The Vegan Christian Blogger

Have yourself a vegan little Christmas

2011-12-16T23:27:00.000Z

It’s that time of year again! The fairy lights are up, the tinsel is out, and everyone you know is rapidly alternating between excessively cheerful and excessively grumpy.

For those of us who are celebrating the birth of light, love and hope into the world, it’s also a time to think about what’s important in our lives and be thankful for the chance for change and redemption. I love Dickens' A Christmas Carol, it's such a wonderful story of transformation, and I'll definitely be reading it again this year. The world can sometimes seem so very bleak (especially at this time of year in England!), but at Christmas we celebrate light coming into the world and the hope for a better future. (My friend Lydia wrote beautifully about this in her blog a couple of years ago, have a peek.)

My (attempt!) at a vegan lifestyle is a huge part of living out my hope for more peace and compassion in the world, and I’m so excited to share this with my family this year over a completely vegan Christmas dinner (despite half the family not being veggie – I hope my grandparents will cope with the lack of turkey this year!). It’s also a time to just ‘be’ after all the rushing and stressing and striving.

So have a wonderful time this Christmas, and enjoy eating compassionately. If you’re stuck for vegan recipes, check out this lovely site I came across.

And if you're in need of some more Christmas spirit, then watch The Muppet Christmas Carol. It's a guaranteed winner! (Let's not think about the fact that Kermit the Frog is eating a turkey...it might ruin it. I choose to believe it's tofurky, and if you tell me otherwise, I'll just sing over you.)

'Let us always love each other.
Lead us to the light.
Let us hear the voice of reason,
Singing through the night.'

As always, peace and love and hope to you all, but especially at this Christmas time.
'God bless us, every one.'
Xxxx

Batty about bats

2011-11-30T22:35:00.001Z

Okay, so I'm not a fan of Twilight (I got half way through the first film, just to see what all the fuss was about, and then ended up doing something else - like turning it off), but I do LOVE bats. They are flying mice. Which is amazing. Now, if mice freak you out, then odds are that mice with the gift of wing-flapping flight are going to freak you out a whole lot more, so I understand that bats aren't for everybody. However, I've always loved them (and their ugly/sweet faces), and I find them really magical in the evenings. To me, they're kind of like midnight robins - it's always a bit of an event when you see one.

So, when I came across this cute video on the Not One Sparrow website (original blog post here), I naturally felt the need to spread the joy to fellow fans of the critters. It's so inspiring to see people care for tiny creatures like this. (Note: Amazon do not sell tiny orphaned baby bats to care for - I've checked. And even if they did, that wouldn't be very vegan, now, would it? Shame on you...)

So, are you a fan of the bat, or do you think they're the thing of nightmares? Let the debate begin!

Peace and love
xxxx

West Midlands Vegan Festival 2011

2011-10-30T14:50:00.000Z

As a vegetarian/vegan, I think it's really important to regularly meet up with like-minded people and remind yourself that you're not alone. Being a vegan can be somewhat isolating at times; many people view it as an extreme (and incomprehensible!) stance, whilst some see it as a position to ridicule. There's always a sense of relief, as I've discussed in previous posts, when you go to a veggie restaurant and are surrounded by people that care about animal rights issues/environmentalism as much as you do.

So, with all this in mind, this year I thought I'd cut my Saturday lie in short and visit the West Midlands Vegan Festival. It was great - you couldn't move for vegans! (How often do you find yourself in that situation?!)

There were tonnes of food stalls, companies selling vegan products (I tried Kara milk for the first time, and I'm now definitely going to try to switch to this from soya), and lots of animal rights groups/animal sanctuaries providing information on the causes they were representing.

Change Kitchen

Forget-Me-Not Animal Rescue get extra points for effort!

Such yummy sweets!! Look them up (link below), they're great.

Goody Good Stuff - anything endorsed by a koala is fine by me.

I also got chatting to a woman who ran a sanctuary for rescued farm animals (author of ...And a Calf Called Reg), and she really emphasised the individuality of the animals she cared for. Hearing her talk about the animals she'd saved (most notably the story of a mother cow and her calf, who were inseparable because the mother had had all her previous calves taken away from her after only a few days), really confirmed in my mind that I want to do something similar one day. Though when I told Wenda this, she said to me: 'Make sure you live your life first, because it'll never be the same once you've committed to something like this!' I found her story and her passion really inspiring (and I also appreciated her advice!).

Another thing the festival encouraged me to think about was the approach that we take as vegans when communicating our values to others. There was a noticable difference between the majority of stalls, which were cheery and positive, and then those few which had 'meat is murder' t-shirts and bracelets and were offering leaflets with horribly graphic images on them. I must admit, I found the latter stalls really off-putting, and I didn't stop to look at them. I just don't think that that kind of aggressive approach does the cause any good, and in fact I wonder how much damage it does to the reputation of veganism - that 'angry vegan' sterotype came from somewhere, afterall. If people think that becoming a vegan means wearing pictures of mutilated animals on their tshirts and passing out leaflets littered with aggressive slogans, then I can fully understand why more people aren't warming to the idea!

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for bringing the truth to light. It's so incredibly important that people understand the extent of suffering and brutality in the animal industry, and that they don't close their eyes and ears to the pain they are inflicting by monetarily supporting factory farming. Nothing is more annoying than someone refusing to hear what you have to say because 'it's too upsetting', ending the conversation with you and then making a trip to Tesco (boooooo!! You know how much I hate Tesco...) to buy burgers for that night's dinner. As I discuss at length in my post 'The Urgency of Unity', the solution to this problem is so simple: Vote with the pound.

So, I totally sympathise with the frustration that most vegans feel. Animal suffering is happening on such a huge scale that drastic and aggressive action seems the most obvious route to take. However, it's in human nature to be drawn to positive imagery and ideas rather than negative ones, and thus it's common sense that charities bear this in mind when communicating their ideas. Stories of what switching to a vegan lifestyle can achieve, images of happy rescued animals in sanctuaries, the availability of exciting food and fashionable clothes and cosmetics are all much more likely to draw people towards considering veganism as a compassionate, attractive, and practical way of life than bombarding them with upsetting images. Most charity websites have now changed their approach. The majority of the images used on the WaterAid website, for example, are positive ones that show the changes the charity has made to the lives of those it has reached. That's something people want to be associated with and support. When people are repulsed or upset by images, the natural reaction is to avoid everything to do with that image. When people experience negative emotions when confronted by graphic images, they associate the distributer of that image with the same feeling.

But still, I know that those upsetting images do have their place and that they need to be seen. But in what forum? I guess it's all about having a sensitive and nuanced approached. It's an incredibly complex topic, but one that I've been thinking more and more about lately. I feel like veganism desperately needs an image makeover to make it more user friendly! Ideas/thoughts on a postcard/in a comment, please, my lovely veggie readers.

Peace and love to you all.
xxxx

Don't be a chicken - rescue one!

2011-10-03T19:13:00.000+01:00

I discovered a lovely blog today written by someone who rescues battery farmed hens. It's so inspirational to see people going up against factory farming in this way - I wish I took more direct action like this!

Check out the blog here:
Life with the Ex-Batts

At the end of one post, the author has written:
'So no matter how small a cog I am, if all of us small cogs work together, those wheels of change will slowly grind towards that free ranging happiness for all our hens.'

I love the sense of hope in this line, and the way it highlights that although we may feel alone, we are in fact part of a growing, passionate community, and together we can achieve anything, no matter what the odds.

(Unfortuantely, these days it costs considerably more than a tuppence a bag to feed the birds...)

The blog also reminded me just how much I love the quirky characteristics of hens. Do hens and donkeys make good friends? Because if not, I'll have a big decision to make when I get that huge piece of land in the countryside I'm dreaming of (attached to a vegan cafe and yoga studio, of course! Better get saving...)

Peace and love to you all, cluck cluck.
xxxx

The Gentle Gourmet B&B, Paris

2011-09-30T23:39:00.000+01:00

Gentle? Good. Gourmet? Great. Paris? Brilliant!

Eating a vegan diet abroad is always a tricky one, especially when your foreign language skills are limited to frantic hand gestures and the ingredients lists on food packets look like blocks of mathematical code. I know, I know, I really should learn some French considering France is only a two hour train journey away from me...I have no excuse. (Other than that I'm learning Italian. Well, not really, but I'm thinking about it.)

But if you fancy splashing out on a stay in Paris and making life a little bit easier for your lovely vegan self, I can highly recommend the Gentle Gourmet B&B. The breakfasts are simply amazing (chocolate pancakes, fresh fruit, waffles and syrup - they'll pretty much fulfill any request!) and the family that run the B&B are absolutely wonderful and very helpful for finding some veggie havens in the city.

It's a bit misleading calling it a B&B, as it's actually a set of apartments (you have to walk across the courtyard to get to your breakfast, so no drinking coffee in your jammies!). But this gives you the freedom to come and go as you please, which is exactly the ticket when you're wandering along the Champs-Elysees until 2am singing Joni Mitchell! 'I was a free man in Paris...'

Also, just to add the cute factor, they have a vegetarian rescue dog that loves attention....

Voici le chien noir mignon!

J'adore Paris. Unfortunately, I can't make it back to Paris for the Paris Vegan Festival next week - are any blog readers going? I'd love to hear from you!

Peace and love.

