthy food with you, and set goals and be<br />
accountable to making positive lifestyle changes. Join<br />
groups to meet other people with similar interests and goals<br />
so you’re not in it alone.<br />
Getting extreme – going cold turkey off of your<br />
favourite foods or coming at things from a place of<br />
deprivation is never any fun. Be gentle with yourself<br />
while you make changes. Small consistent shifts with<br />
encouragement and love is the best strategy for lasting<br />
results.<br />
Finances – fresh foods can be expensive. So, if<br />
budget is holding you back, head up to your local<br />
farmers’ market towards closing time, and see what<br />
boxes of produce they’re giving away at a huge<br />
discount. Join a CSA or community garden, and start<br />
growing your own food. You can grow many vegetables<br />
and herbs in small pots on a balcony or small backyard.<br />
What’s one of your favourite recipes from<br />
your latest book?<br />
There are so many delicious recipes. But the shiitake<br />
and asparagus lettuce cups with lime drench on page<br />
126 hold a special place in my heart because they’re<br />
super easy, take less than 30 minutes to throw<br />
together, and are low in carbs. We’ve been enjoying<br />
these for many years and they’re always a huge hit. I<br />
served them at my launch party for The Blender Girl<br />
Smoothies and woke up the next morning after the<br />
party with over 100 texts, calls, and emails begging me<br />
for the recipe. I knew I had a winner.<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 27<br />
>
shiitake & asparagus lettuce cups with<br />
lime drench<br />
MAKES 16 LETTUCE CUPS; SERVES 8 AS AN APPETIZER, 4 AS A MEAL; LIME DRENCH MAKES 2/3 CUP (160ML),<br />
FILLING MAKES 4 CUPS (800G)<br />
lime drench<br />
¼ cup (60ml) fresh lime juice<br />
3 tablespoons brown rice vinegar<br />
1 tablespoon mirin<br />
1 tablespoon Bragg Liquid Aminos, gluten-free soy sauce, or tamari<br />
1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 clove)<br />
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger<br />
1½ teaspoons coconut sugar or other sweetener<br />
filling<br />
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil<br />
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)<br />
1 small green chile, ribbed, seeded, and finely chopped<br />
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger<br />
1 cup (72g) finely chopped green onion (white and green parts)<br />
6 cups (312g) finely diced shiitake or cremini mushrooms<br />
1 cup (110g) finely diced zucchini (1⁄2 medium zucchini)<br />
1 cup (140g) finely diced asparagus (about 5 medium spears)<br />
¼ cup (60ml) toasted sesame oil<br />
3 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos, gluten-free soy sauce, or tamari<br />
1⁄2 cup (14g) loosely packed finely chopped cilantro<br />
16 large butter, Bibb, or romaine lettuce leaves (outer leaves of about 4 heads)<br />
optional boosters<br />
Pinch of red pepper flakes<br />
½ cup (70g) raw or dry-toasted pine nuts<br />
2 tablespoons gomasio (ground sesame seeds and sea salt) or sesame seeds<br />
To make the lime drench, throw all of the ingredients, including the red pepper flake booster, into your blender and<br />
blast on high for about 30 seconds until well combined. Transfer to a container and set aside.<br />
To make the filling, in a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic, green chile, ginger,<br />
green onion, mushrooms, zucchini, and asparagus for 3 to 5 minutes, until the mixture has reduced to about half the<br />
volume; gradually add the sesame oil and liquid aminos as the mixture cools. Don’t overcook or the vegetables will get<br />
mushy. Stir in the cilantro and the pine nut booster.<br />
To assemble, scoop ¼ cup (50g) of the filling into each lettuce leaf, drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the lime drench, and<br />
sprinkle with the gomasio booster. Serve immediately, passing the remaining lime drench at the table. These are<br />
fabulous cold, too. Chill the filling and the dressing before assembling.<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 28
nutritional facts (per serving, based on 16 servings)<br />
calories 65 kcal | fat 5.3 g | saturated fat 0.7 g | sodium 224.4 mg |<br />
carbs 3.9 g | fiber 1.1 g | sugars 1.5 g | protein 1.4 g | calcium 16.1 mg |<br />
iron 0.6 mg<br />
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BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 30
avocado avenger<br />
SERVES 4 TO 8; CHIMICHURRI MAKES 1¼ CUPS (300ML)<br />
chimichurri<br />
¾ cup (180ml) extra-virgin olive oil<br />
1½ tablespoons finely grated lime zest<br />
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice<br />
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice<br />
1½ tablespoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)<br />
1 teaspoon natural salt<br />
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more to taste<br />
¾ cup (30g) firmly packed mint leaves, plus more to garnish<br />
¾ cup (30g) firmly packed cilantro leaves, plus more to garnish<br />
½ cup (24g) firmly packed finely chopped chives, plus more to garnish<br />
4 avocados, halved, pitted, and peeled<br />
¼ cup (35g) peeled and finely diced English cucumber<br />
¼ cup (35g) seeded and finely diced tomatoes<br />
optional boosters<br />
½ cup (55g) shaved zucchini ribbons (½ small zucchini)<br />
¼ cup (70g) seeded and finely diced watermelon, plus more to taste<br />
¼ cup (35g) raw sprouted watermelon seeds<br />
To make the chimichurri, throw the olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes into<br />
your blender and blast on high for 10 to 20 seconds, until the sauce is emulsified and the zest, garlic, and pepper flakes<br />
have been completely pulverized. Add the mint, cilantro, and chives, and pulse on high for a few seconds, then on low<br />
for a few seconds just to break down the herbs, but keeping the dressing very loose and not completely blended.<br />
On a large platter, lay out the zucchini ribbon booster. Then place the avocado halves cut sides up on top of the<br />
zucchini, like boats. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the chimichurri into each pit hole. Next, place 1 teaspoon diced tomato and<br />
1 teaspoon diced cucumber into each pit hole or on top of each avocado. Place 1 teaspoon of the watermelon booster on<br />
top. With a squeeze bottle or a spoon, drizzle more chimichurri sauce onto the avocados. Top with a sprinkle of mint,<br />
cilantro, chives, and the watermelon seed booster. Sprinkle with the remaining tomato and cucumber and with the<br />
remaining (or more) watermelon booster if desired. Enjoy immediately.<br />
nutritional facts (per serving, based on 8 servings)<br />
calories 350 kcal | fat 35 g | saturated fat 5 g | sodium 301.5 mg | carbs 13.9 g | fiber 7.4<br />
g | sugars 1.2 g | protein 2.5 g | calcium 30.3 mg | iron 1 mg<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 31
french toast with caramelised bananas<br />
SERVES 4<br />
french toast<br />
1 cup (240ml) unsweetened almond or macadamia milk (strained if homemade)<br />
1 ripe medium banana<br />
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, plus more to serve<br />
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract<br />
1 tablespoon white (or black) chia seeds<br />
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />
1⁄4 teaspoon natural salt<br />
8 slices gluten-free sandwich bread<br />
1⁄4 cup (60ml) coconut oil (in liquid form), plus more as needed<br />
caramelised bananas<br />
2 medium bananas, thickly sliced on the diagonal<br />
1⁄4 cup (37g) coconut sugar<br />
1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil (in liquid form)<br />
Pure maple syrup, to serve<br />
optional boosters<br />
1⁄4 cup (60ml) bourbon or rum<br />
2 tablespoons crushed raw pecans or walnuts<br />
1 tablespoon unsweetened dried shredded coconut<br />
Set the oven to its lowest temperature or the “warm” setting.<br />
To make the French toast, pour the milk, banana, maple syrup, vanilla, chia seeds, cinnamon, and salt into your<br />
blender and blast on high for about 30 seconds, until well combined. Pour the mixture into a large shallow baking dish<br />
and let rest for about 5 minutes to thicken slightly. In batches, place slices of the bread in the baking dish and let soak<br />
on one side for 8 to 10 seconds. Flip the slices and let soak for another 8 to 10 seconds, until evenly moistened.<br />
In a medium skillet (that fits two slices of bread) or on a large griddle (that holds all of the slices) over medium heat,<br />
warm 1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil per two slices of bread. (Resist the urge to use less coconut oil, or the bread<br />
won’t get crispy.) Add the bread and fry for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy on the edges;<br />
you may need to add more coconut oil after you flip the bread. If cooking in batches, transfer the French toast to a<br />
lined baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm, and repeat to fry the remaining bread, adding more coconut oil<br />
to cook each batch.<br />
While the last pieces of toast are cooking, make the caramelized bananas. Combine the banana slices and the coconut<br />
sugar in a zipper-lock bag, seal, and shake to coat evenly. In a skillet over medium-high heat, warm the coconut oil,<br />
add the coated bananas and the bourbon booster, and fry for about 2 minutes on each side until nicely caramelised.<br />
Serve two slices of French toast on each plate, topped with one-quarter of the caramelized bananas, one-quarter of the<br />
crushed nut boosters, and one-quarter of the coconut booster. Pass maple syrup at the table.<br />
CREDIT: All recipes in this article reprinted with permission from The Perfect Blend, copyright 2016 Tess Masters.<br />
Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.<br />
Photography copyright 2016 by Anson Smart.<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 32
nutritional facts (per serving)<br />
calories 476 kcal | fat 26.4 g | saturated fat 16.4 g | sodium 414.3 mg |<br />
carbs 60.5 g |fiber 6.1 g | sugars 29.4 g | protein 6.5 g | calcium 78.6 mg |<br />
iron 1 mg<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 33
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 34
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 35
IS<br />
Compassion<br />
By Stacey Cook<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 36
Each choice along this path<br />
is made with mindfulness and<br />
deep consideration for<br />
ourselves, for others and<br />
for all animals.<br />
C<br />
ompassion. It’s likely the most important trait we<br />
can develop, nurture and pass on. The ability to<br />
feel another’s suffering and deeply wish to end<br />
that suffering has profound power individually<br />
and world-changing potential collectively.<br />
In a world dominated by a “me” culture, this emotion<br />
stands out as a game changer. Often, it’s the catalyst to<br />
great change through its creation of thoughtfulness,<br />
kindness and right action. A life lived with compassion as<br />
the focal point is the most efficient way to creating our best<br />
selves and our best world. It is the simplest strategy to<br />
living out Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quote, “Be the change<br />
that you wish to see in the world”.<br />
And like Gandhi, compassion doesn’t discriminate.<br />
Therefore, understanding another’s suffering is not<br />
dependent upon their species. All sentient beings suffer, and<br />
more importantly, all desire not to. Showing compassion to<br />
those similar to ourselves is helpful (some would even say<br />
easier), but showering it to the world and to all who<br />
experience pain is a necessity if we want to create a kinder,<br />
more peaceful place to live.<br />
It’s a fact that animals feel no less pain than we do.<br />
Making any distinction or drawing lines between us/them,<br />
defeats any real progress on this front. With that in mind,<br />
choosing a vegan lifestyle becomes the definition of living a<br />
compassionate life.<br />
Each choice along this path is made with mindfulness<br />
and deep consideration for ourselves, for others and for all<br />
animals. It takes a very caring individual to devote their<br />
time, sacrifice their convenience, and endure living on the<br />
outskirts of today’s society - all to ease the suffering of<br />
others.<br />
Compassion for Ourselves<br />
We are told that you must love yourself before you<br />
can fully love another. The same argument could be<br />
made for compassion. How can we begin to<br />
understand another’s anguish and ultimately desire<br />
to help them, if we haven’t attempted to lessen our<br />
own?<br />
Many of the worst types of physical suffering are<br />
attributed to the consumption of animal products.<br />
The American Cancer Society confirmed this when it<br />
concluded that red and processed meats are<br />
carcinogenic. And science consistently proves that<br />
cooking beef, pork, fish and poultry at high<br />
temperatures, whether over a stove or a grill,<br />
increases cancer risk.<br />
Add this information to what we already know<br />
about antibiotics and hormones in animal products<br />
and it’s a no brainer - giving up meat and dairy is in<br />
our own best interest. It takes a pro-active mindset<br />
to prevent chronic illness and disease. Making the<br />
effort to greatly lower your chances of extreme<br />
suffering from heart disease, stroke, cancer, and more<br />
is a tremendous act of self-compassion.<br />
Compassion for Others<br />
The health benefits of being vegan don’t end with us.<br />
They are plentiful, far-reaching and we can lavish<br />
them on the world with our commitment to abstain<br />
from animal products.<br />
Raising animals for food is destroying not only our<br />
health but our planet’s as well. Factory farming is<br />
one of the largest contributors to climate change,<br />
land degradation, water pollution and more. Plus,<br />
the amount of grain used to feed the animals we are<br />
