I am vegan, and I think that everyone else should probably be vegan too. This position is a difficult one to reconcile with not being a dick, or considered one. Refusing baked goods someone has brought in at work, being difficult to cook for, just ordering chips when out for a meal, all of it feels a bit awkward. I try not to be preachy, but being vegan seems an inherently judgemental act, you don’t need to say anything to make others defensive.

This article is not intended to be about why being vegan is ‘good’, even though I personally think that it is, but I do want to briefly outline why I personally am vegan as a baseline for the rest of what I want to say. Reduced consumption of animal-based products is good for the environment and for individual health. These are plainly desirable outcomes, but do not necessarily lead to the foregone conclusion that being a vegan is the only way. This is what got me caught in a cycle of on and off vegetarianism for a number of years, with the notion that cutting down is better than not.

This is of course illogical. One person’s individual food choices do not change anything. One person can change opinions, but their individual footprint alone is essentially meaningless.

It came as quite a surprise to me, therefore, that it was the moral argument that got me in the end. I have never been religious, and therefore usually view actions as shades of gray. So here is the question that finally changed my mind: do I think it is right to kill an animal when there is a viable alternative? (I bring dairy and eggs into this bracket, for the reasons outlined here and here). My answer was no. If I think something is wrong, I figure I shouldn’t do it. So now I’m a full time vegan.

With that out of the way, it is important to flag that I don’t think all meat eaters are monsters. The laptop on which I am typing this and the trainers on my feet were probably not manufactured ethically- its something that is very hard to avoid. As stated above, a single person can’t make a difference so ultimately a person’s choice to eat meat is just that, their choice. There is obviously a lot of grey in the consumption of animal products: welfare standards vary wildly from farm to farm; prawns are pretty stupid, while pigs are pretty smart.  There are people who say they only eat meat from their local butcher, confident in the idea that their meat was coming from an ethical place. I can understand this if they do so exclusively, but I am yet to meet a person who does. 

Beyond that though, the fact that veganism more often than not comes down to a personal moral choice can make it feel like an accusation to those who aren’t, even if they are confronted with a non-evangelical vegan (which in my personal experience, most are). This is particularly difficult when confronting the demographic connotations which are associated with veganism. Although the fruit and veg that make up the bulk of a vegan diet can be acquired very cheaply, they often take a while to prepare. I am lucky to be without dependents, live in a city, and work a 9 to 5 job. This gives me time to cook, the opportunity to buy more speciality ingredients cheaply, and also the flexibility to spend a little more on pre-prepared vegan foods if I want to. It is my demographic group for whom veganism constitutes the smallest personal sacrifice.

The second major consideration is the cultural connotations of eating meat. The rejection of tradition that comes with being vegan can be particularly affronting – my first vegan Christmas certainly came as a bit of a shock to my mum. Navigating this, therefore, can be difficult. It is also the case that many non-vegans are somewhat phobic of giving vegan food a go: someone insisting on cooking up some bacon or chorizo to add to your lovingly prepared vegan dinner can be a bit galling. The cures to these problems are time and tolerance. Understanding where the other party comes from is an important in all areas of social interaction, and this is just another instance of that.

Going online, however, is a whole different story. Amongst the plethora of misinformation and unbridled vitriol that we know and love about the internet, veganism in particular has a tendency to raise hackles. While browsing #veganfoodshare for recipe ideas, it is not uncommon to see overtly antagonistic posts. For instance, a large game hunter frequently posts photos of himself with the animals he has shot accompanied by every hashtag under the sun associated with animal rights, vegetarianism and veganism (and many many more including “#femenism”[sic] ). Although of course one mustn’t feed the trolls, standing by is deeply frustrating.

I think that this comes to the route of why so many people are affronted by veganism: it comes across as a judgement from its very presence, and it really shouldn’t. I know that I for one probably talk about veganism a lot, but that is not out of judgement for those that aren’t vegan, but more because I’ve always talked about food a lot, and vegansim has done me well (i’ve lost 3 stone without even having to diet). There is a prevailing perception that most vegans are uptight hippies, and that really isn’t true for the most part. Veganism is growing in popularity and becoming more mainstream (and more good humoured) through the promotion of the health aspects of veganism and the broadening of the popular conversation by celebrities such as Serena Williams, Casey Affleck and Ellen Degeneres. More accessible tv programs such as the recently released comedy Carnage by Simon Amstell are also part of this development.

I certainly don’t think I’m a perfect ethical consumer, I’m very much not, I don’t think I’m better than meat eaters, I just don’t want to be involved with animal products. I think that plant-based diets are the future (at least until meat can be synthesised), and they are growing increasingly popular. It is clearly the case that going vegan is a major lifestyle change, and not one that many people feel compelled to do, but its not something that needs to prompt hostility.