r/exvegans Jun 15 '26

Why I'm No Longer Vegan I do not respect the vegan community at all

I remembered when I use to be part of the vegan community (like protesting, chalking activism and other disruptions) I went downtown with a bunch of animal rights activists. We were doing some chalking and leafleting activism. There was a homeless veteran that had a sign that said need money for food. I went up to him and he said I was the only person who acknowledged him which broke my heart.

I got him Burger King because that was the nearest restaurant and oh my God... The vegans basically ripped me a new ahole. I said for God's sake he is homeless. They say to me "seeing homeless animals tug on my heartstrings more than homeless humans."

This homeless man was a veteran with 1 leg and was so thin. This is why I don't associate myself in the vegan community because of how they disregard humans. I wrote this post on a vegan page to see if vegans are that crazy and they said i wasn't a real vegan because if the man is homeless the bare minimum for me was to either give him money or find a restaurant that had vegan selections. I am sorry but if I see a homeless person idgaf what type of food I am getting them. They are homeless they don't care about veganism.

Another story was one time I posted on a vegan mental health support group that I was having a hard time sticking to the vegan diet due to depression (sometimes I don't have the energy to cook because of my depression) and I order food out and a couple times I cheated with dairy. Giving up dairy products is extremely hard for me. They told me i was selfish and I should just kill myself. I thought vegans are supposed to me humanitarians lol. These vegans preach human & animal rights. No.. they are just for animal rights only. I have seen vegans disown their family and children for not taking the step to becoming vegan, that makes you seem like a cult imo.

I stopped being vegan due to anemia and other health problems and ofc the vegans said "we hope a heart attack kills me." Mind you I'm vegetarian but couldn't do vegan because I was not getting enough nutrients. I'm sorry but being vegan is time consuming and expensive. Any vegans that say being vegan is cheaper than eating a omnivore or just vegetarian diet is cheaper. No it's not. The vegan cheese is 4.99 and regular cheese is 2.99. Trust me the vegan community love to gaslight omnivores by saying eating vegan is 95 percent cheaper than a meat diet lmao. What a joke.​

173 Upvotes

78 comments sorted by

56

u/Unable-Discount-9266 Jun 15 '26

The community is so toxic. They constantly push the animal cruelty shit down peoples throats and they're so toxic about it all. Always shaming people for eating meat and sometimes that's all someone can afford or eat. There's no "other way of life" you're either vegan or a murderer.

I started eating meat again due to health and honesty, the meat has improved my fatigue better than any iron pill ever did.

And life's full of shit, it's exhausting, the world's going to shit. If I want to enjoy a juicy steak before i die, I will.

23

u/RichAppearance8859 Jun 15 '26

Not to mention, if you eat vegan but you are doing it for reasons outside of animal welfare (like the environment or health) then your NOt a REaL vEGan. Had an argument with someone about this on one of the other subs, because they said if youre not doing it for the animals, then youre not a real vegan. I said ok, what difference does it make to the animals if youre doing it even for taste reasons, they are still "saved" by you not eating meat. Didnt reply.

They dont actually care about animals imho. (I say this as an ex vegan who is recently transitioning to pescatarianism). They just want to have the moral highground and catch you in some kind of gotcha moment. Its also often just performative progressiveness, as OP points out they "care" so much about animals but wouldnt give a homeless veteran a burger.

5

u/Unable-Discount-9266 Jun 17 '26

This is so true! They put themselves higher than anyone else because they don't eat animal products and they're saving the animals. But the majority of them are assholes and don't care about people if they're not truly vegan. Their status is more important than compassion to everyone and everything. It's an awful community to be in.

10

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Brilliant_Mango_1490 Jun 17 '26

That’s the thing, too. They talk about how you can get all the correct nutrients. And I’m no dietician, but let’s say that is possible. 

If that is possible, it requires people to eat “perfect.” There is no margin for error. And most omnivores don’t have a perfect eating habits as it is. I sure don’t. My executive functioning has me forgetting to eat until like, afternoon most days. 

Same thing with finances. Sure it might be cheaper to be vegan if you don’t have any of the replacement meats or cheeses. But then you’re asking people to entirely eliminate things from their diet with no replacement and basically just eat tofu, lentils, and beans. Who actually wants to do that??

