Why do people get so provoked by vegans?

BeautifulScarsWECHANGED · August 2012

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 · August 2012

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 · August 2012

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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 · August 2012

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 · August 2012

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 · August 2012

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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 · August 2012

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 · August 2012

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 · August 2012

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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 · August 2012

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...

ladykaisa · August 2012

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.

=( I apologize for the people that think it's "weird".

tzeoli86 · August 2012

bump

Glasgow_Vegan · August 2012

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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.

No, that wasn't my quote in between. I was replying to the original poster. I meant that by living as a meat eater we KNOW how it feels health wise compared to being vegan. Again, don't jump down my throat.

_VoV · August 2012

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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.

Some things you say here are very provocative and to this I say 'Peace'.

fosterj333 · August 2012

I see nothing wrong with being vegan as long as you do'nt look down on others who are not vegan. We meat eaters are the ones that are normal after all. Humans have been meat eaters since the beginning of recorded history. It is simply the circle of life, and the natural order of things.

We all participate in the food chain. Plants are alive also, so don't they have as much right to exist as animals? Vegans eat them don't they? Many people believe plants also have a form of consciousness.

I do laugh sometimes at the holier than thou vegans who preach against killing animals and eating meat, yet most seem to wear leather shoes and accessories; sort of hypocritical if you ask me. If you are going to talk the talk, then walk the walk. Don't look down on others that are different than you; you are no better and no worse - just different. Good luck with it.

taylor5877 · August 2012

I'm trying unbelievably hard not to make an *kitten* out of myself on this thread...

beckajw · August 2012

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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.

No, that wasn't my quote in between. I was replying to the original poster. I meant that by living as a meat eater we KNOW how it feels health wise compared to being vegan. Again, don't jump down my throat.

Why is it that every time someone disagrees with you they are jumping down your throat?

andrewlazenby · August 2012

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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.

You write this and then wonder why it annoys people? Seriously?

Glasgow_Vegan · August 2012

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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.

No, I mean using any medicine. All medicine is tested on animals at some point. Not that it all contains animal ingredients.

stargazer008 · August 2012

I only get provoked when a person won't shut up about their diet whether it's paleo, vegan, gluten free, etc.

jennismagic · August 2012

In my experience, it's the preachy vegans who, after thoroughly annoying everyone around them, want to whine about being victims of other people's ignorance. Who's doing the provoking, exactly?

taylor5877 · August 2012

Glasgow_Vegan · August 2012

I see nothing wrong with being vegan as long as you do'nt look down on others who are not vegan. We meat eaters are the ones that are normal after all. Humans have been meat eaters since the beginning of recorded history. It is simply the circle of life, and the natural order of things.

We all participate in the food chain. Plants are alive also, so don't they have as much right to exist as animals? Vegans eat them don't they? Many people believe plants also have a form of consciousness.

I do laugh sometimes at the holier than thou vegans who preach against killing animals and eating meat, yet most seem to wear leather shoes and accessories; sort of hypocritical if you ask me. If you are going to talk the talk, then walk the walk. Don't look down on others that are different than you; you are no better and no worse - just different. Good luck with it.

Vegans don't wear leather at all. Vegans don't wear leather, wool or silk at all. No animal products.

v70t5m · August 2012

I live in the South, and get such flack from waitstaff when I ask what meal items are available for veg*ns. You can imagine the typical comments I get.

I can understand the confusion and questions from non-veggie types, I was there myself at one time.

However, the negativity dump I get is much less understandable. And I am finding it harder and harder to hold on to my cool when jumped for my diet choices.

In my experience down here, the veg*ns are very quiet about their diet of choice ... I have yet to meet a militant veg*n, but I've met several militant omnis.

jofjltncb6 · August 2012

I'm trying unbelievably hard not to make an *kitten* out of myself on this thread...

So far, so good.

SFBarbear · August 2012

"my diet is the only ethical way." Gee, sorry I'm enslaving cows to give me milk instead of enslaving them to till and fertilize my fields like you do, self-righteous vegan person.

LOLROFLMFAO Infinity!!!

Glasgow_Vegan · August 2012

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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.

No, that wasn't my quote in between. I was replying to the original poster. I meant that by living as a meat eater we KNOW how it feels health wise compared to being vegan. Again, don't jump down my throat.

Why is it that every time someone disagrees with you they are jumping down your throat?

The other vegan has said slightly up the page that you seem aggressive. It's not just me. I'm replying to your questions whereas you're interrogating me.

PilotX · August 2012

It's because you guys taste bad.

to funny

beckajw · August 2012

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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.

No, that wasn't my quote in between. I was replying to the original poster. I meant that by living as a meat eater we KNOW how it feels health wise compared to being vegan. Again, don't jump down my throat.

Why is it that every time someone disagrees with you they are jumping down your throat?

The other vegan has said slightly up the page that you seem aggressive. It's not just me. I'm replying to your questions whereas you're interrogating me.

yeah, okay

Glasgow_Vegan · August 2012

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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...

That's a shame. Have you tried meetup.com? You should be able to find a local vegan or vegetarian group. I joined one last year and it's great. We have a forum to just chat and find out about new products without having to defend ourselves constantly. We go out for vegan meals once or twice very month and have vegan potlucks where everyone brings a vegan dish.

Why do people get so provoked by vegans?

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