Our obsession with STUFF aka dead abundance

I recently wrote this post in response to a friend who posted basically an apology for a reflection he had made after attending a friend's wedding. He was expressing sadness over so much resources being used in this way. It was on facebook and soon after he realized how this perhaps was poor timing and his intention wasn't to put water on the high spirits of those who so graciously welcomed him to join in the celebration.

Many people commented on this post, pointing out the graciousness of his humility in acknowledging this. Others started talking about how spending a lot on weddings is only a good thing, items are meant to be used, and the more they are used the more it provides for people's livelihoods and the better our lives are.

I couldn't hold back, I wrote this....

I respect you a lot. As many others have said it takes a lot of humility to reflect on an open forum. And surely it's been appreciated by those who could have been hurt from the previous post. That said, I think it's such a crucial conversation, that needs to be had. I definitely find myself in this trap of wanting to be a 'liked' person and not ruffling feathers, or making people uncomfortable. Largely I do my best to be this kind of a person. But I don't always succeed. In person I'm much more reserved and for whatever reason, talking about important issues online I am never able to hold myself back from how I truly feel. Perhaps I feel safe, behind my computer screen. I don't see the faces of detest or the emotions of judgment for my strong ethical stances. And in no way am I perfect. The worst is that I see how entrapped I am in the system and how torn I feel about it. I have family spread out on three continents, in various cities. Although I hardly own anything apart from a computer (which I often feel guilty about, but is a much needed tool for being in school unfortunately) and a blender and a few pieces of paper from school, I travel a lot. And traveling seems to speak to some part of my soul. At the same time, there is immense guilt for the use of resources that takes. The destruction of so much beauty in our world due to our unregulated use of fossil fuels and other products. I also have dreams of one day settling in a place made of natural materials -- clay or earth, or even learning to be so at peace with myself and with nature to live in Nature not needing anything.. as we once did so long ago and as many native human communities do in many parts of the world- although their voices, lives and cultures are getting squashed out as our industrialized privilege and ways are interfering with their water, food and lands. Now entire communities are either forced to relocate due to loggers forcing them out even brutally murdering them for their lands, or global warming raising the waters- drowning them out, or the climate changing and drying up their crops or their water sources or completely polluted land from our effluent. A mine polluted an entire river in Brazil. Destroying the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen and others who depended on that river. The worst mine contamination ever. For what... for our need and use of technology, our need and use of gold. Think of all the things we use metal for? I'm very much stuck in this system of using, it's what I was brought up with. But I am also very passionate about doing whatever I can possibly do within my comfort and capacity to reduce and limit my use of these worldly possessions. And am doing my best to direct my life in a way that perhaps one day I can too live much more simply without so much waste being generated. It's interesting that we've come to a point where our value system is STUFF-- dead abundance. Instead of our value system being our home of living abundance, living trees, animals and rivers. I can't believe that it is just a difference of opinion or personality that separates me from you. I can't believe that it is merely a difference in personal preference that separates me from the world. I believe those who are benefiting the most from our economic model are driving us to believe that we CANNOT live without all of this STUFF --dead abundance. It's a lie. That we are unfortunately believing, and the driving forces want us to believe that its cool to use the most expensive and the MOST amount of dead abundance that we can for EVERY life event, for EVERY event, and for EVERY moment of our lives. But when will it be that we feel so much utter peace and respect for ourselves and the world that we can be happy in the simplicity of being among others, living abundance. Our family connections being ENOUGH, our living trees feeling like ABUNDANCE in our lives, and the happiness of others including ANIMALS as precious souls that we happen to share the planet with. HAPPINESS for living in their presence, happiness seeing them live naturally. As we once did. living off the abundance of the world, with no need for monetary exchange or richer or poorer. It's all a scam to keep us in the deteriorated attitude of lacking. That we are not enough, this is not enough and most of all LIFE is not enough unless it's dead, manipulated and being used by us in some function that only serves us temporarily while in the long term devastating wildlife and our natural world. I respect that yes, we need to respect each other, yes we need to be kind to each other. But there is nothing MORE important or MORE vital that needs discussion than this today. Not necessarily about weddings. But our use of dead abundance- STUFF.

