Is Flexitarian Cheating?
Posted by Valdus on Oct 16, 2010 · Member since Oct 2010 · 25 posts
Before I begin...
1. I live in New Orleans, decadence capital of the U.S. (Vegas is an amateur)
2. I realize discussions about Vegan/Vegetarianism is like having a debate in a Star Trek convention about who is the best captain (Picard, of course)- sooner or later a chair or a table is going to fly.
That being said I am a Vewbie (Veg Newbie) and I am trying to figure out how this whole knew lifestyle (which I love STAMINA + IMAGINATION= VEGETARIAN) will fit into my Nawlins social life. I am debating being a vegan in my house, within my powers, and a ovo-lacto Veg outside the confines of my domain. I mean you look at a menu here in the Big Easy and it becomes the MIGHTY HARD real quick...
Opinions?
I have not changed my status here.
Live your life, dont succumb to pop culture definitions or ideologies.
The only person you cheat is yourself; be honest, humble and realistic.
If xyz is you passion, you will find your own path.
I highly doubt anyone here is going to call you out and host a witch hunt.
Do your best, love and be loved. :)
Eric
I agree with Eric. We are all on our own path. Depending on your reasons for going vegetarian or vegan, you may think you're cheating or not. Ultimately, you need to do what is right for you.
And I also agree with vh; if you do eat eggs/dairy (in any setting) don't call yourself a vegan.
I personally, am lacto-veg... though I avoid a lot of dairy (but not all). Some people have asked if I'm vegan and I immediately correct them as to why I'm not to avoid confusion for the actual vegans out there.
Picard better than Kirk? Eeeaaasy there. Haha. But I agree with VH.
Eveyone is different and every step counts. Cutting out meat helps more than eating it, cutting out just eggs helps a little more... cutting out all dietary animal products even more.... and cutting out all animal products one uses (including wool, leather, etc.) helps more still.
The goal should be to do what you think is right for you that will make a difference. I see eating vegan in your home and vegetarian when out as helping more than purchasing cheese and dairy when you are home as well because you are consuming fewer animal products.
Figure out why you want to do this. Decide what your boundaries are.... and don't get caught up on labels. If someone asks, tell them...."I don't eat animal products in my home, but when I go out, I do eat eggs and dairy."
No labels needed ~^_^~
It's not cheating because it's not the same thing. Flexitarian is flexitarian and vegan is vegan. Generally, people here don't care what other people chose to eat. Our concern is that if someone eats animal products they don't tell people they are vegan because it adds to confusion. People will try to feed us all sorts of weird food because they knew a "vegan" who ate it. The boards are self-restricted to discussing vegan food, but we have vegans, vegetarians, and omnis here; your personal food choices are your own.
Do what works for you, but be warned that if you stick around and read about everyone's descriptions of delicious vegan food you may be converted. >:D
It's not cheating, it's just a different lifestyle. Every little bit of animal product that you don't eat is helpful, even if you're not vegan.
But I gotta say, if you're anything like me, I bet you'll get converted eventually. When I was transitioning, there was one day when I went to a party, had the first bit of cheese that I'd had in months, and thought, "You know what? This sucks. I am not going to make exceptions anymore." It just started to taste gross to me after a while. It's more likely than you think!
'To thine own self be true,' & such!The only way you can 'cheat' is if you think something is wrong, but do it anyway... screw what society thinks, or offers, or does: the issue is 'what do YOU think is the right thing to do?' Do that, and it's a win. :-)
I'm in AR, where bacon is regarded as one of the basic food groups... yes, my food ethics have reduced my restaurant spending! but there's usually a way to work around it. Just a matter of learning which restaurants are more user friendly-- surf menus online, call ahead, drop by & pick up a take-out menu before going there with friends... & if a place doesn't have something I want, I can always eat first and go for the company & cocktails! This makes me happier than the convenience would, of just eating what's on offer-- because it's internally pleasing, to my best self; not just going with the flow of social norms I think are wrong.
