(A friend of mine asked about my thoughts on veganism and bivalves, and I the answer was worth sharing on my blog.)

I don't usually write about veganism, I don't try to convince anyone, and most of the time I only talk about veganism when asked about it. One of the reasons why I don't try to convince anyone is because I'm not a radical vegan, and I've been far from perfect when practicing it... I wear leather clothes, I buy hamburger buns that have eggs as ingredients, and from time to time I will eat non-vegan food, specially when traveling.

I always thought that the important thing is what we do 80% of the time. Many people tell me that they can't be vegan because they can't give up on meat, but the truth is that people don't need to stop eating meat to have a positive impact. Reducing meat consumption, eating sustainable meat, not eating meat one day per week, etc., all of those things are already helpful, and I believe that any step taken in the right direction is worthwhile.

People can be vegan for different reasons. I turned vegan because one day I was reflecting upon slavery, and I tried to imagine how would I react if I had lived back then. Would I be against slavery? Would I try to abolish, would I see it as an abominable act? Or would I accept it as part of society, like probably most of the people back then — good people — did? I like to think that I would be against it, but I have my doubts.

I then tried to imagine what is the thing we do today that will be abominable in 100 years. What is the "current slavery", what is the thing that I accept as normal and part of society that I should instead be fighting against? I came to the conclusion that raising animals like we do, for our consumption, will eventually be unacceptable.

With that in mind, I try to live in a way that I can reduce suffering, and that's where my veganism comes from. When I became a vegan I raised chickens, and I kept eating their eggs, because the eggs were there, and the chickens were well taken care of. When I got out for dinner with friends, and people want to share food family-style, I'll order a vegan dish and share it with everyone, also eating their food even if it's non-vegan. I do that because the impact is the same as if I ate my dish alone while everyone shares, and I'd rather not be that person.

Some of my vegan friends, on the other hand, consider eating meat repulsive. I love meat, I miss it, and at least once a week I'll eat a vegan hamburger that tries to mimic meat (Impossible Burger, Beyond Meat, etc.). But some of my vegan friends don't understand why any vegan would want to eat something that looks and tastes like meat.

I don't have a strong opinion on molluscs and bivalves, although friends have asked me before about it. Like I said, in my case I'm a vegan because I want to reduce suffering around me, so I think it's better to eat a bivalve than a mammal, since their central nervous system is much more simple.

But I think that instead of asking "is it OK to eat a bivalve?", it's more important to think "I will eat a bivalve because it's a step in the right direction". Turning consumption into a conscious act is the most important part, specially because many vegan foods also have a huge environmental impact, that affects both animals and humans.