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Just Be Kind and Do Your Best
Lately, there’s been a lot of discussion online about the “vegan police” – a small minority of people who have taken it upon themselves to publicly shame or criticize other vegans for not being vegan enough. Let me start by saying that bullies, dogmatists and annoying people come in all shapes and sizes — and some just happen to be vegan. In other words, the problem with the vegan police isn’t that they’re vegan, it’s that they’re human.
What Does Vegan Mean, Anyway?
As far as I can tell, when Donald Watson first coined the term back in 1944, he didn’t offer a definitive definition. At the time, his objective was mainly to distinguish between vegetarians who consumed egg and dairy products and those who, for ethical reasons, did not. Years later, in 1979, the Vegan Society (which Watson co-founded) defined veganism as: “a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude – as far as is possible and practical – all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose…” The Vegan Society still uses this definition when describing veganism today. And I think it’s a good one.
But what does that mean, exactly — “as far as is possible and practical“?
It’s important to note that “possible” and “practical” are subjective terms. What’s possible and practical for one person may not be for someone else who is in a different geographic, social or economic situation. Someone who works from home, has vegan family members, controls the cooking and doesn’t travel or eat out much, has a far different experience of what is possible and practical than someone who travels for work, lives with non-vegans, doesn’t control the cooking, requires certain medications, resides in a place with limited food options (such as a rural college campus), etc.
Does this mean people should use the “possible and practical” clause as an excuse to go out and eat cheese pizza, pork chops and scrambled eggs? Of course not. Unless someone is in an extreme situation, it’s almost always possible to avoid whole animal products such as eggs, flesh, and dairy. Where it becomes more challenging is when we try to avoid byproducts, trace ingredients, cross-contamination, shared cooking surfaces, non-vegan manufacturing processes, medicines tested on animals, non-vegan restaurants, companies, and so forth.
Arbitrary Lines
Unfortunately, animal use is so prevalent in our culture, and animal byproducts so ubiquitous, that it is nearly impossible for any of us to live in modern society without coming into contact with them. Computers, refrigeration, tires, ink, fertilizers, building materials, even some municipal water….these are just a few of the everyday things vegans use that may currently contain animal ingredients. (Unnecessarily, I might add.)
So, which do we avoid and which do we accept as unaviodable? As I’ve written before, we all draw the line somewhere. And where we draw the line is based on what we believe is possible and practical for us at any given time. Unfortunately, it’s common for people to assume that what is possible for themselves is possible for everyone. This can lead some people to harshly critique the choices of others.
Let’s take a look at an example involving honey, since that’s the topic which caused the recent stir online. One vegan may criticize another for consuming bread that contains small amounts of honey (when vegan bread isn’t available), yet, this same person will consume conventionally grown produce and grains — crops which rely heavily on the migratory bee keeping industry, a practice which clearly exploits and kills bees, much like honey production.
Now, some may argue that buying such produce is a lot easier to defend since it’s necessary to consume produce (whereas it’s not necessary to consume honey), and veganically-grown produce is currently not widely available. I can understand that argument. But I can also see how it could be argued that if you were really committed to your ethics, you could grow your own produce – or buy exclusively from Veganic Farms – so that you could be certain you weren’t contributing to the exploitation of bees or other animals. And if you didn’t own land or live near a Veganic Farm, you could, if you were really committed to your ethics, simply pack up and move. So eating non-veganically-grown produce isn’t really necessary after all, is it?
This is just one example, but it’s easy to see how unrealistic and absurd this line of reasoning quickly becomes, as even what is considered “necessary” is open for debate and interpretation.
Just Be Kind and Do Your Best
I find the first sentence in the Wikipedia definition of veganism to be quite interesting. They write that “Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products.”
Practice of eliminating.
To me, this implies that veganism is something we continually work on and get better at, kind of like a daily yoga practice, rather than a state of being we’re able to arrive at with perfect precision. I think that’s a pretty wise way to look at it.
Personally, I trust that people who care about animals and self-identify as vegans will make the best decisions they can – meaning they will do what is possible and practical for them while still being able to function in modern society. And therefore, there is no reason for me to “police” other vegans.
Spirit and intention are more important than living our lives under a microscope. Spending time focusing on our own personal purity and criticizing other vegans for eating restaurant sugar that may have been processed over bone char when most people are still eating entire chickens and fishes for dinner is not, in my opinion, a good use of time and energy. Not only that, but it is a colossally bad advertisement for our way of life. “So you mean I will have to give up my favorite foods, learn a whole new way of living, possibly be ostracized by friends and family AND be picked apart by other vegans? Heck…sign me up!”
Some suggest that anyone who is not able to live a life that is completely, 100% vegan at all times should simply stop calling themselves “vegan.” I think that’s a great idea — if we want only a handful of self-gardening, well-water-drinking, car-less, computer-less, ascetics in the world to qualify. We should want more people to self-identify as vegan, not less. I would rather have 500,000 people who are able to be 98% vegan than 50 people who are able to be 100% vegan.
