This idea that we should all be friends just struck be as the most ridiculous notion ever. It made me think back to several occasions where I have been introduced to other vegans of color by my omni friends and they just expected that we would all become bosom buddies, exchange numbers and ride off into the sunset together just because we were both vegans and of color. Yes we have veganism in common but that doesn’t mean that we have enough in common to be friends.

— Do all vegans need to be friends?

for me, the question isn’t, “Does being vegan cost more?” But, rather, “Is healthful food that is nonexploitively produced (regarding human, other animals, and the earth’s resources) accessible to everyone?”

The problem I have with the title question of this post is that I think it fails to challenge the ideology of capitalism. That is, I think these sorts of questions tend to assume that we are rational individuals in the marketplace each acting towards our own self-interest, and that if being vegan is most cost effective way to live then the market will select for it. (This is what I see when cost analysis is being discussed, whether comparing the price of vegetables to meat or health costs of a vegetarian diet to a nonvegetarian diet, either way it’s a question about what’s the most rational choice in the marketplace.)

So I think the question relies too much on class privilege, because if you’re poor then by definition you don’t have access to the marketplace. That is, you first have to have money before you can participate in marketplace, and the more money you do have the more you access and power you have to participate. So it doesn’t matter if it’s a plant-based diet or not, all food costs more than you can afford when you’re poor.

So that’s why I believe the question about access is important, because it hopefully gets beyond capitalist ideology and leads to a deeper understanding that many people don’t access to healthy, nonexploitive foods. And the next step — after we recognize that not every on can eat, let alone eat well — to asking why that is and what can we do about it. That’s the kind of discussion I would like to see taking place.

— Dani commenting on Does being vegan cost more money?

I think the idea that being vegan is more expensive comes from the fact that many people think going from a meat-centered diet to a plant-based one means you have to “replace” your meat with Tofurky and Morningstar Farms. Or that you have to shop exclusively at Whole Paycheck (aka Whole Foods).
None of that is true. Bananas, rice, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, pears, oatmeal, peanut butter-those are all vegan foods but no one ever calls a banana vegan. They call soy ice cream vegan. We’ve got to move away from thinking being vegan is about eating processed “replacements.” Eating vegan means you eat food that grows. That food, in season, is almost always cheaper than organic cookies and chicken parts.

— rice and beans are pretty cheap

I was vegan for a while up until recently. Then I started eating people. Only free-range, of course, which is humane. I gave them a little space, didn’t terrorize them (too much), then slit their throats.

— Chris Hannah, lead singer of Propagandhi - 2/12/09 — Highline Ballroom [via]

I am in love like only a thirteen year old can be.

Does fennel scream when it’s slaughtered? Does the sight of the killing floor cause eggplant to taint itself with fear hormones?

— Into the Vegettoir: A Truth-Seeking Vegetarian Dares to Look His Field Roast in the Eye

Can I bring myself to say with a straight face that I no longer eat meat because I care about ending violence against animals? Can I say to the workers, to myself, that even animals are more important to me than they are, than I am? Can I continue my own people’s erasure? Can I continue mine?
How do I make eating vegan/vegetarian a political choice about liberation without making the sacrifice one set of beings make with their bodies more important than another set of beings?

— A Follow Up

The very idea that one should ignore the impact of markers such as class, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc. is completely repugnant. Clearly this viewpoint is steeped in deep, unthinking privilege. It is no secret that a lot of people of color, for instance, are put off animal rights issues because of racism & colonialism in the movement. Women are put off when they see veganism used to encourage women to hate their bodies.
None of these critical issues are going to go away. They are all interconnected. To claim to be able to pull one strand, one lone form of oppression, away from the whole tangle, & to hold it up as the One Thing Worth Fighting For? Naive at best, & damned offensive & dangerous at worst.

— The Cult of Veganism; or, Sit Down & Shut Up, Little Brown Girl