Sarah is a new writer to the site, chronicling her experiences becoming a vegan.
For some people, this is not an issue.
But for those of us who are new to being vegan and who are not surrounded by vegans on a day-to-day basis, it can be hard to say to people, ‘Hey, I have made a decision that you might not understand at all and that changes my life rather significantly. Hope you like it!’
I have told some people: my husband (obviously), friends, colleagues. Without fail, I hear two questions: (1) Why? and (2) What do you eat?
These questions are usually not meant to be aggressive, but rather inquisitive. Once I answer the first question (why?), the discussion invariably turns not just to what I eat, but to what I eat in comparison to what they eat.
People start thinking about food substitutes: What about burgers? And cheese? And omelets? And pizza? They jump to what they think I am missing. They are surprised when I tell them that I am not concerned with food replacement. I am not interested in making a faux grilled cheese sandwich, or faux eggs, or faux anything. I am interested in healthy vegan meals that are tasty and have a lot of flavor. I do not expect my meals to taste like anything else. People are surprised to hear it, but I have found that it helps them to understand how eating this way can be enjoyable. They would not expect Chinese food to taste like a traditional Italian meal, but they can enjoy both equally.
As humans, we are naturally concerned with social ostracism, but to be successful making this change, we really need people on our side — and that means communicating in a way that allows them to support us. People in my life are terrifically supportive, but even I need to be prepared for the questions. My approach: start with sure-win audiences; be polite, patient, and relaxed; know what you want to say; have no expectations; and take ownership of your decisions.
With a gentle introduction, a lot of people are actually very interested in talking about conscious consumption — and ‘You’re doing what?’ can become ‘Good for you and good luck.’
Nice post!
I just finished reading a book called “Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World” that deals with this subject. It’s a bit annoying in parts, but it has some great suggestions.
Cheers,
Binkles