To vegan or not to vegan. A vegetarian dilemma.
I'm not a vegan.
However if Veganism was a religion, I would be a believer.
Not just a believer but a preacher.
I preach animal rights, the sanctity of ALL life, a meat free and cruelty free lifestyle, the Shame of factory farming and my disdain at those who consciously and knowingly choose to eat the dead flesh of other beings.
My partner calls me a zealot.
She says I am passionate, but can get so aggressive that i'm like a crazed religious nutcase.
But how can we not be?
How can we stand quietly when we see the truth, when we see the torture, the cruelty, the murder, when we see the reality of what the human species does to our fellow beings?
It would be wonderful to be able to say I was vegan and for that statement to be true.
I doubt there are many true vegans in the world.
It is a badge many of us life long vegetarians have serious concerns about.
For example, there are a multitude of definitions of what a vegan is on the interweb, however to me there can be only 1 (one) and if you don't meet the conditions of "true veganism" then you are like me, a proud Vegetarian.
Being vegan (or vegetarian for that matter) is not simply about diet.
Not eating meat, fish, dairy products or eggs is the simple bit, it's the rest that is hard to accomplish.
You must wear no leather (not hard really), you have to wear no silk (again easy) nor wool (relatively simple with some effort).
Then you have to avoid some beer and most wine.
You'll need to refrain from honey.
Most pharmaceuticals are either in tablet or capsule form which often contain gelatine.
All prescribed drugs in the UK have to be tested on animals prior to being released, so this needs to be taken into consideration too.
Lets not start on pet ownership, animal companions or whatever.
The vegan society and various other groups define veganism as abstaining from any product that has come about via the exploitation to whatever degree of any animal.
Here is the quote from the Vegan Society UK
"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"
This in itself is open to interpretation; as far as possible and practicable, is an ever enlarging loophole.
I am a good example.
Having not eaten the flesh of an animal in over 30 years, but have on rare occasions had an egg mayo or cheese and pickle sandwich from the petrol station, I could never be described as vegan.
I wear leather shoes to the office as synthetic ones are never as good and don't meet the needs of a 12 hour day without serious long term foot problems.
Then there is my motorbike.
Most days I ride my big Ducati, come rain or shine i'll be out there.
Over the years I've had a few spills, and used to joke that even as a vegetarian when I hit the tarmac at speed I want to have a bit of dead cow between me and it.
Times have changed though, and I now only buy synthetic biker clothes.
I do still wear my old leather motorcycle trousers, but I've owned them for over 10 years having bought them as pre-owned from fleabay, and will replace them with synthetics when they finally give out.
My bike gloves are the same. secondhand from ebay, about 5 years old now.
Honey... I love the stuff.
Yes I know it is bee exploitation. But when I'm ill I use a honey and garlic mix to kill the bugs (vege bugs) and boost my immune system.
So we do what we can within our abilities, as much as is possible and practicable to live a life free from animal exploitation.
Sounds a lot like the vegan statement.
But I'm not a Vegan. I'm a Vegetarian.
Proud of my tiny contribution to the welfare of fellow sentient beings. But also ashamed that I cannot or am unable to do more.
I dream of a world free from all animal exploitation. It is that, just a dream.
With halal slaughtering on the increase in the UK, we have moved back 50 years in animal welfare just to satisfy the needs/greeds of minority groups who have antiquated religious beliefs based on even older misunderstandings that can never be justified in the 21st century.
There are a multitude of other aspects to being Vegan that I feel have to be met too.
It's not just animal exploitation. Human exploitation is just as rife, and the sweat shop factories in Asia that use child labour to make plastic shoes or acrylic jumpers are also morally troubling.
So when I meet a self proclaimed vegan I feel the need to question them. To find out the extent of their veganism. To see if their veganism is a fad or a lifestyle.
A great example of this is when I visited a vegan chain restaurant in North London.
The manager came out to say hi and have a chat.
She asked me if I ate honey, I said yes.
I was then told that I was not a real vegetarian because of the exploitation of the bees.
When quizzed as to the longevity of her veganism, I was told "yes I've been a vegan for over 2 years now".
Wonderful I told her. "The flesh of an animal has not passed my lips in over 30 years.
