Pros and cons of eating vegan

Photo by striatic

One of the reasons I started this blog was to figure out for myself how I want to eat with integrity. I have been reading more about eating vegan as well as eating raw, and for a long time now, I have tried to eat as organic and local as possible. However, none of these labels really fit the way I want to eat. At least, not in a way that would be in alignment with my values.

Veganism aligns with my values to not harm animals, but the way many vegans eat is counter to my food values. The fact that an organic vegetarian/vegan fast food restaurant could be lauded boggles my mind. Of course, sometimes I do crave a simple veggie burger with a side of fries and a shake, but vegan fast food goes against a few values I feel strongly about. I believe that taking the trouble to cook good, real, whole food is worthwhile. And any movement that celebrates substituting meat with industrially-produced chemical-based meat substitutes rather than delicious vegetables gives me pause to join them.

For a long time I have been attracted to veganism's ethical treatment of animals, but so much of vegan food depend on meat and dairy substitutes. Many of these have unhealthy flavor and mouthfeel additives, especially those made with soy protein isolate. Whether I care to replace meat or not is another topic, but soy protein isolate is not healthy. For one, Monsanto monopolizes the soy bean and, as a result, the soybean is heavily genetically-modified. Worse, soy protein isolate is heavily processed and far from a whole food. Soy protein isolate is the protein part of the soybean separated from the soybean's fat and carbs through heavy chemical processing. Then fake flavor, color and nutrients are added back to it via more processing. If anything, soy protein isolate is the industrial vegan food par excellence. Many soy products like soy ice cream and soy cheese contain soy derivatives.*

Besides the fact that vegan food often seemed fake, vegan food sometimes did not seem so delicious. In fact, vegan recipes almost seemed apologetic for substituting meat. Why would one want to replace meat in their vegan meal, in any case? To maintain a meat-ish dish as the center of a meal seemed to express that vegetables, legumes, grains, and fruits could not center a meal like meat or a meat-like substitute could. Fake meat is not only usually made from unhealthy soy derivatives but also disrespectful of the flavor that vegetables, legumes, grains, mushrooms, and fruits bring to the table.

In addition to eating real, whole, AND delicious food, I also want to explore and respect local food cultures of where I lived and traveled. When I lived in France for almost three years, as a vegetarian I couldn't eat most of France's traditional meat-based food, but I feasted on cheese discoveries, delicate buttery pastries, and glorious sourdough bread. Of course, as a vegan, I could explore its alcohol cultures, its vegetables and fruits, but it just seemed too limited socially because I love getting to know cultures through its foods.

And one last thing that turns me off about veganism: the divisiveness of its militancy. I don't believe that all militancy has to be divisive, but the way many vegans approach their militancy seems divisive to me. I respect the sanctity of life, but friendship is also sacred to me as well as respecting people's decisions for themselves. More on that later...

* More information about soy: Vegan chef Lagusta separates the good soy from the bad soy in a very informative article. Out of all the vegans whom I have met (online or in person), she is the one who really made me seriously consider eating vegan with her delicious vegan truffles.