Things meat eaters say and do

[Back-Space]

I got The China Study from a bookstore in town. Was kind of surprised to find it actually :p I'm about half way through it. I keep meaning to read on, then I get side tracked. The last part of it looks to be the best though :)

[Lara_Hastings]

This is a good (or not so good) one: my friend, also vegan, occasionally posts links to his Facebook profile about animal cruelty. EVERY TIME, a meat eater comments saying 'mmm... tasty [insert animal product here]'. Why? Every time, this is. Do they think it's funny? Seriously, what is the matter with people? Surely, even if they don't feel persuaded to give up meat right at that moment in time, they can see that my friend cares about these animals and might feel hurt by these crass comments? Give me strength. ^ Wow, that is really immature of those people to write such. I do sometimes post something that has to do with animal cruelty and stuff on facebook myself, usually no one comments on them. Better that than saying stupid things.

Wow, that Benjamin Zephaniah guy seems really awesome. I wonder if one could find that clip on youtube...

[kanopa]

I was reading ELLE magazine, the article about Alexa Chung who says: I am a vegetarian, I don't do fur. And later she orders smoked salmon? She's a murderer meat eater.

[emzy1985]

Kanopa - Agreed!

[ShadowTears]

I don't get too many bad comments from the omnis I see luckily, though I really just don't see that many people. Anyway, in my church youth group everyone is very respectful of my veganism. I seem to get respect for it often, the people who say they could never do it, you know the type. Though there was one guy from my church who liked to poke "fun" at my veganism. And I've had the "What DO you eat then?" once or twice. And my brothers like to make fun of veganism as well I might add.

I remember once my brother said to me "You know you're not really saving any animals, right?" I don't know why but that just hurt a bit, coming from him, as I really do love my brothers, even if they can be a bit clueless.

My dad is a little weird, he goes back and forth. One moment he's loving all these soy meats and vegan dishes, the next he's saying how he would never suggest someone become vegan. Vegetarian, yes, but not vegan. o_O
He somehow thinks vegetarians save more animals than vegans do, dunno how he gets that "logic" but there you have it.
What gets me is when he is bragging about vegan foods to me one moment and then once he starts talking to someone else he starts on the "Nothing is good as beef/meat" garbage. That happened the other day and I was just like o_o. What the hell? I guess liking good food is embarrassing.

Here's a good story now. My brother, who enjoys poking at veganism, came to drop off his doggie for us to dogsit a couple of days ago. As usual I was preparing for the anti-veg comments he might shoot off. Plus he was bringing a family friend so not sure what he'll come up with. When they get here the friend has this bag of (uncooked, boxed, bagged etc) indian food he picked up from some store that they bought for us. Wow. Everything but a couple of them were vegan. (butter oil, butter/ghee) I can't wait to try it all. I still can't believe that one, I never would have expected that from them. My brother didn't mention it but for one comment: "Did it pass the test?"

A couple of people from my church asked me a couple of weeks ago "Are you still doing the vegan thing?" They didn't mean it in a rude way, but I thought the choice of words was a bit strange.

My mother is strange with the topic of veg*nism. She is a vegetarian. Whenever I've asked her why she is vegetarian and not vegan she won't give me an answer. If I try to press it she gets sad, upset and nearly cries. I tell her I'm just honestly curious but still no answer. She's read all about veganism, even read Farm Santuary and liked it. So she knows all about the cruelty involved. I find that pretty strange, and quite sad really. I suppose it's a bit of guilt? She likes vegan food when I cook, she doesn't fell like cooking most of the time so she likes to just grab stuff like white bread sandwiches, snacks etc. I guess that's another reason: convenience.

Oh, the things omnis say...

[pat sommer]

nice to hear your stories, shadowtears.

I think I want to use one of those omni phrases next time I ask about menu options: "I'm doing the vegan thing; what do you have?"
If the label fits...

[ShadowTears]

^Haha, that would be quite funny. :D

[leedsveg]

I remember once my brother said to me "You know you're not really saving any animals, right?" I don't know why but that just hurt a bit, coming from him, as I really do love my brothers, even if they can be a bit clueless.

