Why I am a Vegan

[flofrog]

It's quite ridiculous actually, there is so much evidence and research. But ever since going vegan I get constantly mocked for being not "normal". Perhaps I'm just too weak, and shy, to convey anything why it is good for us and the planet. I know many reasons, I've watched and read. Yet I can't get any point across when someone asks me why, and tells me that eating meat is essential for the body. If I say that animals suffer, I'm being told that plants do too. If I say that it's bad for our body, I'm told that it doesn't matter because one should live their joy be it eating meat. I feel like I have the tools, yet I do nothing, and that bothers me so much.  :-/

What do you tell one who asks why are you vegan? Without pointing them to videos, movies, or articles. People prefer to avoid that.

Aside from what has already been said in answer to this, I have a few things to add.

I don't hide the fact that I'm vegan, nor do I promote it. It is just who I am. When asked about it, I treat the questioner like a small child who has asked a question about sex, and I answer with the simplest explanation with no details first ("I do it because it's healthier, and I care about the animals," for example). If they want more info, I give a little more. At some point I might ask if they really want to know about the planet, greenhouses gases, factory farms, etc. If they do, I tell them. 

The best thing I have is my example. As in Jade's case, I am super healthy being vegan. I have been vegetarian most of my life. I look younger than almost anyone else my age. I have vitality and I am intelligent. This is usually enough to send a message to people about the efficacy of not eating meat without me saying anything.

On the other hand it is a hard road to walk, if your heart breaks for the suffering animals. I don't ever get angry at anyone in particular for being asleep or staying in denial even when faced with the facts, but I do get frustrated sometimes over the general situation and the state of humankind. This is when I remind myself of that wonderful line in The Year of Living Dangerously, when Mel Gibson asks Linda Hunt (playing a man) why he keeps trying to help the poor of Jakarta when it doesn't seem to change anything, and he answers that it adds light to the sum of light.

oh Diana my favorite of favorite films. When my son dylan was four months old.. I was one day re watching it while eating a salad and Dylan was next to me in his bassinet, he was watching it too as I paused the film he started to cry so I put the film back on and he stopped, I paused it again to be sure and he cried again. Some years later a friend of mine who was a psychic did a quick reading transferring the voices of my guides and they said, we are really happy that years ago flo showed her favorite movie to her son

This movie is so awesome