Why do so many people criticise vegans?

[trunch]

I'm a meat eater!

However, I don't understand why people criticise vegans so much.

They aren't hurting me and are trying to save animals and the environment.

What's wrong with that?

Surely people should be more critical of me because animals are killed for me to eat?

If people want to be vegans that's up to them. I strongly disapprove of a vegan diet being inflicted on babies and children.

Personally vegans annoy me because I'm vegetarian, and since the rise of veganism there are far fewer veggie options on menus (cheese!) and everything is plant based

Ha! I was just moaning about this recently. I have no problem with people's decision to be vegan, but I hate the loss of cheese-based menu options.

For the same reason people hate cyclists

The existence of vegans makes it harder for people to ignore the things that are wrong about eating meat and dairy.

In principle I agree wholeheartedly with the vegans (in practice, never quite got rhere) And when people say 'so long as they don't bang on about it' it kinda annoys me because, people think they know what goes on but actually most people are totally unaware of the reality of the meat and dairy industry. I think we all have a right to know what we are eating.

Warning: (nightmare fuel below).

• that pretty much all boy dairy calves are killed at birth or sold for cheap meat at just a few months old. Or shipped abroad as for veal. Which is such an vile industry that its banned here.
• that chickens, including free range, have their beaks cut off without anascetic.
• that pigs are thrown in gas Chambers filled with Co2 gas. So they suffocate to death.

Etc..

We've been conditioned our whole lives to think there's such a thing as 'humane slaughter'. The vegans are the only ones outing these industries for their lies and cruelty to animals. Even the rspca does nothing.

So they vegans should speak up. If you actually listen to what they have to say, you might find you are greatful not to be lied to for once about what you are paying for. I've changed lots since I started to learn, not an overnight journey for me but, I have mad respect for people who have compassion for animals and do right by them at every turn. And speaking out about the horrors of the industry is the right thing to do.

Most vegans are absolutely fine.
Sadly they get lumped in with the others.

Like the ones who tell you if you eat meat you have no right to find animals being tortured for entertainment distressing.

An actual thread on here BTW.

I'm only pescetarian, I'll never comment on it unless I need to tell someone I don't eat meat (meal at their house, for example, or if they offer me a dish - and I always say I'm happy to eat the sides/bring my own and and I don't want them to go to any bother), yet I get a lot of digs of the "Oh, bloody vegetarians, being difficult" variety.

I can't imagine how much worse it is for vegans!

Some of them make a big fuss about it and proselytize.
It's much harder to cook for vegan than it is for vegetarians.
Vegetarians often hate them because restaurants do vegan food in order to cover everyone but that means less choice, not to mention fake cheese.

Because they're RIGHT and they know it

(I'm a meat eater, not right - and a hypocrite)

This^^

Maybe it's because so many of them are very quick to start criticising meat eaters? Or because veganism is seen as being the 'in thing' at the moment,the latest 'woke' cause? Or because so many vegans don't waste a minute in announcing that they are a vegan,regardless of whether or not it has any bearing on the situation? Don't get me wrong,i totally get where they are coming from,as a near-vegetarian myself (I eat meat or fish probably once a week,if that). But I admit I could never commit to total vegetarianism let alone veganism as I like salmon,tuna and cheese too much!

I think partly it's because they say things like it's easy to be vegan.

I was vegan for 4 years and spent a lot of time cooking everything from scratch (well pretty much everything- didn't make my own milk or tofu but did make my own cheese). It wasn't easy- in fact it took quite a lot of planning and preparation and occasionally I ate processed vegan options. I have since realised how v unhealthy they are.

Also I think many vegans think that because it works for them it works for everyone. I have a long term health condition and disability and just wasn't able to get enough protein. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to tell me what I should have done but the fact is that I just couldn't consume enough pulses, nuts, tofu etc to get enough and my bloods (which I have regularly for my condition always showed low iron, haemoglobin etc). I was also developing muscle wastage (my Occupational therapist told me this).

