Before you criticize a Vegan, consider this (Featuring new author @exitmass)
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Before you criticize a Vegan, consider this
It's not as easy as it sounds being as crazy as we seem.
I've been a vegetarian for 6 years and a vegan for 2. And I live in an area where it's very hard to just go out to a restaurant and order off a menu. There's only a few selections that have options with my diet. So 99% of the meals I eat are made or prepared at home. Luckily for me though, I'm actually not a picky eater.
But even to this day I receive flak from my own family about my food choices. I don't push my beliefs on them but it is customary that I'm made aware that they still don't approve of what I put into my body. I'm not pretending they're as bad as the pictures below though - And FYI, I do find them hilarious.
I won't go into any of the pros and cons that have been mentioned a million times before of consuming animal products. And I'm not really complaining at all - I have no problem with my lifestyle. I just want to shed some light on a topic from a casual point of view.
When I was growing up, before becoming a vegan, I was the regular "meat cutter" of the family. At Christmas and Easter and basically any family get together - I was the one everyone knew would be cutting the meat. Even when we would barbecue, I was grill-master.
It was almost funny when my mother had to explain to her mother, that I wasn't going to be the cutter anymore, even after I told her. She could not make the connection that since I'm not eating meat that I probably have no interest in it at all anymore. It wasn't even that she was a very old lady. It was more-so, they ate meat in the bible and so will you.
After I first became vegetarian, which was 4 years before becoming vegan, I even tried a different diet a few months in called "Eat Right for Your Blood Type" It was basically an organized list of a good and bad consumable list based on how acidic certain things react to your personal blood type. The problem was, I had already not eaten meat for long enough that when I went back to it, even thought my AB+ Blood Type only allowed Turkey, Fish, and Lamb -- I couldn't do it. It didn't taste good to me at all. I ended up adding all kinds of seasonings to hide the taste. Which didn't make sense at all because I was basically flavoring the meat with dried veggies.
It was tough in the beginning though because I'm big on fitness and working out. But as you do with a lot of stuff, I learned the right types of things to eat to have a more balanced diet. You can go too far on both sides of the healthy spectrum if you don't pay attention.
My sister thinks it's funny to send me pictures of things I used to eat. Like when she's making our grandmas meatball recipe. My older brother, who is the absolute definition of a meathead, likes to temp me into hour long debates on how I can't sustain a healthy and active body without animal products. Or when my dad warns me ahead of time that there will be no tofu at the gathering tonight so "pack a lunch."
I always do.
One of the positives for me is that now that all of us siblings are in our mid 30's, and we're finally starting to show our age. But I honestly think that within the next 10 years they might start to accept the choices I've made as we age. But what will be the true test will be to see myself age next to my twin brother.
I think it's safe to say that most of the health issues we have are due to what we put into our body, not what happen outside of them. And that's what I tell friends and co-workers when they ask for health advice. I try to remind them that the majority of the health issues they have stemmed from how they feed their body. So they can also fix it by how they continue to feed it.
I know this also be true to acceptance with other people. I don't feed into the quarrelsome nature of it anymore. Everything you feed in life grows. So I just hold onto that.
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Being vegan is easy, for me at least. I have been a vegetarian all my life and in the last 3 years I have been vegan too. I feel that vegans should voice themselves to non-vegans, in a respectful manner. Although I would rarely say it to peoples faces, i do feel that one cannot be considered fully human if one destroys life just to shit it out the next day. Its disgusting and pathetic, and is really just monstrous when you see how wrong it is. When you watch Cowspiracy and Earthlings and look into it a bit more it becomes the only sane choice. Vegans should not be scared to talk passionately about it to others, as word of mouth is the best way to help convert people to the healthier, more economical and environmentally better option.
@pierce-the-veil: Thanks for this interesting post @jacor.
Having recently started my foray into veganism less than 6months ago, i find myself with more energy and ready to tackle those "meaty" problems of life.
Check out this guy, a master of veganism, badassery, and stoicism rolled into one.
Good work. Upvote for you.
@pierce-the-veil
This guy is phenomenal, one meal a day and very little sleep!
Check this guy! Patrik Baboumian, vegan strongman http://www.greatveganathletes.com/patrik-baboumian-vegan-strongman
@pierce-the-veil: Yep. I'll just lift this here annnnddd...
Just finished watching this video, thank you for sharing! It has been great to know!
I swear you comment on every post I do. I've seen you like 10 times today ha ha.
I totally agree as I am vegetarian myself. We usually tend to criticize the things that are unknown to us, before really thinking it through or experiencing it ourselves.
