> I dislike the idea that if you aren't always vegan/vegetarian you've "failed".
In the case you're vegan because you think it's unethical to kill for food, why should you get a break here? I can't think of other ethical issues where you wouldn't be looked down for going against your firmly held beliefs.
"Mostly plant-based diet" sounds like a better term if you're less concerned about the animal suffering aspect. Vegan would also include not wearing leather for example so it might be a case of you not using the right word.
There are strong arguments for this. Alcoholics have support groups to keep themselves accountable, but also when they do relapse to help get them back on track. Having a firmly held belief doesn't mean you're immune to temptation or are unforgivable if you have a lapse. Moreover the kind of criticism and shaming that comes from not giving people "a break" does two things 1. It lowers the power of the shamer to make real change in a persons life and 2. It can cause exactly the kind of depression that leads to more of the undesirable behavior.
If you really think killing animals for food is wrong (if that's the reason you're vegan), doing it just a little bit shouldn't be okay to you and shows you weren't really that serious in the first place.
I wouldn't try to shame someone with a drug addiction but I don't think this is anything similar. What would you say to someone who said they were going to give up plastic straws but gave in and still used them once a week for example? There's certain cases where strong disapproval is more valid and you can't blame lack of self control so much.
I'd argue giving people too much of a break doesn't help either.
I think a big part about why people can't give up meat is that they're surrounded by people telling them it's okay. There's people that know meat is bad for climate change and know killing animals is wrong but won't reduce their meat eating because they see people around them are complacent too.
I'd be interested to see some evidence that promoting the "baby steps" approach is the right one because it could easily be making it worse.
And I disagree with the leather part because leather production isn’t causing animals to be killed. It’s a by product of the, mostly beef industry. It would take a massive decline in beef production to cause cows to be killed purely for their leather. Leather goods also last decades.
I believe more in a overall balance. You can’t get everyone to be vegan, the earth simply can’t support that.
You can’t get everyone to be vegan, the earth simply can’t support that.
Genuinely curious, why can't Earth support everyone eating vegan? I thought it took more land, water, soil, and resources in general to produce meat? Is it about transportation, or Arctic climates where fresh fruit and veg is not available?
It's always going to be more efficient to feed grain, soy etc. directly to humans than it is to feed those crops to cows then feed cow meat and milk to humans (you lose about 90% of the crop calories creating beef: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed_conversion_ratio). People arguing the opposite are usually under the false impression that cows are only fed grass (there's no enough room for this for the amount of cows we need) or arguing corner cases.
You're supporting and putting more money into the beef industry by buying leather though. You don't kill cows directly by buying milk either, but the milked cow will eventually be slaughtered for meat too and its male offspring used as veal.
> I believe more in a overall balance. You can’t get everyone to be vegan, the earth simply can’t support that.
Fair enough, but "vegan" isn't the term to use to describe your beliefs then.
In the case you're vegan because you think it's unethical to kill for food, why should you get a break here? I can't think of other ethical issues where you wouldn't be looked down for going against your firmly held beliefs.
"Mostly plant-based diet" sounds like a better term if you're less concerned about the animal suffering aspect. Vegan would also include not wearing leather for example so it might be a case of you not using the right word.