• orphiebaby@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    There are two kinds of people who know about [American] veganism. People who joined because they were interested, and people who did objective research as an outsider. And let me tell you, the former has every reason to deny how much the vegan community lies to you about nutritional needs, sustainable agriculture, and even their very inconsistent and exception-heavy morals. If you want to be a vegan as an individual-- for whatever reason-- more power to you. But once you get American vegans together, it becomes a cult of lies, defensiveness, and proselytizing. Just like Christians, or Linux fans.

    And just like the fundamentalists I grew up with, vegan cultists like to claim that everyone who doesn’t follow their cult is an amoral/immoral person, lost and confused or at the least in denial. Yeah, that kind of sociopathy really peeves me. Have you tried listening to non-vegans’ opinions on their empathy for animals? And their beliefs about how, yeah, money has made it so that animals aren’t treated well; but many of us individuals don’t condone that, we still care, and we believe in balance? I mean, we’re literally talking in a post about liking that it’s illegal somewhere to declaw cats. I think we are somewhat sane, yeah?

    Also, I didn’t even bring up veganism, but you definitely did. Tell me you’re part of the vegan cult without telling me you’re part of the vegan cult.

    • businessfish@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      3 months ago

      can you give an example?

      i’m genuinely curious because outside of spiritualism type nonsense the information i’ve found in online and in-person american vegan communities has been pretty solid, and i’d like to know if i’ve been lied to.

      • tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 months ago

        Yeah idk what this person is on about, the vast majority of vegans are completely regular people that just want to reduce their environmental impact, you wouldn’t even know they were vegan unless you asked.

      • orphiebaby@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        I’d be opening up a can of worms that I’m not sure I have the mental energy to organize, source, and talk about in length right now. I will say that if you’ve found a tolerant and science-accepting vegan group, that’s super awesome and honestly not as common as it should be.

        Here’s a few veeeery summarized points:

        1. Humans are not made for veganism. It can be dangerous and make you very sick, so you need a lot of education on nutrition and a lot of non-natural dietary supplements to make it work. Because of this, forcing veganism on children is also considered child abuse by law in some countries. Either way, you should always talk to your doctor.
        2. Healthy veganism is a privileged diet. The logistics for growing, transporting, and preserving food for a vegan diet balanced enough to not get sick is a big deal, and everything gets expensive and out-of-reach for many. If veganism isn’t an option for everyone, non-vegan practices will always be a thing. In which case, vegans shouldn’t be snobs towards non-vegans.
        3. Grazing animals are actually very important to healthy soil and crops. And that means controlling where they graze. And at that point, you’re going against what a lot of vegans stand for. And honestly, at that point just use the animals for meat, too.
        4. Vegans often condone practices that are unhealthy to humans or animals, and that kill off a lot of animals in order to sustain their agriculture. Not to mention the absolute need for pesticides to sustain large populations, and pesticides can kill off a lot of things on their own. Veganism is (usually) about not harming animals, but agriculture always kills a lot of animals; so one like myself will argue why many vegans are such snobs towards non-vegans, as if veganism is more “pure” than non-veganism
        • iiGxC@slrpnk.net
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          3 months ago
          1. The average vegan diet is safer/less deficient than the standard american diet. Most major diet orgs agree a well planned vegan diet is appropriate for all stages of human life
          2. The cheapest foods are vegan - grains, legumes, starches. and they get you the majority of the way to a balanced diet. It’s not that hard or expensive to get from them to a 100% well rounded diet
          3. Just let the grazing animals live please. Live and let live, so long as it harms none do what you wish, etc. Buffalo/etc don’t need humans to make them go to certain spots to graze
          4. most crops go towards feeding animals in animal agriculture. Less crop deaths is better, so if you actually want to reduce them you should go vegan and/or grow your own food

          i agree that many vegans have wacky/woowoo/incorrect beliefs and it’s a real shame, but a broken clock is right twice a day

            • iiGxC@slrpnk.net
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              3 months ago
              1. I don’t have time to look up the research on this stuff, I know that last I checked the first point is documented on the wikipedia page for veganism (i.e. It links to the statement by the dietetic orgs).
              2. It’s not hard or very costly to get from those to a complete diet without animal products
              3. I don’t know enough about to say with certainty, but I’m pretty sure most farmland is not grazed.
              4. should be pretty easy to find info on, look up how much of our crops go to animal feed. If I’m wrong I’m happy to read studies that show we don’t do that, but the studies I’ve read inform my position. Due to how trophic levels work, animal products are always going to be an inefficient source of calories
    • Emerald@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I think a big issue with lots of vegans is that they don’t know how capitalism works. People think that capitalism is just supply and demand, so if people don’t buy dairy or meat less animals will be slaughtered. But that just isn’t how it works. They can just raise the demand by making Got Milk campaigns and lobbying the government. Not buying a steak at the grocery store is not going to change the behavior of a multi-million dollar company even if hundreds of people go vegan.

      • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        Well obviously hundreds of people going vegan isn’t going to make much of a difference, because we have billions of people.

        That doesn’t mean an individual vegan can’t make a difference by spreading their lifestyle.

        It’s just like any moral improvement: an individual should not expect that their individual actions are going to change the world.

        Also yes, there’s no 1-to-1 correspondence between more vegans in a particular neighborhood, and cows not being born and then slaughtered. It’s understood that these two pools are too far abstracted for tracing farm animals to meat eaters.

        But the same problem is true of voting too. So if a vegan shouldn’t expect to make a difference by converting others to veganism, then a citizen shouldn’t expect to make a difference by voting either.

        • Emerald@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Voting through an actual voting system is much more direct then the “voting with your wallet” approach that many vegans talk about.

          • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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            3 months ago

            It may be “direct” but it’s not a real form of power. Nobody’s vote changes the world, unless they’re in an election with a spread of one.