"I am not THAT kind of vegan"
This is a statement that I have heard a few times recently.
As veganism has become more popular, it has triggered pushback. When I began doing vegan activism in the 1990s, vegans weren’t seen as a threat to animal agriculture or to people’s coveted family or religious traditions. Grocery stores, hospitals, and local TV news welcomed me and repeatedly provided venues for me to criticize animal exploitation while encouraging people to give veganism a try. Some were inspired or motivated to change as a result of this. Those who didn’t “get” my message or disagreed, ignored me and moved on. Since vegans were so rare, this message was a curiosity not a threat.
But now, almost everyone in America knows there are millions of vegans. Veganism is a viable lifestyle AND growing in popularity! Vegans are setting athletic records, running successful companies, and birthing and raising healthy vegan families. This changes everything. Conscious of it or not, those who are not yet vegan live with the continuous discomfort that they are participating in unnecessary violence against other beings. Unlike the 1990’s, now simply saying, “I am vegan” reminds non-vegans they are not living consistent with two of their own values which are also widely held. Most of us agree: It is wrong to unnecessarily harm animals. Most of us also agree: It is wrong to unnecessarily hurt your neighbors or your children and grandchildren. (Animal agriculture is a leading driver of every category of environmental destruction -- most especially climate change!) Just BEING vegan around some people feels to them, like they are being attacked because it's reminding them of their complicity.
But those who DO embrace veganism, struggle with a different discord – feeling like an outcast from their tribe, family, or social group. Any choice that sets us apart from our group, can expose us to “change back.” Pressure.
In order to help you understand why, saying, "I am not that kind of vegan" is problematic, I will share with you what happened to me as a child.
This is a statement that I have heard a few times recently.
As veganism has become more popular, it has triggered pushback. When I began doing vegan activism in the 1990s, vegans weren’t seen as a threat to animal agriculture or to people’s coveted family or religious traditions. Grocery stores, hospitals, and local TV news welcomed me and repeatedly provided venues for me to criticize animal exploitation while encouraging people to give veganism a try. Some were inspired or motivated to change as a result of this. Those who didn’t “get” my message or disagreed, ignored me and moved on. Since vegans were so rare, this message was a curiosity not a threat.
But now, almost everyone in America knows there are millions of vegans. Veganism is a viable lifestyle AND growing in popularity! Vegans are setting athletic records, running successful companies, and birthing and raising healthy vegan families. This changes everything. Conscious of it or not, those who are not yet vegan live with the continuous discomfort that they are participating in unnecessary violence against other beings. Unlike the 1990’s, now simply saying, “I am vegan” reminds non-vegans they are not living consistent with two of their own values which are also widely held. Most of us agree: It is wrong to unnecessarily harm animals. Most of us also agree: It is wrong to unnecessarily hurt your neighbors or your children and grandchildren. (Animal agriculture is a leading driver of every category of environmental destruction -- most especially climate change!) Just BEING vegan around some people feels to them, like they are being attacked because it's reminding them of their complicity.
But those who DO embrace veganism, struggle with a different discord – feeling like an outcast from their tribe, family, or social group. Any choice that sets us apart from our group, can expose us to “change back.” Pressure.
In order to help you understand why, saying, "I am not that kind of vegan" is problematic, I will share with you what happened to me as a child.