Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

Forever Coming Out: Reflections On The Launch Of Defiant Daughters

Posted in Animal Rights, Musings, Queer, tagged , , , , on March 30, 2013 | 14 Comments »

Defiant-Daughters_1542

The book Defiant Daughters: 21 Women on Art, Activism, Animals, and The Sexual Politics of Meat, to which I contributed an essay, was published this month. Centered around the work of one of my all-time favorite authors and thinkers, feminist animal rights scholar Carol J. Adams, this collection of 21 essays by diverse women celebrates the legacy of Adams’ book The Sexual Politics of Meat and discusses new perspectives on these topics.

Writing my essay for the anthology was an incredible and challenging experience. It enabled me to reflect on the history of my personal coming out, including times that felt confusing, difficult and only sometimes hopeful. Being completely open about my sexual orientation has been a challenge at times and I’ve struggled with closeting myself in scenarios I discuss in my piece. Writing about coming out as vegan and LGBTQ for the book felt like another coming out. As many of us know, coming out is a lifelong process. Coming out in this essay was a gift and a powerful experience for which I am grateful.

In honor of the launch, various contributors, folks at Lantern Books, and Carol J. Adams hosted readings and events across the United States. Due to several happy coincidences, I was able to attend three of the readings/events to celebrate Defiant Daughters: a reading at The Last Bookstore in LA, attended by my brother Asher–the subject of my essay; a party at Mooshoes in New York, attended by some awesome New Yorkers and Carol J. Adams herself; and a reading at The Wooden Shoe anarchist bookstore in my current hometown Philadelphia, attended by a childhood friend and some rad Philadelphia vegan Twitter friends.

485989_966342504795_1597142524_n

That’s me with my brother Asher at the Defiant Daughters reading at The Last Bookstore in LA.

The thing is, while I had written about personal sexuality topics before, I had never read my work to crowds in-person prior to these readings, and this experience was scary for me. I have found that it is a lot easier to hide behind a byline or podcast interview than stare into the face of a crowd and speak openly.

Though I’ve said the words “I’m a lesbian vegan” so many times in writings and podcasts and to my nearests and dearests, reading them to strangers and loved ones aloud, in-person at the various Defiant Daughters events felt surprisingly vulnerable and scary. Everything about the readings was exciting and terrifying, like getting swept up by a gust of wind and falling in love and suddenly realizing I forgot to wear pants all at once.

19416_491004807609765_756901213_n

Contributors to the anthology Defiant Daughters: 21 Women on Art, Activism, Animals and The Sexual Politics of Meat

Seeing my fellow contributors looking dapper and speaking with confidence, I mistakenly assumed that I was the only one who felt so nervous about reading (I’ve since spoken with fellow contributors and we’ve realized we’re not alone in having felt nervous!) Since there were so many of us who contributed to this anthology, we never got to have a “team huddle” so to speak, save for mass e-mails of encouragement from Lantern editor Kara Davis. This morning while listening to contributor Jasmin Singer’s take on the launch on the Our Hen House podcast this week (Note: all proceeds from the book go to the invaluable work of OHH, yet another reason to order your copy if you haven’t already done so!) including a discussion about how nervous she was before this reading, I realized that even those who seem completely outwardly confident can feel butterflies when it comes to public speaking on tough personal topics.

562274_524884707555108_1689952559_n

Carol J. Adams, author of numerous books including The Sexual Politics of Meat speaks at Bluestockings Bookstore in NYC.

208064_524884450888467_652556459_n

Mooshoes Defiant Daughters launch party sandwich board advertisement.

64332_751752764313_296530327_n

That’s me, reading my essay “Brother Knows Best” at The Last Bookstore in LA–in front of my brother!

552099_524884737555105_2046077145_n

Defiant Daughters Contributor Jasmin Singer at Bluestockings Bookstore in NYC.

Anyone who’s listened to Jasmin speak over the past decade at myriad vegan events or who has heard her on her podcast knows she seems at home in front of an audience. This is why I found it so powerful and brave for Jasmin to admit that she also felt so vulnerable reading her essay, which touches on some of the same coming out themes as mine.

I am definitely a beginner when it comes to performing in public, and feel much more comfortable hiding behind a podcast or the written word. Sharing our personal truths in front of a group of people–strangers or otherwise– is intense. Public speaking expert Josh Pais did a great video interview with his B-school mogul wife Marie Forleo on how to overcome fear of public speaking. Pais described the “rush” of energy that we feel before we get in front of a crowd as part of the excitement and energy inherent to delivering our truths to a crowd. Pais’ advice–to let ourselves feel our fear and emotion fully to allow it to pass naturally–has been helpful for me in the three speaking events I’ve done for this book.

