Gary Francione and Others Just Don't Get It

Here are some quotes from Twitter and Facebook I made that I feel belongs permanently on my blog for my blog readers to see:

"Awesome Morrissey is now vegan!!Reasons about veganism he gave n interviews r incorrect, but main thing he's vegan! That should b the focus."

"I long realize @garylfrancione main thing is to criticize people who are not vegan or saying things wrong;that's all he's doing to Morrissey"

"I bet in @garylfrancione @GoVeganRadio podcast today he won't b happy Morrissey is vegan,but instead spend entire show berating what he said"

"Morrrissey should be criticized BRIEFLY,but then congratulated & talk about all positive things Morrissey is already doing now he's vegan."

"But no, @garylfrancione always love the negative more than positive, and will go on and on about how terrible Morrissey still is. So sad."

"I'm really tired of @garylfrancione love of criticizing--especially vegans. Call people out--great, but then mention their positives."

"I guess unless one thinks ,behaves, does EVERYTHING EXACTLY @garylfrancione way, he'll always put people down. His way or you're ALL wrong."

". @garylfrancione & others keep flippantly saying "Going vegan is easy. It's not hard." yeah, for us, but others think it is.Understand them"

"Ask them, 'Why is it hard for you?' Give them answers. Work with them and HELP them instead of saying, "it's easy"--that's counterproductive"

"I didn't mention this on @garylfrancione Facebook because if anyone disagrees with his way of doing things, you get blocked."


This is what I posted on Gary Francione's Facebook yesterday. I'm surprised it didn't get deleted like MANY of people's posts get when you disagree with Francione on Facebook:

Lorrie Paige: "There was a poll taken at my church where we asked, what concerns do you have about going vegan? Most said health issues. In this day and age with doctors saying veganism is safe there really shouldn't be a concern but I think many people still have a fear of major health issues and most people are more concerned about their health than any animals. This is one reason vegans should be healthy vegans. While I see many healthy vegans pics online, I see a lot of unhealthy vegans offline when I go to vegan meets. I believe these are more the plant only people (no vegan processed) which more and more vegans are doing as they feel this is the next "level" of veganism. But it's very important to not only be vegan but be and look a healthy vegan. I see so many that look anorexic and that scares people. Also when I became vegan I threw my expensive fur coats away immediately in the trash. Easy for me but maybe some people would find it hard to throw out thousands of dollars worth of clothing, shoes, and buy a whole new wardrobe. But that's something I feel one must do as it would be difficult talking animal rights while wearing animals. Saying, well I bought this prior to being vegan and waiting until it wears out or until I can afford to buy vegan is not a positive thing to say while promoting veganism. Also vegan body care and cosmetics are very expensive so it's not just about vegan food---food is the cheapest in transitioning. Veganism is a major life transition to many people, depending on how much animal cruelty one has done. Just because it was easy for most of us don't assume it's easy for each and every person on the planet. We need to understand instead of making flippant remarks because they may just give up and what does that accomplish? If someone you know is finding it hard financially to buy vegan items, buy them items, like a vegan coat, vegan body care, or whatever to get them started instead of getting angry at them. If they are sincere, help them in the beginning. But in wealthy Morrissey's case, he couldn't make that excuse."


Telling people something they feel is not the case is really stupid. If a person feels something is difficult, even though you feel it's easy to be vegan, they will not believe you because you are not them. So help them in any way you can to help them transition to veganism easy.

Responding to a Question

I'm a member of a group that emails a daily food-for-thought question. When you answer, your comment gets left in limbo for moderation...my response was approved and it got posted on the board.

Here is the question and my response follows:


Who or what has given you a clearer picture of some important view on the world?


In 1982, being enlightened by knowing I was contributing to animal abuse by eating them and using them for clothing, household products, bodycare, and the horrors that animals go through by using milk, eggs, honey…Any type of animal product.


So from then on, I have been an activist for animals, in educating people in telling them in this day and age, we know longer need animals to be and stay healthy or use them for anything; we as humans have evolved to being healthily cruelty-free. I and many others are proof of this.


So I help strip away the assumptions and animal prejudices (speciesism) people have toward animals to provide people with a clearer view of a more peaceful world. 

Don't Be a "Closet Vegan". Be an Activist Vegan.

