Resolve to Make 2009 the Year You Go Vegan

Posted by Matthew Liebman, ALDF Staff Attorney on December 31st, 2008

Like most people, I’m not very good at keeping my New Year’s resolutions. I always start out with good intentions: exercising daily, reading more books, having more patience with my loved ones, the usual. But as I get further and further into each New Year, I find myself lapsing into my old habits.  Come January 18 or so, who can resist hitting the snooze button when it’s time to get up at 6 AM to go running? So I’m no saint when it comes to persistence and perseverance.  And yet one of the most life-changing decisions I’ve ever made started off as a New Year’s resolution. On January 1, 1995, at the age of fifteen, I resolved to become a vegetarian. In the fourteen years since then, I’ve made and broken a lot of resolutions, but I’ve kept this one, and it’s changed my life immeasurably.  

Some people prefer to ease themselves into new habits or diets, to work up to their goal gradually.  I suppose that may work for some people. For me, though, going cold tofurkey worked. I recognize that everyone is different, but I’ve found that drawing a clear line makes it easier to maintain new habits or diets. An ambiguous resolution to “eat less meat” or to “eat healthier” may be admirable, but it doesn’t provide enough guidance on a day-to-day basis. The same is true of resolving to eat only so-called “free range” or “humane” meat, terms that are ambiguous at best and deceptive at worst.  Resolving to eat no meat, on the other hand, provides clear guidance. And for me, it worked.  A few years later, I cut out eggs and dairy from my diet and I’ve stayed vegan for over nine years now.

So I encourage anyone curious about veganism to give it a shot as a New Year’s resolution.  Conventional wisdom says that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit. There’s no scientific support for that hypothesis, but it can serve as an artificial benchmark: you can resolve to go vegan for the first three weeks of 2009; you may be surprised at how easy it is.  

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Get informed: For a comprehensive and readable introduction to veganism, nutrition, and animal welfare, there’s no better place to start than Vegan Outreach’s Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating. This online pamphlet explains the rationale behind a compassion-based diet, provides vegan recipes, recommends meat-free products and other resources, and answers common questions about veganism.
• Find your motivation: Once you’ve decided you want to try veganism, you need to identify your motivations.  Vegans aren’t ethereal beings devoid of worldly cravings. We’re mortal and human; we have temptations, doubts, and frustrations just like everyone else. Some of us are tempted by old non-vegan comfort foods, and we’re exasperated by unsympathetic friends and family members. To fortify ourselves against the smell of bacon or the teasing of annoying relatives, we have to constantly remind ourselves why we’ve chosen veganism. As with any life-changing decision, you need to know why you’re making it. Are you motivated by animal rights, environmental reasons, or personal health? If it’s for the animals, are you motivated by images of suffering or by images of happiness? Having constant reminders of your motivations will help shepherd you through the challenging times. Most people can’t stand to watch how animal products are produced, but in the words of Gretchen Wyler, “we must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” And those who do consume animal products have a moral obligation to see the suffering for which they are responsible.  But if you’ve already decided to go vegan, there’s no point in subjecting yourself to troubling images unless they motivate you to stay vegan. If you find that such images are counterproductive and leave you feeling emotionally exhausted, find your motivation elsewhere. (Paula Erba, my friend and coworker, has written an excellent blog on this issue here.) For me personally, I find these images helpful.  Over the years, any time I’ve felt tempted by the sights and smells of non-vegan foods, I need only play back in my mind the horrific reality that stands behind the production of such foods. 
• Buy a good cookbook: Now that you’ve found your motivation, the next consideration is the more practical issue of what to eat.  Many new vegetarians and vegans turn to the internet for recipes.  I think that’s a bad idea: there’s no quality control on the internet. Instead, I recommend getting one or two quality cookbooks from trusted and respected names in the vegan community. My top recommendation is The Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. The Veganomicon has everything a new vegan needs to start cooking delicious vegan food. Other trusted vegan cookbook authors are Sarah Kramer, Dreena Burton, and Robin Robertson.
• Be healthy: So you’ve got your cookbook and your motivation, but how can you be sure you’re staying healthy? While a vegan diet is generally healthier than the standard American diet, you’re not doing your body any favors if you eat nothing but potato chips and processed fake meats. Do a little research on what you need to stay healthy on a vegan diet. I recommend Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis, R.D. and Vensanto Melina, M.S., R.D.  There’s also a great website, Vegan Health, that provides lots of important information on healthy vegan diets. 
• Find a supportive community: It can be tough to embark on a new life choice when almost everyone around you finds your choice bizarre or even contemptible. I know: I was a fifteen-year-old, male vegetarian growing up in Dallas, Texas. Finding others who share your values and goals is important.  There are vegetarian societies throughout the world, and the internet can also provide that sense of community and the support you need to keep your resolution. Carol J. Adams’ Living Among Meat Eaters is another great resource for getting along with the omnivores in your life while staying committed to your new diet.
  

Going vegan is one of the most important decisions I ever made, and it all started with a New Year’s resolution fourteen years ago to stop eating meat. I hope you too will resolve to make 2009 a happy new year for the animals, the earth, and yourself.  

Vote for ALDF's Animal Bill of Rights by Midnight on December 31!