raising for meat/dairy is enough to feed our world’s<br />
hungry. Take that in for a moment… We could<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 37<br />
>
Compassion becomes a practice that<br />
expands its reach and becomes allencompassing<br />
with time and attention.<br />
possibly stop world hunger by refusing to consume<br />
animals.<br />
Each time a decision is made (whether mindfully or<br />
not) to consume or refrain from animal products, it has<br />
an impact on every life on earth. Multiple choices are<br />
presented to us each day to have a positive or negative<br />
impact on our family members, friends, neighbours<br />
near/far and for all future generations.<br />
Taking a stand, going against the grain, doing what is<br />
simply “right” and going or staying vegan is an act of<br />
compassion for others … for the world.<br />
Compassion for Animals<br />
Working towards ending the world’s suffering is an<br />
excellent end goal, but why not start with not causing it<br />
in the first place?<br />
Eating animal products is the most direct cause of<br />
animal suffering. What’s worse, is that eating animals is<br />
not mandatory or even necessary. We’ve been<br />
conditioned to think it is, but a balanced vegan diet<br />
provides all the vitamins, minerals and protein we need.<br />
Plant sources are available to supply vitamin D, B12 and<br />
Omega 3, the three most often cited as “lacking” from a<br />
cruelty-free diet.<br />
Even if you truly like the taste of meat, the new meat<br />
alternatives are surprisingly close to the real thing and<br />
can be eaten with a clear conscience.<br />
Same for apparel. Determining between wants and<br />
needs here is imperative. The truth is we don’t “need” to<br />
consume animals in any form. Once this realisation is<br />
made, it becomes clear how to stop suffering before it<br />
begins. Going vegan severs the direct cause/effect link<br />
between the person with buying power and the<br />
defenseless animals who suffer for it.<br />
If you factor compassion into your buying decisions,<br />
the choice is easy. And choice is the key word. The path<br />
to a more humane world boils down to each choice<br />
culminating in change.<br />
Current vegans are leading by example to push this<br />
idea forward. Leading with compassion for those simply<br />
interested, or trying it out, will open far more doors<br />
than a strict all-or-nothing approach. <strong>Vegan</strong>ism is<br />
typically a process. There are of course exceptions, but<br />
my experience has been that most give up one animal<br />
product at a time. Each achievement along the way is<br />
important in creating lasting change. And each<br />
compassionate act, no matter how small, deserves to be<br />
celebrated and encouraged with equal amounts of<br />
compassion.<br />
To quote Gandhi again, “Compassion is a muscle that<br />
gets stronger with use.” Every meal, purchase, and<br />
interaction is as an opportunity to flex this muscle and<br />
strengthen it. Compassion becomes a practice that<br />
expands its reach and becomes all-encompassing with<br />
time and attention.<br />
This truth is evident because veganism is on the rise.<br />
More and more people are adopting the lifestyle and the<br />
affect really is benefitting humans, animals and the<br />
environment. More and more of us are considering and<br />
subscribing to a future filled with more compassion for<br />
all. And by simply and openly living our lives in this<br />
way, we bring more normalcy to the lifestyle, open more<br />
doors for discussion on the topic and create smoother<br />
transitions for others. In truth, veganism is compassion<br />
and a definite path to a kinder world. BV<br />
Stacey Cook is a freelance<br />
writer that combines her<br />
education, work and<br />
volunteer experiences to<br />
raise awareness around<br />
causes she’s passionate<br />
about. Follow her work at<br />
https://stacey-cook.com/<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 38
“When you can cater to yourself, you start to<br />
be better equipped to cater to other people<br />
without feeling so overwhelmed.”<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 40
Jez Kaur<br />
Hipster<br />
Veggie<br />
Jez Haur is a vegan YouTuber bringing to<br />
light the importance of compassion for<br />
self and empowering your health with<br />
organic, plant-based foods. Having grown<br />
up in London, embracing her Punjabi<br />
heritage has helped Jez radically<br />
transform her outlook on life. We caught<br />
up with her to find out more…<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 41
Tell us about yourself and how you<br />
came to be vegan…<br />
I think the first thing that made me switch my diet was<br />
when I was about 18. I was on holiday for a week with<br />
my friends. It was a week of very unhealthy living and I<br />
came back and my brother was in hospital and no one<br />
had told me. It turned out that he had diabetes and my<br />
father has always said that he was the healthy one in the<br />
family. He always went to the gym; he followed the<br />
men's health lifestyle of a high protein-low carb diet,<br />
something that we believed to be very healthy back<br />
then. And he's only five years older than me, so he must<br />
have been about 24 when he got diabetes. Some of my<br />
other family members had high cholesterol and cancer.<br />
Cancer was just popping up everywhere around me.<br />
I went vegetarian and then I went vegan. I began<br />
talking to my parents about how they used to live. I<br />
started to read about how our lifestyle has changed so<br />
much from how it was even in my parents’ generation<br />
and that this can be a factor in the high cancer rate. I<br />
realised that our body and health is affected hugely by<br />
what we eat. We can have a generic predisposition to<br />
being obese, having heart disease or cancer, but if we<br />
adjust our lifestyle we can limit those genes from<br />
expressing themselves. It's about taking our health back<br />
into our own hands.<br />
How would you define self-care? And<br />
how does that show up in a practical<br />
way in your everyday life?<br />
Self-love is being selfish in a sense, but being selfish has<br />
a really negative connotation in society today. But we<br />
need to get rid of that because being selfish can be a first<br />
step to being self-less. When you can cater to yourself,<br />
you start to be able to be better equipped to cater to<br />
other people without feeling so overwhelmed because<br />
now you are running on full fuel. How this looks in my<br />
everyday life is apparent in what I choose to eat.<br />
Obviously I go out. I don't stop my social life from<br />
existing, because that is also a part of self-love. I have<br />
friends, I have a social life but on a day-to-day basis I<br />
only consume organic food. I only buy from local shops<br />
when I can and that is how I see me loving myself. I<br />
want to consume certain foods because I see my body<br />
and my health as being very important. It deserves the<br />
best food that I can provide.<br />
You’ve mentioned before that<br />
vegetarianism is quite common place<br />
in many Indian communities, but a<br />
lot of Indian families that come over<br />
to the UK or to other Western<br />
countries leave their previous<br />
lifestyle behind and it begins to<br />
become detrimental to their health.<br />
So from your perspective, what are<br />
some of the biggest health challenges<br />
that are facing your community?<br />
In terms of disease, cancer, heart disease and diabetes<br />
are the top three threats to my community. It's so<br />
common amongst us and I think it’s one of the risks of<br />
being an immigrant. You literally leave everything that ><br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 42
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 43
you know behind and you have to change the way that you<br />
behave once you come to this new soil. Nothing is familiar<br />
to you so you try to change your lifestyle. You no longer eat<br />
those organic fresh fruits and vegetables. You're eating<br />
these convenience foods and they're using ingredients<br />
totally alien to you and your ancestors. I think those are<br />
the things that really affect the South Asian community.<br />
Heart disease is something that comes along, obviously<br />
because of food, but also because of stress levels. Being an<br />
immigrant is a very, very stressful thing in itself. I think all<br />
of that combined - changing the food, changing the<br />
environment - really takes its toll on the body. I can't even<br />
imagine being a first generation immigrant, it must be<br />
really difficult.<br />
You learned Punjabi to connect and<br />
learn from your grandparents and they<br />
have really encouraged you to embrace<br />
a simple lifestyle. What are some of the<br />
most important lessons that you've<br />
learned from them?<br />
My granddad’s literally the coolest guy on the planet. He’s<br />
got a huge beard and he's a Sikh, so he carries around a<br />
sword with him all the time. How can you not be a cool<br />
guy looking like that, right? He's awesome. There are a few<br />
things I've learned, but the first one would be the<br />
importance of growing organic fruit and vegetables<br />
yourself. He has his own garden and it's not a big<br />
garden, just a couple of metres, but he's got so<br />
much. He’s got his garlic, his kale, his spinach, his<br />
beetroot, his carrots. And he's grown so much in<br />
abundance. And he stresses so much that we don't need<br />
to add chemicals to our produce because it's from<br />
Mother Earth. From God. We don't need to tamper with<br />
it because it's perfect the way it is. He's a firm believer<br />
that there is a Creator and we are the created. We<br />
should be looking after ourselves with that kind of<br />
respect.<br />
They also taught me how to embrace being<br />
Punjabi and that we have come from a small village. I<br />
used to think it was the most un-cool thing in the world<br />
when I was younger. I remember one of my earliest<br />
thoughts was I wished that I was white because of where<br />
I grew up. I look at that now and I see that was so<br />
messed up. Having dialogue with my grandparents<br />
makes me realise that being who I am is really cool and<br />
there's so much to learn about from the ways back<br />
home.<br />
At the Vevolution Festival that was<br />
held in London in November last<br />
year, you were on a discussion panel -<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 44
and one of the questions that came up was,<br />
"How can we ensure the vegan movement is<br />
more inclusive?” Can you recap on your<br />
thoughts on this for any readers that<br />
weren't present?<br />
That was a great question because it's one thing identifying a<br />
problem, but we also need to come up with a solution. I think one<br />
of the biggest things we can do is be open with our dialogue so<br />
that we aren’t just speaking to vegans or those that follow a plantbased<br />
diet. We should encourage people who eat meat, people<br />
who don't love themselves, people who don't love animals and talk<br />
openly with all of them about why they should give veganism a go<br />
without making them feel intimidated about it or that they are<br />
going to be labelled.<br />
We need to realise that there's a massive world out there. As<br />
vegans, we're still the minority and we need to engage with people<br />
who are the majority. You’re never going to agree 100% with<br />
anyone on this planet, so if you can find some common ground<br />
cling to that. Everyone's different and we need to identify our<br />
similarities and fight the good fight together.<br />
What's next for you? Have you got any<br />
projects for Hipster Veggie on the horizon?<br />
I'm currently studying to be a health coach, so that will be a<br />
service I’ll have up and running pretty soon. I’ll be working in the<br />
community to help people move towards a plant-based diet,<br />
looking at any nutritional deficiencies they might have and<br />
helping them with food shopping, etc. There are a lot of other<br />
things that I’ve also got in the pipeline for the New Year but I<br />
won’t say too much about them just yet! BV<br />
For more information on Jez’s<br />
work visit her website. You can<br />
also connect with her via<br />
YouTube, Facebook, Instagram<br />
and Twitter.
Jennifer Blough is a professional counsellor,<br />
certified compassion fatigue therapist, and certified<br />
pet loss grief specialist. She owns a private<br />
practice in southeast Michigan called Deepwater<br />
Counselling and has recently published a book about<br />
coping with compassion fatigue.<br />
Tell us about yourself…<br />
I have been involved in animal welfare/rights in some capacity since I<br />
was a child. I became vegetarian at a very young age and attended my<br />
first protest with my grandma (also a vegetarian) when I was about 12.<br />
My grandma was very involved in the animal rights movement and I<br />
followed in her footsteps, including eventually going vegan. I also<br />
have a professional background in animal welfare, including work at<br />
shelters and as an animal control officer. I ended up becoming a<br />
therapist after a personal tragedy. My special-needs parrot and<br />
feathered soul mate, Albert, died suddenly in 2011, which turned my<br />
world upside down. As I worked through my grief, I realised that<br />
resources for people struggling with companion animal loss were<br />
scarce, and so I wanted to become that resource.<br />
What is compassion fatigue?<br />
Compassion fatigue is the emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion<br />
that occurs when caring for animals or people who are suffering or<br />
have been traumatised. It’s not a mental disorder nor an illness; it’s<br />
simply a normal consequence of caring so much that it hurts. All<br />
caregivers and helping professionals – from nurses to police officers to<br />
veterinarians – are vulnerable to compassion fatigue.
