Just told my mum I'm vegan and she went absolutely mad.

So I'm in year 13, was a vegetarian, and have wanted to become a vegan for ethical reasons for a couple of years now. The main reason I didn't become one until recently is because I feared my mum's and grandma's reactions.

I decided that I didn't want to wait until moving out at uni, so started secretly eating vegan 4 days ago. Tonight though, me and my mum went into a pizza shop to order one, and I had to ask for one without cheese right in front of her.

She got so angry about how it was a waste of money and stormed off. In the car she was ranting about how my hair will fall out, calling me thick etc. She still won't speak to me now and rang my grandma ranting about this. She made me promise not to be vegan until I move out at uni so now I'm stuck. What should I do?

Here's the thing, if you truly want to be a vegan (I don't recommend it) then you need to think about the issues that may cause to you. Humans, are designed to eat meat and consume animal products, it is the reason we are made the way we are, I personally would recommend going pescatarian or vegetarian, as it will allow your body to change.

appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.

Keep to your promise, but try to minimise your consumption of dairy products in any case. I had a similar problem: my Mother is a vegetarian but was fairly hostile to me becoming vegan (I'd given up meat and eggs already, just not dairy). I simply cut things out slowly: ice-cream, followed by milk chocolate, followed by pizza, and so on.

Don't get downbeat about it either. As some of the comments even in this thread demonstrate, people have been socially conditioned to use animal products, so the negative view of vegans amongst some people will still prevail. Horribly ignorant arguments are often used against veganism, but when it comes to your family, at least there's the bonus that they're being used out of concern for you.



We're omnivores, but vegan diets are perfectly healthy, and can be healthier than diets containing meat in them. It's easy to get calories, protein and other nutrients from a vegan diet.

As the American Dietetic Association has stated:

Our main source of energy is fats, which mainly come from meat

Lifestyle advice to all those at risk of cardiovascular disease and to lower risk population groups should continue to include permanent reduction of dietary saturated fat and partial replacement by unsaturated fats.

It is the best source of protein

Our main source of energy is carbohydrates. And, no, they don't. Fats are found in plant-based oils such as olive oils, and plant-based oils (cis unsaturated fats) are better for you than the saturated fats found in animal products. Again, I would suggest reviewing what the scientific literature has to say on this. The gold-standard of research in medical science, a Cochrane Review of the evidence, concludes:





It's a source of protein amongst many, from legumes to soya to nuts. Protein is incredibly easy to obtain on a vegan diet so, again, there are no worries there. Again, see the statement by the American Dietetic Association, for example.

As a student of biology I again have to disagree we use both fats and carbohydrates.

Plant material is comparably indigestible when compared to meat. Enzymes are effective on amino acids not cellulose which is the main substance in a cell wall of a plant.

You also fail to mention how they would gain calories. Vegan diets are proven to be lower in calorie count and other vital nutrients. Vitamin D for example is mostly present in fish. Calcium is mostly present in COWS milk.

Edit: I read both your articles you cited and have come to the conclusion you have omitted parts which do not support you argument. Besides any dietitian would refute the claims of these articles.

Of course we use both fats and carbohydrates. But, you claimed that fats are our main source of energy, when they're not. And, even if they were, you'll easily get fats from a plant-based diets, but they'll have the bonus of being healthier than animal fats.



First of all, we also need fibre. Secondly, every plant-based food contains amino acids!



Vitamin D can be obtained from sunlight and, in the winter, from fortified foods or supplementation. Calcium can be obtained from spinach, kale and numerous other vegetables, as well as in fortified foods such as soya milk.

As long as you do your research, which OP quite clearly has, there's nothing to worry about. Calories are, again, found in every plant-based food. You can easily meet - or exceed - your caloric requirements on a vegan diet.

If vegan diets are lower in calories than the average Western diet, then that's also probably a good thing, given that we tend to consume far too many calories.



Could you give me an example of the parts I have omitted? I cited the conclusion of a Cochrane Review - the gold-standard of evidence in medicine - as well as the statement of the American Dietetic Association. You know, an association of dietitians. Do they disagree with their own claims?

You're not citing any evidence to support your positions, and you appear to be engaging in deliberate obfuscation. You clearly started with a conclusion against vegan diets and now you're engaging in motivated reasoning. It's perfectly true that vegan diets are lower in some nutrients (not that this appears to have any effect on lifespan or other health outcomes), and higher in others (which may have a beneficial effect when it comes to cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes). But, it's also easy to ensure that your vegan diet is not lower in these nutrients, because they can all be obtained.

The main reasoning for my argument is while these sources may state that there can be benefits, many vegan diets are not up to medical standards for these benefits to be observed. As an eater of both meat and plant materials I know I am readily getting the nutrients I need. As you have already stated, we are Omnivores, our bodies have evolved to eat meat, which is why we have teeth to tear and grind meat as well as proteases in our stomach's

Some studies have observed benefits, nonetheless, using large samples of vegans. That's not the main point of the thread, though: the original poster is making an ethical decision to go vegan, and my point is that there's no medical reason whatsoever for him/her not to, because it's easy to obtain all of the nutrients required on a vegan diet. As somebody who lives on a plant-based diet, I too know that I am getting all of the nutrients that I need, just as millions of other vegans have done in the past and lived long and healthy lives, and just as millions will in the future.

So I'm in year 13, was a vegetarian, and have wanted to become a vegan for ethical reasons for a couple of years now. The main reason I didn't become one until recently is because I feared my mum's and grandma's reactions.

I decided that I didn't want to wait until moving out at uni, so started secretly eating vegan 4 days ago. Tonight though, me and my mum went into a pizza shop to order one, and I had to ask for one without cheese right in front of her.

She got so angry about how it was a waste of money and stormed off. In the car she was ranting about how my hair will fall out, calling me thick etc. She still won't speak to me now and rang my grandma ranting about this. She made me promise not to be vegan until I move out at uni so now I'm stuck. What should I do?

You say ethical. But I they get properly sourced meat and dairy products there shouldn't be an issue. But hey, let's just agree to disagree

Damn, I'd be so dissapointed if my child came out as vegan.

Vegan fag


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You realize that all these posts you're replying to are from two years ago, right?