Veganism and choices about non-vegan based medications/prescriptions October 27, 2009

I remember I was in a bicycle accident a few years ago and needed stitches because the under part of my bike sliced up my leg.  After getting stitched up in the ER, the doctor asked me, “When was the last time you had a tetanus shot?” I told her it had been about 11 or 12 years. She told me that I needed one immediately. After about 5 minutes of her telling me why I should get it (versus me knowing that animal products are used in it), I decided to do it. Though I did make the conscious choice for stitches that were removable (versus the animal based ones that are absorbed into the system), it bothered me about making the conscious choice about getting the tet shot. I wonder if I was really at danger. What would have happened had I not done it? Was the doctor really valid in her concerns? Was I simply giving in to ignorant fear and probably not thinking too clearly because I was still in shock from the bike accident?

The other year, a good friend of mine had emergency root canal surgery. A strict raw foods vegan, he was torn about getting a prescription for a heavy antibiotic in which the caps were not vegan. He and I asked the pharmacist if she could order a vegan capsule for him, but they were not able to find it. Ultimately, he decided to take it, but felt really horrible about it.

How does one negotiate these situations? Many people who practice veganism also rely on medications, prescriptions, etc that were developed using animal ingredients and/or experimented on animals. This is not a judgmental question, just a question I have because I have a lot of people telling me they are 100% vegan in lifestyle, but I am wondering what “100%” really means. Is that possible for many people, when dealing with reliance on prescriptions, medications, surgery, etc? Please share your story or thoughts on this.

Best,

Breeze

Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food Cookbook Giveaway October 15, 2009

Greetings!

I’m excited to announce the release of my first cookbook Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food. Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food is perfect for new vegans, long-time vegans, or meat eaters trying to bring more healthful options into their diets. Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food has more than 150 go-to recipes for those looking for the tastes of home. The book opens by debunking myths that sometimes get in the way of eating vegan and introduces readers to favorite ingredients, cooking tools, and my love of quick, easy and tasty veganized comfort classics.

Dishes include Southern favorites such as Fried Chik’n Seitan, Collard Greens and Sweet Potato pie, Midwestern Tuno Casserole and Sloppy Josephs, while recipes for Black Bean Enchiladas and Fool Your Friends Tacos represent the Southwestern classics. There’s something for everyone and best of all, it is all animal-free.

 

Head to the Vegan Guinea Pig Blog and enter to win a free copy of Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food just by leaving a comment and telling me what your favorite comfort food is. Good Luck and thanks for your support!

Vegetarian Meat… October 15, 2009

Ran across this journal article this morning and wonder what people think about this concept.I have the entire pdf. Email me at breezeharper (at) gmail (dot) com.

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Journal of Agric Environ Ethics (2008) 21:579–596
Vegetarian Meat: Could Technology Save Animals and Satisfy Meat Eaters?
Patrick D. Hopkins and Austin Dacey

Abstract    Between people who unabashedly support eating meat and those who adopt moral vegetarianism, lie a number of people who are uncomfortably carnivorous and vaguely wish they could be vegetarians. Opposing animal suffering in principle, they can ignore it in practice, relying on the visual disconnect between supermarket meat and slaughterhouse practices not to trigger their moral emotions. But what if we could have the best of both worlds in reality—eat meat and not harm animals? The nascent bio- technology of tissue culture, originally researched for medical applications, holds out just such a promise. Meat could be grown in vitro without killing animals. In fact, this technology may not just be an intriguing option, but might be our moral obligation to develop.

Critical Race Theory and Food Studies Research Group Listserv September 28, 2009

I am doing my PhD research and simply can’t find what I need. So, I decided to start a research group listserv that I hope will benefit those of us interested in intersections of food and race/ethnicity… but from a critical race and/or critical whiteness and/or critical race feminist and/or decolonial theory analyses. Please spread the word to scholars that you think would benefit from this.

What it’s about: We would be exchanging information, brainstorming ideas, posing questions about where to find resources, posting announcements about funding, books, jobs. Post conference announcements, new URLs that focus on the topics this listserv addresses. You get the drift.

I will be paying special attention to providing academic/scholarly information about available vegetarian, raw food, and vegan literature.

http://groups.google.com/group/critical-race-theory-and-food-studies-research is the site to go to and join. I also want to start a new journal with the same title, and would need to apply for funding. Thus far, I can’t seem to find any journals on this subject that are “peer-reviewed.”

