On Your Soapbox - Vegan Voice

My “On Your Soapbox” piece in the current issue (No.45 Mar-May 2011) of Vegan Voice magazine.

How did you get into this vegan thing?

The thing that genuinely perplexes me is how I didn’t get into it earlier. As a child, I adored animals and wanted to protect them. If I saw a bullfight on TV, it would render me hysterical for hours. Teachers at school often deferred to me when there was an injured or trapped animal on the grounds, and I set up an environment club in primary school to help promote a respect for nature and animals amongst the kids. But I never made that connection between the meat I ate and this concern I had for animals. It surprises me, as I was an inquisitive child – I constantly drove my parents mad with questions!

My older sister Alison became a vegetarian in 1995 when I was 15, and when she embarks on something there are no half measures – she thoroughly researches it. She started reading anything she could get her hands on about vegetarianism and factory farming. I remember she had a copy of Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation. I was curious and also had a look. I couldn’t believe what I was reading, and as someone who grew up with a strong sense of justice and who professed to care about animals, the decision to become a vegetarian was completely logical to me. As soon as I made that decision, my commitment was solid and I never even questioned it. Giving up meat made sense to me on every level, and I wasn’t tempted to eat it ever again.

Several months later Alison announced she was going to become vegan. When she explained why – the cruelty and suffering central to milk and egg production – right away I knew I could not justify eating animal products any longer. I started transitioning to veganism shortly after that.

Back then, I was - and still am - obsessed with a vegan band called Propagandhi. Their song Nailing Descartes to the Wall/ (Liquid) Meat is Still Murder has the lyrics: “I have recognised one form of oppression, now I recognise the rest”. As someone concerned about injustice, that completely resonated with me. It was around then that my understanding evolved and I began to see the bigger picture - how all oppression is connected. It doesn’t make sense to vigorously reject one form but not another. I could see the hypocrisy in my past actions. I connected the dots, so to speak.

Talk to us about food.

I’m lucky - my partner is an amazing cook. He makes the kind of food that shocks the pants off non-vegans. I thrive on vegetables so I eat lots of raw vegetables every day. I am obsessed with avocado and tahini and eat both daily. There is an Indonesian potato and tempeh dish that is my favourite dish ever. I also love anything with pastry, like pies or spinach and tofu “ricotta” scrolls – we make those at home. We also make Mexican food a lot.

We went to Vietnam a year ago and the vegan food there is spectacular – we had no problem at all finding stuff to eat. We also discovered a vegan restaurant where the food is so ridiculously good we are considering going back for an extended trip just to eat there again!

What pisses you off?

Ignorance. And people who choose to live in ignorance because they are scared of the truth. I wish people questioned things more – I’m surprised that so many people just accept things at face value.

I think it’s true that our natural curiousity is somewhat stifled from the day we are born through socialisation and society. However, I don’t think it’s adequate to attribute people’s ignorance – for example, not knowing about how meat is produced – solely to societal influence. People have the ability to look around, learn, and challenge what they see. What a world we’d live in if people did that more!

I have spent a lot of time doing conservation and rehabilitation work with wildlife in Asia. Tourists go on holidays and many don’t question what they see. Many pay to have their photo taken with a tiger or a baby animal such as a gibbon, or they ride an elephant. How do they not notice that the tiger is living in squalid conditions and that he has been drugged in order to provide them with entertainment? Why don’t they wonder why that baby is on the streets and not in her natural habitat with her family? How can people view it acceptable that an elephant is reduced to a vehicle for their misguided pleasure? Why don’t people reject this? Their actions are contributing to species depletion while inflicting extreme cruelty. It absolutely incenses me.

And of course the fact that people don’t question – or refuse to think about – the way that animals are used, abused and destroyed just so that they can eat their body parts. Humans profess to value life so dearly, and many have a great fear of pain and death. Yet, they are so willing to impose pain and death on others without even a second thought.

Consumerism, and how the planet is being treated as if it’s dispensable, drives me mad. The planet is being destroyed for trivia – just look at all the pointless products in shops which are a waste of resources and will likely never biodegrade.

Nutritionists who dish out the same tired old advice to eat three serves of dairy a day infuriate me. How on earth could it be possible that human health depends on the milk meant for the growing baby of a different species? I mean, come on! Are they joking? The absolute stupidity would be funny if the consequences of their advice weren’t so cruel. The fact that most nutritionists don’t actually research nutrition, and merely regurgitate what they read in a textbook, is astounding.

