Being a Vegan in the Army
*Photo Credit: Alican Eralp
It is hard to believe in both militarism which targets death and killing and veganism which focuses on freedom of animals. Militarism has been questioned after 34 civilians and their mules had been massacred by Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in Roboski /Şırnak province in southeastern Turkey on December 28, 2011. In those days, three activists became conscientious objectors. Objections continued; the number of conscientious objectors reached 7 by vegan activist Murat Tiriç.
We talked to Burak Özgüner who is both a conscientious objector and animal rights activist and Oğuz, another vegan who performed his military service in 2013.
“I object militarism in order not to kill living creatures”
Özgüner became a conscientious objector in July:
“I will ‘fight’ for animals, nature and for their freedom not for the state and the army which are against the life. I am not beside them.”
“Well, when you perform your military service, you can be ordered to kill mules or bomb innocent people like in Roboski. I objected militarism in order not to be in the chain of command and not to kill living creatures by the state guns and bombs.
“I think veganism is a political standing, an individual manifestation against the persecution and the violence.”
Özgüner reminded there isn’t any regulation about vegan soldiers in the army and it’s a great problem for them.
"Veganism-Nonviolence"
Oğuz is a vegan and he performed his military service in 2013. He said veganism means nonviolence besides not eating animals and not exploiting.
He graduated from marine engineering in 2010 and looked for a job for eight months. He traveled to China and returned to Turkey a year and half months after. He ended up in military service.
Oğuz expressed that he wasn’t worried about veganism when he was enlisted in the army:
“I preferred the passive resistance. I didn’t know I would meet understanding people because there are 5000 soldiers in the dining hall. I didn’t tell my commanders that I am a vegan.
“I met friends in the army. They knew I am a vegan. When they saw I couldn’t eat the meal, they gave me their fruit juices or vegan foods. I was eating foods like halva that I kept in my closet when I was hungry.”
“When there is no vegan food you eat bread”
“You eat the food which is served for everybody in the army. When there is no vegan food among three meals a day, you eat bread. There is usually a vegan meal per day, but it can only be fruit stew. You eat olive and tomatoes at breakfast.
“I think it is related to your chance. I was performing my duty where the meal was cooked. I took the meal before the meat was added. I can say I hadn’t so much difficulty.”
“Many soldiers don’t eat meat”
“Many soldiers in the army don’t eat meat even though they are neither vegans nor vegetarians. When they saw three or four-year frozen meats were defrosted and flies were buzzing on it, they shunned from it.
“I encouraged cooks for vegan meals for at least 500 people. For example, they didn’t include meat in dried beans. Nobody rejected this decision due to the aforementioned ‘conditions’ of the meat.”
“Being a soldier is harder than being a vegan”
“It is not so hard to solve things when you had to perform your military service. Nobody dies from starvation if s/he has some bread.
“Compulsory soldiers should believe in themselves, the life is not so easy, at all. You don’t die instantly when you haven’t taken protein. Being a soldier is harder than being a vegan, after all.
“A person doesn’t have to be a soldier to look at the bright side. People fall back upon consumption goods like a bar of chocolate to feel happy. We should resist those fast moving consumer goods and ‘so-called happiness’. When you omit that thing which makes you feel good, you should replace it with something new.
“Once a vegan, always a vegan, don’t doubt that!” (AE/ÇT)
Click here to read the article in Turkish