Kikki Starr, Unsplash
Veganism Will Always Rise
In 2025, 81 years after the coining of the word vegan, what does it mean to observe November 1st as World Vegan Day?
The Humancentric Hypocrisy of the Denmark Zoo Controversy
The ethical line we draw around nonhuman life is often arbitrary and deeply flawed. Our outrage should not be directed at the Aalborg Zoo incident alone, but the story could serve as a catalyst for a broader recognition that a truly ethical stance must extend beyond our own prejudices and our own interests, and recognize the sentience and right to life of all animals, regardless of their species or their role in our society.
Alex Hu / Pixabay
Not for Me
With this one decision, the false belief I had been holding on to was replaced by a feeling of such relief, such freedom, and such gratitude for the realization that I had the power to liberate myself from the guilt and confusion that was stopping me from moving forward.
Freepik
In Memory of Lisa
June 11th marks the anniversary of the passing of Lisa Shapiro, a dedicated vegan activist who was much-loved within the movement.
She was also a dear friend of Gentle World.
Hester Qiang / Unsplash
The Very Best We Can Be
As we look into the future, impatient and anxious, yet always hoping that emancipation might just be closer than we think, my wish for those of us who call ourselves vegan is that we are able to somehow become even better at reaching out to those who are yet to be convinced.
Gentle World Hawaii
A New Chapter at VeganLand
There are a myriad of reasons why horses will end up “last chance auctions." There they will be offered to the public, for sale to whoever will pay more than what their flesh is worth per pound at the slaughterhouse.
A Well-Fed World
Gentle World thanks A Well Fed World
In 2021, plant foods advocacy organization A Well-Fed World provided Gentle World with an outreach grant, enabling us to expand our online education with the help of a subscription to the volunteering platform Catchafire.
mikhulia95 / Pixabay
Demons or Deities?
At the end of 2021, Gentle World volunteers put on our animal rescue hats once again. Quite unexpectedly, a little dog had come to us. She was starving and exhausted after braving the elements to escape an abusive situation.
Gentle World Hawaii
Our Partnership with Magical Creatures Sanctuary
Bella, Iolana, Naevia, Anela and Mirijam had been rescued as calves from a closing dairy, and rehomed at Magical Creatures. In 2020, to aid in the sanctuary's rescue efforts, they were brought to VeganLand, where they spent six months grazing on the abundant grass.
gentle world visitors
Our June Visitors
After COVID restrictions brought a serious decline in visiting volunteers, we’re finally receiving inquiries again from an increasing number of people wanting to experience Gentle World.
My 40th Birthday Wish
A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked me what I find myself wishing for, as I approach my 40th birthday. Where can I possibly begin? Health and comfort for…
Angel Flinn / Gentle World
How to Shoot a Cow
The reason I was asking Google how to shoo a cow was because I had suddenly learned very quickly that I didn’t know the first thing about how to stop these five from moving rapidly in my direction, shoulder to shoulder, closing in on me like a moving wall of cows.
Antonio Grosz / Unsplash
Independence Day
I couldn’t help but wonder if it was blind passion that caused this particular mother to defy the boundary that threatened to constrain her frenzied search, or whether there was an element of calculation in this act of defiance against the barbs designed to keep her confined.
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Joaquin Phoenix at the Oscars
When Joaquin Phoenix took the Oscars stage, his speech invited us to take an honest look at the prejudices we still cling to, and to see the similarities rather than the differences in all victims of oppression.
jplenio / Pixabay
Solstice
This December, I face the winter solstice with perhaps a little more appreciation for what it might mean for others who are struggling to remember that although we have a winter ahead of us, the light will, as it always does, return.
Peter Colgan / Pixabay
The Goddess Needs Blood
Until we in the West acknowledge our responsibility to live according to the nonviolent values we profess to embrace, we are in no position to vilify the priests or the devotees of Nepal's Gadhimai Festival.
Josch13 / Pixabay
Thanksgiving
As we approach the seasonal massacre of which these magnificent birds have become perversely and paradoxically symbolic, the momentary burst of happiness granted by their calls is interrupted by the painful reminder of who these individuals are considered to be by others of my kind: bodies without souls entitled to not even the most basic of birthrights — life itself.
Denys Nevozhai / Unsplash
Vegan: Easier Than You Think
Living as a vegan, especially for those of us in the developed world, is much, much easier than it is commonly perceived to be.
davide ragusa / Unsplash
No Innocent Bystanders
We must be willing to examine the biases and bigotries of the present, and see them with the same critical eyes we use to view humanity’s heinous crimes of the past.
Jocelyn Zaretsky / Gentle World
The Magic Rabbit
While we were trying our best to ease his discomfort, we were reminded over and over that our special little man, the Magic Rabbit himself, would be seen by many as nothing more than a luxury meal or the makings of a high-end sweater; a bundle of meat covered in the softest fur.
Jordan Mcqueen / Unsplash
A Better World for Us All
It’s been nearly 14 years since I had my vegan epiphany and vowed to never again partake of or participate in anything offered by the machine of violence that we…
Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary
And These Are The Lucky Ones…
Joanna Lucas' essays on The Peaceful Prairie blog offer remarkable glimpses into the emotional lives of those who have been given ‘a second chance at life.’
SAMSARA food sequence / Baraka & Samsara / Vimeo.
The Modern Animal Industry
As demand for animal products increases, so does the industry’s need to find ever more competitive methods of turning live animals into neatly-wrapped packages of muscle and bone. The result? Ever-faster line speeds, ever more mechanization, and mass production like we have never yet seen.
aleksandarlittlewolf / Freepik
Could You Kill An Animal?
