be a voice for the voiceless

Pigging out in Charlotte, vegetarian-style

2010-06-16T17:37:00.000-04:00

Vegetarians and vegans hear it all the time. "What do you eat?" Most veg-eaters don't mind the question at all, but welcome the opportunity to educate people on their healthy lifestyle.

But the question itself is a bit leading, and tends to suggest that not only is there not much variety for vegetarians and vegans, but that surely the portions must be minuscule. Restaurants don't tend to serve up broccoli and cauliflower on quite the grand scale as they do chili-bacon-cheese fries.

While cheering consumers on to appreciate largely-portioned veg-friendly meals should be done with caution, the fact remains, a gigantic plant-based entree stands to be a heck of a lot healthier and responsible than a gigantic meat, cheese, and cholesterol-laden entree. If you're going to pig out, at least leave the pig (and other farm animals)... out, right........... [story continued here]

My 2nd article for my new Examiner.com column - Asian cuisine: Charlotte's gateway to vegan dining

2010-06-04T15:13:00.001-04:00

Asian cuisine: Charlotte's gateway to vegan dining

When many first become vegan (a vegetarian following a pure plant-based diet with no animal ingredients), they are willing to become martyrs for the cause. They’ll sacrifice bloody steaks, gooey ice cream, and greasy cheese pizza for the sake of personal health, animal welfare, and the environment......

[click here to read the rest of the article]

I'm the new Charlotte Vegetarian Restaurants Columnist at Examiner.com

2010-06-03T20:27:00.005-04:00

Earth Fare makes the grocery playing field fairer for vegetarians and vegans

Besides boasting a snazzy website that includes a recipe book, health toolbox, and weekly challenges, Earth Fare has cornered the Charlotte market on vegetarian and vegan grocery shopping... and perhaps even dining...................

[click here to read the rest of the article]

PETA Hired Me!!!!!!!

2009-08-08T16:23:00.003-04:00

It's been ages since I've blogged, but I have been busy. . . being hired by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)!!! :) I applied for a Corporate Liaison position in late June, and in mid-July, PETA brought me up to Norfolk, VA to interview. Last week, I recieved the call that I'd been selected for the job! I start August 17th!!!!!!!

My dream was always to work for a non-profit, "saving the world". After college, Bank of America made me a good offer, and I signed on and worked on the trading floor for a year, and eventually became a business continuity consultant. A couple years later, I joined Wachovia, in Operational Risk, again specializing in business continuity and Microsoft SharePoint web development. When Wells Fargo took over Wachovia this year in the merger, I was blessed to be offered another position with the new, combined organization, again, in Operational Risk. Around that time, I saw the position with PETA posted, and I decided to go for it. I've always hated math, never been interested in the least in banking and really, this economy is rather depressing if you ask me.

I'd been telling myself since college that I really was

"saving the world" by being a business continuity consultant, as we prepare the bank for disasters - situations ranging from a snowstorm where buildings are inaccessible, to 9/11-type terrorist attacks, to pandemic flu. Truth be told, I've felt for the last four years that all I've done since college is push data around.

The two days I spent in Norfolk, VA interviewing with PETA were incredible. I worked my butt off (it was a volunteer working interview), and felt so satisfied with what I completed, but at the same time, craving more projects. Returning to Wachovia was miserable for me. Sitting in my bank cubicle was tortorous, with the knowledge that I could be doing so much to help end the suffering of animals during those eight hours each day, but instead I was just inputing data. . . and often dealing with office "drama". And boy have chic hormones been flying since the integration started. I've had two quotes hanging up in my cube to "ward off" some of the negativity:

"The reason why dogs have so many friends
is that they wag their tails and not their tongues."
-Anonomyous

"The only thing worse than being talked about
is not being talked about."
-Oscare Wilde

July 30th was one of the happiest days of my life. I can only describe the feeling I had as though I'd just been released from a jail sentence. . . like I'd escaped from a career I had no passion for, and into the freedom of waking up and doing what I feel God created me to do. I've been miserable, the more I came to realize the irony that so many of us spend the majority of our waking hours doing something we don't really like.

Really, think of the breakdown of an average work week:

1.5hrs - Get ready for work

45min - Commute to work

9hrs - Work

45min - Commute from work

8hrs - Sleep to rest up for work

That leaves 5hrs of free time. Twelve hours of our day, each day, revolves around work, commuting to work or getting ready for work. That's half our day! Throw in sleep, and that's 75% of our day revolving around our careers.

Stay tuned in about a week. . . when I start saving animals full-time. :)

USDA Animal Kill Counter Visual

2009-06-23T23:38:00.008-04:00

Sobering... a visual from the USDA NASS Livestock Slaughter 2008 Summary. The animals you see passing along your screen right now, and the numbers tallying up represent the number of animals killed - in the United States alone - since you pulled up my blog.

Please re-post on your own blogs, Facebook, MySpace, etc, and give a voice to the voiceless. For inspiration on cruelty-free living, please visit my site: www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com.

Dairy Milk Bearish... The Concept is Bull

2009-06-22T11:27:00.010-04:00

While pulling Operational Risk articles for work this morning, I came across this:

“Dairy-Cow Kill to Double Milk Price on Biggest Slump Since 1980”

So basically, the National Milk Producers Federation located in Arlington, VA is going to pay dairy farms to slaughter 103,000 cows across the United States in the next few months. Milk prices will double in the next year to cover the cost of the slaughter and the loss of “equity.” Farmers are “culling” herds because of plunging exports and the increased cost of corn (funny… aren’t cows supposed to eat grass and not grain anyway?).

