Diary 365

Learning to be a vegan ally

In the past, I never thought that a different eating style could make someone vulnerable in a modern society. I never thought that being vegan could mean treatment from others that negatively impacts their wellbeing and health. I am an international student on my first Master of Social Work placement where I am working on two projects: The Vegan Wellbeing Project and Prescribing Nature . Both projects have made me look vegans and vegetarians differently. The placement has also reminded me of a previous experience, and stories shared by my relatives. 

Personal experience
I had tried once to be vegan for one week because of traditional customs. The most significant issue I faced was accessing vegan street food. I spent almost one and half hours seeking vegan restaurants and dishes and ultimately, I found that only option was available: a simple salad with tomatoes. 

From this experience, I realize how vegans might feel living in a carnist world. You can feel lonely and confused being excluded and this can affect vegans’ wellbeing. People who decide to become vegan have to get through the transition period, including checking carefully at ingredients before purchase, managing reactions from friends and family, and monitoring their body’s reactions to their change of diet. People around vegans can make vegans’ lives easier or harder. It will depend on how they behave. For instance, when vegans plan a meal with friends who are not vegans there is the possible tension of finding a restaurant that offers vegan dishes when most people are not vegans. Vegan allies understand the importance of finding restaurants that include vegans properly that offer them more than a tomato salad. 

Reasons for veganism 
From my previous experience and research about veganism, I am curious about individuals’ reasons to go vegan. From the blog posts that I have read that have described people’s decision and beliefs about being a vegan, I found that there are three main reasons: 

1. Being healthier. Some research shows that vegans are less likely to develop diabetes and high blood pressure than meat-eaters. Mostly this is because vegans avoid cholesterol and saturated animal fat from meats. This is the most common reason that I heard from my vegan relatives.
2. Being more environmentally friendly. Some articles and blog posts reveal that meat production is one main causes of climate change. The meat and dairy industry processes are wasteful and lead to pollution. This is new information for me that has made me reflect on how our diet can positively or negatively influence the nature environment. 
3. Uphold animals’ rights. It is widely believed by vegans that using, killing, and eating animals are all morally wrong; that animals should have the right to live instead of becoming “beef” or “pork” for human consumption. Animal rights are rarely promoted in our education systems though. Ultimately children are commonly taught that animals are things, livestock, and ‘units of production’ to meet human needs and desires. This needs to change. We need to teach about animal rights and human diets in critically different ways. 

I am interested in animal and green social work and in contradictory thinking about meat eating. I watched a video from BBC News, named Dog meat that shows how some people cannot accept the practice of eating dog meat. For some people it was an abhorrent idea because they see puppies as too adorable to eat. The interesting thing is that when they talked about eating other types of meats, such as chicken, pork, and duck, they spoke of these animals as a resource for their diet. This was unlike when they were talking about eating dog meat, and expressed feeling uncomfortable and guilty. Some of this is due to the affections and connections that can occur between dogs and humans. But another part of it is because of the refusal to recognize the emotions and beauty of farmed animals. For vegans, there is little difference eating dog meat or the meat from other animals.  
Watching Dog meat made me reflect how vegans feel about eating animals and their compassion for upholding animals’ rights.

I am not vegan, but I am a vegan ally and a social worker
As a vegan ally, the first and fundamental thing I have to do is showing my respect to those who have different diet styles and opinions about meat and dairy eating. I believe that each individual has the right to their own beliefs for living. Appreciating difference, being supportive and non-judgmental are values of my professional social work identity. Respecting different opinions can also help maintain collaborative relationships with people from diverse backgrounds. Providing social support maybe especially important for people who are in the process of becoming vegan. Other support could include connections with other vegans, participate in animal right group, vegan meetups, or vegan fests.