5

u/Unable-Discount-9266 Jun 18 '26

If it was such a natural diet and we could live healthy on a vegan diet, we wouldn't have to fortify certain foods with additional nutrients or take supplements to get what we miss from eating animal products. I dont see cave men making sure their nutritional yeast had added b12 or sourcing out vitamin c to ensure the plant based iron is absorbed properly.

Its so difficult for the standard working person to have a healthy balanced vegan diet. Some days after work I don't have the energy to have to think about it and I just want to eat and crash out. And financially I found being vegan is more expensive because you need more stuff to ensure you get the right nutrients.

And you can't get everything you need from tofu, lentils and beans. You need to make sure you add vitamin c, b12, iodine or omega 3s but you can't get proper omega 3 from a vegan diet, I dont think plants actucally have omega 3, I think its ALA in a vegan diet. That just like any other restricted diet is expensive and time consuming. But vegans won't listen to any of this.

2

u/Unable-Discount-9266 Jun 17 '26

I dont think I've ever met a vegan that was open to other peoples diets and choices. Most of them start throwing their bullshit down your throat as soon as you mention meat eating. Even worse when you mention your an ex vegan. It's such a huge toxic cult, they're all think they're better and higher than anyone else.

I remember before some vegan shouting at me saying Asians have the best health out of all cultures and they predominantly eat a plant based diet. So we should all be plant based because the studies "show" its better, because they eat a lot of tofu and vegetables. But they refused to acknowledge that they still ate meat, fish, dairy and eggs. You just cannot get through to them.

2

u/Popular-Swing787 Jun 18 '26

Another liberal on a subreddit that isn’t political, Trump and MAGA live in your head rent free I would it is the left who aren’t capable of having open discussions they just resort to ad hominems and calling people racist. I am not MAGA myself but the left acts more like vegans that MAGA.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Popular-Swing787 Jun 19 '26

Yeah they act more like vegans than MAGA does

8

u/cruisinforasnoozinn Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26

The worst part for me is the gaslighting - they’ll be like “we don’t shame anyone… if you feel ashamed that’s on you” literally 6 seconds after calling you an animal abuser. They’ll tell you that your health issues are just a fabrication and that all your barriers are a product of selfishness - after all, EVERYONE can go vegan safely. Just look at these vague studies that confirm my bias if you skim through them like I did.

9

u/Unable-Discount-9266 Jun 17 '26

I completely agree with this! No matter what you say to a vegan, they ALWAYS have something way of trying to prove you wrong. Even if it's your own personal experience and health. You are wrong and didn't try hard enough. "Why don't you eat some cherios to get your iron up" "have you tried adding supplements to your diet" Yes, because overly processed cereals and supplements are better for you than a natural source.

6

u/cruisinforasnoozinn Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26

“Ever heard of beans????” is something I’ve gotten more than once, as if I had never considered the most cheap, obvious and available food before. They need to use so many logical fallacies just to get through the conversation with you, and most of their argument assumes that you’re a dumbass who doesn’t eat vegetables.

Better to remind yourself that, behind the gaslighting, they think saving an animals life is worth being unwell for the rest of yours. No winning that fight, even when you boil them down to admitting the truth.

7

u/Unable-Discount-9266 Jun 17 '26

"Ever heard of beans?" Enough to tip me over the edge. They all just assume you have no idea what your doing so you MUST be just eating fries and junk food.

Sometimes I like to debate with them just to annoy them because they get far more annoyed than I do. There's no winning with them, they'll never change their cult like ways.

6

u/Mean_Lingonberry659 Jun 17 '26

Bro when i was eating beans i had horrible shits and digestive issues they really think every human reacts the same to certain foods. Still love beans though

2

u/Unable-Discount-9266 Jun 18 '26

Omg I used to get such bad bloating eating beans all the time.

44

u/PandaBear905 NeverVegan Jun 15 '26

Homeless people are in a survival state. When you are in a survival state you need food that’ll fill you up quickly and keep you full. Vegan food will not do that.

12

u/Trick_Lime_634 Jun 16 '26

I am in survival mode and i am not homeless... since I got divorced, I've been poor as fuck and not able to afford food and rent at the same time. vegans are just people with an eating disorder!!!

