What You Say Matters - Common Idioms For Vegans

  When you embrace a compassionate lifestyle, you start to see all sorts of things that you never considered inappropriate before.  You also begin to hear a lot of things that strike you differently than they might have in your pre-vegan days. Idioms play a major role in our everyday communications. These are those common little sayings that are time tested and widely understood. They save time, they connect us to our past, and they make communication more interesting. That said, it also communicates volumes about who we are and what makes us tick.

  Many idioms use animals in their expressions, and that is what we need to think about. Do you know what the original meaning of the saying is? Are we perpetuating a way of thinking that treats animals as objects as opposed to thinking, feeling being entitled to live a cruelty free life? Here are some common animal idioms, and some suggestions for alternates that may have a wider reach than you realize.

Photo Credit: Using English

Well I'll be a Monkey's Uncle. This one is just precious isn't it? It dates from around the time Charles Darwin began publishing his work on evolution. Those who thought it was all a bunch of hooey would say this little tidbit, expressing their disbelief at such a notion. Well guess what, we are basically all monkey's uncles or aunts, and that extends to every other living species too. We all share things in common, the will to live, to be free, to exist free of pain. Perhaps saying I'll be an Eggplant's Uncle is more appropriate. Really, that is an absurd thought. We know that we aren't related to vegetables, grains, seeds, and plants in the way we are to other species.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Another good one, it basically means not to inspect a gifted or free item in front of the giver. Not only is that downright rude, but it goes back to a time when inspecting a horses gum line could tell you about its relative age and health. Now I wonder why that information would be important. Any guesses? Animals are not put on this earth merely for our use and consumption, so nix this one from your vocabulary if you can. Better still, try switching it up for Don't look a gifted cabbage in the leaves. You can wash up those organic veggies when you get home.

Photo Credit: Holy Taco

What do we say when we are trying to express being grateful for what you already have? A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It's pretty obvious where this little gem comes from, when hunting, it is better to go for the sure thing then to risk it and go for the risky bigger haul. Let's get the birds back in the bushes and fields where they belong, they are not for sport. I rather like the expression A blackberry in the hand is worth two in the thorns. Very yummy imagery and the only one that gets hurt is the one digging in the bush for those juicy berries.

Is there anything more adorable then the imagery of fluffy kittens and puppies a plenty? It's raining cats and dogs may seem to be a harmless expression, but its origins are rather macabre. What seems to describe a heavy rainfall rather refers to the aftermath of such an event. It hails back to a time when the streets of 17th century London would be filled with the carcasses of dead cats and dogs when the rain was heavy and they were flooded. There is no more distasteful image then that of starved, abused, or consumed and discarded animals floating in the streets. I think that this saying will never be the same for me. Saying It's raining rice and beans is far more palatable and even more appropriate. The earth can provide both of these delicious staples in plentiful numbers enough for every living sole, if we used our land and other resources better.

Crocodile tears refer to fake or unauthentic tears for mere effect. It originated from an observance of a crocodile eating, and its tendency to secrete 'tears' from its lachrymal glands when working its jaw. But let's look further, it also suggests that crocodiles are somehow 'other', and are not capable of feeling pain or fear, something that is simply not true. All animals feel, if they have a nervous system, they are designed to feel for self preservation. So let's just chuck this expression and put in one we all can identify with, Onion tears. Tell me the last time you were chopping onions and didn't get a little weepy eyed, but did that mean you were sad? Not likely, it is the effect of the sulfur being released in the juice of the cut onion, it irritates our eyes, but our tears are not from pain or fear, but rather the work of those same lacrimal glands.

Living High on the Hog is something few of us are doing in this economy, but the term refers to those who are living extravagantly.  It refers to the fact that the wealthiest individuals could afford the best, which included the best animal flesh, literally those cuts from high up on the pig, the back and belly. The lower parts, the feet for instance, were meant for the servants and the poor. Pretty awful imagery, but in today's world, one would hope that those with an extravagant lifestyle would be choosing to put the very best into their bodies. And while for non-vegans that may include meat, one hopes it would be limited to the best organic products in moderation.  For the rest of us, the saying I would rather use is living High on the Hemp, A nice double entendre there.  Hemp may just be one of those perfect crops, we can get great oils, milks, and protein from this plant and it is not only a great food source, but it can be used to produce sturdy canvas cloth as well as light linen-like fabrics. It is also the basis for many other goods, and is a hearty crop that can grow in many different climates. High on the hemp indeed!

