I love hearing about other people’s journeys to veganism. From their first a-ha moment to details of their day-to-day experiences of better health and spiritual awakenings, living life free of animal meat and by-products.
If the media reports are right, veganism is on the rise, with new blogs, food products and clothing popping up every day. There’s definitely change in the air, and it feels good to know lives are being spared and that kindness and consciousness is taking over.
While we still have a long way to go, there are so many inspiring people out there spreading the message. David Rafter and Amanda Rootsey are two shining examples of veganism in action, having transitioned to the lifestyle about three years ago. Founders of VeganEra.com, the Australian couple are also spreading the message offline via roadside billboards and merchandise that spreads the vegan message.
“Time is starting to become very critical in terms of our environment and the world is showing us that the way we are leading our lives is definitely not in harmony. We have to do something to change,” David says.
I asked him to share their inspiring story…
When did you become vegan?
I began the loving journey about three years ago when I was around 26. For me, it was a transition, initially I went vegetarian then after a couple of months I dropped dairy and soon realised that I had become a vegan!
Why did you decide to become vegan?
Upon reflection, it was a process. When I was 25 I had lead a bit of a party lifestyle and enjoyed the night-lights. I got really sick of how bad I was feeling all the time. So I dropped everything, I remember the point in which I said to myself that I would no longer go out, I would no longer drink and that it was time to drop meat from my diet.
Honestly, at that exact moment I could feel a massive shift take place in my life. It was the conscious decision to stop killing and lean on the side of compassion that I felt a very big lift in my soul.
At this time I was living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland (Australia), and I had decided to start getting healthier. I was running and surfing, really enjoying being with nature. I had just finished a run through the national park, where I leant on a tree and I could feel the energy of the Earth coming through it. I couldn’t believe it. I was in total shock as I could feel the lungs of the Earth inhale and exhale. At that moment I knew that we were all connected. From the souls of the animals right through to the limbs of this tree. At that moment, I knew that this was my path.
My life has definitely changed; my soul feels so amazing and so light. It is like a massive weight has been lifted and I feel closer to Heaven. When you feel this feeling, there is no turning back – you just want to continue feeling it. I actually get covered in goose bumps talking about it.
Actually, coinciding with this, my father told me to go out and work on his dairy farm for the day. Believe me, I was kicking and screaming the whole way. When I did get there, my worst fears were realised. I could not believe how much pain and suffering existed. Dead calves in the middle of the paddock, their mothers standing over them, screaming in pain. If the calves were alive, they were locked in pens so small that they could barely stand. The pain and suffering in the cries of the mothers was terrifying. I couldn’t bare it any longer – I had to lock myself in the house, turn up the TV and try to block it all out. Clearly when I got back I said in no uncertain terms that I would never return to that place ever again.
Also, my brother had been vegetarian for about 10 years, and had been buggin’ me for ages to drop meat. At the time he was living in America, and I Skyped him and told him the change I had experienced. He was so excited for me. He then sent me a documentary that I watched via you tube in which it showed the whole process of how the meat gets on to your plate. At the end I was in tears, I felt so much sorrow that we could do this to our beautiful animal friends. If it wasn’t sealed in concrete before then, it was now.
How has your life changed since?
My life has definitely changed; my soul feels so amazing and so light. It is like a massive weight has been lifted and I feel closer to Heaven. When you feel this feeling, there is no turning back – you just want to continue feeling it. I actually get covered in goose bumps talking about it. The feeling is indescribable, you feel like you are floating on a cloud the whole day and you want to share that with the world.
Can you tell me about Vegan Era and why you decided to start it?
Vegan Era started in 2009 and has been going strong ever since. Along with my partner Amanda and of course our little staffy girl Trudi, we felt the need to spread this feeling to the world.
Initially we found a lot of information about how much damage the livestock industry has done to our planet. We just couldn’t believe that this information was not out there. We felt a very strong need to create a place where people could come and learn more about the choices they make and the impact their diet can have on reversing climate change.
Then in 2010, Amanda was diagnosed with cancer. In the beginning Amanda was determined not to go down the conventional path as we had done lots of research into the harsh impact chemo has on our bodies. So we did a lot of research on how diets can help heal the body. Again, we couldn’t believe how much information was hidden from us. We came across a great book called The China Study, and from that moment on we wanted to share the health benefits of a Vegan diet.
There’s a lot of controversy surrounding the topic of raising children without meat or animal byproducts in their diet. Opponents of veganism will argue that vegan kids won’t get the vitamins and minerals that they need or that the diet is overdoing it at best and fanatic at worst.
The truth is, however, that feeding your child a vegan diet has a range of positive effects not only on their bodies, but other humans as well as the environment as a whole.
Vegan Kids Maintain a Healthier Weight
The rate of childhood diabetes is an ever-increasing epidemic. The Center for Disease Control estimates that about 13,000 children are diagnosed with this chronic disease annually. This is largely due in part to the excessively high instances of childhood obesity, with about 33% of children being overweight and half of them considered obese. Studies have shown that body mass index is directly related to the intake of meat. Thus, vegans are less likely to be overweight than those who regularly include meat in their diet.
Being overweight or obese contributes to a number of health problems and chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, increased likelihood of heart attacks, clogged arteries, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal problems – the list is endless. Starting your children off with a well-rounded vegan diet is setting them up to live longer, healthier lives.
Vegan Kids Contribute to a Greener Earth
One of the most disturbing side effects of meat eating is the damage done to the environment. In the scramble to “go green” before our Earth is irreparably destroyed, diet is often left out of the equation. However, it is one of the easiest things to change that would create the biggest impact.
