personal purity vs. effective advocacy
Posted by rachlove2 on Jun 10, 2007 · Member since Dec 2006 · 136 posts
http://www.goveg.com/effectiveAdvocacy_personal.asp
i thought some of you might agree with me that this is an awesome article, with some great quotes, too.
I like it! Of course, I'm not an angry vegan.
The article was based around animal suffereing, but I think it's true for whatever reason people are veg*n. I became vegan because I had high cholesterol. With no other change in my lifestyle, my cholesterol plummeted. I am proof that instead of taking pills and continuing to hurt your body, you can make a dietary change and become healthier. One of my goals is to cook with "normal" food ingredients and make everything look easy. The result is that people who have high cholesterol and other issues have talked to me about vegan food options. I didn't have to convince them of the benefits of a strict vegetarian diet, they convinced themselves. I get to be a cheerleader.
I like this article very much. Thank you for posting it! I think that I have had zero effect on people becoming vegan (except for maybe my husband to a small extent). Mainly because I am quiet in real life these days and am not social at all. If I were more outgoing, I think I would RAVE to every single person I meet about how great it is to be vegan!!! And maybe influence a few folks that way. The other thing I would do if I could come out of my shell, is throw very *BIG* dinner parties with LOTS of VEGAN food and invite all omnis! I think introducing people to really delicious vegan food can have an impact on people (since most people think we only eat pieces of lettuce and nuts). Maybe one day, if I ply myself with Paxil or something, I'll accomplish this overwhelming someday/maybe task. ;)
... Mainly because I am quiet in real life these days and am not social at all.
Omg, ShaolinBunny, I would have never thought it of you. It's a cinch you're not quiet here on VegWeb. ;) :D ;D
... Mainly because I am quiet in real life these days and am not social at all.
Omg, ShaolinBunny, I would have never thought it of you. It's a cinch you're not quiet here on VegWeb. ;) :D ;D
I know, the cat's out of the bag! ;D I would be the quiet mouse at Yabbit's party. But I would still be the mouse linked arm in arm with CV1! ;D
I became vegan because I had high cholesterol. With no other change in my lifestyle, my cholesterol plummeted. I am proof that instead of taking pills and continuing to hurt your body, you can make a dietary change and become healthier.
I'm happy for you that you were able to change your health without taking pills but not everyone is that lucky. There are many diseases where medication is vital in keeping the disease under control. I, myself, have Crohn's Disease and had been in remission for 12 years and only taking the bare minimum of medication to stay that way. I was feeling so good that I decided that I would stop taking the medication to see if I could manage with diet alone. Four months later I am now taking over 4 times as much medication to get my Crohn's flare under control with the possibility of having to start a second medication. Crohn's is a disease where stoping medication makes it much harder to get under control later when the disease gets out of control again.
I am proof that even with a healthy vegan diet, not taking pills caused a "hurt" body. Taking medication or managing your health by not taking medication should be a decision made together with your doctor.
There are many diseases where medication is vital in keeping the disease under control.
I was thinking more of health issues relating to lifestyle.
My thyroid is practically nonfunctional and there's no way I could not take thyroid replacement pills (I've tried with disastrous effect). I've heard of Crohn's Disease, but I had to look it up because I didn't know what it was, exactly. That's like my thyroid condition, lifestyle changes wouldn't fix it.
I don't know if I necessarily agree with this article. I can see the point, and I'm all about "attracting" new vegans, but I think my reasons for not eating "bread that might have something in it" for example go beyond just purity. I really don't like the idea of consuming that, and if I'm uncomfortable passing up the damn bread, I shouldn't have to eat it just because I might be turning someone off. I think some people might admire that dedication. When someone says "I could never do that, I like ____ too much," I usually do say "every little bit helps," or something like that. Hm, just a thought.
I agree with you about the bread part. I've seen whey powder in a few French breads, so the only bread I'll eat in restaurants is sourdough. I thought the article got it wrong there. I would have changed it to something about if you're not comfortable eating dodgy bread then don't make a big deal about it, or something like that. I definitely wouldn't eat something because it had "just a little" animal in it.
