Vegan bullying makes me sad

DokiDokiTsuna 2019-07-23 17:53:50 UTC #21

Just to clarify my original post, I wasn't trying to imply that most people only go vegan/vegetarian for health-related reasons (I don't actually know one way or the other).
I was just saying that some people have this idea that by playing those kinds of switcheroo tricks, they can "teach" voluntary vegans/vegetarians that they don't "want" the dietary restrictions they've imposed on themselves as much as they think they do. And because of this, people who DO have health-related reasons to refuse animal products get caught in the crossfire. :[

Kittosaurus 2019-07-23 18:13:15 UTC #22

Yes, I do disagree with this! Not only from it being life endangering but also because you are paying for a service as well and should receive what you pay for regardless of the employees views. I have noticed a trend at restaurants where they will ask if it is an allergy or a preference when you request to not have a specific ingredient in your meal. And while yes I understand that ignoring a request because of an allergy can come with more severe consequences you are still paying for a service and they should heed your request regardless of allergy or preference.

I also think sadly a lot of this lack of empathy comes from lack of knowledge. Some of these people who perform the switcheroos because they don't think the person is really allergic ( or whatever the reason ), just don't understand the consequences of their actions - or worse they don't care!

AceRagz 2019-07-23 18:18:28 UTC #23

I usually don't care about this issue. If someone tells me crap about my diet I just ignore it and go about my own business. I have tried to be open minded and tried meatless products and learned I can't do that lifestyle. I've rejected those products on the factors of either flavor, texture or appearance. If someone decides to go this route I'm fine with it but It's just not for me.

I only got upset with these issues a few times in my life. Like Aquas I get angry when someone tells me to switch to a vegan pet food for my dogs. And the other time I really got upset was when I had a cousin I had not seen in ten years came over to chill.

We spent the day reconnecting and having a great time playing video games and catching up. But then came dinner. I pulled out the best steaks I had and cooked them up. Then my cousin gave me crap for not considering his vegetarian lifestyle even though this was the first time he mentioned it the whole day. I would have been cool and planned dinner around his lifestyle if he said something when I mentioned I was going to make dinner. I'm not a mind reader cut me some slack since the last time I saw this person it was ten years ago and we were all fine with bbqs.

DokiDokiTsuna 2019-07-23 18:20:13 UTC #24

I agree, but I would also like to point out that sometimes people ask this because they have to prep food differently depending on what you say. If you have an allergy, they can't let the allergen come anywhere near whatever they're going to give you, but if it's just a preference, then they don't have to worry about taking all those precautions.

Kittosaurus 2019-07-23 18:21:21 UTC #25

Fair - I hadn't thought about it like that!

Kura 2019-07-23 18:25:33 UTC #26

I only get bullied and harassed by vegans irl the same way I get harassed and bullied by various Christians groups because the ones around here seem to treat it like some kind of cult or religion. I generally don't see vegans getting bullied in the same way? But they seem to think that a LOT of things people do is 'bullying' or oppression like 'cooking meat when they're nearby' or just talking about foods with meat in it. I'd very much like to run into some normal vegans one day.

I used to been indifferent and the type that thinks 'let people eat what they want and leave people be' (even though sometimes it could get low key racist from the comments I would get from them cause my culture is more meat based but I'm also Asian so the 'I don't eat dogs like you' comments increased 100000x fold, also apparently I'm 'appropriating vegan culture' when I eat tofu), until I reached the point in my life where a vegan killed my brothers cat by putting the CAT on a vegan diet so I literally could not give a fuck about the way they get treated anymore.

Merle 2019-07-23 19:13:38 UTC #27

I think some of the "irritation" comes from people being very well aware of the conditions that animals are being kept and killed in. Because a lot of "radical Vegans" (lmao) push the narrative, and because it is an integritive part to the movement, people get reminded of what they´re supporting with their monetary choices when they meet /see vegans.
So, sadly, instead of lashing out against those companies, or protesting the industry in many ways, Vegans get mocked to try and justify away the uncomfortable feeling everyone props has about their meat.

*and don´t get me wrong; I see nothing wrong with eating meat that comes from hunting; or Eco Farms, as well as other animal products. And I understand that a lot of people can´t afford a livestyle while avoiding the mainstream products/ and can´t do it for health reasons.
I´m not a vegan, and only vegetarian as protest against how animals are treated in most of the industry, and can´t afford "Eco meat" yet.

Am I gonna judge you if you eat meat without making educated choices when you can afford it? Yeah.

SilentHamster102 2019-07-23 19:25:10 UTC #28

But what if I acknowledged about treating of those animals but I don't care at all about this. I just want to eat meat and that's it. I'm not too sensitive about this - result (meat which I can eat) is only thing I'm interested in all this situation.
And I don't want to avoid mainstream companies, because their product is everywhere and I don't want to go far away from my house to buy something which I can buy nearly (because in my case it would be 80-130 km traveling, so it's not even an option).

