When I first became a vegan one year ago, I knew the topic could inspire negative opinions (and boy, can it!), but I never experienced it firsthand. Going vegan can be hard if your immediate circle aren’t the vegan types. I encountered this personally, and it made me think about how to deal with the negativity people throw your way for being a vegan, especially if you’re new to veganism.
Plant-based diets have been growing in popularity around the world. In 2006, Great Britain reported 150,000 vegans, according to the BBC. Fast forward to 2018, the Vegan Society conducted research that found there were now 600,000 vegans in Great Britain. Despite the growing popularity, veganism still sees some pushback, and I’d like to show you how to deal with the negativity.
Key Takeaways
Common Things You'll Hear
When going vegan, you’ll often hear things like, “You’re starving yourself!” or “We’re on top of the food chain for a reason.” You can safely disengage from the conversation whenever you hear things like this because nothing of value will come from conversing with that person.
They’ve already made up their minds to hate veganism. Debate is never a bad thing in the right context, but in cases where you know they will harass you for being a vegan, debate won’t contribute anything of value.
When you’re first starting as a vegan, you don’t need that negativity, so it’s easier to sidestep it altogether. Other common things you might hear include:
I know some vegans want to change minds as part of the activism, and I'm not trying to discourage that. Negative interactions, however, can spoil your motivation if you’re new to veganism. I’m not saying not to change minds, but it isn’t the right choice for everyone. I’m happier just quietly enjoying vegan recipes and the healthy lifestyle without having to justify myself to anyone.
I avoid talking about it unless I know the person well because it contributes a negative opinion in my space that doesn’t confer value or anything constructive.
Build a Support System of Like-Minded Individuals
In the beginning, I didn’t know anyone else who was vegan, which made the journey a little more hostile, especially if you tell the wrong person. Some of the ways to build a support system of like-minded individuals who will support you include:
Join Vegan Facebook Groups
When I first became vegan, I thought I was alone. I joined a couple of vegan Facebook groups to find recipes and fuel my new healthy lifestyle. I was very surprised when I saw my violin teacher showed up as belonging to the same vegan group as me. You never know who else in your circle might be vegan.
Support Local Causes
Being outspoken in the right environment is great. I only say to be quiet about it where you know negativity exists and where it won’t be constructive to your motivation. Joining up with a local cause lets you meet other vegans, and use it to fuel your motivation and expand your vegan resources.
Look for Meeting Opportunities
Go to places where you would most likely to encounter people with a vegan philosophy. You might volunteer at local animal sanctuaries or at the Humane Society, which advocates for plant-based diets. You could also look on Meetup to join local groups and events.
Organize Your Own Activities
Let’s say you live in an area where the nearest vegan group is a few hours’ drive away. Instead of throwing your hands up in frustration, you can start a vegan group. Even if the group only consists of you and two other people, it creates a support system, and you can organize fun activities like having a vegan barbecue or a vegan potluck.
Ways to Deal with Negativity About Going Vegan
The way I deal with it is to avoid talking about it in cases where I know that it will stir up a lot of negativity. I know someone who went vegan and every time she showed her dad her food, no matter how good it was, she would always reply, “That’s cow food! How can you eat that?” She complained about him doing that, but never stopped showing him the food.
If you enjoy that type of interaction or you like the challenge of changing someone’s mind, have at it, but doing this can also hurt your own motivation. I also don’t feel like I have to justify my veganism to anyone.
Invest your time in things that will have the greatest impact.
For example, giving money to local vegan causes helps them to build resources for the local community and make a positive difference. Focus your energy on activities that will create positive outcomes. Joining up with an animal rights group can help you to save hundreds of animals.
Find great recipes so the next time someone asks, you have a tasty suggestion. Make sure what you suggest will leave a positive first impression—give them your best recipes.
One of the ways that I always find to overcome negativity is to suggest vegan desserts. Veganism has a lot of great desserts that even some of the most anti-vegan people will love if they keep their mind open. I might talk about recipes like vegan raspberry cheesecake or a pumpkin pie parfait.
Many say veganism takes discipline or that you need to eat super bland food like just plain carrots for the rest of your life. You don’t need either if you cook good recipes, and there are tons of them.
Some healthy food companies have given healthy food a bad name. I remember Nickelodeon teaching me as a kid that healthy food doesn’t have to taste bad, and I’ve tried to live by that since becoming a vegan. If I don’t like a certain healthy food, I eat something better because there’s plenty of others that I do like. That also eliminates the need for so much discipline.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Learning to deal with the negativity about going vegan is something very useful especially if you’re new. Unfortunately, veganism can provoke very strong feelings from both sides. Some may disagree and prefer debate, but keeping it quiet gives you the power to keep your space for veganism positive.
You can still talk to people about veganism, but in cases where you know it will provoke very strong negativity, you may be better off avoiding the conversation altogether since the likelihood of changing that person is next to zero, and it just creates a negative space for yourself.
