{"id":17806,"date":"2021-08-09T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2021-08-09T13:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=17806"},"modified":"2021-07-16T10:25:48","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T14:25:48","slug":"veganism-and-simplicity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2021\/08\/09\/veganism-and-simplicity\/","title":{"rendered":"Veganism and Simplicity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Gene Sager<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a college professor at Palomar\nCollege in California, I have had a large \u201ccaptive\u201d sample for polling the\nviews of American college students. Early in the semester, I asked\nstudents in my classes on contemporary issues to fill out anonymous surveys\ndealing with problems and solutions. I included questions about how solutions\ncomplement one another. The results helped me structure the class to\ndispel myths and supply information and analysis as needed. Although anonymous,\nthe surveys did require each responder to state their age, and this helped me\nunderstand generational changes in knowledge and opinions. My students\nranged widely in age; the average age was 26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nA few questions asked for written answers, and the responses were\nespecially informative concerning veganism. Some older students expressed\nthe concern that the vegan diet does not supply a sufficiency of essential\nnutrients, especially protein.  Scientific studies have shown that the\nvegan diet is nutritionally adequate. However, despite the science,\nconcerns and criticisms of diets and other practices often become part of a\nstereotype of the diet or practice and linger on as myths in the minds of the\ngeneration who first heard them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nThe younger students were generally more open to veganism, but they,\nlike their older peers, did not show an understanding of the variety of\nbenefits of veganism. I discovered that almost all of my students saw\nveganism as a dietary pattern unrelated to other proposed solutions to our\nsocial issues today. I was surprised that most of the students saw no\nconnection between veganism and the practice of simplicity. Simplicity\nmeans minimizing consumption and conserving natural resources. It also reduces\nhassle and stress, and it declutters both the household and the mind. Most of\nmy students saw no kinship between simplicity and veganism, but my research and\npersonal practice reveals a strong connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nSince veganism can improve health, it reduces or avoids the complications\nof ill health. It can mean fewer medications, less visits to doctors\u2019\noffices, less tests, less treatments, less surgeries, etc. It makes for a\nsimpler life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nIn my family, we have found that the vegan diet also makes life simpler\nin the kitchen. Preparing and cooking meat leaves the pans, dishes,\nutensils, and dish water and sink greasy. Grease from cheese and meat calls for\nelbow grease. Such complicated cleanup in the kitchen and at the BBQ grill\nis avoided by the vegan diet. Life is simpler in the vegan kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nTo their credit, some of my students were aware that the vegan diet is a\ngreen diet. It reduces environmental problems like overuse of natural\nresources, and it reduces emissions from vehicles and the industries required\nto produce food from animals. From the fossil fuels for running the\ntractors to produce grains to feed cattle, to the slaughter houses which\nrequire massive amounts of water and energy, to all the power needed to\nrefrigerate or freeze beef \u2013 the production of a hamburger is highly\ninefficient. It is a complicated, messy business. It complicates life for\nall of us. A veggie burger is a vastly simpler lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Vegan\nethics is based on simple, indisputable principles, such as, It is wrong to\ninflict unnecessary harm or death on animals.<\/strong> It is a clean break with\npredation. One of my older students wrote this one year after becoming\nvegan: \u201cWith no blood on my hands, I have less weight on my mind.\u201d The\nsimplicity of veganism is evident not only outwardly in the kitchen pots and\nthe resources and atmosphere of the planet, but also inwardly in important\nways. As a non-predator, I am at peace with the animals and the planet,\nand this peace is mirrored inwardly. The simplicity of vegan ethics yields\npeace of mind.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nWho knew that veganism is a form of simplicity? My students did not\nknow this at the beginning of the semester. Veganism simplifies our lives\non many different levels. The more research we do, and the more experience\nwe gather, the better we understand the multiple benefits of the vegan way of\nlife.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gene Sager As a college professor at Palomar College in California, I have had a large \u201ccaptive\u201d sample for polling the views of American college students. Early in the semester, I asked students in my classes on contemporary issues to fill out anonymous surveys dealing with problems and solutions. I included questions about how solutions complement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17808,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17806\/revisions\/17808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}