What do you think about becoming freegan?

[VeganD]

Hello

How is everyone

Tell me what you think about this

Well i was thinking about being a freevegan but i am not sure how i feel about it

So what do i mean?

Well when friends order in a large cheese & tomato pizza and they have as much as they can the rest is going to go in the bin but i was thinking this is a waste of food and a cow more then likely had to suffer to produce the cheese so why not eat the left overs?

Like i said i am only thinking about it and not really sure how i feel about the whole thing but do think it’s a shame for something to be thrown away when a cow had to suffer for it when i can eat it but then i guess i wont be vegan any more?

I am not sure if i could ever go as far as eating flesh

If i did this would i be letting the animals down?

[Gliondrach]

If you do eat the cheese the cow will still suffer. I think it would be better to persuade your friends to put it in the fridge for the next day or to put it outside for the birds.

Why not get an allotment? The ultimate freeganism. You would probably produce so much food that you could give some away. Or you could tend the allotment with 2 or 3 others.

[Fauxmage]

Hi jo, I'm doing pretty good. I hope you are too!

You have brought up an interesting question! I guess it depends on how you feel about your own veganism. I never saw being vegan as being primarily about refusing to support industry I don't agree with with my hard-earned money. Some people feel fine about using animal-derived items for food or other purposes if they aren't paying for it directly, as in receiving something as a gift, or if they are not supporting the industry directly, as in buying second-hand goods that are made from animals. I've done my share of "dumpster-diving", mostly to get grass clippings for my compost pile, or discarded houseplants or items of furniture. I never brought home anything made from animals, though, or ate discarded food, even plant food. Its been a long time since I've considered the animal-derived stuff eaten by my friends and family as fit for human consumption, anyway, whether freshly prepared or left over and headed for the trash.

The trouble I see with doing things like eating other people's leftovers, using second-hand leather or wool, or being a total dumpster-diving freegan, is that to me, part of being vegan is to show the world that I can live a life as free of dependence upon animals as possible. Finding ways to make use of animal derived substances to prevent them being wasted, without having to pay for them, or obtaining them second-hand, makes it look like none of us can really survive or thrive without needing animals, and we all know that is not true.

If I were truly disturbed at the idea of waste, and especially the idea of waste as disrespectful to the animals who suffered for the products being discarded, I would give the wasted items to the homeless. There are plenty of necrotarians who are happy to make use of discarded animal-derived substances, so in essence, these things, when thrown away, need not be used by vegans to prevent waste, because there is a huge necrotarian market for this stuff. It can also be left out for feral or wild animals, which is a better way to give back to the animals than eating it yourself.

But ultimately its a question you can only answer for yourself. I've known since I first gave up flesh that I could never start eating it again. I don't often think about what it would be like to swig down a glass of cow milk, or eat a slab of cheese or an egg, but just now, upon imagining myself in your position, and asking myself what I would do, my throat actually closed up at the idea of eating that pizza. I usually avoid the meat, milk, cheese, and egg departments when I go shopping, and my own skill at denial is good enough that its almost as if those departments don't exist in the store anymore, as I've gotten so good at pretending they are not there. I am also very good at not acknowledging what my family eats when we share a meal. What this boils down to is that after all this time, I really don't think of the stuff other people get from animals as FOOD. After you have been vegan for a really long time, you really will not see that pizza as edible, even though other people may be eating it right in front of you. For example, I've seen dogs eat their own poop, rabbit poop from the fields I walk them in, and raid litterboxes for kitty poop too, but they'll never get me to think of poop as food! Its the same way with milk, cheese, and eggs. Its just not food, from my point of view, no matter how many people I see stuffing it down their gullets. I agree that its a shame for people to throw away stuff that they get by torturing animals, but I can't change that by eating it myself, and if I went ahead and ate it anyway, I think in the long run it would do the animals more harm, because of the impression that people who know I am vegan would get about my ability to stick to my vegan way of life.

[Oracl]

Hi jo. :) I agree completely with Fauxmage. :agree:

If you're vegan because you believe that animal exploitation is morally wrong, then you do not eat/use animal products, ever. If you do, even in a situation such as you describe, it gives out a message that sometimes it's OK to use animal body parts and/or secretions. :(

I would no sooner eat any animal bits or fluids than I would eat a severed human finger or a dead human baby, even if I found them in a dumpster. None of these things are food to me. :no:

[AutomaticMan]

Once you start allowing some animal products, it becomes a slippery slope.
What's next, going to mcdonalds if friends take you out?

Freeganism should be veganism (although it's widesly acceptabled stuff like dumpstered dairy is ok with freeganism) and veganism is living abolition of animal abuse. Abstain from all animal products, not only does it convey the (confusing, if people know you're vegan) notion that some animal products are ok to eat, they're absolute shite (no offence animals, although I guess that's not really offensive) and are terrible for your health.

Be healthy. Be ethical. Stay vegan. :)

[Gliondrach]

I'm sure Jo will make the right and best decision.

[VeganD]

Some very good posts thanks all

Yes i will stick with it like i said i was only thinking about it any way

I got my vegan wrist ban on so i am vegan for life now

[Fauxmage]

I think its good to discuss these ideas, jo. Thanks for starting the thread! :wave:

[Oracl]

I got my vegan wrist ban on so i am vegan for life now
I knew you would be. :agree: :thumbsup: :yea: