Flambé Vegetarians & Vegans! : Why are they Hated On So Much?

in #steempress6 years ago (edited)



In 1978 my father sat over the dinner table whilst my sister and I ate sausage casserole and told us how cows were killed. Whether or not this was what made me, at 5 years old, decide to become a vegetarian or not, I don't know. Perhaps it was because I was in awe of my father, or perhaps it was that my mother didn't give us a choice at home. She took herself off to a vegetarian cooking class and learnt how to cook us nutritious, balanced and tasty meals. To this day, my father still begs for those lentil rissoles she learnt to make back then. We'd sit at the table as she cooked and handed us red peppers and raw cabbage, telling us we needed it to absorb iron and other cooking tips that became part of my repertoire today. I never felt the need to eat growing up, and it was so normal for us (my best friend's family were also vegetarian) that eating left over vegie sausage and beansprout sandwiches was a point of pride as we cringed over those we believed less privileged for having white bread and thick slabs of butter and jam, or salami and cheese. We lived on a surfing coast with a lot of health conscious people and hippies that knew about vegetarian food and didn't have a problem with it.

Whilst my family turned vegetarian for health reasons in the '70's, reluctant to eat hormone stuffed chicken or deli meats full of chemicals, their reason for continuing for some 30 odd years are more ethical than that, knowing that their choice leads to a healthier planet and keeps their conscious clean. They might not

Image result for ahimsa cause no harm

know the term 'ahimsa', but 'thou shall not harm' was always an underlying premise, and one that we keep in the forefront of our mind too in our own meal choices.

They eat eggs, but never caged eggs, and they do eat fish, but only ethically caught and sustainable (which is getting few and far between). I stopped being vegetarian in my early 30's, although I rarely eat meat and only eat meat that's been wild caught or ethically farmed with an awareness of our place in the ecosystem. I still go through a bit of an ethical dilemma about that, but I live with a man who can't eat a lot of the foods necessary for protein such as legumes and nuts which make him seriously ill, so a compromise must be reached. Remember, ahimsa is driven by good intention - we can't cause harm to ourselves either. I imagine some vegans reading this will be triggered by this, but I can't do much about that. I have had a comment here saying: 'You're vegan, @riverflows? Then I like you even more.', making me feel a little queasy - you mean, if I'm not, you're going to hate on me? But I'm not really here for a debate on my food choices - more the - why the hate?

The number of vegetarians in Australia has risen from 1.7 million people in 2012 to 2.1 million today – a rise from 9.7 per cent to 11.2 per cent of Australians, according to a Ray Morgan survey in 2016. Whilst finding a vegetarian option at a pub or restaurant used to be underheard of (vegetarian lasagne was decidedly cheesey and full of overcooked vegetables, or you might be lucky to get a mushroom risotto), now you can find a middle eastern walnut pilaf with quinoa balls or an eggplant moussaka and many menu items may contain a sharp 'V', indicating a vegan option, next to the 'GF' (gluten free) if you're really lucky. But then, I live within 1.5 hours of Melbourne, and that's a foodies delight where vegetarian and vegan restaurants are nearly a dime a dozen. Being a vegetarian has never been easier, and if you're a vegan, easier still - there are so many trendy vegan restaurants and cafes opening up.

My experience over the years of being vegetarian was never particularly awful - just the slight inconvenience of insisting that my food was cooked in foil on the barbie so as not to get meat juices or asking 'what kind of stock is in the soup?' at a cafe and hoping it was vegetable, or trying not to worry about it if it was. Of course, we'd get the usual jibes about how tasty bacon was or the lip smacking raves about pork ribs, but we'd just brush them off with good humour. Most people would make an effort if you were coming to dinner, having that one vegetarian dish up their sleeve that everyone would enjoy. This is much the same way I cater for my coeliac friend - no bother, I say, I can figure out something tasty for you!

Whilst it may have been fairly normal in my 'hood, it's not everywhere - people do seem to really, really hate vegans and vegetarians so much. I can imagine the Christmas party conversations right now - I've heard them alot of the years.

  • Are you going on about animal cruelty again? Can't I just eat my dinner in peace? Pass me the tomato sauce.
  • Of course I love animals. This cow is delicious!
  • Stop it with your holier than thou. I see your shoes are made of leather and there's a dead fly in your champagne, which isn't vegan either by the way!
  • What do you call a vegan guy who likes to pleasure himself? A non-dairy creamer. What, you can't take a joke?
  • My grandpa never ate a vegetable his entire life and died at 103.
  • I couldn't give up bacon!
  • Look at you, too skinny. You need a bit of meat to fatten you up!

Writer Richard Cornish, who wrote a book about giving up meat for a year, says of his experience, arguing that vegetarians and vegans are bullied and hated in Australia and our culture is caught in a cycle of overreliance on meat. If you want to see a quick snippet of what this might look like, check out this lamb ad where a vegan's apartment is flambéd under Operation Boomerang which recalled Australians from overseas in a military operation lest they miss out lamb on Australia Day. The ad drew considerable (and understandable) ire from the vegan population.