Dolphins and Chocolate

2011-08-23T15:35:00.004+01:00

Two things I've been thinking about lately: Dolphins and chocolate (not necessarily together, though I'm sure dolphins like chocolate). Did anybody manage to catch the incredible episode of 'Ocean Giants' on BBC1 on Sunday night? Featuring some breathtaking cinematography, the show presented the mounting evidence that supports the theory that dolphins have the capacity for empathy, since they seem to be able to recognise their own image in a mirror. Since swimming with wild dolphins has been a dream of mine for a few years now, I abolsutely loved the programme, and wanted to highlight how fascinating (and beautiful!) it is for any UK followers out there that missed it. It is available on iplayer for another week or so:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b013wpxz/Ocean_Giants_Deep_Thinkers/

Also, it's been a great week for chocolate (is there ever a bad one?!). I recently discovered the absolutely delicious 'Organic Meltdown' chocolate: Fairtrade, organic, vegetarian society approved (and my bar was gluten free and vegan approved), and every bar saves a tree in the tropical forests of Ecuador. What's not to like?! I'm telling you, this is the chocolate of heroes. I had the dark chocolate with sweet candied orange - vegan bliss.

On the inside of the packet you get a code which allows you to visit the site online and 'keep tabs' on the tree you've saved (whatever that means!). It also says:

'By choosing this bar of Swiss made chocolate you've already saved a tree and with it the lives of hundreds of creatures. The tropical rainforest of Ecuador is a buzzing, squawking, howling den of diversity and beauty - home to some of the world's most interesting species but also some of the most endangered. It is vital to the delicate balance of our planet's ecosystem and therefore imperative that they are protected. Our goal is to save 5 million trees in Ecuador by 2012, helping to breath life into areas whose futures are currently uncertain.'

Sounds great, doesn't it? Go on, have an Organic Meltdown...

http://www.organicmeltdown.com/where-to-buy/

I'm off to stay at a vegan B&B in Paris for a few days (a PhD student's life is a hard one!). I will, of course, be back with a review, and hopefully pictures of yummy vegan food.

Peace and love to you all

xxxx

Cow Lovely!

2011-07-08T20:36:00.004+01:00

Another interesting article, this time about the individuality of cows - it's very moooving! (Erm, sorry about that...)

Enjoy!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/07/cows-best-friends

I find it hard to understand that sometimes the very people who appreciate the individuality of these animals are also the ones farming them. With this in mind, I'd like to flag up another excellent post from the Not One Sparrow website written by Lauren Merritt (the post is originally from her website, which Ben cites). Lauren addresses the issue of the good shepherd and how this ideal conflicts with the cruelty of factory farming. Thanks for sharing this with us, Ben!

http://www.notonesparrow.com/blog/2011/7/7/the-good-shepherds.html

Peace, love, and vegan grazing.
xxxx

Orangutan Love

2011-06-17T20:43:00.001+01:00

I saw this news article today and simply had to share it with you all! How incredible that other creatures seem to demonstrate the urge to care for their fellow animals, and that a creature as powerful as a great ape could be so gentle. Orangutans have always been a firm favourite in my book, even before this footage emerged.

Oh, oo-bee-doo, I wanna be like yoo-hoo-hoo!

Orangutan rescues sick bird
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13814508

Peace and love
xxxx

Lukewarm?

2011-04-28T19:59:00.006+01:00

A much feared word in Christian circles! But what do people really mean when they sternly warn us about the dangers of being a ‘lukewarm’ Christian?

Probably a lot of Christians would argue that I am ‘lukewarm’ when it comes to how I live out my fragile faith. I rarely go to church, seldom read the Bible, and I don’t pray much either. My favorite thing to do with God is to dance about to the occasional worship song (or one I’ve decided will be one, between me and God) and watch the wood pigeons clumsily build their nests for the summer. I don’t talk about my faith that much, as I almost can’t articulate my conception of God and I don’t want people to think I am unquestioning or narrow-minded (and these, unfortunately, are characteristics often associated with Christians). Far from being ashamed of my faith, though, I am desperate to represent God well and am prone to panicking when asked what I believe. To be honest, I think the whole ‘God’ thing is much more abstract in my mind then even I feel comfortable with. But does all that mean I’m a lukewarm Christian? Some of the more conservative Christians out there might say 'yes', but I guess I'd just have to disagree with them on that (amongst other things!).

I’m incredibly passionate about truth, freedom, compassion, mercy, justice, and – above all things – love (apologies for that near Moulin Rouge quote). The story of Christ’s love for us, his sacrifice, touches my heart in such a way that even on the days when I feel like my faith really is as small as the proverbial mustard seed, there is this mysterious invisible string that ties me to Christianity. Or, to be more precise, that ties me to God.

I'll admit to being a lot of things when it comes to my faith: Confused? Yes. Bewildered? Sometimes. Unsure? You bet. But lukewarm? No, definitely not.

Like Alice, I do mindlessly chase a few white rabbits, but I also keep plodding and questioning and trying to find my way out of this Wonderland to get home. There's something authentic and exciting about real questioning and real exploration, and that to me is what having a passionate faith is all about.

I’m far from being a cookie-cutter Christian; I’m a yoga-practicing, veggie eating, science-loving, 80s film watching Christian who doesn’t go to church and swears A LOT. But am I lukewarm? When it comes to the things that I think count, the things that really matter, the things that make me feel like I could actually make the world a better place, I really hope not. I guess I just have to hope that those things are high on God’s list, too…I think they are.

We’re all in a different place - physically, mentally, and spiritually - and I believe that our personal faith is as unique as a fingerprint. I’d love that to be cherished and respected in our faith communities as opposed to feared. After all, if God made us all with unique fingerprints, it’s very likely that our hearts are just as special and distinctive. Is it surprising that we all relate differently to our creator?

I'm reminded here of a Morgan Freeman quote from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Yes, I like trashy 90s films, too! And not entirely ironically...):

‘Allah loves wondrous varieties.’

Well said, Morgie. Well said.

The next post will be back on topic…sort of. It's about a duffle coat.

Thanks for reading the ramblings of a vegan student with too much spare time on her hands – your compassion really does know no bounds! If only I could send you all a Jammie Dodger via the internet…the technology is probably on its way.

Peace and love to you all
xxxx
Azeem: A wise man once said: "There are no perfect men in the world; only perfect intentions."

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T12:48:00.010+01:00

Wishing a very Happy Easter to all!

A day when we celebrate the possibility of reconcilitation, new life and new hope.

He is risen!

Enjoy fridging and cracking your vegan chocolate eggs - that's the only thing on my 'To Do' list today!

God bless you all, peace and love.
xxxx

Animals as Individuals

2011-03-14T13:19:00.029Z

Every morning, after dragging myself out of bed, I head straight downstairs to put on the kettle. This used to be motivated only by my need for a comforting cuppa to help me recover from the trauma of getting up (I am the eternal student!), but since moving house in December my morning cup of tea has become a bit more of an event. This is because - and this may sound mundane - when making my tea I have a perfect view of the bird table in my neighbour’s garden. Despite only having been here three months, I already recognise the dozens of different characters that congregate there each morning, and look forward to seeing (and of course, hearing!) them as I walk down the stairs. It is sometimes the favourite part of my day, and I feel really blessed to be party to this little scene every morning.

This post is about recognising the beauty in each and every creature, and it is inspired by an entry I saw on Not One Sparrow a while ago called ‘Unforgettable Faces’. It featured the wonderfully expressive artwork of Sam Dolman, who attempts to capture the individuality of farm animals in touching portraits. (His work can be seen here):

http://www.samdolman.com/paintings

My veganism is driven by a variety of factors, one being my belief that it is important (and joyful!) to see every animal as an individual with a unique personality. If you look closely enough, most animals show character traits that would make them worthy of a Dickens novel. Our tendency to see the unique personalities of animals is manifested in the numerous examples in literature, film and art work of the characterisation of them as human-like, especially when these works are aimed at children. This speaks of a childlike relationship to animals that is defined by interest, compassion, and innocence, and it is one that many of us never lose. I think that appreciating and relating to creatures in this way allows us to connect with them on a deeper level, and it is this personal connection that partly fosters our compassion for them. There are numerous examples throughout history of violent regimes dehumanising a collection of individuals in order to persecute them, and this de-individualisation is undoubtedly evident in the factory farming industry. In this system, animals become homogenised factory parts - merely cogs in a machine that grinds out meat.

Within this system animals lose their identity as individuals, and with their personalities brutally and systematically stripped away from them they become – to the majority – food, not friend. A psychological disconnect allows people to detach from the reality of where the meat on their plate has come from. Most people could not watch a lamb chasing its brothers and sisters in a field on a summer’s day and then kill it. After watching it for no more than a minute, that lamb will have become an individual to the onlooker. It will have displayed a personality. Maybe it will even have earned itself an affectionate name. We have an innate desire to relate to our fellow creatures personally; after all, naming God’s creatures was an important part of our role as stewards of creation.

Of the individual personalities Sam captures in his paintings, Ben DeVries writes:

‘What better way to encourage people to see these valued creatures of God as worthy of our attention and care, especially when they are so often reduced to a faceless number (among billions of others forgotten) in the factory-farming system?'

I couldn't agree more with the sentiment Ben expresses here. A lack of emphasis on the importance of appreciating the uniqueness of every individual, both human and non-human, has always been a problem for humanity, and also for the church. Beautiful and infinite variety can be witnessed in God’s creation, and yet Christianity as an institution can, at least in my experience, feel somewhat claustrophobic. Variety of belief and conceptions of God are not always celebrated or welcomed.

I sometimes feel like God is very far away, and those who are close to me know that I struggle to read the Bible or go to Church. These are seen as the most obvious and conventional ways to feel close to God, and an important part of developing your faith. For some reason, however, these ways of relating to God just don't really work for me. I feel closest to God when finding joy in His creation and sharing this with those around me. This is my way of feeling connected to God, of sharing things with Him, of finding a bit of peace, and I think it's a shame that we don't explore this way of relating to God more. I'd like to think, inbetween sessions of moaning about how late the bus is, or pondering for the millionth time what career path I should pursue, that I take the time to admire and wonder at every unique little character I come across and happen to share my brief time on this planet with.

