Going Veg!

Hi there everyone,

I think this will be my last post for the Veggie Girl Blog. I apologize for the delay in posting this but I have been very busy recently and I really wanted to take the time to get this right.

Firstly, I want to thank everyone who has supported this blog, all of the viewers, commentators and the 17 individuals who took my 7day vegetarian challenge!! Congratulations to all of you and I hope that it was a good experience as it has been for me.

Secondly, while I am planning to end the blog officially I am planning to continue adding links as a find them to continue building a strong information base. I am also planning to write an entry in the upcoming Vegetarian Magazine of NZ, so keep an eye out for that too!

I think the most valuable thing I will take away from this, and the thing I would like everyone reading this to consider, is the role of AWARENESS, PARTICIPATION, and finally ACTIVISM. This doesn’t have to be on a grand scale, and not everyone will be interested in the third phase. It is also not restricted to vegetarianism or any one issue specifically. I believe that these steps are important in all and every area of our lives. Every little bit really does count, but I cannot emphasize enough how inspiring, enlightening, and motivating the process of awareness can be as a starting point.

Awareness is what I hope this blog will help with. All of the links I have placed here are designed to educate and motivate; to provide information which will allow for productive discussion, argument, and hopefully action.

As far as participation goes…actually taking the steps towards a better lifestyle and making personal changes to improve the world (even on a small, individual level) has been extremely empowering and rewarding. It has been challenging as well, but a vital step none the less. I think a vital element of participation, “getting your hands dirty” so to speak, is not to be discouraged. It’s very easy to say “hey what difference can I actually make, these animals are already dead, over 90% of the population eats meat anyway etc. etc.” This is a very defeating thought, and one I have struggled with along the way. However, I have not allowed this to overwhelm my attempts to do the right thing by myself, to make choices that make me feel good, and most importantly, to make every choice consciously. I found that, when I attempted to make every decision consciously, I was motivated to make the right choice and I felt good about making that choice. Understanding the system, understanding the constraints and the actions available, all inspire educated and productive action. To me, that is the relationship between awareness and participation.

Also, the activism element helped me deal with issues that arose from personal challenges. Sharing my experiences, discussing complex issues and debating certain elements all add an extra dimension to the process, which I found helpful.

In conclusion, I urge you all to be conscious citizens in all areas of your life. I strongly recommend this as an inspiring, enlightening and fulfilling thing to do. I also believe that we have an obligation to be conscious and-concurrently, be active. That is how our world is designed to function, life is not passive, and life is not always easy. We have taken some large steps in the wrong direction and, if we can acknowledge the issues of our time and work to implement productive alternatives, together we really can make a positive change and create a bright future for ourselves, those we care about and the planet as a whole.

Finally, on a lighter note, being conscious and active is exciting! It gives you something to work on, something to feel good about and something to discuss with those around you. Even more exciting is the new experiences, and VEGETARIAN FOOD IS YUMMY!!!

Hugs, Kisses and Best Wishes…

Veggie Girl xxx

PS Check out my piece on democratic participation at http://itsourcity.org.nz/ specifically titled “addressing the lack of student participation in local elections” but touching on broader issues that apply to everyone

Woah, planning my vegan diet has been quite a challenge but I went shopping today and I think I have got it down. The process has made me realize how reliant we are on animal products; meat aside…especially dairy!! Which is why it is so ridiculous that we seem to think it is acceptable to treat these creatures badly.

That aside; I have created a new page with my 7day vegan diet plan attached and as I go through the process I will post the recipes I use in the recipe section.

Also, I just want to say how proud I am of everyone who decided to take the 7day challenge with me. Although, I haven’t managed to convince anyone to write to me about it yet That’s not the important part though, the important part is giving it a go and exploring all the possibilities…so big ups for that!!

I am also happy to report that, after a few rough days when the challenge ended, my BF is making a conscious effort to remain vegetarian and is also super excited to try some of the vegan recipes I am going to be cooking up over the next week.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me and this blog; I really appreciate it and its kept me motivated!!

And finally, because it is Uni Holidays at the moment I am planning on tracking down some of the farms around the local area and starting a dialogue with them about their farming practices and issues and ideas they have for improving them. I’ll get back to you on this over the next few days.

Thanks again and keep up the awesome work everyone!!!

Veggie Girl xxxx

So, I have decided to try being a vegan for a week!!! I am going to plan it out though…I figure I am on holiday so I may as well give it a go, mainly I want to try some new delicious foods :0

Anyway, I’ll post my menu plan after some further research.

Also, keep up all the fabulous work with your 7day challenge guys! I have posted some new pics and recipes so check them out!

Lotsa love,

Veggie Girl xxx

Thanks to everyone who supported me in my 30 day challenge. It was the most wonderful experience and I plan to continue to pursue a healthy happy lifestyle that makes me feel better and is better for the world.

