The source of hostility toward veganism

Every vegan has encountered ridicule and hostility. Even when there's no preaching or attempts to convert, the very existence of veganism is enough to set many people off. What's the source of this hostility?

One easy surface explanation: The vegan is always at least implicitly condemning the omnivore by rejecting the consumption of animal products as immoral. When we reject animal products offered to us at someone's home, ungraciousness doubles our sin. But think of other actions people take in support of their ethical beliefs, e.g. volunteering at a homeless shelter. This too could be seen as an implicit judgment of those who don't volunteer. But nobody ever ridicules someone else for volunteering at a homeless shelter. They praise and admire the volunteer, sometimes they're even inspired to volunteer themselves. Other than veganism, it's hard to think of any behavior undertaken to reduce the suffering of others that results in hostility to the person engaged in the behavior.

Maybe it's just that people attach so little value to the lives of non-human animals. But, given the choice, most people would prefer that their meat didn't require the death of an animal. They therefore acknowledge that the reduction of suffering and pain is morally desirable. But still they ridicule vegans for acting on this belief.

Maybe non-vegans simply see vegans as overly earnest in the pursuit of an objective that doesn't merit it. They think this kind of moral obstinancy should be reserved for more appropriately serious causes the rest of the world deeems worthwhile. They object to what they see as the disproportionate intensity of our purpose. We refuse to consume animal products. Very few of us "slip" and eat meat. Anyone who does slip from time to time would not be considered a vegan. I think maybe this is what people can't stand. They see the ideals of veganism as unworthy of the moral rigidity of its adherents.

Either that, or they're all just a bunch of self-centered punks who will gladly inflict torture and pain if they get a nice tasty meal out of it.

new year, new hope

I found out a friend made it her new year's resolution to go vegan.

Hundreds of animals who want to live not die just got a reprieve tonight.

Maybe this friend of mine will slip, probably she'll slip, who knows.

All I know is out of the blue someone unforeseen

decided that as much as she loves the taste of meat and cheese,

as difficult as it is for her to separate herself from society's mores and her family's traditions,

she can no longer participate in the mass slaughter

of creatures she's always known are our equals.

Who knows why contrary to all evidence, against everything we see in front of us each day

we still hope a day will come when animals are not slaughtered

just so people can enjoy a tasty meal.

maybe hope is a black mole in the human psyche, a mark of derangement

or maybe...

maybe this impossible thing we all hope for can actually happen

some time way off in the future

or not so way off

This friend said to me, but what will I eat?

And I'm able to direct her to the wealth of blogs out there

that focus their energies on hope in the form of delicious food

like what the hell does a vegan eat anyway, awesome vegan rad, yeah that vegan shit and so many others that transform veganism from an impossible ideal so easily abandoned,

so certain to be abandoned like anything requiring superhuman effort,

into something we can wake up each day looking forward to.

And when she asks what she can do to help tell others, I'm able to direct her to Stephanie's animal rights section of change.org, where right now people are voting on animal rights propositions, like vegan school lunch options for kids, that will be presented to the new administration in mid-january.

some day soon the rest of the world will see, they have to, how can they not.

or maybe it's hopeless, probably it is

the world will never give up killing animals to satisfy its pleasures

but at least today the hope is one person closer.

Sunday football tailgating parties

You can't watch a Sunday football game on TV without them at some point cutting to the obligatory shot of pre-game tailgaters while John Madden orgiastically salivates over the seared, fat-dripping globs of meat and tells us when bratwurst is cooking up on the grill, all is right with the world.  I wish just once they'd find a group of vegan tailgaters cooking up boca burgers and veggie does, tofurkey beerbrats and kielbasa.  John Madden would be struck dumb.  The network would field furious calls from attorneys representing the pork council, Jimmy Dean would cancel their advertising buy and lot of viewers would think the long-awaited apocalypse had finally arrived.  But what if they did find some vegan tailgaters and the announcers said something like, "Check out that tofurkey foot long veggie dog.   Mmm, I wish I were down there with those folks."  "You have the foot long veggie dog, me, I'm gong for the Boca burger.  In fact, make it two."  "You've got plenty of room for two."  "Alright, folks, enjoy the game and keep eating vegan, you're saving a lot of animals' lives."  "Right you are, Bob, if everyone stopped consuming animal products, do you know how much less suffering there'd be in the world?"  That would be a pretty cool tailgating party to see.

I'm okay, you're okay -- unless you're a vegan

"I'm a creationist.  I believe the world was created in seven days.  Boy, that Mathuselah -- even at age nine hundred sixty he didn't look a day over two hundred."

"Okay, I respect your belief."

"Not only is Elvis still alive, he's working on a new album.  I heard one of the songs playing in my dental fillings."

"I suppose that's possible."

"I was abducted by aliens.  They were playing a game of pick-up football on the planet Zeltron and they were short a man.  I scored the winning touchdown and they poured a bucket of Tooka Juice, which is the Zeltronian version of Gatorade, over my head in celebration."

"Stranger things have happened."

"I'm a vegan.  I don't consume any animal products."

"Are you insane?  What a whacko nut job!"