Earthlings

Have you seen it and what did you think?

Going Vegan

My hours of reading and watching videos over the past few weeks has lead me to the point where I have decided to go vegan. After watching Earthlings as I mentioned I decided to go vegetarian but I have now decided to go a step further and go vegan. I have become very passionate about animal welfare issues but I also feel that this is a major step towards good health and making a real difference. I do love cheese and this is probably my main concern but with a bit of planning and research I can see that it is not impossible to go without cheese! Over the past 2+ weeks we have not eaten meat and have phased out our dairy products. I have also been 'phasing' out non-ethical products from our house, and buying some amazing organic produce. I have been cooking some delicious healthy vegan recipes and I am feeling so fantastic! I could go on for hours about all of the new things I have learnt but that is enough for now. I am really looking forward to moving out of winter! Lots more to come! PS. I met the most gorgeous little kelpie the other day and her owner 'may' be considering putting her up for adoption - not getting my hopes up but we will see!

I forgot to mention my new favourite website - Unleashed and their amazing forum has given me so many really helpful bits of information and some very cool people sharing like-minded ideas - thanks guys!

Adopting a dog

My hubby and I will be moving to a bigger property in the next month or so and will be able to get a dog! I have wanted a dog for so long but now I am obsessed! I browse the pet rescue sites every day searching for a puppy/dog. It takes lots of thinking to work out what breed of dog will suit us and to make sure we can care for it properly. I love the idea of adopting a dog and would NEVER purchase a dog from a petshop... Although it is hard to watch some of the footage from Earthlings relating to puppy mills and pets in general is absolutely heart breaking and should make all humans think about the way we 'use' animals for our own satisfaction.

I came across this gorgeous dog - Angela today she is an 18 month kelpie cross lab which is the sort of dog I think will be perfect for us! Will have to wait a few more weeks before we can start looking properly but I will keep you updated about how it goes :)

Lots and lots of things going on in my life right now and lots of reading and thinking about veganism - more posts to come on this.

Earthlings

Today I spent lots of time on the internet researching ways to look after the environment. I came across a movie called Earthlings and proceeded to watch the movie. Amongst other things the movie depicts the process of producing and slaughtering animals for food. To say that the movie is disturbing is an understatement and it is hard to watch so many of the scenes without crying. I am not sure if all of these processes are employed here in Australia - I would hope not but nonetheless I have come to the conclusion that eating meat is seriously wrong in so many ways. Firstly animals have as much right to live as we do, secondly because of the environmental impact and thirdly because of the processes used throughout the production of meat including the involvement of chemicals and the methods used to kill the animals. It's easy enough for us to walk into a supermarket and pick up a tray of chicken without thinking about how it got there. So hopefully I am planning to change my life for the better by becoming vegetarian. I know that this will take some work to change my diet and work with my hubby so that he is happy with our meals. I don't think I can go vegan at this stage but I already drink soy milk and buy organic, free range eggs so this is a good starting point for me. I would suggest that watching earthlings is very important for everyone if you feel like you can stomach it.