About…
 
 
…me

For starters, a quick bio: I was born in Rochester, NY in 1978, and graduated from St. John Fisher College with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2001. After graduation, I relocated to the Kansas City area with my then-boyfriend, Shane (he’s done since made am honest woman outta me!). Currently self-employed as a writer and web designer (and, yes, still a part-time student – I’m one of “those” kids), I’m biding my time until Shane and I can move to the southwest and adopt a gaggle of rescued farm animals.

Now, on to the (soy)meat of the matter! Although I have always considered myself an “animal lover” – and despite the fact that my father had converted to vegetarianism long before I was born – I did not adopt a vegetarian diet until my freshman year in college. Standing there at work, listening to the repetitive announcements for the free “employee appreciation” dinner in the filthy employee breakroom – the main course of which was hamburgers and hots, literally pounds of ‘em - I just had one of those epiphany kind of moments. I renounced my meat-eating ways on the spot, and during the next few years, I shunned one animal by-product after the next, from eggs to gelatin to milk (the latter of which wasn’t too difficult anyway, since I’ve been lactose-intolerant since birth). Eventually I reached veganism, and I have been a dietary and ethical vegan for about two years now.

With my new diet has come an increasing awareness of and involvement in the animal rights movement. In addition to a vegan, I also fancy myself an animal rights advocate. My dietary choices are a direct result of my moral and ethical convictions in regards to animal rights and environmental ethics.

While my veganism/animal rights activism is the only part of my character that’s germane to easyVegan.info, I am, of course, so much more!: Liberal, atheist, feminist, supporter of human rights, (soft) science geek. If you’d like to learn more about me, check out my main blog, KellyGarbato.com.
 
 
…my family

Shane and I, despite fast approaching an “advanced” age, are childless. Scratch that – childfree. I had the old boy neutered a few years back, so no, we won’t change our minds when we get older!

Don’t pity us or our barrenness. The all-knowing, all-loving FSM has blessed us with a wonderful, growing, and – yes! – wholly unconventional family. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.

Shane and I live with one cat and three dogs, all of which are “rescues” in their own right.

First, there’s Ozzy, an ornery stray rescued from the mean streets of Rochester by Shane’s roommate at RIT:
 

 
 
Next up is Ralphie, a stubborn-but-lovable one-dachshund digging machine, who we adopted from Dachshund Rescue North America in 2001:
 

 
 
Peedee is our third-eldest, a rat terrier whose brains are only surpassed by his pure, unadulterated sweetness. He hails from LL Dog Rescue, circa 2003:
 

 
 
Finally, O-Ren is our most recent rescue; we adopted her from Animal Haven in 2005. Named after Lady O-Ren Ishii of Kill Bill fame, at 12 lbs. Miss Rennie is deceptively sassy:
 

 
 
Discerning readers will note that we seem to adopt a canine every odd year, so check back in 2007 for our newest addition! Or, click on through to my Flickr account to see more pics of the furbabies.
 
 
UPDATE: True to form, Shane and I adopted two more canines in October of 2006. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we wanted to do more to help than just donate money (too impersonal), write letters to our politicians, lawmakers, and media outlets (too ineffective), and encourage others to do the same (too uncertain). We volunteered to foster a Katrina-displaced animal or two, but given that we live many, many miles from the Gulf Coast, our offer didn’t prove too useful. Instead, we decided to adopt a pair of dogs locally, thus freeing up more room in the system for needy animals - perhaps even a few victims of Katrina.

After weeks of searching through Pet Finder, we settled on a mother-daughter pair of rat terriers who wanted needed to be placed together. Such a feat is easier said than done, as evidenced by their lengthy (six month) stay in foster care.

Without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to 8-year-old Kaylee (aka Batgirl):

and her 2-year-old daughter, Jayne (Catwoman):

Originally named Gracie and Penelope by their foster mom at Friends of the Friendless, they were found abandoned in a rental unit. It appeared that both dogs had been abused, and poor Jayne even had heartworm (for which she’s since received treatment and tested negative). They’re both incredibly sweet ladies who are getting some much-deserved pampering at their new pad. Together with Rennie, they’re my team of Super Girls.
 
 
…easyVegan.info

Although Shane was neither a vegan nor an animal right-ist when we met, he gradually crossed over to the light side. He’s been meat-free for about six years, and vegan for roughly two of these.

A few years ago, he gave me a unique x-mas present: he registered the domain www.easyVegan.info for me so that I could start a site devoted to animal rights. As much as I dug the idea, neither of us were what you’d call geniuses of web design, so the domain languished in cyber-purgatory for a while. Three and a half years, to be exact. In the meantime, I started two animal rights groups on Yahoo, easyVeganInfo (for general animal rights discussion and debate) and easyVeganAlerts (for – what else? – AR action alerts).

Last May, Shane convinced me to start my own blog at KellyGarbato.com. One year of obsessive blogging - coupled with a crash course in web design for work – later, and Shane and I finally had the time and know-how to get easyVegan.info off the ground.

easyVeganInfo – the Yahoo group – is commonly mistaken for a vegan recipe list. While food is certainly one component of veganism (hence the term “dietary vegan”), there are other ways of “going veg.” Ethical vegans, for example, shun not only animal-based food products, but other animal byproducts as well. These commonly include leather, fur, suede, wool, silk, etc.

Certainly, you can be a dietary or ethical vegan without subscribing to the animal rights philosophy. You could be an animal welfarist who is boycotting animal products until such a time that animals are treated more “humanely” by their corporate owners. Or you might be an environmentalist who is concerned with the impact of factory farming on the health of the planet.

While veganism – dietary or otherwise - is not specific to animal rights supporters, I’ll hazard a guess that it’s most common among ARAs. It’s also my personal belief that a moral opposition to meat and other animal products makes it easier to give them up.

Hence the title of this blog – easyVegan.info. The information found here will help readers follow a vegan diet, yes, but it will also do so much more.

In addition to recipes and dietary information, I’ll also cover all (yes, all!) topics relating to animal rights:

* The animal rights philosophy and movement, including historical and contemporary issues;

* Animals as food, clothing, entertainment, research subjects, game, pests and pets;

* Animals and the law, including animal-friendly legislation;

* The conservation, rehabilitation, and rescue of wildlife;

* Ethology (the study of animal behavior);

* Anthrozoology (“the study of the relationships between humans and animals”);

* The link between speciesism and other “isms,” such as sexism and racism;

* Animal abuse; and

* Humane education

These and other topics will be explored and pursued through action alerts, newsletters, editorials, news articles, product reviews, photos and other graphics, and links to information and sites of interest.

If you’d like to contribute, jump to the contact page for details.
 
 
…and all those enviro alerts (!)

Even though “the environment” is not usually regarded as a direct component of the animal rights agenda, the two are intimately linked: animals, humans included, exist in their environment. When we talk about the destruction of rainforests, the melting of polar icecaps, or the pollution of a river, we’re discussing the destruction of an animal’s or species’ habitat. Anyone who is concerned about the rights of animals must also work to preserve the environment in which they live. Thus, in addition to finding many animal rights action alerts on easyVegan.info, you’ll also see lots of green stuff.
 
 
…still lost?

For more information on the site’s organization, or to learn how to locate a specific post or type of post, please see the easyVegan.info FAQ.
 
 
Last updated 11/13/2006