Photo Credit: The Daily Mail

We were always warned as children; Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. This originates from one of Aesop's fables in which a young milkmaid imagines her bucket of milk being turned into cream and butter, and those items being traded for eggs that will then hatch and all the things that will come to her from having all those chickens. Seems harmless, but it does perpetuate the belief that cow’s milk and chickens are property to be used as mere commodities, a way to obtain other things, be it money or luxury goods. It is too close to the factory farming model for my liking. Switch this one for something a little more organic and sustainable; how about Don't count your pumpkins until they are harvested. Just think of those lovely big fat orange pumpkins, but not every pumpkin seed grows to become a viable pumpkin. No harm, no fowl, literally.

Photo Credit: Women's Day

Ever have a juicy secret and been told Don't let the cat out of the bag. We understand this to mean keep things on the down low, don't let the word get out.  It seems innocent enough, until you examine its ghastly origins. This was a warning to those early market patrons who went to buy what they thought was a fat piglet for dinner, and were tricked by the butcher who always handed over goods in a burlap bag.  If one did not inspect their purchase, they might indeed find a skinned cat in the bag instead of the desired piglet, it’s all pretty sickening.  Letting the cat out of the bag was really about discovering trickery and avoiding being the victim of a ruse.  Is there a compassionate way to express the same idea? There are many, but you can choose your own.  I may go with Don't let the banana out of the blender. Just thinking of smoothies makes me happy.

And finally, the mother of all idioms, Killing two birds with one stone. This one leaves little to the imagination, as it denotes taking down two birds with a single shot.  Do we even want to use a word like ‘kill’ in our vocabulary, unless we are discussing what we did to our daily workout? I think we can do without the word in common speech, and leave it for referring to what it really is, the taking of a life, any life, before its natural end.  We get enough of this sort of violence in our daily news.  As for me, I will happily replace it with the term Cutting two carrots with one knife.  Vegetables are not suffering a violent end when we use them in our daily diets, but this accomplishes the same intention of the original saying, accomplishing more with less effort.

  When you think about the words you use, the turns of phrase, the language you employ to communicate your ideas and intentions, it is easy to slip into the same old tired idioms. I think the words that come out of our mouths are just as important as the food we put into them. When you choose to live compassionately, it is often a series of small steps, small changes over time that bring us in line with a new values system and way of living. Using positive terminology and imagery helps us to become more self-aware, more evolved, and more enlightened. It may take time, but there is value is using words and sayings that express your kinder and more harmonious outlook.

  Imagine the next time you are having a conversation with a friend and use one of your ‘new’ improved idioms in place of the standards.  You might find your listener confused initially. They may say “pardon”, or even ask “what did you just say?” Imagine the ripple effect,  what if your explaining your new phrases got others thinking about what they say, imagine if people began to question where the origins of their own pet phrases came from.  At the very least you have made an impression, the best case scenario is that they begin to examine the role that animals play in their own lives.  I am not saying you will be out converting others to a new vegan lifestyle, you might, but more than likely you will not.  I don’t believe in preaching about a vegan lifestyle, it is not a religion, it is a choice made for personal reasons. But what if your new turn of phrase is the tiny pebble in the pond, one that sends out little ripples at first, but they get larger and larger as they move away from that initial splash. You never know where those ripples may lead, and your new kinder way of expressing yourself may just have the power to lead others to find a more compassionate way of being in the world, and isn’t that Cutting two carrots with one knife. Food for thought.

Television Food Advertising - What's The Real Message

  Last night, with my brother over to visit, we settled in to watch some TV and ended up watching a pretty insane Not-Reality show called "The Joe Schmo Show" on the SPIKE Network. I rarely watch TV in real time, opting for online shows that are screened commercial free, found on Netflix and other websites.  As a new Vegan, I am more aware of the amount of fast food, particularly meat pushing, ads on television. I was so overwhelmed to see that SPIKE Network's target audience is getting almost wall to wall fast food ads, and most of those (if not all) are pushing the meat.

Applebee's 500 Steak Ad - January 2013

I am a new Vegan, so I never really thought about the "what" of food advertising, more just aware that it was there, and that often the sight of a gooey stringy cheesy pizza was enough to have me reaching for the phone, even near 3am, when the last local delivery chain shut down for the night.  But during almost every commercial break, I saw ads for McDonald's, KFC, Taco Bell, a steak house (or maybe it was Applebee's or similar, all I saw was the hunk of meat in full frame), and others. So much fried food, so little vegetable representation, even potatoes seemed absent. Is it any wonder why Americans and Canadians are eating meat at almost every meal?

