Why am I vegan? What does being vegan mean for my life and my actions? What kind of a vegan do I want to be? Why am I writing this blog? What do I want it to be?
In the past few weeks, as I’ve been busy arranging many other parts of my life, I’ve also been thinking very hard about these questions. I don’t know that I’ve found all the answers, but I think I am ready to start working on them.
As an explanation for my hiatus: On top of many transitions going on in my life right now, I had my first major vegan freak-out. For the past year, I have been excited almost to the point of obsession about everything vegan. It’s been amazing–I’ve learned so much, and I’ve discovered an inspiring passion I didn’t know I had.
Everything was going swell…and then the freak-out. I had been reading several vegan forums, and suddenly was just overwhelmed at how fierce some of the posters seemed to be. None of this, none of that…I couldn’t even think of those.
On top of painfully negative tones, they just seemed to me to be focusing on the wrong issues. My initial reaction was one of distress–if being vegan meant conforming to a list of don’ts and can’ts, of proscribing everyone to the good and the bad, it wasn’t any group I wanted to join. Their strict rules about who was and wasn’t vegan resembled a cult more than the compassionate belief system I had embraced. I just don’t believe that being vegan is about eliminating every possible animal byproduct from your life. For one thing, it’s impossible; for another, it’s counterproductive.
To me, veganism is as much a mindset as a diet. It is about hope–a hope that humans can recognize the suffering that is around and within us; that we can one day see clearly the harm that we are thoughtlessly causing. I believe it is possible and even imminent that more and more people will see the truth and compassion in a vegan lifestyle–but this is not something that can be achieved through a list of rules.
As I was considering these issues–deciding whether I wanted to join the “vegan club,” I came across several moving articles. One was the letter I posted here, which is addressed to those who are “vegan at heart” if not (yet) in diet. I love Marisa’s letter because she is so positive–so hopeful. She acknowledges that veganism is a diet, but she knows that getting your heart in the right place is the most difficult part of becoming vegan. She also celebrates every step, recognizing that even those who aren’t “true” vegans are still making a significant impact, and are on the right path.
Another article was written by Matt Ball at Vegan Outreach. In a lengthy but powerful article, Ball reminds us that “we want a vegan world, not a vegan club”–in other words, that veganism isn’t about ingredients but rather inspiring people to a different way of thinking. This article really helped me solidify in my mind what veganism means to me, and what “being a vegan” entails.
So after all this freaking out and then reading and musing, where am I? Definitely still vegan–that was never really in question, because for me the diet part of being vegan is really easy. But I am more committed to an open, accepting form of veganism. I do believe that “vegan” has a clear definition, but I think that it is easy to get carried away with words–with drawing a line between who is and isn’t vegan. If we have to draw a line, I’d rather it be between who is and isn’t open, or accepting–qualities which are the foundation of veganism.
And I am reenergized to use this blog as part of my own vegan outreach. By reflecting on my own path as a vegan–the joys and frustrations; the friends, opponents, shoes, and dinners–I hope to encourage and motivate vegans and non-vegans alike, in the way that I have been inspired by other vegan musers.
This is such a great post. I totally know what you’re talking about. I tend to visit the forums for a day or two and then take a long break from them. I don’t understand using one’s time and energy to bash people who care about animals. Why not devote one’s resources to going after animal abusers?
And I subscribe to Vegan Outreach’s philosophy, too, about paying attention to the big ingredients and not worrying so much about the small, hidden ones. We want to make veg*anism look easy (which it can be), not grueling.