When your fad becomes a life long life choice, then you can criticise my personal limitations and boundaries."
Being a Vegetarian seems to have fallen out of fashion in the press and in lifestyles.
Whereas Veganism has become trendy.
I don't care.
My definition of a "True Vegan" following the ideology of Veganism means that there is no "as far as possible, or as practicable".
It's an all or nothing place in my mind.
Do you drive a car?
Do you have a pet cat or goldfish?
Do you take any prescribed medication (ever)?
Do you wear makeup, deodorant or use shampoo?
As a vegetarian I get the abuse from both sides.
The flesh eaters question me because I sometimes wear leather shoes.
The fad vegan extremists insult me for sometimes wearing leather shoes.
So many times in my life I just respond with the simple reply of:
"I'm not a vegetarian, I just don't eat meat".
However in reality I am a Vegetarian.
I don't eat meat.
I care passionately about the horrific abuse animals get in the food industry.
Also I question the ethics behind fox hunting, which I've campaigned against for as long as I can remember. Horse racing, dog racing, grouse and pheasant shooting, the list is long.
I always read packaging on everything I buy to see if it contains gelatine.
I eat Quorn products which often contain free range egg whites.
Sometimes I put milk in my coffee.
When there's no Flora in the fridge, I've been known to put butter on my toast.
I eat as near as possible a vegan diet but...
I have cats.
They are from the cat reject home, where I signed an adoption declaration.
I have given them a "forever home" as my brother calls it.
Are they exploited by me for my pleasure? Well sometimes I will give them a hug, and yes I keep them in the house a lot of the time.
Do they exploit me? Not in the least. I spend a lot of money buying the best food I can for them.
I give them my bed to sleep in and my lap to curl up on.
I pay for all their medical bills and love them deeply.
It is a symbiotic relationship. I have given them a home and they give me their time and their love.
Does this make me a bad person?
Does this mean I exploit animals?
No, it simply means I do what I can within my own personal limitations to minimise the suffering to as many animals as I can.
Am I therefore a Vegan as per the statement above?
No.
Yet All life is sacred to me, be it human, dog, cow, fish or that damn wasp in the kitchen I won't kill.
I am a Vegetarian.
However if Veganism was a religion, I would be a believer.
Not just a believer but a preacher.
I preach animal rights, the sanctity of ALL life, a meat free and cruelty free lifestyle, the Shame of factory farming and my disdain at those who consciously and knowingly choose to eat the dead flesh of other beings.
My partner calls me a zealot.
She says I am passionate, but can get so aggressive that i'm like a crazed religious nutcase.
But how can we not be?
How can we stand quietly when we see the truth, when we see the torture, the cruelty, the murder, when we see the reality of what the human species does to our fellow beings?
It would be wonderful to be able to say I was vegan and for that statement to be true.
I doubt there are many true vegans in the world.
It is a badge many of us life long vegetarians have serious concerns about.
For example, there are a multitude of definitions of what a vegan is on the interweb, however to me there can be only 1 (one) and if you don't meet the conditions of "true veganism" then you are like me, a proud Vegetarian.
Being vegan (or vegetarian for that matter) is not simply about diet.
Not eating meat, fish, dairy products or eggs is the simple bit, it's the rest that is hard to accomplish.
You must wear no leather (not hard really), you have to wear no silk (again easy) nor wool (relatively simple with some effort).
Then you have to avoid some beer and most wine.
You'll need to refrain from honey.
Most pharmaceuticals are either in tablet or capsule form which often contain gelatine.
All prescribed drugs in the UK have to be tested on animals prior to being released, so this needs to be taken into consideration too.
Lets not start on pet ownership, animal companions or whatever.
The vegan society and various other groups define veganism as abstaining from any product that has come about via the exploitation to whatever degree of any animal.
Here is the quote from the Vegan Society UK
"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"
This in itself is open to interpretation; as far as possible and practicable, is an ever enlarging loophole.
I am a good example.
Having not eaten the flesh of an animal in over 30 years, but have on rare occasions had an egg mayo or cheese and pickle sandwich from the petrol station, I could never be described as vegan.
I wear leather shoes to the office as synthetic ones are never as good and don't meet the needs of a 12 hour day without serious long term foot problems.
Then there is my motorbike.
