I agree with you about Indian food. So good! It was one of my first steps to weaning off so much meat actually. It did make me realize that spices are so key. And have much more flavor than meat anyhow. I have tried tempeh and I didn’t like it but I have suspected it was not prepared well since it was quite dry. I’m a fan of many forms of tofu though.
seeing your original post being mainly around “how not to be vegan”.
Well, unfortunately I have had so many more negative experiences with insulting and angry vegans online than I have nice ones. And I do not believe that is representative of how vegans actually are, it’s just that angry people sound off online more often than in real life. The kind of comment you didn’t see is also one I’ve made many times-- when I see people shitting on vegans or belittling their concerns, it really bothers me and I push back on that. I try to be objective on this topic because it is really kinda fucked up that people who are trying to do something moral, for good reasons, and hurting no one else, get mocked for it. “Hurr hurr I don’t know what they eat, grass or something!?” Is a kind of phrase that irritates me. It’s a way of making themselves feel better for not thinking about something uncomfortable, but it spreads the message that everyone shouldn’t care about it. Then the flip side of the coin is the last guy I blocked. I don’t really remember the full context but I had said nothing other than vegans who shame people aren’t helping and the response was rabid and screaming that I “have the flesh of innocent animals stuck in my teeth”. There was no curiosity or grace shown, only that if I had an issue with a shaming approach then clearly I’m an evil enemy. Sadly I’ve had probably over a dozen experiences like that over the years and not nearly as many calm and respectful exchanges. So not because I think vegans are like that was I hesitant to respond to you initially, but because we’re talking online, I could easily imagine the next response to be another type I’ve had several times: “oh so you still eat meat? You’re a part of the problem then”
I don’t know if I deserve too much credit for the things I do, I’ve not had a ton of success getting hardcore carnivores to open their minds, but I try on occasion. I did try this weekend. We had some family over and I asked if we might make them vegetarian tacos, which are something my partner and I have made a lot and perfected. They’re almost better than the best tacos with meat imo, just due to the right blend of onions veggies and spices. The reception was pretty bad. “What are even in veggie tacos? Oh well so and so isn’t picky about vegetables but they don’t like mushrooms or onions”. Given that the recipe is heavily reliant on both, especially the onions, I dropped it. I don’t want people hating the food I make them. Sad to me how picky some people are, and particularly people who are really into meat. And ironically I’m sure they think veg-leaning people are the hyper-picky ones… Then to top it off we decided to make pizza at home and a relative insisted on buying pepperoni. My partner doesn’t like meat touching our cutting boards but I didn’t foresee an issue. Before I had a chance to clock what was happening, they used the cutting board to cut pepperonis (who does that? they’re already sliced, and thin…)? I didn’t see that coming and was annoying two fold. It was like it couldn’t possibly be a meal without some meat and also it had to be done in an unpredictable way that made my partner uncomfortable… I definitely don’t want to push a diet on anyone but Jesus people can we not see how unhealthy the addiction to mass quantities of meat is? Heart attacks “run in the family” and no one can believe it’s meat to blame for at least a good bit of it? I don’t get it…
I agree with you about Indian food. So good! It was one of my first steps to weaning off so much meat actually. It did make me realize that spices are so key. And have much more flavor than meat anyhow. I have tried tempeh and I didn’t like it but I have suspected it was not prepared well since it was quite dry. I’m a fan of many forms of tofu though.
Well, unfortunately I have had so many more negative experiences with insulting and angry vegans online than I have nice ones. And I do not believe that is representative of how vegans actually are, it’s just that angry people sound off online more often than in real life. The kind of comment you didn’t see is also one I’ve made many times-- when I see people shitting on vegans or belittling their concerns, it really bothers me and I push back on that. I try to be objective on this topic because it is really kinda fucked up that people who are trying to do something moral, for good reasons, and hurting no one else, get mocked for it. “Hurr hurr I don’t know what they eat, grass or something!?” Is a kind of phrase that irritates me. It’s a way of making themselves feel better for not thinking about something uncomfortable, but it spreads the message that everyone shouldn’t care about it. Then the flip side of the coin is the last guy I blocked. I don’t really remember the full context but I had said nothing other than vegans who shame people aren’t helping and the response was rabid and screaming that I “have the flesh of innocent animals stuck in my teeth”. There was no curiosity or grace shown, only that if I had an issue with a shaming approach then clearly I’m an evil enemy. Sadly I’ve had probably over a dozen experiences like that over the years and not nearly as many calm and respectful exchanges. So not because I think vegans are like that was I hesitant to respond to you initially, but because we’re talking online, I could easily imagine the next response to be another type I’ve had several times: “oh so you still eat meat? You’re a part of the problem then”
I don’t know if I deserve too much credit for the things I do, I’ve not had a ton of success getting hardcore carnivores to open their minds, but I try on occasion. I did try this weekend. We had some family over and I asked if we might make them vegetarian tacos, which are something my partner and I have made a lot and perfected. They’re almost better than the best tacos with meat imo, just due to the right blend of onions veggies and spices. The reception was pretty bad. “What are even in veggie tacos? Oh well so and so isn’t picky about vegetables but they don’t like mushrooms or onions”. Given that the recipe is heavily reliant on both, especially the onions, I dropped it. I don’t want people hating the food I make them. Sad to me how picky some people are, and particularly people who are really into meat. And ironically I’m sure they think veg-leaning people are the hyper-picky ones… Then to top it off we decided to make pizza at home and a relative insisted on buying pepperoni. My partner doesn’t like meat touching our cutting boards but I didn’t foresee an issue. Before I had a chance to clock what was happening, they used the cutting board to cut pepperonis (who does that? they’re already sliced, and thin…)? I didn’t see that coming and was annoying two fold. It was like it couldn’t possibly be a meal without some meat and also it had to be done in an unpredictable way that made my partner uncomfortable… I definitely don’t want to push a diet on anyone but Jesus people can we not see how unhealthy the addiction to mass quantities of meat is? Heart attacks “run in the family” and no one can believe it’s meat to blame for at least a good bit of it? I don’t get it…