Don’t be preachy, respect other people’s opinions. It’s simple.

Yay for you! Nine year vegan here, I remember saying I would never do it either. But now meat and dairy aren’t even things I think about, let alone miss.

There is no answer that will please everyone. It’s best to treat veganism as a religion, as in an ethical framework that guides your actions. But just like religion, it’s not polite to talk about it nor judge others for believing differently. You’ll absolutely encounter people who feel comfortable for mocking your beliefs, including friends and family, but the best strategy is to smile and say you’d rather talk about something else. You can’t control if others decide to be jerks, but tend your own garden and remember there is no profit in being argumantive back. Eternally change the subject and you’ll rarely be accused of being preachy. Unfortunately there are those who take your meat as an inherent judgement of their own, but that is a dilemma they need to fix themselves.

Having said that, I applaud your choice and urge you to get b-12 supplements. A large chunk of the population is deficient anyways and while you adjust there is a good chance you’ll miss some of the supplements added to meat products that mostly likely were your primary source.

I don’t think there are good arguments for eating meat, and I think people get mad at vegans because of the cognitive dissonance. “If eating meat is bad, and I eat meat, then I’m bad. But I’m not bad! They must be bad! They suck!”

Sometimes you see this with other things. Like if someone walks or takes a bike instead of driving for the environment. “If driving is bad for the environment, and I do a lot of driving, I’m doing bad. But I’m a good person! Fuck them for making me feel bad!”

Most people are just large children.

Sometimes people try to justify eating meat. Some reasons are more defensible than others. Someone with severe allergies might have trouble getting nutrition from vegan options. Someone saying “but I enjoy it” is acting like a child.

In short, most people are operating mostly on emotional levels. Facts don’t really matter. Feelings drive them. I think this is the root of most of our problems, honestly, that people can’t put aside their emotions.

Personally, I try to minimize how much meat I eat, but I’m okay with accepting sometimes I do bad things.

Don’t superglue yourself to burger king counters while holding a tablet playing a meat grinder video.

Don’t follow random people and film them to ridicule them online for buying McDonald’s.

Don’t steal homeless people’s dogs and put them up for adoption.

Don’t block traffic.

Don’t shame anyone for eating meat and animal products.

Don’t block entrances to restaurants that serve animal products. Don’t bang on the windows or shine bright lights into the restaurant either.

Don’t act like words like bacon, beef, venison, sausage, pork, etc. are slurs or swear words.

Don’t hide the fact that a dish has vegan alternatives, that’s not going to make someone realize it’s Not As Hard Of A Change!!! Those alternatives usually have allergens most wouldn’t expect if it were name the regular way. Who expects soy or nuts in a hot chocolate or chicken nugget?

Just exist and don’t be a dick. Anyone who has a problem with a vegan just existing is an asshole, don’t waste time with them. But if the association with Those Vegans™ still sucks, then just say it’s your religious belief. But then again if you have the emotional energy, you should denounce and call out the toxic vegans and help destroy the negative impression.

Honestly I don’t care what you want to eat. It’s your body, you can shove whatever you like into it.

Where vegans become a problem is where they’re being evangelical about their beliefs and trying to force their audience to feel the same shock and horror as they feel when contemplating the meat industry. If all I hear from you is restricted to when I offer you food and ask if you have any dietary requirements, and is of the form “I’m vegan”, that’s absolutely fine. If we’re friends I’ll adjust the menu for you, although you might have to accept it’s only your plate that gets veganified.

You going “eww” and talking about “rotting corpses” or whatever is where it becomes a problem. If I’ve asked, obviously I’ve brought your response upon myself but you should still tone it down for the non-vegans. “I’ve looked into the meat industry and I didn’t like what I saw” would be a good first response; make sure not to release any gory details unless people are really pressing you for that level of detail.

That said, none of this is based on actual experience of offensively evangelical vegans. I’ve heard they exist but haven’t met one yet. I’ve known some people for quite a while before finding out they’re vegan, veggie or whatever.

Yeah I think “evangelical vegans” or “bad vegans” are a sort of caricature made for comedians and then everyone else to punch down on. Sure annoying vegans exist, and so do annoying meat eating people, but diet isn’t necessarily why these people are annoying.

