I gave being vegan a go but stopped because I couldn’t keep up with it.
Working 60-hour weeks makes it hard to meal prep, so I order out a lot, and there aren’t many vegan friendly dining options in my area.
I ended up skipping a lot of family gatherings because Cantonese food isn’t all that vegan friendly. The one thing I never wanted to be was “that guy” who needed a special menu when invited to social events, so I thought it was easier to just withdraw. Being very lactose intolerant as a kid did not help in that regard when friends would want to go out for ice cream or eat birthday cake and I’d always feel like “that guy”.
At a particularly low point for me, when I was eating the same garden salad for dinner for 2 weeks straight, I ended up having a bit of a breakdown. My therapist said that it is admirable to be vegan, but my behavior at the time was verging on having a martyr complex, and that I should stop punishing myself to make a point.
I’m currently a pescatarian, which is the only concession I could make at present to let myself eat my family’s home-cooked meals that are usually made with a fish sauce of some sort. I’d like to try going vegan again at some point when I’m in a better mental space, but it’s something that some of us have to find our way into gradually.
I don’t know you and if you’re being sincere about your harm reduction then that’s great. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, the clothes I wear I made from human slavery, the produce from the exploitation of migrant workers. But people want to be blind to this so they can enjoy their treats in peace while there is a world of suffering around us, that’s what gets me so riled up. The wilful ignorance.
I gave being vegan a go but stopped because I couldn’t keep up with it.
Working 60-hour weeks makes it hard to meal prep, so I order out a lot, and there aren’t many vegan friendly dining options in my area.
I ended up skipping a lot of family gatherings because Cantonese food isn’t all that vegan friendly. The one thing I never wanted to be was “that guy” who needed a special menu when invited to social events, so I thought it was easier to just withdraw. Being very lactose intolerant as a kid did not help in that regard when friends would want to go out for ice cream or eat birthday cake and I’d always feel like “that guy”.
At a particularly low point for me, when I was eating the same garden salad for dinner for 2 weeks straight, I ended up having a bit of a breakdown. My therapist said that it is admirable to be vegan, but my behavior at the time was verging on having a martyr complex, and that I should stop punishing myself to make a point.
I’m currently a pescatarian, which is the only concession I could make at present to let myself eat my family’s home-cooked meals that are usually made with a fish sauce of some sort. I’d like to try going vegan again at some point when I’m in a better mental space, but it’s something that some of us have to find our way into gradually.
I don’t know you and if you’re being sincere about your harm reduction then that’s great. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, the clothes I wear I made from human slavery, the produce from the exploitation of migrant workers. But people want to be blind to this so they can enjoy their treats in peace while there is a world of suffering around us, that’s what gets me so riled up. The wilful ignorance.