The Mischievous Vegan: It’s Difficult Being A Vegan Warrior3

By Malloreigh

I admit that my vegan newswire articles have been a struggle for me to write lately. I’ve been avoiding the comments altogether, and I’ve aborted a few attempts at articles. Why? I just find the backlash difficult.

Recently we had a discussion in the SG Vegans group about how difficult it can be to be a “vegan warrior” in a world of people who don’t want to hear about it. Some people who responded to the topic try their best to frame their dietary choices in least ethical way, because they find that calling it a “moral choice” gets bad reactions. Others choose to avoid talking about their veganism entirely.

The thing that gets my goat is why we feel we have to avoid talking about our choices at all. It really bothers me that the reactions we get to our lifestyle choices are bad enough to change the way we talk about them. When asked about our diets, shouldn’t we be free to tell people why we’ve chosen them? But people consider it intrusive, judgmental preaching when we do.

Sure, I could go around telling people I’m vegan because I’m healthier this way. Often enough, that is what I do, because I’m not in the mood for an argument or a lecture every time someone finds out I’m vegan. But to tell you the truth – I’m vegan because I don’t want to support a system that treats animals like commodities. I’m vegan because every living being deserves a right to a dignified life. I’m vegan because our food system is environmentally destructive and we are alienated from our food. I don’t think it’s right and I don’t want to support it.

More than that, though, I honestly feel that the world would be a better place if more people thought about where their food comes from. That doesn’t necessarily mean being vegan, but it does mean being a conscious consumer, and eventually, dietary changes follow conscious consumption. Maybe I have too much faith in the inherent goodness of people, but I don’t like to think anyone could look into where most of their food comes from and be able to justify it to themselves in any honest way.

I won’t read the comments to this blog post because it is too painful for me to deal with the arguments, the refutations, the apathy, the defensiveness. I am passionate about changing our food systems to be less cruel and more sustainable, and I am dedicated to consuming food in a way that is supportive of that dream. It is difficult to see so much apathy and opposition.

While you’re here, why don’t you make this salad dressing?

ORANGE-CARDAMOM SALAD DRESSING

• 1 small mandarin orange or clementine, peeled and sectioned
• 1 tablespoon vinegar – I used orange muscat champagne vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Pinch nutmeg
• Pinch cardamom
• Pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Puree and serve over salad.