Now Santa’s letter is on its way, I’m shifting my focus to my beautiful family, whom I’m sure would love to gift me all sorts of wonderful things this Christmas…
Before you go shopping for those (quite possibly) not-so-vegan goodies Mum and Dad, I’d like to offer some wee suggestions of my own: Firstly, forget “stuff”. There aren’t any material things I’m really lusting after … oh, hang on, I’ll gladly accept a Vita Mix blender if you feel like a splurge … but I digress … stuff, is well, just stuff. It clogs the mind and the planet, and to be honest, I’d rather leave it on the store shelves.
Christmas is about giving, that’s true. But gift giving ought to be re-thought. It’s about so much more than making those big chain stores richer. This time of year is about appreciation. About celebrating. Not about how much someone spent or whether the gifted item comes wrapped in a Tiffany bow. A gift can be the smallest thing. A word. A gesture. A batch of homemade vegan cookies (see option 5).
To help you out this Christmas, my dear loved ones, I’ve put together this little list to help you out should you insist on giving me a present this year.
Option 1 – Save an animal’s life. Adopt a pet. Buying from pet stores at Christmas means loving animals are, more often than not, left homeless and on death row. Find out more here.
Option 2 – Donate money to The Vegetarian Charity, a UK-based global organisation that helps needy vegans around the world and assists with poverty relief. Also consider donating to the Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation, which helps to educate about the link between diet and health.
Option 3 – There are some great books I’d love to add to my bookshelf, including The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone and Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. Secondhand copies will do just the trick.
Option 4 – A handmade card made from bits and pieces you find around the home will make for a perfect Christmas gift. Otherwise, an e-card will mean just as much and help save some trees too.
Option 5 - You know how much I love biscuits (ie cookies). I’ll be one happy vegan if you whip me up a batch of these. If you’re stuck for how to wrap them, a recycled jar with a re-used bow will be just lovely, indeed.
Joanna Krupa helps get the Christmas message across for PETA
Thought you might like this
A Holiday Thought…
Aren’t humans amazing Animals? They kill wildlife – birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice and foxes by the million in order to protect their domestic animals and their feed.
Then they kill domestic animals by the billion and eat them. This in turn kills people by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative – and fatal – - health conditions like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and cancer.
So then humans spend billions of dollars torturing and killing millions of more animals to look for cures for these diseases.
Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals.
Meanwhile, few people recognize the absurdity of humans, who kill so easily and violently, and once a year send out cards praying for “Peace on Earth.”
~Revised Preface to Old MacDonald’s Factory Farm by C. David Coates~
Never more true words spoken. Thanks so much for sharing JC