In a way, publishing with so many wonderful women has been the most humbling experience. Many accomplished speakers, activists,  PhD candidates, artists and writers are among those who grace Defiant Daughters‘ pages. In my rush to appear like an “author,” I felt shame that I wasn’t already comfortable in my skin in front of a crowd like so many of the other contributors. I shuddered at a lot of the pictures and videos of myself from the events. I felt body image issues come up when I saw unflattering images of myself, mouth agape while speaking, and cringed when I saw myself on video. I’m afraid I’m not as suave as I’d have hoped, but I’m learning to sit with the discomfort of these feelings. They are my own issues to move through, of course, and I didn’t realize how much I still have to work on in the public speaking, body image and self-love departments. This realization of what I still need to learn is one of my biggest blessings of this work.

Though I blog at Queer Vegan Food and am out to everyone I know, coming out to new people does at times still feel intense for me. What this experience of being involved with Defiant Daughters has taught me is where I am as well as where I want to be. I want to be able to overcome my shyness so that my work can focus on helping human- and non-human animals. I am committed to overcoming my personal insecurities around being visible in order to be a more effective voice for the voiceless.

Have you ever felt nervous about speaking in public, or coming out in any context? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Read Full Post »

Ellen Degeneres Reveals She Eats Eggs

Posted in Animal Rights, Musings, News, tagged , , , , , , on November 27, 2012 | 53 Comments »

Ellen revealed on her show that she is no longer vegan.

Gay icon Ellen Degeneres broke my heart a little bit today when she casually revealed during a recent segment on The Ellen Show that she’s no longer vegan. In an interview with Grey’s Anatomy actress-come-backyard chicken wrangler Ellen Pompeo, Ellen Degeneres said:

“We have neighbors who have chickens, and we get our eggs from those chickens because they’re happy.”

While I was admittedly saddened that one of our amazing vegan-queer icons is no longer a vegan, I am glad that Ellen admitted to her egg eating, because I think her belief that eating eggs from chickens that are “happy” is common among the elite Eco-conscious set in Hollywood and beyond. The belief goes a little something like this: Happy chickens = happy eggs = we can all eat eggs and no longer be vegan but still be ethical eaters, because, hey, the chickens are happy, right?!

While many would never eat flesh and went vegan because of the horrifying ways that the egg industry is tied to the poultry industry and the dairy industry tied to the meat and beef industries, some consider the notion that there are in fact cases where chickens happily give up their eggs to humans and that these chickens and these eggs are somehow ok to eat. Whether you’re in favor of an Abolitionist approach to veganism or if you fall into The Humane League camp that spends its time and money advocating for cage-free “humane” eggs (which it turns out is an almost meaningless category when it comes to whether cruelty is involved), the truth is that backyard chicken farming can be downright dangerous for humans, especially in some cities where unsafe lead levels may get into eggs eaten by humans. The New York Times recently reported in an article entitled “High Lead Found in City-Sourced Eggs” that backyard eggs–what Ellen referred to as eggs sourced from “happy” chickens–can test very high for detectable levels of lead within the city limits:

Preliminary results from a New York State Health Department study show that more than half the eggs tested from chickens kept in community gardens in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens had detectable levels of lead, unlike store-bought counterparts. (Source)

I believe that there may be conditions where chickens are raised kindly by humans. I have seen these conditions with my own eyes, on friends’ farms and at farm animal sanctuaries like Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in Woodstock, NY, which is where all proceeds from the upcoming Queer Vegan Cookbook will go. I will not use this space to debate whether a chicken can be happy giving up its eggs to humans in any circumstance. What I want to share is that many, many vegans are considering eating backyard eggs, raw “humane” milk (I see this a ton in the raw food movement, especially while I was working for 2 years at an all-vegan rawfood retreat center where many folks who visited and who worked there chose to eat trendy raw animal products). As a vegan movement, we need to address this issue with intelligent studies and science showing the dangers of eating backyard eggs, the environmental impact of advocating for backyard eggs, and the gross potential for mistreatment of chickens when they stop producing eggs.

Carol J. Adams suggested I title this “Why Celebrities And ‘Happy Chickens’ Don’t Surprise Me,” which in retrospect is a much better title. While I commend actresses and performers for wishing to care for chickens and treat them humanely, I wonder what will happen to these chickens when they stop laying eggs, or if they find lead in the eggs? I have a hard time thinking that every Hollywood eco-conscious person will suddenly want pet chickens once they stop producing–will they then justify turning them into “happy” humane chicken meat? It’s a slippery slope.

I am grateful to Ellen Degeneres for all of the work she has done to help animals, even if I disagree with her choice to eat backyard eggs. I am glad that she has come forward with her egg-eating, and hope that we can use her story as a springboard for having a real discussion about the implications of backyard chicken husbandry.

What are your thoughts?

[Note: There is also a pretty major discussion going on over at Vegansaurus, where I posted another version of this article. I'm glad this is being talked about!]

