Veganism

"If man aspires towards a righteous life, his firts action of abstinence is injury to animals" - Leo Tolstoy

Veganism is a type of vegetarian diet that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products and all other animal-derived ingredients. Many vegans also do not eat foods that are processed using animal products, such as refined white sugar and some wines. Most vegans also avoid the use of all products tested on animals, as well as animal-derived non-food products, such as leather, fur and wool.

Vegan refers to either a person who follows this way of eating, or to the diet itself.

Therefore,  you may have an question:

What do vegan people eat?

Nowadays there are lot of alternatives for a vegan alimentation.
A vegan diet includes all grains, beans, legumes, vegetables and fruits and the nearly infinite number of foods made by combining them. Many vegan versions of familiar foods are available, so you can eat vegan hot dogs, ice cream, cheese and even vegan mayonnaise.

There are a major diference in a vegan and a vegetarian diet. For start an vegetarian eat some animal animal-derived such as milk, eggs etc...

For those who are ceptical about the lack of proteins or vitamins and the way that affect our health i can say that only a B12 vitamin is needed and neither plants or animals make vitamin B12.

So, what about B12?

Vitamin B12 is needed for cell division and blood formation. Animals get their vitamin B12 from eating foods contaminated with vitamin B12 and then the animal becomes a source of vitamin B12. Plant foods do not contain vitamin B12.
Therefore, vegans need to look to fortified foods or supplements to get vitamin B12 in their diet. Although recommendations for vitamin B12 are very small, a vitamin B12 deficiency is a very serious problem leading ultimately to anemia and irreversible nerve damage.

There are some pills supplements in the market that you can buy or if you are keen on oriental food there is Miso which is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and the fungus, the most typical miso being made with soy. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as Miso soup called Misoshiru a Japanese culinary staple. High in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, Miso played an important nutritional role in feudal Japan. Miso is still very widely used in Japan, both in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining world-wide interest. Miso is typically salty, but its flavor and aroma depend on various factors in the ingredients and fermentation process.

Some types of vegetarians:

1. Pescatarian


The word “pescatarian” is occasionally used to describe those who abstain from eating all meat and animal flesh with the exception of fish. Although the word is not commonly used, more and more people are adopting this kind of diet, usually for health reasons or as a stepping stone to a fully vegetarian diet.
 
2. Flexitarian/Semi-vegetarian


You don’t have to be vegetarian to love vegetarian food! “Flexitarian” is a term recently coined to describe those who eat a mostly vegetarian diet, but occasionally eat meat.
 
3. Vegetarian (Lacto-ovo- vegetarian)


When most people think of vegetarians, they think of lacto-ovo-vegetarians. People who do not eat beef, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish or animal flesh of any kind, but do eat eggs and dairy products are lacto-ovo vegetarians (“lacto” comes from the Latin for milk, and “ovo” for egg).
 
4. Vegan


Vegans do not eat meat of any kind and also do not eat eggs, dairy products, or processed foods containing these or other animal-derived ingredients such as gelatin. Many vegans also refrain from eating foods that are made using animal products that may not contain animal products in the finished process, such as sugar and some wines. There is some debate as to whether certain foods, such as honey, fit into a vegan diet.
 
5. Raw vegan/Raw food diet


A raw vegan diet consists of unprocessed vegan foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius). “Raw foodists” believe that foods cooked above this temperature have lost a significant amount of their nutritional value and are harmful to the body.
 
6. Macrobiotic


The macrobiotic diet, revered by some for its healthy and healing qualities, includes unprocessed vegan foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and allows the occasional consumption of fish. Sugar and refined oils are avoided. Perhaps the most unique qualifier of the macrobiotic diet is its emphasis on the consumption of Asian vegetables, such as daikon, and sea vegetables, such as seaweed.

Animal Testing

Everyone has already heard about “animal testing”, but does anybody had already seen and know what does it really is?

Do you ever wondered how many animals are suffering at every second?

