Vegan Practically

Ever since I started my project on imperfect veganism, thinking of it more as a practice than as a theory, I’ve been reflected on the various ways a practicing vegan, who is vegan for ethical reasons, might be imperfect. I mention ethically-motivated vegans in particular because I think that someone who is vegan for health has space to be more flexible without needing to “justify” choices that deviate from their plan.

Ethical motivations are different, because no one wants to be a hypocrite. As a philosopher, I care about principles and consistency, and I realize that absolutist views practiced perfectly (such as perfect vegetarians) may appear to be more consistent. In any case, it has got me thinking about the variety of ways that vegans might be imperfect, and that in turn has led me to consider that perfection, even for the person who makes the best choices they can all the time, is out of reach. Without going into a ton of detail, I’m going to take this opportunity to give a quick rundown of what I’ve come up with so far as ways a vegan might be imperfect.

Mistakes

We all make mistakes, and sometimes this happens despite our best efforts. We might order our pizza with vegan cheese but it comes with dairy. We might think we’re eating coconut-based “yogurt” when in fact it’s not. This happened to a friend of mine recently because she didn’t realize that Maison Riviere, which has a line of delicious non-dairy yogurts, also has dairy-based yogurts.

Temptation

The idea of “giving into temptation” is probably the one that most naturally comes to mind when we think of people who deviate from what they have set their mind to. Especially when it comes to the narratives surrounding weight-loss diets and “good foods/bad foods,” it’s a familiar story of Monday’s resolve faltering when presented with a chocolate eclair on Tuesday. We have all experienced temptation at some point. And we’re human, so sometimes, despite our best intentions, we’ll eat the milk chocolate truffle because it just looks so delicious.

Selective Imperfection

The idea here is that, knowing we are human and that we are not likely going to be able to be 100% perfect all the time, we built in our imperfection. In a way, this might be a way of “making the most of it.” In the world of dieting, this could be how “cheat days” work. Knowing you have a cheat day coming (I’m told) makes it easier to stick to the “the plan” the rest of the time. When it comes to vegan principles, perhaps it could work the same way. I’m not suggesting “cheat days” where all bets are off, but rather specific occasions (like a big celebration with non-vegan cake as part of the joy) or specific more deliberate decisions (such as to allow eggs florentine when you go out to brunch). I get that this approach is more controversial, but it is definitely a way some people go. For example, we see this approach in Mark Bittman’s Vegan Before 6, which recommends eating vegan before 6 p.m. and then eating as an omnivore after that. As a foodie and chef he knew he couldn’t be vegan all the time, but he also knew it was important for health, the animals, and the environment. So that was the compromise he came up with.

Inevitable Imperfection

Inevitable imperfection is probably the reality for all of us, no matter how hard we try. I read a great philosophy paper recently by Lori Gruen and Robert Jones called “Vegan as an Aspiration” (in The Moral Complexities of Meat, editors Ben Bramble and Bob Fischer, Oxford 2016, pp. 152-171) What they say is that being vegan is more an aspiration than an identity. The reason it is, in their view, inevitably aspirational is that the world we live in just doesn’t permit consistent application of the principles lying behind veganism (i.e. wanting to reduce the magnitude of animal suffering, concern for the environment, objecting to killing animals).

They note the environmental impact of monocultures, pointing out that intensive farming is not only intensive farming of animals. They point out that intensive farming of crops like soy, wheat, and corn have an enormous environmental impact and also harm and kill sentient field animals. The production of palm oil, an omnipresent ingredient in so much of what we eat, has posed serious threats to the orangutan population in parts of Southeast Asia and harmed many other species. Moreover, if we have companion animals, we have to feed them appropriate diets, and for many companion animals that will require animal products. So, they say, “Living necessitates dying and, controversially, killing” (Gruen and Jones, p. 158). There is more to say about their rich discussion, but the upshot is not to say that veganism is not a worthwhile aspiration that makes a difference, but to say rather that it can not be more than that, and so vegans need to be realistic and realize that their hands are not as clean and they are not as morally superior as they might like to think. I really like their approach.

And it leads back to the question deliberate choices. If we know that imperfection is inevitable, can we be deliberate about the ways that we deviate from our aspirational undertaking?

This is really the core issue of my entire project, exploring imperfection that, once recognized as inevitable, may also be channeled in particular ways through the daily practice of veganism. Today’s post just touches the surface of the “ways to be imperfect.”