*What I learnt at Vegan Campout with my family*
The overwhelming feeling is one of kindness, especially having our little Ruff with us as a family. It is an environment full of like-minded animal lovers, and when I woke in the morning and left my teenage daughter sleeping in the tent, Ruff came with me for his morning walk. There were queues for the toilets and showers (for me) and when I reached the front of the queue with Ruff, almost everyone in the queue would reach out to keep him for me while I showered. It was the easiest thing in the world to speak to whoever you met as everyone was so warm and caring.
There was a lady who brought 2 very handsome enormous Irish Wolfhounds. I don’t think she got very far at the event as everybody wanted to stop and pat them. I was so pleased to hear from her that she too used Just be Kind Supplement to give them the extra Taurine that they needed. I felt overwhelmed by people thanking me for the advice and help I had given them. To be able to meet people face to face and hug them and know what a difference we’re all making was just so heart warming – I didn’t want the weekend to end.
We went to listen to Patrik Baboumain – I confess that I’m one of his biggest fans after seeing him in James Wilks’ Game Changers. He is a vegan strongman who has broken multiple world strength records, including the official Guinness World Record for the Super Yoke, carrying 555kg on his shoulders for 10m, fuelled by nothing but plants. He coined the phrase –
“Have you ever seen an ox eating meat?” when asked by someone – How could you get as strong as an ox without eating meat?!
His inspiration for weight lifting and strength came from a desire to be able to lift cars when he witnessed a terrible car crash as a child that tragically killed his Mum and sister. All he wanted was to be able to rescue his Mum and as an adult, he made it his life’s work to show his strength through his food choices. His whole drive now is to focus on saving as many animals as he can through educating people with video games. His heart is pure gold.
We then listened to Dr Alice Brough who is another vegan vet who used to be a pig vet. She now speaks out about the horrors that she witnessed and she now makes it her life’s ambition to educate others about these severe welfare issues. She has gone as far as almost losing her registration with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
She has a tiny frame and stood and spoke so calmly in front of thousands of us (although she did admit to me before talking just how terrified she was to speak in the main stage for the first time).
When Joey Carbstrong was about to start his talk, my daughter, Ruff and I were already in the front of the main stage area on the grass, still waiting to speak to Dr Alice. As he stepped onto the stage, the crowd went mad, with people rushing to the front just to see him and photograph him. He has a following of millions and is an Australian animal rights activist.
He was a drug dealer and convict in Australia and has the perfect character to expose to all of us the horrors of animal agriculture. I did have to close my eyes quite a few times as he showed us images that stay with me and are too horrific to think of, but with his ability to speak up for the voiceless, he is one person who on his own, has brought about SO much positive change.
He was able to film the cruelty inflicted upon animals at a slaughterhouse in Tyne and Wear and it subsequently closed last year with what he was able to expose! He is a mesmerising speaker as he spoke with such passion and conviction and raw honesty.
One comment he made, reduced me to tears with its truth. He spoke about how he had met with the hardest of individuals during his days working with criminal gangs, and how those people deserved to be locked up and punished for what they had done. But, he reminded us that….
“Animals who are used in the agriculture industry have done nothing wrong, and yet they are subjected to the worst atrocities whether in the dairy or meat industry. They’ve done nothing wrong”, he repeated!
How honoured and humbled I felt to have listened to him.
The food that we treated to over the weekend that we were at the Campout, just shows how truly resourceful people are! For 50 years of my life, I have eaten meat and fish and dairy as I have only been vegan for the last 4 years. I do not miss any of the foods that I used to eat and I know that I will NEVER again ever eat any animal product, or feed it to Ruff knowing all that I now know. To be able to buy foods that are comparable to the foods I remember, I just find remarkable!!
We feasted on croissants, pain au chocolats, ‘calamari rings’, ‘chicken’ wings (made of oyster mushrooms), sushi wraps, hotdogs, doner pitas…I could go on an on, but the resourcefulness of all these hard-working companies in supplying us with the most delicious food that tasted even better than the ‘original’ as we had the knowledge that no animals were harmed at all, was SO good:)
I just cannot wait to return with my family next year!
“As a vet, I believe in a kinder, healthier way to feed our pets that does no damage to our environment, harms no animals and uses fresh, healthy plant-based ingredients for a balanced and delicious diet”
Arielle Vegan Vet
“If nobody changes then nothing changes but if somebody changes then everything changes!”
Arielle Vegan Vet
Her ears smell just like Cheesy Wotsits!
“She smells just like Cheesy Wotsits” I just had to laugh as she was right, Matilda’s infected itchy ears smelt just like Cheesy Wotsits!
Supermarket shelves could run out of dog food – Hurrah!
Edgard & Cooper joining forces with Deliciously Ella, new Omni wet food, new oven-bake dry food from The Pack, Butternut Box plant-based sales soaring, Scrumbles on shelves in Sainsbury!
See how palatable GOLD DUST is for your dog!
Our little Ruff absolutely loves the taste and smell of GOLD DUST – watch the video!
Why our dogs should NOT be eating pork or fish
The dangers of bioaccumulation of toxins could be harmful to our pets
Top vets are choosing plant-based for their own dogs!
Vet specialist cardiologists, oncologists and dermatologists feed their own dogs Solo Vegetal!
Choose vegan when travelling with your pet
EU rules mean that you cannot cross the channel with any meat-based dog food, only plant-based!
Vegan Vet on Channel 5 TV!
A crazy experiment on Channel 5 proves that vegan dog poo has no smell as Alexis Conran and vet Arielle Griffiths put it to the test!
The goodness of Leni from Vegan4Dogs
What an inspiration she is and is proof of the power of good individuals making a difference!
My childhood dogs all died of kidney disease
They were fed a very high meat-based diet full of offal everyday!
What positivity to hear about Game Changers 2
A personal dream come true would be Lewis Hamilton talking on TV about how a vegan diet has impacted so positively on the health of his adored Bulldog Roscoe!
Vegan Dog Nutrition added to MSc Programme
Glasgow Vet School asked if they could add a section to the MSc Nutrition Programme about Vegan Dog Nutrition!
Dr Arielle and Vegan Dog Food in Newsweek
Read the Newsweek article ‘Can You Be Vegan And Have Pets?’