How "EXTREME" is Veganism?

[Bite Size Vegan]

you guys ever had people say, "you're vegan? that's so extreme!" or "I could never eat in such an extreme manner" or something of the like. my opinion is that veganism is the LEAST extreme way to eat.

so i put together a video on what other kinds of eating *really* involve. let me know your thoughts on this manner and if you've ever faced such comments.

<---also, this guy…because i can…

 

[KLS52]

I don't agree that veganism is extreme but I can see why someone would call it extreme. Anytime you have something that is considered the "norm" (such as eating foods like meat, fish, dairy, eggs) for years and years and years and its all you know, and you start to remove those food groups, it comes across as restrictive and extreme. At least that's my opinion on why some people might say veganism is extreme.

I wasn't sure where the video was going and felt bad the way the calf was taken away from his mom do I didn't finish watching it. I'm sure it's great. I really enjoy your other videos.

 

[Bite Size Vegan]

I don't agree that veganism is extreme but I can see why someone would call it extreme. Anytime you have something that is considered the "norm" (such as eating foods like meat, fish, dairy, eggs) for years and years and years and its all you know, and you start to remove those food groups, it comes across as restrictive and extreme. At least that's my opinion on why some people might say veganism is extreme.

I wasn't sure where the video was going and felt bad the way the calf was taken away from his mom do I didn't finish watching it. I'm sure it's great. I really enjoy your other videos.

thanks it basically is showing how un-extreme a vegan diet is and how extreme the "normal" ways of eating are.

 

[Kitties]

I've had people tell me being vegan must be hard. I tell them in reply, you have no idea how easy it is.

 

[beancounter]

You are only extreme if you voluntarily (I hope) get yourself branded.

 

[Bite Size Vegan]

I've had people tell me being vegan must be hard. I tell them in reply, you have no idea how easy it is.

i've had that too….i usually say i find it hard to NOT be vegan which i do!

 

[Bite Size Vegan]

Your only extreme if you voluntarily (I hope) get yourself branded.

yeah…that would be crazy…oh wait...

 

[Poppy]

I don't even think of meat, cheese or eggs as being food anymore. I don't consider eating, serving or shopping for them anymore. My natural diet is vegan now. It's not extreme, it's just me. And it's great!

 

[Bite Size Vegan]

I don't even think of meat, cheese or eggs as being food anymore. I don't consider eating, serving or shopping for them anymore. My natural diet is vegan now. It's not extreme, it's just me. And it's great!

so agree…all that isn't "food"…to me it's products of suffering

 

[Poppy]

so agree…all that isn't "food"…to me it's products of suffering

I don't even think of the suffering, really. Of course I know that there's suffering, but since I don't consider animals products to be food, I don't have to consider the repercussions of eating them. And that makes everything better. Does that make sense?

 

[PTree15]

...

I wasn't sure where the video was going and felt bad the way the calf was taken away from his mom do I didn't finish watching it. I'm sure it's great. I really enjoy your other videos.

Me, too. I did finish listening to the video, but I couldn't watch it all because I just got too sad.
That said, the message was a good one. I remember that when I was investigating going vegan, an online vegan turned the whole milk thing on its head when he said that humans were the only species to drink another species' milk. It was a lightbulb moment for me, as they say. Sometimes, people just need to see another perspective. I do get told that my way of eating is extreme, but really, extreme isn't the right word. Different? Yes. Extreme, no. I agree with you, BSV, that it's pretty simple when it comes right down to it. I can't imagine living any other way now.

I really enjoy your videos, BSV.

 

[Bite Size Vegan]

Me, too. I did finish listening to the video, but I couldn't watch it all because I just got too sad.
That said, the message was a good one. I remember that when I was investigating going vegan, an online vegan turned the whole milk thing on its head when he said that humans were the only species to drink another species' milk. It was a lightbulb moment for me, as they say. Sometimes, people just need to see another perspective. I do get told that my way of eating is extreme, but really, extreme isn't the right word. Different? Yes. Extreme, no. I agree with you, BSV, that it's pretty simple when it comes right down to it. I can't imagine living any other way now.