Read Full Post »

Finding A Niche For All Animals: A Vegan Conference In Honor Of Marti Kheel

Posted in Animal Rights, Articles, Musings, vegan, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 11, 2012 | 14 Comments »

Finding a Niche For All Animals: A Conference honoring the ecofeminist work of Marti Kheel held at Wesleyan University

This weekend, I attended a conference honoring the life and work of late vegan ecofeminist scholar and activist Marti Kheel. The conference took place at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and was organized by Wesleyan professor Lori Gruen and one of my personal heroines, Carol J. Adams.

Marti was the author of the classic ecofeminist book Nature Ethics: An Ecofeminist Perspective, which, according to Marti, “seeks to heal the divisions between the seemingly disparate movements and philosophies of feminism, animal advocacy, environmental ethics, and holistic health.” What drew me to Kheel’s work as an undergraduate at Vassar is that it outlines an ecofeminist philosophy that acknowledges the crucial roles of empathy in activism. It has always made intuitive sense to me to apply my “feeling” self to my activism.

The late ecofeminist vegan Marti Kheel.

I love how Marti explained that killing animals is wrong on “logical” grounds, but that we can also argue that one’s feelings about animals, compassion for their lives, and empathy for others’ suffering are valid reasons to be in favor of a plant-based diet.

Marti was a fantastic, determined, strong-minded activist, and a cherished friend to many within this movement and beyond. It was inspiring to see the ripples of her influence through the words of many of her friends and colleagues who spoke at the memorial the first evening of the conference. After a documentary shown about her life and work and a wonderful speech by Marti’s friend and colleague, The Sexual Politics of Meat author Carol J. Adams, other folks stood up and spoke about their personal connections to Marti. Many at the conference had worked very closely with her, including those who were active with Feminists For Animal Rights (FAR), a group Marti created based on her vision. Others had volunteered with Marti for animal rights causes or had been influenced by her during their academic and activist careers. While I did not speak at the memorial, I am lucky to say that I did have the privilege of meeting Marti several years ago while I was living in the Bay Area (she was a raw vegan and we met at an Oakland raw foods event organized by a mutual connection) and we kept in touch as I worked at a raw vegan center which she had visited before we’d met.

Just after meeting Marti, she instantly connected me with queer vegan women’s events she organized in the Bay Area, and we corresponded over e-mail about holistic health, and things related to a book project my partner and I were (and still are) working on about the intersections between holistic health, veganism and LGBTQ communities. The last time I heard from Marti was on October 5, 2011 in an e-mail letting me know she was sick with cancer and that she wanted to help more with our book, and that I should e-mail her questions and ideas quickly because time was of the essence. A few weeks later, on November 19, 2011, I got news that Marti had died. While I hadn’t known Marti as well as others in attendance at the conference, and we were only beginning to discuss and collaborate on ideas, I have been so humbled and grateful that even while sick and facing the end of her life, Marti was immensely committed to helping others and advance the vegan movement.

Heartwarming stories were shared at the memorial portion of the conference including a beautiful story Carol J. Adams told about how Marti began her animal activism as a young person refusing to pose in the family photos unless her family’s pet cat could be included. Several members of Marti’s family were in attendance, and shared how her compassionate approach to veganism influenced them and made more inspired to question aspects of their own lives.

Carol J. Adams speaking at the Marti Kheel Conference.

Panels at the conference referenced Marti’s Ecofeminist work and discussed how Marti’s compassionate approach to activism was infused in every aspect of her life.While the conference was primarily academic in nature–terms like “praxis” and “problemetize” were included in many panelists’ talks based on papers they’d written for the conference–there were great inclusions of practical approaches to activism that I found heartening and inspiring. My friend Lauren Ornelas of Food Empowerment Project and Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition gave a great talk about how her work with FEP considers food justice as a complex issue that requires looking beyond simply checking to see if ingredients are vegan. We must ensure that they are ethically sourced, as in the case of her nonprofit’s commitment to identifying truly ethical vegan chocolate companies that do not trade in child slave labor. (Note: Please sign the petition asking the makers of Clif Bars to disclose where they get their cocoa beans!) Lauren also discussed the importance of a vegan activist approach that is respectful to the needs of diverse communities.

Absolutely inspiring, witty and brilliant vegan duo Mark Hawthorne and Lauren Ornelas.

Theorist Greta Gaard spoke about ecofeminist theory and practice, and mentioned queer sexuality in the context of animal rights (which I loved).  Other talks I found inspiring included pattrice jones’ discussion of her queer-run animal sanctuary Vine Sanctuary, and about how they have all of their important meetings standing up in the barn while surrounded by animals. patrice said a line which really rang true: “All the stuff we really want is free.” patrice said to share with paleo dieters and purported feminists who eat meat: “Tell them that eating meat is something you do to someone else’s body without their consent.” What a powerful and accurate thing to say!

