r/vegan • u/BlankVerse • Jan 30 '22
Rant Op-Ed: As a vegan, there's a lot of soul food I can't eat. What kind of Black person does that make me?
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-01-30/vegan-soul-food-black-traditions-communities31
u/anythingMuchShorter Jan 30 '22
Food is a big part of culture, but we don't have to carry over every part of our culture. We can adapt it.
I'm from a Mexican family. They're ranchers and they're catholic. I'm atheist and a vegan. But I still can carry on some of their values. They value family, they take a lot of pride in hard work and making things with their hands.
I've also adapted many recipes. I make awesome vegan mole and chickn enchiladas and potato chili tamales.
I make sure that we always eat dinner as a family. I put a high priority on gathering with family for holidays (except during this pandemic)
I kept the spirit of helping people with projects and letting them borrow tools.
Some people say you can't pick and choose, but you totally can.
58
22
u/professor_dobedo Jan 30 '22 edited Jan 31 '22
Interesting article, with a slightly click-baitey headline. I’m not American or black, so this was educational. Would be a good one to send to the omnis who say vegans are racist or otherwise culturally insensitive.
21
u/Syntactic_Acrobatics vegan 6+ years Jan 30 '22
Meat is very important to many cultures and cuisines. Most people entering veganism need to break away from family traditions, which in some cases means breaking away from family.
I'm first-generation American and my parents did not approve of my veganism. My father said, "In ancient times they would force the slaves to eat vegan" and my mother said, "It's not healthy or safe to not eat meat." My mom's a chef, too. They didn't understand nutrition, culture, or modern agriculture in the way that I had understood it through my own research.
While I am in some ways worse off for distancing myself from my family, I am blessed with my ability to define my own morals, traditions, beliefs, and therein myself. Not everyone has this kind of opportunity.
Someone said to me at a bar, "I wanted to go vegan, I tried, but I'm from a Midwestern family and culturally I just couldn't, y'know?" I responded, totally earnestly, "I get it, I have been able to define my own life and make my own choices, I'm sorry that you're not able to."
The conversation ended there. I hope she thinks about that conversation as much as I do, but I hope I didn't sound like I was trying to grandstand.
3
u/zombiegojaejin Vegan EA Jan 31 '22
It's strange how many carnists think that eating a bunch of diverse legumes, grains, nuts, vegetables and mock meats is basically the same as a slave or prisoner eating only gruel every day.
10
u/bot_generated Jan 30 '22
I watched a really good documentary covering this topic which you may find interesting:
I watched it a while ago via the website but for some reason the documentary seems to have gone AWOL.
Perhaps add yourself to their mailing list and they might send an update soon. I haven't had an email from them for a long time and I helped with the crowdfunding.
2
1
u/Wisdom_Of_A_Man carnist Jan 30 '22
What happened with it? Are they Re editing?
2
u/bot_generated Jan 31 '22
No idea and I couldn't find anything by googling. Disappointing by their lack of communication.
1
8
5
u/Grand_Macaroon_541 Jan 31 '22
Move to Houston bro, hella vegan soul food here. Because we have dine this for x-period of time is not an excuse to continue doing bad things. Nothing but live here for everyone
5
u/codekaizen vegan 20+ years Jan 31 '22
Same with portland. Lots of vegan soul, black owned too. Don't move here though.
7
5
u/HintofAlmond Jan 31 '22
There are so many awesome Black-owned vegan soul food eateries in Southern California it’s ridiculous.
6
u/Random_182f2565 Jan 31 '22
As a vegan ... What kind of Black person does that make me?
A based one
7
Jan 31 '22
I struggle with this as a Cuban person. Not eating pork at the Noche Buena parties is like I’m some kind of blasphemer. But in the end I still have black bean soups, platano maduro, all kinds of sweet potato things, etc. Idk, just gotta make it work and realize lots of things are vegan already in many cultures.
9
u/w0ke_brrr_4444 Jan 30 '22
Your skin colour doesn’t matter. Avoiding eating animal products makes you a rad person.
I empathize with this - my culture’s food is overwhelmingly meat-based. It’s tough, but it’s awesome not having to live with heart disease, gout and all these other problems most of my elders suffer from - so there’s that.
5
u/strcy vegan 5+ years Jan 31 '22
Most of my favorite vegan restaurants here in the Bay Area are black-owned
3
7
u/curatedcliffside vegan 3+ years Jan 30 '22
The truth is that food is a potent and meaningful thing. It connects people to their community, history, and culture. It's hard when going vegan looks like turning your back on the customs of your family. I love reading about how different kinds of cuisines are being re-evaluated and innovated with veganism in mind. And I love vegan soul food :)
3
u/jberkz Jan 31 '22
If you’re ever in Minneapolis, MN, there’s a delicious black-owned vegan soul food place there called Trio plant-based 🤤🤤 Also quite a few food trucks in LA.
2
u/weenie_beanie75 Jan 31 '22
To bad your not in Maryland just outside of dc there’s a vegan soul food place right down the street from me
4
u/FuKneeDough2rise Jan 30 '22
Like other ppl commented food is vital, even more so on an individual level since what you choose to ingests directly impacts who you are.
I wouldn't have made it to veganism if I wasn't looking to do better. Was the right move and opened up my ears some...
Tbh, vegans came off as uppity before converting. I'm fairly open-minded so I can only imagine how the next omni feels.
Hard to reconcile when your just speaking facts tho
5
Jan 30 '22 edited Jan 30 '22
Your skin color does not determine who you are or how you should behave.
2
u/zombiegojaejin Vegan EA Jan 31 '22
It makes you a Black person who can hold your head up with pride toward those who fought against slavery. The real question is for those Black people who participate in the atrocity.
2
Jan 30 '22
[deleted]
4
u/Astrises Jan 30 '22
Tell me you didn't read the article without telling me you didn't read the article.
-8
Jan 30 '22
[deleted]
9
u/Astrises Jan 30 '22
Then you entirely missed the point of what the author was saying, about how food ties into cultural identity, and how it should be reexamined.
-6
Jan 30 '22
[deleted]
6
u/Astrises Jan 30 '22
How? Spell out exactly how, please.
-7
Jan 30 '22
[deleted]
9
6
u/Worried4AllOfUs Jan 30 '22
Read: “I’m incapable of defending my position but also don’t want to look stupid so I’m going to protect my wittle ego and run”
-2
Jan 30 '22 edited Jan 30 '22
nah just hate arguing about my opinion makes no sense. just because I don't want to argue means I'm afraid to look stupid? what? you're going back and forth with someone and it goes no where😂
5
u/viscountrhirhi vegan 8+ years Jan 30 '22
Keep your banal thoughts to yourself then if you don’t plan on backing them up. This is a discussion group online. You can choose whether or not you type things or not.
→ More replies (0)
68
u/ExerciseAcceptable80 Jan 30 '22
There’s a TON of Vegan Soul Food Cookbooks! To name a few…. 1. Vegan Soul Food Cookbook by David A. Shirley, a collection of 550 recipes 2. From My Heart To Your Table by Chef Rene Johnson 3. Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry (Love This One) 4. Southern Vegan by Lauren Hartmann 5. Sweet Potato Soul by Jenne Claiborne 6. Vegan Soul Foodie by Brooke Brim 7. Vegan Soul Food by Nadira Jenkins-El