3,000-kilometre vegan challenge
Home » Blog » 3,000-kilometre vegan challengeIn October I'm setting off on New Zealand's Te Araroa Track, a 3,000km trail starting at Cape Reinga and ending at Bluff. I'm doing it to raise awareness about the capabilities of us vegan folk.
Above: Paul on Avalanche Peak, Arthur's Pass
The ethics of what we eat has become a topic of everyday discussion, thanks to growing concerns for the environment. Daunting scientific evidence gives us no choice but to consider how what we eat affects the planet.
A plethora of books and films on the topic of food and animal ethics have been released in the past 10 years. There's Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals, Carol J Adam’s' The Pornography of Meat, John Joseph's Meat is for Pussies and Michael Pollan's The Omnivore’s Dilemma, just to name a few of the more popular books.
Then there’s film: Food Inc, Earthlings, The Cove and Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me. All have one thing in common: they unveil the inconvenient truths that most of us tend to gloss over.
It's this sort of activism that rings bells for people. It's practical, it's non-violent, and it's non-confrontational. It's just a humble Australian bloke walking the length of a beautiful country, eating vegan food to fuel his body, and proving a few points
I believe many people are curious about the vegan diet. But for the uninformed it may be a mystery what the heck a vegan actually eats. If meat and other animal products make up 90 percent of an individual’s diet, it’s not at all surprising they are suspicious of the vegan diet. Then there are other concerns, like how vegans get enough protein and iron. I believe the more these questions are answered, the stronger the case for veganism.
This brings me to the challenge I have set myself. It’s a
response to the disbelief I encountered from a butcher I met. He said surely vegans don't get
enough protein and other vital nutrients in their diet and surely they are weak
and incapable of pushing themselves. I dedicate this challenge to him and to
all the poor animals that die and suffer in vain.
In October I am setting off on New Zealand's Te Araroa Track, which translates as 'The Long Pathway'.
It's a 3000km tramping trail starting at Cape Reinga, the top of the North
Island, and ends at Bluff, at the bottom of the South Island. I am doing this
tramp not only as a personal challenge, but to raise awareness about the
capabilities of us vegan folk.
It's this sort of activism that rings bells for people. It's practical, it's non-violent, and it's non-confrontational. It's just a humble Australian bloke walking the length of a beautiful country, eating vegan food to fuel his body, and proving a few points. And, I hope, responding to people's questions and curiosity along the way.
Wed September 22, 2010 @ 12:02 PM
