One of the undoubted highlights of my year was the role I played in the development of SoLVe, the Society of Legal Vegans and Vegetarians, at the Faculty of Law.  The inspiration for the group was simple.   Each time I teach my course in animals and the law, I get students thinking about their own behaviour, and whether it’s right on a personal level to continue eating animals once the treatment that goes into this food has been revealed.  Unfortunately, I felt that after the class ended students were then being left on their own - without any direction.  Many had no idea how to “successfully” become vegan or vegetarian, and inevitably drifted off the path.

To help rectify the problem, I gathered six students who had gone vegan after taking the class to discuss what we could do.  The excitement about the project was palpable - and we all agreed to start SoLVe (initially with the more boring name of VLS (Veggie Law Students)), which would be a group designed to help support those who were vegan or vegetarian, or interested in learning more about becoming so.

The group became one of the real success stories of my time at the Law School, and simply took off - working out beyond my wildest hopes!  Thanks to some wonderfully keen students, SoLVe became a fixture at the faculty, hosting four vegan BBQs, a potluck dinner, seminars, outings and weekly lunches to local restos.   At least 50 students and lawyers quickly joined the group.   It was exciting and a wonderful look at what grassroots initiatives can do.  I hope the energy sticks up next year!

And now the group is expanding further.  Thanks to the work of SoLVe alumni David Tong and current prez Vernon Tava, we’ve set up The Solution - thesolution.org.nz - SoLVe’s blog, designed to discuss animal law and vegan issues for the general public.  It is an exciting venture, and I am eager to see where it goes.  There have been some fabulous blog entries thus far. 

I’ve signed up as a charter blogger and contributor, and that will have some impact on my personal blog here.   Actually, the rise of The Solution couldn’t have come at a better time.  I’ve become somewhat frustrated by some of the limitations arising from the software I’m using to blog at my personal website.   No comments allowed, no tracking of visitors - it’s all because of the software, which puts out a very pretty package, but not one that’s particularly useful.  I’ve been thinking about switching to another platform for awhile now, but because of a baby and some book writing, it hasn’t happened.

My plan for the immediate future is to do my blogging on animal issues over at The Solution for now.  I’ve got a few up already in case you want to take a look.   I may well still post the occasional blog on non-animal concerns here, but most of my blogging time will be spent getting The Solution up and running.   Eventually, I hope to fix the bugs in my website here so that this will be my main platform, though I hope to be a part of The Solution - love that name - for some time to come.

Hope you enjoy the new website!  Please let me know with any comments!