When you read the title of this post, I'm sure that you know where I'm getting at with this. At the end of spring semester, I met some vegans on campus passing out fliers about veganism. Sounds, pretty dedicated, right? Later on in summer semester when I moved into my apartment, I was awaken from sleep by some Jehovah's Witnesses trying to proselytize to me about their beliefs. The difference between these two situations interms of relating is that I'm a vegan, but I'm also an atheist. I told my boyfriend at the time that it's dedicating of the vegans to stand out in the snow, among the bone chilling ice and pass out fliers about the horrors of the meat industry. I thought at first that I was being a "bad vegan", because at the time, I lived on campus among people who did not share my beliefs and lifestyle. I thought it was very "hick" of them to defend the treatment of animals by the meat industry.
My Initial Thought of The Vegans I Met
I think the vegans on campus I met are very nice. The older man is really nice and continues to reach out to me, even when I don't return emails and phone calls. However, just because I think someone is nice, it does not necessarily mean that I have a positive view of that person. I feel like the tactics that he and other vegans used are similar to Christians who pass out fliers about their beliefs. I do not think that it's effective to show images of animals being mutilated. If anything, for a movie night at the vegan friend's house, he wanted me to choose a movie, which all had to do with animal cruelty. I don't believe that Food Inc is the best movie in the world for a movie night. It would have been a great idea to have a potluck, instead.
I thought about switching back to eating meat, because veganism started to seem like a religion. Thinking about it now, if veganism was a religion, I'd rather be a part of a religion that cares about what exists than be a part of a selfish, speciest religion that cares more about a "god" in man's image (the most flawed being in existence). Appealing to the atheist in me, I think that veganism does better for the world and the planet than any major religion I can think of. The only religions I think that truly accept veganism and not say things like "God wants you to eat meat" are eastern religions and some pagan religions. Even in the bible it says that people are not supposed to eat meat. What I've noticed about Christianity that I haven't noticed about other religions is that Christians tend to pick and choose what verse is acceptable. Other religions tend to practice all of their beliefs. At least with veganism, I can say that I'm genuinely trying to contribute to the betterment of mankind and animals in this planet. There are some people who will dispute the environmental and health benefits of veganism, but I'll save that for another post.
Our Responsibility To Our Message
It's more effective and less insulting if we vegans show non-vegans that they can enjoy food that is good for the body, the environment and the animals (and the checkbook). We should be educating the people we target for the vegan cause, not proselytizing to them. If vegans do that, it will separate us from the religious.
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