Are you looking for strange and annoying sentences that vegans have to listen to? Then you've come to the right place! There really are countless Prejudices against the vegan lifestyle. However, many a saying from meat eaters sticks in our minds for a long time and in the respective situation it sticks in our throats. Simply because it is illogical - and becomes all the more strange and annoying the more often you hear it, even if it is usually not meant in a bad way.
In this article, I would like to introduce you to ten of these strange statements that vegans like me simply can't stand to hear anymore. You'll also be given a quick-witted, appropriate response to each one. Let's go!
- You don't know what you're missing!
- You don't have to follow every trend!
- Then you're eating my food!
- From lettuce shrinks the biceps!
- Then what are the Maasai supposed to eat?!
- I do eat vegan sometimes, so you can eat meat sometimes!
- So you're just eating salad now, right?
- And when will you stop again? It's just a phase!
- Plants have feelings too!
- But fish goes, right?
Notice: In my free E-book "All arguments against veganism" I will refute all the typical prejudices against the vegan lifestyle. Here, however, I would like to focus primarily on the sayings that meat eaters are particularly quick to utter, but which already seem quite nonsensical on the face of it.
1. you don't know what you're missing!
It is yes not like you were born a vegan - I have personally enjoyed eating meat, eggs and dairy products for a large part of my life. I don't give up these products because they taste bad, but for ethical, ecological and health reasons.
And since it is countless delicious, flavorful, plant-based foods and recipes I'm not missing out on anything. On the contrary: vegan cuisine is incredibly diverse, which is why the saying vegan versus meat-eater would be much more appropriate.
You will regret not eating meat anymore! This is also a similarly remarkable statement that vegans often hear. But experience shows that a balanced vegan diet only makes you regret not having started earlier.
2. you don't have to follow every trend!
The term "veganism" has been around since the Vegan Society was founded in 1944. The daily increase in the number of vegans in Germany and around the world also underlines a positive trend.₁ And I agree that you don't have to follow every trend. But the Veganism is not a trend, but a Animal-friendly, environmentally conscious and health-promoting exercisewhich above all stands for values such as justice, non-violence and freedom, which will improve social coexistence.
3. then you eat away my food!
The theory that you can only Lettuce, grass and dusty hay and thus the usual feed of rabbits, cows and other animals from the Factory farming is probably one of the classic phrases that vegans can no longer hear.
But actually eat the Billions of innocent "farm animals" bred for performance the food away from the people. Problems like the World hunger would no longer exist if everyone ate the plants directly and avoided the "animal detour".
4. from lettuce shrinks the biceps!
This phrase may have its roots in the song of the same name by rapper Kollegah - but it has now taken on a life of its own, so that many vegans have to listen to it regularly. The Cliché of the pale, thin vegan is really persistent. But as a rule, vegans do not constantly nibble on lettuce leaves like rabbits - they consciously eat a high-protein diet. Pumpkin seeds, peanuts, oat flakes, chickpeas, lentils, beans and Whole wheat pasta are just a few examples of Vegetable protein sources.
Strongman Patrick Baboumian, Arnold Schwarzenegger or the YouTuber "Hench Herbivore" are also living proof that building and maintaining muscle with a plant-based diet works.
Tip: All about Proteins in a vegan diet you can find out in the linked article!
5. then what should the massai eat?!
Another very strange saying to justify (often not even demanded) one's own meat consumption is the Citing the fact that not everyone can eat a vegan diet. But just because an East African ethnic group with a semi-nomadic lifestyle may not be able to eat exclusively plant-based meals does not mean that this is also the case in our Western world.
On the contrary: we are spoiled for choice in the supermarket and buy meat from animals packaged in plastic containers. It's often just one step further to the animal-free, plant-based alternative, which is why the strange initial question is completely illogical.
6. i eat vegan sometimes, so you can eat meat sometimes too!
As praiseworthy as it is that meat eaters are increasingly trying out plant-based dishes, it is also annoying for vegans to hear this phrase. On the one hand, because a large part of the plate of mixed-food meals (side dishes such as vegetables) is vegan anyway. And secondly, because a vegan diet is not consciously at the expense of other living beings is based. Vegans renounce the consumption of animal products not out of taste, but as a rule out of deepest, ethical motives.
7. so you only eat salad now, right?
This sentence could easily have crossed my lips in the first 30 years of my life, as I assumed that meat, eggs and dairy products would simply disappear from my plate with a plant-based diet, leaving only salad leaves. But fortunately you can continue to eat burgers, pasta and pizzabut with animal-friendly ingredients. Nowadays, this is even easier than ever before.
Just one week after I started, I noticed the Variety of vegan recipes and new cooking ideas that should make it incredibly easy for everyone to not have one, or at least clearly Eat less meat.
Tip: The Veganuary for example, is a great opportunity to try out a plant-based diet for a month.
8 And when are you going to stop? It's just a phase anyway!
Many mixed-food eaters expect that new vegans will only be motivated for a short time anyway, then realize how complicated it all is - and give up the project. Perhaps also because they would expect it of themselves.
But opting for a vegan lifestyle (if ethically motivated) is not a quick fix. It is A decision for lifethat comes from the bottom of the heart. A decision to bring one's own values back into harmony with one's own actions. Because "I love animals, but I pay money for someone to kill them for me" is a contradiction in terms.
Tip: Me the Dominion" film vegan because it shows the background to factory farming. Under vegan documentaries I will introduce you to these and other helpful documentaries in more detail.
9. plants have feelings too!
In fact, this is a saying that you have to listen to particularly often as a vegan. But to elevate animals and plants to an identical emotional level is, of course, completely absurd.
Animals have a central nervous systemjust like we humans do. Plants, on the other hand, do not have this at the current state of research - instead they show biochemical reactions, such as turning towards the sun, which make some people believe that they have an emotional world slumbering inside them.
However, even if at some point it should be found out that Plants have feelingswe humans should all the more stop eating meat. Finally, the Feed for cows, pigs and chickens countless quantities of plants are cultivated and "killed".
10. but fish goes, right?
It is always surprising when people see a fish consider such an inferior beingthat they don't even refer to its body parts on the plate as meat. But fish are also Animals, have feelings and a will to live₂ - and therefore naturally do not belong on the plate with a vegan diet.
Tip: These sayings were not particularly philosophical. You can find inspiring counterparts from famous people at Vegan quotes. Have fun!
The things vegans have to listen to...
Yes, these sayings can be really annoying, illogical and also extremely strange. But in the end, vegans and vegetarians can help to ensure that they are heard less and less often by being relaxed and logical.
I hope I have been able to introduce you to some frequently heard, entertaining statements. Can you think of any other strange phrases that vegans have to listen to? Then I look forward to your comment!
Stay sustainable,
PS.: You want to know, why i live vegan? I will now explain all the main reasons in the linked article. Have fun!
References:
₁ ProVeg e.V.: Vegan trend - facts and figures on the veggie market, available at https://t1p.de/jkx0. [15.07.2020].
₂ Lynne U. Sneddon: Evolution of nociception and pain: evidence from fish models (as at: 23.09.2019), available at https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2019.0290. [29.11.2021].
