• recklessengagement@lemmy.world
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    21 days ago

    Until I joined Lemmy I had no idea how militant vegans could be. I sorta just assumed they were a different brand of vegetarian.

    I’m not opposed to their ideaology in any way, but after reading the comments on a few posts that found their way into my feed… I had to block their communities. It didn’t seem likely that I’d be reading any productive discourse there.

    • Mediocre_Bard@lemmy.world
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      21 days ago

      I was vegan for 8 years and during that time I didn’t talk to anyone about it other than to say, “I don’t eat that.”

      I say that to say this - vegans are insufferable and a large reason why I quit the community and went back to omnivore. Even after 8 years, other vegans were still ‘more vegan’ and would nitpick the dumbest stuff.

      “Bro, did you eat a date? That killed a bee or something. Not cool.”

      Shut up with that. Let me eat my damn fruit.

      I was healthier though. But, to be fair, I was younger.

      • ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one
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        21 days ago

        "Bro, did you eat a date? That killed a bee or something. Not cool.”

        I’m a level 5 vegan. I won’t eat anything that casts a shadow.

      • volvoxvsmarla @lemm.ee
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        21 days ago

        You know what, it’s so much easier to say you’re an omnivore and end up eating meat once a year than to say you are a vegan who makes an exception about once a year. The first label would earn you a “wait so you’re basically vegan?!” vs “you’re not vegan then and you’re a dirty cheater”.

      • Teppichbrand@feddit.org
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        21 days ago

        As you might have experienced, it’s pretty hard to be vegan in a carnist world. People talk about animal abuse all the time, they confront you all the time, make fun of you. Most don’t want to talk about it, they want to shut you up. The hate and ignorance is strong and different people react diffrently to that situation. Some stay quiet, like yourself, some get vocal. Some debate, some get angry. Calling vegans insufferable is like calling gays insufferable, or feminists. Some might be. We have recognized a major injustice and we want to change it.

        “Bro, did you eat a date? That killed a bee or something. Not cool.”

        That’s rage bait and you made it up. Why would anyone say that?

        • VelvetStorm@lemmy.world
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          20 days ago

          Hey bud you really need to get off the cross. You just compared your eating preferences which are 100% a choice to someone being born homosexual and not wanting to be killed for it or being born/transitioning to a woman and wanting the same basic human rights as the other half of our species. Honestly you need to just shut up and think about that for a hot second.

          • Teppichbrand@feddit.org
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            20 days ago

            I oppose racism, sexism, trans- and homophobia. And I oppose speciesism as well. It’s the same system: One group considers another group as less valuable and exploits, abuses or fights them.
            You just draw the line at you own species.
            Animals are innocent, vulnerable and easy to abuse because they don’t have a voice and don’t understand the situation we put them in. If they were human children or mentally disabled humans, we would protect them from harm because of who they are. Instead, we do the most horrible things to them, we take their freedom, their babies, their lifes. In factories, on an industrial scale. Because a pig is just a pig, right?

            EDIT: Please reply, don’t just silently downvote. What’s your refutation?

            • LaVacaMariposa@mander.xyz
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              20 days ago

              What are you talking about? Don’t you also draw a line when you choose to eat plants? I don’t think they would agree to that. Untill humans develop the ability to photosynthesize, we are going to have to eat other species, there’s no way around it.

              • DarthFrodo@lemmy.world
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                20 days ago

                Don’t you also draw a line when you choose to eat plants?

                I think there’s a reasonable distinction here. You would presumably also draw a line between a conscious human and a brain dead human that won’t ever be conscious again. As far as we can reasonably tell, consciousness requires a brain. Dogs and pigs have brains, so maybe we shouldn’t torture and kill them on factory farms. We can also see them suffering and measure their physical reaction to it.

                Of course there’s a possibility that plants have some kind of consciousness too, but 1. that’s speculation and 2. there’s no way around farming them, as you have said yourself:

                Untill humans develop the ability to photosynthesize, we are going to have to eat other species, there’s no way around it.

