I’m so fed up with all this vegan wankery

[TitaniaQueenOfTheFairies]

To all you actual vegans, amazing, I wish you a long and happy life.

I am just so fed up with veganism taking over the world, when I have yet to come across an actual one. *edited to say that some places in the world don’t have a choice

Restaurants falling over themselves with vegan menus offering fake meat and plastic cheese.

Veganuary - people just going to the supermarket and buying fake meat, rather than actually trying to eat differently.

People eating ‘vegan food’. Just eat an apple, or a carrot with houmous or any other naturally occurring food that an animal hasn’t produced. It’s not hard.

And I can’t even begin with all the plant based twattery. Many people have been quietly eating less or no meat, fish, eggs & dairy for many years and have had no need to pontificate about it.

I know I am probably being unreasonable but I just need to say it.

Also I'm NOT vegan but am more tempted to become one because of the fanatical (and often quite unhealthy) meat-eaters who have some kind of obsession with vegans.

Why oh why do you care? That I think is fascinating!

Alyssum, I think it has to do with the rise in the demonising of cows/red meat. Cow farts cause global warming apparently which is clearly ludicrous as grass raised cows (particulalry in UK) are carbon neutral and are actually healing for our environment.

I agree that current dietary advice (accent on choosing low fat and high carb) has led to poor health of the omnivore population but suggest that advocating eliminating nutrient-dense animal proteins/fats also leads to poor mental and physical health.

Promoting lab-grown false meat or the appalling Beyond Meat burger with 20 highly processed ingredients from all over the world - what's the carbon footprint of that, d'you think? A steak from a local farm is far better nutrition and little carbon footprint.

All in all, the growing push of highly processed vegan foods is odd but as long as it doesn't impact on my (animal) food choices I do not care what anyone else eats. Alyssum I think you should try vegan diet anyway, see if you like it.

@RibenaMonsoon re your question about the 'end game'. I don't have one. I accept that the world isn't going to go 100% vegan in my lifetime so I'm just trying to minimise my own animal product intake. Being 100% vegan is nigh impossible (I'm on meds which have undoubtedly been tested on animals, but I need them to stay alive) so it's about doing as much as I can in the here and now.

soggypizza it happened today.Some vegan warrior got a punch off a man in Pizza Express. So the vegan got assaulted?

Yes,

Er.....you're not who I'm talking about then!

But what makes you wonder about meat eaters being “closeted”?

and of course farming takes an incomparably greater toll on the environment than growing vegetables
Farming includes vegetables. And the soil under pasture or grass cut for silage or hay is usually in much, much better shape, with a lot more life in it, than the soil under annual crops like grains or veg. The waste from farmed animals makes manure which is great for the soil (even if it stinks): it improves not only the nutrient content, but also the structure.

What narks me about some (not all) vegans is the ignorant sanctimony. They honestly have no clue about the control of pigeons over crops, or the culling of rabbits (have you seen what a warren of cute little bunnies can do to a field of barley?) Don't delude yourself: vegan food is not 'cruelty free'. For you to eat those brassicas, some nasty man with a shotgun and a spaniel sat behind his camo netting bumping off the woodies, which were probably then either sent to a game dealer or given free to his friends and acquaintances. Great source of low-fat protein, wood pigeon.

A vast amount of carbon is locked up in pasture, and the trees and hedges that give animals shelter and shade. A lot of the land that is used for livestock isn't suitable for crops. Quite how we propose to feed the human population if we take all of that land out of production and have to find our protein, I don't know.

MyGhastIsFlabbered by all means make your vegan cakes and enjoy, but please stop sharing (forcing) them on others. The amount of vegan cakes I’ve had to eat to be polite is ridiculous. The last one gave me horrendous heartburn too god knows what was in it.

Op I don’t need to read past your OP. You’re my new idol.

I’m a veggie, went out for a meal recently and the only dish I could eat was vegan and really bland. I generally don’t mind as long as it’s tasty!

Apologies PurpleDaisies - to be clear, I should have said 'vegans who still buy leather shoes.'

That said, I don't care if someone follows a vegan diet but still buys leather goods, as long as they don't bleat about it.

I think that's my problem, people who bleat. Some do it about their diet choices, some about their health issue, some about their gender. Meanwhile everyone else is getting on with it. I love a beanburger. If I could never eat meat again I'd be ok with that. Fair play to the vegans, they're definitely better for the planet, it's great to have more non-meat choice (and yes, excellent points about allergies etc) and it's not really veganism that annoys me. It's claiming things are vegan that never had a thing to do with animals in the first place, and people who bleat.

