May 9th, 2011 by Gary Smith

 

 

In this series, we ask vegans engaged in different kinds of activism a question, and post their responses, to show a diversity of perspectives on the same topic. This is not a forum for ‘professional experts’ and thought leaders, but a space for community voices. Join the discussion below in the comments.

Last week PETA posted a note advising vegans to eat small amounts of animal products when dining at non-vegan restaurants. They used a couple of examples: a tiny bit of a dairy product in the bun of a veggie burger and not “grilling” the wait staff about whether your order is grilled on the same grill as meat. They say this makes a vegan diet look difficult and dogmatic, which will discourage others from going vegan. Kathy Freston advocates eating 2 percent animal ingredients when dining out in her book Veganist and in a contributed essay for Kris Carr’s book Crazy Sexy Diet. She’s talking about small amounts of butter, whey, or other animal ingredients in the bun your veggie burger is served on. Do you agree that vegans should not worry about small amounts of animal ingredients in your restaurant food? What are the implications if a large percentage of vegans decided to take PETA’s and Kathy’s advice?

 

Worry…what a foreign concept to associate with my veganism, a way of life that makes me so utterly happy and proud. I don’t identify with the word whatsoever when it comes to how I eat, how I order, or who I might imagine is judging my requests at a restaurant (human minds tend to overestimate this kind of thing anyway). I’ve chosen this vegan life with intent and purpose and so I live it wholeheartedly – not sometimes, not a little, but always. Committed to the cause in this way, I am more Malcolm X and MLK than Booker T. Washington. As in the aforementioned news, there are enough Booker Ts in the vegan movement already who support people in maintaining, “just a little,” the status quo. This is simply not what I aspire to.

The only times that worry comes into play in this sector of my life is in hindsight of a missed opportunity where I could have spoken up for veganism and animals, could have helped educate someone misinformed or unacquainted with our tenets, could have… but didn’t. We should worry in these cases! I should “worry” (with active concern) about those moments where I am not living according to my own virtues or the courage I seek to possess. By examining those flawed moments, I will grow and they will happen less and less. I will be able to help more animals and open more hearts in the long run.

So in my opinion, Freston and the PETA note are wrong, we should worry. But not in the sense they mean. We shouldn’t worry that restaurants will despise us, that friends will think we’re dogmatic, etc. We should worry if we’re not living according to the virtues we hold dear. We should worry if we’re eating two percent animal products in a restaurant so as to make the host feel comfortable. And we should worry as well if we’re behaving like aggressive idiots towards an unaware waitress instead of politely making a vegan request or offering suggestions for more vegan options (if they can’t meet your request, politely order something else). You never know the kind of seeds your thoughtful words and choices might plant. What makes an effective activist is the ability to read an audience and relate – in an intelligent, tailored way – what you know, so that we are heard, not hidden.

Ruby Roth is an artist, writer, and activist living in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of That‘s Why We Don‘t Eat Animals, the first children’s book to address the emotional lives of animals, factory farming, the environment, and endangered species

 

Asking vegans to temporarily betray their ethics and partner with their adversaries in order to avoid being seen as a nuisance is libelous, confusing and damaging to the positive results of the vegan movement. It is not viable to the liberation of animals to willfully consume the products that oppress them. Sensitivity is one thing, but fundamental change is another.

It’s important to understand that the process of change is slow and unpredictable, and that one thing is certain: it will always be met with friction. I refuse to reconcile my desire to change the world with my desire to simply survive it. If you’re concerned with social etiquette when ordering vegan food, I encourage you to try the cruelty-free (and apparently overlooked) approach of simply using your manners; after all, no animals are harmed in the process of using those.

Elissa Sursara

Actress and animal rights activist, Twitter

 

I think this not only sets a dangerous precedent of a cavalier attitude towards animal-based ingredients, but it also trivializes the essence of veganism. It is more than just a diet, or even a lifestyle; it is the living practice of animal rights, and as such, it is not a mere exercise in purity. Instead, it is a practice of ensuring justice – justice for the animals that are confined, tortured and killed by industries that exploit them.

