VEGAN RELATIONSHIP SURVEY CONCLUSION

The diversity of thought amongst vegans amazed me. Prior to this survey I had not realized how many factions exist within veganism. It seems to me, we would be stronger as a movement if we united. With all the diversity of thinking between vegans, and between vegans and non-vegans, it is incredible that we're all living together on this planet. But we're not doing such a great job of that, are we?

Vegans come in all walks of life; straight-laced, ordinary families, university students, militants, braless-naturalists, government officials, philosophers and leaders. But the survey did not return any responders in the army; killing. It's the vegans who are contributing the least to global warming and the destruction of the environment; the Earth we all share, vegans and non-vegans alike. It's the vegans who are more seriously attempting to live the 'Golden Rule' and obeying the first commandment; 'Thou Shall Not Kill'. It's high time that no vegan should ever feel ridiculed, but only appreciated for their fine effort. No medals are required; the only reward vegans want is for others to boycott animal agriculture too.

Our treatment of animals, as a society, resembles mass genocide, a horrible crime perpetuated worldwide by most humans. I hope, for the sake of ALL, that the mass consciousness that has accepted the social conditioning that 'we have a right to exploit, enslave, torture, kill and eat animals and their products' will soon be abolished. I can't think of a better solution to all our problems. It's profound that the only thing stopping us from that longed-for 'Peace on Earth' is carnivorism! You don't have to be a Ph.D. to 'get it' either! Though, one PH.D, Dr. Will Tuttle, certainly 'gets it'. He is inspiring many to become vegan with his book: The World Peace Diet. His vegan advocacy work, and that of many others, was revealed in this study.

Each survey question attracted an assortment of answers. Many responses came in from all over the U.S.A, so clear regional differences were evident. From the north-east concentration of 'abolitionists' to Houston, Texas 'cattle country' with a strong vegan presence, to the Bay Area of California where it is 'not an issue' to be a vegan, to rural areas where 'seldom is heard the vegan word', to an Arizona community of raw food vegans growing food veganically, to New York City residents where vegan options abound.

Most responders identified as vegan but there was certainly a range as to where they drew the vegan line. Plenty claimed to be vegan who did not fully adhere to the definition of a vegan, which saddens some vegans, while others see the fact that people like to refer to themselves as vegan as an indication that being vegan is 'hip' and 'green'; so that's a good thing. Both non-vegans and some vegans don't like 'fanatical' vegans, but sometimes fanatics are merely those who REALLY CARE and just want to turn all the wrong into right.

It was enlightening for me to learn how vegans feel, think, how they live, and what they endure being a vegan in a non-vegan world. Learning how vegans are viewed by non-vegans and by other honest vegans, helped me to reformulate my own approach. While analyzing the survey, I felt a strong 'veganhood' with all vegans the world over. The internet proved to be an exceptional tool in bringing vegans together, as did this Vegan Relationship Survey. I had not realized how many younger people internationally would be able to respond in English, so initially I wasn't expecting to cover so many regions of the globe.

I see it as a very good thing that veganism is infiltrating all walks of life (where it can take hold and take off!) I had become a vegan pre-internet when it was basically unheard of. I didn't know another vegan. Today there are vegans in Poland, Budapest, Sicily, Bahrain, Israel, Germany, Indonesia, Switzerland, or in rural lifestyles worldwide, living the vegan lifestyle in a very non-vegan-friendly world. Yet they are doing it! They reminded me of how I felt years ago.

There are bountiful rewards for those who choose to take the step into veganism. I have received plentiful rewards. I've lived only with vegans my entire adult life. I've had the pleasure of having ONLY vegan lovers. I never live with ridicule about being vegan. I've had many wonderful friendships with (vegan) animals as we are attracted to each other. I can have 'Purely Decadent' or 'So Delicious' ice cream when I need a fix. When I was addicted to dairy ice cream and becoming a vegan, there were no ice cream alternatives and now 31 healthy years later, I think more often about eating fresh produce grown veganically than about getting my ice cream fix. We change. We 'veganize' with time, and that was made obvious to me while analyzing the survey responses. Consistently, long-time vegans responded differently than the recently converted vegans, especially about being intimate with or living with non-vegans. Respondents varied from 'vegan for two weeks' to a handful that had been vegan for over 40 years. Most responders were in the age group of 31-55. The second largest group of responders was the 19-30 age group. One woman from Australia was in her eighties; responding on-line.

A large percentage of responders stated that they feed their companion animals products of slaughter but were otherwise vegan in their own lifestyle. For those individuals, (since some admit to feeling conflicted or guilty), please visit http://www.veganpoet.com/articles/dogs-can-be-vegan-too.htm Here, a vegan vet collaborates with me on my informative article about successfully raising healthy vegan dogs, (and she speaks about feeding cats vegan food too), accompanied by lovely photos of vegan dogs.

There were not many questions that resulted in general agreement, however most responders thought females were more open to the vegan concept and that there are more vegan females than males. Most responders agreed that they were vegan because of the animals. Most, if not all responders, felt healthier since being vegan. And most of them did not think they had influenced many others to become vegan. Other than that the responses were varied. So for anyone who has a certain stereotype in mind regarding vegans, 'forget about it', because there is NO stereotypical vegan and that's a clear conclusion drawn from this survey.

I feel an overwhelmingly hopeful feeling from the younger generation of vegans worldwide who repeatedly used the terms (together) 'non-racist', 'non-sexist' and 'non-speciesist' to describe themselves. They seemed less gender-biased, more open-minded and evolved. They left me with a feeling of REAL HAPPINESS that they exist! Though I have chosen not to contribute to the Earth's overpopulation crisis (by not having children of my own), evolution seems to be inherent with each new generation.

We can find differing viewpoints on any subject in books, on the internet, or from teachers. It is for us to filter what we hear and see it all through our own conscience, our reasoning mind, and compassionate heart, to determine what is really Truth; regardless of what we have learned from parents or society. Including the non-vegans, NOT A SINGLE RESPONDER THOUGHT THAT VEGANISM WAS WRONG. They all agreed on that.

Over and over and over, I heard responders refer to veganism as 'their choice'. Personally I don't see 'the choice'. As far as I'm concerned there isn't one; I could never be non-vegan. Some vegans walk the vegan path alone, completely out-numbered, teased, taunted and mocked, yet this does not lead them to question if veganism is anything but the right choice - the choice with the most RIGHT on its side.