Almost vegan

[Fangsalot89]

If you mentioned in a discussion that you were “almost vegan” would this (as a vegan) upset you?
For example, the person in question has stopped eating meat and most animal products for about three weeks ago for a variety of reasons (mainly health but also animal welfare etc) but has yet to give up cheese. Now they aren’t injecting it into the veins or eating it like a stoner with the munchies but they’ve yet to remove it entirely until they can find something hopefully as a substitute.
This person was called out rather aggressively for referring to themselves in a glib fashion as “almost vegan.”
Does this bother you or like me and the person, it’s a none issue.
To clarify, they aren’t going around calling themselves vegan nor are they using their dietary choice as some form of identifiable statement. It was just a comment.
I think the person who was offended is a bit nuts if I’m honest.

It wouldn't upset me, no, but I would roll my eyes internally while smiling politely on the outside.

It's not as bad as people who say 'oh I don't eat much meat, I could be vegetarian' then post pic after pic of roasted carcasses on their insta.

It's like they want a pat on the back or something.

I smile politely in all cases and inwardly tut to myself.

I'm not someone who goes around declaring my dietary status either, I just get on with it.

Well, that’s why I say that I am “plant based”.
I’m not vegan, I don’t claim to be vegan, but I don’t eat meat, diary or most animal products but this is for health reasons, nothing to do with animal welfare for me.
So my reasons would be offensive to a vegan.

@imaginethemdragons From reading through the conversation it does feel like you can only class yourself as such if you are doing it for ethical reasons otherwise if it’s for health (like this person predominantly) then it’s only acceptable to be classified as plant based.
The thread was nuts in my opinion.
It was an off the cuff remark relevant to the topic but they were ripped to shreds for not having given up cheese and helping to murder baby cows. It got to the point this vegan was even commenting on the OPs weight saying how fat she was (she wasn’t at all) because of all the hormones she’s consuming etc. It was quite horrible to watch them go in on the OP over it.
Personally, if someone is choosing to eliminate any form of meat or animal products it should be celebrated rather than rinsed for not “doing enough.”

They sound bonkers OP, best ignored.

I don’t see veganism as a diet so I think you’re either vegan or not vegan. You can eat a mostly plant based diet though. I wouldn’t say anything or be offended if someone said they are “almost vegan” though, it’s a bit like if I see someone make a grammatical mistake, I wouldn’t be offended or call them out but it might bug me a little internally for a moment.

Seeing your update though this person seems horrible commenting on someone’s weight etc, totally unnecessary and rude.

I say that I'm moving towards being vegan.

I used to eat fish but stopped that a couple of years ago. I no longer eat pure egg as in scrambled or boiled, but I will eat cake with egg in it.

We have entirely soya or oat milk and I eat Mouse's Favourite vegan cheese. I will however use the dog's Cheddar cheese in macaroni cheese if we have it because IMO the coconut based vegan cheeses are the work of the devil!

So no meat (including most fake meats), fish, milk and very rare cheese or eggs. Obviously not a vegan but getting there.

It wouldn’t upset me, people can eat what they want. But I would roll my eyes a bit at anyone like that as it’s like they want the label of ‘vegan’. They’re not vegan but maybe a bit of an attention seeker.

I used to piss people off by claiming to be a vegetarian when I was pescetarian.

I genuinely thought that I was saving everyone who might host me trouble by saying 'I'll have the veggie option, I'm vegetarian', because nobody would want to be arsed listening to/catering for 'well I do eat fish, but not meat', & I was always going to be very happy with a vegetarian meal.

It was politely pointed out to me by an actual vegetarian friend that this was in fact irritating as fuck, because occasionally in our friendship circle she'd have to explain that no, she did not eat fish, despite the fact that 'oh but Corvus says she is a veggie, & she was scoffing a tuna sandwich last time I saw her, so vegetarians do sometimes eat fish, right?'. Fair point.

I imagine it's similarly annoying for vegans to have part time/not quite vegans muddying the waters by sometimes eating things with dairy or egg in them.

I do make an effort to cook vegan at least a couple of times a week, because it's a great way to try to get as much veg as possible into the family, but I'm definitely not vegan. Couldn't possibly get past the horrible cheese substitutes, tbh.

Honestly, I hate the infighting. People who care about animal rights all come from the same place of empathy and compassion. They should save their fight for tackling people on the other side of the fence. You can always reply with (if their stance is aggressively animal rights) can they guarantee whether all their household products are 100% palm oil free, etc. As in The Good Place, (Doug Fawcett) it is impossible to live without any negative knock on effects as the production chain is so complex. Unless they are Jain and living in a cave, chances are their lives are negatively impacting the eco system and animals. We are all just doing the best we can. Pick on the people who arent.

@Bortles ^ this all day long.
I mean, they’d be replying on an electronic device that has components used from slave labour harvesting a compound that is incredibly lethal to the environment. Bet they shop at Primark, drive a car and use all sorts of delightfully toxic products in their day to day life but yes, the fight lies with someone apparently trying desperately to identify as a vegan (when they aren’t.)
I don’t think anyone’s desperate for that title are they? ☺️