Staying Positive

I don't normally comment on this sort of subject, I don't really feel like in-depth critique is my forté or my niche (if I have a niche it's definately more of an 'ordinary person living a vegan life' kind of angle) but I've been seeing so much negative press about veganism recently that sometimes it's hard to keep the proverbial chin up. The author of the Vegan Lunch Box, one of my favourite blogs and one I frequently read through for inspiration has declared that she's moving away from the vegan label. While that is her choice and I completely respect her for it it's just been a bit dissapointing. The 'infamous' post she links to in that post makes for harsh reading. I understand that people have to do what they have to do for their health and I am in no place to tell anyone what is the best for their body, only you can decide that, but the refrain seems to be 'vegan doesn't always mean healthy'. And they are right, it doesn't. Being a vegan doesn't exempt you from putting the effort in to eat healthily, but that doesn't mean that it has to be unhealthy either. It seems that we have to play the role of the broken record, telling the world that ethical veganism isn't about deprivation or personal purity.
Actually, a really good blog to to read for further intellectual insight into these issues is My-Face-Is-On-Fire. I love the Vincent Guihan cartoons she has put up recently, I think they really do capture veganism in a nutshell. Especially the one which is quite aptly called 'Veganism in a Nutshell'!

Alas, something I find equally heart-breaking is the culture of fear that surrounds saying anything negative about veganism. I undertand that it is because that we vegans already live in a world which at best doesn't understand us and at worst hates us, and therefore when a vegan breaks ranks it is dissapointing. However, threating people and their familes is just plain deplorable. As vegans, people who claim to live compassion in our everyday lives how can we claim that threatening an animal is wrong but threatening someone for voicing their opinion is perfectly okay? That is one of the few things I hate about the internet, people jump upon anonimity and feel that they can say whatever they like without consequence.

I love being a vegan, I really believe that veganism is a way to live compassionately and stand up against unecessary suffering and abuse. I don't claim to have the world's healthiest diet, like alot of people I do like my junk food, but I think I'm doing okay. Sometimes it's just disheartening when something you see as being so clear, logical and obvious just isn't taken seriously or really understood.

Sorry for that unscheduled diversion, I'll be back soon with more boring food posts with bad camera-phone pictures!

                                                                  The World Is Vegan