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80 Comments

  1. Katherine
    February 28, 2018 @ 2:29 pm

    Everyone will recommend you read Mitchner’s Hawaii. I’m gonna recommend the short stories Jack London wrote during his time there.

    PS- you look sick and cold. I am not saying that your diet is at fault, but it might be best to avoid telling healthy, comfortable people how much healthier your diet is than theirs.

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    • Janet
      February 28, 2018 @ 2:42 pm

      Woman writes intelligently about science. Commenter replies that she does not look her best while in the bathroom of an airplane. Sounds about right.

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      • Bleubook
        February 28, 2018 @ 3:20 pm

        I eat neither meat, nor dairy and I am about 10 lbs short of obese on the BMI charts. I also play squash 3-4 times a week, and while much of my weight is heavy muscle, I assure you, I am not wasting away.

        A plant based diet can certainly be a healthy one, and none of us deserve to have our health judged by appearance alone.

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    • Jeanne Desy
      February 28, 2018 @ 3:52 pm

      I’m an American Buddhist, so a convert, so I read and listen to dharma talks. Since the. fundamental teaching of Buddhism is compassion, compassion fatigue gets discussed. We are told to understand our place in karma, which includes how small our effort is but how each action ripples out into the universe forever. We can never know the results of our action and we should try to disregard those thoughts, as they are to some extent bound up with our self-regard.

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      • Deb
        March 4, 2018 @ 12:23 pm

        I find that a very comforting thought. Thank you.

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    • Janet Smyth
      February 28, 2018 @ 5:18 pm

      Wow, your comment is totally uncalled for. Why would you say something like that? It’s just rude.

      If you don’t care for her advice, don’t follow it.

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    • tiffaney jewel
      February 28, 2018 @ 11:48 pm

      Why are you assuming that everyone on here is healthy and comfortable? That’s a little weird.

      Why are you assuming that ANYONE looks good while they’re on an airplane?! Flying is wildly UNcomfortable, makes people sick, and their bathrooms aren’t known for good lighting.

      What on EARTH is wrong with you? It might be best to avoid telling healthy, well-adjusted people what they should do with their own blog.

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    • Emily
      March 2, 2018 @ 9:39 am

      Wow. What a judgmental, illogical, and frankly vile comment you have made, Katherine. When Victoria posts a picture of herself looking healthy and comfortable on the beach, what snide little personal attack will you then make in a sad attempt to invalidate her fact-based overview of the dairy industry and the relationship between cow’s milk and human nutrition? The logical fallacy of ad hominem is often used when a person feels threatened by an argument but can’t actually counter the evidence presented. If this post made you feel threatened about your comfortable consumption of dairy, then good; it should.

      Reply

  2. Elaine Cascio
    February 28, 2018 @ 2:32 pm

    V sad but timely post. I have to get rid of my love car wagon and wondered if you have any organizations that help animals that you’d recommend for a donation?
    All is sad

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    • tiffaney jewel
      February 28, 2018 @ 11:44 pm

      Your local SPCA might run a program. Ours in Maryland does, and I’ve known some others that do as well.

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  3. Emily
    February 28, 2018 @ 2:46 pm

    Good god. I had no idea. Jeepers.

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  4. Rachel
    February 28, 2018 @ 2:55 pm

    I recently lost my two little flufflemunchkins to adoption as well, and am missing their furry little faces every day. My babies! It’s so hard. But rewarding. But hard. They are so special and I’m not sure anyone else can adequately understand how special they are! At least they were adopted together, and that’s a solace. It would have broken my heart to split them up.

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  5. Teri in England
    February 28, 2018 @ 3:01 pm

    I’m with you, keep up the good writing and good deeds. Vegan for 40 years come April, and I’m neither thin nor cold. I find some comfort in finding vegans all over the place. Best thing about the web for me xxx

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  6. Genevieve
    February 28, 2018 @ 3:03 pm

    It matters to me.

    Keep yelling until everyone hears.

    Thank you, Victoria

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  7. paula
    February 28, 2018 @ 3:03 pm

    Thank you for sharing your passion. I would love it if you shared some recipes, meals, meal planning ideas (in your spare time ; )

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    • Suzanne Forbes
      February 28, 2018 @ 7:42 pm

      Hey Paula I believe Victoria has a pinboard with vegan meal ideas on her Pinterest!

