A while back I reviewed T.O.F.U., a Canadian vegan publication with the excellent name of T.O.F.U. (Totally and Obviously Fucked Up): living and breathing in a world that smells fishy.

Well, after a lengthy hiatus, the magazine has a new edition out, and it includes an article by me. The issue is a good one, with plenty of meaty (ahem) discussion on a loose theme of ‘getting along’.

As editor Ryan Patey says in his introduction:

I had originally hoped that this issue would focus on whether or not we could all just learn to co-exist with each other, and I suggested to those contributing that they focus on that issue. As the submissions came in I realized things were going to go a little differently…

Regular contributor Happy Kreter weighs in on the value of an action regardless of how many other people are doing it (Page 6) and I try to make sense of where humans fit in the equality system with other animals (Page 29). A few new voices add opposing views to the vegan story; Dominic Berry and Kelly Twomey both declare that they’re out and willing to shout (Pages 17 and 21), while Lisa Dempster wishes to be known as simply Lisa, a woman who is also vegan (Page 52), and Marika Collins believes the world needs both the sunny and the windy people to ensure things change (Page 25).

My article is called Cause & Effect, and is about how I think think about myself in terms of my veganism.

You’ll never catch me using the phrase ‘the cause’. For me, veganism isn’t a ‘cause’; it’s simply a choice I make about what food and products I consume. If I had to categorise myself (and it’s something I’m loathe to do), I would say I’m one of a growing number of mainstream vegans, and in this case I use the word ‘mainstream’ with pride.

I talk a lot about how there is more to me than being vegan, and so I don’t like being dumped in an easy ‘vegan’ category. The crux of my article is this:

Probably what’s needed is a balance between radical action, scholarly discourse and those who simply lead by good example. So instead of all hoping to agree, or banding together for ‘the cause’, let’s agree to disagree: embrace critical thinking, offer constructive criticism, and celebrate our individuality. Then, we’ll no longer be ‘vegans’, and dismissible, but vegans, and (loudly, proudly) normal.

As well as essays and articles, there are pictures, recipes and crafty things. It’s a great little publication, and is available in Australia as an ebook download from the T.O.F.U store. Or you can facebook friend them or follow their blog for more info.