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The lamb ads are always controversial, which of course helps sell their product. The star of the first add slammed vegetarians as 'soap avoiding, pot smoking vegetarians may disagree with me, but they can stuffed. They know the way to the airport', linking Australian masculinity and indeed Australian belonging to eating meat. And it's not just here either - in England, the editor of Waitrose magazine stood down on suggesting a series called 'Killing Vegans, One by One'. Although he said it was a joke, from the perspective of any group of people it's unacceptable behaviour - jokes about indigenous people were funny at one point in history, and we cringe over that now. Race, diet, sexual choice, opinion, whatever - you don't joke about killing people. Nor do you put meat in their food on the sly, as this guy bragged about on Instagram. That just makes you an utter twat.

I'd be just as critical of vegans who did similar things with the direct intent to cause harm and an express lack of understanding or willingness to embrace personal choice and diversity - except their intent is to cause no harm, and the moral imperative of this is of uttmost importance. Animal cruelty should never be tolerated, nor should environmental issues. And yet we're so willing to turn a blind eye for that for the sake of personal convenience (please remember than it's not personally convenient for me to eat meat - I do it because I believe I'm part of an ecosystem and as long as I make ethical choices, I am not causing harm)

Most people also struggle with empathy - they don't stop to put themselves in other people's shoes and wonder what it might be like for them. People can be quick to judge, believing vegans and vegetarians are 'doing it for the attention' or following a trend and are therefore plain annoying.

How simple it would be if people just did a bit of research with the desire to understand rather than pillory? How simple it would be if non-vegetarians/vegans could do their research to find out why people might choose this diet and see the intention behind it? How simple would it be for people to think more carefully about how they might impact the world with their food choices, let alone their own health?

But then, in this age of intolerance, what is the likelihood?

This was written in response to @ecotrain's QOTW on Steemit, which you can read here. Everyone is welcome to respond!


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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://www.riverflowings.com/?p=116

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I loved reading this! I used to be called in certain circles a "bad hunter" as many folks referred to vegetarians as... This never offended me, and I honestly have a lot more understanding of the situation now that I'm grounding food production.

I often tried to avoid the veganism conversation altogether if there wasn't overt interest, but it can be tough to make a life choice known without going into discussion. That's great you had an early introduction to the healthy vegetarian choices.

"Most people also struggle with empathy - they don't stop to put themselves in other people's shoes and wonder what it might be like for them." I couldn't agree more. On both sides of the discussion this is true. I've heard ppl say that no one should eat meat, or that you can't survive without meat. In too many conversations, it's not about understanding so much as it is about righteousness.

Nowadays I tend to look to the distant past for eating advice. Eat what's around you and don't be picky. Yesterday I ate a raccoon I salvaged from the road and was amazed at how delicious and tender it was. What used to be common fare across this continent is now looked down upon and seen and gross. Food is life that comes in many forms and it's all too common that we create a toxic environment through close-minded views on food.

Thanks for sharing.

-ini

Oh roadkill.. excellent. When we were in England we used to eat roadkill deer. You could take the carcass to a butcher who would portion it up for a fee. And roadkill pheasant was great too. That's one of the reasons I went back to meat as it felt right to do it in that way. Wren said you'd been hunting. I do appreciate that more old school way of foraging own meat rather than buying meat as it is so unethical. I have a mate who drops us off kangaroo or rabbit sometimes which we trade for stuff.

It is always best to avoid toxic debate on food choices. I have never really seen them anywhere but online to be honest.. empathy can be stripped back when we aren't having face to face dialogue.

Thanks for your beautiful comment.

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in this age of intolerance

There has always been intolerance, but I think we're much more tolerant now than we've for a long time and will become more so moving forward as long as we don't allow ourselves to be turned on each other.

I think part of the problem with vegans and vegetarians coming under attack has to do with social media and internet. When you post online you reach a large enough audience to get one or two vegans who might make the emotional attacks. This will naturally get a rise, then the others will come to defend them. Then people form this belief that all vegans just attack. This seems to lead to both sides being continually on the defensive assuming that they are going to be attacked by anyone who is vegan/meateater, when the reality is that most people are quite accepting.

This probably isn't helped by merchandise that advertises the vegan status. Meat eaters don't have t-shirts telling everyone their meat eating status or that they're paleo.

I'm shocked that meat advertising feels it appropriate to make it a joke to in such an aggressive way on the vegan choice. That kind of attitude would actually turn me away from purchasing the product. I guess controversy gets people talking which gives them the attention they're after.

As a meat eater who was a vegetarian for a few years (also quite sick for those few years) it saddens me to see the attacks from both sides. I can't digest a plant only diet well enough to get the nutrition I need to be healthy, but, like you, I'm very aware of the ethics of meat animals. So the silly bacon comments are just exasperating and I hate the attacks on vegans/vegetarians, but it also cuts deep when I see/hear the attacks on meat eaters which can degenerate to the point of saying we should just die. It feels like there is often this conception that every single human is quite capable of living without meat and if we say were aren't, we're lying or just not doing it right. So I am often very wary around vegans because I don't know if I will come under attack. Thankfully, so far everyone I've discussed this with has been perfectly understanding, which just goes to show how easy it is for our misconceptions to drive us.

