Article: Forward thinking Vegan

Being faced with change is a part of everyday life, but we always have a choice of how we deal with it and whether we accept it. In the autumn edition of The Vegan we were asked as members to provide input in to the review of our achievements to help us make improvements over time and encouraged with the words that collectively we have the potential to achieve. Together we can bring about change not only within our group but also in society as a whole.

But as well as our part in the Vegan Society, I believe there is a challenge there to each of us as individuals to embrace change and continue to move on and develop in our lives as vegans. The societies founder, Donald Watson, stated that in their work to expose the cruelties of the dairy industry no movement before had challenged so much tradition and vested interest,1

A report in the winter edition of the Vegan stated,

...however hard we work and strive to bring the vegan way of life to the attention of all, big business with its terrific economic power, introduces ever new forms of cruelty.1

Unfortunately all that sounds very familiar in 2001/2 too. But to bring about change we have to keep moving forward, even to stand still at our present position will see us stagnate, as individuals and as a society.

Being an active vegan is more than the food we have chosen to eat, or not to eat - it is about our ethical choices, the impact we have on our environment, on others, on animals. We all come to veganism for differing reasons initially :

Abhorrence of the cruel practices inherent in an agricultural system based on the abuse of animals is probably the single most common reason for the adoption of veganism, but many people are drawn to it C for health, ecological, resource, spiritual and other reasons. 2

Why we first came to be vegan is one thing but where we are now is another - have we continued to make changes, move on in our lives, adopted other ethical practices to support the vegan way? Or have we been content to sit in the safe zone , to not challenge or be challenged?

Change means looking at the options available and making a choice - to do this means giving ourselves time to gather the necessary information and to then take time to consider this in order to make a decision. This doesn't always have to be the awesome task it would appear - information is often already collated. The Vegan Society has numerous leaflets and their publications are invaluable (for this read the Vegan Shopper and the Vegan Travel Guide), talk to friends, get in touch with your local vegan contact, use the internet. Maybe consider some of the following :

• invite friends from work or neighbours to a vegan meal with your local group or at home - it invariably provides the opportunity for a very lively conversation.
• support local shops - this is not only more personal and enjoyable but develops a sense of community.
• support charities which adhere to a vegan ethical stance - I find I am learning in this area all the time, particularly in regard to those to avoid. See adverts in the magazine for the Hippo and Dr. Hadwen Trust for example.
• support vegan businesses whether this be a holiday, shoes, internet store or local cafe / restaurant.
• who do you bank with? Find out about their lending policies, look for ethical alternatives - this can be a bit of a minefield but the Ethical Consumer has some good information.3
• the transport you use - can you walk or use a bike rather than a car? Can your household manage with one car? (be creative here or willing to make some comfort sacrifices)
• recycle as much as possible - our council in Hull provide blue bins for paper recycling which are collected every month. But also consider clothes, re-using envelopes, the blank back of junk letters for notes, yoghurt pots make good pen holders, give brown cardboard boxes to friends with allotments... the list is endless.
• look behind the label of vegan foodstuffs, what are the ethics of the company who produce the goods? e.g.. Seeds of Change has joined up with Mars, who buy 75% of its chocolate from the Ivory Coast which has thousands of slave children, Heinz has been criticised for its milk marketing, make various meat products and have a poor record for workers health and safety in the USA.3
• don't leave others to do the work - contact companies when previously vegan good s are no longer so, fill in Vegan Society questionnaires, submit entries for the new Travel Guide.

Change begins with each of us, in whatever small way we are able to make it - but together these changes begin to have a larger impact. Only then will we see the potential of the Vegan society grow and develop. We each have a responsibility to be a part of this exciting process.

Article written by Carol Nicholson of East Riding Vegans using the following references:

1. The Vegan Magazine 50th Anniversary Special
2. The Vegan Society
3. The Ethical Consumer Magazine, ECRA Publishing Ltd., Unit 21, Old Birley Street, Manchester, M15 5RF www.ethicalconsumer.org