Starting to get excited

I'm getting beyond excited about my journey beyond school.

When you work so hard for so long, to the point of exhaustion, burn out, dismay, and disbelief. It's rather a surreal experience to actually think of the possibility that there is life beyond this chapter.

My biggest task right now is to stay focused, to not get too excited, stay present.  Because the more I can focus on school, the closer I will be to finishing. And finishing soon! I have roughly six weeks to get everything compiled to send out to my committee! I can't even believe it. It's completely unreal.

My journey after this, is unknown. But on the horizon are some prospectives:

1)
Travel to Denver Colorado, a once dairy farmer is transitioning to a vegan lifestyle, and way of living.  In the process, setting up a sanctuary for the animals. This can be a challenging process but absolutely possible with a management plan going ahead. I'm not sure if I can assist in this process, but we'll schedule a time this winter to take a look at the property, see what's locally being produced available, investigate high value crops that may do well in the area, and alternative business plans to help get the sanctuary on their feet in terms of obtaining funds necessary for the goals.  I'm so excited about this, because it's definitely something I believe in, and with the amount of studying that I've done, I feel it's time to make good use of it! And of course all of this work would be pro bono.  As long as I am able, contributing to these kinds of causes is, as far as I'm concerned, what I'm all about.  They currently have a indiegogo page, it's called, 'Saving the Sanctuary, and Broken Shovels Farm'

2)
I've been invited to Iran by a friend who is seeing the problems in Iran among farmers.  Their cancer rates are sky high, and they don't get a lot of support with sustainable farming practices.  This problem could potentially be multifold.  Which likely it is.  1- Getting leftover pesticides and herbicides which are not allowed in other countries 2- Never being trained in the safety of using chemicals on fields 3- Not knowing about any alternatives. 4- Not acquiring adequate nutrition from diets, making diseases and cancer more susceptible to the population.  5- Pollution in the water, and in the soil, built up over time, exacerbating these issues.

There are some processes available to help buffer pollution in water and the soil, like growing specific organisms and plants to clear/filter the toxicity, funneling water through natural areas for filtration,  but it's also possible that more complicated solutions may be needed.

Limiting dependence on agricultural chemicals, is definitely feasible with more sustainable farming techniques, teaching more appropriate handling methods of chemicals, and then of course eating a more nutrient dense diet, some of these things may be able to make a dramatic impact on the lives of these people affected by these circumstances.

Of course, whether I will be able to go, will be dependent on visa accessibility. Iranian and American relations aren't currently the best, however the more we can interact with each other in positive ways, perhaps the better for both countries. Breaking down these social barriers especially of images that media transmits that build animosity between people, isn't exactly a straightforward process, But it seems we need to try! Let's build a positive world culture, with helping hands at every turn. That's what I believe in anyway!!

3)There's also a friend in Peru, working with indigenous people, attempting to make a meaningful bridge and friendship between indigenous tribes and tourists. They are building a center there, in order to connect these people in a meaningful way. It's so inspiring to me because it's something the modern world is often so behind in, simple living, connecting with the earth. And it also gives a way for indigenous populations to interact in  a way that is respectful to their tradition and their customs, while also gaining monetary support in this process allowing them more freedom as a people to their land and their rights. I would love to explore this relationship more fully, and have also been invited to take a look at their soil ;) see if anything can be improved on that front.

4) I would love to visit Sadhana Forest in Kenya, I know I've written a lot about their organization on my blog in the past, but with everyday the locals and the officials in the Kenya are taking notice to what is happening and the positive shift seems to be dramatic. I'd love to spend some time here and further explore the way Aviram organizes these things with so much success.