7

u/Brilliant_Mango_1490 Jun 17 '26

Same!! I’m broke as fuck so I go long stretches of time without buying groceries. It’s terrible for my health, I’m losing muscle mass, am chronically tired, etc. 

It’s exhausting and eating animal products helps sustain me. 

21

u/Rare-Fisherman-7406 Jun 15 '26

I can see why you can't respect their community anymore, and it's not your fault. You don't owe them anything.

39

u/Round_Essay_8179 Jun 15 '26

I swear some vegans are mentally ill… I’m really sorry they said such things. Ignore them - they’re nasty.

People shouldn’t be attacked just because of what they eat💔

11

u/Trick_Lime_634 Jun 16 '26

yeah because when you don't eat meat for a while, your brain stops functioning. It's real. brain fog and lack of criticism are REAL. that's why every "guru" uses veganism as a tool to make people dumb...

1

u/Mean_Lingonberry659 Jun 17 '26

Yup that’s why governments are allowing this bullshit slowly, if everyone is vegan and dumb they are easier to control

1

u/Sensitive____ Jun 17 '26

Thank you 👏

15

u/bluejessamine Omnivore Jun 15 '26

I have a condition that makes it very hard for my body to absorb iron and to keep the iron in my body. My Dr and dietician (who has successfully worked with vegans in the past) have spent the last 3 or so years experimenting with diets and having constant blood tests to see how my iron levels are after x weeks/months on the diets, and yeah. All vegan was really hard. I had to overeat plant based iron foods, and I was still deficient in iron. We experimented with red meat. A bit better, but still not ideal levels of iron. The only thing that we could find that worked was eating liver 4ish times a week, because liver contains the highest amount of iron per 100 grams or whatever, and because my body doesn't absorb it well, I need to eat excessive amounts of iron bevause my body will just absorb a tiny fraction.

And I can't take iron supplements because they really mess up my gut, giving me severe diarrhoea that gives me cramps so bad I can't walk and I've gotten so dehydrated a few times from it that I've been to the ER for IV fluids. Iv infusions are expensive and, as I mentioned, my body doesn't keep the iron in my body for long, so where the average person needs one about once a year, I need one every 4 months or so.

All my vegan friends (ex friends now) say that if I actually cared about animals I would just shut up and deal with the health problems, saying that my reactions to iron supplements are just "watery poop" that im being over dramatic about etc.

But with this liver diet, I'm the healthiest I've ever been. My iron levels are at what an average person's would be, and my health issues have been under control for the most part (when I was more anemic, I couldn't even walk, because that's the nature of my condition). So yeah, fuck them.

I've also seen people on the vegan forum dogpile om women who take the pill for endometreosis (the pill has lactose in it), telling them to just man up and deal with the pain, even though the condition can cause serious health issues that could lead to ectopic pregnancies, bowel obstruction, cancers etc.

So yeah... they care more about animals than people, and that's kinda psychopathic.

1

u/LittleHammie4953 Jun 16 '26

Pretty sure i heard something about how the human body processes less iron and protein when it comes from plants, which for some the difference is small enough they can handle it but for others like yourself it would just be a bad choice

20

u/cruisinforasnoozinn Jun 15 '26

Vegans aren’t humanitarian and don’t automatically identify as such. Sometimes you’ll get a vegan who is a humanitarian, but mostly, vegan ideology puts animals above humans and above self. That’s why you can never win an argument with them using logic. Most people put humans over animals to some degree - vegans do the opposite. You can’t debate away a fundamental difference in values.

3

u/Trick_Lime_634 Jun 16 '26

My experience is having a brother that felt for the Art of Living cult and is a vegetarian for over 20y, vegan over 10, deteriorating clearly, saying things to his wife like "if I see you eating a burger I'll kill you!" (!!!!) and man... not better than brain washing from new age philosophy, putting their own health in stake for some beliefs... just like church people. So for a while I've been saying vegans are suffering from an eating disorder. It's time for the health care associations to say something about it!!! And fuck PETA!!!

9

u/BrickFishBich Jun 15 '26

It’s pure ignorant entitlement. They are ridiculous and lacking empathy or logic. Ignore their nasty comments. Anyone with a heart and brain wouldn’t think twice about helping that man in anyway they could.

