Yes, I’m vegan. No, I’m not an activist.
Current Mood:
Angry
Hi there, I’m vegan. That means that I don’t eat meat or any animal products. I am vegan for my health. Low fat, zero cholesterol, high energy. And flavor. I never really started eating good stuff until I started cooking vegan food.
When I tell people that I am vegan, I will often see a bit of a cringe, as though I am going to start preaching at them. Did I preach at them before? No. Am I going to start protesting in front of your fridge? Nope. If you ask me about it, I’ll be glad to talk to you, but I’m not going to preach at you. It’s a sad state, however, that people automatically expect me to preach at them about killing the cute little animals just because I’m vegan; I’m more likely to preach at you about the health concerns. I don’t dig the poor treatment of animals. I get the activism. I’m in your corner, activist folks, animals should be treated humanely. Wearing fur sucks. But I’m not an activist.
I agree that more people need to know where food comes from. More people need to know what Big Ag does to produce the massive amounts of food. More people need to learn about the health risks of eating a diet high in meat and animal products. However, they are more likely to laugh at the activists that complain about irrelevant things, thus minimizing the big picture of the poor treatment of livestock, then eat another hamburger. People like that produce things like this. They think that all vegans are whiny activists that only want to complain. Oh wait, I’m complaining, now aren’t I? 
I recently started talking on Twitter to a teenage girl that’s learning about farming, and has some farm animals, via 4H. She likes to talk about her 4H experiences, but is repeatedly attacked by activists about factory farming. She’s not factory farming, you morons. Not every farmer stuffs their cows into tiny little stalls where they will live until they collapse and die. Some farmers actually put their cows out to pasture, feed them good stuff, and take great care of them without shooting them up with rBGH. Yes, her critters get antibiotics, it’s called responsible animal ownership. Would you deny you children antibiotics if they were ill? Honestly people, not every farmer is a “factory farmer.” You know the stories of back in the olden days when people had fields of crops and pigs rolling in the mud and chickens pecking at worms in the coop? Those farmers still exist. And they are some of the hardest working people in the world. But when I tell them that I am vegan, it’s like I’ve told them that I am a vampire and they want to hold up the sign of the cross to me.
I totally respect farmers. That’s where our food comes from! If you, as an activist, don’t like Big Ag, go after Big Ag. Don’t go after mom and pop farmers who are just trying to make some money digging in the dirt and raising animals like people have been doing for thousands of years.
Yes, factory farms exist, and they suck. Big Ag is an unspeakable evil with their horrid, inhumane treatment. However, not every farmer is Big Ag. Not every farmer grows giant fields of GM corn and soy. Not every farmer shoves as many animals as they can into a tiny space where they will live until they die. And hey farmers, not every vegan is an activist.
“Oh my goodness, it’s naked people!”
*eye roll*
Wrong. Ever wonder why people stare at your kid while they are “exploring”? Because your kid is running around, getting into everything, bothering others, and generally being a little hellion. And because you choose to ignore it, they will only get worse. Perhaps if you’d unplug your cell phone from your head and pay attention to them they would be better behaved. Perhaps if you didn’t stuff them full of 
Let me share a story to illustrate: We were at a restaurant (a rare treat out for us), and there was a child climbing all over the back of a booth. It was one of those round corner booths with the triangular shape on the back. He’d climb on it and jump off onto siblings, climb under the table and run around, and was just being a generally rotten kid. As most people were studiously ignoring, I stared with disbelief. Not so much at the kid, but at the parents who were allowing this behavior. The family was ignoring it almost as much as the other patrons. Seriously? Do you think this is appropriate behavior? You are free tell your 8 year old, “Sit down and eat your food. If you are finished, you are welcome to color, but we do not act out in public.” As they were leaving, the woman hissed at me “My son is autistic!” That was all it took. She was using his diagnosis as a cure-all for his poor behavior. Don’t get me wrong, autism is difficult to deal with, both as an parent and as a child. But as a parent, it is our responsibility to teach our children how to be 
So, because you’re so busy with 
“When I have kids, I’m going to give them everything I didn’t have.” Common phrase, and a noble one. It often shows a potential parent’s determination to provide well for their child, which is very good, indeed. However, this sometimes translates into giving into a child’s every whim and desire. As they grow up, they are catered to like little princes and princesses. And that’s just what they are going to act like… Little royalty that expect everyone to give everything to them, just because they demand it. This, coupled with the fast food, I believe is one of the major reasons that we have so many obese children, along with… inactivity. Kids don’t play outside. They don’t ride bikes. Part of this is due to our society’s paranoia over the crazies in the world, but mostly it’s due to parental laziness of not wanting to tend to their child while they are participating in an outdoor activity. Thus we get lazy little video game zombies.
Cool