As in any other justice movement seeking to redress the wrongs of oppression, there is nothing trivial about anything that ultimately denies beings of their inherent rights; it is our responsibility to counter offhand racist remarks, for instance, even if there is no one else around who might be affected by it, because it serves to educate the person that even such seemingly trivial actions serves to normalize oppression. By the same token, insisting a restaurant or a manufacturer ensure that there are no animal ingredients at all will educate them that veganism is a practice of principle. If we don’t insist on strict adherence to a principle, then industry will not take us seriously and not bother to change its practices and methods.

What PETA and Kathy Freston suggest sets a bad precedent; it’s similar to a chef telling you that you should accept a dish that has “just a tiny amount of meat.” It shows a lack of respect for the ethics behind veganism. And while at a personal level it may seem inconsequential, small numbers do add up. If every vegan does as what PETA and Kathy suggests, that will ensure a large steady demand for animal-derived ingredients, with the resulting suffering as the consequence.

Now granted, the price of living in an industrialized society today is that no-one can live entirely completely 100 percent vegan, but again, the point is not about purity, but about justice; we have to strive, as much as we can, to achieve the kind of change to ensure justice for all beings, and if that can include modifying the methods of industry to not have any animal-based ingredients at all, then that is something we have a responsibility to demand.

Peter Keller

Elected member of the Board of Directors, Northwest Animal Rights Network

Campaign founder and director of the Vegan Mentor Program

 

What rescue can suffering animals expect when even “animal rights” organizations and “vegan” authors casually announce that a little bit of cruelty is okay? PETA defines vegans by their intentions, not their actions. You can assert you are vegan as long as you eat animal foods only when it would be inconvenient not to. You make choices based on a terror of what other people will think, rather than on your own principles. You set a role model of “well, I’m vegan, kind of, not really sure why.”

Even if you are focused mostly on your own health, a little bit CAN hurt. Some things are good in moderation, like sunshine, exercise, food, and sleep. Others are best at a zero dose, like smoking, addictive drugs, mercury, asbestos, DDT, diesel exhaust, and animal protein. Even small amounts cause damage.

If you are motivated by kindness to animals and to the earth, the advice to be a casual vegan makes even less sense. Once people tell themselves it’s okay to eat animal foods in restaurants, the tendency is for this state of mind to balloon, until being plant-based becomes a distant memory. The greatest rewards for being vegan are the peace of mind and kinship with animals that spring from NEVER participating in suffering. Even one thoughtless bite of animal ingredients rips a hole in this inner peace that will devastate your world. Is the convenience worth the price? (Explore the joyful inner peace a day with rescued animals brings in this blog post.)

Janice Stanger, Ph.D.

Author of The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods

 

I went out and sat with our three rescued calf boys this morning. I felt at ease with them because since going vegan three years ago, I had done as much as I could to avoid animal products in the things I buy. Beyond not wanting to put even trace amounts of the suffering of these boys’ brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers into my body, I also want to support products that make the effort to not include animal ingredients, and patronize restaurants that provide that with which I want to nourish myself.

Whenever I visit a restaurant, unless I happen to be at one of L.A.’s raw food restaurants, I always have to make substitutions and alterations since I eat predominantly living foods. I apologize in advance to my server for being the difficult one, but I let them know what I really want in my meal, and almost always they are gracious. If not, I will give my money elsewhere. I look at requesting items without animal ingredients as a form of education. Most times I feel that people are surprised at where animal ingredients show up, and in what forms.

I do not think making veganism “easier” will be accomplished by accepting trace amounts of animal products, I think it will make it weaker and less discussed and ultimately remove some demand for products fully without animal ingredients. My calf friends do not want to eat parts of their relatives, and nor do I.

Cameron O’Steen

Education & Outreach Liaison, Animal Acres, a farmed animal sanctuary and compassionate living center based north of Los Angeles

 

As vegans, we unintentionally consume non-vegan things all the time, whether it is parts of dead bugs that end up in cereal from the cereal manufacturing plant, or a dessert a well-meaning non-veg friend made for us that has something in it that they didn’t realize was an animal byproduct. Vegans who dine at non-vegan restaurants should expect animal byproducts in their food. It is done unintentionally when the restaurant kitchen staff get rushed and doesn’t remember to modify the meal, or because the restaurant staff are unaware of what vegan means. We all think everyone knows because we know, but the reality is that a very small number of people truly know what the word vegan means, including some honey-eating vegetarians. I think vegans should try to convey to the waitress and waiter what veganism is, not just for the selfish purpose of getting a vegan meal for themselves, but to help other vegans who will dine there in the future.

