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Once you've decided to adopt a vegan diet and lifestyle you may find that you are so passionate about your new lifestyle that you feel compelled to actively support and advocate for the causes that can be connected with the decision to go vegan. From animal rights, to climate change, to fighting the obesity epidemic choosing a peaceful, non-violent vegan lifestyle encompasses some of the most popular causes of today.
The word activism often conjures up negative images in our minds. Images of violent protests, angry demonstrations and other confrontational behaviors. So how can you show your support for the choices you've made without participating in violence, anger and confrontation? How can you remain true to the peaceful, compassionate roots of veganism while still encouraging others to make positive changes in their lives?
Try considering yourself an advocate for your cause! The gentler approach of advocacy over activism is often more well received. After all, you are asking people to take a hard look at their entire lifestyle, to re-evaluate notions about their diet that they've held for their entire lives, and to realize that they go through most of their daily activities disconnected from their fellow human and non-human beings. This gentle approach will serve to plant the seeds of compassion. It is after all, them as an individual who will have to make this change. Below you will find a few ideas for gently advocating for veganism, animal rights, health and the environment.
Be a joyful vegan: Let your friends and family see how fun and easy it is to live a vegan lifestyle. Let the energy you gain from eating a healthy, plant based diet show!
Share vegan food: Host a dinner party or a cookout. Or find a delicious vegan dessert and bring it to the host of the next party you are invited to! Can't bake? No problem, locally you can get vegan desserts at Sweet Surrender on Frankfort Avenue and Cakeflour on Market Street. You will have to order your vegan treats in advance from Cakeflour though.
Network: Join social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Every day post a question, thought, or fact about veganism. Use these social networking sites to plant the seeds. Love to cook? Start a vegan cooking blog, share your recipes, your reviews, and your thoughts about veganism. People will come across these things as they search the web. Advocacy doesn't have to be face to face.
Try pamphleting or tabling at events: Find local events in your area. With fall upon us there are many events happening throughout the city. In October there will be St. James Art Fair and Harvest Homecoming. Or investigate setting up at the local farmers markets. Need help getting started? Find literature to distribute by visiting Action for Animals, and search their on-line database of literature that you can print and use. Or try VegFund. They are dedicated to spreading the word about the joys of a plant based diet by helping to fund educational materials and vegan food to share at local events.
Start a local outreach or advocacy group: Big things can happen with the efforts of a few like-minded people. Start a group in your area. Organize events. Get the word out. Visit Vegan Outreach for more information
For tasty vegan recipes to share visit The Happy Vegan Yogini blog
Comments
Lead by example. Thanks Carrie for such wonderful ideas.
Great article!
Thanks for writing this. We can each make a huge difference in the world!
Great article, Carrie! Thanks for your mention of Vegan Outreach.
Great article Carrie! I think it's also important to mention that veganism isn't just about your diet, but also includes the clothes you wear, the products you buy and the way you spend your leisure time. Veganism is a lifestyle. It's also a commitment of non-violence and respect towards other sentient beings.
Most Vegans I've met are not very joyful
but condescending, elitist, self absorbed & negative!
Even in the Way they present their food!
If the vegan food is Good? Why must they first
put down all Others food culture's choices
to make it appear to unappetizing and unhealthy
even to point of spreading lies??
It's rude! How is that behavior showing respect towards other sentient beings of this world.
The Vegan Movement is led mostly by single Caucasian females,
many who are also culturally insensitive & ignorant
to other culture's norms and traditions.
I'm Asian, My Family owns a restaurant.
I've witnessed firsthand, Caucasian female vegans being rude
and negative spreading lies about tofu, soy and it's effects
on the human body and fertility to sway other diners away from
ordering it.
I've encountered too many cloaked racist rude Vegans
Who have No Respect for Other Cultures!
Too many Vegans lack respect for other cultures
and freedom of choice.
Ling, I apologize to You
for the rude behavior
of over zealous, sanctimonious,
Vegan patrons who feel a need
to target Your Parent's Culture
or Restaurant.
When attacks like that occur?
There should be a disclaimer, " this single persons opinion
or behavior does not reflect the feelings of all involved in
the Vegan movement"
There are many "fringe people" out there, who
call themselves "vegan" who feel that they
are speaking" on behalf of all vegans in the
world" while doing horrible insensitive things to other HumanBeings.
