Vegan vehicles?!


Question:

Vegan vehicles?


I've seen some ppl on yahoo answers that claim vegans don't use vehicles, not even public transport or push bikes. how does this not make u a vegan if you do? I'm a dietary vegan, but need to use public transport to get back from shops which are an hours walk away . i walk there, but cannot carry the shopping back (plus its uphill). i use my bike to get to uni which is 40 mins walk away, but more like a hour after i take my kids to school first.


Answers: Same old me - doesn't 'ENCOURAGES the use of alternatives' mean that vegans (yes, actual vegans) should do everything in their power to avoid animal products. It doesn't say 'enforces the use of alternatives' i.e. forbidding you to call yourself vegan because you cycle to work and your bike might have animal-derived parts! Obviously we don't eat meat etc and we check the labels of our toilletries/cosmetics/cleaning products for animal-derived or tested on animal ingredients and we don't wear animals or shoes with animal-derived glues. But if the only shop near us sells veggies pollinated by slave bees and we have to get a bus there which has leather seats, then we are still vegan because we are doing everything in our power to avoid animal exploitation. We still have to get to the shop and buy something to eat. If I say I'm vegetarian that's not a good description for someone. They'd probably think I eat eggs and cheese and wouldn't understand that I had to be very careful when buying ANYTHING, not just food. according to the dictionary, a vegan is a vegetarian who omits all animal products from their diet.

there is someone here who claims that vegans are "mythical" because it is not possible to live without using something that was made or influenced by the use of animal products. some tires are made with some by-product of animal slaughter.

i use a vehicle, i purchase organic and conventional produce from my local health food store, and i give my cats feed that has animal meat. if that doesn't make me a vegan, according to this poster's standards, then so be it. that is his opinion. i define myself as a vegan because i do everything in my limited power to make sure the things i personally consume and use are not made from animal products. where did you get this nonsense.
Only You Set The Rules For What You EAT.
..."......"......"......"........ You Travel.
If you wish to tell Jesus (God) he was or is wrong OK
IT is a matter of YOUR choice
you have no allegiance to anything that demands adherence to some rules. Being a true vegan is more than just diet. It is lifestyle.

Here is the definition of "vegan" as dictated by the person who coined the word "vegan" in 1944:

"Veganism is a WAY OF LIVING which excludes ALL forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, the animal kingdom, and includes a reverence for life. It applies to the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, animal milk and its derivatives, and encourages the use of alternatives for all commodities derived wholly or in part from animals."

http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm...


Using rendered animal parts would therefore be non-vegan in the clearest sense:

"Material from rendering plants ends up in, among other products, Jell-O, gummy candies, photographic film, fertilizer for “organic” produce, and anti-rejection drugs. The following list is by no means definitive.

Non-edible tallow is an important ingredient in wax paper, crayons, margarine, and soap; oleic acid (used in foods, soft soaps, bar soaps, permanent wave solutions, shampoos, hair dyes, creams, nail polish, lipsticks, liquid makeups, nasal sprays, inhalers); glycerine (used in inks, glues, solvents, explosives, ANTIFREEZE, cosmetics, foods, mouthwashes, toothpastes, soaps, ointments, medicines, LUBRICANTS, TRANSMISSION AND BRAKE FLUIDS, PLASTICS); stearic acid (used in RUBBER AND TIRES, cosmetics, soaps, LUBRICANTS, candles, hairsprays, conditioners, deodorants, creams, food flavoring, pharmaceutical products); and linoleic acid (used in PAINTS and esters)."

http://www.api4animals.org/articles?p=37...

My point is simply that those who call themselves "vegans" fall short by definition. They are simply a more strict vegetarian. I'm all for the cause. I think some believe I'm not but that's irrelevant anyways. Anyone you've seen say that was either extremely mistaken or (more likely) one of our many trolls. For me and most vegans I know, being vegan simply means doing everything you can. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking public transportation. Don't worry about it, you're doing more than most people care to do for our world.



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