Broken my veganism today

[Stepstepmother]

And had to tell someone!

I’ve been a vegan for a few years - for environmental reasons and the argument that it’s much more possible to feed the world when we eat a plant based diet. It’s genuinely been a sacrifice as I love eating meat and fish and dairy - but I’ve done it. Lately I’ve been toying with the idea of giving myself a secret day off. Just one day, then back to it. That day was today. So I’ve eaten...

A buttery cheese croissant for breakfast
Rare steak with beef dripping chips and creamed spinach for lunch
A chicken thigh pita with halloumi cheese, caramelised onions, and garlic aoli for dinner.

It’s all been epic. And totally secret. I’m back on the straight and narrow vegan route again tomorrow and will look forward to my next cheat day in a few years time. But I just had to share.

(I know I’ve posted in AIBU - so, was I unreasonable?)

I plan on my year anniversary to being veggie I'll eat meat as reward.

If you’re morally opposed to eating meat, I just don’t understand why you would consider it a reward. Is the animal any less dead because it’s your anniversary? I don’t get it.

I would be very surprised if you were able to go back to being 100% vegan after today, but who knows.

Perhaps it's a matter of longevity, but having been vegetarian for 30 years (for moral reasons) there is no element of temptation in meat - I would as soon eat shit as eat meat.

Hahahaha fell off the wagon eating raw steak!!!! i'm literally dying laughing

that's as far from vegan as you can get!!!

it's a slippery slope now......

“Do you have any dietary restrictions?”
“Yes; I’m vegan”
“At all times?”
“Well one day I did eat meat and dairy”
“Aha! So you’re not a vegan at all!”

I mean ffs. The OP has been vegan for years and will be back aboard the train tomorrow, possibly for several more years.

I have a friend who usually follows a vegan diet but makes an exception for red wine (where it’s not always clear from the label). She doesn’t eat meat or dairy. Is she allowed to call herself a vegan or should she expect a visit from the Mumsnet Label Police?

Don't worry about the labels, they are of no consequence whatsoever. I ate (almost) exclusively vegetarian for 13 years, eating fish maybe 3 times a year and meat about once a year. I eventually realised that it was time to stop feeling guilty about eating meat and fish occasionally and just not call myself a vegetarian. I now eat (organic/high welfare) meat about once every week or two, and the same with fish, and I am totally happy with that; I believe a low level of consumption is ethical and sustainable.

I’m so jealous of those veggies and vegans who feel repulsed by meat and dairy - I wish I did! I’m logically opposed and I know to abstain is right, but I still love it.

When I first went vegan, a fellow vegan told me that soon I would sick at the smell of dairy - that it would smell like a farm to me. Well 3.5 years later I’m still waiting!

But I am genuinely happy to make the sacrifice. I think the world would be a better place if we all went plant based. And I think my blow out today will keep me back on track for years to come. It reinforces the idea that I’m abstaining because I choose too. That I could eat anything I wanted anytime, but I’m choosing the vegan path.

Is she allowed to call herself a vegan or should she expect a visit from the Mumsnet Label Police

It's like being a teenager again isn't it?

"You're not a goth – you wore white once!"

@PurpleDaisies I am mostly vegan because my body works better on a vegan diet. But I grew up eating meat and I really miss some aspects of it.

It's the people who are shrieking about the OP not being a vegan who would put me off anything to do with veganism. As for the quote from The Vegan Society, since when have we needed a society to tell us how to think or behave?

If a person with a penis can be a woman then a woman who ate meat on the 15/08/18 can be a vegan

Sod the labels.
Perhaps on your cheat days make sure the meat is well sourced, organic and all that shiz. The eggs and dairy too. Ill never be veggie or vegan but I eat very little animal products and when i do i try and make sure they are better choices if that makes sense. Although i cant always guarantee it and it is expensive, I do try. I don't really care what that makes me, it's my choice and my cake hole. Yours too. (Your own)

If a person with a penis can be a woman

That’s a very big if...

Yaloveras 😂😂😂

I'm actually lost for words!
You can choose to do both!
Vegan and eat animal products occasionally.
Much love OP x

And I do not mean any disrespect to the OP far from it. I don't know why it has to be so ''all in'' Vegan or nothing. Surely it would be more sensible to be allowed to 'try' without being ripped apart for trying. I often order the vegan option if their is one and I cook vegan but people DELIGHT in telling me I"m not vegan even though I know I'm not and never claimed to be.

Is there a label for me? I give up meat and dairy with the older DC are away at uni and the youngest (vegetarian) is the only one at home, but switch back to meat and dairy when everyone's home.

Did I hear the term "flexitarian" mentioned?

Bloody hell, I can't believe there are people in the world who have vigorous opinions about the diet label a stranger gives herself.

This is one of those times when the internet is BAD FOR YOU. Arguing over this crap is worse for your health than a Big Fucking Mac. Just let some stuff go!

Is there a label for me? I give up meat and dairy with the older DC are away at uni and the youngest (vegetarian) is the only one at home, but switch back to meat and dairy when everyone's home.
Omnivore.

I have a friend who usually follows a vegan diet but makes an exception for red wine (where it’s not always clear from the label). She doesn’t eat meat or dairy. Is she allowed to call herself a vegan or should she expect a visit from the Mumsnet Label Police?

She can call herself what she wants but its not difficult, we're not being arsey. If you eat non vegan food or drink you aren't a vegan. I can't see why people find this so outrageous. It's like the vegetarians who eat fish...nobody actually cares what you eat but you are not a vegetarian.

Words have meanings. You can't be a vegetarian who eats fish and you can't be a vegan who eats steak or drinks fish bladders and egg whites. It's quite simple.

So what people are saying is you have to be in it for proper approved vegan reasons (the animals) and enjoy every Chia seed and lentil and hate meat rather than doing it for environmental reasons.... interesting 🙄🤔🙄🤔

Raven88 im the same. My digestion amd energy is better eating mostly veggies. But i do enjoy meat and dairy. I just limit it.

A friend of mine is a strict vegan - except for eggs laid by another friend's hens. She knows those hens are happy so justifies it to herself that way.

Op - today you're not a vegan. Tomorrow you intend to be one again.

It's also important to remember that vegan foods are not all necessarily ethical, particularly if they have been imported from far-off countries (avocados, bananas, mangos etc), produced using intensive agriculture (soya, wheat, maize), or grown using large amounts of water in areas where water is scarce (almonds/ almond milk).

Ewww is wine made from fish bladders. I'm so uneducated. Gins not tho Is it.