Een Duitse kennis van Jan Albert (zanger van een hardcoreband/mede-veganist en triatleet) heeft een interview hem gedaan (in het Engels) waarin een beeld wordt geschetst van zijn leven als Veganist en hardloper.
Interview with the dutch vegan runner Jan Albert Veenema
Jan Albert and me got into contact through a dutch hardcore messageboard I used to promote my blog and he reads occasionally. We sort of knew each other through HC shows and just found out we got a common passion and the only inspiring, almost cruelty-free lifestyle. So i wanted to interview him since he’s such a good runner and might also inspire you. He definitely has inspired me, since I might try some of his track intervall trainings and e’ll be running a race together soon!Interview with Jan Albert Veenema, questions by Björn Esser
How long have you been vegan?
I have been vegan for about 15 years now. Before that I’ve been vegetarian for a year, but in that time I started reading a lot about veganism and concluded that I wasn’t consistent enough. Also listening to bands like Earth Crisis and reading books like Animal Liberation and Diet for a New America contributed to my beliefs.
I actually became vegetarian through an ex girlfriend who turned vegetarian during our relationship, so I kinda got used to it and started eating more meat-free myself. The actual point for me to turn vegan was made by a friend of mine who stayed at my house for a couple of days and taught me how easy it was to cook vegan. From that point on I basically never ate animal products again. I can still remember the first time I said no to cheese: on my fathers birthday a bowl with snacks was presented to me and I said no. That was the also the first time I had to explain to my family what veganism stands for, and a lot of explaining is still necessary.
Me turning vegan kinda went together with me becoming straight edge. The only thing I did (a lot) was smoking weed and after watching a dutch documentary about animal liberation (Zembla- brandende dierenliefde, in english: burning love for animals) I decided it was enough and stopped my addiction because I thought there was something that needed my attention and that couldn’t be done while sitting stoned on a couch.
I’m not straight edge anymore, I’m occasionally enjoying a beer but I still respect and honor the values. I just can’t understand why “sell-outs” start drinking like crazy once they drop the edge. For me it stops when the alcohol takes over my concentration or control. I want to keep control over my mind and body and not want a substance to take over. Lees verder