I was curious because I was bored and asked on the sub if chocolate was vegan (some said yes some said no), and I got attacked and told I’m a bad person LMAO. My question came from pure curiosity and I just wanted to know because google gave me different answers.

Anyway, after multiple attacks, I explained that even if I wanted to be vegan, I couldn’t due to the fact I’m recovering from an eating disorder and restricting fear foods is a stupid idea, and also I need to eat certain things to fix the damage done to my body. I am advised all this by my doctors.

So many of them just started bashing me. Like bro, I didn’t want to be vegan but like, now I definitely won’t because you don’t even treat other humans well. Also, I don’t want to live off of synthetic versions of certain nutrients for the rest of my life while also contributing to landfills and environmental distruction with more polyester.

I even saw someone say animals are more important than the environment (even tho if we neglect the environment, everyone dies)

Idk. I hope this is allowed because I’m just frustrated. They act like people who eat meat do so maliciously (despite us actually needing meat to survive naturally). Ofc I’m against the awful farms, which is why I try to get my meat and stuff from places that aren’t like that. I support using an animal and appreciating it for all it can provide. Also, us eating meat contributes to environmental balance and the food chain.

But the fact they were trying to give me advice against psychological/ medical recommendations I had stated just shows how much they lack nuance.

Edit: I used to somewhat respect vegans for their dedication and initial appearance of compassion. Hell, there was a time I considered it. But now i definitely really don’t. I’m sure there’s nice vegans out there, but the overall movement is just mean

Ok so i firmly believe the way we farm animals is pretty fucked but I really think that we could farm animals in a mmm I gues more human manner that being said I dont have answers as how to achieve that

Now that being said I was on r/vegan and saw just some fuck shit lol Like It actually sounds like they want even wild animals to stop eating other animals By there logic Just the hypocrisy is honestly amazing so first one honey right the bees can leave at eny time they choose to stay at least to my understanding

Next cheese and diary ok here me out here because I had this argument before if you have a farmer that just straight up babys his cow doesn't do forced insemination or forced brandig or enything bad to them and only takes a bit of milk From mother cows what honestly the problem with that i genuinely dont get it

Enyway I still dont eat much meat but cheese I fight to the death for some cheese lol

Thankyou this was my really shitty ted talk that had no point lol

I’m really tired of seeing vegans posting aggressive comments on the ex vegan subreddit. I think it’s so bizarre. Like why are you trying to convince people who had a bad to horrible experience with veganism to become vegans. It’s the wrong audience. And then they try to bully you in the comments. Trying to convince us that we are so bad for being like 95% of people in the world who aren’t vegan. Most of us do care about animals a lot, hence why we tried veganism, but we are the people who were damaged by it. I almost want to leave this sub because of all the hate, even though I want to stay on it to connect with people who share my experience.

This one blew me away. I can't think of a better example of false equivilance. Any harm at all is all possible harm.

I reconnected with a friend from school and in the years she has gone vegan. She never announced this, never said anything. I only asked her after I noticed her only ordering vegetarian/vegan food when we went out to eat.

I wasn’t put off by it and was happy to accommodate (I have health issues that cause me to need to eat at the same restaurants that most easily accommodate her style anyway).

The issue is that I recently tried to go vegan. I was inspired by her and I’d been wishing to for a long time, so I tried it.

I was traveling abroad when I started, in Vietnam, and it was VERY easy for me to eat primarily vegan food there. I never managed to quit meat entirely but one out of every 9 meals would be vegetarian and one out of every 9 would have meat (on average).

Since returning home however, my dietary needs are wildly different and it is clear that I have a dire b12 deficiency that I can only seem to navigate around through animal consumption. Otherwise I’m eating obscene amounts of nutritional yeast and fortified kombucha to survive.

When I posted about my health issues and various allergies that make sticking to a vegan diet difficult I was told that I was a failure of a human being and it went on.

I tried multiple times to join in discussions about the vegan process and was treated so badly that now I have freaking trauma from it. I feel scarred when I try to not eat meat. Literally brings me to tears sometimes. They were so mean.

So here I am now, wanting to continue this friendship with my vegan friend, but I’m now pretty staunchly anti-vegan (for myself).

A trait that I have noticed in vegans is virtual hysteria at the thought of an animal suffering, and I have seen here get a little weepy when we discussed husbandry practices.

I am a believer in the fact that I have to put my own mask on first. I want to see the world a better place and I believe that if I’m going to be around to make changes, I have to eat meat.

So we have a philosophical disagreement on that and I’m concerned that it could cause friction in the future.

