Hi, at the end of my last post, I was super excited to go off to make sweet potato and black bean burritos for dinner from the cookbook vegan a go go... Can I just say wow!!!! So yummy and delish! Made 2 huge portions, although they could have been divided more equally eh C? ; ) The only adjustment I made was adding spring onions instead of soy cheese to them, and it added that bit of extra kick the burritos needed. They were awesome! : ) Plus, there was just enough black bean sauce and spring onions to go over the salad! Yay!!! I'd advise all of you to check out Sarah Kramer's blog, as one of her other many blog readers have said, it's become my soap opera! : ) She is just so cool, and such a brill example of what a vegan should be.
In the last 4 weeks I've been a vegan (so not long I know...) and as I go down this road, I find I'm learning more and more about my positions on various vegan issues such as - welfarism vs abolitionism, use old non vegan goods or give/throw them away and many other aspects of veganism. On some, I've changed my view from 4 weeks ago, and on others not so much, what I'm trying to say is that you can't be definite and stuck in one mode for the sake of it. I mean obviously you have to figure out what it is you stand for and what you won't compromise on, but be willing to learn as you go and be flexible in other areas. I know in my heart that eating any animal product, or consuming any part of an animal is wrong. It is animal flesh, an animal died to make the cheese, milk, leather, beef etc that you consume, and for that reason, I know that I could not willingly consume these products again. The more flexible areas are maybe where you stand on vegan education, or the value of supporting a campaign for free range eggs when you totally disagree with eggs altogether just because it might make that animal's life that little bit better... I've learnt that veganism isn't just something that you do, or just about the way you eat, but it's something you feel in your heart, it becomes a big part of who you are. It's changed my views on the world around us, I want to be more earth friendly, I want to take cloth shopping bags rather than use plastic, I want to read non-fiction books and educate myself about not just animal rights but women's rights as well. Veganism has made me more curious about the world and about myself. I'm finding out what I will and won't stand for, what veganism is doing for me personally, and it's changing my outlook on my life.
The temptation, and this is what I didn't understand before I went vegan, is to make it them vs us, to cut yourself off as a vegan and be prepared to go head to head and fight over your belief. At first, I was willing to do that, but now, while I say "omnis", it's as a way of distinguishing people who eat meat and those who don't. When I first become vegan, it's because I felt so passionate about what I'd learned and so angry about the cruelty that goes on and that went on in my name, unnecessaily for my happiness. Reading about or seeing examples of this cruelty makes me cry and while I still am angry about the cruelty that happens, while I still want the whole world to be vegan and while I still am so frustrated that the whole world doesn't think the way I do, I feel more encompassing as a vegan now, and funnily enough less willing to fight. If you want a heart to heart, proper discussion about why I am a vegan, or why I know that I will always be this way, or why I think it's ethically wrong to consume another animal product, then here I am, but if you want to be aggressive, or defensive, or fight for the sake of it, I'm not interested. It isn't them vs us, it's all of us, every human being who can make the world that bit better through the decisions they make every day. None of us are perfect, and while I won't stop trying to convince people that veganism is easy and a pretty awesome way to live your life, I won't be quite so aggressive in the way I talk about it, but I will be no less passionate. : )
Coming back to Sarah Kramer, one of the reasons I like her so much is because she is such an awesome role model for the movement; she is out there promoting vegan cookbooks, and just in the way she lives her life, she shows that being vegan is no big deal, it is easy, it is fun, and it's healthy. That's what I wanted to do with this blog, show people that vegans eat great food, that it is easy being a vegan.
What I'm saying is - focus on what veganism means to you, show the world that far from being denied what the normal idea of pleasure is, in the form of chocolate or steak, that you get just as much pleasure from the way you live your life. Don't be a martyr and say how hard it is, or how much of a struggle it is, if you truly believe in your veganism, then you know you're doing the right thing. Work out what your limits are, what you will and won't do, and then just be a happy, healthy, consistent and awesome vegan and all will be well! : )
Peace, love and happy veganism : )
C
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