Who are you?
My name’s Kip, or Catherine if you prefer, and I’m an American living about 30 miles South of London (the one in England, not Canada). If you want to read all about me, you can read all about me here.
Why vegan, not vegetarian?
For 18 years I practised a vegetarian lifestyle. In 2009 I broke down and realised that based on my own personal convictions I was in denial and vegetarianism wasn’t enough for me. Vegetarianism directly supports suffering, and that realisation was the final straw in my choice to become vegan.
Issues of the environment, extreme poverty, and civil rights are today’s concerns, and all of them are negatively impacted by the animal industry. I could no longer support such an industry because I realised those issues meant more to me than slapping a “save the planet” bumper sticker on my car.
So do you hate meat eaters?
Eating meat makes me uncomfortable, but if I cut off communication with people who believe differently than me then I’d be alone. I have more success with my cause by being kind and passing along facts without evangelism. I know I don’t like when someone preaches to me, so I’m going to assume you feel the same way.
Don’t you miss having food that has flavour?
This is one of the age-old myths of veganism. I eat a greater variety of food and incorporate more unique flavours into my meals than any omnivore I know. Change means shifting from usual habits, and in this case that shift inevitably leads to diversifying the entire approach to food.
Is it really possible to be vegan?
The short answer? No. Unless you’re completely self-sufficient and have never relied on anything outside your own mind and hands, you’ll never know what you are and aren’t supporting behind the scenes. That scenario is impossible in this day, so the best we can do is our best. If you had a room of 10,000 vegans, you’d have 10,000 different opinions.
I do what I think is best, my best, making choices that attempt align my values with my actions.
Yo! I’ve got a question you didn’t answer!
Feel free to contact me and I’ll try my hardest to answer, or pass along any resources I think may be of use.
