Militant Veganism: Don’t let it put you off moving towards a plant based diet

By Shekha McCarthy

Some members of the vegan community possess a ‘holier than thou’ attitude, heavily judging those who do not follow a strictly vegan diet. We have all witnessed it before; it is a large reason why some vegans have earned their reputation of being annoying. Yes, they are working to save animals and the planet, and they deserve credit for that, but there is large ignorance in vegans who shame those who have not completely removed meat and dairy from their diets.

I am a lifelong vegetarian and have just taken part in Veganuary for five years running. I was raised a vegetarian by my parents and am grateful to them for it. I am very aware that it has been much easier for me than it is for those who grow up eating meat and make the decision to stop. I do not know anything other than a vegetarian diet, so I am always impressed when someone makes this decision, as I believe it takes a lot of strength and willpower and deserves respect.

Vegan diets typically have a significantly lower carbon footprint, and many consider them the key to saving the planet from the climate crisis. Whilst some vegan foods can have negative environmental impacts, they are still all considerably less harmful for the planet than livestock consumption. However, indigenous communities worldwide have eaten meat sustainably for generations, they prove that it is possible, suggesting perhaps the larger issue is capitalism. Capitalism is arguably the largest cause of climate change, it has driven a mass market for meat and dairy products that has led to overproduction, overconsumption, and waste. Some vegans seem to place more blame on those who eat meat and dairy than they do on the systems that make meat consumption considerably worse for the planet.

There are various reasons why someone may not be able to be vegan, such as dietary requirements or deficiencies. A properly healthy vegan diet can also be expensive and inaccessible, especially those on lower incomes. There are too many families in the UK who are struggling to just get by due to our conservative government; some simply do not have the time, money, or energy to cut meat and dairy from their diet. Rather than shaming meat eaters, there should be more of a push to make veganism and vegetarianism more accessible to everybody.

All that shaming of non-vegans seems to do is to discourage them from moving towards veganism. Why would they want to join a community that places an ignorant blanket of shame over them, and doesn’t try to understand the structural and personal barriers that could be stopping someone from being able to have a vegetarian or vegan diet? Every little helps in this case, and any move towards cutting out meat or dairy is a positive one and should be treated as such.

I think that this toxicity in the vegan community is not reflective of the movement as a whole. I am a part of various online vegan/ vegetarian forums such as the Facebook group: ‘Sheffield Vegetarians and Vegans’ which have a supportive and positive attitude to those looking to make dietary changes. There are plenty of vegans who are spreading the encouraging message for people to cut out what they can and do what is right for them and their own personal needs. Hopefully, this culture of shaming will eventually stop, and the focus will move to addressing systematic inequalities that block people’s accessibility to vegetarianism and veganism. We are all at different stages of our sustainability journeys, don’t let pushy vegans scare you out of trying to make lifestyle changes that will better the planet.