The first evening of the conference was catered with delicious vegan sushi, appetizers and gluten-free vegan treats from a local Connecticut vegan bakery:

Vegan sushi and chocolates served at the Marti Kheel conference.

Mushroom polenta cakes served after the memorial portion of the conference.

Lunch on Saturday was 100% vegan and delicious.

Ivory of vegan myths debunked fame (who is an all-star, best ever vegan conference buddy, the best a gal could ever hope for!) and I met in NY Penn station (I came from Philly, she from Brooklyn) and traveled to the conference together. We had the amazing good fortune of meeting some really wonderful new friends Andrea and Danielle at the conference who convinced us to stay with them in Branford, CT (near Wesleyan) and have a late-night persimmon and almond milk Greek yogurt party instead of staying at a hotel. It did not take too much arm twisting ;) We had a wonderful time bonding, chatting about our paths to veganism and how we all love plants (PLANTS!)! It was amazing to find some queer vegan women kinship and make incredible, thought-provoking, hilarious new friends!

Vegan lady friends! L to R: Danielle, Andrea and Ivory!

All-organic, fair-trade coffee was served with some soy mylk on the side.

Ecofeminist Greta Gaard speaking about Marti Kheel.

Wesleyan University’s beautiful campus.

Posing after lunch with my heroine and friend Carol J. Adams.

I got to meet Ali, fellow Vassar woman and author of the fabulous vegan food blog Farmers’ Market Vegan!

Ivory, Andrea and I had a great time at the conference!

One activist spoke about her ethical dilemma in not being able to find a vegan infant formula and needing to procure one immediately for her infant in the ICU. She said the D3 in the product was sourced from lanolin, which is from sheep, and that choosing that product was very difficult for her but ultimately was what was necessary to save her son’s life.

After the panel, I commended the activist for finding compassion for herself in this difficult situation, and I suggested the option of reaching out to infant formula brands that use all-vegan ingredients except for the non-vegan D3 and asking them to use vegan D3 in products now that it is available. This was something the panelist had not considered doing, and I think it’s a good example of where businesses and academics can work together to find solutions to problems.

I currently work for a vegan business and have worked for other vegan businesses in the past. I believe in the importance of academia and the influence of scholarship in shaping ideas that later become practiced throughout activist movements, however I also feel it is crucial that we connect the dots and work with businesses to provide vegan alternatives. I think a more vegan-friendly marketplace is a great goal for academics and non-academics (lay people?) alike, and was grateful for the chance to discuss this with her.

My former professor/friend Jill Schneiderman and others admiring the next generation of vegan activists.

For me, Finding A Niche For All Animals involved honoring Marti Kheel and celebrating her legacy, meeting new friends, seeing old friends, connecting with visionaries and a rare and incredibly sweet private lunch with Carol and Ivory in which we discussed our work and plans for the future. I leave with a renewed inspiration that vegan activism must always come from the love and empathy we have inside us that extends outwards to those around us. Thank you for reading.

Read Full Post »

Reflections On Being A Queer Food Blogger

Posted in Musings, vegan, tagged , , , , , on October 14, 2012 | 7 Comments »

A recent post in the rad queer ladies’ blog Autostraddle named Queer Vegan Food a top queer food blog. (Hooray!) Since the post went up, I’ve gotten a bunch of new readers, many new blog views and comments on older posts. I mention these things because I’m really grateful that more LGBTQ people are checking out this blog. Not all of the food blogs mentioned in the Autostraddle post were vegan or vegetarian, and while I respect the diversity in our community on all levels, I do feel strongly that a compassionate diet deserves a place at the queer table, so to speak.

I created Queer Vegan Food because I wanted to contribute to broader discussions about the interconnections between oppression against LGBTQ folks and against non-human animals. I believe that people of all sexual orientations can benefit from a compassionate diet, and that there are particular overlaps between the marginalization of queer human animals and our non-human animals companions, and I wanted to use this blog to talk about and help each other understand them.

I’m glad that more queer ladies may find my blog thanks to Autostraddle. I hope that this will continue to be a blog where people of all orientations and genders feel welcome.

Since I created this blog, I’ve heard from numerous people on all ends of the sexuality/gender spectrums who feel similarly passionate about these connections. I’ve read many inspiring pieces online that inspire me to keep learning and sharing about this topic. Check out what some of our queer community bloggers are doing in the realm of vegan food, culture and activism:

  •  Our Hen House has a section called The Gay Animal which addresses queer-vegan interconnections.
  •  Ari Solomon and others participated in a Veg News discussion that is a great primer on many of these issues.
  • My friend and former Vassar classmate Rachel Lee authors the hilarious and amazing blog Vegan Gluten Free Karaoke. Tegan and Sara karaoke and vegan food? Yes please!

