Hello, I’m Mandi!

I am a Philadelphia girl with undying passions for saving animals, circus arts, and living life fully and completely. I have been vegan for 3 years and have been running chicvegan.com since June of 2008. Full time, I am a website developer and designer. Part time I am a writer, circus freak  and mother to two loving sugar gliders.  My mission in life is to do good deeds, surround myself with loving and genuine people, and always stay true to myself.  Going vegan has been an amazing experience that has changed my life in countless ways. To learn more about me and my adventures you can tune in to poniesandunicorns.com.

What is a vegan?

A vegan is a person who has made the decision to not eat, wear or use anything that is or has come from an animal. Still confused? Let’s start simple:

• An animal is anything that has a pulse. (And yes… that DOES INCLUDE FISH!)
• Just in case you are curious chickens are animals too.
• Vegans do not eat anything that had a pulse at one time.
• Vegans do not eat anything that was created from any part of any animal. (Milk, eggs, butter, gelatin, etc…)
• Vegans do not wear animal skin and/or fur.
• Vegans do not use products that contain any part of an animal’s anatomy and/or glandular secretions.
• Most vegans do not support anything considered inhumane or unfair to animals. (Zoos, circuses, horse carriages, animal breeding, etc…)

However it must be emphasized that veganism is not a dogma. It is not a set of strict rules with the punishment of breaking them being eternity in vegan hell. “Vegan” is just a word for what we do to try and make the world a better place for ALL living creatures. We all do what we can. Some only follow the diet aspect of veganism. Some boycott circuses, zoos, etc. Some even cut sugar, caffeine, and alcohol out of their diets. And some vegans just need a damn cookie sometimes. As we all know… vegan cookies are not always readily available. We all do the best we can.

What is a chic vegan?

A vegan that has transcended the world of flowy skirts, unshaven-ness, dreadlocks and patchouli and has embraced their fabulousness within! To put it simple: a modern ethical woman.

What are the benefits of veganism?

There are an infinite amount of things that are beneficial to you, and the rest of the world upon practicing a vegan lifestyle. Here are just a few, starting with the most obvious:

Ethical

• Millions of animals are being tortured in factory farms and slaughter houses right at this very moment. For the weak of heart we will not get into the atrocities that occur at ALL farms that raise cattle, chickens, pigs, ducks and even sheep for human consumption. Even “free range” farms have flimsy regulations and conditions that are not much better than the traditional. More info on this here , here and here .
• 20% of the world are living in poverty and experiencing some sort of starvation. If the soy, grain and corn that are fed to farmed animals and the land they consume were used to produce crops of fruits and vegetables there would be more than enough food for those living in starvation.
• Slaughterhouses mainly employ illegal citizens who cannot defend their own rights. The working conditions are 9 times more dangerous than a coal miner’s. Workers are constantly exposed to sharp objects, high temperatures, and bodily fluids of animals that could potentially carry disease.

Environmental

• More than 1/3 of all fossil fuels produced in the US are used to raise animals for food.
• It takes 16lbs of grain to produce 1lb of animal flesh.
• It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce 1lb of meat.
• The animals raised for food in the U.S. produce 130 times the excrement of the entire human population of this country. Their excrement is more concentrated than human excrement and is often contaminated with herbicides, pesticides, toxic chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, and so on. There is no sewer system for this waste and it is contributed to “run-off” that enters nearby bodies of water, and even produce crops.

Health

• It is scientifically found that most vegetarians and vegans have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and obesity than meat-eaters. Resources here , here and here . ‘Nuff said.

See the resources page for more info