Fancy a cruelty-free January? Try Veganuary!

WHY ON EARTH SHOULD I TRY VEGANUARY LEE?
Do you care about animals?

I DO.
ALL animals? Or just pets?

ALL ANIMALS.
What about humans?

I CARE ABOUT THEM TOO.
Good. What about our planet? Do you care if it survives? Do you want to leave it in good condition
for our children ​and future generations after you've gone?

BIT MORBID.
But do you?

OF COURSE I DO.
Well by simply trying Veganuary, you...

* Stop paying for (and help to end) the needless, mass slaughter of millions
of innocent, sentient animals
* Improve your health considerably (lowering your currently high risk of cancer,
Alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes, strokes and heart disease)
* Help stop the destruction of the planet
* Stop funding deforestation
* Help stop the pollution of our rivers and oceans
* Stop paying for important species to go extinct
* Actively help to stop climate change (as opposed to adding to it)
* Eat a healthier, more ethical and more delicious variety of foods
* Show compassion and kindness
* Align your actions with your morals

AND I CAN DO ALL THAT, SIMPLY BY NOT EATING ANIMALS?
YES! All of it.

Aside from the above, wouldn't it just be nice to know you're doing everything you can, to cause the LEAST amount of harm and suffering to others, during your brief time on this earth?

YES. I GUESS IT WOULD.
There are so many positive reasons why this is worth doing and all you have to do is give it a try.
It's really easy. So what have you got to lose?

I'M NERVOUS. I'VE EATEN MEAT FOR YEARS.
Animals. You've eaten animals for years. And so did I. For 38 years to be exact!
However that doesn't mean it was right to do so, nor does it mean I should continue doing it.

MY LIFE WILL CHANGE.
It really, really won't. Don't be nervous. Take it a step at a time.
Remember - no good thing ever lies within your comfort zone, the good stuff is always outside.

Eat what you did before, wear what you did before, use everything you did before - just replace them all moving forward, with cruelty-free, non-animal derived versions.
There's THOUSANDS of options to choose from when you're vegan and you'll find most of them
​are way better for you, the environment and for the animals!

I'M SCARED LEE. I DON'T WANT TO BE LABELLED AS 'VEGAN'.
Don't be then. It's only a word, the meaning is still the same.
Being compassionate and kind towards animals doesn't need a label.

By trying Veganuary, you're simply saying to yourself,
'I am no longer willing to pay for and support animal cruelty and exploitation and I will do my best to avoid it!'
​It's not too much to ask for someone to just be kinder, is it?

I GUESS NOT
If you genuinely love animals, and I really believe you do, then you need to show it and what better way
​to start than to try Veganuary!

WHAT IS IT THEN?
Veganuary? It's a registered charity that encourages people worldwide to try veganism for January and (hopefully) beyond. The charity encourages and supports people and businesses alike to move to a plant-based diet, to not just improve overall health and lifestyle, but to protect the environment and
prevent animal suffering.

I DON'T WANT ANIMALS TO SUFFER.
Of course you don't, no one does.
Although a lot of people claim this about animals, whilst simultaneously causing them harm.
They refer to themselves as 'animal lovers' yet pay for said animals to be abused.
Their actions contradict their morals.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
For example, some people own cats.

SO?
So they get sad when their cat kills a bird and brings it into the house.

TRUE
Yet ​they themselves pay someone to mutilate birds for them. Then they eat them!

I SEE
Some own rabbits, yet they buy cosmetics brutally and cruelly tested on rabbits!

Some keep chickens as 'pets', claiming they love them, whilst knowingly stealing their eggs from them
and consuming other dead chickens for dinner.

Our children witness 'chick-hatching' events at school, then as a 'treat', we buy them a
'Chicken Nuggets Happy Meal'.

Some take their kids to Seaworld, before stopping for fish and chips on the way home.

Some would spot a dog being harmed in the street and gallantly step in to save them.

THAT'S GOOD
...and then go home and eat a bacon sandwich.

I SEE
They give a tired bee some sugar water to save it's life, before having honey on their cereal.

They fill up their feeders to try to save birds, before filling themselves with dead birds.

They like to feed the ducks and then order a dead one from the local Chinese take-away.

They lovingly feed their guinea pigs, before feeding themselves actual pigs!

They swerve to avoid hitting a pigeon in the road, whilst on their way to the pub for a 'roast chicken' dinner.

OK I GET IT. WE'RE HYPOCRITES.
But you don't have to be.
Ask yourself this: Can you really love someone if you pay for their demise, so that you can eat them
when you don't need to?

I GUESS NOT
If we don't start aligning our actions with our morals, and begin making changes to our lifestyle
(and they don't have to be huge changes at all),
then our ignorance will only cause more and more harm, suffering, destruction and devastation.
​That is a fact.

