Vegan lifestyle articles that discuss ways of living in peace with humans, animals, and the environment.
Marla Rose, VeganStreet.com
July 2017
With everything going on in the world, if we ever needed reasons to have hope, we do now. If you’re like me, you’ll find plenty of reason to have hope with this interview with Anna Ferguson of the soon-to-open Heärt Montessori School in Cincinnati, OH. Founded by Montessori-trained educators, longtime vegans, yoga enthusiasts and peacemakers, Heärt states on their website that “Our goal is to provide children with the skills necessary to make the world more beautiful than they found it.” Isn’t that lovely? With a commitment to providing vegan meals, a nearby animal sanctuary, and a project-based education that honors the uniqueness of the students, Heärt is starting out with pre-k through kindergarten and hopes to increase grades as the school matures. Can I go back to school? It is such an exciting thing happening right in the Heartland. Created by the people behind World Peace Yoga and the Jubilee Peace Fest, the only downside is there is not a Heärt Montessori School in every city…yet. I am honored to feature Anna Ferguson as this week’s Vegan Rock Star.
1. First of all, we’d love to hear your “vegan
evolution” story. How did you start out? Did you have any early influences
or experiences as a young person that in retrospect helped to pave your
path?
In high school I had some friends that dabbled in vegetarianism, but I did
not give it much thought at the time. Eating cows, pigs, and chickens was
“normal” for me growing up and I didn’t question it as a child from what I’m
able to remember. In college, I was introduced both to vegetarianism and
yoga practice. One of my roommates and friends in school decided to
experiment with eating a vegetarian diet. I began to observe some positive
changes in my roommate, as she devoted herself to a vegetarian diet, so I
decided to give it a try—mainly for health and self-care. As I deepened my
yoga practice I noticed certain things fall away from my lifestyle, such as
eating chicken eggs and cow’s milk and cheese. At the time, I thought these
products were vegetarian, though—from both a technical and ethical
perspective—they were not. This change in my diet came directly from my yoga
practice. I did not have any teachers who spoke of diet in relationship to
yoga practice, but—due to the increased awareness within my body—I tuned
into what I ate and how it affected me. So, certain foods fell away and I
continued feeling vibrant.
After about a year of a steady yoga asana (posture) practice, and the
adoption of a pure, vegetarian, plant-sourced diet, I attended a workshop
with Doug Swenson in which the practice of yoga was presented as a
lifestyle. Doug incorporated yoga philosophy into his asana classes, which
often included the teaching of ahimsa—nonviolence—and its connection to food
and a yogic lifestyle. Through continued study, my yoga practice deepened
and my choices became less self- and more other-centered, through the
practice of ahimsa. Having these other-centered reasons as a motivation for
choosing what to eat, wear, and purchase (the vegan lifestyle) became as
natural to me as breathing is to life.
2. Imagine that you are pre-vegan again: how could someone
have talked to you and what could they have said or shown you that could
have been the most effective way to have a positive influence on you moving
toward veganism?
My introduction to veganism was quite gentle and involved a lot of personal
introspection as well as compassion and encouragement from established
vegans. I don’t believe that I might have been resonated with the vegan
lifestyle if someone were to tell me I was bad or wrong for eating fellow
animals or publicly criticized me, while attempting to convince me to
change. Having someone connect with me on a personal level and approaching
the vegan lifestyle from a place of empathy and compassion is what I think
resonates with me most.
3. What have you found to be the most effective way to
communicate your message as a vegan? For example, humor, passion, images,
etc.?
To be the most effective in how we communicate the message of veganism, I
believe we must combine a spiritual practice of some kind that is as simple
as something like self-care that is rooted in empathy and compassion with
education, activism, and innovation. An “empathy innovator” is an individual
who uses creativity to share new methods, ideas, or products that assist
modern culture in grasping the interconnectedness of all life. This, in
turn, promotes the expansion of kindness to every creature on the planet. As
a vegan educator or activist we wholeheartedly believe in compassionate
causes. We endorse, encourage, and guide efforts to bring justice, equality,
freedom, and peace to all genders, all skin colors, all people, and indeed,
all beings.
More specifically, I like to communicate the vegan lifestyle by sharing
delicious food or posting on social media what I eat, through the teachings
of yoga, and through various products, such as the World Peace Yoga book I
have coming out this fall. Opening vegan-centric businesses I also feel is a
vital part of communicating a compassionate message. What I like about vegan
restaurants, grocery stores, schools, and so on is that people come to
you—on their own terms.
It is my belief that the choices made by vegans, and other compassionate
people of the world, have prevented this planet from completely imploding.
Increasing, improving, promoting, and assisting compassionate, “all-vegan”
endeavors—including people, products, services, programs, businesses,
institutions, and organizations—expands this message of peace. Change
becomes a reality. When we make conscious efforts to grow vegan-centric
businesses—in the fields of travel, education, real estate, music,
jewelry-making, art, food, yoga, healthcare, photography, design,
publishing, and so on—all of the related money, time, and energy
exponentially spreads peace. This practice assists those who share our core
values.
Utilizing a web designer who practices a compassionate lifestyle, for
example, builds a sustainable and compassionate economy. When we trade money
for services, based on our shared values, the funds ultimately contribute to
more of the same caring actions. This also allows vegan businesses to
flourish, paving the way for their growth.