“Compassion fatigue<br />
is the emotional,<br />
physical, and mental<br />
exhaustion that<br />
occurs when caring<br />
What inspired you to want to specialise in<br />
this particular area?<br />
It wasn’t until I went back to grad school to study<br />
psychology that I learned about compassion fatigue. It<br />
was emphasised in my program because therapists can<br />
easily develop it when working with traumatised clients.<br />
As I learned more about it, I thought, ‘so this is what I’ve<br />
been struggling with all these years… it actually has a<br />
name!’ In addition to pet loss grief, I wanted to specialise<br />
in compassion fatigue, particularly among animal welfare<br />
professionals and animal rights activists because these<br />
populations are underserved, misunderstood, and so<br />
saturated with pain and grief. Their pain and grief is<br />
often not recognised or accepted by mainstream society.<br />
By that I mean there are a lot of misconceptions out there<br />
that this community is either a bunch of “animal nuts<br />
who care more about animals than people” or they go to<br />
work and play with puppies and kittens all day. Nothing<br />
could be further from the truth. Whether you are<br />
exposed to videos of factory farming or you work with<br />
animals that have been abused, our community faces an<br />
extraordinary amount of trauma and grief.<br />
Why is compassion fatigue a problem?<br />
Compassion fatigue is a huge problem within the animal<br />
welfare and rights community. It affects those of us who<br />
care the most, and so we run the risk of those people<br />
burning out and leaving the field altogether. Untreated<br />
compassion fatigue can lead to serious problems such as<br />
clinical depression, substance abuse, and even suicide.<br />
Veterinarians and animal control officers have alarmingly<br />
high rates of suicide. Compassion fatigue not only takes a<br />
toll on us personally, but also affects our relationships<br />
with others and spills over into our work. Employers<br />
should take compassion fatigue very seriously as it affects<br />
for animals or people<br />
who are suffering or<br />
staff and volunteer morale, work productivity, and<br />
retention.<br />
What are some of the warning signs that<br />
you’re suffering from it?<br />
Compassion fatigue can look different for everyone.<br />
For me personally, sometimes it sits quietly simmering<br />
on the back burner and other times it boils over. It’s<br />
really important to know your own warning signs so<br />
that you can take steps to manage it. Some of those<br />
warning signs or symptoms include sadness, anger,<br />
anxiety, sleep problems, appetite disturbance,<br />
nightmares or flashbacks, low energy, lack of<br />
motivation, grief, wanting to withdraw from others or<br />
isolate yourself, guilt, feeling empty or numb, work<br />
problems, relationship conflicts, low self-esteem, poor<br />
concentration, bodily complaints such as tight muscles<br />
or headaches, developing a bad attitude or negative<br />
worldview, unhealthy coping skills such as alcohol<br />
abuse, and suicidal thoughts.<br />
In your experience, how common is it for<br />
those working with animals and humans<br />
to suffer from it?<br />
have been<br />
traumatised”.<br />
Not only is compassion fatigue common, but it’s also<br />
normal. You can’t be exposed to that much suffering<br />
and not be affected. It’s not like you either have ><br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 47
compassion fatigue or you don’t – it’s more like to what<br />
degree do you have it. If left untreated, it can become<br />
severe enough to the point of burnout. If well managed,<br />
you can remain energised and experience more<br />
compassion satisfaction than fatigue.<br />
Your new book - To Save a Starfish: A<br />
Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the<br />
Animal Welfare Warrior - offers a holistic<br />
approach to dealing with compassion<br />
fatigue. Why is this important?<br />
I have a very holistic approach to treating my clients, and<br />
I wanted this book to reflect that. We hold trauma, grief,<br />
and stress in our bodies – not just our brains. I believe<br />
very strongly in the mind-body connection. And so I<br />
wanted to offer a variety of practical stress management<br />
techniques and self-care skills that people could<br />
incorporate into their daily lives. I don’t believe that<br />
healing comes in a one-size-fits-all approach, and so my<br />
hope is that readers will try the recommendations and<br />
discover what works best for them.<br />
What will readers gain from the book?<br />
The very first thing that I hope readers will gain from the<br />
book is validation. Assurance that you are not alone, that<br />
what you are going through has a name and is normal.<br />
You’re not weak; you’re not flawed. There is no<br />
compassion fatigue without compassion, so chances are<br />
you probably care a great deal. But that comes with a<br />
price, and so we have to learn to manage the symptoms<br />
that can arise from caring so much. We have to take care<br />
of ourselves in order to take care of others. This book<br />
offers helpful tools to manage the many symptoms of<br />
compassion fatigue, including relaxation techniques,<br />
nutrition advice, self-care skills, sleep hygiene,<br />
challenging unhelpful thinking styles, using physical<br />
activity and creativity to combat compassion fatigue, and<br />
much more. Because it’s written in a workbook format,<br />
readers have the opportunity to reflect on their own<br />
struggles and experiences. BV<br />
For more information, visit<br />
Jennifer’s website at<br />
www.deepwatermichigan.com to<br />
learn more and to join her email list<br />
for regular advice on compassion<br />
fatigue, as well as upcoming events<br />
and announcements. Be sure to also<br />
look for The Compassion Fatigue<br />
Podcast, which is scheduled to be<br />
released this month – <strong>Jan</strong>uary <strong>2017</strong>!<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 48
By Valerie McGowan
A professed believer who maintains religious<br />
opinions contrary to those<br />
accepted by his or her church or rejects doctrines<br />
prescribed by that church.<br />
I<br />
am a heretic. Not something I ever thought I would<br />
be accused of during my Christian life. I mean I’ve<br />
always felt like I was a bit too liberal for my Christian<br />
community, yet too conservative for the liberals in<br />
my world. More than once I’ve stated in a mostly joking<br />
way that if I expressed all my beliefs and convictions I’d<br />
annoy just about everyone.<br />
A few years ago, I lost a friend for no other reason than<br />
the fact we didn’t see eye to eye on some issues. She was a<br />
fellow Christian who had an uncommon compassion for<br />
animals since her childhood. That was what we initially<br />
bonded over. I say uncommon, because she was the first<br />
Christian that I’d come across that seemed to share my<br />
passion for animal rights. She was not vegan, but<br />
described herself as ‘mostly vegetarian’.<br />
After we first connected through a Christian vegan<br />
website, it didn’t take long to share with each other our<br />
histories, beliefs and perspectives on life. When we finally<br />
met in person, a couple of months later, that rapport<br />
simply transferred over and much of our time spent<br />
together was shopping, discussing history (which we both<br />
loved and she was extremely knowledgeable of) and<br />
laughing.<br />
Yes, laughing. We shared a sarcastic, obnoxious sense<br />
of humor. And even though she was nearly 20 years older<br />
than me, there was never a dull moment.<br />
The small thorn in the side of all this friendship bliss<br />
was our respective political beliefs. I was the liberal<br />
conservative or conservative liberal, depending on how<br />
you want to look at it. She, politically conservative, yet a<br />
self-described bleeding heart when it came to her love of<br />
animals.<br />
For the first few months of our friendship, we<br />
continued to challenge each other with our opposing<br />
views. I found this to be intellectually stimulating, as I<br />
appreciate hearing from different perspectives. But over<br />
time, it became clear that the philosophical differences<br />
between the two of us became more of a strain on our<br />
interaction.<br />
This wasn’t because we didn’t care for each other. I<br />
was happy to continue our friendship as it was. Only, she<br />
wasn’t. After all those months, she was unable to sway<br />
me in to her political/spiritual camp. It had become a<br />
source of frustration for both of us.<br />
To justify ending our friendship, she appealed to the<br />
Bible verse in the book of Amos, Chapter 3, Verse 3(Old<br />
Testament), which states: “Can two walk together except<br />
they be agreed”? The idea that we must have total<br />
agreement on every issue to have positive relationships<br />
baffled me. But, I guess being the liberal, heretical<br />
Christian was just too much.<br />
More recently, I received the honour of being<br />
formally pronounced a heretic. This interaction took<br />
place on social media with a man who came to the<br />
Facebook page for my blog, just to argue with me about<br />
veganism. His condescending and paternalistic tone<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 51
leapt from the screen. Calling me ‘dear’ and such. I must<br />
admit, I found it a bit amusing.<br />
The Bible-thumping was on full blast as he<br />
continuously posted long passages of scripture on my<br />
page to prove that I was in deep sin for refusing to eat<br />
animals. I refused to fight with him, but kept<br />
respectfully firm in my responses. He questioned the<br />
legitimately of my faith in Christ, accusing me of twisting<br />
the scriptures to bend to my vegan beliefs.<br />
I replied that just because something is commanded<br />
or condoned in scripture at the time it was written,<br />
doesn’t necessarily mean it’s binding for all people for all<br />
time. I asked him if he ate bugs, since it’s recorded that<br />
God through Moses gave the Hebrews permission to eat<br />
certain ones. I reminded him that in the New Testament<br />
there are passages where women are told to keep silent<br />
and cover their heads. Although I’m sure by this time he<br />
was wishing I would just shut up and submit to his<br />
‘teaching’ like a good, submissive Christian woman.<br />
When I referenced the importance of considering<br />
context in biblical interpretation, that’s when I suspect<br />
his head exploded, because he was having none of<br />
it! There was no context as far as he was concerned<br />
and apparently, no way to misinterpret the many<br />
verses he shared on my page.<br />
Then pronouncement was made. Heretic. And<br />
not only that, but condemned by my own words<br />
and “clearly not a Christian.” As I mentioned earlier,<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 52<br />
I found this whole interaction somewhat amusing. But, at<br />
the same time I could not shake the eerie realisation that<br />
had this been four or five hundred years ago, and the<br />
conflict was over me being a woman preacher on the<br />
wrong side of European religious history, my Facebook<br />
bible teacher would’ve happily seen me tortured and<br />
burnt at the stake, all the while believing he had done<br />
God a great service.<br />
So, while I was initially taken aback by the accusations<br />
and questioning of my faith, I feel no regret or doubt over<br />
my choice to live as compassionately as I can and causing<br />
as little harm as possible towards all of God’s creation.<br />
One way I live that out is by being vegan. If that makes<br />
me a heretic, then so be it. BV<br />
You can read<br />
more of<br />
Valerie’s<br />
writing at<br />
her website<br />
and connect with her<br />
via Facebook.
FAITH<br />
and compassion<br />
By Craig Wescoe<br />
T<br />
o some this may come as a surprise, but not all<br />
vegans deny the existence of God and not all<br />
Christians believe animals are here for us to kill<br />
and eat. In fact, more and more people today are<br />
identifying as both Christian and vegan. There are hundreds<br />
of passages in the Bible that support the idea that living a<br />
vegan lifestyle is consistent with living a life that glorifies<br />
God – and there are thousands of vegan Christians in the<br />
world today proving it!<br />
Christians living a compassionate plant-based lifestyle are<br />
not confined to one type of church either. They can be found<br />
kneeling at Catholic Mass, taking the Orthodox Eucharist,<br />
praising in a Baptist worship hall, celebrating the Sabbath in<br />
a Seventh Day Adventist pew, evangelising on the street<br />
corner, or even giving a sermon in front of their own<br />
Lutheran, Presbyterian, or Methodist congregation. They can<br />
be found anywhere, though they are often the only vegan in<br />
their church – at least in the beginning.<br />
If you ask a Christian vegan for the basis of their beliefs,<br />
they’ll likely have a Bible full of highlighted passages ready to<br />
show you in detail, but the two focal points that tend to<br />
come up the most are from Genesis and from the gospels.<br />
Genesis depicts the world’s original state of perfection and<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 54<br />
its subsequent decline while Jesus represents a return<br />
to that original state of perfection.<br />
The Bible opens with God creating a perfect world<br />
in which animals and humans live together in<br />
harmony, eating all the colorful fruits and vegetation<br />
of the earth (Genesis 1-2). It wasn’t until after the fall<br />
of man that this harmony was broken and humans<br />
deviated from God’s plan and began killing animals<br />
and seeing them as food. Humans were said to be<br />
created in God’s image. Restoring humanity to that<br />
holy image involves no longer deviating from God’s<br />
will and plan for the earth, which means going back to<br />
eating fruits and vegetation and living in harmony<br />
with all of God’s creatures.<br />
In the gospels, Jesus taught that the two primary<br />
commandments are to love God wholeheartedly and to<br />
love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12). <strong>Vegan</strong><br />
Christians extend this love to all of God’s creatures<br />
that inhabit the world around us – not just to our<br />
human neighbours that live next door. Jesus warned<br />
never to seek to justify acts of cruelty (Matthew 23)<br />
and instead to always go the extra mile when it comes<br />
to matters of love (Matthew 5). We have authority<br />
>
Humans were said to<br />
be created in God’s<br />
image. Restoring<br />
humanity to that<br />
holy image involves<br />
no longer deviating<br />
from God’s will and<br />
plan for the earth, which means going<br />
back to eating fruits and vegetation<br />
and living in harmony with all of<br />
God’s creatures.<br />
over the animals just as Jesus has authority over the<br />
church. Jesus lovingly watches over his flock and would<br />
never harm even the least of his sheep. The idea is that it is<br />
good for ambassadors of Christ to likewise follow his<br />
example of compassionate leadership in how we treat the<br />
animals we’ve been entrusted with. It’s a rather simple idea<br />
really.<br />
Given that vegans exist in all types of churches, there is<br />
no universal set of creeds agreed upon or unanimous<br />
interpretation of the scriptures among Christian vegans.<br />
The one common thread is having a heart for God and a<br />
heart for animals. Given that the message of the New<br />
Testament is one of love and mercy, it should come as no<br />
surprise that more and more Christians are adopting a<br />
compassionate attitude toward animals or that vegans are<br />
finding a new hope in a nearly three thousand year old<br />
promise of a world where the lion and the lamb live<br />
peacefully together alongside us on the earth (Isaiah 11).<br />
If you are Christian but not vegan, you may want to<br />
prayerfully consider extending your love and your mercy to<br />
all of God’s creatures. If you are vegan but not Christian, it<br />
may be wise to keep an open mind about God and about<br />
the Bible. Like the Ethiopian in Acts 8, perhaps you simply<br />
