Vegan and vegetarian is in. And for good reason. Health,
environment, animal rights, you all know it, and so does your newly vegan
friend. Many far more educated people than me have made strong arguments for
veganism which you can explore here, and at least one of them has appealed to
someone you know and they have revealed they are going vegan. Since I took the
vegan leap I have heard these questions time and again, and would like to
answer them publicly so you don’t have to ask the people you love such silly
questions!
1. What? Even Bacon?
Yes. Even Bacon. I actually don’t know what the big deal is
about bacon, I mean, yes, it’s delicious, but it’s the most easily replicated
flavour. Bacon bites that you sprinkle on salads are actually vegan. Plus, I’ve
eaten bacon. A lot of bacon. If I have a conservative estimate of two rashers
per week for the twenty years I’ve regularly eaten it I would say I’ve eaten
around 41kg of bacon in my lifetime. I enjoyed it, but I’m not going to eat it
anymore. And guess what I also enjoyed? Smoking. Bloody loved smoking I did.
But it’s not good for me and clogged my arteries, so I don’t smoke anymore. And
that’s okay.
2. Where do you get your protein?
From the many many sources of meat free protein that are
available. And while we’re on protein, it seems to be perfectly acceptable for
people to cut other food groups from their diets, if someone says they’re going
carb free it’s celebrated, but actually we need far less protein in our diets
than we are often told, and diets such as paleo and atkins have given this
false impression that high levels of protein is essential to health and weight
loss. It’s not.
3. But I knew this vegan and they got really sick…
Yeah, because no meat eaters ever get ill because of their
diets do they? Look, if you eat crap you’re going to get sick. You can be vegan
and eat chips and curry sauce and peanut butter sandwiches all day. If you eat
badly it will affect you, regardless of whether you eat cheese or not.
4. But you’re wearing leather shoes, and you have leather in your car, and you drive a car, and you own a cat, so you can't be vegan?
No one is perfect. In order to be truly ethical you would
have to live on a mountain top and grow your own food and spin your own yarn
and never read a book because it’s made from a tree. But just because we can’t
do everything, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do something. Environmentalists are
often criticised for living a life that depends on fossil fuels, but that is
the way our society and infrastructure is built. When you are fighting against
a culture you’re imbedded into, you’re always going to be accused of hypocrisy
5. But Why are you a vegan?
Okay, this is a tricky one. As a vegan I approach my answer
to this question with caution. I have to ask myself, why are you asking? If you
are genuinely interested please, please ask this question. We will be happy to
chat with you about our choices, about what we eat, about the challenges and rewards
of a vegan lifestyle. But too many times I’ve been asked this question just so
the person asking it can run off some anti-vegan rant they’ve heard from some
rubbish stand-up comedian, draw me into a debate, and then complain that I’m
banging on about veganism. Remember, you asked.
via GIPHY
via GIPHY
What should you ask instead?
Why are you a vegan?
Yes, like I said, if you genuinely care, ask this question.
This is your friend, they are making a big change to their life and have
probably given it a lot of thought. Respect their ideas.
Could you make me some vegan food sometime?
We love sharing our food, and you might be pleasantly surprised!
The idea that vegans are not very interested in food is ridiculous, we are
obsessed with it, it’s just different. Come join us.
Do you need me to help empty your cupboards of animal based foods?
Yes! Take it! I have 17 chicken stock cubes in my cupboard
which I will never use, but us vegans hate waste.
So go forth, be a good friend, and see what you could learn.
Oh, and FYI, yes, if I was stuck on a desert island and
there was only a cow to eat, I’d probably eat the cow, to stop, you know,
dying. I would, however, have a look to see what the cow had been eating to
survive on the island for so long…
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