Vegan or Non-Vegan, Plant A Row for the Hungry

My vegan friend, Kerrie, wrote this post in her blog, A Peas of My Mind, on Monday, September 14, 2009:

Define irony

One of the most aggressive, opinionate and judgemental (dare I say fanatical?) vegans I know online has posted this as a FB status:

"It's sad that as someone who thinks veganism should be our moral baseline, I can't even suggest this idea without being labeled fanatical."

It was hard to resist pointing out that they, themselves, are part of the problem and that I have personally witnessed this person attacking, in a very stabby way (yes, that is the word of the day) people who don't agree or have issue with the aggressiveness of some vegans.

My reply: "I don't think it is sad. I think the mentality and actions of many vegans have made it so. The 'fanatical' label didn't create itself... someone earned it on behalf of all of us."

So thanks, fellow human in compassion, for making a bed that we all have to lie in and then complaining about the unsavory conditions.

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I tried commenting on Kerri's post. Unfortunately, I'd press "post comment" and poof! it was gone. Here are my comments:

Greetings Kerri,

I was following E.C. on two social networking sites to learn about the vegan lifestyle. Needless to say his posts were insulting to me, a non-vegan. I wrote back several times indicating his attitude was pompas, self-righteous, judgmental, and fanatical. And yes, I even compared him to a religious zealot. I understand passion; however he is out-of-bounds; overly aggressive and disrespectful towards non-vegans.

This man is openly gay and asked me up front if I had issues with it. I don’t. People cannot help the way they are born. He talks about discrimination and intolerance towards the gay community and yet, treats non-vegans the same way. Irony defined! (see title) Well, not really, he’s doing what he was taught. Eventually, I grew tired of his abusive comments and removed him from my lists.

I have vegan friends, like you, Kerrie, who are great examples of veganism (Is that a word?) by living their lifestyles without passing judgment on non-vegans. When the subject arises we talk about it knowing we cannot change the other person. People change at their own will and terms.

Even though I am not vegan, I enjoy sharing fresh juicing and other raw food recipes with vegans. We all have the same commonality: food--plain and simple. It is my goal for all of us to band together peacefully and focus on growing fresh organic produce by planting a row for the hungry rather than snubbing our noses at others for being different.

We do not live in a “one-size-fits-all” society. That would be boring! By coming together for the betterment of society in a program such as Plant a Row for the Hungry, we can end hunger and promote tolerance.

Plant a Row for the Hungry is a nationwide program. I participate locally. Lucy loves it when I come home with a piece of blemished produce that was not quite up to par to donate.

(Lucy eating a green bean, one of her favorite veggies)