5)A bit of a divergence, but what I'd love to learn more about it, is animal communication. Specifically from Anna Breytenbach in South Africa. Whether or not I'd be able to learn the skill, I have no idea, but it definitely seems like something that more people on planet earth should at least be trying to understand. The more we can connect with animals on a deeper level, the more I believe we can open ourselves up to broader compassion for those beings who are more vulnerable than us.  And may hopefully strike passion and drive in people to also want to expand their hearts to include animals. Not using animals as food, and resources, is helpful on so many levels on planet earth, letting go of conditioning, opening up to new creative ways of being and living that doesn't subject others, improving quality of air, water, soil and other resources, opens up possibility of living more connected to others, having more available resources for everyone.

Apart from that, I'm also looking forward to just being. Being present in life, opening myself up to the possibilities.

Just felt like sharing.

Have a great day!

Esther

Feeling disgusted

I'm rather livid right now. I can't handle the blindness, I know I should be compassionate in this situation, but I have the hardest time, trying to open the minds of these people who are systematically lied to by our culture and I'm exhausted of how narrow scope human beings are able to comprehend. I know I'm supposed to be positive, but I think we all reach our maxed out, angry point at times.  This was my response to someone commenting about humans are at the center of the universe, therefore we do what we want and use animals.

It's unfortunate but I see this all of the time. People claiming that human beings are the apex of all of creation.

So ultimately we humans believe that animals are resources, how is it then, that most find animal factory farming monstrous then?

Some claim humans have been using animals since the beginning of time, and why should we ever think about changing?

Do you really believe that if we have always used animals for, food, shelter, clothing, that that justifies it as sane or good? In the face currently of ecological collapse on multiple fronts --oceanic and all lands?

Humans have always been at war with one another since as long as we are aware of, does that make war good or sane?

Humans have traditionally had much lower life spans, about half of what we have today, does that make shorter life spans sane or good?

Today, our extent to animal manipulation is much more than it ever has been, are you then against this? Animal testing for pharmaceuticals, make-up, house hold products, random experimental designs for 'science'.

To what extent do you believe animals more resemble plants or rocks than they do humans? To what extent do you believe that animals have no capacity to care for themselves or others or their life? To what extent are Humans more aware, more conscious, more able than animals?

We just happen to be really good with tools, apart from that, I only actually see animals being often times, much more intelligent than us. We are the only species, who has managed to shift the ecosystem so much, that not only are we annihilating our own species, but we are bringing just about every other species down with us. If that isn't a huge failure of intelligence, I'm not sure what is.

Just because something is weaker than us, I'm not sure how that justifies us, making full use of it. It's the patriarchal mindset, use what can be used for your own means. Use other races for slaves, because you can, use woman and children for sex and labor without their permission because you can. Use animals for all of your needs, because you can. Use the world and its resources for your needs in excess because you can, Take from the poor, the sick, the helpless and the weak, because they are vulnerable, and it will keep you in power.

This is the mindset of many of the dominant cultures of the world today, They have hidden the messages so cleverly, yet they are still so bold and vibrant since, these are the actions unfortunately much more common among humans than the choice of compassion on this earth.

Our societies have successfully taught humans that this is the normal way, the only way, to gain strength, to gain fortune.

However, what is true compassion, what does living in an ecosphere mean. What is true connection. We live in a world that hardly anyone dare enter, or attempt to understand. We are trapped in the mundane everyday existence of cleaning, working, driving, using our gadgets, absorbing ourselves in made up stories projected onto screens. We are numb. Yet the mystery of the universe, the divine in all creation is here, waiting to be discovered in the minute occurrences that we too often ignore on a daily basis.

Yet, if we choose to listen, if we choose to be present, we can find this unshakable propensity of wisdom, in nature, we are not limited to the spoken words of humans throughout the ages, of course they would be telling the story with the creature of their choice (their race, gender and religion of human) in the center, but that hardly is anything but a boastful lie, to imagine the world as only full to the extent of that one component. Humans can't exist without the functions of the ecosystem on planet earth, we are hardly important.

