Earthlings was produced by a group of ethical vegans.  The film examines five forms of human exploitation of animals: pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and vivisection.  It is a full length documentary, and it bears witness to the suffering of our fellow animals.

I’ve heard from some vegans, that vegans do not need to watch this film, since we are already aware of the suffering therein.  Though I encourage all vegans to watch it and bear witness to why we do the things we do, and know the the best extent that we can what is happening to animals.

After watching Earthlings in it’s entirety, I don’t know if I would show it to just anyone, and certainly without preparation for what they are going to witness.  I believe in showing an equal level of compassion to all sentient beings. However, I do see the film as an important tool that can illustrate this suffering to those who have never been able to understand it before.

If you have a high speed connection Earthlings is accessible to you on google video and  you tube.  Or you can be real .

Christmas is a special holiday for me and my family. We have reinvented it time and time again to the point where it has actually become a day of love and giving. My parents always try to get me the things I really want but would never buy for myself, and I try to do the same for them.

This year is hard, it is going to be my first vegan Christmas. Many of the typical girly items that I love and adore now have to be vegan. Including candles, lotions, bath gels, and other smelly things. I want to give my family some choice, while ensuring that I won’t get things that I would scowl at and then discard.

I’m also highly considering putting my foot down and making Christmas dinner entirely vegan. While my family is awesome, and my parents are really progressive people, even with them things like that get dicey.

In my head I am pleading with the world that this will be the hardest holiday season for me, and that after this my wonderful family will just know what to do. I have high hopes given my family’s track record with adjusting to my lifestyle that is the way things will play out. Though for the moment it means juggling some hard politics.

I didn’t know what this weekend was going to hold for me.  All I knew was that I was going to be camping with 400 of my closest friends, and with 12 of my best friends.  I loaded the cooler before departing with 6 huge vats of food, three things of hummus, and some scones.

Before I go into what happened while I was there, let me describe Playa del Fuego, PDF.  PDF creates it’s own reality, there is no commerce aloud, art is abundant, and anything goes.  I think that most people change in some way when they enter the gates, because the standard laws of society for the most part, cease to apply.  Things usually return to normal upon leaving, but a glimmer of the experience often remains.

I wasn’t too worried about staying vegan, as I don’t really get cravings for non-vegan food, however I realized during my last night of the event that I was no longer thinking about being vegan, I was just vegan.  Boxes of foodstuffs were causally picked up to see whether or not I could eat them, without the vegan chorus singing in my head.

People also loved the food I made, and there will be many e-mails sent with the titles of the cookbooks I used, and links to recipes.  And to my knowledge no one added dairy cheese to any of the dishes, they were consumed and enjoyed for what they were.   People walking on the path outside our camp also came in to see what we were eating, and they were fed too.

I think after four days of being immersed in my food, and me reassuring them that none of it had been hard to make, that my friends started looking at my veganism differently.  I was pretty much just like everyone else when it came to food that weekend.  I wasn’t seen as limiting myself in anyway.

One very cool thing was that there was no meat in our camp, and usually the only dishes present were vegan ones, with the occasional cheese here and there.  We also had tons of coffee and we creamed everyone’s coffee with soy milk, or they had to make due and drink it black.

The trip marked a transitioning point for me, being vegan is a way of life for me now, it isn’t something I’m constantly working to maintain or striving for.   I just know what to do now to stay cruelty free.

Wednesday night was disappointing, I went to a vegan meetup at Baltimore’s only vegan restaurant. There are over a 150 people enrolled in the meetup, though only 9 had said yes. Still, it would be an evening with some vegans right? Wrong.

There were 3 vegans (including myself), and the rest were vegetarians and vegetarians (who eat fish). Last time I checked fish had a face. It was a huge disappointment because I wanted to talk about good vegan finds, and all about being vegan, and vegetarians when vegans do this get all guilty looking or outright offended.

So much for the vegan meetup, but there was a screw-up with my order the Yabba Pot was very apologetic though. However, this gave me the time to talk one on one with the meetup organizer, who also head’s up Baltimore’s chapter of Earth Save.  We sparred a bit on welfarist versus abolitionist viewpoints.  It was nice to have a face to face chat about veganism, even if we didn’t agree.

The week I went vegan, when the idea was merely a spec in my eye, I decided to replace my dying sandals and mary janes. I went ahead and ordered two pairs of Ragazzi shoes from Vegetarian Shoes and Bags. Yes, it took a month before they were finally the right size and on my feet, though that mostly has to do with me not priority mailing them back to California, and the fact that they are in California! I keep finding awesome strappy heels at my favorite thrift store Killer Trash, in Fells Point, though I stopped at buying one pair, because I already have a pair in black.

Shoes amazingly were an impetus for veganism. Because ordering them, while it involved a lot of patience, was incredibly easy, and didn’t break the bank. Every day the world gets a little friendlier towards vegans, and I can’t help but think that’s because there are more vegans in the world. And that new FDA regulation requiring allergens to be listed in bold on food packaging.

