I want to start off by saying that I don’t have a problem with people’s dietary choices- it’s a personal thing that should be respected, however what I DO have a problem is those who force their diet and ideologies onto other people and try to brainwash them. Whilst there are vegans who are respectful of those who are non-vegan and don’t force their dietary choices onto others, there are many vegans who unfortunately do and have brainwashed millions of impressionable millennials into adopting a vegan diet, mostly through guilt and misinformation. Being vegan goes further than just being a diet- it has become a religion and identity. Many of those who are recently turned vegans act as those newly converted to a religion. They claim that veganism has solved all of their problems and has given them a new lease of life- they’ve lost weight, they feel healthier and more energised, their skin has improved, they’ve become more compassionate people etc.
Eighteen months ago, my brother and sister-in-law became vegan and it’s become their new identity and they constantly harp on about veganism. Before going vegan, my brother was a meat lover who loved a good steak. I remember this one time that we went to a Brazilian rodizio restaurant (a famous Brazilian style all-you-can-eat meat buffet) and he was in seventh heaven. My brother claimed he could never ever give up meat. Now he claims that he doesn’t miss it and that meat made him ill (too much of anything isn’t good for you).
Many vegans claim that they don’t miss non-vegan foods but again they’ve been brainwashed into believing that by the Vegan Brigade. The Vegan Bridage is a toxic movement that functions much like a cult- the outside world (the non-vegans) are bad and need to be saved. Sadly I see so many vegans on social media spout propaganda and lies to convert people to their cause. Being vegan is the latest millennial trend and one that the Vegan Brigade is successful in manipulating through guilt and pressure. I’m sick of constantly seeing slogans slating those who are meat eaters and animal lovers for “eating their friends” and who compare those who eat meat as paying “hit men" (butchers) to kill animals.
Radical vegans are no different to pro-life campaigners who use guilt and distressing images to manipulate people. Militant vegans like pro-life campaigners use guilt to spread the message but not reality. Vegans seem to think that the animal world is all lovey-dovey and wonderful and all animals love one another. If vegans show distressing images of slaughterhouses, I’ll bring some images of my cat Lucky catching and playing with a half-dead mouse. Do these vegans feel distressed when they see a cat hunting a mouse, a lion hunting a gazelle or a fox hunting a rabbit? These prey are often tortured and played with by their predators. Are the vegans going to tell off the big bad kitty for killing a mouse despite having plenty of food?
Nature isn’t as lovely as vegans portray. I completely believe in respect for animals but animals are not on the same par as humans. An animal for example does not care about its offspring the same way the a human mother and father care for their children. In the animal world it is normal for animals to abandon their young once they’re old enough to fend for themselves. Animals aren’t attached to their young the way that the vast majority of humans are. Many animals even see their young as competition when they’re older. There are many animals that abandon their young before they’re ready or even kill them.
Whilst animals do feel, they don’t have any sense of time or what is going on around them. I believe in ethical slaughtering of animals for meat and animals that are being bred for meat and their products to be treated with respect and proper treatment including having enough food and space. Vegans are not wrong in that some practices in the meat and animal products industry do need to change, but banning meat and animal products is not the way forward.
Humans have eaten meat and dairy products since the beginning of time. Vegans may say that eating meat and animal products is bad for the environment but I fail to see how being vegan is the correct solution to saving the planet. Say the whole world went vegan, there would be a huge amount of pressure to grow crops and that would also mean taking crops away from the animals which means that they would die out. Also what do vegans propose for obligate carnivores- those animals such as cats who would become very sick and die if meat wasn’t a part of their diet? The natural world isn’t so simple after all. Radical vegans are encouraging the disharmony of nature.
Do I believe people should eat less meat? I think that too much of anything isn’t good for anybody. Too much alcohol and too much junk food isn’t good for one’s health. Meat however especially in its leaner form does carry many health benefits and vitamins that a vegan diet cannot completely provide.
It is a fact that vegan diets lack many nutrients and vegans have to take supplements to make up for it. Surely ingesting fake and unnatural forms of vitamins isn’t healthy either? Many health professionals especially in the UK and in America are reluctant to speak out about the negative impact of a vegan diet in fear or upsetting the woke and radical vegans. Studies from other European countries show that a vegan diet isn’t necessarily beneficial or healthy. According to a friend of my mum’s who is a health visitor, more money is being spent on pregnant vegan mothers to ensure that they have a healthy pregnancy.
