Tag: veganuary

Hello Curious Creatures,

I’m assuming you’re reading or following my new blog because you are curious about a wide variety of nerdy topics like I am. Having completed an undergraduate degree in religious studies with a double minor in anthropology and psychology, followed by a masters degree in the philosophy of religion, I can say that between my electives and official programs I would be very happy to stay in school forever. Political science, biology, economics, philosophy, geography, linguistics, history and more have drawn me in with their magic.

When I took a course in religion I found intersections with topics in my other courses. Seeing the way that everything overlapped helped to shape my understanding of this complex world as entirely interconnected. It humbled me to see how little I knew, and excited me knowing that I will be learning everyday until I die.

Over the past year I began to learn more about animal welfare and veganism, which was jumpstarted by my vegetarian partner and a dabble into Veganuary 2018 (a global movement that encourages people to try being vegan for the month of January). Though my transition to actually becoming a vegan took another eleven months, the seeds had been planted. As my curiosity mounted I began to read literature on the subject, watch YouTube vlogs, discover podcasts, and have conversations with vegans I know. Having amassed this bulk of knowledge, I could no longer find justification for consuming animal products. But how did I go from a meat-eating “excuse-tarian” to a vegan? By examining a variety of lenses, listening to an array of voices and allowing my love of learning to school me in all things animal rights related.

This blog is the product of my ongoing exploration. As someone who now works in the field of diversity and inclusion, with friends from a huge diversity of ethnicities, religions, cultures and identities, I wanted to push back against the notion that veganism is a movement for predominantly well-off white people. Veganism/vegetarianism has ancient roots in spiritual traditions across the globe, historic roots in a variety of cultures, and sweeping justifications from diverse voices and varying modern academic disciplines; these will be explored.

I want to be intersectional and interdisciplinary in my exploration. So I invite anyone reading this to comment or message me with suggestions of things that matter to you, things that you would love to learn more about, or what your thoughts are on what I’m sharing. As the vegan movement moves forward, we need it to be accessible, open, curious and supportive. I want to be a part of the vegan movement that shows it in its most compassionate and articulate forms, advocating for the animals by inviting people in and meeting them where they’re at.

Before I sign off for today I want to share some resources that really opened my mind and influenced me in my transition to veganism. I will explore some of these and their concepts in later posts, but for now, enjoy whatever intrigues you:

For those into SOCIOLOGY/FEMINISM/HISTORY: (book) “The Sexual Politics of Eating Meat” by Carol J. Adams. Not just a good read for women/feminists, but also gets into masculinity and meat. I was utterly shocked that I hadn’t made the connections of objectification and sexualization before. Just take a peak at the centre photos of the book comparing the sexualized ads of women with those of a pre-cooked turkey on a stripper pole… or the banned ad by Burger King featuring a woman opening her mouth wide to a giant sub with a very sexual caption. You’ll never look at those seductively-dancing sexualized Thanksgiving turkey ads the same again. *shudders*

For those into PHILOSOPHY/ETHICS: (book) “Animal Liberation” by Peter Singer. Considered the classic that started the movement, it is dense, fascinating, at times horrifying when he discusses factory farms, but a good source for those who want to challenge their critical thinking skills.

For those into MEMOIRS/ENVIRONMENT/HEALTH: (book) “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safron Foer. This is now a Netflix doc narrated by Natalie Portman, so you can skip the book and hear/see the story and all of Safron’s explorations as a sometimes-vegetarian who decided to learn about and write a book after having a child and deciding whether to raise him vegan or not. It is equal parts emotional and scientific, a rare and compelling combo.

For those into SPIRITUALITY: (YouTube doc) “H.O.P.E – What You Eat Matters”. It includes interviews and spiritual concepts favouring vegetarian/veganism from various traditions like Hindu, Jain, Christian, Jewish etc.

For those into PRACTICAL THINGS and CULTURE(S): (podcast) Food for Thought: The Joys and Benefits of Living Vegan, free on iTunes. How should we best communicate with others? How do we get proper nutrition? Why are certain animal meats taboo to some cultures and not others? Along with episodes on things like the topics above. It’s AWESOME. and very non-judgmental.

For those in LINGUISTICS/SEMANTICS: “Animology” by the same host as Food for Thought. It explores how we use language to separate ourselves from animals, justify consumption and more. It also looks at historical developments of sayings like “you’re a pig!” etc. Ever wonder why we don’t say we’re eating cow?

For those into YOUTUBE PERSONALITIES/CHANNELS: 
Earthling Ed has some great, compassionate debates (no screaming-angry–judgy-vegan-vibes) with people in the streets of the UK. He also has lectures and vlogs on his work.
Unnatural Vegan debunks a lot of myths about nutrition and health (including some not-so-accurate things in vegan documentary “What the Health”).
Pick Up Limes is great for recipes, wellness and lifestyle tips by a vegan nutritionist.

Thanks for reading!