KFC Gameday Bucket Ad - January 2013

I know that these ads triggered me, I had to keep reminding myself that none of the above were in line with my new choice in diet and lifestyle, but even doing that I still could almost smell the fried chicken, I was almost salivating for the meat I have decided to cut out of my diet.  It makes you wonder why this is allowed to go on. If government health agencies are sounding the alarm on Obesity, and they almost all are, then why is this sort of advertising allowed.  I don't mean to say that these "restaurants" should not have the right to advertise, but shouldn't the block of advertising between segments of shows be split up to minimize the number of back to back food ads?

  Think about it, what if there was a law that said that for every food establishment advertising, there had to be a commercial for almost anything else, particularly a healthy alternative. Show me a KFC ad if you will, but then I want to see an ad for a great vacation spot. If you are going to show me a giant grilled hunk of steak, maybe the next add should be for a new car, a health product, a new appliance for my kitchen, a mattress, a vacuum, a new show coming soon, a film, almost anything but yet another food ad.

McDonalds Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger - January 2013

  I think the answer why is pretty clear, it's all about the Money. Ad time is sold to whomever can afford it, and the fast food giants have it in their mission critical to find their target audiences and hammer away at them. SPIKE's audience is primarily men, young men aged 18-30 particularly. So they are the ones with the disposable income, possibly living alone or with a roommate, likely unmarried, and a prime target for fast take-out food. Make it look manly with a football game in the background, lots of friends and a bevvy of cute babes, and a huge bucket of KFC looks perfect in any Man Cave. And those buckets keep getting bigger and bigger, and the bones in the meat seem to be disappearing, making it easier to just gobble it all up without even watching out for the bones.

  This is not a Vegan issue, it is an everyone issue. Every channel does it to some degree. Watch Dr. Phil on any weekday and you will be advertised all manner of Special K creations, diet yogurts, microwave "low fat and calorie" meals, and healthy snacks - all with some fabulously healthy looking model dancing in her kitchen, or taking on the office jungle, or dancing down the street like a loony bin escapee.

  More frightening are ads for "5 Hour Energy" and other wake-up products. Face it, if you need a 5 hour energy to get your day started, you are not eating well, not sleeping well, or not healthy enough to power yourself through a day.  Not to mention the link between this product in particular and several hospital admissions and worse.

  So do we have a choice? I guess that is the ultimate question.  We know it isn't just adults that get this sort of "special" advertising attention, kids are bombarded too. Is it any wonder we are among the most Obese nations on the planet.

  I find watching my TV on the PC helps, no commercials, no temptations, no worries. I am not going to be anyone's captive audience if I can help it.  The more people keeping the TV off and going elsewhere for their TV content the better, it will send a message that we don't want that kind of advertising on television.

  Cigarette ads went the way of the Dodo bird years ago, and ads for alcoholic beverages are shown only on Cable channels or after hours, when kids are in bed. Why? Because we know that these things can be harmful if misused, or used at all in some cases, so they are limited in their sponsorship and advertising opportunities.  So why is food any different, fast food in particular. Obesity related health problems kill more Americans that smoking, alcohol, and car accidents combined.  Shouldn't we demand that these ads are also kept in check, allowing other items to take their place or just limiting the numbers.  What would that fight look like in the press, the courts, the government.

  If you don't have access to online content, I suggest dropping the volume, standing up each commercial break and going for a little wander around your  home, maybe tidying things a bit, or stretching and walking in place for a bit. Don't fall for the trap they are setting, we are all stronger than that, we just have to recognize that the ad is the trigger, and what you do next is what really matters.

Religion And Being A Vegan - My Thoughts

I have been reading through many vegan article comment threads and honestly I can't believe all the biblical references people throw about to defend their personal choices. As a new vegan, it is all to common for people to say:

• "But where do you get your protein?"
• "We are Carnivores, we were meant to eat meat."
• "G-d made animals for us to eat."
• "The Bible (Holy Book) tells us we are meant to eat animals."

But ask yourself, is that the only reason you eat animal products? Because the Bible says it's OK? You don't maybe like the taste, or find it comforting, or have family traditions centered around Turkeys, Hams, or Barbeques? Maybe you feel you are at the top of the food chain, or just have been indoctrinated by the Agribusiness community's slick decades of campaigning.  There is a whole lot of money put into to advertising the wholesomeness of Eggs, Milk, and those Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts that are so "low" in fat.  Maybe you have followed the news and seen the campaign in the last few years that says that "Women who eat dairy and least 2-3 times a day are more likely to lose weight than those who do not".  [American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, October 2010]. Did you ever look further than the campaigns and quoted studies, perhaps wonder who funded the study, how big the sample population was, where the study was done, how long it lasted, whether the results were clinically significant, or whether there were corroborating studies or studies that proved the converse relationship.

