Is veganism wrong?

[BellaMay]

I have been an on-again-off-again vegan for three years now.
I love animals, and have educated myself extensively on the abuse that our society heaps on certain members of the animal kingdom. I understand my part in this, but really have trouble implementing my beliefs unconditionally.

At this point, I'm eating what I call my "compromise diet"- soymilk, veggies, fruit, grains, alongside free-range and organic chicken and dairy and eggs. (Note the guilt-reducing free-range label)

When in a vegan phase, I feel incredibly isolated and deprived. I'm a great cook, and have a thorough selection of cookbooks, so good tasting food isn't the problem. I just feel out of the loop of the world somehow. Grocery shopping becomes an exercise in frustration: Why can't I have cinnamon rolls without baking them myself? Why can't I find good soy cheese? Must tofu, which I love, be in everything? Can't I have a little convenience in my life?

I'm no martyr. And many vegans I meet seem to deal with this frustration with good humor and a strong sense of martyrdom, KWIM?

Anyway. I'd love to get some feedback from individuals who have lived as vegans for a long while. Do you ever feel lonely? Like all the effort you make to feed yourself is futile? Don't you ever get lazy? Don't you feel alien and petty, sometimes?

Why does veganism have to feel so wrong in this world?

[sagewinna]

I don't feel like I am making a sacrifice, really... I am just sticking with what I believe is healthy and good for the enviornemnt, as well as animals.

There are so many foods out there that are prepared that I can buy if I don't feel like making an effort to cook. It doesn't take much extra effort now, though it did at first, to eat out. I have vegan friends to have pot lucks with, and some of my friends and family have learned a few vegan meals to serve me when I visit.

With my parenting style as with my eating style, I don't mind being different. I do what feels right for me and my family. Both go against what our society deems "normal", but I won't stop homeschooling, EBF or eating a vegan diet because of that. Sometimes other people don't understand it, but that's ok.

[Erin Pavlina]

The same thing you're talking about hits me when I'm in Costco. I always think, "Darnit, why can't there be a vegan food warehouse. Or a vegan buffet."

But veganism is still worth it to me, even when I wish and long for the variety and convenience that omnivores have. I simply remind myself of the health and ethical reasons why I became vegan.

I certainly don't miss my high cholesterol. I don't miss carpal tunnel syndrome. And I'm sure glad to be rid of my stomach trouble.

I enjoy knowing that what I eat harms no animal. I enjoy knowing that I am not contributing to the helpless suffering of an animal.

In time, in the future, more people will go vegan. I'm sure of it. Be glad that it's so easy to be vegan in this day and age of convenience foods and vegan chocolate. Our vegan ancestors of the 40's, 50's and 60's really had it tough.

And even if I did feel lonely, I would still be vegan. My values are more important to me than fitting in with the crowd. When you know you're doing the right thing, you are often left standing with very few others. Still, it's good company to keep.

[BellaMay]

Thanks for your responses.

Erin, I think your Costco response really hits the mark I was trying to hit.

Strangely enough, I have never had a problem being different. I'm Black, and have attended predominantly white schools. I'm married to a white man. I'm opinionated and am not shy about sharing my views.

I was the first (and only) vegetarian in my family from the age of 14...the chicken is a recent relapse to meat...

I think that food is such an important way of connecting with the world, which is why veganism is attractive to me. But food also provides a connection with other people, and when I chose to become vegan, I became self conscious in a way that seemed more defeating than with any other choice I've made.

I couldn't reinforce my choice based on health, since I didn't have any health problems before I went vegan.

I enjoyed knowing I wasn't hurting animals by eating and exploiting them, but I knew I wasn't perfectly innocent in this world either. I have pets, I drive a car, I tread as heavily on this earth as anyone else.

It was hard maintaining the effort in the face of such imperfectionism, I guess.
And boy, effort was needed.

I'm not saying I'll never try again, since quite obviously veganism is an issue that continues to come up for me, despite my reluctance.

It was helpful hearing from vegans on the other side.
Thanks

[Erin Pavlina]

Yeah, I wish someone would open a vegan costco. And I would love to attend an all you can eat vegan buffet.

You're lucky not to have health problems. Boy I was such a major junk fooder growing up. We ate fast food in my house 4-5 times per week for dinner, and sometimes lunch too. My family is riddled with heart disease history.

No one was more suprised than me that I went vegan. I never thought I could do without my Big Macs. My family loves that I'm so healthy now.

[mamawanabe]

Here is what works for me - I only buy and cook vegan (plus free range eggs since there is little disruption/cruelty involved). But when I eat out, I am vegetarian unless there is a vegan option on the menu.

I never feel deprived.

Of course, recent discussion on this board about faux soy meat has meant I have cut back on that - and I miss it immensly.

Good luck.