I appreciate that this blog can add to these discussions. I thank you for reading, and hope to keep sharing recipes and ideas that broaden the discourse on how we can nourish our communities and ourselves.

Image.

Read Full Post »

Why I’m Getting Tested To See If I’m Allergic To Gluten

Posted in Articles, Musings, tagged , , , , , on October 11, 2012 | 16 Comments »

After spending nearly two years working for an all-raw completely gluten-free vegan retreat center in Arizona, I had effectively stopped eating all gluten. After a year or so experimenting with eating some gluten since I left the center, I’ve still had a hard time allowing myself to eat gluten when gluten-free options are available. Many health circles promote a gluten-free lifestyle pretty heavily. It’s become trendy to eat gluten-free, and frankly, that concerns me. I have mostly cut gluten from my diet, but there isn’t really research out there effectively showing it’s not suited for the average person. I’ve been wondering: have I decided to eschew gluten without really questioning whether research shows it’s better to go GF without diagnosis of an allergy or celiac?

In the past few weeks, I have been gently coercing myself to try foods containing gluten. A little wheat-containing fake meat here, a little piece of bread at Vedge there. I’ll admit, even dabbling in gluten territory has been kind of tough for me emotionally. It’s been labeled an “unsafe” food by the medical doctor I worked for at the center, and as someone with a history of disordered eating, I’ve worked hard to move beyond labeling foods as “good” and “bad” (purely from a nutritional standpoint. This doesn’t apply to animal products, because I acknowledge that they’re foremost horrible from a cruelty standpoint).

I spent years studying with a doctor who said gluten would eff you up, and I’ve read enough Kris Carr and Mind Body Green blogs to see why it’s just cooler to avoid gluten. But sometimes I take a look at JL Goes Vegan, or a post on Choosing Raw that includes a gluten option, and I am faced with the question: am I really avoiding gluten because I feel kind of icky physically after eating gluten, or is it emotional, or both? I think these are important questions to ask ourselves, regardless of the food items in question. Our emotions are certainly tied to our guts–scientific studies have shown that the bacteria in our guts can influence our emotions in big ways–but there isn’t enough scientific evidence to suggest that those without intolerance to gluten need to forgo it, and it’s so plentiful in many vegan foods, it seems a shame to tell people to avoid it altogether and push them towards gluten-free products, many of which are not vegan.

I’ve noticed many so-called health-oriented vegans moving away from veganism because while being a gluten-free vegan is certainly doable and even easy once you get the hang of it (If you’re a gluten-free vegan, I highly recommend the Manifest Vegan blog!) it adds yet another set of “must-do’s” and may make veganism feel more restrictive to certain folks. High raw seems like a great option for folks who want to eat raw food but don’t want to be all-raw; gluten-free, as in “you must not eat anything with gluten,” may push would-be-vegans off the path. Nutritoinist Ginny Messina discusses the importance of vegans encouraging diverse food choices in their budding vegan friends and loved ones, and I agree with that.

I’ve got one wacky food allergy that I am already aware of (no testing needed)/ I’m the only person I know who gets Angelina Jolie lips and breaks out in hives when I touch or eat mangoes (it’s a shame, I know–they really are delicious). It’s not inconceivable that I’ve got a gluten intolerance given that eating gluten sometimes makes my tummy feel weird, even in small quantities. But, I’m willing to get tested to find out for sure what’s going on. Even if I do choose to avoid gluten after testing negative, that will at least be a more informed choice. While I believe that we should honor how our bodies feel above test results, I really am curious whether my outsized fear of gluten is just that–a fear–or if it really is rooted in a biological issue.

Have you ever considered cutting any vegan foods out of your diet completely, even if you haven’t been diagnosed with an allergy or intolerance? I would really love to hear from you in the comments.

Thank you for reading. Stay tuned for the results of my gluten tests. xo

Image 1. Image 2.

Read Full Post »

My Interview On Animal Voices Radio Show In Vancouver

Posted in Musings, vegan, tagged , , , , , , on July 26, 2012 | 1 Comment »

I recently had the honor of speaking on the topics covered in Queer Vegan Food during a taping of Animal Voices radio show in Vancouver!

How is this struggle for sexual freedom related to the struggle for animal liberation? Similarly, how is the queer body connected to the nonhuman body that queer vegans choose not to consume, wear, or use? The host and I chatted about what it means to be a queer vegan and how veganism and queerness relate. A great discussion!

Click here to read about the topics covered in the radio show, and
click here to listen:

Read Full Post »

Experimentation On The Paths Of Veganism And Sexuality

Posted in Articles, Musings on July 25, 2012 | 4 Comments »

I don’t believe in promoting veganism as a diet for weight loss. The benefits of a healthful plant-source only nutrition plan may lead to weight loss for some, but there is an inherent risk in promoting veganism primarily as a diet for improving how one looks on the outside, because once vegan dieters’ goal weights or other goals (like no acne) are achieved (or if they aren’t achieved at all), the majority of folks may jettison veganism.

