When I first became vegan, I didn’t realize that I also had to figure out what type of vegan I was going to be. I thought I was just eliminating animal products from my life. It soon became clear, however, that being vegan carries with it a responsibility to advocate for animals and a cruelty-free […]
Archive | Thoughts
Happy Thanksgiving from The "V" Word
Celebration for the Turkeys at Farm Sanctuary “Studies have shown the mortality rate to be as high as 75 percent during the first weeks of a turkey’s life. Birds that survive this critical time typically live a year or two. Some birds make it three years or longer. Turkeys have been known to live 10 […]
VeganMoFo: "T" is for ThanksLiving at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary
The “V” Word continues its celebration of VeganMoFo, a month of Vegan food, with the other 25 letters of the alphabet. Today’s letter is extra-special because it stands for my favorite event at my very favorite place in the world. “T” is for ThanksLiving at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. This was my 2nd time attending […]
VeganMoFo and The Liebster Award
VeganMoFo is two-thirds done and so far it’s been so much fun. A lot of work but also a lot of fun. Being part of a group of over 700 bloggers all promoting the same cause gives this lone cook a great sense of community. It’s amazing how many people are out there making delicious […]
VeganMoFo: "C" is for Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
The “V” celebrates VeganMoFo with the other 25 letters of the alphabet. Today the letter “C” stands for Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. For me, the type of vegan I want to be is epitomized in one woman, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. She is the author of many amazing cookbooks including The Joy of Vegan Baking, The Vegan Table, Color […]
VeganMoFo: The "V" Word and the ABC’s of Vegan Food!
October is my favorite month in my favorite season. I met Tom in October and we got married on that same date 4 years later. We rescued Benny (and he rescued us) in October. Halloween is my favorite holiday. The leaves are changing to beautiful colors of greens, oranges, reds and browns. The weather is cool […]
3 Years Veg and 7 Lessons Learned
July 21st marks my 3-year anniversary of giving up meat. While I celebrate the day I became fully Vegan more, this day is also important because it marks the beginning of my journey towards a cruelty-free life. I could write and sing the praises about being Vegan forever but I thought I would rather share […]
Mother’s Day
Notes: This is an adaptation of an earlier post, Save the Children. Thank you to C-A-L-F and Evolve! Campaigns for allowing the sharing of pictures. A Mother’s Story Chloe had been happily anticipating the birth of her new baby. She carried her baby inside her for nine long months. They were one, mother and child. It had […]
Mercy For Animals Uncovers Severe Abuse to Calves
Got Milk? Got Child Abuse. The number of television commercials depicting “happy cows” on family farms is growing exponentially. But how happy could any cow be when she is raped and artificially inseminated, spending the majority of her shortened life pregnant just to produce milk her babies will never get to drink? How happy can […]
One Lovely "Lovely Blog" Award
One of my more annoying fears (to me) is writing blog posts and thinking no one is reading them. I suppose that’s why all bloggers love getting comments; even if people don’t agree with what you wrote, at least you know they are reading it. Comments on Facebook are great but my heart still falls […]
In Memory of Shirley Wilkes-Johnson (1937-2011)
“Vegans can no longer be silent in this most important social justice change…anymore than we could have [remained silent]…by just not owning slaves during Antebellum slavery and saying slavery was a choice. Some things are so wrong they can not be tolerated. Time is short and creating a vegan world has become crucial to saving […]
Breaking Up With Richard Gere
The other night I had a dream in which I broke up with Richard Gere. Apparently, we were in a serious relationship – I even got to touch his hair (swoon) – but I had no choice. I had to end things between us. Before I get into the dream analysis, perhaps I need to […]
A Poem for World Vegan Day
November 1st is World Vegan Day and November is Vegan Awareness Month. While I wrote this poem last summer, I thought World Vegan Day was a perfect time to post it here on The “V” Word. “Personal Choice?” Confusion, fear, panic I don’t understand what is happening Voices all around me, meaningless But heavy with […]
500 Days of Veganism
Today is my 500th day of being Vegan. In less than 2 weeks, it will be my 2 year anniversary of going veg. Since I am obsessively introspective, it is only fitting that I use these milestones as opportunities to reflect upon what I have learned and experienced since making such life-altering decisions. But there […]
Save The Children
Chloe had been happily anticipating the birth of her new baby. She carried her baby inside her for nine long months. They were one, mother and child. It had been a difficult pregnancy, as Chloe did not live in optimal conditions. Her home was small and crowded and she did not have a lot of […]
The Benoni Challenge
It was the end of June, a Sunday. My husband, Tom, and I took our dog, Benoni, to Central Park for the day. After walking for hours, we exited the park 20 blocks from where we had parked the car. Suddenly, the gray skies opened and the rain poured down. Benoni (or Benny, as we […]
Weight Watchers: You Had Me at “Step On”
My relationship with Weight Watchers (WW) has been like a tumultuous love affair: we met, we hit it off, we shared good times and rough times, we broke up, we tried other relationships, we got back together, we broke up again… You know the movie: girl meets weight-loss plan, girl loses weight, girl cheats with […]
My Vegan Journey
I have always been an animal lover but I have since learned how that particular self-concept fell short, in part, because of how and where I was raised. Born in the South Bronx, I never saw a lawn, a garden, or any animals other than dogs, cats, fish (in tanks), pigeons, rats and roaches. Lots […]
The "V" Word
Two years ago, I had never even heard of the “V” word. Now it’s not only a word I use hundreds of times each day but one that I have found elicits a wide range of reactions from people: from pride to shame, from welcoming to fear, from knowing to ignorance, from admiration to disgust, […]