All posts tagged: featured

Drop the ‘strict’

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Words are not simply neutral  expressions of how we experience or want to describe reality. They shape and give meaning to our thoughts and ideas, and even though we think we are giving an objective account of reality, our choice of words often has a very subjective interpretation. Here are a few texts about veganism (or a vegan diet). Note the use of ‘strict’.   The repeated use of the word ‘strict’, portrays veganism (even more) as something extreme and hard. Don’t make it sound more difficult than it is, and drop the use of the word ‘strict’.

Inspiring: pig farmer turns vegan and now grows vegetables

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This is the kind of story that makes me happy. That shows that change is possible! While there is an increasing amount of positive stories about veganism in the media, most of those reports are about the growing number of vegans, vegan celebrities, or the emerging offer of vegan products in shops. So mainly about the consumption side of the story. But the ultimate goal is the abolishment of the use of animals, for food, clothing, entertainment and other purposes. Circussen without animals, food production without the exploitation of animals. It’s not just about getting consumers to choose vegan options, but about getting farmers to practice veganic agriculture.  So their company makes the transition to veganic farming (without the use of animals, and also without animal products such as manure). So that no animals are used and exploited. The story of Swedish farmer Gustaf Söderfeldt is a great example! ‘Humane’ meat Gustaf and his partner Caroline wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and settled on the countryside, where they started …

A critical note about vegan (friendly) places? Don’t you dare!

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This is a comment that often comes up on vegan forums when somebody gives a negative comment about a vegan (friendly) place. You shouldn’t criticise them! You should be supportive. At least they are making an effort, don’t be so negative. They need our love and support, not criticism. The reasoning behind it is that these vegan (friendly) places already have a hard time surviving in a predominantly non-vegan catering world, and we should not be making it any harder on them, but only encourage them and support them, and as such, not criticise them. Of course we support vegan places and wish them the best and try to visit as many of these places as we can! We hope their numbers will increase rapidly in the future. Whenever we see a new vegan place opening, we are excited to go try it out and we give it our support. And when non-vegan places start offering vegan options, we encourage their efforts! We have had plenty of positive experiences over the years and have documented them in our reviews. But just the fact of being a vegan business or …

A museum filled with beach rubbish. Our visit to the Juttersmuseum in Texel (NL)

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Growing up along the Belgian coast, I remember Winter beach walks and finding all sorts of stuff washed ashore. From ropes to driftwood, large barrels to plastic bottles. I didn’t know there are people who actually have a full time hobby collecting these items: beach combers. In Dutch they are called ‘strandjutters’ or ‘jutters’, hence the name of the museum on Texel: Juttersmuseum. It is said to be the largest collection of material collected through beach combing (jutten), with items found on the beaches of Texel over 75 years. Several beach combers donated their individual collection to the museum. If you think the only thing you would find at the Juttersmuseum are plastic bottles or boat ropes, think again. Just about everything has been found on the beaches of Texel: from TV’s to shoes, from helmets to bicycles, cars, inflatable dolls, bottles, children’s toys and even drugs. You name, it’s there. The barracks are literally packed from floor to ceiling and even the sheds themselves are (mainly) made from material found on the beaches. Some of the stuff is ‘accidentally’ lost into the ocean (washed overboard …