How to Convince Meat Eaters – 5 Ways to Persuade Others to Go Vegan And Start a Plantbased Diet

How to convince meat eaters, Eat less meat or eat a completely vegan or vegetarian diet? A vegan diet protects animals, is healthy and is the key to solving many Environmental problems of our time - and yet many people often feel annoyed by vegans and vegetarians.

I know this from my own experience. Firstly, because as a former meat fan I had to be convinced myself for a long time and secondly, because as a vegan I now often talk about the topic with friends and acquaintances. In the past, I might have been a little too pushy and annoying - but today I'm a little more level-headed and much more successful.

In this article, I would therefore like to show you how you too can convince meat eaters and get them excited about a plant-based diet. Let's go!

Notice: This article is not about the whole world vegan to do so. But in order to help animals and overcome the biggest ecological challenges, it is important to open the door to veganism for even more animal-friendly and environmentally conscious people.

Reasons: Why should meat eaters actually be encouraged to follow a vegan diet?

Can't everyone just eat what they want? Eating meat is a personal decision? Such counter-questions are quite justified and refer to the fundamental principles of freedom. But since the own The decision "to eat meat" requires sacrifices and also affects others (humans and animals)In the end, this is no longer a purely personal decision.

Here you will find some convincing arguments that the plant-based diet should not only appeal to vegans and vegetarians, but also meat eaters:

1. Protect animals: Veganism primarily pursues ethical motives. Switching to a plant-based diet ultimately saves the lives of countless cows, pigs, chickens, lambs, turkeys and many other animals. Those who love animals should not eat them.
2. Protect health: A balanced and well-planned A plant-based diet is healthier and can reduce the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, among other things.
3. Protect the environment: The production of meat products is extremely resource-intensive and exacerbates environmental problems, such as the climate change and the Deforestation of the rainforests.
4. Promoting food security: Animal feed has to be grown, irrigated, harvested and transported. Going vegan and consuming plants directly is therefore much more resource-friendly. In this way, for example, social problems such as the Stop world hunger.
5. Enjoy diversity: Plant-based cuisine offers an incredibly diverse range of dishes that I would no longer want to do without. Anyone who dares to take the step into climate-friendly, vegan cuisine will understand this immediately.

Tip: If you are interested, I can explain my personal motives for giving up animal products at Reasons for the vegan lifestyle once again very precisely.

5 tips: Convince meat eaters with these approaches

It is important to understand, Why we humans are fundamentally reluctant to change. We are real Creatures of habit - Talk and action therefore often don't really go together. We appreciate nature, but continue to fly on vacation by plane. We love animals, but are totally into meat.

In addition, a real change in life often lacks the necessary Willpower and patience. And we are also happy to hand over responsibility to thosewho eat much more meat than we do (around 78 kilograms per capita on average per year) - for example the Americans, who consume around 128 kilograms of meat per year.¹

It is really important to Psychology of persuasion and not to get too caught up in trying to convince someone to eat a plant-based diet "come hell or high water". Because only very few people really change in this way.

So now I present to you some tips with which you can really convince meat eaters in the long term.

1. watch documentaries about factory farming

I can say from my own experience that documentaries about Factory farming or the vegan diet are more than convincing. DominionCowspiracy or Earthlings for example. They provide an insight behind the walls of slaughterhouses that is otherwise usually denied.

Recommending such films to other people is not intrusivebut in the end can open many eyes. A simple "after watching this documentary, I'm sure you'll think a little differently about eating meat", for example, can open a small challenge and ultimately be very convincing.

Ask the day after what they thought of the documentary. This encourages them to think about what they saw, including the Cruelty to animalsonce again.

Tip: I have also written a separate article about convincing vegan documentaries from which you can choose freely.

2. stimulate reflection through questions

I used to shovel meat into me like a madman. Be it beef, pork loin or chicken wings. Out of sheer habit, I no longer saw the animal behind it. But a few pointed questions from a friend got me thinking - and I was able to change my mind. Evaluate behavior very well from the animal's perspective.

Here are a few examples of effective questions that you can also use:

• Why do you actually eat meat?
• Would you say that Animals feel pain?
• What is more important to you, your personal taste or the lives of animals?
• How is a dog different from a pig?
• Did you know that more and more competitive athletes are eating a vegan diet?

