Vegetarians & Vegans Support Group

Been there, done that. Eventually they will back off, at least my relatives did. Now the fact that I am vegan "just is."

My family and friends do the same thing. I just don't get it. They tell me god put animals on the earth for us to eat......

I can relate. But now that I sat and told my family that it was a life choice and I have chosen it they backed off..
Just tell them you arnt going to eat meat and for them to stop telling you about it. Tell them how you feel and tell them that its your life. If they want to eat meat there more than welcome but you dont want to.
Hope it helps.
-Mindy

I completely agree with Mindy. When you point out that everyone needs to make their own choices and that you're not judging anyone else for theirs, they tend to leave you alone about yours.

I'd love to think that family members eventually back off with the harrassing... but I'm pretty doubtful at this point.
I've tried explaining my veganism to my family a million times and they just don't get it. Mostly they think it is a personal attack on them and the way they raised me. It doesnt matter how diplomatic I am on the subject, they still get angry by my not eating meat. Not to mention I'm the center of negative attention at every holiday. I've even decided not to attend this years thanksgiving dinner because of the nasty comments and third degree. Not to mention I don't understand why we celebrate the genicide of native north americans by stuffing a big bird full of bread...

maybe you could convince them to visit a slaughterhouse, or at least watch videos of livestock being killed...i'm sure PETA's website has tons of them.

honestly what converted me was a PETA video of an animal being killed for its skin -- i am still emotionally scarred by it. the cruelty was not just unimaginable, but way beyond the level of violence required to kill something -- there's no explanation i can think of aside from pathological sadism on the part of the person doing it. first, the man placed his booted foot on the animal's head (i think it was a marten), slowly applying weight as if he intended to crush it, but instead of the skull collapsing, as you would think, blood poured out of the creature's nose, eyes and mouth like a faucet. i was horrified when i realized the animal was not dead -- it was obviously disoriented, writhing on the hook that was suspending it -- when the man ripped its skin completely off in such a way as to keep the pelt intact. i could hardly believe it as i saw the poor creature continue to twist on the hook. that image will never leave me, and i wish i had never seen it. the only good thing to come out of it is that clenched my decision to try to live a cruelty-free life.

my feeling is, if someone can't stomach images like this, i don't know how they can eat meat. get people in touch with the process and it will speak for itself. of course, many people are resistant and hostile when you present them with images like this, as they are when abortion protesters display huge photos of aborted late-term fetuses. that's because people have deep-rooted emotional associations with food, and when a particular food is a source of comfort and pleasant memories, they don't want to give it up. so the key is to alter their associations with it.

of course, it's not likely you're going to convert your family. but when put on the spot, people's defenses of their practice of eating animals are pretty flimsy and easy to shoot down. even so, it's a frustrating uphill battle, and like i said, most people resist it. i still believe that if images, film and comprehensive details of animal cruelty in the agricultural industry are circulated more and more widely, i think people's collective consciousness can slowly shift -- maybe not in our lifetimes, but i do believe it can gradually get better. remember, until the 80's vivisection was legal, but no more thanks to organizations like PETA (actually in this case i believe it was PETA specifically who drew attention to vivisection).
sorry about the rant -- i can't say enough against animal cruelty. i know what you're going through. my stepmother says things like ''get over it''. (this is from someone who still hasn't emotionally recovered from the death of her dog 3 years ago!)

hang in there -- you are doing good by setting an example. if it makes people angry, it may be because deep down they know in their hearts that it's unjustifiable.

I have the sam problems at work. My family is very understand with it. I did decide I wanted to be vegetarian 9so I guess it was a lil easier for me. And I became vegan almost a year ago. But the people at work by me crazy about it. They tell its bad for me all the time. They are sooo stupid and it drives me crazy I just wanna scream.

in response to veganfoxx's comment:
i wonder if it has ever occurred to your coworkers that your choice of diet is NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS. not only that, but some of them probably smoke, most of them probably consume saturated fats and carcinogenic antibiotic-saturated meats, processed sugars and carbs, alcohol, fish with mercury, too much salt, not enough fiber or fluids...it's amazing that people have the nerve to criticize vegan diets as being unhealthy. again, since when is it their role to supervise your nutritional regime? they would probably be offended to be judged or criticized for their lifestyles. you don't judge them for not eating enough vegetables. people don't ridicule people who keep kosher. people don't critcize their coworkers for not going to church (or for going to church, as the case may be). they don't tell people how to raise their kids. it is absolutely inappropriate behavior. you can tell them to kiss your ass.

I don't know why people feel so threatened by vegetarians and vegans. I'm in the process of going vegan and people look at you like they feel sorry for you. They argue with you about being healthy and that being vegan isn't natural..blah blah blah blah. It really gets to you and gets you down. That is part of why I found this site! So I wouldn't feel so alone. The people I work with do the same..so does some of my family. What is the most frusterating and annoying is that those people haven't done the research. You wouldn't be vegan or vegetarian if you weren't knowledgable when it comes to food. People are scared of what they don't understand but really...they should just be quiet then. =)

I hear it sometimes too.
Just last saturday my brothers GF was telling me how I should eat cheese and butter.
And that fish is actually good for me.
What ever!!!!