Luckily for me (and for countless animals), my mother was educated and knew that vegetarianism was a healthy choice. She is also the type of parent who values empathy, critical thinking, and creativity. So instead of responding with negativity to my choice to eat without hurting animals, she embraced it. She decided we would all go vegetarian. So we did. Over the years we learned more about veganism and animal rights. Eventually, my mom and I went vegan (whereas my younger sister stayed vegetarian… with vegan tendencies). Compassionate holiday meals became our new family tradition.

At age 36 I’ve abstained from eating animals for three decades. And now I have a son. I will pass this compassionate lifestyle onto him so that he too can thrive without hurting animals. Remember, our family tradition is now compassionate eating and living. Our family cares about all animals, the planet, and our health. And that’s why we’re vegan.

There are some children’s books that can help instill empathy for animals. For example, there’s Granny Gomez and Jigsaw (a story about how a grandma rescues a pig and builds a barn for him) and there’s The Story of Ferdinand (ostensibly, this book is about pacifism but the book also highlights the cruelty of bullfighting and encourages empathy for the bulls). There’s a book about dragons called Herb the Vegetarian Dragon and there’s a book called That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals by Ruby Roth.

Roth has a new book out called Vegan Is Love. I received a review copy of Vegan Is Love. The book is subtitled “Having Heart and Taking Action” and the book ends on the last page with this:

At breakfast, lunch, and dinner, at the store or in school, we remember our love for animals. They are part of our everyday lives, part of our hearts. When we see them, we can feel them and know that we are here together – living, breathing, eating, playing, and loving under the sun.

In the end, only you can choose how to eat and live. It takes courage to ask, “What kind of person do I want to be?” and deide the answer for yourself. The choice to be vegan is especially brave. It means you are standing up for yourself and all other living beings – and that is love.

Our choices are powerful.

Vegan is love.

Roth makes powerful statements inside the book and out. I grabbed these videos from Girlie Girl Army. Check out the fantastic responses Ruby Roth gives in an interview with CNN:

Overall, I have very few criticisms of the book. It’s a good book that will easily help teach young people how to live more compassionately or even just teach them why some people choose vegan.

We chose Farm Sanctuary as our charity to fundraise for for a couple reasons. One reason: Farm Sanctuary recently adopted Animal Acres, one of the shelters for farmed animals nearest us Las Vegans.  Another reason is that Farm Sanctuary has done incredible work in educating the public about the abuse that farmed animal endure. It’s an outstanding organization and we are honored to be able to take part in an event that recognizes them. (Learn about Farm Sanctuary at farmsanctuary.org )

The running/walking course is flat and should be easy for newbie runners. The flatness is also great for strollers, which I like because I will be pushing one on my run. Dogs are welcome (keep ‘em leashed) and I expect there to be plenty of dogs out enjoying the morning jog. There’s a dog park near the run location so I’m certain some dogs will go there after the run to mingle with their species.

The Vegas Veg team will meet before the run to chat and stretch. We will meet again after the run for a vegan potluck. If you’re in town, feel free to join the potluck even if you don’t plan to run/walk.

Donations are coming in through runner’s registrations and also through the Farm Sanctuary donation partners website. Here is the  fundraising page for this event: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/vegasveg/mothersdayrun

Please donate today! And please tell your family, friends, coworkers about the event and ask them to donate to support all animal mothers. Remember every donation counts, no matter how small.

RUNNER REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Go here to register: https://www.onestoprace.com/register/groups/jointeam.aspx?event=9796

Choose the Vegas Veg team that suits you (1 mile, 5k, or 10k)

Make sure to use the discount code “VegasVeg” to get a reduced price (valid for 5k and 10k only).

These ideas are far from original ideas. But they’re good ideas. And really, that’s all that matters, right?

So here goes…

Four easy ways to promote veganism online:

1. Take pictures of your vegan food and put them on the web. They don’t have to be perfect pictures. They just have to be pictures. The more, the merrier.
2. Post vegan recipes on the web. Put them on your blog, in forums, wherever…
3. Give new vegans encouragement by leaving nice comments on their blogs or sending them nice, encouraging emails.
4. Leave pro-animal comments at mainstream news websites and blogs.

And here’s a rather fresh idea: Take 5 to Save 5. All you do is offer free vegan starter kits online. Details here >>

(Originally published in 2008. Republished in 2012 with minor edits for a new audience.)

Last year, Americans spent roughly $18 billion dollars on coffee – and virtually nothing to protect animals from some of the worst abuses imaginable. Is this who we are?

At the Animal Legal Defense Fund — http://www.aldf.org — we believe that we are better than that – and were fighting every day to win the case against cruelty for our countrys animals.

