Why would anyone go vegan? If someone you know has gone vegan, you might have lots of questions about veganism, and be struggling to understand their decision. Does your loved one want to miss out on Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas ham, late-night McDonald’s runs and your signature scrambled eggs?
If you have a ton of questions (or maybe even feel betrayed) because your friend or family member went vegan, keep this in mind:
Going vegan is not an easy choice
Yep. That’s it: the one thing you need to know about veganism (or vegetarianism). If someone has gone vegan, they most likely did not make this decision lightly (even if it seemed to happen overnight).
Often, when people find out that I’m vegan, they say something like, “I could never be vegan. I love cheese too much.” I’ve grown used to answering the question, “Why did you go vegan?” and it’s understandable for people to have questions about this lifestyle change. However, I feel that a lot of their scrutiny stems from a misunderstanding about why I (or anyone) would go vegan.
As humans, food is integral to our lives and lifestyles, influencing both our most common days and our most special ones. Birthday means cake, and a fancy dinner out means steak. A ‘traditional’ breakfast (at least here in the United States) means eggs and bacon. From the outside, it could seem like a punishment to resist this. Why would someone willingly give up these traditions?
There are many compelling reasons to go vegan
The answer to this question is that for vegans, eating isn’t simply a means of sustaining life or a way to experience pleasure (though there are plenty of delicious vegan foods!). For vegans, making careful choices about what we eat is a way to align our lifestyles with our morals, values, and hopes for the future.
For example, I chose to go vegan because cutting out (or cutting back on) meat and dairy is better for the environment. It’s also a more equitable way of eating, in terms of sustaining a growing global population.
Just because I felt convicted to make this change didn’t mean it was an easy choice. I struggled with all the things listed above. What would my family think? How would I mark special occasions if I couldn’t partake in the traditional foods? Ultimately, though, I knew that I had to change my lifestyle, so I did.
It isn’t always about what you like or dislike, or what’s easy to do
When well-meaning people say things like “I could never give up cheese,” I feel like they’re misunderstanding the whole concept of going vegan. I love cheese, too! Confession time: I haven’t fully given up dairy products. However, I call myself a vegan because calling myself a vegetarian doesn’t fully encapsulate my striving towards a plant-based lifestyle. Ideally, I would call myself “mostly plant-based,” but often it’s easier to just say, “I’m vegan.”
My point, though, is that I didn’t go vegan because I didn’t like dairy products. I didn’t do it because I thought vegan food was better-tasting. I did it because I felt called to the lifestyle, and I was willing to go through the challenges and sacrifices involved because it felt like the right thing to do.
It’s a choice, but it’s more than just a choice
Yes, I made a choice to go vegan. That is, I’m not lactose intolerant and I don’t have allergies that necessitate a certain diet. Eating plant-based, for me, is completely voluntary. However, that doesn’t mean that it was a whim or something I would easily give up. Just because I wasn’t forced to do it doesn’t make it unimportant.
I would even go so far as to say that going vegan wasn’t much of a choice- once I learned of the effects of meat and dairy on the planet, I knew I had to change my diet to match my values. I honestly never though I’d go vegan- I thought maybe I could be vegetarian, but vegans were a completely different breed. Life has a funny way of surprising you!
How to support a friend who’s gone vegan
Whether or not you fully understand why your loved one would choose to go vegan, you want the best for them (I hope)! Here are some suggestions for how to navigate this transition with them.
- Be curious, not skeptical. You don’t have to ask why they went vegan, but if you want to, do so respectfully. Keep in mind that they’ve likely done their research and have good reasons for making this change, even if they have trouble articulating those reasons.
- Assume that they know what’s best for their body (or are on a journey of figuring it out). It probably isn’t helpful for a new vegan to hear about, say, your aunt who tried to go vegan but couldn’t get enough protein. A vegan diet can be quite healthy if done right, and everyone’s body and ability to process foods is different.
- Be open to trying new vegan foods with them! Yes, there will probably be a few that, to be frank, will not be good. But the same can be said about lots of non-vegan food, no? There are so many delicious plant-based foods out there that even if you never intend to go vegan yourself, you’d be remiss not to expand your horizons! And if you really don’t want to try a vegan dish, you can quietly pass it by without making your distaste known.
Storytime
I’ve tried to keep things mostly positive in this article- this is the Hopeful Generation, after all. There’s a sunshine in the logo. We look on the bright side! But as you can probably tell from reading this, navigating the vegan transition with my family and friends has been a struggle (although I should add that on the whole, people have been supportive). If you’re reading this, I want to thank you for taking the time to try to understand and support your vegan friends and family!
I want to end by noting that if you can’t resist taking a crack at your vegan friends, there is a right way to do it.
In college, I had lots of plants in my apartment. Every winter and summer break, I’d pack them all up in my car to bring home with me. One such packing occurred shortly after I went vegan, in the fall of 2022. My roommate’s boyfriend, watching me pack, said, “Are those your snacks for the road?”
And you know what? I actually thought that was pretty funny.
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