going veg for the environment

[Guest guest]

I am really not one to get on anyone's case about veganism because I

think it's more important to be positive and show that going vegan can

be an easy, meal-by-meal, purchase-by-purchase choice, and, while I

absolutely appreciate the discussions on this list, I have never

responded to anyone's posts. However, I feel strongly moved to say

something in response to 's email about her reasons for going

veg and feeling alienated by vegans trying to get veggies to go all

the way.

 

As someone who became vegetarian and then vegan because of

environmental reasons first (and animal rights a close second), I

think the most compelling, non-subjective reason to become vegan IS

the environment. People can have differing degrees of empathy for the

suffering of animals and have different opinions of what constitutes a

healthy diet, but you can't deny the amount of pollution generated and

energy used by the livestock industry. As the recent UN report stated,

rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars, and

that includes cattle raised for beef as well as dairy. That's why I

found it disheartening to hear someone who says they have gone veg for

the environment express disdain for general efforts to persuade

veggies to go vegan. I absolutely commend and appreciate and

everyone else who has taken the huge step in cutting meat out of their

diet and realize that many vegans can come across as didactic (as this

post may be construed) in their enthusiasm. But I think if ethical

veggies really took to heart the connection that egg and milk

production are still major components of factory farming, they would

naturally want to eat less of those products.

 

I don't think that being vegan is about moral superiority and it's not

about purity because that is impossible. Rather, being vegan is about

wanting to do the best that we can with the knowledge that we have. I

think that perhaps the totality that people associate with being vegan

makes them shy away from the idea, but it doesn't have to be like

that. If someone could go from eating vegan 50% of the time to 85% of

the time, that still does more good than not. So it doesn't have to be

this black and white thing that makes veggies feel bad because the

reality is that no one can be 100% vegan (we inadvertently kill living

organisms all the time). But, if like says, " veggies are the

first to understand the inherent contradictions in their/our choices

not to be vegan, " they can also understand why vegans are excited

about them taking the extra step and instead of being defensive, they

can appreciate where vegans are coming from. I agree that preaching

and guilting don't help anyone and that there are other mountains to

climb, but what we spend our money on every day is one of the largest

personal impacts that we make and therefore the easiest way we can

affect change, so those choices are important, no matter where you are

on the spectrum. Thanks for letting me share my two cents.

 

Sincerely,

Yvonne