The Vegan in the Room
The power of vegetarianism never ceases to amaze me. The power of the truth never ceases to amaze me. The animal exploitation industries know the damage a little truth does to their bottom line, so they distort, twist, and pervert it every chance they can. And the public, desensitized to the advertising that controls our thoughts and purchasing decisions, buys all of it. Until. Until. Until they see a photo of hens in a battery cage. Until they stumble upon a video of animals in a factory farm. Until...they meet a vegetarian or vegan.
I've written before about the power of the "vegan in the room" and how the energy palpably shifts when someone declares they're vegetarian/vegan. I experience this on a daily basis, and - at the risk of sounding over the top, it's almost a mystical experience. Literally, in one conversation with someone, I can see the change taking place. The truth about our exploitation and torture of animals is so hidden that when someone meets someone who has thought about how and why we treat animals as we do, it's like people have permission to confront what has been suppressed for so long.
Today, I'm having one of those mystical experiences. We're having some work done on our house, which means we've had a group of contractors here every day for the past three weeks. Many of our conversations have been about veganism and animal rights, just by virtue of them knowing I'm vegan. The contractors we're working with are a family, so one of the sons - who's 19 years young - is apprenticed to his father. Over the weekend, I sent him home, at his request, with videos, DVDs, and pamphlets. He told me this morning that he watched Earthlings, a documentary (narrated by Joaquin Phoenix) that asks the viewer to do away with the arbitrary boundaries we've created and instead perceive everyone on this earth - as Earthlings. I love that notion - of doing away with the differences that separate us and focusing on that which connects us. It's not an easy film to watch; there is footage of animals in laboratories, puppy mills, factory farms, fur farms, and circuses - but this young man, who's never seen any of this before, showed it to his entire family and many friends. And he wants to see more.
He also declared that he's going to stop eating meat and asked me to tell him the name of the brand of soy milk I let him try last week. (This is from someone who a week ago declared that soy milk was gross and that he could never drink anything but cow's milk.) He also tried tofu for the first time and devoured the chocolate cake I made them - admitting that he would never have known it was "vegan" if I didn't tell him.
Despite the stress of having work done on the house, I revel in the fact that these contractors will be here for a few more weeks. A few more conversations. A few more seeds planted. A few more minds and hearts expanded. The power of vegetarianism never ceases to amaze me. The power of the truth never ceases to amaze me. Neither does the power of a good chocolate cake.
I've written before about the power of the "vegan in the room" and how the energy palpably shifts when someone declares they're vegetarian/vegan. I experience this on a daily basis, and - at the risk of sounding over the top, it's almost a mystical experience. Literally, in one conversation with someone, I can see the change taking place. The truth about our exploitation and torture of animals is so hidden that when someone meets someone who has thought about how and why we treat animals as we do, it's like people have permission to confront what has been suppressed for so long.
Today, I'm having one of those mystical experiences. We're having some work done on our house, which means we've had a group of contractors here every day for the past three weeks. Many of our conversations have been about veganism and animal rights, just by virtue of them knowing I'm vegan. The contractors we're working with are a family, so one of the sons - who's 19 years young - is apprenticed to his father. Over the weekend, I sent him home, at his request, with videos, DVDs, and pamphlets. He told me this morning that he watched Earthlings, a documentary (narrated by Joaquin Phoenix) that asks the viewer to do away with the arbitrary boundaries we've created and instead perceive everyone on this earth - as Earthlings. I love that notion - of doing away with the differences that separate us and focusing on that which connects us. It's not an easy film to watch; there is footage of animals in laboratories, puppy mills, factory farms, fur farms, and circuses - but this young man, who's never seen any of this before, showed it to his entire family and many friends. And he wants to see more.
He also declared that he's going to stop eating meat and asked me to tell him the name of the brand of soy milk I let him try last week. (This is from someone who a week ago declared that soy milk was gross and that he could never drink anything but cow's milk.) He also tried tofu for the first time and devoured the chocolate cake I made them - admitting that he would never have known it was "vegan" if I didn't tell him.
Despite the stress of having work done on the house, I revel in the fact that these contractors will be here for a few more weeks. A few more conversations. A few more seeds planted. A few more minds and hearts expanded. The power of vegetarianism never ceases to amaze me. The power of the truth never ceases to amaze me. Neither does the power of a good chocolate cake.
posted by Compassionate Cook @ 9:34 AM
1 Comments:
At 1:29 AM ,
Zachary said...
I also enjoy seeing the proverbial light bulb go off when talking to people about why I am vegan.
People suppress what they know to be true and keep on supporting violence towards other earthlings... if we, as vegans/vegetarians, try to talk to people every day about this in a simple, rational manner, surely more and more people will become veggie.
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