VeganXTC

I was just wondering what everyone was doing at that time. Is anyone dressing up? Any parties going on? Anyone handing out candy to trick or treaters? Any ritual circles for Samhein? Any protests of the Devil's night?

Here, trick or treat is during the day, and I'll be working, so Drty Dzn will be manning the door at home so the goblins are fed. At work, the some of the nursing home residents will put on costumes, and children will trick or treat down the halls. I think the staff enjoys it most of all.

I also have to work the day after, so I won't be going to any parties, or if I do, it will just be a token appearance.

Your Dominant Intelligence is Intrapersonal Intelligence

Reflective and thoughtful, you enjoy spending time alone.

You are good at analyzing yourself - and knowing your true feelings.

Totally self aware, you are in tune with your dreams and desires.

A spiritual and philopsophical person, your inner calmness inspires and helps others.

You would make a great philosopher, researcher, or theorist.

Or cult leader? Hmmmmmmm.....

I dunno. I like being alone, but I like being with other people too.

I know what I want.

But many people would argue that I have an inner calmness.

So, for me, they got it half right.

Yeah, that luwak coffee is real. I just wonder about the first cup of luwak coffee. Who would think of getting coffee beans from animal poo? Who would want to?

I heard its really expensive.

That's great Lori!

Its hard for me to imagine anyone wanting to make fun of that sweet soldier in your picture. I'm sorry you went through that. But I'm thankful that God is a loving God, able to heal all wounds, whether physical or emotional.

Do you still have your Agapeo Fellowship?

I say it like Safari and David, (except I don't ennunciate the last vowel, so I really say V-gn, with a hard g as in go, and the accent is on the V) but there is no right or wrong way, like Safari says. So, be prepared to change your pronunciation depending on where you are.

Chas, I forgot! Coffee is vegan. There's a saying that everyone is vegan between meals. So, Welcome to the community, lol!

Mstar, I don't really have a wonderful story to tell. In February of 2004, I was looking to make guacamole, but I was tired of the same old recipe. So, I went searching online and was sent to GoVeg.com. After I wrote down the recipe, I noticed a small ad that said ( this link contains graphic images) "Chew On This." I clicked on it, and watched many reasons why I should go vegetarian. Some reasons made me laugh, some made me angry, some made me cry. But that very short movie was all it took. I haven't eaten meat, dairy or eggs since.

Really the only change I've noticed was that I'm not so tired. I use to come home from work so exhausted, that I had to take a nap before I could do anything. Now when I get off from work, I can run the vaccuum around, or go shopping, or protest KFC (lol!), or post on GreaseSpot.

I think its really cool that alot of you know people in real life who are veg*ns. I knew many vegetarians, but I was the first vegan I ever met. I didn't even know how to pronounce the word. But there's a huge and active online community, and I found out there are quite a few vegans in my area.

Hap, I hope your sons know how blessed they are. I hear so many stories from teens and young adults about how unsupportive their parents are. Its refreshing to hear from someone who is proud of their veg*n children.

Hurray! for socks! Hurray! Hurray! for being pain free!

I'm copying someone's style here. Maybe Wordwolf's? I hope its ok.

This may get me slapped, but it won't be the first time...

Not by me! That would be against the whole thought of reducing suffering! LOL!

When I first saw "VeganXTC" 's handle, I though, "Oh, jeeze... here we go... just another cult... this time it's about FOOD!" See, I've had a few encounters with some vegans who were rigid, nasty, rude, and some of the most judgemental people I'd ever met. Period. I honestly just avoided anyone pretty much, once I knew they were vegan - I'd rather talk with an Amway person, really - I always felt browbeaten after talking with some of them...

We call them"vegan nazis" or "the vegan police." They attack other vegans and vegetarians also. "OMG! DID YOU JUST EAT AN OLIVE? WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU? THAT MIGHT HAVE CONTAINED D-MENTHOLYIDE CLORINTH WHICH HAS AN EXTREMELY SMALL CHANCE OF COMING FROM AN ANIMAL SOURCE!"

Notice I didn't say "all vegans" - I said "some vegans".

When this thread cropped up, I thought, "Well... guess we'll find out now..." I have found VeganXTC to be informative, friendly, funny - a pleasure to read. I don't feel that he/she (sorry I can't remember if you've referred to your gender) have been judgemental or rude at all - I think the posts have been very respectful. I applaud VeganXTC for helping some of us who didn't understand or just wanted to know more, to appreciate the diversity that we can get from this board...

