Opinions About Vegans

Was it a rescue dog?

"Special reasons"

Perfect DL eldergay trigger: vegans!!!!!

I am a vegan due to a loathing of animal cruelty and the impact of animal agriculture to climate change. Being a vegan isn't radical - eating animals tortured and kept in grossly inhumane conditions is.

Veganism is an eating disorder.

Going vegan "for the animals" is typically a cover for the real reason. Vegans are usually obsessed with their own body image. Look at almost any vegan "influencer" online. You will have a hard time trying to find one who isn't focused on their physical transformation and all the supposed health benefits.

All the vegans I’ve met, (5) do cocaine. One even said, there’s a correlation between veganism and cocaine use.

I had a vegan friend and Facebook was our only connection for years, he having seemed to have developed into something of a grumpy old man. He posted things constantly, trying to forge some sort of brand or following and among his top topics was posting terrible photos of food that looked as though it had already been eaten, telling us first how "yummy" it was and how special the people who made it were and then on to berating his friends who still eat meat. It is not too late to take the path of righteous indignation and become a vegan was the message, or maybe it was that misery loves company?. He would enumerate slights committed by friends who never commented on his vegan posts. Clearly he took this as a grave affront and was keeping score.

Whenever I saw a photo of some sodden mass on one of those "cute" coffee shop vintage plates with a big chunk of glaze spalled off at the 2-o'clock position I would have to scroll past swiftly to smell the scold that arose from the dreaded vegan posts. Really, if he's happy I'm delighted, but I only want to hear a multilevel marketing sales pitch so many times before it becomes a nuisance.

Contrast that with a couple I know where one often posts a instagram sort of shot of her dinner plate, with text along the lines of: finding good and varied vegan food can be a challenge sometimes, but never at home because my wife makes wonderful and different things all the time. That's it. Nice. She's not trying to shame anyone, she's not even trying to gently encourage converts, she's just stating that she has a great wife who always surprises her, and one of the ways is through vegan food.

Troll thread

I am vegetarian. I don't want to eat animals. I am mostly vegan, 100% in my home, but I will have a slice of someone's birthday cake that has been baked with eggs. And occasionally I will grab a slice of pizza, if I am out, need to eat and there isn't a quick vegan option available. All of the other things like cocaine, obssessed with body image or caring how and what other people, eat don't really apply to me. I am not quite sure how my post will feed the trolls, OP.

I hate Vegans that try to convert. I was was in a support group of gay men who lost someone years ago. Typically we would go out as a semi-group to eat afterwards. Well this one guy kept pushing to go to some special Mexican restaurant. In LA there are a lot and I love Mexican food. Long story shot the food horrible! I couldn't recognize the flavors or textures and they were all bad. Before I had a chance to say that, he then informs us the restaurant is totally vegan and says "see, if I didn't tell you it was vegan then you wouldn't have even noticed"

So now I never want to go to any restaurant that says they are primarily Vegan even if their food is good or not.

Not all vegans preach about being vegan. Some just adopt that diet and don't lecture others. If they happen to snort coke on occasion, so what?

Being triggered by vegans says more about you than its says about a vegan who is going about his/her own business. Why does it matter?

Once you see animal slaughter and what happens to dairy cows, it's easy to go vegan.

there is definitely a thing that happens where vegans want to support restaurants that don't serve meat. Anyone who thinks they could pass off vegan food as non-vegan food is kinda demented though. I find a lot of fake meat textures weird and prefer to eat a vegetarian diet where I don't eat a lot of stuff that pretends to be other stuff.

A bowl of spaghetti with marinara sauce and basil is vegetarian. Most people have no problem with vegetarian food. And its good to help people start thinking about cutting back on meat and animal product consumption. America is so obese and the average american thinks that a meal isn't a meal unless there isn't some sort of dead animal on their plate or in the recipe. A lot of parents pass this along to kids or feed their kids accordingly. Gonna make Mac and Cheese for the kids? Gotta cut up some hot dog pieces or bacon and put it in there or else it's less nutritious, right?

The average american eats 275 lbs of meat per year, not counting fish or other seafood. The amount of anti-biotics alone that an American is exposed to is insane. Factory farming is repellant. it's animal torture. Go stand up in your coat closet wtih your phone and see how long you can handle it, even with your phone as entertainment. Some animals live their lives like that (sans phone). Oh and the jobs are shitty and horrible, depressing for the workers. And there's huge environmental impacts. I'm not talking global warming (although it is a contributor). I'm talking about giant lagoons of pig shit that just sit there and can't really be processed and can be smelled for 50 miles around. Like landfills of pig shit that sit there in pools because we can't let it get into the ground water.

I dont think its horrible to kill an animal and eat it. But what goes on in factory farms is so horrific, they have spent millions on lawsuits against anyone who takes videos inside.

Again the average American eats 275 lbs of meat per year (not counting seafood or fish). Probably consumes dozens of gallons of milk too. If you're overweight, start thinking about how you might be able to cut back on that. Order the pasta with marinara instead of meat sauce. Skip the bacon or sausage on your breakfast sandwich/breakfast burrito. Try the non-dairy ice creams at your supermarket and see if you like any just as much--and see if your stomach thanks you for it or if you feel better.

