 27 (Easy) Strategies For Lifting Your Spirit It started with me looking for recommendations for a therapy light. Okay, actually, it started with the Daylight Savings Time change on Sunday. I do not love winter, I don’t especially enjoy the many cloudy, grey, cold days in a row. I was looking for a little inspiration from my friends about what they do when the darkness gets a little too oppressive. I asked for recommendations on therapy lamps and they delivered, but then it turned into another thought: What do you do to lift your mood in general? I’m not thinking about anything requiring a serious intervention, but what are some tried-and-true strategies in their bag of tricks that help when they’re feeling down, blah, in the doldrums? Once again, my friends had so many great ideas. I decided to collect the common themes in one handy crowdsourced document. I hope that it helps you through rough patches and if you’re going through something more difficult and intractable, I hope you get the help that you need and deserve. . . .  Take a walk. Personally, I feel like walking is the antidote to all the kryptonite life throws my way. A couple of years ago, I invested in some wind-proof, water-proof vegan winter gear (including long underwear, those sexy beasts) because I was the primary dog-walker and I am glad I did because not only did I suffer less, it made it more likely I would just take more recreational walks that were so restorative and helpful to my mood. It works: I walked in the winter for pleasure. Walking becomes the gateway to more relief because once you’re outside, you can start noticing birds more, learn how to identify trees and plants, watch clouds, gaze at the sky and just generally fall in love with the world a little more. Indoors or outdoors, walking has known benefits for all aspects of your health, physical and mental. Just add wheels. If the conditions are working in your favor, well, everything is more fun with wheels, right? Cycling, roller-skating, rollerblading, skateboarding, whatever gets your blood pumping and your heart happy. There’s something about wheels that just taps into your carefree inner-child. Consider wheels for your next outdoor trek if it’s in your wheelhouse, of course. (Yes, I had to go there.) Shake up your workspace. I am fortunate enough to work from home but I do spend almost the whole day at a desk, which can get a little stultifying. If, like me, you spend most of your day in one spot, why not consider some little tweaks to make it a little more enjoyable? Some ideas: squeezy stress balls for tactile thinkers, fidget spinners, etc.; easy-to-maintain plants; rearrange your furniture; try sitting on a yoga ball instead of a chair; using a treadmill desk instead of a traditional one; keep framed photos of loved ones or mementos with special meaning that make you feel good within easy eyesight; try to get a little window exposure. (Even better if you can hang a bird-feeder and watch the goings-on.) Don’t forget that this includes working in a different space altogether on occasion if this is available to you. We have a library near us with a lovely, window-covered room that looks over a gorgeous river. Perfect for a literal change of scenery. Cafés are also a good option for switching things up.  Movement is everything. In addition to daily walks, I find a regular exercise practice every day helps me to reap mood improvement benefits. Some ideas: the fabulous Yoga with Adriene videos for all skill levels (she’s my boo), HIIT workouts, belly dancing videos on YouTube, free Fitness Blender classes, setting a timer so you can do some jumping jacks, squats or high knees every 25 minutes if setting aside one dedicated session isn’t in your bag. I’m not alone with thinking that regular exercise supports improved mental health; movement is a proven mood elevator. Planting inner-peace. My mother was a natural with plants; this green thumb may have skipped a generation because I do not seem to possess it. That said, I have found some low-maintenance plants I have managed to not only keep alive but help to thrive. These lovely plants brighten my home, give my eyes something nice to rest on in my office, remind me of the importance of taking care of my own needs every time I water them and darn, if they don’t make me feel better. This is a helpful primer on not only the benefits of houseplants on mood but also how to get started on your own little potted paradise. If you do get plants, please research to make sure they are safe with any companion animals. You light up my life. Seasonal Affective Disorder is real and especially felt when the days get shorter and there are long periods without sunshine. Consider getting a therapy light to help boost serotonin levels and feel better. A range of lamps and light boxes are explored here, from ones that run several hundred dollars to others that are as low as $40.00. It may be an easy strategy to help you to feel better.  Love on your companion animals. Whether you’re down on the ground and getting into full play mode or simply sitting and petting a content furry kid on your lap, spending dedicated, focused time with our companion animals is a sure mood boost, from energizing to calming, to just a feeling that everything is okay in the world. Don’t have an animal of your own? Visit a friend with a fuzzball or two. Sing, sing, sing (or just listen). Music really has the power to flip on internal switches, doesn’t it? Create a playlist of songs guaranteed to make you feel better or turn to a beloved album you have a history with and let the music heal you. For me, there is nothing like ‘80s music - The Cure, The Clash, The Bangles, The Smiths - to turn my mood around, but sometimes commiserating with the high lonesome wail of Hank Williams or a young Joni Mitchell, full of longing and regret on Blue, is what my spirit needs to be heard. Tune into yourself to hear what your heart needs and music will transform you. Factor in some little splurges and indulgences. I’ll admit it: Sometimes the mere act of taking a shower seems outside of my capabilities. I know, though, that if I can get through it, I have this silky body oil with a scent that uplifts me so I power through. Think of how you can splurge a little to make your days a little better: Soft sock slippers. A tin of fancy tea or your favorite coffee. A pen or mug that feels just right in your hand. A square of perfect dark chocolate (more on this later). All these things are small little indulgences to make your lived experience just a little brighter, to give you something to look forward to, to show yourself that you are deserving of self-care, that you are worthy. A dedicated spa night once a week with all the works - bubble bath, facial mask, candles - is another great treat to keep in your rotation. Speaking of indulgences, hello, dark chocolate, my old friend. Chocolate isn’t everyone’s bag but I know that two squares of chocolate, one at 10:00 AM and one at 2:00 PM (but who’s watching the clock?), give me the little pick-me-up I am seeking and also something every day to look forward to, which is so important. Loaded with antioxidants that lower blood pressure and flavonols that benefit cognitive function, dark chocolate is what I reach for when I need a little boost. Make sure it is free of animal products and slave production to feel the best about your chocolate.  Aromatherapist. The scents we inhale are deeply connected to mood and memory, moving directly from the olfactory bulb in the brain to the amygdala to hippocampus, where recollections and emotions are processed. Your brain instantly connects the smell of freshly mowed grass, perhaps, with summer memories from childhood, the smell of lavender or sage with your grandmother’s herb garden, the cologne your first love wore with the headiness of the first time you fell head-over-heels. What are scents that uplift you? Which ones make you feel calmer? They all have different associations but many have the same effect on us; understanding this better through an essential oil chart is helpful for figuring out what you could reach for depending on what you are needing. I have multiple diffusers in my home for this exact reason. If you have companion animals, please make sure any essential oils you use are not toxic to them. Keep in mind that stovetop simmering potpourri can make a lovely alternative to diffuser scents and shouldn’t endanger household animals. Keep a list of your happy places. A couple of years ago, I created a document on Google Drive that I keep active, and this is a list of places I love to go that are close or a couple of hours away, like actual physical places: The Garfield Park Conservatory. The block and neighborhood where I grew up. Lake Shore Drive. Loyola Beach. Downtown. That one little park I don’t know the name of up north. My favorite thrift shop. You get