Ryan MacMichael of The Veg Blog makes a strong statement with his answer to the first question thrown at him in our interview for this Paw-Talk post.  

 

"If you love 'em, don't eat 'em." The 34-year old Virginian vegan goes on to mention other reasons why it's important to be veg: health, environment, and ethics.  But is it possible to listen to a blogger who didn't even turn vegan until his 29th birthday? 

 

Some perhaps might argue that Ryan turned vegan too late, while others might say he is probably more knowledgeable then those who dove in, head first. After all, slow and steady wins the race.  

 

Ryan has most likely heard every excuse about why one shouldn't become a vegetarian or vegan, and he's certainly made up a few himself.  In any case, he handles it all with one cool statement: "If you come in with an open mind, ready to try new foods, you'll be fine."

 

Learn how Ryan treks along on a mission to promote his vegan diet and battles vegetarian stereotypes along the way.

 

(Upon reading this, Ryan would cry, "I'm a vegan action hero!") ;-) 

Why should the world be vegetarian?

First: For the animals. If you love 'em, don't eat 'em.

Second: For your health. There's a reason your parents told you to eat your veggies.

Third: For the environment. Even Al Gore is starting to realize he left something out of "An Inconvenient Truth."

Fourth: To be morally superior. (Just kidding.)

You mention in your About Section on the blog that you didn’t even know what vegetarian was until you were 15?

The first vegetarian I knew was someone I had met online way back then. The idea really intrigued me -- an ethical vegetarian who simply didn't eat meat. I decided I was going to try it. The problem was that I neglected to inform my parents or do any research whatsoever, so the first chicken dinner I was served, I caved.

My younger sister went vegetarian when she was 13, clearly having much more resolve than I had even though I was four years older. I didn't go vegetarian until I was nearly 25 and didn't go fully vegan until the night before my 29th birthday.

What do you say to people who argue that vegetarians don’t get enough protein?

This may sound a bit snarky, but when someone says that, I know that I'm arguing with someone who doesn't know what they're talking about.

Protein is incredibly easy to obtain from a wide variety of non-animal sources. My wife ate an almost entirely vegan diet during her pregnancy but still followed a high-protein diet plan and on some days was getting 90 or 95 grams of protein from strictly plant sources. The fact is, most people get too much protein on the standard American diet. Plus, animal protein has been tied to certain types of cancer and can actually inhibit the absorption of minerals like calcium (milk doesn't realy do a body good).

The PCRM and Vegetarian Resource Group both have plenty of information out there about how to get protein, but honestly: if you eat a varied diet with enough calories, it's pretty hard to not get enough protein. There's also a cute little mini-book on Etsy called "How I Get My Protein" (it's part of a series.)

It's funny -- after a few years of being veg, you hear every single joke, excuse, or supposedly clever remark someone can make about being vegetarian or vegan. And you develop ways to respond to every one of them. (To see a good selection of the not-so-witty stuff we hear, go to the comments section of any mainstream news outlet's story about veganism.)

What words of wisdom would you give to a new vegetarian or someone who is on the brink of becoming one?

One thing you need to know from the start is that you will constantly be learning and re-evaluating where you are, and that's OK. There's no possible way you can start off knowing everything. That means you'll make mistakes, you'll accidentally eat something you didn't realize had eggs/milk/chicken stock/etc. in it or you'll drink orange juice with vitamin D made from lanolin. It'll happen, and it's alright. Learn from it and move on. It doesn't help anyone if you put yourself down for every mistake you make along the way. It's a surefire way to burn yourself out and give up altogether.

At the same time, I think it's also important to be very clear about the reason you're doing it, right from the beginning. Start with strong resolve, don't knowingly "cheat," and find a supportive community to help you, in person or online.

In terms of more practical advice, I would say to stay away from vegan cheeses at first. Most of them taste like feet. After a month or so, when you've started to lose the taste memory, try out the really good vegan cheeses like Daiya, Cheezly, Teese, and Sheese.

I also think it's important to remember that the foods that "mock" meats or dairy products aren't going to taste exactly the same. Try to approach these foods ready to appreciate them for their own merits, not necessarily judging them on how closely they mimic an animal product.