                Farming animals will always require far more plant deaths than growing plants for human consumption. These animals have to grow for months before being slaughtered and literally eat tons of animal feed in that time.

                Therefore, plant-based food minimizes both animal suffering and deaths as well as plant deaths.

                I’m not convinced that plant deaths are an ethical issue in of themselves, but farming has environmental implications so it makes sense to minimize the food that needs to be grown and make the farming as environmentally friendly as reasonably possible.

              • Teppichbrand@feddit.org
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                20 days ago

                PLANTS HAVE FEELINGS TOO
                is #22 on the Vegan Bullshit Bingo:

                No, they do not. There is no serious study to suggest that they do. Plants do not have a brain or central nervous system. At most, they respond to stimuli. If you really care that much about the welfare of plants, you should go vegan, since many more plants “die” for animal feeding. Do you feel bad while mowing your lawn? And would you rather rescue a potted plant than a dog from a burning house? Is docking pig tails the same as branch trimming to you? Question upon question…

          • DarthFrodo@lemmy.world
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            20 days ago

            You just compared your eating preferences which are 100% a choice to someone being born homosexual and not wanting to be killed for it

            All the animals on factory farms didn’t choose to be born there and don’t want to be killed either.

            It’s not about the sensitivities of humans, but the insane suffering of animals in this system of oppression.

            • Smoogs@lemmy.world
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              19 days ago

              You’re not the animals. You’re not even a good spokesperson for the animals.

              You don’t give a shit about the animals. You’re just a pathetic histrionic giving into your tendencies here to tank a conversation for a hit.

              • DarthFrodo@lemmy.world
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                19 days ago

                You’re not the animals.

                I literally wrote that this isn’t about me/humans, so yes, obviously.

                There are many groups that are suffering and that I’m not part of, and I still care about what’s happening to them and want the suffering to end. It seems like most lemmy users share that sentiment when it comes to oppressed humans, so I really don’t get what’s so hard to understand about that when I extend it to animals.

                You might have the opinion that factory farming isn’t a social justice issue, fine. Me having a different opinion doesn’t negatively affect you in any way. Why are you so pissed at me just because I see it differently?

                • Smoogs@lemmy.world
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                  19 days ago

                  You jumped in on a conversation where a person compared veganism as if it’s a persecution comparable to the LBGTQ.

                  Veganism is A diet choice. That’s all it is. That is all you’re doing here.

                  This is not you living as a member of the LBGTQ.

                  You are not a suffragette.

                  There will be no pivoting off of it here today and play shitty white knight for the animals.

        • Smoogs@lemmy.world
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          19 days ago

          What in the actual fuck. You are comparing yourself to LBGTQ and what they’ve had to endure???

          You think your struggle is anything like feminism???

          Maybe throw in some slavery there. Ya know, get all your basis of inappropriate covered.

          Might as well go whole ass with the bullshit you’re pulling here.

          you are choosing a lifestyle. Not even that. You’re choosing what you consume. That’s it. You are not persecuted for something that is NOT a choice you made. You are NOT being persecute for what appearance you were born into.

          It is a far cry from being watched out for and spotted and then targetted to how vegans target others.

          Stop appropriating an actual minority group that had to defend their rights just to live with the same rights as others.

          You talk like you’re the actual cow getting slaughtered for burgers.

          you’re not that cow either.

          And you’re not even a good spokesperson for that cow. At best you’re just a shitty white knight. You don’t even care about cows that are getting slaughtered cuz you wouldn’t tank a conversation so badly as you had if you actually gave a fuck and wasn’t just stroking off to your own ego for picking dumb fights with shit ideals about your grandeur. Worst ally ever.

    • Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      21 days ago

      I stick with Margaret Cho’s advice on vegans from her Assassin tour back in 2005:

      And especially, especially, don’t fuck with vegans. Do not look vegans in the eye. If you get into an argument with a vegan, say “I’m wrong” and run away as fast as you can. Do not fuck with vegans because they will fuck you up…BECAUSE THEY’RE HUNGRY.