They are doing the Vegan movement a grave disservice by alienating People
& and behaving condescending towards others.
I'm Vegan and I don't like the way that some sarcastic vegans feel a need to
put down the food choices of others publicly to elevate & spotlight their own !
The Internet is crammed full of those types of Vegans who
do this behavior_ they think it's cute and radical , but it's really obnoxious & rude!
There is less focus is on preparing
good healthy vegan meals.
There is less focus on truly loving and respecting
our neighbors. There is a new focus on being rude
and publicly lashing out towards and
oppressing other people who are not vegan!
There's a mean streak that in the vegan movement
lately that We used to associate with those who
once oppressed us! We are becoming the snide
snarky oppressors of meat eaters and towards those within the
vegetarian movement who choose to consume soy, and even wheat gluten !
There's bias and oppression against weight challenged people and people of
other races . Cult like books are being hailed as revolutionary with white
vegan women calling themselves "skinny bitches" , which should be
and insult and derogatory to all women of all color, but white women within the
vegan movent are embracing & endosting it !
That's not a part of the vegan movement, that's part of a small
biased fringe offshoot group within
Too Many Vegans start off by criticizing
other people cuisines & food choices and pointing out their
flaws, biases (real or imagined) instead of letting their
own food speak for itself .
They tend to do this behavior in social settings
and it's very rude.
My Family loves tofu and dubu beancurd .
We enjoy & prefer the umami flavors of our cuisine.
Tofu & Wheat noodles are consumed by many who experience no adverse effects.
Preparing Tofu & wheat meals does not kill animals so
What is the problem? Why shouldn't I as a vegan enjoy foods with gluten?
These Western Vegan biases smack of racism, fringe separatist ideology and world cultural bias. The Vegan Movement is losing it's way & mission.
It has become a platform for fringe issues
& biases, the vegan movement has become very narrow-minded, mean, elitist and exclusionary.
“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
There's a lot of hypocrisy within the vegan movement.
There is racism & elitism within the vegan movement that's not
being addressed!
We think it's all right to bully people who do not share
our western cultural norms when it comes to vegan food.
This new breed of self righteous western vegans who
bully other vegans in the movement for consuming soy, wheat or sugar, including those who bash other vegetarians for their choices & those who harass meat-eaters that may be consider transitioning are turning lots of people off, including OTHER Vegans !
Ling, That is very stereotypical of you. Vegans come from all walks of life -- both sexes (I actually know more male vegans and vegetarians than females), all races, different cultural, social and religious backgrounds. To say "white women" and "rude" white women are leading the movement is simply untrue. I've been fortunate to meet 100s if not 1000s of vegans through my own vegan journey and most of them have been the kindest, nicest and most generous people I have ever met.
I've had bad service and witnessed rude customers from every walk of life in restaurants, too. It's not right or just behavior but it's not strictly something that white women vegans do. Perhaps be a little less judgmental?
One last comment -- those harsh vegans, call them vegangelicals or abolistionists, they are not the force or face of vegans everywhere. They are merely bad apples dimming the brightness of an otherwise, kid, loving and welcoming bunch of people.
I have seen many Anglo vegan call themselves
& their diets the only "pure" form of vegetarianism!
They need to get over themselves and
their elitism to really become advocates
of healthier living, fair access to fresh produce
in all community (including the poor)
& Vegans stop being so judgmental
of other people _ that would be a good start.
I had no idea of how hard if was for
inner city whites, blacks & latinos who live in
poorer communities to get
fresh vegetable and fruits in their communities
until I volunteered there one summer.
These communities are full of corner
stores that sell canned processed foods,
friend chicken, processed foods, alcohol,
soda and lottery tickets.
You could walk these communities for
miles (and we often did) and not come across a market
or a stall that sells any fresh fruit of vegetables! You'd be lucky to
find an onion or a banana.
When you do find a 4th rate/tiered supermarket
(because the larger chains don't set up th
You could walk these communities for
miles (and we often did) and not come across a market
or a stall that sells any fresh fruit of vegetables! You'd be lucky to
find an onion or a banana.
When you do find a 4th rate/tiered supermarket
(because the larger chains don't set up their
businesses in the lower class areas or communities,
The produce selection is very limited, some of
the produce that I've seen was often rotten with gnats
all over the display, it was unclean !
I've seen the price of fresh produce set alarmingly high in those
communities too ! I bought 1 onion for almost a dollar US and
that's the truth. One medium sized onion!
