Articles

Another Step In The Right Direction?

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Coming up from March 18 to 24 this year will be Australia’s inaugural Meat Free Week.

A week where, as the name suggests, consumers give up eating meat for a week.

Don’t worry about this being a deceptive vegan conversion program, as according to the about page, … it’s not about becoming a vegetarian or giving up meat for life. All we’re asking is that you give up meat for one week from the 18th to 24th March and ask some buddies (friends, family, work colleagues) to sponsor you for each day you go without.

By the end of the week, the organisers hope you will do two things:

  • Commit to eating less meat, thereby reduce the demand for factory farming, take the pressure off our environment and improve your health
  • When you do eat meat, make the choice to buy/eat meat this is ethically produced and sourced

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Is There Such A Thing As An Ex-Vegan?

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Incase you have missed it, or not been on Facebook for the past few days, Alexandra Jamieson has decided that she is no longer vegan, and proclaimed it to the world in a blog post titled funnily enough, I’m not vegan anymore.

Not surprisingly it has started all sorts of discussions in different groups and forums, and getting more than a few comments on the post itself. Some of the comments as you can expect have been a little less than pleasant, and others have been supportive of her, though most of those have come from people who are not vegan or claim to be ex-vegans.

This leads me to ask the almost obvious question. Is there such a thing as an ex-vegan?

Answering this question, I would have to say no. Because in all honesty, if you can become an “ex-vegan” you honestly never were a vegan in the first place?

Ms Jamieson’s regression does raise a few interesting points worth considering.

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Sexism, Bullying, And Patriachy

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sex·ism
noun \ˈsek-ˌsi-zəm\
Definition of SEXISM
1: prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially :discrimination against women
2: behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex

— sex·istadjective or noun

3bully
verb
bul·lied bul·ly·ing
Definition of BULLY
transitive verb
1: to treat abusively
2: to affect by means of force or coercion
intransitive verb
: to use browbeating language or behavior : bluster

pa·tri·ar·chy
noun \-ˌär-kē\
plural pa·tri·ar·chies
Definition of PATRIARCHY
1: social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line;broadly : control by men of a disproportionately large share of power
2: a society or institution organized according to the principles or practices of patriarchy

For a movement that exists primarily to remove the oppression and subjugation of a species who are not able to defend themselves, you could be forgiven for thinking that the vegan/animal rights movement itself was at the forefront of equality and respect for all.

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Strip Clubs, Veganism, and Baby Steps.

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The other night, I was out for a ‘night on the town’ with some colleagues of mine that I have known for a number of years. As most of this group are aware that I am vegan, and respect the decision that I have made, it was decided that on this night we all ate a vegan friendly meal at the restaurant we went to.

After dinner, as is usually always the case, it was time for a few drinks and to plan what was happening next. As I was ordering the drinks, the gang was more than happy with the vegan friendly wine and beers that I chose.

After a few bottle of wine and a number of beers had been consumed, it was decided that it was time to head out and see what ‘trouble’ we could get into for the night, and part of that ‘trouble’ usually involves visiting a strip club or two.

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