Vegan products in a non-vegan brand, or: the perils of the supermarket

It’s not often that PeTA and I agree. As I rule, I, like many others, feel very icky about their tactics and imagery, but they get thoroughly criticised for that if other places so if you’re interested, just go and have a google.

But to the agreement: I agree that L’Oreal are vile animal abusers and I haven’t used any of their products since veganising myself over three years ago (my how time flies when you’re busy reading every label on every product you buy …). However, I read some time ago that they had brought out a vegan hair care line, EverPure, which actually marketed itself as being vegan, and my interest was piqued.

I had a little tussle with myself when I finally saw it in the supermarket on the weekend. My personal policy has always been that through mainstreaming and the wonders of shoppering veganism would become more widely known, acknowledged, desirable and even easier for people to live with. I have always supported the power of the market in being able to bring consumers vegan-friendly, reasonably-priced and high-performing products, and I am always pleased to see any product which states its vegan credentials on the label, because this is recognition that being cruelty-free is a selling point and worth shouting about – and I usually buy one in a show of support. The EverPure line meets all these criteria.

But did I want to support a company I know to be heavy users of animal testing and derivatives? Not really. Did I want to buy a line they had produced – one of many other, non-vegan lines, admittedly – which highlighted that it was vegan? Yes.

So my next question to myself, staring intently at the shelves in the personal care aisle, was that even though the product was vegan, in that it contained no animal products and had not been tested on animals, was it ok to buy it knowing what we do about L’Oreal? This was really where I felt uncomfortable.

And then I looked around me at the supermarket where I shop every week. That supermarket sells flesh and cow breastmilk and chicken ova and all sorts of non-vegan things. In my trolley was bread from bakeries that offer honey-infused lines. I bought cereals that offer yoghurt covered raisin varieties, baked beans which have ham-filled counterparts, hummus from brands that also sell smoked salmon dip, and tinned soups which I had to hunt for amongst their chicken stock and milk solids-filled shelfmates. On a naughty day I’ll buy chips that I can eat whilst leaving the honey baked ham packets from the same brand alone, and some types of sweet biscuits but not the creamy ones. I do this all the time. I choose products that suit me, and ignore the rest. I choose to buy things and tell companies that I, the consumer, want milk and honey free bread, cereal-only cereals, bean-filled baked beans, dips made only from chickpeas and vegetable soups that only contain vegetables. I choose because I have to and I want to. I choose because despite the existence of the outstanding Radical Grocery, I cannot and do not buy all my grocery items at vegan-only shops. My belief in the power of mainstreaming and my desire to see veganism become more widely understood and accepted make me choose.

And so I chose to try EverPure.

Incidentally, it wasn’t half as good as Organic Care and almost three times the price, but I would still like to know what you would choose. I chose one way, but you may choose another. Do you buy vegan products from non-vegan manufacturers (or do you not consider those to be vegan products at all?)? Or do you draw the line at very-non-vegan companies like L’Oreal and Proctor&Gamble on principle? Or do you support companies putting a toe in the water and buying their vegan-marked products regardless?

I’d really like to know – without wanting any Vegan Policing, I think this is fascinating.

Dymock's continues to impress me, even on a whirlwing whizzbang lunchtime quickie shop.

This lunchtime's haul includes the new 2011 Sarah Kramer 'Go Vegan' calendar, which will adorn the toilet wall at the T-House so that guests are held captive whilst reading its messages. No pics as only the 2010 calendar is on the website, and we couldn't possibly be that out of dat, daaaahling.

I also bought Sara Gruen's new book, Ape House. Ape House follows the bestselling( which I'd never heard of) Water for Elephants which is set in a circus (not vegan) during the Depression (neutral vegan) and according to the cover is about learning to communicate with ... an elephant (quite vegan). 

Ape House, and I rip this from the blurb, features bonobos who speak American Sign Language escaping into the world and capturing media attention for doing spookily human things - not so spooky given bonobos known intellectual abilities, just spooky to those who still consider animals to little more than responsive, unsentient biological machines. I don't know what it will be like, but it seems to be compassionate at first glance, and certainly better than other books by certain authors who misunderstand and misrepresent veganism and then send very rude emails exhibiting a complete lack of manners when called out politely for sloppy research.

Review possible shortcoming, and in the interests of full disclosure I should add that I also bought a book on uses of bicarb soda around the home because I am a bit sad.

