Have you noticed the increase in Vegans?

Question

It used to be people would say they were vegetarians and people though that was extreme decades ago now people are taking it a step further and saying there vegans.I personally am only willing to go so far as being a vegetarian.Why do some people approach it like being vegan is like better than being a vegetarian (not all but some people I have come across so dont get me wrong) it seems like there is starting to be a line drawn in the sand that seperates the vegetarians the vegans thats how I feel anywayes.Not all vegans act this way but some do get defensive if you say your only a vegetarian.Has anyone else had encounters with snotty vegans?Also why is there such an increase in people declaring veganisim?Is it just easier to be now a days or what?

Answer 1

I think veganism has received more PR lately, thanks to the increasing awareness of the detriment of the animal-foods industry to animals, the environment and human health in the form of media, peer-reviewed literature, the eco-movement, AR literature, and of course Oprah's 21-day cleanse and other health-related trends.

And it certainly is easier to be vegan these days with the increasing availability of information about vegan living and meat- and dairy-free foods.

As for snotty vegans... well, I've encountered snotty people of all lifestyles: vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, republican, democrat, short, tall, bald, red-heads, blondes, people with earrings, people who wear blue shirts on Tuesdays... so I can't generalize.

Answer 2

I think many lacto-ovo vegetarians are more aware of dairy and egg industry standards and practices of manipulation so they end up going the vegan route.  It's easy to see why people go vegan.  There are a ton of stories of people working in or visiting dairy farms (factory and small, local) who said they quickly went vegan after what they have seen.

I can't back this up by any means, but I read that vegans now comprise between 1/3 to 1/2 of all vegetarians.  This seems like a lot but if there's any grain of truth to it, I think it's wonderful.  

If you want to know why people go vegan, just look to these links:

http://www.mercyforanimals.org/CAEggs/

http://www.eggcruelty.com/

http://friendseat.com/videos/240/Underco...

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ALF...

http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/un...

http://www.hsus.org/video_clips/battery-...

http://www.hsus.org/farm/resources/resea...

Answer 3

I once saw a documentary where the egg-factory workers took all of the male chicks and threw them live into a garbage disposal (quickly/roughly, more worried about getting the job done quickly than about the gentle chicks) while they were still fully conscious before grinding them up. Can you imagine how painful that must be? That is so disgusting and horrible. I think veganism is completely justified. Why anyone would want to support practices like that is beyond me.

Answer 4

I agree . Ive run into a few vegans that were downright nasty to vegetarians. They should focus their anger on the omnis' and not on the veggies. At least the veggies are trying.

Answer 5

If your referring to some of the BS that went on in the forum recently, please don't take notice. They hold a minority view and you shouldn't consider their view to be the norm. We're not all a judgmental snotty stereotype, only a small fraction of people hold this view. As for the apparent increase I perhaps some people are going through the "fad" of being vegetarian or vegan or maybe you notice it more now that your veg.

Answer 6

You are 18. Sorry, but you are not old enough to notice trends like this, how can you compare "decades ago"  to today ?

Its just a natural human traight that the more you become interested in something, the more you think its growing recently - everyone thinks they are on the crest of a wave.

vegans have been around, and with as much "demarkation" for many years.

See my other answers this, and last, week on what vegans have called vegetarians in this forum. It does not make pleasent reading.

Within the last week I've  learnt that because I am vegetarian rather than vegan...........I'm lazy, selfish, dont' care for animals, lacking knowledge, ignorant, unable to "do vegan because its too hard", i found out i'm also vegetarian because i want the attention, I'm not that passionate about the cause, and I'm not very educated on animal cruelty and just a wanna-bee

Its all here in this forum, the above are direct quotes.

You can judge yourself if thats vegans looking down on vegetarians, i have my own opinion.

Both your question and one answer have described themselves as "only" a vegetarian. Crikey, have they really ground you down so much that you think so little of yourself ?

Come on, be proud for being a vegetarian. Make no apology.

Answer 7

im only a vegeterian, but i think i can kinda see where vegans are coming from if you choose to be vegeterian for compassion to animals, becuase eating milk and dairy products still aid in animal abuse and suffering. vegans have no right to be s****. to someone just becuase they have different views from them. but i can see how they would find it contradicting being a vegeterian to save animals while, you still eat things that are contributing to killing animals.

but thats just how i see it, of coarse vegans are no better than vegetarians while neither group is better than meat eaters. in my eyes we are all equal with just different ideas.

