Vegetarians who say this shit say they enjoy getting encouragement from vegans, but they actually just want a pat on the back and brownie points from susceptible vegans, not actual encouragement.
This is the greatest encouragement I can give them, but because it's in an "aggressive" tone, they love to say "You're the reason why people shy away from going vegan!"
Sorry to tell ya, but if some harsh words promoting the very ideological foundation of veganism are enough to discourage you, then you clearly don't have a plan to "transition" to veganism to begin with.
Imagine telling someone "You really need to stop being fucking racist." and then they say "Ugh! I'm working on it! You being so pushy makes me want to be more racist actually!"
The cheese rots into their brains apparently.
Removed by mod
On some level, it is "legitimate," but the optics that many baby-steps vegetarians have around it are insane. They express animosity towards convicted vegans encouraging them to examine their animal product consumption more seriously, and they also seem hypocritical because they claim to espouse awareness that consuming animal products is wrong, but make lousy excuses like "Cheese is just so damn good!" in the process of justifying it.
I've literally had a vegetarian telling me they're taking a gradual approach to veganism because they believe their life would be "miserable" without ice cream and shredded cheese on their tacos. Ultimately, I've learned that giving too much good faith to the baby steppers is usually a bad move.
Removed by mod
I try to research destinations and understand what my grocery and restaurant options will be, and idk what part of phoenix you travel to, but my vegan former roommate moved there after college and when I visited there was no shortage of vegan restaurants, an incredible number of restaurants that had multiple vegan options on the menu and the grocery stores seemed more than adequate. Bulk prices at Sprouts (I think?) for lentils were on par with if not slightly cheaper than where I shop in REDACTED. I'm almost entirely unable to imagine having to consume dairy on a trip there without some truly insane contrivances that involve dairy industry goons threatening my or my partner's life if I resist.
Are you vegan?
Removed by mod
Not gonna knock someone for not getting rid of old belongings, but why eat dairy? The old leather is just old leather now, but why continue to (even very infrequently) consume milk knowing all the awfulness that goes into its production?
Removed by mod
My secret to eating vegan in places without vegan restaurants
But yeah to be fair I don't have a lot of experience eating out at restaurants in towns with a sub-5k population. I imagine if you find yourself travelling to bumfuck, nowhere and for whatever reason find it impossible to prepare your own food, it would be hard to find cooked meals that are vegan. When I travel I do need to plan a little more, and sometimes pack food if I'm going through somewhere particularly desolate. Not always having a restaurant I can go to is one of those many little inconveniences all vegans have to deal with every now and then.
ive never encountered a vegan restaurant or seen a vegan restaurant or heard of a vegan restaurant anywhere i could travel to. ive been to shitty tiny towns in the middle of nowhere. i go to the grocery store and buy some fruits and peanut butter or, if ive got the tools to cook, some beans as you said
I'm not saying there's absolutely no place in America I could find myself transported to and feel obligated to eat an animal product, but that place certainly isn't anywhere that there are restaurants serving animal products
So not vegan. I understand you said "very infrequent", but asserting that there's some caveat in your life where you can be like "Well, dairy is fine in this particular instance." isn't vegan no matter how you slice it.
Removed by mod
You gotta admit that "I'm a vegan except when I eat animal products" is a bit of a head-turner.
"Vegan except on certain occasions" certainly does miss the point.
I have a moral opinion considered extreme by the vast majority of society, so I put it aside when it gets inconvenient.
Eating plants while traveling isn't some new enigma that vegans have yet to figure out.
Removed by mod
There's something concerning about the notion that you'll have to cut your family out of your life just because you want to bring your own vegan food on a trip. Is everything fine with you? Are you not convicted enough to just tell them that you'd rather eat your own vegan food? Will they be really rude or harsh to you if you say you want to do that? I'm genuinely curious about all of these dynamics and why that has to be the straw that gets you to say "I'll allow animal products on this rare occasion". Is there genuinely no work around for that whatsoever?
Embarrassing carnist posting cringe, go figure