Vegan Sex

OK, I confess, I wasn't even aware that this issue existed. From New Zealand:

Meat and two veg story draws gut reaction

The Christchurch woman who coined the term "vegansexual" has been astounded by the backlash from indignant meat-eaters.

In July, The Press published a story about some people, mainly vegans, who refused sexual contact with those who ate meat and other animal products.

The term was coined by the co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies at Canterbury University, Annie Potts.

Potts researched over 150 vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters and found a swell of female respondents describing themselves as being attracted to people who ate meat but not wanting to have sex with them because their bodies were made up of animal carcasses.

"I was astounded by how much publicity we got," Potts said. "Overnight, it seemed, there were hundreds of blogs and websites dedicated to questioning or challenging vegansexuality."

Potts said she was surprised at the "strong resistance by omnivores" and could not work out why they felt so threatened by it. "Why should there be such a backlash?

"There was a real culture of anxiety about vegansexuality I found quite amusing, but at the same time it was quite perplexing," Potts said.

And, for the new year, some new enviro-related words:

Navy shower n.

A very short shower in which you turn off the water while lathering up. This old term is also known as a G.I. bath, but it’s new to many in the drought-stricken Southeast. Its antonym is the Hollywood shower, a long, wasteful one.

vegansexual n.

A person who eats no meat, uses no animal-derived goods and prefers not to have sex with non-vegans.

walkshed n.

The area that can be conveniently reached on foot from a given geographic point. Compare with foodshed, the area sufficient to provide food for a given location, and viewshed, the landscape or topography visible from a given geographic point, especially one having aesthetic value. All are patterned after watershed.


global weirding n.

An increase in severe or unusual environmental activity often attributed to global warming. This includes freakish weather and new animal migration patterns.


chief sustainability officer n.

A business executive hired to meet environmental regulations and to find ways to profit through environmentally friendly products and services.

colony collapse disorder n.

A disease that has killed millions of pollinating bees nationwide and threatens to harm the nation’s agricultural output. Suspected culprits are a virus, mites and insecticides.