By Emily Carter, Vegetarian Resource Group Intern
I grew up in the rural South/Midwest. I went to high school in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, which is where I first heard the word vegan. The way ‘vegan’ was first described to me was uninformed. I was in a Family and Consumer Sciences class, in which my teacher was talking about various diets people undertake. When she was talking about vegan and vegetarian diets, she said “I understand why people choose to go vegetarian, but why vegan? Animals are not getting hurt.” At that time, I agreed. It was only after I started exercising vegan morals that they truly started to make sense. It’s like a muscle you never knew about until you stretched it past the comfort of its idle existence.
Many people, especially people in the South and Midwest, truly believe that taking milk from cows and eggs from chickens has absolutely no negative impact on those animals. In fact some people think it is good for the animals to take their milk and eggs (many think that cows always automatically produce milk and need to be milked even if they weren’t producing milk for their calf after becoming pregnant.) Dealing with this information gap is one of the hardest parts about being vegan in an agricultural area, but there is room to educate. Back home, relaying how I feel about animal treatment to a non-vegan audience sometimes results in angry reactions. However, when I moved to the Northeast, the reactions I got were completely different; always along the lines of “it makes sense, but I could never do it.” Back home, it just does not make sense to people at all. Urban areas in the south are more receptive to vegan philosophy.
My area is rural and densely populated with farm animals, mostly cows. There are chicken processing plants within a small radius of both my mom’s house and my dad’s house. I saw these animals all the time growing up, but I really saw them when I became interested in animal rights. The truckloads full of chickens brings tears to my eyes every time. I pray for them while I watch their feathers fall onto the sides of the road. I want to protest and I want people to mourn with me, but there is no one. I joined vegan Facebook groups for Oklahoma and Arkansas, but they are pretty inactive. It is hard being a vegan in the rural south, but since no one really knows why people are vegan, it is a good place to educate. It can be tiring to explain all the time and get the same reaction, but don’t let it get you down.
I have noticed that in my small town, people are afraid of change, which is why they have stayed their whole life. Also, it is the Bible Belt, so many people think the only reason animals exist is for human purposes. I find it best to just mention why I live vegan and what it does for me, and then move on. I think it is better to plant a seed than to get someone feeling insecure and attacked about their diet, because it could result in them eating a bacon sandwich in front of me and talking about how good the pig tastes. People will make fun of us, but at least we can live at peace knowing we are doing what is best for our bodies, the planet, and all of those beautiful farm animals.
For other articles about surviving as a vegetarian, see: https://www.vrg.org/teen/#friends
For information about The Vegetarian Resource Group internships, see: https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php