Now, for all my talk of fluffy children's characters I could be accused of arguing for cuteness as a qualifying factor for compassion. This is not my stance at all. I am trying to articulate that perhaps seeing an animal as an individual, with its own thoughts, fears, and experience of pain and of joy, is an important aspect of developing a more compassionate attitude to non-human animals. Far from being cutesy and cuddly, the fight for animal rights is one about politics, ethics, and ultimately an expression of what our values are. Do we value justice, peace, and compassion that extends outside of our own species? This is what it really comes down to, and I simply cannot see any other answer than 'yes' for those of us that believe in a loving and merciful God who remembers every sparrow.

Please do check out the incredible series of posts on Compassionate Eating on Not One Sparrow’s blog; I really cannot emphasize enough what an honor it is to be writing about this cause alongside them.

Peace and love. Cook some vegan cupcakes, walk to a nearby field and watch some spring lambs bounce about. Feel cheered. :)

xxxx

p.s. Just to prove that compassion knows no species, look at this critter I trapped and freed from my old flat a few months ago (after much screaming, obviously...) I'm not sure if my kindness was fuelled by a respect for creation or a fear that his friends would come and get me if I hurt him!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T10:40:00.002Z

Just a little Christmas Day post to wish all my fellow vegans and christians a very happy christmas time! May your day be filled with compassionate cooking, love and laughter.

Here's a link to a wonderful christmas post by Ben of Not One Sparrow. Enjoy. :)

http://www.notonesparrow.com/blog/2010/12/25/the-friendly-beasts.html

Peace and goodwill to you all. :)
xxxx

Happy World Vegan Day 2010!

2010-11-01T11:06:00.005Z

A day to celebrate the wonderfulness of trying to live peacefully. And, of course, the perfect excuse to do some compassionate cooking! I found lots of recipes on the BBC Good Food website that might be worth a go...

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/vegetarian/vegan/

I've perhaps become a bit preoccupied with other things of late, and whilst I've been plodding along nicely with my own veganism I've forgotten about the fact that I'm a part of something bigger.

On 'Sunday Morning Live' yesterday they had a debate about killing animals for sport (triggered by the news of the shooting of a giant red stag last week). What was interesting about this discussion is that out of it came an awareness of the potentially hypocritical nature of being against hunting for sport but then for the eating of animals for pleasure.

If you're in the UK, you can watch the programme on BBC iPlayer (the debate starts at about 31 minutes in):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vr7lz/Sunday_Morning_Live_Episode_16/

Poet Benjamin Zephaniah does us proud by representing a vegan point of view, as does Brian May from Queen who they manage to get on the phone (what an absolute legend!).

The contradictory nature of being a meat-eater who is against blood sport came from the views expressed by Christina Rees (General Synod of the Church of England).

When asked by the host, Susanna Reid, 'What is the difference between killing for food and hunting for sport?', Christiana replied, 'Well, if we eat it for food, then it has a purpose.' What she failed to recognise is that that purpose is none other than our own greed and pleasure, which is exactly what motivates hunting. Susanna responds by picking up on this point, asking 'Is there not a purpose in hunting for sport? There's an entertainment purpose...' and Rees fails again to make the comparison between the two, and says 'No, no, it's [hunting is] only for the benefit of people...'

Her argument becomes even more ridiculous when she admits that we do have urges to shoot at something, but that we can satisfy these urges in a way that does not cause suffering (for example, by shooting clay pigeons or taking up archery). If only she applied this logic to her own appetite!

Brian May had a really balanced and fair approach to those who felt compassion towards the stag, but who still ate meat:

Susanna: 'A lot of the people who might object to what happened to Emperor the stag will carry on eating meat. What do you think of those people?'

Brian: 'I think if you're starving and you have to kill an animal to survive, maybe you can justify that. But there really is absolutely no necessity to be eating meat at all.'

Susanna: 'Do you think it's hypocritical then, for people who eat meat, to find this abhorrent?'

Brian: 'I think, actually, no, not necessarily, I think there's a line along which we travel, and I've been travelling along it for a long time. I actually did eat meat for a very long time...at the moment I still consume milk and cheese and stuff, but I'm really beginning to doubt if that's okay as well, because that also causes an immense amount of suffering in the world, and as factory farming increases, I think you have to ask yourself these questions more and more and more. I do not think we should be doing this; it would be much more efficient for the planet for us to be eating non-animals.'

Brian May basically sums it up by arguing that it is indefensible to end an animal's life 'for fun', and this is what it comes down to when we think about diet, clothing, and lifetstyle. The way we live is ultimately an expression of what we value.

Christina later says 'We're all agreed, that even though we're not in the same position about eating animals, that killing an animal for sport is not alright. I expect, fast-forward several hundred years, and we will have found a way to eat in a way that does not involve eating animals.'

I have news for you Christina: We've already found that way, and it's called veganism! Wake up, for goodness sake.

I was very pleased to watch this debate, because I actually felt like - for once - veganism came across well to those watching (it does help when you have a rock legend fighting your corner...)

A word from Gandhi to finish (because it's world vegan day and I'm feeling the need to quote):

'It ill becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of God, the Compassionate, if we in turn will not practice elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures.'

Amen to that.

Peace and love.
x

We've 'bean' there! Veggie restaurant hunting in beautiful Cornwall

2010-10-31T21:14:00.008Z

Apologies to you all for the massive lack of posts over the summer months. I have absolutely no excuse for this, and can only hope that a few of you are still following the blog and will be interested in the news I bring: It’s about yummy things!

My husband and I went to St. Ives in Cornwall recently, and happened upon (oh alright, we found it using Google*) a lovely little veggie restaurant that was a real treat to visit: The Bean Inn. It looked a bit weird and not very restaurant-y from the outside (I am convinced this is a trademark of vegetarian restaurants! Having the courage to walk through the door is almost like an initiation), but inside it was absolutely lovely: Fairy lights, cosy tables, candles, and above all, superb service. And did I mention the chocolate mudpie?! (I am still in disbelief that this dessert is vegan...)

Because the food was so yummy we decided to buy the recipe book, which turned out to also be a lovely account of how the restaurant came to be. You can buy the book from their website, as well as finding out general info about the restaurant itself:

http://www.thebeaninn.co.uk/

Perhaps it’s just me, but discoveries like these make my holiday; I already have so many special memories of veggie restaurants I’ve visited with my husband. When we’re away, finding the local vegetarian restaurant becomes almost like a pilgrimage!

I hope that one day veggie restaurants will be the norm, and compassionate cooking will be what society demands. Until then, I’ll enjoy supporting those people who share my belief that the way we eat should be reflective of our values.

I’d like to open a vegan restaurant myself one day; that’s the dream!

Stay vegan and green and chocolate mudpie-ed out.

Autumnal love to you all.
xxxx

* Using veggie restaurant search engine Veggie Heaven.

Compassion Towards Creation

2010-06-30T16:35:00.010+01:00

Ben DeVries of Not One Sparrow flagged up this wonderful resource the other day, and I thought I'd share it with you all. It's a site that catalogues thousands of quotes about animal welfare and features a wealth of interesting perspectives about vegetariansm from all different faiths and philosophical backgrounds:

Creature Quotes

I only intended to spend a few minutes browsing through the quotes, but ended up reading it for hours! It occurred to me just what a wonderful tradition we have inherited as Christians, since so many theologians and important figures in the Christian faith before us have also seen compassion towards God's creatures as an innate part of what it means to be loving, merciful, and Christ-like. Check out the site and please feel free to comment on this post and share any quotes that particularly speak to you.

I also found a site for a documentary film made about people who used to work in the farming industry but experienced an incredible change of heart and are now passionate about animal welfare. What's really interesting about this documentary is that rather than focusing on the mass cruelty of factory farming, as most animal welfare films do, this documentary features people who try to farm 'ethically' and compassionately, and reveals the way in which they still find that it requires them to do things that go against their conscience and instinctive desire to act kindly towards their fellow creatures.

You can watch the trailer (which is all I've been able to see too, since it has yet to be screened in the UK) here:

Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home

Has anyone seen it? I'd love to hear from you!

The injustice of animal cruelty in our society is not only that it happens, but that it happens unchallenged, particularly with regards to the mass scale cruelty of factory farming. If one animal is being treated cruelly, people respond with outrage, and no one would dare defend such behaviour. But when it's millions of animals, people often shut-down emotionally, and argue that it is 'natural' (!) or 'just the way things are'. In this scenario it seems an animal stops being an individual, with thoughts and emotions, and becomes a cog in machine made to serve human appetite. This is the battle we face: to not only end animal suffering at the hands of human beings, but to get this suffering acknowledged in the first place.

'If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.'
St. Francis of Assisi.

Indeed, how we treat those that are weakest and most vulnerable reveals a great deal about ourselves.

First Green MP!

2010-05-07T06:39:00.008+01:00

HURRAH!! As a follow up to my post last week about the importance of positivity and pressing forward, I had to take this moment to celebrate the fact that about an hour ago the Green Party won their first ever seat in Parliament in the UK's General Election! This is absolutely momentous. Having an MP in parliament who is representing the concerns of vegans, vegetarians, environmentalists, and anyone concerned about fairness and social justice, is an incredibly exciting prospect! Well done to Caroline Lucas, and to all those who have supported her and the party. A ray of hope in an otherwise depressing election night.

News story here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8666445.stm

Proof that things CAN change, and we don't have to accept the mainstream parties. GO GREEN!

Chin up, vegans!

2010-04-30T23:49:00.030+01:00

Wow, a newspaper full of positive news! And here we were thinking there wasn't any...

I got into a discussion with a friend recently about my veganism, and he said to me: ‘I don’t mean this in a horrible way, but what you’re doing doesn’t make any difference. It’s not going to change anything.’ And then he just stared at me with a ‘sorry to rain on your eco-friendly parade’ kind of expression.

