Vegan In A Strange Land
Being Vegan can be tough sometimes. Just when you think you have Veganism sorted out, something else crops up to disturb your pretty little Universe and dump life on its head.
Take family members, for instance. When I was growing up, my family were fairly supportive of what I wanted to do. They made sure that, when I was at school, I was able to dress like all the other kids, and have the "right" shoes, the "right" jeans, the "right" bag. They forked out large sums of money to send me to University and give me a good education. They approved (or pretended to approve) of the boyfriends I brought home, and didn't complain too much when I experimented with cigarettes and alcohol.
So why was it that when I announced I was becoming Vegetarian, they made such a fuss? I provided them with books and information on the subject. I explained how the planet would benefit, how the animals would benefit, I would be healthier, how I would be cheaper to feed. I gave them all the logic and facts behind my decision.
Even now I'm sure that if my mother had the ability to faint on the spot, she would have done so. However, she doesn't have that ability, so she spent the next four years of my life (until I moved out) making my Vegetarianism as difficult as possible for me. She refused to cook separate meals for me, and refused to let me cook my own meals. I handled this by eating out as often as possible at places where it could be ensured my food was Vegetarian. At home, I diligently picked the meat out of every dish she cooked, and left the steak, sausages, or chop untouched on my plate at every mealtime.
The fights we fought! The arguments we had! The debates, the bellowing, the stony silences. We went through it all. And, the whole while, I simply couldn't understand why my mother was making such a fuss. I obviously was healthy -- my skin glowed, I'd lost weight, my asthma had improved.
Looking back, the reason why we had so many battles is plain: every parent has a hidden agenda. And that agenda is that they all hope that their little darlings will grow up to be just like them. As my parents' little darling, I was supposed to be identical to them. I was supposed to come to the same moral conclusions that they did, and make the same lifestyle choices.
Making the decision to become Vegetarian or Vegan is a big one. I really had no idea when I made the decision to go Vegetarian, over a decade ago, how much it would impact on my life. Being a minority really opens your eyes to all the hypocrisy in our society. It changes your perspective so completely that you really are a stranger in a strange land. You're alien, looking into the small, closed-in prison-world of the omnivore. And sometimes you don't like what you see.
I think my parents may have realised at the time what a life-changing path I had set foot upon. They realised that I would be different, and not the copy of themselves (minus the flaws and mistakes) for which they had hoped. I was asserting my independence in a very real way for the first time. I think it scared them. They didn't like the loss of control and influence.
Many years have passed since I made the decision never again to eat an animal. Since then, I have moved even further towards a plant-centered diet by embracing Veganism. The gap between the world of my parents and my own world has widened.
However, as I have moved towards Veganism, a wonderful thing has happened. I've been joined by many millions more strangers in my strange land with me. I'm not alone, on the outside looking in. Every time I turn from gazing through the windows, there's another person next to me, seeing the world from my point of view. They're smiling at me; holding my hand. It's exhilarating.
I hope and believe that one day we'll all be on the outside, looking in. Every person, everyone. And we'll all wonder how we ever believed that the way we lived before was freedom.
Leanne Daharja Veitch
VeganForLife: http://www.veganforlife.org
Melbourne, Australia
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