Welcome to Think Thursday!
Time is just flying by so quickly and I think I notice it a lot more since I started this blog! This is my 61st post!!!
My question to ponder today is, how do you react when...
a. (if you are a vegan) people ask you 101 questions about your diet that are mainly out to prove veganism is extreme/silly/not worth it/expensive, etc etc
b. (if you are non vegan) you see a vegan and question EVERYTHING about their lifestyle?!
I often find that when people see me eating my wonderful lunch of 10-15 bananas they go crazy...I used to be called a monkey and I'll "soon be swinging from the ceiling" - that made me laugh, I often thought about going to work in a monkey costume! Thankfully my colleagues do not question my protein intake anymore.
The thing that sort of makes me feel queasy is when non vegans discuss eating animals in front of me. I actually felt physically sick when my colleagues discussed eating KFC...especially when they were talking about eating the skin of the chicken (they only eat it if it's KFC chicken but remove it when it isn't). I purposefully told them I felt sick and they apologised.
I guess I am now seeing that they ask so many questions because they are interested and also as they have never been vegan before it is very unknown to them what the benefits are. I can see their side because I have been where they are.
I used to eat so many biscuits, chocolate bars, cakes, fried foods, heavily processed foods, etc so I see their way of life. I opted out of it because I can also see the destruction that it causes, disease, ill health, obesity, etc. I have always been health conscious but I never knew how to achieve optimal well being. I know that veganism is not just about saving animals, it is about being healthy by powering the body with the best source of usable fuel.
I look at so many people at my office eating so much junk and wonder why veganism is not catching on!
What are you thoughts, opinions, experiences?!
I hope you enjoy this blog.
Much love
Jennifer x
I’m happy to answer most questions about veganism. I find the questions about what do I eat the easiest to answer. Often, I’ll describe a few of meals I have eaten recently, typically pointing out any sources of protein if that question is raised.
ReplyDeleteMore difficult are questions about why I don’t eat certain things. I found answering these sorts of questions phrased in terms of how it’s my decision avoids most arguments, perhaps because I only really leave open the option of disagreeing with my opinion. From then on, if they are being civil, that is the questioning is not an attempt of social posturing, I’m willing to discuss in greater detail about how I arrived at it.
In my experience, most people quick to grasp the reasoning behind the non-eating of meat. I suspect this is because the questioner has already encountered vegetarians and had those sort of discussions with them. So, the abstinence of eggs, dairy, etc tends to get more focus. For these, I’ll explain that I believe animals are still suffering because of their exploitation. Frequently ‘free range’ is pointed out to me, in which case I’ll ask the question, “What happens to the males of these species?”. Afterwards, I might be asked about what would happen to the cows, chickens, etc, to which I respond that these animal are bred and raised specifically to be exploited, and I would rather they did not exist in the first place.
Occasionally I get asked about my footwear, “If you don’t eat meat, ethically how can you wear boots?”. Handily I usually wear vegan boots, with a boot strap that has “Vegetarian Shoes” written on it. The presentation of which will satisfy the questioner that I am not a boot wearing hypocrite.
Eating healthy is one thing, having a vegan diet is another. The thing with a lot of junk food is that it tastes nice to the general palate. I have this pegged as an evolved response to eat these fatty, sugary, higher energy foods because when humans evolved these things were rare. Therefore, if a human managed to eat this foodstuff its body could build up reserves to help see it through times of famine or focus on other activities such as reproduction. In modern society the instinct is redundant because these foodstuffs plentiful. However, it is difficult for some people to overcome perhaps even with education or conditioning, making a healthy diet of any kind in the presence of such temptation a struggle. If these people aren’t even looking after themselves properly by eating healthy, it maybe a case of one step at a time. Maybe they should be encouraged to eat vegan junk food instead?