Vegetarian vs. vegan: the follow-up

[Guest guest]

This article is the follow-up to Vegetarian vs. Vegan: the moral dilemma. The

intention with the first article was to start a dialogue and try to better

understand the disparity between vegetarians and vegan.

 

Why does a person become vegan? Is it because it's trendy to associate with a

radical, fringe movement that snubs anyone with different ideals? Or because, as

a vegan, one hopes to set an example to others, share, and extol the virtues of

an animal-free lifestyle thus helping more animals?

 

It seems that many vegans are content with being (or maybe even desire to be) a

marginalized, isolated portion of society. The practice of veganism appears to

be a far cry from embracing those looking to make a similar change. Rather, the

common sentiment is to immediately write off any non-vegans as uncompassionate

and unworthy of respect. This includes vegetarians. If the motivation behind

veganism is truly animal rights, this isolationist attitude is hurting the

cause. Instead of encouraging others to adopt an animal-free lifestyle and

condoning those who make ANY steps toward that goal (like vegetarians), most

vegans that responded to the previous article acted dismissive and disgusted at

best. This exclusive attitude does not incite more people to join the ranks and

tends to have the opposite effect of making vegans (and vegetarians, by

association) appear intolerant and rabid. As a result, the animal rights cause

is set back even further.

 

It is a sad state of affairs when two groups of people with such remarkably

similar ideals experience a rift like vegetarians and vegans do. It's inaccurate

to make sweeping generalizations based on a few stereotypes about a group of

people and then label that entire community with them. Examples from the last

article's comments: " Too many vegetarians are too lax with their diets, " " There

are a lot of vegetarians who will just pick chicken out of something and think

that makes it vegetarian, " etc. There are some vegans that smell bad, subsist on

processed foods and original-flavor Sunchips, and are anemic but society

shouldn't assume all vegans are that way and dismiss their beliefs as radical

and inane. Right?

 

While animal rights are clearly a leading influential aspect of choosing to

become vegetarian or vegan, there is the equally valuable point of choosing a

meat-free diet due to health. There is a significant number of people who

couldn't care less about animal rights - this is why they do not take their

" commitment " to the point of veganism. As mentioned in the last article, the

health benefits of a meat-free diet can include anything from lowering the risks

of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and high cholesterol

(to name a few). It is far more rational to ask a person to give up a few meat

products for the sake of health than to expect an instantaneous life

transformation into a 100% animal-free vegan.

 

On that note, some vegetarians are satisfied with continuing to consume certain

animal products; it's a mistake to assume that every vegetarian becomes one with

the intention of later becoming vegan. Eliminating all meat from one's diet is a

fundamental lifestyle change and an important decision that should be approached

in an informed, healthy manner. For a lot of people, this step is more than

enough. There is no need for any vegetarian to feel they must defend their

personal decision to ANYONE, especially to a group of theoretically similar

minded people like vegans. Many vegans should understand that - several

commented that their transitions into veganism began with being vegetarian.

 

The bottom line is this: the suggestion that vegans and vegetarians put aside

whatever disagreements they may have came from a point of compassion toward

animals. By showing people a realistic path to veganism (via vegetarianism) the

odds of an actual conversion are increased. Denouncing someone who chooses to

remain vegetarian (or even a meat eater) almost completely eliminates any chance

they will ever convert to veganism. If the vegan community wants to be taken

seriously by outsiders and encourage those outsiders to contribute to the animal

rights cause, it cannot condemn them. This ultimately only hurts the animals.

 

(Personally, I've heard all the statistics from PETA for years, I own the " Meet

Your Meat " DVD, and I have the " Meat's no treat for those you eat " and " Real

People Wear Fake Fur " stickers. I work directly with abused and abandoned

animals, I ran a " Food Not Bombs " group, made vegan food for the homeless, and I

belong to the Animal Legal Defense Fund. This column incorporates vegan news,

interviews, recipes, restaurants, and events just as often as vegetarian items.

The vegan comments received for the last article did not make me feel guilty

about my vegetarianism; I am more proud than ever of my diet and ethics.

However, when I'm degraded and relegated to being nothing more than an

" opportunistic scavenger " the comments are intended to be a personal attack and

the true colors of many vegans shine through. Keep in mind, it is possible to

express an opinion without resorting to low blows, showing courtesy to someone

you disagree with.

 

 

I may not be vegan, but I do fully understand and respect vegans' convictions. I

do not and never will believe that being vegetarian makes my love for animals

any less than a vegan's or that they are morally superior. If vegans were truly

motivated by animal rights, they would respect ANY effort towards that goal and

not cheapen the ideal by turning it into a peer-pressure contest of

pretentious, " who's better " ethics.

 

 

The intention of the first article was to give a bare-bones definition of what

it means to be " vegetarian " and " vegan, " not go into a lengthy description of

something that could be easily Googled. Chickens don't die every time they lay

an egg; cows don't die every time they're milked. Nothing more, nothing less.

Eating white flour and white sugar might make a person vegan but it doesn't make

them healthy, respectable, or ethical.)

 

Resources for further information:

 

* Vegetarianvegan.com

 

* SteadyHealth.com

 

* Diet-Blog.com

 

The original article by ABC news which prompted this whole discussion:

Vegetarian vs. Vegan?