Ready to take action? Sign ALDFs Animal Bill of Rights to let your Congresspersons know that you believe animals deserve better. Sign on your support and speak out to your lawmakers today! http://www.AnimalBillofRights.org

Here’s a direct link to the video for viewers who may want to bookmark it and spread it on their facebook pages, twitter accounts, or in their own blogs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUgh_YFYeMc

“although food-safety activists and animal-rights organizations have different agendas, they both agree on one thing: Much of the public is unaware of what happens to their food before it arrives on their plate.”

This is why it’s so important for animal advocates to educate the public. We have to do outreach such as leafleting and sharing videos. People deserve to know the truth. They can’t make a free choice unless they know all the facts. But animal agribusissness would rather conceal the truth.

“‘We have to stop them,’ Forrest Lucas, founder of the Lucas Oil Co, said of the activists. He owns a 16,000-acre cattle breeding ranch in southwest Missouri. Lucas said he invested more than $600,000 to start the agriculture advocacy group Protect the Harvest and plans on spending ‘much, much, much more’ to help back political candidates and social media campaigns to thwart critics this election year.”

Earlier the article stated:

“The agribusiness sector spent $123.8 million on lobbying efforts in 2011, up from $110.2 million in 2007, according to OpenSecrets.org.”

Agribusiness fears animal advocates, particular well organized advocates such as those in the HSUS:

“Over the years, the Humane Society has become known for its undercover videos. One shot in 2008 at a California slaughterhouse, where workers were shown using chains and forklift to move so-called ‘downer’ cows, led to the largest beef recall in the country’s history.” [...]

See one such video here : http://video.humanesociety.org/video/629262638001/Channels/729780768001/Factory-Farming/775461364001/Downer-Cow-Investigation/

“Worried about a repeat in other agricultural sectors, the industry is battling back. Much of that fight has resulted in legislative efforts to block or restrict undercover investigations on farms”

Read more about that here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/will-potter/animal-cruelty-_b_852675.html

It’s a tought fight but animal advoates will win this war. It may take a lot of time, money, and effort. But we will win. We have justice, love, compassion, peace, and truth on our side. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. paraphrased from Theodore Parker (source)

VEGAN PIZZA IN THE VEGAS VALLEY

Pizza Fusion – New to town, this franchise prides itself on environmentally-friendly food. They have organic pizzas and deliver in hybrid cars. They can do gluten-free and of course, vegan too. They offer two different kinds of vegan cheeses (soy or soy-free) and they also have vegan chickn. The place is on Eastern in Henderson near Trader Joe’s.

Sammy’s Wood Fired Pizza – This small chain revised their menus recently to add Daiya vegan cheese as an option. So any pizza can now be made vegan if you omit the meat and sub the cheese for Daiya.

Whole Foods – You can have a custom pizza created for you in the deli area. One option is to use vegan cheese if you like. The pizzas are very reasonable prices for such large pizzas. And it’s nice that you can order your pizza, do your grocery shopping, and they pick up your pizza to take home. You can also pick up an Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Pizza, Amy’s Vegan Margherita Pizza, or one of the three Tofurky vegan pizzas available at Whole Foods.

Of course, you can always make your own vegan pizza at home, too. There are a few good websites that can tell you how. Check out http://www.vegan-pizza.com/ for some good tips and lots of recipes.

Lastly, there’s the option that vegans of the 1980s and 90s had: order cheeseless pizza from nearly any traditional pizzeria. You can enjoy your pizza piled high with veggies without cheese.  Or you can add a bit of vegan cheese on top and melt it quickly in the oven before eating.

Bon appetit!

A new undercover investigation at Kreider Farms – a factory egg farm in Pennsylvania – reveals horrific cruelty to egg-laying hens, including hens crammed inside barren battery cages even smaller than the industry standard, where they can barely move an inch for nearly their entire lives.

Link to the MFA article with video: http://www.mfablog.org/2012/04/new-investigation-exposes-extreme-cruelty-at-factory-egg-farm.html

But learning trivia isn’t what brought you here, isn’t it? I’m willing to bet that you came to this website looking for vegetarian and vegan eats in fabulous Las Vegas.

