I can't sleep, so here's a livejournal post about veganism
The article is here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/08/18/bill.clinton.diet.vegan/index.html
I frequently complain about CNN because of their lopsided focus on asinine human interest stories like "bee keeper truck crashes and lets loose 5 million bees" and their tendency to trivialize important events by giving them superficial coverage all ticker-style. I suppose this article could fall under the former category but the truth is it doesn't matter because my shameful secret is that I love stupid human interest stories. I mean jesus 5 million bees that is crazy dude.
I'm not terribly interested in the fact that Bill Clinton has become vegan though. Well, that's a lie. It's cool to see a famous and largely respected political figure go vegan-- it brings some positive attention to the cause and raises awareness, which is great. I'm more concerned with some of the discussions in the comments though.
They're not all too different from what can be found on any other open forum online that encounters the topic of veganism. Truthfully, they're exactly the same (check out this recent engadget article, for example). It becomes a whirling shitstorm of hate and vitriol. The vegans are all "meat sucks" and everyone else is like "you're skinny" and nobody is cool. It ends up being a frustrating read, I get angry and eventually wonder why I continue to subject myself to reading comments on sites like CNN and youtube.
Anyway.
A lot of these discussions remind me of conversations I end up having with people who discover that I'm vegan. Most people are cool about it, but I've had a fair share try to convince me that I'm taking extreme measures for no reason, or try to get into an argument to poke holes in any justifications I may offer for leading this lifestyle. I've always wanted to put together a big FAQ on veganism and just point people there when this comes up, but because I should probably go to bed soon I'll settle for an LJ post that nobody will see. I will also settle for trying to articulate my personal motivation for turning to, and staying, vegan. In hindsight this isn't something I've gotten to do very often. At least, not honestly.
My basis for turning to veganism is just one component of my attempt to lead a more ethical life. I had some crazy life times before, during and after my time in France like... three years ago now? D: I started questioning a lot of things and turned to modern western philosophy for answers. I had a lot of free time while I was in France, so I started reading a bunch of Voltaire, Sartre, Camus and eventually Levinas. While none of these dudes have anything to say on the topic of veganism, I was really inspired by the fact that they were very much dedicated to their thoughts and writings and devoted their lives to being steadfast and consistent in whatever it was they personally believed.
The jump to veganism from there is a little silly. I only started entertaining the thought of vegetarianism after my friend Pierre threw me a FRENCH FOOD PARTY with escargots and cuisses de grenouille, during which I had to ask myself why I was comfortable eating chicken and not frogs' legs. After realizing that I'd just been conditioned to see chicken and select other meats as food and was otherwise grossed out by the thought of eating animals, the journey began.
I eventually came to the conclusion that factory farms are fucked up. That one's not too hard to explain. Seriously, even if you love meat, that shit is a true testament to the less appealing sides of capitalism and is straight-up contemptible.
I later decided I could try going to local markets and picking up meat from there. I did this for a little while in Rochester and in Redmond, but ultimately stopped because I just didn't want to eat meat anymore. At this point I was still vegetarian, but it wasn't long before my research on v*isms intrinsically linked the dairy and produce industry to factory farming. At that point the transformation was complete. Vegeta's scouter broke. NOBODY COULD STOP ME auaurh.
I guess I felt the need to write this down, if not for posterity then at least to remind myself that this is important. I've felt pretty stagnant lately in my own ethical development. I mean, okay. I buy fair trade coffee and clothes now. That's all I am at this point though: a very conscious consumer. I donate whenever I can and ensure my employer matches those donations, but really, all of this is so passive and I feel like I should be doing more but I'm really bad at time management and feel like I can't put aside the hours but that's totally a lame excuse??
Shit I don't know.
If anyone is actually still reading this: if you are meat person, please be nice to your resident vegan(s). In all likelihood they are not looking to vomit condescension all over you, inconvenience your group of friends or be a dick about everyone's dietary choices. Let's please respect each other and keep open minds and not argue on CNN.com under pseudonyms like "nubbage."
oh god i'm tired. peace y'all.