'No such thing as a vegan' apparently!

[CrazyCatLady]

I'm guessing some of you have seen this before. I was just wondering about a few of them and whether they are even true (or whether it was phased out in the past) and if so, are there vegan alternatives.
Glass. Insulation. Plaster. Emery boards. Wall paper. Paint. Cement. Ceramics. Chalk. Fireworks. Antifreeze.

 

[AeryFairy]

Yeah, those are all uses for parts of dead animals. We're resourceful buggers, us humans. Obviously, we know of alternatives to a lot of these things (cosmetics, toiletries, glues, gelatine). I'd wager that there are alternatives for at least most of the others - how widespread their use is will depend entirely on whether the animal version is more cost-effective than the vegan one.

And therein lies the eventual outcome of widespread vegetarianism/veganism. Less meat demanded means less meat produced and less meat byproducts, driving prices up, and making vegan versions of things the more cost effective method. A vegan is someone who avoids animal products as far as is possible and practical in their situation (in order to contribute to this effort, usually).

Conclusion: there is such thing as a vegan. Sadly, there is also such thing as idiots who think that because you can't avoid all animal products, you shouldn't make an effort to avoid any.

 

[Pickle Juice]

I just counter that image with this one.

 

[Freesia]

From the Defensive bingo, the one I cannot understand the most and the one that I saw recently on Tumblr was the one which talks about not climbing up the food chain to eat plants. I mean, really? Do people really derive some satisfaction from that? Who would even want to climb up a food chain? Wow what an achievement, you are at the top of the food chain, here's a medal.

 

[Second Summer]

From the Defensive bingo, the one I cannot understand the most and the one that I saw recently on Tumblr was the one which talks about not climbing up the food chain to eat plants. I mean, really? Do people really derive some satisfaction from that? Who would even want to climb up a food chain? Wow what an achievement, you are at the top of the food chain, here's a medal.

I guess to people who have nothing else to take pride in, that is something to cling to and from which to derive a sense of self-esteem. But nah, I don't think anyone says this seriously. It's something they say to try and be funny and brush under the carpet the fact that eating animals is cruel and unnecessary, because changing their lifestyle is too inconvenient.

 

[beancounter]

I just counter that image with this one.

I got the "ailment must be caused by lack of meat" argument once. I took public transportation in to the city, and was constantly exposed to a lot of sick people, and subsequently got lots of colds...obvious cause and effect. But to this lady, it had to be from lack of meat (She drove to work)

 

[SummerRain]

Conclusion: there is such thing as a vegan. Sadly, there is also such thing as idiots who think that because you can't avoid all animal products, you shouldn't make an effort to avoid any.

Yeah I agree, I don't really understand the thought process. Even if there was "no such thing as a vegan" I still wouldn't eat and use the animal products I don't eat and use now. It's like, sometimes you can't avoid hurting peoples feelings but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on being nice and just insult everyone I meet because, well, there's no such thing as a person who doesn't hurt peoples feelings!

 

[Freesia]

I guess to people who have nothing else to take pride in, that is something to cling to and from which to derive a sense of self-esteem. But nah, I don't think anyone says this seriously. It's something they say to try and be funny and brush under the carpet the fact that eating animals is cruel and unnecessary, because changing their lifestyle is too inconvenient.

Maybe that is it. I will never get it.

 

[Josh James xVx]

Sometimes it's best to take it back to square one and zoom in on what matters:

Knowing this, the issue for thoughtful, compassionate people isn’t, "Is this vegan?" Rather, the important question is: "Which choice leads to less suffering?" Our guide shouldn’t be an endless list of ingredients, but rather doing our absolute best to stop cruelty to animals. Veganism is important, not as an end in itself, but as a powerful tool for opposing the horrors of factory farms and industrial slaughterhouses.
This moves the discussion away from finding a definition or avoiding a certain product, and into the realm of effective advocacy -- advocacy in the broadest sense, in every aspect of our lives. In other words, the focus isn’t so much our personal beliefs or specific choices, but rather the animals and their suffering.

^Some people like to think any moral decision is all or nothing. "If I'm not personally perfect, it's like I'm not trying at all!"

Imagine if we applied such thinking to every area of our lives and not just veganism. "I accidentally threw the empty water bottle into the regular trash and not the recycle bin today. That means I can't be an environmentalist any more. Might as well not even try!"

Isn't that absurd? And yet that's what people try to make veganism - an endless list of ingredients and a pursuit of personal purity. Misguided, I say. The ones in cages suffer and die less based on simple choices. Instead of memorizing huge lists of ingredients, let's be good role models and educate others on suffering. Vegan is just a word but their suffering is real.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Even though I think the cartoon was an attack on veganism. All it's done is make me research further into what I'm using and where it's come from.
I wasn't too sure about emery boards being made from bone, couldn't find much on it. But instead I treated myself to a glass nail file which is meant to be better anyway xxx

 

[IamJen]

Are we really gonna have the "vegan is just a word" discussion again? I am by no means a purist but words have meaning.

 

[ledboots]

I will bet we could come up with a different caption to that.
Conclusion: People can be disgusting.

 

[Dedalus]

I just counter that image with this one.

View attachment 1450

I could have blacked out this card in less than 30 days of being vegan. Omni's get no points for creativity, that's for sure.

 

[Envy]

 

[Lord Snot]

Even though I think the cartoon was an attack on veganism. All it's done is make me research further into what I'm using and where it's come from.
I wasn't too sure about emery boards being made from bone, couldn't find much on it. But instead I treated myself to a glass nail file which is meant to be better anyway xxx

I saw it that way too, it just made me think more about the products I use and what alternatives there are (e.g. glass nail files, as much as they make me shudder!). But when I posted it a few years ago on another board I got the same reaction as you, which I found interesting.

 

[Dedalus]

Mine:

 

[Blobbenstein]

 

[Tom L.]

I just counter that image with this one.

View attachment 1450

Sadly, I've heard ALL of that nonsense- mostly on-line. Not as quickly as Dedalus heard them all, though...

I didn't know about blood being in pasta, imitatyion eggs, or cake mix though. (Not that this grosses me out any more than eating any other tissues from a cow's body)

From the Defensive bingo, the one I cannot understand the most and the one that I saw recently on Tumblr was the one which talks about not climbing up the food chain to eat plants. I mean, really? Do people really derive some satisfaction from that? Who would even want to climb up a food chain? Wow what an achievement, you are at the top of the food chain, here's a medal.

The only thing I like about being "at the top of the food chain" is that nobody can eat ME.

(cue the theme music from "Jaws")

Well... ALMOST nobody...

*hauls butt out of the water fast, looks around for a shark-size harpoon*

 

[Freesia]

If anyone posts that picture, you can always post this in response: