And then my best guy friend and I went to Dublin, Ireland and toured the Guinness storehouse. I learned that the Guinness company was one of the first to offer paid vacation time, because they realized that people were happier when they got to spend some time with their families (or at least away from work). If a Guinness factory worker died, the company would pay for the funeral and then offer his widow, if he had one) a job at the factory so she wouldn't have to worry about being able to support herself or her kids. And Mr. Guinness signed a 900-year lease on the land wherein the storehouse now stands, in part because he believed that's where the best beer-making water was, but also in part to prevent the business, the industry, and the jobs from leaving Dublin. He wanted to do something good for his community, so he built a beer factory that treated it's workers well and promised to not leave for a really, really, really long time. That, to me, is admirable. That is the sort of company that I, as a human and as an Irishwoman, would like to support.
So I drink Guinness now from time to time. Not all of the time, but more often than once a year. I figure, I gave a lot of thought to making the switch to veganism, and if, after careful deliberation, one product fits with all of my ethical principles except for my veganism, it's okay to bend the rules. Because as Einstein said, "The important thing is to not stop questioning."
Slainte!