A Friendly Conversation: Exploring Omnivorous vs. Vegetarian Diet

[Billy]

Lately i have changed my vegetarian diet to that of a vegan diet and i am wondering about the limits of the vegan diet in the sense of clothing and chairs etc. Although i eat vegan food as far as my knowledge will allow , it has recently dawned upon me that how truly vegan can someone be if they still have leather shoes, cotton clothing and leather chairs? Is it possible to be vegan only through diet only?  This doesn't make a lot of logical sense, am i just a wannabe vegan? How is it possible to be vegan in this sense? Do people carry around a hemp chair or something with them to social gatherings or sit on the floor if someone has a leather chair? It seems fairly hardcore, what is the line? I guess are we simply trying to minimize suffering to animals as far as possible? Or are we simply changing to a vegan diet for health reasons rather than ethical reasons which are more of a byproduct of the dietary change?

I think this is an interesting question. I don't fancy changing all my clothing anytime soon at least haha.

I will say this.  Don't obsess.  Remember the reason you have gone vegan.  I'm assuming you have done so for the welfare of animals and I don't see how in the grand scheme of things being a perfectionist will make any real difference to the lives of these animals.  It may even have you dropping the whole thing because of how hard it is to juggle so many rules and regulations.  I think the line is where things become totally impractical and you are constantly having to question yourself and your choices.  Being vegan of course does mean making choices and cutting things out, but if it starts to dominate your thoughts and becomes a source of pain, then I think that something is up.  If your heart is in the right place, I feel that it should flow pretty easily. 

On another note, how have you been Matt?  Haven't seen you in a while, hope you are doing well