Veganism As a Side Dish to Your Activism
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Veda Stram
August 2008 

Making vegan choices will empower all of your work, your volunteering and your relationships because you will have taken on something outside your comfort zone. AND when you do that, it will be easier for you to ask other people to step outside their comfort zones to work on the issues you care deeply about.

Veganism as a side dish is a phrase I made up as a way of encouraging people to take on being vegan along with all the other decent, kind and civil things they care about, spend their time and energy on.

Do you rescue cats and dogs? Horses? Rabbits? Ferrets? Turtles? Birds?

Do you teach school? Young children? High School? College?

Do you work on creating green jobs?

Do you work to end capital punishment?

Do you work on expanding labor and trade unions?

Do you work on pro-choice issues?

Do you work on pro-life issues?

Do you work on legislative issues? Local? State? Federal?

Do you work on political campaigns?

Do you work on eliminating corruption in government?

Do you work with church or community groups?

Do you work on cleaner water and/or cleaner air issues?

Do you work with people with special needs?

Do you work with the elderly?

Do you work on humane education programs?

Do you work on expanding people's sense of well being? Teach meditation? Yoga? Provide therapy? Encourage people to participate in some self-awareness programs?

You don’t have to call yourself an animal activist to be vegan. On the side, while you are helping the elderly, cleaning up politics, saving the oceans, creating programs for blind children, rescuing lizards—or whatever it is that you do that lights you up and makes you happy and satisfied—while you are doing all those things, don't eat or wear or buy something that you know is inconsistent with your commitment to decency, kindness, civility and justice.

I think that one of the most important things human beings want to know is that they made a difference, that it mattered that they were on the planet and left something great behind besides the piles of stuff we all collect.

Making vegan choices ensures you will save thousands of animals in your lifetime... just from the animals you don't eat! And the difference you will make to our air, our land, our water? Amazing!

Making vegan choices will empower all of your work, your volunteering and your relationships because you will have taken on something outside your comfort zone.

When you do that, it will be easier for you to ask other people to step outside their comfort zones to work on the issues you care deeply about.

So whatever you do, whatever your passion…be vegan on the side!

Veda can be reached by email, [email protected].


Return to Animal Rights Articles
Read more at Animal Rights Activism