And save your meat consumption for high quality stuff. Organic when possible.

You forgot to add “stupid reasons” OP.

I know Vegans who still eat fish. What the fuck is that about? It's still flesh or muscle. You still have to kill something to eat it. I don't get the logic.

High maintenance people.

I have fruit and oatmeal for breakfast. For lunch during the week I have a concoction of broccoli, spinach, asparagus and Brussel sprouts in a savory garlic sauce. Most days I have no meat before dinner, so I believe in lowering meat consumption for a variety of reasons. What I don’t get is:

[quote] among his top topics was posting terrible photos of food that looked as though it had already been eaten, telling us first how "yummy" it was and how special the people who made it were and then on to berating his friends who still eat meat

And…

[quote] Being a vegan isn't radical - eating animals tortured and kept in grossly inhumane conditions is.

Do you really not get how fucking obnoxious you are? How it doesn’t win ANYONE over? I’d eat bacon in front of you just to piss you off. People who make diet their religion are as tedious as any other religious fanatics.

[quote] Anyone who thinks they could pass off vegan food as non-vegan food is kinda demented though. I find a lot of fake meat textures weird and prefer to eat a vegetarian diet where I don't eat a lot of stuff that pretends to be other stuff.

I agree with this too. When I eat vegetables, that’s what I’m eating, not a substitute. Vegan food I’ve tried has been vile.

[quote] I know Vegans who still eat fish.

Those people are not "vegans."

#notallvegans

I went veggy because my stomach went crazy in the winter - meat and dairy generated massive amounts of stomach gas, which triggered my heart speeding up.

I *love* chicken. I love bbq. I love seafood (and that I can eat now). Can't touch meat and dairy. At home it works okay. Dining out is...complicated. I wind up eating a lot of sides (french fries for dinner again!)

On the bright side, if you've ever wanted to drop 30 pounds in a month, go vegan. Does the job.

r19 They're not even vegetarians. They're pescatarians.

I went vegetarian in 1976 after taking a general ed college class, I don't even remember what it was. We learned that it takes 10 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat and that contributed to world hunger. So, I decided I would go vegetarian for 1 year but after a year the idea of eating meat didn't appeal to me. Then I went pescatarian after 7 years then 10 years ago I went vegan.

I would never go back to eating meat. Once in a while I will eat cheese or a cookie with eggs/milk in eat, but not often. I'm 64 years old and have a BMI of 19.5 so it is a good way to keep my weight down and my knees happy.

The truest reason: Because they want other people to pay special attention to them when they're eating.

I have yet to meet a vegan who was not a complete narcissist.

[quote] Not all vegans preach about being vegan. Some just adopt that diet and don't lecture others.

I wish things were like that here on my planet, Earth!

Vegetarian here, and IMHO one of the differences between a vegetarian and a vegan is a certain rigidity, which can express itself in perfectionism, a refusal to compromise, black-and-white thinking, or even self-righteousness,. A typical vegetarian wants to be a good person and do what they can to make the world a slightly better place, but is willing to compromise or work in shades of gray, to eat eggs or even fish for the complete proteins, either for the nutritional value or they just won't give up anything they enjoy for a cause.

Of course reasons for going vegan vary, but a lot of vegans are people who aspire to completely disassociate themselves from the evils of the commercial food industry, I guess they can't handle the guilt or a perception of themselves as flawed, and their perception of having avoided the evils that the rest of us fall prey to and their typical lack of maturity does tend to give some of them an attitude. Which is IMHO why it's much more common for vegans to criticize non-vegans or proseletyze, something I've never heard a vegetarian do.

Bill Clinton did it for his heart health in his 60s: he lost 30 pounds and has kept it off:

To most Americans of Clinton's generation — especially those, like him, who grew up in places like Arkansas, where barbecued pork and cornmeal-crusted catfish dominate the local cuisine — cutting out meat, fish and dairy would seem a radical deprivation. But Clinton quickly adapted. "The main thing that was hard for me actually — much harder than giving up meat, turkey, chicken and fish — was giving up yogurt and hard cheese," he says. "I love that stuff, but it really made a big difference when I did it."

I don't really understand where the weight loss comes from. I mean...meat and dairy are protein. Wouldn't you gain weight because you now have to consume more carbs and nuts with oil? What am I missing?

DL fave Nikocado Avocado started his online presence as a raw vegan.

In my opinion, he just traded in one form of extreme eating for another.

I suspect many vegans would meet the diagnostic criteria for disordered eating, not otherwise specified. They are obsessed with food.

I don't concern myself with what people shovel into their mouths, so have no opinion about vegans. But I have to say that the vegan substitutes like coconut and almond milk and seitan and tofu tastes horrible, how can they eat that shit, etc.

You probably haven't had the right kind of tofu, r29. It's delicious when prepared properly.

R1 - it wasn't a rescue dog, but rather a stray. Some intoxicated lunatic poured paint on it and threw a match at the dog but a woman saw that and, luckily, quickly doused the dog with water and took it to the vet. They were able to rescue the dog and it is ok now, but just the idea that something like this, while so horrible, would cause someone to have a "nervous breakdown" (I know that isn't a medical term), seems to be linked somehow to her eating habits.

