To ask why you aren’t vegan

[Whereisthecoffee]

I’m not vegan , I know it’s good for the planet kinder to animals etc but it’s something I just can’t seem to get to grips with. I’ve been thinking about starting vegan January but I’m not sure. Thinking about my choices and it’s prevalence in the media has made me curious about others so tell me why aren’t you vegan? I think my main reason is convenience.

Yes in my opinion .

Like the meat eaters who say they couldn't give up meat because it is "too tasty"

That is their opinion

Bowl cancer? Ah well I'll use pasta dishes instead.

Is anyone else getting an ad for the vegan society on this thread?

I have a lot of respect for vegans. It takes a lot to have such strong principles and keep to them even when people question you/make hilarious “jokes” about bacon etc. I’m just not interested myself, nothing they will say will change that, and as long as they leave me to my own ways without preaching at me I’m happy.

Because I enjoy eating, drinking and wearing animal products.

And because if I wanted to take part in a faddy ‘look at me’ pseudo-cult I’d find one that wasn’t so earnest and miserable.

DH frequently considers doing a vegan period (such as veganuary). And whilst I'm happy to support him, I won't do it for him (he has form for going guns blazing into things then leaving the effort to me) and when he looks in to the reality of it, it's simply too hard.

Because I am made of meat.

I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to be vegan. The thought has never crossed my mind.

I think it is wrong for developed countries with temperate climates like the UK to rely on those in developing countries to produce our food. Living in the North of England I can eat a sustainable diet by including locally organic free range meat a couple of times a week and free range eggs. If I am vegan I will be eating food shipped from India, south america and africa which deprives those communities high quality vegetable protein (which is affordable and health for them and part of their culture), this pushes them to have a poorer quality diet and also the destruction of the environment to grow cash crops for export. I do not want to eat nuts and seeds grown at the expense of local developing communities.

That is as far as I got.

It isn't necessarily more eco friendly to be vegan and this illustrates the point.

Take avocado for instance: 300 litres of water to grow 1kg. Long haul flight to get them here and masses of plastic packaging to prevent degradation. They spoil so easily and the waste is huge because of that. Also, migratory bee keeping which is detrimental.

Also for health issues I can't even be veggie let alone vegan.

To be fair though it's not just vegans who eat avocados.

Yes of course not.

For the vegans I know avocado is a huge feature though.

I’d like to be for animal & environmental reasons.

I’m not because I have some dental problems which means I can’t crunch anything. This greatly restricts what I can eat. I’m getting this sorted and I might make the move in a year or so.

Take avocado for instance: 300 litres of water to grow 1kg

But to produce 1kg of beef it takes more than 3000 litres?

Studies show meat and dairy, produced as they currently are, are the most environmentally damaging foods.

That doesn't mean avocado is good for the environment, it's not an either / or situation. But based on your water stat it's significantly better than beef.

And for every person who buys organic / grass fed / nicely reared meat from a local smallholding there are probably 1000 buying torture chickens and Danish bacon from pigs who've never seen daylight.

OVERALL the mass messaging to reduce or remove meat and dairy consumption is the one that will have most impact because it's simple, easy, and affordable.

@SoyDora I wasn't refer to you being a vegan basher- it was ScottCheggJnr and some others who made such hilarious, 'witty and original' comments.
Yvlamoon, I don't think we could ever run out of reasons to be vegan and why we don't need to torture animals for every second of their horrific lives before killing them. I didn't go earlier because I ran out of arguments- I went because I ran out of patience.
However there are (thankfully) other people on here who have more patience than me who have been happy to explain their reasons and educate people about their lifestyle as there are so many assumptions and sweeping statements made. For example, not everyone vegan lives on avocado- I haven't had avocado for about 2 months and I know a lot of vegans grow their own veg cos they're trying to do as much as possible to reduce their impact on the planet. Anything meat eaters eat can be veganized- try Tesco Beyond Burger, the best burger I've ever had. I made a massive pavlova yesterday- yes you can make vegan meringue and it tastes awesome. Try alpro cashew milk or Oatly barista n your coffee (shake it well first!). Try Sainsbury's love your veg Shroomdogs. Try Booja Booja ice-cream, I've made this from scratch myself and it's amazing and so much healthier. There are so many amazing meals you can make and we don't miss out on anything. Yes you do have to re-learn to cook/bake as it's different ingredients/techniques but once you do you'll never look back.
Those of you who say you could never be vegan- I used to say that all the time as I didn't know enough about it and had assumed it was very restrictive- and here I am! It's not a mindless fad/cult- not for me anyway. I feel loads better for ditching meat and dairy and I don't need eggs as I can still have omelettes etc without them.
I'm not that bothered whether people want to be vegan or not- I just respectfully ask that you don't make sweeping statements or criticise me for my choices when you don't understand it. 🙂

Not sure how the producers of vegan ‘milk’ get away with calling it milk at all. Almond ‘milk’, oat ‘milk’ etc etc. It’s not milk, it’s juice. You can’t milk an almond. Or an oat.

@PinkPanther27 I'll have to try that beyond burger. I'm allergic to beans so it'll depend exactly what pea protein they use (which I'll
only know by eating it).

I get that vegan food tastes good (it's just food), but vegan substitutes for other foods do not taste the same. Just like courgetti maybe a substitute for pasta in a low carb diet, it has neither the taste or texture of pasta, it's perfectly nice with a bolognese sauce but it is not 'just like' pasta.

I find with any dietary changes, it's best to get used to not having something, rather than try and find a substitute, as they very rarely live up to the original.

Manufacturers can't call vegan milk substitute milk. It's almond/oat/whatever drink or milk substitute. It's used as shorthand by people who use it.

Because I am made of meat.

does that mean we can eat you as well?

PinkPanther27 spot on again .You've said everything I wanted to but I didn't get chance earlier today. Also with the scientists saying we have only 12 years to slow down global warming, wether or not people care about animal rights/welfare I'm sure they care about their friends and relatives. Meat production is responsible for more co2 than the entire transport system. The advice now is that meat eating must be drastically reduced if we are to avoid the planet's temperature rising too high. I have never known a year like last year for freak weather, storms, hurricanes, floods, forest fires. All things that happen anyway but more often and more extreme Although I went vegan for the animals there are very good reasons to avoid eating meat if we want to survive. When the safety of our children and grandchildren is at risk surely forgoing meat, eggs and dairy is a small price to pay.

Patsyanna I have to say: I am very pleased that vegans are going to safe the planet. Cause the rest of us really don't care. That's why we devour poor fluffy animals.
Please think again: by avoiding animal based products, you are lobbing for many highly processed products, man made products and incredible food miles. It's not black & white. Being vegan does not make you somehow into a better person. You live in a first world country with all its mod cons. That is not at all environmentally friendly.

I'm vegetarian. I'm content with where I am with my choice and have never felt any need to full on vegan. Where do you stop? Do you stop buying leather presumably? Most cars have leather so it seems a difficult battle to me.

Most cars have leather

Bloody hell, what sort of social circles do you hang out in, where most cars have leather seats? How far up the car ladder do you have to get before it's not a very expensive option?

The lining is, isn't it? Also a lot of shoes and clothing as well.

lynnepot when my mum was veggie (she's now vegan)) shever bought leather anything. That's fairly common amongst veggies I know. It's not hard to find a non-leather car.

*she never

@patsyanna I admire your persistence, don't know why some people on here are being so rude and giving you a hard time. You've made some really valid points.
Comments like this one below make me despair for the state of humanity:
"I am very pleased that vegans are going to safe the planet. Cause the rest of us really don't care. That's why we devour poor fluffy animals."
The next generation will be really proud of them