We in fact, are so weak, so fragile, so small in the grand scheme of things. To believe humans are at the center of the stage above and beyond all other life. It's the same mindset as the belief that the Sun rotated around the Earth, claiming everything is only about us. So arrogant, so boastful, so untrue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfP-XBUbMvs

For these souls..

hmm okay, so maybe I will still periodically post when the inspiration comes. 

After viewing this picture of this animal, who has had their teeth, testicals and their tale ripped out without euthanasia, these were the words that came to me.. 

These are the souls we ruin for our mere taste buds. that's it. Our mere laze in not wanting to change. Take out salt, take out the smoke, take out the cooking from bacon and all it is a piece of dripping flesh from this animal. It's so easy to make that taste in any other food without using this animal's insides.

In fact, most commercial bacon bits, are actually vegan. Soy, smoke flavor, salt and cooking. Something juicy can be made with tempeh, eggplant, coconut, mushrooms, even jackfruit. I make it all of the time and it's wonderful, and I can eat it with a pure conscious because a being like this, didn't have to suffer so I could get my 'fix' of smoke, salt and cooking.

That's it. It's no meat fix, because once you give up meat, you realize that you don't even miss it. You miss the tastes and the flavors and the textures associated with meat.. but those can all be absolutely replaced with plants. In fact, we make meat to appear more like plants than it appears to be meat. If it appeared to be more like meat.. We would salivate by looking at this picture. We would eat what was in this picture as is, we would eat the feces on its skin, we would eat everything, including the bones. That's what real carnivores do. If we are actually part 'carnivores' we are the saddest 'part' carnivorous species I've ever seen.

We have to use tools to kill our prey. And mostly we don't have the capacity to chase them down, we must use tools that can aim at long distances. Even that is too much of a hassle for most of humanity... we actually need to pay someone else, to not only kill animals, but to breed them in small confined spaces, so that there is actually no chance for this animal to escape, even if it was otherwise one of the strongest species on the planet. No, we are the most pathetic part 'carnivores' I've ever witnessed. In fact, I really don't think we are 'part' carnivorous at all. Given that most people are truly disgusted witnessing a butchering event.

Most don't want anything to do with it. And not to mention our guts, we have the weakest guts as well, when we eat raw animal we get sick. We get obnoxiously sick, and many people die. Cats and dogs have the acidity in their guts to deal with the bacteria. we don't. Not even close. We also have long intestinal tracks just as other herbivorous creatures have, to slowly extract nutrients from plants. Cats have short intestinal tracks, so they can quickly eliminate all of the rotting meat in their guts. What happens to the rotten meat in our guts... well constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, noxious gas... bloating. It's not worth it. taking these lives just isn't worth it, not for our health, not for them, and not for our environment.

School

School has currently been taking up much of my time, I'm in my final semester, so I'm in full writing mode for my thesis.

Once January hits, I'm planning on traveling more with my husband, visiting more farms and eco communities, soil testing, and sharing what I learn here.

in the meantime, I do post a lot on fb.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8118061

All the best,
Esther

Veganism: And the problems of being largely misunderstood

I started this blog last year, https://veganrebuttals.wordpress.com/ basically I just needed a place to start putting all of my writings on veganism, where I would respond to online threads and conversations. I was involved with multiple discussion boards, and I was also investing a lot of time in typing up responses. Often I was finding myself writing the same responses or very similar ones, repeatedly, and also having to re-find articles and links to back up my information.

This spurred a platform for me to compile everything in one place. Every time I felt I was addressing a different type of question or response, I would make a new category.  After several months of this, I felt that I roughly had the bases covered on addressing arguments against veganism. I'm still updating it as comments roll in and responses roll out, it's just less frequent.

My latest post was on, the claim that 'diet is like religion keep it to yourself' and 'the problem with vegans is that they think they superior and enlightened'.

