Love-ful? Okay, well that would mean not torturing and killing, because neither of those (check notes) are loving or lovely or have anything to do with love.

So the recipe would be: hang out with a live cow, live chicks and their mamas, let fish swim without hooking ’em or farming ’em, pardon every turkey you meet or don’t meet, and yes, again, don’t hurt chickens.

So here’s your as-promised recipe:

1. Donate to your local animal rescue. Here’s one, if you don’t know a local one.
2. Order the vegan options at your favorite local restaurants.
3. Educate yourself so shallow stupid facile anti-animal arguments can be easily dismissed.
4. Read some Walt Whitman, and surf that feeling of love he showers down upon you.
5. Don’t buy plastic or vinyl tacky taxing planet-heating “vegan” alternatives. Secondhand wool is still a good thing, though of course there’s issues with wool, too, gaddmanit. Bike, walk, carpool, bus, vote—vegan isn’t enough, the mindful life as I call it is the way to go. Live intentionally, ethically, with some care and simple joy and empathy. Skip the straw. Start somewhere.We pick on straws but in my experience no one cares. I’d love to see more folks caring. And more of us vegans caring about plastic, which kills birds, fish, whales, bears, starving them and heating our planet.

   And for those who don’t care about animals, bring ‘em to a sanctuary, educate yourself so you can handle their flimsy blind arguments.

   We need more caring, less gatekeeping. Straws matter to the turtle killed by ‘em, fish matters to the fish farmed/killed for our selfish momentary pleasure.

6. Don’t try to be perfect. Don’t be nihilistic, either. As the Buddha said, don’t fall for either extreme. Just care.