the idea. I have it coded by color from quick little jaunts to weekend excursions. I update it whenever I remember or discover something new. I started this list on paper because it’s easier for me to think with a pen in my hand and I transferred it onto a computer document because, well, it’s easy for me to lose pieces of paper. I turn to this when I am looking for something to do outside of the home, looking for a place with warm memories, pretty sights, whatever uplifts me. There are different happy places for different moods. Where are your happy places? Make a list. Don’t be ashamed of including less sophisticated settings; Home Goods, shopping malls and bowling alleys can help you feel better. No one is judging: this is about your happy places. Hobby habits. At this point, we know that screens and social media aren’t so good for our mental and emotional health, right? The problem is, some of us have gotten so entrenched with these things, it can be hard to remember what we did with our free time before they were in our lives, so we default to the empty calories of scrolling our feeds. I am as indicated in this as anyone. Something I have been doing recently is going off-line after dinner and it has been helping. What do I do instead? Develop recipes, read, call friends, take walks. It can feel like a rude awakening when you unplug and find yourself staring into a void at first but before too long, you’ll probably start figuring out uses for all this freed up time. Gardening! Drawing! Sewing! Learning a new language! There are so many options for hobbies that it can feel intimidating at first but finding new outlets for your attention is so rewarding and fulfilling. A little nostalgia can do the trick. Sometimes when I am feeling a bit down, I have found that I love watching classic commercial collections from my childhood on YouTube. (Using search terms like “commercials from the 1970s,” for example.) I don’t get a serious joy from it but kind of a low-key good feeling. Same with looking at old photos, talking about funny stories from the past with those who lived them with me, catching up with old friends,holiday specials or movies of a certain vintage that I know line-for-line: Same warm feelings. Nostalgia reconnects us to ourselves, our histories and cherished memories.  Kitchen witchery. It’s not for everyone, but I find that spending time in the kitchen really takes me out of my head and brings me back to my body, senses and intuition. Baking, cooking, pickling, canning, so many possibilities, and you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor directly. Try legumes for the ol’ bean. A great source of fiber and folate, beans can help your body maintain stable blood sugar levels, which reduces the energy spikes and dips that can affect mood. Beans are also rich in the amino acid tryptophan and the mineral magnesium, which have been linked to improved mood and mental well-being. Looking for recipes? I’ve got you. Volunteering for good. There is nothing like expanding beyond your own four walls to tap into a more purposeful, meaningful life. My friends repeatedly wrote about the joy, accomplishment and contentment they get from spending time helping non-profits, fostering animals, collecting donations, fundraising and just in general making the world a kinder, happier place. Is it too much to take on right now? It’s good to know your limits. How about smaller things, like picking up trash in your neighborhood, donating non-perishables to free food pantries, shoveling for a neighbor? There are a million ways to make the world a better place, from small but accessible things to bigger time investments. Speaking of little acts of kindness... For purely selfish reasons, it feels great to extend a little kindness to those you encounter. A sincere compliment to your cashier. A warm greeting to the neighbor you pass on your walk every day. A friendly smile to your mail carrier. Little things are big and your spirit will feel better for brightening someone’s day. On the flip side, sticking up for yourself and others feels damn good, too. You have every right to let people know exactly how you expect to be treated and what is unacceptable. Every time you refuse to be abused, bullied and/or gaslit, and every time you use your voice for the benefit of others, you are actively building a better world and, darn, that feels good.  D3 for dark days. I am not a medical professional, nor do I play one on the internet, but I have found that taking vitamin D3 consistently has been helpful with my moods, especially during the winter when sunshine is harder to find around here. Talk to your doctor! D3 may be for you. Take something unnecessary off your schedule. Ah, the best feeling! Like taking off a bra at the end of the day, if you’ve ever had the pleasure. When I was in the darkest, most stressful days of caregiving for my husband who was recovering from leukemia, I stripped as much as I could off my schedule that wasn’t absolutely necessary and I think it helped me to survive. I also learned how to say no a lot. Have you been feeling overburdened with responsibilities? Are all of them necessary or can you relieve yourself of some until you feel better? Is there anything you can off-load onto a partner or just cease doing altogether? Obligations can quickly make us feel tired and resentful, especially when we’re already taxed. Take a little look at what is requiring the biggest buck for the smallest bang and see if you can take it off your schedule. Meditate on this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. It’s like a broken record at this point. Can I say something, though? None of us -- well, very few -- are good at meditating, especially when we’re new at it. All of us have endlessly chattering brains, like those wind-up teeth. It’s not easy. But there are apps, like Calm and Insight Timer, both of which have free versions, that can help you with meditations. Or you can keep in mind what I heard one mindfulness teacher say: Every conscious breath is a meditation. There are walking meditations. There are guided meditations. There are loving-kindness meditations. Meditation literally changes the brain for the better. Breathe into it. Have you ever noticed that just when you most need the restorative power of a nice, full breath, you become stingy about it? I won’t say much here, except to say that paying attention to my breathing hygiene, as well as adding a few breathing exercises into my daily meditation practices, has made a difference in my quality of life, stress levels and moods. Hey, it can’t hurt.  Stay hydrated. I am one perpetually thirsty mofo and it definitely shows when I am not giving my body the hydration it needs. I get irritable, headachy, anxious and discombobulated. It has become so second nature to always have my reusable water bottle with me, it’s practically Linus’ blanket for me at this point. (Extra bonus: I have vegan stickers all over it for a little passive outreach when I am in public.) Being well-hydrated is now understood to be an important factor in general well-being and improving mood, so drink up, buttercup! Restfully yours. Man, do I get cranky when I am physically and emotionally spent. Guess what? You do, too! Respect your needs and get the rest you deserve. If you’re ready to rip someone’s face off, ask yourself first if you might be better served with a good night’s sleep. If you need some advice on good sleep hygiene practices, this may be helpful. This is so touching. There is nothing like a professional massage. If that is not available due to, I don’t know, say, a global pandemic, do a massage exchange with your partner. If you’re single, never fear: Give yourself a good foot rub, a nice hand massage, a little shoulder kneading, a lovely hug. People crave the human touch. There is no reason to deprive yourself of it. Notice the good. Easier said than done until you are in the habit of it, keeping a daily gratitude journal can help you to see in very little time how much there is that we take for granted that is actually good happening in our lives. I don’t mean this in a hokey way but as a way of training your eye to notice the whole picture, which includes moments to enjoy. Even the practice of going over small things you are grateful happened that day before you go to bed is helpful. What I have been doing lately is something I learned on the podcast The Happiness Lab: Finding something every day that delights me. At the end of the day, I record what it was: It could be a tree. It could be a sweet couple sitting on a park bench. It could be the moon. It could be the cardinal I just saw. It could be a call with a friend. The point is that this regular practice makes you notice more to delight in and treasure. . . . What helps you through dark and difficult times? Please let us know. Have a wonderful day! . . .