According to a Wells Fargo senior economist (Wells Fargo is my new company), “No one is making money producing milk. The milk price remains well below the total cost of production.” Meanwhile, the poor cows are pumping out, on average, over 1,800 pounds of milk each, per year, a new USDA record.

One dairy farmer said, “We are in a depression right now. I have to be an optimist that the dairy farmers can get together and find a way to reduce the cow herd about 5 percent so that prices can recover quickly.”

The article drones on to provide endless statistics on these commodities, as if they are lumps of coal, pools of oil or hunks of gold.

In reality, cows living, breathing creatures that experience the emotions that your pet does… joy, happiness, excitement, loneliness, sadness, fear. At what economic price point does life become an expendable commodity? And better yet, at what point DID life become a matter of profit and loss for a businessman’s balance sheets? If an alternative to suffering exists, why not use it and eliminate suffering? We are the only creatures that drink milk from other animals. Dairy milk alternatives are much more appealing when you think about it… milk from a plant, such as almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, rice milk, hemp milk or cashew milk. Why do we insist on cow milk as if it’s the end-all?

Do your health a favor, and your pocketbook, and quit drinking dairy milk and switch to plant milk. It’s healthier, more sanitary and cruelty-free. Seems a simple and straightforward decision. Personally, I don’t miss dairy milk at all, in fact the mere thought of it grosses me out. I enjoy the variety and cleanliness of the various plant milks, and of discovering which are my favorites.

The following is a PETA article on dairy cows:

“The 9 million cows living on dairy farms in the United States spend most of their lives in large sheds or on feces-caked mud lots, where disease is rampant. Cows raised for their milk are repeatedly impregnated. Their babies are taken away so that humans can drink the milk intended for the calves. When their exhausted bodies can no longer provide enough milk, they are sent to slaughter and ground up for hamburgers.

Cows produce milk for the same reason that humans do: to nourish their babies. In order to force the animals to continue giving milk, factory farmers impregnate them using artificial insemination every year. Calves are generally taken from their mothers within a day of being born—males are destined for veal crates, and females are sentenced to the same fate as their mothers.

Mother cows on dairy farms can often be seen searching and calling for their calves long after they have been separated. Author Oliver Sacks, M.D., wrote of a visit that he and cattle expert Dr. Temple Grandin made to a dairy farm and of the great tumult of bellowing that they heard when they arrived: “‘They must have separated the calves from the cows this morning,’ Temple said, and, indeed, this was what had happened. We saw one cow outside the stockade, roaming, looking for her calf, and bellowing. ‘That’s not a happy cow,’ Temple said. ‘That’s one sad, unhappy, upset cow. She wants her baby. Bellowing for it, hunting for it. She’ll forget for a while, then start again. It’s like grieving, mourning—not much written about it. People don’t like to allow them thoughts or feelings.’

After their calves are taken from them, mother cows are hooked up, several times a day, to machines that take the milk intended for their babies. Using genetic manipulation, powerful hormones, and intensive milking, factory farmers force cows to produce about 10 times as much milk as they naturally would. Animals are pumped full of bovine growth hormone (BGH), which contributes to painful inflammation of the udder known as “mastitis.” (BGH is used throughout the U.S., but has been banned in Europe and Canada because of concerns over human health and animal welfare.) According to the industry’s own figures, between 30 and 50 percent of dairy cows suffer from mastitis, an extremely painful condition.

A cow’s natural lifespan is 25 years, but cows used by the dairy industry are killed after only four or five years. An industry study reports that by the time they are killed, nearly 40 percent of dairy cows are lame because of the filth, intensive confinement, and the strain of constantly being pregnant and giving milk. Dairy cows are turned into soup, companion animal food, or low-grade hamburger meat because their bodies are too “spent” to be used for anything else.”

Bobbing boats, dirty napkins and crescent moons

2009-06-15T22:38:00.001-04:00

“By plucking her petals,
you do not gather the beauty of the flower.”
-Rabindranath Tagore

It seems that "drama" comes in waves. I feel I spend most of my life relaxing on my proverbial boat, with my not-so-proverbial husband and dog, and bob along tranquil waters, enjoying life.

Becoming lost in God's spectacular creation - endless water, plush grass, stoic mountains, emotional animals, billowy clouds - this is what I breathe. Without the ability to take in nature, I feel I would wither. Then I look around, and find blessings of a husband who loves and accepts me for who I am, and who will do anything to plunk a smile on my face. A dog who's entire existence revolves around receiving a tummy rub from mommy and daddy at the end of a long day's wait. A Mom and Dad who have sacrificed everything to ensure I have every chance to be successful in this world by giving me bottomless opportunity and encouragement. And then sisters, in-laws, extended family and friends from whom I receive priceless support and learn more ways to enjoy life by watching them live out theirs.

Then a wave hits on a side of the boat I wasn't watching. Followed by another, and another and another. Just as I'm cleaning off the unwanted seaweed and occasional soda can from a nasty litterbug on one side of the boat, another wave hits on the opposite side of the boat. I hate drama. It's unnecessary and unsightly litter and causes undue stress on my peaceful little boat.

I like feeling accepted and loved. We all do. So why don't we give that simple gift to each other? It's free, in every possible sense of the word. It doesn't cost money not to criticize. It doesn't cost any time to bite your tongue... in fact, it saves time. Unacceptance is drama. it's completely unecessary and useless to not accept someone for who they are.

