Vegan activism

I was in elementary school when I first heard Mary Travers sing. By that time, Peter, Paul and Mary had already achieved great commercial success, but they were new to me—and I fell head over in heels in love with Mary’s voice and the passion behind it—not to mention that incredible slinky blond hair.

It wasn’t until quite a few years later that I understood what their music was about and that there was more to the group than great harmonizing and sing-along tunes. Peter, Paul and Mary were authentic folk artists. Their music spoke to […]

I’ve been lately dipping into one of my all-time favorite books, Simple Food For The Good Life by Helen Nearing. She and her husband Scott were back-to-the landers, pacifists, and simple lifestyle pioneers in the 1930s through 1970s. They were vegetarian—almost vegan.

I love this cookbook not so much (or really at all) for its recipes, but for the amusing snippets throughout, as well as some delightfully radical ideas (for 1980) about animal rights. But be forewarned: Helen’s thoughts were not in sync with some of the absolutist positions that some activists take today. She was a straight talker […]

A month or so ago, I wrote a little missive to the editor of my local newspaper about the rationale for going vegan. A friend emailed to say how much he had loved my “take no prisoners” letter. Yikes. I wasn’t sure if I was pleased or mortified. But there are times when it makes sense to lay it on the line, and letters to the editor are among many good opportunities for that.

There are also times when it pays to be a little bit more subtle. I’ve written before about what it means to live as a […]

In my examiner column last week I wrote about Mark Bittman’s decision to add small amounts of meat to his Vegan Before Six plan while training for a marathon. If you don’t follow Bittman, he is a celebrity chef who devised a plan to eat vegan meals before 6:00 p.m. and then whatever he wanted for dinner. He wanted to reduce his cholesterol and weight without entirely giving up his favorite foods.

As I’ve stated here more than once, I don’t like the health argument for vegan diet (not to mention the fact that there is no health […]

One of my favorite organizations, Vegan Outreach, focuses efforts on college students and other young people—those who are most apt to listen to a vegan message. Given the huge task of moving society toward a more vegan ethic, it makes sense to start wherever success is most likely.

That’s why it’s disappointing to me when activists disparage those who truly have vegan potential—vegetarians (of the lacto-ovo variety) and people who are moved by animal welfare issues, but not animal rights.

I volunteer at my local animal shelter where the other volunteers obviously love animals and are committed to […]