So, while I’m taking this holiday Monday here in Canada to keep the ball rolling for issue #7 submissions (you have sent in a pitch, right?), feel free to listen to what we had to say about YouTube cat videos, Canada, Newfoundland, Ontario, PETA (I’ll give you two guesses how this topic went), and so much more.

Red Radio Ep. 39: Shootin’ the T.O.F.U. with Ryan Patey

A tale from the road

It was late and I was tired. I had just spent a lovely day gallivanting around Bethlehem- and Scranton, Pennsylvania in search of vegan noms. I checked into a hotel that night as I was preparing to fly out to Puerto Rico the next day to meet up with a friend for a two-day jaunt in Old San Juan, which meant getting up early to drive to NYC, where I was departing from. I was getting ready to take a shower and it hit me, I have a giant piece of chocolate cake from Vegan Treats in my bag! Late night indulgence, here I come! I quickly opened the box and without taking a second glance I shoved that cake into my mouth. I closed my eyes for a second as I began to savor the sweet flavor and as I opened my eyes to see what the damage from my initial bite was, there they were… dozens of little ants crawling on top of AND inside of the cake! GULP. I managed to get the first bite down but couldn’t bring myself to eat any more of it. I left the rest for the ants. That’s what happens when you leave something super sweet in a warm vehicle for hours at a time! Sigh.

The reason

Welcome to my project, Will Travel For Vegan Food! My name is Kristin and I’m currently on a yearlong, vegan food focused road trip across the country. The goal is to attempt to eat at all of the 100% vegan restaurants in the United States, while also visiting all 50 states, volunteering at farm animal sanctuaries, and interviewing vegan business owners. I’m about six months in, and have been living out of my van, Gerty. I’m having the time of my life and love sharing my travel experiences, even the icky ones!

The ups and downs

So far, the ant story is actually the grossest experience I’ve had. Haha! Aside from that this road trip has been pretty amazing. There was however, one week where things weren’t going according to plan. I was in DC and one day I lost my driver’s license, the next day I got a parking ticket, the following day I got kicked out of a parking lot for sleeping there, in my van, and the final day of the series of frustrating events, was the starter on the van went. So I had to have her towed to a shop to get her fixed. Oh yeah, a few days after that one of the brake lines went. There’s nothing like pushing your brake petal to the floor to only keep going. Scary stuff! Thankfully I was in a major city and was able to get everything sorted out within a few days, no problems. When you’re driving a 95 sports van with 160,000 miles on it, you expect things to go awry every so often. If anything, I’ve learned to take things as they come, not panic, and just find a way to get it all sorted out.

I’ll be finishing up the East Coast portion of my trip by the end of June and will then begin to head to the middle of the country as I make my way West. Stay tuned, as this adventure is sure to lead to even better, “gasp, omgawd that did NOT happen,” experiences along the way.

Who am I?

Kristin Lajeunesse is a full-time blogger, driver, and eater of vegan food. She’s also a part-time social media consultant and motivational speaker. Kristin founded the first, and currently only website dedicated to providing resources for couples looking to veganize their wedding day, Rose Pedals Vegan Weddings. She’s got a MA in Integrated Marketing Communications from Emerson College and a BPS in Business Management, with a Specialization in Equestrian Studies from Cazenovia College. Follow Kristin’s vegan food journey and road trip at wtfveganfood.com.

 

 

You know the one. The kind of feeling where you try to explain something to someone, but they turn a blind eye to it. Or, even worse, they tell you to stop making such a big deal out of it.

That feeling, the one that is probably lurking in the back of your throat right now due to recalling such incidents, is similar to the one so many people are feeling when the newest PETA campaign is laughed at or applauded.

Here at T.O.F.U., I drew the line in early February, and I’m standing behind it. I watched the ad and my immediate reaction was one of disgust. I’ve railed against PETA before, but this newest stunt upset me more than usual. It just seemed obvious why such a campaign was a bad idea. So, I waited to see what the reaction would be as other vegans tweeted, shared, and talked about it.

Sadly, most of the voices came from outside of the vegan camp.