    • JaggedRobotPubes@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      Vegans being annoying was a thing awhile ago, but they really chilled out. This is a smaller band of die-hards.

      “Chilling out” is of course a terrible metric when animal abuse is on the line but being good to animals would make you vegetarian, not vegan, and yet that was never where the righteousness was coming from.

    • AccountMaker@slrpnk.net
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      21 days ago

      Exactly my experience. I often heard stories of vegans being like that, but I never ever saw it so I thought it was just made up to belittle vegans.

      Then I joined lemmy and found out that I’m apparently in favour of massacres, slavery and rape because I consume meat/milk/eggs from time to time.

      I imagine the vast majority of vegans just go about their lives and resprectfully discuss the ethics of animal consumption when the topic comes up, but these loud militant members really make vegans look bad and they sure as hell make it so that even less people consider going vegan

      • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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        21 days ago

        I’m curious. You eat meat, but you’re not in favour of massacres. Alright, explain it to me.

        • VelvetStorm@lemmy.world
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          20 days ago

          I’m not in favor of it, but I’m not going to stop eating meat. The second lab grown meat is available to people in my economic tier I’ll switch exclusively to that.

          • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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            20 days ago

            Ah, so you’re saying you don’t like it, but you find it an acceptable sacrifice to make in exchange for yummy food?

      • heraplem@leminal.space
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        20 days ago

        For the most part, the “unreasonable vegan” stereotype comes from two places.

        1. Confirmation bias. Veganism makes people uncomfortable with their own decisions, so people spread around the most outrageous stories about vegans as a defense mechanism. This is the same thing that happens in various circles with anyone whose mere existence makes other people insecure; e.g., teetotalers, or polyamorous people.
        2. Just plain disagreeing with them. There are lots of vegan arguments that are logically valid, but they sound outrageous if you don’t already agree with them. People have trouble looking past their initial emotional reactions, so they respond to logically valid arguments with mere incredulity.
            • Angry_Autist (he/him)@lemmy.world
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              20 days ago

              No you wouldn’t, they never go anywhere except to heated exchanges of unpleasant labels.

              There’s really no use in talking to them, nor anything to be learned or won. It’s just losses for everyone.

              • heraplem@leminal.space
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                20 days ago

                I am a vegan. Is this conversation unreasonable?

                Are you talking to the same person, or the same few people, repeatedly? There certainly are people out there who just are unreasonable. You can’t expect individuals to change.

                Otherwise, I guess (and I admit that this is biased in my favor) that you simply disagree with each other at a foundational level, and that’s causing you to talk past each other.

                I think that most people don’t really know how to discourse with people who have differing ethical foundations, because it can lead to situations where a person who meets all the societal criteria of a “good person” is nonetheless committing (according to whatever ethical precepts) a horrible crime. But, in this context, accusing someone of committing a horrible crime is not unreasonable; in fact, it’s too reasonable; it involves prioritizing reason over tact and politeness.

                • Angry_Autist (he/him)@lemmy.world
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                  20 days ago

                  Are you talking to the same person, or the same few people, repeatedly?

                  Roughly 10% are repeat conversations, though I’ve rarely had a contact be kept past 3 exchanges, and not a ‘few’ people by any metric.

                  you simply disagree with each other at a foundational level, and that’s causing you to talk past each other.

                  I appreciate how you are trying to make this a ‘both sides’ thing, but it really isn’t and I have no way of imparting 30 years of frustrating experience in a way you will find meaningful.

                  Since you claim to be a reasonable vegan, then maybe this is the best place for this:

                  1. What are your plans for all the currently living domesticated animals if, hypothetically, meat eating is made illegal?