I on the other hand, now seem to be ranting! Which is just bleating with added anger, I suppose.

My chocolate raspberry cake is legendary at my work, and for the right reasons. 4 separate people have asked me for the recipe...that's not just being polite.

But yes, a lot of mass produced vegan cakes just taste of disappointment and sadness.

I really don't like the highly processed engineered fake meat products either ugh they just remind me too much of the real thing and that's not what I want to taste texture or flavour wise.

But I'm older and I think a lot of younger people don't know any different and have always had more choice if you can call it that...

That melting mozzarella burger in the Linda McCartney range being a case in point. Same for quorn nuggets.

I'm surprised that vegan 'turkey' twizzlers aren't being marketed at kids/young parents yet...

@GetRid My family has been vegetarian for 5 generations, it's just a part of our culture. I am happy to report we are happy and healthy, I understand that if you do not have a balanced and healthy lifestyle you may struggle with vitamins and minerals but I think this is also true of meat eaters I know who live off of fast food and don't eat vegetables. I am not indoctrinated and I was always able to make my own decisions. I also have always known what 'meat' was, I think some children are not even aware that their food was an animal once!

Promoting lab-grown false meat or the appalling Beyond Meat burger with 20 highly processed ingredients from all over the world - what's the carbon footprint of that, d'you think? A steak from a local farm is far better nutrition and little carbon footprint

This is something I've been saying too. No one has an answer apparently 🤷

I am a meat eater who eats vegetarian a lot of the time now, and even go for some vegan meals/ingredients now as well.

I have no intention of ever actually going fully vegan. I don't have the time or inclination to be thorough enough with it to ensure that I get enough nutrition and I'm still not convinced that a totally vegan diet is healthy anyway. Plus I really do like meat as a treat!

But I do think we could all do with lowering our animal product intake.

Farming includes vegetables. And the soil under pasture or grass cut for silage or hay is usually in much, much better shape, with a lot more life in it, than the soil under annual crops like grains or veg. The waste from farmed animals makes manure which is great for the soil (even if it stinks): it improves not only the nutrient content, but also the structure.

What narks me about some (not all) vegans is the ignorant sanctimony. They honestly have no clue about the control of pigeons over crops, or the culling of rabbits (have you seen what a warren of cute little bunnies can do to a field of barley?) Don't delude yourself: vegan food is not 'cruelty free'. For you to eat those brassicas, some nasty man with a shotgun and a spaniel sat behind his camo netting bumping off the woodies, which were probably then either sent to a game dealer or given free to his friends and acquaintances. Great source of low-fat protein, wood pigeon.

A vast amount of carbon is locked up in pasture, and the trees and hedges that give animals shelter and shade. A lot of the land that is used for livestock isn't suitable for crops. Quite how we propose to feed the human population if we take all of that land out of production and have to find our protein, I don't know.

Could not have put it better myself!!! Vegans don’t like hearing things like this though.

How long till some vegan comes along and quotes the vegan society mantra about what a vegan is bla bla bla

Worked with a vegan constantly berated people for eating chicken periods dead pigs did we know baby cows cry for mummy's milk etc etc it wasnt pleasant

As a meat eater it doesn't really bother me, I couldn't care less tbh with what they eat and what they don't. It is their choice and atleast they have one.
I am quite fortunate too that I have never came across a vegan who has made remarks about my lifestyle choices but then I have never came across another meat eater either who makes remarks about a vegans lifestyle choice.

@Wiltshirelass2019 I've never 'forced' cake on anyone-there's more for me if other people don't eat it! You've obviously been unlucky with a vegan who can't bake, and there are plenty of those about.

Worked with a vegan constantly berated people for eating chicken periods dead pigs did we know baby cows cry for mummy's milk etc etc it wasnt pleasant

I would eat them😮

I thought this was all quite obvious from my posts, by the way, but perhaps I'm wrong...

Yup, I think you are.

MyGhastIsFlabbered I was vegan myself for 5 years. I used to pretend my vegan cakes were nice too...

And vegan food has way less flavour than meat based or vegetarian food.

I know people will claim its just as tasty, but it just can't be when you are missing out vast swathes of flavour opportunities from the animal products. Its just plants: they have limited flavour.

My friend makes delicious vegan cakes though!