If you decide not to eat any animal-derived foods, please remember: the objective is to reduce suffering, not to achieve personal purity or perfection. [...] You can make exceptions, such as eating meat on certain occasions, and still make a big difference by eating vegetarian the rest of the time.
I had to wonder what sort of attitude they had towards semi-vegetarianism, so I went to their Wikipedia article, which provided some interesting background about this group:
In their June 1998 newsletter, Vegan Outreach published a very long article called "Veganism as the Path to Animal Liberation" (now called "Activism and Veganism Reconsidered"). This article ... argued against the movement's focus on trying to get media attention through protests. The essay also questioned the effectiveness of civil disobedience and direct action, and a perceived tendency towards self-delusion and dogmatism in vegetarian and animal rights promotion.
You know, those dry turns of phrase like "very long article" are really what make Wikipedia great.
Another big change for Vegan Outreach occurred in 2005, when the first copy of their new brochure, "Even If You Like Meat," was printed. ... "Any amount of animal food reduction helps prevent suffering. Another problem we encountered was that people would see the word 'vegan' or 'vegetarian' on our flyers and assume we were just do-gooder busybodies trying to get them to improve their health, so they would not take a flyer."
And there's even more smart thinking in an essay online:
"When it comes to advocating for the animals, people are looking for a reason to ignore us – no one sits around thinking, 'Wow, I really want to give up all my favorite foods and isolate myself from my friends and family!' Knowing this, we can’t give anyone any reasons to ignore the terrible and unnecessary suffering on factory farms and in slaughterhouses."
So, I was convinced. I was actually impressed by the flyer alone, there being no computer in my room, and provide this background info only to back up my conviction. There being no room for pause and reflection on the Internet, one must provide filler instead. I went to Trader Joe's and aimed for a completely vegan diet for the next week. I took a picture when I got home, but unfortunately I still don't have a card reader for my camera. But here's what I bought: peanut butter, bananas, bread, Joe-Joes, cold cereal, and cup noodles. I later supplemented this food with jelly and waffles. Does this not sound delicious? Yes, I ate this way for a whole week.
The one thing I found hard to eliminate from my diet was milk. I've been drinking milk 2-3 times a day for 20 years and it is not only a staple of my life but a fundamental food for most peoples and cultures all around the world. But, I went out on a limb last night and bought soy milk. I then put it in cereal.
It was good.
I will still likely eat whatever my stomach demands at restaurants, but I'm such a picky shopper anyway that I don't see grocery-store chicken fingers in my future anytime soon. Considering that I'm on a very tight budget this summer, that is practical veganism. Thanks, pamphlet people!