haven’t come across the right person to help you<br />
understand what you are reading. I think we can all at least<br />
agree on one point: the world could use a bit more hope<br />
and compassion right about now.<br />
Craig Wescoe graduated with an M.A. in<br />
philosophy from the University of Toledo in<br />
2007. He taught undergraduate courses in<br />
Logic and Critical Thinking before taking a<br />
job in business in 2010. He is a longtime<br />
animal-loving vegan and servant of God. You<br />
can follow his blog here. He is also a member<br />
of the Christian <strong>Vegan</strong>s, <strong>Vegan</strong> Christian<br />
Community Facebook groups and co-creator<br />
of the New <strong>Vegan</strong> Support Facebook group.<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 56
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 58
Robert Grillo<br />
Farm to Fable<br />
Why do the vast majority of us continue to consume animals when<br />
we could choose otherwise? What are the cultural forces that<br />
drive our food choices? These are the fundamental questions<br />
founder and director of Free from Harm, Robert Grillo sought to<br />
answer in writing his new book – Farm to Fable: The Fictions of<br />
Our Animal-Consuming Culture. We caught up with Robert to discuss<br />
some of his conclusions as to how fictional narratives<br />
orchestrated by the multi-billion dollar marketing campaigns of<br />
the animal agricultural industries keep people from consciously<br />
choosing to live compassionately.<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 59
Tell us a bit about yourself… How did you<br />
become vegan?<br />
I’m a writer, activist and speaker who grew up working in<br />
publishing and advertising where I got a behind-thescenes<br />
perspective on the image building industries and<br />
how they influence the public. I became vegan in 2009<br />
after watching some documentaries, such as Food Inc.<br />
For anyone that doesn’t know about Free<br />
from Harm, can you explain about the<br />
work you do?<br />
We’re a non-profit founded in 2009 and dedicated to farm<br />
animal education and advocacy. Our vision is a world<br />
where non-human animals are no longer exploited and<br />
made to suffer to serve some human end. We live in an age<br />
when this is finally possible and we should celebrate that.<br />
What inspired you to write Farm to Fable?<br />
And what do you hope it will achieve?<br />
Farm to Fable is the culmination of years of exploring the<br />
fictions of animal consumption from the perspective of a<br />
branding and marketing person who has worked on the<br />
inside to see how these fictions are created and how they<br />
function once they’re out there for the public to digest. I<br />
realised early on that even vegans were, to varying degrees,<br />
under the spell of these fictions and some animal groups<br />
even use them in their campaigns. So I felt compelled to<br />
write a book in the hopes that it would bring a much<br />
needed awareness to the vegan community as well as<br />
the public at large. For the general public, my hope is<br />
that the book will prompt them to question what<br />
appears to be “normal” in their everyday lives, to look<br />
more critically at what they see in the grocery stores and<br />
restaurants, what they see on TV and online. I hope that<br />
they might better see how we are being manipulated to<br />
make food choices that ultimately betray our core values<br />
of kindness, reciprocity and decency.<br />
From all the examples of fictional stories<br />
we are told about consuming animal<br />
products that are featured in the book,<br />
which do you feel is the most dangerous<br />
and why?<br />
Consent is the foundation. Consent has us believing that<br />
animals are willing participants in whatever it is we<br />
want to do with them, that they willingly sacrifice<br />
themselves for some greater human purpose. We say<br />
that they give us their eggs, their secretions, their bodies<br />
and even their lives. Of course we know that animals are<br />
not only incapable of giving their consent; they clearly<br />
indicate their resistance to domination and will fight<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 60
“For the general<br />
public, my hope is<br />
that the book will<br />
prompt them to<br />
question what<br />
appears to be<br />
“normal” in their<br />
everyday lives…”<br />
“might-makes-right” worldview. Thanksgiving is an<br />
important example of how these fictions are alive and<br />
well today, sabotaging our judgment to support<br />
unspeakable horrors in the name of tradition and<br />
culture.<br />
like hell to avoid pain and death. Once we believe in consent,<br />
then it’s just a matter of how we treat them. Use is off the<br />
table since it is assumed that they don’t mind being used. This<br />
is why humane-washing has emerged as such a prominent<br />
fictional device today.<br />
You mention how since the beginning of our<br />
recorded history, humans have used<br />
narratives of animals choosing to sacrifice<br />
themselves for the greater good, and how we<br />
have made up elaborate rituals around the<br />
killing of animals for food as a form of<br />
repentance and absolution of guilt. How do<br />
you see this still being a part of people’s<br />
psyches and being played out today?<br />
Whenever some new-age, hipster foodie who captures the<br />
media’s attention waxes spiritual about how we must “give<br />
thanks” or “honour the sacrifice” of the animals we needlessly<br />
exploit and kill for food, we can be sure they are invoking<br />
ancient fictions that are as old as civilisation itself. There’s<br />
absolutely nothing progressive about this “tooth and claw”,<br />
Your book points out the kind of<br />
marketing budgets that the animal<br />
agriculture industry has to target<br />
consumers – annual budgets over a<br />
billion US dollars! What does this<br />
mean for organisations trying to effect<br />
change? How can we compete with<br />
those kinds of resources?<br />
It’s important to realise that aside from advertising, the<br />
entire entertainment, television and film industry, as<br />
well as the mass media where we get our news about<br />
the world, are all disseminating the fictions of animal<br />
consumption. What does it mean for us? Most<br />
fundamentally, it means we must recognise the power<br />
of ideas, beliefs and values in shaping our behaviour<br />
and choices. The fact that corporations spend billions<br />
of dollars on appealing to those beliefs and values is a<br />
testament to just how powerful they are. It means that<br />
just advocating behaviour changes, such as Meatless<br />
Monday, will never even begin to challenge those<br />
beliefs that are necessary for the meaningful change we<br />
want to see. As for how do we compete? The answer is ><br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 61
“Consent has us believing that<br />
animals are willing participants<br />
in whatever it is we want to do<br />
with them, that they willingly<br />
sacrifice themselves for some<br />
greater human purpose.”<br />
we can’t compete. We can never win the struggle for<br />
justice by using the exploiter’s tools of deception. Like any<br />
other social justice movement, our success lies in mass<br />
education and building an organized grassroots<br />
movement. And we should partner with all other like<br />
movements to strengthen our common cause to fight<br />
oppression wherever it rears its ugly head.<br />
As a vegan living in a non-vegan world, it<br />
often feels as if people don’t care about<br />
animals. However, your book points to<br />
research that argues otherwise. Can you<br />
tell us a little more about that and how<br />
that should shape our promotion of<br />
veganism?<br />
In his recent BBC series, “Sex, Death and the Meaning of<br />
Life,” the world’s most famous evolutionary biologist,<br />
Richard Dawkins, tell us that: “Science shows we humans<br />
are hardwired to have empathy. Scientists can now scan<br />
which parts of the brain register vicarious pain or<br />
pleasure.” “Brain science helps us to see why we find it a<br />
bad idea to steal, why we hate to see somebody kicking a<br />
dog. We can trace the chemicals in the brain that reward<br />
kindness. We can see what goes on in the brain when we<br />
feel for others. Goodness is natural to us. Kindness is in<br />
our physiology.”<br />
More specific to vegan advocacy, we find a very high<br />
rate of caring about the suffering of other animals, 80% to<br />
90% in people surveyed, but this doesn’t necessarily or<br />
easily translate into food choices. Nevertheless, if one<br />
really believes that one should “meet people where they<br />
are” then we should first recognise that empathy is there<br />
in most of us yet needs to be cultivated. That’s where we<br />
come in. Even if one insists that humans don’t care about<br />
other animals, this is largely a cultural construct that<br />
should not be used as an excuse to avoid the subject.<br />
Culture is malleable. It’s our job as their advocates to<br />
make the case for why people should care, just as it is the<br />
role of any other justice activist to make a case for their<br />
cause. They too dealt with incredible obstacles and<br />
terrible odds and yet succeeded. We have compelling<br />
stories and compelling evidence for why people should<br />
care.<br />
What is the biggest mistake most vegan/<br />
animal advocacy groups are doing in<br />
trying to change people’s behaviour?<br />
What should they be doing instead?<br />
There are certain high profile figures in our movement<br />
who do their fair share of critiquing the vegan messenger,<br />
telling her what to wear, how to act, what to say and how<br />
to say it for maximum “effectiveness.” At times we seem<br />
more obsessed about what people think about us than ><br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 62
“We must<br />
communicate the<br />
very real and<br />
urgent need for<br />
change, rather<br />
than pretend that<br />
baby steps are<br />
enough.”<br />
carrying out our actual activism. Some of these people<br />
actually sound like a vegan Miss Manners, extolling pop<br />
psychology or self-help tropes which I don’t see advancing<br />
our cause. My work is instead focused on exploring the<br />
culture that perpetuates “non-veganism.”<br />
As for our vegan community, I think it would help us<br />
immensely to develop a platform that conveys more<br />
dignity, confidence and storytelling savvy. I’d like to see<br />
more honesty and conviction about our goals for animal<br />
liberation and the kind of radical activism achieving those<br />
goals will require. I’d like to see a greater reverence for<br />
truth as the most powerful tool we have against the<br />
exploitation industries that are built upon fictions and lies.<br />
This means that animals never become our “bargaining<br />
tools” to broker deals with their exploiters or with the<br />
public. After all, who are we, as their supposed advocates,<br />
to negotiate the use — any use — of their bodies, or to<br />
negotiate the level of their suffering or victimisation? What<br />
other victim advocates would find this even remotely<br />
ethical? I can’t think of any. I’d like to see more of us<br />
abandon the myth that we have the luxury of time to<br />
advocate transition in steps. If we listen to the urgent calls<br />
from leading climate and environmental experts, then we<br />
must honestly face the fact that time is most certainly not<br />
on our side. We must communicate the very real and<br />
urgent need for change, rather than pretend that baby steps<br />
are enough. They aren’t. As Noam Chomsky famously said,<br />
“Just tell the truth.”<br />
As you quite rightfully point out, it can<br />
be quite a popularity contest between<br />
the various animal advocacy<br />
organisations vying for financial<br />
contributions and public attention. For<br />
those that can’t afford to be so physically<br />
active with their advocacy due to<br />
whatever reason, what advice would you<br />
give in terms of how to choose an<br />
organisation to support? Are there any<br />
criteria for an effective organisation?<br />
In the process of writing my book, I came to question<br />
many more assumptions than I had anticipated. And<br />
one of them is this belief that non-profit organisations<br />
are at the forefront of change and progress for our<br />
movement. I think we just assume that they are — some<br />
appear so polished, professional and convincing — but<br />
maybe that’s just wishful thinking. As much as I<br />
appreciate the Free from Harm donors who have helped<br />
us advance our mission in so many ways, I can’t help<br />
but wonder if larger organisations that become heavily<br />
dependent on and therefore influenced by donors do<br />
not risk losing their focus and impetus for meaningful<br />
change. Maybe instead it will be certain visionaries who<br />
are driven by nothing more than a passion for their<br />
cause who people will rally around, like they rallied<br />
around Cesar Chavez. Other movements have not<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 64
equired a lot of non-profits and donors to build a movement. They<br />
just needed to organise properly. So this all begs the question: can<br />
donating replace actual participation? Can we really expect giving<br />
to replace activism, as the Effective Altruism movement seems to<br />
suggest? Grassroots activism means physically showing up for<br />
events, but it can also mean spreading the message through social<br />
media. At Free from Harm we developed the Pollinators Network<br />
because we realised there is an enormous and still largely untapped<br />
potential to impact our online audience. We also realised that we<br />
have a loyal following of very savvy social media people and still<br />
others who want to become more active and sharpen their skills.<br />
So we mentor them and give them the tools and skills to become<br />
strong “virtual” activists. It’s the next best thing to being there, but<br />
it’s still important to show up.<br />
Connect with Robert’s<br />
organisation Free<br />
From Harm via their<br />
website, Facebook,<br />
Instagram, YouTube<br />
and Twitter. Click on<br />
the image below to<br />
order your copy of<br />
Farm to Fable.<br />
You come from a creative consultancy<br />
background and you’ve very successfully used<br />
your talents to create ‘Free from Harm’. What<br />
advice would you give others to encourage them<br />
to use their own unique gifts and talents to<br />
promote veganism?<br />
Yep, cultivate those talents and see how they can work for your<br />
activism but also share them with a community. On the one hand,<br />
we think it might be more of an effort to show up and develop a<br />
community, but then we also have a yearning for community — for<br />
the community of like-minded, kindred spirits. This is vital to our<br />
own personal fulfilment as well as building our movement. We<br />
want to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves, part of<br />
history in the making, part of a legacy that future generations will<br />
hopefully benefit from. In the end, the pay-off for showing up is<br />
well worth it because of the sense of community with which it<br />
rewards us. BV<br />
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Challenging what we know about<br />
cruelty-free cosmetics<br />
By Anneka Svenska<br />
O<br />
n October 25 th 2016, Naturewatch<br />
Foundation in collaboration with my<br />
animal conservation production company,<br />
GreenWorldTV, launched “Compassion Over Cruelty” –<br />
a film to challenge what we know about cruelty-free<br />
cosmetics.<br />
Every year, millions of animals worldwide are<br />
subjected to painful tests all in the name of beauty.<br />
Chemicals are dropped in their eyes and on to their<br />
skin, often causing painful blinding and burning. Once<br />
used, their bodies are discarded like rubbish as more are<br />
bred to take their place.<br />
The British public is overwhelmingly against the use<br />
of animals for cosmetic testing and indeed, in 1997 the<br />
UK introduced the Cosmetic Testing Ban on the use of<br />
animals to test finished cosmetic products, followed by<br />