I felt these were really great comments to address because it is a slightly common perception that vegans have to deal with daily. Some vegans actively avoid confrontation because it's exhausting, it's exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally.  It's not easy constantly having to defend your choices in a way that doesn't make people feel bad, ultimately humans largely care about the same things. We largely care about treating animals with respect, having a clean home for our children, having safe drinking water for our communities, having food security in the years to come and having fresh air to breathe.  As vegans taking on the personal actions to promote some of these aspects of life on earth, they can easily be misunderstood as on a high horse, when in fact, it feels good to them to do. And human nature, is really to communicate to others what has worked for us. What makes us feel good.  Unfortunately because of the depth of our mistreatment of the natural world, many people feel totally overwhelmed by this burden, hence lash out at people they view as contributing to the problem. The truth is, we are all contributing to the problem, yet at different degrees. It just so happens, that making dietary changes, can dramatically change the degree to which harm is inflicted to other beings and the planet.

If this message came from a non-vegan, perhaps the message would be less intimidating, the person receiving this message could feel that they were on the same page, that this perhaps is beneficial to living systems, yet they aren't alone in facing how complicated those steps seem at face value.  It is huge, it's huge to remap your brain to it's tastes and it's preferences, your cells, stomach and body to obtain a fuel source which is a little lighter, a little more nutrient dense.  No one said it was easy, it becomes easier, and it becomes increasingly a joyful decision.  Most vegans I speak to, say that their biggest regret is not plunging in sooner.  If someone is really active fit personality, and they speak to you about how being more fit has changed their life and how they are using less fossil fuels because they avoid elevators and cars, because they enjoy taking their bike and the stairs whenever possible. Can people take offense to this? Sure, if they are in a situation where they feel it's not possible for them, or they feel the person is judging them for not living this way.  Does that mean it's the absolute truth?  Not in the slightest.  It all happens in the minds of the people taking in the information.  Someone could hear this athlete talking, and feel inspired, inspired to take small steps to live more actively for their health.  Someone else could interpret it as such a favor for them to speak up about their passions, igniting them to also follow their passions whatever it might be.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  It has little to do with the messenger, it's how the message is chosen to be received.  People like to relate this stuff with religion.  But in fact veganism has more to do with science, more consumption of a variety plants leads to higher immunity, animal studies have shown more and more intelligent animal behavior, social structures and sentience, global warming is more and more connected to animal farming in tropical areas.  These are logical assessments of the world we live in.  They can be actively researched online, in the form of peer reviewed journals, and you will find that it's all there.

Here are my responses to the comments on vegans being perceived as thinking they are superior and that diets are a personal choice:

DIETS ARE A PERSONAL CHOICE:
The problem is that we are all affected by the dietary choices we make. Animal farms contribute more to global warming than any other industry sector including transportation. We are all affected. If you met somebody who ate humans... you probably wouldnt think that was a personal choice would you? Animals may not be humans, but like humans they feel pain, they have complex social orders and natural inclinations. If we have a choice to promote the wellbeing of those who have little choice in the matter, that goes a long way in making the world a more peaceful place. A little less suffering. It's not a matter of 'holier than thou', because of who anyone is... it's a matter of each individual being able to make a choice in every moment to create a little less suffering on planet earth. And that option is open to everyone, no one is excluded from that option, therefore no one is better than anyone, because the potential of making the world a little more peaceful exists in everybody. Believing that humanity doesn't have room for improvement or believing that no human can take choices to promote peace, basically affirms that cruelty and less peace is a personal choice of those individuals. I guess for me I tend to believe that this really isn't the case for most people. Maybe there's a disconnect from those who promote messages of peace and those who ultimately want less suffering. This stuff though isn't just made up, with no substance, there are many actually studies that have been done correlating pollution rates, factory farms, nutrition from dairy and meat and diseases, animal intelligence and animal cruelty ... don't take anyones word for this stuff. The best that can be done.. is actually research it.. .google it... look up articles for this stuff... It's amazing the information available and actually how this isn't a religion, it's a logical approach to working with natural systems. "Cowspiracy" is a really great documentary, along with "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" "Forks over Knives" ... This stuff is really inspiring and is life changing. Personally I've reversed my own challenges with cancer cells,acne, low energy, and other illnesses through this lifestyle

