Hi. I’m Alissa. I’m a cheesemaker, microbiologist, and Asian Warrior Princess. I’m honestly a little reluctant to write this. Mostly because being a woman, people automatically assume that my natural role is as an influencer. I don’t have anything against this. I just don’t perceive this to be my gift/purpose/dharma (whatever you want to call it). I see my gift as cheesemaking. I’ve actually had a number of miraculous interventions in life that really have no other explanation beyond letting me know that pursuing this is the reason I was put on the earth. This is a longer story that probably deserves it’s own post. I’ll get to that. Later. Which brings me back to why I am writing THIS post.

Why am I writing this post, you ask? Because it occurred to me that a lot is changing in the world right now. Things are pretty unstable. I’m 51. Pretty middle aged. And this really feels different. Honestly, a lot of people are really freaking out. Doing crazy stuff. Looking for answers. Meanwhile, a lot of the systems, communities, hierarchies, identities that used to define us just don’t anymore. Things have just changed.

For example, a community that I’ve really identified with lately has been the vegan/plant based community. I wouldn’t say that I don’t identify with this community anymore. But what I would say is that a lot of the voices that are connected with it don’t necessarily speak for me. Does this mean I disagree with them? No. Do I think they’re wrong? No. Does this mean I don’t believe in it anymore? No. It just means they don’t speak for me.

I actually don’t think this is a bad thing. I think it’s healthy. I think it’s really positive for people to take a self inventory and figure out who they are, what their values are, and how they line up with these ‘labels’. That relationship can change over time. Is this good? Is this bad? I don’t know. I think it just is.

Am I a vegan? Sure. Do I announce myself to the world as such? Generally not. Mostly because I don’t like to limit myself to a label. I was actually attracted to plant based foods for health reasons. I have autoimmune disease. I went through a really traumatic ten years of being really sick and overcame that by changing my diet. I feel like vegan/plant based eating was a tool that literally saved my life. It’s foundational for me. It allows me to survive in a world where I otherwise would not. That’s powerful.

That said, a lot of vegan food I can’t eat. Generally processed food of any sort will trigger my immune system to act out. This is true of food that’s plant based and food that’s not. So for me, when it comes down to following the guidelines of veganism (as defined by someone else) and the guidelines of what is healthy for me, I pick myself.

What does this mean? I don’t know. I’m just putting it out there for people who might relate. I’m putting out there the VALUES that drew me to this. Because I think that overrides labels. And honestly, I think this is an issue that is pervasive in our world and needs to be healed. We’ve all been kind of lumped into sort of marketing segments to be exploited. And maybe we should be less hung up on LABELS and more in touch with our VALUES. And maybe tolerate people outside our market segments. Because at the end of the day, we are all bigger than a market segment.

Am I a vegan, carnivore, pescatarian, democrat, republican, independent, city slicker, a little bit country, businessperson, anarchist, artist, believer, mom, dad, caregiver, friend, foe, narcissist, empath, whatever?

Maybe all of the above. Or at the very least, a swath. Depending on the day.

Do we have to put a label on it?

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