What I definitely disagree with and think is child cruelty is parents who force their children to go vegan. Children need a wide range of different foods to help them to grow especially milk which contains calcium to help them to grow. Whilst vegans will argue that breastfeeding is the answer, not every mother is physically able to breastfeed and most will unlikely continue to breastfeed their children past the age of two. Children throughout all stages of development need milk and many other vitamins. A vegan diet also doesn’t provide enough calories or nourishment. A friend of my mum’s has a granddaughter who is being raised vegan and she says that her granddaughter is constantly hungry. Surely that can’t be a good thing.
There are many ex-vegans who have openly spoken out about why they stopped being vegan (the main reason is the detrimental effect it was having on their health), only to face a huge backlash from the vegan community. Militant vegans don’t want to face the reality that veganism is not a healthy or sustainable diet for many. Whilst veganism may be right for some people, it cannot be assumed that it’s the healthy and right for everyone else. Vegans like any followers of a new trend or diet, will wax lyrical the benefits and how it changed their lives. Most diets initially have that effect, but in the long term they’re extremely difficult to maintain. Veganism is an especially restrictive diet that cuts so many food groups.
Many millennials are looking for their place in the world and these extreme groups and ideologies give them a sense of belonging and identity. As I previously mentioned, veganism is far more than just a diet; it’s an identity. Factor that with living in an ever woke world where people act as though they were born yesterday and that they’ve just discovered racism, injustice and inequality. The majority of vegans grew up non-vegan and many made the choice to become vegan in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s etc. Surely they knew where the meat and animal products on their plates came from and still ate it regardless. They didn’t have a problem with consuming meat or animal products before it became fashionable to be vegan. That’s what I find funny. The Woke Bridage claim to care about inequality and injustice but they don’t really. Instead of tackling real issues, they march around policing any slightly harmless un-PC remark and brainwashing people to fit their agenda which is ultimately all about control. They don’t really care about the inequality, racism, sexism, animal rights etc. Instead of wasting energy on cancelling those who don’t share their extreme left-wing agenda; and guilting, manipulating and misinforming gullible millennials into turning vegan, why not actually genuinely make a difference to people’s and animals' lives? Well because it would mean that the Woke Brigade have to relinquish their control and get off their high horses. It would mean actually caring about the things that matter. If they really cared about animal rights for example, they would respect nature and the animal world and that it functions differently to the human world. As I mentioned, if meat was banned, other animals would die. If the world went vegan there would be huge pressure put on growing plants- other animals would die from lack of plants and would eventually become extinct. I completely believe in treating animals with respect and without cruelty however animals have different purposes whether for labour (many animals are working animals like horses and certain dogs who need exercise- as long as they aren’t overworked), companion animals (pets), animals that provide products and food and animals that keep away other animals and pests etc. I am an animal lover by all means- I actually prefer animals to people. I hate animal cruelty (this doesn’t include ethical slaughtering) and I don’t agree with killing animals for sport or killing animals for clothes and bags. Nor do I agree with animals being used for science (which I find pointless as human and animal biologies are very different and most studies carried out on animals don’t equal the same results in humans).
The biggest irony is that many vegans don’t treat fellow human beings with respect. Pressurizing and manipulating people to become vegan especially at the detriment of their health is cruel and irresponsible. Attacking those who won’t be swayed or former vegans isn’t acting with respect or kindness towards fellow human beings.
Militant vegans function the same way as a cult. They often love bomb victims. According to Wikipedia, “love bombing is an attempt to influence a person by demonstrations of attention and affection. It has also been described as psychological manipulation in order to create a feeling of unity within a group against a society perceived as hostile.”
Veganism comes across as a loving and tight community that offers friendship, belonging and a firm sense of identity. As long as you play by their rules, they will have your back. If you begin to question them or have doubts, they will turn against you.
I predict that in a few years time, veganism will run its course, especially once people start to see the lies and notice the effects on their health. Veganism will be a thing of the past and who knows what the next big trend will be. I know that I certainly won’t be a part of it either.
