I like to think that one person can make a world of difference. When you look back through history it’s pretty evident that someone with a cause can influence immense positive change (and negative too, but let’s not go there).
Look at Gandhi and Mandela, even Oprah, as examples. From presidents to protesters, one person’s longing for change started with an inspired thought, an event or even a hardship. It’s what they did with that seed that determined how it would sprout and grow.
It’s when one person understands how to reach out further than themselves that their passion and inspiration spreads to impact great change.
This wee thought about how we can all do our bit, no matter how small, leads me to an invitation I received on Facebook this morning to join a new group: a film fest that’s about educating and spreading awareness. Called The Awareness Film Festival, its aim is to bring awareness to ecological, health, well-being, and political topics (submissions are open now. The fest will be held on May 10 in Los Angeles).
One person acted on their idea. Now, through this film festival, like-minded people will be able to share their message with many others, sparking offshoots of inspired minds all driven to make a difference. Isn’t that grand?
I wanted to do my bit to help spread the word. If you’re an up-and-coming (or working) filmmaker, this could be an opportunity to inspire others, make a difference. Maybe it’s a documentary about veganism, or how climate change is affected greatly by our food choices. Perhaps it’s just a short that gets people thinking.
To celebrate every single person making a change, and inspired by The Awareness Film Festival, I’ve put together a list of film festivals (many of them environmentally-focussed) that were created to help inspire positive change in the world (see below). If you know of others that aren’t listed here, please feel free to add them in the comments.
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2010 has hit full force. You can feel the electricity in the air.
I ended 2009 by cleaning out, dusting, getting rid of all the old, stuck energy in preparation for the new year. And now the start of a new decade has arrived, it’s time to dig even deeper. It’s time to get knee-deep into my wardrobe.
I’ve decided to box up everything I haven’t worn in the past six months, clothes I’m not really sure about, stuff that’s too big, too small, wrong colour. Even the items I don’t wear, but am sentimental about. Yep, they’re going too. My chosen charity awaits.
The year 2010 is about giving back. Living more simply. Thinking of others less fortunate. Giving without expecting anything in return. Just thinking about living that way feels good. So to do it must feel even better—for the giver and receiver.
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I feel different this New Year’s Eve. Last year I was busily putting together a vision board and my list of goals, all while willing a fabulous new year ahead.
As 2010 approaches tomorrow (or the day after for the Northern Hemisphere folks), I’m all about going with the flow. Letting go. Trusting in what lies ahead.
Sure, I know what I’d like to achieve, goals I want to reach and places I want to see. But this year, I’m going to recognise my dreams then simply turn up, kick back, relax and trust.
I’ve decided life is a journey we’re not always meant to be in full control of. An apple doesn’t force itself to grow on a tree. I just lets go and trusts that it will reach its full potential. Whether it does or doesn’t is really up to the flow, not to the apple.
So next year, starting right now, I’m going to take my lessons from that apple. Hang in there, soak up the sunshine, live as nature intended. That means seeing the blessings in everything, loving others as you want to be loved, not judging anyone or anything and being grateful for whatever comes, and goes.
With that said, sending you love and blessings for a magical 2010. Thanks for taking time to read this little blog. May the vegan love spread far and wide 
There are many who believe the vegan diet is limited, boring and, um, limited. Trying to explain the abundance of food choices isn’t always easy—and sometimes it’s not a conversation ye old vegan types may want to enter into.
As a tribute to all of the incredible vegan foods that the earth has blessed us with, I wanted to share an interview with long-time vegan Moby, who stopped eating animals and animal products more than 20 years ago.
This is also a great video to watch if you’re considering making your New Year Resolution a vegan one, but are concerned your food choices may be lacking.
As 2009 draws to a close, I want to celebrate a few powerful reasons to become vegan: our little (and big) fellow earthlings who make this planet of ours truly remarkable.
Here’s to those who made the transition to veganism in 2009 and those who will take the leap in 2010. May your new year be filled with countless blessings and a whole lotta love!
A sneak peak at Life’s Wild Animal Photos of the Year…
“Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!”
~ Theophile Gautier
“Our task must be to free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”
~ Albert Einstein
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
“An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.” ~ Martin Buber
And just because… (I’m so cute!)
“We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”
~ Immanual Kant
When someone becomes vegan, it starts with a decision. Nothing more, nothing less.
This decision can make a huge positive difference to the lives of others, and can turn out to be the most important moment of a person’s life. I know when I became vegan, it changed my life in countless ways (not to mention the lives of animals who were no longer being slaughtered to fill my dinner plate).
Knowing how such a decision can affect humanity, animals and the planet, I was thrilled to be asked to write a passage for a new website, which was born from a desire to help others on their journey from meat eater to vegan.
Called The Vegan Decision, the website is the home of “thoughtful essays from people who made the decision to stop eating animals” and why they made the choice.