Twlight and Vegetarian Vampires? New Philosophy book… September 24, 2009

Has anyone ever seen Twlight? If so, I am wondering about this book. Has anyone read it? I have never watched Twilight, but I know it’s incredibly popular. See the book below? I just ran across it on while searching for books.

Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality

On Amazon.com, the product description reads as:

Product Description
The first look at the philosophy behind Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling Twilight series

Bella and Edward, and their family and friends, have faced countless dangers and philosophical dilemmas in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels. This book is the first to explore them, drawing on the wisdom of philosophical heavyweights to answer essential questions such as: What do the struggles of “vegetarian” vampires who control their biological urge for human blood say about free will? Are vampires morally absolved if they kill only animals and not people? From a feminist perspective, is Edward a romantic hero or is he just a stalker? Is Jacob “better” for Bella than Edward? (source: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470484233?ie=UTF8&tag=sistvegawebs-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0470484233)

Vegetarian vampires? Interesting….

Sistah Vegan Book Release Update September 19, 2009

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to update folk and let them know that my book,

Sistah Vegan: Food, Identity, Health, and Society: Black Female Vegans Speak is now available for pre-order.

I am very excited about this, as it’s been nearly 4.5 years since its inception.

Best,

Breeze

Frugality/Simple Living/Low-Impact Blogs From A Vegan Perspective? September 13, 2009

Lately I’ve been going back to reading a lot of blogs devoted to various aspects of frugality/simple living/voluntary simplicity, etc. There’s some overlap there sometimes with decluttering-type blogs too. Anyway, one thing that has always frustrated me is that a lot of these blogs are coming from a right-wing perspective (I stopped reading one well-known frugality blog after the blogger made some comments that were both anti-immigrant & bought into the “welfare frauds” myth).

Another thing that frustrates me is that many of the ones that don’t do this still are focused on, say, raising chickens both as a frugality measure & as a way to cope with Peak Oil.

Does anyone have any blogs to recommend that talk about reducing consumption from a perspective that doesn’t simply suggest we should kill animals ourselves instead of letting corporations do it for us? And additionally that isn’t saturated in racism, sexism (a lot of these blogs seem to glorify women staying at home — many of these bloggers are women — in a way that isn’t just “women should be able to stay home if they want & should be able to work outside the home if they want”), etc. as well?

One could argue that, given that it is often possible to eat more cheaply on a vegan diet (& do so more sustainably) that many vegan blogs would fit into this category, yes — but I’m interested in not so much vegan blogs that occasionally talk about other frugality/consumption issues, but frugality blogs that start from a perspective that doesn’t see killing animals as the obvious answer.

Week 2: Update on Vegans in the USA and Race/Ethnic Identification September 4, 2009

Hello everyone,

Below are the latest results of my survey. 917 people have responded thus far. My favorite write-in is number 49:

“If it is personal choice and not ancestry I choose Red, White, & Blue American.”

Followed by number 47:

“Asian/Asian American is not only insulting, it’s inaccurate. Looking at the geography of Asia, it’s pretty obvious that there’s no racial, ethnic commonality accross all of Asia, so this is an idiotic classification and inadequate. I’m Indian”

