Compassion For All - Reasons Behind the Lifestyle

One of the trends I'm noticing lately is people embracing veganism and vegetarianism because their favorite celebrity is doing it, or because they heard about the numerous health benefits.
Many of these people either quit a few days (or couple years) into their lifestyle, citing that it was "too difficult" or that they had issues with their weight. So what gives? Why are people flocking back to McDonalds for a Big Mac? It really all just boils down to lack of education.

You need to cut these people some slack, though. It's not their fault that there aren't many college courses offered on how to be a healthy vegan or vegetarian. Most of the time, if you want to be a healthy vegetarian or vegan you're going to need to do the work yourself, and start researching.

Why a vegan diet in the first place? Compassion for every living thing on the planet, of course. The road to the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle is often times a bumpy one, especially when the majority of people still consume animals and animal products on a daily basis. Finding a support group can be tricky, but not impossible. If you're the only vegan in your family, it's even harder. Add the pressure of venturing into a supermarket, along with jeering friends and family and you have yourself a real pain in the ass to deal with. Most people don't "get it." There are some people who will honestly ask you about your lifestyle choice because they are legitimately curious, but other times they may not be so kind.

A couple weeks ago my husband and I were at the supermarket and I was feeling particularly down that day, and so I was susceptible to the nagging evidence that I should be consuming chicken nuggets instead of my soy nuggets (which, in my opinion, taste exactly the same to me).
I was eyeing up the beef pot pies while my husband was retrieving some orange juice, and when he found me he raised an eyebrow and suspiciously followed my line of sight to the pot pies.
A moment later, he was pulling me away by my arm and telling me not to think about it, that what I was doing was great and that I can't fail now. I really appreciated that, because had he not been there to show support, I might've wound up falling off the wagon.

Having a support system is extremely important, and I can't stress that enough. It's even better if your spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend "gets you" and won't let you succumb to the animal eatin' ways. There are ads out there for milk and triple-beef patties topped with six strips of bacon, and at first glance this greasy shit looks honestly appealing. Is it within human instincts to eat other animals?

Other animals eat other animals, that's no joke. Everyone has seen those nature shows where hungry lionesses stalk gazelles. People will often use this as an argument against you on your plight to not eat animals or their products. While this is a true statement - animals eat other animals - it is not the same thing as a human eating another animal. I do not know of a single species on this planet other than my own that exploits other living things to the extent that they do. Battery cages for egg-laying hens were not built for the comfort of the hen, but rather to increase productivity and profits from the eggs they produce.

A lion stalks a gazelle because it is hungry, and when it catches its prey, she and her pride mates feast upon the carcass until their stomachs are full. But what about the canine teeth? Oh, the canine teeth! We must have these for a reason, many people say. Well, yes, we do. And many people will say they exist solely for the job of eating animal flesh. I would not be able to bite into an apple or a pear without my canine teeth. Some fruits and vegetables are very tough, and so our pointy teeth are helpful when it comes to eating them. They also come in handy as weapons, as displayed by teenage girls in high school when they get into "cat fights." They also go for the hair, but many times they bite their enemies. They're pretty useful!

Besides factory farming, animals are exploited for entertainment, scientific research and fashion. They are also exploited for companionship, which is one of the reasons why we have so many cats and dogs being put down in shelters on a daily basis. Puppy mills churn out dogs like they're products on an assembly line, and instead of going to their local humane shelter, many times a family will opt for a breeder dog. All of these examples are valid and relevant reasons for people choosing a vegan lifestyle.