I usually say to the waiter or waitress, “I’m going to be trouble, but hope you can help me.” This is said with a smile. I proceed to tell them I’m vegan and explain what that means in one short sentence (they aren’t looking for the history of veganism). I then say, “what would you recommend I order that is vegan?” Reminding them that I’m vegan reinforces the term. When they make a recommendation, they usually say “I really like this item,” and I jokingly say, “well I definitely don’t want it if you like it” (again said with a smile). Then I almost order what they recommend, unless it has things I hate like sprouts. The server always asks later in the meal if I liked what they recommended, and the whole experience is pleasant for everyone. It is a collaborative effort and the server is happy to help the customer find something that works.

I don’t like the idea of vegans ever intentionally eating non-vegan items to please people. Most of us did that when we were first becoming vegetarian; we kept eating meat occasionally just to please our family or our friends. As we become more honest with ourselves about what we care about, we have an obligation to be honest with others. The worst thing is to be viewed as a hypocrite. If you say you care about animals, but go out and buy a nice new car with leather interior or can’t give up your favorite silk tie or leather shoes, that will bother people. Along with that, if you say you love animals, but are mean to most people you interact with, you are similarly doing a large disservice to animals. Deciding to not intentionally participate in a system of oppression is what we are all supposed to do, so baby steps are fine, but going backwards hurts animals and hurts us as individuals.

Vegans shouldn’t listen to PETA, Kathy Freston, or me, they should decide for themselves what makes sense – and what makes sense should always be doing what is in the best interest of the animals for whom we are supposed to be advocating. Exploiting a chicken for an item with a little bit of egg, so our friends can order ten seconds sooner (because we aren’t asking questions) isn’t creating a future vegan at the dinner table and isn’t helping the chicken. I’ve never been at a dinner where the vegan who didn’t ask questions about the bread got their meat-eating friend to give up steak for that meal. The way we get people to give up meat is by educating them about the issues, not by eating a little bit of whey and eggs.

Prahbat Gautam

Co-Founder, Los Angeles Veg Society

www.laveg.org

 

 

Kathy Freston, PETA, vegan, Veganist

February 17th, 2011 by Gary Smith

Kathy Freston is a New York Times bestselling author and advocate of a life of spiritual integrity and compassion. From those values, Kathy adopted a vegan diet and lifestyle and is very active in promoting veganism. Her latest book Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World, is intended to offer readers a way to live a happier, more compassionate and healthier life by adopting a vegan diet.

Kathy challenged Oprah and 378 of her staff to go vegan for one week. The episode aired on February 1 and caused quite a stir in the vegan and animal rights communities. Oprah invited Michael Pollan as an expert on eating “humane” meat and Cargill allowed Oprah’s cameras inside one of their slaughterhouses.

Kathy answered a few questions about Veganist and shared some of her thoughts about the Oprah segment.

1. Please tell me about your new book Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World. What is a veganist?

Veganist is a friendly and empowering guide to a healthier, happier, and richer life – all attained by a shift in diet toward plant-based foods. The book is full of facts and studies and personal testimonials that point to how eating vegan can change your life on every level: you lose weight, heal your body from disease, increase your life expectancy and quality of life, save money, reduce global warming gases and live in synch with your spiritual or ethical values such as kindness and compassion.

A veganist is someone who looks closely at all the implications of their food choices and chooses to lean into a plant-based diet. Just like a violinist identifies himself with his passion for the instrument, a veganist is super interested in all the positive aspects of a vegan diet.

