Veganacious

As if it is not horrible enough that animals are being slaughtered by the billions, the truth is that we are killing babies.  Most of the slaughtered animals are just youngsters; many should never have been taken from their mothers so early.  Imagine what life must be for a newborn calf, dragged away form a grieving mother and forced into a horrible life without solid food in a tiny crate.  Or a newly hatched, perfectly formed male baby chick, who suddenly finds himself flying through a long frightening tube into a grinder – terror, pain, suffering, death.  All of it is crafted by man for man’s enjoyment and pleasure; it is incredibly cruel and disturbing that the healthy offspring of another species should be treated like trash.  A few people make a lot of money from these ugly enterprises; most people just are unwilling to deal with what their consumer choices cost others in misery and suffering. Some people are unaware and choose to remain unaware.

The Cost for Eggs and Cheese is Borne by Babies of Other Species

The male baby chicks are usually killed when they are only one day old!  If you have ever witnessed a mother hen, you know why that saying developed about the protectiveness of mother hens. Or if you have witnessed the grief struck cows whose babies are dragged away from them, bellowing and cutting themselves on barbed wire – stealing people’s babies so you can steal their mother’s milk is particularly odious.  But most people participate because it is so habitual that it seems normal – NORMAL! Nothing about stealing babies from their mothers and murdering them is normal. It is completely unnatural. When I see someone eating cheese or drinking milk, I mentally get an image of an adult human suckling on the cow’s teats – hardly a normal thing to do.

All those pigs and cows are usually slaughtered when only a few months old.  They are the human equivalent of toddlers. A few dairy cows may live into the animal equivalent of young teens, but then with abnormally enlarged and engorged milk sacs, often filled with pus. I have been a nursing mother and I wince when I see the distortions and know the discomfort that practice must cause those young beings that are cows. None of what the cow is capable of, none of what would give joy or seem natural, none of that is allowed. They are solely commodities on legs for an unhealthy and callous world.

Giving up Cheese is Giving up a Blood-Drenched Food

Next time someone is talking about their own “difficulty” in giving up cheese, milk, or meat, remind them that they are talking about the death of babies. Ask them how they feel about all the antibiotics and even pus that is part of drinking cow’s milk.  Ask them to consider the high fat content and what is happening to their arteries, and if their cholesterol is shooting skywards. If they think it is difficult to go without their milk, think how difficult it is for the baby for whom it was created.  The process that brings eggs and milk and cheese to your plate means death to newborn male chicks and calves; in fact, the dairy industry results in death as much as the meat industry does, and possibly causes more prolonged suffering. For a great article about the problem with cheese, read Vegan Freaks take on it.  Some cheese is not even vegetarian, because rennet, a substance used in processing the cheese, comes from the stomachs of animals.

Let’s get weaned and start acting like adults.

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I was hungry for some good homemade wheat bread despite not having bread pans.  This recipe is probably better in traditional pans, but it worked out just fine as braided loaves baked on cookie sheets.  The entire family, bar none, loved this bread, so I am happy to share it with everyone.

Dissolve 2 packets yeast in warm water – set aside (1/4 C. water)

Put 1/4 C. vegan butter spread (oil may be substituted), 2 C. hot water, 1/2 C. agave nectar, and 1 tsp salt in large bow.  Allow to cool until spread is dissolved and water is lukewarm. Then add the yeast mixture.

Add 3 C. whole wheat flour and beat with a wooden spoon, one cup at a time, until mixture is well blended.

Have 2 C. unbleached flour ready.  Prepare cutting board by sprinkling generously with unbleached flour.  Add in the 2 C. flour and blend well. Pour (it will be solid) out the dough onto the board. Begin kneading until all the flour is blended, adding more periodically until the dough is not sticky.  Knead for about five minutes and set aside in warm place (not hot), covered with towel or plastic wrap.

Check back in 30-45 minutes. Once the bread has doubled in size, you will punch it down, knead it a few times, and form it into whatever shape you wish.  Try dividing dough into half, then each half into thirds. Make each third into a long snake-like shape and braid three together, tucking ends underneath.  Allow bread to rise again for 30  min.