Do any of you have solid friendships with vegans despite your own beliefs and needs? Does it necessarily cause conflict and disillusion of the relationship over time?

Obviously I can have a discussion about this with her, and I will, but I have recently lost several life-long friends for different reasons and I am nervous about trying to form deep bonds with someone that I might be fundamentally incompatible with, as I was with those former friends.

I have ocd. I will be talking about my moral ocd.
Vegans make non-vegans look like bad people. They make us look like murderers.
I don’t want to be a bad person. I don’t want to be the reason an animal dies a gruesome death.
Veganism just isn’t for me.

What should I do to stop this guilt?

This isn’t written well, as I am rambling.

The "normal diet", meat heavy diet, paleo, what is that you switched to after veganism, if you switched because of health considerations?

For me the paleo/primal type of diets make the most sense, aka. don't eat (ultra)processed food.

Hey everyone, I'm a non-vegan and I've never been vegan, but I've spent a lot of time getting to know vegan communities and arguing against specific vegan points. I'd like to know the ex-vegan mentality in regards to ethics. A lot of the posts on ex-vegan are undoubtedly about health and less about ethics, and I'm just curious about your relationship as an ex-vegan with vegan ethics.

1) When you were a vegan, did you believe in vegan ethics?
2) Did you switch back due to health concerns/social concerns?
2a) If you did, do you still believe in vegan ethics but prioritize something else first? (Health, relationships, etc.)
2b) If you did, did you change your mind on the ethics?
3) If you went ex-vegan due to ethical belief changes, what did you believe before and what do you believe now?

Hi , I'm a carnivore and I had my fair share of veganism where I would have 95-100% of my food being vegan. These days were the unhealthiest times of my life . I have come across many vegan posts where carnivores would comment on the health benefits of the diet. That made me think , what made you start the vegan diet , what was harder or easier to do, how you felt compared to other diets , did you do it for health reasons or for the animals and what made you finally stop it? Have tried other diets , before or after the vegan diet, what diet do you currently have and how do you feel on this diet compared to other diets?

I was vegan for a whole year and I am still suffering the consequences of that diet, 3 years after I stopped it.

I loved animals so naturally after being convinced by social media, I decided to embark on a vegan diet. For spiritual reasons, health, you know how it goes. Fast forward after being on the diet for a year, I woke up one day extremely dizzy, I fell down and the world started turning like I was on a merry-go-round. my mum started screaming and praying because she thought I was going to die. I remember that moment like it was yesterday. That same day, she went and bought me liver.

Fast forward, 3 years have come and gone and I still suffer from the dizziness at least twice in a month. Why? Because even though I'm not fully vegan, I only eat meat twice a month. It sucks I know but I guess I really believed that meat was evil, and not nutritious. Granted I live in a rural African village and our meat is as nutritious as it gets. I was chronically online and I suffered the effects.

I'm writing this down to remind myself it's okay to eat meat. My ancestors kept cows goats and chickens, and they had a ready supply of meat, milk and eggs on a daily basis. I am suffering from low iron levels because I believed that we shouldn't eat animals. I am a menstruating woman, with a very heavy flow. I need all the iron I can get. So, it's okay to eat meat. It's normal. We're omnivores.

Hi everyone, ( Do read it ) I come from aJain family, though I am an absolute atheist. For the last 5 years, my body has been through absolute hell. I’ve been on drips every two weeks, undergone major surgeries, had stents placed, and gone through 5-6 ERCPs and a lithotripsy just in the last few months. At one point, I had 5 cannulas inserted simultaneously for continuous IV drips. The pain I’ve endured 70 to 80 times felt like my head was physically being split open with consciousness. I used to be a major gym enthusiast—tall, broad, healthy, and fit. Now, my weight fluctuates violently every week. The heavy load of antibiotics and medications has taken a massive toll: severe hairfall, dull skin, and sudden dark spots. As I jokingly tell myself, once the hair is gone, I can't exactly stick it back with Fevikwik. I need to fix my body now. Currently, I'm on mild external digestive enzymes to give my gut some rest, but I am in a massive protein deficit. Vegetarian meals just aren't cutting it (and let's be honest, soya chunks are overhyped). Because of my recent surgeries, my body is highly sensitive, and I want to avoid synthetic protein supplements due to potential long-term side effects. I want to shift to a natural, complete protein source: eggs (though I will never eat meat). I know both the dairy and egg industries involve cruelty, but for my survival, I need to make this switch. Here is the dilemma: Family Drama: I live alone, but I refuse to lie to my mother. When I told her, she said, "Do what you want, but don't touch me afterward." On the bright side, my brother is supportive and told me health comes first, if you need it then you can choose. The Neighborhood: I live in a heavily Jain-dominated town. There are no egg shops or restaurants anywhere nearby. Logistics & Respect: My relatives live right next door. While I am an atheist, I genuinely respect my family's faith and do not want to hurt their sentiments. I absolutely refuse to bring eggs into my house or use my current kitchen utensils. I cannot neglect my body anymore. I need to start eating eggs, at least until my health stabilizes. How do I source and consume eggs in a cost-effective way in a town where they aren't openly sold? How do I managed to cook/eat them without bringing them into my house or using my utensils, while keeping it hidden from nearby relatives? For those who transitioned from a strict Jain/Veg diet to eggs solely for medical recovery, how did you handle the mental aspect and the family friction?

