Where we stand...

We shared this on Facebook. We are sharing this here, too. This is our statement of opposition to the new administration but, more than that, our statement of commitment to the future we believe in.

We may lose people saying this. We may not. We really don't care.

Founding Vegan Street, John and I wanted to create a hub that would help to create a more compassionate, just and sustainable world. We have been vegans since 1995 and Vegan Street is a natural extension of blending our skills and passions into our activism. We are proud of the work that we've created at VeganStreet.com while knowing that there is always work to be done and progress to be made.

The same things that drew us to veganism - our passion for justice, for creating change, for non-violence - is what compels me to write this post now. As many of you know, we are based in the United States. Chicago, to be exact. Chicago was a flashpoint of the most recent election in our country, used by the new president as a means for invoking fear, paranoia and stoking the hot embers of bigotry, as well as deepening the racial divide, among the voting public. Whether he was successful or not using this tack is debatable but from where we stand on January 30, he is in office.

We have no interest in dividing. We have no interest in further factionalizing the public. We have no interest in demonizing people.

Here is what we know:

We believe in compassion. This is why we’re vegan. This is also why we are taking a public stand against the administration of Donald J. Trump and the agenda he promotes along with that of his cabinet appointments.

We believe in justice. This is why we’re vegan. This is also why we take a stand against misogyny, racism, classism, religious persecution, homophobia and any other form of bigotry.

We believe in non-violence. This is why we’re vegan. This is also why we are in support of people who are coming here fleeing it in their home countries. My grandfather was welcomed into this country by himself at the age of 13. If he hadn’t been, he almost certainly would have been killed in a pogrom and I wouldn’t be posting this from my warm, comfortable office today. The animals people eat are the ultimate refugees without a safe asylum: how could compassionate people like vegans not extend a life preserver to vetted asylum seekers and citizens?

Our dedication to justice and compassion is one that extends to humankind as well. We hear you. We are here for you.

No matter your political persuasion, we will provide recipes, interviews, reviews, tips and more to help you shift away from eating animals and toward a more compassionate, healthful life. Make no mistake, though, we have our own political views and, more than that, convictions about how we want to live in the world.

Vegan Street exists as the tiniest of bulwarks against everything that Donald J. Trump and his administration of millionaires and billionaires represent. There can be no vegan world if we don’t reject the kind of violent, patriarchal worldview that Donald Trump and his cronies are aligned with. We believe that creating a more compassionate world – a fiercely honest, creative, courageous and respectful world – starts with us.

Vegan Street stands in opposition to Donald J. Trump.

Thank you.