• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Heart - Head - Hands logo

  • About
    • Commitments
  • Blog
    • Contemplative Practices
    • Emotional Literacies
    • Everyday Feminism
    • Higher Education
    • Interviews
    • Racial Justice
    • Recipes
    • Why Vegan?
  • Courses
  • Work with Me
    • Subscribe via Patreon
      • Patreon Q&A
    • Coaching
    • Courses
  • Publications
  • Contact
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

Why I’m Vegan: Ecofeminism

Filed Under: Everyday Feminism, Racial Justice, Why Vegan? By Beth Godbee June 16, 2017 2 Comments

I’ve been holding myself up, preventing myself from writing about why I’m vegan and how central food is to my understanding of justice. I’ve been holding myself up because this writing feels especially important, like it needs to be good, and, therefore, is triggering my need to counter perfectionism.

I’ve also been holding myself up because it’s so damn hard to write about being vegan without re-inscribing notions of whiteness and privilege. Especially from my positionality as a privileged white woman. For example, check out the commentary “Here’s Why Black People Don’t Go Vegan” or the edited collection Sistah Vegan.

I’ve been holding myself up, too, because I want to amplify vegan voices of color and question how to put my voice in the mix. Vegans of color are explaining how meat is linked to white supremacy and an intersectional web of oppression. I’ve mentioned before the blogs Black Vegans Rock and The Sistah Vegan Project. If I could accomplish nothing else, I’d hope to send readers to these and other great resources.

Against this backdrop, I still want/need to explain why I’m vegan, and a sense of urgency is becoming clear. In just one week, I’ve had three different people ask me the familiar question: “Why are you vegan?” I’ve been invited to a vegan potluck, asked to provide vegan snacks for a campus event, and asked to support a student’s vegan activism. It’s clear I need to claim and explain why veganism means so much to me.

My first two answers to why I’m vegan—cookie dough and doing something small and sustained—are pieces of the larger puzzle. For this post, I’ll attempt to share a more philosophical piece: ecofeminism.

So, Why Am I Vegan?

Short answers include the following:

  • Veganism presents daily reminders for me to acknowledge and to counter violence in all its manifestations. It asks me to look at myself, my positioning, and how I’m relating (or not) with others.
  • Structures of oppression build on each other, and so I want to break down speciesism alongside and as part of racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism, ageism, sizeism, etc.
  • I want to affirm rights, including human rights, civil rights, linguistic and epistemic rights, and—yes, animal rights.
  • I value “all my relations,” including with animals and the earth, and I continue to learn the wisdom of interconnectedness through Malea Powell’s and others’ scholarship on indigenous epistemologies and relational worldviews.

These and other answers have emerged over decades of thinking about and reframing many relationships, including with what I eat and why. I’ve been vegan for more than three years, since December 2013. Before that, I’d been vegetarian since 2000. Though the transition from vegetarian to vegan was surprisingly smooth, I still end up at restaurants and in gatherings where options are scarce and where people look at me with tilted heads in total disbelief.

I’m frequently asked the question at the center of this series: “Why are you vegan?”

Related questions include:

  • Was is hard to give up ______ (fill in a popular food)?
  • How do you get enough ______ (fill in any vitamin, mineral, or protein)?
  • Aren’t you still doing harm by eating ______ (e.g., quinoa, grapes, almond milk)?
  • Aren’t you still killing plants?

As a recovering perfectionist, I recognize in these questions all-or-nothing thinking—or the idea that only a perfect/complete solution is a solution worth seeking.

In contrast, I believe we must invest in small and sustained actions—in whatever form they might take and however they might look.

Clearly, I was vegetarian long before vegan, and my reasons for being vegetarian are largely the same for being vegan. This is why I start with my “origin story” of learning about and wanting to strive toward ecofeminism.

Ecofeminism

Perhaps the trickiest and yet most true answer to why I’m vegan is that I believe in ecofeminism, which is a feminist belief in the equity and rights of all beings. I believe in countering all instances of exploitation, oppression, and injustice. And in affirming all forms of justice, including social, racial, gender, and economic justice. Relatedly, I see instances of injustice/justice as intimately woven together. To begin unweaving the tapestry, I take a thread that’s possible to pull. This thread is my relationship with food.

In one of my first women’s studies courses, I remember studying a pyramid like this one:
Triangular visualization of the hierarchy of oppression (motivation for ecofeminism) showing god over men, men over women, women over children, children over animals, and animals over the earth.
This hierarchical structure places god over men, men over women, women over children, children over animals, and animals over the earth. It represents domination and helps with visualizing the interconnected nature of –isms. The closer to the god, the more godly, good, worthy, and worthwhile. The further from god, the more exploited, demeaned, undermined, and devalued.

