I will always remember the moment I saw my son for the first time. I was flooded with love for him as I acknowledged my responsibility.

I changed radically with Ian’s birth. I wanted to be worthy of being his mother so I left my shy self behind. This wasn’t easy for me, but it was necessary if I was going to be the best advocate for Ian as he grew. I wanted a better world for him to live in so I knew I had better go about changing it, and, first, I had to change myself.

Love is a call to action!

I felt a similar flood of feeling when Rosemary and I picked Harumi and Kotori up from the shelter. I wanted to be worthy of taking the place of their missing mothers. I want a better world for them, too.

Now I can hear the voices of many saying, “but, Linda, they’re chickens! How can you compare your love of your son with what you feel for them?”

Isn’t this a mere deflection from the matter at hand? Doesn’t calling my love for my son into question draw attention away from their lack of concern for sentient and suffering animals?

Harumi and Kotori need loving care and concern especially since someone has eaten their mothers!

My work to promote veganism and to save the lives of animals has changed me as profoundly as my son’s birth. In fact, they are part of the same whole, and they can’t be separated.

Love is a call to action!

– Linda Nelson