It seems to me that since I began my vegan journey in 2009, vegan bashing has been going on just about everywhere. It was probably going on for a lot longer than that, but I guess I had no reason to notice. My first encounter with vegan bashing was at a performance by Joan Rivers at The Westbury Music Fair. I was there with my husband and two teenage boys, and I had been vegan for only a few months. When Joan came onto the stage, she asked “how many vegans are in the audience?” to which she promptly added “oh, never mind, your probably too weak to raise your hands.” My sons began hysterically laughing, while I sat there in amazement wondering why she would even bother to do a joke about vegans.
I began to notice the upward trending of vegan bashing on television and in the movies. Don’t forget, I have two teenage boys who live for shows such as “Family Guy” and “South Park.” I remember watching an episode of “South Park” with my kids last year in which a vegan kid, Feegan the Vegan, was ostracized because his parents made him wear a life preserver at all times fearing global warming. It was really quite funny because, at the end of the show, the kid decides to protest his parents by refusing to wear his life vest to a Broadway show. What happens? The vegan kid is the only one who drowns when the theater floods. This short clip sums up the nature of the show…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFDKDBgBYgw
Who could forget the vegan feminist protestor, Zooey, with the hairy armpits played by Anna Faris in Sacha Baron Cohen’s movie “The Dictator?” This was, clearly, some serious vegan stereotyping. Zooey was portrayed with a boy’s haircut, wearing Doc Martens, and working in a Brooklyn Food Coop. Did I mention the hairy armpits? Oh, yes I did.
In “Wanderlust,” Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston play a married couple who decide to move into a commune with kooky vegan hippies after their yuppie life in New York City goes wrong. When Paul Rudd’s character tries to convince Jennifer’s character to leave the commune, he asks her something along the lines of “do you really want to live with free love, no bathroom doors and no meat?” When she decides to leave the commune, she chows down on a huge steak at a nearby diner where she sees the commune’s founder (played by Alan Alda) pigging out on fried chicken. When she looks at him in a puzzled way, he responds by saying something like “you don’t think I could live on that mushy bean curd everyday; I come to this diner every Sunday.”
But the funniest form of bashing was shown in the film “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” where a main character plays a vegan superhero. My sons’ friends showed me the following You Tube clip last night where he is confronted by The Vegan Police.
What do we make of all this vegan bashing in the entertainment industry? Do we protest it? I think not. Do we get insulted? Hardly. Do we laugh along and embrace it as a sign that the vegan community is growing and becoming recognizable to the mainstream? Sounds like a “yes” to me! You know how the old saying goes..negative publicity is better than no publicity at all. And we all know that Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Seth McFarlane are equal opportunists; they go after everyone like piranhas equally!!! Afterall, they do bash Mitt Romney, don’t they?
I guess you’re right! It is more like back-bashing or defensive bashing. Is Oprah really “veganish?” I didn’t think so.
Here is msnbc telling what Oprah said about being vegan.
http://bites.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/02/01/5969732-oprah-contemplates-going-veganish?lite
She says “everybody’s pooping more.” I would say they are defecating more. Defecation is the act of by which organisms eliminate solid, semisolid or liquid waste material.
Article says “Guided by vegan enthusiast and author Kathy Preston, Oprah says she could go “veganish” – meaning she could incorporate just a minimal amount of food derived from animals.”
Harpo Studios (over 300 people) will observe Meatless Mondays. Animal foods have no fiber. You knew that, right? All unprocessed plant foods have plenty of fiber like watermelon does. Here is the National Library of Medicine on fiber ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19335713 ):
“Individuals with high intakes of dietary fiber appear to be at significantly lower risk for developing coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and certain gastrointestinal diseases. Increasing fiber intake lowers blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels. Increased intake of soluble fiber improves glycemia and insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic and diabetic individuals.”
I saw Oprah’s shows with Kashy Freston and when her staff went vegan for a short time. I didn’t remember Oprah saying she could go “veganish” but I’m glad she did. She has enormous influence.
Wow, what a great website, and what wornudfel videos! You certainly are an inspiration! I also found your site through vegan.com, and will definitely subscribe. While I have been vegan for years, I am always looking for new and clever ideas to help friends and family think about what they are eating. While none are vegan (yet . . .) I definitely have them all eating healthier. Future ideas if you don’t grow any of your own veggies, please give it a try! Or inspire others to plant some. A container with one tomato plant is a great start. I am in South Florida, so I tend to have a garden year round. There are several months of the year I don’t have to buy any salad goodies, I just have to go pick them. Talk about saving money on your food bill. Anyway, thanks again for taking time to make a difference. Oh and I love your eco sneaks from a couple episodes back!
Thanks so much! Growing your own veggies is always a great idea! Keep up the good work!
Many years ago, Oprah was talking about Mad Cow disease and the meat industry sued her. She won the case.
Oh Yes, I remember that.
“I’ve killed millions of pigs, not hundreds of thousands!” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUxg93ghBVA
Pig Farm in Pennsylvania
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnQxJry5L_k
Dairy: I Want What You’ve Got
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYmNq-xzJ80
I just watched the first of these You Tube videos. I’ve seen some other undercover videos but never this one. I’m in tears! I’m so glad that I’ve adopted a vegan lifestyle and am not contributing to this unnecessary cruelty.
Please also watch the 3rd video. It is only 1 minute long and is excellent. The woman on it is Facebook friends with me.
Just watched it. Quite powerful. Very impressive editing job too.
, Don’t be alarmed, but it’s time. He said, To be honset, I’m not surprised. It was never if’ but when.’ That was some pretty amazing support. pattrice jones’ Aftershock is also a book that made me rethink everything I was doing, from animal abuse in the name of psychiatry and how we as human animals need to care for ourselves to care for others.
I think Mahatma Gandhi said it best:
“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.”
It appears we’re getting closer to global domination 😉 or at least we’re probably
at around the ridicule/fight you stage.
I’m optimistic. 22 years ago when I became vegan folks didn’t even know what
the word meant.
I love that saying by Gandhi; but I have to wonder, how bad is the fight part! I know that change takes a long time. Vegan since 22? How old now if you don’t mind me asking.
Hi all!I’d been vegetarian for a copule of years when one day I picked up a black and white leaflet from an animal rights stall.This leaflet was produced by the Vegan Society and detailed the suffering caused within the dairy industry. After reading that, Veganism was the only choice I could make.I wish I could tell those stallholders what a difference to my life they made that day (18 years ago).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on moans. Regards