Just like the title says, it's hard! I'm not talking about giving up foods I like or meeting dietary needs. I get plenty of protein, and I manage just fine with plant-based iron (consuming vitamin c with plant-based iron makes for easier bodily absorption). What makes it hard is that I'm also an environmentalist. One would think that the two would compliment each other with ease. No. That's only on an ideal Earth. We don't live there. Here's the thing, I also knit and crochet. Any vegans reading this would instantly think, just use plant based fibers and don't use wool, use acrylic. Ah, acrylic. Seems like such an easy answer and I used to think it was. Then I found out where that stuff comes from. Acrylic yarn comes from oil. As in petroleum oil. As in the stuff that's spilled all over the world, destroying habitats and killing animals. As in the stuff that gov'ts send people to war over and die needless deaths. Death, pain and destruction.
See? Told you being vegan was hard. So it's a matter of using animal fiber or using acrylic. Which is worse? I decided to weigh the two. Wool from animals treated humanely versus acrylic and all that I know that's associated with petroleum. And I get it, we can't completely escape oil at this time. It surrounds us in many forms, but if I can opt out or at least cut down on usage, shouldn't I? So after literally a few hours of thought and not all at once, I came to the conclusion to use animal fibers from animals treated humanely.
Now I know some out there will say that humane is a myth and will even reference the website. No. No. No. No. It's not a myth. Yes, there are companies out there who are blatantly lying and trying to find loopholes in the law so that they don't have to be truly humane, but that doesn't apply to every farm. And before you start, you know just as well as I that you haven't been to every farm on the planet, so just don't even go there. Not only that, it's possible to visit farms that treat animals humanely and I've even seen a few. So just don't start with me.
Anyway, so the issue of wool got me thinking more about what it is to be vegan. The truly hard core vegans say that no animal should be used by humans for any reason ever. Before you get on that high horse, and I know you're about to, check out these two lists:
https://www.co-operative.coop/upload/planbee/docs/crops_pollinated_by_bees.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated_by_bees
If you eat and/or use anything on these lists, you have a problem. Here's why. Bee farmers will actually load up all or most of their bees on 18 wheeler trucks and ship them to huge farms all over the country to pollinate these plants. How do I know? Watch the documentary "The Vanishing of the Bees". Personally, I've yet to form a yea or nay opinion on this issue. But what I do know is that veganism can cause one to forget that they too are a part of the web of life, not above or beyond it. Life consumes life and it doesn't discriminate on the type and guess what. There is nothing wrong with that. It's all part of how life is sustained in this world. The problem is the environmental impact factory farming has on people and planet. The problem is how we treat the animal before we consume it.
Seriously, does a cow need to be beaten nearly to death in order to get to one's dinner table? Absolutely not. So I'm not gonna tell you to not eat meat. That's your business, and I'm not your mother. But if you want to try to lessen your impact on the planet and vote with your dollar, here are a few sites that can help. Well at least those in the U.S.
http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Home
http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok
I'm sure some will preach about why no one should eat animals. I say we should simply accept the reality that not everyone will agree. You may not like it but it's true and it's time to get over it.
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