Open Your Ears Before Your Mouth

Since our last issue attempted to push other areas of concern into the vegan discussion, I felt it appropriate to try and continue to promote this idea with this campaign in mind.

Fighting oppression shouldn’t stop at your kitchen table or down the street at the protest against the local factory farm. Deciding to fight against such a force should start within and follow in everything you do. The animals are not the only ones being oppressed, and any fight for them should be sensitive to this.

It’s one thing to choose to be the voice for those who are unable to represent themselves, but to choose to ignore or downplay the voice of those who can represent themselves is just placing you at the table of the oppressor. That table is full, trust me. They don’t need any more mouths.

Stepping Out of the Vegan Bubble

Vegans often joke about how great the world would be if everyone was vegan. We could eat wherever we please, and no one would critique anything on our plate. It seems like a dream.

However, in the real world, I don’t like the vegan bubble. The kind of mentality that puts the PETA campaigns up on a pedestal because they’re fighting for the animals is not something I can support. In many ways, it seems that you’re either with PETA or against them, and if you’re against them, then you’re against the animals.

I’m calling bullshit on that mentality, and I think it needs to change. In fact, I think a lot of things within the vegan bubble need to change.

Biting Off More than You can Chew

The sad truth is that being vegan is not the finish line. There is plenty more to fight for, but the good news is that there are plenty of people out there fighting. They believe in their cause(s) just as much as you do, and they’re willing to stand up for it against all odds. So, if you don’t understand why someone would be offended by the PETA campaign, or if you do but you don’t want to say anything against our big famous uncle, give those who are fighting it the attention you feel you deserve in regards to your own fight.

Step out of the vegan bubble, listen, and discuss:

Vegansaurus – PETA’s “Boyfriend Went Vegan” ad makes me want to hurl!

Stop Patriarchy – Making Sexual Violence Against Women “Cool” … This Time from PETA

Connect the Dots – One Plus Negative One Equals Zero: A Response to PETA’s Rapey Ad

Carol J. Adams – Sigh, the sexual politics of meat once again

Policymic – Why PETA Should Use Food Justice, Not Sexy Sexual Innuendo, to Attract More to Their Cause

Women 24 – Animals Deserve More Respect than Women

Women 24 – Respect ALL Women, nonhuman women too

Everyone has that family member (or maybe more than one). You know, the one who every now and then says or does something that shocks or embarrasses everyone else? Then, after the awkward silence, the conversation moves on and everyone just chalks it up to “oh, that’s just your uncle. He’s set in his ways and doesn’t quite understand why such things might offend us, but he means well.”

Drawing the line with uncle PETA

I’ve muttered on this site before about other PETA campaigns, and I’ve downplayed most of them as just another drop in the bucket for an organization that is so focused on one goal they don’t see the damage their doing to other movements. Unfortunately, the latest PETA campaign entitled “Living With BWVAKTBOOM: Boyfriend Went Vegan and Knocked the Bottom out of Me” is more than just another ignorant misstep. This one crosses far too many lines to just be pushed aside by a comment on how great Aunt Jane’s garlic mashed potatoes turned out.

So, I want to make this clear, just in case I’ve been vague in the past:

Although T.O.F.U. and PETA are promoting veganism, in no way does T.O.F.U. promote PETA. Their most recent campaign, along with so many in the past, relies heavily on damaging and irresponsible methods filled with stereotypes and ideologies that T.O.F.U. strives to eliminate rather than propagate through our own actions.

Sure, we may be in the same family, but that doesn’t mean we have to support everything our weird uncle does. What is it that offends us so you may ask? Well, let’s see:

1) Exploitation of women

Granted, the women in the campaigns may do it of their own free will, and the fact that they are able to do such things is a sign that we have come far in some ways. However, the use of oversexualized campaigns (see previous banned Super Bowl ads, including the most recent one) to promote veganism is weak marketing at best. With so many other possible avenues, such as the plain and simple truth about the cruelty involved in the meat and dairy industry, why must an organization that aims to stop the exploitation of so many species support the exploitation of another?

