Truly Thankful...

So prepare your eyes to see a fair bit of whining, just saying. Don’t worry, it’s not a feast, just a little taste and it’ll be over quickly.

A couple of weeks ago, I experienced my first major computer crisis. In retrospect, it was probably just my turn. Nothing could have prepared me for what was ahead of me, though: one moment, I was simply doing my last email check of the day before bed and the next, out of nowhere, I seem to have temporarily lost my executive cup-holding function and spilled water all over my keyboard and track pad. I did my best Janet Leigh impression and John came running in; we held the computer upside-down, powered down and unplugged it. We followed the protocol we found online of letting the computer dry over a crate with a light fan on it. We may have also chanted, lit a candle and done some positive visualizations. Somehow we slept that night and the next morning, we made an appointment with the resident geniuses at our local Apple store with my laptop all wrapped up like a baby with croup.

Despite telling our technician that we needed it backed up (something we hadn’t done – and I blame myself for this – because I thought that saving was the same thing as “backing up,” which, oops, it isn’t), and having the technician verbally confirm this several times, he failed to note that on his work order and we failed to notice that it wasn’t on there when we signed it. Again, the technician was incompetent but this was our fault for not double-checking. We signed the work order, reasonably hopeful after he said he didn’t notice any water damage at the initial check, and I busied myself for a few days with other work. When John got the call that the computer was ready for pick-up, we were thrilled: it was back a day early and no water damage had been detected. I wouldn’t need a new laptop! Oh, one small thing, though. They did what is called a “clean install.” There was no need for backup noted on the work order. My laptop was effectively wiped clean of all the work on it, all my files, all my saved messages, all programs, everything. It was all gone and my desktop was returned to me, naked as a jaybird. Or a cardinal. Or a goldfinch. Really, you could insert any naked creature here, it doesn’t have to be a bird.

I could beat myself up for not knowing enough to back up my computer but I am taking it as a learning lesson. I could rail against Apple for their incompetence, and, well, actually, I am doing that. Once I stopped imagining writing such an incendiary letter to Apple that the keyboard on my now-naked laptop would need to be replaced, though, I was able to see something else with absolute clarity: what made me feel like my insides had been removed with a pumpkin scooper was ultimately the same reason why I should be grateful. This is my life’s work and I have found it. This is everything.

I could wake up every workday with dread and resentment. I could be bored out of my damn mind. I could not feel a sense of purpose. I could actively hate my job. I know many people who clock in and dedicate their off-hours time to their pursuing what brings them a sense of meaning and purpose. I’ve been able to construct my life so I can do what I love full-time. It’s not something most people are able to do so there is that gratitude there, to have found what I love to do and to be able to dedicate my life to something that is so profoundly necessary.

There is not a day when I feel like I’m phoning it in. There is not a day that I don’t look forward to doing this work or am a loss for ideas. All that said, of course, it’s not about me. It’s about creating a world with less suffering in it, more compassion, more justice, more joy, more connection. The fact that we get to live at a time when we can choose to construct the lives that are meaningful to us is a profound, rare gift and I plan to take full advantage of the opportunity of it.

So this week’s essay is shorter as I am still making up for the week I lost. If you haven’t already, please check out my interview on the fabulous podcast, OurHen House (also, please consider donating now as donations will be matched through the new year). I also got the fantastic news that my recipe for Brussels Sprouts Sliders was featured on the New York Times section, The Well. There’s a lot to be thankful for but I need to get busy with filling my computer back up.

Ten Questions: Vegan Rockstar Edition with Julieanna Hever

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I am not one of those people who think that people are only motivated to stop eating animals by ethics. I have met people again and again who got their foot in the door through taking ownership of their health and then began to make deeper connections to compassionate living. People can speak all they want about their utopian standards but for me, the proof is in the pudding: some of the most active, passionate and ethical vegans I know came in through the side door of health. The idea that we would push anyone out of “the club” because they didn’t follow the personal trajectory we’d prefer is kind of appalling to me, especially seeing as how very important community is to integrating change successfully. At the end of the day, dogma is pointless and even harmful if more potential vegans are lost in stubborn pursuit of our ideals and, ultimately, the animals pay the price for that shortsightedness. I believe that our movement is anchored in social justice and as such, our outreach on behalf of animals is ideally rooted in a foundation of ethics -- ideally is key here -- but it should never come at the expense of losing people who might otherwise become phenomenal champions for the vegan cause if we were to allow them to gain access through a side door.

This is all to say that while I wish everyone were driven by compassion and justice, at some point we need to be grateful that they are exploring or have fully embraced not eating animals for their own reasons. This is where someone like Julieanna Hever, M.S, R.D., C.P.T. comes in. As someone whose own veganism is rooted deeply in her convictions about compassionate living, Julieanna has found a way to deftly move between worlds: her background in nutrition, health and science; her passion for animals and the earth; and her skill at conveying her message of wellness and kindness without dumbing it down and without condescension. This cannot be an easy feat and yet she pulls it off with uncommon diplomacy and grace. In short, Julieanna Hever is fabulous and you should know about her. I believe you’ll be just as impressed.

1. First of all, we’d love to hear your “vegan evolution” story. How did you start out? Did you have any early influences or experiences as a young person that in retrospect helped to pave your path?

Like for many others, it all started for me by reading John Robbins’ Diet For A New America many years ago, as a teenager. Once I learned about the hideous, atrocious, harmful ways animals ended up on a plate, I was devastated, shocked, and frustrated. I did not want to contribute to that industry anymore. But I was sucked into the fear of nutrient deficiency, of lacking options to eat, of my family and friends isolating me, and of going against the societal norms. It took me years of investigating and then, ultimately, going through graduate school in nutrition and a dietetic internship to come to the place I am at now...where I feel confident and secure in the fact that not only do we not need animal products to survive, but that we quite possibly do better without them. Everything evolved to make perfect sense in that eating vegan is the only way to stop suffering of animals as well as stop the destruction of the environment and just so happens to be the healthiest way to eat, too. I do not believe in coincidence and am passionate that it is a win-win situation for all when we eat the way my heart and soul knew was right since first being awakened to the information decades ago.

2. Imagine that you are pre-vegan again: how could someone have talked to you and what could they have said or shown you that could have been the most effective way to have a positive influence on you moving toward veganism?

