Cupcake Cares

When I decided to fully commit to real, no-exceptions veganism sometime around last September, I knew that the key to sustaining my commitment was like-minded individuals. Now, that's not to say that my compassion knew limits. It didn't, it doesn't, and it never will. I'm not so sure that it was a matter of willpower in so much of itself, either - I have enough willpower to go around, but even the emotionally strongest individual can give into marketing, peer and family pressure, and the hundreds of various obvious and not-so-obvious influences we encounter every day.

Sadly, I didn't know any other vegans. All the "vegetarians" I knew (seriously, every single one) still ate fish. (And, believe it or not, at the time I still accepted that as being vegetarian. For the record, it's not.) Going vegan at first is very, very lonely. Especially if you were thrown into it without even looking for the information by watching a graphic account of animal treatment in factory farms, as I was several years ago in one of my Environmental courses in University. I remember watching that video in class, and bawling my eyes out the entire time. After class was over, I hurriedly left the building and continued on my walk home, crying the entire way. Thankfully, it was a night course and I couldn't be seen by most people. I cried for weeks, literally, and as soon as I'd gotten home that night promptly threw out all of the yogurt, cheese, and milk that were in my 'refrigerator. (I've never been big on meat, but I will openly admit I was seriously into dairy.)

Anyway, I digress; my point in this story is, I was thrown into veganism without much information, aside from the horrors of factory farming. And while this lasted for awhile, once returning home from University that Christmas and following summer (ie: not buying my own groceries or cooking much of my own food), everything became a little... lax. "Oh, there is cheese in this... but it's just a little bit, and it's organic." Organic, I think. Well, that must be more humane. Okay. ...And that's how it started. So I became a bit more strict with myself again. I even managed an entire 4 weeks volunteering in Africa without consuming and dairy, eggs, mammal, or bird. But then there was Europe. Two weeks in Europe on my way home from Africa and everything fell apart. I wasn't strong enough, I gave into buttered baguette and the unavoidable banana-and-Nutella crepes at every corner. My only reprieve is that I've stayed "vegetarian" throughout. (See, there it is again, the fish-eating vegetarian. So it wasn't really vegetarian after all - I did steer clear of all mammals and birds, however.)

So, for me, it didn't work. I am, sadly, very much a product of my environment. When surrounded by negativity, I can become a negative person. When the lone black sheep in the room, I can morph a little bit to try to be less obvious. But I am still very much strong on the inside, and when it matters, I can and will stand up for what I believe in. I lost this part of me for a short while, as my story above will indicate; so this is how I live, now: very secure in my choices, with occasional reminders to why I'm doing what I'm doing, and support from like-minded people who restore my hope in humanity when so many others make it easy to lose it.

Then back in September, when I decided to get very serious about this, make a real difference and stick with it, I sought out some help. I joined Vegan Forum where I met a ton of amazing people who, just by being there, kept me on track. It wasn't always about talking about vegan issues. Sometimes it was just knowing that I could have regular conversations with people who loved animals as much as I did, and it made me feel so much less alone. Because I love to read, and have a serious addiction to purchasing books, I decided I could use this very much to my "vegan advantage." I bought books about animal rights, books about food production, books about vegan nutrition, books about being vegan and sane. When we go to the grocery store, it's so easy to forget that those quaint little eggs in the carton on the shelf came from hens crammed into cages with their beaks cut off, or that the milk, with the picture of the happy cow roaming in a pasture on a beautiful farm, came from a poor cow who, in actuality, had no pasture and has likely never actually seen the world outside her concrete prison. They've designed it this way, so that it's easy to forget, so that we are disconnected from our food. As far as most people are concerned, it comes from the grocery store and goes home with them, and that's all there is to it. But even the strongest of us need to remember what really goes on.

But there is so much more to vegan living than what we put in our mouths. Things that we wear, clean our homes with, and use to beautify ourselves can (and many do) contain animal products and/or were tested cruelly on animals.

And so I leave you here, with a short list of books that will help you remember. Or, to teach you, if you do not yet know.

Animal Ingredients A to Z by the E.G. Smith Collective
Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis & Vesanto Melina
Diet for a New America by John Robbins
Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food by Gene Bauer
Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman & Kim Barnouin
Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World by Bob Torres & Jenna Torres

Apparently today is American Thanksgiving. I've been through the turkey escapade already because ours was last month, but because the USA dominates, I felt a post was in order.