Bake bread at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Allow to cool on racks.  Serve warm or cool with vegan buttery spread or oil; or serve it with a good hearty soup.

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My four year old grandson told me, “I am a vegan boy.” He understands a little bit about veganism; I bought him Ruby Roth’s book, That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals, and I read it to him when asks me to read it.  He told me yesterday that, “my parents eat animal projects.”  I knew he meant products; his mum told him that “the animals feed us.”  (Not willingly, though.) He is trying to make sense of the difference in how I eat and how the rest of his family eats.  Sometimes, he is peeved with me, for not buying him the cheese he wants.  Other times, he is peeved with his parents, because he senses their choices are harming animals. He happily eats vegan food and loves the animals he has come to know, but he eats what is put before him at preschool and at home. I do not proselytize, but I do answer his questions as honestly and briefly as I am able.  I think most children would be appalled at what is done to animals if they knew. He only knows a little but it does have him thinking. It has me thinking, too.

Trying to be an ethical vegan grandmother is not an easy task.  He calls me Bubba, and recently decided that only Bubbas are vegan.  That seemed to settle it, for a while at least. I have told him that when he is older, he can decide how to eat for himself, but for now, he needs to eat what his parents provide for him.  Luckily his father requested a vegan cookbook for Christmas and he is on soymilk, not cow’s milk. His father tries some of my vegan recipes; he is one of my tasters and is eating more vegan meals than omnivore meals.  His father has been an animal lover most of his life and used to volunteer at the animal shelter. Like many Americans, he is unable to connect his consumer choices with his view of caring for animals. My grandson, though, is already questioning some of the hypocrisy in the adults around him, including me.  Young children often see so clearly what the rest of us just accept.

His older brother is nine and does not spend as much time with me. His culinary tastes are distinctly more limited, and he balks at vegan fare, except banana bread, strawberry ice cream, and a few other acceptable items like spaghetti and noodles. He is unwilling to try new foods, something his parents are working on at the moment to increase his culinary parameters. His little brother recently said to him, “You are not a vegan boy,” to which the elder said, “Neither are you.”  I can only hope that being an out and proud vegan will continue when he can make those choices for himself.  And I hope that the vegan world is there for him to appreciate, too.

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As a young teenager, I used to surf the coast of Southern California. My vision was poor, so I learned to feel the currents of water beneath me. When there was a light drawing back, it meant a swell was coming and I needed to get paddling. If I delayed, I would miss the ride, and if I was too fast, I would have the wave crash down on me and would wipe out. Lately, I have been feeling a shift in the currents beneath me once again, only this time I do not plan to miss it.

PETA’s Failed Policies

There have been rumblings on the vegan blogosphere about some of the latest new lows reached by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  Their pie-in-the-face disrespect to a person in authority seems contraindicated when requesting more respect for other beings.  It is assaultive and inappropriate behavior not becoming adults with serious intentions. Then there is the full frontal nudity of a young woman in their State of the Union Undress (deliberately not linked here) – disrespectful not only to women but also to our elected leaders. Even Ingrid Newkirk’s response (A pragmatic fight for animal rights) to Victor Schonfeld’s article, Five fatal flaws of animal rights activism, in which she defends “silly antics” as being part of animal rights activism misses the mark by a mile.  While Ms. Newkirk may be well-intentioned, her behavior is the same old tired tactics that have been failing to do anything but increase the PETA budget and gain some press for many years.  At every turn, Ms. Newkirk sells out the animals and any chance to show respect for their lives, whether it is by cooperating with fast food enterprises that kill animals for food and profit, or partnering with corporations by buying stock in animal exploitation schemes. Ms. Newkirk never draws a line in the sand, never acts as if she believes what she says that animals are not ours to use; she uses and exploits them freely to draw attention and financial support to her organization while they remain in a living hell. I have noticed lately that when an outrageous behavior occurs in the news, such as the recent intrusion into Senator Mary Landrieus’ office by men dressed as phone company repairmen, the allusion on a recent MSNBC news discussion was to liken them to “PETA protesters.” Meanwhile, only 7 animals were saved in PETA’s “shelter” in 2008, while nearly 2,000 were killed.  With millions of dollars in annual income, it seems impossible that those lives were valued, because with the will to save them, they could have. If PETA wants ethical treatment for animals, they should begin by delivering some themselves.

