Being vegan..what does it mean to you?

JohnDorian

To me it means freedom. Like anything else, we go through life barely scratching the surface in so many daily routines/behaviours. Food is one of those.

I never liked dairy. And meat is just something I was accustomed to. The less I ate the less I wanted. The more I read, the more I realised vegan isn’t just horrible substitute products for meat. There is a whole world out there of healthy vegan meals that have nothing whatsoever to do with British meat based food.

As for what people think or joke about - couldn’t care less. I genuinely get why people don’t understand the vegan lifestyle so I’m cool with that aspect.

rach_k

It annoys me a little when people say they're vegan for [insert reason that isn't for the animals] because veganism is by definition about the animals. The Vegan Society coined the term and they define it: "Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose." It isn't one of those things that evolves; it's their term, their definition.

If you're 'vegan' for health or environmental reasons, you're plant-based, not vegan. Same as somebody who doesn't eat bacon isn't automatically a Muslim.

That said, I'm vegan (yes, for the animals) and love that people are eating more vegan/plant based food. I don't really care why they're doing it. If they're drinking oat milk because they think it'll make their eyelashes thicker, the cows still benefit and that's all good. If they want to ask for vegan food, they should go for it, but I'd prefer that they didn't say they're vegan if they're actually not.

I don't care that businesses are making money by jumping on the band-wagon. Businesses are supposed to make money! I'd much prefer them to make money from lentils than legs.

The whole "I can't understand why vegans want meat substitutes" bugs me too. I like the taste of some meats and I loved milk and cheese. Not wanting to accept the cruelty involved in those things doesn't change my appreciation of how they taste. If we realised that chocolate actually tastes like grilled baby, I'd still be eating chocolate. It's just a flavour.

kuratowski

I'm not vegan, but a couple of years ago I did start to cut down on meat/fish due to environmental concerns, and now I only eat it once a week. This means I do eat a lot of veggie or vegan meals, while not actually being veggie or vegan. As such, I 100% appreciate all the recently available meat substitutes (veggie mince, etc) because they make my life easier in terms of being able to cook familiar recipes. And I very much appreciate cafes and restaurants having expanded veggie/vegan ranges on their menus.

HRH_MUngo

TBH, I used to have no problems with veganism. My mum was almost a vegan, she did eat vegetarian cheese and used milk though.

But I am fed up to the back teeth of hearing about it now, it's pushed in my face by virtue-signallers to the extent that it just makes me want to go out and eat the largest steak I can find.

onwards&upwards

HRH_MUngo wrote: »

TBH, I used to have no problems with veganism. My mum was almost a vegan, she did eat vegetarian cheese and used milk though.

Lol, like those ‘vegetarians’ who only eat chicken! :rotfl:

hollydays

:T

need_an_answer wrote: »

Really not sure if its the right place for this type of thread but I wanted to get the viewpoint of individuals and families as to what being vegan really means to you.

Is it a hot topic at the moment or do you really value the ethics behind what it represents?

I see so many things now that are vegan friendly and wonder if you are a vegan does the introduction of things like plant based foods and vegan mayonnaise for example excite you or do you feel that its sort of exploiting the whole meaning and ethics of being vegan.
Personally I and my family are meat eaters and no ive never considered eating a vegetarian or vegan diet on a regular basis,but I do understand that for some people its very much not just a choice for "vegan January " but a lifestyle and very much a choice over how they live.

So if you are vegan does it enhance your diet choices or do you feel that the whole plant based culture that we are now seeing is just jumping on the bandwagon of commercialism.

Are you eating more plant based food or vegan alternatives than you did this time last year...has it made a lasting difference to family meals and or your childrens perception to their diet?

Interested in peoples views

I'm not vegan or vege but what the hell do you mean by" do you really value the ethics it represents":rotfl:
I think vegans are the new Irish/ people of colour/ single mothers / immigrants
Ie someone to !!!!! about to make yourself feel better about yourself.Like Katy Hopkins and Muslims and Greta Thunberg.
Pub philosophy.

If you don't understand it try to educate yourself eg by doing a month vegan.
I'm a meat eater who's starting to eat less meat ( conspiracy theorists friends of mine have their own opinions on globalism). I like a steak. I also like chick peas, the food of the gods.

Smodlet "Who uses wool ? "Are you serious!!
Do you understand nothing about keeping warm.
Merino base layers for warmth.
Cashmere for light but best warm layers.
Alpaca.
Recycle these things and you won't need to use your central heating so much.

Alpaca is fabulous. Nylon fleece tops aren't the answer.

