There’s No Meating In The Middle, Here, Part 2
In the last year, I’ve gone vegan for environmental reasons. I mention my reasoning because, surprisingly, I’ve found that people who are vegan solely for animal welfare reasons tend to really disagree with my approach to veganism.
A perfect example of this is when I met my girlfriend’s friends and their partners for the first time at a restaurant meal. One of her friends is also vegan. I was wearing my father’s forty-year-old leather jacket and a pair of second-hand leather shoes, which this friend noticed, and started this conversation.
To note: she is perfectly polite the whole way through and doesn’t come across rude at any point; it was more the content of her words I had issue with.
Girlfriend’s Friend: “I thought you were vegan?”
Me: “Yeah, I am! Started moving over a few months ago and have finally got the hang of it.”
Girlfriend’s Friend: “Then why are you wearing leather?”
Me: “Well, the jacket was my dad’s in the eighties, and the shoes are second-hand.”
Girlfriend’s Friend: “Yeah, but that’s still animal skin. How can you call yourself a vegan and wear that stuff?”
Me: “I completely get not liking leather, but personally I don’t mind wearing it if the items themselves have a minimal environmental impact, like if I already own them.”
Girlfriend’s Friend: “But you’re vegan! An animal died for that stuff. You should really invest in some vegan leather if you like the look.”
Girlfriend: “[Friend], vegan leather is essentially just plastic. It really doesn’t fit [My Name]’s MO.”
Girlfriend’s Friend: “Still, I feel like if you really want to call yourself a real vegan, you should bin the animal skin and invest in some plant-based materials.”
Me: “…so, I should get rid of two perfectly good clothing items that will last me at least a decade or more, buy a brand new jacket and shoes that were probably made by an underpaid factory worker in poor conditions, shipped thousands of miles producing tonnes of CO2 in the process, and will shed microplastics every time I wash them, just so I can call myself a ‘real vegan’?”
Girlfriend’s Friend: *Entirely missing the sarcasm.* “Not sure why you mention the shipping, but yeah! I think that would be a good next step in your veganism.”
My girlfriend gave me a look at that point, so I shut up and changed the subject. At that dinner, the same friend also said she thought coming out as vegan was a lot more noble and braver than coming out as gay, whilst giving me and my girlfriend (the only gay couple there) a very pointed look; my girlfriend’s parents disowned her at seventeen when she came out, which this friend knew.
I got on with my girlfriend’s other friends a whole lot better.
Related:
There’s No Meating In The Middle, Here