Ouch. And here I was thinking individuals could change the world. (I’m sure that’s what I learnt in A-Level History...)

For a moment, I imagined myself from his perspective. Does he really look at all of the changes I’ve made in my lifestyle and dismiss them as pointless? Does he think that my passion for this issue is simply a waste of time and energy? Does he think of me as a naive little do-gooder who's unaware of the fact that for every pot of houmous I buy there’s someone out there buying two packets of beef burgers?

I think he thought his comment was akin to telling a 5 year old on Christmas Eve that Santa wasn’t real; it’s not a nice task, but it has to be done. There aren’t going to be many presents this year, so it’s time for the cold hard truth...

Well, as much as I appreciate my friend's honesty, I couldn't disagree more with his opinion, and if anyone needs a reality check, it's him, not me.

So many people believe that we lack the power to usher in positive change. They think that we have no choice but to go along with the masses, failing to recognise that we are the masses. The fact that we have the opportunity to make a choice that can change things, a choice that can ease suffering and bring about compassion and mercy, is a truly amazing thing. We seem to have lost our sense of joy in the fact that we can make that choice, and have also forgotten the huge responsibility that comes with it. Underestimating our worth as individuals and the difference that we can make to the world does a great injustice to ourselves and others. Our agency is a gift that we should grab with both hands.

As a vegan, it’s easy to feel disheartened. After all, once you start seeking the truth about what goes on in factory farming and animal testing, you build up more knowledge which leads to a greater sense of conviction that what you’re doing is right, resulting in you growing all the more frustrated by the ignorance (often wilful) of those around you. Not everyone goes searching for this information, even though they know it’s there to be found. And even if you bring it to them, it’s difficult to inspire in someone else the desire to find out that truth for themselves, to get them to rethink their worldview, and (hardest of all!) to change the contents of their shopping basket. When faced with the horrendous truth about the scale of animal suffering in our world today, I feel pangs of guilt about the fact that I don’t do more to convince other people to go vegan. But experience has told me that the passion we have for ending this injustice simply cannot be inspired in someone else by winning an argument. We can plant the seed, we can answer questions, we can be patient and loving when talking with them, but we cannot make others change. Trite as it sounds, it has to come from within.

So many vegans I have spoken to have felt frustrated and hurt by the dismissive or judgemental attitude they've received from friends and family in response to their veganism, and I know that many people that read this blog don’t even know another vegan personally. That isolation can be really hard.

Throughout the Bible there are references to fact that doing the right thing often isn’t the easy thing, and that we will experience difficult times when we follow our moral convictions. It’s tough. But I sincerely believe that we are part of something huge. We might feel like we’re just drops in the ocean, but eventually the tide will change. Every decision we make to buy compassionately is a victory. Every time we choose a vegan option at a restaurant, we are sending out a message . Every time someone finds out that we are vegan, we are showing that it is a choice on offer to them, and that they don’t have to accept mass scale animal cruelty as a fact of life.

Being a vegan is part of living out my faith. I can't control what other people think about that decision, or whether or not they think it will actually change the way things are, but I know in my heart that I think it's the right thing to do. Other people's opinions are out of my hands.

Even though it’s easy to feel disheartened by how few vegans there are in the world (comparatively), we have to remember that we are not responsible for the decisions or views of others, only for our own. We have to do what we believe is right, even if it seems like we’re fighting a losing battle. As soon as we start thinking that we can’t make a difference, that our moral choices don’t matter, that we as people don’t have a say, that’s when I think we’ve really lost something.

I take a lot of strength from that fact that we're all in this boat (made from recycled materials) together, and I’d just like to say thank you so much for the comments and thoughts people have contributed to the blog so far – it’s so uplifting to know that people are reading and to feel the support of the vegan and Christian community. I am sending you all a virtual vegan cupcake (chocolate, obviously!).

God bless you all.

Vegan Goodies

2010-03-13T20:40:00.031Z

As I communicated in my last post, I feel that adopting a vegan lifestyle is an essential part of being good stewards of creation, and also a way in which we can learn to be more compassionate, peaceful, and loving. Veganism is a journey of discovery in a spiritual sense, but also in a practical one. I want to talk now about the treats that make that journey easier! Many people think that being vegan entails eating like a rabbit, giving up pretty shoes, and generally looking like a complete hippy, but this really isn’t the case (incidentally, I wish I could pull off the hippy look...).

Since last year I’ve made lots of little discoveries that have made it easier for me to be a vegan in a non-vegan world, and I thought it’d be fun to share them with you. So, here’s my top 10 list for those vegans (and vegans in the making!) who are in need of a little indulgence...

10. Organic Fairtrade Coffee. There’s nothing quite like a hot sugary cup of coffee whilst watching something suitably trashy on telly, and when it’s organic and fairtrade, you can’t really go wrong.

9. Urban Decay Make-up. Okay, so Urban Decay is not a vegan company, but they are vegan friendly, and in my eyes that’s pretty good going for a swanky high-street brand. They list online which of their products is suitable vegans, and none of their products are tested on animals. They also sell the softest synthetic make-up brushes, and were the only ones I could find on the high-street that weren’t made of animal hair. Not bad! And just look at how pretty this sustainable eye shadow box is. Glittery joy.

8. A Cold Bottle of Becks. I’m a girl that likes her beer, which can be a bit of pain when you become a vegan because so many beers (and wines) use animal products in their refining processes. But Becks, according to vegan forums online, is suitable for vegans, and you can be pretty sure they’ll have it at every bar you go to. If I’m feeling indulgent, I’ll drink one whilst in a nice hot bubble bath. It’s hard work being a vegan, you know! ;)

7. Vanilla Swedish Glace Ice-Cream. This stuff is amazing, but especially the vanilla flavour, which is really creamy and doesn’t have that soya aftertaste that so many dairy free ice-creams have. When I was first served this at a veggie restaurant, I made them double-check that it was vegan because I was so convinced it couldn’t be dairy free. It is. Enjoy. (Possibly with some hot vegan apple pie. See earlier post for recipe!)

6. Bourgeois Boheme. The shoes on this website are gorgeous, and so are the other bits and bobs there. Their tagline is ‘Fashion with Compassion,’ and they say: ‘We believe that one should not trade ethics for fashion, nor sacrifice style for conscience.' I could write them a love letter. In fact I will, after this blog entry. They also code their products with ethical labels (Vegan, Happy-Workers, Fairtrade materials, Organic, Hemp, Eco-friendly) so you know exactly what you’re buying. This shop is just a complete treat, and the service is fantastic. Happy surfing...

5. Veggie Restaurants. Oh the bliss of having practically a whole menu to choose from (not to mention the lift you get from seeing how many other people care).

4. Pimms. Summer is on its way, and I’m getting my Pimms and lemonade ready for sitting in the garden at Pimms o’ Clock. (Don’t forget the mint, orange, cucumber and strawberry! Otherwise it just doesn’t count.)

3. Being a kid and making Chocolate Cornflake Cakes. Melt some organic fairtrade dark chocolate in a bowl (check it's vegan, most are). Mix in some organic cornflakes. Put into mini cake cases and then into the fridge. Organic vegan fairtrade joy! (And yes, licking the bowl in these circumstances is definitely the ethical thing to do...we vegans are very against waste. Especially chocolate waste.)

2. So Organic. This online organic superstore is an excellent resource for those switching over to vegan products, because you can get everything you need from shampoo to blusher. The service I have received from them has always been incredibly fast and professional, so I’d happily recommend them.

1. The Fabulous Fudge Factory. This dairy free fudge is INCREDIBLE. So incredible, in fact, that it gets the number one spot in my vegan goodies list. It won Gold at the Great Taste Awards, which are apparently regarded as the ‘industry Oscars’. The makers of this fudge say: ‘We love a challenge, so when we decided to produce a dairy free fudge for Lactose intolerant people, Vegans and Vegetarians, that tastes as good as it gets, we thought how difficult could that be? Well it was – Difficult! It’s easy if you want that soya aftertaste but to make a dairy free fudge that tastes like the good old fashion sort is really challenging. Some 6 months later and many, many discarded recipes, we finally achieved what we think is irresistible.’

Indeed they did (and I know my fudge). We salute you, fabulous fudge factory!

Peace, love and chocolate cornflake cakes

The Urgency of Unity

2010-02-17T00:31:00.025Z

I usually try to keep the tone of my blog quite light and reflective, despite the serious issue it grapples with, and rarely do I offer more than a friendly ‘nudge’ towards those who have not yet taken the plunge and become vegan themselves. I have also been careful not to sound too impassioned, lest I come across like the proverbial ‘angry vegan’ and scare away random web-surfers (and possibly even friends!). Mostly I have achieved this with the addition of numerous pretty pictures alongside my musings, and with a cheery sign off that leaves both you and I happy with the state we’ve left things in.

But, (note this post’s lack of an accompanying illustration...), this entry is going to be a bit different, because never before I have felt the frustration I’ve experienced these past few days. It has become apparent to me that the majority of Christians (and for that matter, the majority of people) will argue almost anything – anything, offering the most ridiculous explanations one could imagine – to defend the fact that they eat meat. They know the horrendous cruelty of the industry, the impact on the environment, and on our fellow human beings. They know that God calls us to be compassionate, loving, and selfless. They know that we are stewards of creation, and also that the Bible reinforces a message of peace and mercy and justice over and over and over again. And yet, they defend their meat-eating to the last. I cannot express in words, as a member of both the Christian community and the human race, just how sad and angry this makes me.

If I was to talk about issues such as homelessness, drug addiction, poverty, the sex trade, domestic violence, famine, disease, or war, people would support me in my passion for trying to ease the suffering of others, and for trying to expose the truth behind these issues. But start talking about animal cruelty, about factory farming, about the environmental impact of meat production, about the way in which third world hunger is being worsened by the movement of grain out of countries to feed livestock instead of people, and no one wants to listen. In fact, they will actually argue against my passion for this issue. They will try and somehow argue that eating factory farmed meat is okay, despite knowing the incomprehensible cruelty involved.

