Why do people get so provoked by vegans?

Rocbola

Meat eaters get very defensive every time the word "vegan" is even brought up. It's much the same way smokers and drug addicts get defensive if you try to bring up their bad habits. I think they are living in such denial that any truth makes them very defensive, because they don't want their bubble popped.

You say "meat eaters get very defensive", yet it is you who are comparing meat eaters to drug addicts. It is you being judgmental. It is you who proclaims some mysterious proof, yet offers no evidence.

Wow, very defensive.

Glasgow_Vegan

Also, there are hundreds of threads every day with meat in the title. One or two maximum about veganism or vegetarianism. Now imagine if all of those meat threads had to be shut down by a moderator. How would you feel?

Squirrely_Girl

I couldn't have said it better than this. If you are vegan and don't preach to me about it then I am all for it. If you get in my face and try to convert me, I shut you out. I eat a lot of vegetarian meals, whole foods, organic, local, and unrefined food as much as possible. I stay away from the Big Ag bad boys and try to keep the chemical laden foods out of my diet. I think I do pretty well. I find it particularly offensive when vegans try to convert me, not only because it is obnoxious but also because I take desiccated thyroid medicine, porcine derived. I will never truly be able to be vegetarian unless I convert to synthetic medicine, which does not work for me.

beckajw

Most people in my real life don't even know I'm a vegan. But, there are times it comes up and my mere existence seems to challenge some people, no matter how polite and accepting I try to be.

Then you are not being as polite and accepting as you think you are. Sometimes when we think that we are just stating our opinion in a non-confrontational way, we are really coming across as judgmental.

I have vegan friends. We have no problem being with each other. I don't try to get them to change, they don't try to get me to change.

It's not veganism that bothers people.

For example: I have met people for lunch who don't know I'm vegan. I try to make my veganism transparent by calling ahead to make ordering food simple and easy, and not revealing my veganism. When the food comes, it's plants and the person I'm with asks 'Are you vegetarian?' When I answer truthfully, they often ask 'Why?' I used to answer truthfully, but now I just say 'This isn't a good time to discuss that.' Some people still persist, or get defensive. I truthfully don't like ruining people's dinners or making highlighting differences. Other than lying, I really have no clue how I could be more polite and accepting in circumstances like this.

You could just answer the question. Asking why isn't judging. That's the problem, we all "like" to be judged. Any time that someone who is different from us asks a question about us, we assume we are being judged. You could simply say, it's what I've found that works for me. It's what I like to do. Ordering your food ahead of time is a little weird though.

jofjltncb6

I don't go into Paleo threads and talk about any supposed evils of meat eating. In fact, I've shared a ton of recipes with Paleo people because there are some common interests between veganism and Paleo peeps.

You may not, but don't pretend like it doesn't happen.

spacechick365

I'm not vegan myself but one of my good friends has been for most of her life and often face the same scrutiny because people don't realize they were heavily raised in a culture of eating meat that they can't fathom the idea of having a meal without it. Most people can't respect the lifestyle choice and often their reactions draw negative effects from vegans, who are constantly bombarded with questions and cynicism.

I for one have had my eyes opened and love vegan cooking or any dish prepared by vegetarian. I find people who embrace this diet handle food much more seriously and know how to play around with all spectrum of taste, like umami.

This. It's really insulting when someone says veganism is a "cult", as in yesterday's thread. At least most vegans chose it for themselves. Everyone else on the standard diet is 'brainwashed' technically.

Posts like this are what cause a lot of seperation between plant eaters and meat eaters. Veganism isn't a cult and most people don't think of it as a cult. On that same note, just because you eat meat DOES NOT mean you are brain washed.