Testing, testing, or: The Age is discussing animal testing and makeup

Today's 'Beauty Beat' blog at The Age website has a post on animal testing. I've responded and urge you to do the same. It's astonishing how often people assume that products are no longer tested on animals (because they rightly think that it's barbaric, abhorrent and ineffective) but it's just that the issue has slipped off the radar - I know this was the case for me when I started veganising my makeup and bathroom products. It's great that this important but often forgotten issue is getting an airing.

http://blogs.theage.com.au/lifestyle/beautybeat/archives/2010/05/cruel_reality.html

Lord, hear our prayer, or: unvegan shoppering

Hi Jeans Manufacturers (especially Lee and Mavi), 

Could you please stop using leather labels on the back of your jeans. It makes them unvegan. It is religious discrimination because it stops me worshipping at my church, The Holy Sepulchre of the Blessed Sacred Heart of the Sainted Mercy of Shopping. I cannot lay my purchases at the feet of Our Lady of Purchase and seek her holy blessing for my next shopping trip. I will never be heard by the Archangel Amex if I cannot flagellate myself in the Changing Room of Small Sizing Horror. I cannot sing with the Heavenly Choir of Consumer Cherubim. I will never be able to join the Seraphim of Sales.  Preventing me from buying jeans means that I will never achieve the Rapture of the Perfect Denim. 

You are losing my business. 

Your sincerely, 

A Poor Penitent

I want to shop vegan, or: Comrades, Viva the Consumer Revolution!

I’ve sounded a little like a roadshow soapbox spruiker lately, sharing my favourite shoppering. I maintain that having vegan labelled products available in commercial shops is a great thing – it normalises veganism, it brings the idea that consumers should think and care about what goes into their products and what they are tested on back on the agenda, and it makes the idea of vegan products more accepted and acceptable. Also, I like to shop. I want to be able to shop vegan.

I am a fan of the Organic Care range of shampoo, conditioner and hand wash, and of the other household products made by the same company, Nature’s Organics. I like that they have great (and biodegradable) packaging, are widely available in commercial supermarkets, and are not too pricey for the average shopping trolley. For me, this shows that it is possible and profitable to produce high quality, vegan, eco-friendly and non-toxic products at a reasonable price, and as I peek into other people’s laundries, bathrooms and kitchens, I see these products abounding which is testament to their broad appeal (in our house the Earth Choice brand t gets a pounding, but they also have ranges that don’t look quite so hippie-ish, for those who prefer their dishwashing detergent vividly fluorescent).

I have always preferred the Organic Care brand of the Nature’s Organics range as they are free from SLES, SLS, ALES, ALS, parabens and petrochemical cleansers (these things are really worth a Google). Until recently there was a great range of haircare (I know Tahn has tried them and that some people find them too scented, but for my very thick mane of 80s style boofiness, they’re fantastic) and handwashes under the Organic Care banner, but no body washes. No more! I found three varieties at Woolworth’s (are any other Victorians as excited by the rebranding of Safeway as I am?) and bought them all. They don’t yet appear on the Nature’s Organics website, but there is a deep clean, an exfoliating and a moisturising wash, and for a little over $5 each, they’re not a special purchase buy.

And that’s what I like best: these are normal, everyday products for normal, everyday people with normal, everyday budgets who shop at normal, everyday stores. I love supporting small and new brands, but I am lucky enough to have the resources and interest to do so. I am thrilled that products which tick so many of my important purchasing boxes – vegan, eco-friendly, and not afraid to say it – are available in the mainstream. Surely this is how our message will reach more and more people who will casually reach to pick up a nice looking product, see that the manufacturers are proud to say that their product is cruelty-free, and realise that this is something desirable that other products don’t have. And they’ll buy it. And they’ll look for it next time. And eventually more and more producers will cotton on to the importance of these qualities, and they'll follow suit. And I think that's important.

U Little Beauty, or: I shop and consume in a rainy lunchtime

Although I'm a low-maintenance kind gal, I am a sucker for a beauty product. During a lunchtime whizz around Priceline today I came across, in their excellent organic section, a brand called U Little Beauty.

(image from the U Little Beauty website in the interests of me not having to load photos)

On principle I tend to give anything a whirl that actually has the word 'vegan' on it, in the interests of promotion and support, and U Little Beauty has it in droves. It's vegan credentials are plastered all over its products and website. As well as being cruelty-free, the it's SLS and Paraben free; has no artificial preservatives, colours or fragrances; has no petrochemcials; is made in the capital of hippiedom, Byron Bay; and carries the 'against animal testing' bunny and the vegan sunflower logo on its recyclable packaging.


