People often wonder why, given the social stigma associated with the word “vegan,” I wouldn’t just call myself “plant-based,” which is apparently way more palatable to the mainstream.
There are several answers to this, the first one being, I am not all that interested in being palatable. I am interested in living according to my values. If my being vegan upsets you, well, there’s the “back” button.
The second answer is that to me, “plant-based” is a diet. It’s a fad, to be perfectly honest, like Keto or Paleo or whatever the hell the newest “eat all the bacon you want” thing is, just in a different direction. A large percentage of people who call themselves “plant based” are doing so merely to lose weight.
This irritates me mightily because we know diets don’t work, and I can tell you firsthand that eating only plant foods does not guarantee any particular health outcome (there’s no meat in a French fry). So when people decide that their plant-based diet is way too hard because it doesn’t offer enough pleasure or satisfaction (which I get in spades from non-diet vegan food, by the way), they quit, often becoming the dreaded “ex-vegan” who evangelizes against the entire lifestyle despite never having really lived it. Basically, dieters don’t make good lifelong vegans because dieting is bullshit, and a diet of bullshit is only sustainable long-term for flies, mushrooms, and people who watch Fox News.
Important side note: Many people who have issues with eating a vegan diet forget that you still have to eat enough. If your overall caloric intake has dropped of course you’re going to feel like hell! EAT! If you eat a varied diet with sufficient calories, it will be very difficult for you to become medically deficient in anything, especially protein. When was the last time you heard someone mention the actual medical term for the condition caused by protein deficiency?**
That brings me back to my overall point: Veganism is not just a diet. It encompasses far, far more than what you eat. The definition of veganism, as offered by The Vegan Society (whose leadership actually coined the term “vegan”), is,
Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. [italics are mine]
When I say I’m a vegan what I mean is that I try to follow this definition, not just that I don’t eat meat, dairy, or eggs. I also practice compassionate consumerism when it comes to household products, clothing, shoes, accessories, body care, and more.
There are of course areas I don’t have much control over. No sane vegan would tell people to stop taking their antidepressants because they might have animal products in them – or because they were almost certainly tested on animals. (If anyone ever tells you to do this, run away.) Note that the definition says, “as far as is possible and practicable.” If I don’t take my meds, I may commit suicide one day, which means I can no longer advocate for animals (or the environment or minorities or anyone else), so I choose to stay mentally healthy and try to make the world a more compassionate place.
There is NO SUCH THING as 100% vegan. It’s just not possible. At some point you’re gonna step on a bug. We live by consuming living things; that’s just how being alive works. Vegans are not ignorant of this fact. We make an informed choice to cause the least harm we can in every way we can…and we do the best we can. Sometimes we fall short. Humans do.
Thus, I personally eschew the term “plant-based eater” because it’s a one-dimensional phrase, typically bandied about by fatphobic dieters, that only covers one part of my vegan practice.
Yes, I consider it a practice, and a vital spiritual one at that. I chose to call it that because it reminds me that, as with any other kind of practice, perfection is not attainable and that’s okay; I can only keep doing better than the day before. It also reminds me that these choices are as much a part of my spirituality as any other. My meditation practice, devotional practice, divinatory practice, and vegan practice are all strands in my wee spiritual web. They all inform each other and in many ways depend upon each other.
** kwashiorkor