Image Reference: InsufferableVegan

I don't judge those who still are choosing to eat meat an animal products like milk and eggs. I did it for 40 years, who am I to judge them. My eyes were opened, and I made a choice to get educated, vegucated, and see the truth of the cruelty massively farmed animals experience for the sake of human over-consumption, and the destruction of our planet. But the big thing is, I am choosing this lifestyle for myself, not because my religion says I should or shouldn't. It's so odd to me that anyone would think living a vegan lifestyle is anti-religion, any religion.

Hindu's are vegetarian, Jainists are vegan to the point of avoiding killing even the smallest insect by accidentally stepping on one on the sidewalk. Jewish people have strict rules of Kashruth (Kosher), but even they eat meat free when they consume dairy out of respect for the Mother/Child relationship between Calf and Cow. So as a Jew I grew up eating 2/3 of my meals as a vegetarian, and only had meat for dinner, and even then it was not always a meat dinner, we had a lot of pasta and casseroles growing up. I am not Christian, but I think Jesus would be just fine with a compassionate lifestyle, which may include being vegan or vegetarian.

The idea that any religion would look down on someone for not eating animal products is ludicrous, if a child has allergies to animal products like milk (the most common childhood food allergy), would that make them a bad Christian or Jew or Muslim or what have you? Would they miss their chance at getting into heaven?  I strongly believe that religion is about loving ourselves, our fellow man, our community, our planet.  If there was nothing else to eat but animals (a ludicrous premise since those animals have to be eating something too, like grass and grains, likely non-meats) then things would be different, and our bodies would be designed to find nourishment best from those sources. The fact that our biology is obviously telling us we are at the very least omnivores, if not herbivores, is undeniable.

You can be religious and vegan, you can be atheist and vegan, you can be on the fence and undecided and vegan, or you can be agnostic and vegan. They are not mutually exclusive and no one individual's choice to follow a compassionate course in lifestyle or diet will invalidate that person's religious beliefs.

If you believe that G-d created all creatures, then you have to recognize that they have a right to the same things we all claim to have. A right to live a life free of fear, pain, persecution, abuse, torment, restricted movement, forced breeding, and genetic manipulation.  The same people that protest cloning humans and stem cell research are unknowingly eating genetically modified animals and crops. It should not matter if it is a horse, a pig, a puppy, or a human being, you can't pick and choose which species your bible or holy scriptures apply to, to suit your own politics or notions of supremacy.

Sure you can eat meat and dairy, eggs, and animal byproducts, and if you choose that, then by all means you should be allowed to make that choice based on your own values and while being fully aware of where your products come from and how it is brought to the consumer.  I would never try to convert someone to something I myself didn't practice for the first 40 years of my life. I admit, I enjoyed cheese and milk, eggs and meat. I went to culinary school, I learned how to use all these ingredients in the best possible ways. I learned to butcher whole chickens in under 5 minutes, I had a class where I had to butcher an entire side of pork (it was not easy for me, I am 5'2" and weighed just 130 pounds at the time). I know how long it took me, how much force it took to use my chef's knife, and to be careful to maintain cleanliness and reduce any wasted meat. So there was no denying that it was an animal in my hands, not some prepackaged boneless cut of meat on a Styrofoam tray with shiny plastic wrap over it in the grocery section under flattering lights. It baffles my mind that slaughterhouse churn on meat by production lines moving so fast that the workers can hardly do their jobs. I made that connection back then, and I make it now, but in a different way. You have to decide for yourself, and ask any vegetarian or vegan, even cutting out meat one day of the week when you normally would is a step in the direction of demanding healthier farmed products and reducing the environmental impact of an animal based diet. This is not about being judgmental.

So if those of us who have chosen to go a vegetarian or vegan path are the minority, why are meat eaters so threatened by it? How does it affect you to the point of your need to criticize, ostracize, or bully the vegans.  I suggest that if you are personally threatened by my choices, then perhaps you may want to examine your own, try to figure out what it is that is making you so uncomfortable in your own convictions that you must resort to taunting or worse.  I think a little soul searching may be in order.

I know many of my friends are not vegan, and this by no means applies to every non-vegan I have met. Most people are on their own journey, doing what works for them and their families, and looking for health for themselves and others just the same as I am. You have to live your own life, your own way. If someone asks me why I chose to go vegan, I will happily share, but I am not trying to convert anyone or make anyone feel a certain way about the choices they make. I am only asking that you return the favor. Surely we all want the best for each other, and that is something we can all agree on.