jumping right into this list!

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

I'm new to this group -- for the record, I'd have to

give the thumbs down to Marmite, but I douse all my

food with obscene amounts of nutritional yeast, so I

guess I'm getting my B12 ten times over regardless.

 

I don't know what's been discussed before on this list

and what hasn't, but I wanted to throw out some stuff:

 

1. As a dietary vegan of nine years, I do wear USED

leather, wool, and silk. This means that I buy stuff

made of animal materials at yard sales and thrift

stores, which is where I get ALL of my clothes. When I

first went vegan about nine years ago, I only wore

canvas shoes, because I wanted to be consistent with

my new values but found that vinyl/polyurethane shoes

were terrible for my feet (I have a bunion and wide

feet and need plenty of room for 'em to breathe --

likewise, I find acrylic and polyester aesthetically

offensive and uncomfortable, and can't afford new

organic cotton sweaters.) Mind you, I was in high

school at this time and thus still lived with my

parents. Money, while not abundant, was not short. On

my part-time job earnings, I could buy new shoes

easily because I didn't have rent to pay. As I got

older, I found that new shoes were no longer an

option. I live well below the poverty line, choosing

to sacrifice the economic security of a forty-hour

corporate work week for adequate time to pursue art,

travelling, and independent projects. I've been met

with criticism from other vegans, though, for not

showing by " example " that I condemn the use of animals

for fashion. I have a few problems with this line of

reasoning (as I'm sure a few of you do with mine!):

 

a) most synthetic vegan shoes look like leather from a

distance. The average passerby won't know tit from

tat.

 

b) after weighing all considerations, I've concluded

that NEW vegan shoes are far less sustainable and yes,

even less cruel than OLD leather ones. Why? Well,

aside from the obvious use of non-renewable fuel

sources, there's the fact that thousands of animals

and bugs are killed by the trucks that transport these

new shoes and their materials. The production of

synthetics pollutes the environment, which in turn

destroys ecosystems, and animals die. When I wear my

leather Campers, which I got for ten bucks barely used

at a rummage sale, I might get funny looks or

questions from vegans, but in my heart of hearts I

know my motivations. I guess, ultimately, I've decided

that it's far more important for me to answer to

myself and my own belief system than to LOOK like I'm

a good vegan. Certainly there are occasions when new

shoes must be purchased, and in these instances I'd go

for the synthetics, but even with particular tastes

and really big feet I've managed to find plenty of

lightly worn shoes that would otherwise be discarded.

 

2. This subject leads me to the subject of freeganism.

Those of you rooted in the punk subculture (as I am)

are probably familiar with the term -- in its purest

sense, it means consuming non-vegan foods that have

been thrown away or are intended for disposal (such as

the day-old employee giveaways, for those of you who

have worked at natural food stores). Personally I have

no ethical qualms with it, but have found that the

dairy and eggs just don't sit well with my a belly

that's been spoiled by nummy organic vegan fare...

 

3. Greens had about one vegan thing on the menu the

last time I went there, and I think it was plain old

lentil soup. Since it's the most well-known vegetarian

restaurant in the country, I was understandbly quite

upset that I couldn't find a single thing to eat.

 

4. While I support PETA's effort to make veg*nism more

accessible to the mainstream public, I wish it wasn't

done at the expense of women. Have any of you read

Ingrid Newkirk's defense of the " fur trim " campaign in

MS. magazine? PETA ran an ad awhile back featuring a

woman with pubic hair protruding from a bathing suit.

It read " fur trim: disgusting. " Understandably, it was

met with disappointment by many feminists, one of whom

wrote a letter to MS. -- Miss Newkirk wrote back and

held her ground. I paraphrase: " Most women wouldn't

think twice about leaving the house without shaving

their armpits and legs, and likewise, the American

public is revolted by the sight of pubic hair and she

shouldn't dare wear a bathing suit without trimming

her bush. " (I've actually been quite generous to her;

her actual comments were less diplomatic.) Well,

here's one unshaven vegan girl who won't give PETA my

money because of her anti-woman sentiments. Likewise,

though it didn't hit as close to home, I have to take

offense to PETA's " Don't Be a Whopper " ad series.

Suggesting that there are no healthy, chubby vegans is

downright destructive and just plain wrong. I have

nearly lost several close friends to anorexia and

bulimia because emaciation is all the rage, and

campaigns like this only further the promotion of

unrealistic body image among women -- and yes,

sometimes men. Certainly morbid obesity is less than

ideal health-wise (NAAFA supporters are certain to

disagree with me here and I invite them to do so), but

rapid, yo-yo dieting is even more so -- and the way to

promote healthy weight loss is not by spewing venom at

those deemed less than adequate, as Ingrid has done.

It's also dangerous to the aforementioned groups at

risk to imply that veganism and vegetarianism are

surefire tickets to weight loss -- that misconception

is responsible for the negative stereotype of the

vegan as a sickly, frail person running low on energy.

 

While I'm not going to call for a boycott of PETA,

which has done a whole lot of good, I encourage all of

you to challenge Newkirk's future ad campaigns should

they prove as disparaging to women as some prior ones.

 

***

 

Having said all this, I'd like to say that I'm simply

ecstatic to be moving back to Northern California

after several years away, as I know I can look forward

to smoke-free dining at a diversity of restaurants

catering to ME! The selections in Michigan's Upper

Peninsula are limited to French Fries, iceberg lettuce

salads, and if you drive two hours, a single taqueria.

 

Hoping to see some of you in the near future at some

potlucks or outings. Hello to all you Bay Area veg*ns.

 

Erin

 

ps -- Here I am enjoying my favorite treat, messily:

 

http://www.thatisnottrue.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup

http://fifaworldcup.