I’m the only vegan in a company of 200+ employees, but it grinds my gears when they don’t plan an alternative meal for me in these company meetings! The look on their faces are dumbfounded whenever someone bring up what alternative options there are for me. Everyone knows I’m vegan and daily bring up questions about my veganism, so they can’t say they forgot about me. I just think they’re not going out of their way to cater to me. Then they get mad whenever I tell them I’m going out to get my lunch before the meeting, or I feel wronged having to pay for lunch out of my own pocket when everyone else doesn’t get to lift a finger. Some of my coworkers are trying to fight for me to get equal treatment. It makes me resent the job I’ve worked at my job since 2012 (16 years of age) almost 10 years now.
I've always stayed away from vegan cheese as my first experiences were underwhelming with it not melting and tasting weird.
Yesterday though, I tried putting Violife's mozzarella on a pizza, and I swear to God, it was the best mozzarella I've ever had, even better than any I recall having before I went vegan. It melted perfectly and was a cheesy mess, just the way a pizza is sometimes supposed to be, and it tasted heavenly.
My current favorites:
-Vegan dark chocolate sunflower seed butter cups - the only vegan "Reeses' Cup" i've found so far, has little salt flakes in it- i'm not usually a dark chocolate person but that plus the sunflower butter is pretty good!
-Chocolatey Coated Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Bites - I got them exactly once and haven't found them since but apparently they just came out like a month ago and everyone is going nuts for them so i'm hoping they've just been out of stock and not discontinued - these are my favorite, like a rice crispy treat with a chocolate bottom except the peanut butter is so thick and gooey it kinda tastes like caramel to me. Not a health food at ALL but a wonderful junk food haha!
-Oat milk chocolate bars - they have one with crispy rice bits that's like a crunch bar, I like them way more than the Lindt oat milk chocolate
-Vegan versions of several ice cream products like the mini cones and ice cream sandwiches, which i've only ever seen So Delicious ice cream sandwiches and TJ's are substantially larger and thicker
-A ton of vegan freezer dinner options like green curry, Kung Pao cauliflower, veggie potstickers, and veggie fried rice
-Multiple oatmilk options and a vegan butter that i've yet to try but i'm excited for
-Multiple meat sub options including a refrigerated ground crumble, a dry protein crumble that is shelf-stable and you rehydrate (haven't seen something like that before but seems great for storage / camping / backup supplies!) and soy Italian sausage and soy Chorizo, which I just bought to try, i've seen a lot of people online say the soy Chorizo is the best vegan sausage product they've had!
And of course a ton of options for nuts, freeze dried berries, granola / breakfast bars, some locations even have the plant-based Boursin spread which I swear is IDENTICAL to dairy Boursin/Alouette cheese, stupid good stuff - and at least in my area they're cheaper than most grocery stores and of course Whole Paycheck; not a paid sponsor lmao i'm just so happy to have found both cheaper AND better groceries haha!
I'm a meat eater but I'm deliberating leaving meat and eventually all animal products. However, It's almost unheard of in my culture and nearly everyone in my social circle is against it and I keep getting arguments against veganism. I still think that it would be the right step but I would like to be confident in my decision and also be able to argue my position well when I'm inevitably met with disaprovals and counter arguments. So I would really appreciate if you guys could suggest some good literature, documentaries, anything that would help strengthen my resolve.
Please keep in mind that I'm a complete novice and haven't done more than a surface level research on the philosophy of veganism so I'm unaware of any scientific arguments, schools of thought etc, but I would love to learn.
Thanks.
Edited to add: I have gotten enough replies, so thank you for your suggestions! It seems some people are misinterpreting this post as manipulative. My only desire of talking with my husband or showing him some facts or videos (doesn't have to be as shocking as Dominion) is for him to see the reality of where our food comes from. He knows animals are slaughtered, but hasn't made the connection of how wrong it is. We both communicate with each other constantly and value each other's opinions. I was only looking for the best thing to show him to show the best argument. I am not forcing him to watch anything. I asked him first before he committed.
Original post: Long story short I've been vegan for three years, but my husband is the complete opposite. He grew up in a family that loves barbecue and anything you could imagine that has to do with meat. I believe we had a breakthrough the other day in comment I made. We talked about owning farm animals and pigs and how big pigs get. Here is how it went:
Me: Pigs are so cute but they get so large, it wouldn't be a smart responsibility.
Him: Pigs are adorable...their little happy walks and snorts are so cute. But then what do you do? (Trigger warning) You kill it if it gets too big?
Me: Can you even imagine? Establishing a bond with this precious animal and causing it intentional harm?
Him: stares at our cat No....that would be really sad. I would never do that to our cat....
Me: There is no difference between a cat and a pig. I said the above in a kind manner. There was no arguing or harsh words. I just stated it as fact, because it is a fact. They're both living, loving, and sentient beings.
I left it there and he seemed to really take heart.
He's agreed to watch whatever I want to and I'm wondering if I should show him Cowspiracy, Dominion, or Earthling Ed stuff. Any opinions appreciated.
He is a counselor so I was thinking of appealing to his compassionate and intellectual side.
Breaking the barrier of viewing animals as living, sentient beings, and not just "food" has been very difficult. We've been married for 7 years. I became vegetarian in our first year of marriage and we stopped buying cow's milk and now only drink oat or soy. We eat almost completely different meals now because of my autoimmune disorder but we used to cook veggies and sauce separate from whatever meat he cooked.
I've been approaching the topic of veganism with him every now and then. He is reasonable but still so brainwashed. I think we had a breakthrough the other day.
Thanks!
