I'm Not Sorry, I'm Vegan
Today I have decided to become an unapologetic vegan. I'm already a vegan, it's the unapologetic part that's new.
Recently, I attended ones of those benefit galas that included the standard fare rubbery chicken main course and found myself having to shout to the waiter, over the din of the room, to take back the chicken and that I would like a vegan plate instead please. I was then served a plate of cheese-laden lasagna and once again, I had to shout new instructions; I'm a vegan, that means no cheese, no butter, no milk, no dairy period. Finally a sad looking plate of plain, tasteless, steamed vegetables was offered and I dug in. Of course all this back and forth with the waiter drew the attention of the table so I felt the need to explain what happened and concluded with an apology to everyone. My dear friend, Nancy, leaned over to me and said; "you have nothing to apologize for!" And as it turns out, no one was bothered, I indeed had nothing to apologize for and my table-mates were curious as to why I became a vegan. Ah, I live for those moments! But that wasn't the first time I've felt compelled to apologize for the "inconvenience" of my diet and it wasn't the first time my friends told me to stop apologizing.
There is no doubt that as a vegan, I often feel set apart from the human tribe who gather together to share meals that 99% of the time includes meat and/or dairy. In addition, not everyone fully understands what a vegan diet consists of so we happily explain that we don't consume milk, butter, eggs, cheese or anything that comes from animals. So a vegetable soup is not vegan when it contains chicken stock and pasta with Parmesan cheese is a no no for us. Vegetarians still use dairy and wear leather but we vegans are comforted knowing that they are that much closer to truly compassionate eating.
Not so long ago, I used to be an apologetic omnivore. When I was served fish, shrimp or lobster that still had its head, I would freak out and ask that the dish be taken away and the offending head removed so that I could enjoy my meal without those eyes staring at me with every bite. I felt sorry for the fish, I felt sorry for making a fuss and in the rare times I was reminded that all of my meat used to have a head, including eyes, I felt sorry for the animal. I don't know what it is about the eyes... the whole windows to the soul thing is pretty profound, I guess. There must be a reason that, generally speaking, meat is served headless. I think all of us feel quite squeamish when confronted with the whole of an animal that looks much the same dead and cooked as it did alive and well. Maybe that is why our meat is prepared and packaged, to help us forget the "fact of life" that death is a part of the main course.
When I decided to allow myself to really think about the meat I was eating, that lead me to written descriptions and then to actual videos showing how the animals I ate were dying. To say that watching the videos made me uncomfortable is an understatement. It was a stomach churning, throat tightening and visceral experience in which I thought my heart would burst from the pain and empathy I felt for the animals being killed in front of my eyes. As an eater of meat, I was just one degree of separation away from the violent act I witnessed in those videos. I knew there was no way I could go to the kill floor myself and either be a part of or watch the animals being slaughtered. That was the litmus test for me. If I couldn't bear to watch the killing, then I have no business eating meat. If it made me feel that horrible and that bad, how could I in good conscience be a participant (by creating the demand as a consumer) in something that caused me such distress? Now that's just me. Some people may not have the sensitivity to animals that I do and I cannot and will not be the judge of those who don't feel the way I do. But I do not believe that we should hide behind willful ignorance either. To those of you who LOVE meat but say "I can't look," then I say if it's that hard for you to watch, then maybe you feel conflicted. If you feel conflicted, then I urge you to keep making the connection in your heart and in your mind's eye. Animals must be killed before they become food. Death is often terrifying and painful and violent for the animal, particularly on factory farms. It isn't fair to the animals who give their lives for your palate to suffer with their bodies what you won't suffer with your eyes. So as a new unapologetic vegan, I challenge all of you unapologetic meat eaters to watch this video, Meet Your Meat. If you can watch without wincing, without feeling an uncomfortable stirring in the pit of your stomach, if you can watch the animal's experience in the slaughterhouse and be okay, then you deserve to enjoy your hamburgers, BBQ, and bacon because you have faced the reality of meat-eating head on (keeping in mind that there is a huge environmental cost to meat consumption...that's a post for another day). But if the video turns your stomach, if you are disgusted or feel remorseful or sad for the animal, then I ask you to seriously rethink your diet. If you do, I am happy to give you tips on moving through this world as a newly minted and unapologetic vegetarian or vegan.
