When is a vegan not a vegan?

On the subject of mistakes, I made ‘mistake’ about 18 months ago. I bought Walkers’ Salt & vinegar crisps which used to be vegan. But they substituted cows’ milk for MSG. I noticed the change on the ingredients list before I opened them and gave them to my parents.

williambranson,

If you’re just eating a vegan diet then you aren’t even a vegan. Veganism is against ALL animal exploitation, not just for food. People who eat “vegan” diets are best called “strict vegetarians”. This is not me trying to be mean, just insisting on not watering down veganism to just some diet which completely misses the point of veganism which is that animal exploitation is wrong and therefore we shouldn’t contribute to it.

That said, as a vegan, I enjoy life plenty — but I try not to do it at the expense of others. That would be wrong and I won’t tell people that it’s o.k. to exploit other animals for their pleasure or convenience. Does life suck as a vegan? Sometimes! (Though, life just sometimes sucks, period.) But people should be willing to make sacrifices to do the right thing. It’s not like we’re asking for people to go out and kill for their beliefs or risk their own lives, even. We’re not asking people to go naked or hungry, just to stop exploiting animals as much as reasonably possible (and not just “as much as you feel like”).

Quanzi Z,

With some relatively few exceptions, people already have choices. And there are plenty of site and other resources pointing out how to find vegan food and products. There are some that truly have no choice, such as minors with unsympathetic parents or those in nursing homes or prisons that don’t provide vegan options. But, for the vast majority of people, going vegan is far from impossible. It might be inconvenient for some, but that is absolutely no excuse to continue to contribute to animal exploitation. And the fact that so many with so many opportunities and choices complain about it being “just too hard” really saddens me. There are some real hardships in life. Going vegan is hardly one of them.

Also, veganism is, by itself, not about *helping* animals, but about not continuing to *hurt* them (which is why it’s only the first step, not the last in actually helping animals). Those who are not vegan continue to intentionally and unnecessarily hurt animals. I’m vegan not because I figure I’ll save X amount of lives, but because I am no longer willing to hurt other animals for my pleasure. Saying that those who maybe just eat less meat (etc.) are *helping* animals, too, is like saying “But look how many I didn’t kill!” and expecting to get a round of thanks.

Hi KD,
At the risk of revealing that I occasionally Google myself, I thought I’d respond to your post. I agree with you that it is not ethical to slip-up on veganism, but it does happen, either by accident or by a lapse in judgment. I think that is important to acknowledge, especially to beginner vegans.

I’m definitely not a vegan only when it is convenient. Nothing about my diet is convenient, I’m vegan with a gluten allergy! My first year of veganism, I cheated once every few months because I selfishly missed eating cheese. Surely you remember the dark days before Daiya, when all soy cheese had casein in it. Thankfully alternatives have gotten better.

The most recent cheating occurred because I had just been diagnosed with my allergy. I was so caught up in determining whether the fried eggplant has gluten in it, I didn’t notice that the salad included cheese. Since it was my mistake (and not the restaurant’s), I had the option of ordering again, paying for both salads, or eating the one with cheese in it. As I knew the salad I already ordered legally has to be thrown away, I ate it. This is an example of a truly careless mistake.

I understand your critique of my post. I agree that it is dangerous to make it sound like veganism is an exceedingly difficult diet to follow. It really isn’t, even with a food allergy. But I also think it is dangerous to ask “When is a vegan not a vegan?” and then suggest that “flexitarian” might be a better fit. We’re a small team, don’t kick people out! I’ve been a vegetarian since I was seven years old, I’ve never eaten a hamburger. I’ve been a vegan for over five years. And as soon as people make a commitment to stop eating animals, I say welcome to the club, I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you’ll stay.

Annie

I think this kind of “all or nothing!” attitude is what turns a lot of people off of veganism. You can’t demand absolutes of humans. People are going to slip up. If you tell them they have to turn in their veg*an card as soon as they have a crisis of willpower and eat a chicken sandwich, they’re going to give up completely.

You’re also assuming that only people who are 100% vegan can help animals, which isn’t true. Imagine if you told the entire world to try and have one day of the month where they ate vegan. Most people, even those who say they could never give up meat, will admit they could probably pull that off. And if they actually did it, thousands of animal lives (if not more) would be spared. Yes more would animals would be saved if all those people gave up animal products entirely, but that’s not something everyone is willing or feels able to do. If you really want people to help animals, you have to give them choices on how to do that, not tell them “you’re either with us or against us!”

When you get angry at someone and kick them out of your club for not meeting your standards, you lose the opportunity to encourage them to come close, which is always better then being against you.