I really enjoy your videos, BSV.

thanks so much glad you enjoy them. that's why i do what i do!

 

[Clueless Git]

so agree…all that isn't "food"…to me it's products of suffering

Question for you, BSV, if I may be so bold ...

Do you actualy feel the suffering of the animal(s) when you see or smell (just hear people talking about, even) animal 'food' stuffs?

 

[Bite Size Vegan]

Question for you, BSV, if I may be so bold ...

Do you actualy feel the suffering of the animal(s) when you see or smell (just hear people talking about, even) animal 'food' stuffs?

i actually do…even when i see a piece of cheese the enormity of suffering that the mother went through, losing her child, the child being crammed in a crate an slaughtered for veal, the mother repeatedly raped and milked until she is spent 20 years before her natural life span.

it's intense…it's the "x-ray vision" you get when you know what is behind the curtain...

 

[Clueless Git]

i actually do…even when i see a piece of cheese the enormity of suffering that the mother went through, losing her child, the child being crammed in a crate an slaughtered for veal, the mother repeatedly raped and milked until she is spent 20 years before her natural life span.

it's intense…it's the "x-ray vision" you get when you know what is behind the curtain...

Yeah, I thought you'd feel like that ...

In Buddhism it's called 'right view'. It's kinda the ability to see a whole picture once you see any one part of it; To see the whole chain of past event that led to a thing being what it now is.

It's like the opposite of cognitive dissonance.

It's very very rare.

 

[Bite Size Vegan]

Yeah, I thought you'd feel like that ...

In Buddhism it's called 'right view'. It's kinda the ability to see a whole picture once you see any one part of it; To see the whole chain of past event that led to a thing being what it now is.

It's like the opposite of cognitive dissonance.

It's very very rare.

interesting. i've had more than one person tell me that buddhism would be the "religion" for me…in that i apparently live in a way that identifies with many of its principles.

kind of sucks having x-ray vision…but i've been that way since i was a kid…i used to cry sometimes, feeling the overwhelming suffering in the world… weird.

 

[Kitties]

I don't even think of meat, cheese or eggs as being food anymore. I don't consider eating, serving or shopping for them anymore. My natural diet is vegan now. It's not extreme, it's just me. And it's great!

Really good post Poppy. And something I need to read right now.

 

[melissuhbabe]

I've been a vegetarian for going on 6 years & decided I want to be a vegan now, just realizing my makeup was never even vegetarian does anyone know 100% vegan makeup/ shampoo/ deodorant/ anything cosmetic I should know about ? this all seems so overwhelming, like certain fruits sprayed with pesticides & so much I need to focus on now I feel like I'm gonna fail at it .

 

[Second Summer]

I've been a vegetarian for going on 6 years & decided I want to be a vegan now, just realizing my makeup was never even vegetarian does anyone know 100% vegan makeup/ shampoo/ deodorant/ anything cosmetic I should know about ? this all seems so overwhelming, like certain fruits sprayed with pesticides & so much I need to focus on now I feel like I'm gonna fail at it .

It's a great thing that you've made this realization. Don't whack yourself over the head too much for not realizing earlier. And don't feel too discouraged by the immensity of the problem. The important thing is that you try to and want to do the right thing now

Which country are you in? Cosmetics, brands and such tend to be different in different countries.

In the UK at least, e.g. Lush has vegan-acceptable cosmetics. (They are very strong-smelling tho, in my experience.) And Kingfisher has nice toothpastes. There are many other brands as well I think, but I don't know too much about it. I don't use a lot of cosmetic etc. products. Mostly just hand lotion, shampoo, soap, toothpaste ...

 

[Bite Size Vegan]

I've been a vegetarian for going on 6 years & decided I want to be a vegan now, just realizing my makeup was never even vegetarian does anyone know 100% vegan makeup/ shampoo/ deodorant/ anything cosmetic I should know about ? this all seems so overwhelming, like certain fruits sprayed with pesticides & so much I need to focus on now I feel like I'm gonna fail at it .

for simplicity's sake, you can always just shop from sites like http://www.veganessentials.com. i actually have a list of vegan shopping resources on my Links page under "Shopping". that way you can just shop around without having to read labels and fret!