Attitudes towards vegetarianism
I was just wondering if anyone finds that people who eat meat, become somewhat combative when you tell them you are a vegetarian? I really don't understand the contempt to be honest. The only thing I can figure is that they somehow translate our diet into someone who is filled with self-importance and is flaunting superiority in their faces. I don't preach vegetarianism nor do I criticize them for eating meat considering I did the same for years. Never the less, I always find that most of the meat eaters(including most of my family) have no hesitation in displaying their disdain for how I choose to live my life. Anyway, I was just curious if anyone else has run into the same kind of situation. That's one of the reasons I enjoy VegWeb- at least here I know I will get support and admiration for trying to live a healthy life and at the same time, being free of guilt when I say, "I love animals."
I think that everyone, including myself, hates a preaching veg*n. Unfortunately, that's what the terms vegetarian/vegan is linked with in people's minds.
Most of the people I know are cool about it. Of course I have that friend that is all "Mmmmm! Meat!" all the time. I have another non-veg friend that apologizes every time we eat together. I'm still trying to work my vegetarian charm on him.
The plus side of that is you know to never trust taking food from them. It's the people who act cool with it and then share food with animal products (e.g., chicken broth in soup) that are the worst.
I have yet to have a negative response. If it comes up, or we're going out to eat, I'll mention it to make sure there is no confusion. Everyone I work with knows how I eat and they've been nothing but understanding or curious about it.
That's me, too! In fact, my vegan diet is easier for everyone to work around than my coworker whose Buddhist diet prohibits him from eating garlic and onion. We have halal, kosher, garlic/onion, and vegan considerations that results in our going to Chinese buffets for all birthday lunches. It's tiresome, but it works, and everyone is kumbaya about it.
I actually don't get that much 'tude about the vegetarianism (my ex had a problem with it, but he's an ex for a reason), but I have heard more than once "Vegetarian is okay, but vegan..that's just too much" which really offends me. I consider my vegetarianism as a stop along the way to veganism, when I cook for myself or eat at home it's 100% vegan. ...maybe all that meat is leaving them with tact withdrawls
most people have been cool in my experience, though i have heard every response there is (negative).
i think the people who are really defensive are a little insecure about their own diet.
Ehh when people are like that towards me, its their own loss. There are proven benefits from a vegan diet, that can be much healthier than a regular one, plus the general feeling of securtiy that you havent harmed poor animals!!
Yes, I've had to deal with it on more than one occasion. Quite recently, in fact. The simple statement that I was a vegetarian brought and immediate defensive reaction from one person, as if I'd attacked him when I had said nothing but "I'm a vegetarian". It's very frustrating and I have absolutely no problem making them feel like an a$$ for their reaction to a simple fact.
most people have been cool in my experience, though i have heard every response there is (negative).
i think the people who are really defensive are a little insecure about their own diet.
I get a lot of defensive, angry lectures from people who are overweight, unhealthy and know nothing about how to eat a balanced diet even with meat, let alone without. "That's just not healthy!"--yes, Miss 40 pounds overwieght, diabetic with a 4x4 bypass who "just doesn't have the willpower" to follow the diet the doctor gave her--she would know this. This woman has been told by her doctor to cut out sugar entirely or die young...and she still stuffs on sweets whenever she's with friends "to be polite!" !!! She will also try to push desserts at me if I attend the church pot lucks and gets VERY angry when I say No politely, twice, and then push the bulging plate of cakes that she insists on serving me away and ignore it. So I don't attend.
People who are healthy and know a little more about health are always cool with it, though I do get, "Oh I couldn't do that." But they tend to say it in an admiring tone.
It doesn't often come up since I don't eat out much or go to parties, etc., but if it does, I usually just say I don't eat meat (now dairy and eggs). The "V" word, whichever one, seems to threaten so many people. ??? When I say that, some will ask if I'm vegetarian and I say yes without elaborating, but somehow I am usually asked that only by the curious not the abusive. I guess I've been lucky. :-\
How I originally became vegan is directly related to this. I had a friend who was vegan himself, and flat out refused to explain why. He refused to talk about it, discuss his reasoning or anything. When asked why, he simply said, "you enjoy eating meat? That's nice. I don't want to ruin that for you."
A lot of omnivores are simply curious, moreso than hostile. Though there definitely are hostile omnis. The hostiles are on par with militant anythings. The idea that "you" should be allowed to impose your beliefs and values upon "me" is really ignorant and rude, regardless of what "your" beliefs or values are, even if "I" agree with them.
I feel a lot of sympathy for anyone who is portrayed as being ignorant and pig headed. That includes christians (real ones, not bible thumpers), african americans, hispanics, blonde women, etc.
I guess what I'm saying is that it's a two way street. Unfortunately, there are enough jerks out there not only to make us look bad, but to get in our face about what we believe as well.
Any naysaying stops as soon as they taste my food. ;D
8 converts and counting...
