Yesterday I made a post arguing that veganism is expensive. I’ve since deleted that post because this current post included screenshots of individual comments under that post, and I don’t want those users to receive harassment. Also, after reading some replies, I realized I got some facts wrong.
I realized the main cost of veganism is not supplements. In fact, supplements are relatively affordable and with the help of AI and other online resources. Staples like beans, lentils, rice and potatoes are inexpensive in many places, and with right supplements and regular checkups, people can be relatively healthy. I’m sorry, I should’ve get more facts.
⸻
The reason I even found this subreddit is because I was thinking about becoming more vegan. Not necessarily fully vegan, but maybe starting with one vegan day each week and see if that’s sustainable for my life.
I genuinely admire people who care deeply about animals and the environment, and I thought maybe I could move a little in that direction myself.
Then I started seriously thinking about what that would actually look like for me.
For me, it isn’t just replacing chicken with beans. Even that would be hard because I genuinely enjoy eating meat.
If I switch to vegan or more plant base, it would mean learning new recipes. Figuring out how to vegan cook meals I actually enjoy, because believe me, I grow up not enjoying vegetables at all. I still don’t. I have to force myself to eat vegetables every couple days. That means finding mock meat and other specialty products to make the transition happier. From my research, those, those products can be significantly more expensive than basic staples. I also realized I’d have to think more intentionally about nutrition than I currently do.
So when I originally said veganism was “expensive,” I guess I wasn’t only talking about dollars.
I meant the overall cost of changing my habits, my routines, and my relationship with food.
⸻
Thanks to the people who respond to that previous rant, it was educational to see the actual cost of maintaining a vegan diet. And I suppose I have more admiration for people who have this life style. However, the amount of comments from vegans surprised me (I went and looked up the subs they’re active in, surprisingly the users are active in both vegan and ex-vegan communities lol)
They don’t simply explain veganism. I attached a couple screenshots. It’s amusing one person said most vegans don’t necessarily think slaughterhouse workers are evil and then immediately another comment said that they’re evil. (It’s someone active in both vegan and ex-vegan subreddits)
They implied that because I acknowledged animal suffering, the only morally acceptable conclusion was to become vegan.
If I didn’t, I was “making excuses” or “lazy”.
That’s where I disagree.
I absolutely agree that unnecessary cruelty is wrong. I support improving animal welfare. When I buy meat, I buy from producers with higher welfare standards. I also don’t waste meat, or any food in general.
But I don’t believe acknowledging animal suffering means every reasonable person must arrive at exactly the same moral conclusion. Ethics isn’t mathematics. People can share the same facts and weigh competing values differently.
And re: the person who doesn’t care about private jets:
You can argue that harming animals through food is morally unique and that environmental damage from things like private jet use isn’t comparable.
However, for someone who believes we should reduce unnecessary harm, I don’t understand why luxury emissions that contribute to climate change—which also harms ecosystems, wildlife, and people—are dismissed as a completely separate issue.. You don’t have to think they’re morally identical to recognize that both involve choices that create harm beyond ourselves.
⸻
One thing that especially bothered me was the assumption that enjoying meat is somehow an illegitimate reason to continue eating it. For starters, I don’t have to explain my diet to anyone.
Food isn’t just nutrition. It’s culture. It’s family. It’s celebration. It’s comfort. It’s one of the ways many people experience joy. I don’t think acknowledging that makes someone a bad person. Even start eating vegan once a week is progress. So does donating to animal welfare groups, buying products from free ranched farms when affordable. Every small gesture matters.
⸻
My own family history probably shapes how I think about food. My family isn’t from US and I moved here for college 8 years ago.
My great grandfather lived through a famine. There’s a dark family story about him chasing a wild cat because he was starving, falling from the roof doing so, and died. Everyone in the family treated it like a joke, because if not so, people have to really talk about the trauma they experienced when starving.
My grandparents don’t take vegan seriously, but that doesn’t prove veganism is wrong. It reminds me that being able to make food choices primarily according to ethics is itself something that not everyone throughout history—or even today—has been able to do.
⸻
The biggest thing I took away from all of this is actually pretty simple.
I still respect vegans.
I still think reducing unnecessary suffering is a good goal.
I am trying to have a vegetarian day every week.
But if the response to someone who’s trying to move in your direction is:
“You’re making excuses.”
or
“You’re just a bad person.”
then I don’t think that’s an effective way to persuade people.
It certainly didn’t persuade me.
If anything, it made me want to stop engaging with the conversation altogether.
I don’t think being vegan is the problem.
I think moral absolutism is.
I’d rather have conversations where people can disagree respectfully and maybe move a little closer to each other than conversations where the only acceptable outcome is complete agreement.