For me “veganism” is not a diet, political statement, form of protest, or a label to be identified by. I am simply living in a way most adherent to a dharmic path; abstaining from all forms of violence including (to the best of my ability) violent speech, violent/destructive thoughts, behavior patterns and forms of entertainment, and working to live in harmony with the natural world around me.
If this offends you, I’m not sorry.
If you believe this lifestyle is a form of privilege-
I agree with you completely, and it’s a privilege I am truly grateful for.
But arguably so are things like access to safe housing, clean drinking water, education, medical care, musical, artistic & athletic programs for kids, and a thousand other things I think are just as important as the right to clean non-genetically modified whole foods, regardless of income or social status.
I’m not fighting for veganism, I’m issuing for a complete overhaul of the way we as a society think about land use, agricultural development, food shortages, subsidies, nutrition and basic human needs. A plant based diet is a privilege, but I don’t believe it should be..
Fundamentally we can all agree that a person has the right to be healthy. Most people believe that as human beings we have a basic right to health care; why is there not equal emphasis on access to healthy food when so many diseases can be prevented, and in some cases even cured with proper diet and exercise? Why are there 50 different commercials for heart attack pills and no PSAs for broccoli? Where’s the fresh produce in our school lunches? And why aren’t more people concerned by this??
We are being conned, folks! And I think the arguments back and forth on the topic of “vegan privilege” prove that it’s working. It is futile to charge an individual with the crimes of a corrupted system. It’s like the saying don’t hate the player, hate the game. Don’t hate the people fortunate enough to have access to quality food. Rather, a more effective use of our collective energy is to resist the system that denies us such basic human rights, and to fight together for equal access to healthy food and proper nutrition education.
As one of the earliest domesticated plants, Hemp refers to strains of the Cannabis Sativa plant. Hemp has been called the Eco-friendly fiber of the future, yet it was quoted as a “superior” herb in the world’s first medical text dating back to 3727 BC. 