I was honored and eager when I was asked to write my first book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition. I felt like that was my chance to write the book I wish I had when I originally wanted to go vegan and didn’t know where to start. I have found that offering information (when requested) and role modeling are the most powerful tools for supporting others. However, an incredibly crucial lesson I have learned over the past few years is that saying less is more. When I started out and was exceedingly loud about veganism, I shut out a bunch of family and friends and seemed to have had the opposite effect I was hoping for. I wanted to veganize the world and had no problem talking about it at any opportunity. I still want to veganize the world, but have found that the less I say, the more people are interested. Apparently, the inspiration is in the subtlety and people really are curious. But if someone feels attacked, they naturally pop into a defensive mode. If you avoid that by not being confrontational or judgmental and meeting them where they are at, they are more likely to proceed further. Personally, if I were pre-vegan again, I can’t imagine myself being anything other than ravenous for facts and tips.

3. What have you found to be the most effective way to communicate your message as a vegan? For example, humor, passion, images, etc.?

This depends on the audience and the medium. When I am speaking, I can’t help but get impassioned and sometimes even emotional. Even when I am speaking to physicians and other healthcare practitioners, I can’t help but reveal my true feelings on the subject. But, I also tell jokes and try to make it fun. I always infuse as many facts and science to back up everything as well as tips and ideas on how to realize this way of eating. On social media, I play more with humor and sarcasm, using images and memes (particularly my absolute favorite, brilliant Vegan Street Memes, which I and my audience eat up), and a ton of documentation of facts, facts, and more facts.

4. What do you think are the biggest strengths of the vegan movement?

The passion of vegans is the biggest strength. The growing momentum is without doubt due to the persistent and consistent efforts of groups like PCRM, Mercy for Animals, PETA, Vegan Street, the growing base of vegan chefs and cookbook authors, healthcare practitioners writing books and speaking, and others who are lending their voices, skills, and talents to the media and other audiences. It’s exciting to witness. Another extremely critical element in the success of the vegan movement is the growing body of science in the literature confirming how a plant-based diet is the healthiest.

5. What do you think are our biggest hindrances to getting the word out effectively?

I see many vegans get frustrated and angry at the lack of respect in the overall community and media. (And, believe me, I know there really is a lack of respect.) But that comes from fear. People are scared to death that they have been doing it all wrong. That they may have to face major changes. And that is because there is perhaps nothing more personal than food. When we use judgment and come from a place of anger, it is ineffective and turns people away. If there were fewer vegan police, more people would be open to trying to move in this direction without fear of having to be perfect. I have worked for years on being able to meet people where they are at and acknowledge all of their strides, regardless of how small they may seem. I prefer billions of people eat fewer animals overall and focus on that angle instead of trying to make a few completely vegan. Truthfully, it makes it easier for me knowing that once someone starts the journey and witnesses the deeply transformative effects and starts having revelations on how their forks affect the world around them, they continue down the path anyway.

6. All of us need a “why vegan” elevator pitch. We’d love to hear yours.

This, of course, depends on who I am speaking to, but when someone asks me, my deepest, most sincere pitch is: “I am vegan because I do not want to contribute to the suffering of animals, the degradation of the planet, and because eating plants is the healthiest way to live.”

7. Who are the people and what are the books, films, websites and organizations that have had the greatest influence on your veganism and your continuing evolution?

John Robbins started my journey and he is amazing. I have also found great wisdom and authentic, life-changing mentorship from Brenda Davis, Dr. Melanie Joy, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Neal Barnard, and Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Other people who have supported and inspired me include vegan dietitians GinnyMessina, Jack Norris, Reed Mangels, and Vesanto Melina. I love and deeply admire Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Mercy forAnimals as powerful world-changing organizations. And I give huge props to the genius culinary artists Dreena Burton, Chad Sarno, Robin Robertson, Tal Ronnen, Chloe Coscarelli, Chef AJ, and Miyoko Schinner, who consistently show how delicious veganism is. Veganism is exploding and I absolutely love all the gorgeous voices that are emerging. I am inspired by people like Gene Baur for starting Farm Sanctuary and Dr. RichardOppenlander for defining the environmental impact of animal consumption. Fearlessness is powerful and it is changing the world.

8. Burn-out is so common among vegans: what do you do to unwind, recharge and inspire yourself?

When I feel the impact of negative energies build up, I go to my friends that have been doing this for years and decades. Or I go to resources. I read information or watch documentaries and remind myself why this is the reason I am here and it rekindles my flame. So far, it has been easy because I am clear on all the work I have yet to do. I love and am beyond grateful to have a voice in helping others and, hopefully, in continuing to inspire people to recognize this necessary evolution towards eating plants.

9. What is the issue nearest and dearest to your heart that you would like others to know more about?

That we cannot only survive without animals, but, likely, we can thrive and do better without them. Because the implications of not eating animals are so vast and so hugely imminent.

10. Please finish this sentence: “To me, being vegan is...”

To me, being vegan is everything. Being vegan means compassion, wisdom, and interconnectedness.

Ten Types of People Who Will Try to Undermine Your Veganism: An Identification Key

“Have you heard that soy causes man-boobs?”
I think so, actually, about fifty million times from your fellow Weston A. Price Wackadoos.
“But I’m worried about your son. He’s vegan, too, right? Choosing to be vegan yourself is one thing but...”

Ah, I see. Now you are a Concerned Party.
“I mean, you can do what you want. I just know that God said we have dominion over animals. Oh, speaking of, what about abortion? I mean, if you’re so concerned about life...”

Wow, two for the price of one. Here you are both God’s Special Pet and the Distractor.

"What you do is up to you. I’m just saying that if you vegans were less self-righteous about everything, you’d probably get further. Did you see that link I sent you about low B-12 levels corresponding to personality disorders? I found it in Mercola’s newsletter. If you didn’t read it, you can’t be serious about this conversation."

And so the Keyboard Warrior makes an appearance. Can I be done now? 


Anyone who has been vegan for about two weeks or longer has probably met each of the individuals I will sketch out below, people determined to dismiss, undercut or actively undermine the veganism of others. This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch, just some of the most prominent types; also, please keep in mind that there are tremendous areas of overlap (someone can be both a Concerned Party and God’s Special Pet, for example, and people will often jump ship from one to another to the next in one single interaction, trying to find whatever seems to work best). There are also areas where the characteristics of one can be shared by another, such as the Special Snowflakes, the Yeah-Butters and the Former Vegans all possessing a strangely common condition of having absolutely unique obstacles that stood between them and veganism. As annoying as it is, knowledge is power.