Also, in no way am I trolling vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians or elders or anyone..I essentially am genuinely curious. Particularly because it seems to me that being vegan is sort of a full-time job. Not to mention that it is quite expensive, particularly here in Eastern Europe. The girl in question goes to a lot of trouble and expense to maintain it. Also, doubt she has an eating disorder as she keeps urging us to go back to the gym since she says she risks it to gain muslce weight (VERY skinny) and hates having no curves. Lots of women here are model thin blondes and want "Brazilian curves".

R30 - they import and make smoked tofu, basil tofu and dill tofu where I am now living. Vegan girl says she makes it with vegan korma sauce or uses the basil one for a vegan Pad Thai. That gets expensive.

R29 - I have eaten homemade nut milk based sauces and I mean where cashews were soaked in water and blended and it can be pretty good in a cream sauce (I have recto-colitis so, sadly, no cream for me).

R12 - I am not triggered but I am just curious. Obviously, it's easier for a person like my yoga instructors back in LA who have places like Follow Your Heart and meals prepared by his partner who works from home. Even then it seems hard and quite pricey and an extra effort (especially as they have 2 kids). I am even more fascinated by people who, in a poor country, are willing to spend so much and go to extreme efforts (this girl borrowed €1K during the pandemic and now works double shifts a lot to lay it back just to eat vegan).

That is why I told a story before I put the poll and question. Otherwise, I knew I would get all kind of DL bitchy responses instead of interesting answers like R14 and a solid debate like R18.

OP, there is an extremely long tradition here about vegans. Omnivores will bring up the topic and say how veganism is an eating disorder, the food is terrible, and they are all rigid and intolerant. Vegans will chime in and, if the respond to these charges, they will be further attacked.

The only data allowed will be anecdotal, despite the avalanche of research that shows health benefits. The only negative characterizations to be accepted will be of vegans.

Again, these threads are almost never started by vegans.

I work with a vegan guy, he doesn't care about animals, he just hates meat and dairy and eggs. He eats a lot of vegetables and nuts etc. He takes quite a few supplements and he has his blood work done twice a year for b-12 deficiency etc.

Some of the vegans I've met rely heavily on processed vegan foods, heavy on carbs. There are all kinds of vegans.

Poor people can't afford meat. Just sayin'.

My cousin is a vegan. He's a gym trainer and off course very much into nutrition and "motivational" stuff. He's also a racist, homophobic, anti-semite QAnon loon who cut ties with his own parents when they get vaccinated. Last month he was in legal trouble for beating his ( surprise surprise ) Asian girlfriend.

Well yeah, THOSE kinds abound in my neck of the woods as well. It's a stereotype but it exists for a reason. I see them at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Inevitably, their Asian girlfriend is walking one step behind, the guys are assholes to clerks and hold up lines. I had three Asian ladies who were acquaintances that I often talked to, Filipino and Chinese, who had some abuse from a racist asshole like this. Here it's more about these abusers having the perception of control. Not ethical reasons but just control and, of course, racism.

Personally IDGAF. If someone is vegan out of ethical principle I admire them, if for health reasons, I respect that. My own philosophy is 'nothing to excess'. I believe humans are omnivores and we need protein in our diets and animals are a good source for that. I object to factory farming and believe that animals for human consumption should be raised ethically (i.e., free-range) and slaughtered with the absolute minimum of pain. If that causes the price to rise, so be it, I'm willing to eat less meat. But I can't imagine never having bbq ribs again -- I think I'd rather die.

Oh and when I die, I want my body dumped into the earth in a burlap sack. Let the critters and Gaia recycle me.

I'm a vegetarian but will not eat dairy and eggs if I can help it. I don't think using animals to get food like eggs of milk is necessary evil, but it's the industrialisation that has lead to horrifying practices. Like the mass killing of male baby chicks. Or the mistreatment of dairy cows. But I know some people who keep a few animals and take good care of them, and I don't think there's anything wrong with getting eggs from them.

Marry me R39... I feel as you do. Would rather have pricier meat if animals aren't factory farmed. I am cool with burlap but hey, at least dump me somewhere nice. But, why the ribs? I mean if it is free range and grass fed and no hormones....

[quote] Like the mass killing of male baby chicks. Or the mistreatment of dairy cows. But I know some people who keep a few animals and take good care of them, and I don't think there's anything wrong with getting eggs from them.

R40 I have seen those machines for mass killing and it is horrific. Also, pre-pandemic, whenever the company sent me out here, there would be a farmer's market with eggs from local farms or I would sometimes take a bus with my roommate to local villages to get eggs, milk and cheese and stay in a little cottage out in nature for a night. You can see how the animals are raised and it was very nice. Obviously it was more expensive and I learned that, for example, goats don't give milk until spring and fresh cow milk is warm and foamy. Everything spoils quickly and the taste and how we felt consuming those was 100% different than anything from markets. Of course, the pandemic ended that and we aren't going despite the re-opening because nobody is vaccinated.

R37, your cousin sounds like a cool guy.

