#vegetarian problems

Today at lunch, they brought bread to the table while I was in the bathroom

And I LOVE tea so I guess my family ordered me some

I took a sip and it was chicken broth

I took a big sip too because it looked like tea 😭

Husband is chill with this. My mother, however, is not, and after she pulled her usual stunts trying to get me to return to her way of thinking (”but what about protein!” ever heard of legumes; “what about iron deficiency!” if push comes to shove, I have an iron supplement; “but you always liked it growing up!” no, I didn’t, I just didn’t feel like getting hit; “you just have a dental issue and need to go to the dentist!” my teeth are perfect, the only cavity I got as an adult was because my tooth cracked and I couldn’t brush inside the crack thank you very fucking much) she changed tactics: but what about husband? What will he eat? Think about ~*~him ~*~ !!!!

I'm vegetarian.

They know this.

My FIL asked if I wanted chicken.

I said no, thank you, I'm vegetarian.

He said, so you don't even eat chicken.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I didn’t know about salmons, but honestly I’m not surprised. There was that study about how vegans are the most despised group of society, just ahead of drug users (both things say a lot about who we are but okay), and there’s always a lot of glee and vitriol in people’s attacks against vegans - the main angles being a) vegans don’t give a shit about people because vegetables are basically picked by slaves (which, true - so what’s the solution? not eating any vegetable? and don’t omnivore eat vegetables too?), b) vegans don’t give a shit about people because they buy expensive foreign things like quinoa (which, again - there is a problem there, but then again there’s also a problem with buying strawberries in January and I never hear any shaming or outrage about it) and also c) vegans are somehow destroying the world’s primeval forests all on their own because they live off soy, and 98% of the soy we produce goes directly into their greedy mouths.

Like, for fuck’s sake.

I understand some vegans are annoying or sanctimonious or preachy, and I understand some vegans are assholes - you’ll find both types in any category of people - but the constant trash and misinformation that’s thrown at vegans...I don’t know. I think that research concluded people want to hate vegans because deep down, they know veganism is the way forward and are fearful of losing something as primal and lizard-brained as their own food preferences. They panic every time a new study says the less meat and dairy you eat, the better you feel, and they panic at those reports pointing at the meat industry and the damages it causes. So they ignore that stuff, and get angry.

But if it’s any consolation, the tide is (slowly) turning. I’ve been vegetarian or vegan for most of my life, and it’s never been so easy, so widely accepted, and such a fashionable concept as it is now. I can find tofu and recipe books anywhere, school and office cafeterias mostly offer vegetarian or even vegan options (even in France, where a law mandating a vegetarian meal in schools once a week almost caused a general strike because apparently professional cooks need to be specially trained to cook one thing without meat or fish??), and even the most blood-guzzling relatives I have are now mumbling about increasing their intake of green veggies and nuts ‘for their health’. Compare that to my teens, when a school cook once removed the ham from my slice of pizza with his fingers before handing it back to me and people used to say ‘Don’t worry, I know you’re vegetarian - I made chicken!’ - it’s a completely different world. So let’s endure the insults and the ridicule, anon. It won’t last.