Vegans should not be "closet vegans" to non-vegans. Simply being a vegan is being complacent. One should be an activist vegan as well. A person should be able to know you are a vegan the minute they meet you--and you don't even have to say anything.

Something Very Simple

People should automatically know you are vegan right away. Wear a T-shirt, button, necklace, etc. proudly showing you are vegan. When people know you are vegan, they may want to ask you questions, have concerns, etc. giving you a chance to answer them. Or who knows, you may meet a fellow vegan this way.

Obviously, you may not be able to wear vegan items everywhere you go, like maybe at work; just wear them wherever you can. Simply wearing something vegan is also good for shy vegans.

In other words, don't be a "closet vegan". Just being a vegan is great, but to speed things up to help more animals, we need to speak out more about animal rights.

Read more on how to be an vegan activist at my site here, further below, titled:

TO VEGANS: How to *Raise the Bar* and also be an Activist!

Simply Vegans Come in All Healthy Shapes and Sizes!

Before I go any further, I want to say that before taking on any change in diet, please consult your doctor first, preferably a vegan doctor or one that is vegan-friendly and knowledgeable.
The American Dietitian Association has said that a vegan diet is safe for all stages of the life cycle. I have met many vegans, but I now see more and more people who want to go further than having a vegan diet and are restricting all processed and cooked foods, becoming raw food vegans.

There has not been enough research to prove if a 100% raw food diet is safe, whereas simply having a vegan diet has been scientifically proven as safe.

What I have personally seen is that raw food vegans are very thin, and many look sickly thin, and that is not good for them or for the animal rights cause. People see these raw food vegans and think they are anorexic--I think that too sometimes. It does raw food vegans no good to look sick and therefore are sick/malnourished. In fact, some foods are better nutritionally and need to be cooked for it to be digested better for the body, including some antioxidants that fights cancer. So at least one should have some cooked foods in their meals along with some oils.

This obsession vegans have with being super-thin is ridiculous! Don't get me wrong; I am anti-severely overweight fat/not being healthy. But what I like about being simply a vegan, unlike a raw food vegan, is that we come in all healthy shapes and sizes, but what I find disturbing are some vegans who feel embarrassed because they are not pencil thin--I've met these vegans.

Regarding image--especially if looking for a romantic partner: Not every guy or girl wants a lollipop body looking person as a mate. Many people love a person with some meat on their bones--and muscle. I very rarely see any muscle on raw food vegans. They look weak and feeble--not attractive at all, in my opinion. This is not what many people want and that's why some people may not be interested in being a vegan because they think they will look like a skeleton.

A good example of size is the singer Beyonce. She is reportedly a strict vegetarian--eating no animal products--and many, many guys (and women) love the way she looks. She has said she will never be thin and she loves her curves, and so do millions of people. That is just one example of how we can be of any shape, so that's one good thing Beyonce is doing is showing the world you can have a great curvy body and be a strict vegetarian (meaning the diet part only of veganism). I've yet to see a raw food vegan be anywhere near her weight and looks (btw, I've seen Beyonce with no make-up at all and she still looks great--doesn't need make-up).

So vegans, of all shapes and sizes, be proud of your body, as long as you are not dangerously overweight (and your doctor can determine a healthy weight for you). Being simply a vegan is perfect for your health, for the animals, and for the planet, so there's no need to restrict yourself of any more food.

Eat well!

V-EGANISM's Official Mission Statement

I needed to create a detailed, official, mission statement for V-EGANISM. This following statement will also be located at the top of this web blog permanently.

There are animal welfare vegans and animal abolition vegans. V-EGANISM is neither. Just as there are positive things and negative things about conservatives and liberals, there are positive things and negative things about welfarists and abolitionists. V-EGANISM avoids all 4 "political parties", and remains as an independent in thoughts and actions, only choosing what is right and just for animals, humans, and the environment. V-EGANISM however does have a mission statement which is how the founder of veganism, Donald Watson, originally coined the word's definition. It was a perfect definition then and it still is a perfect definition now! So the following paragraph is V-EGANISM's official Mission Statement--and nothing more, nothing less, we are simply called, "Vegans", with no additives:

"V-EGANISM educates people and helps people and animals regarding the political and social justice cause, Veganism, which is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude--as far as is possible and practicable--all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, cosmetics, household products, entertainment, services or any other purposes; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals, and the environment."