I had to put my health first.

it kinda annoys me because, people think they know what goes on but actually most people are totally unaware of the reality of the meat and dairy industry

And this is the problem, @Pinkbonbon . Vegans - and you - seem to think that it is your job to educate them. Which it isn't.

Well just because something is the norm...does that make it moral?

What about female genital mutilation. That's the norm in many places. It'd still evil.

Do any of us really have the right to pay for anmials to be tortured? Because make no mistake, the vegans are right about that. The whole industry IS torture.

It might sound like a shocking thing to say because we are conditoned out whole lives to look away. Told that it's 'humane slaughter'. But obviously that's not true. Slaughter, even without suffering ( of which their is often a great deal) is never humane. But we just never really think about it.

Whi are the bad guys really, the people who tell us the lies or the people who expose them...even if it means hitting us with some painful truths.

Vegans are fine. Often tricky to cook for, but I only have to do that occasionally. No issue with vegans. But I’m no more interested in becoming a vegan than I am becoming a Christian, and I don’t believe that killing animals is wrong any more than I believe abortion is wrong, so I have zero tolerance for evangelisers on any of those subjects. That’s the bit people “criticise” - when vegans’ interest stops being in their own plates, or in simply being encouraging towards people who might like to think about more plant-based options, and tips into dogmatic hyperbole.

There are obnoxious meat eaters and there are obnoxious vegetarians and there are obnoxious vegans. The problem is that the ratio of obnoxious in the vegan population seems to be higher.

Having said that, I'm not sure the ratio is SO high that the negative attitude to them is really deserved. But perhaps it's that their level of obnoxious is higher? . I have friends who are vegetarian and who might well express their distaste for the idea of eating meat, but i've never been lectured by one. However, some vegans do rather take their veganism almost as a religion to which they have to convert the world.

Vegans who have made ethical life choices are fine. People boring on about veganuary can fuck right off. No one cares.

I have ever met a healthy vegan. They are always pale and full of cold.
But the worst thing is when you go yo a restaurant and they say 'I don't mind if you want to order meat'.
I think 'oh thank you, oh magnanimous one.so arrogant to think I need your approval'

Because a small but vocal cohort are performative about it and annoy people or try to shame them for not being vegan. And as with so many things, this becomes a stereotype and is applied to all. I also think meat eating is an emotive subject. There are people who enjoy it but deep down think its not right because they love animals. This can cause much defensiveness and attack is a form of defence.

I think this is partly it. If you are the sort of person who feels the need to address injustice or defend the helpless then maybe not speaking feels unethical sometimes? Some people are that sort, and some are not. I think it's a hard thing to do, sometimes.

Would you intervene if you saw someone being cruel to an animal? A dog or a cat? Or would you think you should let other people do their thing and not 'bang on about it'? I would guess it's the same choice for vegans - once you learn about the meat industry it's hard to 'unsee' it.

This is all speculation on my part though! I've personally never experienced any preaching from a vegan.

As a veggie who rarely mentions eating unless it's relevant, I agree with some other posters that meat eaters can be very aggressive in questioning it sometimes.

I think the half a dozen vegans on this thread have answered the question via example.

No one has a problem with vegans who just go quietly and non-judgementally about their life.

It's everyone's job to educate people about injustices. We all have responsibility. You can literally go somewhere else if it bothers you, no ones stopping you. I've never been chased up a street by a vegan either.

As a veggie, not vegan, I've always experienced some hostility from meat eaters, either because they feel I'm judging them on the inside (I'm really not) or on occasions because I ordered something that I refuse to share (because it can't be reciprocated, and I'm hungry).
The only thing that annoys me about veganism being so popular is that it has driven a rise in meat-substitute vegan options, like fake chicken, being offered as the only non-meat options, and it is just junk. So weirdly I'm now more fussy about where I eat than I was 20 years ago, when I could usually get a macaroni cheese or something.

But most meat eaters don't think eating meat is wrong, so this doesn't really make sense?

Never met one who didn't go into far too much detail Also as a vegetarian I've found the good stuff has disappeared from menus when eating out. So no eggs, cream, butter and decent cheese because vegans and veggies are now rolled into one.