Winners!

Well, 36 people answered the question of why they are or aren't vegan. That's a pretty good turnout. Thank you to all who answered.

To be honest, I was hoping for more, but the responses I did get were all civil and mostly thoughtful, which just goes to show you that vegans and non-vegans can coexist in an online public place without jumping down each others' throats.

We have honest differences, to be sure. And those differences do matter (indeed, they're a matter of life and death). But the point is that we can and do discuss these differences with each other without resorting to name-calling and/or pie-throwing. I think the hardest part of starting a civil conversation about veganism is convincing both sides that it's a conversation worth having civilly (which can include speaking openly and honestly and not stifling our ideas simply because someone's sensibilities might be offended).

Anyway, a pat on all your backs.

Now on to the winners!


(The new camera does widescreen and I haven't figured out yet how to embed that correctly, so I suggest just clicking on the video and viewing it on the YouTube page.)

So that's what eight minutes of my day looks like. If you felt rushed, confused and pulled in different directions while watching it, then you know what my days are like. Let's just say I appreciate concurrent naps.

A note on the video, we had picked names (two of the three, to be exact) one time before what you see in this video, but the camera wasn't recording when I thought it was (it's a new camera that I'm not used to, as is evident by the sound being muffled now and then when I put my finger over the microphone area). So I decided to do it all over again. The same person was picked first both times! Crazy.

And toward the end of the video I give my reason for being vegan. To elaborate, I'm vegan because I don't need animal products to live a long, happy and healthy life. Since I don't need these products, I'm presented with a choice of whether or not I should continue to consume them. I can find no good argument to cause suffering and death when that suffering and death is not necessary ... so I choose veganism.

I'm vegan because animals are sentient beings who should be extended the basic right to not be treated as things; as property. The property status that we place upon animals is what allows we humans to cause the aforementioned suffering and death for reasons such as tradition, convenience and pleasure (not necessity).

Simply and more concisely, I'm vegan because I agree with the majority of humans that it is wrong to inflict unnecessary suffering and death on another sentient being.

For a great introduction to this view visit this page and spend a few minutes reading the pamphlet.

OK! Well thanks again to everyone who answered the question. And to the three who won, Alafair, Ashlee and PL&V, just click on the "email" link on my profile page and send me your address. Then wait patiently for the goodies.

And thanks again Go Max Go Foods for donating the candy bars! You're the best.

Hold on...

So today (or, I guess yesterday, since this is posted after midnight) was supposed to be the day that I did the whole contest drawing (hopey changey) thingey. But, honestly, my brother-in-law and nephew are in town for the week and today my nephew and I built a spaceship.

Uh-huh. A spaceship. So, yeah, we've been busy.

My nephew and I are in pre-production for the third movie in the "Awesome" trilogy. (I still need to post the second installment of the trilogy on this blog, but just in case you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about, here's the first installment.)

Today we took a trip to Ax-man Surplus to pick up some circuit boards and what-not (for the spaceship to fly, ya know) and some silver spray paint at Menards (to make the spaceship silvery and all). Because space ships have to be silvery, ya know.

In short, it's all worth it and the new movie is going to be epic (so much so that it may not be done for another year or so).

Anyway, because of my dereliction of duty, I'm extending the giveaway deadline a few more days. Look at this as your second chance to make a first impression (or at least more time to figure out why you are or are not vegan).

The new deadline is April 5th (Monday), which means I'll do the drawing on Tuesday (and post the winners either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning).

Don't worry, those candy bars are waiting patiently in my fridge (so as not to melt in our crazy March/April heat), and the books are waiting patiently on my bookshelf.

Answer a Question and Maybe Win a Book! (And now candy bars!)

UPDATE! This may be the first time you're reading this post, but I already have a kick-ass update for you. The fine people at Go Max Go Foods have agreed (after I shamelessly asked them on Twitter) to kick in some candy bars to literally sweeten the deal! More info at the end of this post.

The time has come for a giveaway. I haven't given away anything for a couple years. And last time I did it, we all had a lot of fun.

This time around, the subject isn't going to be quite as light-hearted as eternal damnation.

