A Question for Vegans

[BluntRM]

Here it is:

Fossil fuel is derived from an animal substance. Is it "vegan" to use these products?

[zfreak220]

that is a good question...we should see an increase in vegan unicyclists soon.

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

Hmmmmmm... I don't know. I'm not a "real" vegan. I just don't eat meat or use animal products that come from factory farms or other horrible places like that. But considering that a whole lotta vegans consider honey farming exploiting bees...

[BluntRM]

Does it matter that they're already extinct?

[BluntRM]

What would Alec Baldwin say.....?

[Goats_On_Unicycles]

Originally Posted by BluntRM

Does it matter that they're already extinct?

I dunno... The only problem I have with it is the harm that fossil fuels do to living things.

[James_Potter]

Thats interesting, I donno. I'm vegetarian and would be vegan if, you know, pretty much EVERYTHING didn't have some sort of dairy in it.
Anyway, I don't think that fossil fuels count, because it has nothing to do with cruelty to animals...you're not exploiting animal rights by using it. So no animals are being harmed.
That's my take on it.

[skianduniaddict]

Originally Posted by zfreak220

that is a good question...we should see an increase in vegan unicyclists soon.

thats not true at all its not like it was just declared unvegan our vegen unicyclist numbers should go up at a steady rate

[mscalisi]

There is no such thing as a "true vegan". It's simply not possible to live in a modern consumeristic society and have your participation in such a society not affect non-human life forms.

..but to answer your question more directly, I don't think it's inherently non-vegan to use fossil fuels.

Think of this: plants grow in the dirt, and the dirt is composed to decomposed life forms (plant AND animal). Fossil fuels aren't much different that this.

However: considering that automobile and bicycle tires contain stearic acid, which is made from animal fat, and even the asphalt on our roadways contains a binding agent derived from the fat of beef cattle, even unicycling could not be considered vegan.

Of course, all this is to get far away from the whole spirit of veganism which is to not participate in things that exploit animals. From my perspective, the best that can be done is to minimize our use of animal products. The "true vegan" simply does not exist.

Originally Posted by BluntRM

Here it is:

Fossil fuel is derived from an animal substance. Is it "vegan" to use these products?

[BluntRM]

Originally Posted by mscalisi

There is no such thing as a "true vegan". It's simply not possible to live in a modern consumeristic society and have your participation in such a society not affect non-human life forms.

..but to answer your question more directly, I don't think it's inherently non-vegan to use fossil fuels.

Think of this: plants grow in the dirt, and the dirt is composed to decomposed life forms (plant AND animal). Fossil fuels aren't much different that this.

However: considering that automobile and bicycle tires contain stearic acid, which is made from animal fat, and even the asphalt on our roadways contains a binding agent derived from the fat of beef cattle, even unicycling could not be considered vegan.

Of course, all this is to get far away from the whole spirit of veganism which is to not participate in things that exploit animals. From my perspective, the best that can be done is to minimize our use of animal products. The "true vegan" simply does not exist.

Are you a Vegan/Vegetarian?

[mscalisi]

I consider myself vegan-ish.

Originally Posted by BluntRM

Are you a Vegan/Vegetarian?

[onewheelinwierdo]

Ok, Ok this whole argumen is stupid. no matter what we do, some animal gets hurt.

[siafirede]

Originally Posted by BluntRM

Here it is:

Fossil fuel is derived from an animal substance. Is it "vegan" to use these products?

Yes, of course it is.

[pix]

*replies without reading much of the thread... i'm a lazy vegan*

i'd say everyone has to come up with their own justifications for being vegan. so for some people, perhaps "fossil" fuel doesn't fit their idea of vegan. although AFAIK the majority of oil/coal is fossilised vegetable matter. i imagine the amount of animal biomass lying around in the earth's crust is relatively negligible.

i don't see vegan as a club or a religion. it's just a word that is slightly more convenient than listing all of the stuff you do/don't wear/eat. in practice i find the word pretty useless, and normally have to ask specifically about the ingredients or origin of things. although i try to do my own research to avoid being that annoying vegan.

but as we hurtle towards peak-oil, maybe we should spread the meme that fossil fuels are really squeezed out of the skulls of cute little orphans?

pix.

[James_Potter]

Originally Posted by pix

i don't see vegan as a club or a religion.

I agree...it's definitely more of a cult than anything else.