Seven years ago, Carol Adams and I wrote Protest Kitchen to explore the impacts of plant-based diets on injustice and oppression. We wrote it in response to the election of Donald Trump and wanted to call it The Anti-Trump Diet. The editors thought it would become outdated too quickly with that title.
If only it were so.
I spent most of yesterday, the day after the 2024 election, talking to friends and taking walks. It was all I could manage and that was okay. I know I wasn’t alone in my feelings of despair and my need to take time to grieve and cry. Over the coming days, though, I expect to be getting a little more energized and organized for whatever is next.
Some of what is next is familiar to me. I’m already involved in local activism for both animals and humans—activities that bring joy, meaning, and connection into my life. And of course I advocate for animals and the environment through my work in vegan and plant based nutrition. I will also continue with national groups that engage in ongoing efforts to protect democracy and that work to bend the arc of the moral universe. Exactly what that will look like, I don’t know, but I’ve identified organizations and activists whose leadership and wisdom I trust; I’ll look to them for guidance in the months ahead.
I’m fortunate to have the time and privilege to be involved in these activities. But we are all limited to some degree – due to other obligations or lack of resources – in what we can do. And this brings me to veganism.
In Protest Kitchen we wrote about veganism as an act of resistance that starts in your kitchen—ie, the ultimate in local activism. When life is overwhelming and you need to step back from other activities, you still need to eat. And every meal is an opportunity for resistance, for the boycott of unjust treatment of animals and for a stance against destruction of the earth. It turns something so simple – a decision about what you’re going to have for dinner – into a source of empowerment.
This is the gift of veganism. Because empowerment includes both your influence on the outer world, and an inner feeling of being enabled to act. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re eating a kale salad or finding consolation in a vegan donut binge. How great is it that even eating purely for comfort can be both self-care and activism?
As you decide what is next for you in the coming days – and I know it will depend on your own priorities, opportunities, and resources – you can know that you are already engaged in meaningful action every day. Every vegan choice is a consequential stand against injustice. Your vegan meals are a daily reminder that change is possible.
Thank you for this much needed message after the deeply dispiriting election results.
Thank you for this message, Ginny. I love knowing that I’m an activist with every meal.
Well said.
Thank you as well! You summed up my mind numbing experience of another four years of despair. I wonder where the America went that I grew up with it: the values and general consideration for what is simply, treating animals and people with respect.
What Ginny and all the Commenters have said fills me w joy n energy. Thx so much. I will. share w others.
As a vegan for over 40 years and a community activist I have felt numb and saddened by this election. I am in my 70s and my animal rights activism is limited (active cat rescue and TNR) and I wonder how we will survive this next administration. So much damage will be done! But I have ALWAYS felt that veganism is the core of my life and am heartened to read your words. Gratitude!
Wow Ginny, thank you for sharing from your heart. My first instinct on November 6th was to reach out to my closest friends, to check in on and with them. In the same way that walking and friendship are a solace in good time and bad, I think being vegan is a refuge.. It is a real way of choosing peace and giving respect. I haven’t read Protest Kitchen, but when I do, I’ll be sure to remember its actual title, The Anti-Trump Diet! Good one….
Many thanks for this.
Thank you so much for writing this Ginny. Like you and everyone who has commented, I’m taking refuge and sanctuary in being vegan, and doing the things that keep me sane and contributing to a better world. While I’m not sure how exactly we’ll survive these next 4 years, I know being in a community with like-minded people is essential and that we will indeed once again have hope.
Your book never sold well, because you just can’t separate politics from food. It’s an obsession. People are sick of it. Lightbulb moment: There are many conservatives who eat plant based. Get a grip. Stop already. YOU are in for a rude awakening these next four years. Dry your tears, smile, live and live.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Ella. I agree that many conservatives eat plant-based. This website is devoted to veganism, though, which is an ethic of justice, compassion, and kindness. I don’t think the incoming administration reflects these values very well or is going to create a better world for animals (or for people).