You Know You Are a Vegan When...

You Know You Are a Vegan When…

When people argue with you, most say “Check your privilege”

And I really want to say, “Check your ignorance”

posted 07 May, 2013
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Animals deserve the same freedom

we don’t see humans locked in cages anywhere, so why are our fellow creatures locked up…oh yeah…for our own purposes!

posted 01 May, 2013
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LIVINGXVXFAITH

How did you become a vegan/ vegan testimony:

First, I went vegetarian in part as an effort to lose weight when I was 14, but there was a point where I knew I HAD to become vegetarian when, out of nowhere, I sat down with my family to eat some turkey chili my mom had made and I started gagging. I realized what I was eating—the butchered carcass of a dead animal, with blood and muscle and fat and skin—and I felt like a cannibal. I was so disgusted that I couldn’t eat anything the rest of the night. From that point I went 100% no meat. It wasn’t until I actually started researching on my own vegetarianism that I was lead to information on veganism (something I had not heard of before). It resonated with me, and made a lot of sense why if I was going to give up meat because of how disgusted I was by what meat actually is, I needed to not eat any animal products at all. But that was just the start, I also learned about the environmental factors, the health factors, and even the religious/spiritual factors that go along with the ethical factors. I became so entranced and convinced that veganism was the right way to live for me to be holistic as a Christian who wanted to advocate justice, peace, and honor for ALL life, for “the least of these,” for all of Creation. However, due to some emotional complications involving my mom, I didn’t become fully vegan until I left home for college. The switch was immediate after that though, and total. I stopped buying, eating, using anything with animals products or related to animal use/abuse/exploitation, but of course I kept learning about the issues, both current and historical/traditional. Along the way, I also came across raw veganism, and it also resonated with me and seemed to make sense. I was very much attracted to it and wanted to adopt the lifestyle, but due to my own personal emotional issues, I wasn’t “ready” to do it until January 1 of 2013, and I am loving it.

Describe your vegan philosophy:

My vegan philosophy comes from several different aspects, but the main one for me is the spiritual/religious foundation: I am a Christian mystic, and I believe that the purpose of all of creation is to my harmonious, peaceful and just, and mutually supportive. Everything is (inter)connected, humans, animals, environment, GOD, body, spirit, and whatever affects one of these, or one individual, radiates and effects all the others. For me, sin is a violation of the intricate relationships between all of creation, a violation of the purpose to care about all life, in whatever form that may take. Being vegan is the minimum standard for fulfilling that purpose because it is a lifestyle that values all life and seeks to build relationships of compassion, respect, and reciprocity. That of course leads to the fulfillment of other goals from other aspects, like health both for our bodies and the environment, social justice for other human “groups” as we conceptualize them (however arbitrarily), and ethics in how we treat other beings and our surroundings. While I live this way because I see GOD in everything and desire to live a life of divine love, even without any religious or spiritual lens a person should be able to understand veganism from any and all of the other positions (health, environmentalism, ethics, social justice, etc).

3) Resources that helped you

Christian Vegetarian Association: http://www.all-creatures.org/cva/default.htm

Jesus Radicals (anarchist vegan Christians): http://www.jesusradicals.com/

“Is Eating A ‘Personal Choice’? Hardly” by James McWilliams: http://www.nonhumanslavery.com/is-eating-a-personal-choice-hardly-by-james-mcwilliams

Sistah Vegan (on race, gender, and class): http://sistahvegan.com/

“Is veganism another white privilege?”: http://www.happycow.net/blog/?p=117

RAW

The Gerson Miracle (on cancer treatment): http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/gerson-miracle/

DurianRider (Harley Johnstone): http://www.youtube.com/user/durianriders

FullyRawKristina: http://www.youtube.com/user/FullyRawKristina

http://www.youtube.com/user/RawfullyOrganic

Where there any challenges in the vegan lifestyle and how did you overcome them?

Mostly, the challenge was dealing with my mom who at the time assumed that any diet changes I made were part of my eating disorder. She could not separate choices driven by real, spiritual and ethical motivations versus eating disorder motivations. The only way I knew to overcome it was to wait until I moved out, because she kept threatening to send me to a hospital if I was too drastic or something. Other than that I have not encountered any problems personally.

Favorite recipe/food?

I live on mainly raw fruits now, and my cravings change a lot! But the fruits I have loved mono-mealing with have been peaches, strawberries, papaya, melons, pineapple, medjool dates, grapes, pears, and grapefruit.

Kaleigh, livingxvxfaith

posted 01 May, 2013
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The Rawesome Vegan

How did you get into veganism? I was a senior in high school and I suffered from depression and weight issues (about every year I would gain or lose twenty pounds, constantly dieting or binging). I stumbled upon a book that my Dad owned (he has a Masters in Sports Medicine) that stressed the importance of raw foods (raw fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds). I started to practice an omnivorous diet with more raw foods. Another month passes by and I stumbled upon Paul Nison on the internet. He stressed raw foods. It was the first time I heard the term vegan. Soon I discovered all the negative health aspects of eating animal products and (no exaggeration) over night I became a raw vegan. I dropped 40 pounds (a little too fast I might add) and I felt so happy and full of energy. It felt like I unlocked the fountain of health and vibrancy. It wasn’t until a couple months later I found a community of bloggers on tumblr that stressed that veganism isn’t about health and beauty, it’s about the animals. I learned by watching great documentaries (food inc, peta videos, meet your meat, etc) the injustice and cruelty humans around the globe inflict on innocent autonomous animals. Veganism at its core teaches that humans must be in balance with nature. In other words, we aren’t above any other species. Just because of our status as a “rational animal” doesn’t mean we can use our human capabilities for evil. We share the planet. We don’t own the planet. I’ve been vegan for three years. No looking back.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions about vegans? That we all are a bunch of rich, white, diet-fad, unrealistic, malnourished, misanthropes. Let me set the record straight: we aren’t all rich, we come in all colors, we come from all different backgrounds, we aren’t all in it for our own benefit, we aren’t all skinny or athletic, and we are just as healthy (or even more healthy) as anyone else. And we DO NOT hate people who aren’t vegan, and we do not hate humanity. And Yes, we care about vegetable and fruit laborers.

Is veganism hard? Veganism is about passion. If you believe something enough you will do it. I find it’s habit. Once you get into a routine, have a steady shopping list, recipe book, etc. It’s not a struggle. Slipping up, cheating…it can happen, but you need to have self control. There’s temptation for sure. Cooking for yourself is essential. Finding other vegans is nice. Keep yourself connected and motivated.

Fav recipe? I’ll keep it simple…Vegan Banana Bread. I always buy too many bananas and I don’t mind when they over ripe because this recipe is awesome.

Are you willing to answer questions/be a resource to others? Yes. I have answered/helped people get into veganism. Contact info/follow me