Vegans don’t all have it easy, there’s a lot of ups and downs that come with approaching the lifestyle. It isn’t unusual for a new vegan to feel alienated, annoyed, and plain disrespected sometimes, not at all.
So I asked a vegan community on Reddit what their worst vegan experiences were. Here were some of the notable answers.
1: Vegan-free work conference
There was this one user who, after having already informed work she was vegan a year in advance, had to experience a sides-only buffet.
Literally the only vegan options was chocolate cake, bruschetta and nachos, which were also eaten by everyone else, of course. Oh I’ve been there…
This wasn’t the only work conference story, there was a good few stories of those who had their option eaten before they even could do anything about it.
2: Who let the crabs out?
One vegan user replied that they were on holiday with their family, and one of their (non-vegan) cousins let crabs free from a trap which was part the property they were staying in.
The parents blamed the vegan, who was literally just existing lol. At least the crabs were given a second chance!
3: Inconsiderate work event
This one was a short and not so sweet one. One user replied they went to a work do where the only available vegan option was already eaten by someone else.
It’s not uncommon for those who eat anything to eat your vegan options, especially when you’re sharing food.
4: No more birthday cake?
This one particular user replied saying her mum used to bake birthday cake yearly prior to her going vegan, and just stopped since she transitioned to veganism.
This one was a bit sad considering the mum didn’t really make an effort to learn how to bake without eggs and milk, shame really.
Wasn’t the only story about cake, another user commented on how a spouse’s family only gets vegetarian cakes on birthdays, shame the vegan has to miss out yet again…
5: Poor wedding etiquette
One vegan responder told a story of how they were at a friend’s wedding, where the only food they had to serve was barbecue style, or meat. Apparently it took 2 years of planning and they just didn’t cater for their friend.
The guy had to survive the day on an M & S sandwich and crisps, that’s not nice…
That wasn’t the only wedding story, another user replied with a short summary of them losing a friend on account of the only options being green beans and goose fat roasted potatoes. They left to eat elsewhere and the bride went apeshit on them.
Seriously it doesn’t take too much to prepare a couple vegan meals for a few guests. Luckily, I haven’t experienced that at a wedding and there’s always an option.
6: Where’d you get your protein?
I think all vegans get asked this question every now and then. It’s no surprise why a user decided to share that one as a constant annoyance vegans have to experience.
Bro, vegan protein is abundant in many plant-based foods, we have a few posts on which ones that are best.
7: Oh, so you’re just picky?
This one came from someone reminiscing as a secondary school student, who was newly vegan, in a veggie friendly town at the time.
After visiting a friend’s house and kindly declining a burger, simply saying how she doesn’t eat meat or dairy, she gets laughed at and called a picky eater.
It isn’t nice being reduced to someone that’s just fussy when you’re a vegan. You don’t know someone’s reasons to go vegan, so that type of judgement is a special kind of annoying.
8: I don’t cheat
I’ve been in this person’s shoes, where you’re at a friend or family’s house and they’re making food, which you explain why you don’t eat. Only to get the reply: oh you can cheat this once right?
In my early days of going vegan, this happened often, and I’d be tempted to eat meat and dairy again. It’s really one of the worst things when people don’t respect your diet, just because you eat that food every day doesn’t mean I want to put that in my body.
9: Being the villain in many people’s stories
A few users mentioned how some of the worst experiences come from simply choosing not to eat meat or dairy.
Why are vegans seen as the bad guys when they just choose not to do what everyone else does? It’s an all too common thing for people to hate vegans, hopefully more people learn how to understand their vegan peers better.
10: My non-vegan joint birthday party
This one’s a personal one. I share a birthday with my cousin, and one day she messaged me inviting me to her house for a joint celebration.
She was already aware I was vegan, mind you, and she told me not to worry, and just come through, she’ll take care of everything. So I come through, and there’s no vegan options for me, at all.
Literally plain boiled rice, salad and ready salted/salt and vinegar walkers crisps. She even had the cheek to ask for half the expenses for a party I didn’t even get to eat at. I wish I stayed at home that day lol.
11: The daily genocide that is meat consumption
One user simply answered: “The murder of at least a billion creatures each week”. Put that into perspective, we’re already aware of this as a community.
12: Evil in-laws
This one’s kind of deep. This one vegan responder mentioned how, even after 5 years married to her husband, his family hasn’t once made sure she has food when she visits.
5 years as well, that’s not inclusive at all, got to be careful who you marry you know…
13: You’re sick cause you’re vegan…
This one was a shorter one, but very relatable.
When people blame your illness on account of you being vegan. This one example has someone who caught covid before them, blame when they later caught covid on the vegan diet.
You really can’t make this stuff up.
14: No food options at night!
We’ve all been there. It’s a Friday night and you’re on your way home, you want something to munch on at 4am and chips are just not gonna cut it.
You can’t even trust the local kebab shop, not even the falafel wrap. I’ve seen a falafel pitta have salad loaded into it, where the same tongs were used for both the Doner meat and the salad. Never again.
15: Can we feed your kid non-vegan food?
There’s nothing worse than people forcing their beliefs on people. One responder mentioned how she’s now got the same question from her parents twice as to whether they can feed her kid non vegan food.
It’s sad that people do such little research that they don’t trust the decisions of fully grown adults, especially regarding what their children gets to eat.
16: This first date is fishy…
Not the first bad vegan date experience, but this one user commented on how she went on a first date, with someone who she told she was vegan, prior to the date.
Long story short he took her to a seafood restaurant, saying: “you eat fish right”? An all too common misconception about vegans.
17: S&*% school experience
One vegan responder stopped eating meat and fish at age 8. Got teased by someone who said she couldn’t have cake, and got a meatball thrown at her in the same day.
What did she actually do to deserve this?
18: When they change their mind once they find out it’s vegan…
People are weird. You can serve someone a plate of bangers and mash with beautiful vegan sausages and vegan gravy, they can enjoy every bite, then once you tell them it’s vegan their energy changes.
This happens all too often, you do know that chips are vegan right? You don’t go judging how that’s vegan, yeah people are weird.
19: I thought ham was vegan
This one was a simple one, showing how clueless some country folk can be towards vegan options.
Basically someone served a ham sandwich to someone, and told them “ham is vegan”, now that’s just frustrating. Funny, but annoying.
20: Simply people’s unwillingness to try vegan products
One of the most annoying experiences I think every vegan goes through. A lot of people won’t try for because it’s vegan.
It’s crazy how it’s still a common stereotype that vegan food doesn’t taste nice, half of all the food you eat is vegan! You season meat with vegan foods, a vegan sausage tastes like a pork sausage, it’s all the same!
I posted this article on the worst vegan experiences for the new vegans looking to find some kind of relatability. Know you’re not alone, the vegan life can be long and lonely, but you are never truly alone. The world’s so much further than it was a decade ago, and the only way’s up.
If you found this article helpful, feel free to drop a comment, share with a friend, and come back soon for more vegan lifestyle inspiration.
Thanks for considering veganising it for your vegan lifestyle fix. Be well and stay blessed.
