Do it, girl. Do it big. I’m shaking my head in anger with you and I’m SURE you can be that change.

Well done, you! I can’t wait to see what you’ll do for Earth Day next year. I sort of missed it — not a lot of publicity in the UK for Earth Day, I guess — so not sure what I can do today to make a difference.

But this post totally resonates with me. Yesterday I watched a really powerful documentary (Miss Representation, I think you’d like it if you haven’t seen it yet) and it just made me SO angry, I wanted to do something. So I talked to a few girlfriends and we’re making a plan. “Be the change you want to see in the world” is definitely my new motto.

Thanks for this post, Sayward, it was a pleasure to read, as always!

Terra needs more actively mindful people! I’m the only person I know personally who is the ‘change one wants to see’ and I’ve found in my attempts to help as many people help the earth that there is a very fine line between that, and preaching. Especially with people who believe they ‘don’t have the time to worry about it’… I’ve found that assembling the info, creating a means to access it, and letting them come is albeit a very slow but effective and much less abrasive way of going about it i.e. you running a stall next Earth day! Good luck with it deary :3

i come to this blog to be refreshed, to be reminded that someone else cares. it’s hard – i’m living in a place where no one else around me shares the same ideals, and i’m the only one who Doesn’t Eat Animals. i don’t speak the language well (yet!), and i struggle every day with a partner who doesn’t see why eating chicken is a problem.

but my life is so, so great otherwise. and offers me the opportunity to constantly educate those around me. but how do i do that without completely alienating myself? or making others feel that i’m against their ancient culture, their way of being? i feel so stuck, some days, being the foreigner and trying not to appear like a judge-y baka gaijin.

this came out sadder than i meant! i mean to convey my love and respect for who you are and what you do, sayward. your posts inspire me.

Love love love this post :)

Sayward, I would totally be willing to work with you to represent veganism at the festival next year. Baby steps, but change can happen. Thank you for your honesty.

Second this! I have lived in Brooklyn for just over a year now, but grew up in San Diego. It’s a great community and Earth Day festivities there are always great.

Great post…very real. I am happy to say that the local veg group had a grat outreac at my local Earth Day fest, and that I was inspired to volunteer for the next event, and definitely the next Earth Day…UGoBanzai!

“Be the change you wish to see in the world” . I had to post this on FB (giving you credit, of course) and inviting people to read your post today. I am not vegan, I am not vegetarian; but it brought tears to my eyes; maybe guilt; definitely thinking hard.

So sad! The earth day in my city is actually run by the vegan group and it’s 100% vegan. Most people who come are not vegan so it’s an awesome outreach opportunity. Hope it encourages you to know there is a festival just like you would have wanted somewhere in the world. :-) Happy Earth Day, you are helping it a lot by being you.

FUCKING A, Sayward.

Thank you so much for this post. I could felt like I was walking through the festival with you and experiencing your emotions. All I’ve been able to think about is trash now that the snow is melting and I now know it’s time to get out there and start cleaning up the streets myself.

this was an incredible, sad, beautifully written post. good job. may that fire burn bright!

While I totally understand why many of the things at this event bothered you (and while I also totally see the benefit for having vegetarian/vegan options available) I feel that non-vegan options is not exactly a disconnect.

Yes, you can get into the arguments of the amount fuel, methane, etc. of animal products vs. plants. And, while that is often true, there are also options that definitely lower that carbon footprint so-to-speak (i.e. raising your own chickens for eggs).

I definitely agree a mostly plant-based diet is ideal), there are plenty of so-called vegetarian/vegan “foods” out there that have a hefty carbon of there own (I’m referring to the processed junk that unfortunately often creeps into many people’s diets..vegan/veg or not).

However, beyond that, I recoiled a bit when reading “disconnect” in regards to there being non-vegan options. While I eat a mostly plant-based diet, I do occasionally eat meat (as responsibly as I possibly can), eggs, and a bit of dairy. I also am a major supporter of the environment…using as few resources as possible…recycling and REUSING as often as I can…among many other endeavors. I do not feel that non-veg options is necessarily a “disconnect.”

Again, I *TOTALLY* think it would have been fantastic to have vegan/veg options available! I probably would have been first in line. However, equating non-vegan food with a disconnect honestly made me a bit hurt/upset. Luckily, I “know” you (as much as a reader can know a blogger via the internet!) and know that was *totally* not your intention. You were simply frustrated and angered at what you saw (and at being darn hungry! ha ha) Just wanted to bring this to the forefront as it definitely jumped out at me when reading your awesome, insightful blog (and I am sooooo happy you’re back!)

I think the “disconnect” was ebodied not only in the absence of non-vegetarian / non-vegan food options, but also in the treatment of the animals that were on site as part of the fair.

I’m not disputing that a flexitarian or meat eater can also be environmentally conscious; I think maybe our debate here is centered more around language choice than content. When you say “lack of vegan / vegetarian options,” it sounds to me like you are referring just to the food offerings at the event, whereas my interpretation of Sayward’s account of the weekend (and her use of the word “disconnect”) also included the treatment of the animals that were there. Whether or not you agree with the use of that term, I think it’s important to consider all that term encompasses in this context.

