The Last Animal Product I Purchased (+ Vegan Stereotypes)

Health has been at the forefront of my mind for a third of my life, but ethics never played a role until recently. I grappled with a dieting obsession from the ages of twelve to fifteen and can admit how much of a cliche that is for recipe-revolving persons. But, I had gone vegetarian well before my fickle relationship with food. Veganism isn’t the next logical step for every vegetarian, and I never set out to cut out all animal products. Animal welfare was not my initial inspiration to ditch the chicken tenders for tofu- maternal admiration was. The sultry, salty olfactory flirt that omnivores call bacon slowly turned salivation to nausea. Unlike many wannabe vegans/vegetarians, I quit cold turkey (pun intended) and have never looked back. Omelets left the plate soon after.

However, my “health” food preoccupation prioritized low calories over high compassion. For years, I ate my weight in fat-free Greek yogurt and cottage cheese; all the typical ’80s diet foods that have made their way into the bodyfat cutting regime. I sometimes inhaled Halo Top for dinner or baked protein desserts with snotty egg whites. After self-educating and debating, the guilt of my habits piled higher than my morning mountain of yogurt. So, I decided to try cutting out dairy and eggs, but that endeavor would have to wait until my upcoming vacation ended. On that trip, I went out for frozen yogurt and scarfed down a pint of no-sugar-added ice cream before calling it quits. The latter tasted so ethereal (even though the various sweeteners burned my tongue) that I almost abandoned my animal-minded mission. I photographed the label with plans to recreate it at home, but the poor thing sat in my camera, untouched, while I had happily frolicked over to the vegan team. Below is that photo:

To be fair, this brand only contained a modicum of milk protein, but I couldn’t well call myself a vegan if I defied the definition. I now churn my own frozen desserts that don’t call for cow sacrifice or five dollars a pop. And no, I’m not infatuated with farm animals. I don’t equate them to humans, because our biology is different. My issue lies in profiting off of needless death. You don’t care? That’s understandable, and again, I’ve swallowed the sad fact of my small impact. I didn’t give a spit either, for the longest time, and I don’t believe vegans are holier than thou.

The meat-free movement is heavily associated with hippies. Most people think of smelly, weed-smoking individuals sitting on a truck bed with their unwashed hands in a bag of nuts and seeds. While that might have been accurate for some, um, sects, the same correlation can be flipped on omnivores. “Rednecks” like barbecue, does that mean everyone who enjoys backyard ribs is a controversial character? I think not. Both stereotypes scoff at each other’s choices and write them off as quacks. Plus, hippie staples included rice, beans, tofu, granola, and fresh fruit. You probably eat at least one of those foods, or a cousin of them (think burrito bowls and snack bars,) and don’t assign them a crazy connotation.

What even is a hippie? What were they? I’d like to toss my two cents about that into the Internet (cess)pool later.

So, non-vegans: What is one animal product you feel you could not live without?

And, to any vegans out there: What was the last animal product you ate or purchased? Did you have any qualms about it?

For now… peace out.

Best Dishes,

The Hippie Happy Foodist