-Breezie

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——

Comment Summary
<< Back to Summary

If your racial/ethnic identification was not listed, please type it below.
#	Response Date	Response Text
1	Aug 26, 2009 10:04 PM	Irish-Filipina
2	Aug 26, 2009 10:07 PM	Afro-Latina Black woman of Puerto Rican descent but for your stats, if i had to choose, i’d prefer black vs. latina.
3	Aug 26, 2009 10:14 PM	I do not racially identify because I have absolutely no reason to. My DNA points to European ancestry, but I don’t have any attachments aside from DNA to my ethnic heritage. Therefore, I am simply a US citizen who inherited mutated skin genetics.
4	Aug 26, 2009 10:14 PM	biracial
5	Aug 27, 2009 12:01 AM	Questions like this are VERY uncomfortable for me to answer. If I had to pick one of these it would be “Latina”, but I am very atypical in my Hispanic-ness. Culturally I was raised Hispanic (in the USA), but as an adult I really am not part of the Hispanic community at all and don’t relate to any other Hispanic-Americans, especially not in NYC. I also look Chinese-ish, and my mother is European descended and Puerto Rican-born. Unlike you, I just can’t really find any ethnicity to identify as.
6	Aug 27, 2009 12:02 AM	Questions like this are VERY uncomfortable for me to answer. If I had to pick one of these it would be “Latina”, but I am very atypical in my Hispanic-ness. Culturally I was raised Hispanic (in the USA), but as an adult I really am not part of the Hispanic community at all and don’t relate to any other Hispanic-Americans, especially not in NYC. I also look Chinese-ish, and my mother is European descended and Puerto Rican-born. Unlike you, I just can’t really find any ethnicity to identify as.
7	Aug 27, 2009 12:54 AM	We are all a mix really! I’m ¼ Finnish which is not Celtic or Germanic or Slavic but Finno-Ugric….& I’m 1/32 Cherokee!
8	Aug 27, 2009 1:10 AM	South Asian (East Indian) American
9	Aug 27, 2009 1:34 PM	Indian
10	Aug 27, 2009 3:34 PM	I identify as white, but I am about 1/8 native american
11	Aug 27, 2009 4:03 PM	Azkenazi/ Eastern European Jew
12	Aug 27, 2009 4:44 PM	south asian
13	Aug 27, 2009 6:28 PM	white and latina
14	Aug 27, 2009 7:25 PM	I am a biracial Korean/Caucasian, but because my mother is an adoptee I consider myself more acculturated to whiteness (e.g. I grew up being treated “white”).
15	Aug 27, 2009 8:19 PM	Middle Eastern and White European Descended
16	Aug 27, 2009 8:58 PM	South Asian
17	Aug 27, 2009 9:03 PM	Middle Eastern AND European
18	Aug 27, 2009 9:04 PM	human race (the US census considers me white. I don’t identify with that though.)
19	Aug 27, 2009 9:44 PM	plus about an 1/8th Cherokee
20	Aug 27, 2009 9:52 PM	White and Middle Eastern
21	Aug 27, 2009 9:54 PM	Ashkenazic Jewish
22	Aug 27, 2009 11:18 PM	Chicano/a is how I self identify, though I accept Latino/a
23	Aug 27, 2009 11:42 PM	Indian, South Asian
24	Aug 28, 2009 12:23 AM	3/4 white, 1/4 mexican
25	Aug 28, 2009 4:16 AM	I am Irish and Potawatomi
26	Aug 28, 2009 1:08 PM	Jewish
27	Aug 28, 2009 6:22 PM	Mostly European and some Native American
28	Aug 28, 2009 7:05 PM	Armenian
29	Aug 29, 2009 5:49 AM	Chicana
30	Aug 29, 2009 10:07 AM	portuguese
31	Aug 29, 2009 5:28 PM	Born and raised in South Africa.Citizen of that country.
32	Aug 29, 2009 6:23 PM	jewish
33	Aug 30, 2009 7:22 AM	Jewish
34	Aug 30, 2009 4:53 PM	korean/caucasian
35	Aug 30, 2009 6:03 PM	Black/Asian American (Thai)
36	Aug 30, 2009 6:38 PM	Asian but of Indian descent (yes, India is in Asia)
37	Aug 30, 2009 7:49 PM	I’m European-descended, from Spain, though I have found that being from Spain sometimes means that you can list yourself as hispanic on official US documents, such as when you’re applying for financial aid, etc.
38	Aug 30, 2009 8:14 PM	Spanish/Mexican American…not Latina
39	Aug 31, 2009 1:52 AM	& Jewish, identify as white
40	Aug 31, 2009 5:05 AM	Latina and White
41	Aug 31, 2009 6:24 PM	Jewish
42	Aug 31, 2009 6:48 PM	I am biracial (black and white). The multi-racial category doesnt indicate which racial/cultural influences have shaped who I am. So multiracial is less informative. Usually I just choose Black to makes sure that Black people are represented even though I occasionally pass for white.
43	Aug 31, 2009 7:31 PM	white/hispanic
44	Aug 31, 2009 8:50 PM	Jewish of Eastern European descent, which, outside of New York City is NOT considered white (just ask the KKK, you you’re of Jewish heritage, you’re not white)
45	Aug 31, 2009 10:37 PM	South Asian (Indian-American)
46	Sep 1, 2009 1:00 AM	‘other’
47	Sep 1, 2009 1:21 AM	Asian/Asian American is not only insulting, it’s inaccurate. Looking at the geography of Asia, it’s pretty obvious that there’s no racial, ethnic commonality accross all of Asia, so this is an idiotic classification and inadequate. I’m Indian
48	Sep 1, 2009 1:28 AM	African Jamaican and African American
49	Sep 1, 2009 5:38 PM	If it is personal choice and not ancestry I choose Red, White, & Blue American.
50	Sep 1, 2009 8:17 PM	Irish/Native American
51	Sep 2, 2009 1:15 AM	Jewish
52	Sep 2, 2009 1:41 PM	hispanic
53	Sep 2, 2009 2:07 PM	I am mostly white but also some Cherokee.
54	Sep 2, 2009 5:05 PM	25% itailan,25% cuban and 50% American?
55	Sep 2, 2009 7:53 PM	Indian
56	Sep 3, 2009 4:36 AM	Dominican/Jewish
57	Sep 3, 2009 5:05 PM	with 1/32 Cherokee

