If Going Vegan Means...

I will lose my friends, I don't mind! 

I'd rather be surrounded by like-minded people than people who never wished to understand what values I really stand for. I firmly believe that a great friendship is built when two or more people share similar values and outlook in life, when they try to understand and discuss ideas, thoughts, and issues in life together with open-mindedness, even though it would mean letting go of an old belief and accepting an entirely new one that is universally true and right,
because great friends stand for what is right, not who is right! 

If I lose them now, it means I never had them at all.

I will be ostracized/ex-communicated by my meat-eating family members 

and relatives, I am not worried! 

To ostracize without even trying to discuss with me the kind of change I am going through means they don't want to be part of what I have become. Not wanting to hear and listen to the arguments behind veganism or taking meat and dairy off their plates means they are not interested to question the lifestyle that they have been following. A close-knitted family talks and discusses important issues that really matter in life. To practice traditions and the usual ways of life we call "normal living" but are wrong is never acceptable thus needs questioning, needs changing even if it would mean starting a new and different tradition altogether.
A real family looks upon every member's well-being,
after all, that's what family is for!
Well, at least this is what I realized now and I am going to stick with it.

But why am I not worried?

Because it is time to really ponder what does family and friends really mean. Losing them means it is time to make new ones. I am not afraid to make new friends. I am not scared not to find any either. 

To continue eating meat and consuming milk and milk products is wrong. Morally wrong! With what we now know about animals and their lives, there is no debate about it.

And I know, they-my family and friends, too, see it as wrong that needs to be righted. But the big question is will they want to right it?

Doing the wrong thing is not the one that is reprehensible. What's deplorable is when you know, when you are told or shown, that you are doing something wrong, and yet you are not doing anything about it or not even ready to change it.

I am going to be alone, it's fine with me!

But I am quite sure I will never be alone. What I am doing is just righting the wrong! And the good thing about the change I embraced is that my family got extended. It is no longer an exclusive human family but a family with non-human animals who have been exploited for centuries just because they can't do anything about it, and all by one species -humans!

But there is one thing that is sure though.
There is always time to contemplate and room for change.
And a change for the right thing is always welcome and must be supported!

Why Am I Vegan?

Before I start ranting about my personal thoughts on the above title, I would like to clarify two things about veganism.

First, veganism is not about health. A man can eat veggie burgers, pizzas, cakes, pastries, noodles & portions of pasta, or drink sodas & concentrated juices every day of his life and still be a vegan but definitely not a healthy vegan. This is also the main reason why there are vegans who are fat, obese, or overweight because Veganism is not about health.

Second, veganism is not about NOT eating meat. A vegan can eat meat but a meat of an animal that has lived a life of health & freedom and died a natural death. 

Someone said to me that the dead should be buried. No! Because there are other animals that would gladly have the dead as food. There are scavengers around, and even humans were once in such a situation. To bury, burn the dead or not has nothing to do with veganism but of a personal decision depending on one's cultural upbringing. I myself would allow my body, when dead, to be fed to the vultures. 

So is there such thing as ethical carnivore? Yes! They are vegans who fully understood the ethics and philosophy of veganism and accepted that contrary to what most people believe, veganism is a complex philosophy.

It is so complex that many don't even get it!

So, why am I vegan?

Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote says "The life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being". And I believe it applies to all beings, to all creatures that roam this planet.

I desire to live the life I was given and I am convinced that these animals we murder for food, clothing, or experiments desire the same. They surely wish to live a life that is free from any kinds of threats whether it is injury, torture, abuse, or death.

I have learned to value the lives of these animals NOT as food but as individuals who can feel pain, sorrow, happiness, or embarrassment. They sulk when their freedom is deprived yet they show affection when shown one. They recognize you as another animal that is kind and compassionate but would avoid you when you become a threat to them.

I realized that they too have families and friends whom they protect, play with, and care for. It has not passed my observation that they cry and mourn a loss of a loved one. They call and look for a missing child.

And if given the opportunity, they can become the kind of friends you never had.

Yes, I learned to see and accept that they are no different than me. These animals we consider food are amazing creatures who deserve nothing else but love and affection. They, too, want to live in health and freedom!

