Disclosure: I used AI to organise my ramble into an initial draft, tighten and polish my writing, and proofread. I am a non-native speaker of English.
This post is inspired by @lincolnq's post 'Let's taboo the V-word'.
TL;DR
Firstly, I really appreciate @lincolnq writing the post, which prompted me to post something in the forum for the first time. This post spoke to me in a lot of ways and helped me gain clarity around some of the things I have been thinking about for long. It also raised new questions that pushed me to read and think further. While I still don't feel certain whether tabooing the word vegan is the best solution here (for reasons shared towards the end), I appreciate the overall reasoning @lincolnq gave and the motive behind it. I hope articles like this will continue to nudge the EA community and people who care about animal welfare to think about and find ways to involve a wider audience to achieve more, faster progress in the movement.
What's originally intended to be a reply to the post ended up being a post, as I have been grappling with how to approach and talk about veganism in the EA community for some time. (Thank you @Toby Tremlett🔹 for encouraging me to post this. Otherwise I wouldn't have.) I spent some time drafting this reply but admittedly I am still thinking through many stuff and haven't reached the clarity I'd like to reach, but I'd rather share this now than never.
A bit of context of my own journey:
I was vegetarian for about 1 year in my early 20s, and became vegan for a few months towards the end of this period of time. Now I consume animal products while trying to increase the proportion of plant-based diets again. But I am not actively trying to take on a complete plant-based diet.
The reason I first became a vegetarian and then a vegan was that I didn't want to kill and hurt animals. But the timing wasn't right; I tried to become a vegan during one of the most stressful times in life: I was doing my masters and there were many other things going on that took substantial energy, time, and mental resources – I was facing the cultural and language challenges living in a foreign country, really anxious and stressed, and struggling with everything else commonly experienced by someone in their early twenties trying to find out who you are and what to do with your life. But it was also the year I got exposed to EA and started connecting with a lot of plant-based dieters. It felt like the right thing to do at that time.
So I switched without enough research and information, and there was definitely a lot of health impact. Looking back, I don't regret trying it, but I regretted trying it at that specific time as I didn't have the time and energy to take care of myself. I dived in without any nutrition knowledge about a plant-based diet and I barely took any supplements (I know, crazy). I bloated badly and kept waking up hungry in the middle of the night to snack which led to some dental issues. I didn't look and feel well. This is one of the reasons I felt so seen when I saw Elizabeth's post. There are trade-offs, especially for health, and I wish someone had told me this when I took on this effort.
It also hurt and challenged my relationships in a lot of ways, especially with my mum who just didn't quite understand. Living in a middle-income country, a society and environment where even vegetarians were (and still are) rare, she was so worried about my health. She was so frustrated and even angry with me when I was on a vegetarian, later vegan diet. I didn't live with her most of the time, so she just had to accept that. But she was never happy about it and stayed worried for a long time.
Also, I was quite a militant and judgy vegan at that time. I was one of those that non-vegans won't like being around, which I regretted but I was immature and opinionated. I did not allow my partner, who was (and still is) a meat eater, to eat meat around me, so every time he was not around me, he ate even more meat to make up for it, which, looking back, I felt there could have been a negative net effect in terms of meat consumption. Food has always been such an important source of joy, companionship, and love in our life. It's going to be so hard if I can't share any (or most of) meals with him again. And because I was quite defensive about my veganism, this topic is still something I need to tread very carefully around in our relationship, which is totally on me.
I wasn't directly involved in the EA movement and community for some time after I finished my study, then re-engaged a few years ago. I have been trying to reduce my meat intake especially in the last 6 months, having been more directly exposed to animal welfare issues and surrounded by a lot of plant-based dieters again. I am also in better physical and mental health, which makes a gradual diet change possible. I have also learnt to more respectfully and smartly 'push my agenda' in daily meals with my partner, so this doesn't become an unnecessarily, emotionally costly topic.
Deep down, I always knew that I wanted not to eat animals at all, and I really admire, want to become, and even feel a bit jealous about the people who can be on this diet relatively easy (this is not to say that they haven't made sacrifices and trade-offs and things are always easy for them). But I also know I'm going to spend a lot of energy and time if I strive to be a complete plant-based dieter, and that I may not have the energy to do other important things in my life (and will likely have less net impact). I got especially inspired by @Holden Karnofsky's post EA is about maximization, and maximization is perilous.
I largely agree with Aidan's proposal of treating vegans as spiritual leaders or monks and building a healthier relationship between plant-based dieters and the rest of the people in the world, especially those who actually deeply care about animal welfare and are not ready/choose not to become plant-based dieters. (By the way, this is an article I really appreciate being recommended and reading.)
I sometimes feel guilty when I see people around me who don't eat meat. I used to feel awkward talking about it and after reading @lincolnq's post, I started to learn to overcome the discomfort to have more conversations around this. This is also thanks to a lot of non-judgmental plant-based dieters I've come across (unlike my old self, alas), which makes me feel safe to talk about this. They talk about their diet when asked, or sometimes they share that in a conversation, but they don't ask "how long have you been a vegan?" or try to convince me to change my diet. One of my colleagues just offered to answer any questions I have in a very neutral and helpful way, which I really appreciate.
I feel these people model great examples that allow the vegan community to build a healthy, conducive relationship with the wider population. But indeed, there are sometimes assumptions in a group of people who are EAs or involved in the animal welfare movement that everyone is on a plant-based diet, and I have felt out of place and not sure if I should disclose my diet in the conversation. I do believe this need to hide yourself, or a certain level of guilt and shame, may turn people away quietly, as @lincolnq mentioned at the beginning of the post.
But I have mixed feelings about making the word ‘vegan’ a taboo. I agree that when you talk about veganism or just use the word 'vegan', there are underlying connotations and expectations. I understand the proposal of tabooing the word is to make the movement more inclusive, rather than showing disrespect for vegans, but I am worried that it will come across that way for people who fight hard for animal welfare and make meaningful sacrifices in order not to harm animals at all. As Aidan argued, 'we must find a way to expand the movement beyond the small vegan population without alienating our most dedicated supporters.'
I am still not sure what the best approach would look like, and I may continue reading, thinking and having conversations about this topic.
Overall, articles like the ones I referred to continue to remind me of the values of truth-seeking and scout mindset that a lot in the EA community is trying to live out. It also encouraged me to share my own experience, sharpen and express my views, and allow me to see alternatives beyond none or all. I wish we had more discussions like these which I believe are beneficial to developing the animal welfare movement.
