Why are people so against vegetarians?

Question

I know a lot of people out there complain about vegetarians & how stuck-up & dumb they thinnnk they are. A lot of people feel that animals are on this Earth to serve us.

I love animals & I'm a total vegetarian treehugger hippie animalloven peacefreak activist! When ever I tell someone I'm a vegetarian they start acting like I'm crazy or stupid!

What's so wrong abooout caring for animals, I mean face it if ur teacher brought a dead pig to school & made fun of him, if uv been 2 a slaughter house, & if u witnessed a bird just whisteling then suddenly a car ran over him & died & if u saw a dead squirrel in ur lake wouldent u hav trouble eating an animal 2?

I mean people say its bcuz vegetarians r against meateaters, but seriously, most vegatarians & vegans arent!

Answer 1

I know exactly what you mean! I was going to post this question on here myself some time but you beat me to it.

I meet sooo many people who suddenly develop a disliking towards me just because they find out I'm vegan. (I'm not saying all, just most) Plus if you go through this part of yahoo! answers, you'll a lot of vegetarian hate messages from people. I don't really understand it. It's not like I develop a sudden strong disliking after finding out someone isn't vegan. I guess it's just ignorance and not wanting to accept someone who's different.

I agree, many meat eaters would be upset after seeing an animal die. So I guess I still don't really understand what some of them have against us. Some of them are just plain odd...and they're the ones always complaining that we're weird.

Answer 2

I do agree that some vegetarians are snotty about it. I used to have a vegan friend that would get on my case for being a vegetarian. BUT, up against that on jerk of a friend i had a few dozen veg friends who we happy non-judgmental people.
The problem is that our carnivorous friends and neighbors only notice people like that one jerk I mentioned and the nice veg's are not counted because most of the time they don't even tell people unless asked.
On the other hand, as a vegetarian, when most meat eating people that I know find out, they almost always try to get me to eat meat, and I have even had a few sneak animal products into my food.
I've learned to just tell people that I'm not hungry rather than go through the whole "just taste it" conversation. Or the "do vegetarians eat chicken?" or the "there's no meat in it. Oh that? that's bacon" conversation.

Answer 3

Anyone that pesters people because of what they have or happen to be putting in their mouth have no right to call themselves vegetarian or especially vegan. I apologize to everyone that has had to deal with people like this. They are actually a disgrace and a hindrance to the true aim of veganism. People who happen to be "vegetarian" this month or week need to keep their uppity little mouths shut. If they are going to cop an attitude to anyone because they are eating meat or any other animal product, they have no business labeling themselves as such. Maybe to their mommy but to anyone else they need to stay in the "closet". Anytime they open their snotty little mouth, all they do is hurt the movement and the animals. If you call yourself "vegan"
you had better know that that word has "activist" ingrained right into it and you had better read up on your effective advocacy literature. If not I suggest you just say "oh gee I'm not hungry" OR "oh my heavens no, I'm allergic". Do you all get the picture?

Once again, a big, "I AM SO SORRY" to everyone that has had to deal with a "vegetarian" or "vegan" that does NOT even know the TRUE meaning of the word.

Answer 4

I think maybe because a lot of vegetarians give off a "I'm better than you because I'm enlightened and you're a murder" type of vibe. Also, people tend to hate what they don't understand and vegetarianism is still a fairly small part of the population in America so many people regard it as a kind of hippie/new age/tree huggerish type of diet, even though we all know it's for anybody and everybody who loves animals!!! I think vegetarians everywhere need to be more understanding to people who don't think the way that they do. I mean, I think it's wrong to push religion on people or any personal beliefs really. I tell people about it, and am more than willing to tell them what's up if they ask, but I don't think it's right to like... throw it in peoples faces. Ya no?

