Is it possible not to eat animals and not be vegan?

Consistency

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Many people become vegan because of how animals are treated and enslaved however I didn't stop eating animals because of the mistreatment of animals. I was ignorant of it.

I stopped eating meat because I was in a constant mental state of delirium caused by the many Mercury fillings that were placed in my teeth as a child.

Eating mainly a lot of carrots, broccoli and cauliflower helped with removing the Mercury out of my brain.

I don't feel vegan even though by definition I am. Is it possible not to eat animals and not be considered vegan?
 
Yes all sorts of people are on a plant-based diet. Vegan is an ethical term.

Mercury dental fillings are most strongly correlated with anxiety and panic, not complete mental delirium. I had mine removed several years ago.

Cilantro is actually proven to bind heavy metals to detox them from your body. It's most commonly found in Mexican, Indian, Thai and Vietnamese food. I don't know that eating a diet of cruciferous vegetables and little else would actually "remove mercury" from your "brain."
 
I find it annoying how meat eaters equate not eating animal products with being a vegan and their condescending nature towards those who do not eat animals. This is what mainly bothers me. How do I tell anyone that I'm managing my mercury poisoning without the pity from them when the majority have the belief that mercury fillings don't cause problems?

Mercury poisoning is correlated with nervous system degeneration. The number of mercury fillings placed at once would indicate whether someone would experience acute mercury poisoning or not and genetic polymorphisms since we have different genes. While you experienced anxiety and panic. I experienced what you experienced plus delirium and parkinsons neurodegeneration for 10 years until I changed what I was eating.

Metallothionein proteins are the proteins that remove heavy metals from the body. There is some research that points to the importance of Vitamin A and D to produce these proteins. It would be a gross understatement if I said that carrots didn't save me. Cruciferous vegetables are the best source of digestible protein for me since I can't tolerate beans.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17018868
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3857634
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3480513
 
Maybe there is a solution to the condescending nature of meat eaters. How do you vegans deal with them?

I understand where meat eaters are coming from though. I met a vegan professor in person once. He had this smug delusional superiority about him and the questions he asked weren't appropriate to ask when first meeting someone.
 
Maybe there is a solution to the condescending nature of meat eaters. How do you vegans deal with them?

I understand where meat eaters are coming from though. I met a vegan professor in person once. He had this smug delusional superiority about him and the questions he asked weren't appropriate to ask when first meeting someone.

Usually it is meat eaters who are smug and superior acting. I had a professor who was a hunter who constantly made rude jokes about vegans. A lot of times meat eaters will be blatantly rude to a vegan in their group about choosing a restaurant or bringing snacks, just ignoring that there's a vegan with them. It kind of reminds me of white privilege ...where a person is so conditioned to a certain cultural way of being that they don't even THINK about your differences, and when you point them out, they get mad that you mentioned another culture even exists and should be taken into consideration.
 
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I understand what you're saying and it takes a much higher level of awareness to be humble. There isn't a way to coexist with meat eaters. The answer for me is to just move.
 
I understand what you're saying and it takes a much higher level of awareness to be humble. There isn't a way to coexist with meat eaters. The answer for me is to just move.

to just move on? if so, i agree. there's no point getting upset with meat eaters or what they say - there's too many of them :-(
 
There are many things you can call yourself if you are uncomfortable with 'vegan'. As Forest Nymph mentioned "plant based" is one, "starchivore" is another, "WFPB whole food plant based" another. We became starchivores for health reasons and the animal issues have become more important as we educated ourselves. Veganism is not just about food so if it isn't appropriate to call yourself one, then it may be better not to label yourself at all.

Just be yourself, eat what you feel is best for you and don't worry what others think. Live by example.

Emma JC
 
Move as in move to a different province. I'm thinking of moving to someplace around Vancouver and then vacation south to the states for 6 months during the winter time.

There are many things you can call yourself if you are uncomfortable with 'vegan'. As Forest Nymph mentioned "plant based" is one, "starchivore" is another, "WFPB whole food plant based" another. We became starchivores for health reasons and the animal issues have become more important as we educated ourselves. Veganism is not just about food so if it isn't appropriate to call yourself one, then it may be better not to label yourself at all.

Just be yourself, eat what you feel is best for you and don't worry what others think. Live by example.

Emma JC

Yea. I don't label myself or like labels.

I'm not worrying at all what others think.

I've always been autonomous by nature and this autonomy prevents me from being part of the herd or be labeled or be conditioned. Thank you for writing this because it made me see that I need to move away from relatives.
 
I feel veganism has to include an ethical position against violence against animals. Someone can have a vegan diet but they're plant based (semantics to me personally, as I consider them useful allies).
 
I completely understand this post. Labels are detrimental in many ways. Although I stopped eating & using animal products for ethical reasons, I cringe whenever someone (non vegan) asks if I'm a vegan. I usually sidestep the question by focusing on their reason for asking (i.e. "Do you have vegan options available? I love vegan food!").

The problem with labels in general is you immediately become associated with a stereotype. As the OP pointed out, to some meat eaters the term "vegan" is derogatory, much like the term "liberal", so you're immediately at a disadvantage to those who are unfamiliar or antagonistic toward those groups. That's just the nature of humans and labels.

I'm glad the term exists, for the sake of explaining yourself to a waiter in 50 words or less. But as a social and moral descriptor, "vegan" can cause a lot of problems. It would be great if one day it would be accepted as a normal scientific word like "herbivore" or "biped", without people getting their speedos all twisted up. But I won't hold my breath.
 
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I feel like turning "vegan" into a derogatory term and propagating stereotypes is a way for culture at large to dominate and suppress us, just as derogatory terms and negative stereotypes have been used against minorities of all kinds.

I think calling yourself a vegan serves to promote veganism. Not everyone on a plant based diet is vegan. But people who are vegan in practice and in ethics should have the courage to own it. Stereotypes don't get dismantled by remaining unseen.
 
Many people become vegan because of how animals are treated and enslaved however I didn't stop eating animals because of the mistreatment of animals. I was ignorant of it.

I stopped eating meat because I was in a constant mental state of delirium caused by the many Mercury fillings that were placed in my teeth as a child.

Eating mainly a lot of carrots, broccoli and cauliflower helped with removing the Mercury out of my brain.

I don't feel vegan even though by definition I am. Is it possible not to eat animals and not be considered vegan?

The term "Vegan" was coined by a man who defined it primarily as a diet. The term was later adopted by some animal rights activists who took over the organization, kicked him out and changed the definition to include animal rights. It went so far as to call anyone who was not an animal rights advocate a "non-vegan", even if they ate no animal products at all. Membership went down considerably, which, of course, helps no people hoping for support and helps less animals.

I feel Watson's definition is strong enough to be a guideline but also strict enough to discourage many people. The diet he described is that of no animal products whatsoever, and also includes only whole foods. Most people (including yours truly), struggle to be completely whole food, but do keep out all animal products.

If you dislike the term "vegan" for whatever reason, just adopt something like "strict vegetarian" if that's how you are eating. At the very least, you won't have qualms of conscience over killing some rats invading your home that threaten giving you a disease, a mosquito after your flesh that may do likewise, or a venomous snake, or have to worry about how your ethics are less than a horse's when you want to get rid of a fly but don't want to swat it, lol.
 
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