VegFest and compassionate living

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This past Sunday a small group of caring Kelowna women and men hosted VegFest, a celebration of all things vegan. They called it VegFest, instead of Kelowna Vegan Festival, which was smart! It attracted a huge crowd to celebrate everything surrounding animals, food and the planet. I attended the event with some friends, bought some great vegan sauces, cheezes and even a pair of vegan shoes from Nice Shoes! I purchased a slightly bold animal activism shirt (photo below), a grocery bag that says “Not your Mom, not your Milk” and had a delicious lunch from one of the five plant based trucks. My meal was a foot long veggie dosa from Dosa Crepes who also have a restaurant in Kelowna – delicious! The other plant-based food trucks were: Renegade, check out their schedule here, Gypsy Trunk Vegan Food, Tasty Times Vegan Eatery, and the Wagon that is situated either at Sandhill Winery or at the Kettle River Brewery both in downtown Kelowna. Sajiva, my favourite Okanagan Kombucha company attended with their delicious flavours. Of course the three sisters from the amazing Naked Cafe had a booth promoting Okanagan Animal Save and their commitment to fighting to save factory farmed animals.

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While I was there, my friend asked if I was going to write about the experience on my blog. I figured what the heck, yes! This day was celebrating what I am most passionate about, so why not share! I have to tell you I was stoked the entire time. I was on a bit of a high. The parking lot was jammed and for once the lack of space was exciting! It was an indication to me that the world is changing for the better. Maybe people are becoming more aware of the positive effect of animal product free diet!

There were 75 vendors, 14 presentations on topics such as Overcoming Obesity and Cancer on a plant-based diet (by Dan and Sheanne Moskaluk from Naramata, “the Canadian content in the documentary Eating You Alive“), cooking demonstrations, and a talk on “How to be Vegan in a Non-Vegan World” by Carole Boivin. They offered animal rights activism information on how to help bring awareness to animal suffering and numerous sanctuaries throughout the valley were in attendance looking for support.

Next week marks my 3 year anniversary of being completely plant-based! Whoot Whoot!! My only regret is not doing it sooner. I have never felt better or more sure of who I am as a person. I know that I want to share the knowledge that I have about plant based eating and its benefits. I am also beginning to realize that I also have a desire to help the animals who are suffering on this planet and try to share their stories. I think supporting plant-based eating and acknowledging the animals that suffer in order for humans to eat them, go hand in hand. Now I need to decide at what level I am capable to fight for these animals. I will continue to give monetarily and spread the word about plant-based eating, but do I have it in me to go to the factory farms and bear witness to their suffering? I’m not sure. I do know this however… “Even small positive shifts in thinking, create huge results if you are consistent in your efforts” – Nanette Mathews

I have decided to make a committed effort to no longer purchase items that cause harm to animals. While not everything can be avoided and I struggle with what to do with the items that I currently own that are derived from animals, it is important for me to do my best to personally stop animals from being harmed or killed simply for items that I wish to own. 

I have recently listed for sale my leather handbags and have decided to donate the raised funds to an animal sanctuary in our area. I have yet to chose one though I am a huge fan of Arion Therapeutic Farm.

There are so many animal derived items other than food that we use daily, such as; our vehicles, down pillows, leather shoes and jackets, wool rugs, cosmetics, cleaning supplies and hair products among many others, that contribute to animal suffering.

Regrettably, there are many things in our home that I am not able to remove that we chose to use in the building process.  I just wasn’t in this same place when we were building. Now when I think about them I cringe. How did humans become so righteous to believe that we can abuse, mutilate and kill 56 BILLION land animals worldwide each year. Yes, that is correct. In 2017, in Canada alone, we killed 800 MILLION land animals. (statistics provided on that here.) Those numbers don’t even take into account any animals from the oceans. In 2017, Canada’s population was 36.5 million. That equates to approximately 220 animals killed per person each year. Here is a link to some information on total animals killed worldwide for human consumption. You can be sure that all of those animals suffered through immense pain, likely throughout their entire lives, living in a CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation), also known as a factory farm. These are like concentration camps for animals. We know this, yet because the horrors are hidden from us, we rationalize it. Paul McCartney’s quote is so true, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.”

Our society has molded us to believe that we should love certain animals and that eating other animals is okay, that it isn’t cruel because they were placed on earth to feed us. This is far from the truth. We don’t need their animal protein. In fact it is making us sick. Pause for a moment and look around at society. We are sicker, fatter and overall the most unhealthy we have been as a society in the history of our population.

When we were children we loved all animals and were mesmerized by them; the baby chicks, the ducks in the park, the snails in the pond, the lambs and pigs at the petting zoo. Then we went home and our mothers fed them to us. Trust me, I did it too for a while… It’s just such a disjointed facet of our culture. I believe everyone should be educated on what our current food system looks like and make their choice from there… especially the young children, as they are our future. They will have a huge impact on the future of our world. It needs all of the kindness and love it can get.

Below is a photo of two of the four baby chicks we rescued from likely a sad fate from Buckerfields this spring. They are adorable and kind and just want to explore and be together. My husband says after experiencing having chickens he could never eat one again. I believe our society needs more of this intimate interaction with what ends up on our plates.

We must do the best with the knowledge that we have from today going forward. There is no room for judgment and criticism on each of our personal paths to make this world a better place.  I believe that positive actions will only come from encouragement and education.    

At Vegfest I picked up a few brochures that can help in ones transition to a life that better supports our planet and all life on it. Here are some photos and links to websites that might be of interest to you.

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Here are some things you can do to today to get more informed about leading a more compassionate life:

Find a list of the best humane charities at www.humanecharities.ca

Learn more about www.thesavemovement.org and its Okanagan Animal Save chapter.

Check out PETA for information on advancing the animal rights revolution, recipes, animal rescue success stories and more.

P.E.A.C.E. People Ensuring Animal Care Exists www.peace-everywhere.org is an organization that supports BC Sanctuaries.

Buy a shopping bag or clothing to help spread the word at www.veganveins.ca These ladies, and artists are from Alberta and drove all the way to set up a booth at VegFest! Here is my shopping bag…

Encourage your friends to try nut cheeses to experience the amazing flavours available. It is very possible to ditch dairy and lose the cheese addiction. Here is a link to a recipe from my prior blog posts for a yummy cheeze dip and a recipe to make your own mozzarella cheese. It’s easier than you think!

I also bought a locally and beautifully handmade collar and bowtie for our Yorkie Koa from Perry’s Bowtique. He was in bad need of something stylish and functional. Look how cute he is!

So on this adorable note, I leave you with a thought.

Why is it that humans would never eat this adorable pooch, but we don’t think twice about having a ham sandwich for lunch? Speciesism… The only way that will change is if we do something about it.