PDA

View Full Version : Where does veganism stand in society ?



Pages : 1 [2] 3

PinkFluffyCloud
Dec 23rd, 2004, 06:52 AM
I think it's just tolerated, generally. Most people have at least a rough idea of what it is, but I think it's still associated with hippy freaks. Personally, I like being a hippy freak :D

I do, too, Leigh, let them all be 'normal' - we don't care!! :D

MzNatural
Dec 23rd, 2004, 02:57 PM
Here in the USA, as a whole, it is dismissed; statistics show that those who follow a vegetarian diet is very small. I think it is under 10%? The statistics for Vegan is smaller. I am not sure if it is even 2%?
If I can find the links for the statistics I will post to this thread.

Andie
Dec 27th, 2004, 09:42 PM
Others make a bigger deal out of my veganism than I do.

Astrocat
Feb 1st, 2005, 09:16 AM
Where i live vegetarianism is either dismissed or opressed by the omnivorous masses - with veganism being a further extension of this.

This seems to be much the case throughout the rest of the UK, but as i live in a very rural hick-area the bigotry where i am seems to be more apparent... or widespread, or something...

artbeat
Feb 3rd, 2005, 10:23 AM
It looks like veganism mainly is ignored all over the world, which always is the case with minority groups. The good news is that it's growing, expecially among young people.

PinkLogik
Feb 3rd, 2005, 07:26 PM
I think in some circles Veganism is tolerated, rarely encouraged/mainstream, nearly always dismissed. About 12 years ago, I went into a Vegetarian cafe with my brother. I asked the young waiter whether there were any cakes available that were suitable for Vegans. His reply - "Vegans - oh, those fucked-up people who don't eat dairy products?". I kid you not. I was so stunned, I did not beleive my ears and would have thought that I'd imagined it had my brother not been there as a witness!!

OMG! Wuggy!! How rude of that waiter!! :mad:

How did you react to that? More to the point: how do you react to such a situation?!!

PinkLogik
Feb 3rd, 2005, 07:29 PM
It looks like veganism mainly is ignored all over the world, which always is the case with minority groups. The good news is that it's growing, expecially among young people.

I agree, but I'm also of the feeling that it is mainly accepted once it is explained to people. Some (a small minority of folks) are still a little intolerant though.

I have to say from my own experience I find that most of my friends (who are incidentally not vegan) are sympathetic to my beliefs. I consider a non-vegan person who isn't sympathetic to my vegan ways not my friend. Sorry to sound blunt. :eek: But I think this is true.

gertvegan
Feb 3rd, 2005, 07:48 PM
I consider a non-vegan person who isn't sympathetic to my vegan ways not my friend. Sorry to sound blunt. :eek: But I think this is true. I'm with you.

I think the acceptance of veganism depends on the age of the your friends, or work colleagues etc . Maybe I'm generalising a tad.

Korn
Feb 3rd, 2005, 08:11 PM
I agree, but I'm also of the feeling that it is mainly accepted once it is explained to people.

Yes - personally I have yet to meet someone who isn't curios or at least tolerates veganism.
Also, I have seen some people on some boards that seem to worry a lot about what other thinks about their choices... why worry? :)

PinkLogik
Feb 3rd, 2005, 08:21 PM
I'm with you.

I think the acceptance of veganism depends on the age of the your friends, or work colleagues etc . Maybe I'm generalising a tad.

Yes, that is true! I've found that the younger a person is the more curious they are. The more curious they are, the more they are likely to be 'interested' and not likely to ridicule you.

Not that I'm bothered about being ridiculed. I don't care what people think. I wouldn't have been a vegan for 2+ years if I was bothered about what people thought...

Having said that, I've not come across alot of hostility - have you ever encountered outright hostility?

BTW - I like your avatar Gertvegan! :D

PinkLogik
Feb 3rd, 2005, 08:24 PM
Yes - personally I have yet to meet someone who isn't curios or at least tolerates veganism.
Also, I have seen some people on some boards that seem to worry a lot about what other thinks about their choices... why worry? :)

Yes Korn, I agree.

