🙌🏻 Yes! People often confuse the meaning of the word vegan, thinking it is merely a description of your diet but this isn’t the case. 🙌🏻
The definition of Veganism implies a much more all encompassing life style which ‘seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose’. ✌🏻🌱
Each person’s vegan journey is personal, so it is not for us to judge the choices of others, especially those starting down the path of a cruelty free life, but when classifying yourself as vegan you must understand that in doing so you are aligning yourself with a community who disagree with all forms of animal abuse and exploitation.
Think about the products you use, the clothes you wear and the past times you participate in- do the companies you buy from profit from the mistreatment of animals?
If going vegan has taught me anything, it’s to be accountable for the way I choose to live, and while at first that meant looking at how my diet contributed to the harm of animals, it soon merged into all areas of my life- encouraging me to consider how all the products I use can have a negative impact on the environment.
Of course we can only seek to live in the least harmful way possible, and a 100% vegan lifestyle isn’t truly possible in Western culture, but we can make informed decisions about the way we live our lives and do our part in lessening the demand for products/ activities that promote animal abuse 💕
My journey was similar in that I also started with the dietary end, but quickly learned about all of the ethical sides of the coin that made me embrace the lifestyle side of it, as well. I'm not perfect, but as you pointed out I try to do the very best I can to minimize my impact. It also makes me think more about my overall impact on the environment beyond just the animal exploitation side of things. I have started being much more conscious in general of trying to be more aware of what I use and how much waste I produce.