The goal of ecofeminism, then, is flattening hierarchies. This means seeing all beings—god, men, women, children, animals, and the earth—as worthy and worthwhile, as all having innate value and rights. This means not prioritizing men over women or humans over animals, but asking tough and sticky ethical questions that imagine relations of equity and justice.

It was studying this pyramid and imagining flattened, interconnected relations that led me to become vegetarian while still in college. From this starting point, I have continued to learn, and the more I learn, the more I see the need for everyday practices—like eating vegan—that lead to more questioning, more learning, and more desire to make change.

Dismantling systems of oppression involves, I believe, dismantling the hierarchies that are both internalized and normalized. And dismantling this pyramid is about not only countering sexism, ageism, and speciesism, but also countering white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, capitalism, and other forms of oppression. This is similarly what intersectional veganism seeks to address.

Ecofeminism is why I embrace animal rights, while emphasizing and affirming human rights. People have historically been dehumanized by being associated with animals (e.g., “dogs” or “monkeys”). As a strategy to deny human, civil, linguistic, and other rights, the association of humans with animals assumes that animals are lesser-than and unworthy of having rights. If we affirm animals as beings who also have rights, then we can disrupt dehumanization and the related stripping of human rights. Black vegan feminist theorist Aph Ko has an AWESOME video about how animal oppression relates to human oppression.

There’s a LOT more I want to write about why I’m vegan, which is why this is just one post in an ongoing series. What I can say simply is that my commitments to feminism and racial justice relate to environmental justice and veganism. So, one answer—and the one that defines my origin story and shares my philosophy—is ecofeminism. I’m certainly on a path to live and learn more, and I look forward to following where this philosophy might lead.

—
This post is written by Beth Godbee for Heart-Head-Hands.com. Feel free to check out other posts in the series “why I’m vegan” or vegan + gluten-free recipes. Please also consider following the blog via email. Thanks!

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket

Tagged with: #52essays2017, activism, antiracism, commitments, countering perfectionism, environmental justice, epistemic injustice, feminism, healing, intersectionality, mindful eating, power, racial justice, resistance, social justice, systemic oppression, understanding injustice, vegan

Support the Work

subscribe to posts:

Previous Post: « Three Chocolate Smoothies for Fueling the Road Ahead
Next Post: Swinging from Sweet to Sour »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anastasiys

    March 19, 2019 at 8:09 pm

    Thank you! I can relate to your words.

    Reply
    • Beth Godbee

      March 20, 2019 at 1:50 pm

      Thanks for sharing this feedback, Beth

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

About This Site

Embodied knowledge matters. So do commitments. And especially acting on commitments as part of everyday life, BIG and small. This website—a mix of blog posts and research writing, along with courses, writing groups, coaching, and other offerings—shares ongoing efforts toward everyday living (feeling, thinking, and doing) for justice.

Subscribe via Patreon

This button from Patreon says “Become a Patron” in white font against a bright orange background.

Subscribe to Newsletter

courses, webinars, and writing groups

This grid shows four colorful cacti (two above and two below) the event information (black font against white background): “Monthly Gathering Space: Recharge and Recommit. For details, see Heart-Head-Hands.com.”This e-course announcement shows a yellow sunflower and blue sky. It includes a textbox with the following information: “E-COURSE AVAILABLE NOW! Career Discernment for Academics: Aligning Career with Commitments. Self-paced study, exercises, coaching, and more ...”
This image shows writing tools (phone, keyboard, journal, pencil, and pen) along with the event information: “Online Writing Groups. Tues & Fri mornings. 10am EST | 9am CST | 8am MST | 7am PST. Come Write Together: Heart-Head-Hands.com.”
This ad reads: “Time to write! Writing Retreats. Learn more @ Heart-Head-Hands.com.” A white coffee mug and table appear in the foreground, with golden chairs and walls in the background.Along with showing 4 emoticons representing different emotions, this flyer reads, “40-Day Practice: Strengthening Emotional Stamina to Counter White Fragility. Self-Practice Available Now. Register for Next Community Practice: Oct. 1 — Nov. 10, 2020. Heart-Head-Hands.com.” A white background is framed by a blue border with yellow and red emoticons.

Categories

  • Contemplative Practices (46)
  • Emotional Literacies (65)
  • Everyday Feminism (72)
  • Higher Education (35)
  • Interviews (6)
  • Racial Justice (51)
  • Recipes (19)
  • Why Vegan? (11)

Footer

bethgodbee

#Repost @mvmnt4blklives with @make_repost
・・・
Together, we defeated a man who refused to denounce white supremacy, enabled hateful rhetoric, and encouraged violent actions toward Black people. We are very thankful for the millions who mobilized and the organizers who coordinated a historic win and attentive to the fact that racist systems are still in place. White supremacy is still rampant in this nation's legislature, the core of policing, and in our human services that remain inequitable for those most marginalized. 

