They used to say there are three things you should never talk about in “polite company”: politics, religion and money. Nowadays, “vegan” can be added to the list of taboo topics of discussion – social media offers daily examples of carnivores throwing a fit when outspoken vegans express their views.
Brett Bard is a vegan and animal rights activist, but not the in-your-face kind – even though his bakkie has window stickers on the canopy bearing messages such as, “Humane milk/meat is a myth; don’t buy it”. There’s also a picture of a cow pleading, “Have courage, be kind, go vegan”.
The main house on Tortoiseback farm is a stone’s throw from the R407 – about 15 km from Klaarstroom and 40 km from Prince Albert. And it’s on the front stoep of this house with its wonderful views that its tall, slim owner laughs and says, “I am well aware that my bony – and once very ill – body is not the best advert for veganism, but this is who and what I am, this is what I do, this is how I live…
Now in his mid-50s, and after having for years irked many meat eaters, farmers, hunters, trappers and vegan-fearing townspeople, Brett knows this: no matter how hard you try to walk the talk – and no matter how uncompromising you are about your