Speciesism in Movies and Society

Growing up as a small child, I was exposed to quite a few Disney films. They all had an impact on my purchases, whether it be a Little Mermaid mug or a Pocahontas Sega Genesis video game. Many of Walt Disney's films featured lovable and endearing animals, and all of the human protagonists had at least one or two animal companions they acknowledged as their "best friends." When a child sees a Disney character they are instantly drawn to them, their faces light up and it seems to have a catnip affect on them.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant featured a donkey-eared elephant of the same name in 1941. The little elephant Jumbo Jr. is ridiculed and harassed for having such abnormally large ears, and cruelly nicknamed as "Dumbo." We are first shown in the beginning of the film that if you are different, you are not welcome in society. When a group of boys proceeds to torment and pull on Dumbo's ears, his mother understandably attacks the boys. What happens to Dumbo's mother? She's locked away in a tiny wagon, her feet chained to the floor and the only light she can see is through the prison-like bars. Signs that read, "MAD ELEPHANT" and "DANGER" adorn the rickety wagon, and all because a mother wanted to protect her son from the ridicule and scorn of cruelty.

What happens to the boys? Oh, they probably went home and cried about their horrible day at the circus, but nothing else came from it, I can assure you. Because Dumbo had large, flappy ears he was an object for others to play with. Because Dumb was also an elephant and not a human being, he became an object for others to play with. And when Dumbo's mother attempted to intervene and say enough is enough with this crap, she gets locked away. The meloncholy song "Baby Of Mine" prompted me to explode into a fit of tears, not because of the song but because even at a young age I just couldn't imagine life without my mother. What if someone harassed me for being different, and my mother tried to save me? What if she got thrown away like a piece of rotten garbage for my sake? It was honestly too much to bear, and this is one Disney film I can honestly say that I do not love.

And now, in 2009 things do not seem to have changed much. On the internet, where everyone seems to be a keyboard-warrior of some type will openly attack anyone that isn't like them. A woman on Yelp.com attempted to garner information from others about going vegan, and instead of receiving help she received judgemental, hostile replies. One man even went as far as to say:

"My experience reading the posts of vegans and vegetarians here on yelp is that veganism and vegitarianism makes you whiny and bitchy. Really, I've never seen a vegan/ vegetarian actually review a restaurant so much as i see them complain that restaurants don't serve anything that the vegan/vegetarian can eat.

Personally, I'm much more likely to use the words vegetarian and freak consecutively than I am to use the words vegetarian and burger consecutively.

Vegans and Vegetarians just seem like big attention whores constantly screaming, "LOOK AT ME!! I'M A VEGAN/VEGETARIAN FREAK!! LOOK AT ME!!" Life is too short for the normal people in the world to have to listen to that crap as much as vegans/vegetarioans like to talk about it.

I mean really ...who cares. If you (meaning the general public of vegans and vegetarians as opposed to you specifically) want to be vegan, just do it.. But, please !! Quit boring the hell out of the rest of us by talking about Veganism and vegetarianism 24/7. We really don't care."

Another woman entered the discussion to call him out on his outlandish statement by saying:

"Jeez, W.P....what the hell crawled up your butt today?

If every Yelper worried whether ALL other Yelpers actually CARED about their posted topic, no one would EVER post ANYTHING.

If you don't care, don't read the thread!. If you wear a size 9 shoe, do you really give a shit what the store has to offer in a size 11? Do you even look in that section? No, you ignore it.

Yelp is NOT one-size-fits-all. Chill out."

Instead of coming back and apologizing for his blatant douche-baggery, he replies:

"Xtie, your response only further cements my opinions of vegans in general though i must say that this maya is a breath of fresh air. But, remember she is still eating meat."

So since the douchebag decided to make a hostile remark about vegans in general it was only natural for someone to defend themselves. When they do defend themselves, they are scorned and punished. It is perfectly fine for an omnivore to press their views upon vegans, but it is not acceptable for a vegan to press their views upon omnivores. Because vegans are considered different, they are criticized and condemned. This mindset does not apply only vegans, of course, but extends to all minority groups.

In the end, Dumbo and his mother are only accepted and celebrated by society when they find a way to exploit the little elephant with a wonderous and spectacular new show.

