"Flexitarian" discusses "The Vegan Underground"

[Delicious]

So, this woman is a "flexitarian" (read:OMNI) and is discussing what she calls "The Vegan Underground".

http://www.vegfamily.com/marriage-family/vegan-underground.htm

I have several problems with this article. Lables, for one thing...besides the obvious "flexitarian" crap (you either eat animals and secretions or you DON'T) she calls naan, chutney and hummus "bean dip, salsa and tortillas" ??? Way to confuse people further :rolleyes: "Hey, let's LIE to people who already are suspicious of vegan food and re-lable everything!" YEAH, THAT'S a good idea :sigh: I don't know about you but any chutney I have ever made tastes pretty different that what the average omni associates with as SALSA! :rubchin:

Why wouldn't this person just eat whatever was being served at family gatherings if they are "flexitarian" (omni) :dark: If anything, instead of opening people's minds to vegan issues and concerns she is confusing the issue by being vigilant in lableing foods with the little green sticker to indicate its vegan-ness while being the same person who "chomps down on a peice of pepperoni pizza". :confused:

I have other issues with the article too but for now, I'll just open up the floor-what do you think of this story?

[thevegantwins]

I had read it before and did not like it but didn't even notice as many obnoxious points as you had pointed out. The lying bothered me the most when I first read the article. I hate liars. I didn't even catch on that she was a 'flexitarian' which is an absolute bullshit label, probably invented by the meat & dairy industry to make veg*ns looks flaky. I'm disappointed in Erin, the woman behind VegFamily, for publishing that article.

[Bowwowmeow]

Well, I didn't tell anyone at the baby shower that the cake was vegan. Nobody asked, they just liked the decoration and thought it was delicious. I wouldn't have lied to anyone asking, but I didn't see the point of telling everyone ahead of time that their cake was free of dead animal extractions and secretions. I think of what I eat as food suitable for anyone, and see no need to identify it as something someone else may erroneously view as weird. I don't know if that's dishonest, or just not volunteering things no one needs to know about anyway, unless they ask. I have never been the sort to say any more than necessary, and I never volunteer information about anything unless I am asked, and then I am honest. If anyone had asked for the recipe, I would have told them the ingredients, without describing the cake as "vegan", and they probably wouldn't have blinked an eye, since most people don't know how to make cake from scratch anyway.

In the same way, I do not identify myself as vegan at a restaurant, as I am never sure that the people will understand what that means. I usually ask for a dish that is almost vegan anyway, and request no cheese, or butter, or whatever it is that makes the dish not vegan, and I never have any trouble. So maybe that makes me an underground vegan! But the people who are the most important in my life know, and they are all who need to know, as far as I am concerned. I guess its not so much a matter of keeping it a secret as feeling like it is nobody else's business unless they are a friend or loved one.

[Delicious]

I don't know if that's dishonest, or just not volunteering things no one needs to know about anyway, unless they ask.

So maybe that makes me an underground vegan!

But the people who are the most important in my life know, and they are all who need to know, as far as I am concerned.

I guess its not so much a matter of keeping it a secret as feeling like it is nobody else's business unless they are a friend or loved one.

Maybe you *are* an "Underground Vegan" and if so, that's not anyone's business but yours; Label "vegan" isn't the important thing and I often do just as you -simply present beautiful and nourishingly decadent food and it gets gobbled up without a second thought as to it's "status". I don't view what I or you do as deceptive at all..it's not like all foods and products were labled and yours wasn't and you tried to "pass" it off as omni! You just brought a beautiful cake to share!

My issue is that the woman who wrote the article is FAR from ANY kind of vegan :rolleyes: and by making a big deal of labling foods as "vegan" at the gathering while being an omni herself and the *only* one concerned with food lables at these gatherings (as evidenced by her family's responses), she is trivializing the whole vegan idea/lifestyle/intentions.

[Bowwowmeow]

My issue is that the woman who wrote the article is FAR from ANY kind of vegan :rolleyes: and by making a big deal of labling foods as "vegan" at the gathering while being an omni herself and the *only* one concerned with food lables at these gatherings (as evidenced by her family's responses), she is trivializing the whole vegan idea/lifestyle/intentions.
Yes, I got the impression that the author feels that she is in a better position to "represent" for vegans than vegans themselves because she is "flexitarian", and she wants to give the impression that this somehow makes it easier to understand both the omni stance and the vegan stance. She seems to be laboring under the misconception that vegans need a "flexitarian" to bridge the gap between themselves and omnis, but in reality it looks like she doesn't want to be omni, doesn't want to be vegan, but wants to place herself in some intermediate position that cannot be described as "vegetarian", and create a purpose for this bogus classification; liason between vegans and omnis. I say "get off the fence"!

[Phoenix]

What an obnoxious "sugar-coated" article. :sigh: