Okay, I admit it . . .

I haven't been a conscious consumer. I've eaten great meals and used amazing products but I haven't done my homework on the companies I've purchased from. That all changed last week. With the deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and the police officers in Dallas, Texas, I received a much needed reality check! The world is messy with all sorts of biases, racism, hate, love, beautiful moments and tragic ones. No celebrity is going to save us. No politician is going to radically change our lives. It is up to us to put our intelligence and our dollar to good use!

Going forward, I have decided to research all of the places that I purchase items from, especially my food. I used to be an avid shopper at WholeFoods and while I miss it (just being honest), I cannot support the Republican agenda that WholeFoods donates its money towards. While I am liberal, I don't really like our Democratic agenda right now either, but I'd rather shop where my money is supporting causes that I can get on board with. 

As an alternative, I've decided that when I need mass items, I'll shop at Trader Joe's (although while researching, I found this news troubling). When I need veggies and fruit (which is often, duh), I'll shop Freedom Farmers Market or Mandela Food Co-Op. 

I'm just going to do BETTER, ya'll. I'm definitely closer than I was yesterday. Sadly, it took a major tragedy to get me here, but I'm here and I'm not going anywhere! I'm ready to go from unconscious to conscious. There's levels to this thing called veganism and life! 

It seems like plus-sized vegans are damned if we do and damned if we don't. 

We are supposed to eat healthy, but not "too healthy." We are supposed to lose weight but not "too much" weight. Just as long as we don't share what we know and upset the narrow-minded meat, egg, milk, cheese and fish population we're good, right?

Wrong!

I won't be silenced and I don't want my fellow plus-sized vegans to be silenced either.

Share what you know and if people don't accept it or you, that's their loss (and ignorance). There's a true epidemic going on in our nation of animal cruelty in factory farms and it has a direct correlation to the sickness that hospitals across the country have documented. We just won the battle of science; the medical community finally admitted that meat = cancer yet they still say that eating it in small quantities is okay. Yeah - okay! Soooo, a little bit of cancer at each meal is okay with you? Naw son! Sounds like the money of the meat industry is overriding the truth in our hearts and on our medical charts. 

 July is a month of celebration and mourning for me. My Mom died 3 years ago of PREVENTABLE diseases - cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure. She had 'em all. I would be an idiot if I gave up now and you shouldn't either. Killing animals for their meat is in turn killing us. 

If we wait until we are "just right" in order to start on the path of better health and influencing others, we'll never start. 

So if you are reading this and you're not quite "perfect", you are reading this, so you are on the right track! Don't give up on influencing your family and friends to eat better. Believe that your message will be heard and seen by people that will get it!

There are plus-sized athletes & models, why can't there be plus-sized vegans?