Why I am a dietary vegan

I realise that I am not a ‘proper’ vegan, and that I still knit with wool and am coming to grips with not using animal based fibres. I thought it might be worthwhile to really put in writing the reasons that I am vegan and the decisions that led me here.

I am not “an animal person”. In my family, we were raised in a way where we treated the entire environment with respect – including the fauna in it and also the humans. My father is a zoologist by training, and he spent a lot of time working with spiders. His best mate is a herpetologist, and so my childhood living in the Blue Mountains was filled with identifying animals in their habitat – and on occasion, experiencing these animals by touch. My mum is an accomplished gardener and has always used a lot of native plants, and as such, I have always been able to identify a range of animals and plants in the environment.

My father and his scientist friends haven’t always done things which I, as a vegan, agree with (although growing up I had less of an issue with). Some of these are things I still struggle with – using animals for research purposes. Not chimpanzees or anything, but still breeding frogs, etc, for the purpose of research. I understand the benefits of this research on natural populations – hence my internal conflict. Additionally, my father was on the Zoo Board for a decade. I do not agree with zoos and the fact that animals are exploited for entertainment. But in an urban setting they can provide an unparalleled opportunity for education. I now believe that the educational benefits are unnecessary.

Where there has been less conflict for me are the issues of food and cosmetics. I can have significant control over what goes into my body and what I put on it – from toothpaste, to shampoo, to cleanser. What has complicated this issue is my newfound insight into chemicals (because of my work). Access to documents which I might not have otherwise had, and the insight is scary! This has meant that as well as choosing vegan options, I am also making decisions based on other ingredients, chemical ingredients, and organic options. I spend inordinate amounts of time researching particular ingredients and my new theory (which seems to work) is: if I can’t pronounce it, I’m not using it.

Eating as a vegan has such a significant impact on the environment that justifying it has never been an issue for me. People debate ethics – is it cruel to raise animals for slaughter and do they have the same right-to-life as human animals? Obviously my answer to that is yes, but to me, that is a secondary issue. The science behind veganism is my answer.

Not eating animal products saves water, one of the most precious resources we have. Not eating animal products assists in preserving native environments (by not requiring land for stockfeed). Science says we don’t need to eat animal products, and even suggests that doing so is damaging to health.

But more than anything, it feels wrong. I’ve got nothing but respect for every element of the environment yet how could I have no moral opposition to forcing animals to breed, often by artificial means, specially to then slaughter and eat their offspring? How could I promote the consumption of dairy, when like every mammal, the cow makes milk to nourish its young? How could I promote egg consumption, when I know that it results in the deaths of millions of male chicks every year?

The answer is: I can’t. And I don’t have time for people who “love animals” as they eat a chicken pie. I don’t have time for people who care about the environment but won’t give up steak. I don’t have time for people who say they want a better world for generations to come, but feed their children milk that has been stolen and artificially produced by another species.

I am sure I will have more to add to this. I am saying that I don’t have time for hypocrites, yet I use felt and wool in my crafts. In my mind there is a distinction and I’ll come to that later. I also would like to write about pet stores and puppy farms, and keeping non-native animals in a country as unique as Australia. But all in good time!