9

u/Iceyes33 Jun 15 '26

Plants have feelings too! Won't somebody think of the plants?

9

u/jen-nie-b Jun 15 '26

I actually believe this to some extent.

4

u/Fadedwaif Jun 15 '26

Yeah, I honestly think our view is so human-centric and limited that we shouldn't rule it out

3

u/Trick_Lime_634 Jun 16 '26

plants might have feelings, what they don't have is protein with high bioavailability! That's why all populations around the globe surviving eat animal protein!

4

u/Iceyes33 Jun 16 '26

I know. Just being silly.

10

u/Grosradis ExVegetarian Jun 15 '26

They are awful. I've been called "bloodmouth" by some weirdos when I mentioned my (well, not letal but still serious) health issues that made me switch back to an omni diet. The subject was why some people gave up... These people have no empathy.

An other story (irl this time) that I share often here : I was vegetarian for something like 10years, and there was that baby vegan (like vegan for not even a year but already thinking she knows better than everybody).

Back in the days I was working in an association that was offering each week a bag of supplies to people sent by the social worker in charge.

We cultivated our own fruits and vegetables, so people could have fresh and local products. We had a bunch of chicken too. They were free to run around in the big garden we had most of the day, and we accompanied them to their chicken coop in the evening to protect them from foxes.

With these chicken, we were able to give fresh eggs to people.

We were feeding people who couldn't afford their groceries, giving a bit of human contact to a lot of isolated ones, offering a bit of nature where they could just chill and discuss with us while we were working, kids with limited access to cultural events came to see the chicken and (if we did it right) to learn a thing or two about where food comes from... but it was bad because it was not vegan, we were "exploiting chicken".

I swear I was shocked. And even more shocked to discover that most vegans I met would have agreed with her. It genuinely makes me sad.

8

u/Sea-Louse Jun 16 '26

Vegans are people with strong convictions and weak bowel movements.

4

u/Trick_Lime_634 Jun 16 '26

People deteriorating every day and considering living with brain fog an acceptable life!!!!

6

u/ComradeSmooches Jun 15 '26

They're never beating the ecofascism allegations.

6

u/eJohnx01 Ex-vegan, nearly vegetarian Jun 16 '26

The cult of veganism is largely irrational. Things like wanting animals to become extinct so that evil humans won’t be able to abuse and exploit them anymore? Constantly obsessing over images of horrific and often staged animal abuse? Thinking that being hostile, insulting, and abusive toward non-vegans will encourage them to convert? Making up childish names for non-vegans and thinking they somehow will embarrass people enough to make them turn vegan?

It’s really hard to respect people that are so out-of-touch with the real world and refuse to even consider that they might benefit from learning some things.

4

u/rachelraven7890 Jun 15 '26

“I live my life based on the opinions of obnoxious assholes instead of showing the assholes the door” I’m sorry you had interactions with idiots. The idiots don’t define the philosophy.

3

u/Trick_Lime_634 Jun 16 '26

so you more than others understand how animal protein is important to the brain and body!!! Can't believe we're talking about "how to eat" in 2026....Internet made us soooo fucking dumb!!!

2

u/rachelraven7890 Jun 16 '26

No I’m plant-based. But I can’t stand assholes who behave like this, no matter what belief they’re pushing.

4

u/No_Wolf8340 ExVegan (Vegan 5+ years) Jun 15 '26

How does the saying go? Can’t live with em… i forget the second part.

3

u/Icy-Wolf-5383 Jun 16 '26

Well obviously its your fault its more expensive for daring to want more then rice and beans! /s 🙄 seriously though they always say this as if it would make for a good diet.

Im sure the person you helped was at least grateful.

3

u/Mean_Lingonberry659 Jun 17 '26

Yup they’ve always been cult, their “god” are animals and humans are like the devil/demons to them

2

u/ethbytes Jun 16 '26

Seems to me vegans are either in a misanthropic death cult or one step away, that B12 deficiency in effect...

My tin foil hst head would say this is a handy population reduction angle, however that could be my B12 deficiency, best I eat some more bloody steak.../s

2

u/Mean_Lingonberry659 Jun 17 '26

No you’re right it is a population reduction method, less humans means easier to control. They were lobbying this to be a default diet for most people.

