Au Revoir 2012 y Hola 2013: New Year’s Resolutions

2012 was my first calendar year as a vegan and a newbie blogger. The year was action packed with spoonfuls of smiles, kisses, hugs, and tears. Mexican singer Tony Camarago sang about not forgetting the old year (literal translation):

The past allows us to learn, grow, and become better people. The New Year gives people another opportunity to put all those lessons into practice—perhaps the reason I am into New Year’s resolutions. In thinking of what resolutions to adopt and implement in 2013, I was inspired by Morgan Spurlocks’s show 30 Days .

Spurlock, the director and star of Supersize Me, developed a show where an individual moves in with someone who lives an “opposite” lifestyle for 30 days. Season 3, Episode 3 features a hunter who moves in with a vegan family living in Los Angeles. A woman in the family works for PETA and “converted” her entire family to veganism. Watching the episode confirmed why I don’t give an eff about PETA.

Yea PETA is high profile, yea it raises a lot of money, yea it has influenced some laws to benefit animals, but I could care less about PETA’s tactics which further objectify women and their positions which disregard issues outside the realm of animal rights, fail to demand an end to all forms of animal exploitation, and promote vegetarianism as an alternative to veganism. To quote Mandy Van Deven, “If PETA wanted to defeat the meat industry, they’d be creating strategic campaigns to undermine the capitalist system that allows it to thrive.” Spending money on white public figures to “promote” vegetarianism or veganism; stripping tall, thin, white women butt naked, painting their bodies and having them carry a sign stating, I’d rather go naked than wear fur (like duh); exoticizing and sexualizing women of color; and having a woman dress up like a man and a man dress up like a chicken while he pretends to slash her with a butcher knife do not reflect what a movement for a compassionate world should look like. One cannot fight oppression with oppression.

What I did get out of the episode (besides further disgust for PETA) was a great idea for 12 New Year’s resolutions. Each month I will do a 30 days resolution hoping that the “it takes two weeks to create a habit” rule sticks. I’m still trying to figure goals for some months and will plug them in as ideas come to mind.

January – No Material Consumption
February- — TV Free
March — Become a Salsa Superstar
April — Running
May — Go Raw
June — Compost
July — Read a Book a Week
August — TBD
September – Go Local
October — TBD
November — TBD
December – TBD

Tags: 30 Days vegan episode, capitalism, new year's resolutions, objectification of women, peta sucks, vegan new year's resolutions, vegans against peta, why vegans don't like peta