Hi, yes, I wanted to apply for my vegan license.
I cut out meat, dairy, and eggs...I’m feeling great.
And really happy not to be contributing to animal suffering any longer
Oh, do you need my name?
[smells] Do I detect a hint of beeswax in your lip balm?
Oh, well, yes. Does that- does that count?
Okay...I’ll come back.
Hi, it’s me again. I want to try again for my vegan license?
Is that a wool sweater?
Oh, umm, well, it was a hand-me-down from my sister. I didn’t…
...I’ll come back.
Hello again. So, I got rid of my Chapstick, and my sweater-so sorry about those by the way.
So I think I’m really ready now for my vegan license.
Did you drive here?
No.
Did you bike?
Yeah!
Do you have vegan tires on your bike?
There are veg- of course there are.
Hi. I’m here for my vegan license. I don’t eat meat, or dairy, or eggs, or honey, or wear
wool, or leather, or really anything, actually, just to make sure. I actually don’t even
leave my house anymore, except to come here of course, because I’m afraid I’m gonna
step on insect or unintentionally do damage to some creature. I even stopped eating bread
because I was afraid that I was hurting the yeast. I walked here, with no shoes, just
in case there were animals involved in the creation of them. So may I please now, now please get my vegan license?
You really seem to be suffering there, eh?
Well, yeah it's been difficult but I try not to complain.
Yeah, well it’s obvious that you are suffering, and humans
are animals, so in reality, your actions are contributing to animal suffering, and
we just can’t have that.
Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. On my channel, I
do cover the major vegan issues, like meat, dairy, and eggs, and the ethical as well as
health, sociological, and environmental considerations of these “products”. However, I also address
some of the lesser-known issues within veganism, like honey, wool, pet food, horseback riding,
alcohol, bivalves, tattoos, medication, sugar, birth control and more to come.
So, I’m often asked a very valid question: with all of these hidden animal ingredients
and lesser-known issues, when can someone officially call themselves “vegan”?
What if you’ve stopped eating meat, dairy, eggs and even honey but you take medication tested
on animals, as all medication is- at least in the United States- and containing lactose?
Or maybe you’re good on every front but you got a tattoo before you knew to make sure that
it was vegan? Or perhaps you don’t consume any animal products or overt byproducts but
still eat processed foods containing sugar and things like L-cysteine? It’s an alpha
amino acid derived either from feathers, hog hair or human hair- the vegan-ness of which…
...may be debatable- but that’s for another video entirely!
So, where do we draw the line? What all must one eliminate before saying “I’m vegan.”
Well, this is a rather complex question, really, and I have to say first that I personally
do not presume to be The Ultimate Vegan Authority of YouTube- the Internet- the World! [echoed]
Ooo...that sounded kind of nice.
But I will at least share with you my thinking on this matter.
Unlike my pure educational vegan nuggets, this video is more of an opinion piece, which
I always like to clarify.
In my video series on the history of veganism, when we finally make it to the 1900s we’ll
be covering the formation of the Vegan Society and the coining of the term “vegan” in
1944, which is usually attributed to the Vegan Society co-founder Donald Watson, though he
personally attributed it to two other people entirely, so stay tuned for those racey details
in the history series.
It wasn’t actually until 1979 that the society put forth a definition of the word vegan,
as, “a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and
practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing
or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives
for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the
practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."
While no organization, or person, really owns or officially decrees the specifics of veganism
as its principles have existed for thousands of years, I personally am a fan of the Society’s
definition. Especially as it focuses on the eradication of all forms of cruelty and the active
fighting against exploitation, not just the dietary terms of veganism.
For the purposes of this video’s inciting question, however, I think the portion “as
far as possible and practicable” is key. Now for those unfamiliar, or who aren’t
native English speakers, practicable is not the same as practical. Practicable is more
narrowly defined meaning, “capable of being put into practice, feasible” or, to put simply, doable.
Now my one hesitation with this phrasing is that people may, as people are want to do,
try to stretch it to fit their current practices. Saying “not eating bacon is just not possible”
isn’t quite grasping the intention of this clause. The founders of the Vegan Society for example
formed their association during the war and struggled their way through food rations
rife with animal products, which they adamantly petitioned against, often having very little
to eat. So saying you’re vegan while chowing down on bacon isn’t really what they had in mind.
