Go Vegan Or Die

Good morning my friends! Welcome to my first December blog...

"Go Vegan Or Die!" These words are scraped into the sidewalk at the corner of Gilman & San Pablo in Berkeley, CA. Seriously. Right in front of the Chinese place. Go check it out if you want. While I applaud the author's enthusiasm, it could be a bit frightening to those who are still in the dark on this issue. So, as your culinary tour guide, I figured that I may attempt to shed a little light on the subject.

Firstly, who are vegans? Well, vegans aren't fanatics in the wilderness sharing a lingering embrace with an oak tree. Vegans are much like you and I. They are individuals with a strong system of beliefs that have made life choices based on those beliefs. So what is veganism? Veganism is a sustainable lifestyle that is based on getting all that we, as people, need from the earth through plants and such. It's largely characterized by the absence of using animals or animal byproducts as a means for food, clothing, cosmetics, etc.

So then why all the animosity toward vegans? Most people view vegans as left-wing liberal, environmentalist, tree hugging fanatics on the fringe of society and, while this may be true of some, most aren't. In fact, they're regular people just like us who have decided not to consume animal products. And I support that notion, though I have tried and have miserably failed at a vegan lifestyle. However, at the root of most of the public distaste for veganism lies two things: ignorance and unease. This post should help with the misunderstanding of it, but the reason we are uncomfortable around vegans speaks to something deeper. It is not the intent of these individuals to make us feel guilty about what and how much we consume. Instead they choose this lifestyle out of a concerted effort to conserve and to save. Or because their favorite celebrity is vegan, but I digress. Veganism is fundamentally about sustainability, which is an end that we should all strive toward in any way that we can. Whether that be through veganism or through consuming only sustainably raised products, we should take steps toward being more concious of our consumption. And I mean a holistic awareness. Not just how it effects the earth but how we effect one another through what we consume. Veganism isn't for everyone, but sustainability is. And if we can make the effort to understand one another, then we could learn how to live and eat more responsibly.

Eating responsibly one day at a time,

Jordan