Answer 5

When I first stopped eating meat, I was *astonished* at the animosity I was getting from other ppl, including some family members. I was called a "fanatic" b/c I wouldn't eat things "without *much* meat" in them, made fun of & usually maneuvered into sitting near the ribs,turkey or whatever @ family potlucks. A close friend stopped going to lunch with me when her young son wanted to order the same things as I did (she was convinced that it wasn't good for the kid to skip having meat for a single meal). When I was single, guys would actually phone me, describe thier pork chops (or whatever) & tell me I didn't know what I was missing, or grunt like cavemen & say men need meat. The 1st year my SO & I got together, he decided to go veg, a choice that one of his relatives called "crap" although she's become more open. I wasn't passing judgement on these people, or making things difficult for them (except it was a bit more difficult to decide where to go when dining out), and I wasn't "preaching" about how terrible meat is (but I gladly answered questions & suggested resources if anyone asked).
Other vegetarians & vegans I know have had similar experiences. I've heard of ppl who thought it was really funny to sneak an animal product into someone's meal when they cooked dinner for them, and one teenaged girl was even force-fed a bite of meat by an older relative. I recently spoke to a very bright 8-year old, vegetarian from birth, whose classmate threw a piece of bologna onto his meatless lunch, thinking this would be very clever. He's also been teased by a teacher's aide about being veg. Also, I've noticed that when characters on TV shows are veg or involved in Animal Rights, they are nearly always portrayed as unintelligent, impulsive, flaky & often hypocritical (and by the end of the episode, the character has usually reverted to "normal" behavior & is cheerfully munching a burger).
As for *why* ppl are so harsh toward vegetarians, it's probably a variety of things. I agree with the idea that ppl are afraid of/annoyed by something they don't understand. The idea that vegetartians are "stuck-up," "self-righteous" or trying to push their ideals down everyone else's throat could be true in *some* cases, but from what I've seen it's usually the flesh-eaters that try to force their views onto the veggies. Since most meat-eaters I've known have insisted that ppl *have to* eat meat in order to survive (obviously not true), I wonder if they're trying to make themselves feel better about their dietary choices & don't want anybody else to disturb their complacency with the truth.

Answer 6

Skuse me, but I was vegetarian (except for shellfish, if it didn't have eyes it was ok to eat, although I did stick mostly to the lacto/ovo thing) for many years. I never had any of my friends or family accuse me of being stuck up, dumb, crazy, or stupid.

Nothing wrong with caring for animals, although my reasons for being vegetarian encompassed a lot more than that, particularly the resources needed to "grow" meat. See if you can find "Diet for a Small Planet" by Frances Moore Lappe.

I care for animals, and I also see road kill all the time, doesn't mean I can't eat meat, which I now do on occasion. I also care for animals--have taken in more stray animals, including wild ones, than I can count.

We all have our ways of caring for our planet.

Answer 7

Using the "Hitler used to be a vegetarian" line to make a announcement of why vegetarianism is unhealthy is simply as dull as announcing "Jeffrey Dahmer used to be an omnivore" to make consuming meat seem unhealthy. I'm quite now not definite why humans could carry this up in dialog when you consider that realistically, hitler being a vegetarian does not imply something.

Answer 8

the world is full of people who are cruel not only to animals, but also to their neighbors, and even their own families.

When you decide to be a vegetarian or vegan, you have to NOT worry about what cruel people think.

There's nothing you can do about cruel people because they are in the majority. Probably 80% of people in the world are cruel to animals, to the Earth, and to other people.

Just live your life with dignity, and know that every time you have compassion for others' suffering, you can make a difference in the life of a suffering animal.

Answer 9

For me Im not troubling with any vegetarians because it is people's choice..People is superior creature, so whatever they choose, it must have reasons. Those who against might meet
1. Religious discrimination
2. Apathy.. Apathy about vegetarians can meet bad health..(malnutrition)
3. Humanitarianism and Idealistic...always think humans are ahead of other creatures..so other creatures are the things for human to use or get benefits of...
4. Those who against vegetarians are undoubtedly conservative people...

All I think....

I plan to be a vegetarians for the next 50 years but now Im not ready...

Answer 10

Society has conditioned people to not accept change and conform. For this reason people feel threatened by lifestyles different from their own. I don't agree with it but it's the nature of the beast. I am a vegetarian and I don't event tell anyone but when they see me eating things without meat all the time they ask so I tell them. They immediately start to get defensive. I don't understand it. It's the same way this religion. Christians feel threatened by Jews yet their profit was a Jew. It makes no sense. It's a matter of choice and if someone wants to be childish and get defensive let them look like the idiot they are.