Bend your forks, not your values. I took the #LiberationPledge 3 years ago because our silence is betrayal. Because our silence is complicity. It is our moral responsibility to take a stand. #AnimalRights pic.twitter.com/TnTHx9f3Ij

— Zoe Rosenberg (@Zoe_Rooster) June 7, 2018

What Is the Liberation Pledge and Why Do Vegans Need To Take It?

I heard of the Liberation Pledge last year and honestly thought: “Whoa, that’s taking it a little too far, don’t you think?”

I was happy in my vegan lifestyle and even dabbled in raw veganism for a while last summer, which I loved.

Yes, I do struggle in the lunchroom watching people eat their drumsticks, and dislike hearing about people taking down their latest deer (I live in Minnesota). It’s not super enjoyable for me to attend family functions where there is meat being served, and I especially dislike a dead animal as the centerpiece.

Up until now, I’ve been able to bring my own food to functions and have gotten by fine, but it’s not as enjoyable as being able to eat everything that is served. It’s also not enjoyable having to “pass the turkey” or smell barbequed flesh at a cookout.

A vegan can be defined as:

“a person who does not eat any food derived from animals and who typically does not use other animal products.”

The Vegan Society would go further and define veganism as this:

“Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms, it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.”

I personally love this definition. There is no reason or need to exploit animals for our food, clothing, or skincare products.

I’ve become quite passionate about veganism, and this has evolved into me caring more about waste and the planet. I’ve been working on my consumerism and clearing out any products that were tested on animals, or aren’t cruelty-free.

I’ve also decided to take it one step further and sign up to take the liberation pledge.

What is the liberation pledge, you ask?

“The Liberation Pledge empowers people who care about animals to transform their personal veganism into an active stance against violence. By taking the pledge, we act as the animals would, if they could, and we challenge ‘speciesism’ in our everyday life.”

“The pledge is simple:

1. Publicly refuse to eat animals – live vegan.

2. Publicly refuse to sit where animals are being eaten.

3. Encourage others to take the pledge.”

People who have taken this pledge wear a fork bracelet (a fork bent into a bracelet) to adorn their wrist and show others that they are taking a stand against animal violence.

“Why the fork? By bending a fork into a symbol of nonviolence – we reclaim a tool that is indirectly, the single tool most responsible for the immense suffering and unimaginable deaths animals endure.”

As a vegan, I have decided that it’s too challenging to go out to eat at non-plant-based restaurants and that I will only go to all-vegan establishments. I don’t want to spend my money supporting restaurants that kill animals and serve them up.

I’ve decided to take the liberation pledge and will abstain from eating where animals are being served. I will make food at home or support vegan establishments when at all possible. I no longer lunch in my work lunchroom. Sound extreme?

I think we need to get more extreme. Have you ever watched any of James Aspey’s videos? He is definitely one to follow. James is an activist and calls the animal rights movement an anti-holocaust movement. He uses his voice for the innocent animals that can’t use their own:

“If you’re offended by me calling the Animal Holocaust a holocaust, I hope you’re at least as offended by billions of pigs getting murdered in gas chambers for ‘bacon.'”

I love the truth he tells. His muscles aren’t so bad to look at either, am I right?

He also says in one of his posts while he takes down some rice paper rolls:

“Filling your body with life instead of death is the best way to fuel your body to prevent (and potentially reverse) diseases and the ONLY way to respect nature and the Earthlings we share this home with.”

I appreciate his no-nonsense approach.

We can beat around the bush all day and try not to offend others by not showing up to a meat-centered Thanksgiving or other celebration, but at whose expense? The animals, that’s who. The innocent animals that have no say when they are slaughtered to become that next holiday centerpiece.

No more for me. I’m out. No ham, no turkey, no cow. I will not eat or be around people eating animals any longer. It’s the least I can do for my animal friends.

I took the Liberation Pledge, will you?