“[S]pell check on eljay recommends ‘vulcanism’ in place of ‘veganism’”

I found this quote when I followed a link from Vegans of Color to a LiveJournal vegan community discussion regarding one of the current attacks on veganism:

“Veganism is just another white privilege”

WRONG. Veganism is a lifestyle choice that can be made easier by white privilege and other privileges, but veganism is for everyone and veganism involves much more than privilege. (More on vulcans further down…)

Basically all vegans, regardless of skin color or race, are ostracized from the mainstream. They’re ridiculed, called ‘terrorists,’ lied to, and ignored. Veganism is othered. Vegans of color may, for example, not have “the luxury of being single-issue,” (as Vegans Of Color puts it) that is, they’ll have to deal with being in the margins in regards to their racial identity and also in regards to their food and lifestyle choice as vegans. Therefor, it may well be easier as a white person to be vegan.

Prejudice and racism exist everywhere and there are no doubt some cultural, financial and other pressures in regards to food and clothing choices. But we can all make some choices to end or reduce animal suffering and animal consumption.

And we can all choose whether to identify as vegan or not. Veganism is sort of a fluid thing. Many people tend to identify as “vegan” when they’ve excluded animal products from their diet, but the veganism continuum is long and wide and includes other lifestyle choices and philosophies, too. For example, many vegans won’t wear leather, but some think recycled or hand-me-down leather, wool, and fur are fine.

Veagnism is very similar to a religion in some ways. Would omnivores think it acceptable to say something like ‘Mormonism is just another white privilege” even if it’s easier to be LDS while white?

There are certainly intersections of race, class, and education regarding veganism. But to attack veganism and to simplify the conversation about those intersections to “veganism is white privilege” is truly offensive.

…Back to the first quote, the funny thing is, vulcans were vegans. So, I guess the LJ (eljay/ livejournal) spelling suggestion makes sense. “Vulcans are repeatedly stated to be herbivorous in the (non-canon) TAS episode ‘The Slaver Weapon,’ by the carnivorous Kzinti.” (source) Yeah, vulcans are purely logical and reasonable, so that makes sense. Veganism is a very logical reaction to learning about where meat comes from and what animal consumption does to human health, animals, the environment, and other people. It’s a very simple, logically sound ethical argument:

We don’t all want to change the world and make it a better place. But sensible, caring people ought to want to limit the harmful effect their lives have. If they can’t cause good, they at least don’t want to cause harm. If you have a goal to reduce the amount of harm you have on other people and the rest of the world, consuming as an herbivore makes much more sense than consuming as an omnivore.

Sections: Vegan Et Cetera, Vegan Theory
Topics: privilege, race, Theory, veg, Vegan