News and Opinions- a long overdue update

I just realized it is now March and this is my first blog post of the year. What?! To be honest, I haven't been creatively cooking as much and when I do, I forget to write anything down. My life has been filled with school, applying for graduate school and doing an amazing internship with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network for the northern Oregon coast.


I've also had sad news to deal with. My cat Roy was diagnosed with abdominal cancer. I thought he wasn't going to be around much longer, but luckily the steroids he was prescribed are working miracles with him and he is doing great! So, we focus on that. Yesterday I found him on the neighbor's roof, and today we were playing chase with crumpled up paper I threw outside to distract him from attacking my other cat, Loki. I should probably go outside and pick that paper up soon. He hasn't learned fetch yet.

Anyway, I have been busy. I've been contemplating switching my blogging over to my AnimalKind blog and just write about whatever, and include recipes when I have time, post my favorite nature photos that I took, talk about animal rights, share my path to becoming a marine biologist and other wildlife adventures. What do people think?

In other news, this summer I was honored by being asked to write a guest blog post for "Stop Chasing Skinny". The response was very supportive. Today I was alerted to an obnoxious comment posted by someone who obviously just wanted to feel powerful, or whatever they get from it. So I wanted to share the link so people have a chance to read my story, and respond to the negative comment if they would like to. It is titled, "Fat Acceptance Saved My Life".

Anatomy of an apology: Daiya makes nice

I was so furious when Daiya Cheese posted a video entitled “Being FAT is now illegal in Japan”. Each fat hating comment and stereotype fueled this anger, which is why I quickly wrote up a blot post about it (and posted on facebook and emailed the company). The only thing I was seeing on their facebook page was empty apologies that clearly did not understand why people were upset.

When I got an email from Daiya Cheese requested my phone number so the CEO could give me a call, I knew it was a good sign. When I talked with Greg, CEO, and Andre from the company, my fire was completely put out. While Greg had a good explanation for not being around when the controversy started and being unaware of it, he did not use it as an excuse. Instead, he sincerely apologized for what happened. He told me exactly how he was going to remedy the situation. They were creating a code of conduct for facebook and would delete the really hateful posts by others. He was clearly frustrated with the social media employee, who up until that time had done a good job. He promised to give her training to understanding why the video post was so insulting to others. Andre shared with me his past of being bullied and they both shared how the hateful message from the video post goes directly against what they believe and what the company is about. What a relief!

I felt listened to. The apology was heartfelt. There were no excuses, just accountability. They were being proactive to remedy the situation and were addressing people’s concerns. They kept asking for my feedback and made sure I knew that their doors were open for further communication. I was impressed! Here is a video of Greg apologizing for the incident so you can see for yourself.

Companies have a human component, especially the smaller ones. I understand mistakes can happen. We all make them. To me it is more important how a mistake is handled, than what the mistake itself was. My hope it that this is a learning opportunity for everyone involved, especially the social media person. Daiya Cheese has won me back as a customer and I have new respect for them as a company.

Although there was a lot of hate being smeared across their facebook page, there was also a lot of people speaking up and showing me that fat vegans and their allies are out there and have a beautiful voice. It was nice feeling connected to them and even made some new facebook friends and was introduced to a new blog. I can’t convince every one to be open to the truth and be considerate, but at least I could find others who live like my motto; health at every size, respect for every body.

An inside perspective

I’ve been having trouble writing this, but I think it is important. I am not sure if I can express the frustration I feel about this issue, but I will try my hardest. I don't want people to think I am attacking, but I hope my inside perspective can be helpful. Not everyone will agree with me, but that is ok. I have worked at Bob’s Red Mill for over 8 years and I know Bob personally. I know he has a big heart, is compassionate and truly cares about his employees and people’s health. When it was announced the other week that Bob donated $25 million to form an institute of nutrition and wellness through OHSU, I thought it could be a really good thing. The idea that any money could go to animal research did not occur to me, until The Oregonian quoted OHSU referring to the Primate Research Center. I don’t think Bob himself considered that OHSU would use some of the money to fund animal research.

“The Informed Vegan” blog posted an article titled “Bob’s Red Mill Funds Animal Testing”. Suddenly all over the web, animal rights activists were responding by commenting on Bob’s Red Mill facebook page, sending emails, calling and writing letters. Everyone took the blog post face value, which was filled with misinformation. For one, Bob and Charlee Moore made the donation, not Bob's Red Mill. They may be the founders, but a couple years ago Bob announced he was giving the company to the employees. This transition is still ongoing, but employees due now hold stake in the company.

