My Brand of Veganism

Like any other vegan, I don't consume animal products.  I don't eat meat, dairy, or eggs.

I do not eat honey.  There's a good overview of why not here.  I do, however, consume yeast and bacteria (ie, yoghurt cultures in soya yoghurt).

I am a vegan because I don't believe we have the right to enslave other animals and take things from them, no matter how nicely we go about it.  To that end, I would not, for instance, eat eggs even if I kept the chickens myself, and knew exactly how they were treated.  I wouldn't actually keep the chickens either, so that's a moot point.

I'm a little iffy on the issue of pets.  I think it's akin to slavery, again, no matter how nicely one goes about it.  That said, many domesticated animals can no longer live as wild animals, and I think we owe them a duty of care for that.  I think it's complicated.

I do not make non-vegan food for other people, and I try not to offer cooking or nutrition advice for non-vegan foods, either.  That said, I don't expect everyone around me to be vegan or vegetarian.  I try to focus only what I eat, or do, and not on what other people are consuming.

In a relationship, I will pay for non-vegan food from a restaurant for my partner.  This is on the understanding that we roughly split expenses between us, so the sums come out the same as if he'd purchased his food and I'd purchased mine.

I have no objection to sharing kitchen utensils with omnivores, nor do I mind a slight risk of contamination caused by vegan food being made in the same kitchen or factory as non-vegan food.

I will not buy new leather, silk, wool or suede, but I will buy them second-hand.

I don't think veganism is a moral issue, as regards other people.  At this point, I feel that I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if I weren't vegan, feeling as I do about animal rights, but I don't hold other people to the same standards.  Other people can hold themselves to their own standards; it's none of my business, and wouldn't help if I made it so.

I would like it if the entire world was vegan, but I think this is best accomplished through cake and not nagging.
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