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?

OMG -seriously!

I know 4 vegans. 3 of them are very low key about it, that's just what they are and they don't try to preach or education anyone about it, they respect that I am able to make my own choices and agree to disagree. The 4th person is the most sanctimonious know it all to be honest I've had to block them on social media because of of the constant vegan propaganda.

I'm a vegetarian, have been since being a child and I don't hate anyone, eat what you like. I agree with the reduction in meat consumption wholeheartedly. However. The influx of vegans has irritated me for a few reasons over the last few years:

No 1 off the scale: I don't like having good vegetarian choices on menus fully replaced by often not very good vegan ones. There will often only be one. It will be overpriced in relation to the ingredients, poor flavour balances, usually overly sweet. I don't want any UPF fake meat or cheese, badly prepared root veg or cream sauces made from cashews unless the flavours are very well balanced or part of an authentic recipe. Otherwise it tastes like a bloody pudding. It's just bad cooking when veggie food is really getting somewhere. I had this at a nice gastro pub in London the other day. I think 4 meat free options. All vegan. All squash or beetroot or sweet spud based. No thinking at all and about £25 a plate. Same as some of the meat dishes. Fuck that. I'd rather go to the chippy.

No 2. A lot of hypocrisy and greenwashing involved in some permutations of the diet. I think a lot of plain old veggies just get on with it and dont claim to be making any moral difference. I don't eat any fake meats except occasionally tofu, I sometimes make oat milk (I don't use much) but have real kefir and cheese. Marketing most of the fake meats as a healthy option when they're utterly full of crap. The 'dairy free' claims when there are there are so many environmental and ethical implications involved in almond milk, etc. I mean, fine to get on with eating what you like but there is a lot of noise around this trend and it rings quite hollow a lot of the time compared to simply not eating meat. Or making a small sacrifice rather than needing to find a close but unethical or unhealthy replica.

No 3 when someone has bollocked on about why I'm vegetarian not vegan after 5 mins of stopping eating hot dogs when I've been doing this since I was a sprog.

I know these things aren't everyone, but they have been patterns rather than one offs. Please don't @ me about any of this, I cannot be bothered.

This.

I have no issue with vegans.

i have a huge issue with proselytism. Sadly there are quite a few very vocal vegans who are guilty of this.

I think it’s because of this type of self righteousness

Ha you have never gone onto a vegan recipe page on face book where lots of idiots think posting mmm bacon with a picture of a baby pig/ grilled bacon is the height of intelligence/humour!

Wonder if the OP will be back?

I have an issue with people quoting it as "healthy" when it's not. It is very, very difficult to get sufficient calcium and iron from a vegan diet and impossible to get B12, deficiencies in all these have major health implications. Vegan meat and dairy substitutes are also full of utter crap, again they're marketed as "healthy".
I have an issue with people feeding it to children, when they don't fully understand the implications for their growth.
We are omnivores.
I also know several farmers and their animals are not mistreated at all, some animals obviously are, but the videos banded about are so obviously full of bias. Lots of humans overseas are also mistreated in the types of intensive farming needed to produce sufficient avocados for example. Precious rainforest is lost to soya farming.

As with everything in life, we need to eat and drink things in moderation.

I'm not vegan but I think for a lot of people it makes them feel uncomfortable to be faced with the reality of their food choices. Modern Industrial farming is an abhorrent practice, it's so far removed from the days of my grandfather and great grandfather that it can be hard to justify it. I have been vegan twice in my life, these days I eat chicken and fish with a little dairy. It's a compromise that I've made with my conscience. Thing is I don't think most humans are naturally cruel or want to inflict pain on others but modern farming has become an incredibly cruel industry that we seem to be stuck with, people want meat and buying organically reared meat from small family farms is not viable for 65 million people everyday. Not sure what the answer is. Just my thoughts.

I’m not sure it’s self righteous to point out the huge amount of suffering that arises from the meat/dairy industry though.

Do you feel the sabe about people pointing out other types of suffering

They don't have to constantly bang on about thought, just eat your food and shut up

I'm a veggie - agree with others when they've talked about less choice on menus. I don't like meat so fake meat is no good for me.

I've encountered some hostility about it which surprised me. Would they be hostile to someone who chose not to eat/didn't like cauliflower for example? My food choices aren't a judgement against people who do eat meat. I'm not interested in what's on their plates - I just don't want it on mine.

As a vegan or veggie for 45 years I can tell you the exact opposite happens to me. Meat eater being vocal about eating meat trying to change my behaviour and generally being given abuse, completely unprovoked.

I actually think in reality (and in my experience) it is way more commonly the behaviour of a meat eater to unprovokedly bash a vegetarian or vegan, or try to convert them away from vegetarianism or veganism than it is the other way around.

For the people saying, "Vegans don't miss any opportunity to tell meat eaters what to do," or complain that "Vegans bang on about veganism when no one wants ot hear it," well... I'm veggie, not vegan, and never tell anyone, meat-eaters or otherwise, what they should be eating. But I've lost count of the times when I'm eating a vegan or veggie meal and just minding my own business, when those around me comment on MY food. "Tofu is so unhealthy," (yes really, and from someone eating a burger). "How do you know if you're getting enough protein?" (like it's any of their business). And my favourite, "Plants feel pain too."

I can only think it's guilt on their part.

I think people can be similarly twatty about people who don’t drink.

Some vegans and teetotalers are preachy, sure. But the deliberately provocative meat proselytizers and peer pressuring boozers are worse IME.

Fortunately the vast majority of people manage not to be arseholes, whatever they choose to eat or drink.

I’m not sure it’s self righteous to point out the huge amount of suffering that arises from the meat/dairy industry though.

It is when it's unprompted. When you are out for a meal and nobody mentions farming practices and a vegan proactively brings it up so they can push their agenda.

That's different from stating your point of view as part of a wider conversation.

The 4th person would most likely be sanctimonious and vocal about whatever cause they happened to have fallen into, that's just their personality

Personally, I think many vegans are accused of banging on about it, which is unfair because they don’t bang on about it any more than those who are GF.
Mostly I feel that they’ve actually found a way of life that IS superior and better and they’re frustrated that everyone else just isn’t embracing or catching on to it.

This is why⬆️

The bloody attitude.

It does absolutely make them superior!

And I say this as a carnivore. You’re deluded if you think otherwise. I eat meat because I’m weak-willed, not because I think there’s no better moral choice.

I admire vegans to a certain extent, but dining out with them is a bit of a pita

No, I don’t, because they don’t do it in a self righteous way. Same for some vegans I know. I am referring to the self righteous comments that actually turn people against them, their way of thinking and their cause, which is a shame.

Being vegan is a better choice, not that i am one

I have all the admiration in the world for vegans and vegearians. It's an admirable life choice and not easy to maintain.

The only vegan I have ever criticised was in real life - a woman I worked with. She told me frequently how low her carbon footprint was because she was vegan. Yet her husband worked for an airline and they got cheap tickets so she flew abroad four times a year. Eventually I lost patience with her trying to "convert" me and pointed out that my occasional steak was nothing in comparison to her four long haul flights a year. That was one individual - other than that I remain impressed with vegans and admire their choices.