Why being vegan is just habit

Some teachings from Aristotle, who was famously not vegan

Some people like to cosplay as vegan, without actually being vegan.

Do you know anyone like this? Because I do. No hate to them, but it's an archetype.

As my friend Dani says (check out their newsletter!), people do this when they feel like they’re doing the right thing, but they’re not the right person.

Being vegan isn’t something you do.

It’s something you become.

It’s a state of being.

FYI: an audio version of this post is available for paid subscribers only. Scroll down to the end of this post to listen.

Excerpt from my conversation with Dani Linavi in Episode 16 of the Friendly Veg Podcast (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts).

Viewing veganism as an ethical stance — which it is — there are philisophical teachings by Aristotle (the Ancient Greek philosopher) that support this concept of BEING vegan rather than GOING vegan.

Aristotle wasn’t vegan, but…

The Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath has teachings relevant to veganism.

But he thought animals don’t have feelings.

Bad take, but he had interesting thoughts on habit formation.

Being virtuous is something you do out of HABIT.

🧠 Aristotle believed that ethics are a habit —> habits come from self discipline —> self discipline comes from endurance in the face of tempting pleasures.

Therefore:

🌱 Veganism is a habit —> choosing vegan options comes from self discipline —>self discipline comes from endurance in the face of tempting non-vegan food and social situations.

🧠 Aristotle used this term called “hexis” to refer to morale virtue. Hexis is a condition that you actively hold. It’s a state of being!

Therefore:

🌱 Veganism is an ethical stance out based in ones’ morales. It’s a condition you actively hold. It’s a state of being.

But it takes self discipline in order to develop the vegan habit into a mindless routine.

We can build self discipline and our will to maintain our veganism in the face of tempting pleasures.

These tempting pleasures can arise in any situation, often social.

These are situations where we think, “It would be so much easier to just eat that <insert animal product here>.” We’ve all been there.

Aristotle had some teachings on how to improve self discipline. Let’s talk about 3 of them.

1. Believe you have free will

Aristotle belived that the human essence lies in our ability to make choices. This is free will. These choices reflect our values.

In order to act morally, we need to believe in our free will. Free will is something we should believe in, and we should embrace.

But sure, it might be tough to make these choices. I’ve been in many situations where I act on my free will to be vegan, but it’s uncomfortable (because of social ridicule, or having nothing to eat, etc). But I feel good, despite that discomfort, knowing that I used my free will and acted according to my morals.

But sometimes folks don’t have free will! E.g., those who live in extreme poverty, have medical conditions, or various environmental factors at play. I would say that the moral obligation to be vegan is irrelevant in these cases. Do you agree?

But most of us can choose our actions. Embrace your free will and choose to be vegan!

2. Overcome your desires. The biggest victory is to conquer yourself.

You are the biggest obstacle to going vegan.

It’s not your partner, it’s not your friend, it’s not your parent. It’s you.

Being vegan means conquering not just your surroundings but also yourself – a reason to celebrate.

3. Be temperate in your reactions

Or as I like to phrase it: just be chill.

Temperate people handle their desires better. Unrestrained people succumb to them.

A temperate person will look at a piece of non-vegan cake, and say “You know, I don’t need that. I’d rather decline and deal with any awkwardness. At least I’m not harming an animal.”

An unrestrained person will look at a piece of non-vegan cake, and say “Ok, I’ll just eat it. It’ll taste good. Plus, everyone else is eating it.”

When faced with tempting non-vegan options alongside less exciting vegan ones, temperance makes it easier to choose the moral path: the vegan path.

Practicing indifference to pleasure and pain — mindfulness meditation helps! — helps your self-control and helps you make vegan choices, and handle accidental non-vegan consumption calmly.

💡How the world looks when you BECOME vegan — not when you GO vegan.

Once being an ethical vegan is your habit, you remove a lot of cognitive load. Let’s talk about an example.

You’re travelling and you find yourself in a restaurant that has a vegetarian option and a vegan option.

Scenario 1: Being vegan is NOT your habit. It’s something you try to do, but you don’t identify with it.

If the vegan option looks worse (less tasty) than the vegetarian option, you will succumb to your temptations and your desire to eat tasty food. You’ll probably think to yourself “Aw man, the vegan option sucks. I want to eat something tasty. I’m travelling. I deserve to treat myself!”

You’ll spend some time doing the mental calculation in your head: “Ok, if I eat the vegetarian option tonight, I can just make sure to eat vegan all day tomorrow…” But deep down, you know tomorrow will come and you’ll do the same math again. So you eat the vegetarian option. It tastes good, but you feel bad that your impulses led you to go against your morals.

Scenario 2: Being an ethical vegan is your habit.

You won’t even think about eating the vegetarian option. Your first choice is the vegan one. You won’t waste that time going back and forth trying to decide whether or not you should do the right thing.

Yes, maybe you will be cognisant of the fact that it isn’t as tasty as the vegetarian option. But you will be happier and more content with yourself knowing that you made a choice that’s in line with your character. No guilt, and no wasted time trying to decide what to eat.

When being an ethical vegan is your habit, you just don’t view animals or their secretions as food.

It makes decisions easy. If it comes from an animal, then don’t eat it, don’t use it, don’t consume it.

The only way to truly thrive as a vegan is when it’s your habit.

I hope you enjoyed this philisophical take on veganism.

In my next post I’ll discuss veganism through the lens of habit formation, using Atomic Habits (a great book!) as a guide.

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Audio version of the article below for paid subscribers only, read by Serena.