The Concerned Parties

“We are a little worried...”



Their eyebrows are frequently furrowed or raised around you. Their index fingers are extra muscular from all the articles they send you. They will send you articles about orthorexia. They will send you articles about a sick baby with insane parents who may or may not have been vegan. They will send you articles of deeply questionable scientific rigor from poorly designed blogs. If you so much as sniffle around this individual, the floodgates of Deep Concern will come crashing down. After all, they heard a doctor-like individual talking disparagingly about veganism on morning television or they saw something ominous somewhere about soy or their third cousin twice removed was vegan and she had gallstones or kidney stones or stones of some sort so that is concerning. They may not really know much of what they are talking about but that doesn’t stop them from saying it. 



How to deal: Stay calm and stick to the facts. 



The Weston A. Price Foundation Wackadoos. a.k.a., The Naturals, a.k.a., Paleos
“Mmm...that roadkill looks mighty tasty.”


These folks can be tricky to identify at first because they may look like and even sound like independent, crunchy types and they tend to congregate around environments (virtual and actual) that appeal to “alternative minded” people so when they start frothing at the mouth about soy or insisting that babies not fed puréed liver will fail to thrive, it can be a bit discombobulating at first. They will quote Sally Fallon and hold up Nourishing Traditions as their bible, they will send you articles from Dr. Mercola and share links from Natural News as if they were legitimate. Like the Concerned Parties, they will diagnose every bump and hiccup as proof positive that you are clearly on a downward spiral if not actively circling the drain. Then they will try to try to get you to eat more sulfate-free bacon, they will send you grainy, two-hour-plus YouTube lectures they expect for you to watch, they will send you a link about the dietary need for bovine colostrum. They are only trying to help! 


How to deal: Ask for peer-reviewed sources. Ask if their sources have any basis in, you know, fact or scientific rigor.


The Keyboard Warriors

“Did you even read our link???”


They are on message boards. They are on comment threads. They are attached to social media like bird poop. They have an arsenal of links, personal anecdotes and insults they will lob at you like hand grenades from behind the safe cover of their computer screens. They hate vegans because we’re self-righteous. They have never met a single vegan who was at a healthy weight. They assert that all vegans have grey skin. They had a roommate who was a vegan once and she was bat-shit crazy and she broke her lease. Did we see that Austrian study about how vegetarians are unhealthy? Here -- they will share it with us. What about the lions in the jungles that eat gazelles, hmm, what about them??? Did we see that article that proves homo sapiens cannot be successful herbivores because of an enzyme that was mentioned on an obscure blog from 2006? Did we even read the link???


How to deal: Not wanting to be pinned down, if one approach doesn’t work, they will jump tracks. Learn to ignore these people.

The Yeah-Butters
“Yeah, but we really have some solid rationales for continuing to eat animals.”



You gave them some excellent resources to help them understand veganism better, yeah, but they don’t know how to cook or like to cook or have refrigeration or access to a grocery store or knives for chopping vegetables or even flat surfaces for a cutting board. Yeah, but they grew up eating meat. Yeah, but they are Italian or Irish or Scandinavian or Brazilian and so they have to eat meat. Yeah, but if the animals aren’t treated cruelly, there’s really nothing wrong with it. Yeah, but they only eat “humane” meat.  Yeah, but the eggs they buy are from the sweetest people who treat their chickens literally like pets. Yeah, but they are have a soy allergy. Yeah, but they tried to be vegan and they were starving all the time. Yeah, but what about abortion? Yeah, but what about the lions? Yeah, but there are more important things in the world.

How to deal: there is nothing that churns up the yeah-butters quite like continuing to poke holes in their excuses. You have to be persistent but eventually it will come down to “Yeah, but I like it,” and then they will have to face the fact that everything else they hold up is just a shallow excuse.


God’s Special Pets

“Because the all-merciful God just likes people way better.”



And on the seventh day, God created overflowing manure pits, reckless water waste, oceanic dead zones and climate change so that His Special Pets could keep enjoying their mmm...bacon, omelets and grease-stained buckets of fried animal parts. This is apparently not the benevolent, compassionate and loving God but the God who woke up in a pissy, vengeful and sadistic mood -- who else would create animals who can and do feel pain just to allow them to be cranked out into cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets and Oreo Blizzards? This was part of His divine plan, though, apparently, so that His ordained ones can maintain their privileged place in the natural order and  in drive-thrus. Nothing but the most ostentatious presentation of suffering and violence for His very favorites! God’s Special Pets will cite biblical passages and books, chapters and verses that support their position of status as His favorite ones.

How to deal: Ask if God isn’t supposed to be merciful. Ask why a merciful God would create sentient beings and allow them to suffer so tremendously. Ask if He would want His Special Pets to destroy the planet He created so wantonly.

The Distractors

“Oh, wait! What’s that over there?”



Even if they have never once given voice to any particular concern for the homeless, The Distractors suddenly want to know how you can justify being vegan when it is so eclipsed by the existence of homeless people. And abortion. And every other issue that has ever existed and will ever exist, including but not limited to: starving children, war, jihadists and chemtrails. The Distractors are similar to Concerned Parties but instead of wringing their hands over you personally, they are the determined shapeshifters of planetary concern, eager and ready to divert any potential attention toward the treatment of animals to any other subject that they deem deserves it better. Not that they are necessarily concerned about it enough to do anything themselves, but, you know...

Sample retort: “By living as a vegan, I am addressing matters of compassion, environmental concern and human health, to name a few. What are you doing? Further, is caring a finite resource? Why does my work on behalf of one mean that I wouldn’t have anything to give to another?”

The Special Snowflakes

“We are very remarkable.”



The Special Snowflakes have a rare condition in which they must consume animal products every day because they just cannot digest plant matter properly. The Special Snowflakes have Type Double Secret Special Snowflake Blood Blend or some such that prevents them from being vegan. The Special Snowflakes are descended from Inuits or Native Americans or the Romanov family or any other ancestry where they feel their position as an consumer of flesh is unique, necessary and even honorable. They were specifically  given permission from a levitating yogi or Buddhist monk of the highest order to consume animals. The Special Snowflakes aren’t like all the others, not even the 98% or so of the public that does exactly as they do when it comes to eating animals. The Special Snowflakes are, well, special. Can’t we just stop raining on their special parade?


