Tag: Practice
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Is imperfect veganism a defence of moral imperfection?
I warn you now: I may not be able effectively to edit out of this message an underlying whine-y tone (will try!). I’m recovering from the sting of SSHRC Insight Grant rejection of an application for funding to support my work on imperfect veganism. I dedicated three months to it last summer and felt really…
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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,…
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Five-course dessert tasting: a five-star experience
Every once in awhile I hear about a hidden gem that just takes plant-based dining experiences to a new level. I learned through the grapevine that an acquaintance of mine who lives about 90 minutes east of here, in Waterloo, comes to London (Ontario, just to be clear) monthly to attend a five-course, plant-based dessert…
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A little catering win: plant-based milk for coffee
I like to write about catering fails and catering wins. And I have noted before that my workplace scores high in the sustainability rankings of institutions of higher ed. Of course I’m proud of this reputation. At the same time I am surprised and disappointed when we fall short on the catering front where sustainable–plant-based…
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Engage or chill?
Considering I’m a philosopher who has essentially been trained to argue, you might think my answer to “when to engage?” is “whenever the opportunity arises.” But that is not my approach at all. I have limited time and energy. I do not engage when it is hopeless. And there is a certain baiting approach, where…
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What do you do with the “may contain…” allergen warning?
Anyone who has ever spent time reading ingredient labels to see if a product is vegan is aware of the frequently-seen “may contain” warning. This warning is usually associated with known allergens, and most often will list tree nuts, soy, wheat, dairy, or eggs. I confess that I have usually considered this warning to be…
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Killer Cute Shoes
Towards the end of his brilliant essay, “Consider the Lobster,” David Foster Wallace asks a series of questions, among them: Which brings me to the issue of leather shoes. [note that the shoes pictured above are cruelty-free, not leather] If people are open to thinking about these issues at all, they are willing to consider…
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Compassion as a reason to be vegan
I’ve said it before: one of my favourite things about starting this blog is that people send me things of interest that I might have missed. Last week someone sent me a link to Leo Babauta’s post, “Why I am Vegan (and how to make it easy),” from his Zen Habits site (thanks Daphne!). I…
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Surprise! These foods are NOT vegan
Lettuce is vegan, but I don’t have any surprise-not-vegan items in my home to photograph, hence, the lettuce. I’ve blogged before about accidentally vegan foods—things we assume aren’t vegan but actually and delightfully are. I still remember the day I discovered the maple cream cookies, which I had dutifully avoided while my friend Diane raved…
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Fun Friday Vegan Challenge: Try something new
If you’re like me you love discovering delicious new foods. There’s nothing like stumbling upon something new when you least expect it. That happened to me last weekend when I started wandering around the Market at Western Fairgrounds District in London, Ontario after meeting a friend there for coffee. I love going to the two-level…
Vegan Practically 