Posted by April Nockleby, ALDF's Online Content Manager on December 30th, 2008

Change.org has presented ALDF with a fantastic opportunity to help build better rights for animals and spread the word about the Animal Bill of Rights by partnering with their "Ideas for Change in America" project.

Help send our message to the Obama Administration and support the Animal Bill of Rights by voting at Change.org today! The first round of voting ends tomorrow, December 31st, at midnight Pacific Time. That means there’s still time to vote for the Animal Bill of Rights here: http://www.change.org/ideas/view/provide_legal_protections_for_animals_through_the_animal_bill_of_rights

On Inauguration Day, Change.org will hand-deliver the top 10 rated ideas to a representative of the Obama Administration and will then help turn the energy behind the ideas into an ongoing lobbying campaigns after the voting ends.

Vote now and support better rights for animals through the Animal Bill of Rights!

After you’ve voted on Change.org, spread the word by emailing friends, sharing it on social network sites or posting a widget on your web page. Pass along this link to friends and encourage them to vote!

www.change.org/ideas/view/provide_legal_protections_for_animals_through_the_animal_bill_of_rights

A Rising Tide Floats All Boats

Posted by Dana Campbell, ALDF Attorney on December 29th, 2008

So goes the popular saying. As we advance headlong into a new year and a new presidential administration, thoughts naturally turn to the opportunities for change, the byword of both political parties’ presidential campaigns this past year. In that spirit, I’m proposing a far-reaching, but not necessarily obvious, idea that we who care about animals can all get behind: make our country a better place for children and victims of violence, and there will be no excuse not to make improvements for animals as well. I say this because during the recent media flurry surrounding ALDF’s report ranking the animal protection laws of each state, officials in states in the bottom 5 states tried to justify their lack of good animal laws by saying they can’t see increasing the penalties for animal abuse above those in place for human victims of violence. Statements like that seem to me to be incredibly short-sighted.

With the incoming Obama administration promising to devote billions to infrastructure and job creation next year, let’s make sure that roads and bridges are not the only beneficiaries—we need to make sure people and animals are in line to benefit as well. To those who say we can’t fund an animal shelter because we don’t have enough money for people shelters I say: “Get to it then!” To those who say we can’t increase the penalties for animal abusers until we increase the penalties for child abusers and wife beaters I say: “What’s stopping you? Let’s pass those measures to better protect people today.”  

When animal advocates then come forward with hat in hand for a shelter or stronger legislation and meet the excuse that “we can’t provide for animals until we’ve taken care of the people” that excuse will not only be moot, we’ll be enjoying a better world where all beings are protected and taken care of properly. Let’s not compete for resources, let’s DEMAND they be made available for all. Now is the time to think big, and act big, and create the change we want to see (to borrow another popular saying). Put your vision for big change for animals in the Comments below. Join me in creating the rising tide that lifts all.

2008 Year in Review: Watch our Slideshow

Posted by Joyce Tischler, ALDF's Founder and General Counsel on December 23rd, 2008

You've been a tremendous voice for animals in 2008 - from supporting ALDF's work with generous donations to taking action on cases that needed urgent attention. Because of you, more animals have been saved and more cutting-edge laws put in place to protect them. Your actions have made a world of difference for our clients - the animals!

Take this moment to celebrate all that you've made possible for animals through ALDF's work in 2008. Watch our 2008 Victories for Dogs slideshow, and don't miss our other slideshows spotlighting the year's successes you helped bring about for animals.

Here are just a few ways our work together has helped animals:

• ALDF helped shut down the All Creatures Great and Small "no kill" shelter in North Carolina, freeing two hundred dogs, along with fifty cats, from appalling conditions.
• A new law written by ALDF gives prosecutors in Virginia the tools they need to combat organized dogfighting. Criminals convicted of dogfighting in the state of Virginia will now face even tougher legal penalties, including up to 40 years in prison.
• ALDF filed lawsuits in Kentucky against Estill and Robertson Counties for neglecting their homeless animals, despite their legal requirement to provide basic humane care. (The cases are still pending, so our fight continues.)
  

Without the generous donations of our members and strong voices of our animal advocates, ALDF simply would not be able to lead the fight to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system.

As 2008 comes to an end, please, when you gather with your loved ones, also remember the animals we serve. There are just a few more days to make your year-end, tax-deductible gift to ALDF. Help us to continue winning the case against cruelty.

From everyone at ALDF, thank you for all that you do for animals!

Holiday Cheer at Animal Place

Posted by Stephen Wells, ALDF's Execuctive Director on December 22nd, 2008

All of us at ALDF have animals in our personal lives and many of us bring our dogs to work with us most days. My five year-old Queensland heeler mix, Eve, comes to work with me every day and holds down the little couch (which I got for her) while I work at my desk. It’s a great relief to have our animal friends with us when constantly have to read cases and news reports of the worst kinds of animal abuse on a daily basis. It’s necessary to our work but it can be painful and disheartening some days.

Without that kind of hands-on connection to the animals our work would be so much harder to bear sometimes. And, of course, our work is not limited to dogs and cats. So, for the second year, our California office had its holiday party at Animal Place, a farmed animal sanctuary about an hour away from our office.

It was such a wonderful retreat. We were greeted by pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, cows, turkeys and rabbits. There is nothing quite like spending time with animals to recharge your batteries and make you want to get back to work fighting animal abuse.

Please enjoy these photos from our outing. Happy Holidays!