Influencers Leaving the Vegan Community
Is the community of animal liberation that we so desperately wanted people to be a part of actually pushing people away?
Hello everyone! Today I felt like getting a bit more chatty. I want to discuss a little more about the concept of Love by Plants and how influencers who left the vegan community influenced me, in a positive way.
I never saw myself creating any sort of outlet for veganism, since so many already exist. However, within the last two years a lot has shifted within who I am and what I want to promote. I strongly believe that the vegan community is lacking a non judgmental, safe space and I get it. I understand it because I used to be in the same headspace when I discovered animal cruelty and factory farming. I was angry, I was hurt and I projected anger and hatred to anyone who lacked empathy in what I had just discovered. I still feel hurt, sad and confused. However, that head space I was in was causing myself and the people around me more harm than good. I was not able to get any message across because it was filled with judgement and anger.
I did not fully understand the issue until tons of influencers who were vegan for years had suddenly switched back to a meat based diet. I, as well as many others were hurt and saddened by the news. I honestly never thought someone else’s choices whom I never met, would make feel so shitty. There was one specific person who I religiously watched. This person first came out admitting that she has a Kit Kat bar every few months and got torn to pieces in her comment section, with hate. I did not see any issue with her saying that, as I myself have had a few breaking points with chips (but that is a whole other discussion we will get into later LOL). A few months later she gave up veganism due to health issues. These videos were filled with non-stop hate from the vegan community and the comment sections were horrifying. Soon later, many other influencers followed down that same path. It was like a domino effect of people who were tired of being portrayed as perfect human beings, finally breaking. This is when I stood back and asked why? Why are we so quick to tear people down who have done more for animals than others? Just because they are humans and make mistakes? I couldn’t help but wonder… what if these comment sections were filled with love and understanding? Would they have been more inclined to stay down a plant based life style with slight altercations like being pescatarian or vegetarian (which by the way- is still better than nothing).
I then started seeing hate on YouTube videos of those who follow a vegetarian diet. The comment sections were filled with messages that they were not doing enough or they were not doing it right. “Why are you vegetarian when you could be vegan?” I will be the first to admit that my first two years of following a vegan diet, I didn’t like being confused for a vegetarian. I saw it as an insult. I may have never left hate comments but I would think them. This mindset is not only toxic but it takes away the credit that should be given to ANYONE trying to make change. Looking from the outside at all of these hateful comments; I was finally able to see the bigger issue. It was the hate, aggression and judgmental side of the community that I had once contributed to.
The community of liberation that we so desperately wanted people to be a part of started pushing people away.
This was when I realized, there was never too many vegan outlets; there are just too many that do not cater to a judge free space.
I have followed a vegan diet for nearly five years now. After that two year mark and realization that I did not want to contribute to the anger and aggression, my life significantly changed for the better. I was able to sway people in my personal life on eating vegan without being pushy. Maybe this is the selfish side of me that does not want to bask in that negative head space but I do believe this approach can and will attract more individuals to at least try. I started to think, if no one else is using this method, I should. The other route was not only too toxic for me but for everyone on the outside looking in.
So now here we are! I’ve launched Love by Plants to create a space where people of all diets can come together without that feeling of being judged or not doing enough.
This week I want to challenge you. If you are vegan and you feel like you fall into this category, as I also did. Try using a new approach that welcomes people in. These can be small actions like changing your tone the next time you’re in a heated debate about someone questioning your diet, or welcoming people via Instagram stories. You can do a poll asking your followers if they are vegan or not— from there you can start asking if they ever considered it and motivate them to eat one vegan meal that week. These are small things that can make a huge difference in someone else’s life. Something else to think about is the fact that some people are just simply not affected by seeing animal cruelty. This is sad and quite alarming to say the least, but it is a fact. So, for a week instead of reposting animal cruelty photos lets switch it up to some health benefits to cater to a different audience.
I previously shared some free vegan resources that helped me transition and gain more knowledge. This would be a perfect link to provide to anyone who doesn’t know where to start:
If you are vegetarian, pescatarian or just eat a the basic meat diet- I challenge you to eat vegan once this week and check out my vegan resource page, linked above to learn something you might not know. I’d love to hear your thoughts, opinions and questions if you have any. Please email me if you do!
Until next time :)
