Since starting to convert to my vegan(ish) diet I have been struck by the way in which my non-vegan friends and family see veganism as an absolute. In fact, now that I think about I think many within the vegan community see it as an absolute too.
It seems that it is acceptable to be vegan(ish) if you are transitioning to a fully vegan diet but this transition is ultimately a road to being a full time and exclusive vegan otherwise you are a vegetarian or an omnivore.
I have been very open with friends and family about trying a vegan diet which seems to invite instant interest in what I put in my mouth. At a relatives house, I had a cup of tea, they only had cows milk so since I dislike black tea more than I dislike cows milk I gratefully accepted a splash of cows milk in my brew. This choice was then followed by “oh, so you’re not vegan anymore” comments.
On another occasion, I dared to eat a piece of non-vegan cheese. Now, cheese is my weakness and since 1 January I have avoided it 99% of the time. I am still in pursuit of a vegan cheese that I enjoy! But I am human after all and occasionally give in to temptation. More comments of “ that’s not vegan, why are you eating that?”, “given up on being a vegan already?” followed.
Let’s just put a side for a minute that this attitude irritates the hell out of me! I mean, do I critically evaluate everything that every friend or relative puts in their mouth… no I don’t! And why is that? Because it is each persons choice what they do/ do not eat! Rant over…. let’s get on with the blog…….
What interests me about this issue is that it is a blatant double standard. If an omnivore eats a meal that would be considered vegetarian or vegan no one says ‘oh, are you veggie now?’ as an omnivore no one expects every meal you eat to 100% comply with the omnivorous ethos (i.e. animal, vegetable, mineral) so why are those with alternative diets held to a different standard.
If someone eats a vegan diet all the time but allows themselves one non-vegan meal a week/ month, are they not vegan? or if a vegetarian occasionally consumes a bacon rasher are they out of the veggie club?
To me, this concept is ridiculous. For me, all diets are a spectrum you can be a devout vegan who NEVER eats animal products or you can eat a vegan diet most the time and occasionally give in to cheesey temptation, you can still call yourself a vegan if you want to. Or you can not label your diet at all and say, ‘do you know what? I eat what I want, when I want. Sometimes that might be defined as vegan and sometimes it’s not’ and do you know what? That’s ok, you don’t have to have a dietary label if you don’t want to!
In my head I see diets as an overlapping or interlinking circles, maybe like a Venn diagram! You can position yourself anywhere in that diagram ……..the choice is entirely yours!!
Thanks for reading….. x
Vegan(ish) 