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three months. Her kidneys stopped working, and her body went into complete renal failure. She believes the contaminated meat from the fast-food hamburger is what gave her E. coli. During her hospitalization, she overheard a doctor telling someone she was going to die. “I heard that, and I was five. I knew what it was like to think I was going to die and want to live.” After dialysis and transplants, she survived. Then, just months later, her family nearly avoided a car accident. Her dad sped around a bend and the car spun. He hit the brakes and stopped just inches away from a cow. “I looked into the cow’s eyes and felt a connection. The cow knew what it was like to almost die, just like I did.” While her parents went to alert the farmer that cows were roaming free on the road, Amethyst saw a sign that read, “meat for sale.” She was horrified. It was the first time she learned that meat came from animals. Her parents were not initially receptive to her vegetarianism. From years 5 to 10, she would have to sit at the dinner table and fight off her parents’ attempts at trying to get her to eat meat at the suggestion of their family doctor. Then, around the age of 10, her family tried a new doctor who happened to be from India – a
country where 42 percent of its citizens are vegetarian, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization for the United Nations. The doctor was more than familiar with vegetarianism and educated her parents on alternative ways to get protein. In Amethyst's early teens, her vegetarianism morphed into veganism. It took her a week to give up dairy, and she immediately noticed positive changes. Her acne went away, along with stomach and female reproductive issues. She says these things made it easy to stay vegan. “I was the only vegan I knew. Everyone thought I was strange and tried to feed me lettuce all the time. In high school, all my friends were 30-something vegetarians.” Amethyst takes solace in knowing that her young daughter, also a vegan, won’t experience the kind of isolation that she went through. Annikah is 8 years old. She has dark hair and likes to add streaks of pink, purple and blue, just like her mother. She is Amethyst’s shadow, never far from her mother. Amethyst refers to Annikah as her “mini-belly dancer.” They belly dance every day together. “She’s been belly dancing since she could walk,” Amethyst says. To combat the isolation she experienced as a child, Amethyst started a private Facebook group with other vegan parents. The group's members often get together with their children. Also, the Pittsburgh Vegan Expo hosts children-friendly activities. For example, because Halloween can be a difficult time for vegan children, the Pittsburgh Vegan Expo will host trick-or-treating, where kids can collect vegan-friendly snacks from vendors. A typical day in the life of Amethyst consists of balancing motherly duties, working on her businesses and taking Annikah to see cultural activities. “My day has a good balance between work and my kid,” Amethyst says. She is a true optimist and says she wouldn’t change a thing about the city of Pittsburgh. Truly delighted, she says, “So many good changes happened here. Before, I would have asked for more vegan food, and now, there is. In the past, I would have asked for more cultural performances, and now, they’re everywhere! All the changes I wanted are happening.”
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Tubaiste, a student at Amethyst Arts, says that belly dance has improved her confidence, helped her at her job and even improved her posture (which was noted by her chiropractor, she says). Amaya, another student, says that Amethyst “brings a very open feeling to the classes. It’s not intimidating, and it’s just fun.” Those interested in taking belly dance classes under Amethyst can choose from a variety of walk-in classes, regular classes and workshops. Details can be found at pittsburghbellydance.com. If vegan food sounds more appealing than taking dance classes, the next Pittsburgh Vegan Expo is November 9. The festival hosts food of different ethnicities, local desserts, raw juice, cruelty-free products, and artists at the Monroeville Convention Center. There are free yoga and belly dance demos throughout the day along with belly dance performances and live music. “It’s a nice way to promote veganism and local artists of every genre,” Amethyst says. Over the years, Amethyst’s life
goals have changed. She originally thought she would like to open her own wellness center. While she isn’t completely setting that aside, she would like to focus on her current projects. “One of my goals is to keep working with more and more people, like Zen Den Pittsburgh (a wellness center on Mount Washington that focuses on relaxation, bodywork and energy medicine) — expand into bigger projects with more artists, make the Pittsburgh Vegan Expo bigger, keep doing what I am doing.”
PITTSBURGH
VEGAN EXPO AND CONVENTION. 10 a.m.
Saturday, Nov. 9. Monroeville Convention Center, 209 Mall Plaza Blvd., Monroeville. $5. www.pittsburghvegan.com
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