Love turkeys, don't eat them!

If you wouldn't eat your dog or your guinea pig or beat an animal... don't eat any animal. It just doesn't make sense. Really think about it. Look at the animal behind the de-feathered, cooked and chopped up version on your plate - the living, breathing, walking, thinking animal with eyes and a brain and a heart and a personality.

Instead of eating a turkey today, adopt one and make a positive step toward animal rights! It's never too late to start living compassionately.

I happened across this website today full of fantastic animal rights quotes, and I thought I'd archive some of my favourites here.

On hunting/fishing:

Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself.
—James A. Froude, English historian (1818–1894)

On factory farming:

In fact, if one person is unkind to an animal it is considered to be cruelty, but where a lot of people are unkind to animals, especially in the name of commerce, the cruelty is condoned and, once large sums of money are at stake, will be defended to the last by otherwise intelligent people.
—Ruth Harrison, author of Animal Machines

On making excuses:

Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty.
—Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, Polish poet and aphorist (1909–1966)

On education:

Man’s mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., American jurist (1841–1935)

On ignorance:

Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves.
—George Gordon Noel Byron (Lord Byron), English Romantic poet (1788–1824)

On equality:

It's been a busy start to the month - and it's nearly half-over! I wish I knew where time was going, how it can possibly be going by so quickly.

November is Vegan Month! Celebrate your compassionate lifestyle, being a caring human being, and spread the love.

Visit the website for Vegan Month (yes, there is a website!) and grab one or all of these adorable banners for your blog/website and show your vegan pride! Get them here.


Not vegan already? Consider trying it out. There are tons of great books and (free!) online resources to help you with nutrition information, recipes, and anything else you need to know. Even if you're not willing so far as to try it - honour vegan month by doing a little research into how animals for and as food are treated. Make your life a little lot more humane!

Happy November!

Here, November 1st is when the Christmas Season begins. Halloween is officially over and retailers have suddenly overflowed with glittery, red and green, snow-covered goods ready to celebrate that holiday time of year!

I'm not giving gifts this year. Last year I managed to get away with buying very few gifts as I was saving my money for my volunteer trip to Africa the following February, but this year I've decided it will be a Christmas for the animals.

In addition to my eco-friendly Christmas cards, I will be making donations to various animal charities and causes in my friend's and family's honor. Consider making a similiar pledge this year, or just add the animals to your shopping list too - make a donation just for them, as a gift from you.

You can make monetary, one-time donations now and any time of year. Many organizations also offer some gift with your donation, as with the "adoption" of an animal through the World Wildlife fund. This is a great idea for kids!

Follow the links to visit some of the charities and organizations I support and will be donating a bit extra to this holiday season. Or have a look and find some local shelters or organizations in your community!

Burlington Humane
My local shelter

Farley Foundation
Providing necessary care for pets whose owners are disabled, seniors, or low-income

Farm Sanctuary
Helping care for animals rescued from factory farms

Humane Society of Canada
Working to protect dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits & small animals, livestock, lab animals, wildlife and the environment

Toronto Humane Society
Care for abused and abandoned animals in the Toronto region

Phyician's Committee for Responsible Medicine
Encouraging higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research, with an emphasis on non-animal testing

World Wildlife Fund
Committed to reversing the degradation of our planet's natural environment and to building a future in which human needs are met in harmony with nature


And the extra-added-bonus? You can do all of this right from your computer, and completely skip the rush at the malls! Helping animals and a stress-free holiday? Yes please!

Yesterday morning on my way into work I heard about a new organization I'd never heard of before.

I get excited about being able to eat where other people eat. It could be because I don't fancy cooking, but don't get me wrong - I love to eat at home, fresh produce and other tasty things. Still, there's just something about being able to infiltrate the omni life and buy something pre-made and ready-to-go, just like every other lazy human being.

I wish I could express how happy I am that their Sweet Onion sauce is vegan. I'll tell you that I'm very, very happy. It's delicious. I'm also pretty pleased that they actually provide a listing on their website of vegan menu items: Canada | USA, which is more than we can say for a lot of places. Vegans are pretty apt at reading ingredients lists, but it grows tiring, so it's a nice change when someone will do the job for us!

End result, my delicious sub: no cheese, lettuce, extra tomatoes, cucumber, onion, green peppers, sweet onion sauce, on wheat bread. Aaaand hummus! Though I added that afterwards. (I might die and go to heaven if they actually started offering it.)