And just a note, I do plan on doing a whole separate video on veganism during
times of war, as it’s a rather fascinating subject.
So, what is possible and practicable to exclude? Well, obviously, meat- which includes fish
and marine life, dairy, eggs and honey are rather simple. Though, admittedly not always
easy for many people. And leather, fur, wool and silk are no problem at all with all of the synthetic
and natural materials out there. But things like medication can be tricky- especially
in the light of a serious medical illness. You can watch my video on medication for the whole answer,
but basically, for those conditions that are preventable- I say, prevent them. But for
severe genetic conditions or others that are untreatable otherwise, do take care of yourself
so you can be healthy enough to fight against the use of animal testing for all pharmaceuticals.
Now what about foods that say they may contain traces of dairy? Or foods with processed sugar
made with bone char, the literal charred bones of animals? Well, my outlook on these, which
I’ve said before, is that once we stop slaughtering 150 billion sentient beings every year,
we won’t be so hard-pressed to find new and inventive ways to use their byproducts.
And once facilities are no longer processing animals and their byproducts, we won’t have to worry
about them possibly ending up in our food. But boycotting foods that may have been processed
in plant that may contain X, Y, or Z, isn’t really going to bring on a revolution- it’s
attacking these industries at their core that will.
Now what if you simply don’t know and find out months or years down the line that you’ve
been eating or participating in something that wasn’t vegan? Were you as a result
not vegan that entire time? To me, this is where intention and true ignorance come in.
If your honest intention was to not consume or support anything exploitative, then I say
you were and are vegan.
True ignorance, and I don’t mean that in a negative way, is separate from willful ignorance.
It’s when you honestly don’t know any better. This is the state of many non-vegans
who have yet to receive any kind of education about what animals are going through, where
their food comes from and what its impact is on the environment and their health.
Willful ignorance, on the other hand, is knowing all of these things and refusing to do anything
about it, or simply denying it in order to stay in the bliss of, well, ignorance.
So the key, at least in my mind, is what you do once you have the information. That, to
me, determines your “vegan-ness.”
And one final- but rather vital- note. While it’s important for there to be some definition
of veganism, and the constant striving for further elimination of cruelty, exploitation,
and environmental destruction in the choices we make, it’s equally important for veganism
to be approachable. Because, as we saw in the opener, when we become judgmental or exclusionary,
people are less likely to actually become vegan- a decision which, in all honestly,
can be quite challenging and terrifying.
Those of us who have been vegan for some time can forget how incredibly overwhelming it
all seems and be tempted to demand instant enlightenment of all new vegans. But we must
remember this is a process and a journey. Yes, we need to eliminate everything that we can
that contributes to suffering, and, ideally as fast as we can. But we also need to value
what we are doing and be open to learning more and going from there. Put simply, if
you don’t know, then how can you be expected to know? But once you do know, then it’s up
to you to act on that information. And above all, not to give up on being vegan if you
feel that you haven't reached perfection.
I hate to break it to you, but if you’re human and alive, you’re not gonna get there.
You can say there is no way to be 100% vegan, which I discussed with Gary Yourofsky
in this video, but I think that doing the very best that you can with the information that you
have and being constantly open to new information is being 100% vegan as the term itself is
defined as just that- a striving for improvement.
Well I hoped this video has been helpful for all of you who asked me this. If you enjoyed it,
please give it a thumbs up and share it around to help others who may be intimidated
about going vegan. If you’re new here, be sure to 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 in my ongoing efforts to provide quality, free, approachable, vegan education,
check out either of the support links below, and for perks and rewards for your support,
check out the Nugget Army by clicking that logo over there, or the link in the icard
sidebar or the description below. And be sure to check out some of my related videos while you're here!
Now go live vegan, with the best of intentions, and I’ll see you soon.
[laughs] Why can't I do this?
No...This is harder than it looks to flip this thing.
I keep clicking it off when I need to click it on.
Maybe I should do my hair like this more often?
Does it look good?
How about now?
Am I pretty yet?
I need to put on a shirt.
Subtitles by the Amara.org community