It will never be easy to know how many animals we vegans save. I remember in Great Britain in the late 1980s when the publicity regarding 'mad cow disease' (BSE) was at its height, my wife and I started cutting out meat from our diet and I'm sure that hundreds of thousands of other people were doing the same thing. But as we started eating less meat, the price of meat fell and others in the population started buying and eating more meat. Obviously those people had less fear of contracting CJD than we did. Overall, it may well have been that meat consumption was not seriously affected, it was just that fewer people ate more of it.

So why bother if we seem to be making little difference?

Well for a start, we know that not having meat in our diet is a big benefit for our health. More importantly, we have the knowledge/satisfaction that as vegans, we have as little involvement as we can with the 'animal industry' and all the pain and cruelty tied in with it. Omnis may choose to ignore that pain and cruelty but we choose to identify with the 7 people at the first meeting of the Vegan Society in 1944 who wanted nothing to do with the whole bloody business.

leedsveg

[emzy1985]

That's a pretty powerful post there leedsveg. :)

[SlackAlice]

That's a pretty powerful post there leedsveg. :)

ditto from me leeds...brought me out in goosepimples!:D

[artintheory]

I met an old school friend last night who I haven't seen for a while, and our conversation got on to food, so I told her I'm now vegan (I've been vegetarian since childhood). I didn't expect a great response due to the fact that she's not the brightest, but i was pretty annoyed by what she said to me. She gave me a funny look and rolled her eyes and said "Oh come on, you have to have SOME enjoyment in your life". I was quite taken aback so I just said she obviously didn't know much about veganism then changed the subject because I couldn't be bothered trying to get her to understand (this is the girl who says she doesn't believe vaccines work because she doesn't understand biology and it all just sounds really complicated!!!).

I've been trying to figure out what she meant by her statement, and the only thing I can come up with is that she thinks I'm on some kind of restrictive fad diet, as she is always on a diet and constantly on about her weight (she's not fat), and always seems like she wants to make a competition out of losing weight (which I have no interest in) as she always has something negative to say when someone loses weight.

I just hate being spoken to in such a patronising manner!

[earthling]

She gave me a funny look and rolled her eyes and said "Oh come on, you have to have SOME enjoyment in your life".

Many omnis really do believe that vegan food tastes horrible, or that vegans don't enjoy or like food, etc etc. It's a view usually based on complete ignorance. Even Richard Dawkins, a very intelligent chap indeed, said 'a lot of vegetarian food isn't very nice'. No-one who's ever been to a good veggie or vegan restaurant could say that, but then omnis don't tend to frequent such places unless they're dragged there by their veggie friends! It's a common myth, that meat is the only tasty or luxurious or indulgent food. People who think this clearly haven't tried anything by Booja Booja. :)

[artintheory]

Hi earthling

Yes, it seemed to me like she was suggesting that I was somehow punishing myself or denying myself food that I must love.

I think I was extra annoyed because I lived with her once for a short while and she always used to complain about the smell of my cooking (garlic, spices etc) and she seemed to live off things like plain mince or white fish and boiled potatos with no seasoning as she doesn't like "spicy" things. I think therefore that she has a nerve (or like you said, maybe just the sheer ignorance) to infer that I'm eating a restrictive diet!

After having read through this and similar threads I've noticed that these attitudes are pretty standard from non-vegans and I find that really sad. I'm not an overly gregarious person so I wouldn't imagine I'll be facing much discrimination, as my partner, family and work mates are supportive and genuinely curious and they are pretty much the only people in my life most of the time, luckily.

I really dislike being made to feel like a freak or like I am being awkward because I have a conscience, but it's something I have gotten used to from a young age, having always been interested in animal rights, environmentalism and anti-fascist activism etc (pretty much a taboo when you grow up in a working class town). I should probably add, after having read about the problems with abuse from animal rights activists on this forum, that the activism I have been involved with is non-violent as I am a pacifist. I also work in the field of mental health and wellbeing so strongly disagree with verbal and emotional abuse. Just so you know, I won't be engaging in any of that!! :D

[earthling]

I think I was extra annoyed because I lived with her once for a short while and she always used to complain about the smell of my cooking (garlic, spices etc) and she seemed to live off things like plain mince or white fish and boiled potatos with no seasoning as she doesn't like "spicy" things. I think therefore that she has a nerve (or like you said, maybe just the sheer ignorance) to infer that I'm eating a restrictive diet!