I bought the 'kiss me quick' lip balm - something that usually has beeswax- and it tastes delicious. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's lemony-sorbety and not too greasy, not too thick.



The 'butter me u' body butter looks and smells like chocolate mousse, and unlike some that seem to waterlog your skin, sinks in quickly and lightly.

So another addition to the overflowing bathroom cabinet- but a nicely smelling one that's not afraid to use 'vegan' as a selling point.

Dear ShoeSellers Betts, Novo and Zu: I Want To Shop

I wrote to the Shoe Elves about their sneaky practice of slipping leather quarterlining into shoes that are otherwise all synthetic and vegan-ok, but the force of my tantrum and the flood of my tears as I rejected pair after pair of shoesies that I wanted to wear to weddings, parties, anything, was not enough.

So I wrote to their bosses at various shoesie emporia.

Hello,

I would like to bring to your attention an issue about the labelling of some shoes in your stores.

As a vegan I do not use any animal products, including leather, and I am always pleased to find a wide range of synthetic shoes in your stores which look great and suit my needs. However, I have noticed that a number of shoes which state that they are made from all synthetic or manmade materials have leather quarterlining, which is not disclosed on the shoe.

It may be that product disclosure laws only require manufacturers to state the composition of the main lining material, but for people like me who avoid leather and suede it is terribly frustrating to discover that an apparently animal-free pair of shoes in fact has leather quarterlining.

I urge you to contact your manufacturers and suppliers and request that they use non-leather quarterlining on shoes that are otherwise all synthetic. As well as broadening your market it would ensure that the actual components of the shoes match the product disclosure, and bring consistency to the labelling of your shoes.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely,

Miss T
Shoe Enthusiast and Lover of All Things Shiny

VitaSoy speaks

I received a response from VitaSoy about the sneaky lanolin-derived Vitamin D3 in the purple Cali-Plus packs. You'll note that they are aresearching alternative sources - so keep reminding them that animal-derived Vitamin D is horrible, cruel, icky and unecessary!

Here is the letter in full:

Dear Rachel,

Thank you for your recent email regarding our Vitasoy Calci Plus.

Vitasoy Australia proudly manufactures all of its products in northern-Victoria from Australian-grown non-genetically modified soy beans. We constantly strive to provide our loyal customers with the highest quality Australian made soymilk, ricemilk and oatmilk, and welcome feedback on how we can improve our products.

Vitamin D has been added as it has been shown to assist with the absorption of calcium, which is important for overall bone health. We add vitamin D3, which is extracted from the lanolin in the wool of healthy and living sheep in New South Wales and Victoria. Where possible, we always try to source ingredients that are suitable for both vegetarians and vegans to ensure we provide products for our customers that choose to follow such a diet. In this case, the poor availability of vitamin D2 would have made it difficult to consistently produce and supply Vitasoy Calci-Plus, leading us to choose this source of vitamin D3.

The remainder of our Vitasoy soymilk range is suitable for both vegetarians and vegans, as is our range of ricemilk and oatmilk.

We do actively listen to our consumers, and constantly review feedback to ensure we are meeting their needs. Please be assured we are researching alternative suppliers for Vitamin D and we hope we may find a suitable source. We trust that you will continue to enjoy the range of Vitasoy products, and hope that we can fulfil your needs into the future.

Thank you for your feedback.

Regards,

Vitasoy

Consumer Enquiry Centre

Letter to VitaSoy, or: why is the purple pack un-vegan?

Hi there,

I'm writing to voice my concern that VitaSoy Calci-Plus is no longer vegan. I understand that the Vitamin D contained in the soy milk is derived form lanolin, a wool derivative. This makes the Calci-Plus definitely not vegan!

Some companies will say that the production wool, lanolin and its by-products does not harm animals, and that they are therefore of no concern. This is not the case. The wool industry relies on the mass breeding, exploitation and death of sheep, and the cruel practices within the industry, including mulesing and the death by exposure of up to 30% of lambs within day of birth, are of great to concern to vegans. Sheep who have outlived their usefulness as wool producers, which occurs well before the end of their natural life, are sent for live export overseas - a horrendous journey - where it is most likely that they will undergo further traumatic transportation and treatment before they are slaughtered. A bale of wool cannot be produced without the suffering and painful, premature death of sheep, and this is why the inclusion of wool-derived ingredients is not harmless.

Vegans are great consumers and champions of soy milk, and to find that Calci-Plus is not suitable for us is very disappointing. I urge to reconsider the inclusion of this form of Vitamin D, and look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Miss T

Christy Robinson Jewelry again, or: I practice chesty activism in more ways than one.