Sample retort: “Ah, you’re very special, aren’t you? Special enough to share the same practices with pretty much everyone else. Neat!”



The Would-Be Sensualists

“Meat is sexy and primal just like me.”



They connect their love of flesh foods to libertine pleasures and sexual prowess and the rejection of those things to stuffiness and austerity. They idolize stunt-eater Anthony Bourdain. Their imagined hot, sizzling libido can only be satisfied by a hot, sizzling hunk of flesh. Poor vegans, though. They like to imagine that we are the withering prudes worried about the sodium content of wilted celery and ruining their non-stop bacchanalia.

Sample retort: “If your sexuality is connected to enjoying limp corpses, I’m not sure that’s saying too much that’s positive about you.” 

The Humane-iacs
“It’s that thing the other people do that is wrong.”


They personally know every cow, pig and chicken they have ever eaten, at least since they memorized The Omnivores Dilemma by heart. Since they knew these animals personally, they know that they lived on grassy meadows, they dined on organic grasses, sun-warmed chestnuts and free-range grubs, that they were gently massaged and serenaded by a wandering string quartet each evening before they slumbered on the softest of hay under starry skies. This is the natural way, after all. Humane-iacs are default members of a different kind of Special Snowflake club, too, because “their” meat, dairy and eggs are soooo unique. It doesn’t matter if it’s unaffordable and not available to most: what matters is that there is a glowing green halo of exclusive, impenetrable goodness around their consumption habits.  



How to deal: Ask if they maintain this all the time. Ask if when they dine out and “humane” animal products isn’t available, if they eat vegan. Ask how this is a workable model for the whole planet when we have such limited space.



The Ex-Vegans

“They really tried but...”



They tried to be vegan. They really, really tried. But their skin turned green and they went into shock and they developed Type 2 orthorexia and a dog peed on their leg and they stopped breathing and their hair fell out and they had to take out a second mortgage. Or they just didn’t feel right. Or they had to “listen to their bodies.” Whatever it was, how dare you imply that they and their choices are anything less than perfect as is? Who are you to deny them 100% acceptance of their self-reporting? Many Ex-Vegan are also Special Snowflakes. Who would have guessed? 



Sample retort: “Yeah, I used to eat animals, too, but I just didn’t feel right. I’m an ex-omnivore. It was just too hard. My conscience was killing me.”










Bear in mind that veganism is threatening to a lot of people because it makes them feel judged, unkind or uncomfortable even if you haven't said a word. We are the elephants in the room who can't help but draw attention to things people would rather ignore and as such, we come with a lot of baggage - our own and that of the people we meet - just by existing. Because of this, there are many people who will try to undercut your veganism, some innocently and some intentionally. Try not to take it so personally but do identify when it's happening.

I love Mikael Nielsen. There, I said it. 



Through his tireless work as National Volunteer Coordinator for Mercy for Animals, Mikael is responsible for getting dedicated and talented people involved in creating rippling, real change for the animals and the planet. He is also one of the most humble and hardworking people I know, though, giving his all to getting the message out about compassionate living and doing it in the most thoughtful, effective way. I think a lot of times we are so passionate about the cause, so driven to expose people to the unnecessary horrors inflicted upon animals, that we scare people away with our desire to effect change immediately. Mikael, though, through his years of advocacy understands the importance of blending patience and understanding with his very compelling message, helping people to trust that he is not there to judge, he is there to help people along the way to creating less violence in the world. He is an empathetic listener, a skill that is sadly often under-emphasized among advocates, and creates an environment of calm but focused attention wherever he goes. In doing so, he gives people the space to be honest, work through internal conflicts, and get in touch with their own values. In short, Mikael is, in his native Danish, vidunderlige. He is wonderful.


So, yes, I am biased. Mikael is a friend. Who wouldn’t want a friend like this, though?

1. First of all, we’d love to hear your “vegan evolution” story. How did you start out? Did you have any early influences or experiences as a young person that in retrospect helped to pave your path? 


I went vegetarian in 1996 and then vegan a few years later. But, it was not until 2002 that I realized being vegan was not enough and that I needed to get out there and create more compassionate people. After all, each new person I got on-board spared hundreds more animals from a lifetime of suffering. It was an EarthSave Chicago Conference for Conscious Living that opened my eyes to this and soon thereafter I joined the group and started doing outreach. Since EarthSave Chicago was led by you and John Beske at the time, I guess I owe my start to you. Thanks!


2. Imagine that you are pre-vegan again: how could someone have talked to you and what could they have said or shown you that could have been the most effective way to have a positive influence on you moving toward veganism?

I always wish someone like myself had come to my high school back in the day and given one of MFA’s humane ed presentations, which include our four-minute edit of Farm to Fridge. Seeing and learning about how horrific the day-to-day lives of farmed animals are would probably have been enough to at least start me down the path toward a vegan lifestyle and also gotten me active much sooner. Most people just have no idea how awful the factory farming system is, so I think that is a great place to start the conversation.


3. What have you found to be the most effective way to communicate your message as a vegan? For example, humor, passion, images… etc.? 


I used to be a very self-righteous vegan activist and thought I had all the answers. Sadly, early on I probably turned off more people than I ever convinced to give veganism a try. Makes me cringe when I think about it. Now, one of the first things I tell people is how far from perfect I am and that we all cause some sort of suffering in our lives. We are all on our own path and I think we should strive to do our best, wherever we are in our lives. That means meeting people where they are, whether that is cutting out chickens from their diet, doing Meatless Monday, trying to go vegetarian, or making the switch to being vegan.

Applaud them for getting to where they are and then help them take the next step, whatever that may be. Along those lines, I think it’s very important that we not only focus on the “why” when it comes to ditching animal products, but also the “how.” We need to give people the tools to live healthy and compassionate lives for the long term. That is why I love MFA’s FRESH booklets and Vegetarian Starter Guides. They do just that.


4. What do you think are the biggest strengths of the vegan movement?

The greatest is, without a doubt, this awesome community of compassionate people that grows by the day. I am so honored to know all these amazing people doing fantastic things for animals all over the world. And one of the best parts of my job as national volunteer coordinator is working with our volunteers all across the United States and helping them get started or stay active. Most have full-time jobs, yet still dedicate an incredible amount of time to animal protection. Inspires me to do more myself.



