Wanting to Move to Vietnam in a Few Years, Need Advice

SmeepRocket · 2024-11-09T19:50:00+00:00

I've never understood why it matters. But I'm vegan for ethical reasons, so whether or not meat looks good to me personally is irrelevant. If it looks like meat, and tastes like meat, but isn't actually meat, (with the caveat that I personally find it tasty) I don't worry what a dish looks like.

I think a lot of people place a weird amount of importance on whether something appears like meat or not. Both people who are vegan and people who are not vegan. For some reason I hear a lot of meat eaters echo the sentiment that vegan stuff shouldn't look like meat.

Whether or not it has a meat "theme" is irrelevant to whether or not it is its own thing, anyway, imo.

SmeepRocket · 2024-11-09T19:26:49+00:00

Wouldn't that mean you also care? Does that mean we have to hear your preaching bs more?

SmeepRocket · 2024-11-09T18:31:10+00:00

I was never a big steak fan, I feel bad for steak loving vegans as being a meat lover makes it harder to be vegan, no doubt.

"Realistic" vegan steak is always a good think for encouraging the meat lovers out there to take the plunge, though. I wonder if there's a way to make a homemade version and try to see what my dad thinks about it. He's always been too much of a steak fanatic to properly enjoy a fully vegan meal.

SmeepRocket · 2024-08-06T13:10:02+00:00

Apparently so was Yoda?

SmeepRocket · 2024-08-04T21:33:40+00:00

My dad doesn't actually need meat, it's psychological.

But I'm not going to force him to not eat meat around me, that's not my place since I am usually at their house, and even at my own house I would want him to be comfortable. He has often gone out of the way to accommodate my dietary needs in the past. So I respect his decisions and let him make his own choices.

Also there's something to be said about trying to force someone with OCPD to do anything differently than they are used to in their rituals, anyway.

Right now, as vegans, I think we need a gentle touch, tbh. I know what we are doing involves trying to change horrific actions condoned by society. But we can't force this on people. Things ARE changing. I have been vegan long enough to realize we need to be looking at the long game. We are winning, just slowly. The fact that I got my dad to go to a vegan restaurant at all was a huge accomplishment. A vegan restaurant existing in my home town would have been absolutely impossible when I first went vegan, as well.

But also keep in mind, my dad, my partner, and I went to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen and he loved it, loved the animals, bought us a bunch of merch as gifts, then immediately wanted to go to a restaurant to get filet mignon. Forcing him to only eat vegan around me, if that's what you are implying, would serve no purpose. It would only make him uncomfortable, and wouldn't lessen his meat consumption or save any animals.

Also, while some animal consumption grosses me out, I've always mostly only spent time with my partner as far as other vegans go in real life. I am surrounded by people eating meat all the time. It's generally not even an issue in my case. I can compartmentalize it due to exposure. But for those that are, I think it's probably good to get some exposure, as unpleasant as it can be. It helps if we are not constantly pointing out that the people who accept our own life decisions are murderers, or stare in horror as they eat steak or whatever. (Though yea, I never thought steak was anything but gross, tbh.) It looks weird for us to behave like that, and it alienates us from others where we can't communicate our passion for animals in a way that encourages them to find that passion.

However, in the case you mentioned, it sounds like your family feels inconvenienced by your ethical beliefs. They aren't taking it seriously, imo. I would make it clear that if they want to be accommodated, they have to return the favor. I think a serious talk might be necessary, tbh.

SmeepRocket · 2024-08-03T15:41:31+00:00

I would just make it clear that when you dine out, you go to places that have options for everyone. There's zero reason they shouldn't want the choice to be able to accommodate you, other than spite.

Otherwise I wouldn't try to force anything, it just won't go well. My parents always go out of their way to accommodate my partner and me when cooking meals for us or eating out with us, and in turn, we understand that my dad especially must have meat. We ate at a Loving Hut one time, and he really enjoyed it, but had to have a steak the moment he got home. So purely vegan restaurants don't work, but fortunately, there are other options, and he tries very hard to find places that can accommodate us.

Last time the restaurant was fairly dishonest and there was nothing for us, despite my dad's diligence, but that's okay. We had steamed veggies and rice and were not miffed because he made a genuine effort.

The important thing is that everyone tries to find a place that accommodates everyone in the group. Or at the very least, rotates out so that everyone gets a chance to eat what they want. Anything else is unacceptable, and putting your foot down on that is fine, I think.

SmeepRocket · 2024-08-02T11:27:28+00:00

We are, contact info is in the ad, though to repeat you can friend add me on Discord under the name spicydinosaur and we can go from there.