a ban in 1998 on the use of animals in testing cosmetic<br />
ingredients. These history-changing laws paved the way<br />
for the European Union, which in 2013 banned all sales<br />
within the EU of cosmetic products or ingredients that<br />
have been tested on animals.<br />
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But this isn’t enough. Cosmetic shoppers in the UK are<br />
still buying into cruelty by purchasing from companies<br />
that sell products outside of the EU, in countries like<br />
China where testing on cosmetic products is still a<br />
requirement by law. By purchasing these brands, or<br />
brands owned by parent companies that are tested in<br />
China, shoppers – who are trying to do the right thing for<br />
animals – are being duped. Compassionate shoppers are<br />
unknowingly handing over their money for cruel animal<br />
testing.<br />
Many of these companies are big multinational labels,<br />
or are selling prestige products and trying to crack the<br />
Chinese market. They offer high-end products that are<br />
perceived as being the best of the best, and they rely on<br />
customer loyalty for their well-known brands. But it is<br />
the animals who are paying the true cost. And it’s<br />
completely unnecessary.<br />
So I joined forces with Naturewatch Foundation to<br />
put truly cruelty-free, compassionate, cosmetics to the<br />
test. How would they hold up against the big players in<br />
the cosmetic industry?<br />
>
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Top hair stylist, Daniel Field from the Daniel Field<br />
Hair Salon in Central London, and makeup artist to<br />
the stars, Alexa Riva Ravina kindly offered to put the<br />
Naturewatch Foundation endorsed cruelty-free<br />
products, featured in the Naturewatch ‘Compassionate<br />
Shopping Guide’, to the test.<br />
Some incredible animal-loving celebrities offered<br />
to appear in the film alongside myself, including<br />
actress Rula Lenska, model Daryna Milgevska, and<br />
comedian Jake Yapp, who put their faith – and faces –<br />
in Daniel and Alexa’s hands. And the results were<br />
beautiful and 100% cruelty free.<br />
The resulting film proves that you can choose<br />
compassion over cruelty, and look fabulous in the<br />
process! We launched the film in front of an audience<br />
of 100% animal loving celebrities at Sanctum Soho in<br />
London’s West End. The evening was hosted by our<br />
dear, compassionate friend Rula Lenska and attended<br />
by some brilliant people including BBC Radio 5 DJ<br />
Nicky Campbell, This Morning’s on screen makeup<br />
artist Bryony Blake and TV presenter Matt Johnson,<br />
the animal-loving Jilly Johnson, actress Vicki Michelle,<br />
cruelty free beauty expert Cindy Jackson and actor Dan<br />
Richardson from Disney’s The Lodge, who has recently<br />
become vegan.<br />
Background<br />
Despite the EU and countries like Australia, Israel and<br />
Norway banning the sale and importation of cosmetics<br />
and cosmetic ingredients tested on animals, millions of<br />
animals are still used in cosmetic testing around the<br />
world.<br />
Cosmetic brands may advertise their products as<br />
cruelty-free in the UK – but if they are also selling in<br />
countries like China, where animal-testing on cosmetics is<br />
still a legal requirement – they cannot genuinely claim<br />
cruelty-free status. At the same time, many popular<br />
brands are owned by larger, multinational ‘parent’<br />
companies that may sell other products in China –<br />
meaning that, for the ethical consumer, being genuinely<br />
cruelty-free can be extremely difficult.<br />
Naturewatch Foundation researches companies<br />
thoroughly and only approves those brands that have a<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 68
Click above to watch the official<br />
‘Compassion Over Cruelty Film’ and click<br />
on the image below to get your copy of<br />
the ‘Compassionate Shopping Guide’.<br />
fixed cut-off date animal-testing policy in place. The same fixed<br />
cut-off date must apply throughout the entire company range,<br />
including the parent company and any subsidiaries.<br />
So Naturewatch Foundation has done the hard work for you.<br />
Naturewatch Foundation has published the ‘Compassionate<br />
Shopping Guide’ regularly for over 20 years. It is now in its 14 th<br />
edition. It has become the definitive guide to cruelty-free<br />
shopping for cosmetics, toiletries and household cleaning<br />
products. It has the strictest criteria of any cruelty-free<br />
endorsement scheme in the world. They do not accept animal<br />
use in cosmetic testing at any level. BV<br />
Anneka Svenska is the founder of ‘Green<br />
World Television’ & ‘Angels for the Innocent<br />
Foundation’. To view some of the Green World<br />
TV Films Anneka has released please click<br />
here . You can also visit her website & connect<br />
with her on Facebook & Twitter.<br />
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“Animals glorify God in their particular animalness,<br />
animals worship God. A friend of mine recently<br />
said that every time a species goes extinct, worship<br />
is silenced, and that’s blasphemy.”<br />
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<strong>Vegan</strong>gelical<br />
How Caring for Animals<br />
Can Shape Your Faith<br />
In her latest book, <strong>Vegan</strong>gelical, author Sarah<br />
Withrow King argues that animal stewardship is a<br />
necessary aspect of a holistic ethic of<br />
Christian peace and justice, and care for animal<br />
welfare correspondingly strengthens our care for<br />
environmental and human flourishing. We spoke<br />
with Sarah to learn more about her work to call<br />
people to a greater attentiveness to one of the<br />
primary relationships in God’s created order,<br />
that between humans and animals.<br />
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Tell us about yourself and how you came<br />
to be vegan?<br />
I think the first time I heard the word “vegan” was when<br />
my brother took me to a restaurant he really loved in<br />
Eugene, Oregon. It was all vegan and totally delicious. I<br />
survived on junk: a lot of fast food and super processed<br />
groceries, so this all-vegetable restaurant was like an<br />
explosion of actual flavour, and I didn’t feel like garbage<br />
after I ate there. There was a booklet on the table that a<br />
local activist group had left and I read it while I was<br />
waiting. It talked about factory farming, routine<br />
mutilations and other abuses of animals, the resource<br />
inefficiency of raising and killing animals for food, and<br />
the health implications of a vegan diet. I was stunned. I<br />
loved animals, I had always loved animals, but I never<br />
thought of them when I ate meat. I never thought of<br />
meat as an animal. And I had no idea what modern<br />
farming looked like or the damage it was doing. So, I<br />
resolved to go vegan. And then my resolve broke. So I<br />
resolved again. And broke again…but one of those times,<br />
my resolve stuck!<br />
When talking to other Christians about<br />
animals and veganism, what are the<br />
biggest challenges you deal with?<br />
I find, in this regard, that there isn’t a big difference<br />
between Christians and others. A lot of people, Christian<br />
BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 74<br />
or not, hold the same misconceptions that I did about how<br />
animals are raised and killed for food, what those<br />
processes look like. Once the truth about industrial<br />
farming is exposed, many people (again, Christian or not)<br />
feel at a bit of a loss for how to go about making more<br />
compassionate choices. Eating is a deeply complex act for<br />
many of us and food is so tied up in our family and social<br />
traditions that the thought of making a drastic change can<br />
be overwhelming for people. “What do I do now?” and<br />
“How do I talk to my family and friends about this<br />
change?” are the most common questions we see.<br />
The first book of the Bible – Genesis –<br />
explains that God has given humans<br />
‘dominion’ over the animals. All<br />
theologians agree on this, but what are the<br />
main sticking points that come when<br />
defining ‘dominion’?<br />
The vast majority of people I’ve encountered agree that<br />
dominion can’t be interpreted to mean, “do whatever you<br />
want, with impunity.” I’ve talked to a very few individuals<br />
who would argue that, but they do not represent the<br />
majority of Christians. I think the trouble comes in<br />
understanding that when we interpret dominion to mean<br />
“use for food,” that comes with a host of consequences<br />
now that couldn’t have been seen thousands of years ago.<br />
So, we have to ask what dominion now looks like, and
eating animals isn’t it when we live in a world where many of<br />
us can healthfully and sustainably feed ourselves on plants.<br />
What instructions/teachings in the Bible<br />
stand out the most to you as promoting<br />
mercy and compassion towards animals?<br />
I always caution against taking a verse or two and using it as<br />
a proof for any kind of argument. CreatureKind wrote a little<br />
about that recently. To me, the most biblically compelling<br />
argument for compassion to animals is one that takes the<br />
whole movement of the scripture and the Spirit in mind: we<br />
know that this broken, bruised world is being reconciled<br />
back to a Creator who wants every being to flourish and<br />
thrive. Jesus taught his followers to pray, “Thy Kingdom<br />
come, on earth as it is in heaven.” We know that this<br />
Kingdom will be one of peace for all, where the wolf will lie<br />
down with the lamb, where violence and suffering are no<br />
more. On earth. Not up in the sky, on earth. So, if we know<br />
the Creator is reconciling the whole world back to Godself<br />
and we know that part of that reconciliation will be the<br />
reconciliation of humans and animals to one another, why<br />
wouldn’t we take steps now to realise that?<br />
What does the Bible say about the animals’<br />
relationship to God?<br />
God created animals, God provides for animals, God sees<br />
animals. Animals glorify God in their particular animal-ness,<br />
animals worship God. A friend of mine recently said that<br />
every time a species goes extinct, worship is silenced, and<br />
that’s blasphemy. Humans have so centred ourselves in the<br />
world that we fail to see how we are one part of the whole<br />
creation.<br />
love for one another.” –Jesus. How do we know if<br />
something is Christian? We know that because it’s<br />
loving, love-giving, love-promoting, love-sustaining.<br />
Right before Jesus gives this new commandment, he<br />
washes the feet of his disciples. Washes their feet. He<br />
humbles himself and he serves others. Industrial<br />
farming causes human, animal, and environmental<br />
suffering on a massive scale while lining the pockets<br />
and filling the coffers of wealthy corporations and<br />
their officers. It is destructive, dangerous, and evil and<br />
can’t, in any way, be construed as loving.<br />
It can be tough belonging to a church group that<br />
doesn’t include any vegans. What advice do you have<br />
for vegan Christians that want to remain part of a<br />
church but are struggling with the fact that people in<br />
their fellowship are not interested in, and/or perhaps<br />
ridicule the decision to live a vegan lifestyle?<br />
I wrote about this in “A Plea to Stay Rooted,”<br />
because I’ve been there and I know what it feels like!<br />
We set ourselves up for disappointment when we<br />
expect that people will change their views and actions<br />
on our timetable, but the need for fellowship is real. As<br />
much as possible, don’t make vegan the litmus test for<br />
a relationship. Connect on other levels with people,<br />
answer their inquiries honestly and with compassion,<br />
and let God work on their hearts. People I never<br />
thought would go vegan have done just that,<br />
sometimes long after our initial conversations! I love<br />
connecting with other Christian vegans, and I do that<br />
on a regular basis online, by telephone, and at events.<br />
But don’t let that become your main fellowship,<br />
because if you’re not there in the church, who will<br />
speak up for animals? ><br />
Because veganism/vegetarianism is<br />
promoted in other religions, I have come<br />
across some Christian-based organisations<br />
actively promoting meat-eating, saying that<br />
it is un-Christian not to eat God’s animals.<br />
What response do you have for that<br />
position?<br />
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.<br />
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By<br />
this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have<br />
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How has your faith and relationship with<br />
God, helped you be a better advocate for<br />
animals and humans?<br />
Faith and animal advocacy is actually a two-way street for<br />
me! My advocacy has reminded me over and over again<br />
that compassion is a choice we make and that applies to<br />
humans (including ourselves) as well as animals.<br />
Advocacy for animals helped open up the depth and<br />
breadth of God’s promises to the created world in a way I<br />
hadn’t understood before. My faith helps me to remember<br />
to extend grace to people and situations when it’s hard for<br />
me to feel like it. But perhaps most importantly, my faith<br />
is a constant reminder that I am part of a much larger<br />
story, a story that started long before I was born and will<br />
continue long after I die.<br />
During the time that you’ve been vegan<br />
and advocating for animals, what positive<br />
changes have you noticed in the church’s<br />
opinion/stance towards animals?<br />
Oh my gosh, when I first went vegan I felt like I was<br />
totally alone in the church world. Now, literally<br />
everywhere I go… every conference, every church, every<br />
school, every organisation… there’s at least one other<br />
“animal person.” Denominations are passing resolutions<br />
about animal welfare. A huge group of evangelical<br />
Christians signed a document called “Every Living Thing”<br />
last year that named animals as a topic of moral and<br />
practical concern for Christians. Pope Francis’ climate<br />
encyclical was full of thoughts about animals. The<br />
CreatureKind project that I help run with UK theologian<br />
David Clough, was founded in part because enough<br />
Christians care about animals and want to advocate on<br />
their behalf that there’s now a need for church-based<br />
organisations to equip them with the tools to do so.<br />
You wrote and had published two books<br />
on Christianity and veganism/animals<br />
that were released last year. Can you tell<br />
us about them and what inspired you to<br />
write them?<br />
The first book I wrote is called Animals Are Not Ours (No,<br />
Really, They’re Not): An Evangelical Animal Liberation<br />
Theology (Cascade Books, 2016). I was inspired to write it<br />
“This prayer, written by Bishop Ken Untener of<br />
Saginaw in honour of Oscar Romero, is one that I<br />
return to again and again, and helps keep my<br />
place in this difficult work in perspective”.<br />
Archbishop Oscar Romero Prayer: A Step<br />
Along The Way<br />
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a<br />
long view.<br />
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is<br />
even beyond our vision.<br />
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny<br />
fraction of the magnificent<br />
enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is<br />
complete, which is a way of<br />
saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.<br />
No statement says all that could be said.<br />
No prayer fully expresses our faith.<br />
No confession brings perfection.<br />
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.<br />
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.<br />
No set of goals and objectives includes<br />
everything.<br />
This is what we are about.<br />
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.<br />
We water seeds already planted, knowing that<br />
they hold future promise.<br />
We lay foundations that will need further<br />
development.<br />
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our<br />