I used to try to fit in. Desperately I tried to fit in throughout high school and college. I wanted to blend into the crowd, go relatively unnoticed. I didn't know who I was exactly. I didn't know how to be me.

For some, blending in is who they are. It's what makes them feel satisfied, comfortable and happy. It's about doing what makes you happy. Some of us are happy being and looking different. Others are happy being and looking the same as the majority of people. Do what makes you happy, and be happy for others when they choose to do what makes them happy. I'd rather be around a happy person, than one that's suffocated because they're trying to be someone they're not.

I don't care what style someone selects, or food someone eats, or hobby someone invests in. That's their life, not mine. It merely makes me genuinely happy when someone in my life has found who they are and dives into those waters with entirety. Whether that means they're conservative and traditional, adventurous and risky, or free-spirited and carefree.

When we come home from elementary school, crying because someone made fun of our glasses, or our Transformers lunch box, our parents tell us not to worry, that this is a phase. When we're older, we'll find that our adult friends will be much more accepting of us than our elementary school friends are. Kids pick on other kids because they lack confidence in themselves, and so they like to point their finger at someone else, to distract from their own insecurities. This, we're told, subsides with age and maturity.

I've not found this to be true. It happens as an adult, I'd venture to say, just as much as when you're a kid. Sorry kids, it doesn't get any better. All I can say is this.

Know who you are. (I know too many adults who are still trying to figure this out.)
Accept who you are. (You're your own worst critic... and you can be your biggest fan.)
Be who you are. (Don't change for anyone except for yourself or for God.)

I accept that there will always be unaccepting people in this world... but I also accept and love me for me, more importantly. So when those people do express their unacceptance or criticisim, I know it just doesn't matter.

One of my best friends recently demonstrated this for me. After relaying to her something someone said to me, she said, "Melissa, I want to show you something. Here, take this." She held out a dirty napkin to me. I took it. "Why did you take that???" she asked. I mumbled something like, "well, you gave it to me... I'm not sure actually."

She went on to explain, "Melissa, just because I handed you that piece of trash doesn't mean you had to take it. Life is full of choices. You chose to take that worthless piece of trash from me. It's the same when someone throws some unwarranted criticisim or negative opinion at you. You can choose whether you want to take it. If you see the words are worthless to you, kindly say your 'no thank you' and walk away. But if you see that it's going to make you a better person, you can choose to take it. But choose wisely. Just because someone tells you something, you don't have to take it and carry it around with you. You can walk away from it."

It all starts with knowing who you are, so you can understand and embrace it. I recommend creating a simple list of three things that encompass who you are, and explaining what each item means to you. Understand that those who love you in your life, and are worth your time and effort and affection, won't try to change anything you put on your list.

Here's mine.

I am a follower of Jesus Christ.
This means I live my life in such a way that I strive to make Him proud of me by treating others the way I would like to be treated, and by choosing to honor Him even when no one is looking.
I am a free-spirit.
This means I enjoy experimenting with clothes, makeup and hair styles and am happy looking different. It also means I enjoy differnet forms of entertainment and relaxation, and am proud of my activity and hobby choices.
I am a vegan and an environmentalist.
This means that I do not eat or use products that contain any animal products or that have been tested on animals. It means I believe I have a purpose on this planet to protect animals as well as the other natural resources and beauty in God's creation.

This has been one of my favorite quotes since college. It speaks of confidence.

"Perhaps the crescent moon smiles in doubt
at being told that it is only a fragment awaiting perfection."
-Rabindranath Tagore

Welcome to Visual Melody Marketing!

2009-05-30T12:59:00.001-04:00

Visit the new site and take a little trip through a wonderful world of marketing services. Our music for the eyes will take you over the rainbow. Hint, hint.

Visual Melody is a little marketing company I started in October 2007, specializing in print design. My focus was on business cards, wedding and funeral programs, brochures, newspaper ads and copywriting. I pride Visual Melody in our one-on-one client relationships and fresh aesthetic design.

Over the past year and a half, the company has grown at the request of clients to include internet marketing activities. We are currently focusing primarily on web design for clients, and have capabilities to design very simple sites (using GoDaddy.com's Website Tonight software, for example), to beautiful advanced sites (using our resources with DreamTemplate), to mesmerizing full-Flash sites made with Wix.com (such as www.visualmelodymarketing.com and www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com) and Content Management System (CMS) stites (using Microsoft SharePoint or Joomla).

Visual Melody is also (and of course) a vegan company. We never use or promote any animal products. Please contact me at melissa@visualmelodymarketing.com if you have any animal-free projects that need a personal touch from a free-spirited professional. :)

New Non-Profit of the Month and "Have a Heart" Weekly Action Items on www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com

2009-05-30T12:35:00.002-04:00

Visit www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com to be educated and inspired to live a Consistent Life Ethic!

Non-Profit of the Month ("donate" tab) - Project HALO (Helping Animals Live On)

Animals - educate your friends on why never ever to use breeders or pet stores
People - support Nicaraguan children by buying delicious Rio Coco Coffee
Earth - switch to Seventh Generation household cleaning products

The Usual Disclaimer
I don't do any paid blogging... everything I recommend is simply from my heart. :)

Back from Our 3rd Anniversary Trip!

