I’ve been vegan for nearly 3 years, and I’ll never stop. I’m committed to this for life, no matter how tiring it gets.
But seriously, I’m so tired.
The mental gymnastics people do when you say you don’t support animal cruelty are unreal. Why do they take it so personally?
Anytime I mention being vegan in a setting where food is involved, it’s like I’ve triggered something. Suddenly, I’m hearing all about someone’s cousin’s wife’s dog or whatever who DIED from being vegan for a week. Suddenly, everyone’s a nutritionist or historian telling me we were “meant” to eat meat, despite what science actually says.
Then come the moral debates: “What about the people in deserts who can’t grow plants?” “Mice die for your spinach too!” And somehow, the working conditions for kids in China who made my phone always get brought up. It’s exhausting.
And don’t get me started on the excuses. People claiming rare diseases that magically require meat or saying they can’t even look at a vegetable without throwing up. Then there’s the misinformation, like veganism being worse for the environment or plants feeling pain.
Oh, and vegetarians who think they’re on the same page as us but still eat cheese and eggs. Or the people who say they love animals but munch on chicken nuggets while saying animal abusers should be jailed.
The only person who’s really supportive is my best friend. She’s not vegan, but she makes an effort to cook vegan dishes every time we hang out. Why can’t more people be like that?
I’m just so done with the constant battles. Anyone else feel the same?