5. What do you think are our biggest hindrances to getting the word out effectively?

As Gandhi said about the path that many social justice movements take, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” I think we are definitely in the “then they fight you” stage of things and the animal agriculture industry has been pushing back, most notably in the form of ag-gag laws that prohibit undercover investigations at factory farms and slaughterhouses. But more and more, people are seeing through this tactic and asking, “What are they trying to hide?”

Fortunately, these blatantly unconstitutional laws are now being challenged in the higher courts. I think in the long run Big Ag will regret this tactic in a big way. These industries also have millions and millions of dollars to spend on marketing and we have seen a big push toward “humane” animal products (humanely raised meat, cage-free eggs, etc.). Of course, there is no such thing, so we need to be vigilant that people don’t fall into this trap and think they are supporting an industry that cares for these animals. Nothing could be further from the truth.



6. All of us need a “why vegan” elevator pitch. We’d love to hear yours. 


Eating animal products causes unnecessary suffering. It really is that simple. And we would never do these things to an animal ourselves, so we shouldn’t be paying others to do our dirty work for us.


7. Who are the people and what are the books, films, websites, and organizations that have had the greatest influence on your veganism and your continuing evolution?

As I mentioned, John Beske and you, as well as fellow EarthSave Chicago member Bob Schwalb, had a big influence as I got started. Seeing The Witness at that same conference was also a real eye-opening experience. My future boss, Nathan Runkle, has also been a great influence, and his bringing MFA to Chicago was another huge moment. Nathan was such a hero of mine and after volunteering with MFA for over six years, that move to Chicago eventually led me to leave my corporate job and work full time at MFA.

One of my best friends is Jon Camp from Vegan Outreach and he has also had an incredible impact on who I am both as an activist and as a person. All around solid guy and they don’t come much better than him. Lastly, Nick Cooney’s two books, Change of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change, and Veganomics: The Surprising Science of What Motivates Vegetarians, from the Breakfast Table to the Bedroom, really helped me fine-tune my activism to be as effective as possible and I can’t recommend them enough.



8. Burn-out is so common among vegans: what do you do to unwind, recharge, and inspire yourself? 


I think it’s so important to be compassionate to ourselves as well. I go to the gym almost every morning and find that incredibly useful in keeping my sanity. I also do yoga and try to meditate every day. I love kicking back with my girlfriend, making some delicious vegan food, and watching a movie. And I very much enjoy hanging with my companion dog, Oliver. He is with me almost every hour of the day and his tail is always waggin’. Our new favorite spot is the dog beach down by Lake Michigan. I think we both leave recharged after a nice walk along the lake.

Mikael's doggy and my buddy Oliver. (Photo: Mikael Nielsen)


9. What is the issue nearest and dearest to your heart that you would like others to know more about?

I have dedicated my life to reducing the suffering of farmed animals. Since 99 percent of animals who are abused, exploited, and killed are farmed animals, and because of the degree to which they suffer, I think it is the most important social justice movement of our time.



10. Please finish this sentence: “To me, being vegan is...”

… about living my morals and values.” Most people claim to love animals and care about how they are treated, but their actions just don’t match up with their beliefs. I think bridging that divide will go a long way toward a more compassionate world for all of us.



Bringing in Light as We Expose the Darkness...

All of my life, I’ve had something of a conflicted relationship with fun. I like having it, that much is clear. I enjoy laughing, having a good time, and, well, pursuing the various things that cause me  to laugh and have a good time. This shouldn’t be very remarkable but still, my tendency toward seeking out fun put me at odds with the other writers and artists I hung around with in college; it was a wedge with the other feminists and the activists I was aligned with then, too. I was always few shades too cheerful for the thinkers and sensitive types. No matter how eager I was to jump on a bus to protest in Washington or confront a cat-calling sleazebag on a street corner, my drive to have fun has always been at least as strong as my robust impulse for justice and equality, which strikes some people as an odd combination, I suppose. 


The conflict comes in because as a lifelong pursuer of fun, I noticed from an early age that buoyant people have been assigned some specific cultural baggage: We’re seen as shallow. We’re seen as silly. We’re seen as lacking in substance. I think this is unfair and narrow-minded, though; shouldn’t the whole person have room for both jumping in leaf piles and also speaking out about social justice issues? (Maybe not at the same time but just because you may get leaves in your mouth.) To me, the perfect balance is a blend of both joy and depth; to cut off our supply of one is to limit our human experience.

Especially today, with our unprecedented ability to instantly share information and with so much of it understandably skewed toward the dark, grim and viscerally violent - just a casual scroll down my Facebook feed has sent me into a reflexive fetal curl lately, with all the images and stories of slaughtered, bloody, mangled and horribly abused beings - I believe that it is vital that we place more of an emphasis on boosting the joy factor and the gratitude so many of us feel for having discovered this way of living that sustains us so well. I am concerned about the level of hopelessness other vegans and those we are trying to reach might feel with this constant barrage of overwhelmingly depressing news. This suffocating milieu of hopelessness can also easily give rise to feelings of helplessness, of compassion fatigue, of despair, of disconnection. How does feeling disempowered in this way help to move people toward a transformation or sustain those of us who are already there? I’m not trying to be all Mary Poppins here, but can’t we also convey a little, you know, happiness and gratitude? Does a tendency toward seeking out fun need to mean that we have a lack of caring? Isn’t enjoyment also an important part of being a whole person?



Having had our blinders removed to what we do to animals means that we are immersed in injustice and brutality, and this is clearly a difficult pain to live with. Given what animals are put through, though, and given how very much they have to lose if people do not see the shift to veganism as enticing, alluring, and something they simply want to do, don’t we owe it to the world to offer a message that is holistic, conveying it with emotional honesty but also joy? It seems to me that living a rich, multi-dimensional life that includes a capacity for happiness is as much an asset for the beings we work on behalf of as it is for us ourselves.

We live in a dark time but also an incredibly exciting time, one where we right now have the ability to create a new consciousness of connection that is changing the world forever for the better. It is happening. An honest depiction of the brutal status quo in regards to what we do to animals is essential toward creating the shift we need but so is communicating the immense rewards of a life that is in alignment: body, mind, spirit and ethics. Instead of the bloody pictures, instead of the doomsday predictions, why not shuffle in a little inspiration, extend a hand to assist rather than bash, express a little joy for the opportunity that we get to live at a time when we can actively cultivate the lives we want, and we can help to ignite this fire of empowerment inside the people we connect with as well. We are so amazingly fortunate and we should never stop being grateful for this fact, celebrate it and take advantage of it. The consciousness of the world is shifting under us like tectonic plates and we should never forget that. 