2. The book covers the topic of spiritual awakening. Can you talk a little about spiritual integrity?

For me, the purpose of my life is to become more open hearted and connected to life, to expand my awareness, care, and concern, and to reduce suffering wherever I can (and most of the wisdom philosophies encourage as much). I realized that I can apply those values and intentions to the thing I do regularly, every day: eating. Eating vegan, I found, was a way to help me to evolve on a spiritual level. As I began to understand what happens to animals as they become food, I had to ask myself: is my hankering for a piece of chicken or bacon worth the pain and fear that an animal goes through to become the meat at my table? I had this epiphany that in my soul, no, this doesn’t sit right with me. For me, it’s about finding my balance with delicious food while at the same time feeling spiritually true. I would rather opt for vegan food and know that my choices didn’t contribute to any fear, pain or suffering.

3. What was the most surprising thing you discovered in writing and researching Veganist?

The most surprising thing I discovered is that this way of eating is so absolutely unassailable. I couldn’t find any evidence, any science whatsoever, that would persuade me that a vegan diet isn’t superior in every way: it’s so good for personal health and weight maintenance, good for the environment, and good for the soul. It’s a win-win all around, and you don’t often find those grand-slam solutions.

4. How long have you been vegan and how do you come to this decision?

I’ve been vegan for about 7 years, but I got here very gradually. As with all things that I’m serious about sustaining, I leaned into it. I knew that I wanted to be someone who didn’t eat anything from an animal, but all of my historical and traditional food references were connected to animal foods, so it would have been overwhelming and difficult to get to vegan overnight.

I began by giving up eating one animal at a time and replacing those meals with vegan versions. I kept educating myself about what goes into turning animals into food by reading books and watching undercover videos; this kindled and engaged my commitment to keep leaning away from eating them. After the course of 2 or 3 years, I was vegan! Because I did it gradually, the shift was comfortable and easy to maintain.

5. I would like to know how you handle the willfully ignorant; the ones who “know” but refuse to care. I’m sure there’s a spiritual lesson in there somewhere about “tolerance.” But do you ever get down? Do people ever just totally depress the hell out of you? What’s your advice for maintaining hope and sanity in this cruel world? (Thanks to Jo Tyler of thisveganlife.org for this question)

Well, I think I was one of those “willfully ignorant” people, so I don’t judge anyone! I kind of knew what happened to animals from books (I had read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair in grade school, for instance) or breaking stories of farmed animal abuse. I think it was too much for me to handle or grasp at the time, too horrible to let in to my psyche. So I blocked it out and defended my eating habits by saying things like, “My doctor said I need to eat meat” or “Humans are meant to eat meat.” (Of course science wouldn’t let me rest on those myths!)

Because I gave myself the time and space to educate myself, I didn’t feel pressure to make a drastic decision and then struggle to stick with it. Had someone pushed or shamed me about my eating habits, I would have dug in my heels even farther and continued to resist. I think attraction works better than promotion, so looking healthy and happy is key. By focusing on the game-changing promises you get by eating vegan, rather than the negative “shoulds,” I think you more easily appeal to someone.

6. You’re always very good at speaking to people at their level, at a place where they’re comfortable. For the rest of us who aren’t as intuitive, it’s important that we all have a very brief, well-scripted response to the inevitable questions about our lifestyle. What’s your vegan “elevator pitch?”

I think that anyone, no matter whom or where they are in their lives, wants to feel and look better. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want to live their best life. So my elevator pitch is simply, “I’m vegan!” If a conversation or Q and A ensues, then great, I will share some of the good promises that flow from changing your diet from a meat based one to a plant based one. People (myself included) are influenced by kindness and openness, not necessarily a barrage of facts and statistics.

7. Many vegans were disgruntled by the Oprah episode and thought it came off as an advertisement for “humane meat” and for Cargill. How did you feel about it? What do you hope the show accomplished?

I thought the show was historic, and really a breakthrough for conscious eating. A whole show was devoted to the conversation of eating meat –or not. Do you know how many people never connected the dots between live animals and the meat on their plate? By seeing the slaughterhouse video, a connection was made, and it was profound. I think the show accomplished what its intention was: to help people think about where their food comes from and to open up a curiosity and conversation about conscious eating.

8. It was extremely frustrating to have Cargill come off as a “humane” slaughterhouse when we know that such a thing does not exist. How did you feel about this rather sanitized version of slaughter, and the choice not to show the cows being hit with a bolt gun or having their throats slit?

