#go vegan
IMAGE OF TWO COWS SEEKING COMFORT IN ONE ANOTHER WHILE AWAITING SLAUGHTER (image details at bottom of post)
“I have unfortunately been inside slaughterhouses and can tell you that the animals are not willingly walking up to the end of the kill line and sticking their necks out. These animals fight with every bit of strength they have left at the end of that kill line. They don’t want to die and they know it’s coming.”
~Cayce Mell (Peaceable Kingdom)
VIDEO -I Am Scared and Do Not Want To Die (Please watch - nothing graphic)
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Sunday treat - a vegan lunch at Cafe Sydney
Yesterday I was lucky enough to have lunch at the beautiful Cafe Sydney, located on level 5 of Customs House at Circular Quay. While I expected lunch to be good, my expectations were surpassed with what has to be one of the best vegan lunches I’ve ever had.
The great news for vegans at Cafe Sydney, is that there is a vegan menu. You just need to ask for it and they’ll provide it to you; there’s no advance notice required that you’re going to want to order something from the vegan menu.
The vegan menu has three entree options, and there are two options for the main course. The vegan option for dessert is fruit and sorbet - and it’s delicious. I got to experience everything except the sweet corn soup. The food was presented beautifully, and the taste sublime. The highlight dish for me was the grilled eggplant with chickpeas and kale. Wow. So so good!
The views at Cafe Sydney are exquisite - if you’re lucky enough to get a seat on the terrace, your view of the harbour is exquisite, especially if it’s a sunny day.
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I follow lots of vegans on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. Every day I am presented with articles and blogs about about being vegan, debates that go on within the community, recipes, book reviews, thought provoking quotes, photos that make my heart melt, and other photos that I can’t scroll past fast enough because they break my heart.
This week, I want to share with you two things that caught my eye this week that I hope that you will find interesting: a new book from Gary Francione, and an article on fat shaming in the vegan community.
The Morality of Eating Animals
I’m a big fan of Gary Francione. in addition to being a professor at Rutger’s University, Gary is also an animal activist, promoting non-violence and animal rights. He’s written seven books in total, the most recent Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals, was published in June. From the Amazon description of the book: “ Many of us are uneasy thinking about the animals who end up on our plates. We may have thought about stopping eating animal products but there are many excuses that have kept us from doing so. The authors explore the 30+ excuses they have heard as long-time vegans and address each one, showing why these excuses don’t work. Packed with clear, commonsense thinking on animal ethics, without jargon or complicated theory, this book will change the way you think about what you eat.”
I’ve purchased the book but haven’t yet read it. I’ll you know what I think in the coming weeks.
You can follow Gary on Facebook here, or on Twitter here. You can read more about Eat Like You Care here.
Fat Shaming in the Vegan Community
This could honestly be a blog post entirely on its own. I don’t consider fat shaming to be Ok under any circumstances. This week I found it particularly upsetting to read about vegans who thought “fat vegans” were sending a bad message for the movement, needed to exercise more self control, were poor role models, and not attractive enough to be effective animal advocates. Sigh.
The article that I read about fat shaming was from vegan blogger Gary Smith from The Thinking Vegan. Gary recently shared an article written by someone who experienced “fat phobia and sizism in a lot of vegan communities.” It was this article, when shared by Gary, that provoked some of the above responses. Gary has written numerous articles on fat shaming in the vegan community and I always appreciate his well thought out and sensible responses. In his most recent article, he makes the point that veganism isn’t a diet. It’s true. Being vegan isn’t about being skinny. It’s about rights for animals, and not eating animal products is just one way that vegans choose to not participate in animal exploitation.
There are lots of links to other articles discussing fat shaming in the vegan community within Gary’s article, and within the other articles that he links to.
Fat shaming is never Ok. Ever. Vegans come in all shapes and sizes. Can’t we just embrace who we are and extend kindness and compassion to all living beings - not just the animals, but to the humans, too?
You can follow The Thinking Vegan on Facebook here, and on Twitter here.
Ryan Phillips is an animal rights activist and the artist behind Art From a Vegan Heart.
Image with kind permission from Chantal Poulin-Durocher.
Russell Wendell Simmons is an American entrepreneur, record executive, writer, and film producer.
He is a supporter of Farm Sanctuary, an organization working to end cruelty to farm animals and has been vegan since 1999.
Image with kind permission from Sue Coe.
http://www.artnet.com/artists/sue-coe/
Henry Spira (19 June 1927 – 12 September 1998) was a Belgian - American animal rights advocate, regarded by some as one of the most effective animal advocates of the 20th century.
Image with kind permission from Roger Olmos.https://rogerolmos.carbonmade.com/
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Image: no source - found on Pinterest.
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Image with kind permisssion from Dina Farris Appel.
https://www.dinafarrisappel.com/https://www.facebook.com/dinafarrisappelart/
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Image - Vegan Vibes. Shop Cruelty Free. Proceeds donated to Mercy For Animals.
Image: Simple Happy Kitchen.
Image with kind permission from World of Vegan.
Commercial layer hens have been genetically selected to lay a very high number of eggs and are therefore highly susceptible to poor bone strength and osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is related to a nutritional imbalance, level of egg production, and the birds’ inability to move and keep their muscles and bones healthy.
The formation of eggshells requires the deposition of calcium. Since eggs are laid at a very high rate, this leads to a loss of bone calcium.
Osteoporosis is an end result of this process and is a widespread problem in commercial hens. It can result in an increased susceptibility to poor bone health and bone fractures.
With thanks to the HSPCA, Compassion in World Farming & Twyla Francois.
“Stolen Bones” with kind permission from Twyla Francois.
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