VEGANS THINK THEY ARE SUPERIOR:

It may come across that way, since a message is trying to be conveyed, but think about it this way: everyone is a genius at something. When it comes to an electrician coming to your home to fix some connection, there wouldn’t be judgment as to why they are trying to do this, or explain something to you about how to properly maintain something. Largely, vegan information has been stifled by big business and governments regarding the benefits of a plant based diet in our world and for our health. Just like anyone else who is passionate about a topic, vegans are adamant that this information is a human right, that all humans ought to have access to important information regarding their health and happiness in order to make the best choices to what fits their values best. A lot of people are pretty disgusted to see the cruelty we commit to other members of planet earth, as well as our tax money going into subsidies that ultimately add to lack of environmental regulation of CAFOs and the pollution which regularly flows out of them. There’s no doubt in my mind that you are a genius at something, and that when people talk to you about that thing, you lighten up, you want to share your experience to improve their understanding in some way. We are all guilty of this. For some reason, information regarding public health, is seen as a threat to the patterns and habits we’ve developed over a lifetime. It doesn’t help to shoot down the messenger… the problems will remain. Whether or not anyone speaks about this stuff… we are continually affected by it. In ways of pollution, in ways of health care costs, in ways of cruelty to beings who have not done any action directly against us.

Vegan on a budget

10 Tips for the Cost Efficient Vegan

Vegan meals don't have to be expensive, but they certainly can be.  Vegan gourmet restaurants, vegan processed foods, vegan specialty products.  These can certainly add up.

Here are a few helpful hints on making veganism as affordable as possible.

My last year of college I actually saved significantly on my food bill by eating vegan.

Granted, I didn't eat packaged foods, at all. Everything I ate was made from scratch every day.  Every morning I would wake up 1-2 hours earlier to prepare my food for the day.

Helpful Hints:

1- Avoid foods that come in cans, boxes and jars as far as possible.

2- Get to know your local farmers market.  Even better, make friends with the farmers.  Talk to them about their culls.  Most farms end up throwing out lots of food, not because it's necessarily bad, but because it may not be 'aesthetic' enough to sell. Farmers markets are certainly more lenient than supermarkets, but typically most farms have a serious amount of veggies and fruits that they end up giving largely away to employees or go to the dump.  Find out if farmers are willing to work with you -- maybe they would be open to you coming and picking it up from their location on their harvest days, or perhaps you can buy these foods in bulk from them for a reduced price.  It's possible that they may be quite happy to work with you on this.

3- Some grocery stores, have a section of fresh foods that are going at a reduced rate, they may have been on the shelf a bit longer, with perhaps a few spots, but these foods are still edible and can often go for half the price of their shelved counterparts, if not more.

4- Grow herbs in your window sills, basil, parsley, chives, sage, cilantro.  If you have space on the patio or garden, it's possible to grow tomatoes, green leaves, salad, radishes. Experiment, find out for yourself how much you can fit in the amount of area that you have. One seed packet, can grow often 7-8 plants. Each plant can harvest several servings.  It's definitely the most bang for your dollar.

5- Some communities have community garden plots.  Sometimes these small plots of land are free to grow whatever you'd like on them, and sometimes it may cost a small amount of money for the season you grow something.

