Digital Dissenter

Too often do I hear people saying that they agree with vegetarianism "in principle" but just find it too hard to follow through with practically.

There's that priceless line, (which lacks both originality and thought): "But I just love meat too much!"

I'll be the first to admit that I used to love nothing more than biltong and even spare ribs at Spur when I was little, (and my mom unfortunately has the pictures to prove it).

But once I made the connection between the animals and the food that was on my plate (and the sauce that was smeared all over my face) it became very difficult to stomach. I went vegetarian gradually - my mom wouldn't have it any other way - and started by giving up red meat, then chicken, then fish.

So what is the point I'm trying to get at? Well, all I'm saying is that if I could manage the transition to vegetarianism - there's no excuse for not at least trying a couple of veggie alternatives (and a Meat-Free Monday wouldn't hurt).

Starting from now, I will be posting some of my favourite recipes and vegetarian tips on this blog. If you agree with me "in principle" then I challenge you to eat your "I just love meat too much" words. Try a couple of these ideas out - you may be surprised at the vast range of options that are opened up to you simply by being willing to give it a try.

So in my first post post-BJourn, I said I wouldn't be blogging until something grated my carrot enough to inspire a bit of e-ranting. This week my carrot was sufficiently grated.

I was really excited to attend the charity premiere of "Jane's Journey" the feature film that documents the life of Jane Goodall. Her work as a conservationist/environmentalist/humanitarian is truly inspiring. Of course, as an animal rights activist, for me the most important aspect of her legacy is the great insight that her work has offered into the lives of our very close relatives, the chimpanzees. The implications of these insights were aptly expressed by anthropologist Louis Leaky, when he received a telegram from Goodall exclaiming that she had witnessed the chimps creating and using tools. Leaky's response was: “Now we must redefine man, redefine tool – or accept chimpanzees as human.”

Don't get too excited - this is not an actual blogpost, I just really needed somewhere to test this out so it won't be up for long.

If you're interested though, it's a Soundslide on Bradley Stephenson, who is the SA Freestlye Skiing Champion, currently representing South Africa at the World Freestyle Championships in Utah - and he also happens to be a Grahamstown local. Who would have thought! ;)

I have never considered myself to be the blogging type. Nor did I particularly enjoy blogging for the sake of a coursework mark (this blog was set up as part of the requirements of my New Media specialisation). While of course I found the topic extremely interesting, there were limits to exactly how I could manage this blog and my opinion, without paying the price in a marking rubric later on.

So, as of now (and the previous post actually), if anyone is still paying attention, I will be posting what I deem to be interesting and relevant. And yes, I may use this as a platform to rant and rave about the types of activism I am most interested in. And yes, that could very well mean that this will become a space dedicated to issues surrounding animal rights activism. You have been warned.

Some of the posts may be completely random. Some may be in-depth commentary that make use of some of my (slightly rusty) journalistic skills. Others may simply share a thought or three. But most importantly, this blog will now be a blog for its own sake, and not for my Bachelor of Journalism degree.

And until something grates my carrot enough to blog about it, that is all. For now.

This is a short video piece that I produced as part of a multimedia exhibition for the Rhodes Organisation for Animal Rights second annual Animal Rights Awareness Week at Rhodes. The video was posted on myvideo.co.za and on Facebook and so far the response has been phenomenal. A Cape Town based animal rights organisation, Beauty Without Cruelty has also asked to use the video in their vegetarian campaigns. I was even stopped on the street by someone who I haven't seen since high school, who had come across the video online and she said that she found it to be incredibly powerful and it even made her decide to start cutting down on her meat consumption. Go Team Animals!

The music is a track called "Everloving" by Moby, and it was taken from the "Earthlings" soundtrack (Earthlings is a full-length feature documentary on the exploitation of animals which is freely available online). The words were taken from a poem written by Anonymous.