Here are some extremely useful websites that list heavenly vegan cuisine in Sin City:

1. Vegas Veg – Our local grassroots group, Vegas Veg, hosts a succint restaurant listing on the main website. The list is online here: http://www.vegasveg.com/food.html

2. Veg Guide – Mercy For Animals maintains a detailed database that catalogs veg-friendly restaurants all over the world. The database includes details about the restaurants as well as reviews. Check out the Vegas section here: http://www.vegguide.org/region/280

3. Happy Cow – Like Veg Guide, Happy Cow has a database of veg-friendly businesses. The Happy Cow database lists not only restaurants but also health food stores. Happy Cow’s Vegas section is at: http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/nevada/las_vegas/index.html

4. LV Vegan – A local vegan has created a website with suggestions for vegan dining in Vegas. It’s categorized by food type and has an emphasis on low-fat vegan eating. Check it out: http://www.lvvegan.com/

5. PETA – The large organization has a simple guide for finding vegan options at common chain and fast food restaurants. The list proves helpful for visitors to Vegas who are on a budget. It’s here: http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/chain-restaurants.aspx

6. Eating Vegan in Vegas – New on the scene is another Vegas resident with a website dedicated to vegan food in Vegas. Rather than a formal, searchable database, he’s got a foodie blog with terrific photos. Take a look: http://eatingveganinvegas.tumblr.com/

And to keep things lucky we’ll end with number seven…

7. Yelp – By searching for “vegan” in “Las Vegas, NV” you will find a list of vegan-friendly restaurants complete with photos and reviews. Here’s the link: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=vegan&find_loc=Las+Vegas%2C+NV&ns=1&ls=e12502755b064663#cflt=vegan

So there you have it, seven savvy sites for vegan vacationers in Vegas… or local Las Vegans. Good eating!

We should ALL have the right to choose veganism. When everyone has a true choice, then it might make sense to start calling veganism a personal choice. But not everyone has the right to choose veganism. A few years ago I wrote:

Many meat-eaters don’t actually have a true choice. These meat-eaters are children in public schools, patients in hospitals, people in prison, people on assistance, and others who rely on care-givers to supply them with meals. They don’t have a choice in the matter, if they want to live they must eat what’s offered. And what’s offered? Why, it’s cheap, surplus meat, rejected by consumers who have a true choice.

Animal agribusiness often dumps surplus animal products on the people who have the fewest choices:

To address the low demand emergency, the Washington DC-based National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) has a kind of Cash for Clunkers plan.

Funded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act revenues, its Meat the Need proposal would increase the amount that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients receive in food assistance if they use it for animal products. (source)

These kinds of plans wind up fostering a generation of excessive animal eaters.

When the upper and middle class reject excessive animal eating and become flexitarians (or part-time vegans) – for health and environmental reasons as well as animal welfare – then the excess animal products get dumped on the lower class, who in turn develop habits of excessive animal eating and in turn develop diseases caused by excessive animal eating: cancers, heart disease, diabetes.

If a significant percentage of consumers rejected candy for breakfast in favor of a wholesome breakfast like oatmeal and there suddenly became excess candy on the market, would it make sense to stop serving wholesome food like oatmeal and start serving candy in elementary school cafeterias, hospital cafeterias and homeless shelter kitchens?

Start helping other people make free food choices.

But how?

Here are some ideas:

• Join the Food Empowerment Project and recognize that food is power.
• Food Not Bombs – basically it’s a community based vegan potluck or food fair that’s open to the public and generally feeds homeless and low income people
• Vegan Meetups – invite omnis and vegetarians out to eat at vegan restaurants. Vegan meetups are always assumed to be for vegans, but the reality is that many nonvegans who are curious about veganism attend vegan meetups.
• Vegan Outreach – pass out literature that tells people why and how to go vegan.
• Blog – that’s right, set up a vegan blog and write about food or theory.

—

Note: This article was originally published in 2009. After minor edits it has been republished so a new audience may read it.

Miami New Times Blog reports that Ben Franklin was also a part-time vegetarian. “Franklin mentions in this book that he was drawn to the diet for ethical reasons, but, as a man who valued frugality and strove for temperance in both his eating and drinking habits as part of an overall mission of constant self-improvement, he also enjoyed the expense spared by eating vegetable foods instead of meat.” It seems as though Franklin swayed back and forth from vegetarian to non depending on his social scene and the food offered to him.

In a TED talk in 2010, the creator of the TreeHugger website, Graham Hill, discussed his “weekday vegetarianism”:

Hill says he eats vegetarian during the weekdays and then eats nonveg during the weekends. He says this plan is easier to follow than a true vegetarian diet yet it has nearly the same impact.

Some people do vegetarianism very very very part-time while others do it most of the time. They’ll try it for a few weeks each year during Lent or they’ll eat veg when dining with vegetarians or vegans and eat nonveg when alone or with omnis. There are the people who do Meatless Mondays and there are the people who only eat animals during holiday feasts. Even many people who call themselves vegetarians or vegans “cheat” every now and then. Across the omni-veg spectrum there are all kinds of eaters who deliberately reduce their consumption of animal products but do not entirely eliminate it.

Whatever the reason, any reduction in animal product consumption is good for animals, the planet, and human health. Let’s celebrate the part-time veg*ns!