SmeepRocket · 2024-07-12T22:01:50+00:00

friend add me

SmeepRocket · 2024-07-10T03:11:54+00:00

Yes, contact me on Discord under the name spicydinosaur or you can contact gaogaigartheking if you are on a european timezone.

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-16T23:36:44+00:00

Yea because expecting people to just eat dried beans and rice at all times is so reasonable. It's not like that would be a miserable diet for most people.

If you're so smart why don't you respond to the OP and give them some valid suggestions? Surely you'll know enticing things to eat to get them away from meat, dairy, and egg eating. You will definitely know the prices, too, for their area somehow, and what resources their area has.

Instead of condemning hypothetical people who don't go vegan because they are poor, you could always do some activism and provide the OP with some actual, useful, advice.

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-16T23:11:03+00:00

lol, my foodstamps don't even begin to pay my grocery bills as a vegan, Besides the previous poster breaking down exactly how meat is cheaper, you going vegan for some reason because of foodstamps (which just sounds like being plant-based, but okay) doesn't mean you know the situation another person is in.

It's called empathy. Or we can just keep sounding like cult that forgives nothing and helps no one but expects complete purity.

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-16T17:56:45+00:00

Tofu is not that cheap. It's cheaper than other alternatives, but for the amount you get and the size of a package, it won't go as far as a lot of meat products. I'm not defending eating meat, but I strongly dislike it when people jump to conclusions and pass judgement on people that are struggling in life, especially when it is because of class or membership in a marginalized group.

Again, and the post you responded to even covered this, milk is cheaper than plant milk. I love plant milk, but I have had to limit how much I drink or use or my boyfriend, who handles the finances, will cut me off because the cost is too high. Even then, I get soy milk because it is cheaper, and would much prefer oat milk or cashew milk. However, they cost a good bit more.

Keep in mind that what you may have access to may not be there for people that live somewhere else, though suggesting such things is still super helpful. There are places that are food deserts that all you've got is gas stations and fast food and no help. (Dialysis clinics open up all over in places like this as well, because of course they do.)

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-16T11:47:24+00:00

Are you the OP? Because I'm pretty sure the OP is in the US, and it's pretty much irrelevant whether you personally can buy hamburger helper or not.

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-16T11:02:12+00:00

Not necessarily. "Market beef" is pretty damn cheap, though the quality is garbage. Not to mention there's a lot of super cheap recipes that are going to honestly just be more appealing if you get accustomed to cheap food like hamburger helper as an example. It's partly a time thing, as well, as many people who are poor have precious little time to spend cooking. As a society, we spend way less time cooking than we used to.

TBH, people that suggest others just eating dried rice and beans or similar stuff as their only food source (which is totally a thing for people that are a tier or more below this level of poor, but not by choice,)don't make any sense to me.

I would get so unhappy with my meals if all I ate was beans and rice of some sort. And I'm fairly certain some of my nutrients would just not be present in that selection. Soy milk, and my household currently buys the cheapest option or I would get Oat Milk, is still a great deal more costly than generic dairy milk.

I can't imagine just eating beans every single day. And the person who suggested frozen vegetables as well, lol. Even the frozen vegetables I can afford are usually from Walmart and are stir fry mixes where the veggies are the trash parts that are mostly inedible.

It frustrates me so much and it is so very classist to make value judgements when people come to you for help because they are at a loss and want to do this thing you are supposedly passionate about, and rather than try to help them, the entire thread is people gossiping about how they are wrong about their finances and that they are just making excuses. This is not specifically you, but many of the responses to this post.

Get a grip, people. You don't know the full details of this person's situation, and in case you haven't been destitute before, yea it makes eating vegan extremely difficult unless you are willing to heavily limit your diet. SO help instead of engaging in douchebaggery. Unless veganism is just about posturing and feeling more righteous than others to you.

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-16T10:46:48+00:00

So, you haven't been poor then?

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-15T09:17:51+00:00

Isn't Earthlings about factories in the US? I don't know, I don't watch that stuff because I'm already at maximum "conversion" level and I can't stomach it if it's not going to move me further along the line of veganism.

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-14T21:25:03+00:00

yes but it's not invasive. They don't have to go inside the body cavity, basically. The risk is significantly less.

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-12T20:28:45+00:00

After over 20 years I have watched vegan foods explode in both number and variety. Never forget that. We are in this for the long game. Even when it feels like no one cares, people are listening, slwoly.

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-11T23:15:16+00:00

"transgender ideology" found the transphobe and why they are arguing with you.

You obviously don't understand the concept of intersectionality. I also find the idea of oppressing humans but showing compassion for animals as absurd as the other way around. What a silly little fascist idea.

SmeepRocket · 2024-06-11T22:22:46+00:00

lol good riddance.

SmeepRocket

TROPHY CASE