4. What do you think are the biggest strengths of the vegan
movement?
When people in the movement are coming from a practical and spiritual place
focusing on empathy and compassion for one’s self, all beings, and the
planet resulting in an authentic, powerful, and truly collaborative effort.
5. What do you think are our biggest hindrances to getting
the word out effectively?
I feel one of the biggest hindrances to getting the word out effectively is
a lack of empathy and compassion for each other, particularly fellow vegans
as well as pre-vegans resulting in reluctance to collaborate.
6. All of us need a “why vegan” elevator pitch. We’d love
to hear yours.
This is probably a bit longer than what I might say in an elevator, but here
it goes (what is in bold sums it up)…Through war after war after war, we are
discovering the necessary steps for creating a peaceful world, both inside
and out. No more marching, fasting, legislating, or fighting for peace. Now,
there is a relatively simple—practical—process in which anyone may
participate. It is a one-two-three, step-by-step, connect-the-dots,
color-by-number way to realize world peace: adopt a vegan lifestyle.
In other words, understand the consequences of your choices. Be kind and
gentle to yourself, be kind and gentle to all beings, and be kind and gentle
to the earth. Realize, too, that this process takes time. It requires each
of us to connect with our intuitive, empathetic, and compassionate nature,
while performing kind and peaceful acts (over and over), and working
together toward a common goal. As simple as this process seems, it is also
complex and exponential—both individual and cooperative.
While there is confusion and delusion in the world as to how to interact
with one another and many have forgotten their intuitive power, are numb to
empathy, and have no desire to take compassionate action, change is
happening. There are humans are waking up to their “moral hypocrisy.” This
moral hypocrisy is deeply rooted, and it is the reason our society accepts
poverty, starvation, homelessness, war, various forms of discrimination, and
animal genocide as the norm. Adopting an authentic vegan lifestyle, which
includes kindness, gentleness, empathy and compassion for all is the key and
we all have this innate power within us.
7. Who are the people and what are the books, films,
websites and organizations that have had the greatest influence on your
veganism and your continuing evolution?
My business partner Mark Stroud and I have had a long-time collaboration
with Will Tuttle, author of The World Peace Diet. For five years Mark and I
hosted the Jubilee Peace Fest—three days of vegan food, yoga, music, and
inspiring speakers. Each year Will Tuttle offered his World Peace Diet
Facilitator Training. In 2011 Kip Andersen participated in that training and
left inspired to then create what we know to be the documentary Cowspiracy.
Now, Kip is inspiring me through his films, including his latest, What The
Health. This is an example of a synergistic collaborative relationship where
we are inspiring and uplifting each other.
Some vegan yogis I deeply appreciate include Doug Swenson, Kali Ray, Julie
Kirkpatrick, David Life, Sharon Gannon, and Julia Butterfly Hill. Stic of
Dead Prez and the album Information Age is totally amazing and his wife Afya
Ibomu is a vegan chef and such a sweet soul. I love the work of James LaVeck
and Jenny Stein, in particular their film Peaceable Kingdom. Ralph Smart and
his inspiring YouTube videos are a joy. I also deeply appreciate the work of
Breeze Harper in relationship to both veganism and diversity. DJ Cavem and
the work he does through his music and educating the youth is fabulous.
8. Burn-out is so common among vegans: what do you do to
unwind, recharge and inspire yourself?
Things I do to prevent burn-out include a consistent yoga/meditation
practice, get outside and enjoy nature, swim, play with my son, drink green
juice, fuel up on healthy eats, share food with fellow vegans, and the list
goes on. I have found that activists who do not have some kind of spiritual
practice that focuses on self-care often experience burnout and frustration.
They may take out their anger on others, which perpetuates the very issues
they seek to resolve. Some yoga practitioners and spiritual seekers, on the
other hand, immerse themselves in practices, such as meditation, for their
own personal growth and healing, while disconnecting from worldly matters.
Spiritual practices that remove us from global issues of justice, equality,
liberation, and radical inclusion are not authentic in their quest to
realize the interconnectedness of life. When a deep spiritual practice fuses
with a call to action, it awakens a great force and instigates powerful
change.
9. What is the issue nearest and dearest to your heart that
you would like others to know more about?
Education for today’s youth is near and dear to my heart at this time as I
have a 3-year-old that will be starting school soon. As more people are
becoming sensitive and aware of their own health and well-being, as well as
the health of each other and the planet we are seeing a growing number of
vegan restaurants, products, and services. What remains is a huge gap in our
education system. Vegan-centric practices of empathy and compassion are not
being taught as part of core academics. After I had my son Noah, I started
working with a team of fellow vegans to fill that gap and open Heärt
Montessori. This is a model school where kids grow up learning
self-reliance, sustainability, permaculture, meditation, mindfulness,
conflict-resolution, and compassion for all beings and the earth as a part
of core academics. We plan to open in January of 2018. Learn more, get
involved, and lend a hand by clicking here.
10. Please finish this sentence: “To me, being vegan is...”
To me being a vegan is living a lifestyle connected to empathy and extending
compassion to myself, all beings, and the planet.
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