by Lauri Mackey, CHHC, Positivity Podcaster & Speaker for Women, Authoress at Lauri’s Lemonade Stand
One of my favorite lines in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding is when the leading lady, Toula, is trying to explain to her Aunt Voula that her fiancé is a vegetarian.
Aunt Voula immediately says (out loud for the entire family to hear as if he’s lost his dang mind): “He don’t eat no meat?!” She then smiles gently and says, “Oh, that’s OK, that’s OK, I make lamb.”
There is so much misinformation around vegetarianism, veganism and all of the nuances in between such as pescatarian, fruitarian and let’s throw in what I used to practice, which was lacto- ovo vegetarianism. We can understand how Aunt Voula could be confused.
Steve Jobs was a fruitarian, only eating fruits of any kind. A lacto-ovo vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat, but still consumes dairy products and eggs. A pescatarian is someone who does not eat meat, but still consumes fish. What seems to be the most confusing among all of these definitions is what a vegan is.
A vegan is someone who does not consume any animal products whatsoever. No meat, no dairy, no fish, no eggs. And while this may seem bland to some, it still leaves a world of food that is full of flavor, fun and easier to try than you might think.
But even within the world of veganism, confusion can reign supreme as the WFPB’s (whole food plant based) camp rages against the straight up vegans who eat processed food — Oreos are vegan after all!
During the next few months, we will be doing some mythbusting articles around what being a vegan really means. Having been a vegan for almost 10 years, the most common question/ comments I get are:
- Where do you get your protein?
- I could never do that, it’s too expensive and too hard.
- It’s not flavorful.
- All vegans are healthy.
The world of veganism is one to be explored. No matter where you fall on the spectrum from carnivores to trying the occasional Meatless Mondays, I invite you to enjoy this vegan mythbusting journey, try the always present vegan recipes in every issue, and I’ll see you next month!