Xabi Arratibel has breakfast every day a coffee with soy milk. Add toast and fruit with some butter. At noon add tofu, textured soy and tomato sauce to the pasta. And it ends the day eating a salad or a puree. It is vegan, and that affects almost every moment of the protagonist’s day; being vegan does not eat or use anything that comes from animals, but is also an activist and, consequently, extends that attitude to all areas of life.

EKAITZ Ibáñez is the second protagonist of the Donostia Animal Liberation Movement, Askekintza, who works alongside Arratibel, where he works. In his words, veganism is “an attitude of solidarity with the rest of the animals”. He is also clear that the vegan and the activist are on the same level; he says that the problem is the situation that the rest of the animals experience, “very serious”, as in their day to day we use them as an object or a resource. He thinks we use them like a piece of tomato or a piece of wood. They both direct their lives to that activism. “In feminism, the phrase ‘political personnel’ is used, and in ours too”.

Ibañez has been vegan for two years and Arratibel for five years. Both have always felt animals very close to them, and although in the case of both this closeness or empathy was decisive to be vegan, they have stressed that it is not always so, that there are those who do it for empathy, but for justice. Before Arratibel he was a vegetarian and took one step back from another. In his opinion, the vegan is the one who has a political attitude and the de facto vegetarian does not eat the products of the animals, but is limited to the diet.

Political position

“We feel strange when you put veganism in the food drawer, because we think we are talking about social justice. For us, in two words, it is a political attitude”, claims Arratibel. They claim that the food sector is the one that has the most victims, but at the same time they look at many other areas and think that Basque society, like the rest, is a specialist. They have also focused on the festivities of the people; in the last three years they have launched the campaign “Festak festak animalaskatu”, with the aim of denouncing the use made of animals in the festivities of Euskal Herria. “Needless to say, it is the cultural burden of our gastronomy, which confers on animals, for example, the chop is idolized,” says Arratibel.

Ibáñez feels that he often lives in an unreal world: “Being vegan, I see everything differently.” He stresses that as he passes through the valley, he sees the corpses hanging, which for him are not pieces of meat, but bodies of beings who wanted to live. “Many times I see that the environment is eating another person and I struggle to disconnect because for me they are people, not objects.” She feels that many times the people she loves throw the fight she's wrestled at the trash bin: “You spend the weekend trying to save a pig’s life, you come home and eat a dish of pork; imagine what we feel!” Even after counting the experiences of a weekend, they stress that although they live hard times, the victims are not themselves, but the animals.

Ignorance

Ibañez was only 15 years old when he started working in Askekintza: “I’ve been maturing as I’ve been making more commitments in Askekintza, and that’s reflected in everyday life.” They believe that there is still a lot of pedagogy to do, because there is “a lot of ignorance.” “People don’t know where that body that they’re consuming comes from, whether it’s an injustice, or what’s behind it is a speciism.” Therefore, in order to respond to this ignorance, most of the activism they carry out in Askekintza is oriented towards it, towards awareness.

Although they believe that veganism is spreading, they are concerned about the direction they have taken. “What’s happened to him with other social movements, he’s taken away and he’s appropriating the political and ethical basis capitalism has in the background and is becoming a business in recent years,” Ibáñez said. They are clear that it is being sold as a diet to lose weight and be healthy. There is no doubt that the protagonists claim that there is health, but they are concerned that this political position is overturned.

Many will say that eating meat and fish is necessary for humans. The two friends of Askekintza say no. Research has shown that it could be vegan at all stages of life; two examples are childhood and pregnancy. They remember that there are many products that have no animal origin, such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, cereals, roots or legumes. Back to her cases, Ibáñez, due to health problems, follows a macrobiotic diet, and has not had problems combining the two diets, macrobiotics and vegana, among others. He highlighted that since he is vegan he is better in health, and added that when he told his nutritionist that he was vegan he answered that he facilitated his work (he told us the episode with a smile). Arratibel, for its part, has been an athlete all her life, rower in particular, continues to have a very active life and being vegan has not prevented her from acting.

“It’s not for us, it’s for others.”

For them, veganism is to put aside some of the privileges we have by the birth of the human person. “We have to be clear that we are not at the center, that veganism is not for us, that it is to respect all animals, and that it is to put aside our privileges. It is not for us, it is for others.” Ibáñez makes that clear. They have stressed that when they were initially struggling to eat outside the home, they were not able to cope with them. “If there was no alternative, I set aside my principles and ate a tortilla,” says Arratibel. But over time, with political awareness, they've also faced it. They prefer to go a little hungry or spin home food rather than eat an animal. Arratibel has put forward a question: “If it’s complicated for me to be vegan, what will it be for an animal that is in the farmhouse?” She has been eating pure bread at the popular feasts of Euskal Herria, because she has found no other choice. However, he says that he has more and more facilities, knowing that it is important for him, as his friends also help him.

Ibañez tells us his curious stories. He often goes out of party with the tuper prepared at home under his arm. Then, he hides between the bushes and when the juerga is finished, he takes him back home.

But they say there are more and more opportunities. They think that this attitude is spreading and an example of this is the application that both have on the mobile: Happy Cow. You can find a vegan restaurant anywhere in the world through the map the app has. In this sense, they have emphasized that there are more and more restaurants in our environment and that “in Donostia there are many more options, more and more. Any vegan can go out with his friends and eat the snack and dish he wants,” he said, optimistic, Ibáñez.

Vegan character also influences other areas. For example, when it comes to dressing or buying products, Arratibel takes the tie to work every day, and finding those who are not silk is not an easy task. In this area, a few steps have also been taken in recent years, as shops for the sale of products without animal origin have been opened.

The first four frikis

“We have to be aware that the changes that took place in history began with four frikis,” says Ibáñez, without being able to contain laughter. They have the feeling that they are the first four Frikis, but they also carry it with pride. “When women began to claim their autonomy, I imagine that they would not think that feminism today had such a presence in our society.” Veganism is a movement that emerged in the last century, so it is said to be “new” and is in its beginnings, but it has also taken some steps. Arratibel says that it is “difficult” to change the specialist society, but that it is necessary to intervene on this issue: “The revolutionary subject is the one who is oppressed in other emancipation struggles, but in the case of animals it is different, so it is in the hands of others to change the situation.”

This summer the debate on the use of animals has come to light at the holidays of several peoples.

Campaign by Askekintza explaining the possibilities of vegan meals in Donostia.