How I Define Veganism First and Foremost

When I say I'm vegan, I'm now defining it in the most serious of terms, to get it through people's heads it's not just some fad. So I define vegan as (which it is) a political, social justice movement. This definition, in my opinion, makes it sound a lot more powerful, and places it where it deserves, alongside other issues like, pro-life/pro-choice, human rights, GLBTQ rights, etc. which are also political, social justice movements. Then if I talk further with the person, I go into detail what veganism is all about.

People never say they are, for instance, pro-life, for human rights, etc., because of ethical reasons. Why should animal rights activists?

Saying words like "ethical", "philosophical", (or "plant-based", which is a term I have never used) just doesn't hold power like saying "political" and "social justice"; there seems to be more respect when those two words are stated. This is from my own personal experience when I speak to people.

So I tell people I'm vegan for political, social justice reasons.

Disturbing Hate and Ignorance

I read some very disturbing news today within the animal rights community and I commented on them on my Twitter account. I want to elaborate on the subject more here in my blog. The following in quotes were my Tweets:


"You don't win people over with hate. Yourofsky is going about it the wrong way."

Gary Yourofsky that is. He's been a long-time animal activist that talks a lot of hate, but now, he appears to be shouting more than ever that he is a misanthropist. Yourofsky doesn't even know what misanthropy means. By definition, being misanthropic means:

"A person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society."

If he really was a misanthropist, he would not be in the public eye. He certainly would not be a part of social media, but he's on Twitter, Facebook, etc. networking with other vegans...A real contradiction.

"(Any and all vegans promoting eating a huge amount of bananas) needs education on healthy vegan nutrition..(They are) going about it the wrong way."

I put in parenthesis because on Twitter I addressed a specific person's website, but I found out at least one other vegan believes in eating a lot of bananas, which is, nutritionally speaking, extremely ill-advised and dangerous.

"Sad and ignorant animal activist Gary Yourofsky spouts hate toward ALL humans because we--deliberate or not--cause harm--SO DO ALL ANIMALS."

Yes. Apparently Yourofsky doesn't know a lot about animals.


"Even vegetarian animals kill by stepping on ants. ALL BEINGS KILL in one way or another."

Also, I wonder does Yourofsky realize that some animals also torture and kill for fun. He (and his worshipers) needs to do more animal behavior research.

"Yourofsky makes no sense. He's fighting for beings he should hate according to his statements."

As I have stated above. But I do have this scary thought; I hope his anger toward all humans, which includes himself, and why he is suddenly publicizing this so much about his hatred, doesn't turn into some mass suicide a la Jim Jones as some twisted ultimate sacrifice for the "love" of animals. He does have very loyal, obsequious followers....

"This world is not perfect, so we love and fight for animal rights and human rights because we are compassionate, common sense beings."

People are not perfect gods. Animals are not perfect gods. Both species far from it. Some animal rights people should stop treating animals like they do no wrong and realize animals are guilty of committing heinous murder like humans. But the answer isn't to hate all beings--or be specieist and just hate humans. It's not even in our nature to be that way as human beings. Since this world and its beings are not perfect, and we are all in this world together, the best and sensible thing to do is the above.

"Hate gets us nowhere. Love gets us everywhere."

News flash Yourofsky: You get nowhere hating everyone. Let's see:

'HEY YOU! I HATE YOUR GUTS, YOU DISGUSTING HUMAN! Oh, and let me tell you about living cruelty-free.'

Yeah, talk like that will really fly well in helping the animals. NOT! It doesn't work that way. I'm sure it will help Yourofsky in getting a crapload of publicity in hating everyone (maybe that's his only agenda, afterall), but he sure won't change people to become cruelty-free with that attitude.



"______ bananas (fill in the large amount of bananas to eat) a day diet type vegans: hope they get nutritionist checkups, as they may have diabetes."

And I hope Gary Yourofsky gets a physcian's checkup as with spouting off all that hate toward all humans and himself, he may have severe high blood pressure.


"Interesting how telling truth, common sense and speaking in love gets some people so upset. That's scary and sad. #BrainWashedByOthers"

Sigh. It is.