Why are we vegans so sensitive? Why can’t we live and let live and allow others their
dietary choice? Why do we get so upset so easily? Can’t we just relax and let go?
What’s the big deal anyway?
Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. This video is for
my non-vegans out there who want to better understand us vegans and why we are the way we are.
First off, I want to let you know that there will be no graphic imagery in this video,
or really any imagery at all. And second, this video is not about making you non-vegans feel
like bad people. I am honestly trying to help you make the connection that we vegans make
and show you the reasons behind our seeming sensitivity and, at times, incomprehensible
and unbridled frustration and anger at the way things are.
Of course, it’s impossible to lump all vegans together- each is their own individual who
reacts in their own way. When I say we’re sensitive, I don’t mean weak or overly emotional-
I’m speaking from the outside perspective looking in, which often portrays us as just that.
So do know that I cannot speak for all vegans, nor would I ever attempt to. But I
can at least tell you what I see and what a great many ethical vegans see. And hopefully
this can shed some light onto why we may have difficulty eating with you or get passionately
upset about something that to you may seems insignificant.
You see, when you go vegan, you take the blinders off and start to get what I think of as x-ray vision.
You start to see what’s really going on underneath the idyllic lies we’ve unquestioningly bought into.
Personally, I find it difficult to be around the consumption of animals and their byproducts.
It’s something I’ve lived with my whole life, as so many of us do,
but it hasn't gotten easier, really.
Now here is where you may assume I’m judging you or that I’m upset by your eating habits.
But the real source of my discomfort has nothing to do with you per-se, but the fact that what
is on your plate was once a life. If you’re non-vegan, please stay with me through this
explanation. Again, this not about me making you feel like a horrible person. I’m simply
attempting to relay what it is we vegans see and why it is we have trouble around animal products.
When I see a piece of cheese, I can tear up- and that sounds crazy to people. But I don’t
just see a piece of cheese. I see a mother whose child has been ripped from her moments
after birth. I see a baby who’d been relegated to the veal industry and sent for slaughter
before he’s 4 months old. I see a mother whose body is going to give out on her
20 years before her natural lifespan because she’s been raped and impregnated so many
times- and because she’s had so many children stolen from her that she’s probably just
given up. THAT is what I see when I look at a piece of cheese.
So from the outside it may appear inconsiderate or rude that we vegans feel discomfort around
non-vegan food. But think about it, if you can, without the trappings of social indoctrination.
Meat is literally a corpse on a plate- a life, an individual, a sentient being who did not
want to die for a meal. Dairy is the product of immense suffering, maternal grief, infant
slaughter, and premature death.
Eggs are products of overcrowded, horrific conditions, the live suffocation or grinding
up of male chicks on masse, and the premature death of layer hens.
That is the reality. And that is what we vegans see with every bite. And yes, we can
become angry, frustrated, livid because it’s so horrifically heartbreaking.
And it doesn’t make sense to us that you don’t see it too.
There’s nothing comfortable about seeing people you love consuming the bodies of innocent
beings. To my non-vegans out there, I’m sure that sounds borderline absurd and most
definitely an over-reaction, but bear with me if you will.
Imagine seeing someone you love harming a child or abusing a beloved dog or cat.
Or even, god forbid, eating that beloved family pet. And, if possible, imagine that this violence
was socially acceptable. That you were the only one who seemed to think that something was wrong.
And furthermore, imagine that your loved one who is committing these horrible
acts, became defensive and resentful towards you for having any issue with the matter.
Again this may seem an absurd comparison. But what is the distinction we make between
“pet” animals and “edible” animals if not absurd? It’s certainly arbitrary.
You see vegans feel the same love and compassion and empathy for “food animals” that you
do for your pets. And just how comfortable would you be if your pet took the place of
the cow, pig or chicken on your plate? How is it we are horrified by cultured that consume
dogs while we continue to consume beings just as valuable and even more intelligent?
We vegans no longer see this arbitrary distinction. We value all of these lives equally.
So watching the continued enslavement, abuse, torture and murder of them is often too much
to bear. While all of that is conveniently hidden from view and all you see is cheese,
milk, hamburger, pork- what have you- we cannot un-know what we know or un-see what we’ve seen.
So your food item, while seemingly innocuous, is to us the end product of real-life horror.
We see the bloodshed, the struggle, we hear their cries, we sense their fear and we feel
their terror. Just as you would for your beloved pet if were they put through such horrific treatment.
And even more so as you would for a human child subjected to such atrocities.
The difference is: we don’t close our eyes.
I hope that this explanation has been helpful. If it seemed heavy-handed it’s only because
this is all too real and happening all to often. If you are able for a moment to put
yourself in our place and imagine seeing what we see- even if you yourself don’t believe it-
perhaps that will help you understand why we vegans are so sensitive and passionate.
And why we can’t stand idly by.
If this video reached you at all, please give it a thumbs up and share it around to open
more eyes. To support Bite Size Vegan in continuing the mission to speak for the animals and open
minds and hearts, please see the support links in the video description below or for perks
and rewards for your support, click on the Nugget Army icon there or in the link in the
iCard sidebar. If you’re new here, be sure to hit that big red subscribe button down there for more
awesome vegan content every Monday, Wednesday, and some Fridays. Now go live vegan,
open your eyes, and I’ll see you soon!
And now, to decompress after that...really intense nugget...
This thing.
[Comical honking noise]
If you have trouble connecting with "food animals" or farm animals, just picture them
having this face. How could you ever do anything to this face?
You gotta show them your beautiful face. You gotta show them your beautiful face.
You're a good vegan advocate.
Subtitles by the Amara.org community