On assignment in Albania, credit Baton Marku
Growing the vegan movement through journalism seems like a natural way for me to do my part.
The truth of it is I became a photojournalist as a small child. As soon as I learned how to draw, write, and cut pictures from magazines, I began creating make-believe newspapers and writing news articles for my toy dolls to read and discuss. By the time I was eight years old, I knew I wanted to be a foreign news correspondent.
Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley were all top-rate news anchors as I was growing up. Watching them spin stories ignited a deep thirst for adventure, storytelling, and travel.
I saw through their storytelling how an individual can shape attitudes and beliefs to change the world view about civil rights, war, and pop culture.
I was already the family photographer when I reached middle school. I was active in the journalism club in high school, and in college, I was editor-in-chief of the university magazine. Journalism had seeped into my blood. I had begun to see writing as a tool for social activism. Growing the vegan movement would come a few decades later for me.
Seeing how photojournalism evokes emotion would help in growing the vegan movement one day
In the meantime, I had really come to see the power of photojournalism while I was in the Navy in 1973, when I documented the return of Vietnam POWS to Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego. I watched as my photographs of POW survivors made people cry, wince, and ask a lot of uncomfortable questions that demanded answers.
When I was a teenager, the U.S. Navy had a recruiting campaign that spoke directly to me — “Join the Navy, see the World!” That caught my attention. I joined the military at age 18 to become a Navy journalist and photographer.
I traveled the world in search of story
From the very beginning of my reporting career, I have traveled to many reporting assignments in many places with many cameras, many pens, pads of paper, microcassette recorders and video cameras.
These tools helped me hone my skills as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, magazine designer, disk jockey, television news anchor, photographer, and videographer.
Storytelling had become my passion. At the time, I didn’t realize I would use my journalism skills one day to be on the front lines growing the vegan movement.
Parasites altered my course of storytelling and travel
On assignment in Costa Rica, credit Sammy
While living in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica and traveling throughout Central America, parasites took hold in my gut and other soft tissues. They incubated there for nearly three years before debilitating me. They also ended my travels and reporting for a while.
In poor health, I returned to the United States for treatment. As fate would have it, I ended up in St. Louis University’s medical research program for parasites. This is how I returned to my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, after having been gone nearly 40 years.
Not surprisingly, the doctors at St. Louis University practice western allopathic medicine. Their solution to curing me of parasites and the intestinal damage they had caused was to cut out a good sized chunk of my small and large intestine and stitch back together what pieces of the gut were left. Needless to say, I didn’t stick around for further discussion and bolted from the doctor’s office.
As I relayed this story to a friend, she suggested I make an appointment with her acupuncturist. I had never experienced any form of alternative medicine. But I figured I had nothing to lose, and possibly everything to gain, by consulting with a doctor who didn’t view intestines as disposable tissue.
I made an appointment with Dr. Duckworth and a year later was fully healed — my intestines still intact. While healing, I came to realize that St. Louis was where I was meant to be. And so, I began to settle down and knew that I would soon need a job.
A voice led me back to photojournalism
I believe in divine providence. Nothing happens without purpose. I had been guided home for a reason, although I didn’t realize it at the time.
After I was finally healed from the parasites, one Thursday morning I awoke to an audible voice urging me to go to the St. Louis Archdiocese website. I’m not Catholic, and I hadn’t visited an archdiocese website before. I immediately ignored the voice. The voice returned a few minutes later. It was clearly enunciated and audible, telling me to go to the Archdiocese website. Once again, I dismissed the voice, thinking it was strange and a little bit freaky.
The voice nagged at me all day long. When evening rolled around, I felt curious and a whole lot weary of the monotonous message that had been repeating itself in my head all day.
At 8 pm I logged onto the Archdiocese website.
I found myself traveling in search of stories once more
On assignment in El Salvador, credit Jeanette McDermott
Astonished, I saw a job advertisement for a communications position at Sisters of the Good Shepherd. They needed someone with the skills I had acquired in the Navy, followed by assignments as a civilian photojournalist.
In my entire career as a communicator, I had never run across anyone else with the full skill-set I had in the various media forms: daily and weekly newspaper reporting, magazine writing and management, editing, and layout and design, radio, television, photography, and video pre-production, production, and post-production. I saw this as a sign. First, the voice. Then the job description.
I called the number on the job posting the next day, and after four interviews was hired. Sisters of the Good Shepherd are located in 73 countries and across North America. Once again, I find myself traveling in search of stories.
Using stories is an exciting way for growing the vegan movement
On assignment in India, credit Sabir
It is my unbridled passion for stories and love for animals that prompted me to create Vegan Storyteller to help grow the vegan movement. Stories connect and inspire us. They motivate us to respond to a call.
Humans always have been, and forever will be, on the eternal quest for the holy grail of relevance, meaning, and connection to one another. Deep within our psyches are individual and collective archetypes that shape and define who we are. These are our stories.
I am growing the vegan movement through interviews, personal stories, news reports, art, inspiring quotes, and thought-provoking essays that
- support vegan activists and promote their actions to herald their courage and inspire others to join them
- support people on the vegan pathway with educational and networking resources
- motivate people to adopt a cruelty-free lifestyle
- encourage new vegans and those who are considering a plant-based diet
- excite people about making plant-based meals, including low FODMAP meals for vegans with IBS
- change perceptions and build demand for high quality vegan food in St. Louis and the surrounding Midwest region
Growing the vegan movement takes all of us working together for change
The purpose of Vegan Storyteller is to energize and help grow the vegan movement in St. Louis, the surrounding Midwest region, and beyond. My aim is to bring more light into the world to benefit people, animals, and the environment.
There is important work to be done to make the world a more caring and compassionate place. I’m ready to do the work. We should do it together.
There's important work to be done to make the world a more caring and compassionate place. We should do it together.
Returning from assignment, credit Mercy DeLeon, RGS
Follow Jeanette McDermott
I launched Vegan Storyteller to use my photojournalism skills to change perceptions about animals and help grow the vegan movement. My notorious Rebel, Hero, Seeker, and Scribe archetypes are making sure the blog is bent toward vegan activism and spirituality to raise awareness and elevate consciousness to bring more light into the world to benefit us all.
Read next My journey of going from vegetarian to vegan.