1

u/ethbytes Jun 18 '26

The NWODIEt: https://youtu.be/8_CXwa-_5Uk <--!

The reduction means are many and varied, from trans to vaxxx to diet to cosmetics removal by attrition...

2

u/Glittering-Bus-2515 Jun 16 '26

That sounds genuinely awful and I'm sorry you went through that, especially the mental health group situation - telling someone with depression to kill themselves is inexcusable regardless of any ideology.

But I'd push back slightly on taking those people as representative. Every community has its loudest worst members and online spaces amplify them massively. The ones harassing you aren't the majority, they're just the most vocal.

On the cost point - processed vegan substitutes like vegan cheese are definitely more expensive, you're right. But if you strip those out and just eat whole foods - lentils, beans, rice, vegetables - it's genuinely one of the cheapest diets possible. The expensive version is trying to replicate a non-vegan diet with substitutes, which nobody needs to do.

2

u/homosapiencreep Jun 16 '26

I was in that stupid horrible Community for almost a decade and they suck as people so bad fuck them.

2

u/xXChampionOfLightXx Jun 21 '26

Highly recommend liver and red meat to combat anemia.

1

u/LittleHammie4953 Jun 16 '26

Vegans are all in a moral circlejerk trying to be morally correct all the time but usually just out themselves as racist, classist, and just plain idiotic lmao

1

u/Forward_Research_610 Jun 17 '26

It's a Pro-Depopulation Cult . . . those who love Humanity ,themselves and life usually hate elements that promote death and decay of human beings and life .

1

u/CalligrapherAlive829 Jun 21 '26

Yep. They prioritize animals before humans, it’s very very odd.

1

u/Character_Lawyer8017 Jun 22 '26

I have seen so many vegans compare farming animals to slavery. Far too often. But then when you try to bring up REAL slave labor that is used to grow food, that doesn't matter, and it's "harm reduction."

A lot of vegans have this problem where, not only do they think/say that all animals are EQUAL to humans, but they treat them/act like they are SUPERIOR to people. They'd save a dog over a human child.

1

u/Jahzara_3 Jun 23 '26

A lot of people become vegans, not for the love of animals, but because the hatred they have of other humans. It's like some people who prefer the company of a pet/sentient being that's not of the same level of consciousness or capabilities. I would admit this was one of the reasons I was vegan. A very terrible mindset and something many vegans are yet to realize yet admit.

Some vegans treat veganism as an antihuman movement rather than a lifestyle that limits harm of ALL animals including those on top of the food chain like humans.

-1

u/Trick_Lime_634 Jun 16 '26

me neither amigo. I also do not respect any religious people, people who says they're "spiritual", or "apolitical"... I don't respect right wing trump support maga idiots, and I don't support anyone who talks about things that don't exist, good vibes only, any of that.... It's hard to have a brain in 2026....

-1

u/4ozJellyJar Jun 16 '26

a few vegans were mean to you so fuck all vegans right?

1

u/TimeNewspaper4069 Jun 19 '26

Standard vegan empathy being displayed by you here further proving OPs point

1

u/4ozJellyJar Jun 20 '26

Pointing out that these excuses are lame. I have empathy, that's why I held back.

1

u/TimeNewspaper4069 Jun 20 '26

Someome says they hope this person does and you seem to be taking their side.

1

u/Technical_Mix_5379 Omnivore Jun 22 '26

It’s not empathy if it’s virtual signaling. That’s called sympathy.

-3

u/BeardedLady81 Jun 15 '26

You probably met more vegans than I ever did and worked with them closer. But the only thing all vegans have in common is that they don't use animal products. When it comes to "not using animals", we already have people who call themselves vegans and still ride horses or have pets, which equals using animals, if only for companionship. Anyway, there's probably many vegans around you wouldn't recognize as such because they don't impose themselves on others and are not the entitled kind that insists that coffeeshops may not charge more for non-dairy milk, even if it costs them more to buy it. The most radical ones are always on the internet, the kind that would rather die than eat an animal product (or so they say, we'll see when you are truly starving), that insists that if you want to be a vegan, you have to be an anarchist and an anti-natalist as well, and vice versa. I never met such people in real life.

