Vegan outreach - sharing about veganism is important and can be easy

Today (read last week, when I started writing this) I have had a great day. I was out with Buddy And Ahimsa (companion dogs) for about 5 hours. We were exploring a new part of the forest. They had a lot of fun exploring, and playing in the forest, puddles and rivers. I was reading some in a very important and enlightening book called Presence: The Art of Peace and Happiness by Rupert Spira (see non-duality.rupertspira.com/ ). I was putting up some Lost Animals-posters - http://www.lost-animals.net/ - on trees and electricity poles.

When we approached our cabin there was another dog (and human person :) nearby. The other person asked if they wanted to play, and I said, yes. So I let the dogs of their leashes. I try to have them off their leashes as much as possible and they are totally free when we are in the forest, but some people are unfortunately afraid of rottweilers. So they enjoyed their time with the other dog and were very sensitive and respectful. The other dog seemed to be a bit cautious and was talking using some calming signals after playing for a bit, so Ahimsa and Buddy just stood close to him. It was great to see that they got along so well. It is much harder when dogs are on a leash, and you meet another dog, and the other dog owner doesn’t want them to greet the other dog. Then the dogs can get nervous and insecure and start barking. Ahimsa, Buddy and the other dog had a very nice time :)
I and the other human person had a great conversation. We talked and after a while I led the discussion into veganism. She wondered if I was the one that had put up the flier about veganism that she had seen on a tree while walking in the forest :) I explained why it is wrong to exploit animals.

She shared some about her plans to use bees for honey. I asked her if she believes that bees are sentient beings. She said of course, and told about some amazing things she had read about them. I asked her if she thinks they have an interest of keeping their honey; and explained some more after she answered. She wondered for how long that I had been a vegan, and if it had happened at once or in different steps. I told her that I became a vegan when I realized that it is wrong to exploit animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. I said that I first stopped consuming meat and fish, and when I realized that animals are harmed and exploited for honey, dairy, eggs, and other purposes, I also stopped with this. She was interested in hearing what I was saying. I gave her a flier, and contact information.

For more tips on vegan education, see the above Lost Animals-link and: http://bloganders.blogspot.no/2014/04/vegan-education-planting-seeds-to-grow.html

Vegan for animals, veganism is not a diet

While I do believe that veganism will benefit humans and the planet we all share, I am vegan for the animals; for their rights, for justice - not for any other reason. That was the essence of veganism when it was initiated and it still works for me. In fact, I don't think anyone is vegan unless they are vegan as a position of non-participation in animal exploitation. Many call themselves vegan, but they don't get it. It's not about them - even though yes, I do see far reaching ramifications for human and planetary healing and the evolution of the human race to a less violent species - I still say being vegan is a protest to cruelty, violence, enslavement, objectification, and exploitation of other animal species by humans. There are many reasons one could choose to eat a vegan diet; aesthetics, spiritual reasons, health reasons, environmental reasons, human hunger issue, etc. - BUT there's really only ONE REASON to be vegan. Vegans don't just eat vegan, they consistently throughout their life pull their demand of animal exploitation for products and practices, beyond diet. It's a way of life.


Quote from Butterflies Katz

Is vegan food or clothing that was produced with human slave labor "cruelty-free"?

Is vegan food or clothing that was produced with human slave labor "cruelty-free"?

A person wrote this: "No. Though, I do buy second-hand vegan clothing that might have been made with slave labor. It's an ethical struggle I've been fighting in my mind. I won't buy from clothing companies that use slave labor or sweat-shops or child labor (and if I don't know, I assume they do), but a friend pointed out that I might not be acting logically consistently, because I won't buy non-vegan clothes second hand.

My logic is that I am not supporting the sweat shops and am indeed supporting a local business that thrives on recycling old clothes that would have otherwise been thrown away. And by buying second-hand, I reduce the need for new garments to be created and more resources used. I don't buy non-vegan things second hand, because I think it's inherently wrong to use any animal products because it's advocating, through my clothing choices, that it's morally okay to use animals at all--- the existence of the garment is contrary to my beliefs, however a cotton t-shirt itself is not inherently wrong, only the means of how it was created. So I think it's wrong to support those companies directly, but second-hand, I think it's helping eliminate the need for child/slave/sweatshop labor and thus helping to alleviate the problem. I try to buy fair-trade items too.

However, I'm still not sure I'm being logically consistent here. It's been something I've been thinking about for a long time.

But to answer your question, of of course sweatshops and slavery are never cruelty-free!"