I used to get so much shit for being vegan, from friends and family majorly. But the longer I've been vegan, my friends and family seem to be more fond of the idea and the foods I eat. I noticed that some of the people I am close to simply had this idea in their heads that because it was different, everything probably tasted terrible. My boyfriend used to make so much fun of me for my high consumption of Boca burgers [I am really addicted to them..] and what not... and just the other day as I was cooking one up he said, "Mmm that smells good. The smell of those are so great, and have really grown on me" My roomie was cooking with my soymilk the other day and was suprised that it turned out so well. I could have told her that Really, it's just about breaking away from things you were raised with and used to and trying something different. That is all it boils down to. Everyone I know who has tried my food has been amazed. My aunt came over one day and noticed me eating some vegan ice cream and sort of turned up her nose at it and said "I couldn't live without real ice cream" I urged her to try just a spoonful, because it's delicious... so after much hesitation she gave in and tried some and was astonished. She looked at me with these huge eyes and said, "Oh wow!! That's really sweet, almost better than regular ice cream! WOW!" Poor vegan food, it gets judged so quickly lol.
This is really good to hear! I honestly did not imagine i'd get such hostile responses from people when I became vegetarian. It really caught me off guard. One friend who I consider my best friend (known each other for about 15 years) gave an extremely hostile response that really took me back. He said "Vegetarians aren't 'natural'. We are supposed to eat meat...You'll eat meat eventually again..." Thanks for the support! What's even more annoying is when people try to 'tempt' me...It's annoying because it just doesn't tempt me when people discuss "juicy ribs" or dangle greasy chicken legs underneath me! Quite the opposite! The whole "it's just not natural" argument is just ridiculous. It's true we ate meat in the past but the fact is we can live very healthy lives on just a vegetarian diet, some would say even healthier. We are in a position in our evolution where we have a choice. That's a gift in my view. Denying this choice by claiming "it's not natural" is like denying life-saving technology or synthetic medicines on the pretense they aren't 'natural'. If they ease or eliminate suffering who cares? It's ridiculous the people who come up to me and say "it's not natural" when at the weekends they are taking synthetic recreational drugs. Well that is hardly 'natural' either. Then theres the abuse from people who assume all veggies are self-righteous hardline animal rights protestors who want to convert everyone to vegetarianism! This is just pure ignorance on there part since there are many reasosn why people become veggies/vegans other than the ethical issues. Also most vegetarians I know couldn't care less what other people ate...The people who claim all veggies/vegans are self-righteous can't seem to see they are being self-righteous themselves. They are being hypocritical by generalising and attacking vegetarians, and then they wonder why some vegetarians retaliate and become 'self-righteous' back. In my opinion and experience most the attacks on vegetarians/vegans result from either just plain ignorance (generalising, not being aware of the facts that veggies live healthy lives etc) or total jealousy (what is there to be jealous of!? If you want to eat meat eat meat!) . Sorry to rant and thread highjack. I'm glad you're example is ridding the people around you of there ignorance!
I don't like vegan food, I don't like organic food but I have actually tried it, and I guess I will agree that alot of people disagree and I think the reason most meat-eaters get 'hostile' is because they feel threatened that you will try to change our ways (oh man those types of vegetarians suck) also, it's kinda saying something bad about their ways, if you think you are right, you think they are wrong, ya know? that's not actually the case with me though, I am just a stubborn and opionated asshole that thinks it's retarded maybe the latter actually has soemthing to do with it...
That's really just ... kind of stupid, on the part of omnis. They feel threatened that we'll try to change them, so ... so, what, they try to change us, by waving meat and cheese in our faces? That's not an excuse. There are some omnis that are decent people, and there are many that are just cruel, heartless folk. You can't generalize between them, but ... The argument works two ways, and most vegetarians/vegans don't wave boca burgers in front of meat-eaters' faces. The ones that do are largely shunned from good-veggie society. All people who act like that aren't worth acknowledging in the first place, whether omnivore or herbivore.
