I started reading a book called The Vegan Sourcebook and I am very much enjoying it. It covers a multitude of topics related to veganism including it’s history, nutritional balancing and the many facets of vegan ethics.

On page 20 there is a statement that blew me away! It talks about how veganism is not a theology but rather a behaviour. People are characterized by how they act not what they think is right.  This meant so much to me because I have been struggling in my Christian faith lately because it seems as though Christians are more focused on belief that actions. The apostle Paul wrote that “faith without good deeds is dead” yet that is all I see. I have been betrayed by non-Christians and Christians alike but the deepest wounds come from those who, because of their association with Christ, are supposed to ACT differently. Act with compassion, understanding and love.

I love how to be a vegan you need to act on your belief. You can’t say, “I think it’s wrong how animals are treated. By the way, how do you like my new leather boots?” and call yourself a vegan. It’s more than good intentions.

Hmmm…if only veganism was a religion…just kidding. How can a faith system claim to care about others and be compassionate and loving if they don’t care for the smallest of God’s creations?

I was talking to a fellow Christian who was curious about what vegans were exactly and why we were vegan and I told her our reasons (one of which is animal cruelty (especially for egg-laying hens)) and she said that not eating eggs wasn’t going to solve the problem. That we should be asking for better regulations and better enforcement of the regulations on animal cruelty. Do you think that that will do anything? I doubt it. The lobby groups for meat and milk are very strong.

I see my lifestyle as being in harmony with the earth. I try to take only what I need and I try to make consumer choices that mean that a living being’s heart never has to stop beating on my account.

I also have a Facebook friend who, although he is not a vegetarian, said that he believes that when you eat something you absorb its energy. He followed that by commenting on the negative energy that must be absorbed by eating animals that are slaughtered in the equivalent way of a “Satanic bloodbath.” I think this may be extreme since I haven’t decided about how I feel about “energy” but I think his point is quite valid.

Yessir, I like being a vegan. It makes me a better, healthier person and it makes a difference. I think you save about 300 lives a year by not eating meat. That is not much compared to the millions of lives that are brutally taken for food but you know…

I once read a story about a little boy who would run along the beach and throw the starfish that were slowly dying out in the sun back into the ocean. An adult asked him if he really thought that that would make a difference and the little boy replied:

…”I am sure it matters to that one.”