2 Apr 2006 ... 100% Pure Vegan

Being vegan is more that just a diet. It's a lifestyle. As a vegan, I try not to contribute to cruelty in any way... I don't buy leather, wool, silk or feathers. I don't use glue. Bugs in the house get relocated, not sprayed. I avoid aspertame because millions of rats have died to tell us it causes cancer.

But technically, there is no such thing as "100% Vegan". Unfortunately dead animals are the foundations of civilization. Dead animal parts are used in the making of rubber, glues, paper, concrete. I think they are even used in the processing of metals and plastics.

So, if you live in a building, with furniture, and books. If you have a car or a bicycle, if you use the roads. If you're not dead, you're using animal products. And if you are dead, well that's not a pretty picture either. heh.

Anyway. I try to remember this "100%" fact when I am unable to avoid every tiny animal product that ever was.

For instance, the sugar. Plain white sugar is made of either sugar cane or sugar beets. Sugar beet sugar is naturally white, but sugar cane does not come out white. It is processed to make it white, by filtering it with bone char. "Bone" as in, _somebody's_ Bones. Yuck, huh? yeah.

So, let's get brown sugar, right? nope: brown sugar is usually the processed white sugar, with the molasses put back in!

There are some vegan sugars out there, of course. I like Sugar in the Raw, but it costs more and I can't afford it at this point in my life. I get the plain sugar, and tell myself about the "100%".

"So," you say. "Rift, you can't be 100% vegan! So why bother at all?!" I can't wave my magic wand and lift myself out of the cruelty of the world. However! 95 animals did not die this year for my meals. Several cows did not die so their skin could be my jacket or shoes. Baby cows are not murdered for me so I can steal their momma's milk for cheese or ice cream. I am not giving my money to the people who crowd chickens so close together they can't even flap their wings. I do not support the fishermen who destroy everything and everyone on the bottom of the ocean, just to get a few choice species.

We can't be 100% vegan... but just by being vegan we are making a difference in the world!

Off-site Links

VeganOutreach "Choosing Compassion"
"Ultimately, living with compassion means striving to maximize the good we accomplish..."

PETA: Accidentally Vegan
A great list of all kinds of food products that happen to be vegan!

Ask Jo: Is Sugar Vegan?
More info and thoughts about sugar processing.

Ask Jo: Animal Products in Plastic
Basically, don't sweat the small stuff.