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How many vegans/vegetarians out there have actually ever visited dairy and beef farms? It's really easy to go to a location, take footage and manipulate it, but how many of you have actually gone out and seen it with your own eyes, talked to the farmers, asked questions? And do you ever think about the human suffering that comes from the fruit and veggie industry? The sad truth is that unless you grow it yourself, you contribute the the suffering of someone, somewhere.
Again, Kali. All Ms. Shankar is asking is that you watch these videos and then decide if you're fine with continuing to eat meat, dairy, or eggs. I watched "Peaceable Kingdom" when it first came out and went vegan that day. Even if this cruelty to animals was only documented once, I'd still go vegan. How much torture do you have to see before you think it's enough? Relatively, my locally grown sesame encrusted steamed organic kale involves essentially no suffering compared to the chicken sandwich you'll probably eat at Chili's.
ps: I worked on a friends ranch a couple of summers when I was young, so I have seen first hand how cowsare treated in that environment and it ain't pretty.
Hey, I'm not judging, I am just asking a question. I work in the dairy industry, have been do various slaughter houses and farms, so I know what goes on. I respect your decision, and I would appreciate it if my decision to continue to eat meat, dairy and eggs weren't judged. We who choose to not go vegan do get tired of the whole "we are better than you" that we get from so many vegans. I watch the videos, but I also know what I've seen. I've worked on dairy farms and visited so many I can't count, and it's rare that you actually see what you see on these videos. But I'm not here to argue, just to bring another thought to the whole discussion.
Here is an example of how even the fruit and vegetable industry is full of abuse, only it's humans, not animals.
http://www
I think your an angel to the animals...
I used to LOVE meat. In fact, I used to make fun of vegetarians. Now I've been vegan 12 years, and I am so glad someone convinced me to watch a documentary about slaughterhouses. I'm not OK with torture, and I believe most people with a beating heart in their chest wouldn't be OK with it, either. For those of you who believe there is a way to "humanely" exploit and kill - you've simply fallen for the latest myth.
To all the naysayers who continue to rationalize the meat and dairy industry - the argument for veganism remains true and simple: If something is easily avoidable, and it causes suffering, choose an alternative.
Veganism is the lifestyle which is part of a legitimate social justice movement aimed at alleviating a tremendous amount of exploitation and suffering that is preventable, unnecessary, rationalized, and often unquestioned. For those of you who've read a history book, there is a pattern. The aim is not, never was, and never can be to harm absolutely nothing.
To those of you who say "I respect your veganism and you respect my meat-eating" are missing the whole point. This is a social justice issue - and your proposal of mutual respect leaves out the critical perspective - the animals'. Respecting an individual animal's desire to move away from sources of pain, and validating their cries as legitimate dissent against being tortured and killed is the essence of our aim.
cheri, thank you, you are giving me the strength to also be an unapologetic vegan. i always feel as if i am inconveniencing someone and don't want to make a big deal of it if i need a special meal while dining out.
joshua, thank you, you give me hope--the mere fact that you used to ridicule vegetarians is inspiring, since i know so many people who do that. i can only hope their perspective can change as yours has. now i know it's possible!
Thanks for the great article... I too am deciding to stop being "sorry" for being Vegan. When you look at the devestation being done to the planet - the rising costs of diet realated illness, not to mention to the poor animals who suffer as a result of meat-eating, it's really not Vegans who should be doing the appologizing at all... It's like appologizing for being "rational". Not me. I love being Vegan! I just wish I would have made the connections a few decades ago - it's the best thing I've ever done for my health... and heart. :)
I like how vegans consider themselves to be "guilt" free in there diet choices. I have nothing against being a vegan, its a personal choice and one they deserve to make for themselves. However it is implied that vegans cause no harm to animals which is simply not true. Millions of small game animals such as rabbits, mice, voles, frogs, toads, snakes, and many other animals are killed yearly due to the harvesting of crops such as corn, wheat, soybean etc. Larger herbivores such as deer are also regulary killed/poisoned due to the fact that they eat these crops. Cats are also introduced into crop areas to kill animals such as rabbits, mice, voles and rats that feed off the crops. So just because you don't eat meat doesn't mean your diet doesn't contribute to the slaughter of millions of animals a year.