Knowing Bob, it broke my heart to see all the negative reactions from activists. As an activist, it broke my heart that people did not educate themselves more or try and approach their concerns in a manner that was more productive, rather than just react and vent. Bob isn’t directly involved in facebook, yet a post about a fundraiser dog wash for Dove Lewis Animal Hospital where employees were volunteering that weekend were taken over by comments concerning this issue. When a post suggested people send Bob a letter to be most effective, a response was that Bob’s Red Mill was trying to silence the public. People were assuming the worse, when in fact, writing a letter was the best way to get through to Bob. The company was encouraging feedback so Bob could hear from the public and make a decision about this issue in a responsible way. People were calling for a boycott of Bob’s Red Mill products before Bob could even respond to the question of animal testing.

Bob and Charlee did announce this week that no funds would go towards animal research. The main goal of the institute is outreach and education. I heard many activists vocalizing concern that the donation would free up money so OHSU could spend more on animal research anyway. This was not a blanket donation. The donation will create a new institute and will only fund it specifically. There was also concern OHSU would not honor the Moore's decision, but it is a legally binding. I completely understand how people hate OHSU. It is sad that the top-notch medical schools are so wrapped up in animal testing. These same schools have more access to the public, however, so education programs through them can reach more people and have a larger impact. I’ve personally had both my sisters saved by the medical doctors at OHSU when no other hospital could help them. They were not saved by animal testing, but they were saved by the hospital’s status and ability to hire good doctors.

It is really easy to hate. It is really easy to tell people what they should or shouldn’t have done. But the problem is when a response is so negative, then those targeted for the message may miss what you are saying. Bob may have heard that there are a lot of people against animal research, but he may have also seen animal rights activists as mean and unreasonable. I personally felt I was in the middle of trying to calm down activists to communicate concern effectively, while try trying to calm down coworkers getting frustrated with being attacked.

There are times when anger and yelling your message is needed for a campaign. And then there are times when a more diplomatic approach is needed. The best approach to an issue needs to be considered before action, both on an individual level, as well as an organized effort. Bob has supported the vegan community in the past and donates to a lot of animal sanctuaries and other community organizations. Communicating with respect and giving him a chance to respond would have been more effective for the desired outcome, and represented activists in a positive light. Although there are people who will never be happy about Bob’s donation, he’s giving up his life’s work to invest in the future wellbeing of others. Even if you don’t agree with where the money is going, hopefully you can acknowledge his generosity.

Vegan Celebrity Smackdown

Natalie Portman recently told the world that she is no longer vegan, sighting her pregnancy and the difficulty to curb cravings with sweets and getting proper nutrition as the reasoning. While Natalie admits that people do have successful pregnancies as a vegan, I guess she doesn’t care enough to give it a go. Getting proper nutrition, regardless of diet, can be difficult in a world of processed foods, and even more so for a pregnant woman. However, eating a vegan diet is a great way to eat a healthy diet and just a little bit of planning will allow you to get all your needed nutrients.

It appears to me that Natalie is sidelining her morals for pure laziness. Celebrities have the money and resources to be successfully vegan, no matter the circumstances. Vegan indulgences such as cake, cookies and ice cream would be easy for her to obtain as well. She has the privilege to make a conscious decision to continue following her previous decision to not contribute to animal suffering.

I think the reason this makes me so mad (besides the fact she is contributing to the suffering of animals and knows better) is that fact she is saying to the world that veganism is difficult, that having morals is not enough to be successfully vegan and that it is okay to harm animals with your choices. Maintaining a vegan diet may be hard in some circumstances, but being pregnant in Hollywood definitely does not count.

Natalie is the second celebrity within the last six months to admit to cheating or going off a vegan diet. Late last year, Al icia Silverstone admitted to cheating on a vegan diet by eating cheese while drinking at parties. Al icia has claimed herself as a spokesperson for veganism and profits from talking and writing about a vegan diet. While some people argue that she is human and her cheese-eating just shows people that mistakes can happen and that is okay, I think she is demonstrating that veganism isn’t that significant. She is downplaying the important decision of choosing a vegan diet for the animals, the planet and our own bodies.

No one is perfect. We are all human. Al l we can do is the best we are capable of. I would rather someone be mostly vegan than not vegan at all. But I do think celebrities who stamp themselves vegan have a responsibility to not give veganism a bad name. Or dismiss it by cheating when they feel like it. These individuals are turning their back on a decision to treat animals with respect by not eating them or contribute to their suffering. This gives a message that you don’t need to take veganism seriously, which is not true at all. Hopefully the public can recognize the faults in these people, not a vegan lifestyle.