2009-05-07T15:26:00.016-04:00

After celebrating three years of marriage with David in Vero Beach and Miami, FL, I'm back! I've posted the pictures from our trip on my Facebook, but for those who won't make the journey out there, here are a few below:

Also, new Have a Heart Action Items on www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com... you've got to actually visit the site to take action... not gonna make it that easy for you! ;)

Animals- Write Oprah and complain about the free KFC (Kentucky Fried Cruelty in PETA's and my books) she's giving away

People- Send a birthday wish via Amnesty to imprisoned American Journalist Roxana Sabari

Earth- Buy an Ech2o filtered stainless steel water bottle. It's worth every penny of the $45.

Reminder... I don't use any paid blogging services... anything I reccomend is strictly because I love the product!!! Just think of me as a friend. :)

New "Have a Heart" Weekly Action Items on www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com

2009-04-21T11:40:00.002-04:00

I received a filled-out contact form from a visitor to www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com last week who had an excellent recommendation. She suggested that I include information about the Canadian Harp Seals. I reached a conundrum, because there are so many different species of animals suffering from specifically cruel treatment, and it’s hard to select just one or a few to focus on.

But her suggestion gave me the idea to start posting weekly “Have a Heart” action items, in which a simple topic and action link are posted to current issues on each of the three main tabs: Animals, People and Earth. This week’s action items (visit www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com for the links… gonna make you leave my blog and go have a look for yourself… haha):

Animals: Help the Canadian Harp Seals!

People: Help the human rights activists in Zimbabwe!

Earth: Sign the pledge to quit drinking bottled water!

I also want to take a bit of space to include the text of the comments from the visitor who suggested I highlight the Canadian Harp Seals, as she took time to give some very good information:

“I saw your site and have only looked at a few pages so far. I think it's really cool that you made a site that's dedicated to being a voice for the animals.

Do you know anything about the Canadian Seal Hunt? (www.harpseals.org). Every year the Canadian fishermen kill 300,000 seals, 98% being as young as 12 days old. There was a study done in which it was found out that 42% of the seals were skinned alive in one year. There fishermen only make %5 of their income from the annual slaughter, the 95% from fishing. The U.S. buys 70% of all seafood exports so the U.S. is a big supporter to the lifestyle of the fishermen. If you want I can set you up for main links for easy ways to help.
Maybe there is some way you can incorporate that into your site. Thanks for reading.”

Date Night, Angeline and Angelina

2009-04-19T17:22:00.010-04:00

Every week, my husband and I have one or two date nights, often on Friday and/or Saturday. We've heard it helps keep your relationship a priority by maintaining romance and shared interests. And we've actually noticed a difference when we've become "lazy" with date nights, i.e., skipping them, or doing something more "normal", like sitting on the couch and watching a movie instead of actually getting out and doing something together as a couple. Seems like date night keeps us interesting to each other, and freshly connected. I have to highly recommend any of you out there who are married to start up a weekly tradition. :) Think about it... it can't do anything but help your relationship!

After enjoying a dinner at some sort of Asian restaurant (Thai, Indian, Chinese... all very vegan-friendly!), our favorite date night activity spot lately has been book stores, where we grab soy lattes, chat and browse books for a couple of hours. Our latest find is V Cuisine, a deliciously intriguing vegan/vegetarian cookbook. We've been collecting quite the array lately, but this one has been the most unique we've found so far. We sat in Barnes and Noble drooling over the most ingenious recipes we've encountered lately. Angeline Lineardis's tongue-in-cheek explanations and creative concoctions will have you salivating.

Speaking of Angeline... I have long been a fan of Angelina Jolie. Now, I am well aware she is often shrouded by controversy, particularly by those loyal fans of Jennifer Anniston. My "fanship" of Angelina has nothing to do with her relationship with Mr. Pitt. I've simply always thought she was the most beautiful woman on the planet, and have appreciated her individuality and non-conformist style and attitude. I've also done a great deal of study into her international service, and am profoundly humbled. So between the natural beauty, the incredibly unique aura and the charity work, I'm a huge fan.

I wanted to recommend a movie Angelina was in recently, Changeling. For those who may have less-than-gleaming opinions of her, I think seeing her work in this film will, at the very least, give people a new perspective on this tattooed, sexy action figure. Directed by Clint Eastwood, Changeling is the true story of an incredibly bizarre case of mistaken identity, police crime, child abuse, serial murder and psych wards.

Believe me, you will be left with your jaw hanging open the entire two and a half hours of this movie. If it weren't a true story, I would have complained during the movie that the story was too unrealistic to be believable. Anyone interested in women's rights, psychiatric patient rights, child abuse or police injustice will find this movie unforgettable. I'm simply baffled. I will warn you the storyline is incredibly disturbing, however poetically handled. It's by far one of the best movies I've seen in my life, and one of the most terrifying, heartbreaking, inspiring true stories I've ever learned.

Anyone Need Vegan Recipes?

2009-04-10T13:41:00.009-04:00

I've been asked a lot about where to find good vegan recipes. The truth is, they're all over, and easier to find than you think. So the absolute hands-down best vegan recipe resource in my husband's and my opinion is Recipezaar.

Here's why:
- 12,692 vegan recipes and counting
- extensive nutrition information for every single recipe
- detailed recipe sifter allows tag-style recipe filtering (time, ingredient, prep, etc)
- most recipes have a picture or multiple user-submitted pictures
- ratings tell you what people really thing about the recipes

Here's one of our favorites we've found so far on this site:

Tempeh "Chicken" Salad (4 sandwiches )

- 12 ounces tempeh, cubed
- 1 stalk celery, minced
- 2 tablespoons red bell peppers, minced
- 1 large dill pickles, minced
- 2-3 scallions, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup soy mayonnaise or regular mayonnaise (more or less to taste)
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard (spicy golden brown is nice too)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Place the cubed tempeh in a saucepan of boiling, salted water.

2. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 12 minutes, drain and set aside to cool.

3. I usually toss it in the fridge.

4. In a large bowl, combine the celery, pepper, pickle, scallion and parsley.

5. Run a knife through the cubed tempeh, just to give it a rough chop (optional, the cubes work fine too)

6. Add chopped tempeh to the bowl, along with the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon, salt and pepper.

7. Fold everything together, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors combine.

8. This will keep covered in the fridge for 2-3 days. This salad goes great on wheat toast, in a pita pocket, or in a lavash wrap.

Here are a few more great vegan recipe sites we use (more can be found on the "links" page on www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com):

- VegCooking
- ChooseVeg
- Vegan Food

And our favorite vegan cookbooks:
- The Joy of Vegan Baking
- Vegan Planet
- You Won't Believe It's Vegan!
- Skinny Bitch in the Kitch
- Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

And a good overall book on vegan anything and everything is The Vegan Sourcebook.

Remember, I don't do any paid blogging AT ALL. Anything I recommend ever is a recommendation simply from my own personal obsession with the product. :)

What the Bible has to say about caring about animals

2009-04-06T19:45:00.000-04:00

I was talking to my sister last night over Google Chat. Here is the gist of the discussion:

Lindsay: “I had an epiphany the other day. So why do people think a meat smoothie would be gross, but other smoothies sound good?”

Me: “Well let’s see. A meat smoothie is chopped up flesh, and other smoothies are chopped up plants.”

Lindsay: “So I guess that essentially means that deep down, people find eating meat to be gross.”

Me: “Hmm. You make a good point.”

A few days ago, my husband found a verse in Proverbs I hadn’t noticed before. He found it very fitting for www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com.

Proverbs 12:10 - “A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, but even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.”

This gave me the idea to compile a few Bible verses regarding our duty in caring for animals. It seems that veganism, vegetarianism and animal activism has been sucked up into a “liberal” stance, but who ever said this was a right or left-wing idea? What made Christians backburner God’s command in Genesis to take care of His creation? In what I’ve read, God LOVES His creation, and we were created in the image of God… I personally can’t imagine Him condoning factory farming (accounts for about 90% of the meat, dairy and eggs in America), which leaves His creations to live lonely, sickly, cramped and beaten lives, and to suffer painful, brutal deaths. Is that the way of a merciful, loving God? All because we prefer the taste of meat, dairy or eggs to substitute products, or the feel of genuine fur or leather on our backs? Let’s not put our taste buds (which do adjust) or style desires above the suffering of living beings.

Genesis 1:29-30 - “Then God said, ‘Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.’ And that is what happened.”

So in this verse, not only does God stipulate exactly what He created for human food (plants), but also considers the animals and instructs that He created plants for their diet as well. Seems that His original intent was for us to not kill and eat each other. Why would we not return to following this only-plants-as-food intention if we’re able to?

Isaiah 11:6-8 - “In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.”

Again, this seems to deal with God’s original intentions for His creation – peace among all living beings. Why would we not cease from needless killing and eating of animals if it’s easily within our power to do so? My husband and I have been vegan going on a year now, and have never felt healthier!

Matthew 6:25-27 - “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

Some use this verse to show that we’re more important than the animals (therefore it follows we can use them as we please, etc), however I have always seen this verse as a beautiful picture of a gentle, caring Creator who loves every part of His creation. Yes, we are worth more to God than the animals (we are, after all, made in His image), but this verse says explicitly that God CARES for the animals, so much so that He provides food for each individual creature. Should we not also care to ensure all animals are properly treated?

2 Corinthians 5:17 - “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

The thing I hear most from Christians regarding the “entitlement” to eat meat is that it was clearly “allowed” in the Bible. Does this mean that it was beneficial or preferred? Divorce was allowed as well. Does this entitle everyone to a divorce who wants one? No – this means that sin came into the world. Divorce was allowed only after sin entered the world, just as using animals for food and clothing was only allowed after sin entered the world. The verse above tells me that with Christ, we have the power to begin the “new life” – one of living as closely to what pleases the Lord as possible. Do fur, factory farms or experimentation please the Lord?

James 5:5 - “You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.”

Not the most flattering description, yet does this not sound like the society we live in? One of excess and luxury? Matthew Scully, in Dominion: The Power of Man, The Suffering of Animals and the Call to Mercy, explains that historically we’ve used animals for our needs, and as those needs are met via alternate forms (pleather, faux fur, automobiles, etc), we “release” animals from their “duty” to serve our needs. That it’s the merciful thing to do. He then asks why we haven’t done that yet for food, as it’s well-proven that we don’t NEED meat or animal products to exist and live healthy lives.

Did God allow animals to be used for food in the Bible? Yes, after He destroyed the earth with a flood… but I doubt the industrialized technology existed back then for “mass production” of animals for food and clothing. Back then a family owed a few cows, took care of them, and killed them when they needed them. They weren’t crammed thousands to a barn with no room to turn around, and then killed by machines.

I guess my point is this – we know there’s no harm in not eating meat, dairy, eggs, or clothing. Why not live without using animals then? Why not choose products that have caused no suffering to any animal (no animal ingredients or testing)?