To actively participate in the death of an animal forces people to deaden a part of themselves, with consequences that we may not even be aware of. Is it fair to place that burden on those who carry out this despicable task in order to allow the rest of us to partake of the spoils while avoiding getting our hands dirty?
Butterflies Katz / Gentle World volunteer
The Spirit of Kisses
It was easy to forget that Kisses had good reason for behaving the way she did. She had been taught to fear. She hadn’t just chosen to believe that humans were dangerous. She had been forced to accept it on a very primal level – she had had it beaten into her.
WikiImages / Pixabay
The Colored Entrance
Did you stand up for the rights of the enslaved, the oppressed, the massacred? Did you withdraw your support for every single shameful service the exploitation industry provides? Did you speak up on behalf of the billions of innocent victims and plead with the rest of humanity to do the same?
wirestock / Freepik
It Must Have Been Lovely
43 years after Tom Paxton wrote such poignant lyrics mourning our impending loss, the loveliness of my own garden holds more meaning to me than ever... Will we always have flowers? Will the forest always have trees? Will meadows always be green?
Derek Story / Unsplash
Don’t Tell Me What To Do
The following is intended to be a satire. It is an ironic look at some of the things people say when attempting to dismiss concerns about the ethics of using animals for personal gain. When these same statements are employed to defend other forms of unethical behavior, we can clearly see how absurd they really are.
Ellen26 / Pixabay
They’re all Bill and Lou.
Do we really want to teach our young people that there isn't something absolutely shameful about killing and eating someone you would describe as a friend?
pakhnyushchyy / Freepik
Another Chance
When we advocate for the widespread adoption of vegan values, we speak for the entire population of humanity’s victims, including once-glorious landscapes that have been preyed upon rather than protected.
Andrea Bohl / Pixabay
Something Almost Primal
It seems that the directors of the puppet show are aware that ‘primal’ is a concept that plays to the perverse desires of the lowest parts of our selves. After all, this base and brutish lust for blood has such a hold on people that we are willing to turn a blind eye to unthinkable acts of cruelty in its name.
Lolame / Pixabay
Cage-Free? Not Free Enough.
Do these labels really indicate an improvement in ethical standards, or are they simply a way for the animal industry to regain consumer confidence in their products?
wirestock / Freepik
“I Couldn’t Wait To Get My Elephant”
Teressa Groenewald-Hagerman, like every other recreational hunter, was probably weaned on the flesh of more socially-acceptable victims. When her story made news, many chose to vilify Teressa as the heartless animal abuser of the day.
wirestock / Freepik
“Dog, Horse… It’s Good Food for Us”
To be deeply saddened by the murder of a family dog is a sane reaction to a horrific occurrence. The hypocrisy begins when we shut off that sadness in reaction to the murder of other animals.
Josie Lapczynski / Pixabay
The Vegan Evolution
The vegan ideal represents nothing less than the next evolutionary step for humankind. This quantum leap may seem far-fetched from the position we are in today, but it is within this very change that we will ultimately find our hope for the world of tomorrow.
Annie Spratt / Unsplash
Fecal Matters
Simply put, using animal agriculture to feed a vast human population brings with it the unavoidable problem of dealing with vast quantities of sewage.
Envato Library
The Flu Lagoon: A Disaster Waiting To Happen
From 1991 to 1995, Smithfield Farms’ North Carolina operation spilled over two million gallons of pig waste into the Cape Fear River. In Virginia, Smithfield was fined $12.6 million in 1997 for 6,900 violations of the Clean Water Act. In 1994, as soon as NAFTA came into effect, Smithfield opened “Carroll Ranches” in the Mexican state of Veracruz, alleged to be the source of the Swine Flu outbreak.
bedneyimages / Freepik
As We Soy, So Shall We Reap
Grown in vast monocultures, causing massive environmental degradation, wasting huge quantities of water, and destroying wild lands, our use of soy to feed farmed animals outweighs the other uses by a long shot.
seventyfour / Freepik
Mother’s Milk
Humans are far from the only animals to experience the deep connection between mother and child. In fact, this might be one of the very experiences that is universal -- crossing all boundaries between species.
cottonbro / Pexels
Being Vegan in a Speciesist World
Moral paradigm shifts do not cause themselves. They are caused by small groups of people within society – always considered radical in their own time – who persistently educate others why change is necessary.
oatawa / Freepik
We Will Be Heard
In the dark days when the horrific custom of enslaving our fellow human beings was accepted behavior, the abolitionists could not, in good conscience, remain silent. We too, will continue to speak on behalf of freedom, until all beings are free.
Jo-Anne McArthur - We Animals Media
A Call to Ethical Vegetarians
Ethical vegetarians might not be aware that the production of milk and eggs involves both tremendous cruelty and also the deaths of billions every year. Not only are these animals killed just like those raised specifically for meat, but they are kept alive longer and subjected to a tragic lifetime of slavery, including the horrific violations that come from the brutal exploitation of their reproductive systems.
Louis Hansel / Unsplash
Health & Nutrition (Vegan 1-2-3)
There are certain facts that are beginning to be widely accepted about the health risks related to our high dependency on meat, eggs and dairy, and about the benefits of a diet free from such high-cholesterol, zero-fiber ingredients.
Pixabay / Pexels
A Call to Environmentalists
The vegan solution contains the power to revitalize the environmental movement, because it embodies exactly what is required to inspire the necessary change: a revival and restoration of our core ethical values.