Whether you’re vegan, or considering the lifestyle, this website is no doubt going to be a great resource—a place of inspiration, advice and great tips—thanks to those who are sharing their journey. Love it!
Elite ultra-endurance athlete Harley Johnstone is giving Aussie livestock producers something to worry about, according to a story on ABC Rural News.
What’s making the meat industry quake in their bloody boots? The fact that Harley has ridden more than 160,000 kilometres in the past 10 years on a diet of fruit and water. No meat. No dairy. Just a good ol’ helping hand from Mother Nature.
“He could be every fruit grower’s best mate, and every livestock producer’s worst nightmare,” the reporter quipped.
The Aussie vegan has founded a raw food vegan group, 30 Bananas A Day, and says he’s the country’s biggest fruit lover.
“A typical day, well I’m quite active so I need a lot of calories. So that’s typically 35-40 large bananas, or if I’m not eating bananas that could be 20 or 30 mangoes, or a couple of kilos of dates from California,” he said.
“A lot of people say, are you nuts? And I say, no, I’m bananas.”
Harley’s fruit of choice, the banana
“Kale is my best friend. I eat kale salad. I put kale in my smoothies, kale in my soup. Kale, kale, kale! I feel like Popeye. I love it. I definitely need variety or I get super bored, so I have to mix it up with different sauces and tahini or whatever.” ~ Songstress (and almost full-time vegan) Alannis Morrisette, on her love affair with kale, as told to runnersworld.com
I heart the holidays and I love to travel. But there’s no doubting the menu options for vegans can be a little limited in lands we less know.
In my quest to visit just about every continent on earth (still quite a few to go, mind you) I came across the travel-fabulous ResponsibleTravel.com, an earth-friendly company that keeps us animal-loving lot very much in mind when it comes to making travel plans. To date, they have 33 vegan (and vegetarian) destinations on their books, which you can check out at the click of a mouse.
From a Pyrenees caravan park to bed and breakfast accommodation in Cornwall, this fab site is a must for any vegan adventurer or rest-and-relaxation seeker.
Booking a vegan holiday means you can relax, rather than trying to explain your dietary requirements in (possibly) another language.
My must-visit list includes eco accommodation in Ventimiglia on the Italian Riviera. I’ll be sure to write!
The stunning, and vegan, Italian Riviera
Sending everyone love and blessings for the Christmas holidays. May your new year be filled with love, peace, laughter and all-things vegan.
Cute card from crueltyfreeshop.com.au
The holiday season seems to bring out my fondness for sweet stuff. Today, I’m totally infatuated with the recipe book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. In particular, their vegan peanut butter pillows.
While I’m headed to the kitchen to whip up a batch (or three), I thought I’d share the recipe…
Before you whip up your own tray, here’s a great bit of health info, courtesy of reader Dr Brett Hill: You may want to think about swapping the peanut butter for some other form of nut butter. Peanuts are prone to get infected with a carcinogenic mould (aflatoxin). This means they are either at risk of this mould or have been sprayed heavily to remove it. Either way another form of nut butter (such as almond, cashew or hazelnut) might be a better choice.
Vegan Peanut Butter Pillows
Makes 2 dozen cookies
For the Chocolate Dough
½ cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons nondairy milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons black unsweetened cocoa powder or more regular unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Filling
3/4 cup natural salted peanut butter, crunchy or creamy style
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons soy creamer or nondairy milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar, maple syrup, nondairy milk, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Sift in flour, cocoa pow¬der, black cocoa powder if using, baking soda, and salt. Mix to form a moist dough.
2. Make the peanut butter filling: In another mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together peanut but¬ter, powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of the soy creamer, and vanilla to form a moist but firm dough. If peanut butter dough is dry and crumbly (natural peanut butters have varying moisture contents), stir in the remaining tablespoon of nondairy milk. If dough is too wet knead in a little extra powdered sugar.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment pa¬per.
Shape the Cookies
1. Create the centers of the cookies by rolling the peanut butter dough into twenty-four balls (try dividing dough in half, then each part in half again and roll each portion into six balls). Scoop a generous ta¬blespoon of chocolate dough, flat¬ten into a thin disc, and place a peanut butter ball in the center. Fold the sides of the chocolate dough up and around the peanut butter center and roll into a smooth ball between your palms. Place on a sheet of waxed paper and repeat with remaining dough. If desired, gently flatten cookies slightly, but this is not necessary.
2. Place the dough balls on lined bak¬ing sheets about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and let the cookies stand for 5 minutes before moving them to wire racks to com¬plete cooling. Store cookies in tightly covered container. If de¬sired, warm cookies in a microwave for 10 to 12 seconds before serv¬ing.
Morsels
If unsalted peanut butter is all you have, be sure add salt to the peanut butter mixture.