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 I really thought everyone would have learned by now. Hard truths from a vegan. Almost two years into the pandemic, I get why so many vegans I know feel so deflated. Angry, depressed, frustrated, demoralized, disappointed. Not to sound melodramatic but any and all responses seem justifiable and reasonable. (I should say here that I am very much on the record as being critical of anti-science vegans throughout this time.) Like many vegans before and after us, John and I had thought that when we presented to people the unvarnished truth about the invisibilized victims of animal agribusiness, that would be enough. It should have been enough. We thought if we could just break through the defenses and myths, we would be successful. It should have been a cakewalk, right? We would just need to communicate well and our professional lives were spent in communications. We were naive, though. We hadn’t taken into account the hoops the human mind will happily jump through to rationalize habits it doesn’t want to change. As newbie vegans, we thought that if people knew the truth about the animal agribusiness industries, how violent and cruel they are, they would surely have an inner-reckoning and withdraw their support. So we presented and promoted alternatives. We developed recipes that were easy and tasty. We made compelling, fact-based arguments. We described how great it feels to have found this path, how there are no sacrifices when something feels this in alignment. . . .
We did all those things, some better than other, but I think we did them well for the most part. Time after time, though, we found that Buffalo wings, cheese omelets and Haägen-Dazs were valued more than the animals who unwillingly gave their lives to supply them. In the 2000s, the news started becoming harder and harder to avoid about climate change and the inextricable ties to animal agribusiness, but the needle still didn’t shift much. Maybe it didn’t touch lives personally enough yet, maybe it was still too abstract. Then the pandemic happened. This would be it, we thought. Once burned, twice shy, but we had hope: This was the time. We hoped that when push came to shove, when omnivores really had no place to hide, they would come around to the vegan message. Even if they don’t care about chickens and cows, we thought, surely the repercussions of animal agribusiness on human lives, current and future, would cause people to stop their support of the supply chain. Again, people have shown that what should be a flashing red light is easy to ignore if it’s in your preferred best interests to keep your head down and just keep doing what you’ve always done. While the jury is still out on the exact origin of SARS-CoV-2, it is considered likely that the virus, which causes COVID-19, crossed over from a wild species like bats or pangolins to infect the human species. We know that all seven human coronaviruses to date have a zoonotic origin, meaning they originated in a species other than our own. The truth is, even in the unlikely chance that it is discovered that this infectious disease did not spread from wildlife to humans, there are still so many more pandemics in the lineup just waiting to happen. According to a recent story in The Guardian, eight variants of avian flu, any one of them as potentially catastrophic as the coronavirus, are currently circulating through the industrial chicken factories of the world, and some of these strains, like H5N6, have already begun infecting and killing people. It’s still in the infancy of the most tepid of alarms being raised but early news about the COVID-19 started out a little sleepily in retrospect as well. . . .
So the big question is, do we ever care to learn from our mistakes? People of all political persuasions and backgrounds seem to be able to agree that vegans are the enemies of fun, the proverbial finger-wagging scolds. Most of us are more than accustomed to being assigned the role of unwanted doomsday prophesiers tsk-tsking over the all-you-can-eat buffet of normalized consumption habits. This is nothing new. What I am wondering, though, is when we will hit the bottom collectively and hit it with enough force to want to change, if ever? When will enough be enough? Will it ever be? When will people care enough about the growing body of research that recognizes animal agribusiness as a leading cause of climate change to realize that every time they support these industries, they are complicit in this hastening nightmare on earth? When will it feel better to try to fix things than to smirk at Greta Thunberg’s entreaties about the planet she and her generation are inheriting, the one they fear for and actively grieve over? Will this recognition and change ever happen in numbers enough to make a difference? As a society, we seem to have accepted that climate change is just something we’ll have to live with like sad sacks with no personal agency, just as we have accepted that pandemics are inevitable. Will it only be the outliers who decide these are unacceptable prices to pay for cheap and plentiful meat and animal products? . . .
I remember watching Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth as a vegan all those years ago and being filled with disbelief that his climate change solutions focused more on light bulbs than dietary changes. He had that enormous platform, he had the attention of so many people, and he ignored the elephant in the room that is animal agribusiness, the ultimate inconvenient truth to his ecological message. If they can’t be honest about what animal agribusiness wreaks and how completely unnecessary it is, no matter how many well-heeled funders and many more small donors they’ll potentially offend, why are people like Al Gore and deeply funded environmental organizations even in the business of speaking about saving the planet? How dare they fundraise without finally, consistently, and honestly, fixing this glaring omission? I know this has been a barrel of laughs. Honestly, it’s been a barrel of laughs feeling all this. If we didn’t believe that people would want to change for the better when presented with the facts, we wouldn’t have created Vegan Street in 1998 and we certainly wouldn’t have revived it in 2013. Some days, though, it’s very hard to believe. I’m having one of those days. I’ll take a walk, play with my dog, call a friend, zone out on Pinterest, read a book, get some serotonin going. I’ll be okay. At the moment, though, I am haunted by this nagging feeling that when push comes to shove, as it has again and again, people will still decide to make the easy but devastating choice, again and again. . . .
