Hello out there.... brand new to this
Please bear with me as I might ask some pretty dumb questions over the next few weeks or months as I get use to this. A few years ago I has a scare with my health and decided to straighten up. I cut down on red meat and started exercising more. As my health improved I totally got off the redmeat and was just eatting poultry and fish along with more fresh vegetables, grains, etc.
I've always wanted to go totally vegetarian but always crashed... until about 2 weeks ago. I watched "If Slaughterhouse had glass walls" and it upset me so much that as of that moment I went vegetarian.
First stupid question.... I never liked eggs or dairy products that much anyway so taking them out of my diet was, and still is easy... does that make me a vegan??
Thanks from the only vegetarian/vegan? I know...
Hi! Welcome to vegweb and congrats for going veg!
I'm not a vegan myself - slowly working toward it.
From what I understand, being vegan means not eating any animal products, (milk, eggs, honey, etc) not wearing animals, (leather, silk, fur, wool) and not using products tested on animals.
Basically being vegan means not using any product that involves animals... to the best of your ability anyway.
I think a person that doesn't eat animal products, but still uses other animal products (like buying leather shoes), is known as a strict vegetarian. But I could be wrong.
Hope that helps.
:)
Thank you... I guess I'm a strict vegetarian. I was wondering what to put on my profile since I don't eat dairy or eggs but am not a vegan.
Hi Randy!
You can always say 'I follow a vegan diet' or 'I eat a plant based diet' or 'I'm strictly herbivorous' or 'I eat vegan'... or (since no one but you gets to decide it!) you can use vegan or strict vegetarian, or anything else you like, if you wanna label yourself by what-you-do-mostly or by what you're working towards... Not everyone agrees with me, but as long as you're trying to get the animal junk out of your world, at whatever pace-- a lotta folks take a while to get completely away from pre-vegan products like leather shoes, b/c of cost of replacement or whatever... anyway, i think it's what you aim for/ strive for/ DO that matters, not what you call yourself... just, if you DO say 'I am "a vegan" ' some few may aggrieve you for using (x) product or clothing, during the transitional period while you're still imperfect at it... sad but true; grain o' salt time, imo! Intention matters, as well as actions; vegan perfection in all things is not a mandatory prerequisite/ gold standard for using the word... There's no penalty anyone can impose upon you for using what the "wrong" label... Generally just reflect on it a bit, use your own best judgment, and do whatever seems most comfortable & sensible to you.
Personally I avoid all the better-known plant-diet labels, just to keep the focus on actions vs names (w/ omnis & veg-heads both) & away from petty bickering... Group-ID labels have a way of drawing dividing lines between people, it seems to me, which I don't like-- especially among people (like the veg community) who are more alike than different.
Glad you're making the change! whatever you do or don't call yourself: good work! & welcome to VW!
;)b
Its going to take a while before I get the animal products totally out of my life but I'm making progress little by little. What use to take 25 minutes to shop now takes me an hour and a half due to reading labels.
I've already made a few changes at work... I work at a Correctional Institution and have already replaced my leather belt, cuff holder and key holder with synthetic materials and am looking for swat style boots that fit the bill. I have a few close coworkers who are supportive and the rest of my friends and coworkers look at me like I'm crazy but are always asking me how I lost 45 pounds and look younger than I did 4 years ago... I'll switch a few over but its going to take time, I'm working on the wife right now. ;)b
Randy
If you find boots, let me know. I still wear leather boots at work because I need steel-toed safety boots.
I sure will....
Welcome Randy.
We all know how it is to have people look at us like we're crazy. . . just before they excuse themselves to go take their Lipator and Lopressor. THEN they come back winded and asked how you've lost weight and how do you get your protein? :)
There are no dumb questions here. Everyone here is very supportive of each other, it's the vegan nature.
Thanks RS..
Heres a website in England that has leather free boots... tactical, safety, etc... http://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk/
I'm going to check them out.
Randy
Hi Randy....It sounds like you're working your way towards total veganism which is awesome. It took me almost a year to become total vegan after switching my diet. What I did was one by one replace the things in my closet, bathroom and house that wasn't vegan. It's a process and none of us are perfect.
If you're a dietary vegan now, then put vegan in your profile by all means. In my opinion.
Hi Randy....iSounds like you're working your way towards total veganism which is awesome. It took me almost a year to become total vegan after switching my diet. What I did was one by one replace the things in my closet, bathroom and house that wasn't vegan. It's a process and none of us are perfect.
If you're a diety vegan now, then put vegan in your profile by all means. In my opinion.
lol, at first i read this as 'if you're a *dirty vegan*''... ;D
Actually, i quite like that-- new label, everyone: if you're working towards veganism, but not totally there yet, and want a group-ID label that feels accurate... maybe you're a Dirty Vegan: doesn't that sound sexy?! i think it's bound to make more omnis curious & eager to try it!
Tweety, ur so cool: even when I totally misread your comments, they're *still* smart. ;)b
Sounds good, thanks all. I think I'm going to like this place!! ^-^
Randy
Groan....silly me.
There are a lot of "dirty vegans" on this site. Watch out for us...I mean them.
I absolutely read that as "dirty vegan" too and really liked the name!
I'll be a "Dirty Vegan"... sounds cooool ;)b
Just tried my first Tofu recipe... BBQ Tofu. I found out the hard way spicy BBQ sauce is not the way to go (should read the label a little more closely). Not bad.
Randy