And so, I imagine, would the animals.
So instead of judging one another on how “vegan” we are capable of being, we should keep the focus on the animals we are trying to help. And the best thing we can do for them right now is to convince as many people as possible to stop buying animal flesh, dairy and eggs. Everything else is icing on the vegan cake, in my opinion.
To other vegans, I humbly offer this advice: Be kind to one another. Do your best. And be grateful for those who care and are making their own best effort, even if they aren’t perfect. Because, really, who is?
Beautifully said! You captured what is and should be the true spirit of veganism!
An excellent and thoughtful post Your thoughts echo mine precisely. Make the best possible choices every day – intent counts!
http://www.vegetus.org/honey/ecology.htm
Awesome Jo! Love, love, love it!
Yes, fantastic post! We should be trying to encourage and support others, not alienate them.
Seems so obvious, doesn’t it?
another great post. i do think it gives vegans a bad name/rap when vegans make negative (especially publicly) comments about the vegan police. the vegan police is a small minority, but when vegans make public statements about how bad vegan police are it makes it appear that most/all vegans are critical of anything less then perfection. that is not the case in the thousands of vegans i have met and known throughout the years. it’s a very teeny minority that have nothing better to do with their time. most vegans are kind and understand that perfection is a moot goal.
If well water, veganic produce, sugar, trace ingredients, cross contamination, tires, etc. were the standard I would have not have lasted as vegan for more than a few hours. I would have wound up being frustrated and possibly angry enough to chuck the whole idea as impossible and impractical.It might have lead to the chain of events that happened to me as a teen… I was a vegetarian then… Trying to do my best and “slipped” with a salad that contained anchovies. After that moment, it seemed so easy to just yield to imperfection and use that as an excuse to go “whole hog” for the next three decades. It’s telling how the (young) mind seeks to conform with the world it’s presented with… So easy to expect so much and yet accept so little from ourselves.I was my own police then… And still am. We each know in our deepest convictions what our intentions are when we purchase/consume products. Like the wise lady says… Be kind and do your best!
Hear hear Jo!! When I first began exploring vegan and vegan issues online I ran across the hyper-purists and was off-put and confused by them. Then I realized that you see these sorts of folks in all sorts of places. It is my thought they the ‘vegan-police’ types are struggling with personal issues that are spilling over into whatever they become involved in. Bruno Bettelheim once wrote a book with the interesting title: “A Good Enough Parent”. What a lovely thought, we no more have to be a “perfect” parent to get the job done adequately than we have to be a “perfect” vegan to be able to alleviate most of the gratuitous suffering we inflict on our fellow animals. Let those who need to be a perfect vegan…be perfect. For the rest of us, being a good enough vegan will suffice.
Very well said. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this…. I get sad when people say I am not a true vegan … and then I stop calling myself vegan in case I am judged not to be… but that doesn’t help me stay true to my vegan values…. I want to be welcomed into a compassionate group not ostracised for my mistakes…. thank you… I will share this…
Thank you veganeleder for drawing that comparison. It’s not about perfection, it’s about doing the best we can to make compassionate choices while still being able to function in the real world.@Lisa – I agree that the VP are a small minority and don’t reflect the broader views of the vegan community. I’m not trying to disparage anyone with this post, but rather to encourage us all to be kinder to one another (and to ourselves). @Bea – it’s interesting how many people think in “black and white.” If they can’t be perfect, they might as well chuck it all. That’s the danger with the VP message, I think. That said, I believe anyone who adopts a vegan lifestyle is an amazing, courageous, compassionate person with the best intentions and convictions. I love and support all vegans!
hi jo, i wasn’t referring to your post at all;-) rather the posts that have been on facebook for so many non vegans to see. just wanted to clarify my comments.
Oh, thanks Lisa…Yeah, some of the FB stuff I’ve read makes me just cringe. And I agree that it’s not a good topic to “showcase” to people who aren’t vegan. It’s sort of insider baseball after all, and concerns only a small minority of the community. I debated even writing this post, but after hearing from a lot of people about how bullied and afraid of judgment they were feeling after that very public episode that happened recently, I thought it might be worthwhile to just share a few thoughts… Thanks for reading and commenting!
Great post, so true. It does come up regularly about how vegan I am (from other non-vegans, haven’t heard it from other vegans thankfully) and sometimes I do stop and re-think whether I can call myself that. I am after truth and know that I am still growing and learning (as we all are) and know that everyday is one step closer on this wonderful journey I am on. Thanks again for the post, would be nice if the many critics out there could read it too.
“I would rather have 500,000 people who are able to be 98% vegan than 50 people who are able to be 100% vegan.”Amen! And I think most vegans police themselves already, so certainly don’t need any help from others. Great post Jo!