 The Power of Imagining to Create Change: One Vegan's Hopes for Her Future Child in 2001 In October of 2001, I learned I was newly pregnant. Not long after the shattering events of September 11, I got the plus sign on the pregnancy test. During such a sad and chaotic time, it was the first sign of hope I’d gotten in a while; the dogs and I did a little happy dance in the apartment, but then, even before I told my husband, reality began settling in. We had been vegan for six years by that point and knew from the beginning that it was going to stick for life. Knowing what we knew, feeling what we felt, there was no turning back. At the same time, I’d also known that I wanted to be a mom one day and that we would raise our children to be vegan like us, but that plus sign made the abstract much more real. . . . How were we going to do this? The vegan world was much smaller twenty years ago, in terms of food availability, in terms of community, in terms of awareness of the general public, in terms of everything. We were so niche as to be practically invisible; at just over 2% of the U.S. public according to a 2019 poll, vegans are not exactly taking over the world yet but the difference in terms of growth of influence and quality of lived experience is quite striking. From 1995, when we first went vegan, to 2001, when I learned I was pregnant, the vegan world was still quite sleepy and embryonic. Speaking of embryos, I was anxious but also hopeful for my future vegan child. Would our vegan commitment be accepted by him? Would she resent us for making her different from the get-go? Would they have friends who accepted and understood, maybe even other kids being raised vegan? What would birthdays be like? What about holidays? I could manage things in my own home but outside those walls was a big, scary, unsupportive world, easy enough for me to navigate, but what about a new soul? Was I setting up this future child for resentment and bitterness? My background is in creative writing and as an activist, I deeply connect to the power of storytelling to change the world from the inside out. The more I thought about my worries, the more I realized that it wasn’t that veganism lacked access to options or broad understanding – though it certainly did lack those things – but equally important is the culture to attract more people into adopting veganism. Without that powerful buttressing, veganism is a dry, theoretical exercise, maybe even a deeply held conviction, but lacking in the richness, flavor and nuance necessary for retaining people and attracting more to create a truly viable movement. It was that understanding that undergirded the original concept of VeganStreet.com when we first launched in 1998, along with the core conceit that though we were functioning as a pep squad at the time, veganism was inevitable, and our little corner of the internet was where it was the default norm. Our literal domain was our domain and we got to decide the rules. . . . With this mindset, in October of 2001, just before Halloween, we launched a story (linked below) that I wrote and my husband illustrated, a story for our future child, a story for vegan children everywhere (all five of them), but, really a story for all vegans as we worked to deepen and entrench vegan culture, make it feel more fun, unstoppable, real and lived-in. Movements need culture if they are to have momentum and staying power; they do not thrive on conviction alone. They need songs, creativity, open-sourced ingenuity, community (oh, how do they need that) and they need stories. I realize how pretentious this sounds, bear with me. This was our story, one for our future baby, and it was really a projection of what kind of world we wanted for him, one that was moving all the time closer to our ideal. It really is remarkable how much better things are for vegans today: we have every flavor, texture and food category ticked off, we have growing influence and recognition. We are much further along than I could have imagined twenty years ago, when this was all just a wild imagining, when I was writing this story and thinking about bringing a child into the world. The power of imagining the kind of world we want to live in has so much power. What can we do next that will actually result in net gains for the animals? (I don’t consider not being born to be quite ambitious or generous enough.) I think we need to start imagining how to create a better lived experience for the other species of the world, just as we have for humans, so we can work toward a similar progress that we have seen in the marketplace. I don’t have the answers, but I do think we need to start conjuring what this could look like so real change can begin manifesting.   Perfect By Design The other day, we were on our way back from somewhere and John noticed a school bus. He observed how school buses have not changed significantly since he was a school child. I didn’t know where he was going with this so I just kind of listened to his observations about other objects that have not gone through major overhauls. He looked up at a jet plane overhead as we continued on our way home and he continued on his little tangent. “Commercial airplanes haven’t changed much since they first started being used, either. I mean, little changes here and there to boost comfort and ease of use but the basics of an airplane are still pretty much intact from the 1940s.” From there, we talked about hammers: While adaptations may have been made to the grip to make it more comfortable in the hand, the simple utility of the overall design remains fundamentally unchanged. While the original hammer was cruder, form and function met at the beginning; whether you buy a $10.00 basic model or a $230 elite one, all hammers basically are asked to perform the same tasks well. Beyond the functionality, the rest is just refinement and window dressing. Or think of a bowl: The idea is to hold something that might flow out of a more flat surface. Bowls have been made out of all kinds of materials, from glass and metal to stone and shell. Some are small, some are large, some have deeper wells, but the function of the bowl still is to prevent what is contained within it from spilling out. No matter how sophisticated we become, no matter how fancy or simple it is, a bowl must still work as a bowl and it found its expression early on when the need for such a specific dish was noticed. . . . This, of course, got me thinking about veganism and its original definition. While veganism is not an object, I naturally began to see parallels. The original definition of veganism, hewn by the Vegan Society in 1944, was this: “Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.” It is a deceptively simple, deeply practical definition, one that acknowledges the basis of ethics but also the imperfection of our lived reality, one that is historically predicated on the use and harm of other species. It is not a grand, high-minded statement of values and convictions; it serves its function as a coherent, rational definition of something novel and complex with an impressive economy of words. Imagine trying to describe this way of life in 1944 to a world that wasn’t even largely familiar with vegetarianism, and, as you’re doing that, needing to nod to the fact that pure veganism is impossible given our flawed world, oh, and while we’re at it, still give it the substance it deserved. A tall order and one I think they met admirably. . . . Like the hammer and the bowl, in my opinion, the definition of veganism is as close to its perfect and most encompassing expression as could be realistically expected. This doesn’t stop people from trying to add a few extras. Despite the pretty straightforward definition, some vegans will add what they want to see into it: To some, vegan means it doesn’t include “processed foods” because they are unhealthy and, hand-wringing alert, aren’t we animals, tooooooo? Or they decide that only raw foodists are the real vegans because it’s the most “natural.” Or they may decide that getting vaccines during a global freaking pandemic isn’t vegan because of animal cruelty in the development process even though the definition of veganism allows for understanding that our world isn’t vegan yet, thus our contemptorary medical model is based on these systems that are still in place. I am a tinkerer by nature. My mac-and-cheese recipe is in a perpetual state of refinement. When I write, I will edit until I hit publish, and then I will revise it again when I think of a new change in the middle of the night. I understand and respect that desire to hone and perfect, the curiosity and drive. Some things, though, were designed just right from the beginning because they fulfilled a need in a new, perfect way: Form met function and vice versa. Adding a water mister to a hammer because, hey, you might get hot when you’re hammering things is not only superfluous, it detracts from the elegant utility of the tool and how it was designed to function. To me, it is the same when people attach their own preferences to the vegan definition. It’s not necessary and it adds a leaden clumsiness to something that was pretty straightforward from the get-go. Yes, words are fluid but they also have meaning. Want to tinker with the vegan definition? Maybe you should make up a new word and its own definition. . . .
