Being vegan can be challenging. Being in the military can most definitely be challenging.
Being vegan IN the military…well you see where I’m going with this. Well I’ve received
questions from vegans and those interested in becoming vegan who are in the military
asking how to being deal with these challenges, so I set out to find someone far more qualified
than I to answer.
Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. So in my quest to
find a vegan in the military to speak to the unique challenges such a person comes up against,
I came across an article by then Specialist Alexander Contreras. Now Sergeant Contreras,
Alex, as he prefers to be called, was incredibly generous with his time to sit down and speak
to his personal experience as a vegan in the military and hopefully help others in the
same situation.
Well Alex, I want to thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to be
on here and to help people out.
Not a problem.
A little bit of background. When and why did you go vegan?
Well, it’s kind of a long story but just to make it simple. I think when I was
around 11…10, I watched Finding Nemo- there was a line in there that says, ‘fish are
friends, not food’. And that always stuck with me, and I would always think about it
as I was eating chicken nuggets or something like that. Then, my mother passed away and
that kind of like...gave me time to think about certain things as far as death, and
things like that. So, at the age of 17 I came across the video ‘Glass Walls’, and that
made me go vegetarian for about a month. Then, I saw something on my timeline on FaceBook.
It was the documentary, well, a trailer of the documentary ‘Earthlings’. So, I decided
to go to earthlings.com and watch it, and that instantly, that day I was like, ‘I’m
going vegan’. I couldn’t contribute to that.
Okay, then could you, I guess tell us when, and if you want as well, why you
joined the military?
Around that age 18...17...18, there was rough times happening inside of the house.
Due to my new found religious views, I’m agnostic now, and my new, I guess, philosophy
about animals my dad didn’t agree with me being vegan. And it was just kind of messing
up our relationship so I decided to leave the house, and I ended up living under...I
guess a place called ‘Beltway 8’, I call it the bridge but it’s actually a highway
or a freeway. Then, after a month I moved in with my uncle and then on Jan. 2012 is
when I shipped out to Fort Benning, GA to go to, I guess infantry training so.
Can you lead us a little bit through your initial experience with basic training?
Oh man...yeah, when I got there, you know, I figured that I wasn’t going to eat
and I was right in a sense. So, they have MRE’s in the morning before you go to religious
service. Back then we were just tired and you don’t, you just want to relax. You end
up going to these religious services so I went to a buddhist service. And in the morning
you don’t get hot chow...if you’re quick enough you can, but even if I did try to get
the hot chow, there wouldn’t be nothing for me. There’s eggs, bacon...yeah all of
that stuff. And MRE’s, they only have a vegetarian option not a vegan option, and
the only thing in there you can eat are crackers. So, I do want to get in touch people that
can possibly make MRE’s for vegans. And when I did get to the chow hall they had a
salad bar...with raisins and apples, but we gotta be realistic here. I’m not going to
live off of raisins and apples...healthfully. Yeah, that’s how it was for those specific
days- I went 2 weeks without eating but I’m not going to blame the cadre or the drill
sergeants or anything because I didn’t want them to know. You know, when you’re new
to the army you’re just...you have a fear of the drill sergeants, so you’re not going
to let them know that you’re vegan. So, yeah that’s how that was. I kind of like
starved myself and sometimes my buddies would give me an orange or something but yeah, the
FTX at the last part of the cycle I starved for an entire week. So, but yeah, I was able
to accomplish everything. I mean, I guess with will - drive. That’s pretty much it.
Emily: So, you talked a little bit about not wanting to tell your superiors initially about
being vegan. What has kind of been the reaction of the leadership within the military to you?
I’ve had a lot of leadership as far as platoon sergeants and team leaders just
because I’ve been in for 3 years now. I’ve also just become a sergeant, so I also have
duties as well as leadership. I had one…I’ll just go ahead and shout out his name, Staff
Sergeant Gouge. He went through hell trying to get me food when we were in the field.
