In the beginning of 2010, I interviewed Jed Gillen, author of Obligate Carnivore: Cats, Dogs & What it Really Means to be Vegan, a book that is ostensibly about why vegans should raise their companion animals—even cats(!!!)—as vegans. As I said in the introduction to that interview, I got that book because I was sure this Jed Gillen had to be a ludicrous dogmatist with no grasp on reality, which would have made his book the perfect reference for an entry I was thinking of doing on vegan pets. Vegan cats!

But the book was not what I expected. I thought it would be unintentionally hilarious and absurd. Instead it was intentionally hilarious and even persuasive. I was almost left thinking that if I had a pet, I would want to make that little omnivore or carnivore vegan. The book also made me feel a little nostalgic for my vegan days. I abandoned my vegan pet entry idea and contacted Jed for an interview instead.   

I’ve met up with Jed a number of times since then, and a few months ago he told me that he and his friend Joe Haptas were developing a vegan culture site called CarpeVegan; Jed asked if I wanted to contribute. Of course I did. My first post, “Why Not Buy Some Snake Oil With Your Animal Millions?”, went up today. It takes a look at Erik Marcus’ “Animal Millionaire” concept, a motivating device he invented to inspire vegan activists, which would be fine except that it’s a quasi-pyramid scheme. Fortunately it’s an imaginary one.

Someone commented on my CarpeVegan bio to ask why they wanted me to contribute when people looking for a dose of anti-veganism could just come to my blog. Well, for one thing, some people who read CarpeVegan aren’t looking for a dose of anti-veganism and will be tricked into taking one now. But also, my blog has strayed a bit from its origins of poking fun of vegan leaders and the cultural aspects of veganism. I’ll be doing more of that on CarpeVegan.

Plus my posts there will be a lot shorter.