I know what you mean. I wish I would have done more, I was just dumbstruck into silence I guess. Anyway, I’m glad you felt the same way. Will you email me? Let’s plan a change for next year’s earth day! info AT bonzaiaphrodite DOT com

One of the very best. =)

Hey Rebecca, I appreciate your thoughtful comment, but I do think I disagree. To be clear, I do not think that meat-eaters are inherently “bad” people, and I hope you were not personally offended but what I wrote. If you were, I’m am truly sorry. To me it sounds like you have very much made *the connection*, as you said yourself “I definitely agree a mostly plant-based diet is ideal”. And I would MUCH rather have someone be *mostly* veg/vegan as a sustained lifestyle, than try to go 100%omgperfecthardcore! vegan and find it too difficult, and then go back to full-on omni.

But that’s an individual experience, and I wasn’t talking about individuals. I was talking about the event as a whole. The the fact is that someone who organized that event, someone at the top, made decisions about the food court. And either one of two things *had* to have happened: either A) the thought of including vegan options didn’t even occur to them, or B) it was brought up and they actively decided it wasn’t worth the time/trouble/whatever. Either way, I do very much think that there is a disconnect there.

Let me make a comparison to try and illustrate my point. I drive a Subaru. I love my car, but I recognize – because I am intellectually honest – that it is not the *best* vehicle for the environment. If I could be driving a Prius or other hybrid vehicle, I would (Damian just got a new car and he chose a zero emissions model – yay!) but I am not in the financial position to make that choice right now. I don’t think that makes me a bad person!

So, do I judge someone for not driving the most fuel-efficient car on the market? Of course not. But would I think that there was some serious cognitive dissonance happening if someone were to say to me “I drive an SUV and I don’t think it’s any less environmentally friendly than an electric vehicle, and I think we should be promoting SUVs at Earth Day” . . . ? Well yes, yes I would.

And that’s what it felt like. It was as if the organizers were showing off a bunch of fossil fuel-dependent cars in the middle of Earth Day. it’s not that people who drive these cars are a$$holes, but it’s Earth Day! It’s supposed to be the higher standard, the educational opportunity, the . . . inconvenient truth. And the environmental destruction of a global meat-appetite IS an inconvenient truth. There is simply no way around it, and I do not believe that’s a matter of opinion.

I hope this helps to illustrate where I was coming from when I wrote this piece. Like I said, I didn’t mean to judge any individual for their choices. I am not perfect (at ALL) and I believe anyone who is actually thinking about these difficult issues is a freakin’ rock star.

But that’s just it – at this event, it wasn’t even a thought.

I feel you Cass, that is a really tough one. I think that you can cover a lot more ground by just living as a bright shining example, instead of actively seeking out discussion. Just by being the vegan int he room, graciously declining animal foods and showing all the amazing delicious things you can eat instead – this reaches people more than we sometimes realize.

I think when you stand up for what you believe in, sometimes you just have to be willing to be alienated. Sometimes, you WILL be the odd man out, you WILL be the only one int he room doing what you’re doing (or declining). But finding that place in yourself of peace and inner strength, really helps. For me, just picturing the faces of happy pigs (like this – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–LeOoohGrM) helpd calm and center me and puts a big smile on my face, so that I can face the situation from a place of love and respect. It’s easier to be alienated when you are centered in your power and KNOWING you are doing the right thing.

I hope that helps some. It’s hard, no matter what. But the internet is huge and full of so many amazing supportive wonderful vegans! You have lots of community here. =)

Thanks for the response and explanation. I think the best way I can put it is that, to me, Earth Day is quite far-reaching in its implications. So, while one of the many aspects of Earth Day is Veganism for you, it is not so for me and, I’d assume, for those planning the event as well.

I honestly have a feeling the organizers simply did not think about it (although the cow thing is quite disturbing!). As I know you do too, I’d like to assume the best about those involved in the event and, in doing so, think that Earth Day simply has different meanings for them. (compostable dishware and cutlery, promoting awareness of wastefulness, education and so forth).

Again, to you, veganism is part and parcel of this. But, to many, it is not. To take your example and run with it on a bit of a tangent: To me, it would be like somebody selling bicycles at an Earth Day event. Plenty of people would think promoting cycling as a mode of transportation is fantastic and totally in line with the values/ideals of the day. However, there are those who would find it appalling to be peddling wares (peddling…pedaling! bikes..get it!) that take energy and resources to produce instead of promoting walking instead!

While not an exact parallel to your response, I think this illustrates how what is considered eco-friendly is relative and that even the most eco-minded of us have different focuses when it comes to the cause.

Always enjoy the civilized debates on this site/comments :) I am pretty much a lurker on every other blog and can’t believe how snarky some people can get!! It’s all about expressing our opinions and looking at things from different angles and perspectives…am I right?

Glad you have achieved such an accepting yet vocal community : )

gotta disagree here. imo, a freakin’ rock star is someone who ditches the CAGE and the S.A.D.

how you feel about the lack of vegan food at that earth day event sounds similar to how i feel when i see mostly empty bike racks at the pdx vegfest.

We are not talking about someone who eats animal products from caged animals NOR someone who eats the “standard” American diet. Just because someone is not vegan does not mean that they eat a “standard” American diet.

Rebecca, I agree with you so much about appreciating this forum for intelligent, principled, and respectful debate. Some of the comments people post on blogs and news articles make me shudder!