Also, thanks to everyone who has made the commitment to give it a go themselves!! Keep posting and sending me emails to letting me know how your going; and remember the competition for the best story about your adventures

I have added some more awesome links; especially foodie ones. So make sure you check them out. Thanks largely to my colleague Shanti, who made the most fabulous vegan muffins, I have started to do a lot more vegan baking and have been pleasantly surprised by the delicious results!! I’ll add some more tasty recipes soon \

Also, even though I haven’t convinced all of my most avidly carnivorous friends to give veg a go for a full week, almost all of them have committed to trying to go a day or two without meat which is a good place to start. They have also given over to my insistence that they watch some of the films and explore some of the resources available about the problems with the commercial meat industry and the benefits of being veg.

While ideally the world would be a better place if no animal died for human consumption; I believe the most important thing of all is that greater awareness be raised about the issues facing our planet. An idea is the most powerful parasite (to quote the wonderful “Inception”) and they sew the seeds for future action which hopefully will be more humane and sustainable.

With this in mind, I hope that anyone reading this is inspired to explore the various links I have accumulated and potentially give being veg a go…its fun, its easy, its good for you, good for the planet and most importantly good for the animals!!!

Lotsa love and check back soon,

Veggie Girl xxx

Hello everyone!!!

Sorry I’ve been gone for a couple of days; I’m back now and as keen as ever.

Thinks have been pretty crazy busy recently with Uni and the like! However, I am glad to report that I have not gotten sick at all this winter and I normally crash a couple of times over the cold months. All I can think is this must have something to do with being veg!!!

So anyway, what I really want to talk about today is the 7 DAY CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!

I have mentioned this in previous blogs but as of today it is official. I am challenging all of you who have not tried being veg to give it a go for 7days from the 17th of August.

Also, thanks to the lovely Sacha at SAFE I have managed to get an extra incentive for all of you…not that saving the lives of lovely creatures, being healthier, slimmer, and happier are not incentive enough!!! I am happy to let you all no that I will be running a competition element within the challenge and the person who can send me the most interesting, inspirational and honest account of their 7day adventure is in to win a SUPER AWESOME PRIZE. This prize is likely to include some SAFE merchandise as well as a recipe book created by yours truly

So give it a go everyone, and remember…I’ll be right here with you sharing the experience and keeping you motivated and informed!!!

Love ya,

Veggie Girl xoxoxo

So, what has been happening today?? Well…

I went to buy some Sham (fake ham) today from Qmart but unfortunately no luck However, they do have an amazing range of different vegetarian options. Some that especially caught my eye included the vegetarian BBQ buns and curry buns, in the frozen section!

There are still so many exciting foods to try; that is half the reason I am committed to remaining vegetarian!! And then of course there are the elements of consumer power, animal rights and Eco issues…

I want to again thank everyone for their feedback, and also recommend that everyone who logs onto this blog takes the time to view the comments as well. As I have said before, discourse and dialogue are extremely important. I love to hear readers ideas, issues and insights on the topics raised here, and many other related topics as well!

I have recently been given the New Zealand Codes of Welfare for Animals, as well as the Animal Welfare Act. I have put the links to both of these documents in the blog roll and if you are interested I would highly recommend exploring them. Alternatively, for those of you overseas; it may be very enlightening (if not somewhat sobering) to look into your own codes of welfare etc.

Personally, I am especially interested in issues around animal slaughter. This may seem morbid, however it is an issue that fundamentally influences all branches of the animal produce industry; including dairy and egg markets. Therefore, I believe that it is extremely important that issues surrounding this element of the industry be addressed. It is vital that the inhumane acts that occur within slaughter houses, as well as the fundamental challenges that arise with slaughter in general, be brought to the public’s attention. Only then will it be possible to take steps to improve the conditions surrounding slaughter, and perhaps implement a future without slaughter all together!

Stay tuned for further discussion on this soon; and make sure you check out some of the new recipes and photos I have posted recently

Cheers,

Veggie Girl xoxoxo

I completely forgot to say half the things I was planning to in the last post, so here goes…

I helped out in town today at SAFE’s “Sham Sandwich” give away, raising awareness of factory farming and also giving a taste of some of the yummy alternatives. The Sham was super super yummy and its on my list of things to buy for tomorrow!!

I’ve also added some cool new links to vegan fashion etc. so be sure to check it out

And finally, I am still planning to start a discourse with some free range farms in the local area. I would like to discuss issues of animal rights with them, especially in relation to the egg and dairy industry. This should be happening over the next few weeks (once my uni work load cools down a little) so keep an eye out for that too!

Have a wicked night everyone.

Love Veggie Girl xoxox

PS Check out this awesome Vegan Zombie Tee Shirt, worn by one of my uni colleagues in class last week…

Hello Readers!

Welcome to the 20th day of my personal vegetarian challenge, and unofficially my BF’s as well!

I’m so happy about the feedback the blog has been getting, its great to here the positive comments and also get some discourse going on the more challenging issues.

