Vegan Cheaters
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Ecorazzi is reporting that Alicia Silverstone is a cheese-eater:
Alicia Silverstone let slip to US Weekly that she sometimes “cheats” a bit on her vegan diet; with dairy being her main weakness.
This is actually very common for newbie vegans to go through a stage where they “cave” and eat something nonvegan. I remember that. My husband had a serious cheese-addiction that was hard to curb. He’d get a slice of cheese pizza once a month while we were transitioning from vegetarian to vegan. But that was all. Just once a month! And eventually he decided he didn’t need any dairy products and he went vegan for good.
For me, my weaknesses were more centered on convenience, not taste. So I caved with things like butter-coated pretzels from the shopping mall or pastas made with egg. If I’d forgotten to pack a vegan snack or check for vegan-friendly restaurants online, I was more liable to slip. The hungrier I got away from home, the less likely it was that I’d eat a truly vegan meal.
Even now, sometimes I’ll eat things that are “accidentally vegan” (may contain some trace animal ingredients). That doesn’t bother me. It just takes time to figure out how to be the kind of vegan you want to be. It takes a little thinking to determine what your priorities are and where you want to spend the most effort. A lot of that depends on why you’re vegan. And it depends on where you start and where you want to end up in your vegan transition.
I’m vegan primarily for animals and secondarily for the environment and my health. Therefor, I choose to live a type of vegan lifestyle that suits my needs and leaves me with enough time and energy to be active for animals. For me, that means I eat an economical cooked foods vegan diet that tends to focus on beans and rice as my main protein source and cheap, available fruits and veggies for most other nutrients along with a daily B12 vitamin or fortified soy milk. I eat out about once a week and I trust that the food preparers and servers will accommodate my vegan needs by asking for vegan items. When mistakes are made, by me or others around me, I just brush it off and move on. That’s how I do my veganism. How do you do yours?
If you’re vegan, what kind of vegan are you and why?
The best is to always bring your packed lunch (or stuff you’ve cooked at home wrapped up in a food-storer, if your workplace/Uni etc has a kitchen somewhere with a microwave in it), so you won’t slip.
Otherwise, I try to find a vegan-friendly place nearby, when I’m out. I try to get to know where they are beforehand.
I am SO disappointed in Alicia! I can’t believe she touts that diet of hers, which I want to follow so badly, and now she cheats on CHEESE! I have been vegan for 1.5 years and I love it. I don’t cheat. Sometimes I eat nonvegan foods on accident, but that is because something isn’t labeled or someone tells me it’s vegan when it really isn’t. I stick by my diet because of what it means to me: a healthier lifestyle and saving animals.
In Alicia’s book, she talks about how animals are treated so cruelly. WELL, she also mentions how she sometimes sneaks her friends’ nonvegan, fish-filled sushi! OK, well, I thought, it’s fish and that’s hard to mock in the vegan world. but still, after she has that hard Superhero diet and walks around like “I am such a good vegan”, I think it’s disgraceful.
I’m pretty much the same kind of vegan you are, Eccentric. I roll with it. I don’t deliberately eat non-vegan foods but sometimes discover that I have eaten some animal products without realizing it. I also will usually order food at a restaurant without giving the waiter the full third degree if I believe the item is usually prepared without animal products.
When I was “transitioning” from vegetarian to vegan I too craved the cheese and occasionally had some. Then came a time when I was simply over it. It was easier than I thought. I understand, though, how one might “slip” from time to time. I am disappointed that Alicia can’t stay on track but I applaud her honesty about it.
I don’t agree with the idea of “it’s ok to cheat.” I’ve been to events where the only thing I could eat was a pickle and some olives so that’s what I ate and waited until I got home to eat something vegan.
If someone is an ethical vegan, how cheating be ok? To me, that’s like saying it’s ok to molest a child sometimes or it’s ok to break the law sometimes.
I’m sure we all eat something that isn’t vegan by accident more times than we would care to know. But to be at a party serving cheese and not stick to your ethics because you “just want” a piece? TO ME, that is not acceptable. I’m tempted all the time by food I miss but I think of the animals and their suffering and that takes care of it.
TO ME, the question isn’t whether it’s ok to cheat sometimes but how is it ever ok for animals to suffer sometimes, how is it ever ok to say “well, I have an urge so this little bit of suffering will be ok this time?” It’s just my opinion, but I honestly don’t get it.
I have to say, I am not a good vegan. I want to be, but I am not. I fail all the time, but I try all the time too and I will keep trying.
I know I make a difference just in the animals I don’t eat. I know I make a difference with each vegan mail I do eat and/or serve.
Will I ever be 100% vegan, probably not. Will I be 75% vegan? I sure I already am hitting that mark.
I’ll keep working to get to that 99.9%
Rebecca
And of coure, that’s a meal … not mail I’m serving!!!
I was vegetarian for years and decided to go “cold turkey” (no pun intended) vegan back in July. I’m happy to report since July 13th I have been 100% vegan. It’s not easy though, and eating out is a real challenge. Giving up cheese was hard for me (primarily cottage cheese as this was my primary source of protien when I was vegetarian). The main thing is that people do what works best for them and any attempt at reducing animal products has a beneficial result on many levels. P.S. The rice cheeses on the market, in my opinion, are better than the soy cheeses
As vegans & vegetarians we are very quick to condemn each other for being “not good enough.” We have to remember that every little bit counts!
Sure, Alicia may not be a perfect vegan (who is?), but she’s doing so much to promote awareness and is encouraging so many others to adopt a more compassionate diet. We shouldn’t condemn her efforts for our cause because of some cheese!
If we want to get others on board with our movement, this can’t be an all or nothing club, or no one will want to join. We must view Meatless Mondays, Vegan Before 5, and vegetarianism (without full veganism) as steps in the RIGHT DIRECTION.