      Reply

  8. Bleubook
    February 28, 2018 @ 3:10 pm

    I will share with my oh too brief love affair with Kitteh.

    Kitteh and I met over tragically sad circumstances. There was a death in the family, and suddenly a kitten was in need of an immediate home, as the extended family did not have keys to the home of the deceased. In the heat of the moment, my dear husband (Also Paul, but not your Paul) blurted that we would take the kitten home. We were all feeling devastated and helpless at the moment and at least it was SOMETHING we could do to “help.”

    Even though Paul and I are both allergic to cats. Sometimes this means that we can pop a Benedryl and get on with our lives…he was brave, selfless and noble, and I was completely on board with the decision.

    I found Kitteh, lovingly wrapped her in a towel (no carrier could be found) and carefully drove her home.
    I set up a kitty adventureland in the basement with lots of cozy, towel and blanket lined boxes for her to explore, exciting paper bags, shelves, dusty windowsills, sunbeams, EVERYTHING a kitty could want.

    She found her litter box like an old pro. She nibbled her kitty food buffet and made herself at home.

    She also desperately bonded with me. Just like that we were soulmates. She rubbed against my legs and forced-petted herself against my hands.

    She was SO BRAVE when I introduced her to the GIANT RED MONSTER BEAST (Scarlett, out 12-year old Irish Setter.) They just looked at each other, then at me, then at each other, and so on, until I assigned each of them their respective “corners.”

    Kitteh decided that her corner would be my lap. We took pictures, made movies, posted all over social media, declared our undying love for each other, and we had one blissful evening together…
    You read that right…ONE EVENING.

    The next day I was covered in hives, my eyes glued shut and filled with sand. Never have I ever had a reaction like this to a cat. She hadn’t even slept with me. She hadn’t even so much as walked up the stairs! HOW COULD THIS BE OUR FATE???!!!

    I begged to keep her anyway. I would wear hats with face veils, it would become my new look! I’d make it a trend! LOVE CONQUERS ALL, RIGHT?

    Alas, Paul, who seemed to think he was my soulmate, not Kitteh, insisted she needed a different home.

    This story ended well for Kitteh. Apparently a friend of her deceased former owner had been plotting to kidnap her since they first met. She was at my house within seconds, swept Kitteh into her arms and never looked back…but Kitteh did. Can cats cry? I am sure I saw a tiny tear in her itty bitty eye as we said our goodbyes.

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  9. Patricia
    February 28, 2018 @ 3:11 pm

    In regard to cows, if they are not used for meat, milk or cheese, why would people raise them? There are very few cows in the US that are native, wild animals. I’m guessing that you would doom the whole species if you manage to convince people not to eat or otherwise utilize cows for food. Or leather.

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    • Anne
      February 28, 2018 @ 3:23 pm

      Livestock animals have been selectively bred and modified by humans to be profitable. They suffer all kinds of health problems because they are bred to be much bigger than their natural ancestors. We pump them full of antibiotics and growth hormones, as VEB linked to above! Chickens cannot walk! They cannot support their own weight! Continuing to breed them, knowing they will suffer health problems due to the manner of their selective breeding, how is this valuable?

      But if we really want to keep pigs, chickens, cows and the animals we eat alive, we can conserve them in the same way endangered species are, i.e. not by slitting their throats. There are many animal sanctuaries that exist today where farmed animals are rescued and live their entire lives, so they wouldn’t go extinct.

      Bringing any animal into existence for the purpose of abusing them and harming them is not justified. If you breed a dog for dogfighting, if you breed bulls for bullfighting, the harm inflicted on them is never justified.

      The animals that are being used and killed do not care about why they were bred. Would you choose to be born in a torture chamber, knowing your entire life would be spent there? I would not.

      Reply

  10. Jayne
    February 28, 2018 @ 3:13 pm

    You gave those fur babies the best start possible and gently introduced them to civilized life. They will do just fine. I think of the abandoned cats and feral cats on this little Island off coastal Georgia where I live and I marvel how some kitties are so loved, and some are left to try to survive on their own…so sad for hte homeless.. ANd talk about separating baby cows from their Mothers???? Let every man, woman and child who eats a hamburger spend a day on a feed lot and work a slaughter house. Let’s see if they can get another bloody mouthful of cow flesh swallowed, ever again….

