FROM THE EDITOR

WELCOME to Vegan Voice. We’re happy to have you back and happy to be here ourselves. It’s been a choppy few months, I’ll admit. But we’ve soldiered on and tried to overcome our deficiencies, our worries and our whinges. We have to say this: veganism is looking set to take over the world (just before the whole thing disintegrates). Typically, America has been a hothouse of activity, and boy, are we glad to see it. When veganism gets reported on Fox News without a snide remark, you know something’s going on.

As I said, mentally I’ve had a tough few months, but I’m over it for now. I gazed too long into the abyss and the abyss did indeed stare back at me. So I’ve been trying to find a little more balance, instead of going too far inside the poison I’m forced to work with. Too much information, most of it bad. All of you understand what I mean. In these times it’s hard to know where to turn. I turned back to Nature. Lay outside in the grass and looked up at the blue sky. Soaked up that vitamin D. Laughed a lot at the critters. Ate masses of fruit and veggies (as usual), posted some recipe pics on Facebook and got people drooling. (Which isn’t hard to do. What is it with vegans and food?) Tried to be a better person. My mind sure feels lighter, like I must be doing something right. But with me it’s a patch-up job at best.

In this issue we’re pleased to feature an extract from Melanie Joy’s new book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs And Wear Cows, reviewed in our last issue. This particular chapter, “Bearing Witness”, really touched us and we hope you’ll appreciate it too.

Lyndal Greenslade pinned down Brisbane vegan hotdog guy Jud Ryan and learned about such things as red tricycles and Irish dancing. Nice interview, despite – or maybe because of – being conducted in the gutter at night. We’re guessing here.

Jaylene Musgrave talked to abolitionist Cameron Blewett, who doesn’t pull any punches; Annie Potts interviewed Carol Gigliotti about the use of living animals in art and biotechnology; and VV spoke to reggae artist Matty Woods about music, food and this crazy planet. We also chatted to singer-songwriter Bronnie Ware, who grew up on cattle and sheep farms. Bronnie always felt like a square peg, but she’s found her niche and couldn’t be happier.

HERE AT WEBSTERS CREEK, life is never dull. Our house is treated like a large aviary or an interesting barn by the wild people. There’s Nigel the land mullet, black, shiny and sunbathing in the doorway. In comes VV cover star Harriet honeyeater, looking for banana. And at night, when I’m asleep, up on the bed climbs our resident bush rat. He runs up and down your legs if you forget to leave out his sunflower seeds.

If people could only see how the wild creatures behave when they know they’re not threatened, it would surely open their eyes and hearts to all animals. I wish I could believe that. I’ve got my wishful-thinking rose-tinted lenses on right now, in an attempt to be that good person I mentioned. But really, many people are hardened beyond measure. They simply will not be moved.

Recently we were watching a young pademelon mother with her baby who was not long out of the pouch. As we looked on, she ate some grass and then regurgitated it for the joey to eat. It looked like vomited-up wheatgrass, like something you might want to call a superfood. The joey seemed to enjoy it anyway.

Happy reading.

Sienna

Read more from the editor in our June–August issue, out mid-May.