What is so wrong with being a flex vegan??!
Answers: I eat very little meat. A steak every 1-2 months. Eggs and milk occasionally. My reasons are immaterial. I feel the term fits me. Or is this some sort of exclusive club??
Flexitarianism is a term used in the United States to describe the practice of eating mainly vegetarian food, but making occasional exceptions for social, pragmatic, cultural, or nutritional reasons. There is a wide range in the circumstances and outer boundaries of their dietary practices, which resist easy classification.
Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Vegans do not use or consume animal products of any kind. The most common reasons for becoming a vegan are ethical commitment or moral convictions concerning animal rights, the environment, human health, and spiritual or religious concerns. Of particular concern are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources required for animal farming.
You can call yourself whatever you like but I guess since being vegan is such a life philosophy, it's kind of like calling yourself a flex Christian. Not to say that it is a religion, but you either are or you're not. If you eat meat ever, you're a meat eater.
Being a vegan is not only about food choice.
Perhaps if you read up on what a vegan is (www.vegsoc.org) you might understand why some vegans may not like this term being used for your lifestyle choice.
You are corrupting the definition of vegan, thats what its about.
You wouldn't consider calling yourself a flexi-Muslim if you walked past a Mosque, would you ?
This creates confusion when vegans try to explain thier diet to others. If you were a vegan, and had been on the receiving end of "so, you eat fish ?" or "so, you eat meat occassionally ?" you might begin to understand the problem.
I eat eggs, it doesn't make me an ovo-vegan, does it ? Quite clearly I'm a vegetarian.
Me: I fly through Jakarta every few months so I'm going to start calling myself flexi-Indonesian...sounds daft eh ?
I've no idea why the words vegan and vegetarian are supposed to be open to any definition anyone chooses. If we do a perfectly reasonable thing and ask people to use the English language correctly we get dismissed as an "exclusive club". Nonsense.
Words have meanings that enable us to communicate clearly, its a simple concept.
I don't think there is any thing wrong with eating less meat. But a "flex vegan" is just a made up term, it is not recognized by any vegetarian associations. You're either vegan or your not, there is no half way. So the best thing to do is call you self an omnivore who rarely eats meat.
Because, regardless of how infrequently you eat meat you are still consuming it and other animal products therefore you are, by definition, an omnivore, albeit one who only consumes very little meat.
You wouldn't call someone who has the occasional cigarette a flex smoker would you?
Why is it so important to be called a flex vegan?
A vegan is someone who avoids animal products as far as humanly possible, no compromise, no 'flex' about it.
Whatever you want to call yourself you are an omnivore, plain and simple.
You know, words have meanings. The only way we get to convey what we mean when we communicate is to agree on the meaning of the words we use. We define our world and our experience with them. There is no 'flexi-vegan'. That is simply an empty term signifying the same absurdity as the conversation between Alice and the Caterpillar. You are Bull Baiting. It isn't necessary.
People who consume honey but no other animal or animal product are essentially the infamous "flex vegans"... There are even some who do not eat meat or dairy...or even honey, but absolutely believe that wearing leather is okay because the animal was killed for food and doing nothing with it's skin is wasteful. Those are "flex vegans"...
Now, of course, there are some who scoff at either type and DO NOT consider them vegan. But, there are many. Erykah Badu, for instance, often speaks of her veganism in interviews and smiles proudly in leather pumps in the accompanying photo spreads. And, those who eat honey just don't care about bees...or they find some very intellectual way of dismissing honey as an animal product in the first place (If I could explain as well, I would). So, I said all that to say, NO you may not call yourself a "flex vegan" because your diet is the antithesis of anything even remotely vegan. It makes me think you'd like to call yourself "vegan" merely for sport, like you want that label. I say, call yourself conscientious or even healthy. Don't call yourself something you're not.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. Vegan is a special term. How about a flex carnivore, I don't think the cannibals will object.
It's not at all exclusive. Congratulations! You're a member of Club Omnivore!
Honestly, you can live your life any way you want to or call yourself what you want but just don't say you're vegetarian when you're ordering your steak or tilapia or whatever meat you're eating because that's where people either think you're deluded or they start to think that it's okay to have meat or fish in food they serve other vegetarians at their restaurant, which just isn't the case.
