So… apparently this little graph has been making the rounds, and finally got to my inbox.
From I Love Charts:
While I laughed – heartily – at “grass,” looking at the list of “what vegans actually eat” did nothing but make me sad.
“Burgers,” “bacon” – bacon? – “buffalo wings,” “cheese steak sandwiches,” “mac-n-cheese,” “marshmallows,” “fried ‘chicken,'” “hot dogs,” “sushi,” “tofurky?”
So, basically, in order to educate people on what vegans eat, you present me a list that is almost 1/3 to 1/2 soy? Probably genetically modified, probably unfermented?
In short, about half of all you have to offer me, vegan, is processed food? No thanks.
I’m not even 100% vegan and I make way better vegan food than this.
What’s my beef? (No pun intended… okay, maybe just a little…)
This:
No matter what alternative eating lifestyle you embrace… it is not synonymous with clean eating. Being a vegan doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be eating clean. Think about it – if you hit the “healthy” section (!) of the grocery store, what do you see? You certainly don’t see produce.You see boxes. Cans. Packages. You see “vegan cheese (and it melts!).” “Vegan chik’n.” “Vegan sausage.” Meatless versions of everything. All kinds of substitutions.
C’mon – processed, processed, processed and processed. If you’ve adopted your lifestyle based on the fact that you could “replace” cheese with something processed… you’re going to suffer the same fate. Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow.. but it absolutely will come.
When you live your eating lifestyle based on processed food replacements and substitutes for what you used to eat… I can’t imagine what makes one think they’d be spared from the consequences of “un-clean eating” just because their eating habits become more restricted.