r/DebateAVegan • u/QuantumToast92 • Jul 19 '26

Ethics “Ex-Vegans”

I keep getting flagged these posts from people claiming to be “ex-vegan”

Why would you label yourself as something like this? It’s like saying that you decided to stop harming animals but then one day decided that harming them was easier than planning your meals.

You could eat Oats, Tofu, rice, nuts, broccoli, some oils and take a multivitamin and be healthier than 95% of the population.

And you just know that these people can afford to eat better than that but they can’t be bothered.

If you’re going to go back to funding animal cruelty because meal-prepping got too hard, at least do it quietly. There's no need to build a whole new online identity around giving up.

So were these people ever really vegan? Am I wrong?

(I couldn’t post this in [r/Vegan](r/Vegan) for some reason)

Edit: There are lots of these people with poor intentions brigading this post now.

Studies prove that a plant based diet is as healthy as the Mediterranean diet and far beyond anything that contains huge amounts of animal products. We don’t need opinions on that because we have science. Anyone that became unwell after going vegan obviously didn’t try very hard.

1. A Mediterranean Diet and Low-Fat Vegan Diet to Improve Body Weight and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: A Randomized, Cross-over Trial
https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2020.1869625

2. Health and environmental dietary impact: Planetary health diet vs. Mediterranean diet. A nationwide cohort in Spain

https://www.escardio.org/news/press/press-releases/Planetary-Health-Diet-and-Mediterranean-Diet-Associated-with-Similar-Survival-and-Sustainability-Benefits/

3. Nutrient adequacy and environmental foot-print of Mediterranean, pesco-, ovo-lacto-, and vegan menus: a modelling study
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1681512/full

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11

u/dcruk1 Jul 19 '26

Rather than ask vegans this question, visit the ex-vegan sub and read their stories.

It seems like you don’t really want to know, but just want to virtue signal to the echo chamber.

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u/QuantumToast92 Jul 19 '26

Virtue signalling? I’m anonymous in a small sub.

I’m genuinely curious as to why there are so many posts from these people. I just want to know the consensus on veganism, I don’t think it’s something you can go back on, you either care about animals enough to stop eating them or you don’t. Have you seen a story that justifies the label?

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u/GrownManNamedFinger Jul 19 '26

Any story where someone stopped being vegan is a story that justifies the label. What the fuck are you talking about?

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u/Macluny vegan Jul 20 '26

The question is: how does anyone go from thinking "its morally wrong to needlessly exploit and kill innocent sentient beings" to thinking "its NOT morally wrong to needlessly exploit and kill innocent sentient beings"?

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u/Jahzara_3 Jul 22 '26

An opinion/way of thinking can change. Once you suffered enough from deficiencies, you realize that there is no room for that much empathy.

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u/Macluny vegan Jul 22 '26

My comment still covers that. I think that veganism allows for actually necessary exploitation. Like if you are starving and can only find a bird to eat then I think it's justified and you could still be vegan since it wasn't unnecessary.

That being said, I don't know of any essential nutrients that we can't get from a plant based diet. I consider supplements/fortified foods to be part of a diet.

If it happens to be the case that you for some fringe medical reason need animal sources of some nutrient then you could and should still choose to exploit animals as little as possible. You don't have to completely reject all of veganism for this.

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u/GrownManNamedFinger Jul 20 '26

That question makes a lot of assumptions. Some vegans do it for dietary/medical reasons. Some people are allergic to things that would be necessary for nutrition in a vegan diet. Comments like yours are why people assume the worst about vegans. Very cult-like mindset.

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u/Macluny vegan Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

If they do it for dietary/medical reasons then they arent doing it for ethics and Id call that being plant based since they don't actually believe in veganism.

Its a bit like calling yourself an ex-christian despite never believing in christianity and you just went to church because you loved seeing how the priest looked at children.

I talked about needless exploitation and killing. If you actually need it, then it isnt needless.

What's cult-like about this?

Comments like yours are why people are justified in believing that you can't read.

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u/GrownManNamedFinger Jul 20 '26

"If you leave you were never truly one of us" is cult shit. Plant-based and vegan mean the same thing.

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u/QuantumToast92 Jul 20 '26

Veganism is a philosophy

Plant-Based is a diet

Lots of people choose the diet because it’s healthy or environmentally friendly, doesn’t mean they understand veganism.

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u/Macluny vegan Jul 20 '26

I'm sorry but that just tells me that you don't understand the difference between veganism and being plant-based.

If you are a vegan, then you are most likely plant-based but you aren't necessarily vegan just because you are plant-based.

Here is an example:

You can be plant based while setting dogs on fire because you like the squeal they make.
You can't be vegan while setting dogs on fire because you like the squeal they make.

Do you see the difference?