6- Get to know if your area has CSA shares. CSA stands for community supported agriculture. Basically at the beginning of the growing season the farmer sells shares of his produce for that season.  How this works is you may pay a one time installment of 300-400$ depending on the size of the share (often half and full shares are the common features) in order to receive a fresh fruit and vegetables from that farm on a weekly basis.  I get a CSA share from the University campus organic farm. I paid a little over 300 dollars in the spring, in order for a weekly share of veggies that I pick up every Tuesday for about 4 months (if not a little more). In each share of veggies, I get whatever was in season for that week.  Recently the shares may look something like:
1 bundle of beets
1 bundle of kale
1 bundle of basil
1 bowl of raspberries
1 small bag of edamame
1 bundle of swiss chard
1 bundle of parsley
2 heads of lettuce

As the season moves forward the shares have more food,
they start including tomatoes, zucchinis, eggplant, onions, garlic, etc.

It can sometimes be difficult to finish all of the food, I only receive a half share, but it's really ample amount of greens for the week typically. In some cases volunteering at a CSA may mean bringing home lots of extra stuff, either culls, or extras or in some cases the CSA provides volunteers with free shares.  CSA shares definitely can save a lot, especially when it comes to organic produce.

7- Find others who are into foraging and wild food collecting. There may be local meet up groups, or field days hosted by local universities about wild plants, check local events pages.  The cost of wild food is basically the transportation that may be involved in getting to a place where you can collect. Common wild foods (at least in the intermountain west): Amaranth, wild lettuce, dandelions, plantain, sorrel, clover, grass -- actually wheat grass is such a craze in the health food movement, but actually all grass is edible and full of nutrients, the only part of grass that wouldn't be good for health is a black mold that can sometimes be found in a seed head.

*Note: Do learn the common poisonous plants in your area to make sure there aren't any edible lookalikes.  Wild foods do tend to have more bitter qualities than their store counterparts, but on that same note they are also typically much higher in nutrients such as calcium, iron and other essential elements.  These should be slowly introduced into the diet, so to not be too overwhelming for the body, large quantities of new foods can sometimes be a little hard on the stomach, but overtime adjustment will happen.

8- I haven't personally tried this cookbook but Robin Robertson has written a cookbook specifically for vegans wanting to save money, "Vegan on the Cheap", there is also a book by Ellen Jones, "Eat vegan on 4 $ a day".  Both having fairly good reviews on Amazon.

9-Also, just remember that by eating vegan, you are saving some pretty hefty expenses that may not occur later on, because you are amping up your immunity through fresh foods.  To learn more about this, please refer to Primitive Nutrition series on youtube, where multiple first hand scientific journals are reviewed on basically the health benefits of a plant based diet. Other helpful resources: (films) fat sick and nearly dead, forks over knives, healing cancer, eat, and simply raw,  (books) nutritarian handbook.  You may find that medications you once needed, may begin feeling less useful, once your body really begins to adapt and thrive off of whole fresh foods.

10- Cooking/Uncooking tips:

*Note: these tips are largely for those living in the US, some of these may be helpful tips in other locations, however depending on the region food selection and prices will vary as local foods will tend to be more available hence cheaper than imported food.  On that note, no matter where you live, buying local foods will most likely be the best value for your money.

When using online recipes or recipes from books and you want to maintain the same quality yet not use such expensive ingredients, here are some go to ingredient swaps that can make a nice difference in your pocketbook.

