Today I’m going to continue talking about some of the craziest questions that vegans get asked. If you haven’t read Part 1, just click on that link. Some of these questions are scary. Some are weird, but some others are just founded on ignorance. So in the hopes of enlightening folks who are curious about veganism, let’s answer more questions about veganism for those that want to know.
6. Are vegans allowed to drink alcohol?
Hell yeah! Veganism as mentioned before is not a religion, though it is often linked to a profound spiritual or ethical belief system in those who are vegan. But in and of itself it is not a religion and can be a part of any religion as far as I am aware.
So for example, you could be a Mormon vegan, and although veganism doesn’t disbar you from drinking alcohol, the religious teachings of Mormonism don’t allow for the consumption of alcohol.
From a non religious stand point however, some vegans will NOT drink certain types of alcohol due to the way the alcohol is manufactured which often includes the use of animal byproducts. Here are some examples. For a complete discussion on veganism and alcohol, you can click here.
Many types of wines and beers, especially British beers use animal byproducts to help clarify or clear the alcohol. Guinness is an example as they uses isinglass (fish bladder) to clarify the beer. However, in the finished product, there is very little to nothing remaining in the beer or wine even though the manufacturing of said product used animal byproducts.
So, if you were to do a chemical analysis of Guinness for example, you would likely find that any animal product residue in the finished product to be well below 1%. I’m speculating of course, I know of no such analysis that has been done.
So, in my opinion, I’m not a stickler about vegans avoiding wine and beer even if the manufacturing process included animal byproducts. I’m more concerned about the big and easy wins. Nevertheless, if you prefer not to drink alcohol that hasn’t included animal byproducts, check with your vintner or brewery or this list or stick to liquor and spirits except for some vodkas and Compari, as most spirits are vegan.
This is personally a non issue for me as I am a teetotaller, but this is personal preference and NOT related to my veganism.
7. Are vegans allowed to eat honey?
In a word, NO. Honey is not considered a vegan item by both the original and American vegan society, as well as others.
Sometimes if you read enough veg*an blogs you’ll get the impression that honey is a disputed issue, but it’s not. Honey is NOT vegan! However, I’m not a stickler about it. If a vegan wants to eat a cookie that has a bit of honey in it or use honey to sweeten their tea I’m okay with it. I’d prefer they didn’t, but again, let’s focus on the big wins, and the easy wins so that we might encourage others to embrace veganism.
Personally, I don’t use honey knowingly.
8. Are vegans allowed to swallow?
Yup, we had to go there 😉 There is only one way that I can interpret this question and that has to do with sex. Yes vegans can swallow. Now I’m assuming this is being asked by a heterosexual man or woman, but it applies to same sex male couples too.
Remember what the definition of veganism is. It’s to reduce the amount of suffering as much as possible to sentient beings. But more than that, we focus on sentient beings without a voice, i.e. animals. Firstly, because they are being violently tortured and miserably treated even if they aren’t directly killed for their products i.e. eggs and dairy, but secondly, because they can not give us informed consent.
Ergo, human male sperm or ejaculate is vegan. It does not harm the male and I’m presuming that said male consented. So as a vegan man or woman, you can swallow your partners ejaculate and still consider yourself vegan.
Btw, for those curious, it helps if the giver of said semen is vegan, as vegan cum tastes better. This is what I have read and heard.
9. Are vegans and vegetarians the same?
NO. Definitely not. Vegetarianism can be either a dietary choice or an ethical choice, though there are holes in the ethics of that choice. Veganism is an ethical lifestyle choice. Additionally, there are other differences.
Dietary wise, vegetarians can consume eggs and/or dairy products and honey. Vegans don’t consume any animal products including not consuming eggs, dairy and honey. Also, vegetarians can wear leather, wool and silk, whereas vegans exclude those items from their lifestyle.
Here is a good definition of veganism for those who want further information.
10. Are vegans anemic?
Not more so than omnivores. In fact, my sister’s anemia improved once she became vegan. Of course, this question is more important for vegan women as they require more iron in their diet due to the lack of iron from their monthly period.
There hasn’t been any hard evidence that I’m aware of that suggest that iron defeciency anemia is higher in vegan or vegetarian women than in omnivorous women. Jack Norris has a comprehensive article on iron and anemia if you are concerned and want to learn more.
Bottom line, you needn’t be concerned about iron if you’re eating your veggies as a vegan and getting adequate vitamin C. Though the link above will offer tips for getting more iron in your vegan diet if you feel the need to.
Watch this spot as we explore more weird questions vegans are asked soon.