This is not a discussion about whether eating meat is in itself right or wrong, it is a discussion about cruelty towards God’s creatures, living animals that feel pain, feel fear, and have the capacity to suffer. It is a discussion about the effect on our environment, and the injustice of food distribution. It is a discussion about the need for compassion.

And yet most people I have spoken to claim not to care, or make childish jokes that would be inexcusably offensive if I was discussing something like cruelty towards children.

It’s something I’ve struggled with repeatedly over the past few months, and I've come to the conclusion that the reason for this response lies in the fact that the solution to the problem of cruelty in the animal-industry is so incredibly simple: People need to transition to a vegan diet, and stop buying products tested on animals. We have the amazing ability to begin a revolution, to change the way people view life, and we can begin this peaceful campaign by doing something as simple as changing our shopping habits and diet; the solution is literally being handed to us on a plate. If people stopped buying meat and dairy, animals would stop being tortured and slaughtered on a mass scale. It really is that simple. But maybe people find this simplicity threatening, as it makes changing their lifestyle a reality as opposed to a theoretical response. It demands that individuals change, that they sacrifice a few foods they enjoy, and that they check labels before they buy things. And for some reason, a reason which I just can’t understand, people refuse to make this effort. This is what it really comes down to, and this is the tragedy of the whole situation.

I watched this 5 minute interview with the director of ‘Earthlings’, an award winning documentary about animal cruelty (which is considered the definitive animal rights film and is nick-named ‘the vegan-maker’), and it really brought home to me our capacity for violence and evil. Never is this capacity more evident than in how we treat those who are weaker than us, those who can’t speak out, those who are completely at our mercy. I have yet to watch 'Earthlings', but my instinctive reaction whilst watching the brief clip at the end of this interview was a heart-felt cry of ‘God, forgive us’. The enormity of the crime we are committing against God’s creation, and the pain and suffering we are inflicting on each individual animal that is treated as nothing more than a product for our consumption or use, is just beyond human comprehension.

‘We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.’ This has really stayed with me, and whilst I usually tend to avoid graphic images of animal cruelty because I find them so distressing to watch, I am beginning to appreciate that they have an important place in getting people to see with their eyes what words just cannot communicate.

As Christians, who believe that there is wonder and value in everything to which God has given life, how can we feel anything but sorrow and righteous anger at our fellow creatures being treated this way? Animals have no voice, they cannot defend themselves, and they are entirely at our mercy. According to the Bible, we have been entrusted with them. Anyone can see that that trust is being abused most horrendously.

Throughout history we can see injustice and prejudice being fought against by the few, with people giving their lives to fight racism and sexism. And all we have to do to fight the speciesism that is hardening our hearts towards the beauty and diversity of God’s creation is change our shopping habits. The victory that could be ours is so great, so beautiful, and of such magnitude, that I can’t understand why we aren’t fighting for it with all our strength, and as a community. St. Francis of Assisi said that 'If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.' I firmly believe than in fighting for the rights of those weaker than ourselves we are fighting for the essence of our own humanity. Leo Tolstoy also made this link, writing that:

Flesh eating is simply immoral, as it involves the performance of an act which is contrary to moral feeling: killing. By killing, man suppresses in himself, unnecessarily, the highest spiritual capacity, that of sympathy and pity towards living creatures like himself, and by violating his own feelings becomes cruel.

Our hearts seem to have been hardened towards suffering in all its forms, but especially towards the suffering of those animals intended for meat production. Those who eat meat do worse than ignore the violence and suffering caused by factory farming; they are complicit it in. It could not happen without the constant supply of money that funds this mass cruelty, and despite knowledge of this fact, people still continue to vote with the pound and keep the industry going.

In a sermon on the World Day of Prayer for Animals on the 4th October 1986, Rev. Dr. John Austin Baker, Bishop of Salisbury, said that:

‘the saddest of all fates, surely, is to have lost that sense of the holiness of life altogether; that we commit the blasphemy of bringing thousands of lives to a cruel and terrifying death or of making those lives a living death -- and feel nothing ... It is in the battery shed that we find the parallel with Auschwitz ... To shut your mind, heart and imagination from the sufferings of others is to begin slowly, but inexorably, to die. Those Christians who close their minds and hearts to the cause of animal welfare, and the evils it seeks to combat, are ignoring the Fundamental spiritual teachings of Christ himself.’

The Church should be leading the way on this issue, and yet, despite the biblical support for a vegetarian diet (not to mention the fact that this is an issue about cruelty, suffering and injustice, which we shouldn’t need to think twice about), most Christians are still supporting the meat industry and refusing to embrace a more peaceful way of living. Why are so many people closing their minds and hearts to this issue?

The urgent and pressing nature of animal and human suffering makes taking the 'softly softly' approach seem hopelessly inefficient. But at the very core of veganism is a philosophy of non-violence, and for me as a Christian it is just as important to be gentle with others as it is to be clear and strong in my faith and beliefs. Throughout history there has always been a battle against the majority when fighting for an oppressed group without a voice, and as vegans we must keep our spirits up, keep fighting for what we know to be right, and keep speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, without losing faith in the hope that eventually people will begin to listen.

Every creature has a right to live out its God-given behaviours and enjoy its time on earth. We are all stewards, and I believe that we will all be held accountable for how we have cared for what is so precious.

When feeling overwhelmed at the enormity of the journey ahead, I always think that it's important to focus on the positive things that have been achieved along the way. Today I watched some videos that reminded me just how gloriously unique and precious that these animals are that we are fighting to save. There’s nothing quite like watching a lamb frolic to cheer yourself up! These are stories of rescue and hope, and we should cling onto them as we press forward.

Billy's Story: A Calf's Life is Saved by Compassionate Act.

Angelo's Story: Lamb born in slaughterhouse-bound truck delivered to safety.

I hope that these make you smile, and maybe make you consider redefining your relationship with creation if you haven’t already done so. We can each play such an incredible part in preserving something beautiful. Let's never give up hope that things can change.

Psalm 145: 9
The Lord is good to all;
He has compassion on all he has made.

As always,
peace and love. xx

The Myth of the Perfect Vegan

2010-01-13T13:00:00.010Z

I must admit, sometimes I get so wrapped up in my veganism that I become legalistic towards my lifestyle in a way that’s counterproductive. We’ve had a lot of snow here in the UK these past few weeks, and this has got me thinking about purity, and what it means to have our sins made ‘white as snow’ through God’s grace.

As a vegan, it’s all too easy to become obsessed with the idea of being ‘pure,’ both physically and morally, in the decisions we make in life. I am currently facing the dilemma of whether or not to buy organic vegetables, since most organic farming involves fertilizing crops with blood, bone and other animal by-products. Organic vegetables that have been grown using only composted plant matter have been dubbed ‘veganic,’ but unfortunately the move towards this type of farming is extremely slow and isolated, and it would be near impossible to source all of your fruit and veggies this way (unless, of course, you are lucky enough to live near one of these rare veganic farms).

Here is a link to the Vegan Organic Network, in case you’re interested in their work:
http://www.veganorganic.net/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

You can read a discussion about the pros and cons of organic farming on ‘The Vegan Forum’ website. Clearly vegans are divided about this issue, and are unsure about what is the most ethical way to proceed. Eating organic entails a method of farming that involves the use of animal by-products in fertilizer, and thus arguably supports the very industry that vegans work so hard to avoid. However, not eating organic entails supporting farming methods that are harmful to the environment, and possibly human health.

You can read the debate here:
http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=437

And also find more posts on veganic and organic food in general here:
http://www.veganforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=58

When I rang Abel and Cole (the company who deliver our weekly organic veg box) about this issue, I was told by their representative that I would need to hold the line while she asked around the office for more information.

‘Hold on a minute,’ said Katie, the woman who answered the phone, ‘I’ll just go and ask my colleague, as he’s a vegan and he’s likely to know a lot more about this.’

‘Thanks, that’d be great.’

Five minutes later, Katie returns to the phone.

‘Hi, thanks for waiting. Okay, so I’ve spoken to my vegan friend, and unfortunately he says that you just have to get over it, really, that it’s impossible to avoid in this instance as animal by-products are involved in almost all farming, and you just need to move on. And he is a committed vegan, so...’

‘Right. Okay. It just seems a bit sad that, as a vegan, I can’t buy organic veg that haven’t been fertilized with blood and bone.’

‘Yes, it is strange isn’t it?’

Despite not really knowing much about it, the representative that dealt with my call was incredibly helpful, and asked for my email address so that she could send more information to me once she’d called suppliers. I asked if she'd forward my concern about the issue, just to reinforce the fact that vegans care about this, and that it should be something that’s on the company’s radar. I hung up the phone feeling a bit defeated. My only vegan option would be to grow my own ‘veganic’ veg, which isn’t really possible for a student living in a second floor flat in the middle of Leamington Spa.

So, where do I go from here? I felt like collapsing under the weight of the impossibility of being a ‘pure’ vegan, of trying to eliminate my involvement in factory farming. Now I have to worry about my vegetables as well?! I have so much to learn, and my naivety about the extent to which factory farming permeates our way of life becomes more apparent to me each day.

Feeling overwhelmed, I reminded myself of the Vegan Society statement:

‘Veganism is a way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing and any other purpose.’