My family used to kept domestic animals when I was a kid. Adults didn't gave me opportunity to execute killing of animal, but I used to watch the process. And everything about this thing is ok for me, so I just don't care. And why I should care after all?

AceRagz 2019-07-23 19:26:31 UTC #29

I disagree. I think most of the irritations come frpm people who don't know and/or don't care and they get mad when called out on it. Most of those that complain if you look are the older generations still stuck in their ways. Other words the Al Bundys of the world

JackOfArtAndProse 2019-07-23 19:29:55 UTC #30

shrugs At least you're honest about it.

Kura 2019-07-23 20:07:37 UTC #31

I mean, I was raised around farms and grew up around animals that were raised for slaughter.

It was sad to see them go but never really bugged me cause it was the life cycle / circle of life. Normal part of everyday life stuff. Same way as when mom's cat ate my birds when I was a kid, it's just life and the way things are, you can't hate something for following natures rules.

One of my fav animals are chickens, but as fucking cute (and adorably vicious) as they are I still enjoy eating and don't feel bad about it.

(the farms I'm talking about were also not the big production slaughter lines that people talk about in the USA though, they were still meat production farms just NOTHING like the vegans describe the ones that they are against to be)

AceRagz 2019-07-23 20:18:32 UTC #32

I grew up in a small town with a strong farming community. When I was little my parents had chickens but they were just for eggs and my parents had no idea what to do with them and they eventually gave them away. When I was 16 I took Ag classes and started raising my own birds (chickens, turkeys, ducks quail etc) for slaughter. It bothered me at first but once I learned the most humane ways of dispatching them I got used to it and it became a part of my life since.

Merle 2019-07-23 20:32:32 UTC #33

Hm yeah, like I said, I have nothing against having animals for slaughter as long as they are kept in humane conditions, have a reasonable lifespan, painless death as possible and are not genetically mutated or breed into a form that makes living for them painfull (like, pigs that can´t carry their own weight, or cows with gigantic, deformed Euters).
I´d still prefer it if someday soon, we are able to produce flesh without brains attached to it, and I think we´re getting there, that´d be the perfect solution.
I am bothered by how millions and billions of animals are kept in inhumane conditions, that make life a living hell, because I know that they are living beings with feelings not hugely different from my own. And I feel very, very bad for them and do not want to be part off or give any of my money to such an industry.

AceRagz 2019-07-23 21:00:32 UTC #34

I don't think this will be an option that can be easily implemented anytime soon. Six years ago the cost for one lab grown hamburger patty was over $300,000. Now its $600 for a quarter pound of lab grown hamburger. It is also very dry due to nearly no fat content.

The cost is one thing the other is if people freak out over GMO foods....can you imagine how they would react to a steak grown in a lab?

DokiDokiTsuna 2019-07-23 21:03:51 UTC #35

Urrg, it hurts, but it's true...and the saddest part is, it would probably take longer for the mass hysteria to subside than it would take for the market price of lab-grown meat to go down...and that's without even considering obstruction from the existing meatpacking industry...

PabloRomero 2019-07-23 21:39:46 UTC #36

I don't like bullying but "meatless meatballs"? You can't expect people to not make fun of that. At least call it "Veganball" or something like that.

aqua03 2019-07-23 21:58:09 UTC #37

As someone who does eat animal products yet is also passionate about animal welfare, I will say this: You should definitely try to get your products (meat, eggs, milk, etc.) from humanely raised farms. They not only taste better and are probably better for you, but I think that they are also worth the extra money (if you can afford it comfortably) just because you're supporting and helping these animals live much better and healthier lives.

I'll let my boy Adam Ragusea explain this one more in depth.

jahillinbox 2019-07-23 22:30:09 UTC #38

if people had to raise and slaughter their own meat, there'd be a lot less of it eaten...and wasted

sarrowsmith10 2019-07-23 22:31:21 UTC #39

As a parent to a child with a severe allergy, this crap makes me so very scared and until you are in the emergency room with your child hooked up to a vent and epinephrine and antihistamines being pumped into them in a desperate attempt to keep them alive, people just don't understand. Most people with allergies, don't want allergies. It's not for attention, they very simply don't want to die. Or those who are vegan due to things like dairy intolerance (its just easier to look for vegan foods, because dairy protein is in everything), it might not be an allergy that will send me to the hospital, but I'd prefer not to spend my entire night on the potty if you know what I mean.

Like how hard is it to just respect people's food choices? I have Indian friends who are vegan due to religious reasons. I have friends who are vegan for egg/dairy allergies. I have friends who are vegan for dairy allergies. Some friends who do it for animal welfare reasons and one friend who is just freaked out by eating muscle-based tissue. Who the heck cares? Let people eat what they want.

Side note: if you are friends with someone who mocks your food choices, maybe you shouldn't be friends with them any more...

Kura 2019-07-23 22:51:34 UTC #40

I'm not sure about less eaten since it would be normalized, unless you're talking about the room to raise them. But yeah I can defiantly see the less wasted issue. Some people just waste so much meat or parts of the animal that it's unbelievably disrespectful, and animal's life was given for that after all.