Unpopular Opinions Society

[ledboots]

I feel bad for the men, though. It is hard to find decent dress shoes that aren't leather.

 

[das_nut]

Is this about some stylish non-vegan shoes you want to buy?

Not really, although I have non-vegan shoes. If you're a guy, and you need a certain class of shoes, the choice is either buying used (which will always be leather, but otherwise reuses old products and reduces waste) or buying new (and creating demand for new products, which supports a consumer, throw-away culture, not to mention the side-effects of manufacturing something new.)

I thought it had be mentioned to death that the definition of veganism is to avoid animal products(or containing products) where practical. How you define 'practical' is of course open to debate, but I would think that road surfaces were not practical to avoid.

I dunno. That definition sounds like someone who misses the forest for the trees.

For example, Fiji water is vegan. It's also shipped a quarter of the way around the world. So, if vegans are simply about avoiding animal products, then vegans should have no problem drinking Fiji water, right? But if veganism is a more holistic approach to the world which seeks to reduce and eliminate animal suffering, then vegans would object to the environmental impact and resources needed to transport water from a Pacific island to the US, since all of that harms clearly harms animals for a negligible benefit.

These kinds of arguments are one of the reasons why I only called myself vegan for a very short time, and never will again

Some days, I feel that way.

There's probably something deeply wrong with the veg*n movement in that regards.

 

[kazyeeqen]

I think my unpopular opinion is that I'm a vegan who doesn't like talking about veganism all the time.



But here I go.

I don't think veganism is a holistic approach to the world that seeks to limit even very abstract animal suffering, because this **** is complicated enough without making it completely undefinable. That doesn't mean I would drink Fiji water, or whatever, because I've got other things going on in my moral world view, veganism is one part of my morality, my morality isn't part of veganism. I don't need to bunch is all together. There are lots of reasons to buy local or fair trade or shade grown or small scale or any other positive ecological/social distinguishing factor without calling it part of veganism.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

I used to buy Fiji water sometimes. I only stopped because it's expensive.

If someone were to offer me a choice of a bottle of Fiji water or a bottle of Dasani or whatever it is that is bottled locally, I would choose the Fiji water. I don't think it's any better, I just like the square bottle. Especially the little 8-ounce ones, I love those.

 

[Spang]

I get my drinking water from the tap, filtered.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

When at home, I drink filtered tap water.

 

[mlp]

I drink unfiltered tap water. Used to filter it, but then from what I was reading, the benefit of filtering was negligible, if any.

 

[mlp]

Some days, I feel that way.

There's probably something deeply wrong with the veg*n movement in that regards.

Well, I'm not even vegan anymore. When I buy processed/prepared foods (which I do with less frequency than most), I stopped worrying about trace elements - I don't think avoiding them has anyreal value/impact. I eat honey from my bees, and I would eat eggs from my chickens and ducks if I felt like eating an egg. IMO, growing one's own food/buying locally produced has a much more significant impact on a greater number of animals than avoiding trace elements, etc. I could/should do more in that regard, and need to get off my duff and do it..

That's where I've landed, in my decisions. I'm not looking to argue with anyone, or saying that my way is better than anyone else's - it's just what makes sense to me, from an ethical and logical standpoint.

 

[Freesia]

I like fabric shoes and they can be worn in the summer at least. My jandals have a sort of rope sole and as I walk I can feel a sort of ropiness under my feet and the top is made of fabric and has sequins sown onto it. It is meant to be a sort of boho shoe in terms of fashion.

 

[Spang]

I haven't replaced any of my shoes since I stopped being a dick to animals.

 

[mlp]

Women do have a lot more nonleather footwear options than men do.

 

[ledboots]

I like fabric shoes and they can be worn in the summer at least. My jandals have a sort of rope sole and as I walk I can feel a sort of ropiness under my feet and the top is made of fabric and has sequins sown onto it. It is meant to be a sort of boho shoe in terms of fashion.

Those sound cute. I like fabric shoes, too. I have a new pair of platform sandals that are black fabric strips and ropey stuff glued on the sides.

 

[Spang]

Women do have a lot more nonleather footwear options than men do.

Yeah, I only have three pair (excluding the shower shoes, the slippers and the I-don't-care-what-happens-to-them shoes): the everyday shoe, the dress shoe, and the athletic shoe (maybe the only vegan pair).

 

[mlp]

Yeah, I only have three pair (excluding the shower shoes, the slippers and the I-don't-care-what-happens-to-them shoes): the everyday shoe, the dress shoe, and the athletic shoe (maybe the only vegan pair).

Athletic shoes are the only ones that are readily available in nonleather options. New Balance has some nice athletic shoes w/o leather, although I'm not sure that they're entirely vegan - i.e, glue.

Sanita and Dansko both make vegan shoes that are incredibly comfortable and supportive - thanks to MrsSchu for turning me on to them! I have found good deals on them on eBay - I'm lucky enough to have a foot size that they use for salesmen's samples, so every so often, there's a bunch of unworn ones on eBay in my size.

 

[Lord Snot]

I've said it before, but vegan shoes are SO UGLY. They're 50% disgustingly hippie and 50% horrible 'biker' boots with buckles and straps. Do not want.

 

[Spang]

I've only seen one pair of vegan shoes that I would wear, but they're in the UK and I don't know if they're comfortable.

 

[ledboots]

I wear Danskos for work, 12 hour shifts. I switch between those and New Balance sneakers for work.

 

[Wolfie]

I always send food back if it contains meat or dairy. If someone gives me food containing meat or dairy I give it to my omni family or donate it if they don't want it.

I expect to be brought the meal I ordered and to be offered to keep the incorrect meal with meat or cheese. Otherwise it just goes into the garbage so why shouldn't my dogs get a snack for my trouble?

 

[thefadedone]

I used to buy Fiji water sometimes. I only stopped because it's expensive.

If someone were to offer me a choice of a bottle of Fiji water or a bottle of Dasani or whatever it is that is bottled locally, I would choose the Fiji water. I don't think it's any better, I just like the square bottle. Especially the little 8-ounce ones, I love those.

Is the packaging the reason why it's so expensive and popular? I've never tried it because of the price but every single movie that has a scene with someone drinking bottled water , it's always Fiji water. Plus on all those celebrity home shows like Cribs, all the celebrities have their fridges stocked with Fiji!

I expect to be brought the meal I ordered and to be offered to keep the incorrect meal with meat or cheese. Otherwise it just goes into the garbage so why shouldn't my dogs get a snack for my trouble?

I wish they would do that, but even if they do let you keep it they will still charge you for it. At least that's been the case from my experiences.

 

[Pickle Juice]

There's probably something deeply wrong with the veg*n movement in that regards.

I'd say that there is something deep inside the person who perceives it to be that way, rather than the movement itself. (Though I am not sure what a veg*n movement would consist of.)

Which is probably my unpopular opinion. A lot of the negativity people see when they observe things really comes from inside them, not from what they are observing.