Isn’t It Hard To Go Vegan?
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When someone asks me if it’s hard to be vegan, I usually say “it’s easier than you think and it gets easier every day.”
When I went vegan, I did it a bit gradually by going “vegan at home” first and eating differently at restaurants. The more I got used to eating vegan at home, the more comfortable I felt about asking for vegan options at restaurants and eventually one thing led to the next and I was eating vegan meals all the time no matter where I was. The more I learn, the easier it gets.
The Black Vegetarian Society of Texas FAQ expresses a similar sentiment:
Isn’t it hard to go vegan? It can be, especially if you hold yourself to too high a standard at first. But the important thing is to make changes you feel comfortable with, at your own pace. While reducing your consumption of animal products completely may be ideal, any reduction is a step in the right direction.
Check out the whole FAQ for more information on vegetarianism and veganism. Go here: http://www.bvstx.org/faq.html
What’s your answer when someone asks you, “Isn’t it hard to go vegan?”
Love this point of view! Especially when doing activist work, I can see that it feels like so much less of a barrier for people to climb if you assure them they don’t have to be perfect right away. Can’t give up cheese? Then give up everything but cheese. And the best part is that once those small changes start piling up, you notice that you’re a whole lot closer to those changes that used to seem like such a far reach.
Personally, I always like to point out that any aspects of being vegan that are difficult, aren’t so inherently – they’re only difficult because they’re rare. The more of us that become vegan, the more of us that flex our consumer muscle and start expressing a desire for vegan products and restaurant meals, the more vegan options will exist for others who want to go vegan. It’s no harder to eat a vegetable than a cow (much, much easier, in fact): we simply have to push it in the mainstream.
.-= Kayla´s last blog ..Vegan Bake Sale =-.
Going vegan hard? Not for me. I am just unable to eat animal products with out thinking about the suffering it took for me to eat it. Then it doesn’t taste good at all! I have been a vegetarian since I was 16 and vegan since 2006. I simply was unable to get the correct answers about cheese, eggs and “organic” until I found the right places on the internet that showed me the truth!! Marketing is very deceiving! They want you to believe that organic cheese and eggs come from ‘happy’ animals. Absolutely NOT! These animals are not anywhere near happy they are tortured, babies taken away and killed or used for veal. “Cows are stupid animals” biggest lie.They cry for their babies more than some women!! Cage free eggs only means they are kept in one large room still crammed in with no real life. Lies. Lies. Lies.GMO foods are also scary. I am unable to remember the entire article but I do remember “injecting tomatoes with fish”. Now I grow my own!! I am thinking the only way we can be as sure as we can is to grow it ourselves!! I know not very practical for most of us! $$$$ Sick.
it was not hard to go vegan, it is quite simple to be vegan and maintain a cruelty free plant based, humane diet. the main obstacles were the immense amounts of disinformation, expedient pc doublethink and popular nutritional myths/fallacies that i took at face value. Once i got beyond that the rest was easy. i let my conscience do my speaking for me.
Being vegan is not inherently hard. It’s all the emotional and environmental obstacles that have to be overcome that make it seem hard.
The hard parts are
1/ Breaking old habits. This is hard for many people.
2/ Overcoming addictions. Food is an addiction for many people, which explains why so many of us are overweight. And some foods are even chemically addictive (like cheese).
3/ Doing without the foods you’ve loved since childhood – all the comfort foods. Yes there are wonderful vegan recipes but they don’t replace those old favorites.
4/ Being surrounded by people who are chowing down on the very foods you are craving but can’t have.
5/ Dealing with people you care about who are hurt or insulted because you won’t evejn taste the dish they made specially.
I know some people find it easy, but we’re not all clones. Humans are each unique and have our own demons to face. I wish more vegans could be helpful and encouraging to newbies who are going through tough withdrawals. Too many of us just dismiss other people’s struggles.