Fifteen years ago today I split a bowl of ice cream with my friend Stacy, hours before I graduated high school. It was the last time I’ve knowingly eaten non-vegan food. Fifteen years! That day we said, ‘Let’s try to be vegan until the Earth Crisis show in two weeks.’  Like many activists, I got involved through hardcore music in the mid-90’s. I never would have imagined that 15 years later Earth Crisis would send out a message about one of my projects.  But here I am. Also my book with Isa, Appetite For Reduction, peaked in the top 100 of ALL books on Amazon. I’m incredibly fortunate. I’m writing about this not to brag, but to pass on the lessons I have learned.

My introduction to veganism was through the militant animal rights movement.  I became the super activist that ate, slept and breathed animal rights and veganism. I went to jail more than once for protesting. I chose nutrition as my undergrad major because of veganism. I was angry and motivated! The way that animals are treated is horrendous and I wanted to do as much as possible.

Then one day while I was still a teenager I was at a group dinner on a boring Saturday night. One kid was drawing pictures of everyone and mine had a voice bubble that said, ‘vegan vegan vegan vegan’ over and over again. It was accurate. I had become that person.  I was living the joke->

-How do you tell the vegan at a party?

-Don’t worry they will tell you.

Not long after that I moved to Penn State University for the last 2.5 years of my nutrition degree. Struggling to find an affordable place to live I moved into the living room of some Anarcho-Feminists. My reading broadened from Peter Singer and Edward Abbey to Malcolm X and Emma Goldman. Oppression of animals was obvious; institutionalized oppression of groups of people much less so. At PSU I was President of the Alliance for Animal Rights and active in my department promoting veganism, but my analysis had changed. I recognized world wide struggle and my own race and gender privileges. I never forgot about veganism, but I became active in the anti-capitalist, anti-globalization movement that roared into the 00’s.

You can’t change the world, but you can change yourself. –Sick of it All

At a grad school that actively promoted vegetarianism and was the most diverse place I had ever been, I learned even more about my place in the world. I traveled to Chiapas and smuggled art back for a radical Catholic group that raised money for the Zapatistas.  My veganism never waned, but I was less interested in being defined by it. Not long after that I was teaching and working in South Central Los Angeles with a slant toward social justice. Vegan nutrition went to the back burner.

Then about two years ago I got re-energized. It seemed that more people were vegan than ever. Isa contacted me about contributing to her newest book. I suddenly got more requests than ever for private consultation for vegans. And here I am.

You must be the change you want to see in the world. -Gandhi

I’m now applying the vegan label to myself and my projects: vegan dietitian, vegan athletes, vegan nutrition,  etc.  But  my worldview is expanded from ten years ago. And while my place in the world is bigger than it was because of the opportunities I’ve had, I’m still just one person.  There’s only so much I can do.  But what I can do is significant: lead by example.  Be a healthy, positive vegan that pushes people to think about their choices and how it affects other living beings without pushing them to blindly adopt my ethics and actions. And knowing how my life and privileges affect others. There’s a whole world of oppression out there beyond humans over animals. Read a thing or two (or hundred?) about those struggles, too.  Never stop learning because the day you are convinced that you know enough about everything is the day you become a new-age wacko. And we don’t need any more vegans like that…

So if you are new to veganism and angry about how animals are treated, I’m with you. My advice is to channel that anger into something positive.  Berating My Trainer Bob about eating egg whites does not save any animals.  I don’t want to get on the old-guy soapbox here, but the kids in the mid-90’s who didn’t find positive channels for their anger about animal abuse stopped being vegan. And their criticism of near-vegans probably brought down a fair number of them, too.

Meanwhile, I’d love to hear about my readers’ projects! If you are working on something related to this post-and not just veganism- please let me know in the comments.