[Erin Pavlina]

Mamawannabe, you may want to read this bit of info on free range eggs. Here's a link:

http://www.vegsource.com/joanne/qa/qaeggs.htm

[michelle1k]

I do sometimes wish that there was an "easy" way to be vegan, but you know, with the conscious choice to feed my family whole, organic foods, cooking from scratch would be done *anyway* in our household. I don't feel deprived; I am constantly more and more amazed at what is available. Especially on the rare occasion that we feel like buying a few convenience foods, which for us, is a treat.

So essentially, we "treat" ourselves with things like soy yogurt, soy cream cheese, soy ice cream, etc. and this is good enough for us. I like knowing *exactly* what I'm putting into our bodies when I cook, as we literally "are what we eat" - producing new bodily cells from the food we put into our mouths.

Warmly,
Michelle - mom to vegan family since 1998 - ds (5) and dd (10 months)

[MamaMonica]

I have been vegan at times, but my health crashed every time. I wasn't able to do it. I eat eggs and dairy in moderation. Soy gives me problems in quantity, but I eat tofu in small quantities. I respct veganism but need to keep my health up. The bulk of my diet is veggies, grains, fruit and beans. It seems that getting rid of the last bit- eggs and dairy is fine for awhile- then I slowly get run down and ill, regardlss of how many vits and supplements i take.

[Viola]

Off the topic, but since the issue of eggs came up...

I know some raw food vegans who own chickens and plan to harvest the eggs. The one family will not eat them because they are vegans, but the other family will eat them, and perhaps sell them. I'm thinking that I would like to buy eggs from them once their chickens are producing. I know something of the vegan standpoint on eggs, but I have heard at least one other vegan who said she would eat eggs if she had her own laying hens. I know one of the issues is that buying the laying hens supports the cruel hatchery business, so I am kind of surprised that the people who don't plan to eat them have gotten the chicks in the first place. But they do rescue animals and have quite a few of them, so maybe that played a part in their chicken acquisition. I don't think obtaining eggs is their goal.

Just for the record, I am not a vegetarian, but I do buy organic, cage free eggs thinking that at least that is better in some regards. I like the idea of buying eggs from friends though. When I was a kid, we used to buy our eggs from some people down the street who had chickens in their backyard. I used to enjoy going and feeding the chickens too.

[mamawanabe]

oh hey "thanks" Erin - also known as Killjoy

[Erin Pavlina]

I know... I'm sorry. it came as a big surprise to me too.

My grandfather was an egg farmer. We used to visit the chickens on his farm everytime we visited. I asked my father what his dad used to do with the chickens when they couldn't lay anymore, and he said they ended up as fryers because they weren't really that fat. Poor chickens. He also said the vet came by once a month to inject them with all kinds of drugs and that the chickens were often very diseased but that it usually didn't affect the eggs.

My other grandfather was a butcher. Nice family tree I've got here.

[MamaMonica]

I grew up on a farm, Erin, and stopped eating meat when I was four and found out what it was. I had to partake in chicken butchering at the neighbors when I was in grade school and wrap the beef (from cows I knew personally) for the freezer on a regular basis. This was the norm on the farm and the rest of my family thinks I am a freak for being a vegetarian and letting any of this bother me.

[flower]

I know what you mean. It IS hard when you feel alone in your choices.

My dh and I (vegetarians/almost vegan for 12+ years) actually moved 3000 miles to live in California (first LA, and now the San Francisco Bay area) because we wanted to live amongst 'our people', lol.

When we started our family 3 years ago we made the move to SF because we wanted our children to go to school with other kids who were vegetarian or vegan and to not stand out as weird because they didn't eat animals. We also wanted to socialize with like-minded people.

All I can say is it was a wonderful idea! The cost of living is very high and we are currently renting a house because we can't afford to buy but I would not consider living anywhere else. There are several vegan/vegetarian markets within a couple miles of our home and many vegan options at restaurants, etc. It's a way of life here and I don't ever feel alone as I did when I lived in a different part of the country.

Maybe you could move?

Seriously though, do you subscribe to any veggie zines? Reading them helps me feel connected to others..

Off Topic to Erin: You aren't going to believe this but I am expecting your book to arrive today. It was on my amazon wish list for my birthday and it was sold out and backordered...my mom ordered it for me and it is supposed to come today. Excuse my schoolgirlishness, but I am a bit excited to be posting with the author of a book I am dying to read!

[Erin Pavlina]

Flower, thanks for getting the book. Amazon has dozens of my book in their possession but their "computer" thinks it's out of stock. It's so frustrating for me not to be able to fix that.

MamaMonica: My dearest friend in high school raised a pig from birth to show at the county fair. Her pig won first place and was auctioned off in pieces. She received several pieces of her pig as part of her "prize." Although at the time I was a meat eater, I still could not fathom how she could eat her own pig that she raised from babyhood. It was so sad. That incident was the first stirring of my compassion towards food animals.

[glad2bhome]

Reminds me of "Charlotte's Web".