From the book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Copyright © 2009
…they sell it on supermarket shelves.
Check out this video below from StoptheRobbery.com if you’ve ever thought cancer (and many other dis-eases such as alzheimers) were a mysteries to be cured by a man in a white coat.
It’s just another example of how important it is to be your own doctor—and that starts with what we put in our shopping carts. Much of what’s offered on supermarket shelves these days are poisons disguised as foods and personal care products (think toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreens etc). It’s little wonder one in three people are diagnosed with some form of cancer in the US alone. In 1908, that number was one in 8,000.
Once these poisons have taken hold, the people in white coats proceed to offer greater doses of poisons in the form of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
It’s time to stop looking for a “cure” and funding societies that masquerade as our would-be saviours, yet do nothing but line their own pockets. While governments may never conform to the side of what’s right and moral, in the best interests of the populations they “serve”, it ultimately doesn’t matter. We all have the choice of what we willingly put into our bodies. We have the power to prevent diseases from manifesting. It’s just a matter of waking up to what’s going on. Oh, and getting really good at reading product labels.
That said, have a healthful weekend!
For every one celeb that goes on drunken binges and late night joy rides, there’s at least two who spend their time doing positive things. Take Charlize Theron for example. The talented actress has teamed up with Toms Shoes, the company that gives a pair of shoes to the needy with every pair sold—a one-for-one-deal.
Charlize co-designed a pair of the unisex, limited edition slip ons for her African Outreach Project. The design (see below) was launched on the footwear website just yesterday.
Made from all-vegan material, Charlize’s shoes were inspired by the baobab tree and feature the tree’s silhouette, which is embroidered on blue and orange canvas.
A portion of the proceeds from each pair will go directly to the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, which provides education about the need to provide sustainable health, education and recreational resources to remote areas with high rates of HIV/AIDS.
“I’m thrilled to have Toms Shoes as a partner,” Charlize says. “We are so grateful for their generous donation of shoes to the students that we work with. They are passionate about the kids and have been incredibly supportive of the work of the Africa Outreach Project. It’s exciting that we’re able to come together in such a cool and creative way to bring attention to the needs of many South African youth.”
The limited-edition, vegan shoes are available for $US54 and are sold exclusively on Tomsshoes.com. Best get in quick if you’re keen to snap up your own pair … the women’s style is already on backorder…
Rushing around during the holidays isn’t always conducive to eating healthy meals. I’ll often take snacks such as nuts and raisins with me just in case, but there are times when I’ll just plain old forget (beware the friend or relative who accompanies me on those journeys!).
But there are some great products on the market that are a) vegan and b) healthy. It’s just knowing where to look. Sometimes that means ordering online if something’s not available in your own city (or country for that matter).
One of my on-the-run faves is Probar, a super healthy, organic food bar that comes in all sorts of (delish) flavours.
I caught up with the Probar founder, Art Eggertson, in LA earlier this year to chat about the state of food (specifically in America, but much of what we talked about is relevant to other countries such as New Zealand, Australia and the UK).
Art has been vegan for many years and founded Probar while snowboarding in Utah in the late 90s. Looking for a healthy snack to sustain him while on the slopes, he soon realized there were no nutritious alternatives to “bland-tasting, rock-hard” energy bars on the market—or the next option of “greasy slope-side-fare of cheeseburgers, fries and soda”.
Here is an excerpt from our interview:
VG: What is your mission?
AE: To co-create the new world centered on principles of truth and birth the lives of others into it.
VG: You’re one person making a big difference to the world. What advice could you give to someone who doesn’t think they, as one person, could possibly make a difference?
AE: I would encourage them to do some self-examination and learn what it is to be a human being. The awesome power that is inside each of us is greater than standing armies. The single most powerful thing in this world is the individual.
VG: What advice would you give to someone who does think they can make a difference?
AE: We must stick to our guns! Be on the side of truth and love. Pick our issue or issues and stand by them no matter what. Give our lives to it and the Universe will provide the details and organize itself around us in its own time and in the BEST possible way, we must trust it.
VG: What’s wrong with the food in America? Who has the power to fix it?
AE: The food in America has been industrialized, modified, manipulated, pasteurized, homogenized, corporatized, processed, reprocessed, preserved, shipped, stored, condensed, evaporated, distilled, enriched, enrobed, freeze dried, flash-fried, irradiated, dyed, stabilized, subsidized and just plain messed with in every way. We eat Frankenfood!!
The power to fix this mess is in our hands; we are the ones making the purchases. We must demand better! We need to know what our food is, where it is coming from and who is growing it. Supporting the right producers is critical; independent, family owned, cooperative and sustainable players need our support. Ideally we need to be producing our food locally. From local bakeries and breweries to roadside produce stands and individual vendors who craft real home made preserves and other items; the choices are all around us.