R41 are you top, bottom or vers? ;-)

By the ribs comment I only meant that I'd have a very hard time being vegetarian or vegan, I really do love to eat meat sometimes. So a strict no-meat stance for the rest of my life would depress me greatly...

R44 - strictly top with rimming sometimes better than fucking...so I guess that I will never qualify as a true vegan. =).

I agree about loving meat...I have a very hard time sometimes just seeing or smelling a good grilled steak. Reducing? Yes. Forever? Probably not.

I heard vegan shit and fart smells even worse than average human omnivores. Is that true?

No one's addressed the key issue -- can vegans eat cum?

I think that some mentally fragile people turn vegan as a way to feel better about themselves, and if they are annoying vegans, then well... everything that mentally fragile people do is annoying. People do turn vegan for all sorts of reasons, genuine medical, ethical, because it's fashionable in certain quarters, socially acceptable way to refuse food if you have an eating disorder, etc. But of course, it's the mentally fragile or crazy ones that make their veganism the most visible.

I just started a new job, and it turns out that 1/3 to 1/2 the staff there are vegetarian or vegan, and people tell me all the time that they're eating less meat, more meatless meals. The meatless life is mainstream!

As R34 already said, this website is primed towards vegan hate.

The most irrational and angry person in this thread (R18) is not a vegan. I see more threads here screaming about the evils of veganism than I have ever met preachy vegans in real life (maybe 5 times).

I’m not vegan, but I understand that it is healthier for the body and for the environment, this is not up for dispute. I’ve been vegetarian before and it was fine, it’s just food at the end of the day.

There is nothing radical about eating vegetables. Yet another thread where this website *coincidentally* aligns itself with right wing douchebros, how funny.

[Yet another thread where this website *coincidentally* aligns itself with right wing douchebros, how funny.]

R49 - check my posting history bitch. I am not aligned with any right wingers asshole. Also, I have noticed vegetarians and vegans on here and, besides the few (probably not psychiatrists) who claim it's an eating disorder, most of the posters here are pretty liberal and haven't much of a problem with those that don't eat meat. Are you on the same site as I am? Did you even bother reading the context I gave before I started my poll? 🤦‍♀️

I think I've finally seen it all - someone on the internet who thinks people become vegan due to trauma.

Jesus fucking Christ. You are a total an utter moron. My IQ just dropped several points reading your post.

Any concern about the social role of vegans seems VERY 90s to me. Yes, they can be annoying and yes many have easting disorders or some kind of OCD, but get over it. Who cares.

Datalounge is probably the last place you'd find any interest in veganism.

After all, obese gay men who live in their mothers' basements and have no interest in the environment, in health, nor in animal protection pretty much make up the majority of the people who post here.

R53 =

[quote]I heard vegan shit and fart smells even worse than average human omnivores. Is that true?

Vegetarian farts are louder but nothing smells as bad as a rotting meat fart.

Human being evolved to be omnivores. It's difficult to get all the micronutrients you need just from eating plant material. A vegetarian diet that includes the occasional egg or milk product is easier on your body.

R56 -- if you're right, why do so many athletes now have a vegan diet? Why do so many doctors prescribe a vegan diet for their patients? Why do so many hospitals now serve only vegan food? Why do so many nutritionists recommend veganism?

I know your answer -- they're just experts, whereas you get all your scientific information from the Internet.

[quote]She now battles Xanax withdrawal

I hope your friend didn't do this cold turkey. I did that with Valium (chemically similar) and I became paranoid beyond reason.

R50 chill out. Also learn how to quote.

Im not gonna bother checking your posting history (yawn in advance) but on this topic you’re aligned with right wing douchebros ;)

So tens of millions of Hindus and Buddhists have all experienced trauma that led them to eat a vegan/vegetarian diet?

And don't say this is just religion as there are many Buddhists and Hindus who do eat meat.

I suppose since most of you can't come up with the $20/year for DL, much less subscriptions to major newspapers, here you go.

Yes, vegetarians (NOT even vegans folks) live longer than meaties, even if the vegetarians smoke and drink copiously. Less inflammation, less cancer, less heart disease, improved immune functioning.

Name one hospital that "serves only vegan food." I'm waiting. Link please.

[quote]Yes, vegetarians (NOT even vegans folks) live longer

this is not the only goal

I'm a vegan. I don't drink, smoke, or use any other drugs. My health is pretty good, though sometimes my Vitamin D and B12 levels are low. I can improve that with supplements, though. When I get my blood tested, my cholesterol gets flagged for being too low.

There are some studies that link vegetarianism to anxiety and depression, but no causal relationship has been proved. It could just be that sensitivity and care for animals overlap. I became a vegetarian shortly after becoming an atheist. Once I realized that eating meat wasn't helping animals get to heaven faster (because there is no heaven), I couldn't justify eating meat anymore.

This was the first, 5 years ago. There are others

Montefiore Health System Now Plays Forks Over Knives and Serves Plant-Based Meals at Patient Beds -- a headline from a while ago, as the Bronx hospital is now debating whether or not to serve only vegan. Other hospitals are now offering vegan food but considering making it mandatory.

That's some funky theology you learned, R64. We didn't get that at my church.

