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View Full Version : Why weren't you vegan before you became vegan?



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cedarblue
May 5th, 2004, 11:00 AM
We have 'why r u vegan', so i thought we might like to speculate on the other side of the coin?

Unregistered
May 5th, 2004, 02:46 PM
i've been vegan for eight years (i'm 24.) i do not have any other friends who are vegan. quite a few veggies but no vegan.

sometimes i ask myself the question you've asked above - Why aren't these people vegan? They're intelligent, educated, opinionated. What is happening?

But then i have one other friend who reminds me, People are never going to be all the same.

So over the time i found that if i can educate others of where their food comes from and what is in it - then that is enough for me. If they *still* decide to eat it, then that is their own perogative. I can not force feed the world.

What irritates me most as a vegan, is not that other people aren't vegan, it is those people who scream at me 'Don't tell me what's in this!!' as they are eating. I find that incomprehensible.

People who actively decide to be uneducated. They make an effort to be uneducated. That is what gets to me. By all means, learn the facts then make your own decision, but to refuse them in the first place... crikey.

anyways, that's my two cents :)

Roxy
May 5th, 2004, 03:48 PM
I have had numerous people tell me that they "tired to be vegetarian" or "tried to be vegan" but it was "too hard".

tricia
May 5th, 2004, 04:38 PM
some ppl jus think that animals are inferior and were "put" here for them...

and some believe that vegans are nutritionally deficient... and these ppl are also the ones that have no clue about nutrition or follow Weston Price and NT....

Themightyzero
May 5th, 2004, 05:52 PM
I think it has to do with conditioning.From the time people are born they are taught that food is just some plastic wrapped stuff you buy to stay alive.You are also taught that you NEED meat and dairy from the time you get to school.Old habits die very hard especially those that are deepy ingrained into your head and reinforced by daily life.

Then there are those who just dont care.Thats perhaps beyond our comprehension but sadly its how most people are.The #1 thing that bugs me is when, and i hear this a lot,i explain in a conversation that pigs have roughly the same mental capacity as a 3 year old human and how badly they are treated I get the response "but dude bacon taste so good!".

gertvegan
May 5th, 2004, 09:16 PM
I think many people are like cows or sheep in the sense that they follow the herd, or flock.

harpy
May 6th, 2004, 11:31 AM
I think actually it can be quite hard to eat a 100% vegan diet, depending on your lifestyle. My other half eats vegan food at home but when he's at work he sometimes has business lunches etc where it's difficult to get anything vegetarian to eat, never mind vegan. I work from home myself and only have to go to lunch-time meetings occasionally and when I do I just take my own food along, but I can see it could get awkward in a more conventional job.

Korn
May 6th, 2004, 01:39 PM
True. But part of the reason it can be tricky to get vegan food at cafe's etc, is that some of people who were vegans 10 or 20 or 30 years ago were thinking the same way; they didn't insist on getting vegan food but brought their own, took a salad or did like your better half....

harpy
May 6th, 2004, 03:44 PM
It can be difficult to insist on a certain type of food when you're having lunch at a client's place. It's easier when you are the client :D

Korn
May 6th, 2004, 04:51 PM
Also true. :) But I never insist on certain types of food, if I am a place where there's nothing I eat, I tell them something a la 'I don't eat *****, but no problem, I'm totally happy with skipping a meal. Fasting is supposed to be healthy anyway!'
One reason some people are not vegan could be that they have never met one or even heard of one, which makes the process of going vegan much more unlikely to happen.

If person A (client or not) offers person B meal and person B in a friendly way would respond with 'no thanks, I don't eat animal products', MAYBE this could cause person A not to take it for granted that everybody eats animal products next time a similar situation pops up.

There are even lacto-vegetarian restaurants that take it for granted that all vegetarians eat dairy products. If they realize that some do and some don't, and offer more vegan meals, they will get more customers, since vegan meals can be sold to both vegans and lacto-vegetarians, but lacto-veg food can't.

harpy
May 6th, 2004, 05:13 PM
Yes, I certainly agree it's a good idea for vegans politely to let people know why we aren't eating their food.

My point was really just that I just don't think one should assume that non-vegans are non-vegan because they are less principled, less caring, more conformist etc. than vegans are: another consideration is that it's easier for some people to be vegan than it is for others.

I also don't think it's productive to make people feel bad for not being vegan 100% of the time, because they might get the feeling that it's not worth doing unless they're 100%. After all, two people both eating vegan 95% of the time probably consume less animal products overall than one vegan and one typical omnivore added together.

freeweatherfield
May 7th, 2004, 04:32 PM
meat= yummy and addictive (even though can't really imagine eating it now). same with candy bars..

foxytina_69
May 9th, 2004, 10:05 AM
The #1 thing that bugs me is when, and i hear this a lot,i explain in a conversation that pigs have roughly the same mental capacity as a 3 year old human and how badly they are treated I get the response "but dude bacon taste so good!".

my response to that would be "does that mean its okay to kill a three year old child and then eat it?" because apparently they think thats fine! :mad: poor pigs. one day i will own a little pig. :)

Kiva Dancer
May 17th, 2004, 07:53 PM
I tried being vegan once but it sent my OCD into overdrive so I went back to being vegetarian. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. The only thing that changed was my lable but it was enough and it really helped me.

Veggie4Life139
May 25th, 2004, 12:39 AM
You have OCD? So do I!! But fortunately being vegan did not change my OCD or make it more annoying. Hmm...maybe you could try again? :p

Kiva Dancer
Jun 10th, 2004, 12:10 AM
:eek: No.... no... too afraid of that. I'm vegetarian and that's good enough for me. :)

animalsvoice
Jun 10th, 2004, 12:45 PM
I think many people are like cows or sheep in the sense that they follow the herd, or flock.