Though you wouldn’t know it here in chilly, rainy Los Angeles, Spring has arrived. This is very exciting but also makes me a little anxious! I’ve a pretty even split in my lifestyle between working hard in the winter- working as in someone giving me money in exchange for my time and energy- and working on fun in the summer. Fall and Spring make me anxious because I’m still doing one while fretting about the other! Can you say #firstworldproblems? When I was 16 and had the brilliant idea to quit my Subway job and pay an even younger kid in the neighborhood to do my paper route for the summer while I traveled the country to ride BMX.  Unbeknownst that 16 years later I’d have the same philosophy.

So. I’ve been working a lot. Still traveling a lot when I can. And most importantly getting ready for some big adventures. One is sooner than I’d like it to be, but such is life. What is it? A long post on that very soon. Let’s just say that I’ve had to purchase a GPS device, new lighting systems and lightweight camp gear.  For now, here’s some links that I’ve come across while working. Enjoy. Have an awesome first full weekend of Spring!

–Praise the Lard? Recent research shows that going to church events increases one’s risk of obesity.

–A New Model Streets Manual to Rewrite Los Angeles’ “DNA” A public health oriented approach to streets and urban design. Streets are for people!

–Why Angelenos Should Take the Bus More Often

–UN Says Eat Less Meat to Curb Global Warming An oldie but goody. You see this, environmentalists?

–Climate Chief Lord Stern: Give Up Meat to Save the Planet Same.

–The Los Angeles Bicycle Kitchen has a new website

-Everyone should be following the Middle Eastern uprising on Al Jazeera

–My friend Aidan made it 1100 miles to Nome in 17 days, 9 hours and 15 minutes in the Alaska Iditarod Invitational which was good enough for 2nd place and 1st (ever!) single speed.

This came across a certain social networking site (thanks Collette!) I waste time on. According to here it’s from the 1983 Marvel Comic Universe Handbook.  I think I’m far from cowardly, but I will take those anti-gravitons!

Secondly, anyone who knows me is aware of my internet addiction. As soon as I have some down time I’m on my space phone flipping through Google Reader. I’m up on all sorts of stuff that I have no reason to be.  My idea is to share some of the most interesting links I come across on the bottom of my posts, ala bikinginla.com. We’ll see how it goes! Thanks for reading and please let me know if you like this new feature.

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A new, favorite site, Sweat Science says Turn down the thermostat to battle obesity epidemic. Duh. I grew up on the East Coast with a mom who kept ours at a chill 59 degrees F, which is to the dismay of anyone I have to share bills with. Via LA.Streetsblog is The long and triumphant history of women in cycling, a history I learned, interestingly enough, from my West Coast Cycling Lonely Planet book. When I was in Vancouver preparing for my own west coast trip I scribbled one of those quotes on the wall of the punk/collective house I was staying at. DC.Streetsblog meanwhile caught up with a Southern California Republican member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who thinks roads pay for themselves and bikes are only for recreation. Is it true ignorance or just his political position? Speaking of politics, things are wild with UK students and folks in Egypt. Are you watching US students and citizens? Change is possible.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with a post from a vegan athlete who is concerned she’s not getting enough protein. I know it’s possible to, but I’m empathetic to her concern that she is not. It is reinforced in our society over and over that protein from animals is superior. It’s tough to always go against the grain. Stop by her site and let her know how you get enough protein.

The dude was epic. There’s no doubt about that. But I like my epic with a little heart and soul and he delivers here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hh_ZGd_j8A

Also, he was an advocate of a plant-based diet.  Found this interview in the Denver Post with some choice quotes:

Should people consume fewer dairy products?

JL: I’m not a suckling calf. Name me one creature on this earth who uses milk after they wean – except man. Why do you think so many people are fat and have heart attacks? Butter, cream, cheese, all that fat, fat, fat. You can have a little skim milk once in a while. But they’ve got these athletes prostituting their souls by posing with milk mustaches. Those athletes should be selling something that is going to be beneficial, not detrimental, to kids.