R7, the vegans I know are alcoholics. I think we're on to something.

If you restrict your diet in a hard nosed fashion, you may also be over-rewarding/medicating yourself in some ways to compensate.

We're pescatarian in my house. But when we go out to eat, we leave room for omnivore meals, although half the time we end up sticking to our home diet anyway.

I don't tell anyone what they should or shouldn't eat, so I expect the same in return.

I've got a vegan cousin who tells everyone he's got a dairy intolerance because he doesn't want to be associated with the more militant vegans.

"A vegetarian diet that includes the occasional egg or milk product is easier on your body."

Vegetarian here, and yes, humans were designed to get complete proteins from animal sources as well as B12 and iron. Which is why I'm about to put egg salad on toast for breakfast, getting daily complete proteins from plant sources actually requires a lot of planning and research, which is more trouble than I want from my food. So yes, there are health risks as well as benefits associated with a vegan diet.

Which is one reason I'm a vegetarian and not a vegan. The other reason is that they'll pry the cheese from my cold dead hands!!!! As long as I can eat good cheese, vegetarianism is no sacrifice!

[quote]Yes, vegetarians (NOT even vegans folks) live longer

[quote]this is not the only goal

You do understand that this study demonstrates that those who don't eat meat are healthier as they age, with less health problems. Of course that is everyone's goal - to suffer less as they age. The meat eaters are more likely to get GI cancers - will have to deal with having their bowels removed, living with feeding tubes, etc. Not such a pleasant existence.

"You can live forever if you give up everything that would make you want to live forever."

R51 - oh be serious. A lot of the younger people in the country where I work grew up seeing stray dogs suffer. It was endemic to the region and so did this girl I am talking about. It's how there is a move of younger people who make the equivalent of $500 a month are willing to spend so much on vegan foods. If you didn't read the context of my story, you are judgmental.

R59 - Man you are insular. The world is bigger and composed of more than the two talking-head news channels we watch at home. Vegans are all over the world now, even in developing nations. Not EVERYTHING is about politics. Some things include personal beliefs, culture, how various types of people interpret the world. I highly doubt this girl knows what a Republican even is or a douchebro.

i LOVE oat milk, I never buy dairy milk ever - but I do love cheese.

being MORE vegan is easy and fun, being entirely vegan is challenging in this world

Years ago I lived with 2 vegetarians. One did it for health reasons and the other did for ethical reasons and couldn't eat "anything with a face on it"

I bet you can guess which one was more insufferable.

I'm guessing that it was you, R75.

So witty R76. Still sitting on that unsold screenplay? Novel? Did the batteries on your vibrator run out and your too lazy to change them?

R77 One needs to work on one's pithy comeback remarks. We have had sufficient.

R25 is totally correct. Hard for those people to see shades of grey. I've been like that for parts of my younger life. Vegetarian and not very smart, because I didn't realize until I read here that ceasar dressing always has anchovies in it. I ate it after reading that so I've been unvegetarian lately. My husband isn't vegetarian at all though I can tell that eating red meat is starting to bother him. My son went vegetarian in grade school but my daughter has started to get her period and you can always tell because she wants McDonald's burgers. I tell my son that if desperate you can always pick the pepperoni of a slice of pizza. Being a vegetarian is a preference, not an allergy. So if you ate something you didn't know had meat in it, that does NOT make you a bad person. Everyone has to have their own personal scale of what is acceptable to eat.

I live in NJ and there are lots of Indians. Some are vegetarian but a lot are not. I think a lot of that in India is due to poverty. I say stuff to my mom (when we are speaking to each other) (who is also a vegetarian) about Indian people who really don't care about animal rights because they have ridiculously large leather couches and leather sandals. I know the not wearing leather is extreme, but buying a leather the couch means you don't care. It smells like leather. Come on.

Yes, I think there are vegans who do it as a reaction to trauma, totally. But I find the vegans who do it for their own bodies (and not for the guilt about dead animals) much stranger. They almost seem to have no souls.

[quote] animal agriculture

What about the impact of morons on our language?

R65 - READING SKILLS? The "Hayek Hospital" is a small private clinic in Beirut for rich folks. Hardly a city hospital that is going to only serve vegan food to all patients.

Like most bullies, you change your rules to suit your limited mental skills R81

I feel like a lot of hard core veganism, I'm not saying moderate or vegetarianism, is a mask for eating disorders. I see it with my friends. Cleanses, diets to balance gut health all have one end game - to be thinner and more fit. I believe in adding really good foods and veggies versus restriction. Add vs. restrict and allow your body to have a treat now and them. When you restrict so hard, if you have to deviate for some reason your body can't have real foods.

Only on Datalounge would you find people thinking veganism is some kind of disorder when people do it:

1) because they have genuine sympathy for animals and dislike they're being slaughtered for food

2) because animal agriculture is destroying our planet

3) because their doctor told them that if they want to live, they need to switch to a plant-based diet

4) because their coach told them that if they wanted to improve their athletic performance, vegamism could help

But of course, Datalougners don't care about animals, the environment, health, or more than the others, being athletic.

I remember back in the 70s when people talked about vegetarians the way they talk about vegans. Veganism is becoming more mainstream and acceptance will grow.