I haven't met with much (if any! If it has been it's of the 'joking' kind, which as a person who doesn't take herself too seriously, can deal with! :))

Does anyone here worry about what others might think of their veganism? Has anyone encountered teasing/ridicule to the point of being put off? I'm interested....

balabean
Feb 3rd, 2005, 11:46 PM
I think that it was more acceptable to be vegan a few years ago, at least in my experience. Now it seems like people think of vegans like they think of Jehovah's Witnesses; a semi annoying religious group eager to push their beliefs on others. I think that's kind of sad, as it's a beautiful choice to make.

John
Feb 23rd, 2005, 09:32 PM
Well, there isn't an "ostracized" option for the poll.

DoveInGreyClothing
May 10th, 2005, 11:51 PM
depends really dismissed by most omni-restaurants
tolerated by friend and family
accepted by a few manufacturers (eg blue dragon, sainsbury's) who have started putting suitable for vegans labels on their wares

Seaside
May 11th, 2005, 05:18 AM
It depends on where you live to some degree, and upon the display you make of it, too.

It probably helps that I live in California. I have never been to any sort of function where veggie options have not been available. Sometimes you don't even have to ask. The people I know know I don't use animal products, and accomodate this with grace whenever they invite me somewhere.

However, to finish my degree, I had to take a field geology course from another institution, since SFSU didn't offer one. Four of my friends and I chose Texas Tech University, and I wasn't looking forward to the awkward position I thought I would be in. We stayed in an elementary school in Colorado for five weeks to complete our course. The cooking was done by a couple of very sweet, well-meaning older ladies, and as there were only two vegans, myself and another girl, amongst about 50 meat eating people, it wasn't always possible to accomodate us. I knew I would have to do my own shopping and eat out sometimes.

Far from seeming odd, especially amongst a lot of Texans, I became very popular. Whenever the ladies made burgers, several people would come up to me at different times of the day and say "Hockey pucks for dinner again- where do you want to go tonight?" Some even got to the point of asking the ladies at breakfast what they were gonna fix for dinner, and if it was gonna be hockey pucks, I would get invitations for dinner at breakfast time! Not that any of them made non-meat choices at dinner, but they were very glad to accompany me to my restaurant of choice. I ended up with quite a group at dinner time to eat out with, and quite a few became regulars whether hockey pucks were being served or not! I was very pleasantly shocked!

And the reason that I mentioned that it also depends upon the display you make of it, is that that other vegan girl was very much disliked. She had a few unpleasant qualities that had nothing to do with being vegan, but of course some of the people who disliked her the most associated her negative qualities with being vegan. I always made sure she came with us to dinner, and nobody was offensive to her (at least not in front of me), and whenever they complained to me about some aspect of her veganness that offended them, I would say "but don't forget, so am I!" and they would say "Yeah, but you're different!" :confused:

Its not that I think we should all be perfect poster children for the vegan movement, but I think we do need to be a little more aware of the impression we are making, not physically so much, but in our behavior. Of course, if you are stuck somewhere full of real meat-eating jerks, it must be hard to always be gracious to other people, and many will be rude whether you are nice or not. I must be very lucky that this doesn't happen to me. :o

Peas'nHominy
May 11th, 2005, 06:29 AM
I think any of the answers are a good choice. I put "dismissed" because that's what I run into a lot.

I enjoy my friends, but when it comes to these issues ... ugh. It's sad some of the stuff they come up with to say. So while we truely like each other, this is not a great issue for us. My home is my special retreat, so I particularly hate it when they say cr*p while in my house.

Even though I'm in Houston, I have an annoying time in restaurants. But that's probably because if I eat out, it's with friends, and they're omnis, and I have to accomodate them. I smile to the waiter and say "no cheese please," and then get served cheese. Even my omni friends flash me a look about the waiter bringing me cheese ----> :confused: . I also run into "What? No meat?? Wait...no meat??" I mean, come on - I live in a major US city! I'd expect to have less difficulty. :rolleyes:

My family doesn't say much; my mom agrees with me about a lot of the issues, although she hasn't "converted" yet. My in-laws, however, are ugly about it. I'm really greatful I have support from my husband and this forum!

