[Omaha Vegan Examiner]
When I first started veganism, I made it a point to be apologetic to everyone about my new lifestyle decision. I would also say things like "I think it's fine that you eat meat, but it's just not right for me." At the same time, there was an uncomfortable feeling I had about uttering those statements while the world was unapologetically busy slaughtering and enslaving animals at incredible rates.
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Here is some of my best advice on being a proud vegan while retaining, perhaps increasing, respect from your peers and yourself.
1. Stop apologizing.
Remember vegans are members of a rights movement. You are living in non-violence to protest and abstain from the cruelty and slavery of sentient beings. ...
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2. Overcome the prejudice of property.
In any rights movement, there are prejudices which drive discrimination between the oppressed and the oppressor. At least one of these prejudices in our society is the prejudice of property--that animals are usable things first, and maybe sentient self-interested creatures second. ...
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3. Keep animal rights as the core
Often, I see vegans hindering the animal rights core of veganism opting instead to hook people in on the "Eco" or health appeal of a vegan diet. While this may be more PR-friendly, eco-vegans are the mos unstable vegans. ...
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4. Never refer to your veganism as a 'diet'.
I mentioned earlier veganism is far too often referred to as a diet rather than a lifestyle. I would encourage the reader to see my article "Why veganism is more than a diet" to understand the full scope. The gist is: The physical act of putting animal products in our mouths does not cause animal exploitation. ...
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5. Educate.
While there's not enough space to mention all the ways you can educate the public on vegan living without fulfilling the fear of confrontation, I hope I can convince you to understand education doesn't need to be arduous or negative. ...
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full story:
VegSource has started a new video feature.
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Here are some recent samples of clips we've put up:
John Robbins: Wrong to eat animals?
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/media_robbins1.htm
John McDougall MD: My health awakening
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/media_mcdougall1.htm
Jeffrey Masson PhD: On his new book, "The Face on Your Plate: The Truth
About Food":
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/masson_booksoup.htm
Jay Gordon MD: Defeating the culture of obesity
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/media_gordon1.htm
Joel Fuhrman MD: Curing with the vegan diet:
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/media_fuhrman1.htm
Jeff Masson: Why I’m vegan
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/media_masson1.htm
Jeff Novick, MS RD: Why I went veg
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/media_novick1.htm