capabilities.<br />
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of<br />
liberation in realising that.<br />
This enables us to do something, and to do it<br />
very well.<br />
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step<br />
along the way, an<br />
opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do<br />
the rest.<br />
We may never see the end results, but that is the<br />
difference between the master<br />
builder and the worker.<br />
We are workers, not master builders; ministers,<br />
not messiahs.<br />
We are prophets of a future not our own.<br />
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“My advocacy has<br />
reminded me over<br />
and over again that<br />
compassion is a<br />
choice we make and<br />
that applies to<br />
humans (including<br />
ourselves) as well<br />
as animals.”<br />
during my seminary studies, where I did a lot reading<br />
about nonviolence, liberation theology, and creation<br />
care theology. I would get so frustrated because there<br />
was this obvious blind spot towards animals in the vast<br />
majority of the works. So, in Animals Are Not Ours, I<br />
wanted to demonstrate how animal liberation was a<br />
natural fit with other liberative theologies. It’s a very<br />
wide-reaching book, and I didn’t hold back.<br />
My second book is <strong>Vegan</strong>gelical: How Caring for<br />
Animals Can Shape Your Faith (Zondervan, 2016). I<br />
really wrote this book for my dad. I needed a very<br />
careful, biblically-based introduction to animal issues.<br />
In <strong>Vegan</strong>gelical, I talk about how a few core Christian<br />
beliefs and values can shape our understanding of our<br />
responsibility towards animals. So, once we’ve<br />
established what it is we believe, we can look at the<br />
different ways we use animals today—as pets,<br />
entertainment, research subjects, clothing, and food—<br />
and ask ourselves if what we believe is played out in<br />
how we live. It was a fun book to write, it’s super<br />
accessible, and my dad went vegan after he read it, so I<br />
think I did my job well.<br />
You can read some of<br />
Sarah’s writing at her<br />
website. Click on the<br />
images below for more<br />
info on Sarah’s books.<br />
Is there anything else you’d like to share<br />
with readers?<br />
I feel really lucky every day that I get to work on<br />
CreatureKind, which is a project working from within<br />
the church to engage Christians on farmed animal<br />
welfare. You can read about our first ten months on our<br />
website. We are always looking for partners and are<br />
eager to talk to people who have a heart for this work,<br />
no matter their own faith expression. BV<br />
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By Linda Monahan
P<br />
utting our compassion into action is what makes<br />
us vegan. When confronted with animal<br />
suffering, we have each chosen to do something<br />
rather than remain complicit. But what do we<br />
make of those instances when the there is no<br />
clear actionable response?<br />
The routine deaths of animals that have been hit by<br />
cars, commonly known as “roadkill,” is an issue that has<br />
been especially challenging for me since becoming vegan.<br />
Though I see body after body on the roadside, there is no<br />
company to hold accountable, no rescue to donate or<br />
volunteer with. And unless we are able to abstain from<br />
driving cars, there is no boycott that will lessen the death<br />
toll.<br />
Every day, roughly one million animals are killed by<br />
vehicles in the United States alone (1). Bodies of large<br />
mammals like deer are usually moved from traffic lanes by<br />
state transportation authorities, but they remain visible on<br />
shoulders and ditches as they decompose. The majority of<br />
animals we routinely kill with our cars, however, are<br />
smaller mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians whose<br />
bodies stay on roadways to be driven over and over to<br />
disintegration.<br />
With nearly four hundred million animals killed by cars<br />
annually, “roadkill” is the second largest cause of animal<br />
death in the United States, behind animals killed for flesh<br />
(2) .<br />
Despite these figures, road-killed animals are rarely<br />
afforded human compassion. There are several factors that<br />
contribute to their exclusion from the moral community, as<br />
well as several compelling responses to encountering<br />
“roadkill” that could help to change this fact.<br />
In my chapter for the recent academic anthology,<br />
Mourning Animals, edited by Margo DeMello, I suggest<br />
that demonstrating compassion for road-killed animals<br />
is a productive entry point for people to engage greater<br />
respect for all animals (3). Because vegans already<br />
include all beings in our circle of compassion, we are<br />
primed to become advocates for our local wildlife on<br />
this widespread issue.<br />
Road-killed animals, of course, do not spontaneously<br />
appear in travel lanes as disfigured corpses. There are<br />
identifiable and, often, preventable factors that put<br />
animals at risk of being killed on the road. Road<br />
ecologists have studied what brings certain animals to<br />
the roadside and have long been working toward<br />
preventative measures (4).<br />
Wildlife crossings like vegetation-covered bridge<br />
overpasses and tunnel- and gully-like underpasses have<br />
been proven effective in rerouting the migration<br />
behavior of many commonly road-killed species (5).<br />
These measures, however, are far from commonplace.<br />
Despite the efficacy of these mitigation efforts,<br />
“roadkill” is generally regarded as regrettable but<br />
inevitable. We might express a moment’s despair when<br />
passing evidence of a particularly gruesome collision, or<br />
allow ourselves brief grief over the death of certain<br />
species more than others.<br />
It is hard not to notice the body of a dog or cat on<br />
the side of the road, for example, but it is easy enough<br />
for many to roll past a squirrel or opossum without a<br />
second glance. As wild species, road-killed animals lack<br />
the strong ties to a human community that companion<br />
animals—even those hit by cars—can claim.<br />
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>
To further understand why these animal victims are still<br />
regarded with such little compassion, consider the<br />
similarities between animals hung in butcheries and<br />
those flattened on the road. Both require rationalisation<br />
on the part of the would-be compassionate human.<br />
Language is a big part of this mental-moral negotiation.<br />
As labor scholar Dennis Soron explains, “As a human<br />
creation, ‘road kill’ is just as de-animalized as ‘beef’ and<br />
just as open to cultural meanings that are bracketed off<br />
from the embodied experience of the suffering<br />
animal.” (6) In other words,<br />
simply calling these animals<br />
“roadkill” is the first exclusionary<br />
mind-trick.<br />
For this reason, I use the term<br />
“road-killed animals” to<br />
emphasise that the way in which<br />
these animals die does not<br />
exclusively define their<br />
relationship to the human<br />
community. As individual beings,<br />
road-killed animals have full and<br />
varied lives independent of the<br />
final violence inflicted upon them<br />
by humans.<br />
Other factors that limit the extension of compassion<br />
to road-killed animals include both the practical and the<br />
cultural. On a practical level, travel by car is inherently<br />
inhospitable to demonstrating compassion for roadkilled<br />
animals due to the speed at which we move. Not<br />
only are we only granted just a few seconds to react to an<br />
animal on the roadway (living or dead), but high-speed<br />
traffic makes it dangerous to stop and engage with any<br />
potential feelings of concern or grief upon seeing an<br />
animal’s disfigured corpse.<br />
Culturally, road-killed animals have largely been a<br />
punchline. Twentieth century cartoons like Wile E.<br />
Coyote and gag-gift variations on Playboy columnist<br />
Buck Peterson’s The Roadkill Cookbook series are<br />
expressions of a larger speciesist discourse that<br />
maintains a hierarchical divide between human and<br />
nonhuman animals. Narratives of human dominion and<br />
progress, along with the desire to travel further, faster,<br />
and more frequently in North American car culture work<br />
together to create conditions inhospitable to compassion<br />
for road-killed animals.<br />
A final factor contributing to the lack of compassion<br />
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for road-killed animals is the frequency of drivers’<br />
encounters with such violent imagery, fostering a culture<br />
that is desensitised to the sight. The mundane visibility of<br />
bloody, dismembered wildlife on the road naturalises this<br />
automotive violence in the same way that constant<br />
imagery of meat products in food advertisements<br />
naturalises the consumption of animal flesh.<br />
It is possible, however, for the constant visibility of<br />
road-killed animals to disrupt these animals’ cultural<br />
status as outside the realm of human compassion and<br />
mourning.<br />
Recognising the individual value of road-killed<br />
animals is a critical step toward human accountability for<br />
their lives and deaths. Mourning is a powerful affect that<br />
can translate into compassion for road-killed animals in<br />
ways that are familiar to humans.<br />
Mourning, in contrast to grief, connotes an expression<br />
of feelings of deep sorrow. By making feelings of sadness<br />
and regret visible, audible, or otherwise public, mourning<br />
animals who have been violently killed on the road<br />
mirrors the highly visible, public nature of their deaths.<br />
In recent years, road-killed animals have begun to be<br />
integrated into larger narratives of subjectivity and<br />
interspecies community through activism and art that<br />
seek to fit road-killed animals into established human<br />
mourning practices. PETA, for example, has petitioned<br />
several state legislatures for roadside memorials for<br />
animals killed in transit (though none so far have been<br />
approved).<br />
Author Barry Lopez offers another response on an<br />
individual level in his beautifully woodcut-illustrated<br />
essay, Apologia. He describes his encounters with<br />
individual road-killed animals as moments to take<br />
accountability. For Lopez, accountability means pulling<br />
over to move the broken bodies from the road.<br />
Awareness of the individual compels him to act, to<br />
express his apology through the ritual of burial.<br />
American photographer Emma Kisiel has a similar<br />
response to witnessing wildlife mortality on U.S.<br />
highways. In her series At Rest (2011), Kisiel constructs<br />
and photographs makeshift memorials for found roadkilled<br />
fauna. Kisiel’s new visuality of road-killed animals<br />
allows us to recognise them as individuals worthy of<br />
mourning.<br />
Kisiel, Lopez, and PETA encourage us to take the<br />
time to recognise each road-killed animal we pass. If we<br />
can mobilise compassion for the visible violence of<br />
“roadkill,” we may then be able to inspire greater<br />
compassion for the victims of the invisible violence of<br />
slaughterhouses and laboratories.<br />
The collective force of these millisecond mournings<br />
can have political power: once the affect of care shrouds<br />
these animals, we can press for preventative measures<br />
such as wildlife crossings and driver education<br />
campaigns that value animal life. Alongside creative<br />
works of remembrance, these measures will help<br />
“roadkill” continue its cultural transformation from<br />
laughably grotesque to grievable, animal death. BV<br />
References:<br />
(1) Marcel P. Huijser et al. “Cost-Benefit Analyses of Mitigation<br />
Measures Aimed at Reducing Collisions with Large Ungulates<br />
in the United States and Canada: A Decision Support Tool,”<br />
Ecology and Society 14, no. 2 (2009): 15.<br />
(2) Andreas Seiler and J.-O. Helldin, “Mortality in Wildlife<br />
Due to Transportation,” in The Ecology of Transportation:<br />
Managing Mobility for the Environment, ed. John Davenport<br />
and Julia L. Davenport (New York: Springer, 2006), 166–68.<br />
(3) Linda Monahan, “Mourning the Mundane: Memorializing<br />
Roadkill in North America,” in Mourning Animals, ed. Margo<br />
DeMello (East Lansing, MI: Michigan State UP), 151-157.<br />
(4) Seiler and Helldin, “Mortality in Wildlife.”<br />
(5) Diana Balmori and David K. Skelly, “Crossing to<br />
Sustainability: A Role for Design in Overcoming Road Effects,”<br />
Ecological Restoration 30, no. 4 (2012): 363–67.<br />
(6) Dennis Soron, “Road Kill: Commodity Fetishism and<br />
Structural Violence,” in Critical Theory and Animal Liberation,<br />
ed. John Sanbonmatsu (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011),<br />
63. pp.55-70.<br />
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Compassion<br />
for<br />
animals<br />
through<br />
veganism<br />
By Tom Leslie<br />
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B<br />
eing or becoming a vegan means that you show<br />
compassion towards animals. <strong>Vegan</strong>ism is based on<br />
the philosophy that the killing of or exploitation of<br />
any animal is not justified and goes totally against the<br />
compassion we should show towards the animals we share<br />
our planet with.<br />
If we did live in a world where animals are treated<br />
‘humanely’ and got the respect they deserved, the following<br />
statement would not be true: over 40 million one-day old<br />
chicks are killed every year. That means 40 million lives that<br />
deserve to have their rights upheld are ended within 24 hours<br />
of birth, due to cruelty, greed and a vast shortcoming of<br />
compassion. There is a common misconception that<br />
veganism is only about diet, the truth is it is a belief that goes<br />
much deeper than simply changing what we eat and drink.<br />
From campaigning to get animals out of circuses and sport,<br />
to only purchasing ethically produced clothing and<br />
household items. <strong>Vegan</strong>ism is about showing compassion to<br />
all animals, not only those kept cruelly on factory farms.<br />
I would love to encourage people who read this to think<br />
about veganism in the bigger picture, not just the diet, and<br />
also to show more love towards animals and their habitats. If<br />
you are reading this as a non-vegan, maybe a vegetarian<br />
considering going the extra step, then I assure you that<br />
leading a vegan life is the single greatest step you can take to<br />
show that you care about animal welfare and the planet you<br />
live on. If you are a vegan then I would urge you to get out<br />
into nature and see animals thrive in their natural<br />
habitat, where they should be and really appreciate the<br />
wildlife that we are so lucky to have. Doing something<br />
like this is a wonderful way to remember the<br />
importance of veganism, and reinforce the fact that<br />
you are living a kinder, healthier way of life as a vegan.<br />
Finally, if you are a non-vegan reading this then I<br />
imagine you are quite curious about the diet and<br />
lifestyle. I could not encourage you enough to try a<br />
plant-based diet as a first step (why not sign up right<br />
now to <strong>Vegan</strong>uary?) and start to discover the beauty of<br />
a cruelty-free way of life. For animals, the planet and<br />
your own health. BV<br />
Tom Leslie has been a<br />
vegan since <strong>Feb</strong>ruary 2016.<br />
He is a lover of endurance<br />
sport, especially running<br />
and cycling. A key reason for<br />
opting for the vegan lifestyle was his love for<br />
animals and his desire for all creatures to be<br />
free from harm and exploitation. His personal<br />
aim is to use his passion for endurance sport<br />
to promote veganism and to prove that it is in<br />
no way a hindrance to people with active<br />
lifestyles.<br />
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By Katrina Fox
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Our psychological wounds can cause us to lash out at<br />
