#1 Why????
In 2012 I got a hint that my YEARS of ill health could be due to lactose intolerance (not the IBS several GPs had asserted) so I immediately started cutting out dairy. Amazingly it worked and I started getting better but I soon realised my system couldn't tolerate any dairy at all and my will power is rubbish so I still wasn't properly well.
This got worse when I went back vegetarian in 2013 - not for ethical reasons, just totally fed up with and grossed out by meat. I quickly discovered that just about every vegetarian option whether at a sandwich counter or a restaurant - involved cheese. For a long while I just accepted this as unfortunate but eventually, wanting to get properly well and decided I had to cut it entirely. My mum similarly can't tolerate eggs so the sensible thing seemed to be to presume veganism was my future so I'd best just get on with it.
So yes, my choice is more about my health than animal welfare but you don't have to be overly fond of cows to see that there's a lot of animal cruelty in the world so doing my bit for that is a bonus.
#2 Why are vegans so damn preachy?
Because it's good and we'd like you to share? Now obviously you can eat many types of vegan diet - you can have all mock-meat burgers and fries or a fully raw health-freak diet or anywhere in between - but over all eating plant-based is likely to leave you feeling good
- Better for the environment
- Better for animals
- Good for your health
#3 Why do vegans get a bad reputation?
Cos we can be a tad too enthusiastic, as above.
We also get very pissed off by people putting animal products where they have no business being and about poor labeling and about Costa coffee shops where not one of the three members of staff on duty even knows what 'vegan' means!!! Seriously, it should NOT be so hard so yes, sometimes we get vocal about it cos others deliberately make our lives more difficult than need be.
We also get a LOT of flak from meat eaters (carnists) who love to belittle us, hate on us and be generally shitty because somehow us eating vegetables offends their 'right' to torture animals in order to eat their flesh. Yes, vegans like to point out to carnists the holes in their thinking, such as:
- "I am not an animal" - really, are you a mineral or vegetable???
- "Humans are designed to eat meat" - wrong
- "Humans have to eat meat" - wronger
- "You can't be healthy and vegan" - wrongest
- "Animals are put here for us to use" - people use to say the same about black people and women...yeah, you can shut up with that.
The important thing is MOST vegans only make such comments when carnists start on us for sharing our views or whatever. Like, I am not forcing my opinion on you by posting a photo of my lovely vegan dinner but if you want to make an issue of it I will argue my point.
Also there are some really vocal psycho vegans out there giving the whole lot of us a bad name. Thinking about going vegan? Don't look at YouTube cos 99.9% of those vegans are crazier than the nuts they eat.
The REALLY big thing with YouTube is going to be my final point:
#4 How to be vegan
Now it seems like everyone and their vegan-fed dog has an opinion on this one and some are especially vile about it. The vegan-on-vegan hate out there is astounding.
Being a dietary vegan is, on the face of it, pretty basic - don't eat animal products. But while passing on the cheeseburger and milkshake combo the issue is, as I hinted above, a whole lot more convoluted.
It means reading every damn label and knowing exactly what is an animal product. Some vitamins are derived from animal sources, some alcohol is made with fish or milk...it can be a real minefield if you want to do it 'properly' but, just for the record, I'm going to say that 99% vegan is just fine. So long as you're minimising animal suffering and doing whatever you can it's all good. That includes vegetarians, demi vegitarians, meat-free Monday enthusiasts...hating on people cos they forgot to check every last item in their shopping cart is not okay.
The same goes for the non-dietary aspects such as cosmetics, toiletries and medicines. Obviously some of these things are easier to avoid than others. Because I'm lactose intolerant I try my best to find painkillers and so forth where lactose is not the bulking agent which is, sadly, very common, I am less fussy about avoiding shellac coatings. So far stuff that I do not physically consume is lower on my list of priorities but I do make some effort at least. I am on a low income and I have issues of whether I can afford the super vegan eco friendly alternative at 15 times the cost. Similarly if your essential medications are animal based or only available in gelatine capsules I'm not going to tell you to eschew them - cos that's insane.
Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude,
as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of,
and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose
Possible and practicable. Very important distinction there.
That brings me to my cat. Some people try to feed cats an all vegan or mostly vegan diet. Cats are OBLIGATE CARNIVORES. Humans do not need meat, cats do. TBH dogs don't need meat but I'd feel decidedly iffy about feeding a dog an all vegan diet - maybe a mix of vegan and meat to salve my conscience but to me making a dog vegan is kind of mean. Like if I was a mum over again now I'd probably want my kids to be vegan too but if they ate pizza and ice cream at a friend's party that'd be their choice. Dogs don't get a choice so forcing them seems somewhat doubtful on a moral scale. So no, I don't have any problem buying meat for my cat.
Also, I personally have recently bought two pairs of leather Doc Marten boots and my mum has bought two leather chairs for my new house...all are second hand. That's not supporting the leather industry. That's not supporting animal cruelty. To me that's bog-standard recycling.
At the end of the day - if you want to be vegan, be the vegan it is right for you to be. don't accept hate cos you're doing it a little differently. Don't hate on others cos they're not living up to your standards. To be honest, if someone calls them self a vegan yet eats the occasional chicken burger it's not on you to criticise their hypocrisy either, although I can certainly see why you would...
The most important thing is to be a HEALTHY vegan. Good dietary advice is sadly lacking and healthcare professionals are all too often brainwashed carnists who believe meat and dairy are essential. They're not. Unfortunately too many people fall victim to faddy over-restrictive variants of veganism extolled by people who know nothing about nutrition or health...so do the reading and do it your way!!!