Haha, that's my thoughts as well!

animalsvoice
Jun 10th, 2004, 12:51 PM
One reason some people are not vegan could be that they have never met one or even heard of one, which makes the process of going vegan much more unlikely to happen.

True..That's why I was a meat eater once, because I had no idea what a vegetarian was, I never heard of it...

globesetter
Jun 12th, 2004, 07:27 AM
It's expensive!!!! It's hard to afford specialy vegan foods when you're on a college student budget....


You donīt really need to eat the specialty foods - I had a blast shopping for food when I first went vegan - but actually, all you need is fruit, veggies, beans and grains - dried or canned beans are very cheap, as is brown rice and whole wheat pasta -


Of course, it is still more fun to buy all the specialty items - but it isnīt a necessity!


regards,
globesetter

harpy
Jun 12th, 2004, 01:14 PM
There are a few web sites and books with tips for veganism on a limited budget, e.g. http://www.vegsandiego.com/veg/8/Veganism_on_a_Budget.htm

I agree with globesetter though that it is cheaper if you use legumes, vegetables and so on rather than buying prepared foods. Healthier and probably tastier too, though some will disagree.

bulletproof
Jun 12th, 2004, 09:29 PM
i've been vegan for eight years (i'm 24.) i do not have any other friends who are vegan. quite a few veggies but no vegan.

sometimes i ask myself the question you've asked above - Why aren't these people vegan? They're intelligent, educated, opinionated. What is happening?

But then i have one other friend who reminds me, People are never going to be all the same.

So over the time i found that if i can educate others of where their food comes from and what is in it - then that is enough for me. If they *still* decide to eat it, then that is their own perogative. I can not force feed the world.

What irritates me most as a vegan, is not that other people aren't vegan, it is those people who scream at me 'Don't tell me what's in this!!' as they are eating. I find that incomprehensible.

People who actively decide to be uneducated. They make an effort to be uneducated. That is what gets to me. By all means, learn the facts then make your own decision, but to refuse them in the first place... crikey.

anyways, that's my two cents :)

i completely agree/can relate to that. they should be able to take responsibility for what they eat and not pretend like it doesn't happen or just to be completely ignorant to the pain and suffering they are contributing to by THEIR actions. when you sit down for a meal you can make the choice: to add to all the pain and suffering in the world or to try and make at least a positive difference to it even though, alone, it may seem small. ''i don't want to hear about that''- if they don't want to hear about 'that' then they shouldn't contribute to it, because it is the money they put into those horrible murdering people's pockets that makes 'that' happen!
and i have to accept that people make their own decisions, and i do, but i will never understand how someone who is intelligent and, supposedly a good person (minus that lack of compassion) and knows what happens can consciously CHOOSE to contribute to this pain, or how a person can be so selfish that they think it is bad but it just ''tastes too good'' to stop eating it! :eek: i was telling one of my friends about KFC, about how cruel they were and she just said ''yeah but it tastes really good''- as if that makes it ok and these kind of responses just shock me and i feel completely sick when i hear them

bulletproof
Jun 12th, 2004, 09:50 PM
yes i understand what u r saying, andi am sure we have all done similar things- but the things is i wasn't talking about the meat industry in general i was specifically saying about how KFC had completely ignored the people they hired in regards to the welfare of the animals they used, and she is supposedly an animal lover and also one of my best friends, and when i asked her, and my other best friend, if they would do an anti kfc protest (just handing out leaflets) they both said no- they siad it would be hypicritical because they both eat meat- i tried to explain to them that it didn't matter that they ate meat because the protest was about KFC specifically and the way their animals were treated, but no no no, no support from them :( oh well, ramble over :)

Marlene
Jul 2nd, 2004, 10:30 PM
I think most people make eating decisions based on what's acceptable in their culture. We live in a meat-eating society, therefore people will eat meat. (kind of cyclical, isn't it?)

I always seem to think of it the other way around: Why am I vegan? Why do I have these views and ideas that no one else seems to have?

I'm super-proud of my veganism, but I feel so unusual sometimes. I've never personally met any other vegans --- you guys rock! Thanks for being there, now I know I'm not alone! :D

eve
Jul 3rd, 2004, 01:20 PM
hello marlene, you are quite right that most people base their eating decisions on what's acceptable in their culture. This is obviously why most western people eat meat. Not only cyclical, but rather lazy, and if the topic is raised in conversation, they just don't want to know. It's rather disappointing when one's own family and friends don't want to know. But it is good that vegans who don't live in cities can keep in touch via the net. You have every right to feel super-proud of your veganism as you've never met personally any other vegans. I live in a regional town, but occasionally have been to Brisbane, and there I've met other vegans. Some years back I lived in Sydney where there were quite a few vegans. I wish you all the best, and isn't it good that we have this forum? :)

germaine
Jul 5th, 2004, 12:45 PM
We are creatures of habit. We tend to continue doing what we've always done. It's so much easier that way. But the key point of optimism is that new habits can replace old. That's why I have little quarrel with meat analogs. Whatever it takes. If someone needs to be weaned in such a way, go for it! I still consider myself a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy even though flesh no longer enters my mouth.

As for enjoying food, those who enjoy eating will enjoy it just as much minus the meat/dairy/eggs. My son-in-law makes a mean apple pie I could die for. My wife occasionally whips up a chocolate cream pie (minus the whipped cream). The word tofu takes on a whole new meaning for vegans. I seldom feel deprived. Habits are malleable.

-- germaine