ourselves and others, even those we’re working with<br />
for a common cause and whose values of kindness we<br />
claim to share. Acknowledging our personal and<br />
collective shadow is key to learning to embrace<br />
compassion for all, writes Katrina Fox.<br />
“You’re a filthy little Arab who should go back to where<br />
you came from.” So said my adoptive mother for the first<br />
time when I was age six, after I’d spilled crumbs on the<br />
floor from a biscuit I was eating. “No wonder your real<br />
mother didn’t want you.” The impact of this cruel remark<br />
was instant and lasted for decades. As humans are wont<br />
to do, I made it mean that I was unlovable and would<br />
never be good enough.<br />
Factual inaccuracies aside (my birth father was<br />
Persian, not an Arab), it was—unbeknownst to me at the<br />
time—my first experience with racism. The idea that<br />
anyone who wasn’t a white English person was inferior<br />
was further solidified by my dad’s constant referencing of<br />
“bloody wogs” to describe black people. I quickly learned<br />
to deny my ethnic heritage right into my 20s—if anyone<br />
asked, I said I was part Spanish or Italian. I even went so<br />
far as to have a nose job in 1993, partly to remove a small<br />
bump, but I can’t deny I was pleased the adjustment<br />
made me look less obviously half Iranian.<br />
Around the age of 10, in 1976, I became obsessed with<br />
the women in the hit TV show Charlie’s Angels. I started<br />
a scrapbook, and asked my classmates to save any<br />
newspaper or magazine clippings featuring the trio of<br />
glamorous female detectives. In addition, my best friend<br />
Susan and I told everyone we loved each other. It was an<br />
innocent enough comment, but a boy in our class said he<br />
thought we were lesbians. It was the first time I’d heard<br />
the word, and when he explained what it meant, without<br />
any judgment, I was happy to take it on. But when I told<br />
the teacher I was a lesbian, she was horrified and told me<br />
not to say that word again or I’d be sent to the<br />
headmaster to be punished. This was my first experience<br />
with homophobia. And, in his typical uncreative manner,<br />
good old dad confirmed my suspicions that same-sex love<br />
and affection was bad by yelling “bloody poofs” at the TV<br />
screen whenever footballers hugged each other after<br />
one of their teammates scored a goal. Cue more<br />
disempowerment.<br />
My first experience with sexism happened around a<br />
similar time, when I asked to play football and rugby<br />
and was told by both the boys and the teachers that I<br />
couldn’t because I was a girl.<br />
So, before I’d even hit puberty, I’d learned that if<br />
you weren’t white, straight, and male, there was<br />
something wrong with you and you didn’t deserve to<br />
participate in life on an equal footing. Essentially, you<br />
were “lesser than” privileged others, although I didn’t<br />
have the fancy language for it back then.<br />
By age 11, I’d learned that animals had it even<br />
tougher. My jaw literally dropped open when I learned<br />
that the beef burger on my plate had once been part of<br />
a beautiful, living cow. While I was brought up on a<br />
council estate just outside of south London in the UK,<br />
I’d visit my cousin in the country occasionally where<br />
I’d climb over fences into farmers’ fields to stroke the<br />
cows and give them apples, with no clue that they<br />
would be trucked off to an abattoir and killed. Learning<br />
that I’d been ingesting the dead bodies of these gentle<br />
creatures made me feel sick, and I became—without<br />
knowing the word at the time—vegetarian<br />
immediately.<br />
Although I embraced feminism, queer rights and<br />
animal advocacy in my early 20s, and found a plethora<br />
of examples of culturally entrenched sexism, racism,<br />
homophobia, and speciesism, I didn’t make the<br />
connections between these forms of oppression until<br />
much later—almost a decade, in fact, when I was<br />
introduced to veganism by a schoolteacher on an antivivisection<br />
demo. It was finding out about the cruelty<br />
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involved in the dairy industry in particular that made the<br />
light bulbs in my head start to go off.<br />
I learned that in order to produce milk, a cow must be<br />
kept pregnant and lactating, a process carried out by<br />
restraining her in a head stall and artificially inseminating<br />
her; that shortly after birth, calves are torn away from their<br />
mothers, who bellow for several weeks with grief; that dairy<br />
cows are hooked up to milking machines—after suffering<br />
the agonising ordeal of having their horns and, on occasion,<br />
excess teats cut off with scissors solely for aesthetic reasons;<br />
that mastitis—the inflammation of<br />
the mammary glands—is the most<br />
common affliction affecting dairy<br />
cows around the world and causes<br />
them severe pain; that this relentless<br />
cycle of forced endless pregnancy,<br />
birthing, and lactation puts so much<br />
pressure on the reproductive systems<br />
of cows that they become spent—<br />
verging on dead at around four to five<br />
years of age, whereas naturally they<br />
would live for a couple of decades.<br />
It was this moment that the<br />
connections between feminism and<br />
animal rights became obvious: how<br />
could I call for my own reproductive autonomy while<br />
actively supporting the assault on female non-human<br />
animals’ reproductive systems through the consumption of<br />
dairy? As Shy Buba wrote on The <strong>Vegan</strong> Woman blog, “It’s<br />
contrary to feminism to defend one type of female body<br />
while using and abusing another.”<br />
Fighting Back or Fighting Ourselves?<br />
Over the years, I’ve been involved with both<br />
mainstream gay, lesbian, bisexual and sex and/or<br />
gender diverse communities, as well as alternative<br />
queer groups. Within both communities, there are<br />
passionate individuals and groups campaigning<br />
against one or more forms of oppression while<br />
perpetuating other forms. For example, the rise of<br />
“black face” and other modes of appropriation of<br />
native cultures by white performers in queer feminist<br />
...One of the more<br />
confronting aspects of sacred<br />
activism is learning to love<br />
and forgive the perpetrators<br />
of oppression, cruelty, and<br />
horrendous injustices.<br />
circles; sexism, racism, and misogyny within the<br />
animal rights movement; and speciesism in the<br />
majority of campaigns for human rights.<br />
It both breaks my heart and frustrates me when my<br />
queer, feminist friends and colleagues speak out so<br />
passionately about homophobia, sexism or racism in ><br />
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one breath, while updating their Facebook statuses<br />
describing the sentient being they ate for lunch or serving<br />
the dead bodies or secretions of tortured farmed animals<br />
at events to celebrate equality or advancement for women<br />
or queer folk. And when the issue of animal oppression is<br />
raised (in the same way that they attempt to gain support<br />
for their particular cause), reactions generally fall into two<br />
camps: “I know, but I don’t care enough to change my<br />
lifestyle to give up my gustatory delights,” or “I don’t want<br />
to know because I don’t want to give up my power and<br />
privilege. Besides, (insert type of creature here) tastes so<br />
good.”<br />
Some are often accompanied by a patronising smile<br />
and a comment along the lines of, “Aw, your love of<br />
animals and vegan lifestyle is so sweet.” Imagine the<br />
reaction if you said that about their anti-racism work.<br />
Unsurprisingly, such disagreements result in an<br />
interminable amount of infighting—in which I admit I’ve<br />
contributed my share. Activist movements are full of<br />
people who have experienced cruelty, oppression,<br />
discrimination, and often physical violence. We’ve been<br />
told that we’re “broken,” “wrong,” “not good enough,”—<br />
not only by individual people, but through the<br />
perpetuation of overt as well as the insidious<br />
reinforcement of what is considered culturally acceptable<br />
or unacceptable.<br />
Depending on the educational or emotional resources<br />
we have access to at any given time, many of us will live in<br />
a state of unconsciousness about our own or others’<br />
oppression, reacting with anger each time we are triggered<br />
by others’ comments. Many of us are fuelled by a deepseated<br />
rage, which can on one hand be a motivator to take<br />
action against injustice, yet unchecked on the other hand<br />
destroys not only our own sense of peace but very often<br />
any power or leverage we may get to achieve our goals of<br />
liberation. While we’re busy putting all our energy into<br />
fighting each other and our potential allies, it seems<br />
oppressors are finding new ways to hold onto and extend<br />
their privileges.<br />
Integrating the Shadow Self and Embracing<br />
Compassion for All<br />
In July 2011, my personal life was a mess. Despite being in a<br />
relationship of 18 years with a woman who loved me very<br />
much and living in an apartment that I co-owned, I was<br />
deeply unhappy and dissatisfied with my life. My career as<br />
a freelance writer and editor wasn’t bringing me the joy it<br />
used to; I felt like I’d lost my writing mojo and felt<br />
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As social change<br />
makers, we owe it<br />
to ourselves, and<br />
to humanity,<br />
animals, and the<br />
planet, to take<br />
action that comes<br />
from a place of<br />
compassion: for<br />
others and<br />
ourselves.<br />
resentful and trapped. Up until that time, I believed that<br />
life happened to me, that my feelings ran the show and I<br />
was at the mercy of external circumstances—in other<br />
words, despite my obvious privileges, I was a victim.<br />
Fortunately, a close friend offered a different<br />
perspective on my situation, one which suggested that I<br />
had a choice in how I acted, reacted, and behaved. At<br />
the age of 46, I was finally ready to hear the pearl of<br />
wisdom that personal development gurus had been<br />
spouting for decades. I felt not just a light bulb but a<br />
whole panorama of bright stadium lights switch on in<br />
my mind. The following 12 months saw me devour<br />
books, audio recordings, and DVDs, and attend<br />
workshops and seminars, all of which taught me that<br />
the past only defines you if you let it; it is possible to<br />
consciously choose to move beyond it and decide who<br />
you want to become.<br />
Now, I realise this may be all very well for a whiteskinned,<br />
middle-class lesbian with certain privileges,<br />
and I’m not suggesting it’s easy (I still struggle with<br />
negative self-talk, but it’s lessening as I equip myself<br />
with the tools of self-awareness), but I have come to<br />
believe that compassion for self and others is the key to<br />
making a difference in the world. As I allowed myself to<br />
be open to new possibilities, I found myself exposed to<br />
individuals who had figured out the importance of<br />
integrating our shadow parts into our lives, instead of<br />
running away from them.<br />
>
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Our “shadow side” is anything we dislike about ourselves<br />
that we’d rather others did not know about us. It can<br />
range from a sense of entitlement and righteousness to<br />
feeling incompetent, like a failure or a fake.<br />
In 2012, I met and conducted an interview with author<br />
Andrew Harvey who coined the term “sacred activism,” a<br />
mixture of radical action/activism and spirituality. What<br />
I like about Harvey’s philosophy is his acknowledgement<br />
of the need to do intense work around the personal and<br />
cultural shadow (our own private wounding as well the<br />
shadow cast by a society that is “narcissistic, selfabsorbed<br />
and utterly suicidal in its pursuit of<br />
domination of nature ” ).<br />
Harvey believes that positive social change will not<br />
be achieved by activists fueled solely by anger or by<br />
“bliss bunnies” who meditate and do little else. In<br />
addition to personal and group shadow work, one of the<br />
more confronting aspects of sacred activism is learning<br />
to love and forgive the perpetrators of oppression,<br />
cruelty, and horrendous injustices. This is a challenging<br />
one, and I am not sure I am quite ready to embrace this,<br />
yet intuitively it rings true.<br />
“It doesn’t mean you don’t act against their policies,”<br />
Harvey told me. “Gandhi didn’t hate the British, but<br />
acted systematically to unseat them. Martin Luther King<br />
didn’t hate white Americans, but fought with sacred<br />
power to bring in civil rights. Not hating people, and<br />
instead forgiving them, doesn’t mean you let the policies<br />
or actions continue, but it does mean your whole action<br />
is not action against; it’s for a vision that includes [the<br />
perpetrators] and their healing. Gandhi believed the<br />
British were killing themselves by gunning down the<br />
Indians, so his action was on behalf of both. King<br />
understood that white Americans pretending to love<br />
Jesus while dishonoring their black brothers and sisters<br />
were destroying a part of their soul, so his actions were<br />
on behalf of White Americans and black people.”<br />
It is a tough one. Attempting to love and forgive<br />
those who carry out the most heinous atrocities on<br />
people, animals, and the environment is not a place I<br />
have reached yet, but I am teetering on the edge of<br />
compassion, with the awareness that the perpetrators of<br />
violence, cruelty and destruction are acting from a place<br />
of fear, self-loathing, and unconsciousness. When I was<br />
around nine, I deliberately killed a centipede. For no<br />
particular reason other than I could. I suppose I felt<br />
powerless, and this was a way I could feel powerful over<br />
another being. I felt guilty and ashamed for many years<br />
afterwards. I have also been reactive, unkind, and harsh<br />
to various people throughout my life—as most of us<br />
have.<br />
We all seek love, significance, and belonging. In that<br />
search we may hurt others. It is because we do not love<br />
ourselves that our ego needs power over others, rather<br />
than empowerment. As social change makers, we owe it<br />
to ourselves, and to humanity, animals, and the planet,<br />
to take action that comes from a place of compassion:<br />
for others and ourselves. BV<br />
This article is an extract<br />
from Circles of Compassion:<br />
Essays Connecting Issues of<br />
Justice, edited by Dr. Will<br />
Tuttle. To<br />
order your<br />
copy, click on<br />
the cover<br />
image.<br />
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Anti-natalism is a philosophical position<br />
that assigns a negative value to birth or<br />
that views non-existence as preferable to<br />
existence (source). There is an<br />
increasing population of vegans<br />
publically expressing aggressive antinatalist<br />
views and here, Dr. Casey Taft<br />
explores how doing so can have a negative<br />
impact on our vegan advocacy efforts.<br />
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I<br />
n a patriarchal society there is great pressure on<br />
women to have children. Women are taught from an<br />
early age that one of their primary functions is to<br />
have babies. When they don't fulfill this societal<br />
role, they may be subtly or not so subtly pressured by<br />
those around them to get with the program.<br />
I have great respect for those women who decide that<br />
having children is not right for them despite the pressure<br />
they're under. For many, the decision not to have children<br />
represents a reclaiming of their personal identity and<br />
what it means to be a woman.<br />
Other women make a different choice and opt to have<br />
children. This choice also may connect them with their<br />
womanhood.<br />
There is perhaps nothing more personal than one's<br />
reproductive choices. I don't think that anyone should be<br />
shamed for these choices, whatever they may be.<br />
Unfortunately, within the vegan movement, many<br />
