What is the number one reason...?

Question

What do you think is the number one reason why people give veggies a hard time? No one word answers. And if nasty nuts happens to read this... please feel free to answer. We are all dying to hear your wonderfuly insightful comments.

Answer 1

People are always nasty to outsiders, whether it's Christians to atheists or omnis to veggies (both of which I've experienced) Humans get positive reinforcement from doing so because putting down other lifestyles allows them to reinforce their belief in their own... but that doesn't make it right.

Answer 2

I think that only happens in N. America.
In most other countries vegetables, grains, legumes, etc. all the main part of every meal, and meat is more of a condiment; a flavour additive.

In N. America, especially recently, meat has had a lot of propaganda behind it in terms of advertising and educational materials in schools, cartoons, movies, and so forth. N. Americans have created a very odd meat culture where they try to put meat in just about every meal or dish they consume.

"I feel like I haven't eaten if I have a meal without meat," is a very common thing I hear from meat eaters. That is, they feel they must have meat at every meal... breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I know my grandparents and people of their age were not like this, but my parents definitely were, so it seems to be something of the post WWII baby-boomer era. I guess there was such a flood of money and good times after WWII (it was a real money maker for N. America) that everyone wanted to eat like kings and queens at every meal. Unfortunately they failed to notice how obese and sickly most kings and queens were.

Well... just one line of thinking... There are so many factors.

Answer 3

Two theories emerge.

For some people, it's for the same reasons some Christians are so hateful towards nonbelievers: They are so insecure in their beliefs, they have to attack others who are different. The trolls are afraid if they don't attack and "destroy" us, they might have to admit that veg*anism makes some sense. So they gush about how much they love meat or how there's "no such thing as a vegan" because you can't avoid harming animals in real life. They'll take our words and twist them around to justify their own beliefs.

For others, it's because they are addicted to meat, dairy, and eggs, and need to attack others and ask trolling questions that are more designed to elicit an angry response than get a legitimate answer ("what about the plants," "if we weren't meant to eat animals, why are they made of meat," etc.). Why? Because they need to justify their addiction. And any negative response or any negativity they get from veg*ans is more fuel for their beliefs.

Answer 4

IDK but i can say that it gets very old to hear ppls stupid comments, and stuff. I think that they are just truly concerned because a lot of ppl today a very judge mental especially if your a veggie in a small private high school. Some ppl turn down friendships because of it where i live.... i know sad right?? Well, I don't actually know why they do what they doo but i can say that they must be thinking about it if they are going to say something... i just wish they would do a little research before they make comments you know?? Oh well, they will be the ones stuck in a whole when they get older i guess.

Answer 5

Is it just me? I became vegetarian in 1969, vegan in (I think) 1996, and I've never been given a hard time for it.

Oh there's the crap from some vegan-obsessed omnivores on this site, but I've never met a nutjob like that in real life. And who cares about the opinions of a saddo with nothing better to do than sit at a computer fretting about the minutiae of other people's diets?

Answer 6

Jealousy.
Oh wait. That is only one word.
Jealousy and guilt?

That really is the only explanation. I mean, we KNOW that a) the human body is not suited for eating meat and other animal products DESPITE us having two pointy teeth (god, the lamest of arguements is also the most frequent) b) eating animal products negatively effects your health in such dramatic ways (I mean, come on,eliminating milk protein can STOP cancer and this news just gets ignored...WTF?) c) eating animal products is NOT necessary for good health in any way whatsoever and d) animals suffer tremendously in ways that would horrify most people if they witnessed the abuse. Oh and e) eating animal products are not ideal for the environment either. I mean I could go on and on and yet some of these people who are constantly trolling this section appear to be severly retarded in their thinking and just keep spewing the same ridiculous crap. I don't get it. The only explanation is that, when faced with the reality of what eating animals and animal products means for their health and their character, they realize they are not strong enough to change behaviors and, dare I say, food addictions, and they're jealous of people who ARE strong enough and they feel some guilt about continuing to eat things that they now KNOW are so bad in so many ways.

To those people (and yes, I am speaking to vegetarians who are still eating dairy and eggs, too) I just want to say that you ARE strong enough to make changes that you know in your heart and your mind are RIGHT. It's not nearly as hard as you might think.

Answer 7

In real life i dont find they do, I've never been questioned or insulted or mocked about being a vegetarian.

So, we need to look why things are different in this forum.

The main difference is anonimity.

Unfortunately that suggests a bullying and cowardly trait if they have to rely on anonimity before they voice thier opinions or insults.

A secondary reason is here you get a wider mix of cultures and ages than you do in real life. We tend to mix with people of our own age, backgrounds and beliefs in real life - thats just natural as we migrate towards people similar to ourselves. In this forum its a random collection of people. For example one of our meaty-trolls is posting lots of questions elsewhere that really do suggest racist tendancies - i would never mix with this person in real life.

To insult others is far easier than to try to understand thier position.

And as to exsft, i never insult people who ask genuine questions. You are confusing "preachy" with normal words that state my answer. Somehow trolls immediately claim its preachy if you state you don't eat meat for moral reasons. I've NEVER said my morals are higher than anyone elses, people just read that into the statement.

Answer 8

i think its that people have a hard time doing or eating things that are good for them. they like to be "naughty", and eating foods that are "naughty" somehow taste better which is weird but like junk foods and stuff people LOVE. but the healthier it is for them the more they will shy away from it. because of the lack of interest in the veggies there is a lack of different combinations of veggies incorperated into recipes (they are usualy a side dish or something in the meal but not actualy in the main dish itself), i know that there are quite a few recipes accumulated out there by now but there arent as many as the other types of recipes. also i think we are programmed to like sweet things, because breastmilk is sweet, most veggies arent as sweet as fruits so we tend to lean more twords the fruit group instead of the veggie group given a choice between the two. but that doesnt make sence if you believe in evolution because the first humans ate tubers and stuff so you would think that we would lean twords things like potatoes or carrots or beats...etc and while potatoes are realy popular in our culture as humans, most other veggies tend to get left out. but i guess if you go further back in evolution if you believe in it that humans came from monkeys, alot of monkeys eat fruits so maybe thats where we get the sweet tooth. veggies are yummy and so are other foods. :)

Answer 9

FEAR. We are different, taking a different PATH. Making some feel insecure.
Over & over you see ridicule as a result from all that have chosen something out of the "current" mainstream thinking. Being a Veggie or Vegan, is just 1 group that gets flak.

Answer 10

Insecurity.

when people have problems with other people, its generally based on insecurities they have about themselves. when someone is completely secure in thier own beliefs they rarely feel the need to find moral support from others.

take christianity and buddhism for example, both organised faith practices. however, the majority of chirstians only practice thier faith at church with others there for moral support. buddhists on the other hand specifically go out of thier way to practice thier faith on thier own. sure some Christians pray on thier own but the ones who cant seem insecure about thier beliefs and need moral support from others to continue practicing them.

people generally dont like to change, its risky. so often they try to change others for moral support instead of facing the change themselves.

i think the louder someone yells about something to others, the more they are also trying to convince themselves.

this is another reason why i cant stand fanatical vegans, if they are secure in thier own beliefs they shouldnt need to convert others.

"let people find their own path, you cant find it for them"