2) Violence towards women

Again, assuming that the overall purpose of PETA is to promote a more humane lifestyle, why should we accept a campaign entitled “Boyfriend Went Vegan and Knocked the Bottom out of Me” as acceptable when it so clearly plays on the idea of the dominant male and the women who continues to cater to his needs while ignoring the damage it is doing to her? Compare some of the “People’s Stories” clips with this domestic violence PSA and tell me the marketing team didn’t use it for inspiration.

3) Rape culture

This newest campaign seems to be built on the idea that vegan men have an overactive sex drive, and the women in their lives (admittedly, there is one homosexual couple referenced in a video, but the overall content is incredibly heteronormative and lacks any major ethnic or racial diversity as well) must cater and adapt to it. Why? Because deep down they want it as much as the newly virile man, and despite temporary blindness, displaced hips, concussions, repetitive stress injuries, and other dangerous consequences, they just can’t resist the allure of their “man of steel” and his newfound superpowers. Of course, these men turned sex machines are powerless in controlling their new desires, and trying to discourage it is portrayed as foolish. So, PETA is nice enough to suggest several ways to handle the repercussions of having a vegan boyfriend. Hmm, suggesting that it is up to the women to control a man’s sexual advances since he is incapable of controlling them seems familiar. Where else have we seen this myth promoted?

4) Virility and being a man

Not only does the newest campaign, as well as so many previous to this, promote a stereotypical view of women, it also promotes the common misconception that the true value of a man is found in his ability to please his partner sexually. The fact that these newly vegan men may have chosen their lifestyle based on compassion and love for other living creatures, a desire for better health, or a variety of other reasons is not promoted at all. No, the true reason to go vegan, which popular media already promotes as the reason to do anything, is because by being able to “knock the bottom” out of your partner you will obtain the title of a true man. Just check out the video of the guy bragging about the great sex he just had with the attractive girl behind him all because he went vegan. Of course, there is no real portrayal of vegan women being great in bed and their partners having to deal with that at all. Apparently, these specific benefits are bestowed upon the men only.

And the list could go on…

Working toward a well-balanced meal with the family

When we released issue six we hoped to give people a platform to discuss and consider so many of the things that intersect with veganism, and this campaign is a perfect example of why such a view is necessary to make true and beneficial change happen.

So, if anyone needs me, I’ll be sitting at the kiddie’s table. Sure, there may be food fights, but at least the jokes will be innocent and a lot more mature than what our uncle typically brings to the table.

Photo credit: PETA

The problem is Bob Parsons should have been on everyone’s radar a long time ago, and he should have received the scuzzy CEO award from PETA much earlier as well. Shooting an elephant in the dark is not the only reason Parsons should be criticized. In fact, given my ignorance of the situation in that part of Zimbabwe, where he was hunting, this lone incident may be the least of our concerns, making GoDaddy a real NoDaddy.

What is he selling?

Ironically enough, I would say GoDaddy’s ads are up there with PETA as the most degrading to women. Honestly, it takes a unique individual to decide that men joking about women’s breast sizes is the best way to sell a domain registration service. In a world where sex can be used to sell everything from jeans to dishwashers, it would seem that something as boring as web hosting and domains would be a safe bet for tech speak and the promise of cheap prices. In the world of Bob Parsons, and the one you too can inhabit if you register with GoDaddy (Domains, Websites & Everything in between!), you can demean, humiliate and objectify gorgeous women (or get one for free as a signing bonus). The last I checked, this was not the kind of world the majority of people wanted to live in, but yet GoDaddy remains an incredibly popular service provider. So, why is it that so many of us are just now complaining about Mr. Parsons?

Superhero syndrome

So, maybe old Bob just has a problem with how he relates to women? Maybe he’s done plenty of good things for other people, who just happen to not be women, right? In fact, if you take Bob’s word for it, this whole event is being taken out of context, and he’s actually doing a great deed for an impoverished nation.

“What it takes is someone like me to go into the field at night, find a bull elephant and kill it. Then the rest of the herd will leave the field for good.”