 Vaccines for Vegans in the Pandemic Means Doing Our Best in This Imperfect World. It saddens me that at this stage of things, we need to continue to reiterate that the coronavirus is not a fire drill. With well over four million deaths, many more cases of illness (including those who will continue to have disabling long-term effects), still in the thick of the more transmissible and deadly Delta variant, there are people who want to play keyboard “skeptic” over it when what they really are is gullible, gullible to the dis- and misinformation spread by self-appointed experts, thirsty wannabe influencers and actual propagandists. Gullible, yes, and also shockingly callous. Millions upon millions of the world’s poorest people would do anything to have access to the vaccines that those of us in the West look down their noses at despite the information being readily available that vaccines, imperfect though they may be, are the best tool in our collective toolkits for keeping this horrid virus from spreading more and further mutating. (Delta could be a walk in the park compared to what is down the pike thanks to those who are continuing to keep this virus well supplied with human hosts.) If you are one of those people at this stage of the game, you are so far gone you still don’t believe that the pandemic is real. You scoff at those numbers. You smirk at healthcare workers, exhausted and desperate, pleading with us to please take this seriously. You laugh at those of us who are vaxxed and wearing masks again because while we are largely protected from the virus, we know we can still spread it. You take this last bit of information to mean that you were right all along. You weren’t right. You were stubborn, callous and cruel enough that you allowed this virus to keep spreading and mutating. During the Holocaust, there were also deniers. Congratulations? People the world over, grieving the loss of family members and friends, neighbors and coworkers, you owe them nothing, I guess. The fact that you are the ones responsible for torpedoing businesses because, hey, who knew, economies don’t thrive when highly contagious viruses are running rampant during a massive public health crisis. You don’t see that, though. You try and try to deflect that onto those of us who are being responsible because, like so much of what you have continued to push that defies logic and rationality, why would you suddenly start to be accountable, think clearly and honestly? But all that is not what I am here to say today. . . . What I am here to say is for those vegans who we have disappointed by not being ideologues and zealots during this time. Yes, the life-saving vaccines were developed using animal testing -- far less than normal due to the quickness at which they needed to come to market -- but, yes, there was animal testing. The fact is that all medications and vaccines have to go through animal testing models before being approved, not just in the US. That inhaler that stops someone from dying during an asthma attack? The polio vaccine? HIV protease inhibitors? Anesthetics used in everything from dental visits to major surgeries? The current vaccines that are keeping people safe during this public health crisis? All were developed using animal testing. This is not something we like. At Vegan Street, we support modernizing medical research and development to leave animals out of the equation. Not only is using animals in this way cruel, it is archaic. There are better, more modern ways and we must support this development. In the meantime, we have this messy, imperfect world. In the meantime, animal testing is still required for all medications and vaccines released to the public. In the meantime, the pandemic is raging as it ever has, threatening vulnerable lives and prolonging the suffering and miseries associated with it. . . . When we started Vegan Street in 1998, we knew we lived in a very flawed world but we were going to keep shining a light on a better way. It is no different today: We live in a very flawed world and the vaccines, a product of this imperfect world, are still a key instrument to saving lives. I don’t know how people need this much convincing at this point. I don’t understand how someone can still waffle in the face of all this suffering and loss. It was never, ever about us being pure or perfect, though, and always about us doing the best we could in this very flawed world. Please get vaccinated and help to stop this thing from continuing to mutate and kill. As the original definition of veganism in 1944 stated, vegans seek to exclude “as far as is possible and practicable” using animals. Shunning spread mitigation efforts during a massive public health crisis is not only irresponsible and cruel, it is not practicable. Built into the original vegan definition was an acknowledgement that we currently live in a non-vegan world. We are trying to change that, bit by bit. We have made some important strides. It is still a non-vegan world, though, and it is a world in the throes of a massive crisis. As such, we need to be less puritanical, more pragmatic. We need to be vegans in a flawed world: Compassionate, responsible and modeling always that we stand up for one another, the planet and her inhabitants because, again, it was never about living on an island with our purity and always about us doing our best in this deeply imperfect world. . . .
 The Power of Memes by John Beske This essay starts with three epiphanies: The first happened when I was a sophomore in college and moving aimlessly through a general degree in art. I happened to meet the husband of a daughter of some friends of my parents. He was an art director at an ad agency in Minneapolis, and as he described the ins and outs of his job and his work, it suddenly struck me that this was exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I transferred to a university where I could get a degree in graphic design, and I have followed that star for my entire career. The second epiphany hit me about eight years later. I was now working as an art director at an ad agency in Minneapolis and life was good, but at the moment I was very sick with bronchitis and watching public television from my bed. They started broadcasting a documentary about factory farming called “The Animals Film” and somewhere in the middle of it, I decided I would never eat another animal, and to this day I haven’t and I never will again. About eight years after that, I was an art director at the largest and most famous ad agency in Chicago, where I was creating ads and TV commercials for some of the world’s most well-known brands. While flying back from a vacation in Europe, a movie came on called “Defending Your Life” about a successful advertising executive who dies at a young age, and in the first days of the afterlife is forced to confront all of the important life choices he had made while he was alive. It suddenly dawned on me that one component of my job was basically to lie to people, and that the whole advertising profession was shallow artifice, and that I needed to move to a life with more meaning.  It took a few years after that before I felt that I really hit my stride, but I realized that I deeply loved the tools and the promise of graphic design, but I needed to use these tools, as much as I could, to build a healthier and more compassionate world. Then about eight years ago, Marla (my partner in life and in Vegan Street) told me she thought we should start producing memes to share on our recently revived website and Facebook page. I was fairly illiterate about social media, and when she showed me some, I wasn’t impressed. I thought some of them were amusing and a few were even mildly thought-provoking, but nearly all of them were completely devoid of any design sense. I believed that I could apply my decades of design experience to develop memes that would stand above the others.  