As far as possible and practicable. I need to remind myself that sometimes I simply have to compromise; we live in a broken, flawed, and violent world, and by being a vegan I am choosing to live against the grain of what is considered ‘the norm’ in western society. I could go and live in the countryside and grow my own ‘veganic’ veg, and perhaps in some people’s eyes that would make me a better vegan. But, I strongly feel that it is more important that vegans are dispersed throughout society as opposed to congregating together in an ‘alternative’ community that operates independently, as the latter just wouldn't be an effective way to usher in change. It’s true that being a vegan can be an incredibly isolating experience; at the party, you’ll probably be the only one that cares about whether or not there’s a ‘V’ on the back of the wine bottle, and that can be frustrating. (I don’t realise the extent to which I experience this isolation until I go to a vegetarian restaurant and feel an immediate kinship with everyone there in a way that always surprises me.)

I have to operate in a world that on the whole views animals as factory parts, as opposed to the living, breathing, feeling creatures that God created them to be. Because of this fact, it is impossible for me to come anywhere close to being a ‘pure’ vegan. And what does that even mean, anyway? And furthermore, what does it mean for me as a Christian?

I feel that it’s important for both Christians and vegans (and of course, Christian vegans!) to constantly guard against a legalism that will ultimately cripple us. The load is simply too great to bear. Jesus said: ‘For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ Everything must happen in the context of God’s love and grace. We can make compassionate choices that change the world, but we cannot control other people or the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Whilst we must never underestimate the influence we can have on this earth, and should always hope for a move towards living in a way that honours God, each other, and this beautiful planet, we must also be realistic and forgiving.

Sometimes, my quest to live in line with what I believe regarding veganism becomes a goal unto itself, and I lose sight of the bigger picture. This is when I am in danger of becoming too legalistic, and judgemental of myself and others. Jesus called us into freedom, and yet sometimes I feel like I’m living in a labyrinth rigged with moral mines waiting to explode under my feet. This should not be what living out my faith is about.

Whilst being a vegan is incredibly important to me, and something I put a great deal of time, effort and emotion into, it is also something I need to keep in check when it comes to how I view myself. Freedom comes from realising that my identity is completely shaped by who I am in God’s eyes, and I need to constantly remind myself of the crucial importance of this. I need to appreciate that there will be times when I have to compromise when it comes to my veganism, because I live in an imperfect world with people who do not share my values or beliefs. This doesn’t mean that I have failed in any way, or that I should feel like it’s hopeless and there’s no point in carrying on. As a Christian, for me, being vegan is not the goal; it is part of the journey.

Keep warm in the snow, and remember to make that hot chocolate with soya milk!
Peace and love.

Christmas, Peace and Creation

2009-12-22T22:27:00.021Z

Christmas: A time for being with family and friends, enjoying good wine, good food, and (of course) wonderfully rubbish Christmas telly. For many of us, it’s also a time to think about the reason why we’re celebrating – the arrival of baby Jesus, Immanuel (‘God with us’). At Christmas, we remember the wonderful message of peace, hope and love that God brought to us in Jesus.

That message stays with us as we go about our festivities, and should hopefully make us think about the ways in which we can reach out to those around us, and also about how we personally can become part of this message of peace.

People are becoming increasingly aware that switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet is one of the ways in which we can have less impact on our environment and also reduce animal suffering (not to mention coming to the realisation that the food can taste pretty incredible too!). I've been a very blessed vegan of late, getting invited to a completely vegetarian Thanksgiving (my first ever Thanksgiving, being a Brit!), having a vegan christmas meal at the wonderful Warehouse Cafe in Birmingham (run by Friends of the Earth), and then another one at Mildreds in London.

The Warehouse Cafe, Birmingham.
http://www.thewarehousecafe.com/whc/

Mildreds, London.
http://www.mildreds.co.uk/

The food at both of these restaurants was absolutely fantastic, but I have to say that Mildreds topped it for me because they sold a good selection of organic vegan wine and beer, and being able to pick wine from a menu in the knowledge that no animals were harmed in the making of it made a nice change! Still, to The Warehouse Cafe's credit, you're allowed to bring your own wine and no corkage is charged, so it's a good place to go if you're looking to save some pennies! As I said, the food at both of these veggie restaurants was fantastic, so do take your meat-eating friends along for a change of scene (my friend said her meal was, and I quote, 'better than the steak [she] had last night)', so there's no excuse to all go to a standard restaurant...

What surprised me most is that both of these places were packed and full of all sorts of people, of all ages. It's simply lovely to overhear someone ask 'Is this vegan?' when an extra dip is put down next to them. It sounds so trvial saying that now, but it's undeniably reenergising realising that you're not alone in your attention to this issue, and gives you fuel to keep pressing forward in the knowledge that lots of other people are by your side. As the tagline of my blog says, I genuinely do feel that food is yummier when it's in sync with what we believe, and it's lovely to share this fellowship with others.

Last week I hosted a little mince pie and mulled wine night, and thought I'd share my vegan discoveries with you: I found some gorgeous vegan mince pies at Waitrose, and vegan mulled wine from Marks and Spencers. (I also got some dairy free fudge from Waitrose, and it was delicious; I would never know the difference!)

Although I know that veganism is my personal choice (and one that I'm very fortunate to be able to make, since I live in a wealthy country where a vast choice of food is readily available), something really does jar with me when I think about the fact that during a lot of people's celebrations they'll be eating animals that have suffered for all of their lives. It just seems to contradict the very thing that christmas represents: Hope, love, freedom, and compassion. I spoke to a Christian I met during a train journey on Sunday, and he mentioned how we often separate the spiritual and the physical, and I've been thinking about this since.

Why is it that we consider some things in the realm of the spiritual, but other things purely physical, and just 'the way things are'? It's of great significance that, in the birth of Jesus, God became flesh. I think that much can be gained from combining these two elements, since what we do, eat and wear can link into the spiritual, can be a testament of our faith, and can help us feel more connected to God and those around us. We can make choices in this physical world that can help us grow spiritually.

At this time of year, it can perhaps seem a little harder than usual to stick to our vegan guns when there are so many tasty non-vegan treats about, but I feel that this season of peace and good will to all men entails thinking also about God's wonderful creation, and our capacity for compassion towards it.

I for one will enjoy my Turkey-friendly christmas dinner and will raise my glass of champers (vegan, obviously!) to the hope of more peace and light coming into the world during 2010, and for me, this hope encompasses all of creation (remember, God's eye is even on the sparrows!)

Before signing off, I have to post this wonderful cartoon by Naked Pastor (Link to your right in the blogs section).

It was actually created in reference to Thanksgiving, but I thought it was equally apt for this christmas post...If I ever get the animal sanctuary farm (attached to the vegan restaurant and christian bookstore) of my dreams, then I'm definitely going to adopt a Turkey. They are so creatively ugly that they are wonderfully beautiful!

Link to this particular cartoon here:

http://www.nakedpastor.com/archives/4247

Also, if you fancy doing some reading over christmas, I read an interesting discussion on another blog by a fellow christian vegan. The post and the discussion that follows is worth a look.

http://www.helloveggie.org/journal/christian-vegan.html

And here's another (recent) Christmas cartoon on Naked Pastor that you might like:

http://www.nakedpastor.com/archives/4407

So many of us are frustrated with the fact that this issue is off the radar for most christians...How do we best go about raising awareness of this in the christian community? Get thinking whilst you're supping you're mulled wine!

Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all. I hope Santa brings you vegan treats and that many a vegan glass of champagne finds its way to you.

Making the Compassionate Choice

2009-08-31T22:54:00.002+01:00

Veganism is all about choice. Far too often, veganism is painted as some sort of self-sacrificing stance that turns even the most reasonable of people into activists who spend all day standing outside fashion houses with buckets of red paint (whilst secretly growing resentful of the fact that they haven’t had ice cream for 10 years).

Yet the fact is, in many places in the world, the things that vegans choose to give up (like cheese, ‘oh I could NEVER give up cheese!’) are things that would seem trivial to most people, and no sacrifice to make at all. Having an evening meal consisting of no more than rice and beans is considered a great blessing in many parts of the world. We have been seduced into thinking that it's our right to have the amount of consumer choice that we do, and the idea of sacrificing any sort of pleasure (strangely enough, particularly when food related), is not one that most people are comfortable with. Veganism is seen by many as a threat to their way of life, and even proximity to a vegan has seen many a meat-eater cling to their chicken burger that much more tightly.

But sacrifice, however small, is a necessary part of change, and it is also a big part of the Christian faith. So much suffering in the world is hidden from our eyes (whether that be by large-scale cover-ups or by glossy food packaging) and we can go on acting as we were before we knew about it, with an ‘ignorance is bliss’ mentality, or we can try and be part of the movement that changes it. Being a vegan does not mean that you can’t do certain things, it means that you choose not to, and there is a great significance in that distinction. One does not become a vegan and then have that choice taken away; rather, it is a conscious effort every day to attempt to live compassionately, with a consideration for the rest of creation.

Being a vegan is one of the most joyful things in my life, and when given the opportunity to make a compassionate choice, I hope that I continue to take it. God's creation is such an incredible, wonderful, awe-inspiring thing, and I believe we should tread as lightly (and thoughtfully) on this earth as we possibly can.

Animal Testing...What Would Jesus Do?

2009-07-31T22:53:00.004+01:00

I’ve been a vegan for about half a year now, and I must say, I’ve really settled into it! I can’t believe how enjoyable I’m finding it, food wise, and how much healthier I feel.

I also feel pretty sorted with where I stand on most issues, and am on top of things with regards to vegan cosmetics, household products, and food, and am lot happier about how I relate to God’s creation.

However, the one issue that still troubles me, particularly as a Christian, is that of animal experimentation. It’s something that I’ve thought about so much, and yet I’m still grappling with the complexities of the ethical dilemmas involved. For me, the debate isn’t about who are more important, human beings or animals, but is rather focused on the question of whether or not we even have the right to make that decision.

