"What is a vegan? It's a label, just like vegetarian, republican, gay, senior citizen, christian, and democrat are labels. We are people; we are not the label we place on ourselves. The boundaries of whatever definition we assign to "vegan" are flexible. For me, it's about compassion. It's about reducing the amount of suffering in the world, especially for those who do not have a voice. I choose to follow this path through my food and product choices. "Vivisanctor
excellent article. i too am happier to talk about eating vegan food or wearing non-leather shoes than to label myself as "vegan". What really brought this home to me was when a few years ago i bought some green beans from a supermarket. later i noted they were from zambia. i few days after that i read a harrowing report written by a member of the buddhist community i belong to about their experience in supporting a primary care outpost in zambia at a time of famine when many many people died. i know that i have been at times i have looked down on people whose diets are macdonald-esqe yet none of us is perfect. it is about leading as compassionate a life as possible. relieving the suffering of all sentient beings as best we can.
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