End Circus Cruelty T-Shirts and Hoodies

The circus recently came to the town where I live and my heart hurt the entire time they were here. Life is brutal for circus animals, they live in barren conditions, spend over 95% of their time in confinement and suffer unimaginable torture and deprivation.  Do yourself a favor and never Google images of the methods used to train these splendid wild animals. Once you see the photos, you can't unsee them and they will haunt you.  Education by way of leafleting, protesting, etc helps spread the word but I wanted to do more so I designed a small line of "End Circus Cruelty" products. Here is an example of a hoodie, and if your interested you can pick from a variety of colors.  As compassionate beings, let's do what we can to shine a light on circus animals' lives of misery. Wearing "End Circus Cruelty" apparel will, hopefully, open a dialogue so we can educate people on the atrocities. Go vegan! End Circus Cruelty by VeganStrong Order This Product Share this product!

Stop Animal Experimentation

Do yourself a favor and NEVER Google animal experimentation. And God forbid, if you accidentally hit the images tab, click off as quickly as possible. Or don't. If you've got a strong will and staunch conviction, let the images compel you to take action. 

I'll save you from the images on this blog; I'm doing that for you as well as for me. Instead, I'll leave you with some thought-provoking thoughts on animal experimentation.  

"Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are like us." Ask the experimenters why it is morally okay to experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are not like us." Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction." ~Charles R. Magel

 "The cruel experimenter cannot be allowed to have it both ways. He cannot, in the same breath, defend the scientific validity of vivisection on the grounds of the physical similarities between man and the other animals, and then defend the morality of vivisection on the grounds that men and animals are physically different. The only logical alternatives for him are to admit he is either pre-Darwinian or immoral." ~Richard Ryder

The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" ~Jeremy Bentham

Peace.

"Compassionate" Vegan T-Shirt Designs

Hello Folks. I've spent a lot of time on animal advocacy lately and the work inspired a few new women's t-shirt designs with a compassionate flavor. Now if I've done this right, you can click each image to learn more or purchase a shirt. As always, you may easily change the color or style to suit your personal style. Check them out and let me know what you think. 

Compassionate Warrior

Peace begins on your plate

I am a proud animal advocate

True fashion is compassion

Vegan Strong Zazzle Shop

In an ongoing effort to spread the word about living a compassionate life, I've opened a shop on Zazzle. All of the products are designed with words and graphics meant to promote veganism. If you're in the market for a gift you'd like to give a fellow vegan, I hope you'll browse around and see if there's something appropriate.

Likewise, if you want any special words or phrases designed for apparel, home decor or gifts, let me know. I'm always looking for inspiration.

This is my shameless self promotion.
This is my Vegan Strong Zazzle Shop:

Click the logo

Help me spread the good word!

Peace.

We Can't Plead Ignorance

"We can't plead ignorance, only indifference. Those alive today are the generations that came to know better.

We have the burden and the opportunity of living in the moment when the critique of factory farming broke into the popular consciousness. 
 

Photo used with permission (c) Jo-Anne McArthur

We are the ones of whom it will be fairly asked, 'What did you do when you learned the truth about eating animals?' "
~ Jonathan Safran Foer

The Sensitive Seven

Being a vegan doesn't necessarily mean you're a model of good health. It's still important to understand how to eat so that you feel your very best. Lately I've wanted to ramp up my energy level, so a holistic and integrative doctor friend recommended I try a 21-day food sensitivity program. This cleansing program requires that you eliminate ingredients from your diet that are known to cause food reactions. The logic is that these foods/ingredients make up a majority of the typical diet and are, therefore, overeaten. As a result, we develop food sensitivities that manifest in all kinds of ways including lethargy, weight gain, weight loss, depression, mental dullness, forgetfulness, etc…

I’m a pretty healthy person. The main reasons I am willing to give this a try is:

1) Its only 21 days. I can do anything for 21 days.

2) I’d certainly like to lose a few pounds.

3) Increased vitality and mental clarity, who would say no to that??

4) The summer heat saps my energy. I don't want to be a slug.    

So here’s the list of foods that are considered the sensitive seven:

• Eggs
• Dairy
  (no worries, wouldn't touch the stuff.)
• Gluten
• Soy
• Corn
• Peanuts
• Sugar

For sure, it won’t be easy. I love carbohydrates. There, I said it. If left to my own devices, I could easily turn into sugar and carb-crazed addict, so I try to *somewhat* limit my carb intake. As always, my main protein will come from beans & rice, quinoa, hummus – all high on the carb count. Thank goodness, I can have raw nut and seed butters (just not peanut butter). So that will continue to be a go-to food.

At the very least, it will be interesting.

Have you ever done an elimination diet? Was it a valuable experience?
______________________________

Edited to include a better explanation:
This prompted a lively conversation and interesting questions in a social media group, so I thought more info was needed...

No doubt this will be a challenge but it is not a long term eating plan (necessarily). The concept is to eliminate all 7 foods for 21 days to allow them to clear your system completely. Then you start adding food back--slowly, one item at a time--and see if you have an adverse reaction. If so, eliminate that food again and move to the next. At the end, you will know what you can easily tolerate and what you should consume in moderation (or avoid completely).

Checking Out the Design

This is a fake post. Well, it's a real post but don't waste your time reading it. I'm just writing to fill up this space, so I can see what the blog looks like with content. See, it's a new blog and I'm just getting it all set up. I'm in the process of organizing the headers, footers, columns and body copy. Tweaking and readjusting and tweaking some more.

If you want to see what it's really all about, check out Vegan Strong in the following places:

Vegan Strong Zazzle Shop

Vegan Strong on Google +  

Vegan Strong on Pinterest

Vegan Strong on Twitter

Vegan Strong on Facebook