Veganism and your social life

Over the course of the last month, I have realized that going vegan can take its toll on your social life. Lis and I are thankful for good friends, but even so we've seen a few things that can happen.

1. Your non-vegan friends feel like there's a part of your friendship that is no longer accessible. Going out to eat, once a casual get together, is now a laborious chore ("That sounds good...but does it have a vegan option?")


2. Your non-vegan friends may be offended at the fact that you imply in some sense that their food is unworthy to be eaten by you. In other words, they think you are saying, "I'm just too good to eat meat."


3. Your non-vegan friends will deliberately not want to eat "your food," because just by eating it they feel like they are supporting your choice of being vegan.


4. Your non-vegan friends will taunt you with food from your "previous life."


All in all, none of the experiences have really happened to us. But it is true that food can bring people together. On the same token, however, we've learned that it can also keep people apart. Here's to a little more mutual understanding of the "other" when it comes to dietary lifestyle...