I think it’s great that the video was shown at all, sanitized or not. We saw cows that had been alive only minutes earlier having their hooves clipped off, skin peeled away, and guts pulled from their corpses. Those are powerful images that speak to the psyche on a very emotional level. You aren’t going to get a full-on graphic video of the worst of things on national TV; you just aren’t. Maybe for some people that is a disappointment, but I see it as progress that we got a glimpse into the truth about animals being turned into food. It opened up the conversation in a big way.

9. Do you think that giving people the impression that there is such a thing as “humane slaughter” helps open their eyes to veganism? Or is more likely to make them feel like its okay to eat dead animals? What do you think of the trend of raising your own animals or eating animals if you know where they come from in places like the Bay Area? (Thanks to Rose Aguilar of “Your Call” on KALW 91.7 FM in San Francisco for this question).

I think the very word “humane” makes people take pause and think about what happens to animals, and that’s a good thing. The more we are awake, aware, and curious the more we will move toward conscious eating. Maybe humanely raised meat is a first step for some, and then gradually more vegan foods are worked into the rotation. Humanely raised animals are indeed a step up from the horrors of factory farmed animals, so I think that’s progress. We just have to keep ourselves moving forward, starting from wherever we are right now.

10. The show never addressed dairy cows and veal calves. Would you speak to this?

There is only so much that can be covered in an hour!

My hope is that a curiosity is kindled, and people can begin to do their own research. I encourage anyone who is interested to google these three words: Factory. Farm. Video. Everything is there for the viewing, and there is no part of the food system that hasn’t been caught on tape and revealed.

11. I must admit that I was surprised to hear you say that it’s okay to eat the eggs from “cage free” chickens. As you know, male chicks are ground up alive or are suffocated, whether “cage free” or battery-caged eggs. United Poultry Concerns estimates around 250 million male chicks per year die in the egg industry. Can you clarify your position on this issue in case people misunderstood?

I didn’t say that. Oprah asked me if the chickens have a wonderful life at her neighbors’ house, and they are cared for and loved like pets, is it ok then to eat the eggs. And I said that it was a natural part of their menstrual cycle to drop eggs, so yes, it’s okay. I clarified that most Americans don’t have that sort of access to truly free-range and cruelty-free eggs. It wasn’t my intention to drill into every detail and horror of the food animal industry; it was my intention to be a friendly and accessible ambassador to a veganist lifestyle.

12. The producers chose to air the segment with the family complaining about how terrible the vegan meal was, even though the mother admitted she had prepared it incorrectly by running the “meat” through a blender. It seemed strange to include that, but were there any scenes cut from the show that might have provided more balance?

That scene was included because it reflects what really happens as people shift their diets; it is confusing and new, and mistakes happen! They did show the meal in all its deliciousness after I visited the family at home, by the way. It’s all just a matter of familiarizing people with new products and menus.

13. One of Oprah’s staffers gave you a hard time about the vegan challenge until you told her that she was an addict. Can you talk more about the addiction of meat, dairy and eggs?

Animal foods are fatty and rich-tasting, and when we habitually eat those things, nothing tastes quite as satisfying (even if we know how bad it is for our health, the taste and mouthfeel wins out). Veronica, the staffer who said she was addicted to fast foods, actually experienced much of what a drug addict or alcoholic might feel when threatened with the loss of the thing she was habituated to: anger and a sense of panic or dread. That’s why I encourage substituting favorite animal foods with vegan versions of the things we love and are used to. Vegan meats and products are ideal transitional foods because by crowding out the old meat and dairy menu items with delicious plant-based proteins, we don’t feel deprived. The upgrade comes gently and easily.

14. Why did the show focus so much on mock meats during the vegan challenge?

Same as answer 13! And additionally, the vast majority of people simply won’t go from their traditional diet of meat and potatoes to whole grains, beans, and vegetables. It simply won’t happen. The easiest way to make the transition – what worked for me – is to crowd out the old meat and dairy products with vegan versions of the things we grew up loving. That way, we don’t feel loss or so much confusion. We find our way easily and gradually, and then hopefully, we continue to lean into healthier, whole foods!

animal rights, Kathy Freston, Oprah, vegan, Veganist