Fascination Persists Over Animals and the Afterlife

Questions about the religious status of animals have always been with us....

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From Seminary to the Cemetery, Fascination Persists Over Pets and the Afterlife

10 Rebuttals Every Vegan Should Know

Being vegan has some truly positive effects. Veganism is clearly better for the animals, it is healthier for the environment, and it has proven to be amazing for the human body. With veganism sounding so marvelous, you would think that everyone would be vegan. However, there are people out there who are not aware of the details and think that vegans are lacking from this lifestyle.

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10 Rebuttals Every Vegan Should Know

Vegan Airline Dining Guide

"Many airlines offer special meals to accommodate passengers of varying lifestyles and dietary preferences, providing a number of alternative meal types on long-distance flights including Western vegetarian/vegan, vegetarian Jain (pure vegetarian/vegan meal adhering to the principles of the Jain belief system), and raw vegetable and/or fruit plates. These alternative meals must be confirmed in advance at the time of ticket purchase or at least 72 hours prior to check-in. These options might vary according to seasonal availability and changes in budget."

Read more here: 

Vegan In-Flight Dining Guide

Two of My Heroes: Emily Dickinson, Vincent van Gogh

I just found out Emily Dickinson was a vegetarian! Yay!

She was born in 1830, so it would have been a miracle if she had been vegan back then. Even to be a vegetarian in the 1800's was gutsy and great. I'm looking forward to reading her complete bio, as I have her book on poems.

Vincent van Gogh was another vegetarian that I love. He was also born in the 1800's too--in 1853. I have all his paintings shown in a book, plus his letters to his brother Theo.

Two beautiful, gifted people, who I love as artists, and wonderful to know they were veg!

365 Thought Provoking Questions to Ask Yourself This Year

So here it is!  A whole year’s worth of thought provoking questions to get your mind moving in the New Year:

365 Thought Provoking Questions to Ask Yourself This Year

When Your Family Hates You for Being Vegan

When people become vegan they are often bewildered at the strength of the resistance or criticism they receive from others, particularly their family. They may have faced resistance to many other choices before, but when it comes to veganism there is none of the usual open-mindedness and willingness to embrace change, and little sign of a genuine desire of family members to love them even while they hate their behavior, writes psychologist Clare Mann. 

Why is this so, and what can vegans do when faced with a family imploring them to revert to non-veganism? Read more at:

What do I do when my family hates me being vegan?

The Problem with Vegan/Animal Rights Forums

I have been a regular poster on many online vegan/animal rights forums and I have yet to find one where I would like to stay there.

After thinking about it, I've come to the conclusion that what they all have in common is the people on these forums have a huge chip on their shoulder, eagerly looking to be defensive and ready to attack you if you say just one thing they don't like, and less likely to be politely informative and cordial.

I believe the reason is based on the much egotism and jealously within the vegan/animal rights community/forums, and this really brings out the worst in people. I can even "feel" the negative energy if I stay their long enough--and a few hours is long enough!

There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with others, stating why and encouraging others to see your side if it helps the animals in a positive way, but it should be done in a mature, polite manner instead of putting people down, hurling insults to the point where the moderators (sometimes) have to delete comments because they are so vile. This does not make for a friendly, healthy place to fellowship with others!

I will not name names of these vegan/animal rights forums but chances are, all the ones you know about are like this. I have a feeling if there is a website filled with mature animal rights people in the forum, such a site is probably small and difficult to find online. Why? Because I think many people enjoy the meanness, rudeness, and bloodthirsty arguments in forums; I guess to them it makes for good entertainment. But whether the reason for such horrible forums is because of egotism, jealously or looking for some bloodthirsty entertainment, we need to stop this ridiculousness as an animal rights movement and instead discuss, educate, and  encourage people in a mature, kind, responsible manner. Non-vegans are watching and it's no wonder many refuse to be a part of the animal rights cause.

While I think vegans definitely need to talk more to non-vegans instead of wasting much time discussing veganism with other vegans (aka preaching to the choir), we do need some time to discuss with other vegans on how to approach non-vegans in an effective way so they become vegan/animal rights activists, and well, sometimes animal activism can be very emotionally draining and it's sometimes good and healthy to be with fellow vegans for encouragement and to regroup.

Also, I've noticed most vegan/animal rights people aren't that spiritual. I think lack of a spiritual foundation causes mean-spiritedness, negative energy and anger. Vegans should take time out to deal with that side of them. It's imperative to be healthy in all parts of one's life: Body, Mind and Spirit. This makes for a better, more mature person.

We vegans/animal rights people must be a  good representative of the movement. The animals depend on it.