Category: Environment
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It’s not too late to jump into Veganuary (or plan for Vegruary)
It’s been a hectic start to the year and I completely overlooked the arrival of Veganuary! So many people make commitments to kick off a new year, and Veganuary is a wonderful experience. It’s a well-run organization that provides all sorts of resources to people who are already vegan, considering it, interested in learning more,…
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To whom should plant-based alternatives be marketed?
Whenever a new plant-based product shows up on the shelves or in the freezer of a local supermarket, my vegan community group lights up with posts letting us all know. It is truly exciting to many of us to have a new product to try in the ever-expanding line-up for plant-based options being developed for…
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Pumpkin crumble bars and Northern Lights
It’s almost Canadian Thanksgiving and pumpkin is in the air. I’m visiting family this weekend and it’s as if Nora from Nora Cooks was speaking directly to me with her email about the Pumpkin Crumble Bars. On Thursday evening I made the pumpkin bars, using butternut squash instead of canned pumpkin purée. I roasted the…
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Objections and replies
Next week I’ll be a guest in a philosophy graduate seminar my friend and colleague, Samantha, is teaching on philosophy and food. The students will be reading the most recent draft of my paper, “Meat-eating as ideology and ‘meat-eaters’ fragility’,” which I’ve blogged about before. They’re also reading David Foster Wallace’s “Consider the Lobster,” a…
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Making a difference
It’s easy to get demoralized when you’re doing something that goes against what the majority of people do. Living a vegan lifestyle can be like that. I’ve experienced that sense of ineffectiveness lately. I decided that today would be a good day to (1) remind myself why I have chosen this path and (2) pay…
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Fun food for Fun Friday
Maybe I’m the only one who has noticed that my two-posts-a-week schedule has faltered of late. I’m trying to ease back up to speed, and I’d really like to get back on track with Fun Fridays. When I first started blogging, my promise was that Tuesdays would be for thinking things through and Fridays would…
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Paris Olympics’ sustainability-agenda is good news for plant-based options
Adopting an agenda of sustainability for the 2024 Olympic Games, the Paris organizers have pledged to deliver meals with half the carbon footprint of most French meals by “doubling the proportion of plant-based ingredients and increasing the plant-based options for everyone, including spectators and the workforce.” Even if you think, as some argue, that the…
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Travelling while vegan: Brittany and Normandy — the struggle was real
Content warning: apparent griping about “first world problems.” For ten days I finessed my way through a triple-challenge. Brittany and Normandy are tough at the best of times. So that was challenge #1. Add to that being on a tour with omnivores, where for the most part the dining venue was organized and not up…
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Why vegans avoid honey
I’m on a photography tour of France right now with a group of people who aren’t vegan. And though everyone is nice about it (at least to my face!), it’s been a bit of a challenge. When I’m trying to get along with people, especially new people, I’m not inclined to go toe-to-toe about reasons…
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What is a vegan to do when a favourite plant-based business expands to include animal products?
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve heard of two example — one local here in London, Ontario and one elsewhere, in LA — where a formerly fully plant-based business has decided to “change its business model” to include animal products. This decision always generates backlash among vegans, who see it as a betrayal and,…
Vegan Practically 