Ah that Christy Robinson! She makes the most lovely jewellery. I bought her cute and subtle Vegan Star pendant a while ago, and now that I have forayed into chesty activism, I went one step further and bought this one too.


C-u-u-u-te! Less subtle, though not in-ya-face-mate, it's smaller than I expected but the better for it. It sits beautifully around the clavicle and a lovely side-effect is that if anyone is trying to sneak a look at your chesty area, they cop a serve of vegan activism instead.

Bunniness, or: Shoppering for Change

Ah well, they didn’t publish it, so here’s an email I sent to Madison magazine last month.

How exciting it was to read in the March issue that your Acting Beauty Editor Katrina Lawrence is vegan! It's always great to see veganism mentioned in a mainstream publication without some of the usual cliches and ill-informed hysteria. And how fantastic would it be if Madison took what I think would be an international lead, and featured vegan clothes, beauty products and cooking as a regular part of the magazine? Vegans choose to avoid eating, wearing or using animal products for many reasons - animal rights, animal welfare, environmental concerns and health - but we still want to see (animal-friendly) things to lust after in magazines like Madison!

Here's hoping that we can help promote an ethical, environmentally friendly and healthy lifestyle alongside a fabulous pair of heels - just make mine Natalie Portman for Te Casan please!

I would love to see a magazine like Madison take an active, public approach to identifying animal-friendly products. Believe me, I’m under no illusions that they’re going to stop advertising leather, but in the same way that fur now gets no gander, and some magazines deliberately and loudly feature models of a more usual body shape (goddamn if I call them plus-size!), I’d love to see a little hot pink bunny symbol there too, raising awareness and helping vegan clothes, accessories and cosmetics enter the mainstream. I call this bunniness.

Quite selfishly, bunniness would this make my own shoppering much, much easier and a whole lot more expensive. But it would also impact on the choices of mainstream consumers, for whom cochineal and beeswax just aren’t on the radar. It’s easy not to think about bunniness when it’s not a part of your everyday consciousness, and it’s unfair to expect that non-vegans would actively consider the bunniness of their makeup – that’s just not their thing (yet! Bwahahaha!) – but by simply identifying it, we make it an issue.

Perhaps hair products, handbags and eyeshadow aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they are mine, and I want to see products that I can use featured and identified; I want to see small vegan manufacturers get the page-time they need to take off; I want would-be vegans to know that I am not condemned to a lifetime of olive oil for moisturiser (although I hear that works quite well) and hemp clothes; I want people to start wondering and thinking about why some products don’t get the little bunny; and by default, I want them to know when they are choosing the not-animal-friendly product. I want choosing bunniness to clear, easy and celebrated; I want people to feel good about it, which means they have to know about it; and, like shoppering, I want it to be bloody fun.

So bring on mainstream inclusion, bring on shoppering for change, and bring on bunniness!

Christy Robinson Designs, or: I get into some Jewellery Activism

Shoppering! I am usually not one for emblazoning my veganism on my clothes or across my chest (why is it that activism is so often advertised via T-shirts on the chest? I am yet to see a "Nuclear Free" pair of jeans utilising the more readable space of the derriere. I think I will call this Chest Activism). As a rule I find it a little earnestly weird, kind of like wearing a wardrobe comprising exclusively cause/protest/eco-worrier-warrior t-shirts: just not my thang. Also, I am yet to find anything all that palatable and un-patchouli-ish (with the exception of my Herbivore T-shirts from Moo Shoes, but even then I have to be in the mood for chest-wearing activism).

Before Christmas I received an email from Alternative Outfitters that highlighted the jewellery (or jewelry if you're from America, North) of Christy Robinson of Dallas, Texas. Christy has made a range of vegan jewellery which is cute and sweet and totally something I'd be happy to wear over my chest.


Is this not the sweetest thing you've ever seen? It's handmade to order and I put it on my chest immediately and have not taken it off.


The nicest thing, however, was Christy. As soon as I placed an order I got a super friendly email back, thanking me for my order and confirming the length of the chain I had asked for (she is very happy to discuss customising pieces), and just a few days later another one letting me know that it had been sent. Speeeeeedy!


And today it arrived - only about three weeks after I ordered and over the holiday period no less - wrapped up in a lovely box with ribbon, care instructions, business cards and a lovely handwritten note from Christy. Is that not the way every transaction should be?


So thank you Christy: I love the necklace and it was a genuine pleasure to work with you.

