CUNT OF DOOM! (and other cute stuff): Re: “Dear Vegan” shitstorm
The thread was getting too long to reblog, so I’ll just put my two cents here.
Classism and ablism are some of the main things that totally alienate me from the vast majority of animal rights groups I’ve encountered (aka all of them) despite the fact that I am a vegan and believe in animal…
You know, I’m poor and disabled***, and I’ve been vegan (for 4 months), vegetarian (for several years) and everything in between. I currently eat animal products. I’m not evil, and yes, I care about animals.
Veganism is difficult. It’s nearly impossible to do if you’re poor. Let’s talk about this for a second. First of all, you’ll need vitamins and supplements, because you cannot get the RDA of everything you need from a vegan diet alone. This is fact, people. So, that’s ~$30 a month out of your pocket right there.
If you’re lucky enough to live near a grocery store, you’re not going to be able to feed your family substantial meals with tofu and organic kale. Theoretically, these items may be cheaper than meat and animal products, but they’re difficult to find, and most importantly, they take time to prepare. Seriously, people? In what universe do the working poor and middle-class have spare time to spend preparing vegan meals? Or—-god, this one was hilarious—-start a garden?
Chances are, however, that if you are poor, you don’t even live near a grocery store (especially not a Whole Foods), so you can forget about fresh food, anyway. You’re stuck with whatever the convenience store offers, and I’ve got a hunch that it isn’t vegan.
Most reasonable people understand all of the above, but one thing about this shitstorm that is really irritating me is that no one is talking about eating disorders. For those of us who are recovering from an ED, a vegan diet is fucking dangerous. It’s not highly caloric, and it breeds obsession over “good” foods and “bad” foods, which can ultimately lead to relapse.
I know plenty of nice vegans and vegetarians. But as for you holier-than-thou vegans? When you preach this classist bullshit, you’re alienating everyone, and you’re not doing a very good job of recruiting people to join your cause. You just look stupid.
*** I get an SSDI check every month (as well as food stamps; it’s automatic) and I’m on Medicaid. I am, however, extremely lucky to be living with my mom, who doesn’t make much, but we manage. I don’t receive nearly enough money to live on my own, so if my mom moves in with her boyfriend and I do end up getting my own apartment, I will definitely still need financial support from her. We are much better off now than we were when I was a child. The idea of my single, teenaged, drug-addicted, working mother cooking her 2-year old vegan food is fucking hysterical.
Word on all of this. I can’t believe I’m actually seeing people within these threads squalling out “I’M POOR AND I’M STILL VEGAN AND IT’S NOT THAT HARD” because seriously, have we NOT LEARNED that one person’s personal experience cannot possibly stand for an entire class? I mean, sure, anyone can be vegan on a budget if they don’t mind cutting out all the actually nutritive elements of their diet, which are the expensive ones. Try convincing, say, a new single mother to do that with her baby. Or sure, we could all have our own vegetable gardens; try proposing that to the woman with two jobs and little more than a windowbox.
Just because you manage, doesn’t mean other people can. And like humorlessfeminist says, this is NOT the way to convince people to go vegan. Change will come from bullying the government to create healthy-eating initiatives (NOT “anti-obesity” ones), lowering the cost of vegetables, sponsoring co-ops etc. It will NOT come from bullying other consumers, particularly shaming other poor people because they’re not as awesome at coping with it as you might be.
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pluseyes: humorlessfeminist: CUNT OF DOOM! (and other cute stuff): Re: “Dear Vegan”...
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