                  2. Have you ever considered that being raised by humans for consumption is literally the most wildly successful species survival strategy that natural selection has ever thrown up? Literally no wild animal thrives as well as a cared for domesticated example, and domesticated animals released in the wild have an abysmal survival rate. (it is literally animal cruelty to release most domesticated animals into the wild, with the exception of pigs. They can re-adapt no problems)

                  3. Meat is one of the most nutrient dense foods out there and is likely the entire reason we were able to develop these incredibly energy and nutrient expensive brains, have you considered what the long term species ramifications are for us if we choose to stop a standard practice that has been with us since before our species was even human yet?

                  4. What is your stance on pets?

                  5. Do you not think the critical need for specific supplements to maintain good health is a sign that the diet was never intended for our normal operation?

                  6. I would like to hear your opinion on parents raising their infants to be vegan from birth.

                  These are the questions I would usually ask to vegans I meet in the world and online. Most responses are immediate verbal abuse and a refusal to continue communications.

                  I sincerely hope you are a better person than that and I can FINALLY have this discussion start to finish.

                  • heraplem@leminal.space
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                    20 days ago

                    What are your plans for all the currently living domesticated animals if, hypothetically, meat eating is made illegal?

                    I haven’t here advocated for making meat-eating illegal. If nothing else, at the current moment, that’s infeasible for a number of reasons, and even if it became mostly feasible, there would probably always have to be some exceptions (e.g., people who have very specific dietary requirements, although maybe lab-grown meat could plug that hole?).

                    That said, thinking purely hypothetically, I recognize two likely endgame scenarios.

                    1. A gradual phasing out of animal agriculture. Suppose legislation is passed that increasingly limits animal agriculture over the course of, say, twenty years. Animal stocks dwindle over time, eventually being reduced to nothing.
                    2. A mass holocaust, akin to what Denmark did to their mink stocks in 2020. This sounds horrible, but it is, ethically speaking, actually the better option, because it results in the smallest amount of total suffering (i.e., the area under the daily suffering curve is greater in Option 1 then in Option 2).

                    Have you ever considered that being raised by humans for consumption is literally the most wildly successful species survival strategy that natural selection has ever thrown up?

                    This is completely irrelevant. For me, veganism is basically just what happens when you take utilitarianism and extend it to include the experiences of non-human animals. I care about individuals. I don’t care one whit about species per se.

                    Meat is one of the most nutrient dense foods out there and is likely the entire reason we were able to develop these incredibly energy and nutrient expensive brains, have you considered what the long term species ramifications are for us if we choose to stop a standard practice that has been with us since before our species was even human yet?

                    Do you not think the critical need for specific supplements to maintain good health is a sign that the diet was never intended for our normal operation?

                    I’ll take both of these at the same time, because my thoughts on them are basically the same.

                    We were not designed by a god. We were not “intended” for anything. Evolution has no normative value. To believe that it does is pseudoscience (or, perhaps, pseudo-philosophy).

                    People who argue that veganism is “unnatural” are arbitrarily picking out one out of the innumerable ways that the lives of humans today differ from those of the past. If I suggested that we ought to revert to being subsistence hunter-gatherers in Africa living in groups of ~100 people, you would call me insane. So the mere fact that something is different from the conditions in which we evolved means absolutely nothing.

                    The question is simply this: can we reduce suffering? If we can, we should, regardless of how “unnatural” the solution is.

                    If you can provide me a scientific argument against veganism in principle, that would be worth considering. Merely gesturing at the need for supplementation says nothing to me. If it works, it works.

                    What is your stance on pets?

                    I haven’t figured this one out for myself yet. I think the anti-pet people have compelling arguments, and I have a lot of cognitive dissonance over that fact.

                    I would like to hear your opinion on parents raising their infants to be vegan from birth.

                    This one I’m not sure about, at least right now, simply due our lack of knowledge. My guess is that it’s theoretically possible to raise an infant as a vegan without any problems, but that it’s more difficult to do it right. I don’t know if I’d trust myself to do it. I think this is a problem that will require a lot of studies to figure out, but I also think it’s worth figuring out.