•  Cashews and pine nuts -- cashews can certainly be expensive, often over $10 for a bag (and much more for pine nuts), and same with almonds.  Try sunflower seeds, often they sell for $3 a bag, being a dryland crop they don't take a lot of resources to grow.  In fact, they often grow as 'weeds' in many arid regions.  You can make cheeses with these, creams, even milk.  
• Cereal -- cereal adds up, especially boxed cereal.  The best savings is to have oatmeal instead of cereal, or something else home-made instead of oatmeal. 
• Vegan meats, cheeses, yogurts, ice-cream and other specialty products -- this is where the costs of vegan can really hit the pocket.  A lot of these products are 5 dollars each, sure maybe they taste amazing, and maybe they are great for special occasions, but for everyday fair, it will certainly add up.  Also many of these products can be made at home, vital wheat gluten is a common ingredient for vegan meats, cashews or tofu are common in cheeses -- however cashews can be substituted by sunflower seeds and tofu can be substituted by chickpea 'tofu' http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2014/04/genius-chickpea-tofu/
• Tofu-- I just listed this above, but figured it was worth mentioning in it's own bullet.  Not that tofu is that expensive, however making your own from chickpea flour is cheaper, http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2014/04/genius-chickpea-tofu/ 
• Berries and exotic fruits -- of course these are so good for you, however they are often expensive, apples, oranges and bananas are typically the most cost effective fruits. 
• Basil - Basil is amazing, and every now and again I may spend to get some, however, other herbs are much cheaper.  Cilantro and parsley for example typically sell for a fraction of the price that basil does.  Cilantro pesto is awesome-- and is personally my favorite, and much cheaper to make than basil pesto. Some people prefer the taste of parsley over cilantro, in that case make pesto from parsley.  
• Ready made sauces -- to be avoided, the only sauce that is fairly useful in vegan cooking is tomato sauce, for some reason blended tomatoes don't always give the same rich texture that canned tomatoes do.  For all other exotic and fun ready made sauces, just skip them.  Healthier sauces can be easily made at home.  Tahini and peanut butter are packaged foods, however if used sparingly within recipes can go a long way for the investment.  Tahini often goes for $10 a jar, but will last months in the cupboard, and is great in so many recipes.  I've even made my own milk from 1 banana, 1-2 tbsp tahini and 2-3 cups of water blended.  It may be acquired taste, but for the time I had little time I wanted to invest in actually making a nut milk, this was a perfect solution for me.  
• Supplements-- don't worry too much about this, B12 is important to have but apart from that as long as you are getting plenty of greens, and calories in general, you will have the nutrients that you need from a vegan diet.  
• Pickles -- organic pickles can be pretty expensive.  Try buying a cucumber instead, slicing it thin and marinating it in sugar, salt and vinegar.  It may add the right amount of tangy crunchiness to your sandwich that you may not even miss the jarred variety.   (http://www.food.com/recipe/norwegian-cucumber-salad-agurksalat-423204)
• Olives -- Sometimes there are sales on organic olives, but incase it's not happening, capers are generally more affordable.  
• Bread -- If you are really looking to save money, buy flour not bread.  You will get 6-7 loaves for the price of one, if you make your own bread.  This can be time consuming, so again it really depends what level of cost saving you are interested in. 
• Junk food -- I know it's tempting, but chips, cookies, cakes, sugar and fat filled things only serve to deplete the body of nutrients, keeping up the vicious cycle of cravings and hunger. The more quality rich food you have the more full you will be, hence the less you will buy.  Raw food recipes are especially great at satisfying cravings.  Try a raw broccoli soup, you may be surprised at how quickly your nerves and cravings stabilize.  
• Dates, agave and maple syrup-- in the US, alternative sweeteners can be pricy, these are common sweeteners in vegan cooking.  Alternatively you can buy stevia -- upfront costs may be more, however the quantities needed to sweeten are very very minute, hardly a few grains.  One small container can last years -- mine certainly has.  Raisins can also be used, these are much cheaper than dates and can easily replace dates in many raw food recipes.  If neither of these quite fit the bill, agave is certainly cheaper than maple syrup, and can be used sparingly. 
• Buy in bulk, go to the bulk aisle and get everything you want in dried version, cans of beans definitely add up in cost.  Pre-made rice in bags or boxes give you much less value for your money.  Load up on dried bulk food.  *if you have never cooked dried beans, it's less intimidating than you might think, throw them in a slow cooker for 8 hours while you are at work with ample water alternatively soak them in water overnight and simmer them for 1 hour until they are soft. If you are interested in foods that cook faster, try millet instead of rice, try lentils instead of beans, they don't require soaking or an hour. They can be done in 20 minutes, sometimes a bit longer, but at minimum about 20 minutes.  I have never been brave enough to use a pressure cooker, but that is another way that these foods can be cooked much quicker.