But first, the prize: The Vegan Monologues by Ben Shaberman.


I'm going to be honest with you, I simply did not like this book at all.

First off, the title is misleading. Most of the essays have absolutely nothing to do with veganism. Taken individually, the essays collected in this book are OK. They're fine, but far from great. Toss them all together in one book though and one is left wondering, "Why?" Most of these essays have nothing to do with each other. The only continuity comes from the fact that they're all written by Ben Shaberman. That's about it.

Who knows, maybe you would like it. For you non-vegans out there, you might like that it's not really about veganism at all. For all you vegans, you probably would like that it's free and the word "vegan" is on the cover of the book.

So... I feel like I should add something to the prize. Sweeten the pot a little, ya know? How about this?




Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart.

I haven't even read this. Picked it up at a garage sale last summer for a dollar. I'm sure it's good, I just haven't had the time to read it.








Anyway, here are the questions:

For those who are vegan: Why are you vegan?

For those who aren't vegan: Why aren't you vegan?

And here are the rules:

1. Answer the question that applies to you in 25 to 100 words (or more if you must).

2. I want the comments on this blog to stand alone. I will refrain from starting a dialogue within the comments and I ask that all commenters do the same (just this once). I want every reader to feel free to answer their question without trepidation.

3. If you're reading this on Facebook, please click on "View Original Post" and comment on my actual blog. I really want all of the answers in one place for everyone (not just my Facebook friends) to read.

4. If you comment on this post without using a profile, please at least sign your first name (assuming you want to be entered into the giveaway).

5. If you comment, but have no desire to read the book, let me know and I won't enter your name into the giveaway.

6. The Piggy household has not budgeted for international shipping, but oh well. Giveaway is open to anyone anywhere (except for, maybe, the International Space Station ... I haven't checked rates to the ISS yet, but I assume they would be prohibitive).

7. The winner will be chosen at random by my daughter on April 1st (UPDATE: April 6th). I will probably post a video of the drawing. Should be fun. I'll notify the winner in the comments and (probably) in a new blog post.

So there you go. I look forward to reading all of your comments. This is a perfect opportunity to de-lurk, by the way. Come on lurkers, you know you want to answer. Come on.

And if you have a blog (or are on Facebook or Twitter or Chatroulette) and want to spread the word about the giveaway, by all means do that. Thanks!

UPDATE CONTINUED: So yeah, Go Max Go Foods totally rocks. The first time I took a bite of their Jokerz candy bar, which is a vegan version (and a damn close one at that) of Snickers, I nearly cried. I didn't go vegan because I didn't like the taste of candy bars, or hamburgers or cheese. In fact, I loved the taste of all those things. (In case you're wondering, I went vegan because I don't think that animals are ours to use.) So when I can get my hands on food that closely resembles something I cherished before going vegan over 7 years ago ... well, it almost makes me cry. Especially when it's a candy bar like Jokerz (and the rest of them are awesome, too).

So they're sending me three of each of these:


So the rules are changing a bit. Now Anna's going to pick three (3) winners at random. The first winner picked will get both of the books, plus four candy bars (one of each kind). The second and third winners will each get four candy bars (one of each kind).

It's been two years since I've had a giveaway. What can I say, I'm feeling generous.

Vegan Candy Bar Giveaway

My friend Mindy's blog that she started with a friend is having a candy bar giveaway.

Go to Veg Out With Us to enter.

I'm lessening my chances of winning by linking to the contest, but it's a great blog and they went through all the trouble of lining the contest up with the company that makes the candy bars... So I'm a nice guy, is what I'm saying.

Go enter. Good luck.

Win a CD!

Wanna win a CD?

Three of my brothers are in a band by the name of Grampa's Amp. They're running a CD giveaway every month. Go to their website and click on "Win a CD!" to find out how you can, um, win a CD.

I don't think I typed the phrase "Win a CD" enough in this post, do you?

Win a CD.

There. That's enough.

Cookbook Give-away at Vegan Soapbox

Win a vegan cookbook at Vegan Soapbox!

Because who doesn't want a new cookbook? Just comment on the Vegan Soapbox post and you're automatically entered to win.

Good night, and good luck.