There are many benefits of a vegan diet which also means that people go vegan for different reasons. Some of the main arguments to go vegan are:
To work against animal cruelty.
To decrease emissions of greenhouse gases and work against global warming.
To live a healthier, plant based, lifestyle.
Are you vegan? Have you ever tried veganism? Would you consider going vegan? Why or why not?
I would suggest watching the documentary Cowspiracy which explores the impact of animal agriculture on the environment, and investigates the policies of environmental organizations on this issue. The link to the trailer can be found here, link.
If you’re interested you can take an ecological footprint test from the WWF here, link.
I’m not vegan. I haven’t tried veganism. I very much consider going vegan. The only reason why I haven’t gone vegan yet is of cheer laziness. Healthier food is in general a bit more expensive and now when I live at home and really don’t have to cook food I don’t.
My whole friend group from high school is vegan except from me and I know lots of vegans and vegetarians in general. They care about the animals and environment a lot but they really don’t care for eating healthy which is relatable.
They are awesome but I get why some people get irritated by vegans. No one likes to be told that their way of life is worse in any way. I have no problem admitting that I’m in the wrong but it also gets draining being reminded that I’m inhumane when consuming products that involves the suffering of other living beings.
Funny thing is that my vegan friends think that being vegetarian is almost as bad as eating meat since eggs and dairy products aren’t that much better if you want to be ethical. Although, it’s better than nothing.
Veganism, principally, is about harm reduction, “a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable all forms of exploitation”, you don’t have to be a vegan or label yourself anything to simply make choices everyday that factor in harm reduction. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, unless you’re living out in the woods off the land, on some Nell sh!t, simply existing is causing harm in some way. The best we can do is be conscience consumers, if being a vegetarian, or subbing alternative milk for animal dairy, or meatless Monday, or whatever is what is possible and practicable for you than that is the best you can do and I don’t think anyone has the right to look down on that.
Edit: I haven’t eaten meat for years and I’ve recently given up cheese which was my last vegetarian hold out so I’m fully vegan, bay-bee.
I mean… you’re kind of correct here, unfortunately.
I agree that no one should “look down” on another person. But being vegan would still be better than eating vegan once a day. That doesn’t mean that vegans can’t do other things to harm the environment, potentially more that a meat eater.
The animal cruelty part is still there. If you go vegan for that reason, eating vegan once a week won’t be doing it really.
Ideally sure, but I feel we should focus more on small goals and working on incorporating harm reduction into our everyday choices instead of immediately being the perfect vegan. I encourage people to do what they can little by little on a day to day basis over trying to give everything up right away only to back step, be scolded by people, and then fold under the pressure to be perfect and give up all together which is what happens most often when people try veganism. If I had people in my life constantly on my ass about how cutting out meat is good but why are you still eating cheese you monster? I don’t know that I would have eventually had the fortitude to get there, being chided is tiring and judging other people for their choices is antithetical to the goal of veganism and advocating for animals. Not to mention prioritizing veganism is not practical or possible for everyone, I come from a working class family and although we had some access there was no reasonable way my parents could have worked out feeding a family of six vegan meals everyday, what was possible and practicable for the situation we were in was scaling back on meat and focusing more on vegetables and grains. Ethics and morals in this case feel relative to the situation of the individual, all consumption is cruel in some way, Walmart is cruel but we don’t expect low income families to stop shopping there and call them immoral if they don’t.
Most people should be taking supplements, unless you work out the macros of every meal and know you’re getting the exact amount of nutrients you need. All vegans should be taking B12, a nutrient only found in meat, but other than that there’s really no other special thing we need that everyone else doesn’t and it’s really not that big of an inconvenience. I just take a multivitamin.
Oh, it shouldn’t be a huge problem to get everything you need if you eat a varied diet. I think that there’s one vitamin that is difficult to get from a plant based diet, B12. But you really shouldn’t ask me. Better to ask a dietist.
Yes! They’re really good!
That doesn’t mean that vegans can’t do other things to harm the environment, potentially more that a meat eater.
I do get bashed by my friends every now and then.
