Family members can influence each other in all kinds of ways, and one of the wonderful qualities of a parent is the willingness to learn from their children. Lindsay O’Donnell is a Vegan Mainstream contributor, and writer of the blog Lindsay is Vegan. She became vegan as an adult, after growing up on a fairly conventional diet. Over the years Lindsay has influenced her mom to take a second look at what she considers a healthy, happy diet
Phew! Being a vegan teacher has its challenges. If you read my other article, you’ve discovered that perhaps explaining veganism to students as an educator – as long as it is done respectfully – is typically acceptable. Following this enlightenment, I began to wonder how I’d handle situations with my daughter’s non-vegan friends who might
Christopher is 11 years old – almost 12, and just recently he has discovered a love for baking. He has been vegetarian since he was born – and vegan for the past couple of years. A few months ago he started baking up a storm – and it’s been pretty much constant since then. Whether he’ll decide to pursue vegan baking as a career is uncertain – but one this IS certain – anyone who gets to go to dinner at his house is pretty lucky!
Teaching, as cliché as it may sound, is one of the most rewarding careers in existence. I speak of this from personal experience; I have been educating spunky little people for more than eight years and have been working with them in various other settings for 15 years! All the while, I’ve been pursuing another of my passions – cruelty-free living. To me, the phrase “cruelty-free” encompasses an entire animal-conscious approach to life, including veganism and the like.
I had a discussion with a friend recently where I told him that I thought I remembered reading a study that vegan and vegetarian kids perform better in school. He countered that it was a moot point because these kids were being raised by vegetarian or vegan parents who likely had higher IQs. His point was that vegans and vegetarians take more time to be educated about what they are putting in their bodies compared to the average Joe/Josephine and therefore their children would likely be more intelligent than their counterparts.
Ultimately neither of us really had any idea what we were talking about, but I was intrigued to get to the bottom of it, and so I did some research. And what I found out?
Horror. Paralyzing fear. Excruciating pain. Watching and hearing your friends suffer and perish. It is my hope that you have never experienced anything of this nature, but the emotions evoked by these words are what I feel every moment I envision eating meat or purchasing products tested on or made from animals. Extreme empathy is what I label it, though the images that conjure this empathy are something that many individuals turn a blissful, blind eye to. But at the ripe old age of ten, I began this trek, meandering down the path of animal rights, making a wish on every eyelash that they wouldn’t suffer for us and that their silent voices would be heard
It was announced only weeks ago that Beyoncé had signed a $50 million ‘Creativity Partnership’ contract with Pepsi. Which is basically media relations jargon for an endorsement deal with collaborations on additional projects. Most of us will raise an eyebrow at the $50 million check as completely ridiculous, but the point is that Pepsi feels the money it is spending will be nothing compared to the sales this partnership will bring in. Beyoncé has a huge fan base, a large majority of them being young and easily influenced
Having been married for exactly 141 days now, I have also been on the ever-so-annoying ‘bump watch’ for about 140 days. (I ate a freakin’ sandwich people and I am ‘glowing’ from walking up some damn stairs!)
1) Eat them yourself! Kids will imitate those closest to them – and that’s you, especially when they’re young! If you love kale and broccoli, it’s likely that they will too
It’s that time of year again – kids are heading back to school! What’s in your child’s lunch box this season? Here are a few ideas to keep in mind when you’re thinking about your kids’ lunches – and most of these come from my sister, who has 3 vegan boys – 9, 11 and
