My path to veganism started when I looked at my wedding photos. It was a great wedding - untraditional but grand. I looked fabulous, I must say, but my skin was acne-ridden and my makeup had rubbed off after only a few hugs and kisses. I had had acne for 12 years, ever since I turned 20 and moved to San Francisco, but the wedding photos were the perverbial straw. I had to act now to clean up my face once and for all, and I remembered my grandmother's comment, "when I stopped drinking milk, my face cleared up." Maybe quitting dairy would help me, too.

That was 6 years ago, and I haven't consciously had any dairy products or meat since then. The occasional piece of bread with honey in it officially strips me of my Vegan title, but sometimes I just don't feel like asking the deli person if there's honey in the sandwich I'm ordering. Oh, and there was the time I was pregnant and a cheese sandwich called out to me (just like bicycle tires - strange pregnancy cravings!). I ate the sandwich and got sick; but I never did succumb to the bicycle tire craving.

After I quit dairy, I started getting involved with animal welfare issues, educating myself about the conditions of so-called "food animals." That term itself made me confirm my decision to not eat animal products. That sentient beings would be bred exclusively for our enjoyment and unconscious appetites is the stuff of horror films. My husband picked up John Robbins' "Food Revolution," and by page 100 he was vegan, too.

Paul McCartney said, "if slaughterhouses had windows, everyone would be vegetarian." I say, if everyone took a moment to educate themselves about animal abuse and disease related to animal consumption, many would be vegan. That sounds holier-than-thou, but what I mean is that it's difficult for me to imagine people seeing the terror of factory farms - the filthy conditions, the screams of the animals, the robotic nature of the underpaid employees - and still want to be a part of it. (Because we're a part of it when we buy and eat the products.)

Being vegan is really simple for me now. It's just a part of our lifestyle and offers so much pleasure! I'm thrilled to be raising Gianna and Colin vegan. Stefan and I eat well, and I have no question that my being vegan and eating organic, whole foods is the best thing for *me* for breastfeeding the children.

Gianna and Colin will probably visit a farm sanctuary before a zoo. In fact, they'll go on an African safari before visiting a zoo. They'll never see the inside of a circus if I have anything to say about it, but they'll see the outside of one (with a picket sign in hand). That's just my vision - I'm certainly not going to expect them to protest circuses. I'm researching now the fine line between raising children who feel no sense of hope because the world is a scary, wacky place; and raising children who know they can make a difference in a world that has issues. I'd love the latter to be my childrens' perspective - that they can be of service and be a change activist full of hope for our planet.

~Caity McCardell

Our Holiday Celebration on Vegetarian Baby