It’s such a difficult topic, and the more I delve into the literature and research surrounding it the more confused I become. Animal Rights advocates argue that animal research is often rendered completely useless by the vast genetic differences between human beings and other animals, and that often laboratories conduct cruel and unnecessary experiments to prove the obvious (experiments which are, of course, heavily funded). Conversely, charities such as Cancer Research UK claim that ‘Many life-saving medical advances in previous decades would have been impossible without this type of research. In cancer research, the involvement of animals has led to huge progress in our understanding of the disease, and the development of effective anti-cancer treatments.’ (This was the response I received after emailing my concerns as a supporter of the charity.)

In theory, I don’t think that we have the right to inflict intense and prolonged suffering on animals for our own gain. However, if this research genuinely has and does save lives – or, on a more personal level, has the capability to save the life of someone I love – the waters become an awful lot muddier. But then, I would probably do a lot of horrible things to save someone I loved, but that wouldn’t justify my actions or make them in some way morally sound.

In the UK, especially, there are lots of regulations in place that claim to guarantee that all animal testing adheres to strict animal welfare laws, and that animal testing can only be done if scientists prove that every other avenue has been investigated first. Perhaps, for vegans and animal lovers, it’s easier just to take a stand totally against animal testing rather than to constantly follow updates in law and regulations; trusting huge corporate institutions to act ethically is obviously something most people struggle with, but the more politically and ‘ethically aware’ person even more so.

I’m still thinking this one through. I guess compassion is always the answer, but in this case I’m not sure what that means practically in an area of life that seems like a moral minefield.
We are called to be instruments of peace, to stand up against injustice, and to defend those who cannot defend themselves. We are called to bring God’s kingdom to earth, acting with love and mercy.

What is the Christ-like thing to do in response to animal research in the field of medicine?

Answers on a postcard/in my blog’s comments box please…

Vegan Christian love to you all.

All Dogs Go To Heaven...Don't they?

2009-05-30T12:43:00.004+01:00

I’m not actually going to talk about the brilliant but dark Don Bluth animation All Dogs Go To Heaven (which possibly emotionally scarred me as a child), but just the concept that animals have worth and value to God, and indeed, that He loves and cares for them individually.

Last Sunday’s The Big Questions, a BBC One morning discussion programme hosted by Nicky Campbell, featured the rather childishly phrased question: ‘Do Animals Go to Heaven?’ The question was started by referencing the auction at Christie’s for a poem allegedly written by Bob Dylan (but which actually turned out to be a song written by the late country singer Hank Snow), which contained the lyrics ‘I’ll meet my precious buddy up in the sky.’

In the audience there was a curate, Helen, who ran an animal prayer group at Gloucester Cathedral. In response to panellist James O’Brien commenting that the animals he’d eaten were going to have words with him in heaven, she responded ‘well, I mean, I choose not to eat them.’ YES! She was a vegetarian. She wasn’t just praying for people’s pets, she had compassion for all of God’s creatures. It was pretty exciting to hear a Christian talking about this issue, and so calmly and peacefully (Angry vegan? Me? Never...)

Talking about the foundation for her beliefs, she said ‘I believe in a loving, compassionate, and an involved God, who continues to have a relationship with His world. The Christian scriptures, the Psalms, for instance, talk about God and animals relating one with the other. St. Paul talks about the renewal of the whole creation and a place for animals in eternity.’

Interestingly, Nicky Campbell then asked a question which pretty much sums up the problem with our attitude to God’s creatures, the idea that some are valuable and some are not, a belief lived out by many and illustrated by their devotion to their pets and then their consumption of inhumanely treated farm animals. He said: ‘Where do we draw the line? Species wise, what’s the cut off point? Scorpions? Snakes? Spiders? I mean a lot of people say ‘oh, I’m not going to heaven if they’re, you know...’

Helen replied: ‘I’m afraid I believe that even wasps make it. God renews the whole of creation and the whole of creation has a place within his renewed kingdom. I don’t claim that I understand the logistics of that, and I don’t think Christians claim that they understand the detail of exactly what heaven will be like.’

Nicky responded: ‘Now Wasps in heaven truly does surpasseth all understanding.’

In the discussion that followed many issues came up, including issues about morality and the notion of heaven and hell (which was being dealt with rather naively, as a few people pointed out). Colm O'Gorman, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland and founder of the charity One in Four which represents victims of child abuse, described how he used to live on a farm and that ‘there is a deeply spiritual component of being in nature, of being surrounded by life.’ Lucy Bryson, who earlier on the show discussed the life of prostitution and drugs that she had escaped, works as part of a therapeutic animal project that helps to rebuild the lives of people broken by their involvement in prostitution, alcohol and drug addiction. She said: ‘God used an animal to reach me, because I couldn’t trust anybody, I wouldn’t let anybody me near me. Sometimes we can’t reach people, but the animals can.’

I don’t necessarily think that a discussion about whether or not animals go to heaven is actually that fruitful in itself, but the idea that animals are loved by God, since He loves His creation, is fundamental in changing our attitudes towards what He has created and called good. Another interesting aspect that unfortunately didn’t receive any attention in the discussion is the importance of God’s justice. It is, in my opinion, the fact that animals suffer, both mentally and physically, that suggests that this must be made right by God in some way. Maybe it is just that I cannot bear the idea that the poor pig in the factory farm - that never gets to run or see the sky - is just forgotten by God. If I do believe that God will make all things new, that creation will be restored, then surely I can depend on his justice for anything in His creation that has suffered unfairly. And I firmly believe that the injustice of factory farming is one of the greatest injustices going on in our world today. As Colleen Patrick-Goudreau writes: ‘Lions don't breed gazelles in order to eat them. We artificially create life only to destroy it. That's not nature. That's not the natural cycle of life and death. We manipulate nature for our end and then say it's natural. Not so.’

Regardless of whether or not we believe that animals have a place in God’s kingdom, we are called to act lovingly and with justice. Colm O’Gorman said: ‘I really do feel that we spend so much time focusing on what’s going to happen in the next life that we forget about this one. Frankly, if we could put as much energy into treating each other with love and with compassion and with respect, we’d probably all be living in a much greater heaven right now.’ And he wisely concluded the discussion saying: ‘If we were meant to know, we’d know. We don’t. Let’s focus on this, let’s live with as much life and dignity and love as we possibly can. We’ll find out that bit when we get there.’

For me, part of living with as much life, dignity and love as I possibly can entails adopting a vegan diet and lifestyle, even if that means feeling awkward at dinner parties. Being vegan (when living in a consumerist, Western country) is part of the fight against a world which sees people and animals – life itself – as expendable, profit making factory parts.

Being vegan is just one step we can take towards living compassionately, but I feel it is ultimately a very important one. Our attitude to the weak and helpless impacts our attitude to others in our lives. Once we start regarding all life as precious and God-given, we can really begin to appreciate the miraculous nature of the gift of community and stewardship that God has bestowed upon us. We can truly wonder at God’s creation when we treasure it.

And the vegan cupcakes aren't bad, either.

Baking is activism you can eat!

2009-04-14T00:39:00.007+01:00

I just baked my first vegan apple pie! (Okay, it was my first ever apple pie, but that’s really not the point...)

I suppose it is just a pie that happens to be vegan, as the pastry margarine used is vegetable oil based rather than animal derived. And you can’t go wrong with flour and apples! Treats that are ‘accidentally vegan’ are great as they don't require you to go out in search of specialised ingredients, and they usually go down well with vegans and non-vegans alike.

So, for an easy treat for a vegan friend, or in an attempt to convert the butter loving sceptics, here’s the recipe for an apple pie that you can happily eat with a clear conscience whilst watching Disney films featuring cute talking animals:

100g dairy free butter/margarine substitute (I used Stork block margarine (block, not tub) – but have since been informed that the Vitamin D in this may be animal derived, so perhaps 'Pure' or Marks and Spencers dairy free sunflower spread would be an option here – get reading those packet labels like the good vegan you know you are!)

200g flour

Apple slices/blueberries/anything you fancy for the filling.

Soya milk and sugar for the glaze. Because what’s a pie without glazing?

Now to get those nature loving hands dirty...Rub the flour into the butter and then add about 8 tbsp of water to make a nice dough. Roll out half of it for the base. Lay it in the pie dish, whack in your filling, and roll out the other half of the pastry and lay it on top, pinching the edges to keep the filling in nice and snug. Make a pretty design out of leftover bits of pastry to lay on top of your pie (I did an apple and leaves – I never said I was innovative), glaze it with a bit of sugar and soya milk, make a little slit to let steam out, and there you go! Pop into a pre-heated oven at 180°C, and in about 25 minutes you’ll don your mits, take it out, and feel like Brie from Desperate Housewives. You could even dye your hair red in preparation for the moment if you so wish.

This recipe comes courtesy of my friend’s mum, Bev, who made vegan vegetable chilli with rice and apple and blueberry pie for when I visited - just in case I stayed for dinner. She even had soya milk in the fridge, on the odd chance I’d fancy a cuppa. If I had had in my possession a ‘Loved By A Vegan’ medal, it would definitely have been awarded that day. Alas, no such medal exists. Why not? And more importantly, why did I decide to make apple pie at 11.30 at night?

There are some questions that will always remain a mystery. But Should you go vegan? Well, that one's got an easy answer.

It's all in the job description...

2009-04-03T14:08:00.010+01:00

I still can’t quite figure out why the issue of factory farming and its effects - on animals, the environment, and on people - is something most Christians tend not to talk about, let alone make a stand on. Whilst I can find a lot of online communities of Christians who feel the same way about this issue as I do (look to your right for a couple of websites and blogs), I have yet to hear it discussed in church. (But yeah, okay, I haven’t been in a while...)

So, the opportunity to discuss this with other Christians is always brilliant. Thank you to Jon Birch for doing this cartoon, winding me up a bit, and generally giving me a chance to talk through my stance on this with other Christians. The cartoon and the discussion about it can be seen at this link:

http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/691/#comments

Get involved!

