Article by: Marine Elia | Graphic by: Caden Speakman and Maggie Hall You’ve heard about it on TV, you’ve seen the labels at the grocery store, and maybe you've even come into contact with people who embrace these beliefs. In the past two years, veganism has risen to new controversial heights—a polarization equivalent to that of the presidential election. Tensions have come to a point where it seems as if everyone is either retweeting anti-vegan propaganda that manifests itself in the form of memes, or buying veggie bacon quinoa at Whole Foods. Yet on both sides, there seems to be a lack of understanding of what it truly means to be vegan.
At its simplest definition, vegans do not consume or purchase animal products. Considering that over 90 million people in the United States are living with obesity due to diets overflowing with saturated fats, this leaves a large percentage of the American population at risk for innumerable diseases that arise from being overweight. This is where veganism proves to be medically beneficial: vegans have reduced cancer rates of up to 25%. Beyond the superficial classification of a vegan, there are other non-dietary reasons to make the switch to this lifestyle. Environmental and ethical values are also fundamental to a vegan perspective. Large factory farms use considerable amounts of energy as well as contributing carbon emissions that pollute the air. A diet free from meat, dairy, and eggs cut personal carbon emissions in half. When it comes to the topic of ethics in these large scale factory farms, I get why vegans are so outspoken. Animals should not be thrust together in cages to the point where their mobility is obstructed. Yet, animals are a resource humans have turned to since we first evolved: they provide us with nourishment, clothing, medicine, and shelter. I have the utmost respect to vegans for having the willpower to resist bacon, but the type of vegan I can’t support are the “trend vegans.” Trend vegans are those who become vegan after they see that a Kardashian recently made the switch. These types of vegans are lured by advertising on food packagings, brand names, and are wholly easily influenceable. Trend vegans may just want something to rant about with no actual facts or passion behind their motivations other than celebrity culture. Although you may be vegan, a flexitarian, or a full-on carnivore, it isn’t anyone’s right to shame others and dictate what they chose to put into their own bodies. I want to live in a world where I can have lunch with a vegan who won’t cringe once I utter the letters “BLT” in my order. So if you’re thinking about going vegan, go ahead and pour coconut milk into your cereal, and blend your avocado-kale smoothies—but don’t expect me to eat fillet mignon flavored tofu.
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