Doom_and_Gloom

Smodlet when around 18% of greenhouse gasses is made by animal agriculture that is a huge chunk; more than the approximate 13% for all transportation so road, rail, marine (boats etc) and even air travel combined!
Then there are issues with water, methane, fossil fuel consumption, slurry contaminating water, plastic waste is a big issue (approximately 46% of plastic in the ocean is from fishing nets :eek:*), Amazon destruction (around 90% done by animal agriculture) etc and of course the killing of animals.

The vegan alternative proves that animal products and by products are unnecessarily in modern life. The ethical stance is still sound as the product is not animal or by an animal by product. What don't you understand about that?

As for the animals not being here if not breed for food well they came about from cousin animals that do exist in the wild so if these man breed animals cease to exist then that is what is correct for the eco system. Though there are many people out there that don't use chickens, pigs, cows etc for their product or by products and yet have them in their lives so I doubt even in a 100% vegan world they would cease to be.

*yes really so if you are trying to do without plastic then fish is a bad idea. Not to mention most fish also consume the plastic in the waters which isn't healthy for them or you if you do indeed eat them.

UKTigerlily

Smodlet wrote: »

If people want to be vegan, let them be vegan; if people want to be vegetarian, let them be vegetarian: Really, unless you work in the food industry, who cares what other people do or do not choose to eat?

The one thing I can't stand is the hypocrisy: I have worked with (widely) self-proclaimed "vegetarians" who ate fish because, "You can't get everything you need from vegetarian food." They were "fish-and-chipocrites" (love that) They also widely proclaimed their teetotal status... Until one of them posted pictures of himself drinking beer (under the title, "Drinkin' beer") on his website.

All this concern for animal welfare, IF that is what drives your particular brand of veganism (it's not a religion) is somewhat misguided, imho. Were we all to abandon eating meat, pigs and almost all sheep would have no reason to exist. Who uses wool nowadays? There would still be cows while dairy products were allowed and chickens so long as we could still eat eggs but, were we all to become vegans, there would be no reason for farm animals to exist so they would cease to do so.

Sure, methane emissions might fall but I really wonder why no-one ever blames our species for those, especially with all the faddy foods we eat...

I'd rather the animals not exist, than that they were tortured and suffered for nothing but taste. I'm sorry, but saying there'd be no reason for them to exist if not to harm them is ridiculous (and they would still exist in the wild of course)


People seem to get confused between Vegan, and plant based. People who are just eating plant based foods aren't Vegan, and may do so for health reasons etc. Vegans don't support animal abuse, so we don't wear them, exploit them for entertainment, eat them or their excretions, or test on them as far as is possible (obviously we can't avoid stepping on ants, and if in self defence or to survive)


I love new plantbased foods, the reason there is fake meat is because we like the taste of it & want the taste, but without the cruelty; if you can get the same taste without the harm to animals and the planet, why wouldn't you?


People are realising, that the animal agriculture industry is the leading cause of climate change, global warming, food shortages, deforestation etc and some of us don't want to cause harm when we have a choice to move our hand a few inches and select a different option.


Why do people still breastfeed from cows as adults, or at all? if I offered to make a cup of tea with dog milk, they'd go ewww, yet happily consume cow's milk, meant for the calf they took away from the mother causing the same distress as it would in us.



See Land of Hope & Glory & Dominion or Earthlings to see what we do to these animals, or get in touch with your local save movement on FB & attend a slaughter house vigil, just to see for yourselves what we actually do.


If we wouldn't stand by and watch a dog abused, why a pig? Just because someone tells us as a pig looks different its ok? It isn't

UKTigerlily

HRH_MUngo wrote: »

TBH, I used to have no problems with veganism. My mum was almost a vegan, she did eat vegetarian cheese and used milk though.

But I am fed up to the back teeth of hearing about it now, it's pushed in my face by virtue-signallers to the extent that it just makes me want to go out and eat the largest steak I can find.

Consider how much meat eating is pushed in your face without you even realising? Take away the animals, replace with children. Everywhere you go there're ads for the flesh of kids, products tested on caged kids who live their entire lives in labs, dr's saying you need to eat child flesh for protein or adult breast milk for calcium (wrong)


What if it's dogs? People go mad about dogs in hot cars, kittens put in microwaves, then go eat eggs (when baby male chicks all go live thru a macerator and are shredded). Meat, dairy and eggs are actually what's pushed in your face, yet we're so used to it we don't realise


Never seen all the McD's, KFC & Burger King ads? Happy cows? Happy chickens? free range organic red tractor approved? All lies and marketing gimmicks.


And if something was happening you disagreed with, where the most vulnerable couldn't speak up and were abused for no reason, if you'd stay silent it says a lot about you (not saying you would, but if I see wrong, I speak up)

HRH_MUngo

onwards&upwards wrote: »

Lol, like those ‘vegetarians’ who only eat chicken! :rotfl:

My mum never called herself a vegan. She was vegetarian but ate very little dairy.