I tried to eat Vegitarian and realized that I was missing alot of vitamins and minerals that my body needs because I couldn't get them from veggies. My body didn't process them well and I got really sick. I added meat (mostly beef) back in my diet and immediatly felt better. Not everyone can survive on veggies alone so why make people feel bad for that?

beckajw

Meat eaters get very defensive every time the word "vegan" is even brought up. It's much the same way smokers and drug addicts get defensive if you try to bring up their bad habits. I think they are living in such denial that any truth makes them very defensive, because they don't want their bubble popped.

You say "meat eaters get very defensive", yet it is you who are comparing meat eaters to drug addicts. It is you being judgmental. It is you who proclaims some mysterious proof, yet offers no evidence.

Wow, very defensive.

Please, if you want to fight with me, give me some facts. You chose to compare meat to drugs. Back it up. Asking for proof isn't defensive. Just name calling "wow, very defensive". That's just immature.

Glasgow_Vegan

Meat eaters get very defensive every time the word "vegan" is even brought up. It's much the same way smokers and drug addicts get defensive if you try to bring up their bad habits. I think they are living in such denial that any truth makes them very defensive, because they don't want their bubble popped.

Answers the OP's question perfectly.

Positively oooozing with the sort of attitude that pisses meat eaters off.
We're defensive like smokers and drug addicts.
We're in denial.

Well have you tried being vegetarian or vegan? How can you judge if you haven't? All of the vegans who've posted so far tried meat eating for years so I'd say we can at least give a researched opinion on it.

Dub_D

Because when Glascow_vegan, or any vegan for that matter makes statements like this;

"Doesn't knowing you've led to the death and sometimes torture of hundreds if not thousands of animals make you feel bad?"

It tends to put peoples hackles up a bit. There were not to many "I like steak" comments before that bombshell

A lot of vegans can be really obnoxious and annoying about it, that DOES attach a sort of stigma to vegans (unfortunately).

beckajw

Meat eaters get very defensive every time the word "vegan" is even brought up. It's much the same way smokers and drug addicts get defensive if you try to bring up their bad habits. I think they are living in such denial that any truth makes them very defensive, because they don't want their bubble popped.

Answers the OP's question perfectly.

Positively oooozing with the sort of attitude that pisses meat eaters off.
We're defensive like smokers and drug addicts.
We're in denial.

Well have you tried being vegetarian or vegan? How can you judge if you haven't? All of the vegans who've posted so far tried meat eating for years so I'd say we can at least give a researched opinion on it.

You've researched your opinion that meat eaters are the same as drug addicts???

I didn't see anyone judging the vegan lifestyle. What I see is a vegan calling names.

BeautifulScarsWECHANGED

I was vegetarian for 15 years, vegan only for 11 months. Now I'm eating a lot of meat as I am trying Atkins. To each, their own. My body didn't respond very well to soy (it messed up my thyroid)...but that's just me.

To each, their own. :bigsmile:

Glasgow_Vegan

I couldn't have said it better than this. If you are vegan and don't preach to me about it then I am all for it. If you get in my face and try to convert me, I shut you out. I eat a lot of vegetarian meals, whole foods, organic, local, and unrefined food as much as possible. I stay away from the Big Ag bad boys and try to keep the chemical laden foods out of my diet. I think I do pretty well. I find it particularly offensive when vegans try to convert me, not only because it is obnoxious but also because I take desiccated thyroid medicine, porcine derived. I will never truly be able to be vegetarian unless I convert to synthetic medicine, which does not work for me.

Some vegans make an exception for medication. There's a saying that "A live vegan activist is better than a dead vegan activist."

beckajw

I couldn't have said it better than this. If you are vegan and don't preach to me about it then I am all for it. If you get in my face and try to convert me, I shut you out. I eat a lot of vegetarian meals, whole foods, organic, local, and unrefined food as much as possible. I stay away from the Big Ag bad boys and try to keep the chemical laden foods out of my diet. I think I do pretty well. I find it particularly offensive when vegans try to convert me, not only because it is obnoxious but also because I take desiccated thyroid medicine, porcine derived. I will never truly be able to be vegetarian unless I convert to synthetic medicine, which does not work for me.

