Why Do People Hate Vegans So Much?

When actions don’t align with morals, things get awkward.

The first time I heard the word vegan, it came from the mouth of my high school bestie, Laura. It was a novel and ridiculous concept to me, and I couldn’t figure out why anyone would willingly limit their dietary choices, especially when it involved a sacrifice to tastes I considered my staples — and basically impossible to live without.

I was uninformed and thoroughly ignorant at the time, as we all are when presented with a brand new topic. As long-time friends, we already had established trust and valued each other’s points of view on various topics. So although veganism sounded like an awful idea I gave her the respect she deserved and decided to listen without judgment, and immerse myself into learning with an open mind.

I was stubborn and considered my taste buds my top priority. I lived my whole life eating meat and everyone I knew ate animal products. They were healthy, happy, and intelligent enough to make informed choices about the food they chose to eat. Or were they? I ignored the vegans around me, deeming them flighty hippies. I continued to live in bliss eating all the animals that tasted so delicious.

I told myself that I felt just fine, but could no longer ignore the havoc dairy wreaked on my body. Frequent bloating, diarrhea, and migraines sent me to explore dairy-free alternatives. There was milk, butter, ice cream, pizza—I didn’t have to give anything up. It tasted the same and I honestly felt a huge difference. This initiated my meatless journey.

Much Time Later…

Then I went vegan four years later, more educated than ever on food, nutrition, vitamin deficiencies, balanced diets, and how diverse a plant-based diet truly is. I educated myself on how to live healthy and debunked myths associated with veganism.

I watched films, read scientific literature, and spoke to dozens of vegans in an effort to learn about their struggles and how going vegan changed them for the better.

I exposed myself to thousands of hours of gruesome footage of tortured and abused animals in every industry you could think of—from dairy to fur to cosmetic testing, and everything in between. I visited slaughterhouses in New Jersey to bear witness to innocent animals deprived of water for 24 and trucked to their death in extreme temperatures.

I learned about the environmental impact of cattle grazing plus how cow’s farts and belches (methane) burn a hole through our atmosphere, in addition to other topics that basically pushed me towards insanity and disbelief.

Activism + Advocacy

Then I became an activist, a year in. They don’t call them “angry vegans” for nothing. I was mad at the world—primarily the perpetrators of this abuse.

This led me to a state that loathed the human race for its complacency in obtaining food in exchange for pain, fear, and gory deaths by the millions. I was livid with myself for being so stubborn when the truth was right in front of me.

I was enraged at the companies who sold flesh and secretions to me for so many years and brainwashed me. I was led to believe my eggs were lovingly collected from the excess of well-fed hens due to clever marketing schemes like “free-range.”

Every commercial I saw had me thinking my steak was treated with care until the day they painlessly and “humanely” took his life. I had a right to feel crossed for being lied to my entire life.

Everyone Must Know — it’s Informed Consent

I wanted to share this knowledge with the world. I wanted everyone to know the truth—especially those who claimed to love animals. I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t give me the time of day—just as I did when vegans of the past tried informing me.

I became indignant, forceful, and defensive. I felt the need to correct people when they uttered dull-witted statements like

“Plants feel pain, too” or “Mmmm, bacon.”

I pondered that if they knew the truth, the majority of them would care, and change—for whatever reason or reasons that resonated with them.

A Hasty + Unaffective Approach

I was nasty, abrupt, and lacked empathy when people tried to get under my skin or didn’t have the nerve to listen. I made them uncomfortable on purpose and showed them gruesome videos.

I asked them if they would ever consider eating their dog and detailed the true contents of their hot dogs for them. I revealed that the products they consumed caused illness and disease, in an effort to use the tactic of fear.

I looked them dead in the eyes and asked them how they could eat animals if they say they love them? I didn’t stir, I fought every backward argument and wrinkled my eyebrows in obvious annoyance at the crap that came out of their mouths.

It was so obvious to me. How could people possibly neglect the footage right in front of their eyes as I described it to them and thoughtfully answered their honest questions?

They hated me.

Taboo, Hard to See the Truth Right Before You

I often asked people taboo questions, impossible to answer without bending their argument. This was typically followed by averted eyes or a request to stop forcing my beliefs on them. I didn’t care.

People hate me when I say I’m vegan without exchanging one word with me. That could be because they’re put on edge when someone attacks them for their dietary preferences, which is understandable.

Verbally attacking people doesn’t work, and I’ve come to realize that with practice and a desire to be more empathetic, and less of a crazy vegan.

Veganism is Now

Hate me or love me, I won’t stop sharing the truth behind the animal agriculture industry, and how to live with more compassion, but I’ll always try to do it with more and more empathy. If you replace veganism with “kindness towards animals,” then how can you say you hate vegans?

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