Also, here's a great blog post by Greg Boyd about why he felt it was God's will for him to be a vegetarian:

http://gregboyd.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-im-vegetarian.html

How fantastic it would be if Christians were associated with caring for the environment and those in it, rather than just people belonging to an institution with a set of rules. Our faith in God should inspire us to live out that faith by loving all He has made, and living peacefully, not simply succumbing to the consumerism that seems to be choking the planet, and our hearts.

We are stewards of creation - what a wonderful job title that is!

Let's embrace it and get to work.

Peace and love
xxxx

The Meatrix!

2009-04-01T00:10:00.006+01:00

I just found this brilliant video after publishing my post. Watch it - it is genius! And will make you laugh whilst making the point (you film buffs out there will love it).

http://www.themeatrix.com/

Also, it is a great way to introduce people gently to the problem of factory farming without sitting them in front of a PETA film and making them cry. Which is always a bonus.

The red pill or the blue pill?

2009-03-31T22:16:00.004+01:00

Today I’ve been thinking about how our attitudes towards each other and our fellow creatures are often tainted by either wilful ignorance or a worldview that has been imposed on us since childhood. We accept eating animals that have been cruelly treated before slaughter as a ‘normal’ part of everyday living, and not something worth kicking up a fuss about. After all, surely all the nice people we know wouldn't eat meat and dairy if there was really something morally wrong with it.

People lavish love and attention on their pets and then sit down to enjoy a bacon sandwich, eating an animal that scientists now recognise to be at least as intelligent as a dog. Why is it that we view one animal as food and another as friend? Quite simply, because we’ve been taught to, and until now we haven't thought to challenge it. If we find a wounded bird in the garden, we nurse it back to health. Unless that bird is a chicken, in which case, we eat it. This behaviour is totally irrational, and yet feels entirely natural and normal to us. We have grown up with images of idyllic farms full of happy pigs and hens laying fresh eggs, and cows that are free to roam in the sunny fields.

This idyllic farm is a lie that the industry is clinging on to with all its might, even in the face of rising awareness over conditions. There may be the odd farm that operates like the fantasy farm portrayed on the Muller advert (I feel like screaming at the telly when this one comes on! What a load of rubbish http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCHWJb8i2tk&feature=related ), but they are unfortunately a rarity - the majority of our meat and dairy in this country comes from factory farming. Because we eat so much meat, it would be impossible to run ‘ethical’ farms and produce meat fast enough to meet our insatiable appetite for it. The greed involved really is quite sickening, and indefensible.

I have lost count of the amount of meat eaters who refuse to watch documentaries on the conditions of factory farming, because ‘it’s too upsetting’. Indeed, when I spoke to one friend about it she insisted that she didn’t want to know and that she was ‘quite happy living in the dark, thank you very much.’

Well, what’s a vegan to do? People clearly feel compassion towards these animals or they wouldn’t find it upsetting, and yet they don’t realise, or refuse to accept, that they hold within themselves the key to stopping it. Our agency as consumers is the most powerful thing we have in the fight to end the suffering of billions of animals. Even just making more compassionate choices when we shop can make a huge difference in the message we send to our supermarkets. You probably wouldn’t find this link on many vegan blogs, but if you are a meat eater who is still unconvinced that becoming a vegetarian is necessary but does feel called to make a stand against the appalling conditions in factory farms, please visit Compassion in World Farming, a charity that is not about convincing people to be veggie, but is dedicated to improving the lives of farm animals.

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/

They have a great site, and if you have questions, do email them! They are a huge organisation but they got back to me really quickly.

Although I’d love everyone to be vegetarian or vegan for the many reasons I discussed in my first post, I must admit that the primary motivation for my veganism is to fight against the incomprehensible scale of animal suffering currently happening in our world. If animals were allowed the freedom and space to act out their God-given natural behaviours, the ethical issue of choosing to eat meat or choosing not to eat meat would entail a far different discussion to the one we find ourselves having today. Surely meat eaters and vegans alike can agree that all animals, regardless of the situation they are born into, whether it be domestic pet or farm pig, deserve the right to live their lives free from suffering at the hands of human beings.

In The Matrix (you can watch this clip on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te6qG4yn-Ps) Morpheus offers Neo a choice between knowing the truth about the state of the world and returning to his previous state of ignorance. He says to Neo:

This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

I’d urge you to take that red pill and see how deep the rabbit-hole goes. Stop hiding from animal suffering, and joyfully embrace the fact that you can play an enormous and valuable role in ending it. Then maybe together we can make a Wonderland we’d all prefer to live in.

Cupcakes and Ethics

2009-03-29T21:06:00.000+01:00

Because together, they work! I promised I'd talk about cupcakes, so here we go. Since discovering the book 'Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World', by the geniuses and pure bundles of delight that are Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, I have come to believe that if these things were cooked in large enough quanities, most of the world's ills would be cured. Or at least I'd be able to have cake at a cafe. Check these women out, and fall in love with the post-punk kitchen!

The book is a delight to read, (you could read it just for fun with no intention of ever donning your oven mits), and the pictures are like vegan porn, which we need more of in the world!

Here's their blog.

http://vegancupcakes.wordpress.com/

I've decided I won't attempt to bake any tonight (especially as it requires a lot less effort just to drool over these pictures), but will instead have a glass of white wine, courtesy of good old M&S, who mark whether their wine is suitable for vegetarians, and enjoy a vegetable curry. Good times.

Afterthought: If the cupcakes look this good on earth, just imagine what they'll be like in heaven! Sweet.

The longest of journeys start with a single blog...

2009-03-28T16:53:00.002Z

So here it is! My brand new blog, dedicated to the discussion of the difficulties and joys of living out both my Christian faith and my vegan lifestyle (and of course expressing my firm belief that these two things go together very well). I hope that it'll be a thought-provoking read for vegans, christians, vegan christians, and of course all you meat-eaters out there! You know who you are...

I'll be posting up general musings, rants about animal rights, interesting articles and useful links to websites, relaying distressing yet humorous experiences at restaurants (oh there are so many), talking about vegan cooking successes and failures, and of course giving you my general take on the highs and lows of being a vegan christian.

I've only been a vegan for about two months now, after realising the ridiculousness of being a vegetarian who wore leather, used products containing animal derived ingredients, and consumed dairy which is actually part of the meat industry (I only recently discovered how milk is produced). Looking back, I'm not quite sure how I reconciled these behaviours, but I think it was mostly down to ignorance and perhaps laziness. After spending a lot of time researching, thinking, and talking with friends and family, I came to the conclusion that difficult though it may be to live a vegan lifestyle, I could not justify living any other way.

So the process began. Swapping over my shampoo, shower gel, cosmetics, and household cleaning products to vegan cruelty free brands took a fair while, and indeed this is still a work in progress. Some things you just don't think about. Like furniture polish. (Incidentally, today I discovered that Oxfam sell Vegan Society approved eco-friendly furniture polish, so things are looking up!).

Changing my diet was easier than I thought it was going to be, and I have never felt healthier. At first I really missed cheese, but I'm over it now. Really. I am. I don't fantasise about cheese on toast at all. Nope. Never.

Note to self: Change your leather watch strap. It does not look good with your 'Go Vegan' t-shirt.

So, why am I passionate about veganism? Is it because I like cute fluffy animals and get upset at the thought of eating them? In a word: No.* As a christian, I believe that we are called to eliminate suffering wherever we can, and the animal industry (both food and anything dealing with animal products) is unethical, unenvironmental, and horrifyingly violent. I firmly believe that animals have a right to health and happiness, just as we do, and that this suffering is unacceptable. I am not going to discuss the issue of whether eating meat is, in itself, wrong; I personally wouldn't want to take a life for the sake of a chicken sandwich, but that's each individual's personal dicision to make. I do however think that in our current situation the meat industry is fraught with injustice and suffering, and it is impossible to eat meat and not be implicated in this suffering - buying it is funding it.

When challenged a lot of people say: 'Well, I care more about people than animals'. Veganism is about caring for people. Being a vegan is about trying to reverse the impact our consumerist attitude here in the West has on developing countries, and about caring for the environment (I recently read that the pollution caused by the animal industry is more than all other industries in the world put together). Our meat consumption is not energy efficient or sustainable; I'm no economist, and I am unable to give an accurate description of the movement of grain that is involved in feeding our animals, but in my research it keeps coming up time and time again that grain is being used to feed animals (that are going to be eaten) rather than people. This is a pretty succinct read regarding the problem:

http://letters.salon.com/news/feature/2009/03/16/turse/permalink/b9289ca695fcd7d03920173d059487a5.html

How can we as christians reconcile caring for our brothers and sisters and being involved in this injustice? I'm not sure we can, but thoughts are welcome...

I believe, too, that God cares about everything in creation, and that we are asked to be good stewards of that creation. We are certainly not called to go stomping around doing as we please and eating as we please, regardless of the impact we are having on others and the environment.

So there you have it, a little glimpse of where I'm coming from. It is always hard swimming against the tide, which is what being either a vegan or a christian can feel like at times. Yet despite the effort it takes, if you believe in something strongly enough you have to try to live in line with those beliefs, otherwise nothing will ever change.

A friend from church emailed me today saying: 'I've decided that however great or small an impact I might have by being vegan, if that's the right thing to do then I'm gonna do it.' I think this is the real question we need to ask ourselves: Not will it be too hard? or what if I don't like soya milk? or does that mean no ice cream?, but is it the right thing to do?

Is it the right thing to do? I think it is.

This has been a bit of heavy post - tomorrow's will be about vegan cupcakes and wine!

vegan christian love to you all

xxxx

* Well okay, maybe a little bit. Have you not seen Babe?!