This was our first ever Vegan Street meme – published on July 23, 2013 Later that day, I designed my first Vegan Street meme. It was certainly not my best work (I eventually got a lot better at it), but it did establish a theme that we have carried to this day – a square, 800 x 800 pixels, with a simple headline set in Rockwell Bold (or sometimes Rockwell Regular), an eye catching image or series of images and a VeganStreet.com logo in the lower right corner. At the time I had no idea that a square was the geometric choice of Instagram (or that Instagram even existed for that matter). I just was really drawn to the shape.  For the first year, we met our goal of publishing a new meme every weekday, though it was really difficult to come up with enough ideas, and I felt we’d burn out before we got to 100. Since then, though, we have published more than 1,250 of them, with another new one every other weekday, and we rarely have writer’s or designer’s block anymore.  Each meme is designed to carry a single message as eloquently and concisely as possible, and each message is designed to either promote a positive aspect of veganism or a negative aspect of industrial animal production or other animal abuse. We make a point to contain all of the necessary information within that 800 x 800 pixel square, so there is no need to link to any external explanation. Of course, many of them are based on news stories, reports or other external information, and we always provide a link from our website to our sources.  Another limitation we face is time. In addition to our memes, we regularly post recipes, essays and lots of other content. And we spend most of our time on our client work through Vegan Street Media. So we typically have between 1 ½ to 3 hours to conceive, research, write, design, build, publish, share and promote each meme. Not a lot of time to mess around.  The memes are all designed to be shared, and collectively they have been shared many thousands or possibly millions of times. The goal is for everyone who sees them to instantly understand them and be moved by them. In advertising, we were taught that we had about 1.8 seconds to get someone’s attention – the amount of time it takes someone to flip the page of a magazine. Now I suspect that social media has cut that time by at least half – to less than a second before they scroll away from our message. In other words, we have to grab their attention immediately or we have forever lost them.  It is also important to Marla and I that everything is also elegant and professional and always communicating a consistent message and style. We feel that the strength of our memes lies in the library as a whole more than each individual post. If someone visits our web portfolio or one of our social media pages, our goal is that they see one beautiful and powerful meme after another. Of course, sometimes we fall short of this goal (even Michael Jordan only hit 52% of his shots), and sometimes we feel we did something great that gets very little positive response. Conversely, sometimes I feel that a meme didn’t hit the mark, but it still drew thousands of likes.  Fortunately, the vegan message has many, many components, and there is always an abundance of material for us to draw from. Our plan is to keep regularly producing Vegan Street memes as long as our minds and fingers allow us to do so. And hopefully all this work will help lead to a healthier, more compassionate, more just and more sustainable world. Images are powerful; words and images together are the basis of storytelling and people, no matter how busy and advanced we may be, still are reached and influenced through a persuasive story that grabs them.   When Vegan Besties Break Up When I first went vegan, new friends were a big part of helping me to ease into that transition. I was lucky enough to be folded into my local animal rights organization along with a bunch of other newbies as if we were all going through a new vegan orientation together. There was one woman in my unofficial grouping and we immediately clicked as friends. She was hilarious, confident, brutally honest and deeply committed to the cause. It wasn’t long after we met that we were genuine let’s-hang-out-together friends. We would seamlessly segue from protesting outside the circus to sampling cruelty-free body care products at the old Garden Botanika like it was the most natural thing in the world. It was an intoxicating time and I will always associate this friend with those heady days when life felt very electric and I’d found my life’s purpose. For a few years, we remained very close. Remember those early years with your first best friend, how close and intense those friendships could be? Our friendship was like that. We were ride-or-die besties. Over time, though, life happened. There were moves, marriages, breakups, deaths, and, for one of us, motherhood. We would still touch base a few times a year and remain friendly - we had the kind of comfortable, easy shorthand unique to friends who share a lot of memories - but our friendship kind of withered on the vine. We grow the things that we put time into nurturing and I think we both kind of moved on with our lives, which was easy to do living across the country from each other. No harm, no foul. We maintained a distant friendship, though, touching base even less often as the years passed. Finally, we didn’t really have anything in common but our shared past and veganism. . . . I have had similar experiences with some other vegans on my path: We grew apart. There were no angry confrontations or resentments necessarily, it was simply that we no longer had the same connection, or maybe we assumed that there was more of a connection than there actually was. Friendships between vegans are not all that different from other kinds of friendships and there are a million reasons for growing apart but sometimes, as vegans, we feel like we’re supposed to be friends. Sometimes a friendship fades out over purely circumstantial reasons: one gets married or moves and lives change. Maybe those circumstantial changes exacerbate other areas of difference. Maybe one’s politics have changed. Maybe personality clashes have emerged. I think sometimes we feel pressured within ourselves to stay friends with other vegans because we share that important commonality that makes us different from so many other people. Especially if we don’t have a big vegan community, we can hang on longer to the friendship than we would otherwise. At a certain point, though, we all have to decide if friendships are worth hanging on to when we have outgrown them or moved in different directions, whether we are vegan or not. . . . We all have our lines in the sand with what we’ll accept from a friend and what we will not, whether it’s QAnon adjacent conspiracy theorizing or narcissism, bigotry or gossiping. There are some times when the conflict is not bridgeable. There is a sense of sadness and loss with that, of course, but if the friendship is not worth the maintenance of it, it may be time to move on.
