CNN.com has a blog they call eatocracy where various columnist write about food. I really like this column because they do manage to be inclusive of veganism.
The most recent story was about the documentary "Forks Over Knives," which had a screening here in Austin a few weeks back. As the article states, the doc avoids the use of the "vegan" word. In fact, many people, including Rip Esselstyn, local firefighter/triathlete, and author of New York Times bestseller The Engine 2 Diet, avoids using the word. Why? It scares people off. I sometimes avoid using the word also while doing outreach in Austin. I'll say that I'm meat-free, instead. Through the course of a conversation, I will eventually say the word, though. Why? Because I think we need to get the word and the ideas behind it out to the public.
Mr. Esselstyn is wise to not use the "vegan" word in his book and on his speaking engagements. It's helpful. His point is to get people to eat a wholesome, plant based diet, not to promote animal rights. I don't have a problem with that. As long as people stop eating animals, regardless of the reasons, then I'll support the methods to get them there.
Thoughts?
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I could make this comment come from any number of angles, but since it's a word we're talking about, I'll tackle it from the semantic standpoint. There are two things that are unfortunate about the word "vegan". First is that the word was even necessary. There's nothing in the word "vegetarian" that should imply that eggs, dairy, cheese, honey, and sometimes even fish or seafood is included in the diet. Vegetarian should mean vegetables. The second unfortunate thing is that the word "vegan" phonetically and visually has an alien feel to it. Like we come from the planet Vega. (There is a star called Vega, but it's pronounced like a few unknowing people say vegan: "vay-gah".) When we use the word "vegan", we risk turning people off not just because their attitude may be anti-vegetarian, but also because they're not very accepting of "alien" concepts.
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