5 Comments Vegans Are Sick And Tired Of Hearing
"You must feel so weak and tired."
The end of Veganuary is slowly approaching, but hopefully, many people would stay on the bright side and turn the temporary challenge into a lifestyle. While this is surely an exciting time for you and Mother Earth, stereotypes and lack of food education might get in your way. Here are just a few examples of the most cliché comments vegans can hear while sipping their oat latte and minding their own business.
1. “So, what do you eat?”
Probably the most common one, suggesting that a good, diverse healthy diet consists of meat and eggs only. The list of yummy vegan dishes, though is so long that it’s actually hard to pick what to have for breakfast or lunch. Almost every supermarket these days has a wide range of vegan products, including all types of ‘meat,’ ‘cheese,’ or ‘milk,’ let alone every flavor of hummus you can possibly imagine. The tastiness you can make out of all kinds of vegetables, tofu, mushrooms, fruit, seasoning or spices, to name but a few, also shouldn’t be underestimated. (And Oreo – yes, Oreo is vegan). People who question that are simply boring and uncreative. Sorry, not sorry.
2. “It’s not healthy for you.”
Thanks, doc, I’m sure this KFC chicken is perfectly nutritional and balanced on the other hand. Get ready for random people checking your iron, zinc or vitamin B12 level. Meanwhile, a vegan diet is higher in fibre and lower in cholesterol, which lowers the risk of heart disease. Additionally, vitamins can be supplemented and received from fortified food such as vegan milk. So, thanks for your concern, my health is all good, but maybe you should start worrying about the animals?
3. “But you drink wine, so you’re not really vegan.”
This is just at the top of the list of things that people are going to call you out for. First off, there is a wide range of vegan wines to choose from, so not to worry. More importantly, though, those who use that argument usually eat meat every day, don’t recycle and use tons of plastic bags. Everybody’s contribution is different of course but instead of watching you every step of the day, why don’t they try doing at least half what you do? Not only elimination but even a reduction of meat and animal-based products makes a huge difference for the environment. Let’s save the planet together instead of making toxic comments.
4. “You always talk about being vegan.”
In the pre-pandemic reality especially, it was important to let someone know about your diet preferences when visiting someone over or going out for dinner. You do it not because you’re obsessed but rather respectful. You want to avoid stress, confusion and awkwardness. It works the same way with every other diet preferences like gluten-free requirements, allergies, or simply, personal taste. Also, being vegan is absolutely fabulous, so even if you do actually talk about it all the time, it makes total sense.
5. “Do you really think it makes a difference?”
Yes, I do. And I'm not alone. While there are still many anti-planet and anti-animals systematic solutions, researches from the University of Oxford have found that veganism can be the biggest way for individuals to make their environmental impact. Cutting meat and dairy may reduce a carbon footprint by up to 73 %. Thanks to veganism, therefore, greenhouse gas emissions can significantly drop, which also helps to free up wild land. So yeah, it does matter and it’s not a trend. It’s called caring and taking responsibility.
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