I had been getting some grief from folks at church, until fairly recently when our preacher actually gave a sermon that said basically hey, be respectful to the vegetarians/vegans - they honor the Lord by living by the convictions of their heart. I was so pleased, and no one is bothering me too much about it anymore. :D

I think we humans have progressed a long way in the areas of racial and gender prejudice, but I find prejudice against vegans. It's like some people just have to have something to be prejudice against in a sad effort to try to feel better about their selves. I want to wear a T-shirt that says "I'm vegan and you're valuable too."

cedarblue
May 16th, 2005, 05:52 PM
I had been getting some grief from folks at church, until fairly recently when our preacher actually gave a sermon that said basically hey, be respectful to the vegetarians/vegans - they honor the Lord by living by the convictions of their heart. I was so pleased, and no one is bothering me too much about it anymore.

thats great peas, but most folk in my church/housegroup cant get their head round my diet. i cant ever think that the topic of veggie/veganism would ever rear its head in a sermon!! i dont get grief, just puzzled looks with the old favourite "what do you eat"? question. i just smile now and say "i feed on the lords word"! :D

when we have harvest suppers or special after service lunches, i usually never go as i'd be lucky to get the choice of a veggie meal (no good anyway ;) ) let alone anything vegan :eek:

rxseeeyse
May 4th, 2010, 08:30 PM
yes, people tolerate me and respect my choice of lifestyle, but they don't change themselves. I choose tolerate instead of acceptance, because I think acceptance would mean that my friends become vegan with me!

megrainbows
Jun 4th, 2010, 02:03 PM
I would say tolerated. My friends tolerate my choices but they regularly make comments agaisnt them, like 'it would be so much easier if you weren't vegan'.
But on the other hand, my friends mother who is a big meat eater (the whole family is), drove to a supermarket and let me pick out a packet of vegan burgers that I could eat at their house. I thought that was pretty decent of them :) My friend also made vegan cookies at my birthday. I think there is no specific answer generally, but it tends to be either dismissed or tolerated.

Adena
Jun 4th, 2010, 04:43 PM
Yeah it definately matters where you are, I've found Brighton is fully accepting of veganism, and vegetarianism maybe more so, although Brighton is really accepting of all different kinds of people, gay people/ alternatively dressed people... nobody batts an eyelid - whereas where I come from in Crawley, you only have to wear an animal rights t-shirt or hold someone of the same sexes hand and you can get shouted abuse at! Crawley isn't such a great place for vegans, people tend to be very narrow minded, although options in shops are getting better with boots selling pre-packed vegan sandwiches and holland and barret stocking a lot of vegan snacks and treats :) Restaurants are the worse though! I went to a Harvester and asked if there was egg in the pasta and he was really rude and said "well YEAH... pasta is made of egg!?!"
Sorry for the ramble!

Tishy
Jun 6th, 2010, 07:22 AM
This is a really interesting thread! Among my more "hippie" friends, I would say vegetarianism is accepted, not as much as veganism. One of my vegetarian friends the other night was talking about if her milk will go off if she drives over night to this place, we suggested why doesn't she just take soy milk/oat milk etc and she was just like "I'm not vegan!!!!!". It made me really upset because we were just suggesting it otherwise she would drink off milk. Yet, I did go to a party and the girls parents made a vegan apple crumble and a non-vegan apple crumble...It was really sweet. I feel like amongst my omni friends veganism is more accepted, while among my vegetarian friends they try and push it away.

Out and about, veganism is dismissed by any food outlet. Yet when I'm talking to people about it, it's tolerated (by most). I've had one girl tell me how amazing a vegan diet is and how she plans to take that step one day when she feels ready. Most people just shrug it off, especially when I begin talking about the related animal issues. As soon as you bring up animal and environmental issues, I feel it is dismissed. But if you bring up health issues, I feel it is more tolerated and then accepted.

