I've been vegan for almost 15 years--and for the most part of that time period, I have often found myself the only vegan in a sea of omnivores. I find the unsolicited comments from omnis quite interesting (often kind of amusing), when my vegan status becomes known. Some examples:
"Wow, what do you eat?"
"I could NEVER be a vegan, I like cheese too much."
"I could NEVER be a vegan, 'cause when I get home at 2 am from the bar I wouldn't be able to eat my cheese pizza."
"I could never date a guy who was vegan, it's just too weird."
"Would you eat an animal if you were starving?"
"What if you were starving and the only thing you could eat was another person? Can you still be a vegan if you are a cannibal?"
The curiosity is understandable. After all, the great majority of the average person's life is saturated with animal products. In a sense, I think they are revolted by the perceived asceticism of the vegan lifestyle. Vegans avoid all animal products--no eating anything that walks, swims, breathes, feels; no wearing anything that comes from an animal. What kind of freak does that?
It's just another difference to add to the pile we all have to deal with in order to get along.
Vegans do give up much of what the main stream world considers essential, but it doesn't mean we deprive ourselves of anything. We can borrow from the foods of different cultures: Indian, Italian, Asian, Middle Eastern and mix and match with all the spices, grains, beans, and vegetables available. Also, ready-made foods are cropping up in the market place to cater to the busier vegan who can't cook food all the time. But, for some kick-ass chocolates, check out:
http://www.rosecitychocolates.com/
In terms of wardrobe, the vegan can actually be a snappy dresser. Faux-leathers and fabrics are being used to create some truly cool creations. Here are some of my favorites (mostly for accessories):
www.veganessentials.com
A great one-stop shop for a lot of vegan things--food, shoes, t-shirts, vitamins, etc. There site is well designed and really easy to navigate through.
www.mooshoes.com
A small vegan shoe store in NYC. They often have some cool shoes and bags.
www.viavegan.com
A very cool vegan company based in Montreal. Originally an accessories designer, they have expanded to shoes under the Matt & Nat brand name. Check out a sample of their creations.
www.lunaboston.com
A small bag shop in Boston that sells ViaVegan products.
www.casuari.com
This company has the cutest fabric lap-top bags.
To those vegans out there, be kind to your omni friends, answer their questions, be patient with them. If you chat with them, they will understand you better. To the omni's out there, vegans aren't a freakish as you think we are :)
5 comments:
I could never date a guy that was vegan, either. Its just to weird.
As a vegetarian, not a vegan, I can relate to some of the curiosity.
Maybe the second quote is mine? How do you normally respond to the odd,
curious and varying questions? Do you have some snazzy responses
stored up?
As a vegetarian, not a vegan, I can relate to some of the curiosity.
Maybe the second quote is mine? How do you normally respond to the odd,
curious and varying questions? Do you have some snazzy responses
stored up?
I've been vegan for 6 years now. The silly questions keep on coming. The amount of knowledge necessary to transfer the hows and whys of being vegan can be too much; far too much to express in a short conversation. I call this the book barrier-- for the situations in which a person will likely have to read an entire book to understand all that is involved.
I think if veganism were to reach some critical mass the silly questions would fade away. Instead of asking "what do you eat?" people would just think "ah, they eat what is in the vegan aisle, or the frozen foods labeled vegan, or the restaurants with the vegan sign."
For example, people still are ignorant that chocolate doesn't need any dairy in it. Anything from chocolate cookies and cakes and candy bars... all of them can be made just as tasty without dairy. Were people to regularly see the vegan alternatives offered, they would no long hold that notion.
Dr. Blogenstein,
You raise an interesting question, and the answer actually likes in the wording of your question, "why not consume dairy products that come from a dairy-item producing animal?"
Most vegans don't see cows, for example, as animals that produce milk, rather we see them as animals that have inherent value much seperate from the economic and nutritional value many gain from milk and milk products.
Indeed, most generally it is believed that milk is for offspring--cow's milk is for calfs, not humans, just as human milk is for human babies, and not cows. A frequently quoted fact is that humans are the only animal that actually consumes the milk of another animal. Interesting, isn't it?
Finally, the process from which milk is harvested for mass consumption is quite cruel. Factory farming crams cows into overcrowded environments, injects them with frankensteinish bovine growth hormones and antibiotics, forces cows through multiple pregnancies, takes male offspring and puts them into veal crates, and when milk production wanes, the cows are off to the slaughter house themselves.
Soy milk, soy products, and rice milk are good dairy substitutes.
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