Today i will inquire further into a topic that might be provocative to some but out of an intellectual and social motivation it is a necessity. In addition to that i happen to be in the midst of all this since i have become Vegan on a personal, social, professional and ideological level. 'Know thyself' as per the saying!
It would not have occurred to me that there would be such an issue as Vegan Elitism until i queried Google for it. As i have previously mentioned what attracted me to Veganism most was the genuine kindness of the Vegan people that i encountered. My professional activity that i am involved in did not impose on me to become vegan or vegetarian since the purpose was to find sustainable food solutions and not an ideological reason. The purpose was, and remains, environmental and humanitarian above other considerations. Veganism became a personal choice because i saw in it the spirit of sacrifice and love for life in general.
But being inquisitive i did turn my attention to the issues of Social and Intellectual elitism and since the economics of Veganism practiced in the Western World place it in a socio-economic environment that can easily be considered elitist it is important for me to inquire further into this matter. The contradiction is that Vegetarianism, in the general view, is an Ideology that is practiced in the less favored 3rd world. The largest population being in India . And what is also interesting is that querying Google for the term ' vegetarian elitism ' brings up results mostly for Vegan elitism. So it seems the issue is directly related to Veganism and not Vegetarianism, knowing that the latter is older and practiced by a much larger population. Very curious situation.
Since I have not had the chance to examine this in all of it's details yet and since it will require more time i will open this subject and return to share whatever results i will find. In the meantime i invite all who can share to do so because it is a very sensitive issue and because it directly impacts our community and it's future.
It would not have occurred to me that there would be such an issue as Vegan Elitism until i queried Google for it. As i have previously mentioned what attracted me to Veganism most was the genuine kindness of the Vegan people that i encountered. My professional activity that i am involved in did not impose on me to become vegan or vegetarian since the purpose was to find sustainable food solutions and not an ideological reason. The purpose was, and remains, environmental and humanitarian above other considerations. Veganism became a personal choice because i saw in it the spirit of sacrifice and love for life in general.
But being inquisitive i did turn my attention to the issues of Social and Intellectual elitism and since the economics of Veganism practiced in the Western World place it in a socio-economic environment that can easily be considered elitist it is important for me to inquire further into this matter. The contradiction is that Vegetarianism, in the general view, is an Ideology that is practiced in the less favored 3rd world. The largest population being in India . And what is also interesting is that querying Google for the term ' vegetarian elitism ' brings up results mostly for Vegan elitism. So it seems the issue is directly related to Veganism and not Vegetarianism, knowing that the latter is older and practiced by a much larger population. Very curious situation.
Since I have not had the chance to examine this in all of it's details yet and since it will require more time i will open this subject and return to share whatever results i will find. In the meantime i invite all who can share to do so because it is a very sensitive issue and because it directly impacts our community and it's future.