These realizations brought me to investigate further to fully understand why you should become vegan, too! Killing or murdering innocent individuals is simply wrong. And I know that you know it, after all, a murder of the innocent can never be justified.  You just need to acknowledge it and extend its meaning towards these remarkable non-human animals.

So let's talk about....

Meat! Whether it's white or red, it's all the same. Meat means murder! There is no other way! 

Why murder? Because when you decide to have meat on your plate 

you become a willing participant in murdering the innocents. You have become the means of taking innocent lives -the lives of sentient animals, that, just like you and I, desire to live and express their natural behavior. You also acknowledge that the lives of others, especially the life of pigs, chickens, cows, sheep, goats, turkeys, or fishes have no value to you other than food or clothing. You become responsible for a crime that these innocent beings pay a priceless price -their life!

Milk! Cow's milk is for calves, human mother's milk is for babies. Cow's milk, or any other animal milk, is never for human babies and definitely not for adults. It's outrageous and shameful! 

When you drink dairy milk and/or eat any products of or with milk,

you become the means for murdering the newborn calves and sending the mother cows to a lifetime of misery, early and untimely death. 
Why? Because calves, right after they were born, are separated from their mothers for milk production, for human milk consumption. These calves, who have not tasted their mothers' milk, which is rightfully for them, are murdered for veal or just left to die.

Each mother cow, on the other hand, suffers from a loss of a child (If you haven't seen a video of how a mother cow would run after her baby, please do!). 
All mother cows suffer from over-milking, from repeated artificial insemination so she keeps getting pregnant for more milk. And when the times comes that these mother cows' milk production decreases, they too, are butchered for your meat.
These practices are horrendous. The more you see and read about them the more it becomes clearer which species is savage, cruel, and evil.

Eggs! When you consume eggs you must be so impatient you cannot wait for these eggs to hatch, the chicks to grow, the adults to live a full life and die a natural death before you can have their meat. When you do this, you just willingly send hens into 2 weeks of starvation so that they would lay more eggs than usual. You allow them to be confined in a cage you yourself would never want to be in. You just let the male chicks macerated or ground alive or suffocated to death for they have no future use to the egg industries.

These exploitation and murder are happening every second of the day...all for human consumption. A kind of food that humans don't need to survive nor become healthy. In fact, the products of these exploitations are the unhealthiest diet you could ever provide for yourself or for your family.

So why am I vegan?

~Because these animals are now my friends and families that I would care for and protect to the best of my capabilities.
~Because they have the rights to inhabit and share this only home we have free from harm. Earth is their home, too, you know, and I acknowledge that with high respect!
~Because I finally disposed of, forever, the "selective compassion" that I learned at a young age. 

~Because I chose to live a life of peace, compassion, kindness, love, and affection that includes every living creature on this planet.
~Because I realized that the kindness, compassion, peace, or love that people talk about is meaningless until they realize that these words are meant for non-human animals, too.

~Because I don't want to be part of such atrocities anymore. I don't need to murder or be the means of their murder for my food, my clothing, my entertainment, my well-being.

And I don't really need their meat or their milk or their eggs to survive and be healthy. You don't need them, too! 

The picture below displays just a portion of what humans need to survive!

I am vegan because it's the least thing I can do for the animals.

How about you? Given the ethical and health aspects of eating meat and dairy products, what would make you become vegan?

Stripes & Curls: Crochet Winter Shoe

Winter is about to be over so I really made time to finish one of my first few projects in mind -winter slipper/shoe. 

Inspired by the pattern Pretty Pleats from freepatterns, I made one myself with a few modifications and I call it Stripes and Curls.

The yarns are left over from previous projects and just like what the original pattern suggested, it is crocheted using two strands of yarns held together except for the edging (picot edging).

I used two sizes of hooks: 5 mm crochet hook (sole, sides and trim) and 4 mm hook for the edging. The yarns are acrylic.

I wanted to make the sole with a used/old slipper/shoe sole so I can use the shoes around the house but I couldn't find one around here so I went through with this project knowing I won't be using it except on the carpet or while sitting doing other things or watching movie or just blogging. But I really wanted to make a slipper boot that I can use outside the carpet. And I am determined to do so! We'll see.

It's warm and comfortable. The only modification I want to add is a strap from one side of the foot to the other so that it doesn't slip off or a set of cord or lace attached from the back to tie around the leg. I think that would help because right now it comes off from my foot. Maybe it's not well-fitting or it needs a few more rows up. I can't tell. But I believe this problem would be resolved with a strap or a lace.

Whether you use plain or a combination of two or more colors is up to you. It's easy to make, just keep counting while crocheting. And make sure the strands are held aligned with each other.

Enjoy!

Stupid People: Killing Themselves In The Process

My husband and I just came from marketing, which we do every 3 or 4 days. As usual, we walked to and carried back 2 cloth bags each full of fruits and vegetables and some grocery items. Like any other day, nothing skipped from our observation. And this rant is not new. We've been going on and on about this issue, aside from other social issues, for a long time....anywhere, anytime between the two of us!

So passing by at the Gauchar bridge we always notice...

The seasonal river that really gets ferocious during monsoon
 and the houses that are just right at it!

~the people and their houses, which are built just right on top of the dike constructed to avoid landslide in the area...technically these people are living right on the banks of a seasonal river,

Plastics, bottles, clothing, etc
....up-close!

• their garbage, which is thrown right into this same river. Eventually, their wastes, too, for the outlets are pointing towards the river. Gross!

And when the river becomes heavy enough to wash them off, we are supposed to help them?

We are supposed to lend a hand for they are victims of calamities? And they need our sympathies?

No way!






And on the opposite side of this bridge are, again slum-like houses AND, would you believe it, just right on top of a huge rock where this same river cuts through

Forest Dep't. buildings surrounded by a few trees
and hundreds of different kinds of garbage!

• is a forest department where its staffs reside.  Instead of seeing trees and plants you can clearly witness their stupidity -garbage (plastics, clothing, etc.) thrown left and right visibly piling up on the side wall of the rock which eventually go down to the river and join with the other garbage that many other people contribute from neighboring areas. Forest people huh!

A couple of joint houses just below the FD...would you
let your surroundings look like this?

On top of that, many family members of this force walk through this river area every afternoon (as a routine, imagine that) carrying a plastic bag full of biodegradable and non-biodegradable items (mixed, of course, for obviously they don't have a concept of segregation) and do the same thing as what others do-dumping garbage right into the river!

I mean, are they humans?

It's the same face in most places, I know. I just can't stop ranting about it. I mean, gosh, these people don't deserve to roam the planet, let alone breed more of their kind! Jeez!

What irresponsible people!

The entire walk (about 1.5 km) itself is a pathway of plastics! You know what, the people of this force don't have a sense at all, it's a shame really! They keep chopping Lantanas and other bushy plants that grow along the battalion's fences and in this same stretch, there are hundreds of plastics (chips wrappers, chocolate covers, milk cartons, tin cans, bottles, and other junks). You name it it's there!
Some are even on the road itself! And they are not bothered about it. These things are not considered as something to be picked up and cleaned!

It seems like it is normal for these people to see plastics around, even right at their own door, but when it comes to trees, plants, etc. they're considered nuisance that needs to be cut off!

It would be unfair to just rant about the people of this force and their family members because there are equally idiotic civilians too. And they do the same! Pollute the planet...without a thought!

Students themselves walk these areas and yet, not one seems aware that there is something to be bothered around here. So much for education huh!

I have been in this place for 3 years and yet the boards that say "go clean and green" or "help save the planet by going green" are just plain words intend to remain in boards. Absolutely pathetic! And being a model (carrying our own cloth bags, segregation of wastes, refusing to use plastics, etc.) doesn't seem to have an effect on people. 

My husband used to say, "They themselves are not bothered about their health, what would you expect?"

Precisely!

And just right before the entrance of our campus (upper side) are houses where sewage goes down right on the pedestrian lane, where, if you aren't careful, you could get a bath of cow dung! (Poor cows though...contained in a 6 by 6-foot prison for milking purposes only so humans could have a glass of milk tea! What a shameful species-humans!