The hidden killer of the environment is the agricultural sector. Meat and livestock production account for almost 20% of the world’s greenhouse gases – that’s more than transport! As a vegan, your child won’t be a part of this toxic equation.
Vegan Children and Reduced Consumption of Water
Though 70% to 75% of the Earth is covered in water, and up to 60% of our own bodies are made of this liquid substance, we are having a serious water crisis. Up to one billion people aren’t afforded the luxury of clean water – that’s one in six people.
What does veganism have to do with water consumption? A lot. Meat eaters who enjoy fine dining at a California steakhouse or eat hamburgers regularly are probably unaware that their dinner requires 5,400 gallons of water. For the same amount of water, your vegan child can eat 41 pounds of bread or 150 servings of pasta. Raising a vegan child equates to utilizing this precious resource in a more conscious way.
Enough Food for Everyone
World hunger is another huge problem that we are facing as a global community. However, it’s not for lack of food that there are so many people going without – it’s that the food is being kept out of people’s mouths. The majority of the world’s soybean supply, along with an obscene quantity of grains, is being fed to fatten up animals being raised for food. According to a study done by Cornell University, in the US alone, the grain used to feed livestock could feed 800 million people. Vegan children aren’t contributing to the world hunger crisis.
Vegan Kids Enjoy Spiritual Benefits
Killing is denounced by practically every major and minor world religion. However, the meat eaters of the United States are responsible for the death of almost 10 billion animals every year. The saddest part? This only accounts for about 15% of the animals that are murdered annually around the world. No matter what type of religion, spiritual path, or moral principles you practice, eliminating needless murder from your life and your children’s lives will only improve your spiritual fitness. Children beginning life without ingesting animal products is a great first step to leading a spiritually balanced life.
Jasmine Stephenson is a guest blogger for An Apple a Day and a writer on earning your online nursing degree for the Guide to Health Education.
Photo courtesy of Robert Whitehead
I was thrilled down to my organic cotton socks when I heard that the Vegan Society of Aotearoa New Zealand had been revived. Perfect timing for my arrival in this beautiful part of the world.
The dedicated folks have wasted not one minute since their relaunch on World Vegan Day (November 1), getting fluorescent tans in some of the country’s big-chain supermarkets in the effort to sort through products that are helpful and harmful—all while making veganism more accessible the public and to those flirting with the idea of living animal-product free.
The result is The Big Book of Vegan Products, which lists, you guessed it, all vegan-friendly products available in supermarkets nationwide. It includes a huge range of crackers, biscuits, cereal, desserts, ready meals and convenience foods. It’s also free to download.
“We want to demonstrate how easy it is to eat ‘normal’ food on a vegan diet. You don’t need to go to a specialist store or spend a lot of money,” said co-ordinator Alice Leonard. “People don’t have control over the environment but they do have control over their diet. Veganism is a solution to the environmental crisis as well as health issues and animal welfare concerns.”
The proactive peeps also have plans to develop a supermarket tour video, a ‘vegan-approved’ tick for food products and branch out in local communities through stalls and market days. Watch this space!
For those living outside the Land of the Long White Cloud, check out The Vegan Society international site to see what initiatives your local branch is undertaking. Better yet, get involved!
While living in the States, I had the opportunity to see Food Inc, a documentary about the (dire) state of the American food industry. Now this gem of a film is screening in New Zealand.
Producer-director Robert Kenner and investigative authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) lift the veil on the U.S. food industry – an industry that has often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihoods of American farmers, the safety of workers and the environment.
While animal-lovers undoubtedly will have a hard time sitting through some scenes of this tell-all documentary, the message is one everyone should watch to understand exactly where their food comes from, how it is grown and processed, as well as the risks associated with eating it.
Food, Inc. filmmakers take you behind the scenes (see trailer below) to witness practices they say are deliberately hidden from the American consumer. They also reveal how a handful of corporations control the nation’s food supply.
Now the question remains — how similar is the food industry Down Under? Thanks to comedian Mike King we know about the despicable treatment of pigs in New Zealand factory farms. But what else is being hidden from the eyes of the consumer?
It’s also worth noting that some of the food on our supermarket shelves is directly imported from the United States.
Hot tip of the day? Go organic, grow your own veges and get your ticket to see Food Inc!
In a recent Huffington Post article, long-time vegan Michael Parrish DuDell called out (although not by name) a high-profile green group for holding an eco-conscious soiree that, well, wasn’t.
“Resting stylishly on recycled bamboo serving platters sat a ménage of beef tartar, pork belly something-or-other and a trilogy of pungent unidentifiable cheeses,” DuDell wrote. “I was frustrated that nobody on staff had made the seemingly obvious, absolutely critical connection between what we eat and the health of our planet.”
What Michael experienced at this party, is unfortunately common place amongst many high-profile greenies (Al Gore is one case in point). These peeps won’t give up their lamb chops and barbecued steak because, they have been quoted as saying, it’s just too hard for them and their followers.
Michael’s Huff Post article explains further:
At a recent concert in Sweden, Moby asked Al Gore why he didn’t mention the heavy environmental impact of animal production in his film An Inconvenient Truth.
“He answered honestly,” recounts Moby, “basically saying that getting people to drive a hybrid car isn’t that difficult. Getting people to give up animal products is almost impossible.”
Mr Gore, The Lazy Environmentalist guy and other self-proclaimed greenies are definitely doing wonderful things by getting the green word out. But in order for the planet to repair itself, we need to be educated on what’s doing the most damage. That without question is meat and dairy production.
A 2006 report from the UN stated that raising animals for food generates more greenhouses gases and contributes more to global warming than every mode of transportation in the world combined.
Read the full Huffington Post article HERE.