Yeah there are radicals all around, whether it's a veg radical, or a meat-eating radical. A republican radical, or a democrat radical... So it goes both ways. But, I do feel that a huge part of why my family and friends are warming up, is because I have had a calm attitude about it. I don't pressure them to eat my food, but I do encourage them to try because it tastes good. If I eat something that I know is more awkward, and probably won't be as "delicious" to someone who lives off pizza and burgers I won't even attempt to ask if they want to try it. But, I never really preach my lifestyle or values to others, honestly, I leave that out of it... when it comes up, the only thing I really discuss is that the food really isn't as bad as they might think it is. I try to keep my opinions about being vegan hush hush unless someone really wants to know, and for inquiring purposes, not to be a jerk... I just don't see a reason for conflict in differing diets/lifestyles. Although the issue is important to me, I'm doing what I do, and that's all that matters to me. If my friend came to me and said she wanted to go veg, I'd be more than supportive and help her out as much as I could, and I'd be excited. But I'd never ask it of her. You know? My fiancee tried going vegetarian once, simply because he wanted to see what it was like, and to experiment with something that meant a lot to me. It didn't work out for him, and I didn't pressure him to keep at it. I understood. I thought it was neat that he gave it a whirl though, and it was by far one of the coolest things he's ever done to "understand me" For me, it's not actually about being vegan when I ask someone to try something, it's just because it's good. Just as omnis will sometimes say to another omni "Hey try this steak, its really tender" lol, you know? The only problem I still have are the constant questions of why I would not eat dairy. I try to avoid this conversation at all costs, because it just gets confusing, and upsetting to people. Since I'm lactose intolerant, I try to use that as my excuse, lol. Keeps people off mah back :-D I don't know. I don't feel like I need to be a vegan "activist" because I feel like I'm doing my part by living every day cruelty free in itself. So yeah. I mean, I'd speak out about animal cruelty and such if it was an important issue, but when it comes down to converting others to live the way I do, it doesnt matter much to me... this is what I chose, and I don't expect everyone to agree or choose it too.
Well, honestly, a lot of it I think is kind of an acquired taste. When you're used to real cheese, soy cheese is going to taste funny because you will be comparing it to the cheese you've eaten your whole life.... As a vegan, I've even went through that difficulty. When I started drinking soymilk [I was 11 when I started doing that because I found out I was lactose intolerant] I absolutely hated it, and just went on a full-fledged milk-of-any-sort boycott. But when I started getting older and started caring more about my health, knowing that soymilk was a good source of nutrition for me, I sucked it up and just kept trying it until one day I liked the taste. I used to LOVE ice cream... I haven't eaten it in years, but a couple months ago I tried a spoon out of curiousity [honestly forgot how real ice cream tasted] and it honestly just tasted terrible to me, in comparison to the stuff I eat now. Most things when related to taste are acquired. More than half the food I eat now, I DIDN'T like in the beginning. Some foods were initially good to me, like most Boca products, and soy ice creams... But I used to hate tons of different veggies, fruits, vegan cheeze, soymilk, etc. Now I love it all. The biggest reason I made myself get used to these things were for health reasons. I knew that if I was going to be a vegan, I'd have to do it right, and I couldn't live off of carrots and wheat bread, solely. Not to mention, I was so addicted to cheese and other fatty things before I went vegan, that I actually put on weight. I wanted to still be able to eat right, but lose the excess fat and cholestorol [sp?] Yep. lol. side note: I do have to admit it was difficult for me to go vegan because I live in the dairy state, lol... But I never missed meat, honestly. I was never a fan of meat even as a kid... the only meat I'd ever eat was like, chicken nuggets, and the fake chik'n nuggets usually taste very very similar. I think one of the reasons I never cared for meat is because it is too much work to chew for me... I have TMJ syndrome and grind my teeth in my sleep a lot, so my teeth are flatter than a normal persons teeth and I have trouble chewing a LOT of things. I should probably get something done about that....
I didn't say it was smart our subconcious motives tend to lack rational thought I love meat but I am weird about that too I prefer simple meats like chipped ham over steak and you ramble a fucking lot
I am just starting to see some interest by my husband & father as well. My husband brought me a pint of Tofutti's vanilla almond bark "ice cream" a few weeks ago and tried a small scoop... his response was "That's so rich & creamy it CAN'T be vegan!" (He finished my pint off and had to buy me another one he liked it so much!) And while at my parents house on the 4th of July I was raving about the grilled portabella mushroom caps I'd tried recently and my dad actually asked me to make them for him sometime! It is much more fun to be "different" now that I'm not having quite as many hamburgers waved under my nose. Now I've just gotta find a way to convince my own mother of this love, mom
Yeah I can totally relate to all that. My best friend has only ever known me as a vegetarian and she's always been a 'veg sympathiser' but for a good while insisted she could never give up meat (can't remember her reasoning) ... anyway she tried going veg for lent and has kept it up; and I did nothing more than set a good example. After a year of being veg my family decided this was clearly for the longhaul and got used to it. They don't even really notice when we have veggie meals. They'll never totally embrace it but are converts to free range meat/eggs. LOL my brother & I have* soya icecream, my mum is really into it too (though she draws a line at soya milk ... just hates the taste and that it doesn't behave like dairy). In fact generally she's great about the whole veg thing. *he's lactose intollerant, I'm just limiting my dairy consumption