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Yes, totally agree that it's media/social media that inflames the issue. You're like my husband - he simply CANNOT digest plants as well, and it's not for want of trying - he's so limited in what he can eat, so it's not fair to penalise him or attack him for what is necessary for his survival. Humans have been eating meat a long time. I dont even really think that's the problem, I think it's the WAY we farm meat that's the problem.

Me too, I was quite wary about posting this as I worried I'll lose people here that I quite like, simply because I'm not vego/vegan. You DO feel under attack for eating meat.

And yeah, everyone here is super nice about it and we have intelligent and empathetic conversations, but that's been my lovely experience of STeemit so far. If it was Facebook, I'm sure there would be memes and jokes and cruelty!

Gosh, saying that they should just die makes them total hypocrites, doesn't it? How can you care for one life but not another? If you are asking people for understanding, that's not the way to go about it!

And ugh, yes, those lamb ads generated a lot of controversy - that's their modus operandi. We wait every January to see who they'll offend next. The last one however wasn't bad, they managed to suprise everyone with a message of diversity in Australia. They went a bit far with the burning of the vegan apartment!

ARE YOU THAT OLD!!!!!! :D

Well, the thing is, I guess you had a bad deal of people ahead of you named vegan warriors, which is kind of annoying because eating and being vegan is perfectly fine.

Same thing as that every time that when I eat meat (which I do, just not that much) some hero comes and comes all preaching is just as annoying as the other way around. The whole bottom of it is...we should judge each other on each others eating!
(and drink more wine)

Yes I'm that old lol.... !!!! But I'm still cool... 😎 And agreed!!!

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I'm still pissed of you said are you that old in capital letters... I might just turn my back on you... 😋😋😋

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You are still cool :P
Be happy that I had guessed you younger handsome madame :D

this was very well said/written. I a going to write my tomorrow I think so I won't go into too much detail really. I'm vegan, turned vegetarian when I was 15 and I could never imagine eating meat again, ever for many reasons. But I also do not like being preached too, I have a serious dislike of those who look down there noises at others, regardless of their eating habits. It's time we started looking out for one another xxx

Exactly. I know all the arguments 're not eating meat and agree with them as I was strict vego for over 25 years. But I am at peace too with the choices I make.. I mean the meat we eat is only ever ethically raised and local and I don't have a problem with that. Sure, you might, but you also need to be understanding of my choices and see they come from a place of good intention. Being open.in discussion is important. I also massively respect you for your choices too xx

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I went vegetarian in the 90s and vegan 8 years ago. Everything you said rings true. However, I'm glad people are waking up to the consequences of consuming animal products. What I've noticed is, these days most Gen Xers and millenials I come into contact with when food is around understand why. They don't really push back even if they don't do it themselves. That wasn't the case in the 90s. I was just considered a hippy weirdo. A lot of babyboomers still don't get it and most of the shit I get is from my parent's friends.

Ha that's true!!! Kids these days are AWESOME. Well, the ones I know are anyway.

Did you see them march on parliament here 're climate change?

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No. I don't follow Aussie news. But that pleases me.

Totally. Our prime minister said they should go back to school and learn something .. f**kwit.

I have a veg bestfriend but i grow up not veg, i actually tried a veg diet but i stopped it, i tried it my myself and it was a mess =/ By the way i never understand who discriminate veg people, it's a healthy choiche and i will re try soon as possible

Agreed..silly to discriminate isn't it? Thanks for stopping by. Xx

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To me, the problem is intolerance - which can be present on both fronts. Here in Southern California, there seem to be more militant Vegans than militant meat eaters 😳

I always think about how we ate when we lived close to nature - unrefined foods for sure. Lots of plants of all sorts, insects and whatever else we could put our hands on.

Allan Savory makes a great case for animals saving us from turning land into deserts with his Holistic Management.

We now know that plants have feelings and know how to communicate and such...

I like for us all to concentrate on healthy foods. figuring out how to keep our rivers clean and clear of agricultural pesticide/herbicide and fertilizer runoff and the list goes on. Let's eat clean food that our bodies like.

That's absolutely my priority too... whatever is good for the environment and my own health. I can imagine the militant vegans in California for sure! We could do far better if we worked together but that goes for everything, no?

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Yes!! Teamwork and communities make everything so much easier (or difficult in a different way LOL)

i think turning vegan is a bit like when u find a new religion to believe in, you go a bit religious fanatical at first, then you start to calm down about. my whole family eat meat but i cant hate them for it, even if its not for 'health' reasons like your partner. i just try to show them other options because i think our society is still very meat obsessed and they dont understand what other choice they have to eat, they dont think about the process that meat has gone through and its the blind ignorance that pisses me off, alot of meat still gets wasted and that always upset me even when i was a meat eater.

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