Labels

I’ve always struggled with labels.  At some point I made the choice to avoid eating meat.  After reading Michael Pollan’s book, “The Omnivores Dilemma” (amazing read btw) I did not feel right about consuming industry meat.  Animals are treated unethically for the product  of most meat sold in stores.  Beyond the treatment of animals, the environmental repercussions are alarming  as well as the health impacts of hormone packed meat that we are consuming.  My steadfast code to live by was to not purchase unethically raised meat.  I could however buy “ethical” meat and free-range eggs from time to time.  I also surmised that upon the situation of eating as a guest in someone else’s home, that I would consume the meat served to me.  It seemed as though my main reasons for avoiding meat would seem invalid in someone else’s home- they have already purchased the meat, and by me refusing to eat it doesn’t help out the already dead cow and impacted lands to raise it.  In addition, its inconvenient for family and friends to try and cook for my eating desires.

After that long ramble- it should be coherent how I did not know what “label” to give myself.  I’ve confused others when eating a nice elk sausage hunted by a friend and evoked questions- “I thought you were a vegetarian!?!” From that I have moved onto calling myself a “plant based eater.”  It supports the idea of avoiding anything from meat sources.

I recently stumbled upon a well explained perspective on the whole matter from Neal Barnard.  He suggested the used of adjectives instead of nouns.  He goes on to always refer to the “vegan diet” rather than referring to people as “vegans”.  He advocates this is, “a good practice anytime we are speaking of choices and beliefs.”  He explains how a person who switches from one style of diet to another is still the same person, “the only thing different is what is on his plate.”  He suggests that noun-based labels solicit images and prejudice and put that person in a box.  Just as the word hippy implies a smelly, environmental, seed eating, pot smoking individual – the word vegan creates all sorts of ideologies on how we might perceive their lifestyle,political views, environmental concerns, and consumer practices.

Something to ponder.