Vegan Pledge Program: Interview With Shannon on Being a Vegan Mentor

A week ago Sunday I had a chance to hang out with Shannon, her husband Jim, and a group of vegan mentors and pledges who were at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary for a tour.

I was both fascinated and impressed at the group who showed up. It was about 60 people, all part of the Vegan Pledge program through the Baltimore-based Open the Cages Alliance.

You can see pictures from the various pledge program events here, and more pictures of the tour on the Facebook page as well as Shannon’s set on picasa.

The more I heard about the program, the more excited I was about it, so I asked Shannon and Jim if they’d be willing to do interviews about their experiences. Shannon as a vegan mentor, Jim as a vegan pledge. They were both interested, and so this is part one, Shannon’s interview.

1. What motivated you to sign up to be a vegan mentor?

I wanted to go to Poplar Spring! :) I think anyone can be bribed to do anything with promises of baby goat snuggles. In all seriousness, I thought it would be good for me to expand my comfort zone a little bit. For all the blogging and mouthing-off I do, I had never sat down with a group of strangers and discussed my choice to be vegan. I was hoping to help encourage someone who wanted to make better choices and become more in tune with his/her body and the world. Plus I wanted to make a few more vegan friends, people I could go out to dinner with and not have to feel like a weirdo for interrogating the waitstaff about what kind of broth is in the soup.

2. What was the experience like for you?

It’s been very positive! The first week, a new vegan asked what a lentil was, and she must have gotten twelve different suggestions on which lentils are best and how to cook them. That kind of support and education is really valuable. It’s been beneficial for me to integrate into a like-minded community—I’m not too keen on joining groups, but everyone involved with Open the Cages Alliance seems to share my values and has welcomed me. As an activist, that’s very encouraging. On a personal level, it’s been wonderful to hear Jim share his story with others and be a part of his journey. I’ve learned more about him through this process.

Also, there is a ton of great food at meetings. After the first week, we learned to skip lunch so we could try everything! I’ve never had such delicious kale. I swear, it was heavenly.

3. What stands out in your mind? Anything surprise you?

The sheer number of people who showed up was really impressive. I don’t know why I was surprised, but it was great to see so many people interested in veganism and living healthier, more authentic lives.

It’s also been good to help raise awareness of interrelated issues. I had a good conversation with another mentor recently. He was very concerned about pollution and water quality and asked a group of us what kind of filters we used. He was shocked when I told him that in our house, we use tap water! I said, “Our water’s great. We don’t need to filter it. Plus I don’t want to use the plastic involved in filters.” He hadn’t thought of the plastic aspect before. Bottled water really freaks me out. I go out of my way to avoid it. It’s so unnecessary and wasteful.

4. Was the program a success for you and your pledge?

Definitely. She decided to pledge because her teenage daughter had recently gone vegan, and she was concerned that her daughter was relying too much on processed convenience products—veggie burgers, meat analogs, stuff like that. She wanted to learn how to do it right and show her daughter how to be a healthy vegan. Isn’t she an awesome mom? She had been vegetarian and macrobiotic years ago, so she was familiar with plant-based diets. That made my job as a mentor a little easier, but she really threw herself into it and was totally committed. She says she feels much healthier and balanced now. Our goal is to replicate the incredible citrus ribs at the vegan soul food restaurant here in town.

5. Would you do it again?

I would. If OTCA runs the pledge again next year, I’d be honored to mentor another new vegan.

6. What do you think of the program, in general?

I think one of the major stumbling blocks for new vegans is lack of support. Everything suddenly has animal products in it, you’re not sure what to buy or how to cook it, and your family thinks you’ve joined a cult. With those obstacles, who’d bother? Programs like this help ease the transition by providing that supportive network as well as lots of education and resources. We had a tofu cooking demo that was great—I learned a few things! There was a really illuminating discussion of Ayurveda and a field trip to the grocery store to learn where to find vegan items—not just food, but body care and cleaning products as well. New vegans don’t feel alone and they’re empowered to start living in tune with their ethics.

7. Anything else you’d like to say?

As much as I love hanging out with the animals at Poplar Spring, I really love seeing people wake up to the realities of animal agriculture—that this cow they’re petting was nearly killed for their burger, or had her baby stolen. This turkey was almost killed for Thanksgiving. This goat nuzzling them was born on a small family farm (those are supposed to be “better,” right?) and left to die because as a male, he was useless for cheese-making. Kafka once said to a fish, “Now at last I can look at you in peace, I don’t eat you any more.” I feel that peace every single day. Others may say that we can’t make a difference, but I can introduce you to a lot of animals to whom that difference is very real.