What’s the harm? It’s really a win-win situation.

peace and happiness,

melissa :)

Wordle word cloud is neato

2009-04-06T19:17:00.007-04:00

So I was reading the On the Path blog from my friends at Nonviolence United, and found this neato word cloud tool from Wordle and had to share with any fellow bloggers reading!

McDonalds Emergency Caption Contest - Winner Receives a Free Vegan Cookbook

2009-04-03T23:47:00.006-04:00

So after leaving Barns and Noble and wrapping up our weekly Friday night date night with soy macchiatos and the perusal of alternative health books, my husband, David, and I came upon this scene as we exited the shopping mall parking lot:

My question to David:

"So are they rescuing someone from having a heart attack from eating a Big Mac, or are the paramedics stopping on the way to their next rescue to grab a Big Mac?"

We couldn't quite figure out which was worse.

Meanwhile, David shapped a shot of the spectacle on his BlackBerry.

I decided to have a little fun with this. A caption contest for this photo. David and I will decide the winner. We will buy the winning caption-writer a vegan cookbook. We have several favorites, and will provide you with a choice.

Since my blog is new, I'm not putting an end-date on this yet... not sure how long it will take to get a good number of entries. :)

What do you have to lose? One . . . two . . . three . . . GO!!!!!!! ;-D

Going cold... Tofurky? And other animal-friendly idioms...

2009-04-03T00:02:00.004-04:00

So several months ago I bought a book for my Kindle, Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World. I highly recommend this book for any new or aspiring vegan, as the authors are refreshingly honest and down-to-earth. One of the best points they made was that you want to be a nice, healthy vegan, who is approachable and obviously very healthy. The authors, Bob and Jenna Torres, talk about meeting a guy in college, Dan Peyser (his blog is The Smoking Vegan), who ultimately changed their lives by humbly and readily answering any “dumb” questions they had. Bob and Jenna point out that while it may take time, just being an approachable example to people by not eating animal products is one of the best witnesses you can have. Here is some of what Bob says about their hero, Dan:

“We were fortunate enough to be “like totally BFF” with Dan Peyser (to whom this book is partially dedicated), a vegan, communist student of mine from Vermont who not only knew Marx better than anyone I’ve met before or since, but who was also completely patient, approachable and cool with our questions about veganism. He made us feel comfortable talking to him about veganism, he never lectured or proselytized, and he gracefully put up with questions that personally now drive me mad in my less patient moments. For example, before I came to the realization that I had to become vegan to be true to my principles, I’d tell Dan that I’d be vegan “except for cream in my coffee.” I think I also wondered aloud to him how I’d ever eat pizza without cheese, what I’d do without yogurt, and how I’d miss diner breakfasts if I became a vegan. Looking back at myself, I’m ashamed that I ever said these absurd things to Dan, and I realize how annoying I was, always coming at him with creative (yet poor) excuses about why I couldn’t be vegan. I did the very things to Dan that I complain about almost daily. Dan, if you’re reading, I owe you man – big time. How did you not throttle me? . . .

“. . .Getting to know Dan, I realized I had never really known any vegans that well before, and it was one of the reasons I had such a hard time considering the possibility. Dan never pushed the issue, but just showed us through his actions (and gentle reminders) that veganism is important and possible.”
-Vegan Freak, pages 12 and 16

Vegan freak is written in a very relaxed tone, somewhat reminiscent of the Skinny Bitch series (I highly recommend these books to both vegans and non-vegans, as they’re very eye-opening about what we actually put into our bodies). One of the funniest things I read in the book was when Bob used the term “cold tofu” in place of “cold turkey”, subtly followed by a simple “(har!)”. Ever since this inspiring moment, coming up with vegan-friendly idioms has been a running joke between my husband David and me, as we hear ourselves saying things like “maybe we can kill two birds with one stone”, and then catch ourselves with a frown, and shed a slight tear. Okay, well, no tears really. Seriously, this is all in good fun… I don’t want people writing me about this and thinking I’m on my high horse (har!… wink), or that I’ve got a bad case of the tail wagging the dog. ;) Anyone else have any suggestions? I’ll add to this list and credit your responses!

Kill Two Birds with One Stone

dig up two potatoes with one spade

A Wild Goose Chase

like shopping for organics at Food Lion
like looking for quality at Wal-Mart

More than one way to skin a cat

more than one way to peel an orange
more than one way to skin an apple
more than one way to eat tofu

Beat a Dead Horse

beat the mashed potatoes
make grape juice with raisins
microwave the stewed tomatoes

I Could Eat a Horse!

I could eat a human! (woah, just kidding… back off)

Guinea Pig

Like corn in the hands of Archer Daniels Midland

Let the Cat Out of the Bag

ate an unripened banana
robbed the vine of it’s tomato

Like a Chicken with its Head Cut Off

like a tofurky without gravy
like a vegan without soy

Like a Fish Out of Water

like a vegan in McDonald’s
like a carnivore in a cabbage patch
ike an Irishman without whiskey (I’m Irish… I’m allowed)

Dropping Like Flies

rotting like strawberries in hell
disappearing like tofu at Woodstock

A Dead Duck

a rotten tomato
a tofurky surrounded by vegans

No Use Crying Over Spilled Milk

No use crying over spilled soy milk
. . . almond milk
. . . rice milk
. . . hemp milk
. . . hazelnut milk
. . . cashew milk
. . . oat milk
. . . coconut milk
. . . barley milk

And last but not least . . . Cold Turkey

cold tofu
cold tofurky
cold tempeh

And finally, speaking of bioengineering at Archer Daniels Midland, here is a fabulous "cartoon". . .