How It All Vegan, part 1

It started innocently enough, picking up a copy of Dr. Weil's magazine, an issue that was specifically geared towards women. I browsed through it lightly, and found a subject that interested me: difficult menstruation. My period has never been regular, save for the time I was on oral contraception. I didn't like oral contraception. If there was ever a day that I forgot to take my pill, the next day would be murder on my ovaries.

I'd spot bleed, and my uterus would ache. I thought the problem was taking the wrong kind of oral contraception, and with a few other reasons to nudge me back to the doctor's office I was put on a different pill. This one didn't work either. In fact, it was worse than my first pill! I suffered needlessly for months, because I was enjoying the fact that I menstruated as if on cue every single month at the same time. It was like clock work; predictable and never snuck up on me. I was armed and ready for it, but my uterus would have a very hard time forgiving me when I forgot to take it.

Dr. Weil's article suggested to go vegetarian for the week leading up to and during menstruation because it supposedly helps with the unpleasantness of PMS. The article didn't really go too far into how it helps, but I was willing to give it a shot. My first week of going veg lasted for two days when I realized I was starving myself to death and had absolutely no self control over my compulsive junk food binging. Deplorable.

I ended up eating bagels with cream cheese, with a slice of tomato on them for lunch. Ramen noodles sometimes made an appearance, along with plenty of spaghetti with plain sauce. It was pretty awful. I really had no clue what I was doing, and it showed. Vegans and vegetarians alike who were seasoned enough would have laughed at my embarrassing attempt at what is becoming more than just a diet, but a lifestyle.

This lifestyle intrigued me briefly in February, but nothing really hooked me into giving a go for longer than two days. This was the case until Super Bowl rolled around, and I was insistent on buying wings for the big game. We had our wings, along with spring rolls filled with pork, chicken and who knows what else. My husband and I were watching primarily for the commercials, much like everyone else that doesn't give two craps about football.

While the game was on I did a little bit of searching around on various news sites, checking out their top Super Bowl game commercials from the 90's, and in my search I stumbled upon something interesting. It was a PETA ad that wound up banned (big shocker) from being aired during the Super Bowl for its supposed lewd content. I was intrigued by the ad, and visited their site - goveg.com (which I have linked on this blog, on the side).

At first I rolled my eyes at some of their "facts" and their campaign for "sea kittens," but it at least planted the seed of doubt into my brain. The first thing that triggered was that I was staring at a cute, adorable picture of a little pig with the headline "10 reasons why you shouldn't eat pigs." Note that it doesn't say pork, it says pigs.

I had already eaten part of a pig that evening, without even thinking about it. The thought never crossed my mind about what it was, expect that it was chewy and tasted alright. I was never a fan of pork, quite possibly due to the fact that my father had made one to many ham steaks while I was living at home and I was completely sick of the texture and saltiness of the flesh, but I digress. Here I was, staring at a picture of a pig and thinking, "aw...so cute."
If you had asked me to go out back, take an axe and chop a pig up for supper I would most certainly decline, and vehemetly .

I had fond memories of when I was little, visiting horse shows and seeing stalls filled up with pigs, many of which were wearing clothing. They brought me great joy, seeing them up close and not because they were wearing funny hats but because they were pigs. I can't explain it, natural instinct designed me to look at a pig and feel happy. They bring a smile to my face, a reaction that is not forced but purely instinctive, and here I was chowing down on one and feeling like the biggest hypocrit.

The pigs at the show were cuter dressed up as little doctors and farmers (though I'd prefer them to not be dressed up at all), than being breaded and deep fried into golden nuggets. Growing up I had always wanted my own pig for company, not minding their bristle-covered bodies or the fact that sometimes their noses look snotty.

People in general grew up with the notion that pigs are dirty, even though the journalist in me (even at a young age) knew that the truth lies deeper. In short, you shouldn't listen to everything the television or media tells you. Pigs are naturally very clean animals, but no one would know this due to the way they're portrayed in books and on television. They get such a bum rap, even though I know that they've been known to save their family members.

To be continued...