re: vegetarianism, veganism, and feminism

[Guest guest]

,

How kind of you to share your feelings--you made some very interesting

comments. Great conversation to start for this lest!

 

I believe that the majority of BAV members would heartily agree that

" animal rights is not the turning point for everyone. " Many of the vegans I

know initially made the change for environmental, feminist, and/or health

reasons. While researching the new diet, these people learned about animal

rights and their circle of compassion was widened. Likewise, many of us made

the change solely because of the extreme animal suffering that goes into animal

products, and later learned about the other benefits. When I went vegan I

thought it might be bad for my health and I had no idea it was connected to the

environment in any way. I had some pleasant surprises in store for me!

 

I love groups like PETA and BAV because they do not focus on preaching to

the choir. There's no time for that. I would consider vegetarians to be in

that choir.

 

Right now we need to do anything we can to get the veg word out to meat-eaters.

If I get a meat-eater to eat veg once a week, I'm thrilled. A meat-eater to go

veg all the time? Excellent! A meat-eater to use soymilk instead of cow milk

on his cereal? Fabulous. A door in their mind has opened. Once a person

starts on the path to veg I prefer to move on. Our efforts are best used to

reach others not on that path yet. A new, part-time vegetarian is going to be

reading about diet, health, animal suffering and the environment on their own.

They've made the first step, it's awesome, and I know that they need to hear a

big " thank you! " and " way to go! " from me, not a " but you haven't given up

cheese yet. " Time after time I watch these folks change their diet more and

more until they've ended up vegan. I see it happen in BAV all the time, in my

own family, and with many friends.

 

PETA takes a very positive approach and encourages activists to be positive

and encouraging to new veg*ns and to not be the vegan police.

http://www.goveg.com/effectiveAdvocacy.asp

 

BAV couldn't possibly be more inclusive and non-judgmental--using the term

veg*n, for instance, or clearly stating that anyone is welcome at all events,

whether they be veg or vegan or even still carnivorous. I know BAV puts a lot

of thought into reaching meat-eaters. We're not interested in having a bunch of

vegetarians come to our vegan cooking classes, for example. The veggies know

what vegan is, how to do it, and where to find more information about it.

They've already done something great and they're on their way to further

changes. We can make a much bigger difference by feeding meat-eaters who have

questions like, " Where do I get my protein? "

 

That said, I'm not sure why any vegetarian would wonder why vegans want

veganism! Eating vegan means MUCH less animal suffering, MUCH less

environmental destruction, MUCH better health and yes, it is MUCH more connected

to feminist philosophy. Of course I as a vegan want my non-vegan acquaintances

to go vegan! Why is that wrong? I don't judge meat-eaters or dairy-eaters

because , after all, I've been there. But the people who encouraged me to go

vegan did me a great favor and I certainly won't apologize for wanting to see

less suffering in the world.

 

Like so many animal rights topics, this can be compared to child abuse. If

my neighbor stopped beating his child, but was still emotionally abusive, I

would feel two things at once: Very thankful that the child is no longer in

physical danger but very anxious for the father to take the next step and stop

yelling at his kid as well. Would I be wrong to want my neighbor to be kinder?

And should I refrain from sharing my opinion because it might make the father a

bit uncomfortable?

 

The difference between that situation and animal abuse is that I could see

and hear the child abuse next door to me. Most animal abuse is hidden, and we

can buy the dairy and eggs without ever seeing the misery. I believe that we

should know what we're paying for--if we hear about child labor and shoes, or

animal abuse and milk, it's our responsibility to look into the situation.

These abuses don't happen because of " mean " factory [farm] owners, they happen

because consumers are paying for it. I had no intention of going vegan back in

1995 but I did feel obligated to look into what I was buying. I saw gentle

creatures, as sweet as our dogs and cats, living in pain, fear and filth. Parts

of their bodies hacked off without anesthesia, everything natural denied to

them, and an eventual trip to a slaughterhouse. I knew I could never treat an

animal like that in order to drink the milk, so how could I pay others to do it

for me, behind closed doors so it didn't bother me? I couldn't. I went vegan.

 

Some people go veg for environmental reasons--but dairy and egg farms are

the most bountiful polluters. Some people go veg for health--but dairy eggs are

liquid fat and cholesterol bombs, no different than putting a steak into a

blender and drinking it. Some people go veg for animal suffering--but dairy

cows and egg-laying chickens have the worse lives of all. As Ingrid Newkirk

once said, if you have to choose, it's best to eat the hamburger but skip the

milkshake. You'll pay for less suffering that way.