I know a few vegans, we don't sit around discussing it much unless it is about a good recipe or a good restaurant. My spouse eats meat, I haven't since 1976 yet I'm the one who gets polyps in my colon.

[quote] I refuse to eat plants. No one understands my ethos.

I only eat kosher, cut cock and semen for protein.

I know vegans who don't use drugs - what a myth!

When I harvest in my garden, I hear the screams of my vegetables, severed from their life support. If I stay too long, all the garden is screaming in and stressed, as the plants talk to each other. It's so traumatic for me, I usually head to clean fast food chain, where all the food is already quite dead and silent, delivered to me antiseptically, wrapped and safe and savory.

[quote] Being a vegan isn't radical - eating animals tortured and kept in grossly inhumane conditions is.

False opposition a-go-go

Vegans only care about animal life. They pretend plants aren’t alive. Life is life.

Any vegan who actually cares about other living things would not eat either plants nor animals.

Interesting observation, R91. There is a philosophical/scientific debate about the extent to which plants can feel. They certainly have some sensory apparatus and react to stimuli. It appears to be more a difference of degree than a binary opposition.

Vegans.

I've asked vegans why they eat plants and they say that they can do that because plants don't have a central nervous system.

Likewise, R94, a lot of vegans will eat mussels and oysters for the same reason: no central nervous system, no pain, no awareness of death.

That’s idiotic. Very new animals have no nerves at all. Oysters for instance have them but it’s just a diffuse nerve net. They definitely react adversely to injury.

My students yesterday were discussing types of vegetarians and were trying to determine the difference between pescatarians and Presbyterians.

R83 - see that is a thing I wouldn't do...some of the meat substitutes sound like science experiments. Wouldn't it just be better to have some beans?

R96 clearly studied science in St. Olaf

r98, I agree, I mostly stay away from the fake meat and cheese products and stick mainly to whole foods.

"being MORE vegan is easy and fun, being entirely vegan is challenging in this world"

Yeah, like I'll get almond milk to pour on my cereal, but I still want regular cream for my coffee. No plant-based product I have yet tried, adds the proper creaminess to tea or coffee.

And there are a lot of vegans and vegetarians who'll attack each other for eating ceasar salad dressing that might contain anchovies or bullshit like that, and we need to stop that shit! If someone eats vegetarian all year, and has a nice salad without grilling the chef about the ingredients or nibbles an unknown canape at a party, then their diet is still 99.999999999999999999% vegetarian. We need to stop playing bullshit holier-than-thou games and screaming "YOU'RE NOT A VEGETARIAN/VEGAN" at each other over trivia, we need to give each other credit for every animal not slaughtered and eaten! If someone has more meatless meals, then great! If someone goes vegetarian but can't stand to go vegan, fantastic! If someone is almost vegan but will still eat eggs for the complete proteins, marvelous! Fewer dead animals, less greenhouse gasses, give them credit and social approval... so drop the holier-than-thou bullshit.

Translation: this never happened, OP just wants to complain about vegans

I love meat, dairy, and butter so much. I don't care what anyone says. I'm never giving up these delights of life, God, and the Universe.

I remember on TikTok there was this black woman that went vegan for health reasons. Her skin looks great!

But she was doing all these weird recipes to substitute vegan food for regular food. She would make fish sticks with hearts of palm, bacon with carrots and banana peels, and the weirdest thing deviled eggs made with mushrooms soaked in pickle juice as the egg whites and mashed up garbanzo beans with paprika as the filling.

I think when you have to make vegan food taste like regular food kind of exhausting.

Seriously just eat bacon and fish sticks once in a great while, the rest of the time eat regular vegetables prepared like vegetables like a salad or roasted vegetables.

R104, there's a market for showing people how to eat tasty substitutes for the things they had to give up for medical reasons. I mean she got you to watch her tiktok, right?

“I’m a level-five vegan! I don’t eat anything that casts a shadow!”

R57, Doctors get very little training in nutrition. Doctors and nutritionists used to recommend a low fat, high carb diet, and decades later it came out that the sugar industry funded research that downplayed the risks of sugar and highlighted the hazards of fat showing that fat was bad. I wouldn't be surprised if that is happening now with veganism/plant-based diet recommendations.

As for meat eaters getting cancer more often, what about one of the biggest causes of cancer: environmental toxins? If we keep picking at each other about what we eat we ignore the pollutants being pumped into the air, water, and soil.

Some of those substitution recipe videos are so exhausting and require such a combination of special ingredients that I'd rather just have a spinach salad with seitan as the "meat" and be done with it!

I wouldn't have become a vegetarian, if I weren't happy having a big bowl of lentil soup or a cheese sandwich for dinner.

R103 - nobody says to give them up. However, some of us would like to limit them for health and ethical reasons. Of course butter and a juicy steak is tasty. But it's not good for us, animals or the planet. All things in moderation.

Eldergay trigger.

Around the world everybody agrees

𝗩𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴

We know now that vegetarians were on the right track and reducing animal product consumption is the best diet.

However, some of them take it too far. Strict vegans are annoying.

No ovo-lacto! Organic! No gluten!

