Oysters

An old friend of mine wanted my take on an article he read titled, "It's OK for Vegans to eat Oysters".  I read the article, it was interesting.  He makes the case that oyster farms are sustainable, unlike factory farms for fish, poultry, beef, and pork.  And hey, he loves oysters, so why not?

My take?  Good for him!

The word 'Vegan' is supposed to be a black and white thing, I suppose.  A badge of honor, if you will.  So, if you even sip a cup of vegetable soup in vegetable broth made from the same kitchen that actually served, god forbid, chicken, then that's a really bad thing.  Man, that's just nuts to me.  For my situation, telling people I'm Vegan is the easiest way for them to understand that I don't eat animals or dairy products.  Now, is that black/white, 100%?  No.  But, who cares?  Honestly.  I don't go around asking people what they eat and make judgments or question the labels.  Eat what you love, and what makes you feel great.  And for those people that say I'm not a 'real Vegan' ... okay fine ... whatever label you want to put 'fake Vegan' '99% Vegan' 'ghetto Vegan' whatever, it really doesn't matter to me, I'm still gonna say "I'm a Vegan" simply because it's easier that way to explain it to people.

To me, it's okay for Vegans to eat whatever the heck they want.  It's their life, and their choice.  If they really want to eat a burger at McDonalds, then go ahead, seriously.  It's not like there's going to be a headline in the news the next morning stating, "Vegan ate a Big Mac, stay tuned for details."  The worry and the pressure that one puts on themselves to be so strict, is in turn not good for you, I believe.  There's obviously arguments to be made that a few caring farmers out there do the right thing, and it would be perfectly fine to consume animal products, if you knew their origin and the care and love given to them.

In my practice and life, I rarely (if ever) eat any dairy or meat.  Not that I wouldn't try something at a fine restaurant or a different country of city, if presented to me.  For me, it's a lot to do with where the food came from.  If the animals are raised 'right,' then the argument could be made that it's okay to have a small sample, emphasis on small.  I still wouldn't make it a big part of my life, simply because I'll never know if what I'm eating is raised 'right'.  That's the problem, 99% of our meat and dairy isn't raised right, even though the labels and whatnot tell you so.  And living in the City and not on a farm with farmers, it's simply not feasible to look up and question the ingredients used at every restaurant you go to.

Ah, well.  I never really liked oysters anyway, even when I wasn't a Vegan.  They were slimy and nasty to me, so despite the author's eloquent argument for eating Vegan oysters, I'm good where I am, thank you.