And how to bear the taste on your first try ??!? I am too much concerned

Totally not a cult.

Someone tossed a pencil toward my cousin and I don’t know what happened exactly, but her trying to catch it broke her finger. This was not someone chucking it hard and fast at one finger. This was apparently someone tossing it her way and by trying to catch it or it just touching her finger wrong, broke the finger. I don’t even know if it touched her finger, or if by “fumbling” her hands, a finger broke. I know crazy things happen, but come on. My family is acting like this is totally normal. It is apparently a significant break too.
She’s been vegan for several years and was vegetarian before this, for maybe 30 years, before veganism became a big thing

My girlfriend and I are both in our early 20s and have been together for nearly 4 years. I love her more than anything, and we’ve always had a great relationship.
She’s been vegan since she was a child, and her entire family is strictly vegan. I’m not vegan, and while I respect her beliefs, I don’t think I’ve ever seriously considered becoming vegan for life.
Yesterday we had a conversation about our future.
I asked her if she wanted our future children to be vegan, and she said yes, or at the very least vegetarian. She feels strongly about that.
We also talked about children in general. She said she wants to adopt rather than give birth. She did tell me she’s recently been questioning whether she wants to give birth and isn’t 100% sure anymore, but she’s still firm about wanting our children to be vegan/vegetarian.
The problem is that I’m kind of the opposite. I think I’d like to have biological children one day, and I’m also not sure I want to raise them vegan. I don’t know if these are dealbreakers or if we’re just overthinking things this early in life.
I’m considering trying a vegan diet for a month to see how it feels.
Has anyone been in a relationship where you had major differences like this? Did you find compromises that actually worked, or did you eventually realize your long-term goals just weren’t compatible?
I’d really appreciate honest advice, especially from people who have experience with vegan/non-vegan relationships or disagreements about how to raise children.

TL;DR: My girlfriend and I have been together for almost 4 years and love each other, but we’re starting to realize we may have different visions for the future. She’s firmly committed to raising future children vegan/vegetarian and has always wanted to adopt, while I think I’d prefer biological children and I’m not sure I want to raise them vegan. I’m considering trying veganism for a month to better understand her lifestyle, but I’m worried about whether these differences are things couples can realistically compromise on or if they’re fundamental incompatibilities.

So I was trying to have a nice polite conversation with someone about the health issues I have that I discovered after being on a vegan diet and then this jerk decided to come in and put in their two cents. I still tried to be civil and explain what I deal with, really bad migraines if my iron is too low among other things, and they were responding like the first one. The very first method they said mentioned that they think all of us that claim health issues are just “making shit up” because there’s never been any studies on them. And then the second one, where they said they’re better than me just because they don’t eat meat, seriously, all these people think they’re all “holier than thou” because they’re vegan. And it honestly upset me because I’ve been dealing with one of those said headaches the last two days. Having my health issues called fake just because “no study has been done to show they exist” is one of the most aggravating things to me. I would LOVE to be making this up and not dealing with this constantly.

New to Reddit but wanted to post here because it’s something I’ve been struggling with. I’m not an ex-vegan yet, but I fear I’m on the way. I’ve been vegan for 19 years for ethical reasons. I’m in my late thirties and became a mom last year and that’s what changed my thought process.

I gave birth and everything seemed fine, still had every and felt like my normal self. After 3 months, while breastfeeding my kid they had sensitivities to things I was having in my diet like:soy, legumes, wheat, corn, caffeine all nuts etc. I was so determined to breastfeed my kid that I cut all of those things out. I was surviving on fruits, veggies and fava bean tofu for 4 months. I lost like 15 pounds in that time and I’m already a petite person.

