Do you feel that the first thing you think of when you hear the word "vegan" is food? That's not far off, after all, nutrition is an important part of veganism. At the same time, there is much more to this term, because it is fundamentally about doing without substances of animal origin.
Critics note (often quite polemically) that a vegan lifestyle isn't even possible, as animal-based materials are used in just about everything that surrounds us every day, from clothing to tech devices. This is z. For example, animal remains that are not sold as food are used in other forms, such as bone glue . So if you really wanted to be vegan, you would have to move somewhere far away from civilization and make everything you could possibly need for your own life.
Of course, this point is quite well known among vegan people, not least because it also seems to be quite obvious. Nevertheless, vegans live among us. Why is that? Quite simply: veganism and a worthwhile, fulfilling life within our society are not mutually exclusive. Ultimately, it is about the meaning of the term "vegan". We at Aninsu agree with the definition of the Vegan Society :
"Veganism is a philosophy and way of life that aims to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation and cruelty to animals for the manufacture of food, clothing or other purposes, and the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In terms of nutrition, it means eliminating all products that are wholly or partly derived from animals."
Translated from English, Source: https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism
The term "vegan" therefore means avoiding substances of animal origin as far as possible. On the other hand, those who take it very literally and severely usually intend to polemicize or have no interest in understanding the other side. After all, it should be pretty obvious that veganism cannot mean being a hermit isolated from the rest of humanity. In addition, vehemently denying a life without animal substances is quite cynical: on the one hand, animal suffering is not only put up with, but accepted and not out of necessity, but out of selfishness, because one simply cannot reasonably claim that we would consume animals for reasons of survival . The alternative, namely to find new plant-based or synthetic (because "vegan" does not mean "natural"!) options for all the use of substances of animal origin, seems impossible for many. But it is not, as many current industrial developments show.
We are by no means of the opinion that everyone has to be vegan now. We believe that everyone should be able to decide for themselves how they want to live. From our point of view, however, there must be no "either or": you can live vegan with nutrition and not with the rest or vice versa or something in between. We should stop pretending that terms and labels are more important than our behavior. Our credo is therefore: always do the right thing! What that means is completely irrelevant.
