Voracious readers and voracious vegans, we have a real problem. Most books aren't written by vegans.

So most stories will, without any warning, launch into lingering descriptions of animal-based meals.

Food in Fiction

Revisiting childhood favourites like the Narnia adventures or Little House on the Prairie can be especially jarring for me. Vegetarians or the health-conscious are usually relegated to being the weirdo minor character, a target for the main characters' mainstream contempt. Remember Eustace and family in Narnia?

It's a rare treat to find even one sympathic vegetarian character in a book (eg, the tough FBI agent Dillon Savich in Catherine Coulter's romantic thrillers).

(Hey. I bet I'm not the only one reading escapist fiction as counterbalance to heavy activism.) 

What a thrill to read Sweetheart Deal and meet lead character Lilly, who is a vegetarian so health-aware that she travels with boxes of organic trail mix bars for emergencies. This is a semi-autobiographical character for the author, Claire Matturro, and I'm sure rings a bell for many of us too.

Stereotyping is alive and well

However, we soon discover that lawyer Lilly is not only a vegetarian health foodie but also certifiably neurotic. She's obsessive-compulsive about germs and dirt and fears flying. She is constantly finding similarities between herself and her dysfunctional mother.

So we've advanced from odd vegetarian bit players to a strong, sympathetic, but still very odd vegetarian heroine. "Disappointing and unfair!" I thought.
Boo! Booooo!

Or... is it?

Truth Stranger than Fiction?

I'm not normal. I'll happily stand up for my many abnormal choices. And I'm struggling to think of any vegans I know whose only quirk is in their diet. Thinking...thinking...

Instead, the vegans I know would agree with this: 

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. (Krishnamurti)

Does a vegan consciousness go naturally hand-in-hand with other social misfittings? 

Stand up and be counted...

Anyone out there want to raise their hands as vegans who are basically normal in all other ways?

Also, please share any cool fiction about vegans. I've almost finished my book.

You can find anything on the internet these days. You don't have enough time to read all the expertly researched articles in your favourite hot and controversial topic. You probably go short of sleep and family time in the attempt.

But once you've finished that great article, my tip to you is to move on to the next great article on your search list. Quickly. Before you glance at the first comment. (Sorry, fellow bloggers.)

Resist the temptation to find out what other people think, to see if it matches what you think. 

Articles are usually written by someone with some qualification on the topic, but if nothing else, a reputation to protect. Commenters only need a knee to jerk and a keyboard.

Typical Comments (edited for grammar and spelling)

1. Loved this article - so true! I wish everyone knew this.
2. Really interesting topic - I talk more about this on MY blog at bloglink.com.
3. That's crazy! I would never want to do this, and the government better not make me. 
   
4. Me neither, this is just wrong. Where will it end?
5. To commenters: you should do some research. Did you actually read the whole article? Also read this and this..
6. Screw your research; it's all biased from weirdos like you. How dare you imply I can't read?
7. Whoa, I don't mean to start a fight. That isn't what I said.
8. Weirdo. I bet you don't even love this country.
9. Hey, I bought some great shoes really cheap - check it out at cheepshooz.com!

Really cool stuff, if you like reality shows. But all you get is rising blood pressure, or worse, your own time-wasting argument. (You can probably guess that I know this firsthand.)

The Good Comments

They're not all bad. You might be lucky, and a super expert has cast some pearls before swine. The best websites moderate their comments, and have superior readers.)

But such an expert will have published those pearls somewhere else, in their own carefully-written article. You'll get much better value using your search engine than searching through comments.

Any other comment addicts out there? What do you think about writing comments?

It's the time of year for families to get together - like it or not.

Usually I hang around with a bunch of people who share my interests and values. It's comfy.

Family holiday gatherings are a lot more random, with folks from all backgrounds, generations, and views. And this lasts for hours. Or days.

Even two-party political differences can be explosive. As an activist with an armload of causes, I'm an accident waiting to happen. What to do?