Beauty products abound, I have now been reunited with my once favorite Tea Tree Oil in the form of Dr. Bronner’s soap. I also found out that Gabriel Cosmetics that they carry at one of the Whole Foods around here are supposedly vegan, so I’s can gets some concealer and more pretty eye shadow. Not to mention that I love my Beauty Without Cruelty products. Sadly now that I have found alternatives that I don’t need to order through the mail, I may not be patronizing them as much anymore. However, I do recommend them.

Then there is the food! In one month of vegan cooking I have reached the point where I am modifying recipes for the better, and I will be posting my two latest creations shortly. One I have renamed Sun-dried Tomato Balsamic Couscous, and then there is Sun-dried Tomato Hummus with Cayenne Kick. Both have been taste tested and held in high regard. Cooking has become a soothing activity, and I have found that even though there are three highly regarded places to obtain vegan friendly food in Baltimore (look out for a post on this too), that I actually prefer my own cooking, which is a first for me, and I have been largely doing my own cooking since I was 15.

Other than the initial shock of people hearing the word “vegan” my freak status doesn’t last long. Once people smell my food reheating in the microwave they want to know what it is, how to make it, and possibly try some. There has been a ripple effect of people dappling with meat reduction in their diet, which while that term makes me cringe, it is the first logical step towards a plant-based diet.

My awareness of my body has increased, so has my awareness of my closely held beliefs. I don’t directly credit veganism, but I do believe that change begets change. I sadly contemplated going vegan for 10 years before doing it, was smoking cigarettes for just about as long. Quit and vegan after a decade makes life’s other quandaries seem simple to solve. Also to me true veganism is not just about the animals, it’s about the environment and people too (though really we’re included in the animal category).

For instance we’ve started recycling and using natural products to handle our cleaning, our trashcan is filled with decaying produce and other vegan matter, there is actually an exothermic reaction occurring in our trash can, as in you can feel heat when you stick your hand through the swivel door. This has convinced my husband and I to go one step further and begin composting as well. Though we still need to do our research and get the necessary supplies, it is an idea in the making. Going vegan started out as an idea too.

Lastly about two months ago I was speaking with a vegan friend about the possibility of me making the leap, we talked about how humans are creatures of habit, and unlikely to change. It was during that conversation I said “Maybe in September”, and here we are.

Today is day 21 since going vegan. I feel fantastic physically even though my job has been demanding, and making me sick from stress. For the first time in my life I enjoy cooking, and I can’t remember the last time I had a meal out. We’re saving money on groceries, I have clear skin for the first time since I was 10, I am losing weight. Not to mention the fact that I’m no longer contributing the unnecessary harm of animals.

Today I made Brooklyn Pad Thai as per Vegan With a Vengeance, and am enjoying the lingering effects from too many margaritas. I am going through WAY too much soy milk, and may start making my own in a year or so. Though I feel I need to get way better at this cooking thing before committing myself. Not only is Silk evil, most soy containers can’t be recycled, I did spot some at Whole Foods though.

I continue to sow the seeds of veganism at my job. I am bringing in one of my cookbooks for yet another coworker to look at, and another is waiting for her vegan cookbook in the mail. I’ve gotten people into hummus and tofu, told people where to get vegan indian microwavable meals. The simple act of abstention has had amazing effects.

Of course you non-vegans want to know how easy this has been (maybe you’re hoping it’s been hard). Perhaps you wonder if I dream of dairy. The answer is that other than need to plan out a half an hour a day to cook (which we should all be doing anyways), and some strategic label reading life has continued as normal, except better for the reasons listed above.

I’ve read that due casein in dairy, dairy can be a little addictive and hard to give up. Having phased out dairy, I have had no issues, sometimes I want the end product like for instance cake, but I want it vegan. I want milk, but I want soy milk not dairy milk. The smell of dairy also really grosses me out. Not to mention the smell of eggs.

I know there hasn’t been much animal rights focus here yet, but I assure you I am just brushing up on my research. I feel that harming animals is wrong in my heart and gut, I need to work on why it is wrong as far as my brain is concerned. Give me a few weeks, but since I have a few minutes, let me tell you about the life of an egg laying chicken:

First there are the chicks that don’t make it, which would be any chick that is born male. They are often ground up alive as feed for the female chickens. As young chicks the egg layers have the ends of their beaks removed with a hot knife, because the cages they are confined to are so small that they become irritated and peck at each other.

Then they are placed in cages where they can’t even extend their bodies fully without their heads sticking out of the cages. Chickens used for food are usually killed after three weeks. You want to see it? Also find out how Free Range Free Range Is.

For the record I no longer consume any dairy, eggs, use any animal tested products, consume any refined sugar, alcohol made with isinglass, and am waiting on vegan fair trade shoes which should be arriving on Tuesday. Completely eliminating refined sugar is a commitment I only made several weeks ago, and I’ve probably made some mistakes. By the end of week four I am hoping to have worked out all the bugs in this vegan thing.