It really depends!! But overall I feel it is tolerated.

tahini freak
Jun 7th, 2010, 04:04 PM
I think it's dismissed a lot where my family and friends are concerned. Even after i'd been vegan for months, people like my mum and nan (who I thought were the first to accept my life-style choice) would say "Oh, i've accidently put cows milk in your coffee, is that ok?" (Er, NO! I'm VEGAN!!! How many more times...!) then proceed to rally around trying to find another taker for the contaminated coffee so they wouldn't have to waste it. Seems they'd rather make a huge song and dance about my lifestyle being inconvenient to them, rather than just tip it away and make one with no milk. If a friend of theirs wanted a black coffee just because they didn't like milk they wouldn't then try and make them drink it because "Well, you used to have it...". they think I'll just choose not to be vegan when it suits them, "it's only this once, no one will know." I'll know! What the hell do they think I'm vegan for? A fashion statement?? Also, various people on finding out I'm vegan feel compelled to say things like "Oh, you do know you won't be able to wear leather shoes..." I feel like replying with "Oh no, really? Why's that?" Grrrr!

colleengirl95
Aug 24th, 2010, 02:38 PM
For me, veganism is tolerated ... based on the people who i interact with everyday. My classmates can tolerate it but one of my classmates would ask me things and probably say their views which doesn't agree with me. My family tolerates veganism , well my grandma took time in accepting my veganism. I think it's the same for the others too.

sandra
Aug 24th, 2010, 06:49 PM
I find most people accept my veganism it's chefs who seem to have a problem with it. I find most chefs I encounter are arrogant and dismissive of my veganism. Maybe I've just been unlucky.........I hope so.

earthling
Aug 25th, 2010, 10:43 AM
I voted 'dismissed', mainly because while it's easy to get vegan ingredients and cook vegan food myself, whenever I interact with the 'outside world' I realise how much of a meat-eating world we still live in, and how much ignorance and hostility there is to veganism.

Whenever I'm trying to organise a holiday (usually in the UK countryside!) for me and my bf, I come up against all manner of obstacles - for example hotels/B&Bs usually only just manage to make a vegetarian option never mind vegan (no I don't want to just eat dry toast on holiday when I'm meant to be treating myself!!), and the one or two vegetarian hotels that do exist are very expensive. We usually go self-catering for that reason, but then come up against the fact that if we want to go out for a meal, there are usually no options for me. It really restricts where we can go on holiday. One evening, we were driving round for ages trying to find a restaurant for a meal out, and every place we went to just shrugged and said 'well we could do you a salad'... :mad:

So that's one bee in my bonnet! The other is the fact that on television (which is essentially a reflection of mainstream society) there is hardly ever any mention of vegan food. It's not advertised (soya milk sometimes is, but it's marketed from a 'health' angle rather than cruelty-free), even when vegan ingredients like rice are advertised they're always shown accompanying a piece of meat etc, and cookery programmes rarely if ever show vegan food. I'd like just for once to see a TV chef even acknowledge that veganism exists! What's on TV might not seem important but it is where quite a lot of people get their information from... and the message given by the vast majority of progammes/advertising is quite simply that meat and dairy is the normal if not ONLY way to eat. Is it any wonder many omnis act like a rabbit in headlights when faced with the task of preparing a vegan meal? (To be fair this goes for other media too, like newspapers/magazines.)

The third reason is the amount of fights/arguments I have had with people who have been openly rude, nasty and hostile toward my veganism. The impression I've got is that the default reaction to veganism is 'oh that's so extreme' and people just go from there. I've had vegetarian people say to me "I'd never be vegan..." and look at me as though I'd farted in church!

Thankfully my family are accepting, and my parents are happy to cook vegan food (because after all it's not difficult!), and my friends tolerate it. My vegan friends actively encourage it. :)