My first vegan friend and I will always have our memories: The protests, the great conversations, finding the world for ourselves as vegans and warm friendship. But when it is time to move on, it is time to move on, whether or not the friend you are cutting loose is vegan. How important is it for you to maintain vegan friendships even when that is the main commonality?  Ten Arguments Against Veganism That Are Really Grasping at Straws I originally wrote this a number of years ago but recently updated it because, well, I think it’s a quality piece but also because I wanted to give a little shout-out to my friend Benny Malone’s new book, How to Argue with Vegans. (He did not ask me to do this, I just felt like it and who’s stopping me?) I have not read HtAwV yet as my book queue is VERY long at the moment but I know I know Benny has a sharp, agile brain and an impressive understanding of logical fallacies, so I expect it to be very good. (You can learn more at the lively discussion group for the book.) Shall we commence? In no particular order… Ten Arguments Against Veganism That Are Really Grasping at Straws 1. “Plants Feel Pain.” You know that one YouTube video that defensive meat-eaters post as incontrovertible proof that plants feel pain? The one where it proves simply that plants respond to stimuli in order to maximize favorable conditions and decrease unfavorable conditions just as any living organism would? (I’m not going to link to it and give it any views, but trust me, it’s janky and if you really want to see it, you can find it.) The opinion that plants are sentient does not merit equal consideration with the demonstrable fact that animal species feel pain as they possess brains, central nervous systems, pain receptors and a demonstrable fight-or-flight response, not plants, and stating so creates an unbridgeable false equivalency that we are somehow expected to accept carte blanche. People are allowed to have their opinions about fairy tales - hey, I believe that the tooth fairy could beat one of Santa’s elves in a cage match - but does that make it a fact? No. . . . 2. “I’m [Insert Ethnicity] and Eating Meat is Part of My Culture.” Oh, my! Their ancestors were meat-eaters?! Well, what do you know: So were mine. In fact, so were pretty much all of our ancestors with rare exceptions. How exotic and rare! The great thing about evolution is, you know, a capacity to adapt, change and grow. Do these folks maintain other oppressive views and practices today of their ancestors and justify them? Why are the ones they enjoy (like eating meat) acceptable, but others, like discriminating against those of different races or genders, not acceptable? As someone whose ancestors were discriminated against and largely wiped out due to their heritage, I find ethnic pride to be both creepy and faulty ground for justifying cruelty to others. . . . 3. “It’s Okay Because I Give Thanks.” If you want to know how patently absurd it is to think that we can erase a senseless act of violence by “giving thanks,” I wonder how you’d think of it in different scenarios. “That arsonist set fire to my house but before he did, he gave thanks, so I guess I don’t really have anything to complain about.” “At first I was pretty bummed out I was robbed at gunpoint but the thanks I was given by the robber made all that unpleasantness disappear.” I could go on and on. This reminds me of that old thought experiment that asks if a tree falls in a forest but there’s no one to hear it, does it still make a sound? Here we have the quasi-spiritual meat-eater’s equivalent: If an animal’s life is taken but thanks was given, did the animal still have his or her life cruelly taken? Allow me to meditate on that for a moment...Yes. . . . 4. “I Grew Up Eating Meat.” Similar to justifying one’s current habits based on their ethnic background, saying that you grew up eating animals should be a no-brainer as almost all of us did but instead people repeat this inanity as though it is something that confers onto them a unique meat-eater-for-life status. I grew up eating meat and look at me now, terrorizing you with my vegan propaganda. Weirdly enough, so did Donald Watson, the man who coined the word and co-founded the first freaking Vegan Society. My point? Ancestry is not destiny, thank goodness, and neither is personal history. I grew up on the standard American diet of the 1970s, which meant bologna sandwiches, Kraft singles and Hostess cupcakes; contrary to common assumptions, those who grow up to be vegan were not necessarily raised by hippie parents who prepared us for our future vegan lives with miso soup, mung beans and kale. We all started somewhere and most of us started somewhere similar, I’m guessing. . . . 5. “Vegans Are Big Meanies So I’m Going to Eat More Meat.” They had a roommate once who was vegan and, whoa, she was such a pill! Or their cousin was vegan and so controlling. Or once they worked with a vegan and he was so judgmental. Or they just had a negative experience with a vegan on Facebook when they shared that bacon eating contest. These interactions might have led them to announce with great flourish that they are going to go off and eat a big steak because that’ll show those mean vegans. This is akin to telling an anti-domestic violence activist that they are going to beat their partner because they have a bad impression of him or her. It’s sad for the ones they harm but at the end of the day, their actions are solely their responsibility. Trying to pin the responsibility of your actions on someone else is admitting that they are not in control of their own decisions. . . . 6. “Perfect Veganism is Impossible So Please Stop Being a Hypocrite.” I have to break some bad news to you. Are you ready? Okay. We live in an imperfect world. A wildly messed up world, in fact. Vegans are actually trying to fix this. Vegans aren’t saying, “Be like us. We’re perfect.” We’re saying that despite this very flawed world, we are still going to try to reduce harm and keep it from, you know, getting worse. Yes, there is evidence of animal exploitation all around us, in everything from bicycle tires to asphalt. Does the fact that vegans cannot be perfect point to hypocrisy or simply the pervasiveness of animal agribusiness and their profiting off of every last bit extracted from an animal’s corpse? I’m thinking it’s the latter. Any guess who is actually trying to change the status quo of cruelty to animals, though? That would be the vegans. . . . 7. “Hey, it’s My Personal Choice.” Saying that eating animals is their “personal choice” while not acknowledging the senseless violence against those with no personal choices to exercise for themselves – and endure everyday horrors like forcible impregnations, stolen babies, mutilations, and a short, misery-laden lifetime of confinement – is the ultimate in myopia. It shows what a poor grasp they have on the practice of extending empathy to others and it’s not a good look. . . . 8. “Veganism Won’t Fix All the World’s Problems So Shut Up.” Again, just because something isn’t everrrrrrything, do we need to throw it out the window? Can you name one change we could all adopt that would have a positive, wide-ranging effect on world hunger, water scarcity, water pollution, land use, climate change, worker exploitation and the well-being of billions of sentient lives in one fell swoop? This is by no means an exhaustive list, either. Going vegan is the best bang for your buck in terms of a ripple effect of creating positive, meaningful and lasting change. No, veganism alone won’t rid the world of oppression but it’s a lot better than acting like we are powerless to inflict less violence upon others and the planet. . . . 9. “ I only eat humane meat, dairy and eggs.” 1. Vegans don’t believe that such items can be humanely acquired so we are already at an impasse. 2. Anyone who has researched the industries with an open mind and using honest sources would also not believe this. 3. You really don’t exclusively eat these products, either, unless you don’t ever dine out at places that don’t meet your exacting standards. 4. How is it that a niche market that actually serves a very small percentage of the market somehow also reflects the purchasing habits 99% of defensive meat-eaters? 5. Welcome to the mystical fantasyland that is Magical Thinking, where free-range unicorns knowingly (and painlessly) sacrifice themselves for our plates. It looks like you have your passport ready! 6. Did you remember to give thanks? . . . 10. “Vegans Eat Fake Food.” Hello, we eat vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and spices. The animals people eat have heads, bones, feathers, appendages, gills, organs and more removed; they have been artificially (and forcibly) impregnated, they’ve been mutilated, castrated, and selectively bred and manipulated for production. Please don’t try to pull this card on us unless you are prepared to hear about how “natural” the things you eat are. . . .
