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World Vegan Month, November 2009
November 1st marks the beginning of Wold Vegan Month and whether you are a long-time vegan, just starting out or still only thinking about giving up animal products, this is a great time to reflect, research and reach out. Here are some of my tips on ways to celebrate World Vegan Month.
Things everyone can do:
* Post links to WorldVeganDay.org on your social networking profiles such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc., or on your blog.
* Invite friends/family/coworkers over for a vegan meal or organize a lunch or dinner at a local veg restaurant.
Seasoned vegans:
After being vegan for a long time, the lifestyle is so simple for us that we sometimes forget the roots of why we went vegan. Take a moment to revisit your reasons for becoming vegan, so that you will be able to clearly communicate your story to others. Remember, unless you were born into a vegan family, you were probably once at the same point as the person you're talking to is (uninformed and unaware), so be sensitive to that. Also, when talking to people about veganism, try to tailor your message to each specific person. For example, if you’re talking to your athlete friends, let them know first and foremost about the performance benefits you’ve experienced since adapting a plant-based diet. If you’re talking to a pet-lover, go for the compassion towards animals angle and point out the horrors of factory farming. For those especially environmentally-conscious, spout out some statistics about the amounts of methane produced by animal agriculture. There are so many great resources out there, so be sure to use them!
Newbies:
You may not have completely settled into your niche, are still discovering new aspects of veganism and probably have some unanswered questions. However, you know why YOU decided to become vegan. Just be honest with people, and don’t pretend to know all the answers. Try not to get angry or defensive when discussing your choices with non-vegans. If something comes up in conversation that you don’t know the answer to, invite that person to research it together with you. Often, non-vegans love to argue without having done any research. This is an opportunity to get them to start reading up on the subject...and we all know where that can lead to!
Still on the edge (not quite vegan):
Take this opportunity to discuss the issue with people both vegan and non-vegan (if you don’t know any vegans, there’s a bunch of us on this site; just send one of us a message). Read up on the benefits of veganism at sites like www.worldveganday.org, www.vegansociety.com, www.pcrm.org, etc., or read a book such as The China Study by T. Collin Campbell. Better yet, take the Thrive in 30 challenge during November and see where it leads you!
Things everyone can do:
* Post links to WorldVeganDay.org on your social networking profiles such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc., or on your blog.
* Invite friends/family/coworkers over for a vegan meal or organize a lunch or dinner at a local veg restaurant.
Seasoned vegans:
After being vegan for a long time, the lifestyle is so simple for us that we sometimes forget the roots of why we went vegan. Take a moment to revisit your reasons for becoming vegan, so that you will be able to clearly communicate your story to others. Remember, unless you were born into a vegan family, you were probably once at the same point as the person you're talking to is (uninformed and unaware), so be sensitive to that. Also, when talking to people about veganism, try to tailor your message to each specific person. For example, if you’re talking to your athlete friends, let them know first and foremost about the performance benefits you’ve experienced since adapting a plant-based diet. If you’re talking to a pet-lover, go for the compassion towards animals angle and point out the horrors of factory farming. For those especially environmentally-conscious, spout out some statistics about the amounts of methane produced by animal agriculture. There are so many great resources out there, so be sure to use them!
Newbies:
You may not have completely settled into your niche, are still discovering new aspects of veganism and probably have some unanswered questions. However, you know why YOU decided to become vegan. Just be honest with people, and don’t pretend to know all the answers. Try not to get angry or defensive when discussing your choices with non-vegans. If something comes up in conversation that you don’t know the answer to, invite that person to research it together with you. Often, non-vegans love to argue without having done any research. This is an opportunity to get them to start reading up on the subject...and we all know where that can lead to!
Still on the edge (not quite vegan):
Take this opportunity to discuss the issue with people both vegan and non-vegan (if you don’t know any vegans, there’s a bunch of us on this site; just send one of us a message). Read up on the benefits of veganism at sites like www.worldveganday.org, www.vegansociety.com, www.pcrm.org, etc., or read a book such as The China Study by T. Collin Campbell. Better yet, take the Thrive in 30 challenge during November and see where it leads you!
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