If you come in with an open mind, ready to try new foods, you'll be fine.

What are some of the controversial issues vegetarians deal with and how do you handle them?

The biggest thing we have to deal with is battling stereotypes of what it's like to be a vegetarian or a vegan. Whether it's the sickly vegan, the angry PETA vegan, or the vegan that talks about nothing else. The best thing one can do is to be a happy, healthy vegan that shares good food and makes others aware of the issues as appropriate (some people need to be told gently, others benefit from bluntness and raw facts).

You seem to handle being a vegetarian and a vegan logically—not necessarily throwing away the leather goods you already own but replacing them with non-leather once they’re used. Do you think some people rush into vegetarianism and veganism too quickly and that’s why they fail?

It's hard to say. Everyone needs to approach going veg in whatever way is going to be most effective for them. When looking back, I wish I had gone vegan sooner, but I also know that when I first when vegetarian, I probably wouldn't have stuck with it if I went vegan right away. Some people benefit from a gradual approach, others need to do it all out right away. The latter approach is preferable, but if it's not going to work for you, figure out what will.

How does your wife handle your veganism being that she’s not a full-fledged vegetarian?

She's been supportive from the very beginning. From the moment I decided to go vegetarian, she was fine with no meat in the house. Same thing when I went vegan. She's very close to being vegan now -- only a trace ingredient or two a month, for the most part.

Are you a strong animal rights activist or just a person who believe being vegan is right? Explain.

I would certainly consider myself a strong animal rights activist, but since I'm introverted by nature, my activism tends to be more of the quiet variety. The blog allows me to speak out a little more loudly than I normally do in person.

Tell me about your blog and why it’s become so popular.

I think a lot of it is just due to the longevity. I was one of the earliest veg-themed blogs and I started it only a month or so after I stopped eating meat. From the beginning, the blog has been where I've learned, shared, thought things through, complained, etc. Why people have gravitated to it, I don't know. There are blogs with prettier pictures and more intriguing writing, so I'm going to just guess that it's because my daughter's cute and I post audio clips of her. :)

Tell me about some of the animals you’ve adopted and your experience volunteering at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary.

We adopted a Bluetick Coonhound named Amina from a local no-kill shelter. She had been found wandering in southwest Virginia and was taken into a shelter. Her time there was almost up, but fortunately, a local woman rescued her. She bounced around between foster homes before winding up at the shelter near us, where we found each other. She was probably formerly used for hunting, as she has a buckshot under her skin. She has never bayed and has barked literally five times in the nearly five years she's been with us, so we guess that whoever was using her for hunting got rid of her because a non-vocal hunting dog doesn't help a whole lot. She was lucky considering what fate hunting dogs often meet.

At Poplar Spring, my wife and I sponsor a goat named Juniper. She lived on a farm with a family who was evicted and when they moved out, they left her behind to fend for herself. She was on her own for nine months, scrounging for food, eating grass and whatever she could find. By the time the neighbors finally decided to call someone about her, not only was she malnourished, she had parasites and an infection in her hooves. She came to the sanctuary, healed up thanks to lots of love and care, and now enjoys her time hanging out in the grass, sniffing the air and eating bananas. Her front legs won't fully extend due to the infections she'd developed, so she has some difficulty walking, but she's an amazing girl who's survived quite a bit. You can read more about her here.)

We also sponsor a chicken named Hermie for our niece and there's a Katrina chicken named Irene, after my grandmother.

Volunteering at Poplar Spring has been life-altering. When I started there, I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian. But it's hard to spend time at a sanctuary and not develop a bond with the animals that live there. And once those bonds form, you find those tired old excuses you give for continuing to eat eggs or drink milk start sounding really selfish and petty. It's hard to eat cheese when you look into the eyes of a giant cow like Jake or Norman, two veal calves that would have been killed at only a few months old but were lucky enough to live happy full lives at the sanctuary, and continue to justify supporting an industry that perpetuates such cruelty.

Poplar Spring is an amazing place run by amazing people. I've been volunteering there for six years and it not only helps to be around the animals, but to be around other vegans. I don't see many in my day-to-day life, so it's great to be among like minds every other weekend.