Christy can be found at: www.christyrobinsondesigns.com or christyrobinsondesigns@yahoo.com.

Edit: Christy is at etsy as julep115.

In fact I am off to order another one right now ...

Oh Melissa, or: I make an unscheduled pitstop on Chapel and buy product

It has occurred to me that this blog has been ignoring one of its taglines - shoppering. There's been molto cookering and eatering, and even a bit of whinering, but so far I haven't really delved into that other great love of my life, the accumulation of product (as my dad would put it).

Today however I have excitement to report! When I went lunchering with Caroline last week I was in drooling awe of her pair of flocked Melissas, so much so that we took a post prandial expedition to Myer in hopes that they had some in stock (they did, but I stupidly rejected them. On website inspection, they were from the Vivenne Westwood Anglomania collection ... I am a fool!). Alas, none others were there.

I made a trip to Chapel St today, which is unsual in and of itself, and whilst wandering past Moji, I spotted some Melissas in the window and made an immediate and quite violent left hand turn into the shop.

I came home with these beauties (and excuse the swollen ankles; my personal trainer made me do a ridiculous interval test on the bike and I hate him for it), and am pretty well up for some more already.

Pairy The Firsty: goldie slingback flatties with punched holes (blurriness due to difficulties in trying to photograph own foot in acceptably attractive way, clearly not achieved due to: 1: previously mentioned swelling; 2: awkward angles created by shooting down; 3: balancing foot on the couch to take advantage of light. They're hot, ok? Just accept it anyway):



Will you just look at adorable peeptoe?


And here's why the plastic choes don't smell (as I not-so-delicately asked Caroline!) - they are lined with a light fabric and the material of the inner sole is less PVCy that the upper.


Pairy The Secondy: Badass oilslick midnight blue wedges with long pocketback, ankle strap and purple inner sole. So very CatWoman, and not a colour I normally go for - but they are fierce and I am channelling Tyra Banks. Miaowwww!



A good contrast between the shiny PVC upper and the more rubbery inner sole.


So what's so great about Melissas? Have a look here to read more. In a nutshell? Environmentally innovative, socially responsible, vegan by default, designed with spark and goddamned comfortable.


Moji: 558 Chapel Street, South Yarra. Ph. 03 9824 1104. Other stockists listed on the Melissa site.

Noo Yawk Rawks, or: I pound the streets, eat the food, buy the shopping, and can't find any Internet cafes

Ahoy from Noo Yawk, where the streets have no name and apparently no Internet cafes either. Due to this unforeseen technical hitch (and the fact that I am sitting in the crappiest, most bizarre little cafe in Chinatown with a total hobo next to me who is kicking chairs around) there will be no picture posting until I get home, or maybe to London.

The culinary and shopping delights so far have been swoon-worthy. As I am paying by the minute here, I'll summarise in telegraph-ese bullets ...

• Moo Shoes. Two pairs of vegan J-41s purchased and fallen in love with. Like little squidgy bliss on your feet. One pair olive and pistacchio Aquarius, one pair black and grey maryjanes. Shop has five cats residing - and was tickled to see that the clothes on display were covered in their hair. Lots of great pamphlets and a Vegan Restaurant Guide to NYC which does not leave my side.

• Te Casan - Natalie Portman vegan range. The joy of holding high-quality, beautifully made vegan shoes in hand... I suspect that it's something like holding your firstborn in your arms ... kinda. Two gorgeous pairs purchased - one pair of 'snakeskin' flat shoes with toe holder and ankle wrap strap; one pair goldiegold going out heels. Made sure to extol virtues of high quality vegan shoes to shop lady to help ensure future buying. Pricey but definitely worth it.

• WholeFoods. Am obsessed and in love. Just so so many things labelled vegan, including curries at the buffet bar (US$7.99 per pound. Today I paid $22.65 inc tax for my lunch. You do the maths. It was 2.61 pounds. I just couldn't resist trying everything! Curries, salads, tofu galore, endamame, quinoa ... ). I also bought two types of soy cheese not available in Aus - disappointing but so exciting to see so many varieties. Going to try Tofurkey. Also fantastic range of makeup (including No Miss nailpolish and Zuzu Luxe) and blue chips! Woah Nellie! Pictures of levels 1 and 2 of my buffet food-mountain.

