Things Meat-Eaters Wish Vegans Would Stop Saying
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If you are a vegan, think back to when you weren’t. I know—it’s tough to recall memories of eating burgers and turkey sandwiches. But try. You probably took a lot of convincing to change your diet. In fact, the first few people who tried to get you into veganism probably drove you nuts. You may have thought they seemed entitled, pushy and even like they were in some cult. Now that you’ve recalled that, maybe you can be a little easier on your meat-eating friends who are resistant to your lectures on an animal-product-free lifestyle. We get it: you feel very passionate about your lifestyle, and you want to pass its benefits onto your friends. But sometimes what you intend to come off as loving comes off as judgmental, and even insensitive. Here are things meat eaters wish vegans would stop saying.
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You own a dog; how can you eat meat?
Really? You have to bring the dog into this? For thousands of years, dogs and humans have evolved to be friends. Wild dogs learned that, if they were nice to cavemen, they’d give them their scraps. The human-dog relationship is a sacred one that’s almost as old as humankind. Bringing our relationship with our dog into this is messed up and makes no sense. Humans don’t grow up with pigs sleeping in their beds. Humans don’t grow up with chickens greeting them at the door. We naturally evolved to have a different connection to dogs than we do to the animals we eat. Don’t try to compare that.
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People aren’t meant to eat meat
Now that simply isn’t true. Maybe humans aren’t meant to eat as much meat as we do. If you want to go off the caveman theory, then cavemen used to only eat meat once or twice a week—if they were lucky in a hunt. But they did eat meat. Maybe we can cut back on meat, and we’d be better mimicking our ancestor’s diets if we did so. But removing meat entirely would not be authentic to the caveman diet.
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You’ll get your glow back
Excuse me? Are you saying I don’t have a glow? I didn’t realize I looked so dull and hideous to you, but thanks for pointing that out! Also, a lot of vegans look exhausted due to vitamin deficiency, so this glow thing is a bit of a myth. If you want a glow, vegans and meat-eaters alike should stay on top of their vitamins. And those can come from meat or non-meat sources.
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You’ll help the environment
Many vegans say this to their meat-eater friends, not even knowing all that their friends do for the environment. Vegans, for all you know, your friend drives a hybrid car, only purchases clothes from companies that use repurposed fabrics and has solar panels on her home. So back off with the environmental guilt.
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Do you know slaughterhouse conditions?
Yes. We do. We’ve seen the documentaries. And no, we aren’t heartless—those got to us. But images like that cannot force us to make a giant dietary change overnight. In fact, shocking us into changing our diet rapidly could only result in health problems for us.
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You’ll lose a ton of weight
I didn’t know I needed to. But, again, thank you for mentioning it. This is also just not a good enough reason to change your entire lifestyle. People can lose weight as meat-eaters, too.
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That burger once had a face
Ah. Vegans can be such a joy to eat with. You just wanted a quick energy bolt from your lunch before getting back to taking care of your children and meeting your boss’ high demands. Now you get to feel like a murderer.
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Your body will work much more efficiently
That is debatable. The reality is that when human beings don’t eat animal products they must take a lot of vitamins. If that is the case, then that means our bodies are not meant to function without animal product. Your diet is supposed to provide you with at least most of the vitamins and nutrients you need. If it leaves you lacking, then that means it’s not the right diet for your body.
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I’ll just eat at home
Really? Just because we didn’t choose a strictly vegan restaurant, you won’t come out? You can’t just pick one of the handful of vegan options the seafood restaurant has, for the sake of being with your friends? You have to protest?
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Your food is making me nauseous
Then step outside. Excuse yourself. Take a phone call. But don’t say, “Your food is making me nauseous.” For all you know, the sounds you make when you chew make your friend nauseous, but she would never say that to you, and make you self-conscious about eating.
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Those eggs are aborted chickens
Terrific. You’re just trying to have breakfast. You haven’t even had your coffee yet. Your brain battery is barely charged at 18 percent. And your vegan friend would like to bring up the heavy, complex topic of abortion.
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Only humans drink milk after being babies
Humans are the only ones to do a lot of things. Should we start modeling all of our behavior off of what other mammals do? Should we start only having sex for the purpose of reproduction, too?
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Only humans drink another animal’s milk
See above. Plus, milk is a great source of calcium, protein, vitamin B12, phosphorus, iodine, and potassium.
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I only date vegans
Well, that’s a shame. What if meat-eaters would only date meat-eaters? That’s a rather limited mindset, and quite judgmental. If you really think there is no way someone could share your values, sense of humor and goals in life, all because of their diet, then you may be ready to join a vegan cult.
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I just need to educate people
No, you don’t. We’re not dumb. We have the Internet. We can and have read the pros and cons of living a vegan lifestyle. Meat-eaters aren’t the uneducated, blissfully ignorant group you think they are. Most of them did the research, and made the informed choice to eat meat.
