Me: Vegan

One of the things that many people gripe about in regards to being Vegan is that it’s just not feasible to be Vegan while traveling, or in tiny towns.  I’ve always felt that is a very weak excuse.  I know where I stand in regards to objectifying and eating animals, and those feelings do not change just because I love to travel.

So this August I had a wonderful opportunity to go to my traditional family home of Binscarth Manitoba (population 450.)  Naturally, I was well aware that small town Manitoba is not the Veganism capital of Canada.  Since Binscarth is nowhere near an anything, we flew into Regina Saskatchewan, then drove 4 hours.

I started my journey my checking out the invaluable www.happycow.net for a list of health food stores in Regina to stock up on Vegan staples for our time away.  I found a fantastic store Nature’s Best (2224 14th Ave, Regina, Saskatchewan.)  While the store is not vegetarian, they are filled with all of the staples you could want for a few days away from ‘civilization’ such as; vegan cheeses, tofurky meats, produce, bulk nuts, canned soups, breads, vegan snacks, chocolates, and even a great vegertaian sandwich bar.  I picked up a package of frozen Tofurky Kielbasa Sausages (which kept them nice and cold all the way to Binscarth) half a dozen Primal Strips, two chocolate bars, 3 grapefruits, 2 pears, a handfull of dried chickpeas, a handfull of dried black beans, a veggie sandwich, and refilled my Food Fight water bottle (which I never leave home without!)  Honestly, I think I ate better than most of the people I travelled with!

Our first night in Binscarth I enjoyed a tofu scramble with peppers and a soy-teriyaki sauce.  Breakfast the next morning consisted of fresh fruit, and a juice with Vega.  Lunch for the others was steak sandwiches, so I thought I would have something along the same lines.  I found some Vegan bread in our lovely hostess’s freezer, spread some mustard on most slices,  I sliced up the Tofurky Kielbasa Sausage to make long, thing strips, and put that on the bottom with some cucumber and tomato slices in the middle, and cut up a Primal Strip for some extra “meat” on top.  Everyone was jealous of my sandwich, which to be honest, looked amazing.  For dinner we all went to the only restaurant in town, Arbuckles.  I wasn’t sure if or what I would be eating, so I just went with an open mind.  Our meals came out and she placed in front of me the most exquisite roasted peppers stuffed with a spiced quinoa, with beans on the side and a beautiful salad to start!  Naturally I was immensely grateful and very impressed.

Our final morning was another refreshing breakfast of fresh picked fruit with juice and Vega.  Our lunch was full of Vegan foods that most people forget are Vegan.  I made up another sandwich, and had a cob of corn with some salt and olive oil, and a baked potato, which was more than enough food to fill me to the brim!

I left my extended family and Binscarth feeling well fed, excited by the surprising meals I had experienced, and deeply proud to come from the family that I do.  If you’re ever travelling in the middle of frigging nowhere Manitoba, you would do well to make a stop in Binscarth.  It is a special town, filled with wonderful people, lots of history, and natural beauty.

I felt totally violated, DISGUSTED and 100% certain that Hawkers on Main St is forever dead to me.

Have you had this experience?  Please comment with your stories and experiences!  AND, check out mevegan’s new facebook page!  Just search mevegan.com

One of the questions I get asked when I am at family functions, or catching up with distant friends is: “So you’re Vegan, what do you eat?”  Unlike every Vegan’s least favorite “But where do you get your protein?!?” question, the “what do you eat?” is not asked out of ignorance, as much as it is out of legitimate curiosity.  I feel like it is asked to give the asker a more clear picture of what a Vegan diet is like in practice and how many or few restrictions it has.  I created “The Everyday Vegan” column for the above mentioned sort of people who are simply curious about what I, personally, eat from day to day.

Please bear in mind, that since Vegans are just normal people who choose to consume a herbivorous diet, the dietary preferences from individual to individual vary quite widely.  While most Vegans are healthier than their animal consuming counterparts, there are certainly junk food Vegans, just like junk food meat eaters.  I try to remind myself that binge eating deep fried tofu and fudgie coconut icecream is only marginally better than binge eating deep fried chicken and dairy icecream.  (However it is certainly vastly more satisfying!)

So, without further ado, here is what I ate today:

Breakfast — Cereal (Panda Puffs to be precise) with almond milk.  Peanut Butter Panda Puffs have far less sugar than I had feared at 7g per 30g, AND are totally gluten free, so really they’re a health food…or so I’m telling myself….

Mid Morning Snack — A bunch of roasted, unsalted Cashews.

