Sorry Vegan Friends – I am not strict Vegan anymore either.
I am tired of the arguing but it comes down to being honest with myself and the world and damn it people if we can’t talk nicely to each other who are we???
…so here’s my story…
Awhile back my brother sent me this email message:
I send this with NO agenda
Seriously. A friend posted it on Facebook, and I thought it was fascinating to read, including all the comments (warning – taken all together, it’s pretty long.)
http://voraciouseats.com/2010/11/19/a-vegan-no-more/
So I of course read the whole post and all the comments – and I encourage you to do the same.
I am not going to be nearly as apologetic or verbose about my personal process, partly out of laziness, partly because it’s all been said so many times and partly because it’s…well….personal.
I responded to my brother —-
Thank you so very much!!! I applaud this woman’s courage and am so distraught that other supposed “conscious” living beings would threaten her and her family — it’s like Pro-lifer’s that bomb clinics, and people praying for war and in the end it gives me courage to speak my piece…
His response made me guffaw:
It makes me think of Mandy Moore in SAVED, who screams out, “I am FULL of the love of Christ!” – while hurling a bible at someone’s head 
At the end of it I gave him my feelings –
I believe this wholeheartedly…not everyone is meant to be vegan…I have never been vegan because I object to the cycle of life, I object to how animals live and are killed in our society. For me it is about sustainability and less cruelty. If we all ate less meat, ate local, in season produce and skipped processed and chemical foods that is the answer. Death is life, but suffering doesn’t have to be.
That pretty much sums it up.
His response:
Wow. You just said in about 70 words what it took me almost an hour to get through on that web page
Bottom line: I am not a vegan anymore because it was making sick when I moved to Colorado. The lack of sunshine and fresh local produce made it nearly impossible. Now my idea of not being vegan is I have added local eggs and goat cheese to my diet and some yogurt and kefir. Oh and discovering that you have a sensitivity to soy — that changes things. Soy is bad m’kay. I guess the label would be lacto-ovo vegetarian.
And sometimes when forced to eat out (blech) I get something with cheese in it…I actually tried to eat fish and a piece of steak and…well let’s just say I’m a vegetarian for life. eww.
But what I realized at the end of the day — my buying chia seeds and goji berries online could actually be just as harmful and no more “enlightened” than my neighbor who drives 5 miles to get his meat at the local farm.
My husband is an omnivore and he is conscientious about what he eats and buys, he is 85percent vegetarian living with me..and when he goes too long without meat it affects him, physically and emotionally. I see that, I understand it, and I honor our differences.
I don’t really want to argue about it. It is what it is. Both sides have pretty compelling arguments for who is right – so like the god question I think it is an unanswerable question therefore maybe we need to focus not on getting people to agree with us but on how we can live together and cause the least suffering possible for all creatures.
Face it, at the end of the day something has to die in order for something to live…how we live up to that point is what really matters.
PS Yes I still consider myself an animal rights activist, yes I still consider myself a pretty decent yogi, yes I think people that live vegan are admirable, but I also think that people with the smaller carbon footprint are just as admirable, no I don’t think I’m better than anyone (well maybe a few people) no I don’t think anyone is better than me (OK again maybe a few people) Yes I think eating too much meat is bad for you…but then again so is eating too much fruit or cacao beans and basically being too anything! OH and I still eat a lot of chia seeds!
I feel like I just went to the confessional and I feel so much better!
http://www.science20.com/cool-links/vegan_no_more
Incorrect source, offensive, or found a typo? Or do you want to write for Elephant?
I am curious if there are other ex vegans in the room?
I believe that being vegan or vegetarian is a personal choice, but that we have an obligation to become, to live, to support and to promote a sustainable life. Just as being "organic" isn't sufficient, as raising organic crops can be both destructive to the environment and be produced by grotesque labor practices. Being truly sustainable integrates the concept of humane treatment, healthy (not pure) and conscious choices, impacts to ourselves, neighbors, communities, and ALL of nature… It results in a healthy, responsible, balanced diet rather than an artificial "pure" one, and is much more holistic. In my opinion. Which is, of course, correct…
sustainable!!!! amen!!! sing it brother!
Ross~ how is organic farming destructive to the environment, especially compared with the dominant factory/chemical farming paradigm? what are the 'grotesque labor practices'? (there are some crops that cannot be machine-harvested, necessitating human labor; and if the workers are treated poorly, that has nothing to do with 'organic'–it has to do with bad management).
Just curious. Thanks.
lack of sunshine in Colorado???? The sun shines more days on average in Colorado than it does in the "Sunshine State" of Florida. Lack of fresh local produce??? There are farms everywhere in Colorado. What lame excuses.
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/01/fine-you-w…
My response here.
Dude I think your story is very different to "voracious eats"… who went from a vegan to a meat eater and claimed veganism was bad for her health. I don't think many vegans would begrudge someone eating eggs or cheese from free-range, ethically raised animals. I, for one, do not begrudge such a choice. Your post seems a bit sensationalist actually, like you are wanting people to attack you.
Peace.
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/01/fine-you-w…
thanks for your reply…my response here
I posted this to the Elephant Green Facebook page. Thanks for sharing!
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Lorin
Read Tashas post , wow , pretty enlightening ! Its good to hear the other side of the story.
What i did find surprising and disturbing is the overdose of hostility she received from the vegan camp , i mean life threats? Conspiracy theories?sexists remarks? Really? this coming from supposedly ethical people or so they say.
I think one of the questions that begs to be answered is why so much hate? Where is this coming from?
Why this fear of coming out ?
I personally can relate to her , i went through the same health issues and i dont regret eating meat again.
diet from the Ayurvedic perspective: the most successful vegetarians/vegans are Kapha prakriti and/or vikruti (they are naturally more heavy and prone to weight gain and diabetes and so benefit from a lighter diet) and the least successful are Vata prakriti and/or vikruti (the skinny mini marathoner types and chronically anxious people need heavier food to balance themselves).
Plus, it's impossible to follow a locally sourced fresh vegan or vegetarian diet in an area that's often too cold to grow things (think about the Inuit and other northern tribal peoples who eat primarily meat and fat, only gathering plant foods during the short summers). If you live in the tropics where plant life is in abundance you will be more successful but even those traditional peoples supplemented their diets with fish and other sea foods. For more info on traditional diets visit http://www.westonaprice.org and keep an open mind!
thank you jennifer well said indeed!!!
I do feel as if being vegan opened my mind to possibilities. there is a movement about "traditional" foods that I think french cheese would fall into and you are just keeping the ways alive…and I think organic artistry cheeses from family farms are a huge part of sustainability…and delicious!
It is HARD to come out isn't it? thanks for the lovely support! and good on you!