He would contact the company commander and say ‘Hey, we have someone who has special
diet needs’, you know, just not to make a fuss about it. But they’d say vegan, but
then they wouldn’t understand what that was so they’d have to say vegetarian, but
doesn’t eat cheese or dairy, or honey, or anything like that. So, there were people
inside of my company and my battalion that would look out for me. And then there were
some that couldn’t give a rat’s ass, excuse my language. Yeah, there were some that seen
it as...like a taboo and want to abolish that in the military. There’s some things that
vegans need that, you know, I’d say Muslims can get or Jewish people can get just based
on a belief, and ours is a philosophy, not to be offensive, but based on fact. And we
still can’t get certain needs met unless somebody higher up stands for us, and sometimes
that’s not possible.
Could you talk a little bit about, like with your field rations, did you...pre-pack
some things or are you even able to do that, how do you deal with that?
So what I do, I learned the hard way [laughs]. Say if we...my first field problem
was an entire month. It was in 2012 and...I didn’t bring...what did I bring?...I didn’t
bring any food actually and I was like ‘they’ll have hot chow. they’ll bring green beans
or whatever’, but they did occasionally. And when they didn’t we had to eat MRE’s
and obviously there are no MRE’s that are vegan. Oh, as a matter of fact, the sergeant
major, the command sergeant major in 2012 that I had. Command sergeant major Hackard
who was the battalion commander at that time. He actually introduced me to vegan ramen.
I guess he ate it there. I was there at that field problem and he gave ‘em to me, and
saw that I wasn’t eating, so he gave those to me. And I was like ‘wow, that’s very
thoughtful’. So, that’s someone who’s higher up who gave me some vegan options.
He didn’t really ask why are you vegan or anything. He just...he had an eye out for
me so he gave me ramen, and now I discovered vegan ramen through him. So, then the next
field problem how I packed, just in case there’s anybody out there that needs advice. I get
a duffle bag, it’s a military green duffle bag. The new one’s zip from the sides so
they’re more convenient. You can bring all the snacks you want, just load it. And don’t
be afraid that your chain in command is gonna be like ‘you can’t pack that on the striker’
or whatever vehicle you ride in to go to the field problem because you can bring as much
snacks as you need. If anybody tries to make a hassle of it there’s open door policies.
Just bring it to the next chain of command.
So, I know you said you had some...you’ve had some authority that have been helpful
and some that have been not and other people that have helped. What’s been the general
reaction of your...your, I don’t know if you call them colleagues [laughs] really in
the army but other people that are in the army with you. How has that interaction been
in general?
I do get crap for it...sometimes. But I have made friends within my platoon, within
my company and battalion that get it, and understand it. Some even said they wanted
to try it. In the barracks room, cause I’ve lived in the barracks room, I cook and I’d
feed my friends vegan food just to expose, and kill that stigma that vegan food is ‘blah’.
They think vegan food is tofu and iceberg lettuce for some reason. But I showed them
that they can have everything that you can have when you eat meat, but without all the
death and murder. So they’ve been okay with it and then there’s some that just absolutely
don’t understand it at all. And sometimes it gets difficult to repeat myself, and describe
what it is or why it matters, but...yeah, we have some work to do.
What would you say would be like your, the greatest challenges or challenge in the
greatest victory that you’ve had with being vegan in the military?
The greatest challenge I would have to say is...or was, basic training because
I did starve myself. The greatest accomplishment I would have to say is just making small amount
of people in the military understand what veganism is because a lot of people have even
heard of the word vegan until they met me. And when they told me that, my buddy Miguel,
he told me that he didn’t know what vegan was until he met me. And now he actually craves
a vegan menudo as opposed to the traditional mexican menudo, so, that was awesome when
he told me that. And also another great accomplishment is I won the ‘Peta2’s Cutest Vegan Alive’,
so I thought that was cool. I really don’t think I’m that attractive but I guess people
thought I was attractive so that was awesome. And, yeah having this interview.