The worst thing that we could ever commit against a human being, and this is pretty much universal, is murder. It is never considered humane. However, the word “humane” has become closely associated with the marketing of animal products. It is used constantly to hoodwink people into thinking the products are ethically acceptable. It is a dangerous precedent to set, when people come to believe some of these products are produced in an ethical fashion. It seems that giving an animal two more centimetres of cage to languish in is “humane”. This is a complete corruption of the meaning of the word, and something we have to fight against. In reality, there’s no ambiguity - to consume animal products is to endorse the view that the exploitation and domination of others for profit is acceptable.

What’s hard about being vegan?

The only thing that is hard about it is the negative reaction of many non-vegans, such as their willingness to deride vegans for their beliefs. Veganism is a part of me; it’s part of my life philosophy, my value system. So it insults me to my core.

I get frustrated when non-vegans squirm and say “that’s awful”, and shield their ears when they hear about the cruelty inflicted on food animals. They have the power to change that awful reality, yet most don’t.

Also, when people find out I’m vegan and say, “wow, you must have a lot of willpower”. It has absolutely nothing to do with willpower. It’s the expression of my central values – compassion, justice and equality. I dislike it when people frame it like that, as I believe it’s a distortion of veganism. It also makes it seem completely unattainable, which it most certainly isn’t.

What's the most rewarding thing about being vegan?

Not being a part of the horrid system that systematically kills sentient beings and treats them as mere consumer products is very important to me.

I was a very shy child, and I actually credit veganism with giving me more confidence in myself as it triggered a lot of self-reflection. And the opposition to my decision from others inadvertently made me stronger, as I refined my ability to be able to defend myself well in an argument!

Being a vegan is easy – striving to live a compassionate life is simply the best thing you can do. It’s liberating. Knowing that I am living my values means everything.

Why is it so difficult to get people to do it then?

Many are too lazy. They think the status quo is easier. And people have been told from a young age that eating animal products is normal, and most don’t challenge it unfortunately.

The meat, dairy and egg industries are underpinned and sanctioned by the government. This gives them a legitimacy which makes it easy to convince people that their products are necessary. Their relentless marketing also reinforces this message.

Many people think veganism is all about sacrifice; consequently they fear depriving themselves of anything. I honestly think that is one of the main factors. We live in a society which prizes individualism, where people compete and aspire to have more all the time. It’s become such an “on-demand” culture, and people feel they should be allowed to have access to whatever they want, whenever they want it. That is most definitely born of the consumerist mindset imposed on us by the capitalist system.

On top of that, many are disconnected from and are actually frightened of nature and the other creatures sharing this planet. That terrifies me.

What would you like to say to every single non-vegan on the planet (if you had an enormous megaphone)?

Do you really think that your taste buds are more important than our environment, the lives of all the animals you eat, and your own health? Read some books, learn the issues, and watch some videos of what actually happens to the animals you consume. There was no divine plan – humans aren’t superior to anyone or anything. We are simply one element of a massive planet; we place too much importance on ourselves as being number one. We aren’t.

Where do you hope the world will be in five years?

Awake. Concerned about the future. Ready to tackle the pervasive greed and destruction which is threatening to swallow the planet whole. Attuned to the needs of the environment and all the creatures, human and non-human, that populate it.

Read any good books lately?

I have been studying journalism full time this last year so I’ve had much less time to read books than I would have liked. However my sister recently gave me a book called Making a Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights by Bob Torres. He co-authored Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World which is a brilliant book. I’m a few chapters in and am finding it very compelling. The book examines the link between the exploitative treatment of humans and the domination of animals under capitalism.

Give us a miscellaneous rant.

The idea that vegans don’t eat animal products simply because they “love” animals is a flawed, but popular, perception. You know, that view that we’re just an overly sentimental bunch. It is a very simplistic way of analysing the motivations behind veganism.

Saying that veganism is merely driven by a love for animals undermines the notion of rights. It frames veganism within the needs and emotions of humans, rather than the intrinsic right of all creatures to freedom and self-determination. It detracts from a deeper analysis of the issues.

I strenuously believe in animal rights; “love” is a misleading term. I love the concept of respect and rights for all species.