While I’m against promoting veganism as a diet for short-term weight-related benefits, I think that promoting veganism as something to experiment with, no strings attached, leaving open the potential for only short-term commitment, is wonderful.

How could I be against short-term veganism as a crash diet and suggest such a thing as intentional trial-period veganism?

I became a vegetarian at age 12 because prior to then I didn’t understand the implications of eating dairy derived from exploited cows who need their milk for their offspring sprung from them at tender ages to be slaughtered for veal. I didn’t realize that consuming eggs taken from battery-cage laying hens made me complicit in a system that sends male chicks to die, alive, in horrific grinding machines, and was just as wrong as eating meat. When I finally became aware of these sad realities in June 2005, it took me a few months and many glasses of soymilk to finally complete my transition to veganism in August that same year. That was seven years ago, and I’ve been completely vegan ever since.

When I decided to become vegan, I did it almost unconsciously–I was dabbling in not eating dairy or egg products, not labeling myself, and giving myself permission to experiment without really acknowledging what I was doing. I was still vegetarian by label, but my diet was mostly vegan. Finally, I realized that calling myself vegan felt like who I really was–so that’s what I decided to do, and I worked up the courage to live my life openly as a fully out vegan.

I came out as gay and vegan in the same year. I see no coincidence in this; as I extended compassion towards myself, it naturally extended to animals, and vice versa. I discovered that my personal dietary and lifestyle changes promoted compassion for all beings, and that to love myself was to love animals, to respect myself was to respect animals.

Before I came out I not only went through periods of experimentation with veganism, but also with my sexual orientation. Like with my veganism, I spent several years without labeling myself in regards to my sexual orientation, allowing myself a period of time to explore my attractions to women before coming out officially. When I started dating and being romantically involved with women, I never looked to the end result: “oh, this could mean I’m gay” and all the implications of that. I just let myself be present with whomever I was attracted to and saw each relationship as an adventure, not a means towards an end of taking on an identity. Eventually, taking on the gay label did feel in alignment for me, but not until I gave myself the freedom to see how it felt to explore my attractions and feelings for women without forcing a long-term label.

As Courtney Pool and I wrote in our post in Gena Hamshaw’s Green Recovery series, “coming out” as a non-heterosexual and “coming out” as a vegan are not same thing. It would be incorrect to imply that we choose our sexual orientation like we choose to be vegan. However, it is interesting and significant to observe the similarities inherent to breaking free of oppressive societal frameworks on all levels and in all circumstances, regardless of the identity category in question.

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, author of The 30 Day Vegan Challenge, advocates the trial approach to transitioning into veganism. The Lean by Kathy Freston similarly advocates the gentle approach to adopting a vegan lifestyle. Regardless of whether you think you’re queer, or could ever live as a vegan, I think it’s important to try what you’re drawn to, without forcing yourself to take on a label or a long-term commitment unless you feel ready. Listen to how your body feels when you explore any new lifestyle experience. If you give yourself the space and time to explore, if you are compassionate with your process, what is right will stick.

Sarah

Image Credit

Read Full Post »

The Joy Of Vegan Family

Posted in Musings, side dish, vegan, Vegan - Main Dish, tagged , , , , , , on March 19, 2012 | 17 Comments »

I became vegetarian at age 12, right after my family spent the summer in the south of France. That trip, I remember my family ate lots of dead animals that were often served in forms that did not try to hide what these animals had looked like while alive: fish and lobsters were served with their eyes bulging out of their poor steamed heads, cooked frogs were served in frog shape, etc. In the United States (and elsewhere) our food culture tends to disassociate meat consumed from its living animal origin. Carol J. Adams, one of my personal heroines and author of The Sexual Politics of Meat, points out in SPOM that our culture has specific language that renders dead animals “absent referents,” and thus keeps us from acknowledging the life and creature who suffered before reaching the dinner table. This defense mechanism keeps people from feeling what I felt in France–uncomfortable with eating animals after realizing the connection between what was on my plate and the cruelty it endured to arrive there.

After one particularly creature-filled meal eaten while traveling in the Loire Valley, my brother took me aside and told me why he thought I should become a vegetarian like him. My brother became vegetarian at age 11. When I was 12, he helped me realize that in order to live in accordance with my beliefs, I needed to be vegetarian (Note: later, I realized that for the reasons I became vegetarian, it was hypocritical for me not to be vegan. I wrote a post about this, if you want to read it here.) My brother became vegan around the same time I did, and now our parents largely eat vegan, too. He and I have both been vegan for more than six years, and our parents eat almost 100% vegan when we, the spawn, are visiting them, which I think is just about the most respectful, kind thing a family can do to support their vegan offspring (and animals, and the planet!) My mom owns stacks of vegan cookbooks, including Courtney Pool’s Spirulina Recipes Ebook, which she just cooked from the other day!