That said, it took me a good while to get to where I am now re: eating habits... 'flexitarian' is often a stop along the line; keep thinking things through, and the way you approach food will continue to evolve until you find the way that works best for you... like HH said, vegweb recipes have been known to put flexitarians at risk for full conversion!
;)
Live your life, dont succumb to pop culture definitions or ideologies.
The only person you cheat is yourself; be honest, humble and realistic.
If xyz is you passion, you will find your own path.
I highly doubt anyone here is going to call you out and host a witch hunt.
Do your best, love and be loved. :)
Eric
This. Pigeonholes are for pigeons. If anyone wants to label you, just put on your Teflon suit and let it slide. The person who gets their panties in a bunch over what you or I do is the first person who would react with anger if we did it to them. So be who you are. We are who we are and we do what we do. And if someone else wants to judge that, then that's SEP. (Someone Else's Problem).
I think this thread not only just made me realize how wise veggies are, :) but made me realize there is alot of good wisdom out there that is just a simple joy to hear... so kudos my friends! WELL SAID! WELL SAID EVERYONE!
I've always been irked by the title "Flexitarian"... it's like "I'm a vegetarian, except for when I eat meat." There's like this disconnect. It's not vegetarian or even pescetarian, it's omni-lite. It's always bothered me, the use of that term.
But honestly, it's your life, if you want to lead a most veg lifestyle with a little bit of meat, it's all on you. There's no cult or membership dues, you don't have someone leaning over you and checking. And everyone has their opinions on things; like I consider myself vegan, but I'm sure some people here wouldn't because I eat honey but refrain from all else. It's all just trying to make easy labels for your day to day.
damn honey!! just sub agave nectar! same thing and soooo easy to sub <3
damn honey!! just sub agave nectar! same thing and soooo easy to sub <3
I have Agave Nectar as well, but for the most part, I'm an environmental vegan. Honey production is actually really useful to pollenate all the rest of the crops we enjoy. Anyways, try as I might, whenever a bee comes near me (Or a spider or other creepy crawly) they get a good whacking. So, I kind of find not eating honey but killing bees in person a little hypocritical on my part.
Agave nectar is not produced in my part of the world, which makes it prohibitively expensive, huge on carbon footprint, and sometimes contaminated due to the places it's imported from. As I have no control over those things, I choose not to use it.
I can't speak for the US honey industry but here the bees are treated with enormous care and respect by their keepers...there's quite a mystique around the keeping of bees. They're considered nearly magical beings by many local beekeepers. Offending your bees is considered a recipe for disaster.
sigh.
Who are we to decide when it's ok to take something from another being? Something that they use for THEIR survival and THEIR livelihood.
Well, that's what a debate is. People agree to disagree.
I wasn't questioning what a debate is?
Agave nectar is not produced in my part of the world, which makes it prohibitively expensive, huge on carbon footprint, and sometimes contaminated due to the places it's imported from. As I have no control over those things, I choose not to use it.
I can't speak for the US honey industry but here the bees are treated with enormous care and respect by their keepers...there's quite a mystique around the keeping of bees. They're considered nearly magical beings by many local beekeepers. Offending your bees is considered a recipe for disaster.
Reality= agave nectar sometimes is/ sometimes isn't the best option... absolutism for its own sake serves no one but the believer, imo. PS: bees are awesomely cool! Glad they're well respected by apiarists there... unlike the corporate travel-pollinators that do more bee-harm than small-scale honey producers, for monocropped agribusiness fruit/veg crops in the US...
(poke)-->
Anyhow-- i suppose that's not 'flexitarian' convo, that's 'honey' thread-- segue alert!--... guess we've BTDT...
I've heard vegetarians that consume honey referred to as beegan before and even this silly title is more appropriate than vegan for them, :'(. Forget if the bees care if the honey is taken from them or if the bees are worshiped or respected, it's consumption of an animal product. Honey contains stomach acids and enzymes from inside the bees body that processes the pollen. Honey is nothing more than bee regurgitation or throw up and it is no more vegan than dairy or eggs.
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