How to Make Cashew Milk

Cashew milk is my favorite of all milk (now I can say it considering I have tried 6 different kinds of milk including cow's milk, which, of course, is for calves! And I am excluding mother's milk because I really don't remember how it tastes anymore and I don't have a plan of having some as an adult...lol).

Anyway, cashew milk is the easiest and quickest to make...tastiest too, for me at least. You have to try it yourself to validate my claim.

We have been having cashew, almond, and soya bean milk coffee alternately since we have become vegans...and cashew milk is on the top list! Expenses-wise? Around similar to the commercial milk available in the market. We are currently paying Rs. 570 to 600 per kilo. A hundred or two more is nothing if it's for the mother cows and their calves. We really don't mind!

So here's how to make it.

1. Soak 50 or more cashews depending on how much milk you want for 6 or more hours, preferably in plain tap water or warm/boiled water, which is optional. I generally use 50 cashews for two people for three sessions and our coffee is much. Our mug is bigger than the usual cup. You can try a lesser quantity first to see the consistency yourself. 

50 soaked cashews ready to be churned and made into milk.
The cashew oil is what makes the water blurry.

2. Discard the water that was used for soaking. Using a mixer/blender, churn the soaked cashews with little water first, enough to break the cashews into little pieces for a full minute churn. Then slowly add more water. It's generally 1:5 ratio (estimation). A glass of cashews requires 5 glasses of water.

(I am using a six-blade liquidizer, the picture above though using a chutney jar (smallest jar), which I just tried out, gives a better result. It's done quickly, too. Just churn the soaked cashews twice without water, then slowly add a little bit of water in next 2 to 3 churning). 

3. For final churn, add the rest of the water keeping notice that there's no little chunk of cashews left hiding at the neck of the jar or at the jar lid. Blend for about a minute more.

4. No need to sieve or strain. For 50 cashews I generate around 500-650 ml. of milk. Afterward, I add a little more water during the making of our coffee. Check milk consistency!

Drink it fresh or keep for later use like coffee or baking. Cashew milk chocolate is also very tasty. Use a plain cocoa powder instead of the commercially available chocolate powder. Cocoa is always known to improve memory. Enjoy!

To make cashew milk coffee: 

Just heat cashew milk, stir quite often and as much as possible never boil to avoid curdling. Generally, this only happens when the milk is a few hours older and not kept in the fridge.
Remove from stove when it's about to boil
then add it to your coffee cup. Done!

Important tip: Use a little, just about a finger tip, cashew milk cream or whatever is left at the sides of a bowl you use for boiling and apply it to your face or hand for a smoother and softer skin. You can even have a spoon of cashew milk itself and apply it to whichever part of your skin. It really works!

Never apply something on your skin that you wouldn't dare 
putting into your mouth!

Notes:

~Too much dilute lacks taste! So make sure it's not too thin nor too thick. Experiment on your own!

~We don't have a refrigerator so the quantity I make is for one day use. If you have a fridge then you can make more and just store the milk in the fridge. Many say it could last for 3 days.

~We make coffee and chocolate drink out of cashew milk.

~We tried tea with it. I made a tea decoction and heated the milk (no extra water this time) at the same time. When decoction was ready, I mixed it with the milk. Sugar was added, too! The result was not that satisfying though not bad. What was not at all likable is when I made the tea decoction with the milk itself. Undrinkable!

~Any idea how to make a memorable cashew milk tea? Let me know!

I believe that if a child is introduced to this milk there is no way that he/she would even like the taste of cow's milk.

And contrary to what we were made to believe by milk industries and advertisers, animal milk is THE most unhealthy milk you could ever drink yourself or give to your children.

The purpose of milk, mother cow to her calf, and human mother to her baby is for growth. Cow's milk is never for humans and human milk is only for babies, not for adults. So just imagine if, after weaning, kids continue to drink cows' or other sources of animal milk (they are forced to, sometimes)!

Humans are the only species who steal another species' milk just for taste...a taste that poses danger and expensive consequences.