1. Expect the expected

Somebody is going to say something. Or do something. Whether it's Uncle Joe's (or Aunt Mary's) casually sexist comments, or the hilarious jokes aimed at the vegans over the dead animals, or the weird way you're raising your kids, or the shock and disgust when someone finds out you're still breastfeeding that big girl...

And most somebodies will be drinking.

If you have any buttons, assume they are going to get pushed. So plan for it. What are you gonna do?

2. Attack  

Tempting, isn't it? Maybe if you get all your ammunition ready and turn the place into Ground Zero, nobody will bother you for the rest of the holidays in case they set you off again. Curl up with the vegan chocolate (that you bought) and your new book.

I don't really recommend this, as it will probably scare the kids. But most families will have survived bigger holiday dramas and you had to watch, so...? 

3. Ignore

This isn't wimping out. It's the real life equivalent of "Don't feed the trolls."

Family members know you pretty well, and some people enjoy starting a fight. Hey, sometimes I enjoy starting a fight.

Noncommittal grunts and pleasant smiles are a winning strategy that will bring Peace on Earth...and frustration where it will do the most good.

4. Educate

Don't expect to convert anyone in the silly season. Nobody's going to listen to the necessary lengthy background info - you'll be wasting breath you could be using to sing carols or something. If you trip and fall into a deep discussion, save your strength with this:

These are complex issues. I've done a lot of reading on this over the years - I'll send some stuff to you and we can talk about it later.

They may or may not read anything you send, but you're off the hook either way. You'll still have the energy to go back for that last bit of cranberry sauce before someone else does.

5. Hang around with the kids

Christmas magic is all about the kids anyway, right? They know how to have fun.

And you might get some ideas into their developing minds while their parents are away at the eggnog.

And More?

How do you plan for a Happy Holiday?

First, there was How the Health Argument Fails Veganism. Then, How the Ethical Argument Fails Veganism.

In honour of World Vegan Day (and Month), we are going to sort it out once and for all. The real reason not to eat animals is definitely:

The animals

Obviously, it's the animals!

Veganism means man has no right to exploit the creatures for his own ends. That was Donald Watson's whole point.

Every year, tens of billions of animals exist in hopeless conditions, are literally tortured by their keepers, and die horribly, simply to feed humans.
When animals are bulk commodities, animal abuse for money will be the rule, not the exception.

How can you be an animal lover and eat animals?

Human beings

OK, we sure don't want to hurt animals, but not all farm animals are treated so badly - some farms are very kind. The human beings you know and love are more important. When your family and friends eat animals, they are much more prone to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, food-borne infection, and a host of other chronic and deadly diseases.

This is not only horribly sad for us, but impossibly expensive. In the US alone, healthcare costs are upwards of a trillion dollars and rising fast. We never seem to have enough money to do the important things. Let's save lives and money.

And what about the humans we don't know? 60% of humans in other countries (or even our own) do not have enough to eat. We're not helpless. From a Cornell ecologist...

"More than half the U.S. grain and nearly 40 percent of world grain is being fed to livestock rather than being consumed directly by humans..."

Plant foods simply cost less to produce, which means more people fed. Please, don't feed the animals, feed hungry humans instead. It's the least you can do, and the best.

The whole world

Actually, the big picture is paramount. We all have to have somewhere to live, or all these arguments about ethics and health just end up as details.

Intense animal agriculture is the number one reason for deforestation and soil runoff, and excess animal waste is polluting natural waterways and land alike. Farmed animals are crowding out native wildlife, upsetting the entire natural balance of the world.

There is no Planet B. Eating animals like this is unsustainable. That's what's important.

Arguments fail veganism

One of these viewpoints may well seem strongest to you - it may have been what changed your mind. But to turn the tide on animal consumption, we must stop competing for the right reason.

We are a tiny and underfunded minority, and can't afford to fight vegan wars. When we cleverly undermine other vegan points of view, we mostly provide ammunition for the mainstream to dismiss us entirely.

They're all good reasons. Each one appeals to different people with different values. Together, they're compelling. We need that wide appeal...if we want a vegan world (and not just World Vegan Day)