Every so often I find people tend to say rather strange things to me as a vegan. Today someone insisted that tapioca was an egg and that I shouldn’t eat it as a vegan. I’m pretty sure tapioca isn’t from an egg; what bird pray tell is the tapioca bird? Here is a post from Fianna, author of the blog Vegan Farm Girl about such things that have been said to her. Here she is in her own words, “I am a vegan blogger at Vegan Farm Girl in the City. I’ve been a vegan for 36 years and have lived in every region of the U.S. I am currently working on a second master’s degree in Human Rights and live in New York City. And I make everything from scratch.” Please welcome Fianna!
I had thought that being vegan for 36 years was enough time to have heard every moronic vegan comment on the planet. I was sooo wrong. It continues to amaze me what people say about and to vegans.
1. Veganism costs twice as much as eating a “normal” diet. Where are you shopping? Clearly, you aren’t doing it right.
2. Vegans are pale and weak because they don’t eat meat. What? Yes. You’re right. Try not to step on our ghost-like sickly bodies on your way to McDonald’s.
3. Vegans don’t get enough calcium or B12 or protein or vitamin D or whatever in their diets. You’ve been reading Yahoo! News again. That is horse shit. Once you know where to get these nutrients from, it isn’t a problem. And by the way, vitamin D comes from the sun shining on our skins, and has little to do with diet, you idiot.
4. Vegans are destroying the economy. Really? Cool, I didn’t know we had that kind of power. There are so many things on the list of potential destruction. What to work on next…hmmm…
5. Vegans are spreading lies about the meat industry. None of that stuff actually happens. Yeah, okay. Keep telling yourself that.
But my favorite so far was one I read two days ago. I am writing a couple of cookbooks so as one of the most research conscious people on earth, I was looking online at a couple of new agents and publishing houses that publish cookbooks. This is what I read:
Don’t bother sending us a vegan cookbook. The field is overcrowded.
Seriously? What have you been drinking? There are never going to be enough cookbooks on veganism. It isn’t a fad or a celebrity diet that is going to go away after a couple of years. It is so amazing how non-vegans see veganism.
What’s the strangest vegan comment you’ve heard?
Just love it.
My favorites, by far, are the questions, “What do you eat?” and “What can you eat?”
Um, there are more non-animal foods in this world than animal-based foods. How narrow minded are you?
If the vegan cookbook field is overcrowded, what term would they use for the glut of meat-centric cookbooks already on the shelves?? Wonderful post!
No kidding!
I always love “Then what DO you eat?” To which I reply, “everything else!”
My favorite… whenever I tell people that my dad and uncle are vegetarians… “There are men who are vegetarians?!?!?” Uhhh, yeah!
“There isn’t enough room on the planet to grow all the food we’d need, if everyone went vegan.”… Uh, yeah, because that cow you’re eating was a breatharian.
And my personal favorite… “But you eat fish, right? Fish aren’t animals.”
Loved this post. Gave me a much needed laugh… Now I’m off to destroy the economy some more
Brilliant! I had an appt with my Naturopath recently and told him I had switched to a vegan diet in the last year. He grilled me about omega 3′s, I said flax and chia, he asked about b-12, I said vegemite and nutritional yeast, he warned me about GMOs, I said I probably consume less than he does and make every effort to buy GMO free, he asked about protein, I said I get 30 to 50 grams daily from leafy greens, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds and legumes. He went on undeterred. At last he could see that clearly I was taking care of myself and started expressing interest in my diet and where I learned how to eat in such a nutritionally sound way. Woot Woot!
“Is breastfeeding vegan?”