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  11. Melissa P
    February 28, 2018 @ 3:21 pm

    Thank you for speaking about this! I’ve been a vegetarian for over 20 years because I love animals and I’ve recently been switching to being vegan for that same reason. There is protein in oats, legumes, and veggies, people! I work out a lot and get plenty of balanced protein from my foods. Thanks again and try not to cry anymore.

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  12. Mrs. Marc Otto
    February 28, 2018 @ 3:36 pm

    “There will still be row after row of babies in veal crates: the dairy industry.
    There will still be baby boy chicks ground up alive: the egg industry.
    There will still be baby piglets “thumped,” smashing them on the ground by their hind legs.”

    And millions of babies ripped from their mothers wombs, ground up and thrown out in the trash.
    We call it choice.

    Grieve for the animals, but don’t let it become a hypocritical cover for our lack of grief over the other.

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    • Judith
      February 28, 2018 @ 3:50 pm

      amen yes you are so right! and what about the ivf babies. are you familiar with the movement to ban natural pregnancy until we get all the extra IVF babies into open wombs! abortion mostly kills blastocysts but ivf is actual embryos being trahsed.

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    • LeighTX
      February 28, 2018 @ 4:14 pm

      This is not a zero-sum game where caring about one issue cancels out caring about any other issue.

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      • Kate
        March 2, 2018 @ 7:02 am

        This, exactly. It’s possible to care passionately about more than one cause.

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      • Mrs. Marc Otto
        March 4, 2018 @ 10:08 pm

        No, but I am shocked how many people can fall into one camp while totally avoiding the other. If this post causes an emotional outcry from you, but abortion doesn’t, then maybe it’s an indication to check the wiring.

        Also, I have to wonder, if the pigs, cows, and chickens were assenting to the callous extermination of their young, or even the second party profiting of their parts…would we care then? Or would that make it okay?

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        • Kay
          March 9, 2018 @ 9:36 pm

          Thank you for saying this. I’ve certainly been thinking it. I am a strong believer in the humane treatment of animals, but wonder when those who vociferously defend animals make no mention of the tens of millions of humans who have been killed in the womb, often suffering unimaginable pain during the process.

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    • Laurie
      March 1, 2018 @ 9:09 pm

      Amen!

      Reply

  13. Liz
    February 28, 2018 @ 3:55 pm

    I never comment, and usually enjoy your over the top life descriptions. I also admire your passion for something you believe in strongly. However, given the current tragedy of children dying in what should be the safety of their schools, those parents are the ones whose lives are horrible. Just saying.

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    • LeighTX
      February 28, 2018 @ 4:13 pm

      It is possible to be passionate about more than one thing at a time. Like VEB, I’m passionate about ending animal suffering. I’m also passionate about protecting the earth, preventing unwanted pregnancies, gun control, and voting rights, but I don’t typically write or talk or even think about them all at once–it would be too overwhelming.

      Reply

  14. Shaun
    February 28, 2018 @ 4:19 pm

    To compare eating animals and their milk to abortion is totally a non sequitur. Forcing an animal to reproduce for our benefit would be the same as forcing me to keep my unborn child for your benefit (because abortion makes you unhappy).

    Keep up the good fight, Victoria.

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    • tiffaney jewel
      February 28, 2018 @ 11:51 pm

      Thanks for wording your response better than I was going to. And including less swear words than I was going to. 😉

      To equate Choice with drinking cow milk? Wow, that was just about the stupidest comment I’ve read in a long time.

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      • Mrs. Marc Otto
        March 4, 2018 @ 10:16 pm

        I just couldn’t help but notice that this article could just as easily be read about baby humans as much as it is about baby cows. But that the approved emotional response for one is grief, while the other scoffing, contempt, and indignation. But if the dairy industry can make you cry, and abortion can’t, then perhaps we are all less human than we thought. And, if that is indeed the road we’re on, how can that work out well for anyone, animal or human?

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  15. Allie
    February 28, 2018 @ 4:43 pm

    I hope you have a wonderful time in Hawaii and most importantly get new kittens as soon as you are home. xAllie http://www.theallthatglittersblog.com

    Reply

  16. Paula E.
    February 28, 2018 @ 4:45 pm

    A passionate ANIMAL rights activist must also be a passionate pro-life activist for HUMANS. If not, they are a total hypocrite.

