In Defense of the Power Vegans

By Published On: 9 December 2010Last Updated: 17 January 2017

Bloomberg Businessweek has a skewed perspective of veganism.

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Biz StoneRussell SimmonsDennis KucinichSteve Wynn

Joel Stein over at Bloomberg Businessweek has a skewed perspective of veganism.  He thinks vegans must be rich folk because one supposedly must be wealthy to eat vegan.

Stein asserts that veganism is a new way for people in the position to do so, to flaunt their power.  He rattles off names like Steve Wynn, Bill Clinton, Biz Stone, Mike Tyson, Bill Ford, Russell Simmons, and Dennis Kucinich, claiming that they use veganism to “distinguish themselves from the rest of us.”

It shouldn’t be surprising that so many CEOs are shunning meat, dairy, and eggs: Its an exclusive club.  Only 1% of the US population is vegan, partly because veganism isn’t cheap: The cost comes from the value of specialty products made by specialty companies with cloying names (tofurkey, anyone?).  Vegans also have to be powerful enough to even know what veganism is.

Mr. Stein, only 1% of our population is vegan because of people like you who are so embedded in the status quo of your own selfish comfortability.  Money is the last thing required for veganism.  It takes selflessness, motivation, compassion, and courage before financial resources.  And when it does come to money, it takes intelligence and common sense.  We don’t subsist on meat analogues like Tofurkey.  For the most part, we eat balanced and varietal- and we do it without causing the suffering and death of millions of beings.  You may do well to pick up a book or two on the topic- it’s good to familiarize yourself with the subject you’re writing about.

I do agree with Mr. Stein’s point (although I’m certain our interpretations differ): “Vegans have to be powerful enough to even know what veganism is.”

It takes the power to overcome the mainstream pressure to continue down the popular destructive path of putting greed- personal and collective- above compassion, morality, and practicality.  And that power is derived from within yourself, not a bank account.  It doesn’t matter how much money one has, being vegan in a society of the close minded is a daily struggle.  Witnessing the suffering of animals is a fucking daily struggle.

Mr. Stein ends on the same contemptuous note he began with, “And herein lies veganism’s appeal to moguls:  It affords them the opportunity to control their own health with the same manic id with which they control everything else.”

Yes, moguls can be vegan.  So can anyone else.  Since when is it a bad thing to take control of one’s own health?  Call it “manic id” if you must.  Perhaps one is just jealous that they don’t possess the “id” to make a positive difference in this world.

18 Comments

  1. […] was reading a post on Your Daily Vegan today responding to an article by Joel Stein which asserts that becoming a vegan is the new way to […]

  2. YourDailyVegan December 10, 2010 at 2:35 pm - Reply

    RT @rosiep913 Post by @YourDailyVegan – In Defense of the Power Vegans #vegan http://ht.ly/3n7DP

    • animaporia December 10, 2010 at 2:41 pm - Reply

      @YourDailyVegan Right on. I’m poor as dirt and still vegan. Meat is kept artificially cheap by subsidies–power is on the side of speciesism

    • ladypylot December 10, 2010 at 3:34 pm - Reply

      RT @YourDailyVegan: RT @rosiep913 Post by @YourDailyVegan – In Defense of the Power Vegans #vegan http://ht.ly/3n7DP

    • CatherineJack December 10, 2010 at 4:14 pm - Reply

      RT @YourDailyVegan: RT @rosiep913 Post by @YourDailyVegan – In Defense of the Power Vegans #vegan http://ht.ly/3n7DP

  3. YourDailyVegan December 10, 2010 at 3:01 am - Reply

    Did you miss it earlier? [New Post] In Defense of the Power Vegans – https://www.yourdailyvegan.com/2010/12/09… #vegan

  4. Topsy.com December 9, 2010 at 7:45 pm - Reply

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Your Daily Vegan, Jen aka EcoChic, Deb Durant, Vegan Valkyrja, Mery Corbella and others. Mery Corbella said: RT @YourDailyVegan: [New Post] In Defense of the Power Vegans – http://bit.ly/fsUgLy #vegan […]

  5. YourDailyVegan December 10, 2010 at 12:03 am - Reply

    [New Post] In Defense of the Power Vegans – https://www.yourdailyvegan.com/2010/12/09… #vegan

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HELLO! I'm KD Angle-Traegner.

Writer, activist, and founder of Four Urban Paws Sanctuary. I’m on a mission to help people live a vegan life. Read more about KD…

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