Obviously some of the more terminally online attempts to guilt trip people do not work. I wonder is there even a point to encourage others? Most people won’t change their mind without making their own decision. I think I try to live by example, and being there when people have questions. Being there when people want to slowly eat less meat I think is very helpful. Some online vegans especially on lemmy act like it’s all or nothing, well then these people will never even try eating less animal products.
Thoughts?
Show people good tasting food. Many people are willing to try plant based food in place of meat if it tastes good .
Every dish consumed without meat is part way to your goal, even if they don’t agree with you morally.
Anthony Bourdain, noted evangelical carnivore, famously said, “India, and Punjab, in particular — that’s a place where I could happily eat vegetarian for quite some time without really noticing it and enjoy it. The food is so proudly prepared; the textures are very colorful and spicy.”
It must start with the quality of food. Everyone loves delicious food.
We are omnivores but have a small homestead with a massive veggie garden in a very rural meat and potatoes food culture. We eat more veggies than most omnivores We invite people to walk through the garden and slowly give them stuff to try while we speak to them. If you bring a personal connection to food people will try things they never thought they would. Everything in our world relys on personal connection. If you want people to eat less meat you will not do it online or by telling or educating. You will do it by meeting people and eating with them.
Great point! :)
Some online vegans especially on lemmy act like it’s all or nothing, well then these people will never even try eating less animal products.
That is because vegan as a concept is all or nothing. Promoting the eating of less meat and animal products would be something else.
Honestly a great way to get people to decrease meat consumption is to promote more meatless dishes. Not replacement meat, but just dishes that are their own plant based things doing their own thing. Like promoting bean based chili instead of meat based, or grilled vegetables as the main course. Trying to sell someone on grilled mushrooms for example is actually pretty clever until it is promoted as a ‘meat substitute’ where it will be compared to meat and that will count against it.
I’m an omnivore, but some solid options from Southeast Asia that aren’t pretending to be meat alternatives and are just good on their own will fill me up and I’ll eat less meat.
I mean, veganism is essentially a religion. Go ahead and pop some popcorn on that one ;)
That being said, I think the key lies in not being dogmatic at all. Leave that to vegans. Just talk about it when it’s appropriate, in a personal and real way.
My favorite example is my vegan chili. I’m not vegan. Not even vegetarian. But when chili gets talked about, I bring it up as part of the conversation because it’s faster than meat based chili, the flavor is amazing, and it’s relatively inexpensive. I’ve won chili cookoffs with my beef chili, and I actually have more people request the recipe for my vegan version after they try it the first time.
People start talking about burgers? I bring up my favorite alternative patties. I don’t call them burgers though, because they aren’t burgers in the way that matters. But I’ve had kelp “burgers” that were ridiculously good, and I love a good black bean patty sandwich. The key, again, is to talk about it as just another aspect of how to have great food that’s less expensive and/or health friendly (at my age, when burgers come up, it’s usually because a doctor has told someone to cut back lol).
I don’t beat a pulpit because that’s a dick move. I offer alternatives that are topical, zero pressure, and offer to share recipes or otherwise help anyone interested to give things a try. I’ll also do that even if they aren’t interested in the plant based side of things, and just want to adjust their meat intake for economics or lower fat or whatever. And you’d be amazed how that gives people the freedom to try the other stuff too. Then, maybe, maybe they cut back on meat a little, or switch to a better source for meat.
My thing? I look at plant based cooking as an environmental necessity long term, an economic benefit both long and short term, and a way to improve the way we handle livestock. I’m fine with meat, and if we could sustain a human population with it the way it’s currently being done, my objection to industrial farming would be just that, rather than about meat. But we can’t.
The best way to teach anyone is to lead by example. When I can show someone an amazing meal with no meat, or meat as a side ingredient, and show them how little it can cost when you’re not stuck in a city food desert, it gets the job done better than trying to convince them of anything at all. But it has to be food centric, and you have to be genuine, you can’t be pandering to them as an excuse to try and change them. If they ask, be honest and talk about the other reasons you choose to minimize or eliminate meat from your diet, and be clear that it’s your choice, that isn’t an obligation for them.
There’s this whole thing online vs in person. Online, people are assholes because they don’t see another person, they see lines on a screen.
In person? Me, my vegan cousin, my dairy farmer cousin, and my jackass vegetarian friend can all sit around eating my vegan chili and talk about it all, with hugs at the end.
If we, as people, treat each other online more like people than lines on a screen, with respect and dignity until there’s a reason to do otherwise, that’s how people can share things like a plant based or plant centered diet. Nobody is perfect, mind you, but that’s how you reach out.
I don’t agree with but do understand the all or nothing view point. It is akin to a religious belief. Eating meat requires the creation of suffering. People who eat meat create suffering for personal pleasure when there are alternatives that don’t. That is a morally wrong decision and being slightly less wrong is still wrong.
It treats the concept of harm reduction as completely insufficient.
I am not an active activist but I love cooking and when I’m with friends or family, I often volunteer te prepare the food. And doing so I got tons of positive feedback, people asking for recipes, what it’s made of, where to get the ingredients etc.
And as people are coming to me, rather than the other way around, they don’t feel pushed in a negative way. Especially children often love the vegan stuff and explicitly demand (!) the dishes from their parents after they tasted the flavor. As the parents often have issues to find healthy food that their children like, my tips are often very welcome.
My favorite choice for such occasions is all kind of seitan, because it’s easy and fast to make, has high protein, a great texture and is very versatile based on the spices you add.
Doing it my way, you don’t turn omnivores into vegans in a day but I definitely know that many of them integrated various plant based foods into their everyday cooking and reduced their consumption of animal products.
