Asked: Why Am I Vegan

"What made you go vegan?"

This is one of the most common questions I get asked by new people I meet. It's up there on the list with "what do you do" and "what brought you to new york" -- assuming we've gotten to a point in the conversation about my dietary habits.

It makes sense why I get asked this. If someone told me about a major life decision they made or were making, I would ask them for their reasoning as well.

My answer usually sounds almost exactly like this:

"I read online that a whole-food plant-based diet is healthy, so I gradually transitioned to that. Then I eventually learned about the ethical side of things (like for animal-cruelty stuff) and went fully strict vegan."

I'm happy enough to give this answer, and it's a concise summary of my reasons for following veganism.

However, I often feel an internal pang when answering the question. Usually it's because I am wondering how deeply the person is going to engage with my answer -- and usually, it's not deep. They accept my answer and move on with the conversation.

I guess there's a part of me hoping they will want to learn more about the "ethical" part. I know that small talk is unlikely to lead to an intense discussion or debate. I certainly am not looking to do that every time I breach my dietary preferences with someone. Yet I still am hoping for just a little more, and it is almost never goes there.

Maybe this is just the nature of it being a charged topic. Or maybe I can rephrase my standard answer so as to invite more discussion if I want it to. Or use more charged phrasing so as to invite more of a reaction. -- but that's not really my style.

Anyway, I can at least go deeper on this site.

I've been intending to expand more on the ethical arguments, in my own words^[1]. For now:

• On Cooking - Veganism and Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet