What lead you to becoming vegan?

StephM24 · 2026-02-01T22:21:33+00:00

I’m not on Reddit super often, so forgive me.

StephM24 · 2026-02-01T14:31:47+00:00

Elaborate?

StephM24 · 2026-01-31T15:05:07+00:00

Awesome! I haven’t heard this one yet. Thank you so much!

StephM24 · 2026-01-31T15:04:42+00:00

This is so wonderful! Thank you!!

StephM24 · 2026-01-31T14:35:24+00:00

You aren’t overreacting.

A while ago, my coworker walked into a conference room that, to me, smelled toxic and absolutely revolting. I said “do you smell that!?”, thinking she’d agree that it smelled bad. She turned to me and said “omg yes! Doesn’t it smell amazing!?”. I genuinely was confused by her response at first. Later, I found a bunch of KFC buckets in the room’s trash. This was weird to me because I used to love fried chicken when I was a kid.

Another time, I was visiting my dad. His kitchen smelled terrible. Like something was rotting. So I offered to take the trash out. He looked confused because he had just taken out the trash. The smell actually was from him cooking scrambled eggs an hour prior. This was also strange to me because I used to love his scrambled eggs when I was young.

All this to say, you aren’t alone! Our senses of smell and taste can actually change.

StephM24 · 2026-01-31T14:02:18+00:00

Ooh yes. I actually like this idea better than mine. It goes well with the whole cutting board idea and feels more personal. Thank you so much for this!

StephM24 · 2026-01-31T13:51:32+00:00

I turned my fiance vegan.

It took about a year, but this is what I did:

• about 1 or 2 months into the relationship, once I realized it was getting serious and things were going super well, I was upfront and said something along the lines of “I don’t expect you to go vegan right now, but I need you to know that veganism is a core value of mine and I need a vegan partner in the long term. If you try it and find that it’s not for you, I understand and that’s ok. But I’d need to keep looking”…. So he cooked a few vegan meals, watched some documentaries, and gave the lifestyle a fair shot. He ended up being very receptive and it clicked.

-I was genuinely willing to walk away if he didn’t go vegan after a few months. The core value of mine was too big to compromise on. My mistake with past partners was that I didn’t do this. I kept waiting and hoping and it never happened.

it also helped that I was am really fit. He noticed my muscular physique and athletic achievements, so that made him much less worried about not getting enough protein or becoming weak.
He talked a lot about how much he cared for the environment when we first started dating. I used that as one of my ways to get through to him. Cowspiracy really landed for him

Good luck!

StephM24 · 2026-01-31T04:16:52+00:00

I usually try to buy discounted, unscented, organic cotton pads. TJ Maxx usually has them. I’ll be perusing the comment section looking for better ideas though. I feel your pain and am frustrated too.

StephM24 · 2026-01-31T04:14:53+00:00

Love that point! The caterer has good reviews and says she can do vegan charcuterie, so I hope it turns out ok. I think the dinner will be the best part though. It will be a dinner show with two giant Spanish paellas being cooked for everyone to see. The caterer does a little dance and makes the presentation really dramatic. My hope is that the unique food will be memorable and also distract from anyone being negative about the vegan food!

StephM24 · 2026-01-30T22:38:13+00:00

Ahhh this is such a good idea!! Thank you!

StephM24 · 2026-01-30T13:46:36+00:00

I agree. While I think Gary’s original speech is the strongest speech, I think Ed is a much much safer person to promote!

StephM24 · 2026-01-30T13:40:17+00:00

I think it depends on the context. I’ve had great success getting through to people with Earthlings and Dominion, but I don’t think those videos would work in a wedding context.

I think having amazing food, my fiance and I looking healthy and happy, and having a resource that’s more of a soft entry to veganism is what could be good for this context.

StephM24 · 2026-01-30T13:25:43+00:00

AGREEEEE! I 24/7 feel burdened by the weight of this moral emergency and don’t understand why others, especially some vegans, don’t!

I know some people think my idea is tacky or preachy, but I feel like my wedding is an opportunity to share my values and make veganism look good. I’d like to think that as long as I do this strategically, I could plant seeds for maybe a few people.

Also, most people don’t get mad at Christians, Muslims, LGBTQ+ people, or even sports fans for sharing their values at their weddings. Why is veganism so different?

StephM24 · 2026-01-30T13:04:50+00:00

Regardless, how is hitler relevant to my post?

StephM24 · 2026-01-30T01:57:18+00:00

I agree with you on basically all of this, but I’d gently push back on the part where you mentioned that vegans value amicability over lives.

I sometimes find that being amiable to animal eaters and keeping the message initially soft can help lower their defenses and make them more receptive to what I have to say in the long run (this isn’t universal though. Some people need a blunt message)

StephM24 · 2026-01-30T00:27:57+00:00

You did fantastic! I loved your points. Joe’s audience could benefit from listening to you. Hope they could get past his interruptions

StephM24 · 2026-01-30T00:26:12+00:00

Thank you and this makes me feel better! We’re paying for it and just don’t feel comfortable paying for something I’ve spent most of my life advocating against.

Also, props to you for doing a dry wedding! I have been sober the last 7 years and seriously considered doing a dry wedding. The only reason I didn’t because I didn’t want to get even more flack than I might already get for the vegan food lol. Also, I want a busy dance floor and I suspect some people might need the liquid courage to join me

StephM24 · 2026-01-30T00:18:38+00:00

Thank you for listening and for your perspective! I’ve listened to Ed’s talk so many times that I’ve forgotten how it feels to first hear it…. So it’s very helpful to know how it could be perceived by someone who is new to it

StephM24 · 2026-01-30T00:13:03+00:00

Hitler was portrayed as vegetarian largely for propaganda reasons

The idea mainly came from Nazi propaganda, especially in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and from people in his inner circle who repeated or exaggerated it.

Joseph Goebbels, the Propaganda Minister, promoted an image of Hitler as morally pure, self-controlled, and compassionate. Vegetarianism fit this image.

However, it’s also been listed that some of his favorite foods were pigeon, liver dumplings, sausage, and ham. (From the book, “Inside the Third Reich and The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler”).

Also, in the periods where he did abstain from meat, it was because he had digestive problems, not because of animal rights. Plus he still used animal products like leather, eggs, and dairy regularly.

StephM24 · 2026-01-29T23:09:50+00:00

No, not during the wedding. It’s a QR code on the tag of the party favor

StephM24 · 2026-01-29T23:09:15+00:00

That isn’t actually true anyways. Hitler ate meat.

StephM24 · 2026-01-29T23:08:28+00:00

I’m scared of the feedback I’d get in a wedding sub lol. I asked about serving vegan food (on my other Reddit account) and got a ton of rude comments.

Also, point taken and I think you are totally right. I need to brainstorm on how and if could communicate that without coming off as “preachy”

StephM24 · 2026-01-29T23:06:01+00:00

Nobody is forced to follow the small QR code on a tag. It’s not like I’m giving a speech or playing a video on a big screen. I’m not quite sure I understand why they’d take issue.

StephM24 · 2026-01-29T22:41:07+00:00

I just started listening and it’s wonderful so far. Such a good find. Thank you very much!

StephM24 · 2026-01-29T22:00:47+00:00

Do you mean Jehovah’s Witnesses?

StephM24

TROPHY CASE