This same market was selling dry boxes of mac & cheese
at 3 for a dollar. Chips and pretzels priced under
a dollar. If I was on a limited income? I'd be left with little choice.
I've met elderly residents who when they were
feeling well, would take 2 or 3 city buses to get to
the better markets in the suburbs to have
access to wider variety of healthier foods.
We as Vegans need to change our
attitudes. Veganism is not just about
pontificating about saving the animals
while We don't advocate fair access to
fresh produce or cleaner supermarkets
in the poorer areas of the cities or
world where most of us don't even dare
to travel. We as Vegans need to have more
compassion for people living under unfair unequal
conditions. Many People don't safe parks or
gyms to exercise in, their poor communities.
We will be among the first
People to Wag our fingers at them
and be condescending to blame them
for their health conditions, like a
for a high obesity rate and diabetes.
it needs to stop. We need to get down
in the trenches & love & respect our neighbors as
much as we do ourselves! A few "pure" self righteous critical
Vegans need to Visit a poorer community sometimes
and travel by foot to see these horrible
conditions & unfair prices in the markets for your own experience!
Ling, I've seen and heard
the self righteous vegans
demonizing soy & tofu lately too.
They had no right to do that in your
Parent's place of business.
as I've alluded vegans too often lack
cultural tolerance or empathy.
They have to right & everyone has to be wrong!
There is no middle ground, in the Vegan movement
lately? it's not very inclusive, not very ethnica;;y
diverse at all!
but more like a snooty self righteous high school clique.
They need to come down from their ivory tower to live
what they preach!!!!
I took a wrong turn once in a poor neighborhood
in my city the shopping
center, had 2 fast food restaurants in the strip mall, the restaurant were selling buckets of chicken and the clown selling burgers, there was a nail salon, pharmacy,
a cellphone store and a 7-11 type of market. It didn't even have a hardware store or a bank! It was DEPRESSING & SUBSTANDARD.
I think poorer neighborhoods should have access to better food choices, but I don't know how to become involved.
I'm a Vegan, I live near Cleveland. What can I do to get involved?
For the most part, people in low-income neighborhoods cannot accesshealthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables because it is inconvenient or nearly impossible to get to a place that sells them. Areas with limited or no access to local supermarkets are known as a"food deserts." Such places are often littered with convenience stores or fast food restaurants, leaving people with cheap but unhealthy options. Unlike their richer counterparts, poor neighborhoods have 30 percent fewer supermarkets.It may be hard to believe, but food costs are higher in poorer areas of our country, rural and urban, than in suburban areas!
check out
"Beyond Food Deserts: Mapping Racial Disparities in Access to Healthy Food" by Rhonda Winter
"Poor Neighborhoods Lack Access to Fresh Produce"
by Viji Sundaram.
& " Disparities in Access to Fresh Produce in Low-Income Neighborhoods in Los Angeles"
This beautiful country can be like a tale of two cities!
we vegans need to care as much about the rights of people
and advocacy, as we do about our love for animals.
There's many article on the Disparities in access to fresh produce in low-income neighborhoods & the Rural poor areas!
I used to follow a vegan site
on the Internet, recently the Person owning the blog has turned very negative and judgmental towards every vegetarian discipline lately and She's doing it
in sarcastic evil way with ridicule. She is making highly controversial, divisive and
derogatory remarks about anyone not following
her particular brand of extreme veganism _
which included being gluten free, soy free, sugar free diet
_ to almost threatening certain death and obesity,
and promising a lifetime of poor sexual performance and fulfillment
for those who don't follow her strict strange brand of veganism!
This Person is not medically qualified to make claims like that
just because She's vegan.
I've know quite a few vegans that have died from types of diabetes,
cancers, like bowel cancer, breast cancer, strokes and heart attacks!
The vegan community is not totally exempt from these health conditions.
It was a wake up call to me.
It was a reminder that just becaus
we may be Vegans. It does not make us
superior to all others life forms because of what we
eat or don't eat!
I will spend this Rosh Hashanah thinking of ways to build bridges that promote
understanding and tolerance.
There is a Vegan that ranted on
the Internet recently that they'd rather
eat an animal, drink cows milk & eggs, than to eat a tofu burger
or tofu product.
That's an extremist statement.