Oh...well thank you, thank you. Well, that’s exciting and I think that’s a huge
accomplishment to be making that impression within the military. You’re kind of bringing
that activism into a place that I think doesn’t really get a whole lot of that by any means.
Did you ever think about maybe, because like you said, you can...when you have religious
objections or for the muslims, or the jewish. Or if you have, I’m sure if you had severe
allergies or dietary restrictions that...changes would be made for you or accommodations would
be made. Did you ever have that idea, that okay maybe I’ll just phrase it this way
rather than saying that I’m vegan?
No...[laughs] To be honest, no I didn’t. When I applied for separate rations which
is something that you get...cause when you live in the barracks and you’re a single
soldier they take a certain amount of money out every month so that the chow hall gets
that. Because they just assume that you eat at the chow hall, I don’t. So, I would figure
let me try and get that money back so I can use that on actual food that I eat. So, I
put it in a 4187 and I legitimately, straight up my reason is because I am vegan, and thankfully
I had proof so my situation is different. I ended up getting separate rations in Jan.
2015. I only got it because there was proof that I won the ‘Peta2’s Cutest Vegan Alive’
and Peta had written the article so I attached that to the 4187, and through that I guess
there was enough solid proof that I wasn’t a gimmick with the lifestyle I guess.
That’s interesting. I’m wondering how people are supposed to prove they’re
vegan if they haven’t been written up in an article. That’s very strange.
I don’t know if this is a great idea but maybe for the viewers. Maybe they can
put their input. What would they think if we made, in the military at least, vegan a
religious belief but not in the sense as christianity. We practice it everyday, and it is, in a sense,
it’s a belief based on factual things that occur in real life. So yeah, I wonder what
other people would think about that because I kind of accepted that. It’ll be easier
for vegans in the military to say, you know ‘I’m vegan’, and be able to put it on
the application without having to prove anything, it’s on their dogtag. And that way also,
if they have to get anything administered to them they’d have a vegan option. I think
it would be pretty good, but that would be nice if your viewers can touch on that.
Well alright, if people have some more questions or they want to get in touch with
you to kind of, pick your brain a little bit, where can they find you?
Okay, they can find me @yakuyabai on twitter. And they can find me on facebook,
on my personal facebook you can add me: Alexander Contreras and I’ll be fine with you messaging
me. I can answer any of your questions.
Emily: Well again thank you so much for your time, I know that you're getting ready to...it's
not "ship off"...what is it?
Oh I'm about to report to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. I just finished my three years in
Ft.Wainwright, Alaska, so I have to PCS to a new duty station.
Alright. Well, I mean with all of that going on, I really appreciate your time, and
congratulations on your promotion to Sergeant.
Thank you
And thank you so much for your advocacy and staying strong and staying vegan in the
military- I think it's a phenomenal example, so thank you.
Thank you so much. Thank you
I hope you enjoyed hearing from Alex on his experience of being vegan in the military.
I certainly hope that this has been helpful to those of you in or interested in entering
the military who are vegan or wanting to go vegan.
I personally find it frustrating, as Alex has expressed, that religious preferences
or allergy-based dietary restrictions are honored while moral objections are not. This
is the case in many institutions unfortunately. But my hope is that people like Alex can help
create change from within the institution itself.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this matter, especially Alex’s question to you about
what you think about classifying veganism as a religion within the military. Let me know what you think
in the comments.
My thanks to Sergeant Contreras for his time and advocacy. If you enjoyed hearing from
Alex, give this video a big thumbs up and share it around to help other vegans and would-be
vegans in the military. If you’re new here, do hit that big red subscribe button down
there for more awesome vegan content every Monday, Wednesday, and some Fridays. If you
want to help support Bite Size Vegan, check out either of the support links in the video
description below or click on the Nugget Army icon there- no affiliate with the actual Army-
or the link in the sidebar. Now go live vegan, even if you’re serving your country, and
I’ll see you soon.
I hope using the term nugget army is acceptable.
I really don't want to get sued by the army.
I would lose.