Ya, I know. Maybe you want to. For some
reason, other people sure do get a kick out of putting vegans down.
But honestly, this is more about trying not to go there. You know
what I mean? If you're friends with a vegan, please don't do or say
these things. It's quite offensive, really. And lets face it, you
wouldn't treat your other friends this way, simply because their
lifestyle choice differs from yours. Or at least I hope not.
10. Telling a vegan not to preach
while simultaneously preaching about why your choice is better.
Highly ironic. Just saying.
9. Spouting off about vegan
protesters.
They have the same right to protest
that you do. OK. Maybe they are inadvertently insulting you by saying
that omnivorous consumption is unnecessarily cruel. But it's true.
And it's also not an attack on you personally, like when you speak
out against their right to protest or speak their mind.
8. Saying, “Look at this delicious
hamburger, you know you want it.”
Actually, it's quite sad/traumatic for
vegans to watch you eat the dead flesh of innocent beings and not
appetizing at all. Frankly, your cruelty and your hamburger disgusts
them. So doing this is rude beyond comprehension and inconsiderate of
their feelings.
7. Ask “How do you get your ____?”
in order to prove that vegans are unhealthy. or “What on earth do
you eat?” in order to prove that a vegan diet is boring and
tasteless.
A proper vegan diet is nutritionally
sound in every way. Possibly more so than most diets. And they eat
food. All kinds of food. Thousands upon thousands of fruits, veggies,
whole grains, tree nuts, seeds and legumes. And it's all delicious,
by the way.
6. Say, “Well, I have have a
friend who went vegan and had to go back because it made her sick.”
Truth? She probably wasn't eating
healthy. You can be vegan an not be healthy, just like you can be an
omnivore and not be healthy. No matter what diet you follow, you can
screw it up!
5. Cite canine teeth and cavemen.
Human canines are not designed to rip
flesh from live animals. That's what natural carnivores do. The human
digestive tract is not designed for consuming animal products either.
And if we continued to do everything the way our desperate and
starving ancestors did, we would never have improved our quality of
life. Evolving is necessary when circumstances change. If a caveman
jumped off a bridge....etc. PS – Let's dispel another early man
rumor. Carbs, not protein, built our brains.
4. Joke about eating animals.
Vegans have heard all your tasteless
jokes. They don't consider them funny. They consider them insensitive
and disrespectful to the animals that died to fill your plate and
clog your arteries.
3. Talk about how you can't go vegan
for health reasons.
There is literally no health issue in
existence that is made better by an omnivorous diet. On the other
hand, there are many individuals with chronic illnesses that have
improved or have been cured with veganism.
2. Tell vegans the earth would be
over-run by other animals and the natural balance would be destroyed
if we all went vegan.
Actually, the omnivorous way of life is
virtually destroying the planet due to the vast numbers of other
animals that are being over-bred for food. If we all went vegan, it
would gradually decrease the number of animals bred for food,
servitude and other purposes, thus restoring the natural balance and
doing away with our number one pollution threat, the animal
agriculture industry.
Oh and those plants you're so worried
about? An overwhelmingly higher number of plants are consumed
indirectly by omnivores through other animals than are consumed by
vegans. That issue would be null and void if we ate veggies in place
of meat and dairy. More water is used to feed omnivores too!
1. Base your opinion of vegans on
stereotypes:
Vegans are not all wasting away.
Some of them are body builders and star athletes, while some of
them are even a bit on the chubby side.
Vegans are not as pushy as they are
made out to be. They will stand up for their beliefs, just like
any other person who is committed to a cause they believe in. They're
just trying to make people aware of some things they may not know and
share their happiness at discovering that there is a way we can all
live and do no harm. Listen or don't. Your choice.
Vegans are not ignorant They do not
skirt the facts or believe only what they wish to. In fact, due
to having to defend their way of life almost constantly, and also to
insure that they are making the right choice, most vegans have done
extensive research on all subjects related to veganism, diet, health
and many other related subjects. When it comes to nutrition, many
vegans have more study hours than a lot of doctors.
Vegans do not believe they are
perfect, infallible or superior. Some of them even fall off the
wagon from time to time.
Note: You're right that vegans
can be a bit defensive at times, though. That's what happens when
you're discriminated against and misunderstood by a large portion of
the population, simply for trying to do the right thing and be as
kind as possible. It gets to them sometimes. So, they lash out, then
regret the fact that they weren't as compassionate as they could be
afterwards. Vegans are human, after all. Who knew?
