Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Sept. 26, 2017, edition 1 / Page 11
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, .-If DIVIDE BETWEEN VEGANS The cruelty free conflict: Different vegan perspectives PHOTO BY CATHERINE Pi66 CATHERINE PIGG Opinion Editor cpigg@unca.edu The basic understanding among vegans leans toward making a conscious effort to not funding the exploitation of animals. This effort means the exclusion of meat, dairy and eggs from their diet as well as abstaining from purchasing products made from and tested on animals. This seems simple when view ing the community from the out side, but within the community disagreements start over exactly where the line should be drawn when attempting to live a cruel ty-free lifestyle. Honey, modem medicine and vaccinations play a huge role in these debates among communi ty members. The most radical vegans are against these practic es because they include the ex ploitation or abuse of animals, or simply because they believe there to be health risks in consuming pharmaceutical dmgs. Examples of radical vegans include You- Tubers Ellen Fisher and Kristina Carillo-Bucaram. Fisher posts videos about her life as a vegan mother who be lieves in a whole foods and a plant-based lifestyle. Her You Tube channel has a following of over 30,000 subscribers and each of her videos typically have over 100,000 views. Her children are shown to be happy and healthy, but Fisher faces criticism on her choice to not vaccinate her children. Her choice not to vac cinate comes from reading Tim O’Shea’s book Vaccination Is Not Immunization and from reading VaxTmth.org. She recommends people do their own research on the subject instead of just taking a pediatrician’s opinion as tmth. Makennah Bristow, a junior physics student minoring in math and astronomy, became vegan three years ago but she still con sumes honey, takes medicine and gets vaccinated. “On the topic of medicine and vaccination, I choose to use med icine and get vaccinations be cause that is what’s best for my self and for everyone around me. While I know that medicine is tested on animals, there really are not many other options,” Bristow said. “Medicine and vaccinations are essential for keeping us alive and healthy. In particular, it is dangerous for people to not get vaccinated. Refusing vaccination risks the health of everyone you come in contact with. Get vac cinated! You’re saving yourself and everyone around you.” The Center for Disease Con trol and Prevention reported flu vaccinations reduce the risk of illness between 40 to 60 percent. The World Health Organization states vaccinations provide a saf er chance of gaining immunity to an infection rather than getting it through natural infection, which may lead to cognitive impair ments depending on the infec tion. Youtuber Carillo-Bucaram mostly posts recipe videos to live a raw vegan lifestyle, mean ing she does not consume any cooked foods. Her channel con tains a following of over 900,000 subscribers. She has also post ed about her choice to not con sume modem medicine and faced backlash when she posted a vid eo stating a raw vegan ice cream recipe could cure depression. Her critics’ backlash on the vegan ice cream video followed the senti ments of not using depression as a synonym for sadness and how
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
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Sept. 26, 2017, edition 1
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