On the other hand, plants and vegetables didn’t rise to fame like meat did. At fast-food drive-throughs, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions are the only veggies that made the cut. Plants did not get governement money the way meat did. Meat is highly subsidized, so it’s everywhere and cheap. Nowadays, ordering meat is cheaper than the veggie alternative. On the other side of the issue are plants which give their life when you eat them but not the same way that animals do when they are killed in the slaughterhouse. Why should you choose plants over animals? Because plants do not tax your body the way meat does. Plants consume energy and their food from the sun, they absorb nutrients through the soil, and when we eat them they release the nutrients we need for good health. Like green vegetables that nourish our cardiovascular systems with a vitality necessary to maintain blood pressure. But of course, everything has to be done in moderation. Why take a natural supplement if you don’t need it? Anything in excess can become toxic. People buy Vitamin E and shove them down their throats on a daily basis without getting the green light from a licensed nutritionist or a medical professional. This entire topic of vegetarianism and veganism can be a bit complex when you think of all the business’ trying to ride the trendy wave of “natural” foods. It isn’t natural to eat meat every day. It is isn’t natural to have a vitamin supplement you don’t need everyday. Food is natural. Vegetables and water is natural but how much of it and what it contains are becoming the challenging questions. I advocate the vegan diet because it’s a choice I make at every meal. Veganism: Veganism is no joke. It’s a tough step to take. I was only able to go that far out after I had been vegetarian for years. I was the first vegetarian that I intimately knew. A few things I figured out right away is that to be a healthy vegetarian or vegan, I had to have B-12s (found in meat), Vitamins, and Omega-3s. Going vegan is a wonderful lifestyle if you live in California. Every emerging cafe and contemporary restaurant has a vegan option now a days. The health benefits alone outweigh any of the pros of meat. Humans are evolving and so is their diet. I think veganism is an evolved diet. It keeps you in great shape when it’s done right. It is a daily choice and a right everyone reserves and can practice on the West Coast. Going raw is the next level. Raw foods offer a treasure chest of nutrients for our human body suit. Raw foods infuse our organs with a potent source of nutrients. The crunch and freshness of raw foods is unique. Given that we are moving so fast as a human species because of major progress in science and technology, I think it’s time to rethink our food in-take and veganism is that idea but into action.
Tag Archives: compassion
The Vegan Option in the SFV
To assert that you’re vegan is a complex statement. It means more than one can explain in a soundbite or blog post. Affirming veganism is mostly about having a compassionate heart than protesting outside KFC with PETA sponsored signs or avoiding animal products.
At the heart of the vegan matter is the cruel and unusual practices against animals whenever and wherever. It’s a reiteration of Martin Luther King’s “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Every item we purchase, every dollar we exchange, every click we make on the net, and ever station or channel we tune into is a choice. It’s about who you are in the daily battle of life.
Vegans choose to focus the majority of their compassion on the plight of animals. It’s such a beautiful practice; human beings using their biological advantage of language, abstract and critical thinking to give voice to the voiceless.
Animals communicate in their unique nonverbal language, and sometimes verbal ways. If a mother tiger looses her babies, she will not eat to the point of death. If a couple of close pigs are separated, they will make loud sounds of discomfort for days. Monkeys will gather and scream at the site of a mutual monkey’s burial. Signs of their level of intelligence, the commonalities of social practices and emotional attachments do exist; however the interpretation of these animal expressions and their behavior is entirely subjective.
Yet, people don’t give up juicy steaks, carne asada tacos, and burgers because another species can’t say, “Don’t eat me.”
Consuming animal flesh is not sacrilegious, unless your Hindu or part of a sect that does not eat pork. This is because according to Judeo-Christian creation myth, the planet is our dominion and we are the rulers of the entire animal kingdom. Our guts are omnivores too, evolution doesn’t mind us eating flesh. It can churn it out and make use of it. We can spice it up, marinate it, and give it a delicious chewy texture. Vegan people make it point to not eat meat and protest companies that harm animals.
Vegans are repulsed by the entire system of producing, modifying, and maintaining animal life for the sake of lucrative profit. The behind-the-scenes videos that capture the gore and loathsome state of a factory farm animal is igniting an uproar from activists across the globe; the most prominent of which is PETA. However, the stark reality of animals in factory farms is a mere glint of light on a very bloody diamond.
Much like the novel “The Jungle,” by Upton Sinclair, what’s placed under the microscope is multi-dimensionally horrific. In the novel “The Jungle,” the author’s objective was to depict the horrendous working conditions of the average American worker. He wanted to captivate the attention of the American public and incite a desire to end wage-slavery. Ironically, readers were taken-aback by the filthy conditions of the meat-packing industry and what in the end changed was not labor laws but meat factory laws.
Not eating animals is one angle to living vegan; not using leather is another; not using products that do animal testing, like let’s say Herbal Essence or Pantene Provene, is yet another angle; and rescuing animals, like cleaning oil drenched penguins so they can stay alive, is just another perspective of the vegan option.
Living a vegan is being aware of how your life affects other lives. The first couple of months it’s about being disgusted by the fact that we eat other animals. The second trimester is about watching documentaries, learning about the food industry. The last trimester is about cultivating your compassion. Your health is always at the forefront, or at least it should be, then it’s the animals.
The health benefits is one of the legs in the vegan tri-pod and not just an angle. Recent research, for example The China Study, has scientifically correlated disease with meat and dairy. Furthermore, this 20 year-long study has gone as far as to advocate, based off the research by top university scientist, a vegan diet.
- Plants, grains, non-GMO soy, vegetables are a great source of protein;
- Rich in vitamins, minerals, and amino-acids ;
- High in natural and essential fatty acids (omega-3);
- Helps with the digestive process;
- Lowers bad fat in-take;
- Good portion sizes of green vegetables contributes to healthy cardiovascular system;
- Boosts the immune system with vitamins and reduces inflammation ; and
- The take-home reason: prevents disease.
It’s been four years since I’ve stopped eating animal products and living a pure life. I’m by all means in idealistic person but I try to be as practical as I can and not allow the shining pillars of character to obstruct my insights. The different threads tied to the state of life in modern life merit as much attention, compassion, and action as do the animals suffering at the mercy of our appetites.
For this reason, I welcome vegans and non-vegans to Raw Possibility events. In trying to be animal cruelty free, we can not exclude carnivorous people. Just as we chose to eat vegan, they chose to include meat in their diets. Although we lead different lifestyles, we should always be compelled to share in our common humanity despite our objections or prejudices.
Thus the next phase of veganism, is not more Wholefoods or accessible non-GMO soy, but rather a burgeoning population of conscious hearts who live in counterpoint with a society that is metamorphosing at an unprecedented tempo.

Come out and Play!
Raw Possibility, in collaboration with micro-brewery Zombie Brewery Craft Beers, will be hosting an event featuring beatboxer Vincent Bantasan.
This is a public gathering of the masses. You can expect beer tasting, vegan food served hot off the stove, live beats from the human metronome beat-boxer, outdoor fire pit, indoor dance floor, and photography exhibit by the up-and-comping photographer Erici.
The event is happening at Lounge FourOneSeven (pictured below): July 7, 2012 Saturday at 417 N Hagar St., San Fernando, CA 91340