Entitlement

2009-03-29T17:07:00.011-04:00

think at the heart of all of our social problems is one simple word.

Entitlement.

Entitlement is the belief that you deserve something. For whatever reason, whatever that "something" is.

I've been thinking about this a lot over the past couple of weeks. About why some people see a less fortunate person and feel their heart being ripped out, and others sneer and wish they'd go get decent job or education. About why some people see a burger or a fur coat and salivate or squeal, and others get a lump in their throats. About why some people buy bottled water and individual cans of soda like they're stockpiling for Y2K (ahem, yours truly), and others quietly reuse their neoprene bottles for years and years, and pull other people's bottles out of the trash and place them in a recycling bin when no one is looking.

Having been a staunch Republican ever since high school (and only recently changing my affiliation to Independent), I have heard countless times that these big-time executives making millions of dollars a year are entitled to keep their money. Why should they be taxed more than the poor people? After all, these execs have worked their butts off to get to where they are today, and they control much of our American economy. They deserve to keep their salaries.

I don't necessarily disagree. I know many executives who are extremely honorable people, who have indeed worked their butts off to climb the corporate ladder . . . and are extremely generous with their income, donating to charities, churches, family, friends, etc. These are people who have been blessed to be a blessing, and are doing just that. Being a blessing.

The problem is this. The primary argument for allowing the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer is that the "rich" worked hard to get to where they are today, and they deserve to keep their money.

Tell me this. Are we to then assume that the poor have been sitting on their butts their entire lives? When I worked for the Republican Party in college, I was on the side of "welfare is ridiculous, people need to go get jobs, and if they can't afford food, then that's their own fault; work harder people."

What about the single mom who is working two full-time jobs and putting herself through community college part-time? Is she not working hard? Is she not entitled to a comfortable standard of living? She must not be. She's not earning a big enough salary.

What about the kid who grew up on the "other" side of the city, who's father was in jail, and who never finished high school, and who's now working at Wal-Mart and raising a child with his pregnant wife. He must be lazy right? Never mind he gets up every single day and faithfully shows up at work. The fact is, his minimum-wage job can't support feeding his family, and "we" have to pay his food stamp bills. Surely he's not entitled to our taxpayer money. Just because he had far fewer opportunities to climb that corporate ladder than did the manager at Wal-Mart, that's no excuse.

My question is this. Who says anyone is entitled to anything? Who am I to say that because I was fortunate enough to be raised in a good home, have the opportunity to go to college, and get married to a nice man at a relatively young age - that I'm entitled to the beautiful home I'm living in and the good-paying job I'm working? Entitled? Do I deserve these blessings?

Heck no. Isn't the heart of Christianity humility? Realizing that we deserve absolutely nothing and that we are nothing without Christ? God chose to give me particular opportunities in life, and while I had the free will to take them or leave them, the fact remains that I have been given many more opportunities in my life than the vast majority of the world. Over half the world lives on less than $2.50 each day. I spend that on buying half a Starbucks iced coffee every morning. Over 80% of the world lives on less than $10 each day. I spend that on lunch.

So am I entitled to my comfortable lifestyle? Absolutely not. I am blessed with it and I'm blessed to be a blessing. Who are we to baulk at our tax money going to help someone pay their grocery or health care bills? Do we want to switch places with them? Have our bills paid by the taxpayers, and struggle to survive on minimum wage every day?

I don't. And if I don't, then that means I should be humbled and grateful for what I have. Not complaining that what I have gets divided up from time to time by the government to help those less fortunate.

I had a wonderful friend I worked with at Harris Teeter in college who is a former illegal immigrant from Mexico. She now has her Visa, but she told me some of her story, about how she risked her life crossing the border one night with a group of people, knowing it was illegal, but also knowing that she had no opportunities to advance her life in Mexico. When she arrived in California, she began attending a community college, learning English, and working a minimum-wage job. She slept on the floor of an apartment with about a dozen other people for months. She never got into trouble with the law, she has a wonderful family, and she is one of the sweetest, most soft-spoken and wise people I have ever known.

But she was an illegal immigrant. She was not born in America, so she is not entitled to our resources, unless she goes about getting here legally. In other words, wait in line for possibly years to enter the United States legally. On the surface, I agree, that would have been the right thing to do. But things aren't always that easy.

I have to put myself in her shoes. If I was living in a poor country, with little money and no opportunity to change my future in site, would I have continued to sit there and wait? I can't say that I would have. Until you're in that situation, you don't have room to criticize someone else. I only have admiration for her courage to take a risk and try to make something of herself.

She never, by the way, took welfare money. And, that's a stereotype and myth perpetuated by people fearful of illegal immigration that "they"take our tax money. "They" would need a social security number to do that... and since they're illegal, they don't have one.

What about animals? I believe eating animal products is also an entitlement issue. People like their burgers. They like their ice cream. They like their omelets. Give up their favorite foods? No way. "I can't do that! I don't know how I would live without [insert favorite food here]."

Yet, very few people will argue that since 90% of animal products come from factory farms, we can also assume the vast majority of these animal products came from animals who suffered in small cages, or from abuse, or died painfully. This is common sense for most people, even without researching the livestock industry. People just don't talk about it because it bothers them.