Some vegans make an exception for medication. There's a saying that "A live vegan activist is better than a dead vegan activist."

How is that?? It's okay to take from an "unwilling animal" to make a medication? But not okay to take from an animal for food?

Either way, you end up with dead animals.

filming_ghosts

Most people I've met don't really care, they just ask a lot of questions about it. Some people do think it's really weird though, and they'll give me crap for it, even when I don't say anything about what they eat. I don't really understand that.

aqm22

I wonder who are all these vegans who want to cram their lifestyle down other people's throats. After 30 years of being a vegetarian or vegan, I've never met one. Not one of my real life friends has ever met one either, but they're absolutely freakin' everywhere according to the internet.

for you this:

Meat eaters get very defensive every time the word "vegan" is even brought up. It's much the same way smokers and drug addicts get defensive if you try to bring up their bad habits. I think they are living in such denial that any truth makes them very defensive, because they don't want their bubble popped.

Glasgow_Vegan

Because when Glascow_vegan, or any vegan for that matter makes statements like this;

"Doesn't knowing you've led to the death and sometimes torture of hundreds if not thousands of animals make you feel bad?"

It tends to put peoples hackles up a bit. There were not to many "I like steak" comments before that bombshell

A lot of vegans can be really obnoxious and annoying about it, that DOES attach a sort of stigma to vegans (unfortunately).

As I've said, replying to someone who said "I can see no single reason to go vegan." What's wrong with asking a genuinely curious question? Do you or not? Your reply has actually been rude. My question was genuine.

jofjltncb6

At what point in this discussion is it proper to bring up total deaths from field kills from production of vegetarian food for a family for a year vs. total deaths from my one grass fed/finished local-family-farm-raised cow?

(Too soon? What, you mean it isn't even appropriate for this thread at all? Dagnabbit...fine, I'll look for some other thread to throw it around in...)

gingerjen7

Meat eaters get very defensive every time the word "vegan" is even brought up. It's much the same way smokers and drug addicts get defensive if you try to bring up their bad habits. I think they are living in such denial that any truth makes them very defensive, because they don't want their bubble popped.

Do blanket statements help anyone's argument? Has the OP's stance changed because she's been told that ALL vegans shove their lifestyle down other people's throats?

Obvious point: not all non-vegans are defensive about the discussion of vegan practices. I wouldn't have replied to the OP at all, except that the topic was answered perfectly by another poster and I could relate based on experience. My initial reaction was the opposite of defensive: indifference. Once I got the second paragraph I lost interest because a vegan diet is not for me.

iAMsmiling

Meat eaters get very defensive every time the word "vegan" is even brought up. It's much the same way smokers and drug addicts get defensive if you try to bring up their bad habits. I think they are living in such denial that any truth makes them very defensive, because they don't want their bubble popped.

Answers the OP's question perfectly.

Positively oooozing with the sort of attitude that pisses meat eaters off.
We're defensive like smokers and drug addicts.
We're in denial.

Well have you tried being vegetarian or vegan? How can you judge if you haven't? All of the vegans who've posted so far tried meat eating for years so I'd say we can at least give a researched opinion on it.

I haven't tried skydiving, though I hear it's a lot of fun.
Even without trying it, I'm pretty sure it's not for me.

I'm not trying to be provocative with this...but the truth is, for me and many others, that eating a really well prepared piece of meat is about as great a pleasure as can be had with my clothes on. I'm not the least bit interested in giving it up.

Stephanie_Autry

Also, there are hundreds of threads every day with meat in the title. One or two maximum about veganism or vegetarianism. Now imagine if all of those meat threads had to be shut down by a moderator. How would you feel?

I posted something about being vegan for the first time, and my post got reported and took off the message boards. I was pissed off how people automatically assumed that being vegan means you are unhealthy, and don't get the adequate amount of nutrients your body needs from wholesome foods. So I stopped posting on the message boards...