So if you honestly can't hold out on your steak (I'm assuming your reasons to be vegetarian are mostly health-centered and not strongly founded in moral or religious reasons?), don't walk in saying you're a flex vegan because in my mind it's like going to Catholic Church wearing a hooded robe and a pentacle every 2 months and saying you're a flex Satanist.
Also it might make more sense to say flex vegetarian at the very least, because vegetarians tend not to commit as much to the cruelty free thing as vegans do (who avoid all animal products, including makeup, hygiene products, honey, sugar processed through bone char... it's incredibly involved; meanwhile despite the cruelty connections in dairy and eggs most vegetarians eat them, for multiple reasons, so it's not as strict per se).
But if you really feel the term fits you, who are we to judge? You can craft your own label just as easily. It's like kids who think they're punk because they shop at Hot Topic, though. While they like the label and it fits them, they might not fully understand the reasons for punk or even the point of the entire movement.
Even if you eat "very little" meat, you're not any kind of vegan. The term "vegan" refers to someone who not only abstains from eating ALL animal products (meat, dairy, honey, eggs), but they also refrain from wearing any animal fibers and from using products that are tested on animals or have animal byproducts as much as possible. I don't have anything against you because of your diet, but I do have a problem with people who sully the definitions of words like "vegetarian" and "vegan" by trying to claim that you can still eat meat and have those labels apply to you. Call yourself what you are. You are an OMNIVORE!
There is nothing wrong with the way you eat; it's your choice and your business.
Calling your self a flexitarian is fine; but vegan has a specific meaning. It means a person who doesn't consume any animal products at all. So saying you're a 'flexitarian' (or flex) vegan is the same as saying 'I eat very little animal produce and I eat no animal produce at all'. It's a nonsense, in the same way saying you're a virgin who has sex only occasionally.
If you sense hostility to flexitarians on this board it's because there has been a hostile, rude, offensive and obnoxious group of people describing themselves as flexitarians, or flexitarian vegans or whatever posting stupid and abusive stuff on here for a few months. Most have been suspended because of the content of their posts, though at least one has just opened a new account in another name.
Nothing to do with you, I'm sure, but it explains any hostility or suspicion of the word flexitarian that you may have noticed.
There's nothing wrong with your diet. But your label defies any sort of logic. Veganism is, by it's very definition, an absolute. It's a lifestyle that eschews exploitation of animals completely, so there is no "flex" room for steak and eggs. You're just an omnivore that doesn't eat much animal foods. Call yourself a flexitarian if you want; I don't mind that one because it doesn't imply that vegetarians or vegans eat meat. Insisting on an oxymoronic label just makes you look a little ridiculous.
There's nothing wrong with the concept, it's just the name that's wholly inaccurate. Vegans don't intentionally consume meat, eggs or milk. That cannot even be debated.
You're also only mentioning diet. What about other, non-dietary, animal products?
You can call yourself whatever you want to but it doesn't mean it's accurate and it certainly doesn't mean anyone else will call you that or view you in that manner. You're only kidding yourself.
There's nothing wrong with it, if you don't mind coming across as a complete buffoon.
Most vegans (including me) will tell you that the term "flex vegan" is completely asinine. It's like calling yourself a flex-Christian cuz you occasionally worship Satan.
If you eat any kind of non-vegan food, you're not any kind of vegan. The term you're looking for is "picky eater."
lol because that term doesn't exist.
if you eat meat (doesn't matter how much of it you eat) you are an omnivore. if you don't eat meat AT ALL then you're a vegetarian. as simple as that.
that term is absurd. there is no such thing (well, I guess there is but guess what? it's the same thing as being an OMNIVORE).
I don't understand why you have to make things so complicated because you're dying to have a label.
you're having trouble understanding what veganism is. vegans don't consume/use any animals or animal products.
What you choose to call yourself is your business; so is eating what you want.
However, I'd call it a picky eater.
Forget vegetarianism...forget steaks...bison is healthier with less fat and calories.
sorry but thats not being a vegan.
you could name yourself a vegetarian, but vegan is so much more of a lifestyle change than just the food you consume
nothing