In my opinion Veganism is a very personal path, actually a very intimate as it usually changes a lot in your life, not only your meals. Being Vegan for me opened my eyes to a lot of things, not only animal rights and slavery of course, it has made me realize a lot how things are connected in our planet (such as climate changes) and how our society makes us believe things (like the big Milk Myth).
I think when someone wants to start leading a Vegan lifestyle it needs to be for the right reasons, and when this happens, people won't just start eating meat one day. When done for the right reasons it is IMPOSSIBLE to go back to eating meat. This is a lot like doing a diet or giving up cigarettes, you need to want it and you need to know why you are doing it.
It is also important that when someone shows an initial willingness to do a life changing thing, like going Vegan, to have support. The first place where people will look is of course other people who have done it, so other Vegans.
I see a trend online, new vegetarians or recently turned Vegans go online and look for advice and for help from other Vegans and most of the time it hurts me to see what i call the:
I AM A BETTER VEGAN THAN YOU
effect. Being Vegan is all about showing compassion; towards everyone: humans and non humans. Why are we so hateful towards people [yes some still eat meat and eggs and milk] who are open minded enough to want to know more, who want to know what alternatives they have in their local shop to mode to a more compassionate and sustainable diet.
Should we really be telling them off just because they bought a pack of cookies that contained a hidden milk derived product? Should we not instead be happy that more and more people are concerned about avoiding non-vegan products? Instead of trying to compare who is "more vegan", who is a "better" or "purer" vegan we should motivate them to make even better choices.
Next time instead of hate towards them suggest a vegan alternative you love,
or tell them it's ok, we all have made that mistake at some point, that ALL vegans spend most of our time reading through ingredient lists.
Above all, show compassion about their choices not hate.
Nobody likes the vegan police, so why be one of them? Let's be compassionate about our differences and understand that everyone needs their time and needs to make some mistakes to reach their goal.
Some of us turned vegan overnight after a video or a book, others decided to cut out one animal derived food at a time;
for some it was a quick and easy change, for others it was a long and difficult one
but the most important thing is where we all reach. And sometimes we can only reach our goals together. Next time you meet someone that is not being the perfect vegan you think they should be, understand their differences and congratulate them on their achievements rather than judging them for their mistakes. Your push of motivation might just be what they needed to hear today to continue on the right path.
