Moving back to Hong Kong from the United States as a vegan has been a tough transition, for various reasons. “Veganism” doesn’t quite exist in the Chinese dictionary. Vegetarianism is what most Hong Kong people understand. Note that I wrote most. Some of them are completely clueless what vegetarians are, just like they have no idea about intellectual property. I stopped counting how many times restaurant servers or people I know asked me if I would eat fish.
No, vegetarians don’t eat seafood, and er, that includes fish. If they eat fish, they are not vegetarians. Period.
So I thought it will be logical to write the first post defining veganism so we will all be on the same page from now on. Vegan Action gives a comprehensive definition of what veganism means:
“A vegan (pronounced VEE-gun) is someone who, for various reasons, chooses to avoid using or consuming animal products. While vegetarians choose not to use flesh foods, vegans also avoid dairy and eggs, as well as fur, leather, wool, down, and cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals. Veganism, the natural extension of vegetarianism, is an integral component of a cruelty-free lifestyle. Living vegan provides numerous benefits to animals’ lives, to the environment, and to our own health–through a healthy diet and lifestyle.”
In a nutshell, veganism is a lifestyle, not just a diet. Vegans don’t consume or use animal products and animal byproducts. We strive to avoid cruelty, which includes abusing or killing animals for pure pleasure in activities such as hunting. The award-winning documentary film “Earthlings” explains the principles well. It demonstrates what happened behind-the-scene for the food, fashion, pet, entertainment and medical research industries. Narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix and music composed by platinum-selling recording artist Moby, the film was initially ignored by the distributor but now became one of the most talked about documentaries around the world.
Earthlings is extremely powerful and graphic. If you don’t have the guts for some eye-opening and life-changing episodes, don’t watch the video. I heard multiple talking about it before I first became a vegan almost 4 years ago. The whole movie was free online but I thought I would just test the water by watching the trailer first. I was shaking in disbelief after that.
It took me a few months before I came up with some courage to watch the whole film. I knew there’s no turning back once I watched it. It would be morally wrong to not make some changes in my life after witnessing what’s really going on in this world and making the connection between the food and products in front of me and what happened behind the scene.
I said some courage because I was watching it on my iPhone under the comforter in bed. I was too scared to watch it on my 15-inch computer monitor. Still, the film was powerful on a small screen. I cried. This film plus other research I have read made me vegan, instantly.
I know you have more questions now. What about protein? But we are on top of the food chain, that’s why we are supposed to eat meat, no? Why isn’t being a vegetarian enough? What’s wrong with eating eggs? I thought milk is good for bones? What can I eat, besides salad? Questions are good. That’s how we learn and exchange ideas. I will be talking about all these plus more, in the future posts.
