False pretences...

Jekyll40

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  1. Vegan newbie
It appears I must pack up my tent and steal away into the night. I'm not a vegan after all. I have woollen pullovers, a Harris Tweed jacket and some sheepskin slippers (a present). I have no intention of throwing these away.
I thought it was all about food, but I see that I was wrong.
Would I be more correct in calling myself a vegetarian?
 
I'm pretty sure even vegetarians don't buy animal byproducts, aside from their dairy and eggs. I've never liked labels and stereotyping anyhow.

Don't feel badly though. I have been riding motorcycles for over 40 years. I've always worn leather for protection. The thing is, I bought my leather boots, chaps, and jacket, long before going vegan. It doesn't bring the animal back to life by throwing or giving it away, does it? Is wearing it still a crime in the eyes of vegan's? If so, then I am guilty.

'Guilty' is a good word, as I must admit, I do feel a bit guilty wearing leather, and calling myself a vegan. However, replacing my boots, chaps, and jacket with synthetics, would not be cheap. If I was super rich and money was no object, sure, I would give the leather to the secondhand store, and buy synthetic. Some day I will have synthetic, but just not today.

I made a serious commitment to veganism, and that commitment for me means, I won't consume or use animal products ever again, to the best of my ability. And while I'm still using my leather for riding, I am 100 percent committed to never buying more or replacing the leather when it wears out. Does that make me any less vegan? I don't know, and if the vegan community wants to judge me for it, they can go right ahead.

Furthermore, while I am very passionate about animals and animal cruelty, I am not what you would call a full blown activist. I'm also not what you would call a pacifist, but I do like to keep a low profile. I am doing my part, the way I see it, but I try very hard not to smear my lifestyle in others faces.

Lastly, I do not have decades of this lifestyle behind me. I'm still a new vegan, myself. It takes time for everyone. The food was the easy part. The sundries, clothing, etc., will take me a little longer. The important thing is you are also doing your part now. You are no longer contributing to the world of animal cruelty...at least not knowingly. You are still a vegan as far as I'm concerned. Besides, this is NOT about what people think, this is about the animals, themselves. I do my part, and feel good about it. You should too!


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Thanks, Veganite, that pretty much mirrors my position. I've eaten and bought animal products for over 70 years, but am resolved not to do so again.

We didn't really have the choice to be veg-wahatever when I was young. Apart from the fear of being thought "peculiar" there wasn't a great deal of choice in what we ate and wore.

I have even eaten whale. There was a war on, food was rationed, and at age 5 I wasn't in a position to debate the issue with my mother, who was feeding her children as best she could.

One reason (though not the main one) that I have adopted a plant based diet is that it is far cheaper than animal based. I exist mainly on frozen vegetables and oatmeal. I only shop once a month and have the stuff delivered. Last month's bill came to less than £50 ($64). I feel I'm doing my bit.

Vive la revolution!
 
You have a few years on me, obviously, but I also grew up in a time when kids didn't get to be so picky...at least not this one.

Both my parents served in WWII and knew all about rationing in GB. My parents actually met during the war in England. Anyhow, my parents did not have a lot of money. My dad, brothers, and myself, all used to hunt to put food on the table, but that wasn't until well after the war, here in Canada.

I instantly grew a strong disliking for game meats, especially rabbit, which we ate a lot of when I was a kid. My worst nightmare was coming home from school, opening the front door, and catching this disgusting waft of rabbit stewing on the stove. I used to always wish I lived at my friends vegetarian house, which in those days was just about unheard of. The funny thing was my friends parents wouldn't let them sleep over at my place, in fear my parents would feed them meat.

Another thing my parents used to cook a lot of was organ meat. It was so gross that I used to pocket it and ask permission to go potty, so I could spit it in the toilet. I mean, who likes liver? Even when I did eat meat, I found that repulsive. Losing meat in my diet was easy for me. I did like fish a lot, but have learned to live without it just fine.

As far as cheaper goes, there's no question a plant-based diet is cheaper or it can be. I know it's not cheap for everyone, especially if you've adopted a raw vegan diet, but aside from that, grains and beans are cheap. I do hope you're getting a balance in your diet though. Frozen veggies and oatmeal, alone, would not be enough for me to be happy or healthy.

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That's interesting stuff, and I know where you are coming from with the rabbit stew.

Thanks for your concern - I may have over-simplified when I described my diet. I like frozen because I can store it for long periods. Broccoli, beans, carrots, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, apples, bananas, dried prunes and apricots, oatcakes with Marmite... I reckon I get a good variety. I'm feeling fine on it, anyway.
 
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It appears I must pack up my tent and steal away into the night. I'm not a vegan after all. I have woollen pullovers, a Harris Tweed jacket and some sheepskin slippers (a present). I have no intention of throwing these away.
I thought it was all about food, but I see that I was wrong.
Would I be more correct in calling myself a vegetarian?

I have seen this discussion a bunch of times and the answer is overwhelmingly that you can call yourself a vegan and still use that stuff, but that if you are going to buy that stuff from now on, especially if it is new, then you are not a vegan. But if you are just using old stuff then you are still a vegan.
 
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