Wednesday, November 13, 2019 // The Statement
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019 // The Statement
T
he old adage goes, “You eat with your eyes first.”
This happened to be the case for my mom when
she skimmed the Food Network magazine and
discovered a picture of cookies that looked irresistible. With
gooey chocolate chunks and crunchy oat flakes, they were
worthy of a “phone eats first” Instagram post. She immediately
turned the page for the recipe, which read “Vegan Cowgirl
Cookies.” Vegan. She didn’t even know what that meant, but
she was curious about vegan baking and compelled to try this
recipe. After sampling her final results, she decided that they
tasted “legit.”
Before “Vegan Cowgirl Cookies,” I hadn’t given the
legitimacy of veganism or plant-based diets much thought.
When my second grade gym teacher reviewed the food
pyramid and taught us the importance of a balanced diet,
including the staples of meat, dairy, grains etc, the word vegan
wasn’t mentioned once.
Upon hearing someone call themselves vegan, my knowledge
of the colored food pyramid grounded my initial impression: a
vegan diet was a flawed nutritional lifestyle. I was under the
impression that a strong sentiment for animal rights was the
only thing that drove people to become vegan.
When my younger sister, Tatum, returned home from her
freshman year at Columbia University and declared she was
vegan, I watched her choose not to consume any meat or
animal products (poultry, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, gelatin) or
even purchase any animal byproducts, such as leather clothing.
Slight chaos ensued in our household thereafter. Tatum’s
vegan options took up too much space in the freezer and
she’d inconveniently make her own meals concurrent with
my mom’s dinner preparations, leaving a mess in the kitchen.
At the family dinner table, my other sister Geena, an avid,
unapologetic steak lover, would comically fight with Tatum
over their respective food choices. As for me, I was confused
why Tatum would eat all these “imitation,” or alternative
products — all of which contained ingredients that seemed so
fake, unnatural and unhealthy.
Nothing was more complicated than deciding what
restaurant to eat at as a family. Even though Tatum vowed she
could find something to eat on any menu, we’d still cater our
restaurant choice to meet her dietary restrictions. One could
say veganism caused some beef in the Meyhoefer household.
Despite our mealtime dilemmas and the occasional joke,
our family was respectful and accommodating of Tatum’s
lifestyle choices but it still took us a while before completely
understanding the reasoning behind them. To be fair, Tatum
didn’t want to cause any inconvenience: She didn’t want to
act arrogantly about her view or appear high maintenance,
conscious of the way some vegans are perceived in society.
At one point, Tatum explained how she physically felt better
based on what she was eating. The logic of that reasoning for
a vegan lifestyle piqued my attention and made me think how
the ethical sense of veganism merges with the physical sense.
Tatum mentioned how she now has more energy after meals as
well as how she is less stressed in regards to what she eats, since
it is now in line with her beliefs. Eating clean isn’t necessarily
the same as eating healthy.
The inner “foodie” in me is
always excited by the opportunity
to try new foods and restaurants,
so I adjusted to my rationale on
what I thought was restrictive
about veganism and embraced the
possibility of the new foods I could
expose myself to and now include
in my diet. With an academic’s
mind and adventurous spirit — I
hit the books and went grocery
shopping.
After scouring a multitude of
websites on the internet, I began
to unravel the layers of veganism.
Someone’s reasoning for living a
vegan lifestyle could range from
ethical, to religious, to health,
to sustainability reasons. I was
primarily drawn to the subset of environmental veganism;
I was astonished by the environmental implications of a
plant-based diet, especially with the recent devastation
of the Amazon. In alignment with that revelation, studies
have revealed correlations between raising animals and the
exertion of resources such as water, land and greenhouse
gases. Some studies go even further, claiming a vegan diet is
“essential” to avoid climate change. My research also yielded
information on how large of a spectrum veganism is in regards
to the environmental impact of meat and dairy production.
Veganism is nuanced in this way, since no two vegan lifestyles
look the same. The term “vegan” is nebulous, and the intensity
of a vegan lifestyle may vary given it is an individual decision.
Honey, for instance, is contentiously debated among vegans as
to whether or not it should be avoided.
Whether or not I chose to eat vegan at a particular meal,
I became intrigued by the ingredients of what I consumed
and where they were being sourced. To me, veganism is
substantiated on the knowledge of where and how products are
sourced, rather than a list of what one can and cannot consume.
I’m reminded of the chickens in my friend’s backyard, whose
eggs would not technically fit into the plant-based category yet
are ethically sourced and humanely harvested. Alternatively, a
product such as coffee, which is undeniably plant-based, could
be deemed unethical when grown on deforested rainforests
that emit higher greenhouse gases compared to coffee grown
on suitable land under sustainable practices.