• Candle 79 - fine dining organic vegan. And boy, fine dining. Have left carefully copied out list of what we had at hotel, but suffice it to say that we both left stuffed and sugar rushing. Service and ambience just perfect. We had a friendly, informative and just plain ol' nice waiter, and no one commented that we turned up in Havaianas, shorts, t-shirts, and all tired and dirty from a long day pounding the streets of New York City and getting caught in a downpour. The food was exquisite and I was greatly satisfied that Buzz really enjoyed it too. I had to get on the bandwagon and explain to him (as he patiently listened yet again to me drone on about veganism) that when you know that food like this exists, to see the paltry offerings normally available, to constantly order chips'n'salad, to have people assume that you aren't interested in food, is supremely frustrating. I am vegan because I am interested in food, and I am interested in food because I am vegan.

So to sign out .. Noo Yawk rawks. It just needs more Internet Cafes (and signage for the subway.

Shopping is the Staff of Life, or: How I Eat and Shop, thanks for asking

Although I was an unthinking vegetarian, by which I mean I no longer thought about why I didn’t eat meat, having been vegetarian since early 1990 I was used to scanning menus for what food I could and couldn’t eat. Being vegan is certainly different – my menu-searching skills are laser sharp, I religiously read food labels, and I diligently interrogate waiters. I plan ahead – I read menus online and call restaurants, I think about what I can eat and when and where I can get it, and I have developed a bloodhound-like ability to sniff out good quality non-leather bags and shoes at one hundred paces (oh how I love them!).

I shop at the supermarket and farmers’ markets when I’m out of bed on a Saturday morning on time. I am not forced to frequent health food stores nor am I restricted to wholegrains and dried apricots. I drink some beers but no wines unless they’re labelled vegan. I often take my own food to dinner parties to a) show off my creations when they’re good, and b) ensure that I have something to eat.

I’ll just add this: in almost 20 years of being vegetarian and one year of veganism, across Melbourne, Europe, the UK and India – I have never, ever had nothing to eat. Sure, occasionally it’s chips and salad – but it’s food and it’s there. And I’m not the kind of girl who’ll quietly go hungry.

I do love to shop. A lot. Frequently. And veganism hasn’t slowed me down all that much. I just accept that most coats have wool, most special dresses are silk, most nice scarves are made of silk or cashmere, and designers who design exciting shoes and bags use leather and suede (but stay tuned …. Ellie and Rach change the world with the RoC!). Finding a cruelty-free item that I love now has even more excitement (and it’s cheaper).

I’m off to New York City (avec Buzz) and London (sans Buzz) next Friday for five weeks. Expect me to return laden down with good quality animal-friendly bags and shoes, and fit to burst with a belly full of food.

Yessss!

Hello! or: I take this opportunity to blather on about myself for a bit.

I am vegan, but I’m not much of a princess – I just thought it was a funny name. I did choose Princess though because although I’m not (too much, I hope) a spoiled, bratty, high-maintenance rich-bitch, I’m also not what many people think vegans are: a dredlocked, unwashed, patchouli-wearing, pot-smoking, preachy, feral wearing hemp. I don’t like mung beans.

I would really like for this blog to able to show that veganism is totally compatible with the mainstream. I hope to show that vegan living, while it requires more forethought and planning than that required of omnis or even vegetarians, is much easier than people may think. When I was vegetarian I thought not only was veganism totally extreme Nimbin-only, but that it would also be far more difficult than I could do. It’s not.

I went vegetarian at 9 1/2, when I decided that if I loved animals then I didn’t want to eat them. Over the years it became almost more of a habit than an ethical choice. I said I objected to the ways animals were treated, but I didn’t really think any more about it. I happily (and greedily) wore leather, I’d not worry about the fish sauce or chicken stock in my food, and I swore on my life that I’d rather die than give up cheese.

So what prompted the ‘upgrade’ to being vegan? Was it a deep ethical disquiet, a moment of moral awakening, a light shone upon my conscience?

Nup.

It was a diet book.

It’s a bit sad, but Skinny Bitch changed my life. Not the ranting about giving up Diet Coke and coffee (I shall never surrender!), or the processed food-heavy Americanised recipes, or the eating disorder-inspiring tone, and certainly not the injunction against alcohol (although the comment “Beer is for frat boys” made me giggle), but the description of research about what really goes on in slaughterhouses.

I had a Moment.

Hormones flowed, blood pumped, cheeks flushed – my eyes opened. I knew I just couldn’t be involved any longer. I spent time reading and learning, replacing food, cosmetics, clothes and accessories (being lucky enough to be able to do so, and having total respect for those who choose to use up their pregan things), and absorbing everything I now allowed myself to know. I will never go back.