AIBU to ask ‘what would make you go vegan’?

[Bastetcat]

Tangentially inspired by another thread, I wonder if there are specific obstacles standing in the way of people choosing to go vegan, and if so what they are?

I tend to presume that if perfect, indistinguishable replicas for meat / dairy / eggs etc could be created then virtually everyone would go vegan, but I would be interested in finding out if that’s actually the case!

100% cheese. I’ve tried a lot of vegan cheese and it’s just not cheese.

I’m vegetarian. I like oat milk best as a milk alternative, soya milk in coffees tastes ok too but my digestive system doesn’t agree. I go between real milk and oat milk at home, depending on what’s in and already open. Out and about oat milk is harder to find so I tend to get things like coffee with real milk.
I’ve tried almond milk - it’s a bit meh and the large increases in demand for almonds (due to the recent fad of almond milk) is having a huge detrimental impact on bees so I’m not keen on that. Bees are fundamental to the survival of the planet. Loads of information out there in this if you google almond milk and bees. I’ve put an interesting article below if you can’t be bothered to google.

[https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/07/honeybees-deaths-almonds-hives-aoe link to article in guardian]]

I still eat eggs and use them as one of my main protein sources. I can tolerate some soya but not too much. Quorn breaks me out in hives and makes my throat swell up so that’s out. Things made from pea protein ore ok. The beyond burger is really nice. But the aftertaste in my mouth a few hours later and the next morning is unpleasant. Tastes the same way they smell when cooking. I struggle to get my minimum daily protein amounts as it is and I don’t feel like I could give up eggs yet for that reason.

If companies used dairy alternatives in more products I could easily cut out more dairy (as in everything but cheese). So many products contain milk and I would struggle to limit my options that much.

If it was more mainstream. It's still such a pain to find even nice vegetarian food (oh, what a surprise, risotto again!), not to mention vegan. And dinner party hosts look at you in terror.

@Ylvamoon I was very worried about the social aspect too, and it does take a bit of extra planning, but it has been totally doable.

Link fail!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/07/honeybees-deaths-almonds-hives-aoe

@katharinaRosalie I understand that! Though it is getting easier all the time. I’m often very impressed with the vegan offering in restaurants these days.

If everyone was vegan it would ruin the countryside forever. And I love cows and sheep in particular. Lambing is my favourite time of year.
I love leather and eggs from my hens.
It’s not all about food.

I like done vegetarian and vegan food and I think there are benefits to changing the balance of what we eat. But I wouldn’t give any food group up.

I also want to add, I do have a few friends who are farmers and they love their animals and care about looking after them well. We have really high standards in the UK, there’s a lot of lies and propaganda spread around in the vegan community online.

I do think PETA has a lot to answer for really. They take one bad example of animal husbandry and then make out that every sheep farmer, dairy farmer etc is cruel. My sheep farming friend dotes on his sheep and is very careful with them when it’s time for shearing. None of them get hurt at all and it’s so quick they are back out in the field running around in no time. Also they do need to be sheared or they get this nasty fly infection.

But you really don’t crave it once you aren’t eating it any more!

Your taste changes too. When I was abroad someone dished me up spinach cooked in butter without my knowing, which I used to like. I ate some and it tasted SO strong, not in a nice way. Prefer a glug of olive oil now.

I live in France. Vegan/vegetarian options in most restaurants are 'either you want our 1 veggie option or not'

Nothing.

I will happily eat vegetarian or vegan meals on a regular basis. But, I like balance in my diet. And I am also not prepared to give up wearing natural fibres like leather or wool. It would be more than a little hypocritical to stop eating animal products completely while still wearing them. For me, it would have to be all in, ethical veganism, or stay as I am with cutting back quantity.

@Megan2018 I love lambing season too, but for me that’s a major contributor to being vegan. I can’t bear the idea of them being killed. And cows are such sweet, gentle animals, basically like dogs.

I haven't read the thread yet.

If it were possible for the vast tracts of rough grazing that make up a massive chunk of the UK to magically be suitable for growing protein rich crops.

If it were possible for that land to be regularly and sufficiently fertilised, in order to grow the protein rich crops, without using either petrochemical products or the shit from farm animals.

If ripping up the grassland to plant protein rich crops did not destroy the soil ecosystem and structure.

If it were possible for a vegan diet to provide everything my body needs for long term good health. I have tried, it doesn't.

I am quite partial to an occasional quorn crispy nugget though, so maybe you're onto something.

@KatharinaRosalie ahh, I see the issue! I really struggled in France too. Ate a lot of bread and tomatoes...

I tend to presume that if perfect, indistinguishable replicas for meat / dairy / eggs etc could be created then virtually everyone would go vegan, but I would be interested in finding out if that’s actually the case!

This would have to happen for me. Additionally, there would need to be a wider variety of vegan alternatives that were more readily available.

Also an interesting point my husband made the other night which I never considered when I was veggie. Animals kill other animals - they usually eat them alive which is a hard death. So in that case are animals cruel? What makes us superior to animals? Aren’t we just animals too therefore morally it’s fine for us to eat other animals.

I keep rescue chickens. They are omnivores, they eat mice and insects alive. They’re pretty mean animals really. They try to eat my feet and I’m certain that they would eat me if I passed out in the chicken coop...

Nothing

And cows are such sweet, gentle animals, basically like dogs.

Hahahahaha.

@FET2020 I personally think there is such thing as human morality which doesn’t apply to animals. It’s not that we’re better (other animals aren’t the ones wrecking the planet), it’s that we have the capacity to empathise with other creatures and seek alternatives to their suffering.

cows are such sweet, gentle animals

Tell that to my old boss. She got trampled to death by a herd of cows.

@KatherineJaneway I love your user name

As a lifelong omnivore, I went vegan after watching Land of Hope & Glory on YouTube. I saw it a few months ago but it's taken me until recently to decide it's what I wanted to do. I kept flitting back and forth thinking it would be too hard but I couldn't get that documentary out of my mind and I knew I wanted my diet and lifestyle to match my ethics and feelings. It's actually not hard and as I love to cook anyway I'm not relying on processed foods and meat alternatives much and I enjoy cooking vegan curries, stews, burritos etc. So to answer you question, the shock of a documentary worked for me.

And cows are such sweet, gentle animals, basically like dogs

This just confirms you know nothing about cows. What an odd thing yo say.

I'd like to be vegan, but although I could live without meat I would really struggle in practical terms to live without milk and cheese.

@Bastetcat we all suffer and die in the end. I don’t think we are superior to animals, we are animals. Most animals out there would eat you alive without a moments hesitation.

Like it or not there is a food chain and (like I said previously), some of us cannot be vegan for health reasons but you don’t seem to want to engage with that point 😉

@Bastetcat

Thanks