Update of Vegans by Race/Ethnicity Survey August 30, 2009

Weekly update of Vegans by Race/Ethnicity Survey:

618 responses thus far. This is only the first week of the survey. I am hoping to get several thousand responses.

I am also new at creating surveys, so if you have helpful advice, please let me know. I’m still not comfortable with how I even created categories for gender, race and ethnicities. I had to edit them numerous times, as I received emails from people who had advice on how to represent certain identities.

Vegans by Race/Ethnicity in USA As of Aug 31, 2009 10:34 AM EST

Remember, these numbers are really more about vegans who use certain internet sites in the USA. I initially posted my call for help on Facebook groups, Vegans of Color, Twitter, and about 10 major Yahoo Vegan groups. Hey, it’s a start. I’m only one researcher with no funds, so I’m doing the best I can!

Gender is listed below as well:

Vegans by Gender Identification in the USA (Aug 31, 2009 10:38 AM EST)

Below are how people identified in the comments field because their identification was not listed on the drop down menu.

Comment Summary<< Back to Summary

If your racial/ethnic identification was not listed, please type it below.
#	Response Date	Response Text
1	Aug 26, 2009 10:04 PM	Irish-Filipina
2	Aug 26, 2009 10:07 PM	Afro-Latina Black woman of Puerto Rican descent but for your stats, if i had to choose, i’d prefer black vs. latina.
3	Aug 26, 2009 10:14 PM	I do not racially identify because I have absolutely no reason to. My DNA points to European ancestry, but I don’t have any attachments aside from DNA to my ethnic heritage. Therefore, I am simply a US citizen who inherited mutated skin genetics.
4	Aug 26, 2009 10:14 PM	biracial
5	Aug 27, 2009 12:01 AM	Questions like this are VERY uncomfortable for me to answer. If I had to pick one of these it would be "Latina", but I am very atypical in my Hispanic-ness. Culturally I was raised Hispanic (in the USA), but as an adult I really am not part of the Hispanic community at all and don’t relate to any other Hispanic-Americans, especially not in NYC. I also look Chinese-ish, and my mother is European descended and Puerto Rican-born. Unlike you, I just can’t really find any ethnicity to identify as.
6	Aug 27, 2009 12:02 AM	Questions like this are VERY uncomfortable for me to answer. If I had to pick one of these it would be "Latina", but I am very atypical in my Hispanic-ness. Culturally I was raised Hispanic (in the USA), but as an adult I really am not part of the Hispanic community at all and don’t relate to any other Hispanic-Americans, especially not in NYC. I also look Chinese-ish, and my mother is European descended and Puerto Rican-born. Unlike you, I just can’t really find any ethnicity to identify as.
7	Aug 27, 2009 12:54 AM	We are all a mix really! I’m ¼ Finnish which is not Celtic or Germanic or Slavic but Finno-Ugric….& I’m 1/32 Cherokee!
8	Aug 27, 2009 1:10 AM	South Asian (East Indian) American
9	Aug 27, 2009 1:34 PM	Indian
10	Aug 27, 2009 3:34 PM	I identify as white, but I am about 1/8 native american
11	Aug 27, 2009 4:03 PM	Azkenazi/ Eastern European Jew
12	Aug 27, 2009 4:44 PM	south asian
13	Aug 27, 2009 6:28 PM	white and latina
14	Aug 27, 2009 7:25 PM	I am a biracial Korean/Caucasian, but because my mother is an adoptee I consider myself more acculturated to whiteness (e.g. I grew up being treated "white").
15	Aug 27, 2009 8:19 PM	Middle Eastern and White European Descended
16	Aug 27, 2009 8:58 PM	South Asian
17	Aug 27, 2009 9:03 PM	Middle Eastern AND European
18	Aug 27, 2009 9:04 PM	human race (the US census considers me white. I don’t identify with that though.)
19	Aug 27, 2009 9:44 PM	plus about an 1/8th Cherokee
20	Aug 27, 2009 9:52 PM	White and Middle Eastern
21	Aug 27, 2009 9:54 PM	Ashkenazic Jewish
22	Aug 27, 2009 11:18 PM	Chicano/a is how I self identify, though I accept Latino/a
23	Aug 27, 2009 11:42 PM	Indian, South Asian
24	Aug 28, 2009 12:23 AM	3/4 white, 1/4 mexican
25	Aug 28, 2009 4:16 AM	I am Irish and Potawatomi
26	Aug 28, 2009 1:08 PM	Jewish
27	Aug 28, 2009 6:22 PM	Mostly European and some Native American
28	Aug 28, 2009 7:05 PM	Armenian
29	Aug 29, 2009 5:49 AM	Chicana
30	Aug 29, 2009 10:07 AM	portuguese
31	Aug 29, 2009 5:28 PM	Born and raised in South Africa.Citizen of that country.
32	Aug 29, 2009 6:23 PM	jewish
33	Aug 30, 2009 7:22 AM	Jewish