I don't know whether it's "trauma" that drives it.

However, I would say that like some eating disorders, such rigid control over eating is part of the broader need to feel in control. Additionally, the psycho vegans who proseltyze (redundant, I know) are trying to extend that control to their environments.

I cannot stand anyone who has fascist tendancies.

Also, does anybody know that song: The Policitcs of Dancing? Was that Boyo George?

"Voters in her village took an apparent dislike to her veganism and anti-cowbell campaigning, and she was deemed “too annoying” to be given her passport."

ANTI-COWBELL CAMPAIGNING??? Annoying bitch was lucky she wasn't deported!

But seriously, nobody would have any issue with vegans what they choose to eat, unless they make the mistakes of 1) proselytizing, 2) criticizing what other people choose to eat, or 3) expect other people to go out of their way to cater to their preferences. Avoid that, and learn how to refused food politely, and nobody sane will have any cause for complaint, but some vegans seem to think that all of the above are socially acceptable. Hah!

Yeah, it‘s the vegans who have control issues. Sure.

Veganism is a mental illness.

I wonder will we soon look at meat eating like we do smoking.

Dick Longman

I recently met young man out here where I live who is gay. Of course, this isn't the first gay person I have ever met...there are many in Los Angeles and especially at my gym. Never dated one. Because I am American and openly vegan, I suppose he felt comfortable telling me about his nervous breakdown during the pandemic (hairstylist of 32, suddenly locked up alone in hus apartment with no job for a long time, boyfriend was essential so he was gone 12 hours a day). This stress was compoundr when he saw a dog set on fire by some psycho. His reaction was so bad she ended up in psychiatric ER. He now battles Xanax withdrawal but still does hair and volunteers with animals. So that led me to thinking...does going to such a radical length as being gay stem from a trauma or is it strictly the way some people are born?

[quote] I knew five gay people and they all did coke and said there was a correlation between being gay and cocaine

Vegans feel free to chime in.

R122 = high as a kite.

Be balanced in your food consumption. But do not restrict entirely all animal and dairy products. You will not be healthy. There’s a huge difference between vegetarians and vegans . Vegan Isabel cult

I don't see being a vegan as particularly healthy. They eat a lot of fake, processed shit. They avoid ALL dairy, and their diet seems carb heavy. If they aren't paying enough attention they won't get enough protein without powdered supplements. Now if Climate change creates massive problems with growing enough crops to feed us, then yeah, protein powder supplements and fake cheese. But honestly I favor my own diet which is beans, nuts, fish, chicken, fruits and veggies. I eat eggs and yogurt too. But no beef or pork.

R125, super smart . I eat minimal beef, moderate amounts of 🐔 and 🍣 🐟

Vegans are driven crazy

They don’t look healthy and seem humorless.

Vegans thrive on guilt and shame tripping you . They love to feel superior . They are usually shallow and could really care less about animals or anyone for that matter.

R129 honestly if you glance through the thread, or real life, I think you’ll find far more associations of ‘superiority’ with meat eating tbh. And it’s ‘couldn’t care less’ smh.

R130 I’ll eat 🍔 to that you self righteous cunt

R131 I eat meat. No odds to me.

You lying sack of 💩

If God didn't want to to eat meat She wouldn't have made cows of of steak

Do vegans watch the Super Bowl with their meat lovers commercials. They seem waiting to be offended.

Pardon my stuttering.

Why do vegans almost at beginning of introduction tell you they are vegan? And why do they incorporate it so much in conversations. It’s an eating disorder folks , an obsession

IMHO vegans are more absolutist than vegetarians, and I think that's just a personality type.

I'm a vegetarian but not an absolutist, and if someday I find that my favorite soup contains chicken broth as an ingredient, will I freak out? No! If someday I break down and eat a BLT will I freak out? Well, I'll feel guilty, but then I'll go back to eating delicious vegetarian food and I won't beat myself up about it. If 99.9999999% of my diet is meatless or plant-based, who cares about the dubious 0.000000001% that might not be? If I eat a few ounces of animal protien again before I die, then there's still hundreds of pounds of animal protein that I might have eaten but didn't.

Not sure about you but most of the vegans I’ve encountered are woke. The main reason they do it is just want to be looked up to, to be admired and complimented. Fake

I know three strict vegans and they are in their early 20's and claim they are doing it both for their own health, for the Environment, and to be humane to animals.

And I bet they look terrible

Nothing makes fat people more angry than hearing that someone is vegan.

Proof?

These comments on datalounge.

R141, no, actually, they have flawless skin, and work out regularly, nice muscle definition. Have no idea how they'll look in 20 years, but ight now they look good.

R142, I know a few fat fuck vegans hun . Or pale as 👻 frail people . It’s not healthy . It emasculates men

I don't have the energy to think about vegans today.

Lol Exhausting right r145 ?

Yet R145 and R146 somehow have managed to summon up the energy to come to this board, enter the thread, and type comments.

R147 - Your ableist microaggression is equivalent to gang rape.

[quote] . It’s not healthy . It emasculates men

r144, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is vegan. As are more and more professional athletes.

