Why I am not a vegan

[Monica]

Yay! So happy we agree!

Me too!

I think UN should use the same language as you, plant-based diet.  Instead, they chose to say  "veganism"which is sure to stir up much resistance and therefore inhibit progress.  Good leadership would steer in the proper direction, knowing how to get the most support for their vision.  But I don't see the UN doing that with they way they are presenting their vision for sustainability.

Like TTP said,  rather than sustaining small organic farms and businesses, I think the ulterior motive is centralized, monopolistic food industry and uniformity, rather than being inclusive of diversity.  So that is why I don't trust it.

You might be right about that, that they're intentionally giving lip service to it while simultaneously sabotaging real progress.

On the other hand, giving them the benefit of the doubt, it might just be that they don't know the difference in terms. They really just might not know the difference!

Even someone like me, who has been a vegetarian for decades, the term vegan has been changing. Until recently, I thought a vegan was a vegetarian who also didn't eat eggs or dairy, and didn't wear fur or leather. That was pretty much it. It wasn't until a few years ago that I learned that they didn't eat honey either. Ok, got it. That makes sense. But now, I am learning that many vegans also think that horseback riding is off limits, training service dogs is taboo, and some won't even have pets at all!

Those are most definitely the exceptions, the outer fringe. Most do have cats and dogs, and many have lots of cats and dogs because they love animals so much they take in lots of strays. I use the term for myself because, for most vegans, it simply means that we don't eat animal products, don't wear them, and do our best to avoid exploitation of animals in general. ('Do our best' because it's impossible to avoid 100%, because animal products are so insidious, and we all occasionally step on bugs without intending to.) It's gets fuzzy when one tries to define exploitation of animals. The more 'outer fringe' vegans think that means NO interaction with animals at all, and returning all animals to the wild. Most vegans, like myself, recognize that animals are companions, even family, so why not interact with them? Not to mention that it would be impossible to return domesticated animals to the wild!

So even among vegans, the definition of the label vegan is fuzzy. So it makes sense that people who aren't even vegan might get it wrong, just like there are still people out there who think vegetarians eat fish!

The term plant-based is a recent term, coined by the China Study doctors to encourage people to shift to a meatless, dairyless diet. It is essentially a vegan diet, but without the emotional charge or the controversy. Plus, it focuses on diet only. I agree that it's a much better choice in this case.

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