 Vegans for BDS
Yesterday, I heard a story on NPR about how one extended family that lived in two neighboring apartment buildings in Gaza was decimated - literally, 22 members of the family, including children - were killed when the Israeli military bombed their homes without evacuating the people who lived in the buildings, supposedly targeting underground tunnels used by Hamas. This extended family of grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, children - a family of civilians with close business ties to Israel and who were unaffiliated with Hamas - is among the more than 240 known casualties in Gaza. As I write this, 12 have been killed in Israel due to this most recent conflict. John and I started VeganStreet.com in 1998 because we were moved to speak up against injustice, oppression and cruelty, and speak up for justice, compassion and equality. As Vegan Street has transformed over the years, our vision and voice has expanded to include speaking up against persecution when we see it as our evolving vegan practice is one of expanding, inclusive advocacy. As naive as it might sound, we believe we cannot get to the root of what allows cruelty to animals to continue unchecked unless we can be clear-eyed and fearlessly honest about that seed of brutality - that poisonous seed that allows us to turn our fellow beings into commodities or pariahs based on arbitrary circumstances of birth - whenever we see it. This is why Vegan Street stands in solidarity with Vegans for BDS, which is part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a Palestinian-led, non-violent movement for equal rights for Palestinians and effort to make Israel comply with international law. Just as there was an active movement protesting South Africa’s apartheid in the 1980s, there is a growing worldwide campaign against the deep systematic discrimination and displacement of Palestinians on smaller and smaller parcels of land. The South African anti-apartheid movement was ultimately successful with a multi-pronged effort that included vigorous boycott, divestment and sanction strategies, and the hope is to use similar pressure points to help indigenous Palestinians in their fight for basic human rights, fairness and sovereignty. This is also why we support the Vegans for BDS in their campaign to pressure plant-based consumer products seller PlantX to end their planned expansion into Tel Aviv, which has been funded to the tune of $11.5 million by Psagot, an investment company that is financially linked to Israel’s military occupation. The cruelty of decades of occupation and control of Palestinian land cannot be wiped away with investment in a plant-based company, nor is such a relationship ever truly apolitical or neutral. In fact, as conscientious consumers and advocates, we must do everything we can to remind plant-based businesses of our ethics and values by holding them accountable to the violence they are aiding and abetting through their associations and investments. As one half of Vegan Street, I wrote this as someone who feels deeply connected to my Jewish heritage; my grandparents were fortunate enough to evade genocide in Europe and my grandfather’s quiet but ever-present grief as a ghetto survivor is forever etched on my psyche. As a Jew, I was taught to speak up for the oppressed, to never be on the side of the oppressor, and to think deeply about the kind of person I want to be and the legacy I want to leave behind. My Jewish background instilled the values in me that led me to go vegan 26 years ago, and today, these same values lead me to stand in solidarity with Palestinians and their fight for human rights. Please join me in asking PlantX to show true compassion and stand against injustice by not expanding into Israel. Thank you, Marla Rose VeganStreet.com  What We Don't Say When We Say We're Vegan When I first went vegan, it was the mid-1990s and I worked at an animal shelter in humane education. Although the concept of veganism was pretty much at the infancy of a growing public awareness - a little further along in some areas, less so in others - even then, I still had baggage as a rare in-the-flesh representative at my place of work. I saw the eyerolls and irritation when I’d request vegan meals at catered holiday parties. I noticed the smirks at my little attempts at advocacy and the snubs at group outings. When pushback happened, it was very noticeable because for the most part, we were a tight-knit group and got along great, except for those times that the simple fact of my veganism became its own wedge. I remember my last day there, I went out to lunch with Jennifer, a friend in my previous department, and she said, “You are one of those good vegans. You lead by example. Most vegans are way too pushy.” Although it was meant to be a compliment, mainly what I felt as we walked down the street was baffled. How many vegans did Jennifer really know? How many did she interact with? This was in the days before social media, certainly before the internet as we know it today. I actively worked to find a vegan community and I only knew a handful of individuals myself, the same people who were at every rodeo protest and Meat Out leafleting event, so how could Jennifer - avidly a meat-eater, we had a relationship of playfully harassing each other - know so many vegans to have developed this entrenched worldview about us? It was also so early on that the trope of the pushy vegan wasn’t really a widespread thing because we barely registered as a blip worth being bothered about. Somehow, though, it was clear that Jennifer’s attitude was not isolated to just her but was aligned with the prevailing position of my coworkers. That was odd to me and it was then that I learned that simply by existing as vegans, even if we toe the line and don’t rock the boat (admittedly, not my strengths), our identity as vegans is already a strike against us. . . . Moments after wondering how Jennifer could have this vast experience with vegans, enough to form her dim view of us, I thought this: I was knee-deep in researching animal agribusiness, which was why I went vegan in the first place. Like many people in the process of going vegan, I read every article and book that I could get my hands on and I watched every horrific documentary. It was like a light in a dark room progressively being turned on to the point where the things you used to not notice became starkly illuminated. My little moments of outreach, were they really so invasive given what vegans know about the gravity and scale of unnecessary suffering and violence inflicted on innocent beings? Being seated at a leather booth at the restaurant with Jennifer, the smell of charred flesh and fried cheese in the air, bones soon to be on her plate: Did she have any idea how much tunnel vision the average vegan has to develop just to get from Point A to Point B without breaking down? As vegans, we have researched and immersed ourselves in understanding how animals are systemically brutalized and we see glaring evidence of it everywhere while most people don’t notice and we’re expected to keep it to ourselves lest we be perceived as pushy buzzkills. If people realized how much even the most outspoken vegans have to numb themselves to or steel themselves against just in order to peacefully coexist - things the average person doesn’t notice, from the innocuous-seeming cheese danishes on a platter in the breakroom that remind us of the horrors of the dairy and egg industries to coworkers who are selling tickets to BBQ fundraisers - well, I think they’d be pretty impressed with how stoic we actually are in the face of that and how much we keep things to ourselves. . . . Vegans are not the victims here. Make no mistake, that is not my point. The animals are the ones who are victimized. The broad-stroke characterization of vegans are a bunch of aggressive killjoys, though, is as unfair today as it was in 1995. If I were as sensitive and fragile as people seem to like to think of me, though, I’d never be able to leave my house, knowing what I know, and if I were a fraction as pushy as meat-eaters characterize vegans, well, I would never shut up. Ever, ever, ever. Yet I live a pretty normal life. Pandemics aside, I haven’t made a decision to barricade myself in my home just yet, though the thought has certainly been tempting. The fact is, to be an effective voice for the animals, you have to be informed, which means pain, you have to engage, which means vulnerability, and you also have to detach for reasons of self-preservation. It often feels like both a clumsy dance and a tightrope walk. I have come to look at what we need to do the Hokey Pokey: You put part of yourself in, you take yourself out, you put yourself back in and on and on. You even shake yourself about. That is how you have to engage to be a long-term animal advocate, even when your whole heart is shattered and your nerves are shot. It gets easier as you go but there will always be imperfect moments because we are imperfect vessels. I have heard many vegans say, “Once you see, you can’t unsee. Once you know, you can’t stop knowing.” I have said the same. Our paths have led us here and now we have to share what we know with the hope of jumpstarting someone’s heart, removing blinders, expanding awareness. It’s not always easy but it is always worth the effort. We can be an awkward combination of hopeless idealist and battle-weary cynic in one body, from one moment to the next, in our pursuit of trying to help the animals. Pushy, though? Given everything? No. We are resilient and determined. We also don’t say a small fraction of what we’re thinking and what we know . . .
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