The author at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, Woodstock, NY, USA.

Veganica.org was born from the enthusiasm of being a longtime vegan and my desire to both share that excitement and have a place to write commentary that would perhaps urge others to action. The website has been a long time evolving, starting from something I (pretty poorly) hand coded; to becoming a space where I was getting e-mail and dumping photos, documents, and images I wanted to share; to a few pages that mainly surrounded a blog that became defunct when I went back to school; to this new, professionally designed home for my ideas. Credit must be given to freelancer and fellow vegan Angie Bowen at Arbenting, who conceived and coded the whimsical design. I absolutely love it, and it symbolizes the happiness I have found since relocating to California’s San Joaquin Valley in April 2009.

I am involved in many things these days. I cofounded a local animal rescue group that advocates for companion animals in the small town where I live. I’m sheltering quite a few companion animals of my own, all of them precious creatures who found their way, often bedraggled, to my doorstep, where they were welcomed with gentle hands and fretting inquiries about how they ended up in such a shape. I visit Yosemite National Park regularly to go backpacking with my husband, who’s also a vegan. And I’m optimistically putting energy into finding work as a writer/editor and entrepreneur. I’m training for a half marathon and hoping to complete my second marathon in 2012, and I’m doing a much better job of living in the moment and being more thoughtful about all of the things I have to be grateful for.

Among those is, of course, veganism. I became vegan in 1995 after purchasing a young rabbit from a pet store. She was the softest little girl in the world, and I called her Eleanor. As I got to know her sweet, quiet ways, I began thinking about how rabbits are used in our society: as research subjects, as cosmetic testers, as food, as fiber. I was compelled to delve into research about vivisection and rid my home of anything that was tested on animals. That first search on a then-nascent Internet let me into the world of modern farming, agribusiness, medical research, environmental pollution, habitat destruction, animals in captivity, fur and leather, and abject cruelty—abuses almost too numerous to take in all at once but all of them part of the lives of animals in our world today. I was vegetarian almost instantly, and continued reading voraciously. Less than a year later I was trying my first carton of soymilk, and I would never look back. I was raised in the country, practically on a farm, and I had loved cats and dogs as long as I’d been walking. Veganism tied all of those threads together as I finally made the connection between my pets and my plate.

Those months of having my eyes opened were uncomfortable, and I regret all of the years that I thoughtlessly ate flesh and secretions and participated in a system that flourished and profited through the abuse of animals. But my paradigm shift would not end there. After September 11, 2001, I had the good fortune to be involved in an online community of progressives who helped me see that oppression and injustice toward animals invariably involved the same toward humans. I began learning about U.S. foreign policy, the agony of debt, the greed of free-market capitalism and free trade, and the loathsome policies and opinions that were creating a world of injustice, inequality, and ignorance. Once again, veganism tied many of these issues together for me. Its simplicity, its ease, and its constant presence in my decision-making both as a consumer (albeit a nonmaterialistic one) and, most important, as a human being have made me a more thoughtful, more compassionate person.

But that’s not to say that I’m not angry and indignant at the ignorance that persists, about the commodification of animals, and about capitalist greed and materialism. Daily I see people behaving irresponsibly and read about groups and corporations that continue to disregard the sentience of nonhuman animals and plunder a planet with a fragility that’s nearing its breaking point. This waste is especially prevalent in California’s Central Valley, which is awash in the manure, stench, and cruelty of commercial animal agriculture. Everywhere I see continued materialism and increasing injustice and lack of awareness, even from caring people. It is difficult at times to coexist with others in such an environment.

This blog will describe that existence as well as provide a space for discussion and (likely) impassioned argument. I also intend to present a few other projects along the way, from mundane vegan recipes, photographs, and stories about urban self-sufficiency to more creative projects that are unfolding as a result of my convictions.

Thanks for reading.