Why do you think omnivores don't turn vegans sooner ?

[EcoTribalVegan]

I'm not sure that it's just laziness that stops people going vegan. Being "lazy" implies that that particular non-vegan realises there's a problem to begin with.

Most, I would argue, do! Even after looking into veganism many still refuse to go vegan.

When I decided to become vegan, it wasn't because I didn't know what was going on (I had dated into a dairy farming family for years), but because I didn't think it was WRONG. That and if I did go vegan I was living with my parents and thought they wouldn't support the decision. So in a sense it was laziness.

[leedsveg]

I think that looking through the postings, quite a few different answers have been given to the thread question, so I don't think it's a simple case of "one size fits all".

I don't remember talking or thinking, about vegetarianism/animal rights, or even knowing a vegetarian, before 1988/89, when I was in my 40s. It just never came on my radar at all. As for vegans/veganism, I only heard of the concept around 1990. Other people, perhaps at other (later?) times will have had other experiences but I can only speak for myself.

With all this in mind, I'm not really sure how I could have arrived at the 'Vegan Promised Land' much sooner. Of course I wish that I had arrived sooner but it's not something I feel a need to feel guilty about.

leedsveg

[PlantsPlease]

Well, frankly, some people don't have a problem killing animals or even subjecting them to horrific conditions. They either don't care, or don't think it's a big enough deal to sacrifice eating steak. I can't understand how people can have so little compassion, but some people truly think those are vices that make you weak. Furthermore, some people just don't value animal life, believing that they are just automatons, like machines, or just inferior creatures because they believe that they themselves have souls but animals don't and that their deity gave them animals to use. That's probably the case for a lot of people in my family, unfortunately, and I have no clue how one changes their minds. I've pretty much given up, though I still hope they see my husband and I thrive on our vegan diet and their selfishness makes them consider eating better.

As for my husband and I...

I've never felt truly comfortable with eating animals, but I didn't know about the real horrors of the system, especially when it comes to egg and milk production. I've never cared much for meat, but my mom hardly served a vegan thing in her life and school "vegetarian" lunches were cheese sticks, cheese pizza, and French fries. The only vegetarians I knew were very unhealthy because of that. So, it was pretty impractical. And then I married my husband soon after leaving home and he his diet was anything but vegan, even worse than my mom's. And though he wasn't completely unsupportive of me eating plants foods (at least not emotionally unsupportive), it was easier to go with the flow and just eat what he was eating.

Then there was the medical misinformation. I have certain medical conditions that I thought were improved by eating meat, if only because that's what I was told would happen. Diabetes also runs in my family and there was a lot of misinformation about that and the causes. My mom even ate low-carb for a while, or at least said she did. It's not so much that she ate fewer carbs so much as she had an excuse to eat more meat.

But then I read The China Study (and the criticisms of it, too). All in all, it made me realize that what I had been taught about nutrition deserved questioning. So, I read more and found the wealth of studies showing that vegan diets were healthy and even healthier than your typical omni diet (at least in the U.S.). I shared what I learned with my husband and HE decided that he wanted to go vegan as an experiment to see how he felt and see if he could force himself to eat more plant foods. Totally shocked me. I'm still shocked. That was in November.

So, I decided that was a great opportunity for me, too, and we went vegan together. We had originally planned to do it short-term, though we hadn't set a firm date to stop really. We figured we'd just see how it'd go and then probably end up, after a month's time, eating the occasional non-vegan thing.

Well, we felt so good that we weren't as tempted to cheat as we thought we'd be, though it was hard for my husband since he really didn't like vegetables or tempeh or tofu. But he stuck with it and found some stuff he could eat.

As we went on we started reading more and more on veganism and the animal welfare side of things. It was easier since we didn't fear losing our lunch. It's not like we didn't know some of the stuff before, but we figured that we were already doing a lot, like raising two pet hens, buying grass-fed milk, and buying local, pasture-fed water buffalo. We soon realized that wasn't enough, though. We both soon decided that we wanted to go full vegan (not just diet-wise, and not just temporarily).

Despite what people might have thought of my husband, knowing he was such a meat eater before, he's really sweet and sensitive. He could never eat Peeps because they looked too cute and still hates boiling chick peas because they look like little chicks to him. So, I think this diet has helped dispel some of that cognitive dissonance he was fighting. It certainly has helped me. And we both feel better in so many ways.

