Well friends, a week from today I will have been vegan for one whole year. As such, I am going to do something I dont normally do, which is post a status about my experience being vegan, in the form of frequently asked questions and frequently made comments. Know though that: 1. If you make any comments such as Bacon! etc I am going to delete it. I dont mean to be hostile but I see that stuff all the time and I simply do not have time for it. 2. Even if youve said any of these, none of these responses are directed at you specifically, all of these have been said multiple times to me or in my presence, and I am not bitter at you. 3. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them. Alright here it is: I could never be vegan, I love ___ too much. I hear this one almost every time I meet someone new. Firstly, you never know if you dont try! What you probably mean to say is that you dont really want to be vegan. Secondly, I really dont know how so many people respond the exact same way to me being vegan upon first meeting me. Did everyone just have a big get together about the response they would give to someone saying theyre vegan? Seriously there are maybe a handful of people who havent responded this way. How could you give animal products up? / Why are you vegan anyway? Imagine having to choose between eating your favorite food once and your pets life. I make that choice every single day, except the dog or cat is a pig, or a cow, or a chicken. I just care the same amount about any animal that you do about your beloved pet. I will always always choose an animals life. There are plenty of other factors, such as the environment (a pound of beef takes 1000 gallons of water to make, factory farming has polluted 22 miles of river in the united states, factory farming takes up the same amount of land as the surface of the moon or the entire continent of asia.). Plants have feelings Stop. Just stop. This is not original, or funny. Plants dont have a central nervous system, dont feel pain. I dont care what article you post, or see. You are not contributing whatsoever to my lifestyle, and I have heard anything you have to say on the matter before. Im glad youre not like other vegans. Thank you I guess, but were really not all bad. I know plenty of lovely vegans whom I get along with very well. Contrary to popular belief as well, we dont all get along, and were not some sort of united front after a specific cause. We disagree with each other perhaps just as much as you disagree with us, and it can be plenty tiring. The fact that I dont belittle you or insult you for not being vegan doesnt mean that I love that youre not vegan. I wish you were, and I dont necessarily like that youre not. But I like you, and I dont think being rude or unkind is going to do anything for anyone. Isnt veganism expensive? Not particularly. If you can afford to buy produce, and milk and eggs, you can afford veganism. Its really only expensive if you buy mock meats often, or specialty items like vegan mayonnaise or vegan nutella, but those dont matter that much when you see eating as more about ethics and survival than pleasure. Not that there isnt pleasure in vegan foods mind you, they are often very good. Is veganism hard? Its hard because of the things I have to hear or read on a daily basis. Its hard because its a topic that incites a lot of strong emotions on a lot of different fronts. Its hard because without the people Ive met through groups and other things I wouldnt have many people to talk to about it, Im super afraid of losing friends if I even mention it in casual conversation as a moral issue. But is it hard on a dietary level? No, not really. I mean its not that I dont sometimes miss things I ate when I was a vegetarian, but often there are replacements for that, and when I cant afford or access those, I just think of what animals are put through to make those foods and I deal with it. if you were in a scenario where you had to choose between eating meat and dying... This one is phrased in many different ways, but to put it briefly, I havent eaten meat since I was very very young so likely my body couldnt process it anyway. But if it could, and if it was my only choice for survival, I would probably starve. This may seem extreme, but think about beliefs that are important to you, theres a chance you have one or two that youd rather die than go back on. Whats the hardest thing about being vegan? As i said before, some of the comments I see and hear. The ones I dislike the most are Stupid vegans, cows dont die from dairy. not directly no, but when a dairy cow gives birth (which they have to do to lactate... they are mammals...) their child is taken from them and used for veal, and dairy cows only live 1/4 of a cows natural lifespan. Once they cant produce milk anymore they become meat too. The dairy industry IS the meat industry. The only other one that really gets under my skin is Youre raising your child vegan? Thats child abuse! According to Tyree, Baker, and Weatherspoon (2012), veganism is not an issue for pregnant women, if the diet is planned out correctly (which is true in general). Biervliet, Bruyne, Velde, & Winckel (2011) conducted a study that concludes a vegan diet for children can be adequate if done knowledgeably, especially in regards to B12, Calcium, and Zinc. These are only two studies, but there are plenty of vegans who have had children and raised them vegan without health issues. I only eat animal products that have been acquired humanely and from a farm. To be honest, if you eat at restaurants, or when your work caters, or at a friends house.... you dont do this. The only way to do this 100% of the time is to acquire your animal products that way and make sure that you use them for 100% of your meals. Also I dont want this to sound harsh but... if youre not vegan, anything you say about what you try and do for farm animals doesnt impress me. The way I see it, the only way to not harm these animals is to not eat them or their products. As i said before, I still like you, and Im not going to give you crap or anything, but thats the way I see it. Are you ever going to stop being vegan? When Im dead. I am allergic to ___, I cant be vegan There are a lot of vegans with allergies. If you really want to be vegan but feel you cant because of food allergies, there are a lot of vegans willing to help, and a lot of websites and resources, so you might still be able to! If you dont want to become vegan, there isnt really much I can say to that. I want to end this by again saying that I love you all, that none of this means I dont, and that you are free to ask me any questions you might have. =) thank you.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 16:32:35 +0000