They believe they are entitled to calcium that comes from cow's milk (despite scientific evidence that cow's milk contributes TO osteoporosis), or to their regular chicken or beef or hot dogs as a staple with every meal for their protein source, despite the fact that animal protein is not necessary to human survival. On the contrary, we were built to eat plants, and instructed to do so by God.

So if there is so much evidence that not eating animal products is one of the healthiest things you can do for your body, why do people continue eating meat, dairy and eggs? Because they can. Because they like the taste of it.

Because they're entitled to. After all, God gave man dominion over the animals, right?

We've bastardized the word "dominion". We've taken it to mean "do what you want" with the animals. The fact is, God gave us "dominion" over them because we have a concept of justice and mercy that animals don't have. We have a concept of order that they can't copy in the animal kingdom. We were given dominion over them to care for them and help them live proper lives.

You can't have dominion over something if it doesn't exist. I doubt that when God gave us dominion over the animals that He intended us to eat them with every meal, and I am appalled to hear people defend factory farming as something that humans have a right to do - entitled to do - because I feel that is utter disrespect of God's commandment to us.

Would a loving, merciful God who cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field entitle us to to kill just under ten billion animals per year in the United States alone, just because we prefer meat over Boca Burgers, or want to eat or dairy-laden confections rather than experimenting with new recipes?

Entitlement. It kills ten billion animals each year in this country alone because we don't want to use meat, dairy or egg substitutes because they just don't taste as good (your taste buds do adjust, by the way, when you make the switch, and I promise if you ever taste the "regular" stuff after you switch, you will be grossed out). Am I so important that my tastebuds are worth suffering of animals? Not a chance.

And the earth. Mention environmentalism to Christians and you'll get the "uh oh, you're a mother-nature-believer" look. For some reason, caring for creation has been turned into some sort of earth-worship-new-age-anti-Christian thing that Believers in Christ are afraid of.

Why? Did God not instruct us after He created the earth to care for His creation? When did this command fall by the wayside? Did God ever say, "Eh, forget about all that. It's not important anymore. There will be a new heavens and a new earth in the near future, so don't worry about taking care of the resources on this one anymore"?

What? When did He say that, because that's what I hear many Christians saying now, that we have other things to worry about. And so ironically, we who love the Lord so dearly are often the ones who care the least about His creation.

Why? Because we're entitled to not be bothered by worrying about recycling, saving energy, or polluting because the new heavens and new earth are on their way. We're entitled to the conveniences of bottled water and obnoxious artificial lighting in naturally lit rooms.

It has taken me months of research to change my views on my own lifestyle. Just nine months ago, I was a meat-eating, dairy-loving, staunch Republican who merely thought going green was trendy. After getting into massive amounts of research and then building www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com, I have begun to realize what really matters to me is to live a consistent life. To not just say that I'm anti-abortion, love animals and enjoy nature, but to respect all life (no abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, human rights abuses or unfair economic standards), to never allow animal suffering for my needless purposes again (no meat, dairy, eggs, leather, fur, circuses, zoos, or products tested on animals), and to actually go green (I recommend this book to get started).

We are not entitled to anything we have, just as people suffering all over the world are not deserving of that suffering. We are not entitled to use anything for our needless purposes, just because we prefer the taste, or it's convenient. I am more than willing to sacrifice convenience now so that an animal can live a good life. I am more than willing to use my free time to research human rights abuses so that I can be a voice for those who don't have a voice. All I feel I am to do is to live humbly and consistently. I no longer think so highly of myself that I feel I'm entitled to anything.

What about you?

Welcome to my blog!

2009-03-27T00:43:00.011-04:00

The final stage in the extraordinarily, exhaustively, obscenely detailed process of saving the world from utter destruction. The mega-blog.

Everyone has one. Even people who really shouldn't. Really. Like the people who write about why they're fat. Or about how funny speech balloons are if positioned appropriately in PhotoShop over an oddly posed cat.

After building www.beavoiceforthevoiceless.com out for three weeks, and being properly recognized for my efforts (seriously, I'm joking... I was super flattered and humbled by this), I tried the micro-blogging thing on Twitter. I added a feed to the site too.

I added a journal to the site and even started writing in it with a neato handwriting font.

I created a google group for the site and have the feed posted on the "connect" tab.

But still, something is lacking. Nothing really beats an rss feed from a person who sits around all day with nothing to do.

No, really, I have stuff to do. I'm just one of those overachievers who gets stuff done like superwoman and then finds out that life is really stupidly boring if you don't drag things out to last all day long.

I kid, I kid. It's 1:00am and I'm losing my mind.

See, the problem is, I'm afraid of the very site I created. Deathly afraid.

What happens is this. I built the site in three weeks, but there is months worth of research material on there. I have either read or skimmed all of it, however I am dying to go back and actually dig into every single bit of it. The problem is that every time I visit the dang site, I find something to edit.

To add.

To subtract.

To scoot over a centimeter.

And so I avoid my very own site as much as I can, until Wix does something like they did today and highlight it, causing added traffic and my perfectionist mind to spin out of control and only find warmth and consolation in the grasp of this evil site.

No, it's not evil. It's really wonderful, and I'm glad it's "finished". Really, I am, and tonight I celebrated by setting up this nifty blog. Nothing, after all, beats an old fashioned mega-blog feeding to an RSS reader. By the way, Google's Reader rocks.

Seriously, I look forward to seeing what the Lord brings this new site. :)

peace and happiness,
melissa