Well maybe she was thinking about what she would eat if she were a vegan and concluded that her diet would be really boring... which it would, no doubt, with no spices, seasonings etc, but then it sounds quite boring already! :)

[artintheory]

Well maybe she was thinking about what she would eat if she were a vegan and concluded that her diet would be really boring... which it would, no doubt, with no spices, seasonings etc, but then it sounds quite boring already! :)

I hadn't thought of it that way, and you might be right! It seems quite ridiculous to me that someone would put someone down because they thought that person ate a boring diet, but it seems loads of meat eaters do this to veggies and vegans. I think I have the same rant going through my head that most people on here will when faced with such stupidity: "why on earth would someone give you a hard time because of the food you eat???" The answer is of course clear (in my opinion anyway), it's the same reason people are racist, sexist, secterian, homophobic or whatever... they are ignorant and enjoy having someone to put down to make themselves feel more powerful or better about their own lives.

[earthling]

^ Yes that's true for some people, but I think for others it's good old fashioned defensiveness. A lot of people probably know deep down that they don't really need meat, they just like it, and they may well feel guilty for killing animals or causing them to suffer by proxy. But rather than confront this they deflect attention by criticising vegans and putting us down, or making bad taste jokes about animal death, or convincing themselves that our diet is boring, unhealthy or tastes bad. The fact that vegans exist at all really does some people's heads in - because we're showing them that there is a more compassionate way to eat, a way that they don't have the b*lls to adopt themselves (yet).

[harpy]

In addition to the explanations you've given, the idea that vegans are killjoys who don't really like food is sort of reinforced by popular culture isn't it - I keep reading that Jamie Oliver is supposed to have said something like "stop being a vegan and start enjoying your food" :rolleyes: - no idea if he really said it.

So that, in combination with not wanting to confront something that might make one feel guilty, could produce that sort of response from someone who isn't a deep thinker - I doubt if it was anything personal, though of course you know the person and we don't, artintheory ;)

[earthling]

I keep reading that Jamie Oliver is supposed to have said something like "stop being a vegan and start enjoying your food" - no idea if he really said it.

Ugh. Jamie Oliver gets on my nerves! Whether he said it or not, you're right, popular culture is saturated by messages that meat/dairy are the only tasty treats available. From M&S adverts to Nigella to Masterchef... when was the last time someone was shown on TV in raptures over a lovely vegan meal? Someone should do a video ad campaign showing vegans savouring and loving their food!

[twinkle]

someone should take a steadicam round the next vegan festival and do a montage of people eating trifle, truffles, those amazing raw salads, all the cakes and curries...

[Bearshark]

So at my new job the other day, I took a salad to work for lunch. As I was eating it, one of my co-workers came over and had a look (she knows I'm vegan) and said something about how healthy it looked. I agreed, and said that I couldn't take all the healthy I was eating and soon I was going to have to have something unhealthy to make up for it :P
She replied with "Yeah, definately, I mean, just be vegan for a few months and then you can say you've done your part for the animals, and you can go back to eating normally again!" Uh....that's not how it works.....

[Back-Space]

So at my new job the other day, I took a salad to work for lunch. As I was eating it, one of my co-workers came over and had a look (she knows I'm vegan) and said something about how healthy it looked. I agreed, and said that I couldn't take all the healthy I was eating and soon I was going to have to have something unhealthy to make up for it :P
She replied with "Yeah, definately, I mean, just be vegan for a few months and then you can say you've done your part for the animals, and you can go back to eating normally again!" Uh....that's not how it works.....

It's not? :confused: Well you can't honestly expect to live off of fruits and vegetables your whole life, can you? :p

[TXvegan]

PETA - People Eating Tasty Animals

Saw it on a bumper sticker and it was all I could do to NOT ram my car into it!

[Back-Space]

Bad decision make good stories :rolleyes: Lol

[angie54321]

Yeah, there's always a smiley next to what they've said as though we will think oh ha ha yeah that's hilarious, what sparkling wit! :p Ugh. I just find it depressing.

I think you mean 'shining wit' - the spoonerism :D

[Clueless Git]

I think you mean 'shining wit' - the spoonerism :D
Eh? ... :confused:

OH! :eek:

That ones gonna get used :)