Wow, thanks. I am really amazed at the love and respect people show each other here. I would say something about TWI, but that would be a whole different thread. I'll just say I'm glad I'm out.

But I can certainly understand where Allen is coming from - scheesch - some vegans acted like they had to "witness" their practices and gawd help you if you didn't embrace them immediately. Yeah, it was like an encounter with a cult member - no different than some of those rabid WOW's or Way Disciples or whatevers that some of us once were.

I'm vegan and a WOW Vet. Can you imagine if I a vegan WOW? LOLOLOLOL!

VeganXTC is not of on THAT trip, thankfully... :)

Ugh! I thought I had more time, but if I write any more, I'll be late to work. Mstar I'll come back later to answer your questions.

David-

I talked with some older people that live in the nursing home I work at, and with my mother, and they all said there were always man made materials around since they could remember. One man said that he had a pair of rubber work boots that he wore for work.

Allan- I take vegetarian B12 supplements that come from bacterial fermentation, not animal sources. So, will I die from a B12 deficiency? I don't know. I do know that vegans aren't falling down dead from heart attacks or strokes, but many omnivores are. I do know that studies have shown that a vegan diet can eliminate diabetes. And I know that animals will not suffer needlessly because I want a hamburger. But you don't have to believe me. And you can make fun of me and my lifestyle and call me names. I'll still love you. Because that's what veganism really is about. Reducing suffering. Compassion. Love.

Wow David, no one has ever asked me the history before! I'll tell you what little I know.

In the 40's there was a debate among vegetarians in the UK about whether it was ethical to consume dairy. Out of this debate in 1944 The British Vegan Society was formed. Vegan was chosen because it comes from VEGetariAN, it "starts with vegetarian and carries it through to its logical conclusion." Donald Watson, founder of The British Vegan Society. In 1960, The American Vegan Society began.

Some would say that Veganism is as old as time. God put Adam in Eden, naked and plant eating. You can't get more vegan than that! LOL! But I don't think that's what you're asking.

I really don't know what people did in the 1940's for wool and leather alternatives. I'll ask around and see what I can find out.

You say you can't relate, but I bet we're more alike in our thinking when it comes to animals, than we are different.

Never mind!

I found this great avatar for Halloween! My problem is it won't move! I've used other animated avatars here, and I've seen other posters use them. Why won't this one work?

No problem, in fact it was my pleasure. October is Vegetarian Awareness Month. Its really cool I get to celebrate here!

Do Mormons consider themselves to be pagen?

There's a beautiful passage in Romans that deals with God not being a respector of persons. Let's see.......Romans 2:10 starts what I'm thinking of. Paul speaks of how the Jews and Gentiles will be judged according to their works. Verse 13 says that its not the hearers of the law that shall be just before God, but the doers.

So, say a man (Twinky's friend) heard some horrendous things that were done in the name of Christianity. And he says, "If this is what being a Christian is all about, I don't want anything to do with it!" I don't see how that is rejecting Christ. I see it as rejecting man made theology. But even if he did reject Christ, doesn't Romans 2 still apply to him? (LOL! Twinky, is he going to mind being the subject of some posts?)

How about scenarios where a married person cheats, then gets their lover in the class, and then gets divorced. Is THAT doing the Word???? Afterall somone did the hear the Word out the of the situation. How about later when the divorced person and the lover get married and become twig coordinators and good little twig coordinators. Does that cancel out the wrong because someone is now standing???

Good Night, Nottawafer! That's horrible! How could the class coordinator allow that person to undershepard their extramarital lover? And what was the Limb thinking to allow them to become twig coordinators? How can anyone think TWI is a Godly ministry that teaches the one true Word?

This would have taken me forever to do! I liked that you gave the vegetarian diet as an event. And there lots of things from sources that I haven't studied. Would you mind if I shared your timeline with some friends of mine?

When baby lambs are born into the wool industry, their ears are punched for identification, their tails are cut off (I don't know why) and the males are castrated without any anesthetics. In Australia, where alot of our wool comes from, the sheep have been bred so they have wrinkly skin, which produces more wool. It also means the sheep are at risk for flystrike, which is a maggot infestation. To prevent this, the sheep undergo "mulesling" which is cutting off huge strips of flesh off lambs, again without anesthetics. When the sheep are no longer able to produce wool, they are shipped to the Middle East on crowded ships to be sent to slaughter in countries where there are NO animal welfare standards.