In other words, it's ok to eat animals because vegans are doing it too. It's almost as if they are admitting it's wrong, but because vegans are doing it too (through crop deaths) it makes it ok. I realise crop deaths is a null argument, but that's not my point here.
This is a complete avoidance of the issue. Forgetting what others are doing, what do they actually think of eating animals, judging the activity on its own merits and not using other people's "involvement"in it?
This approach is becoming increasingly common and will be to their own detriment. They know it's wrong, so all they can do to justify it is point the finger at others. Terrible.
The only things I ever want to eat anymore are my comfort foods of mac and cheese, tacos from my favorite local mexican place, or the occasional minestrone soup if i'm feeling sick. Whenever I go to the grocery store I'm just disgusted by all the options. Nothing looks appetizing and I never know what to buy. I don't even enjoy eating anymore. I hate that I have to do it everyday. I honestly wish I could go days or even weeks without eating. Everything in America is just plain junk. I don't like cooking so my partner does it, but even when they ask what I want nothing sounds good. I dread choosing meals.
I see the main argument I see from animal abusers lately is them saying a vegan lifestyle kills more animals than a meat and dairy diet. They are literally reversing the science and saying that more land, water and resources are required and so forth. Basically saying the scientific facts against meat and dairy are actually not true but true for a vegan lifestyle.
I mean I assume most of these are just propaganda bots from Big Ag spamming propaganda. Or are people so uneducated they actually believe this?
I have a bit of a conundrum. While my wife has been very supportive of me transitioning to veganism, and logically understands all of my points for doing so - she still eats meat when we are out. I have heard "I'm going to support you in this" too many times to count, which is super nice but I'm not doing it for me. I'm doing it for ethical reasons. It feels like I have my own personal cheer squad who cheers me on and defends my decision for not kicking people lying on the floor, who then turns around and...kicks people on the floor.
We've had a few conversations around the reality of factory farming, and exactly what happens within the agricultural industry. And her stance is "I don't have the mental health to cope with going vegan" I get that it's hard in a social context. I liken my own transition to veganism as being very similar to my coming out as a lesbian in the 90s - same rejection, same fear, same social isolation. Except this time people aren't being uncaring cruel arseholes to me personally - but to the animals of the slaughter industry, and I'm copping the fallout of that. Especially to save their own ego, and keep their heroic view of themselves without needing to actually take any action.
It's really hard. And the knowledge that there are people on the planet who are so unempathetic towards certain animals, who are performative in their values, who will laugh and eat a burger, knowing full well an animal had to die for it is rough.
but - it shouldn't be hard to choose a Beyond Burger when we're out and about, and it's the two of us.
My struggle lays in the fact that she knows she's being hypocritical. She mentioned that she would eat more vegan food if it was easier to obtain when we're out, and that it has been hard for her to eat meat knowing what I told her. But so far when I have ordered vegan burgers whether out or via delivery, she won't. It feels like she's deliberately eating meat because it's the only time she gets the chance to.
I don't know if she's humouring me, or going on her own journey to deprogram from meat and dairy. And I get that "coming out of the pantry" (much like coming out of the closet) is hard for some, while for me both of those things were easy (the being honest with myself and accepting myself, not so much the social aspects), I'm still struggling a little despite my knowledge that everyone goes at their own pace.
Am I being unreasonable? Do I give it time?
I have a YouTube channel and a plan to make more people vegan.
how it will work is -
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I will grow my channel to a large audience.
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I will slowly share facts about the cruelty of farm/slaughterhouses.
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I will subtly introduce people to the fact that it's easier and healthier to be vegan.
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I will become the largest youtuber ever and make people go vegan at a fast rate.
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I will become the president of America and clone myself, so I also run the supreme court.
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I make animal cruelty l in America completely illegal.
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I shut down every hunting group, slaughterhouse, and fishing boat in the Usa.
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I turn all the slaughterhouses into memorials.
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I take every plot of land used for farm animal grains and make it so human food is grown there.
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I effectively stop world hunger and make world peace because everyone is happier without pollution.
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I create time travel.
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I wake up crying and realize I'll never be popular, and my father is still disappointed in me.
I'm the only vegan in my family. It's tough sometimes. My mom has the empathy to understand animal suffering and she finds it terrible. (Wanted to watch Dominion with her but the thought alone makes her physically sick.) She wants to eat less meat and only buys it from "happy, ethically farmed" animals. But her main reason why she isn't stopping consuming/buying animal products is because it tastes so good. And it's so tough since she gets the suffering but chooses to ignore it. We're visiting London next week and I'm planning on only getting her to eat at vegan restaurants to show her that there's nothing to miss really. Any other ideas?
My dad is even worse, he knows and understands the animal suffering but he doesn't care. Doesn't show an ounce of emotion. It's sad really. Unfortunately you can not change people but maybe I can get him to watch Dominion.
Any advice would be appreciated if anyone has been in similar situations!
I've received a dose of inspiration to write an allegorical novel concerning the role we force upon other animals in the world right now, a la Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution of 1917. Not pinned down yet what exactly it would be, the setting or who or what the stand-ins would be to fill the roles of human and other animal. But hey, go write your own novel if this inspires you! Not attempting to steal anyone else's work. Just wanted to come to a place with people who probably think very similarly to me in regards to the disservice we do other animals, what they're capable of and what they deserve and what we really are, as humans, that do this. If you have any ideas, bursts of creativity, I'd really like to hear them! <3
I'm listening lecture series on nutrition, and it seems to me that one of the main reasons that most people need omega-3s is to counteract the negative effects of omega-6s.
Would it then be necessary at all to eat omega-3 if you are not consuming omega-6?
To my understanding omega-6 is only found in animal sources.