I imagine there’s also an element of defensiveness from meat eaters as well. Even reasonably stating “I don’t eat meat because of the cruelty in the industry and the negative environmental impacts” is implicitly challenging a meat eater to consider those things, which they likely never have. And being faced with the certainty that the vegan is making that statement (the cruelty of the industry and environmental impacts are objective), the meat eater is possibly going to feel like they are being judged or attacked.

If people ask why you’re vegan, focus on the positives of veganism. I say: the food’s delicious, I feel healthier, and I like animals.

It frames it as something you benefit from, rather than depriving yourself of something.

Respond to right wing reactionaries who go out of their way to complain about vegans simply with “😇💌Triggered”

There. Now you are the Good Vegan™️

You just do you. I think when people say “bad” they generally mean preachy. That is not most vegans. Just live your life, eat what you want, bring good food to potlucks so that you know you’ll have something.

I will add that mentioning it is not preachy, if you get an overreaction it’s not you. I am omnivorous and would want someone to tell me before a party or outing so that I don’t accidentally invite them to a steakhouse or BBQ joint. I often make vegan food for potlucks just because it’s sort of a baseline, most everyone can eat it.

As someone who deals with lactose intolerance.

Just don’t make it a big deal, if you can’t eat something, don’t eat it. Your needs are important, but other people are equally entitled to their own enjoyment.

I hate vegans who only do it to virtue signal, it is a personal journey keep it that way.

If someone is thoughtful enough to ask about your dietary requirements, they are probably “good people” and won’t care about it. They will just make allowances for you.

An anecdote about dietary requirements:
I have a sister in law who cannot eat onions/garlic/leeks etc… she does make a big deal about it, no dishes can have those ingredients when she is around.
Her intolerance is about at bad as mine, she gets bloated and gassy… So not dangerous, just uncomfortable.
It always feels difficult to deal with. My view is, if you want to make potatoes with cream sauce, enjoy it I’ll eat something else.

Not by asking non vegans. Vegans are the voice for the voiceless and you’re taking part in a boycott that challenge peoples core beliefs. To be a good vegan is to push back and disturb social cohesion which people do not like. I’m not a vegan to make friends, I’m vegan to do the right thing.

“What makes a “good vegan”, and how can I be one?”

huh… not eating/consuming animal-related products?

My buddy went hard when he first went vegan, pushing me to see videos of animal abuse so i would ‘understand’. That was annoying, but it was new to him so i didn’t make it an issue. His making the change was enough to start me on the road myself, though i don’t think he’d understood that (cuz i’d never tell him lol)

My son is vegan and he makes fun of himself - If you vape, you’re vegan, and you’re in a band; which one do you talk about first? Was funnier a few years ago when people carried around those giant vapes. We harassed him a lot for saying, “i can’t eat that” - well, yes you can, but you choose not to- so, now he’ll say he prefers to avoid animal products. If people ask, be honest and answer succinctly - I’m trying it to see if it makes me feel better, or whatever. The hate isn’t from choosing your own food. It’s from the endless conversations and superior, more informed attitude about it - same as anyone who makes one thing their identity - politics, religion, etc.

Honestly, just don’t be a dick about it.

It’s like being a good insert religious group. You live your beliefs, and don’t push them on other people. It’s really that simple. That’s what people hate about vegans.

If someone asks, it’s perfectly okay to explain why you follow a religion, so it’s fine when the question is about being vegan. It’s when there’s a conversation about something else, and you insist on shoving your beliefs into it that’s there’s a problem. Or, when the conversation is such that talking about your beliefs is the goal, insisting that the other people agree with your beliefs.

It’s that simple. It’s that easy.

I troll vegans. It’s easy to do because a lot of them treat it like a religion and are zealots, or are arrogant enough to think that they’re better because of what they believe. But, irl away from the anonymity of the internet, it rarely happens, and the vegans I know are fucking great, because they don’t shoehorn their beliefs into things, and don’t act like jerks about it. It’s why I’ll gladly cook vegan for them when they’re guests.

You know how people bitch about jehovah’s witnesses and mormons knocking on their door, or the baptists (or other christian sects) leaving shit on their stoop or shoved into doors? Don’t be like that. If you’re in a situation where you would not be surprised that someone would be angry/annoyed by someone going on about being wiccan or christian, or hindu, they’ll likely be the same about veganism.

Live your beliefs, don’t show them off, and anyone that has a problem with you is the asshole, not you.