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 My name is Caroline Harrison and I have a Masters in Education, a Bachelors of Science in Psychology, and a certificate in plant-based nutrition. Today I am asking the question, why do people hate vegans.

Okay so the title is a little strong here. Most people don’t hate vegans, but some people sure do find vegans pretty annoying. Many other people get along perfectly happily with vegans, so long as those vegans don’t talk about anything to do with veganism. That is like asking someone who is passionate about climate change to not talk about it when their friends aren’t even recycling yet. Without the ability to have an open and honest dialogue between vegans and non-vegans then no progress is ever going to be made. So then, what is it about this interaction that so often rubs non-vegans up the wrong way.

To answer this question I am going to first examine what we vegans often do wrong during these exchanges. I will then move on to why non-vegans often don’t want to even have a conversation in the first place.

Clothing

There is a temptation when we learn about the overwhelming amount of suffering that takes place in the animal agriculture industry to want to separate oneself from the masses. To be immediately identifiable as someone who does not participate in harming animals. There is also a desire to be as far removed from the masses that are causing the suffering. This can lead many people to start to dress markedly differently. They can begin to wear a lot of black clothing, to get lots of tattoos, to start wearing their hair differently etc. And that is fine if you want to do that. However, I would caution that when someone separates themselves from others and makes themselves look markedly different, this leads others to stereotype against them and not want to listen to what they say. After all, “they are some crazy goth/hippy, why would I want to listen to them.”  

A much more successful tact is to look as healthy as possible, to be as successful and happy as possible, to look clean and well put together and like someone other people would want to listen to and be like. For me that means keeping fit and active, yes wearing vegan branded clothes in my leisure time, but also wearing professional clothes at work.

A nice vegan branded t-shirt can definitely be a conversation starter, and I have had many great conversations with hair stylists and baristas about a vegan lifestyle because I was wearing a neat vegan t-shirt that day. I don’t think I would have had the same success if I had put my hair in dreadlocks and looked really unapproachable – but maybe I am wrong…

We humans have a strong desire to be liked by the group and to be part of the group. It is part of our survival instinct and is buried deep in our psyche. So, if non-vegans see becoming part of the vegan community as something that will make them an outlier they are unlikely to want to do it. They will just find vegans annoying and not want to listen to us. If on the other hand non-vegans see becoming part of the vegan community as something very attractive and fun, then they are much more likely to want to listen to our information about what happens to animals inside slaughterhouses. 

Social Media Posts

This is something I have definitely been guilty of. When you first become vegan there is an overwhelming need to share what you have found out with the world. Many new vegans flood their social media pages with images of slaughterhouse footage. Afterall, if people just see what is happening then they will change. There is some truth in this idea, however, what normally happens is that people block you or unfollow you. When you share these images a lot of people will just get annoyed and think that you are preaching as if you have been overtaken by some religious cult. They don’t want to see the upsetting images of pigs getting their throat slit, so they click a button and they are gone. Out of sight, out of mind again. Phew.

But you still want to share the images, right? Of course you do, because if people saw the images they will change their diet. And as I said, there is some truth to that. However, a much more successful approach is to fill most of your social media posts as before. Images of you having fun, out with friends and family, etc., etc. You can also mix in images of delicious vegan food now, everybody more or less likes these images, and it helps to show how yummy vegan food is – breaking down the lentils and nuts stereotype. And then boom, every now and again you can mix in an image of animal agriculture in all its true horror. Then you go back to your pretty pictures of your puppy, your countryside walks, etc., etc. People won’t block you, because they want to see what you are doing and at the same time they are still getting images of the suffering of animals in our farming system.

Being Judgemental 

This is a hard one. Because as vegans we know exactly what is going on in our world when it comes to the suffering of the 70 billion land animals slaughtered every year. Not to mention the fish dragged out of our oceans, the environmental damage, and the damage people are doing to their health by eating this way. So it can be very hard not to judge people for going to McDonald’s for a drive-thru lunch several times a week. It can be hard not to look at someone’s plate and wonder why on earth they are eating that. I know this is something that I have really struggled with mentally. But the way to look at it is to remember that no-one responds to being judged negatively. As a teacher, I know to start all feedback to my students with a complement, then add a suggestion to try out, and to finish with another complement. If we just go straight in with the criticism people shut down and get defensive – I know I do. I respond much better to feedback when someone gives me a genuine piece of positive feedback before they suggest I try doing something differently.

Everyone has to figure out their own way of dealing with this. What works for me on a personal level (outwith my professional coaching) is to always look for the positives in people’s diets and to build from there. To make suggestions and to give them ideas about new products to try, but always with a reflection as to where that person is. I also have learned when to not go there and when to know that people in my social sphere, whether at work or through friendships etc., are not interested in discussing vegan food.  You are going to have much more success if you focus on people who seem interested in your lifestyle. After all, what is the point of banging your head against a brick wall.

What is it about vegans that rubs non-vegans up the wrong way?

So we have spoken about how vegans may have a tendency to wear weird clothes which influences people not to want to listen to them. We have also spoken about the social media onslaught of violent images that vegans want to put out there. And we have spoken about how vegans can have a tendency to be judgemental of others. Putting all that to one side, as there are absolutely tons of us normal looking, non-judgemental, mild mannered social media user vegans out there. Yet, people still get annoyed with us, even when we do nothing wrong. What is that all about.

Well, it is simple really. For many people, we vegans are pulling at their conscience and flagging up the inconsistency in their moral values. Just in the same way that most of us had inconsistent morals before we went vegan. I know I was very much aware of mine, as an ethical vegetarian I knew I had moral conflicts. People therefore get annoyed because they don’t want to hear about it. As hearing about it will mean acting on this information. And acting on this information sounds to many people like a lot of unpleasant work that will result in all the foods they enjoy eating being taken away from them. That is why it is so important for vegans to be as healthy as we can be, to be as happy as we can be, and to demonstrate to non-vegans that this lifestyle is actually pretty good, pretty enjoyable, and pretty tasty!

In addition, we need to remember that there is a lot of deliberately misleading information out there. Many people will also have genuinely researched this issue, and will feel like they have came to a conclusion that eating animals is necessary for human health based on ‘firm facts’ that they have found out. We need to bear in mind that the big industries behind dairy, eggs, and meat production are presenting deliberately misleading research as fact in order to create a state of confusion within the general public – Just as the tobacco companies did back in the 1960s. In this situation, vegans can annoy people simply by holding a different opinion. There is no real answer to this situation beyond demonstrating through your own actions what a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle veganism is and continuing to share the information that you have.

There is of course a layer of society who lack empathy and compassion for animals and don’t want to hear about it because they genuinely couldn’t care less. These people will mock, they will be online trolls, and they will be generally hideous. My opinion is two-fold. Such people are probably lacking in other emotions and therefore probably aren’t very happy. Secondly, as time passes and more and more people adopt a plant-based diet, such opinions will become outdated and outmoded and will eventually die out.

In conclusion, what can we vegans do to stop annoying people? We can be healthy, happy, and full of joy. Share pictures of our delicious food. Share recipes and new food items with our friends and family. Share images now and again of what is happening to animals, the planet, and people’s health. In other words, we can talk about being vegan is such a way that everyone wants to join our gang!

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