 

And some people go veg for feminist reasons, which was certainly part of my

thinking as I made changes. The female animals are the ones used for dairy and

eggs, the foods that vegetarians continue to support. The female animals suffer

the most. They are raped, they are kept in cages, they are forced to give birth

over and over and then their babies are taken away from them to be turned into

veal or, if they're chickens, ground up alive. They end up on the same horrid

transport trucks going to the same slaughterhouses. Even meat-eaters who have

never thought about this know, somewhere in their subconscious, that female

animals have to be " used " to produce milk and eggs. Milk and eggs are female

products. To support these industries is to support the general idea that it is

OK to subjugate females for their childbearing. That is so disturbing to me,

and I do believe that it is connected--the way human and non-human females are

viewed and treated in this world.

 

Of course, veganism is related to my feminism in other positive ways. I

don't like society telling me what I should or shouldn't wear, and I am

incredibly appreciative to live in the Bay Area in 2007 where I can where a

skirt and mascara one day and baggy jeans with a man's t-shirt the next

day...and I'll be fine on the streets both days. Likewise, I don't like society

telling me what to eat. The fact that the dairy industry teaches our kids to

eat garbage is pathetic, and I love breaking free of the completely negative

Standard American Diet by being vegan.

 

Eating vegan means my body is strong and healthy, and I'm capable of doing

so much more. Why would I want to eat dairy and eggs just because a patriarchal

society tells me I need to? Especially when those foods aren't good for my

strong female self? No, thank you. Society tells us to eat fattening,

artery-clogging dairy and then makes us feel like crap because we're overweight

and low of energy. I love being free of that emotional mess.

 

I know very few vegans who worry about making veggies go vegan. And the

ones who might do that--I don't blame them, because there is so much suffering

(human, animal and earth suffering) in milk and eggs. I do indeed think it is

fabulous when a meat-eater goes veg and I hope activists see the positive side

of that step--what was given up--not just the negative. What could still be

given up. Perhaps one day soon we'll have made a vegetarian world and then we

can worry about making everyone vegan.

 

At the same time, I hope vegetarians can respect that vegans want to see

less suffering in the world. Period, end of story. And that's not a bad thing

to ask for.

 

One of the recent posts on this subject said, " I just want to point out

that not all vegetarians are veg for animal rights reasons. I find it a bit

disappointing that there is SO much focus on turning veggies vegan, for the

exact reason Tammy pointed out, that veggies have already taken the first step

of an often dramatic life-style choice. As a five-year veg who has no plans of

going vegan any time soon (though I probably do eat 50% vegan un/consciously), I

will say that I am veg first and foremost for feminist and environmental reasons

and secondly for health reasons. Animal rights falls last on my list, despite

being on the board of an animal-rights organization and promoting the rights of

non-human animals in my personal and academic lives. "

 

It saddens me to hear someone say they are disappointed to see others care

about animal suffering. It is sad and baffling. If I ever heard someone say,

" My brother is an environmentalist, but I find it disappointing that he cares so

much about ocean pollution. *I* don't care about the ocean, I care about

old-growth redwoods. Why can't he realize that not all environmentalists care

about the ocean and why does he have to try to get me to care about the ocean? "

I would cringe. Like I did when I read the above quote.

 

I find it disappointing when I meet anyone who does *not* care about animal

suffering, or is quick to point out that they only /sort of/ care about

animals...way down on the list. As if they are saying something good. " Don't

worry, I don't care too much! "

 

There is no challenge is caring fervently and equally about the suffering

of all abused life. In fact, the challenge is in NOT caring. Because we all

do. When we can't face the caring, when we're too embarrassed to speak out or

be different, or we're afraid of making change, we have to work very hard to

bury our compassion deep inside so that we don't feel it or show it. Caring for

humans, animals and the earth all at once (without some carefully-ordered list)

is not only a huge relief--it is a joy, because we are freeing ourselves from

our own inner prisons.

 

Since joining BAV I have been very impressed with how good they are at reaching

out to non-vegans and offering inclusive, open events and information to anyone

considering a change in diet--no matter the degree of change or the reason for

it. It's obviously working because I keep meeting new people at BAV events,

people who just joined and are often newly veg or just starting to go vegan, or

who want to become active for the first time in their lives, something like

that. It's fun to be a part of it and we are lucky to BAV in this area.

 

Alex

 

 

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