So to sum it up is it worse to die being ripped apart by a grain thresher or in a slaughterhouse?
It is worse to die in a slaughterhouse, obviously. At least the rabbit gets to live a free life in the wild. Besides, if you don't care about the rights of slaughterhouse animals, how can you possibly care about mice? Also, you know that something like 75% of grain is fed to slaughterhouse animals? If someone were to eat meat, they would not only be killing small animals but also pigs and cows :P.
Either way, many vegans choose that lifestyle due to the horrible effects of the meat and dairy industry on our bodies and our planet. Death is inevitable, especially with the amount of human beings there are on this earth, however, it is important to limit that number as much as possible :].
That isn't an equal comparison. There are many ways to die. For humans this could mean: accidents, murder, suicide, self-inflicted lifestyle illnesses, genetic malfunctions, old age and so on. Much is the same for animals. They could ingest poison, be attacked by another animal, hit by a car, die giving birth, euthanized by a vet, or, the two examples you provided: killed in a slaughterhouse or ripped apart by a grain thresher. The issue is not the death. It is life, and the right to have one. Though obviously any kind of death for a person or animal that is not caused by old age is an unfortunate one, an animal "raised" in a factory farm for slaughter does not have the right to life they deserve. Their fate is predetermined and assigned to them by us. An animal ripped apart by a grain thresher would never know such limitations.
that may be true for grass-fed beef, but the vast majority of meat in supermarkets is factory farmed.
and raising factory farmed meat is hugely inefficient. it takes at least 8 lbs of grains and soy to produce 1 lb of animal flesh. so not only is the animal directly killed for the meat, but all of the animals in the field that died for the grains to fatten the animal up.
either way, veganism is still more humane.
Don't ever apologize!
Do people with dairy allergies or nut allergies or people who don't like to eat brussell sprouts or tofu apologize?
No.
Vegan-disc
Read my vegan adventures and wellness tips at my blog:
KBLOG.LUNC
Not all Vegetarians wear leather.
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You are right! I should have have said "some" vegetarian
I stand corrected. But as a rule, more vegetarians use leather than don't.
Thanks for the good article, Cheri.
I've been a vegan for ten years and I've never had the problem of being apologetic.
If a restaurant messes up a dish, I'll send it back in a heartbeat. And the tip goes down if the waitstaff seems unconcerned.
I never have to apologize to people I may be dining with because I usually only dine with vegetarians and vegans.
I can't imagine apologizing for making the ethical choice of a plant-based diet.
Not all meat comes from factory farms. I get my meat at my local farmer's market. When I eat out, I eat veggie. I am an omnivore, but every creature deserves life, which is not what they get in factory farms.
you might want to make sure that those animals were slaughtered on the farms that sell the meat and not first shipped off to some big slaughterhouse. apparently it's not common for most farms to do the slaughter themselves, so the animal, if it were to have a more natural life, certainly didn't have a peaceful or swift death.
You say every creature deserves life however you still eat animals. Seems very hypocritical of you. Even if they lived their lives on a free range farm, what gives us humans the right to murder them for our desire of eating their flesh? Especially when we don't need it to survive.
I can't reconcile thinking that every creature deserves life with killing and eating creatures, even if those creatures have had "nice" lives up until their slaughter. "Happy" meat, "humane" meat, they don't exist. Meat necessarily means the death of some kind of animal, which is neither happy nor humane.
Let the meat wars begin. I'm on neither side but, you some of you are as radical as the NRA card totin militias. But you're under the guise of humanitarianism. Disassociate people, do what you do but recognize, you are not that. Look beyond. And know that you telling other people how great anything is, is about you. Not saving the planet or the animals even if that is your supposed mission. It is about you. face it, accept it. And enjoy your veggies. I will enjoy my Mahi Mahi. And leave you alone about your choice.
Cheri is clearly vegan not out of selfish reasons but because she's extending her circle of compassion to include her animal brothers and sisters. Your post sounds like the ranting of someone who feels tremendous guilt. Your Mahi Mahi comment is trite and ignorant. Fish are being trawled by the billions of tons per year -- scientists now predict that if fishing continues at the current rate that the oceans will collapse by 2048. If you really didn't care, you wouldn't be on here attacking people. If you really want to make a positive difference in the world, start with the person in the mirror.