Many vegans consume tofu, It is in no way not the same as eating
a murdered animal. I used to think vegan columnist was sane but now I know they
probably have some kind of mental disorder, because that statement
was so bizarre and exteme!
I'm a vegan and I'd never eat an animal, no matter how
many imitation products are out there_ it's NOT the same thing.
Vegans rant about tofu, soy and meat substitutes.
But they think nothing about eating imitation margarine, cheese or butter or milk
when they are using them as substitutes for animal products!
There's a major double standard when it come to tofu or seitan
and much of has little or nothing to do with so called "veganism".
Some Vegans will drink flaxseed oil which is full of phytoestogens,
or they'll eat all types of
Some Vegans will drink flaxseed oil which is full of phytoestogens,
or they'll eat all types of legumes, beans, nuts
sesame seeds and multigrain breads, many vegetables like
squash, garlic, alfalfa sprouts and
fruits, even things like apricots, peaches and prunes which all contain
phytoestrogens.
The truth is, If People really knew how many common everyday foods contained natural estrogens and steroids , like yams, They'd have to stop eating most foods!
[do a web search for " Phytoestrogen and Its Food Sources" ]
Some Vegans, like non Vegans have extreme mental disorders,
concerning perception, distortion, extremism
& their control issues and it often manifest in their
relationship with food! & They use their " veganism" as an excuse to
manipulate and vilify others for their food choices!
I've read the comment
that some vegans would rather eat a murdered
animal than consume an imitation meat product
made with soy or sietan!
I think that I need to disassociate myself personally from
delusional self righteous extreme biased Vegan cultish reasonings like that!
That's a really sick statement coming for a vegan the whole logic
"I'd rather kill an innocent animal than eat soybeans burgers or a wheat sietan roast" That's CRAZY!
I've just finished reading on the web in the courier mail today
" Are Vegans Morally Superior to Meat Eaters? "
My feelings are that some Vegans can be as ignorant, hateful, negative, sinister, manipulative, criminal, delusional
and insensitive as the General Meat eating Population.
Some of those type of Vegans are stunting & holding back the Vegan advocacy movement with their snobbish condescending behavior !
If a person cannot differentiate in their minds between a
bbq seitan rib on a plate that's made out of grains, versus a
murdering and slaughtering pigs or cows for their ribs used for food?
In those type of extreme vegan mentalities _ There's probably something
else wrong with those type of person or a latent psychiatric disorder.
That's not a part of "Veganisn." that's a personal food preference
/dislike , a food phobia or & they are covering it up by claiming it's a of part being
"pure sentient vegan."
Has anyone ever done a study a study of
food & eating disorders in the Vegan population? or
mental illnesses such as Narcissistic Personality Disorders, manifesting
in Vegans? and purging behaviors done to the extreme
_ Theses Studies always done on meat eaters, but I suspect
some Vegans are just as susceptible to Mental illness
as the Rest of the Human Population regardless if they
refrain from consuming meat!
I went to college with a Girl, who claimed to
be a Vegan and for animal rights. In the cafeteria
after picking apart everyone who ate meat,
She'd scarf down plates full of vegan food,
She made every on campus
Animal protest and Vegan rallies and would sob
hysterically on cue.
In the evenings, She was obsessed with voiding and making
bowel movements. She'd talk about it
all the time inappropriately, how great it was
to make bowel movements, joking about
every else's bowel movements or lack of them
all the time, it was disgusting!
She gave herself enemas every evening
in the bathrooms on our girl's dorm's floor!
She also abused herbal laxatives to stay
fashionably waif thin.
It took a while to realize that this
Person had a serious eating
disorder, and was very disturbed!
Some Vegans do have problems
with food obsession, anorexia and bulimia,
some vegan advocates abuse laxatives.
I'm a vegan & I've seen it all!
From one extreme to another within our movement.
There's Teens now taking a
strange pop culture interest in
a dark Goth Veganism after
all of the Vampire Romance books, TV shows like "true blood" &
"twilight" film hype
and You have more than a
few controlling vegans dictators on the internet,
many who happen to be female,
who are a little too much into
colonics, natural laxatives cleanses & poo {bowel movements}
Some Vegans even obsess
about other People's poop! I think it's very strange!
There's alot of screening to do in the Vegan movement
because some of these dangerous young women are influencing
other young girls who look up to them to be dependent on
laxatives and obsessive about bowel movements to stay thin!
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