Answer 8

Statistically, there are still only 1 vegan for every 2000 people.. maybe they just got louder..

ironic that vegetraians are now complaning about being looked down on by vegans since omnivopres have been complaining aboiut the very same behaviour from holier-than-thou vegtarian converts.. doesn't feel too good does it?

By the way, listen to your own previous speeches about tolerance and ignorance and don't stereotype all vegans.. One of the best answerers here is a vegan..

Answer 9

Unfortunately, the dairy and egg industries are the cruelest ones.  Unless you can see the conditions in which the animals are kept, you can't be sure that you're getting a truly "humane" product.  And even so, the most "humane" egg facility is going to have to deal with baby male layer chicks.  The most "humane" dairy facility is going to have to deal wtih male calves.  And the most "humane" facilities are going to have to deal wtih hens and cows who have outlived their productive years.

There are more and more vegan products out there, making it easier to completely ditch mammals' milk--which one should do far before s/he has the capacity to type on a computer keyboard--and chickens' eggs.  I certainly hope there are more vegans around--it means companies will have to cater to our needs.

Answer 10

Repent!  The end is nigh!  The vegans are coming!  THE VEGANS ARE COMING!

Vegans can never be better, in the same way that they can never be worse.  Vegans just are.  I don't see that as a cause for alarm.

There is a line drawn in the sand because it needs to be there.  Just because vegetarians are not vegans does not mean they are inhumane cow-raping heathens.  And just because vegans no longer eat dairy does not make them, as you put it... "snotty".  But, the separation is necessary to avoid confusion, in the same way that you would not like a pescetarian, or for that matter a pesce-pollo-carne-tarian identifying themselves as vegetarians.

Any group will have its share of sarcastic a**holes (full disclosure: I'm one of 'em).  Why should veg*nism be any different.  Some vegans will be a**holes, most won't.

::edit::

apres vous

1/3 to 1/2 of vegetarians are vegans?  That's highly unlikely.  The only statistic I've ever seen about vegetarian populations stated that about 3% of the population was vegetarian, and that only 1/7 of vegetarians were vegan.  And those are the high end estimates.

http://www.humanespot.org/node/2805

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/statveg.html

Answer 11

I don't know about an increase in vegans, but I guess I don't really no any other than myself and my bf. I don't feel that way towards vegetarians, and I may even dabble in some cheese eating myself if I wasn't also lactose intolerant (part of the reason I made the switch to veganism).

I think it's silly that vegans pick on vegetarians.

Answer 12

Well I think there has always been a line drawn between vegans and vegetarians, but it has probably gotten a lot "thicker" somewhere in time. In the past there were probably only two groups known to men, those who ate meat, and those who didn't. However, the number of vegans has expanded a little, and this probably caused the line to "thicken."

Because there are more vegans than there used to be, more people are becoming aware of vegans, and this awareness is probably the catalyst for the "thicker" line.

-None of what I said above me be 100% correct, It's just my hypothesis.

I'll admit, some vegans do think they're superior to vegetarians. I'm not sure why, but I think they consider themselves to be "pure breed" or something, just because they have more limitations on their diet. To me it doesn't matter if you're a vegetarian, vegan, omnivore, or even a caniball (lol jk jk =)). I just wish this stupid competetion between each other would just end!

I'm not sure if the number of vegans has increased or not. I know when I'm on Y!A I feel like there is a HUGE number of vegans, but once I turn my computer off and step outside, I feel like I'm the only one (besides my sister). I've only met like 10 vegans in my life, and I met them at a vegan restaurant, but I have never met one at school or anything. However, the number of vegans has increased and I believe it will continue increasing.

And you last question (lol), I think it is easier to be a vegan now a days, yet it's still kind of hard. So many companies are trying to hide their ingredients from the comsumers. You have to read every single label if you're going to be vegan.

Lol, my friends are amazed that I can tell them what is vegan and what's not without having to read the ingredients.

-But I think I answered all your questions, good luck