What I’m really excited to tell you about though, is that I am planning on continuing to be vegetarian into the foreseeable future! With this in mind I would like to put forward a challenge to all of you out there who haven’t yet tried it, or would like to try it again, to take a ONE WEEK continuation challenge with me that will officially start on the 17th of August.

Over the next few days I will be promoting the Go Veg One Week Challenge in various locations on line and around town. Hopefully I will be able to get as many people to commit to giving it a go as possible. I am also hoping that we can start a little mini recipe challenge within the week and maybe have some king of reward at the end…

Anyway, stay tuned and I hope that you will all consider joining me!

Cheers,

Veggie Girl xoxoxo

Woah!

I have had some very relevant and thought provoking comments over the last couple of days. Thanks again to everyone who as posted a comment, I think discussion is a really valuable part of this whole process.

The issue I would like to address today relates to some of the inhumane practices of many dairy and even free range egg farms. Please check out the link I have added to the “vegan perspective on the dairy industry” blog (it’s in the blog roll on the right). Two of the most important issues I would like to discuss in relation to the comments I have been getting include:

1. The life cycle of egg laying chickens-even free range chickens that are allowed to roam and enjoy the outdoors are often slaughtered once they reach the end of their productivity cycle.
2. The prospects for male chicks and male calves-as stated on one of the comments posted recently, the general practice-even in free range farms, is to send them to slaughter)

The slaughter of male animals in the egg and dairy industry (especially considering the inhumane conditions of our slaughter houses and the stress this environment puts on the animals), as well as issues such as unnatural reproductive cycles and separation of  highly paternal animals from their offspring at very young ages, are uncomfortable but important issues to deal with.

I am planning to explore them issue further and get in touch with certain free range farms (both for non-meat produce such as milk and eggs, as well as meat producers like Freedom Farms) to discuss with them their views on these animal rights issues, their current situation and practices, and possibilities for the future. I will be sure to post the results ASAP!

I personally still believe that, while inhuman treatment and killing of animals is inexcusable, a completely vegan future also poses many problems for produce animals. While I understand and support the merits of a completely plant based diet, I feel that a vegan future would not necessarily be the best future for produce animals. In fact, I think that the sad reality would be that no place would remain in our society for these animals, animals that we are largely responsible for developing into the creatures that they are today.  I believe that often, produce animals’ reliance on humans can be underestimated. I am by no means saying that the human effort to develop produce animals into what they are today was right or justified-just as I would not say that colonialism or intervention in Iraq was right or justified. However, just as with colonialism, I would say that our influence brings with it a certain responsibility. In my view, this is a responsibility to ensure that we do not move on through time and space without a thought for the future of these animals who, without our concern, may well become relics of our imperfect past.

The inhumane slaughter of animals for any form of human consumption is unacceptable and needs to be addressed. I also recognize that it is naïve to ignore these realities within the egg and dairy industries. However, I do believe that produce animals could and should be able to co-exist in a mutually beneficial relationship. Obviously, this will not be possible if over-consumption, under-education, and lack of action remain within our societies. Therefore, I thank my commenter for raising the issue and plan to address it in far more detail, and from all perspective, in the near future.

I will be sure to blog immediately on the insight I gain from discussion with members of the community who are involved in the production of dairy and eggs. I will also be updating everyone on any producers I come across whose values align with those of animal rights and humane treatment of their stock. I personally know that there do exist some small scale egg producers who treat their animals as part of their family and do not practice inhumane activities towards them. The individual who I source my free range eggs from has a wonderful relationship with all of her chickens and does not slaughter those who have completed their cycle of productivity. Instead she keeps them as members of her happy chicken community! Once again, this type of farming will not be sustainable if demand and consumption is too high. Hence I am currently enjoying my soy latte while I right this blog

Thanks again for all the feedback! I’m having a really wonderful time exploring all of these issues.

Cheers,

Veggie Girl xoxoxox

Good Morning…I know I know, a little late-but its Sunday

So I have been looking at my diet since I started this challenge and, while I’m very proud of my veggie commitment, I feel like my egg and dairy intake has gone up quite significantly. Now, personally I am not vegan in the sense of eliminating dairy and eggs. I feel like free range and organic produce benefits us and the animals equally. I realize that many vegans will argue with me on this point, and I support their personal choice to avoid all animal based products entirely. For me it is a personal choice I am happy with.

However, I talked early on about the importance of moderation. While I support free range for many animal products that do not require unnecessary suffering, I also recognize that if we do not moderate our consumption free range will not be a viable option. Therefore, I have decided that this week I will try and moderate my egg and dairy consumption as well as avoiding all meat products.

To start myself off I made a vegan smoothie for breakfast today. I’m not used to milk alternatives but my Mum recommended Almond Milk, which is actually really nice. So I made an Almond Milk and Banana-Berry Smoothie….It was super delicious!! I have posted the recipe in the usual place…

Have a fabulous day everyone…

Veggie Girl xoxoxox