Category: Reflections
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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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Is being vegan “too demanding”?
One of the great things about writing a blog, which anyone who has ever done it knows that for most of us it’s a labour of love, is that you never know who is reading. And then it is such a delight when someone reaches out in response to a post, whether with a smart…
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Anti-vegan memes: displaying callous disregard for animal suffering as a badge of honor
[If you receive the posts through email and wish to see the feature photo of this, or any other blog post on Vegan Practically, please click on the post title in the email message. Doing so will take you to the website version.] You’ve probably seen them somewhere along the way. Anti-vegan memes are an…
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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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Would you rather not think about it?
Recently I was out for dinner with a group of people when the person beside me said they’d “rather not think about” where their food comes from. The idea here is, if I don’t think about it I don’t have to change anything. But if I DO think about it, I might at least feel…
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Protein, even for dessert!
If you had to design a Vegan Bingo card, a great candidate entry would be “But where do you get your protein?” I don’t know anyone who has been vegan for any length of time who hasn’t been asked this question. And then there are the so-called chefs, such as the chef that catered an…
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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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The plant-based milk recall doesn’t mean we should reject plant-based milk
Anyone who uses plant-based milks in Canada is surely aware by now of the recall of various Silk and Great Value products — refrigerated oat, almond, and coconut milks — because of listeria contamination. I remember when I used to think that only animal products were susceptible to contaminants like e-coli, listeria, salmonella, and such.…
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