Sorrow and joy are not irreconcilably at odds with one another. They are both part of the complex emotional experience. So while we educate, tap into joy a little, too. While we expose the truth, tap into gratitude as well. Allow yourself to have some fun. The animals won’t suffer any more for it, I promise; in fact, they stand to benefit a great deal if we can show the world that we are whole people. Yes to it all. It is all part of the experience.

(Speaking of all this, please join us this Saturday at Chicago VeganMania if you are able, where joy and education, fun and activism fizz together in an intoxicating, frothy cocktail.)





Ten Questions: Vegan Rockstar Edition with Eriyah Flynn

One of the things that is most exciting to me about the animal advocacy movement has always been how individuals can create so much good in the world with just an attitude of motivation. Eriyah Flynn of Columbus, OH and her organization, Vegan Shift, is one such example. As a longtime vegan with many years of trying different things to get the message out, Eriyah has gotten clarity on strategic savvy and effectiveness. I think she has a lot of wisdom to share and offers a lot of pointers on not only how to become more effective conveyers of our message but also ideas on how to become more active on behalf of animals. I am grateful for Eriyah and her work with Vegan Shift. I hope you'll consider supporting her organization and getting involved, whether that's through Vegan Shift or your favorite advocacy group. 

1. First of all, we’d love to hear your “vegan evolution” story. How did you start out? Did you have any early influences or experiences as a young person that in retrospect helped to pave your path?



It was a series of events and influences. I have always loved animals, thankfully I was raised by a family of animal lovers who taught me to treat individuals the way I would like to be treated; unfortunately, like most people in the US, I had no idea how disconnected I was from reality. Today, I can honestly say I suffered from an arbitrary, nonsensical perspective regarding fully conscious animals/individuals and had placed them into two categories: the animals I loved and protected as pets and wildlife, and the animals I consumed as commodities to eat, wear, use in entertainment, supported experimentation on, etc. While I technically understood I was consuming animals and their products, my actual contemplation on the details of what that really meant up until 1995, was non-existent. I can remember thoughtlessly stating the weak, cultural programming mantra of “That is their purpose” which is what makes me so hopeful for empowering a rapid world vegan shift. Informed people who have the same values can adapt their behaviors based on critically important and compelling information, now faster and easier than ever (especially compared to  nearly 20 years ago when I first began to be exposed to these issues). As I became more informed of the facts surrounding the present cultural foundations, the path and behaviors to live consistently in alignment with my values for peace, liberty, justice, love, dignity, respect, empathy and compassion, and my claims to love animals, people and  the planet became self-evident: I must live vegan. 



My mom was probably my most dominant influence by providing in the foundations of love and respect towards other earthlings. Walt Disney, Dr. Seuss and superhero stories and films were probably subconsciously others, as all of those stories and films portrayed heroes and heroines as those whose ethics and actions represented love, respect, kindness and the rescue of animals in need of help, whereas the “evil villains” were those who were uncaring, abused and/or threatening to kill/or killed innocent animals. 



[Here is more on Eriyah’s evolution if you’re interested. Fascinating story!]
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2. Imagine that you are pre-vegan again: how could someone have talked to you and what could they have said or shown you that could have been the most effective way to have a positive influence on you moving toward veganism? 



For me, I would hope that conversation would have happened very early in life. I wish that Ruby Roth books such as “That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals”, “Vegan is Love” and “V is for Vegan” would have existed when I was a child. If I would have been told the truth then, and had been given a choice to live in alignment with my ethics, instead of being sheltered from the reality of what I was participating in, and denied even the decision (through absent vegan options on menus in school or restaurants, and cultural events anywhere), I know I would have been open to and especially if empowered, to living vegan as a toddler, since loving and connecting with other animals were my natural instincts, tendencies and behaviors. The fact that these options are not given and that the violence and reality associated with our consumption of animals is largely hidden through misinformation by official sounding organizations, euphemisms and outright lies that make the intolerable tolerable have enabled and glorified violence in a culture that claims to be an ethical, modern, civilized, and humane society. This is an epic perversion and violation of collective social values and norms that are now rapidly shifting vegan with the committed and organized vegan movement circumventing conventional programming through the use of social media and in conjunction with the cumulative, scientific proof that a whole-food, plant-based diet is the optimal diet for humans to thrive, especially considering our imbalance with nature given our unprecedented human and livestock population levels destroying and displacing critical biomes such as the Amazon.

Are most Americans aware that 90% of the Amazon rainforest is now gone, primarily for unnecessary livestock production, thus creating an extinction rate 1000 times the natural rate and contributing to 20,000 to 30,000 species extinctions annually? This figure has been quoted at roughly equaling 200 species extinctions per day by some scientists. Any intelligent and rational individual should resonate with self-preservation connected with their reliance on ecology, if nothing else. A large part of the problem is that people are ignorant to the facts, literally addicted to animal products, or have a financially vested interest, so all too often, rational and intelligent decision making can be met with the significant and catastrophic resistance as time is not on our side at the rate our population continues to grow, resources are consumed and thus causing ecocide.


3. What have you found to be the most effective way to communicate your message as a vegan? For example, humor, passion, images, etc.?



I actually believe that using ALL of the tools listed above can be the most effective in a given circumstance. People are so different: one method will not fit for all applications. It is crucial to know your audience. Going to the fairgrounds in protest with angry chants paired with slaughter images condemning 4-H clubs/livestock producers is not likely to yield as much support or consideration as going to the fairgrounds providing a delicious vegan junk food booth, vegan health food options, and some veganic agriculture demos and information.  (People who are concerned with their health/or have health conditions still like to take their children/grandchildren- who may also have health conditions they must be mindful of- to the fair). Humor is one of the best ways to reach people on the planet, especially when telling provocative truth. Bizarro comics are brilliant. Patience, understanding, compassion, love, with passionate, straight-forward, consistently firm, empowering messaging, are critical pieces of overcoming a lifetime of deceptive programming. The choice of language one uses is SO important in these interactions. Avoid making “you” statements: instead say “our, we, us” as in, the collective society. Telling your personal story, how you arrived at the decision to be vegan, can often be so powerful to compelling others. Never tell someone they are “wrong”. Speak in terms of consistency of behaviors of ethics and characteristics we value. Use questions to help draw out their barriers. “What is stopping you from being vegan?” Frame your discussions of living vegan as one of a consistent, compassionate, peace movement with abundant, delicious, nutritious, healthy, sustainable, love inspired options, and avoid anything that says we are the culture of “No, this, no that, restrict this, restrict, that, limited this etc. “You don’t have to give up meat, dairy and eggs!- you can have them all, only they are made from plants!”  “Yes! We can have cheesecake and  ice cream, made from delicious creamy plants like cashews, almonds, coconut, etc.!”  Empowering the transition peacefully is our best chance for rapid world vegan shift.   