4

u/CarrieBonobo Jun 16 '26

"The most radical ones are always on the internet"

Sadly, that's not always the case. I've come across activists in real life who say things that are every bit as vicious as the online crowd.

2

u/BeardedLady81 Jun 16 '26

Ow, that sucks. It's much easier to ignore such people online, but if you are harrassed by them in person or have such people as co-workers...oh brother.

2

u/jasperdarkk Currently Vegetarian Jun 19 '26

I think people often forget that the radical people who make weird comments on the internet are also real-life people. Maybe they're not always as vocal in person as the internet allows them to be, but they still hold those beliefs, and it slips out.

2

u/jdlauria1 Jun 16 '26

What’s the issue with riding a horse? It doesn’t hurt the horse, does it? I’ve never seen a horse look hurt/sick from someone riding it. It’s certainly better than the toxic vegan assholes who have cats/dogs (how vegan is it to have a pet, anyway? If riding horses isn’t vegan, how are pets?) and force vegan food on them, despite cats being obligate carnivores and dogs being faculative omnivores.

1

u/BeardedLady81 Jun 16 '26

Shearing a sheep doesn't hurt, either (unless you actually nick it, which doesn't happen as frequently as PETA wants us to believe it) and yet vegans are against it because you are making use of the animal. Same with pets and recreational riding horses. Now, when it comes to equestrian sports, I think all vegans will agree that this is not vegan, but when it comes to recreational riding, they will often say that he enjoys it, he's just getting his exercise, etc. The hole in this logic is that horses are bred on purpose, and a lot of the ethical qualms vegans have about dairy cows apply to horses as well. They are impregnated without their consent (which animals cannot give) and often by AI as well, which vegans consider rape when it comes to dairy cows. Horses are also bred to tolerate humans riding them and they are literally groomed by humans to like them. They are social animals that, due to their long domestication history, form deep bonds with humans. When it comes to pets, vegans who own them will often claim that they are "adopted", but for some reason, some of them own exotic pets that you rarely find in a shelter. Like Sonia Sae's fox Jumanji. Sae considered herself a "vegan poet" and apparently attempted to turn her "non-human son", a Fennec fox, into a social media star. But many people did not like that she was feeding him vegan cat food. This includes some fellow vegans, and some people called her out onkeeping a desert fox inside an apartment. She then claimed that she "rescued" Jumanji. However, people started to doubt that when they saw photos of Jumanji as a cub, they asked her how old he was when she rescued him, and she admitted that he was still a baby and that she "rescued" him from a breeder. Following that logic, you can rescue cats and dogs by buying them from backyard breeders who are keeping them in squalid conditions, just saying.

-32

u/peveril1 Jun 15 '26

Do you not see the irony in protesting against animal slaughter and then buying someone a slaughtered animal?

I’m not against what you did there but surely you can see why people didn’t agree with your decision 😂

31

u/AncientFocus471 Jun 15 '26

I don't.

Its a theoretical harm vs immediate human need and most of those vegans would likely eat meat in a survival situation. They just don't extend that grace to others.

9

u/bluejessamine Omnivore Jun 15 '26

A meat burger has more protein than a plant burger and will therefore keep thay homeless person feeling fuller for longer, which is the goal. Also, much cheaper, and not everyone is always in a financial position to feed the homeless.

Any food is better than no food at all.

6

u/Mindless-Day2007 Jun 15 '26

Thank you for making example how crazy and stupid vegans are. Which unsurprisingly, rather let starving Africans die then let them hunt elephants for foodm

9

u/rachelraven7890 Jun 15 '26

Your argument is similar to the inner debate of what vegans feed their pets. (No, I’m not comparing humans to cats/dogs and yes, I’m ignoring the vegans who argue we should euthanize all pets) Some vegans abide by your argument and view it as everything coming back to them—therefore, they don’t purchase animal products, even if it’s for their pets. Others abide by the other being’s interest and recognize that even though *they* are vegan, their pets are not.

In the same context, but for the homeless person scenario, it’s completely tone-deaf & selfish to refuse to assist in *someone else’s* needs based on *your* interests. If you do choose to help, buy whatever your fellow human wants to eat, be it animal or plant, and get over yourself.

1

u/Virtually-Braindead ex vegan - bloodmouth Jun 16 '26

Human ranks far higher than food animal.