Lunch — 2 packages of the Garlic and Veggie flavoured noodles from Thai Kitchen.  Usually I go out of my way to turn them from glorified Mr Noodles into a legitimate meal by adding a bunch of fresh veggies, and some cubed tofu, but I was lazy and hungary so I ate them plain, which kind of sucked…

Snack — Primal Strips!  Mmmmmmm, if you’ve been Vegan for more than 10 minutes, you know what I’m talking about

Dinner — A Big Ass Salad.  Seriously, this salad is full of everything.  I used about 8 shredded leaves of Romaine, a whole can of black beans, 2 roma tomatoes, about a 1/4 cup of fresh, chopped dill, a chopped orange pepper, about 2 tablespoons of hemphearts, and I just threw a bunch of olive oil and balsamic on top with a dash of fresh ground pepper and BAM, a perfect supper (and sooo filling!) on a swelteringly hot night.

Midnight snack — Smoothie, similar to the Purple Power smoothie I posted a couple of days ago.

So there you have it, my nutritional day in a nut’s shell.  Stay tuned for more suggestions, ideas, and general info about what a Vegan lives off of to stay alive, healthy and happy.

Mmmmmm!!  Best smoothie ever recipe:

* 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

* 1 sliced banana

* 1 cup soy or almond milk (today I used VitaSoy)

* Roughly 25 unsalted cashews

Blend like crazy in the blender (VitaMix if you are so blessed,) make sure the cashews are completely liquified.  Pour your thick, purple goodness into your favorite mug or glass, and ENJOY!!!

(Taken from The Vancouver Sun, Thursday, August 12, 2010.)

VANCOUVER — Animal-rights activists have started a campaign to raise awareness about the “grim realities” of University of B.C. animal research, which they say have been hidden from the public for years even though the work is funded by taxpayers.

The campaign is worrying UBC officials, one of whom said he is afraid it could lead to violence because “there are nuts out there.”

“Few local residents are aware that UBC has such an extensive research program,” campaign organizer Brian Vincent told The Vancouver Sun. “Unfortunately, UBC has been less than forthcoming about its research activities.

“The public has the right to know that their tax dollars are paying for highly invasive research on animals, including experiments on cats.”

The group, which was formed several months ago but had not gone public until now, has been connecting with like-minded people over the summer via e-mail, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, and seeking information about animal research through freedom-of-information requests, some of which UBC has refused.

The activists are looking for details about nine medical researchers — including one who they say has been experimenting on cats since 1980 — and are distributing posters appealing to university employees to become whistleblowers.

Vincent says the group — Stop UBC Animal Research — has about 200 members, including students, faculty, other professionals and seniors.

The university admits it could do a better job of communicating with the public about its research and the difficult issue of animal experimentation.

But John Hepburn, vice-president of research, said UBC will not provide information about individuals because of privacy and safety concerns.

Although Hepburn said he believes the Vancouver group’s promise of a peaceful campaign, he’s worried about the potential for violence, which has occurred in some American states, where researchers who work with animals have seen their offices firebombed and their families threatened.

“I trust that the local people are responsible, but there are nuts out there,” he said in an interview.

Hepburn recently sent an e-mail to UBC staff members urging them to be wary of strangers in and around research facilities and to contact campus security if they receive any threats or encounter sidewalk protests.

“I encourage you to remain vigilant and familiarize yourself with university resources available to help mitigate potentially unpleasant and violent situations,” he wrote.

Vincent suggested the university’s warning was an overreaction, stating: “All of Stop UBC Animal Research’s activities have been entirely legal and peaceful. Those activities certainly do not warrant the inflammatory rhetoric in Dr. Hepburn’s e-mail.”

Although he is out of the province this week on holidays, Hepburn said the university has received 75 to 100 e-mails thus far — mostly from local activists but also from concerned people in places such as California and Britain — and he will respond to them as soon as he returns to work.

He said he will assure them that UBC research on animals — mostly genetically modified mice, but some larger animals as well — is tightly regulated by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), an independent organization that monitors animal experiments in publicly funded institutions.

Nevertheless, he agreed the issue is challenging for everyone, including researchers.

“I don’t think anyone wants to do research on animals, but sometimes it has to be done,” he said, adding that he doesn’t know any university in Canada that conducts medical research and doesn’t use animals.

Thousands of UBC research projects involve animals and while invasive surgeries are “not something you would want to happen to your pet kitty-cat,” there are always solid, scientific reasons for doing the work, he said.

UBC has a committee on animal care that includes lay people, scientists and veterinarians and reviews all animal research to ensure it complies with the CCAC’s guidelines and policies.

One member of the UBC committee is Shawn Eccles, chief animal protection officer for the British Columbia SPCA.

Eccles, a committee member for three years, said he agonizes over his conflicting roles and his knowledge that decisions by the committee can result in animals suffering.

“I struggle with this every day, but if I didn’t do it, who would?” he said in an interview. “Maybe I will serve my penance in hell.”

While not suggesting that other committee members are less committed to animal welfare, he noted that the requirement to include lay people does not specify that they must be animal lovers.

“I make it clear that it is fully my intention to speak for the animals.”

Geoff Urton, the SPCA’s animal-welfare manager, said the issue of animal research is ethically challenging and should be debated publicly. For that to happen, UBC will have to be more open about its research, he added.

“We understand that there are benefits from animal research [including] benefits to other animals,” Urton said. “But how do we measure what is an acceptable amount of suffering from one animal to help another?”

jsteffenhagen@vancouversun.com

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/fears+animal+activists+campaign/3388234/story.html#ixzz0wSm4uYrk

This was my written response to someone who believed specifically that consuming cow’s breast milk is “natural” because it can be found within the faddy “100 mile limit.”  I sought to discredit the idea that it is “natural” or in any sense “local,” or “environmental:”

I am Vegan, which is to say that I do not support the objectification of non human animals to suit my dietary desires, or in fact for any reason what so ever. I won’t walk up to another woman and begin to suckle from her breast, heck, there is no nutritional reason I would even want to! Thus, I offer the same courtesy to my bovine fellow Earthlings.

Dairy production (presuming you do not have a cow in your own back yard, and even if you do it is very un environmental) involves mechanically raping female cows, then taking their newborns from them at birth who will be locked up to become veal. The mothers are fed grains that come from other countries (far outside of the mystical 100 mile diet boundaries) even from other continents (most cattle grain comes from South America or Africa.) Growing this grain takes up vast swaths of land that could be used to grow more nutritionally viable food, which could be fed directly to humans rather than inefficiently cycling it through a cow to consume their milk. A dairy cow will eat “about 100 pounds of feed each day, which is a combination of hay, grain and silage (fermented corn or grass). They drink a lot of water too – up to 50 gallons a day.” (taken from Dairy Farming Today website’s FAQ.) And if we think about the gross fossil fuels burning into our environment to transport all of that grain here (yes, even pretty organic grains) it’s really an environmental disaster!

So what about drinking soy milk, where the beans are grown equally far away, then shipped around the world spewing toxins into the air? How is that better?? Well, it is a minute fraction of the quantities of environmental degradation that dairy produces.  However, for those who are legitimately concerned with the environmental impacts of their food choices, most Vegans (that I know) are happy to use local grown hemp seeds, or Fraser Valley Hazelnuts, and other beautiful proteins to make their own milks (which are absolutely delicious, I should add.)

Their are always ways to be better and better to our Earth, and shutting down all large scale animal housing/killing facilities is the #1 way of doing that.

I’ll leave you with an article from the United Nationes website and bid you Peace:

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsID=20772&CR1=warning

Please urge UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope to release information about UBC’s research on animals. Please send him a letter urging him to be honest about UBC’s Animal Torture chambers, or see below for sample letters to copy and paste. Be sure to personalize your letter or email. IMPORTANT: Please be polite and professional in your communication with UBC. Send any replies from UBC to stopubcanimalresearch@gmail.com

To contact UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope:
Email: presidents.office@ubc.ca
Phone: 604.822.8300
Fax: 604.822.5055

Snail mail:
Office of the President
The University of British Columbia
6328 Memorial Road
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 Canada

Dear UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope,

I understand UBC conducts extensive research on a variety of animals, including pigs, rats, non-human primates, cats, mice, rabbits, and other animals. Much of that research is funded by the public, through taxpayer dollars, student fees, alumni gifts, and private donations. Yet, few are aware UBC experiments on animals and that some of the procedures used are highly invasive and painful.

UBC – a public institution that promotes critical thinking, debate, transparency, and freedom of speech – has been less than forthcoming about its research on animals. But the public has the right to know about such research. Many, like me, vigorously oppose vivisection because we find it ethically at odds with our values of compassion and of highly questionable scientific merit.

Information about UBC’s animal research and decisions by its Animal Care Committee should be made widely available so that prospective students, current and potential donors, and the public can make informed choices about whether to support UBC. As you may know, the US has a far more transparent system. Information, data, and reports about animal research are posted at website databases through the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Agriculture. With that in mind, I urge UBC to post the following information online:

*Assessment reports of UBC by the Canadian Council on Animal Care from 2000-2009, including records of non-compliance and violations issued by the CCAC to UBC, as well as UBC’s responses to those assessment reports

*Veterinary care and necropsy reports on animals at UBC for 2000-2009

*Data on the number of animals used annually in research, teaching, and testing at UBC for 2000-2009. Data should include numbers of animals used by species, category of invasiveness, and purpose of use.

*Copies of animal use protocols by UBC animal researchers and instructors for 2000-2009

*Photos, videos, and other recordings of experiments conducted on animals by UBC researchers and instructors for 2000-2009

Finally, I urge UBC to pursue alternatives to research on animals as other universities have done and ultimately end all research on animals. I look forward to your response. Thank you.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION

For more information contact Stop UBC Animal Research at stopubcanimalresearch@gmai l.com or call 604.551.3324