What if vegans stopped saying they're vegans?
We met at the airport, a Brasilian and two Russians. Shook hands. One of us looked at his watch: “Two hours to departure. Mind if we wait in a cafe?”
When we were seated, I explained to a waitress that I ate only fruits and vegetables and asked what on the menu was suitable. Both my companions, Russian and Brasilian, looked at me with refreshed curiosity and one asked: “So you're a vegan?” “Actually, I am,” I replied, “albeit usually I prefer not to use the word.” “Why?” both looked intrigued.
Why indeed?
Simply put, telling people that you’re a vegan is risky for relationship.
I recall being assigned to work with a new teammate. He was a nice bloke until lunch, then I mentioned being a vegan and he had turned into a troll. The change was so immediate as if I cast a spell on him by saying the word ‘vegan’.
Of course, most people keep being fine and corteous. Yet, it’s easy to notice how they get hold together as if they were whispered in the ear: “Nevermind. Usually, he’s not dangerous,” and start cautiously weighing each word leaving their lips. A relaxed chat is no longer possible.
Many vegans are well aware about the problem.
“It is very different, depends on a person,” Petr Cech, a friend of mine, answered. “Yet, to some people ‘I am vegan’ can be directly provocative.” The very fact that someone can perceive Petr – a calm, intelligent and polite Danish man – as provocative is strange. Yet, it’s a fact.
Eventually and independently from each other, both we have discovered a remarkable thing. Tell them you’re a vegan and they’ll crucify you. Say that you need fruits (vegs, mushrooms, nuts – whatever!) and they’ll treat you much like an allergic or diabetic.
Like it happened in the aforementioned trip of the three of us: since that first meeting in the airport, relationships were naturally friendly until the end. The guys showed genuine interest to my lifestyle and I can remember them trying vegetarian options when we had meals together.
“I usually say that I eat only fruits and explain as much as there is need or interest of,” Petr explained. “It almost never leads to a confrontation.”
The power of word?
What do people react at – the word itself? Or the specific manner we say it, tone of voice or body language?
The dilemma can be solved with a psychological experiment designed in a manner that excludes any influence of a speaking person. Last year, I composed a survey and tried it on a group of volunteers (guys, many thanks). The respondents were asked to measure their attitude towards a person who a) was a vegan; b) ate fruits; c) loved red colour. It’s worth mentioning also that the vast majority of the respondents were unaware about the author’s diet. So, what do we have?
Yes, the word matters in and of itself.
People never minded fruits, most felt good about that kind of a person. They took red colour a bit colder. However, people were glad in the least degree to learn that a person they were introduced to was vegan. One respondent changed their attitude to worse albeit they was given no clues for judgments – name, appearance, facial expression or whatever.
Thus, vegans who want to meet less confrontation from the general public can simply change the way they explain their dietary needs from saying “I am a…” to “I eat…”. Needless to say, the result cannot solve all the conflicts over foods. It’s a mere little step towards harmony between vegetarians and vegans and other people, a scored point to the credibility of trust.
When I let my lifestyle teacher and veganism advocate Dr Douglas N Graham know about the result, he noted in his usual philosophical style: “The difference between associating oneself with a belief system, religion, trend, or cult versus simply stating and practicing a dietary preference is profound in two ways. For the listener, the person first being exposed to the idea of veganism, saying that you prefer to eat plants allows them the opportunity to consider the option, to not experience being excluded, and to feel they have choice without experiencing judgment.”
Vegetarians and vegetarians
Mind if I tell another personal story?
At our tenth anniversary, my father offered my wife and me a pre-paid week stay at a vegan hotel. I was deeply touched because it was a sign that he was trying to accept my vegetarian choice. Sadly, after visiting the hotel’s website, I had to decline his present. I sweated blood while explaining to him why the hotel menu didn’t suit us. The tricky thing is that not so many can describe their diet by simply saying “I'm a vegan” or “I’m a vegetarian”.
“Vegetarian is open to many interpretations and variants,” agrees Dr Doug. “The ovo-lacto-vegetarian is the most common variant whereby people still consume eggs and dairy but no actual flesh. Many people consider themselves as mostly vegetarian, vegetarians who also eat chicken and/or fish, making them pollo-vegetarian or pesco-vegetarian. Are there some ovo-lacto-pesco-pollo-vegetarians out there? Most assuredly.”
In fact, there are dozens of different vegetarian and vegan diets. It’s good being a fruitarian, keeping to one of the easiest-to-explain diets on Earth. But what about the Pritikin program, low-carb and high-carb diets, high-fat or low-fat ones, high-protein and low-protein, raw foodism?
Americans are lucky to have a tradition of asking a guest in advance about their food preferences. It’s not so common to ask in Russia where I live.
Consequently, telling others what you eat is the straightest way to inform people about your dietary needs. It appeals also to allergics, diabetics and religious people, not only to vegetarians.
When everybody is a vegan…
With everyone super no one will be.
The discussed survey was international with participants from America, Europe, Russia, India and more.
However, in specific parts of the world, perception of vegans can strongly differ from average – for better or for worse. People generally feel better about them in more advanced societies. “Forty years ago, if you said you were a vegan, you would have been met with a blank stare as if perhaps Vega was a place, possibly a planet, from outside of our galaxy,” Dr Doug recalls. “Twenty years ago, as vegan awareness grew, so did the backlash, hostility, and other forms of protective responses (from) those who were not ready to change and interpreted the existence of vegans as an outright threat.”
In 2018, a consumer report from the supermarket chain Waitrose suggested that one in eight Britons are now vegetarian or vegan and a further 21% claim to be flexitarian, where a largely vegetable-based diet is supplemented occasionally with meat.
Suppose the trend lasts into the future until a considerable part of the world – a country, a town – switches to mostly vegan lifestyle. What happens then? What if any person around is a vegan?
Then no one is a vegan. We’re just humans.
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