Why do people get so provoked by vegans?

i understand where you are coming from...I never preach about the way I live, but the moment someone offers me a cheeseburger and I politely say " No thanks, I'm vegan... You should see the looks I get. The next question is usually either, what is that, or why....and then I get a slew of negativity, which I don't understand. If you like meat, eat meat, if you dont have mine because it's not something I prefer. People do judge you based on how you live and what you eat, especially if you aren't like them.

Why "...I'm vegan..."

Someone offers me a cheeseburger I'm thinking "No thanks, that crap will kill you," but I only say the "No thanks," part.

Honestly, I attempt to do the no thank you only, but because nice people really want to share, eventually I have to say something about why not because they keep trying. Some veggies just put that out there as short hand. My coworkers have a lot of trouble keeping what I do and don't eat straight, but we just keep plugging along.

BTW, saying "I'm vegan" is *not* equivalent to calling someone else's food crap. THAT is what vegans are talking about when they say people immediately believe they're being judged when a vegan declares him or herself.

Seems reasonable.

Thanks, Steve - you seem like a good guy. I'd hug you now, but you probably ate some meat today, and I don't want to contaminate myself. (I'm kidding, of course - about the contamination... I like hugs)

Had a subway veggie sub for dinner. On this rare occasion, you'd be safe.

Can I get in on this as a group hug? I think Steve sounds like a good guy too.

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.

Really? Because every vegan I have as a friend (and I have many from working in a Wildlife rescue) has made it clear that I could never truly be a vegan or vegetarian. I've even had some not so friendly vegans tell me that I am a hypocrite for rescuing wild animals and take animal derived medication. How's that for a nice vegan conversation? Granted the MAJORITY of vegans wouldn't say something like this, but it has happened to me. It's this attitude that is upsetting. If you give me respect, I will respect your decisions as well.

Interesting...

Bump

People think their opinions matter, and have nothing better to do but tell you whatever you are doing sucks. Just tell them to *kitten* off if they are not supporting of the way you want to eat. My personal opinion on going Vegan is fine as long as they don't become protein deficient. That is not hard to do since there are many alternative protein sources.

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.

Really? Because every vegan I have as a friend (and I have many from working in a Wildlife rescue) has made it clear that I could never truly be a vegan or vegetarian. I've even had some not so friendly vegans tell me that I am a hypocrite for rescuing wild animals and take animal derived medication. How's that for a nice vegan conversation? Granted the MAJORITY of vegans wouldn't say something like this, but it has happened to me. It's this attitude that is upsetting. If you give me respect, I will respect your decisions as well.

You are saving animals, and vegans are giving you grief? Give me their email addresses, and I will 'talk' to them! There are no perfect vegans. Tallow is an animal product in rubber--anyone riding in a car or bus is using an animal product. This is one reason I'm VergingonVegan and not Vegan. I say that all compassionate efforts count in making this world a better place. Saving wild animals who have gotten a bum deal in life counts uber-much in my book. Kudos to you!

@VergingOnVega
What I meant with extreme is the "forcing your opinion on others, who are definitely not worth anything, cause they're not "on your side"" that has been mentioned a couple of times in this topic.

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.

Really? Because every vegan I have as a friend (and I have many from working in a Wildlife rescue) has made it clear that I could never truly be a vegan or vegetarian. I've even had some not so friendly vegans tell me that I am a hypocrite for rescuing wild animals and take animal derived medication. How's that for a nice vegan conversation? Granted the MAJORITY of vegans wouldn't say something like this, but it has happened to me. It's this attitude that is upsetting. If you give me respect, I will respect your decisions as well.

You are saving animals, and vegans are giving you grief? Give me their email addresses, and I will 'talk' to them! There are no perfect vegans. Tallow is an animal product in rubber--anyone riding in a car or bus is using an animal product. This is one reason I'm VergingonVegan and not Vegan. I say that all compassionate efforts count in making this world a better place. Saving wild animals who have gotten a bum deal in life counts uber-much in my book. Kudos to you!

I just have to say you rock My foster squirrels thank you for your kind comment!

A vegan diet is deficient in B vitamins without supplementation. Also, you are missing the very real benefits of whey protein with such a restrictive diet. Furthermore, meat is very filling -- so it is easier to eat less with a high-protein diet (which is considerably more difficult on a vegan diet).

A vegan diet is deficient in B vitamins without supplementation. Also, you are missing the very real benefits of whey protein with such a restrictive diet. Furthermore, meat is very filling -- so it is easier to eat less with a high-protein diet (which is considerably more difficult on a vegan diet).

I disagree. I have not yet encountered a day I was low on protein. Not sure why anyone would need a high protein diet but it is possible on a vegan diet.

Vegan diet is deficient in B vitamins, missing benefits of whey protein, and generally less filling than a diet with a higher proportion of meat.

I didn't read all 11 pages. People are always provoked by new ideas. American society has been sold on meat and potatoes for centuries and it's hard to change minds. I've cut meat way down in my diet and my family thinks I'll be voting democrat soon. Vegan is healthy, but what's more important, it opens eyes to what big companies are doing to food to make it cheaper and easier to grow.

I didn't read all of this thread either, but I think I am one of the obnoxious vegans that people are talking about here. The reality is however, that I never tell anyone what to eat, but rather I keep throwing scientific studies in their faces, showing a definitive correlation between eating meat and chronic diseases. The reactions are usually pretty strong. The dumbest ones usually say something like "studies are all slanted and skewed by researchers who have an agenda," or "you haven't proven causation - correlation does not equal causation." They ignore the fact that studies have been done since the 1940, and virtually all of them show the same thing: eating meat is correlated with deadly chronic diseases. Every reputable medical association in the world recommends eating no meat or at worse less meat.

I recently got into an on-line argument with a VEGETARIAN who was very angry at my approach. He messaged me and said, "What the Hell are you doing. What do you care what those idiots eat? They will get cancer or heart disease and die. This is Darwinism. Survival of the fittest."

I had to say he had a good point. However, I do care for several reasons:

1. I don't want to pay increased health care costs because of them.

2. I was once a meat eater, so there is hope for everyone

3. The animal suffering caused by eating meat is horrible. We are an evil species.

4. I invariably get messages or friend requests from people saying my direct approach has help them.

The latter category is worth talking about. Anyone who has studied sociology knows what "magical thinking" is. It is also known as "cognitive dissonance." People compartmentalize their thought processes and hold conflicting views. For example, some people may say, "The scientific approach is good. It has given us civilization." Yet these same people will make up excuses for not believing thousands of studies that correlate meat eating with chronic diseases. Magical thinking somehow protects them. They think these studies are either bogus, or not properly done, or in the usual words of the most statistically challenged of them, "that causation is not proven." (When asked what study they know of does prove causation, they can't give me one.)

My approach which for some reason many, many people find offensive, is simply this: Look at the science. Are longitudinal studies perfect? No. Can scientists slant or skew results? Yes. However, I really do not think they do a lot (probably the exception is those studies funded by special interest groups, because there, the outcome of the study is tied to the funding.)

In any event, until someone tells me a better source of information than massive longitudinal studies, they will inform my opinion, for better or worse.