This weekend, my brother hosted an engagement party dinner for two of his lovely women friends who just proposed to each other a little over a week ago. Eight of us vegans and vegetarians enjoyed an entirely vegan, delicious home-cooked meal. I met a vegan fashion blogger who was as worldly and interesting as she was kind, and shared great conversation and laughs with some old friends. While our gay friends can’t yet get married in California at the time, they have been together for more than three years and are committed to being engaged in the hopes that one day the government will honor their union and right to equality. In the meantime, they will be honored by the friends and family who love them.

A friend serves the home-cooked plated vegan dinners prepared by my brother.

It felt fitting, this vegan lesbian engagement party. On this blog, I attempt to illuminate some of the connections between human- and non-human animal rights and welfare, and so it made perfect sense that a night of celebrating our hope for equality for our friends naturally involved compassionate cuisine. As I sipped kombucha out of a champagne flute, and later ate the delicious braised kale-beet salad, white bean mash, pan-seared citrus marinated tofu strips and Kind Kreme vegan ice cream that my brother so lovingly prepared for us, I felt deep gratitude for the family and friends and compassion this meal represented.

Whether our vegan family is blood-related or otherwise, the connections we create and sustain with those around us have the potential to elevate our activism, and inspire us to live truthfully and earnestly. I am so proud of my extended vegan family. Whether individuals are totally vegan or not, it helps animals and the environment to seriously reduce animal product consumption.  I am totally vegan (Note: I am 100% vegan to the best of my ability–I recognize that by driving cars I support animal products in the tires, etc. but I choose to not use animal products in anything I wear, consume, use or own to the best of my ability), but I also honor those in my life who are not fully vegan but support the vegan cause through eating mostly vegan and supporting the vegans in their lives.

May we all be blessed to be surrounded by folks who really understand and appreciate our mission and purpose to spread compassion for human- and non-human animals! I would love to hear about your family, vegan, blood-related or not, or whatever group supports you on your path in the comments.

Read Full Post »

Deconstructing VegNews’ ‘The Vegan Man’ Issue

Posted in Articles, Musings, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 29, 2012 | 35 Comments »

Many of us are familiar with the ongoing and recent disturbing actions of some mainstream vegan groups that aim to sell veganism while reinforcing problematic sexual politics of meat. I won’t fill up space discussing them in this post. If you’d like to read some excellent blogs on the subject, I suggest: Carol J. Adams’ post here, Vegansaurus’ post here, and Gena Hamshaw’s post here.

In light of certain vegan groups’ tactics that I believe greatly undermine the integrity of the vegan movement, I was very nervous when I saw VegNews‘ new “The Vegan Man Issue” on the newsstand. I was nervous because I like VegNews, and I knew there was a lot at stake for them to put out an issue focusing on man. I have worked with their advertising department (some really nice folks), and was once even offered their coveted residential internship while I was in college (I had to turn it down due to date conflicts with my study abroad program). I adore and admire many who write for them, including regular stars Laura Beck and Gena Hamshaw. I really appreciate and respect VegNews for supporting vegans of all backgrounds, and covering issues that many vegan media outlets do not. They regularly champion vegan minorities, authors, and organizations like Bryant Terry of Vegan Soul Kitchen, Jasmin Singer and her nonprofit media outlet Our Hen House, and Ari Solomon, vegan business owner of A Scent of Scandal and vocal advocate for queer-vegan rights. VegNews helps build vegan community, too. I’ve met some seriously awesome people at their sponsored vegan drinks in SF.

I was scared to read their latest issue, if only because I really didn’t want them to let us down. But I knew I had to buy a copy and review it on Queer Vegan Food. I read it cover to cover. There’s some great stuff in this issue: Gena’s wonderful kale chip recipe looks fantastic, Laura’s timeless wit and ever-useful advice column rocks as always (no more body shaming! hooray!), and there’s some other winning recipes, an article on environmentalism, nutrition advice, book reviews, and more. “The Vegan Man Issue” isn’t all bad, but I feel strongly that the stuff that’s wrong and damaging needs to be identified.

So here goes:

First, there’s the Editor’s Note by Elizabeth Castoria. The whole Esquire satire is weird at best, offensive at worst. Gendering VegNews as feminine (“I bat my editorial eyelashes”) and Esquire as masculine (“the rugged jawlines of your studly cover subjects”) is weird and confusing. I know Esquire advertises itself as a “guide for men who want to live a fuller, richer, more informed and rewarding life” but since when is VegNews a “women’s magazine”?