Game Changers DEBUNKED

I do not believe there is a link between having experienced trauma and being vegan. I do not understand OPs thinking. However, people who are very sensitive and has a lot of empathy might turn vegan because they can imagine the suffering animals brought to slaughter go through.

Which ingredients makes being vegan so expensive? My veggie-dinners usually costs less then the ones with fish/meat.

Vegans tend to be attention whores.

Thank you, r150. I will watch it.

I would never date a strict one myself. Those that cannot adapt to the society in which they live are usually unpleasant troublemakers.

Yes! Aspergers types are like this .

This thread turned out exactly as I predicted at r34. Very few vegans are preaching, or saying much of anything. Plenty of people attacking and citing their unverified anecdotes and fevered imagined characterizations. The proselytizing is not from vegans.

Well, Vegans eat a lot of bread, and grains, they eat fake meat and bacon and cheese, and they do a mountain of protein powder. That's what they subsist on. And nuts. So plant based, processed and powders.

I need dairy. No eggs? No cheese? Fuck that. And my yogurt smoothie for breakfast? With protein powder. LOL!

I'm not vegan, but I 100% understand why people do it for either ethical or health reasons.

I think, historically, vegans first came across so preachy, crunchy, militant and abrasive, they rubbed most of us the wrong way when we interacted with them.

But I know more than a few vegans now and they're no longer like that. Like, they have more to talk about than what and why they eat what they eat.

Because, honestly, nothing is more boring than talking about a diet.

I still say you can only trust a Vegan as far as you can throw him.

I once made the mistake of watching one vegan video on YouTube and then my recommendations were littered with YouTubers who try the softly softly approach where they interview strangers in the street.

They do it under the guise of just wanting a polite and calm conversation but after a few minutes they start coming out with the 'gotcha' type statements -- e.g. "would you drink human breast milk?" Of course the answer is always no, so then comes the "so why do you think it's okay to drink the milk of another animal? It's made for calves and it's full of pus!" They're so self righteous, just watching even a few of their videos made my resolve to remain a meat eater even stronger.

R161, they remind me of AA members . Start off nice and then the cult tactics come out with rage

"This thread turned out exactly as I predicted at [R34]. Very few vegans are preaching, or saying much of anything. Plenty of people attacking..."

That's because most vegans are young, and the average age here is around 73.

They are just in it for the psychic powers.

What R163 said -- The DLers posting on this thread are, on average, over 65 years old, mostly unhealthy, and probably right-wingers (or "concerned" centrists).

Most vegans are young, healthy, and liberal.

R165, most vegans are overweight and doughy

Most vegans are new to veganism.

They get an initial rush out of it because they lose weight and cut down on junk food.

If they stick with it for five or ten years, they become surly and anemic.

I know a guy who developed a kidney disorder because of vegan restrictions. He’s no longer vegan .

R166, R167, and R168 just proved my point.

Well, I’m a meat-eater, and spent about ten years having a protracted AvPd mental breakdown so. I would never irl discuss my mental health with anyone outside family, though.

Also, I have a B12 deficiency of mysterious origin, so I really have to eat meat and dairy as well as supplement. Severe lack of B12 usually only happens to vegans, anorexics and aneamics, which I am not, so I suppose I must have an inherent gut problem or something😒hopefully my Doctor will bother to look into it...

Well, I'm 64, I've been vegetarian/pescatarian since I was 19 and vegan for the last 10 years. My BMI is 19.5

I do not think there is one healthy diet, I think our bodies are all quite different. I'm happy with my diet. The only thing I don't like about it is inconveniencing other people.

The absolute worst ones are the virtue-signalling townie idiots who insist on eating the worst crops for their protein/fat needs—think soy, avocado, etc. They have no clue about and no concern for how destructive to grow these is for the planet. Not to say that raising cattle and slaughtering/milking isn’t destructive, just that it’s not significantly less so than certain crops.

If you’re raised rural (as I was) then you have an inherent awareness of how to select foods based on their general impact, and how pragmatic it is to grow/rear and process them.

Are you trolling, or do you truly believe that soy isn't grown primarily to feed livestock?

[quote]More than three-quarters (77%) of global soy is fed to livestock for meat and dairy production. Most of the rest is used for biofuels, industry or vegetable oils. Just 7% of soy is used directly for human food products such as tofu, soy milk, edamame beans, and tempeh. The idea that foods often promoted as substitutes for meat and dairy – such as tofu and soy milk – are driving deforestation is a common misconception.

Everybody needs to eat less meat anyway and go more plant based. I have no problem with this. But I have to say, most vegan restaurants suck, their food tastes like paper. Best vegan food is the random appetizer you get from an ethnic restaurant, not the replace all meat with tofu kind of thing. It really sucks to have a certain type of vegan in the group, even if they arent preachy, they will scrutinize the menu, ask the server questions for 30 minutes essentially hijacking the groups conversation, then when the food is brought in, they go all karen and want to speak to the manager about how it wasnt done right, they taste some fish sauce or something even if there isnt anything. Then she returns the food, doesnt order anything, just sits there. So uncomfortable, when everybody is enjoying their meals. Afterwards, she had to approve every place we can go to. We stopped inviting her, so I guess vegans all hang out with each other now eating their cardboard food.