We can network into community gardens if we are urban dwellers. We can have backyard gardens if we live in suburbia. Combining our efforts with our friends and neighbors nets huge returns as well. Tear up a flowerbed and grow tomatoes and other veggies instead. Plant fruit trees instead of decorative trees. Whatever the steps are required to end industrial food systems are the steps we must take. Wall Street agribusiness and global markets must shift to Main Street and the neighborhood farmer’s market.
VG: Your definition of real food?
AE: My definition of real food is twofold. Real food is from nature, the tree, the vine or the field with nothing added or taken away. Real food is also specie specific and must be right for the organism consuming it; termites eat wood and not cotton candy, for example.
VG: What is one thing people may not know about the food in their kitchen?
AE: Something most people don’t know about the food in their kitchens is that it is responsible for over 1.5 million preventable American deaths every year. This includes deaths from obesity related conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer and stroke. The number of Americans suffering from these and other chronic conditions is staggering, as is the amount of money we pay to relieve our symptoms. This is the key to unlocking our health care disaster.
VG: Who are the people you admire for making a difference?
AE: I am blessed; one of my heroes is a family member. My Aunt Esther is not only one of my heroes she is also a mentor. Among her many accomplishments is the Consumer’s Bill of Rights which she co authored with JFK. She also wrote the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act for women. She is known as the Mother of Consumerism.
I also admire Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Vandana Shiva, John Robbins, Dorothy Day, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Nelson Mandela and countless others who inspire me with their fearless lives.
VG: How long have you been vegan? For someone isn’t familiar with why someone might choose to live a vegan lifestyle, can you explain the benefits and misconceptions?
AE: I have been vegan for over 15 years and I really believe that the biggest misconception that people hold about it is that somehow it is a diet of deprivation. Nothing could be further from the truth! Plant foods are what we season our meats with, without them most people would never enjoy animal flesh. The flavors, textures, and variety of vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds, nuts, beans and lentils, herbs and spices is staggering and endless. A plant-based diet can be just as decadent and delicious as any other diet. Only on this road we end up feeling great physically, mentally and emotionally. Food is no longer the enemy.
Food becomes a powerful solution to our health and well-being. It becomes a powerful tool against water pollution (over 60% of the water pollution comes from animal waste, more than all other polluters COMBINED). It becomes a powerful force against global warming (animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gasses than all transportation combined) and it helps us side-step our own suffering from poor health! It does require change and most of us resist any form of it, but we also manage and get through it when it comes!
This is no different, the question is will we wait for the invitation to come in the form of disease and suffering or make it proactively before we end up having it forced upon us? 1 in 3 women in this country will have a heart attack and be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and one in two men, respectively. This is a painful invitation to receive and many of us are getting it! Global warming is also an invitation, only to all of us.
VG: What makes up a Probar? Why are the ingredients so good for us?
AE: Probars are made with organic whole food ingredients, a lot of them! Nuts, seeds, dried fruit, rolled grains, malted grains, natural nut butters, in other words it is food. We do not cook our bars; that means the nutrient quality is as good as it gets! Healthy organic soil produces nutrient rich foods; left unprocessed those foods deliver optimal nutrition and flavor.
Love Food. Love Ellen!
Check out this vegan “chicken” pot pie, thrown together by her personal chef Roberto Martin.
I must say, while I’m no fan of processed, packet food of any kind, it can get busy around the holidays and convenience sometimes rules.
The cruelty that is the business of circuses needs to stop. The latest news of inhumane treatment is fully focused on The Ringling Bros. who tear babies away from their mothers.
PETA has released never-before-seen photos of trainers cruelly wrestling baby elephants using ropes, sharp hooks, and electric shocks in order to force them to learn circus tricks.
One of the quickest ways to put an end to this intolerable cruelty is to not support circuses, or any businesses that use animals as a showpiece or lock them in cages, far removed from their natural way of living (including pet stores).
To help get the word out to put an end to animal suffering in circuses such as The Ringling Bros. click here.
Some facts about elephants
• Elephants are among the world’s most intelligent species. Their brain is larger than any other land mammal.
• They display grief, learning, allomothering, mimicry, art, play, a sense of humour, altruism, use of tools, compassion, self-awareness, memory and possibly language.
• The elephant has one of the most closely knit societies of any living species. Elephant families can only be separated by death or capture.
• Aristotle was quoted as saying elephants are “the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind”.
• The elephant (Asian and African) has a very large and highly convoluted neocortex, a trait also shared by humans, apes and certain dolphin species. Scientists see this as a sign of complex intelligence.
• Parents teach their young how to feed, use tools and learn their place in highly complex elephant society.
• The cerebrum temporal lobes, which functions as storage of memory are much larger than that of a human.
• Because elephants are so closely knit and highly matriarchal, a family can be devastated by the death of another (especially a matriarch) and some groups never recover their organisation.
Why is this allowed to happen?