Everyone ticks differently - and that's exactly why you should always choose the right questions for the people you are dealing with.

However, be aware that switching to a vegan diet is usually a Step-by-step process and that not everyone changes overnight. However, the thought-provoking questions sow a seed, so to speak, with which the process begins. Incidentally, this mindset is also an important foundation stone for successful to start animal rights activism.

Can you think of any other (open) questions that could give meat eaters food for thought and convince them? Then just write me a comment.

3. give away a cookbook or serve a meat-free dish

Many people imagine a purely plant-based diet as if they were sitting with knife and fork in front of a pile of salad - or imagine only nibbling on carrots in the future. I can understand anyone who would much rather continue to eat meat with this picture 😉.

In order to convince meat eaters of the incredible variety of vegan and vegetarian cuisine with Burgers, pasta, pizza and curries you can, for example, simply give them a suitable cookbook like "Goodbye vegan cliché - the cookbook!" (there's here*) as a gift.

It's even less intrusive to simply invite them to dinner. either at your home or in a (vegan) restaurant. You pay, of course - because with an invitation it's really easy for everyone to give up meat.

Tip: A meal at Hans in Luck or Peter Pane for example, is very good in my experience. Although they are classic "burger stores", they offer many really tasty vegan and vegetarian burgers.

4. maintain a level playing field and do not set off a firework display of facts

Meat consumption provides the Deforestation of the forests! Cows fart and belch methane - that is 25 times more harmful to the climate than CO2! 61.8 percent of arable land in Germany is used to grow animal feed! Fisheries pull 90 million tons of fish out of the sea every year for our meals! Bam bam bam!

Such a firework display of scientific facts may be very impressive - but it often also has a very preachy - and "smart alecks" are never well received, however much they may be in the right.

Instead, create a conversation at eye level and use the questions I already mentioned in point two. Adapt to the people you are talking to. And tell them what made you change your mind - rather than what you think the other person should do.

Important: Of course, individual facts still play a decisive role in persuasion. In the Statistics Blog I therefore provide you with many more figures on environmental issues.

5. give meat eaters time

In 2023, there were around 1.5 million vegans in Germany - in 2016 it was only around half that number.² Changes usually happen slowly and not overnight. This applies not only to the personal attitude of individuals, but also to the development of behavior in our society.

It's great that you are so enthusiastic and committed to a vegan or vegetarian diet. But of course you should not impose your views on anyone. If conversation partners are not open to change and "shut down", you should simply give them more time to get to know the Connection between nutrition and the environment to make people aware of this.

People who have eaten meat all their livesYou can't persuade them to stop - you have to convince them. So it's better to give them a hint every now and then when it's appropriate. And ask simple but effective questions to encourage them to think about their own meat consumption.

Can you think of any other tips that will convince any meat eater? Then always bring it in the comments under this post!

Convincing meat eaters - and reaching your goal using the watering can principle

It's no use pouring a bucket of facts over someone's head! Instead, arouse their emotions with a documentary or encourage them to think by asking open or follow-up questions. And convince your counterpart to give up meat more often by inviting them to a meat-free meal.

"Animals are my friends and I don't eat my friends."

George Bernard Shaw (more at Animal welfare quotes)

I hope I have been able to give you some useful tips to convince more people to eat a plant-based diet.

Finally, here you will find some further articleswhich you can also recommend to others:

• Learning to cook vegan - Important tips
• Becoming a vegetarian made easy
• Going vegan - tips for getting started
• Why don't vegans drink milk?

Do you have any questions or other tips for convincing meat eaters to eat a plant-based diet? Then just write me a comment.

Stay sustainable, healthy and animal-friendly,

PS: Have a look at the Nutrition blog over! There you can also find out, for example, Why vegans don't eat fish.

References

1. Federal Statistical Office: Global animal husbandry, meat production and meat consumption (as at 28.09.2023), available at https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Laender-Regionen/Internationales/Thema/landwirtschaft-fischerei/tierhaltung-fleischkonsum/_inhalt.html. [08.01.2024]. ↩︎
2. IfD Allensbach (2023): People in Germany who classify themselves as vegans or as people who largely abstain from animal products in the years 2015 to 2023, available at https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/445155/umfrage/umfrage-in-deutschland-zur-anzahl-der-veganer. [08.01.2024]. ↩︎