Recent years have seen an increase in a wider variety of dietary choices ostensibly designed to improve overall health. One such choice is a vegan diet. Friends tell me this is not a strict form of being a vegetarian but more of a focus on micro-nutrients that are purported to be more compatible with various bodily systems, endocrine, immune, gastro-intestinal, etc. as well as a better ecological choice. I don’t entirely understand it but in the spirit of equanimity, I accept it. To put it another way, a vegan diet is supposed to make one more at peace with the universe.
There appears to be a vegan “bleed” if you will. That is, of course, physically impossible, as vegan-ism goes nowhere near meat or fish products of any kind. What I’m talking about is the appearance of ever more vegan products that don’t seem quite related. For instance, soap products that are labeled as vegan. I don’t ingest soap in any form and recommend against it. This leaves me unsure of any reason why facial scrubs, deodorant soaps and cosmetic bars would need to be vegan. Shampoo is another vegan product I’ve seen and I’m not sure why.
Vegan leather is a term that is bandied about. This left me puzzled until someone explained that it’s “pleather.” You’re right, that’s plastic leather. It really does look good and I have purchased this with full knowledge and acceptance of what I’m doing. I don’t even try to play it off as real leather. I’m too cheap.
The most puzzling aspect of the increased vegan presence are the vegan house cleaning products. Does spray furniture polish need to be vegan? Or disposable cleaning rags? How do they get to be vegan in the first place? Are room air fresheners really a vegan item? If I use a regular mop but vegan cleaner, does that make my kitchen floor vegan? I’m not sure that I read it correctly, but why does my vacuum cleaner need to be vegan? It sucks air and dirt particles, has hoses, attachments and cords. Being vegan doesn’t seem to make my vacuum seem more at peace with the universe, it’s just picking up the pieces of the universe. Go green.
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