I don't know how you guys do it. I struggle just to make sure i get grass fed beef. being vegan sound like a full time job. Lots of respect.
it has been 6+ years for me as well, but I wouldn't say it was an easy start. Because I grew up in society where eating meat was normal. But I really believe few years from now a lot more people start to live healthier and respect other living entities.
I've always felt ashamed that I participate in factory farming with consumption. Until recently, I traveled all the time for work, usually in a full van. It was a bitch just to get to trader Joe's when no one else wanted to. Now that I'm in one place for a bit, i've been able to eat organic and I found a local source for beef, chicken, and eggs. I don't really want to be a vegan i just dont want to support factory farms. My sister lives in boise, when I go see her I drive past these small fenced in areas packed with sick cows. It's fucking horrible.
I dont criticize vegans at all, to each there own! All that bothers me is the never ending vegan and smoothie recipes that are being posted , its getting harder as many more people join steemit to find really good content, ! Great post by the way! 😉👍
@pierce-the-veil: A common complaint here @karenmckersie.
I believe I am aware of which "smoothie thread" you speak.
A little mind boggling for sure, when considering all the "crap" posts making 5 to 10K consistently.
I'm like
It's ok though. @pierce-the-veil & @teruneo are re-posting everyweek the top three selected "dead posts" that were shamefully passed over by steemers in order to hop on the shameful upvote band wagon.
You can share your "dead posts" by clicking this link: https://steemit.com/money/@pierce-the-veil/bring-out-yer-dead-a-steemit-graveyard-edition
AND : https://steemit.com/steemcast/@pierce-the-veil/a-steemit-staple-open-invitation-to-this-week-s-graveyard-edition
Best Regards, and please continue the responsible curation.
Jordan
@pierce-the-veil
@pierce-the-veil it looks like your work with the "Steemit Graveyard Edition" is a great way to be a "Champion of the Minnows" #COTM.
@pierce-the-veil: Perfect. Thank you @strangerarray this was right up my alley.
Regards!
Thats just awesome thanks! 👍😉
If you were traveling in a far-off distance land and you were offered meat by your hosts would you consider eating it?
:-) in my experience, politely saying that you don't eat meat works out great. It usually open follow up questions, what are your believes and why you would do that, etc. Which all leads to sharing your experience and having healthy conversation.
Thank you for this post. I am not vegetarian, but I eat very little meat, mostly in social occasions (i.e. dinner with friends or family). Out of curiosity, would any vegetarian/vegan here eat meat just to be polite to your hosts?
you don't want to live a life to please other people even if it is uncomfortable.
Very well said. I probably have some barriers / mind conditioning on the way I was raised whereby we should honor all the food that is put on our table. In case we are invited by friends or family, I still feel that obligation.
I should also add that some vegetarian / vegans in some cases give me the impression of wanting to be like that more to "feel special" rather than being true believers.
In one special case, I have known a vegan which is borderline alcoholic.
Is being a heavy drinker in line with being a vegetarian or vegan?
99% of the time I end up somewhere for a dinner at family or friends they already know of my diet. For me that 1% very rarely doesn't end up asking me what I like to eat, as far as I can remember. Lately I've packed some backup food to weddings I have gone to. People usually catch me with a bundle of bananas. Being polite has never done wrong in this case though. People don't see you as saying "I don't accept your food" they understand it's probably awkward for you in this position and then offer to make you 65 other things :)
I do not eat animals, but do not consider myself a vegetarian. Why do I need to belong to someone, and like to be called? Be yourself! And let others be themselves! Do not impose your ideas to others.
A lot of great comments here. I just want to also say(as the Vegan author) that I have S0 MUCH respect for any diet that people consciously decide to eat the right things for themselves. We grow up without our own food decisions, we kind of just eat what's in-front of us for the most part. And it's a very difficult thing to break that routine or habit if you chose to.
I read a study once that showed the same parts of the brain that light for drug addicts during times of addiction are the same parts that light up for food consumption. I even have a brother who use to be a drug addict and is now a food addict -- at least he's drug free though.
I have a friend who is a big time hunter. He refuses to eat just any meat that's on a store shelf. Doesn't know what kinds antibiotics or hormones they were given, or the type of diet it ate and how much exercise it got. So he only eats stuff he knows where it comes from which means most of his meals come from animals he hunts that are wild game(mainly deer). And I have so much respect because he's also planning on making a cook book for wild game hunted food. And when't it's time I'm going to offer to take the food pictures for him as well.
My favourite vegans are the tolerant ones. Thank you
I'm not vegetarian hater.
But I'm always be curious and I'm can't understand why some people try to attract attention all other people and opposite yourself by food consumption definition.
If you don't eat meat it's okay, but if you start to scream to another people it's looks weird.
some prank from me :)