women and men who refer to themselves as "antinatalists"<br />
engage in shaming women for their choice to<br />
have kids, creating an unsafe space for many women in<br />
the movement. In anti-natalist spaces, and even in other<br />
vegan spaces, women with children are derided as<br />
"breeders" and far worse, and jokes are made about<br />
women who have miscarriages or babies with disabilities.<br />
The ugliness I've witnessed knows no bounds. But yet,<br />
even when direct calls for violence towards women and<br />
babies are exposed and made public, there is often a<br />
disappointing silence among other "child-free" vegans<br />
who otherwise are strong anti-violence advocates. I<br />
suppose it's human nature to ignore violence and hatred<br />
by those whom we may share certain other beliefs or<br />
characteristics.<br />
The anti-natalist argument is based primarily on<br />
scientific claims that rapid overpopulation will be the<br />
death of us all. The science behind these arguments is<br />
weak, with data showing that birth rates are actually<br />
declining in developing and developed nations. 1 The birth<br />
rate in the United States is the lowest rate ever<br />
recorded. 2,3 Despite this, 16% of the world’s population in<br />
developed nations consumes 80% of its natural resources,<br />
indicating that the real problems lie with<br />
overconsumption and misallocation of resources. 4 This<br />
overconsumption is clearly occurring at the corporate<br />
rather than the individual level, as we have a global<br />
economic system that has no regard for the damage that<br />
our major industries cause to the planet. 5 <strong>Vegan</strong>s are as<br />
mindful of this as anyone, since our vegan advocacy helps<br />
combat climate change. The data seem to be telling us<br />
that focusing on people having babies is placing the focus<br />
in the wrong area.<br />
But one should not engage in shaming, coercing, or<br />
abusing women based on interpretations of scientific data<br />
regardless. Our reproductive choices are protected<br />
human rights, and efforts to take away these rights are<br />
oppressive and abusive. Looking the other way when<br />
others in the community do the same is also an injustice.<br />
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How are we going to convince others<br />
that we're a social justice movement<br />
if we promote violence and injustice<br />
among ourselves? How can we be taken<br />
seriously when we speak out against<br />
violence towards non-human animals<br />
while promoting or ignoring abuse<br />
towards our fellow humans?<br />
Just like veganism is an issue of justice and not merely an<br />
issue of nutritional science, so too is the issue of<br />
reproductive choice.<br />
Another tenet of anti-natalism is that it's cruel to bring<br />
other humans into this terrible world. If one believes that<br />
living on this planet is a form of cruelty, I absolutely agree<br />
that having a child may not be a good decision for them.<br />
But many of us feel gratitude for each day that we exist on<br />
this planet. Many of us are vegan because we believe that<br />
being alive is amazing and no animal should be deprived of<br />
this gift.<br />
Yet another argument made by anti-natalists is that<br />
there's no guarantee that a vegan child will grow up to be<br />
vegan, and thus they will do greater harm. As a father of a 3<br />
-year old vegan girl who just grilled all our neighbors about<br />
veganism while trick or treating for Halloween, I call BS.<br />
Our little girl is stronger in her vegan convictions than<br />
many adults we know. When kids are not brainwashed to<br />
do harm to animals, it becomes unthinkable to do so, and<br />
it’s highly unlikely that anything is going to change that.<br />
Having a vegan child has forced us to engage in vegan<br />
education efforts in all kinds of spaces that we otherwise<br />
would not have: with neighbours, pre-school, family, and<br />
friends. If we truly want a vegan world, we need to raise<br />
awareness everywhere, not only with those from a singular<br />
demographic or lifestyle choice.<br />
Our veganism has been strengthened by having a vegan<br />
child. It was the impetus for starting a vegan-themed<br />
publishing company with a mission to raise vegan<br />
awareness. Our connection with our child has made the<br />
bond between non-human animals and their babies<br />
more real and personal for us. When we see a young non<br />
-human animal in an animal use industry, we see them as<br />
we see our own child and it pushes us to try even harder<br />
to make a difference for animals. Our parenthood is a<br />
fundamental part of our veganism.<br />
That is just us, of course, and others will have a<br />
different experience. I'm not trying to suggest that every<br />
vegan should go out there and reproduce, but at the<br />
same time, we should not gloss over the good that can<br />
come from parenting and we should avoid thinking of<br />
vegan babies as some kind of plague for humanity.<br />
Before somebody blurts out "Just adopt!" they should<br />
educate themselves on the difficulties and costs of the<br />
adoption process. I wish this was a more accessible<br />
option and I urge anyone with the inclination and the<br />
means to please do so, but adoption of a human is simply<br />
not the same as saving a companion animal, and I know<br />
of no vegan anti-natalist who has actually adopted a<br />
human child.<br />
Since I've become more vocal against anti-natalism,<br />
I've had several vegan mothers thank me and tell me<br />
stories about how they've been bullied and abused by<br />
others in the community, and how their "friends" have<br />
failed to speak out for them. Many have also described<br />
not feeling safe in the vegan community anymore<br />
because of this. It should go without saying that this is<br />
the opposite of what we should be doing. We should be<br />
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>
inviting others from various backgrounds and lifestyles<br />
into our movement, including parents.<br />
How are we going to convince others that we're a<br />
social justice movement if we promote violence and<br />
injustice among ourselves? How can we be taken seriously<br />
when we speak out against violence towards non-human<br />
animals while promoting or ignoring abuse towards our<br />
fellow humans? It's time to get serious as a movement and<br />
cut out the oppression, in all of its forms. BV<br />
References:<br />
1 Nargund, G. (2009). Declining birth rate in developed countries:<br />
A radical policy rethink is required. Facts Views Vis Obgyn.<br />
2009; 1(3): 191–193.<br />
2 Park, M. (August 11, 2016). U.S. fertility rate falls to lowest on<br />
record. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/11/health/us-lowestfertility-rate/<br />
3 Rossen LM, Osterman MJK, Hamilton BE, Martin JA. (2016).<br />
Quarterly provisional estimates for selected birth indicators,<br />
2014–Quarter 2, 2016. National Center for Health Statistics.<br />
National Vital Statistics System, Vital Statistics Rapid Release<br />
Program.<br />
4 Utley, G. (October 12, 1999). World’s wealthiest 16 percent uses<br />
80 percent of natural resources. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/<br />
US/9910/12/population.cosumption/<br />
5 Global Sisterhood Network (Fall 2006). 10 Reasons to Rethink<br />
“Overpopulation.” http://www.global-sisterhood-network.org/<br />
content/view/1319/59/<br />
In addition to his work<br />
managing <strong>Vegan</strong> Publishers,<br />
Casey Taft is Professor of<br />
Psychiatry at Boston<br />
University School of<br />
Medicine. He is an<br />
internationally recognised and<br />
award-winning researcher in the<br />
areas of trauma and the family. He has published<br />
over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and<br />
scientific reports, and has consulted with the<br />
United Nations on preventing violence and abuse<br />
globally. He sees the prevention of violence<br />
towards animals as a natural extension of this<br />
work. Visit the <strong>Vegan</strong> Publishers website and<br />
connect with them via Facebook and Twitter.<br />
NATURE VS. NUTURE?<br />
“Parents are often bewildered when their<br />
children who have been raised to hold certain<br />
values, go on to reject those values later in<br />
life. However, there is no insurance policy that<br />
your children will follow your own values, even if<br />
they have been subjected to them throughout<br />
their developing years and seen those values<br />
lived out in the family.<br />
“<strong>Vegan</strong> parents often believe that one of the<br />
biggest contributions they can make to a<br />
creating a vegan world is to raise a child as<br />
vegan. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that<br />
those children raised as vegans will continue to<br />
be when they grow up.<br />
“It is healthy and essential for children to<br />
develop an increasing autonomy and<br />
independence so they can function effectively in<br />
the world. This independent stance could mean<br />
a child who is raised vegan will reject those<br />
values and see their non-veganism as a form of<br />
independence and defiance. However, upbringing<br />
and culture is a major determinant of how<br />
people behave so fortunately for many children<br />
raised as vegan, they continue to be throughout<br />
their lives.”<br />
- <strong>Vegan</strong> psychologist, Clare Mann<br />
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By Julia Feliz Brueck<br />
I<br />
ncluded with the latest submission to The <strong>Vegan</strong><br />
Craftivist Project was a note that read in part, "I like<br />
the idea of vegan craftivist projects because I want<br />
to feel useful and feel like I am still part of a<br />
movement even though I am physically unable to be part<br />
of a lot of actions. Everyone has something to give in<br />
life."<br />
As the note reminds us, we all have something to give<br />
and we can all speak up for non-humans in whatever way<br />
we can. The <strong>Vegan</strong> Craftivist Project started as a way to<br />
stay active in speaking up for non-humans after my move<br />
to a foreign country where I did not speak the language. I<br />
felt unable to use my voice on behalf of non-human<br />
animals as I did before my move. I was grateful to find an<br />
outlet a few months later when I learned that I could use<br />
my hands to create works that could speak on their own<br />
on issues that I was passionate about. I decided to use<br />
craft as activism within the vegan and animal rights<br />
movement through the collective display of banners<br />
silently yet loudly proclaiming "why vegan" for nonhuman<br />
animals.<br />
Whether you are the only vegan in your area,<br />
unfamiliar with the local language like I was, physically<br />
unable to take part in many actions, or very active in the<br />
vegan movement, the great thing about craftivism is that<br />
vegans from all walks of life can speak up through the<br />
use of their hands.<br />
The term ‘craftivism’ was coined by Betsy Greer with an<br />
aim of speaking up for social justice issues through the<br />
use of craft - knitting, crochet, sewing, and embroidery,<br />
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for example. Community outreach, making things for<br />
those less fortunate, creating something to protest an<br />
issue, or crafting a piece that delivers a message to the<br />
viewer, all count as craftivism. The <strong>Vegan</strong> Craftivist<br />
Project was the first vegan project to join the craftivist<br />
movement.<br />
With a goal of collecting 100 banners, which will be<br />
sewn together as a large flag and displayed in vegan<br />
venues and demonstrations, world-wide submissions in all<br />
languages from vegans of all crafting skills are welcome to<br />
send in banners. To learn more about vegan craftivism,<br />
the project, and submission guidelines,<br />
visit vegancraftivist.blogspot.ch or join our <strong>Vegan</strong><br />
Craftivist Facebook page. BV<br />
Julia is an American currently<br />
experiencing life in<br />
Switzerland. She has spent<br />
the last decade or so<br />
exploring the world<br />
outside of the US, and on<br />
that journey, while in Ireland, she<br />
discovered ethical veganism. Julia has recently<br />
published her first vegan children’s book ‘Libby<br />
Finds <strong>Vegan</strong> Sanctuary’.
We all have<br />
something to<br />
give and we<br />
can all speak<br />
up for nonhumans<br />
in<br />
whatever way<br />
we can.<br />
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BAREFOOT<strong>Vegan</strong> | 104<br />
By Honey Morris
I<br />
love to craft, it’s a hobby, and a passion, that I have<br />
rediscovered in my thirties. I find crafting to be<br />
surprisingly relaxing, mediative almost, and I spend as<br />
much time channelling my creativity as possible. A lot<br />
of my family and friends are baffled when I talk about vegan<br />
crafting but frustratingly, a lot of crafting materials are nonvegan.<br />
That’s right, a lot of crafting materials contain animal<br />
products and/or animal by-products! Yes, it’s sadly the case<br />
but on a positive note, eco-friendly and vegan crafting<br />
supplies are becoming more and more popular and as a<br />
consequence, retailers are being encouraged to cater for<br />
conscious crafters.<br />
As an example, paint and paint brushes are often nonvegan,<br />
paint commonly contains charred animal bones,<br />
cochineal, ox gall and squid sacs and paint brushes are,<br />
more often than not, made from fur.<br />
Personally, my main craft is crochet, so my key<br />
consideration is wool. I refuse to crochet with any animalbased<br />
wool, the most common of which is sheep’s wool.<br />
The commercial wool industry is profit driven, shearers are<br />
often paid per sheep and consequently, sheep suffer<br />
emotionally and physically as a result of the shearing<br />
process. I also prefer to use eco-friendly wools, with<br />
bamboo and organic cotton being firm favourites.<br />
When I’m crafting, I love to reuse items. I love the<br />
challenge of creating something with items that are<br />
considered “trash”. This is something that a lot of my<br />
family and friends are aware of so they often pass me things<br />
like buttons, corks, fabric scraps, glass jars, ribbon,<br />
wrapping paper, and I especially love to craft them<br />
something with the items they kindly donate.<br />
I was actually introduced to the idea of craftivism when<br />
my family and friends started offering to pay for my<br />
creations. Initially, I felt a little awkward when<br />
discussing potential prices, however, I soon realised<br />
that I was being presented with an opportunity to use<br />
my hobby to raise some much needed funds for not-for<br />
-profit animal rescue organisations.<br />
So, as a craftivist I use my creativity to make a<br />
difference, albeit a small and gentle one. I donate all of<br />
the profits I make from selling items I have crafted<br />
and/or crocheted and excitingly, since mid-2016, I have<br />
donated over $300.00 (AUD).<br />
Recently, I was able to combine my love of crafting<br />
and my love of food by hosting a Christmas<br />
crafternoon tea. I was overwhelmed with how<br />
enthusiastically my friends embraced the crafting<br />
aspect and it was a fantastic opportunity for me to<br />
share some delicious vegan food with them all.<br />
I am looking forward to continuing with my<br />
craftivism in <strong>2017</strong>. I have some exciting ideas for<br />
crochet projects that also raise awareness of important<br />
animal rights issues.<br />
The beginning of a New Year is the perfect time to<br />
introduce a new hobby or like me, rediscover an old<br />
hobby! So, if you’re feeling inspired to channel your<br />
creativity, have a think about what you’d like to do;<br />
jewellery making, crocheting, knitting, quilting,<br />
sewing, card making, scrapbooking, or woodwork! Give<br />
it a go, the possibilities really are endless! BV<br />
Honey is the creator of Veggie Yum Yums, a<br />
friendly vegan Facebook page, and the<br />
Assistant Online Editor of <strong>Barefoot</strong> <strong>Vegan</strong>.<br />
Click here to visit her website.<br />
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