Then it gets even worse: the editor writes: “I don’t think you know what a man is.” That’s where I started to get interested. Great, I thought, VegNews will contest society’s problematic gender constructs. But editor Castoria doesn’t contest anything in her editorial; instead, she reinforces all of these constructs. Castoria writes: “There are men aplenty in your pages, many of whom even have the six-packs to prove it. You suffer no shortage of testosterone.”WHAT?! Since when is being a man contingent upon having a six-pack or testosterone? What if the tables were turned, and VegNews were writing to Cosmopolitan editors suggesting they were featuring “real women” because they “had the D-cup to prove it”? Do cancer patients who have low levels of testosterone suddenly no longer qualify as men, VegNews? What about transmen? What the heck are they trying to prove with this hormone discussion?  This reads like VegNews is a magazine only for “women” that is doing a “men’s special” just like Cosmopolitan occasionally puts out special sections “for the boyfriend“.

This all feels so bizarre, and overall insulting to VegNews‘ diverse audience and scope. The editor’s note also suggests that vegan men are coming into more positions of power, without acknowledging that men in general have much more power in the world than women, and doesn’t establish that there might be some intersections or connections that anyone even remotely familiar with Carol J. Adams’ The Sexual Politics of Meat and the Pornography of Meat would understand.

VegNews does quote Carol J. Adams and someone named Jovian Parry, who is apparently a doctoral student in meat, gender, animality and pop culture at York University in the issue-anchoring article “The Evolution of Man,” but the article misses a few important marks. First, it promotes the idea of men being powerful as vegans without questioning what this power looks like in terms of gender, race, class, sexual orientation, ethnicity, abelism, etc. The rise of the power vegans articles seem to reinforce the notion that the powerful white male majority can stay powerful while being vegan. (A note about the ads: I have never seen this many full-page supplement and protein ads in the magazine! I guess they think “men” want to be advertised to about protein and supplements.)

The article also cites the case of how a Wall Street trader felt he was being called gay because he was vegetarian, but doesn’t point out the nuance of him being called anti-gay slurs as being homophobic.  Why did writer Joshua Katcher not discuss how using a homophobic slur in reference to someone’s veganism is about homophobia, a subject this article never even broaches? I think that this example would have been a great opportunity to point out parallels between multiple oppressions, but VegNews writer Katcher passed. To visually reinforce the privileged white-male attitudes of the article, the overwhelming majority of the “evolved men” profiles at the bottom of each page of the article are of powerful white men who happen to be vegan. Perhaps this wasn’t intentional, but it’s a poor representative sample of the diverse man-identified people who represent the face of the vegan movement.

There’s more, but I feel I’ve shared enough. While I am glad to see that VegNews acknowledges the sexual politics of meat are at play for man-identifying vegans (and everyone else, too),  “The Vegan Man Issue” only reinforces these problematic ideologies.

My veganism is first and foremost about my sense of ethical and moral responsibility to respect the lives of all creatures on this planet. I believe veganism is about inclusion and empowerment. It is about breaking down oppressive power structures that exploit human- and non-human animals of all stripes and species. I feel it is my responsibility as a compassionate vegan to draw attention to what I believe degrades and hurts human animals. When Quarry Girl exposed VegNews was using stock photos of actual meat, I held my breath and waited for them to recognize they were in error and change their ways. And they did! That’s the kind of magazine I think (and hope) VegNews wants to be–the kind that constantly looks for opportunities to improve and more effectively cater to their diverse readership. It is my hope that if enough of us weigh in, VegNews will recognize how they have blundered with “The Vegan Man Issue” and will take steps to ensure that sexism and heterosexism have no place in their pages. This is my hope, and it is my call to action. Thanks for reading.

Read Full Post »

The Aesthetics Of Vegan And Raw Food Diets

Posted in Articles, Juice, Musings, Raw/Live Food, vegan, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Hi, Queer Vegan Foodies!

Savvy writer, nutritionist, blogger and doctor-to-be Gena Hamshaw recently wrote a series of posts on her blog Choosing Raw that shed light on the problem with conflating health with beauty, offering insightful commentary on these topics. Here is an excerpt:

Do I think there’s some truth to the idea that healthy lifestyle habits can help to keep one looking trim and youthful? Sure. Do I think there’s any sort of guarantee? No, not really. I’ve met incredibly healthy women and men who did not necessarily emanate youth, and I’ve met many more women and men who have lifestyle habits I’d call pretty unhealthy (processed food, no exercise, alcohol/nicotine/drug addictions) who appear to be the picture of youthful beauty. Healthy habits may offer some promise of youthfulness and beauty (whatever “beauty” means), but there’s certainly no direct cause and effect relationship.

I highly encourage you to check out the post on Choosing Raw!

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 387 other followers