[Tishy]

That's really sweet, plantsplease!

[tissierlou]

I think it simply boils down to laziness and/or a fear of change. Most hide behind the pitiful excuse "well I couldn't live without [insert some animal derived product here]".

This was true in my case. I feel so horrible about it and thankfully, I finally stopped using crappy excuses about my animal exploitation. I can't say I was blind to the suffering, ya know; I just had this mindset that my wants were more important than -insert animal here-. Also, I didn't do any real research into the vegan lifestyle for a long time. I just assumed (because it was more convenient) vegan meant nothing but vegetables and vegans were missing out on sooooo much and all sickly

When I started doing my research, I saw that not only is being vegan compassionate to other living beings and the planet, but healthier for me!

Anyway, hi.

[DavidT]

Anyone read the article in the latest Vegan magazine, "Why isn't there more opposition to nonhuman animal exploitation?" It deals with it in terms of 'two interconnected processes' namely 'concealing' and 'objectifying'.

I think, as posters on here have demonstrated, it's far, far more than that, though the authors are quite right to define specifics.

One thing I get which always annoys me (though I try to reason and not show annoyance) is that old canard, "You care more about animals than humans." (I don't! I care about all animals equally). But in this context, the person saying this is actually deflecting, or trying to deflect, criticism from themselves and implicitly stating they don't care for non-humans all that much, which is a very common trait.

[DavidT]

While I don't support or condone the choices non-vegans make, each of us has the right to follow our own path without judgement from others.

I agree with this. I always say, 'do what you think is right', which brings in the notion of 'doing right' - which is the first step, that of getting them thinking about 'rightness'.

I read an article about two years ago and the journalist was saying how vegans aren't "normal."

Heh heh. 'Normal' as in 'median' if you like. I'm 'normal' but don't do just what the average person does.

I think if you take away what is abnormal, you end up as a vegan.

i am very upset that my husband has been told by his doctor to eat 'oily fish' and has gone back to it with relish .

That's sad, cobweb, especially when he knows of the benefits of veganism and the alternatives to oily fish. Doctors are so blind sometimes, so busy, so in thrall to the people who provide such biased information.

[MoonDance]

One thing I get which always annoys me (though I try to reason and not show annoyance) is that old canard, "You care more about animals than humans." (I don't! I care about all animals equally). But in this context, the person saying this is actually deflecting, or trying to deflect, criticism from themselves and implicitly stating they don't care for non-humans all that much, which is a very common trait.

I get that too and it makes me quite sad at how ... hmm .... speciesist some people can be. I asked my mum, would you eat Gem (our little canine friend) if she tasted like chicken, and she said "no because she is a companion animal, and chickens are raised for our food."
*sigh* I'm proud that I managed to remain calm.

[...TrAvKa...]

...It's because they don't know what's going on or they are in denial...that's why we are here to make them open their eyes...

[MoonDance]

^ +1

[Korn]

Since almost all of us were omnivores before we turned vegan, maybe we should just continue in the Why weren't you vegan before you became vegan?-thread? That (slightly different) title may also, at least in theory, serve as a reminder that most of us have been omnis, which again - still only theoretically, of course, could reduce any potential unnecessar holier-than-thou-ish attitude - just in case it would pop up, I mean.

[leedsveg]

Hi Korn

I agree. Unfortunately going vegan can bring on vertigo and amnesia. Vertigo because we look down on omnis. Amnesia because we forget what it was like being an omni.

leedsveg

[MoonDance]

^
Very true Leedsveg!

I agree with what Korn has said as well; being called holier-than-thou is never fun (my mum called me that once, though I swear I wasn't being like that) so yeah, wouldn't want any omni's to take offense.

[Korn]

Hi MoonDance, I wasn't thinking of any particular post or posters, I've just noticed sometimes when we discuss omnis that we tend to forget that most of us were omnivores at some point. The "Why was I an omnivore before I became a vegan?" question is also more interesting than "Why do you think omnivores don't turn vegans sooner ?" - and will probably also result on more interesting answers, discussing what we now instead of what we assume.

Closing this thread soon...

[MoonDance]

^ Lol I know I was just giving a tiny anecdote about an omni's reaction ... sorry