Wow!! EIGHT converts?? That's awesome! I wanna taste your food ;D And here I was jazzed about my 2 ;) ;D 8)
Any naysaying stops as soon as they taste my food. ;D
8 converts and counting...
Oh, petal, PLEASE come to Spain and work your magic on my hubby! If anyone could get him to actually eat a piece of zucchini I bet it would be you! 8)
Each person to whom I mention the 'V' word acts differently. Even the ones who are friendly and curious, and try to discuss it intelligently, occasionally make me laugh on the inside... when I say, "I can't eat this, it's got 'X' in it," they say "Oh really, don't veg*ns eat 'X'?" like they forget the basic principle of the diet, which I've explained to them more than once. ::) ('X' being milk powder, fish sauce, etc. etc.)
Before I moved house I had to stay at my Nana's house for a week and a half, and my mother told me not to even use the 'V' word. It's sad, but the only other vegan Nana knows is my cousin's partner, who she kinda thinks is mad. Vastly different lifestyles. My strongly-omni grandparents are totally into the buy-things-as-cheap-as-possible mindset, and they're really too old to open their minds to new ideas, such as "if food is cheap for you, it costs someone else (usually the animals)". >:( I love my grandfolks, but this saddens me that I could never explain such compassionate ideas to them. They're cynically anti-organic/wholefoods too, even though when they had a vege garden decades ago, it was naturally organic - before the influx of chemical fertilisers. :-X
I didn't mean to make it look like everyone had a negative reaction to my eating habits. But the ones that have been really perplex me. When I was eating meat, I was dating a girl who was vegan and I had nothing but respect for her. I admired her resolve in not being a hypocrite when it came to loving animals and although I am not with her anymore, her strong feelings about it have influenced me. I don't know if anyone of you were immersed in the whole Michael Vick saga back int the summer but that was the defining period for me. I wrote my opinion at a couple of forums, basically expressing my outrage and disgust with the whole dog fighting mentality. Needless to say, others(Vick supporters) would say, "you bleeding heart dog lover, go eat your meat now for dinner." It pissed me off but what could I say? I was being a hypocrite and I didn't like the way it made me feel. So that was it for me. But when I was eating meat, I always admired anyone who was a vegetarian because I love animals. I still think it's this whole "Oh, you think you're so damn special!" knee jerk reaction. The ones that have a confrontational attitude probably feel like we're condemning them for eating meat. If someones asks me, I just say, "because I care about animals and believe it's a healthier way to eat." What else can I say?
I've been a vegetarian since mid-June, and apart from a few hysterical "ha-ha-ha-ha's, that's funny, now let's go have a steak," most people have been pretty cool about it, including my uptight stepmonster (whom I love madly).
But oh my gosh--my husband is driving me absolutely insane!!!!!!!!! I've been blogging a lot about it lately because I'm going so bananas trying to deal with him. He supports it on one hand and then tries to get me to go back to eating meat on the other hand. I keep plugging away and cooking great food, and hope he'll decide that it's okay eventually. I'm sure if I ever manage to start losing weight he'll get there quickly, but right now I'm honestly more concerned about my health than the weight. I think if I get my health problems taken care of, and keep eating right, eventually the weight will follow. And if not, big whoop. I mean, why does my value as a person have to be based solely on my size?
My omni roommate and I were having a friendly debate about veganism recently (we do this quite often, but all in good spirit....)
She always makes the point that, "Well, people have always eaten meat, that's the way it's supposed to be! My grandfather drank a quart of heavy cream each day (or something equally absurd) and he lived to be 105!" You get the idea.....
I think attitudes like that---ones where meat-eating is right simply because people have done it for so long---are so interesting to me. Since when does a long-standing history make something right? I can think of so many examples of how this is bad logic. Slavery has been around for hundreds of years. So has the oppression of women. So has racism. We could go on and on.....that doesn't make them right, obviously.
It's the "veganism, that's just unnatural!" arguments that frustrate/confuse me.
People will use any reasoning to justify their actions and ease their conscience.
More often than not, I usually find that people are simply uninformed about veganism. They have no idea that chickens and dairy cows also suffer, that the dairy and veal industries are linked, that animal products can wreak havoc on your health, etc....so the most common response I get is probably a "why?" But I just seize those opportunities to explain veganism, if I feel like that person is genuinely interested or curious. Most people are at least respectful of my convictions, and that's all I ask for most of the time.
"veganism, that's just unnatural!"
funny - cus veganism seems like a completely natural way to be... if she had to run around and hunt/gather/kill everything she needed to sustain herself i bet she'd be eating a lot more fruits and vegetables, naturally.
plus, even though meat eating goes way back.. the way meat gets to plates these days via factory farms is completely different than the way it did 200 years ago. so if she is such a believer in doing things the way they've always been done she should give up that meat and do some hunting.
A hundred people could try to run across the motorway/freeway at rush hour and a few would probably survive unscathed. The majority are going to suffer, however, at least to some degree. Some people have strong genes