The Biden administration has to take action in the first 100 days to address our communities' needs. They must put the people first amid the pandemic, end the war on Black trans, gender non-conforming, and intersex people, and defund the police. The actions taken will set forth the path for the next four years and have a significant impact on Black people's lives.
#Repost @charisbooksandmore with @make_repost
・・・
Today’s Pre-Orders are centered around social justice! From Intersectionality, Prison Abolition, to ACT UP! These books are full of history and steps toward a more just world. 
_______________
1. The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs (@annastea_honesty) Publisher: @flatiron_books On Sale: February 2nd, 2021 Event: 2/10
2. Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram X. Kendi (@ibramxk) and Keisha N. Blain (@keishanblain) Publisher: @oneworldbooks On Sale: February 2nd, 2021
3. Change Everything: Racial Capitalism and the Case for Abolition by Ruth Wilson Gilmore Publisher: @haymarketbooks On Sale: February 2nd, 2021
4. #sayhername: Black Women's Stories of State Violence and Public Silence edited by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@kimberlecrenshaw), African American Policy Forum (@aapolicyforum), Foreword by Janelle Mońae (@janellemonae) Publisher: @haymarketbooks On Sale: February 16th, 2021
5. We Do This Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame Kaba Publisher: @haymarketbooks On Sale: February 23rd, 2021
6. Abolition. Feminism. Now by Angela Y. Davis, Gina Dent, and Erica Meiners Publisher: @haymarketbooks On Sale: March 2nd, 2021
7. Our Work Is Everywhere: An Illustrated Oral History of Queer and Trans Resistance by Syan Rose (@syanrose) Publisher: @arsenalpulp On Sale: April 6th, 2021
8. Holding Change: The Way of Emergent Strategy Facilitation and Mediation by adrienne maree brown (@adriennemareebrown) Publisher: @akpressdistro On Sale: April 6th, 2021
9. We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell (@tracisorell), illustrated by Frane Lessac (@franelessac) Publisher: @charlesbridgepublishing On Sale: April 20th, 2021
10. Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman (@schulmanny) Publisher: @fsgbooks On Sale: May 18th, 2021
11. Misogynoir Transformed: Black Women's Digital Resistance by Moya Bailey (@transformisogynoir) Publisher: @nyupress On Sale: May 25th, 2021 Event: 5/25
#Repost @blklivesmatter with @make_repost
・・・
Join Black Lives Matter and Clergy 4 Black Lives for a #RadicalKing Twitter Storm on Monday, January 18, 2021, from 12-1pm PST. 

Access the toolkit at:
tinyurl.com/RadicalKingTwitterStorm 
#MLKDay
#Repost @thebodyisnotanapology with @make_repost
・・・
Instagram took down our repost of this quote by Martin Luther King, Jr., posted ON MLK’s birthday, for being “hate speech”. If that doesn’t prove the enduring virulence of white supremacy that Dr. King lost his life as a result of, we don’t know what does... well, that or the Capitol coup!! Reposting again, because fighting for liberation against #BodyTerrorism will never be equivalent to enacting oppression.
.
.
[image description: quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. in black and red on a white background. The quote reads, “Whites, it must be frankly said, are not putting in a similar mass effort to re-educate themselves out of their racial ignorance. It is an aspect of their sense of superiority that the white people of America believe they have so little to learn.”]
.
.
#TheBodyIsNotAnApology #TBINAA #RadicalSelfLove #Whiteness #BodyTerrorism
#Repost @thebodyisnotanapology with @make_repost
・・・
Posted @withregram • @privtoprog 🗣 @jemelehill ➡️ Yesterday, @michellesaahene and I (@thewildsister) recorded an interview for @nbaontnt with the incredible disruptor @carichampion (Thank you, Cari!). We talked about the calls for unity. And as I said on that interview, and will repeat as long as it takes, there can be no unity without acknowledgment, understanding, and intentional action to remake our systems that were built on white supremacy. That’s a foundational human concept—in personal relationships and in society, no problems are ever corrected without doing the work to repair the wrongs. #ShowUp 

PS the show airs Monday on @nbaontnt! 
.
.
[image description: tweet by Jemele Hill on an orange background that reads, “When pretty much every American institution has deep, racist histories that were never adequately addressed, and allowed to persist, this is what you get. This idea that racism was simply going to fade with time without any real work done always was woefully naive.”]
.
.
#TheBodyIsNotAnApology #TBINAA #RadicalSelfLove #Whiteness #BodyTerrorism
Load More... Follow on Instagram

About Beth Godbee

I'm an educator and former college professor who believes our fully embodied selves matter in the world. We can’t just think our way out of the incredible injustices, dehumanization, violence, and wrongdoing that characterize everyday life. We must feel and act, too. [Pronouns: she/her.] Read more ...

This image shows books alongside the words: courses, coaching, consulting. learning + unlearning.

Copyright © 2021