There's also a recipe for cantaloupe butter in the post, but I'm linking to it for the opening discussion.
A taste:
Speaking out against the multiple forms of human oppression that exist within the animal rights movement - such as ableism in the form of fat-shaming - won't make anyone comfortable, and certainly won't win anyone friends among the higher-ups of mainstream animal advocacy organizations. But I would sincerely like to see a greater willingness among animal rights activists to critique problematic behavior within our own movement.
I thought this was a very interesting read and brings some valid points. Often these issues within the vegan community do get swept under the rug. I have had a lot of "behind the scenes" conversations with other vegans who share the same frustrations I do about fat shaming and veganism being promoted as a diet for weight loss. Also, as someone who suffers with an eating disorder, I have encountered a lot of sentiments about people with EDs using veganism to hide behind their disorder. And in some cases this is true, but for many of us it is far more complicated than that. Veganism has always been about ethics for me, and strongly so. I often get frustrated with the many many posts and threads on various forums critiquing how others eat and promoting this way of eating over that within the vegan community and looking down on how others eat even as vegans. Is it any wonder that nonvegans are even more intimidated by the idea of drastically changing their way of living? When even "fake meats and cheeses" are not good enough?
I am guilty of the "it is so easy to go vegan" mantra. Last year however i traveled to a very poor part of the country and was shocked at how hard it was to even find staples such as dried beans, bulk grains, or decent produce in some of the grocery stores. It was an eye opener. There are indeed many communities that do not have access to animal free products in the abundance that some of us do, and a lot of people simply can't afford to go online, point and click, and order a ton of stuff. To say that so and so was vegan when it wasn't even well known and got by just fine is unhelpful to many who are maybe raising five kids and working two jobs and juggling health problems. That so and so who did well might have been a rich white male not tied down to a family or dependent on a spouse for grocery money.
What I like to hear about are the vegans that are not only focusing on animal rights activities, but volunteering at food shelves and working to bring plant based food and decent produce and so on to the masses. there are local organizations (not necessarily vegan) doing that in my town. There are community gardens and projects to bring healthier plant based foods to the food shelves instead of just the standard ravioli and boxed mac and cheese. I really appreciate groups like the Vegetarian Resource Group that focuses on the economical aspects of vegetarianism/veganism and shows how it can be done and promote simple recipes using every day items people are familiar with, as opposed to promoting fancy recipes with ingredients most of us have never heard of, and resorts and vegan cruises for the rich as certain other vegan types of magazines promote. When I would give my vegan magazines to omnivore friends to look at, there was an immediate reaction to some of those magazines that promote the cruises and fancy recipes and so on because to many of them this type of thing is inaccessible and promotes the stereotype that veganism is expensive.
I actually watched a movie I have called "Peaceable Kingdom" for the third time last night with my Mom and I found it rather refreshing that many of the vegans in that film were not athletes with chiseled bodies nor were they especially thin. They were just people with experiences to share in regards to animal ethics and farming. They were passionate about their work and their way of life and also emotional and very much human in sharing their pain and so on. I found it refreshing that their work and their beliefs were more important to them than having the perfect body or diet. It gives me a lot of hope in my own recovery as I focus more on meaningful goals in my life beyond manipulating and controlling my body.
Last year however i traveled to a very poor part of the country and was shocked at how hard it was to even find staples such as dried beans, bulk grains, or decent produce in some of the grocery stores. It was an eye opener. There are indeed many communities that do not have access to animal free products in the abundance that some of us do, and a lot of people simply can't afford to go online, point and click, and order a ton of stuff.
I remember your recounting this, and it kinda surprised me at the time, as my perception has always been (world wide) that the poorer a community is, the more highly plant based they are. Rice in Asia, corn & beans in the SW USA & Mexico, potatoes in rural areas of Ireland.... etc. Maybe my perception is way off or maybe this is a recent phenomenon of Big Food (or a "modern" USA thing?)?
I'm not saying you'll find "luxury" items in these communities, like Gardein Mestless Burgers but it did surprise me that you couldn't find dried "staples" like rice, corn & beans.
As to "calling out" within the vegan community, I fall into the "anything you do is better than nothing" camp. Like these "meatless Monday" things and such. If it can truly reduce meat consumption by 1/7th, that's better than not reducing it by 1/7th. I see no value to telling anyone they aren't vegan enough. People will come to a vegan lifestyle on their own (or not) for their own reasons, whether that's ethics, health, cost... Whatever the reason, if the net result reduces consumption, I consider it a win.
this is almost the entire reason I have created an account on this forum. Discussion and criticism drives social progress... and theres a lot of stupid and/or dishonested vegans lets be honest
Still, there is a difference between calling an idea "stupid" (which is a relative term anyway and not factual) and calling a vegan stupid. It's hardly about sugar coating. It's more about respecting that not everyone shares the same opinion as you. It doesn't make them "stupid."
An interesting read. Although the article specifically refers to the animal rights movement, there seems to be a wider belief or misconception that all vegans are part of one big movement or community of liberal, ethical, just-minded people.
The ONLY thing that we have in common as far as I can see is that we avoid animal products (and even then to varying degrees). Other than that, we are all as different as any other group of people. That means that we all have different political or religious beliefs, some will be sexist, racist, offensive etc, some will feel morally superior, some won't. Most probably just want to get on with doing their own thing and not get involved in any form of activism at all.
Any form of human oppression should be called out, but I think the idea that vegans shouldn't be taking part in it just because they are vegan (which in itself suggests that being vegan somehow makes you morally superior in all areas) is silly. Unfortunately there are idiots in all walks of life.
I agree. I was born and raised in Manhattan and lived there until about ten years ago. It was highly unusual to see even moderately overweight people, let alone someone who might be considered clinically obese. When I was growing up, one of my best friends was the 'fat kid'. Looking at pictures from back then, she couldn't have been more than 10 pounds above average. Nowadays in most places outside of large metropolitan areas, she would be called skinny.
I think that saffron cantaloupe butter is ingenious.
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