Am I Still Considered Vegan?

[Belle]

I've been vegan for almost two years now, and was vegetarian for three years before that. But recently I found out that camera film that I use all the time is made from gelatine. I've been using it forever.

And also yesterday, I attended a wedding and they had these cakes that they'd made sure were vegan just for me, they'd gotten me a whole box. But after checking today, I found out that only one of them was vegan after eating two others.

I would never eat anything if I knew it wasn't vegan, I feel so guilty for not checking beforehand.

 

[ewomack]

These things will happen, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Think of them as learning experiences and reminders to check more in the future. I often find it challenging to remain 100% vegan 100% of the time, though I try. I don't let accidents or misunderstandings derail me too much. So try not to worry about it, keep vigilant, have compassion for yourself and others, and continue on your path. It sounds like you're doing just fine overall.

 

[Lou]

This falls under the Personal Purity controversy.
How perfect do you have to be to call yourself vegan?
IMHO, perfection is essentially impossible. But I neatly sidestep this issue by relying on intent. Heck, the most common definition of vegan uses the word strive - just a fancy word for tries.
So basically, if you are trying to be vegan you are a vegan (period).

 

[Emma JC]

welcome to the forum @Belle

The cake issue is a common thing that there is little to do to avoid, you did your best so no harm done.

Film is a tricky issue and really goes to what @Lou has written - here you have a choice to switch to digital or carry on and be okay with your choice.

There are so many items that we all use on a daily basis, cars, clothes, etc etc that likely are not vegan and we have to be okay with and again, just do our best where we can.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Lou]

I wasn't going to bring this up at first. Mostly cause my knowledge about film is very much out-of-date. I was a very early adoptee of digital. Secondly because I have no interest in personal purity. I have heard purists declaim everything from cars to computers. is even watching a movie a vegan thing to do?

But there are probably other reasons to forgo film. I think there are real environmental concerns - from toxic waste to just plain old regular waste.