4. What do you think are the biggest strengths of the vegan movement?



It’s ever increasing diversity of demographics, and the adoption of direct, honest, unequivocal, ethically delivered vegan messaging. Here is one of the best memes I’ve seen for really helping people build the bridges to vegan shift empowerment:











5. What do you think are our biggest hindrances to getting the word out effectively? 



Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder induced Angry Misanthropic Vegan Activism. Raging vegans that scream at others and post a never-ending stream of graphic violence only find themselves preaching to the choir that can stand them. Those who are doing that need to be taken in and loved, and mentored into channeling that completely justifiable rage and anger into something that can build bridges to society connecting others in empowerment for a rapid vegan shift. Lessons in inspiration of galvanizing and organizing people in social justice movements can be modeled after the Quakers, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.



6. All of us need a “why vegan” elevator pitch. We’d love to hear yours. 



I say it with a shirt - affectionately referred to as “The VEGAN BEACON”: I wear the Nonviolence United VEGAN shirt like a uniform almost everywhere I go (especially if I know there is going to be a crowd, the grocery store, a concert, a festival, a movie theater) because it is black with white lettering, people with normal vision can see its fantastic message from up to a city block away: Compassion, Nonviolence: For the People. For the Planet. For the Animals. Who doesn’t resonate with that? I have yet to meet anyone who said anything negative about the shirt’s message.


That shirt has a number of responses from people: the vegans automatically connect (often with hugs and elation or simple commiseration); the pre-vegans begin to ask questions; the potential re-vegans make confessions for their departure which are often really a subconscious invitation to encourage and empower them to try again. (Seasoned experience has taught me that the worst response to someone who makes such a confession is to assault them with vitriolic contempt and judgment for the betrayal of the innocent, as instinctive as it is to rage against them, trust me on this: Offering an empowering hand takes genuine patience, wisdom and maturity. Vegans are teachers, and as such, we must provide an ethos that promotes the sense of safety and mindset required for learning: treat others with respect, even though we know that they are not respecting those who are literally dying as a result of their decisions.) So instead of castigating the fallen, make a friendly offer to help them to try again.  I carry copies of Vegan Shift’s 300 Vegans Vegan Resources Guides and A Life Connected brochures. Only people who are really adversarial (vested financial interest, strong addiction or a burning case of cognitive dissonance) ever respond negatively to the NU VEGAN shirt, a warm and friendly smile, congenial or compelling, passionately delivered responses and empowering resources. Even the most negative people can be turned around with the right approach. People love and are inspired by passion, conviction and consistency with one’s ethics, not by preaching and condemnation. 



7. Who are the people and what are the books, films, websites and organizations that have had the greatest influence on your veganism and your continuing evolution? 



Specifically, the vegan path began with Moby, The Animal’s Agenda, books like “Mad Cowboy” and “Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating”, “The Food Revolution" and the groups like PETA which showed me the graphics of “Meat Your Meat” and volunteering locally for Mercy For Animals which connected me to an actual vegan support community. Later, I resonated with Harold Brown, Gary Francione’s abolitionist approach, and others like Tom Regan, Gary Yourofsky, Steve Best and began studying social justice movement strategies recommended by Harold Brown with books such as Bill Moyer's “Doing Democracy”.

Matt Bear’s Nonviolence United materials have been so effective they are what I have predominantly chosen for the 300 Vegans campaign/project as standard messaging (Vegan Shift is a hub organization for promoting the excellent, consistent vegan messaging resources already available across the movement, not reinventing the wheel).

Ultimately, over the now 20+ years of development through military service (Decorated, Honorably Discharged USAF Desert Storm Era Veteran) and a leadership career in both public and private sectors, extensive reading, formal education, volunteering with different organizations (including and beyond the animal rights movement) and rigorous debate in life experience, I've taken the best of both what I resonate with and have learned from all of these exposures to develop what has become Vegan Shift. 

8. Burn-out is so common among vegans: what do you do to unwind, recharge and inspire yourself?



Recognizing that is where one is “in a state of burn-out” is really important. Being part of this movement can be so gratifying and yet so challenging on so many levels. Sometimes you need to check out and take a break from activism to be most effective at it. Take a break from Facebook, take a weekend to go connect with nature and breath in the fresh air and peace away from the sensory overload that is modern society today. Try kayaking, swimming, yoga or meditation. Connecting with other vegans in safe havens, where you can go to blow your gasket of disillusioned pain and frustration of being vegan in a pre-vegan world is so important. I can’t stress enough that you refrain from showing your darkest side to your general network, there is a difference between sharing the occasional glimpse and perpetual rage. That is a state that WILL make you sick, so allow yourself to feel it, but do not dwell there long. There are secret groups for raging which is a good place to blow that steam off, just remember, nothing is truly secret on the internet. Having a strong network of vegan support is necessary for one’s mental health. There is always professional counsel, a mentor or family member you trust. I would seek out vegans who understand what you are experiencing. Seek out mentorship from those you see achieving or have attained the level of health and state management you respect and desire. (I’ve written a note on this and within this note’s comments Matt Bear added a note, that has some really great specific coping mechanisms.) 



9. What is the issue nearest and dearest to your heart that you would like others to know more about? 



The NASA Million Dollar Family Challenge. We want a better world: we start by walking the walk, then talking the talk, and finally empowering others to do what they can to create that peaceful world we wish to see. It starts by stimulating the mind to think, to imagine the possibilities, to see the invisible, feel the intangible and to move in the direction of our shared values to achieve the impossible. The NASA Million Dollar Family Challenge project was created to do just that. It engages people to participate in the process of peaceful innovations instead of clinging to comfortable, common rhetoric that has not yielded the actions, behaviors or policies consistent with the values we claim to stand for in society. It is here that we begin to build the world we would really see. It takes effort and someone has got to do it.

