Falling off the Wagon?

Just read a post by The Brown Vegan about how she "fell off the wagon"  during December. I found it to be very interesting that she treats her biological makeup as a disease or an addiction.

 I have run into one or two vegans who followed the lifestyle due to actual medical issues (Two actually, both of whom do not make the needed stomach enzymes to digest meat.) The rest seem to be a mishmash of self righteous Prigs and poorly educated Fluffs.

 Let's look at the self-righteous Prigs first. These are the people who scream "Our animal sisters/brothers are not food!" Really? If you look at the evolutionary tree, the Australopithecus Boisei was a species of early human ancestor who evolved to eat woody plant material, much like the modern panda. The Boisei died out because the plant-only diet did not allow for the development of larger brains needed to survive as a species. The Neanderthal, however, embraced not only meat, but large quantities when they found it. With the added protein and fat, they developed much larger and more complex brains, able to cope with changes and adapt. And if you look at the animal population as a whole, the most successful creatures in it are usually the predators.

 And going back to the whole "not for food" issue, how do they explain the relationship of Native peoples who view animals not only as a good source, but as their "sisters and brothers"? Animals were killed for food, and thanked for giving up their life so the People could live. When I've asked this question of the Prigs, I have gotten much angry bile spewed in my direction, but no real answers.

 The Prigs seem to be a sad and depressed group of people. I do not believe that I have met a truly happy Prig vegan, someone who has adopted the lifestyle easily, and has no cravings for animal products. They seem to be obsessive, sad angry people. These are the people who will scream at you in public because you are eating a hamburger, or whip out a copy of Diet For A Small Planet at the restaurant and shove it in your face because you didn't order the veggie plate. (I've had both happen to me.) They spend their entire day thinking about animal products and berating themselves for doing so, justifying their dietary choice as vocally as possible, and figuring out ways to make vegetables turn into meat. Ugh, vital wheat gluten and tempeh.

 Now, don't get me wrong, I cook much veg/vegan foods, and have made some pretty tasty faux meat dishes. (My vegetarian haggis is awesome!) I have also raised my own meat, helped with slaughter and did the butchering. I think part of what is wrong with the angry vegans is that they are treating a biological need as some sort of horrible disease or addiction, and it throws off their entire chi, or well being, or balance, or whatever you want to call it.

 Then there are the Fluff vegans. These people have no real clue about nutrition, medicine or biology. They are the ones who claim that humans have evolved past eating meat, and it is a vile and vulgar practice that is weighing down the species from evolving to its next higher conscience, or some such thing, and keeping us engaged in wars. They claim that meat is poison, and the cause of every single cancer and disease. The ones of this variety of vegan seem to be less angry, more accepting of not eating meat. They usually don't scream at you about ordering a steak, but they do sigh and give you those looks during dinner, and some will try to convince you that giving up animal products is what your body and soul needs, and they are only looking out for your best interests, of course. These hardy souls usually eschew even the thought of fake meat, and tend more towards imaginative cooking of vegetable products. They also tend to be more accepting of non-vegetarians, if not less judgemental.The Enchanted Broccoli Forest is one of the examples of great vegetarian food that isn't trying desperately to become a meat substitute.

 I have no issues with either kind, as long as they are not trying to convert me, or making it impossible to enjoy a meal with them. I think a better solution is to buy humanely raised meat, preferably from a small local producer. This is unfortunately still very expensive, and many people will not be able to. Another option is to cut your portions to the recommended amount, which is around the size of a pack of playing cards, and buy organic humanely raised meat in your local grocery store, if possible.

 There is a third group of vegetarians I don't put in this group are the economic vegetarians. These people are giving up buying meat, because they just flat can't afford it, but are happy to eat meat when it is offered to them for cheap or free. This is actually becoming more common, due to the craptacular economy. Many of these type of vegetarians have also had to start growing as much of their own veg as possible, which is a good thing in that they do get exercise and fresh produce that they know exactly where it came from, and what went into growing it.

 If you want to quit consuming animal products for whatever reason, good for you. I don't need an excuse or explanation, I'm sure your reason seems good to you, and that is really the only thing that matters. However, this does not give you the right to hassle others about their dietary choices.