Redefining Vegan

I’ve been a vegan for two years now and one thing that has become more increasingly annoying is other people giving me excuses to why they cannot go vegan.

I’ve heard them all. ‘It’s too expensive’, ‘I live with my family and they won’t let me eat vegetables’ and ‘I have blah-de-blah disease and I need to eat 50kg of steak a day to survive’. And of course sometimes these excuses are valid but rarely are they good enough. Often I hear ‘veganism is too expensive’ whilst the party gobbles down foie gras, caviar and a £100 cheese wheel. Or ‘I have an iron deficiency and I need meat’ when purchasing leather shoes and L’oreal shampoo. You can understand my frustration.

This is why I believe ‘vegan’ needs redefining. People are under the impression that if you can’t be a good vegan, what is the point of trying at all? Of course nobody is 100% vegan by society’s definition. Nobody can say they have never stepped on an ant or never hoovered up a dust mite.

The current definition of vegan is ‘a person who does not eat or use animal products’ needs to change to ‘a person who attempts not to harm another life to the best of their ability, whether that life is human or none human.’ Therefore, if you’re stuck on a desert island with nothing to eat but cows (it happens to us all at some point), nobody will take away your vegan card for doing what you have to do to survive.

If you live at home with your parents who don't approve of you going vegan, don't order chicken nuggets when you're out in a restaurant, ask for a veggie burger without the cheese. Don't ask for MAC makeup for your birthday, ask for a brand that doesn't test on animals. One day you'll move out and be able to make your own decisions. Just remember, everything you have control over, try to make the most ethical decisions to the best of your ability and by the new definition, you're a vegan.

If you can't afford luxury raw vegan cupcakes or lush shampoo, nobody is going to take away your vegan card if you have to spend your money on a cheaper brand of deodorant and toothpaste, even if they test on animals. But don't spend your money on bacon or cheese when the vegan version is cheaper (it is cheaper! Try looking in Holland and Barrett, you'll be surprised!) or if they aren't necessary at all. Beans, rice, frozen fruits and vegetables are amongst the cheapest foods and they're all vegan. Once again, if you're trying to abstain from animal products to the best of your ability, you can call yourself a vegan.