IF I WANTED TO START, OR AT LEAST LOOK INTO IT, WHERE DO I BEGIN?
Easy. Just sign up HERE (or message me - or read my previous blog posts!)

WHAT IF I CAN'T BE BOTHERED?
To save animals? To stop abuse? To protect our planet? To stand against oppression?
To avoid getting colon cancer? To stop your children getting heart disease?
Why would you not be bothered?

I'VE GOT BIGGER FISH TO FRY
Yes and it's destroying the planet every time you do it.
Look, enough's enough. It's time to take some responsibility for your actions, to acknowledge the harm
​your money causes and to know exactly what it is you're paying for.
(see my previous posts to discover what you're paying for)

OK, LET'S SAY I TRY IT. WHAT IF I MAKE A MISTAKE?
Hey, we all make mistakes. Don't be hard on yourself. Just try again and keep going.
Making a mistake and then trying again, is way better than doing absolutely nothing
​but knowingly and willingly ​continuing to fund unnecessary animal cruelty.

WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL MY ANIMAL PRODUCTS?
First, swap your basics (meat, eggs and dairy) for plant-based alternatives.
Finish what you've got in the house, rather than chuck them (animals have already lost their lives for these products, the least you can do is finish them or pass them on) but when they're done, don't replace them.

Swap your cow's milk for oat milk. Trust me.
Oat milk is leagues better, healthier for you, contains everything you need and
has the closest taste to your regular milk.
If you don't like oat milk (I'd be surprised) then try soya, almond, rice, hemp or any of the
other delicious alternatives.
​
You don't need cow's milk. The dairy industry is one of the cruelest industries of all and we should
​play no part in it.
Cow's milk is for baby cows and baby cows only.

Also replace all butters, spreads and eggs from now on with healthier, plant-based alternatives.

My parents are non-vegan however, after introducing them to plant-based Flora butter last Christmas,
they've started to make changes and have bought plant-based butter ever since without a second's thought.
It tastes exactly the same, it's healthier for you, it's cruelty-free and
also less expensive than the dairy one. Why wouldn't you try this version?

I DON'T KNOW?
If you don't try it, then you'll never know.

DID YOU DO VEGANUARY LEE?
I didn't in all honesty. I went vegan overnight after doing an evening's research on where my food comes from and watching some farm and slaughterhouse footage.
That was plenty to make me never want to go anywhere near animal products ever again.

WOW!
Honestly, it doesn't take much to change your mind when you look at the truth.

EVERYTHING'S CHANGING EH?
It has to. ​The next generation will be vegan whether we like it or not, so we may as well get involved now.

 ​More and more individuals, businesses, companies, towns and even cities are going vegan/plant-based now
and are signing the Plant-Based Treaty so don't be the only one who isn't.

​Do you know what pretty much everyone says after going vegan?

EVERYONE?
Yep, pretty much.

I DUNNO
They say, "I only wish I'd done it sooner!"

Let me ask you a question... Would you feel bad if you discovered you'd upset or caused unnecessary 
suffering to someone else because of something you'd unwittingly said or done?

YES. I'D BE MORTIFIED. THINGS LIKE THAT KEEP ME AWAKE AT NIGHT.
Good because if you're not vegan, you're causing unnecessary suffering to someone else every time you shop.

HARSH.
I think most people would feel mortified knowing they'd hurt someone, particularly an animal, I certainly do.
Mainly because I know how horrible that feeling is, if ever someone tries to hurt me.

'TREAT THOSE, AS YOU YOURSELF, WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED'
Exactly! So if you became aware that your oblivious actions were harming someone else,
would you stop doing them?

OF COURSE.
So if you discovered (for example) that something you regularly purchased, caused animals to be enslaved, exploited and brutally killed in the process, would you stop buying it, if there was a cruelty-free alternative available?

YES!
Well by being ‘vegan’ – or whatever you want to call it, you get to fix that.

If there is a way to live your life, causing the LEAST amount of harm as you go about it (and veganism is the way) then you should choose it.
Not only will you feel better for it but you'll sleep better at night knowing you caused ZERO suffering today.

​"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi​

​I'M AWAKE ALL NIGHT ANYWAY WORRYING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE.
Well give Veganuary a try and you'll be doing your bit to combat climate change!
(Remember: animal agriculture is the leading cause and is destroying our planet every minute)

At some point in our lives, we all need to realise that, whilst we may appear to be a more intelligent species,
we are not superior over animals, and we are not entitled to exploit, commodify or kill them.
How we treat animals is unnecessary, immoral and unjustifiable.

I AGREE
​It's time to start being kinder towards animals and to start making a difference, after all,
animals are here with us, not for us.

Right. Have a Happy New Year and if you make one resolution, why not be more compassionate?

Trust me, you won't look back and you won't regret it.

​Go vegan for your health, for the planet and most importantly, for the only victims in this... for the animals.
​x