For as long as my skin is Black I will be a devoted anti-speciesist. August 29, 2009

The title of this post is a reference to the recent post at Womanist Musing. The post details her feelings about the ways animals have been used by a white supremacist society to metaphorize people of color. From the Black apes to the Latino chihuahuas and everything else  in between. I know those feelings all to well. The post ended with a powerful few lines:

They may scream biology until the end of time but we remember when such comparisons were used to justify slavery, rape, and segregation.  For as long as my skin is Black I will be a devoted speciesist.  My dignity and humanity demand no less.

Her words are haunting and powerful for me. And She’s right. Those memories run deep.  People of color still get their babies snatched away, still are shot and hunted, and until (maybe) recently experimented on. People of color are treated like animals, are called animals, and are dehumanized all the time.

In the US (and the world) Blackness positions people at the bottom of a very real racial hierarchy. Solidarity between different people of color is sometimes hard as we all scramble to get ourselves away from the bottom. Some of us do this by distancing ourselves from the bottom, from Blackness. I have heard people of color who aren’t Black distance themselves by how different they are from Black people. Black people distance ourselves from each other through colorism and regionalism/xenophobia. I’ve heard American Black folks distance themselves from African Black folks through primitivist, xenophobic rants. And Black Africans distancing themselves because Black Americans are portrayed as violent and animalistic.

I can’t ask a cow about her feelings on her systematic and mechanical rape, separation from her child, and eventual slaughter. But to assume because of differences between us that she doesn’t care, or is incapable of care uses the same logic as white supremacy has used for people of color.

Koko, the famous gorilla, could sign 6,000 signs. She could create new words by combining signs. She scored between 70 and 95 on IQ tests. She makes me think of Red Peter. Red Peter is the only Kafka character to have really, truly touched me. A Report to An Academy resonates with my diasporic identity. To be snatched from home, shipped to somewhere else, and lose one’s connection to home, but to be able to speak back to the one who took you in their own tongue. Is it such a stretch to think that animals could not also be upset by being shipped in cages across oceans but be unable to tell us such in a language we can understand.

Red Peter was a link for me. He is literally a gorilla, metaphorically a diasporic person. He’s the missing link between Koko and animal and me a human. If I can empathize with a literary gorilla who tells the same story as Koko might tell, than I can also empathize with Koko, and by extension all animals.

In my soul I know it would be just as wrong for me to withdraw my solidarity to those who are seen as less than me, because of a species barrier. To construct the worth of a being by their humanness is an embrace of a world where white patriarchy is the standard. Humanness is so connected to  able-bodiedness, whiteness, maleness, cisness, straightness, because these were the people who got to decide who got to count, and when they got to count as human.

For me to use biology to explain why it isn’t ok to kill or cage me, but it is to kill or cage someone else is a replication of power dynamics. It is shitting on those lower than me on a hierarchy of power, so that I can keep my perch away from the bottom.

For me to refuse compassion to other beings, simply because I have been compared to them, is to center whiteness. I say “Fuck you!” to those white folks who think they have the authority to use my history to humanize animals. But when it is just me and the caged bird I know what’s up, I don’t need to compare. My histories let me empathize in a way I doubt those in the center ever could.

I’ve reached a different conclusion from Womanist Musings: a history of my people being kidnapped, enslaved, caged, experimented on, hunted, sacrificed, killed, and displayed has left a bad taste in my mouth, and empathy in my heart.

For as long as my skin is Black I will be a devoted anti-speciesist.