Most down comes from slaughtered birds, but there are some that are live plucked. In countries where this is allowed (again it is not the US, but the United States buys down from these countries) birds will be plucked every six weeks from the time they are 10 weeks, until they are 4 years old. Its painful and stressful, like if we were to have our hair pulled out. Eider ducks are protected, so they cannot be harmed. But down "farmers" will still rob the nests of ducks, removing the insulating feathers that the eggs need to hatch. It takes 80 nests to fill one comforter.

Angora rabbits are strapped down for shearing, but the still try to escape. Its very hard to shear a rabbit without cutting them. They live cages with wire floors, which cause pain because of their very delicate foot pads. Ulcerated feet are very common. Males are killed at birth, because they do not produce the wool that females do.

There are vegetarians that eat eggs and/or dairy. No vegans do. I do not.

You have a wonderful family. It sounds like you have lots of good times, and share a lot of love.

Your daughter looks alot like you did when you were 21, hey?

Thanks for letting us get to know you better. Its really cool.

Wow Roy! The imagery is really beautiful! Let me read a little, and I'll write some more.

I'm back from work. So, where was I? Ok, dinner!

I try to build my meals around a grain. So, I'll have a pasta, say vermicelli, and toss it with some veggies, and throw some cubes of marinated tofu in it. Or maybe a stir fry. Or a stuffed baked potato. I can do a burrito with refried bean, and rice, and guacamole. Or veggie pizza, no cheese. Or falafels. Or a portabella mushroom sandwich. Or peppers stuffed with red beans and rice. I try to have a raw salad with every dinner, but some nights, the chips win out, Which leads us to ..........

Snacks! My downfall! LOL! Do you know how many not good for you food is vegan? Fritos plain AND barbeque, potato chips, Uh-Oh Oreos, Halloween Oreos (coming out soon if not now!) chocolate and cinnamon Teddy Grahams, Ritz crackers, most of the Tricuit crackers, Twizzlers, and starburst jelly beans! Woo-Hoo! I also do healthy snacks, like dried and fresh fruit, nuts, applesauce, peanut butter crackers, and veggies, dipped in hummus.

I take it that you really want to know what fabric my clothing is, and not what guys on the internet usually mean when they ask me what I'm wearing, lol! So, no wool or cashmere or angora, my sweaters are cotton, my winter hats and gloves and scarves are that Therma-fleece stuff. Do you know what I mean? No, leather, my shoes are either canvas or man made materials. For work, I wear New Balance running shoes. All their running shoes are vegan. And no down. My winter coat is Thinsulate. No silk, although there's a company in India where the women gather cocoons from the worms who have hatched, and make silk from them. The women recieve all the profits, so its a good company. Their silk is vegan. I can't think of any other animal materials. Oh Fur! No fur!

I hope this post helps. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

For those who commemorate Yom Kippur, I wish all your prayers be granted, and if you fast, that it be easy.

You have the right definition for veganism. Its really not as hard to be vegan as you might think. I don't think I eat or look that much different than you.

For breakfast, I'll have some cereal. In the winter, I like oatmeal with a little flax or wheatgerm, and I'll throw some raisins or bananas or berries in it. I cook it with water. In summer, I'll have cold cereal, usually bran flakes, with the same additions as my oatmeal. I use Silk vanilla soy milk on top. Or I'll have some toast, with peanut butter, or Earth Balance (a vegan margarine). Or a bagel with peanut butter or Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese. Or, I'll make a smoothie with fruit and juice. If I have lots of time, I'll make a tofu scramble. Its crumbles tofu with lots of spices.

For lunch, its usually leftover dinner. Or I'll make a wrap, with veggies and beans or hummus wrapped in a tortilla. Or a sandwich, with the same ingredients as my wrap. Or a veggie burger. Or a vegetable soup with a tomato or vegetable broth base. Or a salad. I'll throw beans or tofu in my salad along with the veggies.

K, now, I'm hungry, lol! Plus I need to get ready for work. So, I'm gonna run and I'll post my dinner and clothing a little later.

By the way, did you know today was World Vegetarian Day? And tomorrow is World Farm Animals Day? Some cities will be celebrating, but not Milwaukee. *sigh* Anyway, your topic is timely!

I found this and it held my interest. Has anyone here read this book?

http://www.dpjs.co.uk/hell.html#Christian