RE: [100% veg*n ] Vegan for health ( was Re:being judgemental)

[Guest guest]

Actually, I believe we are talking about the same thing here. I agree with

you. Remember that I said that becoming a Vegan is a process more like a

videotape than a snapshot? True, I struggle to eliminate all animal

products from what I eat and drink because it benefits my health. As I

study how to do this rather lengthy and complicated task, I learn as a

sidebar about the animals that populate this planet and our interactions

with them. Yes, I still have shoes that have leather in them. Right now I

am processing how that might be a bad idea given the treatment of stock

cows. I haven't gotten yet to the part about caring deeply enough to throw

out all of my shoes. That does not mean I will not get there. Since I

changed because of the diet issue, I am becoming much more aware of the

world around me and the unfairness of a lot of it. For example, I made a

choice today to buy vegan wines - obviously not because of the health issue,

but because I figured, " Why consume animal products when it was totally not

necessary to do so? "

 

And I am lucky I guess, because I will never have to deal with the issue

surrounding fish and honey. I dislike the taste of both.

 

Cynthia

 

 

spacevegan [rob]

Monday, July 15, 2002 7:40 AM

vegan-network

[100% veg*n ] Vegan for health ( was Re:being judgemental)

 

 

OK - don't want to make a big fuss about this, espsicially in the

light of the original posting! Its just an obversation really, but

the fact is that the healthiest of the non-meat eating diets is

vegan+fish (not sure if there's an accepted word to describe this,

I've heard " piscarian " - i.e. no meat or dairy or eggs, but fruit,

vegetables and fish). Numerous studies have shown this.

 

So my concern with vegans who chose to become vegan purely for the

health benefits is, given the fact that adding fish to your diet will

make you even healthier, will you now eat fish? (The paradox is that

a vegan diet has the potential to be healthier than a fish/fruit/veg

diet if only we vegans did it better!).

 

I guess the problem is that, at least for me, veganism is not a diet.

Its more than that - I think its an expression of compassion - for

ourselves, for others (people and animals) and for our shared planet.

Its realisation that we are all equally important and interdependent.

 

Of course, the vegan diet (i.e. the dietary part of veganism) is much

more healthy than a meat-eating diet, and I'm not denegrating people

who become vegan for health reasons, but I hope that as they learn

more about it they realise that there are numerous other reasons to

be vegan. But then I'm one of those people who would still be vegan

even if it were worse health-wise than a meat-based diet.

 

Cheers,

Rob

 

<<Original post snipped by CKG>>