Ruby Roth Interview!

This weekend Annie (my younger sister who has been vegetarian since birth!), my mom, Jack, my Aunt Chris, her partner Carrie and I all went to VegFest in Novi.  This was my second time going and I really enjoyed it.  Each year it keeps getting better and better.  My Aunt Chris and Carrie are interested in eating vegan and have been for a couple of weeks (Carrie's mom went vegan for health reasons recently).  My mom came along to help with Jack but I think she was really impressed with what she saw, tasted and learned!  For $7 we were able to sample amazing food by cooks made in their own homes, by local restaurants and by national brands as well.  A lot of coupons were given out, animal rights activist swag to pick up (tons of stickers for my classroom) and speakers to learn from. 

However, the highlight of our time at VegFest was being able to interview Ruby Roth.  Ruby is a vegan artist, who when teaching art to students and talking to them about her vegan lifestyle, saw that there were not any children's books that discussed the vegan lifestyle.  She has illustrated and wrote both That's Why We Don't Eat Animals and Vegan is Love (and I was sure to get a signed copy of both for Jack!).  My friend Renee does marketing for VegMichigan and presented Annie and I with the opportunity to interview her.  It was a pleasure to do so; Ruby was so kind and well spoken and even took the time to give my sister Annie some advice on art (as she hopes to do something similar to Ruby in her future, combining veganism/vegetariansim with art).  I'm thankful that she wrote these books so vegan kids like Jack have the opportunity to read and learn about being a compassionate consumer and eater.  I highly recommend these books to vegan and vegetarian families, those interested in the lifestyle or maybe that are not vegan/vegetarian but have children who are.

How did you become vegan?
It started as a health experiment for me.  I used to get sick all of the time, I thought it was a normal part of the seasonal cycle and I tried it and stopped getting sick.  I never went back and after that, I started researching the animal agriculture industry and that solidified my decision.

I've read that you were inspired to write this book from your intereaction with the students you taught art to, do you think that kids naturally understand the choice of being a vegan as opposed to adults?
Absolutely.  They respond with a great sense of diplomacy.  They think about it, they question and reflect on how our behaviors affect others versus adults who often become defensive or offended.  Adults normally feel criticized or judged.  Kids don't feel that way.

When you were thinking of writing That's Why We Don't Eat Animals what was your purpose in writing this book?
I wrote it primarily to fill a niche that I felt was empty.  When I went to explain to my students why I was vegan and I searched for a book, everything I found was about a talking animal or a talking vegetable.  These kids were street smart from LA city and they wouldn't relate to that and it wasn't going to keep their attention.  I was motivated by the conversations I had with kids which were very direct. 

Do you think that the issue with the controversy you've encountered has more to do with adults being uncomfortable with eating meat and dairy rather than kids' ability to handle the information?
I think the controversy is 100 percent an adult issue.  I have never once ran into a children who is overwhelmed, only adults.  So I think that only proves that what we do to animals is scary and people know that inside of themselves.  They may not know the whole scope of it but they're saying it is too scary and it is too scary to talk about to children, then I think it is too scary to eat it.

Was it hard to find a publisher?  What was that process like?
I always say that I could replant a whole forest with rejection letters that I got.  I found a company that was interested but I still had to push it.  But between the first book and my second book, the word vegan has become way more mainstream.  It is now a selling point rather than something to hide.

Was it more challenging to illustrate or write the message?
I am an artist primarily so that comes more naturally to me, but the first drafts that I wrote for the first book were about 4,000 pages.  So, it was hard for me to pick the most essential and relatable for kids and the information that they would not feel frightened by but inspired by.

I love that with your new book Vegan is Love you share with children that they don't have to wait for presidents to be elected or laws to change to make a big difference every day with the foods they chose to eat or the products that they buy.  However, these changes aren't always the mainstream ones that their peers will make.  I know that you are step-mother, how do you deal with that with your step-daughter?
I think it is mostly about building confidence in the children.  Once you give children the information they need to make educated choices, they choose wisely.  If a kid understands why, then they can't be shaken by what other kids don't know.  And I think it is really important to emphasize, "Look, you are reading these books, now you know more information than most adults do about animal agriculture.  This is why it is so important to be a hero for animals".  And ultimately it isn't about forcing kids.  You can't force them.

Do you have any advice for parents raising children?
Don't make it a forced issue.  Stick to education and actual experiences that kids can have with animals like at a farm sanctuary or a rescue shelter so that kids learn about the real lives of animals, not the imaginary ones that we see in the zoo.