Veganism isn’t all salads and tofu. With the rise of plant-
based alternatives, including Beyond Meat and Daiya “cheese,”
it’s easy to assume veganism is merely a trend. However, a
closer look at the history of veganism reveals otherwise. Diets
like veganism have ties back to over 2,000 years ago in eastern
Mediterranean and ancient Indian societies, who resorted to
plant-based food for religious and philosophical intentions.
The term “vegetarian” was later coined in the mid-1800s and
in November 1944, Donald Watson established the Vegan
Society, in which an early definition of modern veganism
originated. The definition has since been slightly modified and
eventually grew into how veganism is thought of today.
Inevitably with my deepened understanding of veganism,
when returning to campus in September for my senior year,
one of my first stops was The Lunch Room, a popular vegan
spot in Ann Arbor. As I was enjoying every bite of my vegan
pad thai, I couldn’t help but take in the atmosphere and
overhear the conversations around me. Their welcoming staff
seemed to attract all demographics and the tables were filled
with families, students, first dates and old friends catching up.
Comments on the food casually slipped into the conversation,
whether it was simply on how tasty the food was or how they
couldn’t believe the mac and “cheese” was vegan. And, of
course, I caught others taking pictures of their food, myself
guilty of doing so too.
Phillis Engelbert and Joel Panozzo, co-owners of The Lunch
Room and Detroit Filling Station restaurants, epitomize the
unifying dynamic of veganism in the hospitality industry.
“The restaurant is sort of a combination of vegan diet and
cooking, plus community organizing, plus liking to plan and
have parties,” Engelbert said. When describing the extensive
range of people the restaurant entertains, quite literally with
live music events, Engelbert added, “Vegans are probably a
small minority of our customer base.”
As much as I agree and support such a lifestyle that leaves
a greener footprint, I am still perplexed by how veganism fits
into other narratives of society. Food is a language of its own;
food speaks to us when we don’t know what to say. Similar
to how some cultures or religions refrain from meat, specific
foods are expected in the traditions of other cultures. In my
Italian background at least, Thanksgiving isn’t complete until
Grandma Francine’s meatballs and mostaccioli are on the
table.
Also on the issue of a vegan lifestyle, I’m an advocate for
listening to one’s own body — even if that encompasses the
need to consume non-vegan foods or products. For instance,
certain individuals have blood types that recommend a higher
meat or dairy intake. Additionally, most vegan alternatives rely
heavily on soy ingredients. In that case, for individuals with soy
or gluten allergies and medical conditions, a completely vegan
diet may not be realistic. Veganism also brings up questions
of accessibility to everyone on the basis of food inequalities.
Especially in today’s society of “diet culture” and the “wellness
industry” there is also an underlying pressure to make food
decisions not based on biological instincts, but rather through
guilt based on what people eat or don’t eat.
So where does this leave me now? Vegan? Flexitarian?
Pescetarian? Non-vegan? “Naughty” vegan? In all honesty,
I’m not sure. But, I like knowing that I can make a
marginal environmental impact with some of my efforts to
reduce meat and dairy intake. I find satisfaction in opting
for vegan alternatives, especially with today’s luxuries of
so many options, even in the milk aisle alone. However,
given the multi-dimensionality to veganism, there doesn’t
need to be any identities or labels assigned to it that would
continue to perpetuate
stigmas and divisiveness.
I suppose I’m taking
a stance on no stance; I
may sound hypocritical
as a non-vegan in support
of veganism, but I like
to think my awareness
counts for something.
I’m
still
hungry
for
knowledge,
though,
and when it comes to
learning, one can never
be overly satiated.
But really, who am I to
tell anyone what to do or
eat or not eat? I realize
not everyone will be
stocking their freezers
with veggie burgers and
Ben and Jerry’s vegan ice
cream after reading this,
but I like to hope there’s
some take away from
my
own
meandering
conclusions about veganism – even if it’s one less eye roll
upon the mention of someone saying they’re vegan.
Or it could be an open door to another way of thinking
about sustainability efforts; such as, but not confined to,
limiting one’s single-use plastics, cleaning the beaches of
trash, planting a tree, composting or simply remembering
to turn off the light when leaving a room. Sustainability
looks different for everyone, but regardless of what one
brings to the table it all makes a difference.
By the end of the summer, my family learned how to
agree to disagree. We visited vegan-only restaurants
as well as steak restaurants that included a tasty vegan
alternative on their menus. If Geena and Tatum can get
along over veganism, and if restaurants like the Detroit
Filling Station can find success in their communities, I
think veganism can be more unifying than people imagine.
And whether you’ve labeled yourself vegan, not vegan,
somewhere or nowhere in between, my mom’s vegan
cookies are incontestably a favorite. So, I leave you with
some food for thought:
BY REECE MEYHOEFER,
SENIOR COPY EDITOR
FOOD
FOR
THOUGHT
PHOTOS BY DANYEL THARAKAN
ILLUSTRATION BY JONATHAN WALSH