Oh wow I loved this article :) But I do agree that you should check things out. I hate making a big deal about things though so before I do to a restaurant I often search online or call or something to see what is safe. I think though that every time I make something vegan and delicious and someone chooses it over something with an animal product in it that I've done something positive :)
On PETA's national hug a vegetarian day my friend and I made t-shirts that said "Hug me, I'm a vegan" and "Hug me, I'm a vegetarian" and we got lots of hugs which was cool. Everyone was like "I used to be vegetarian but.." or something like "My cousin's girlfriend is a vegan!" It's funny that omnis always feel the need to justify not being vegetarian or something
I like this article. But, as with all vegan articles I've found ... it makes some assumptions as to WHY people become vegan. Yes, a lot do become vegan to end animal suffering. But, some of us go vegan for other reasons. I went vegan because I can't kill an animal. I think it's hypocritical of me to eat meat if I can't take conscious responsibility for ending a life. I stopped eating dairy and eggs for health reasons - I'm much healthier without that.
Animal suffering, on the other hand, entered for me as a reason MUCH later. And, even now, I get A LOT of flak from vegans for having absolutely no problem with small, SUSTAINABLE, humane farms where farmers grow a variety of crops and have a variety of animals. These animals lead a good life, and are killed humanely by the same farmer who cared for them. I have no problem with this because while the animals do die ... they don't suffer throughout their life and the farm does not contribute to pollution. I majored in sustainable farming. I've interned on these farms. And, yes, while interning I killed chickens. (Obviously, before I became vegan and before I decided I could not longer end another life.) So, I'm fairly well educated about this stuff.
My approach has always been to encourage discussion with non-vegans. If they can't give up meat - I point them in the direction of the small, sustainable farms. I don't see anything unethical about that. But, again, I understand why many vegans do as their premise is that we shouldn't kill.
I obviously have a BIG problem with factory farms who slaughter animals in horrific ways, who force these animals to live out their lives in cages, who have no concept of sustainability, etc. I'd go liberate those animals and blow the factories up today. You know, if I actually wanted to spend my life in prison. ;)
It's a good article. I just wish vegan articles took into consideration the OTHER reasons as to why people become vegan. I think when we focus on ONE reason - we isolate those non-vegans who would perhaps consider giving up meat if they were presented with other explanations for veganism.
Just thought I'd add that these are just my opinions and I hope no one is offended by them. I totally support and understand the opinion that no animals should be killed. I just have a slightly different one due to my experience with working on farms ... and, hence why I am vegan for different reasons than mose people.
Thought I'd add that disclaimer in there as I was actually kicked off another vegan website for mentioning said reasons for my veganism. And I hope it doesn't happen here as I really like this forum. :)
Thought I'd add that disclaimer in there as I was actually kicked off another vegan website for mentioning said reasons for my veganism. And I hope it doesn't happen here as I really like this forum. :)
I don't have anything else to add--I just wanted to say that I think it's super lame that you got kicked off of another website for talking about your reasons for veganism. Now there's a way to discourage people from becoming vegan--you lose your freedom of speech! Sheesh! CrunchyCapitalist--pretty sure you're safe here ;)
Thought I'd add that disclaimer in there as I was actually kicked off another vegan website for mentioning said reasons for my veganism.
??? So they were less, "Go Vegan!" and more, "Go Away Vegan!" I'm going to have to guess it was a militant animal rights vegan website. The interesting thing is that those types are one of the hold-ups keeping more people from exploring veganism. Multiple times I have received the comment that someone would like to explore veganism, but because they're less interested in the animal rights side they don't think they're "allowed" to be vegan. Sheesh!
Thanks guys. Good to know I can share my reasons for going vegan without getting booted! The previous website I joined was my first foray into an online vegan community and I was worried they'd all be like that. Feels good to know that I don't have to hide my reasons for going vegan. What a great community this is! :)
Hey I know of at least 3 omnis who come here to get good recipes! They may not "chat" but at least they are exploring their options. And I have seen some omnis post and say "hey I'm an omni but I'd like to learn" and people are usually pretty accepting. It's all about learning and growing, right? We all have to start where we are. There's a great Spanish saying: Nobody's born knowing. That means, we're all learning and you don't "learn" by being perfect from the outset.