There are so many animals that are suffering in laboratories but records are not kept for all animals, daily there are being killed millions of mice, rats and birds which covers 95 percent of all experiences. These animals remain uncounted but we can guess that millions suffers each year.
They are used for various reasons majority in cosmetic and drug companies testing their products on them. They pump into their stomach, into their skin, eyes numerous toxic and chemical products in order to make our life safer… And for what? For us? Are we superior to them?

This is a wrong issue because animals are significantly different from humans and specially because there is a higher cost to pay for us humans. There are other alternatives such as computer models, cell cultures, and human studies are more accurate and much more humane.
Nowadays, there are plenty of products for all of us without any animal testing. What's wrong with natural products that have already been used for hundreds (or thousands) of years?

Can you anwser me?

Dog Found - Castro Laboreiro

"On September 16, a dog was found in "Estrada da Circunvalação" near of the "Parque Nascente".

His age is between the 6 months and 1 year old. He is a brown Castro Laboreiro breed and he had a collar and a chip, but unfortunately his chart wasn't delivered to the competent authorities and therefore it is impossible to know who the owner is.

So far no one claim him, even when it was distributed posters across the area where I found him.

At the time he limp, obviously in result of a car collision. I took him to the Vet, and he was x-rayed. The diagnosis showed a fracture in two places, radius and ulna. It wasn’t operated immediately because the bone was very infected.

First he had to be treated with analgesics, antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs, said the Vet that he suffered for at least two weeks with this paw in that condition. It was in that point to be calcified and infected.

Last 21st of September he was on operated and the surgery went well and we'll be fine, is now recovering in a hotel because for 3 weeks has to be as fixed as possible.

The costs were too high, as the factures attached shows.

Therefore, I call upon all who love and respect animals, to donate to this expense.

Help me and help him.

Thank you."

P.S. If you know someone who wants to look after this sweet and gentle friend, please contact me

jorge.edgar@se.efacec.pt

This blog is dedicated to all animals in general but particularly to the ones that need our special care and help.

Everyday lots of animals are abandoned for a long list of reasons. According to animal shelters organizations, this number is increasing over the last years!!

When animals don’t have no more use to people, whether they are old to guard a house and they are swapped for younger ones, or simply because they are tired of the pet.

There are no valid reasons that could justify that horrible act, but what concern to me, is the fact that there are numerous of “stupid” reasons why people give for abandoning their pets.

The most usual of all is because the pet “is too playful”, or “too dumb”, because cats ruin the furniture, because the “…dog didn’t burke when he supposed to”, or it “isn’t aggressive enough to guard a house”, or because it “grew too much”, “they are dirty and they pied on the sofa...”
But I may say that the most ridicule off all is this “…the pet didn’t match the new furniture…”, “…did not alert me when my phone rings or someone is at the door…"

People don’t realise that having an animal is a commitment for life and they have special needs, pretty much like having a child.

Unfortunately people don’t have this thought when they are thinking in acquiring a pet or another animal. The most usual reason is because their child wants to have a cute poppy and when it grows up isn’t cute anymore, becoming disposable.

Animals are considered having no feelings and no rights and frequently seen as a fashion accessory that can be discarded after a few months.

Sometimes I think that people should fulfil some kind of requirement in order to have the privilege of having an animal, just like adoption of children.

You may find it absurd and perhaps a little drastic, but I really think that if people don’t have the responsibly to care properly the animal, they ought not to be allowed to, at the very least shouldn’t be places where you can buy them so easily like here is.

My special concern is in behalf to these animals which are daily abandoned, which knew affection and attention for a wile, and suddenly lose everything. They become defenceless in a world where they don’t know anything about.

I hope that this blog will help those people that are considering in adoption, to think very well before taking that step.
It’s a living beeing and its a life choise, that you will commit to, not an object. You must give them a new home, your affection and care, and they will give to you their unconditional love.

If you are certain of that step, PLEASE don’t buy the animal, ADOPT one.

There are hundreds animal welfare organizations in which you can rely on.

In another hand, if you lost your pet, you can post photographs and other information about your special friend.

You can also track down information about found pets. Perhaps it’s your lucky day, we hope so.

Feel free to comment or share with us your experience with any animal that you had/have…