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    • Char
      February 28, 2018 @ 7:49 pm

      And thereby every pro-life activist should be an animal rights activist as well, lest they too be hypocrites?

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      • Paula E.
        March 1, 2018 @ 12:09 am

        Yes.

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  17. Karyn
    February 28, 2018 @ 4:48 pm

    Thank you so very much for this very honest and heartfelt article! I too was horrified and sickened when I learned about the awful suffering animals go through just so people can have their “favorite” foods. I immediately became a vegan and haven’t looked back since. My feeling is if people know this kind of abuse occurs- and just look the other way or try to rationalize it- are condoning the abuse. Don’t even get me started on the genocide commonly called abortion. We live in a very sad world indeed.

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  18. Anne
    February 28, 2018 @ 4:54 pm

    Victoria, I have recognised in your writing, for some time, many similarities with my darling daughter. Like you, she is highly talented and gifted; like you, she has a huge social conscience; like you, she has a sometimes scathing wit, is fearless and unafraid to challenge the status quo. I imagine you, like my daughter, are a perfectionist; hard on others but even harder on yourself. With her many gifts, she’s has been given many challenges, including anxiety, depression and an eating disorder. And still she fights on.
    As I say to her, please be kind to yourself. Lavish love on your family, pets and causes, but also on yourself. You have a huge capacity to bring about meaningful change through your writing and social media, but you need to stay well to do it. So stay impassioned, Victoria, but also allow forgiveness. You need to go the distance.

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    • Claire
      February 28, 2018 @ 6:35 pm

      Anne, you also have a gift for the written word. Well said.

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    • Kay
      March 9, 2018 @ 9:40 pm

      Yes, this is excellent advice. I realized a long time ago that I could not save all the animals or children but needed to do my best with those that cross my path, and pray for the rest. We humans have to accept our limitations.

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  19. Lisa W.
    February 28, 2018 @ 5:13 pm

    Thank you for all that you do Victoria . Thank you for taking the time to foster kittens … and for taking the time to pass on information that EVERYONE needs to know about farm animals and food production . I am with you ….all the way . You have given your foster kittens the chance to have a happy , healthy life , filled with love … with a lifelong return policy ! Nothing could be better than that ! I hope that your wonderful, kind heart heals very soon .

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  20. Elena
    February 28, 2018 @ 5:27 pm

    I’m sorry about your kitties. You made a big sacrifice to let them go. I’m guessing so that you could save more.

    On the topic of veganism- I first read about factory farming when I was in high school. My sister brought home some pamphlets from college. Back then, the Internet is not what it was, so I wrote to local and national organizations for more information, and it felt like I was entering some strange world.

    Then I read “Diet for a New America” by the heir of the Robbins portion of Baskin-Robbins. He described how veganism would help everyone, as you’ve outlined. The animals themselves, of course, but human animals, too. And, the Earth. Win, win, win.

    When I finished the book, I asked myself if there was one good reason, beyond taste (I was a devoted fan of meat), to not become a vegan. I couldn’t think of one, and embarked on a brief journey into the vegan world.

    But I was ill-prepared and had no support. I remember making baked tofu wrapped in seaweed from a macrobiotic cookbook, with nothing but a little soy sauce, and that was no bueno. But what really sealed the deal for me is that it became very isolating. I made the compromise to become a vegetarian, and have been for over 25 years, but I don’t think it’s all that much better than being a meat-eater.

    Times have changed, and there are so many resources now to make a plant-based diet delicious and healthy. I have still dragged my feet to make the switch. I signed up for a year’s plan at https://www.getmealplans.com/ to simplify things, but have yet to make a recipe, so I can’t speak to whether or not they taste good! But they do promise to be easy!

    Thank you for the call to action. While I am a firm believer in accepting others’ choices in the food department and don’t attempt to convert people, I have to do my personal best to make the world a better place. I think I am ready for the next step.

    That being said, my main issue with using animals for food is their treatment. And while I won’t eat animals, I believe that if we want to use them for food, let’s do it the right way. Let’s cut down on our dependence, for one. This would have a tremendous impact on the health of humans, other animals, and the Earth. Let’s allow animals to live without inflicting physical and emotional pain on them for our benefit. This means a quality life when alive, and a swift, humane end.

    Reply

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