"Being vegan is easy."
This is one of those vegan mantras that has obviously been created by white, middle-class, college educated vegans because, for the rest of us, veganism is not as easy as it could be. Time for visualizations!
Imagine the typical vegan. This vegan has a full-time job that probably pays fairly well. (If it doesn't, it is at least indie cool enough to make the poorness appropriately chic.) They are in good physical health, probably a little extra athletic. They either own a car or have a cool bike to tool around on when they are feeling a little extra athletic. The area in which they live probably has at least one large grocery store; if they don't have a grocery store nearby they can drive/bike to a slightly farther away store. Maybe they can even afford to buy organic or visit farmer's markets. More than likely, this vegan can cook and enjoys doing so. Occasionally, they can both afford and find vegan food at restaurants or in packaged food. They can, on a regular basis, choose veganism without any lasting unfortunate side effects; they can, for example, eat some salted peanuts rather than eat the questionable veggie burger & fries when stuck at an airport.
The reality for a vegan with a disability:
I am unable to work full-time because of the stress it causes me. I am constantly worrying about paying medical bills and living expenses which translates to a fairly strict food budget and the possibility of living in a food desert. I am currently not capable of owning a car or riding a bike. I have a food co-op near my house but it isn't cheap and the nearest cheap grocery store is miles away. This means to get food I have to give up a significant portion of my time to commuting via bus. What might have originally been a half hour to 45 minute errand now becomes about an hour and a half to 2 hours of carrying around heavy bags. Usually, I am so exhausted I have to take a nap afterwards. Sometimes I get up and go do it all again in the same day. Outdoor farmer's markets are completely off limits due to distance, transportation, and time spent outside. (I become extremely ill with exposure to UV light.) I love cooking, however, there are times where I am so exhausted and/or arthritic that it becomes almost impossible for me to even contemplate making food. Packaged vegan meals are rare still fairly rare, especially the ones I can keep down when I'm nauseous. Occasionally I can't even walk to the few places to offer vegan meal options within walking distance. (Most of the delivery places here do not have viable vegan options.) Travelling requires taking an entire bag of food or full meals with me due to medications; all but one require being taken on a full stomach. On a regular basis I have to decide exactly how vegan I'm going to be; in airports, I tend to rely on Burger King veggie burgers, without cheese and mayonaise, and french fries. Since I do not have any vegan friends, I repeatedly have to make decisions about whether I need to eat before a get-together. I have had to decline invitations because there simply wasn't enough time for me to get home, eat, and get to the party so I could leave at a reasonable hour. As far as having my own get-togethers, the last time I had one it took several days to recover from it.
All of this, and I'm lucky enough to not be dependent on caregivers for my food.
So when a vegan says "It's easy being vegan" what they are saying is it is easy being vegan for them. Being vegan offers it's own challenges for each person, dependent on their life and abilities.
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