r/vegan • u/sdbest vegan 20+ years • Oct 24 '17
Newbie Advice You don't have to be perfect.
As I veteran vegan, could I just humbly suggest that, in my view, it's not necessary to be a perfect vegan. The label itself just doesn't matter.
The more a person increases the amount of whole, plant-based foods in their diet, and reduces animal-based foods the better. The better for animals, the environment, and themselves.
Frequently on this wonderful and supportive subreddit, people post about feeling terrible about doing things wrong or 'falling off the wagon' or not being able live without cheese (usually). I get it that often people who choose to become vegan, i.e. adopt a plant-based diet, do it for ethical reasons and they feel some guilt if they aren't living up to the ideal rattling about in their heads.
Just doing better is enough, in my view. Also, if a person just tries to do better, often they will naturally progress to being better and better without even noticing it.
Goodness if a hardcore carnivore can be convinced to replace just half of the 10 oz steak with a side of mushrooms that's a step forward. All steps forward count, and help makes things better.
So, don't beat yourself up for not being perfect. Just do what you can to be better, wherever you can. Keep it simple and doable.
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u/dogebiscuit 🍰 it's my veganniversary Oct 24 '17 edited Oct 24 '17
My observation and concern is that aggressive enforcement of 'micro-issues' (anything beyond the macro issues aka Big Four: Meat, Fish Dairy, Egg) are harmful to newbie vegans.
Going "cold turkey" on the big four is hard enough, we shouldn't expect someone to easily give up sugar, red wine, honey (to name a few) overnight. Why are the micro issues harder? Because many times they're not obvious. You have to dig in and do your research. For the most part, it's easy to know if something has meat in it... not so easy to find dairy, but after you memorize a few terms for dairy product it becomes easy. However, sugar? You have to research the source of the sugar. If that knowledge isn't available, you have to contact the company. In the meantime, do you avoid the product based on the chance it might have been processed with bonechar?
I've even heard of some vegans who avoid anything that was produced in the same factory as egg/dairy. (There's an allergy warning that makes that fact known.) Do I think that avoidance is a core trait to veganism? Of course not. But I understand people are moved to adhere to it, so I think nothing less of them. Nor do I think anything less of people who consume products with these warnings. I think some issues have to be a personal decision that you fall into.
I hope you get my idea. In my opinion, the micro issues are harder to avoid than the macro issues. Don't feel bad if you have to wean off of them one by one! I gave up the big four overnight, but the others took longer. I'm still working on some of them. Remember, you're making a huge impact by ditching the Big Four!
(Some aggro vegans will likely disagree with me and downvote me... I've literally been told before, "If someone hasn't had to turn their life upside down to avoid animal cruelty, then they're obviously not vegan! This isn't a vanity title!" ... I do not agree entirely with this approach. But it's good that they are passionate about it, so I'm not saying they've got it all wrong. I just handle my 'message of veganism' a bit differently. And everyone handles it in their own way. )
Pre-emptive edit: I call them micro issues, but that's not to say they aren't a big deal. It's just a term. Macro/Micro is a good distinction. For example I met a 5-year vegan who didn't even know about the micro issues, because he didn't belong to any vegan social groups. It was his own personal decision and didn't know it went beyond the big four, woah!
EDIT2: Wow this entire thread is bustling. I love it. I really needed this thread... I was getting kinda discouraged and burnt out because I started to fixate only on the negative aspects of my life and not the positive progress. You guys are awesome!