We can build bridges to our community by inviting people or policy makers to take the NASA Million Dollar Family Challenge when they ask thoughtful, genuine questions, or especially, when they make thoughtless, arcane, barbaric, or otherwise oppressive automated responses, or have been making violently, insane policy decisions (usually some sort of call for "population control", to common culture behaviors/challenges). The objective of this challenge is ideally to cause people to shift from automated, cultural programming, to actually using some innovative thinking strategies, to connect with those who are motivated by self-interest for the best nonviolent solutions, and for those who actually care about the oppressed and often violated earthlings of the world we share. (Marketing survey statistics have shown that only 20% of people are idealists who are inclined towards altruism, the other 80% are gradually less motivated across the spectrum by ethics and more motivated by WIFM- what's in it for me? Five percent of the population are sociopathic and will never care about anyone human or nonhuman- their opinion will not matter.)

What does this mean? Simply ask people to imagine 3 things:
1) They work for NASA (Houston-we have a problem that our most brilliant minds must urgently solve)
2) There is a million dollar pay off for the best vegan idea (nonviolent, socially just that is symbiotic to all earthlings)
3) The animals and nature are their human family members (that they actually care about, not entitled to oppress, dominate and destroy)

It is this collaboration of solutions that will be the foundation of Vegan Shift’s Phase 2 plan for shifting every aspect of violence out of our federal, state and local policies: The National Vegan Policy Implementation Act. “If not you, who? If not now, when?” Hillel



10. Please finish this sentence: “To me, being vegan is...”

The single most important and far- reaching action I can take to live consistently in alignment with the values, ethics, feelings and characteristics that all conscious earthlings crave: peace, liberty, justice, nonviolence, dignity, respect, love, empathy and compassion.

Thank you, Eriyah!

On Disunity and Fighting Dirty...

In writing this, it didn’t take long to remember why writing longhand is such a frustrating but also uniquely rewarding experience. Once you get past the self-loathing that stems from not being able to write just one decent sentence, there is the delicious fsssst! of ripping out pages from a notebook and crumbling them up - viciously and with a hiss or growl or sometimes both - as I did recently with this, starting and stopping and tossing draft after draft into the recycling. After so many fits and starts, I realized that it was the tip-toeing around that made the thorny subject I circled around more jagged and intimidating, and the only way around it was through it, thorns and all.

So, in that spirit, it goes something like this: I’ve noticed that vegans seem to really kind of love to hate each other. Perhaps you’ve noticed this, too. This animosity is nothing new but these days it’s so much more intense, perhaps accelerated by more of a multitude of approaches, definitely fanned by the limitations of social media. The question I run up against is why can’t we disagree with one another, even emphatically, and not be jerks about it. Why must it so often become personal and turn to the vituperative? For people who are so repulsed by violence that we’ve altered our lives to minimize contributing to it, we turn to personal evisceration with an astounding readiness.  



As vegans, we are promoting a crucial cause, one that is so invigorating and forward-thinking it still gives me goose bumps and one that matters so much to so many that the word “cause” is hopelessly ill-fitted for its scope; with it we have invaluable opportunities to grow and create lasting change that can ripple out to produce so much good. So often, though, instead of seeing people put courageous, hard work into effecting change, what I see is behavior that is as loud and puerile as toddlers fighting over who gets a turn on the playground swing next: I see puffed-up chests and bravado, I see posturing and platitudes, I see character assassinations and casual cruelties. I see people squandering the position we own for being on the right side of history and I see us fragmenting into tinier and tinier units until I wonder if it’s possible to subdivide into even smaller numbers. 

Division was never my thing, though, and neither is allegiance politics. So where does today’s fixation on take-no-prisoners, “with me or against me” mud-flinging in the vegan movement leave people like me? Increasingly, we are likely to go it alone.

Before I go any further, let me clarify what I am not saying: I am not asking for us all to get along. It is a waste of time to ask for unity because it’s simply not going to happen. This occurred to me the other day and while the thought initially depressed me, I have gained clarity and total acceptance about our lack of unity. The Hatfields and the McCoys and all their feuding offspring and a bunch of teenagers without texting privileges on lockdown together would have a better chance of finding peace together sooner. This is not me being pessimistic: I say this because we don’t necessarily have the same objectives, and, given that, despite having lots of common ground and significant areas of overlap, it’s understandable that we cannot find unity.


I am not even asking if we can’t all just agree to disagree. That isn’t going to happen either on a large scale because there are simply too many of us for that to happen, and, frankly, because there are some key strategic approaches that are irreconcilable to one another and deserve to be critically scrutinized. Agreeing to disagree shouldn’t be accepted by those who can’t stay silent about the disagreement. The way we change the things we don’t like is by creating new models, after all.


That being said, we need to be asking ourselves difficult questions, we need to be challenging our own comfort zones and become more creative, more effective communicators of our message. In the endless fighting, though, in the increasingly petty, internecine allegiance politics that grinds us down to dust as we try to prove who is right, I am wondering how the animals or the movement itself will see any immediate or even long-term benefits. We have a real problem with self-sabotage and dividing ourselves up into impossibly smaller and smaller factions until it’s clear that the ones benefiting are also the ones who profit from animal use.

I am reminded again of one of my first experiences with this divide-and-conquer mentality, of being a spectator at a meeting with a mediator as the once-popular vegetarian society in Chicago messily and loudly fell apart. In the middle of the room, with people shouting, threatening and pointing fingers, the poor mediator, who probably thought mediating a dispute between vegetarians would like watching a basket of kittens play with yarn, looked at the people gathered and said, truly incredulous, “This is how compassionate people act? I thought you were better than the rest of us. What hope does the rest of the world have then?” I was embarrassed, not for the disagreement but for the way that people were disagreeing.

Make no mistake, this isn’t a “can’t we all get along?” entreaty. This is a “can’t we be humane?” entreaty. The long and the short of it is this: we’re not going to have unity because the differences are too vast. While unity is not happening, though, could we fight less dirty? Can we give one another space to do our own work without making it ugly and personal? Most important, could we just focus on what we do best and do it? I think if we give up on the pursuit of unity and focus instead on personal effectiveness, the vegan movement, the animals and the planet will all be better off.