Beyonce's Vegan Diet - Get Over it Vegans!

Hi all, 

After seeing the uproar on my social media feed tonight after Beyonce declared she will be following a vegan diet, I felt I needed to say something. 

I don't normally become involved in these types of conversations anymore, mainly because I find vegans can become so obsessed with labels that they lose the understanding of a bigger picture thus rendering a conversation pointless.

I think that Beyonce following a vegan diet is great for the following reasons:

1) Anything that reduces suffering is a GOOD thing

Anything that raises awareness in this cruel heartless world is a good thing. A GOOD thing. Everyone does not need to go abolitionist vegan or nothing. We should always support ANY positive step anyone makes in their life which directly reduces the suffering to a living being. Not being supportive is counter productive to the movement. 


2) Beyonce's influence is HUGE

Her millions of followers will see that she is trying to be vegan (whether it be for health is irrelevant) it will raise awareness about the topic and get people thinking on some level - which is more than any of these keyboard warriors can do. 


3) But I have seen her wearing fur!!!!

Fur is disgusting. So is leather, meat and dairy. Any product from an industry that tortures and hurts animals is disgusting. However, it seems there is a focus on the fur. Anyway, lets roll with that assumption that fur is the worst. How is it relevant to the conversation? She has worn fur and is now choosing to publicly announce a vegan diet. Keyword here is DIET, she has not said 'I have become a vegan!!' - she is choosing it for health reasons as a diet only. Perhaps this decision may create an onflow effect as she learns more about it and becomes an ethical vegan. Her choice should be supported (or atleast not burnt down), because the positive effects outweigh anything else.


She is now partnering with the 22 Day Diet author to develop a Vegan meal delivery service, certainly a positive outcome.

Oh, the irony!

I hate to say it, but I was wrong. This is a rare occurance, so enjoy it whilst you can ;)

Do you all remember Oprah's 21 day Vegan Cleanse? I do. I thought it was fantastic. Her turn to veganism was for the wrong reasons, though - it would seem. All the vegan bloggers and radio hosts who got so excited about this groundbreaking occurance can now sit with their soy lattes and just laugh at the irony.

This is an excerpt from her blog; "...What I'm only now realizing, though, is that while I think about food so much and have used and abused it as a substitute for contentment, I've never been a conscious eater....Oh, I've flirted with the idea of conscious eating—which for me, until recently, meant taking smaller portions, putting down the fork after every bite, not eating to fill emotional voids. But that is just one level of consciousness. Kathy Freston, in her book Quantum Wellness, struck a nerve for me by speaking of a higher level of awareness, what she calls "spiritual integrity."....I learned a lot about how animals are treated and mistreated before they get to our tables. It is appalling and beneath our humanity to allow the torture of animals for the sake of our gluttony. We've neglected basic human decency on such a large scale, and it really does bleed over into every other aspect of life...." Read more here: http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200810_omag_from_oprah

I would have thought she would take the Welfareist path after this cleanse and start eating Happy Meat...maybe even go vegetarian....or God forbid, vegan!

But no.

Another interesting article I read this morning was entited "Fox hunting ban 'harms animal welfare"

...here is an excerpt; "HUNTERS say a new report has "vindicated" their arguments against a ban after it concluded the activity is the most effective way of controlling foxes, and that all arguments of cruelty are "invalid".

The publication states hunting with hounds is "demonstrably the natural and most humane method of control", and there was "never any scientific evidence" to support a ban.

The all-party parliamentary Middle Way Group worked with the Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management to produce the document, which concluded the hunting ban of 2004 is "unscientific, unenforceable, socially divisive, and harms, rather than improves, animal welfare".

So, killing foxes is the natural and most humane method? Clearly sterilisation or relocation is barbaric in comparison. It is a wild claim to suggest that death is the most 'effective' way of control. What should we do about all the overpopulation of our species in certain countries? Kill the babies and elderly? It is the most effective way, after all...

I Ate A Dead Bird

Hi all

The title reads correctly. Yesterday I ate a dead bird. Obviously, I did not choose to do so - but rather, did so in blind innocence and the kicker is that it tasted so much like Mock Meat, I did not even notice the difference. My friend and I ordered two Vegan Chicken Burgers at East Brunswick Club (Herein EBC) on Lygon Street in Melbourne. For those who are unaware, EBC are a very laid back, casual pub who serve delicious vegan pub food dishes. Yesterday, however, they slipped up.

As Cheryl and I waited for our burgers we eyed off the possible vegans sitting around the venue and checked to see if there were any good looking men. There weren't. We were, however, greeted by a lovely chap emitting a strong waft of alcohol and rather unpleasant bodily odour who tried to offer us coke from his half empty 600ml bottle. Anyone who calls me Senorita and does not pronounce it properly, offers me coke from their half drunk bottle and does not wash - is out of the game.

Anyway back on track, Cheryl got her burger first and started to eat. Ten or more minutes later I recieved mine. The waitress stated "Here is your Vegan Chicken Burger". Naturally, I would assume it is indeed a Vegan Chicken Burger. Quarter way through the burger I noticed a difference in the colour of mine as opposed to Cheryl's. We studied, taste tested again and concluded mine was indeed a dead bird. So, we called the waitress, she confirmed it was and apologised.

So, what compensation did EBC provide us with for this huge mistake causing immense pain and suffering for my fragile brain? They gave us free Peanut Butter Choc Chip Cheesecake. Enough? I suppose.

But this made me feel funny. I have rambled on before about where you draw the line when you consume something and how I treat it as a case by case basis. Well, in this case, I was more than happy for them to throw it away and give me a new one. I felt sick. I felt disgusting. I felt unnatural.

Though, mind you, the funny thing is - now that I have tasted both I can confidently say that yes, the vegan version tastes much better. Its texture/contents was just so much tastier than the 'real' thing.

Moral of the story? Meat eaters really cannot use the 'meat is tasty' excuse and free cheesecake is delicious.

Above: Peanut Butter & Choc Chip Cheesecake that Cheryl and I got. I did rather like it, reminded me of Snickers.

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