- Bob Parsons, New York Times interview

That’s right, Bob Parsons is superman with a big gun (probably the biggest gun on the block if you ask him).

There are so many underlying issues with this part of the problem that I’m not even sure I can tackle them all, and I’m very confident in the fact that I am in no way qualified to do so. The short, simplified version of it is that Bob Parsons suffers from the same sort of ideal that so many other people have in terms of Africa (which is usually spoken of in these cases as one monolithic entity, rather than 47 distinct countries), and the ways in which they can help. He may honestly believe that flying in to shoot an elephant or so, and then leaving a few GoDaddy hats behind, makes him some sort of modern day “African Santa Claus.” Of course, plenty of people fall for this comforting delusion when it comes to a continent that many of us know little about. Spending a weekend hunting elephants is not going to solve the problems of a village, and neither is spending your summer vacation working to “save those poor children” in an under-developed country. Both of these measures only camouflage the structural foundations of poverty. If Bob Parsons was truly worried about the plight of a village in Zimbabwe, and not just interested in the adrenaline rush of shooting an endangered animal in the dark, there are many, many ways he could have spent his money and his time to provide a more long-term solution. At this point, Bob Parsons is a part of the problem, not the solution.

The (pink) elephant

So, I’m hoping by now you’re already looking into the steps necessary to switch your domain, but I request that you also take the time to consider why it is that you’re only doing it now. There are plenty of options out there for domain hosting, so why were you with GoDaddy?

Whether or not you believe that your dollars make a difference, choosing where you spend them should be as informed a choice as you can make it. To me, making those choices based on whether or not the CEO is getting his rocks off by shooting elephants is just as important as whether or not he uses women’s bodies to sell his services. Sadly, one just makes for a more sensational story than the other.

PETA goes deep with Super Bowl advertising blitz (deceiver.com)

Luckily, Vegansaurus has much more to say about the whole shameful mess, and I think they say it well.

Hot girl-on-vegetable action! Great move, Peta! (vegansaurus.com)

And if this most recent one doesn’t push your buttons, how about some of their past ads?

BuzzFeed PETA ad review

I’ve always talked about how small steps are a good sign, even if they’re in the form of vegans being punchlines in mainstream film or television, but it seems enough rich people have gone vegan to warrant a spread in Businessweek, which obviously had more to do with cash than compassion.

The Rise of the Power Vegan (businessweek.com)

With such people as Steve Wynn going vegan the benefits are almost automatic, if not at least easily identifiable. When you own a restaurant chain and several casinos, your diet can influence the menu rather easily, which then influences the diet of your customers. However, when you’re a former boxer who dined on ear during one infamous match, the influence may not be as obvious. How about if you’re the former President of the United States or the co-founder of Twitter?

Do you think people are more likely to consider veganism because someone such as Ellen DeGeneres enjoys tofu or will they be wooed by a cupcake instead? The article seems to suggest that it may be the age-old tale of romance that has more power than one’s sweet tooth or bank account. Although I think such a scenario still surely brings people into our camp in big numbers, it seems it can not hurt to also have a few heavy rollers in our corner.

Even if they don’t cook for themselves.

‘Vegan cupcake:’ The tastiest oxymoron

If you can get past Vanessa Farquharson’s need to make veganism seem extreme and her initial disbelief that something vegan could taste good, there is a great little story there.

So, a nod of thanks and congratulations goes out to folks like Chloe Coscarelli, New Moon Kitchen, and Sweets from the Earth who are hard at working filling the stomachs and changing the minds of so many people out there. Hopefully, Vanessa Farquharson is one of them.

It gets better, depending on what you’re looking for:

Official Lettuce Ladies website

One small step for veganism (?), far too many steps back for a lot of other movements.

I promise, if someone can demonstrate to me that veg folk often wear clothes made out of produce, I will stop picking on PETA. Or at least try to stop beating a dead horse radish on this blog.

PETA applauds Apple and Steve Jobs

Sure, clubbing digital seals is offensive, but is it worse than killing prostitutes, deer or fishing in the palm of your hand? Should all of these games be banned?

Discuss.