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Since one of the my grandsons was gone over the Christmas holiday, I decided to make him some gingerbread, which he loves. I found a great recipe on VeganYumYum, where you just cannot go wrong. The above photo was my attempt to recreate the great recipe offered on that site.  If you haven’t tried VeganYumYum, now is a good time to get acquainted. There are all kinds of recipes, too, not just goodies. The frosting is made with vegan cream cheese with a lemon flavor added; it is hard not to like it.

The gingerbread is cooked in two pans and cut out with a small biscuit cutter, then assembled once complete cooled. These are best eaten right away! Read the rest of this entry »

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Brendan Brazier Knows Fitness

Thrive Fitness is another book Brenden Brazier has written about his prescription for vitality, following Thrive: the Vegan Nutrition Guide. Using a few simple ideas about health and nutrition, Brazier offers a new prescription for stress, optimal wellness, sleep, and nutritional replenishment.  Since Ironman competitions combine a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile cycle, and marathon (26.2 miles of running), the training and physical demands on the athlete are tremendous. Brazier’s own journey is well profiled in this book on fitness. He relates that he was not particularly gifted for speed or endurance, but with persistence and tenacity, he overcame all odds to be the athlete he is today.  He has examined all the ways his training was ineffective, his diet was undernourishing, and his exhaustion was, in part, self-inflicted.   He share the four components of vitality: exercise, nutrition, sleep, and stress reduction.  But these components are not the usual hum-drum variety, but are amped up to the next level.  Exercise should be high-return, nutrition should be high net-gain, sleep should be efficient and limited, and stress should be accepted only when complementary.  I only wish I had discovered this plan when I was doing a lot of competitive road racing, bicycling and swimming. I learned the hard way – with injury – that overtraining does not pay!

Stress and Nutrition

Stress is seen as stemming nutritional deficiencies, improper or inadequate sleep, noncomplementary stressors, overtraining, overworking, overthinking.  While Brazier will help you eliminate the wrong kind of stressors (including some  you probably did not realize you had), do not think this is a laid-back fitness plan. Quite the contrary, he includes how to sharpen your focus, train your weakness, and sustain your health.  Included is an entire section of performance-building exercises, how to maintain Thrive Fitness while traveling, how to use a mobile gym, and becoming efficient at exercising.  This book is tremendously motivating as Brazier’s own stories of failures and lost experiments are revealed in order to save you the time. This is what he has learned, and most people will find some good solid suggestions for an improvement in how they spend their time, how they nourish their body, and how they replenish themselves.  Given the current state of ill health in our nation, it could not come at a better time.

This book can be a great motivator and includes a host of easy exercises and a few nutritionally dense recipes for recovery from training. A few of the ingredients may have to be ordered, and Brazier does promote his own line of drink supplements, Vega (but suggests alternatives if you do not have Vega); however most ingredients are easy to access and available at traditional markets.  There is a section on key nutrients and a synopsis of each, the benefits and the best sources for them.  Most of the nutrition-dense recipes are drinks or snack bars, but there are also a suggested shopping list and menu plan.  At the back of the book is a question and answer section to help you get started.

Thrive Fitness for Vitality

Better still, Brazier offers to take you through a 30-day journey of support following the reading of the book.  Having participated in his videos, I can assure you they are worth the few minutes it takes to watch them. There is even a forum online to help you stay motivated. Brazier learned that the rest and recovery portion of training is a significant part of improving physical health, vitality, stamina and fitness.  It is one aspect that is often overlooked in our peripatetic lifestyles.  I feel grateful to Mr. Brazier for his willingness to share his own journey, for his wonderful example of healthy, vital vegan living, and for his promotion and support of the products of others that have helped him in his quest.  This book will get you in the groove to maintain those New Year’s Resolutions – and keep you coming back for more.

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