I can’t even begin to tell you how much Iike that photo, and even if it doesn’t have anything to do with the title of this post I’m still using it… because I need a thumbnail
GOOOOOD MORNING STEEMIANS!
Today I wanted to talk about a mistake that I see people make a lot, and that is to talk about a plant-based diet and a vegan diet like they are the same thing, and why not knowing the difference can have both its pros and cons for the vegan movement.
Let’s start first with understanding what a diet is. A diet refers to the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats, in the case of a plant based diet this means focusing around eating plant foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds. This leads some people to believe that you can still eat a minimal amount of animal products and since the bulk of your diet will still be consisted of plants you are still plant based. This puts animal products in the “cheat meal” category and while there’s nothing wrong from a health perspective in eating unhealthy stuff in moderation, this shouldn’t confuse you into thinking that you can eat that Big Mac and still be vegan… ok Karen?
The reason is pretty simple, you can still be healthy while eating unhealthy in moderation if your change in eating habits it’s motivated by improving your health or physical appearance.
But if the reasons you stopped eating animals is because you are against animal exploitation and cruelty then how can you say or believe one thing but do the opposite when you feel like it, even if it’s just once a week, that’s like saying you are against murder but sometimes you just get to angry while playing monopoly.
But does this confusion harm veganism?
Let’s take a look at both sides of the argument, on one hand plant-based diets help reduce the consumption of animal products of an individual, that in itself is a huge pro, but it doesn’t end there, the overall consumption off animal products will also be reduced as a result of two different snowball effects:
- Having more “vegans” will normalize being one which will incentivize those scared to break the social norm to join this lifestyle
- Having more “vegans” will increase the demand of vegan products which will make it easier to transition for those who still think being a vegan is hard for the lack of vegan options and the inconvenience this generates.
But on the flip side in the middle of this confusion doesn’t the real message gets lost? Shouldn’t the message be that it’s wrong to kill animals because they have rights to, not because it’s bad for our health? Shouldn’t the goal be to make people understand that it’s not ok to exploit other sentient beings just because you can and you get pleasure out of it? Isn’t this change in diet driven by the same mentality that drove us to exploiting animals in the first place, selfishness?
You are right, but keep in mind that even if it started from the “wrong” reasons it might just be the non-ethical push in the right direction that some people need, I know this from personal experience since the reason I started to adopt more of a plant based diet was for environmental reasons and my family has become more and more open to the idea the more plant based they become (still a work in progress but I’m so proud of how much they have changed and how much they helped me when I was starting to transition almost 2 years ago). So to summarize I guess what I’m trying to say is that:
It’s always harder to see that you are doing something wrong while you are still doing it, so don’t underestimate or criticize this small improvements when you see them and try to see the vegan on the inside who is one step closer to realizing it
Now that I have said everything I wanted to say about this topic I want you to know something about me
Even if I do eat a whole foods plant based diet most of the time and I do care about my health please make no mistake there’s a reason I don’t eat animals and why you shouldn’t to, and that reason shouldn’t be vanity or your desire to live up to a hundred, but the child inside all of us that hasn’t been socially condition to be passive in the presence of injustice, the child who if given the option would eat the apple and play with the bunny.