Why vegans are annoying

I love animals, and I have done my whole life. So if you’re expecting me to rave about steak and ale pie you’re at the wrong place.

Having been brought up veggie, the suffering inflicted on cows, chickens and other farmyard friends in the name of creating “food” has seemed ever cruel and meaningless to me. I get that some people are dubious about removing meats from their diet because they may be anaemic or have an iron deficiency. For these people baby steps are the only way.

Nonetheless, a vegetarian diet not only limits your partaking in the numbers of animals slaughtered in the name of food production each year but is also healthier for us. It’s well documented and indisputable because it’s true.

Aldi’s Meat Free range is pretty dank anyways

As more and more food outlets add additional options to their vegetarian menu (so long, butternut squash risotto), the practice of “ethical eating” has recently become more and more mainstream.

So while I find any effort people do make to limit their meat consumption as respectable, it’s hard to stand by as “Veganism” warps into a cool image trend as opposed to an ethical movement.

This is what pisses me off about many-a-vegan I’ve encountered and the vegan movement as a whole.

First off, Vegan’s are now under the illusion that non-vegans are uneducated plebs. It couldn’t possibly be that perhaps we can’t all afford to do weekly shops in Holland and Barratt. What average student has the means to afford special weekly orders of macadamia mayonnaise and quinoa?

Your sense of moral superiority…

The vegan life is hard for the poorer Tom, Dick or Sally. Yeah, I know that Sainsburys now stock a limited selection of vegan-friendly products, but they carry an extra £1-£2 on the price tag, just for that novelty “mother earth” label.

If baked beans become the staple of your diet, no matter how you feel about animal welfare, this vegan thing just isn’t going to work out. So while more people than ever are conscious of veganism, it’s pretty hard to actually put into practice for your average.

Even as a vegetarian, the effort to make the transition to being full vegan would be HUGE. For starters, many of the meat substitution products (Quorn) I buy contain egg and milk,  so even these would need to be removed from my weekly shop. Don’t even get me started about the difficulties of going out to eat at your everyday café or pub down the lane. Impossible.

A lot of my issues lie with the many advocates for veganism and animal rights because they aren’t doing a very good job.

Some of the vegans I have met have been the most obnoxious, judgemental and pretentious people I have encountered. As far as I can see all of these celebrities and vloggers are pursuing a vegan lifestyle to develop their self image, not because animal welfare is a genuine concern. I strongly believe they do it purely because they want to appear interesting, alternative and conscious to their peers but their hearts aren’t really in it.

My family and I have previously been met with disparaging looks when we’ve entered vegan restaurants because we assumedly don’t fit the cool hipster typecast that vegans want to subscribe to. Next time Dad, throw on that leather tassel jacket and a wristband.

Veganism is the latest in activist movements to be hijacked by narcissists, who only want to use it to enforce their moral superiority above their onlookers. Being vegan is like gap years and charity wristbands; a staple for that category of student that wants to look like they are a good person, but doesn’t really give a shit about the actual cause they claim to be supporting.

I’m pretty sure we all know someone that’s a vegan because it’s the first thing they want you to know. You avoid them at parties but sure enough they drift over, “Did I tell you I’m a vegan?”. Yes, Georgie you’re a bloody vegan, do you want a medal?

If some vegans were that committed to their ethical lifestyle, for example, there are many wines they would have to stop drinking immediately. Most wines contain milk and egg extracts. Yet there they are. Vegan’s all over the shop, happily gulping down glasses of Merlot that contain these ingredients, while spouting about what a great and ethical person they are.

It may not be vegan, but you’re quite happy to gulf it down at your pretentious hippy fests

The amount of vegans who wear leather shoes is also quite laughable. Well, it would be if they weren’t creating demand for this meat by-product.

The word “vegan” has sadly become an odd facade. Being seen to do the right thing is more important than actually doing so.

You would also think that in being vegetarian, vegans would welcome me with open arms as a fellow animal lover. Instead, I’m met with lecturing and anger, because I’m “not doing enough.” I’d say not eating meat FULL STOP would be quite a large one in terms of animal welfare.

For this new wave of veganism, judgement replaces compassion, and accusations replace understanding. If we are to help the smaller creatures on earth, we must reach out to, and understand our fellow man first. It’s recently come to light that mainstream animal rights movements are in danger of being oppressive. They fail to consider culture, class and access, as potential barriers for those who want to get involved.

Vegans, while I admire your particular lifestyle choice I hope you are adopting it with the intention of doing good for all creatures, instead of thinking about only one.