And why are you attacking people who don't share your worldview?
My husband and I had an epiphany nearly four years ago after we watched the film, Peaceable Kingdom. We went home and threw out everything that wasn't vegan. The week before, we had been inspired by Will Tuttle, author of The World Peace Diet, about the profound disconnect between the suffering on our plates and our innate compassion for our fellow beings. After these experiences, we could no longer in good conscience contribute to anyone or anything that involved suffering for sensitive, intelligent, loving, beautiful animals. The non-human animals, (who are eaten without a thought as to what they went through to become food on our plates), share our nervous system, our capacity for pain, and also lives that are as meaningful and precious to them as ours are to us. Becoming vegan was the best decision of our lives. Now when we see animals on plates, we see it for what it is: the mutilated, decaying corpses of traumatized, sensitive fellow beings. Animal agriculture -- the production of meat, dairy and eggs -- is responsible for nearly 20 percent of global warming, so eliminating these products is the most significant, impactful step anyone can take towards lowering their ecological footprint. Animal foods also heavily contribute to the major chronic diseases of our time. It's eating plants and living in harmony with nature that leads to the highest degree of physical, spiritual, psychological and ecological health and healing for ourselves and our planet.
Most of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States are grown in the arid state of California. This is done using irrigation systems that are turning California farmlands into salt deserts, while depositing toxic levels of selenium that cause birth defects in the wild and domestic animals who graze on these lands. And while I agree that factory farming should be banned, most farm animals will go extinct if we no longer depend on them. Just because you choose to be a vegan doesn't mean animals won't die so you can eat.
Uh, I think I'd rather be extinct than be farmed, tortured, and then eaten? Maybe you're into that kind of thing though?
:P
I would much rather have domesticated animals used for food become extinct than continue with the process in which they are "cultivated" for our use.
Wonderful Post!
I've been a vegi for 30 years and it's tough for some people to fathom my choice so I've gotten to the point, I say nothing at all!
It's who I am.
A favorite comment toward me has always been, "Where do you get your protein?"
Heard it thousands of times!
However, I tried to go vegan 5 years ago and did real well subbing all the dairy products for soy, etc. One problem. Even though I ate a lot of food, I lost weight. And at 5'3" 110 lbs, that was a problem for me.
My doctor ran tests because he was worried, I was normal everything revealed. He told me to try & eat some dairy so I did...and the weight came back. I did miss mac n' cheese.
With that, I can advise anyone needing to lose weight, easily just go VEGAN! But some people can't live without their meat and cheese so they carry around the excess weight. Too bad for these close-minded omnivore's, I say.
So omnivores are close minded? Sounds like you need to look in the mirror. Hey they eat everything, doesn't sound close minded to me. I eat mostly vegetarian meal because people often consume too much meat. But, calling people close minded when they aren't pushing an agenda on you, reveals who you are.
Ummm. Western culture pushes a meating-ea
Oh, so if a dish once had eyes that is the sympathy factor?
Fruits and vegatables are not living, breathing beings?!? When carrots and tubers are ripped from the earth, because they have no "eyes" therefore they do not have a life?!?
Heliotropic plants, tell me there isn't some form of consciousness present. Yes, it is chemicals and their responses to outside stimuli, but thats the human brain as well.
Cutting wheat off from its stock or corn is not killing a living organism?!?!?
Your diet dictated by sympathy is very puzzleing.
See Cheri Shankar's Profile
Dear 78Thomas,
I think it is well established that there is a difference between sentient and non-sentient beings. I think you are making a very disingenuous argument, and deep down you know that. If you have a pet, are you telling me your companion animal has no more feelings than a carrot? Maybe you dislike animal activists and that is okay, but if you aren't out there trying to make the world a better place and are instead spending your time mocking people who are, well, it's too bad. I think you'd feel better expending your energy in more positive ways.
See Cheri Shankar's Profile
One more thing. I'm wondering if you watched "Meet Your Meat" before you made your comment. Just curious.
Brilliant piece, Cheri. For years I have apologized about my diet, and your post has inspired me to look at it differently. At least people joke about vegans and vegetarians a bit less than they did when I first gave up meat. There is some progress, and I am heartened by that.
What a great piece. Thank you!
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