Vegans often face a backlash – but why?

I worked in an office of approximately 150 people where only one person was a vegan. I’m certain he felt excluded when we would gather to celebrate birthdays or have office holiday parties because nearly everything that was served at these get-togethers had dairy (or less often, meat) in it, from the doughnuts to the cakes and cookies to the meat and cheese platters. While no one was outwardly hostile to him, a few people made comments when he wasn’t present about how “weird” it was to be vegan and how they didn’t understand why someone would want to eat like that. While our co-worker may have felt left out, other vegans face additional prejudice and outright contempt. Writing for the Guardian, George Reynolds explores this phenomenon, trying to answer the question “Why do people hate vegans?”

It’s easy to say that vegans ask for it because of their sanctimonious or preachy attitudes. That’s a common refrain, although it does not accurately portray the vast majority of vegans (my coworker never even discussed the practice). Reynolds dispels this misperception and recounts several instances of anti-vegan activists who protest at vegan gatherings in a particularly grotesque manner. He also notes that, as with most things that people protest, this backlash is about more than just a dietary choice. After all, why would one get mad at a person just because she wants to eat what she perceives as a more healthy diet or one with lower environmental impacts?

Veganism isn’t new – many religious and spiritual sects have embraced the concept over the ages – although the name describing the practice is, only coming about in the mid-1940s. Animosity directed toward vegans is likewise not modern, but it seems to have intensified in recent years, brought about by a host of cultural factors that Reynolds explains in intriguing vignettes. The crux of the matter is that veganism represents a sea change in our industrial farming and distribution systems that have been in place for generations, and such upheaval is often met with fear and hatred. The article is a fascinating exploration of the topic of why the anger is directed at vegans instead of other actors in this changing landscape.