Posted by admin | Posted in Veggie | Posted on 10-05-2011
Tags: activism, food, health, vegan, vegan society, vegan society of peace, vegan society of peace houston, vegan society san francisco, vegan society usa, vegetarian
society and going vegan?
What are some barriers/limitations people who want to go vegan face? How do poeple encourage us to keep eating meat; and why do people continue to eat meat when we know its bad for us and the planet?
Meat heads tend to be like members of a religion, and are sometimes unable to see how anybody who doesn’t belong to their group can be normal. After all, their group has been around for so long and is so popular! How can they be mistaken? They sometimes feel we need to be “saved” and will even deny any logic and evidence that comes before them. As the saying goes, you can’t use logic to talk someone out of a position they didn’t use logic to get themselves into. So it can be difficult for a new vegan who has lots of meat head friends but few vegan friends, but that isn’t always the case.
A favourite meat head tactic is to point to supposed flaws in vegan practice as a reason to do nothing at all. These include discussions of medication use, accidental injury or death of animals in the production of food or other vegan products, and (usually incorrect) statements about human biology and evolution. Confirming evidence is another favourite. They will seek out evidence which backs up the position they already hold rather than analysing all the evidence and allowing themselves to be convinced by what they find. This kind of cognitive bias is common in humans, it is only the applications which differ. They might focus on narrow parts of an argument rather than the big picture, for example someone might criticise your statement about meat being “bad for us” while ignoring the environmental harm caused by livestock production and the fact that environmental harm has flow on effects which directly impact human health.
For some they behave this way because they care about the vegan individual and are too self absorbed to understand how it can be ok to behave differently to themselves (in that it means that their choices may be wrong, which they are unable to accept due to a psychological phenomenon called cognitive dissonance); whereas for others it is about projecting their inadequacies on those who are different to themselves, and is closely related to homophobia, sexism or racism. From an evolutionary perspective, these behaviours all had a place in the development of our societies. We evolved in small communal groups which were in competition with neighbouring groups. If a new behaviour went unchallenged it may have hindered the success of the group if it had negative outcomes. So there was a selective advantage in challenging anything which was out of the ordinary before it could be proven to be effective. This has led to three general cognitive personality types in our society- leaders, thinkers and followers. The thinkers solve the problems, the leaders convey the solutions and the followers put them in to practice. Most of us can switch between the three roles depending on what group we are involved in, but in general the thinkers are academics and scientists, the leaders are politicians, business and community leaders; and the followers are everybody else.
Right now the thinkers are trying to convince the leaders that reducing the use of animal production is the way to go, as seen by the work done by the UNFAO and UN Environment Program. But there are vested interests coming from big business to ignore anything which will cause agriculturalists to lose money. Case in point- the Australian government this week announced a carbon tax is on the agenda but it will not include agriculture, which is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in our country. C’est la vie. Hopefully one day soon the message will be picked up by the leaders and the followers will have a different perspective before they decide to continue to resist this change or embrace it.
NSW Vegan Society Promo
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From Freya’s Vegan Kitchen … |
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Forget Cooking: Prepare and Enjoy Living Foods (Food Preparation Class) “This video was taped at the 4th Biennial Congress of the Vegetarian Union of North America (including the 33rd Annual Convention of the American Vegan Society), at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, August 4-8, 1993. Ahimsa Video #70. running time 1:52…. |
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Is There a Future for Vegetarians to Look For? (Saturday Evening Talent Show: Dixie Mahy and Friends) This video was taped at the 4th Biennial Congress of the Vegetarian Union of North America (including the 33rd Annual Convention of AVS), at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, August 4-8, 1993. Produced by The American Vegan Society, approx. two hours long…. |
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Deva Vegan Vitamins Vegan Hair-Nails-Skin Support … |
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Beautiful Curls – Shampoo Curl Enhancing Shea Butter For Wavy To Curly Hair – 12 oz. Beautiful Curls – Shea Butter Curl Enhancing Shampoo – 12 oz. (350 ml) Beautiful Curls Shea Butter Curl Enhancing Shampoo. Certified Fair Trade, sulfate-free blend of shea butter soap and plant extracts gently cleans scalp and hair without stripping natural oils. Certified Fair Trade shea butter and virgin coconut oil provide unrivaled moisture to enhance and retain waves and large curls. Chamomil… |