Most days I ride my big Ducati, come rain or shine i'll be out there.
Over the years I've had a few spills, and used to joke that even as a vegetarian when I hit the tarmac at speed I want to have a bit of dead cow between me and it.
Times have changed though, and I now only buy synthetic biker clothes.
I do still wear my old leather motorcycle trousers, but I've owned them for over 10 years having bought them as pre-owned from fleabay, and will replace them with synthetics when they finally give out.
My bike gloves are the same. secondhand from ebay, about 5 years old now.
Honey... I love the stuff.
Yes I know it is bee exploitation. But when I'm ill I use a honey and garlic mix to kill the bugs (vege bugs) and boost my immune system.
So we do what we can within our abilities, as much as is possible and practicable to live a life free from animal exploitation.
Sounds a lot like the vegan statement.
But I'm not a Vegan. I'm a Vegetarian.
Proud of my tiny contribution to the welfare of fellow sentient beings. But also ashamed that I cannot or am unable to do more.
I dream of a world free from all animal exploitation. It is that, just a dream.
With halal slaughtering on the increase in the UK, we have moved back 50 years in animal welfare just to satisfy the needs/greeds of minority groups who have antiquated religious beliefs based on even older misunderstandings that can never be justified in the 21st century.
There are a multitude of other aspects to being Vegan that I feel have to be met too.
It's not just animal exploitation. Human exploitation is just as rife, and the sweat shop factories in Asia that use child labour to make plastic shoes or acrylic jumpers are also morally troubling.
So when I meet a self proclaimed vegan I feel the need to question them. To find out the extent of their veganism. To see if their veganism is a fad or a lifestyle.
A great example of this is when I visited a vegan chain restaurant in North London.
The manager came out to say hi and have a chat.
She asked me if I ate honey, I said yes.
I was then told that I was not a real vegetarian because of the exploitation of the bees.
When quizzed as to the longevity of her veganism, I was told "yes I've been a vegan for over 2 years now".
Wonderful I told her. "The flesh of an animal has not passed my lips in over 30 years.
When your fad becomes a life long life choice, then you can criticise my personal limitations and boundaries."
Being a Vegetarian seems to have fallen out of fashion in the press and in lifestyles.
Whereas Veganism has become trendy.
I don't care.
My definition of a "True Vegan" following the ideology of Veganism means that there is no "as far as possible, or as practicable".
It's an all or nothing place in my mind.
Do you drive a car?
Do you have a pet cat or goldfish?
Do you take any prescribed medication (ever)?
Do you wear makeup, deodorant or use shampoo?
As a vegetarian I get the abuse from both sides.
The flesh eaters question me because I sometimes wear leather shoes.
The fad vegan extremists insult me for sometimes wearing leather shoes.
So many times in my life I just respond with the simple reply of:
"I'm not a vegetarian, I just don't eat meat".
However in reality I am a Vegetarian.
I don't eat meat.
I care passionately about the horrific abuse animals get in the food industry.
Also I question the ethics behind fox hunting, which I've campaigned against for as long as I can remember. Horse racing, dog racing, grouse and pheasant shooting, the list is long.
I always read packaging on everything I buy to see if it contains gelatine.
I eat Quorn products which often contain free range egg whites.
Sometimes I put milk in my coffee.
When there's no Flora in the fridge, I've been known to put butter on my toast.
I eat as near as possible a vegan diet but...
I have cats.
They are from the cat reject home, where I signed an adoption declaration.
I have given them a "forever home" as my brother calls it.
Are they exploited by me for my pleasure? Well sometimes I will give them a hug, and yes I keep them in the house a lot of the time.
Do they exploit me? Not in the least. I spend a lot of money buying the best food I can for them.
I give them my bed to sleep in and my lap to curl up on.
I pay for all their medical bills and love them deeply.
It is a symbiotic relationship. I have given them a home and they give me their time and their love.
Does this make me a bad person?
Does this mean I exploit animals?
No, it simply means I do what I can within my own personal limitations to minimise the suffering to as many animals as I can.
Am I therefore a Vegan as per the statement above?
No.
Yet All life is sacred to me, be it human, dog, cow, fish or that damn wasp in the kitchen I won't kill.
I am a Vegetarian.
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