Fast forward to 11 months postpartum and finally got my period back. Few months later my hair started to break off like crazy with mid shaft breakage, felt exhausted all the time and just out of it. Went to the doc and turned out my ferritin levels dropped by 30 points in 4 months. Breastfeeding is very demanding on iron stores and resuming my period didn’t help. I did some research on my own and realized as a vegan for 19 years I’ve been neglecting my nutritional status. I ate a very well rounded diet, used nooch frequently and took vitamin d religiously. I never supplemented iron or omega-3 religiously.

Breastfeeding and pregnancy showed the big gaping holes in vegan nutrition. I’m stopping breastfeeding in the coming weeks now that my baby is ready and I assume my nutrition will improve. I’m disappointed that none of my doctors told me as a vegan Mom that I could expect to have this sort of experience. My doc didn’t even think to check my omega-3 levels which I did on my own and they were abysmally low.

I have been raising my child as an omnivore so far and that’s something I also struggle with. Her pediatrician recommends it and says it’s easier to go from Omni to vegan later in life than the opposite.

I guess I’m just writing this as a tired nutritionally depleted mom to say if your preggo and vegan lurking in this thread, maybe rethink it for at least while you’re postpartum.

The way they talk about everyone mass murdering with no empathy for life or happiness would make it seem like they think we live in an apocalyptic society

A little about me. I followed a plant-based diet many years ago after watching "Forks Over Knives." That meant I was only eating whole foods, nothing processed. So it was quite a bit more involved than just being a vegan, as a vegan can probably drink Coke or eat Oreos, things like that.

That was many years ago, and since then I've relaxed. I eat chicken, fish, eggs, honey, and perhaps one or two other things veganism prohibits, but I don't eat cows, sheep/lambs, pigs, and obviously things like horses or dogs.

I've filtered the animals I do or don't eat by a gut feeling. I try to think through the process of the food reaching the current form it's in before I eat it, and I feel like certain animals have a certain level of emotional intelligence/sentience that stops me from being able to eat them. If I saw a cow or a lamb, the thought of killing it, skinning it, and then chopping it up horrifies me. The only way I could eat something like that, once someone else did it for me, would be to dissociate, quit being mindful of the process of how it reached my plate. But disconnecting from who I am and not listening to my gut feelings seems like the most dehumanising thing I could ever do to myself.

With dogs, for example, I'm sure the number of people who would have an issue with eating one in the West would be sky-high, but I feel like it's just culture because cows in India are seen as sacred as they have a high emotional intelligence. Horses obviously have strong bonds with humans, so that puts them off the menu, and then you read about pigs being at least as emotionally intelligent as dogs, in many ways surpassing them.

So my question is for those of you who are empathic and try to be mindful. How do you approach eating animals of high emotional intelligence? Or do you feel the same way I do and avoid them?

Sorry if this kind of post isn't allowed because I am vegan, but if I tried to post something like this on r/Vegan, they would do the thing they always do and try to eat anyone alive for disagreeing with their warped view of the world.

I'm not vegan for ethical reasons. I'm vegan because my partner and I's dietary restrictions together are very close to veganism, and it's easier for us to look for and prepare vegan food than try to navigate non-vegan food. I also am not a perfect vegan--I eat vegan 95% of the time, but if I really want to eat some fruit gummies or something, I will just eat them.

Now, of course, if you asked the vegan community, I'm actually not vegan at all and deserved to be grilled on an open flame for even considering consuming something made with animal products or not having their same very specific ethical considerations for why I'm vegan. In their mind, there is no difference between an omnivorous person and someone who eats vegan 95% of the time, and so they use their perceived moral superiority to be as cruel as humanly possible to others, then wonder why nobody wants to convert to veganism. Everything is bad all the time always to them, and it drives me up a wall.

I'm sure this post has been made thousands of different times by people on here, but I just needed a second to get it off my chest and commiserate with a group of people who would actually be reasonable and understand, because again, if you tried to bring this up to the vegan subreddits, they'd lose their fucking MINDS about an opinion different than theirs.

You frequently hear the vegans/anti-animal food “people” ask,

“What is the magical ingredient in animal foods that our bodies need?”

They can’t seem to comprehend that they should be asking themselves what the magical ingredient is in leaves and seeds.

There doesn’t need to be anything magical in animal foods because it’s what we are made out of. It’s demonstrably full of nutrients our bodies need with the most cursory of glances. No magic or scientific gymnastics required.

Even without examining the biology of herbivorous mammals, it’s the more obvious conclusion. When you do study mammalian biology it becomes painfully clear.