Heyo!
This intro feels way more natural and if you've ever had a phone call or met me you'll know this is how I best start the conversation or greet you. So it's staying, besides, everyone presumes I have a target audience when in actual fact I'm pretty darn versatile.
I became vegetarian about four or five years ago (it was ages ago and I don't really know for sure when) but I did it for lent. I had wanted to try for ages and my anaemia was at a point where cutting out meat and animal products wouldn't affect me or my iron levels that much. I had always found it tricky to eat meat and meat products, I couldn't seem to digest red meat very well at all so giving that up was no big deal, I only really liked chicken and fish but I had cut fish out of my diet a while before going vegetarian, fish are friends, not food. It was rather easy for me to go vegetarian, but being the only one in my house and one of two in the whole family to not eat meat made me a bit of an outcast at times.
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| Bronte felt this represented vegans and vegetarians, good on ya girl |
There's a huge stigma around being vegetarian or vegan and I hate it.
Going vegetarian at the time was a bigger deal than it is now, there wasn't much variety in restaurants outside of Brighton where all the cool people live (I want to live there one day so badly!) and seeing as all my family and the majority of my friends were meat eaters I was faced with trivia such as "where will you get your iron from?" "don't you miss bacon?" and the infamous "I could never give up meat, how do you do it?" It drove me mental. It's caring the first few times but after years of questions like these I just stopped answering and simply mentioned that I don't bring up what they eat so why do they? This continues now even, I went vegan in February (again for lent) and I constantly get asked so many odd questions so I thought I'd write this post and get it out of my system and educate everyone that no, I don't eat super healthy and vegans/veggies do not just want salad.
'Don't you miss eating meat?'
No. I really don't, and I think I can speak for quite a few veggies/vegans when I say we would rather not eat bacon because we are not okay with where it comes from. This does not however mean we want to tell you every gory detail about the meat industry, and I for one refuse to share the videos of animals before slaughter or the process/conditions they are kept in, personally I do not understand why these are shown. I believe in educating people on other ways to eat without meat. Eating meat is a choice, but a lot of people seem to think you have to. You don't.
'What do you eat instead?'
Funnily enough, meat isn't the only food on the planet. Vegetables, fruit, soya and mycoprotein alternatives, anything other than meat. With vegetarianism and veganism on the rise, there have been amazing developments in regards to cruelty-free foods. Quorn even do vegan chicken style nuggets now, on sale in Asda and the Quorn range as a whole caters to so many people with a huge array of products. Many supermarkets do their own brand substitutes for veggies and vegans. Plant-based products are expanding now too. You don't need meat to have a good time.
'How do you get all your iron/protein/nutrients?'
Another silly question. You don't get everything you need from meat. There are so many superfoods that offer all the nutrition you could ever want, nuts offer lots of protein for instance, kale and spinach contain sufficient iron, and if you are still struggling like me there are everyday supplements that you can buy over the counter to make sure you are getting everything your body needs. Due to the time they spend making sure they get everything they need, vegetarians and vegans are often healthier, and it is proven that they often live longer too.
Dumb jokes
"How do you know if someone's a vegetarian/vegan? They've already told you!" Hysterical, right? Wrong. I only tell people when they ask me, or if there's a discussion where it is appropriate. I don't parade around with a huge V on my jumper screaming the lyrics to 'Meat is Murder' in your face, nor do I make people feel bad about eating their burger with cheesy chips. I don't understand why people think vegetarians and vegans act this way. They do not think they are above anyone and simply, want to live their life by not eating meat or living a cruelty-free life. Why is this funny?
'You must really care for the animals'
Although myself and others love all animals, this is not the only reason someone decides to make this change in their life. It has been proven that there are various health benefits to cutting meat out of your diet, you are less likely to die of a heart disease and you are more likely to live longer than meat eaters. Some people do not eat dairy as they have an intolerance to it, some have issues digesting meat, not everyone is doing it to save the animals.
'Will you be offended if I eat this burger in front of you?'
No, I won't. You can eat whatever you want, as long as you
aren't trying to make me eat it, or trying to trick me into eating it, I really
don't mind. (Tricking a vegan may sound odd, but someone did try once and I
have no clue why) I'm pretty relaxed when it comes to eating, I go to Nando's
and get my favourite bean burger without the mayo whilst my friend will get
half a chicken. As long as I don't have to eat it, it doesn't bug me.
'You're killing the plants'
How is this worse than funding the killing of animals? I don't really understand this supposed argument, but if this is you then please leave. This is an argument someone uses when they have nothing left and just want to start a debate. I always let this go over my head and ignore it. This isn't even a valid argument.
'Vegetarians and vegans think they're so much better than regular people'
Untrue. Some may feel they are superior, but this is a very small minority. A lot of us feel that we are doing our bit to help the animals, the living conditions and lives of animals, our own bodies etc. Many do it out of morals, I myself am a Buddhist and we do not believe in killing and we believe in avoiding suffering where possible - so to me it makes perfect sense to be vegan, but I fully understand that to others this is not the case. And that's okay. A lot of people make the change to go vegetarian or vegan because they simply want to get healthier (legendary runner Mo Farah endorses Quorn, and he's an athlete so it can't be that bad!) So ignore the ones who are constantly going on about how much better they are than you. We're regular people too, we just don't eat the same as you for our own reasons, and we don't have to justify that.
'All you eat is salad, you must be so healthy / What do you eat when you go out?'
NO. Salad is not the only part of my diet. If you know me at all you'll know I love snacks. I am constantly finding new recipies and things to try and make at home, from meals to sweet treats. The shops offer a huge range of unhealthy alternatives, and restaurants cater for vegetarians and often vegans nowadays. Even Wetherspoons have a veggie and vegan menu, a whole A3 page of food we can have just for us. Worst case scenario, I'll always opt for some chips on a night out with my pals, potatoes are a vegan's best friend.
These are just a few things that I get asked and told which drive me a little bit crazy, I hope I haven't come across as a preachy vegan!
B x
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