Vegangelical -- Does it Hurt or Help the Vegetarian Movement?

I'm a lacto ovo vegetarian. This means I eat no meat, but I still eat dairy and egg products. Choosing to be a vegetarian is a personal decision that took me years of soul searching and a few failed attempts. Let me repeat that. My being a vegetarian is a personal decision. You see, I am not vegangelical. What does vegangelical mean?

I first saw the word vegangelical in the New York Times, describing the issues between couples where one is a vegetarian, and one is not a vegetarian. It took a moment for the word vegangelical to register in my brain. I then stopped, backed up, and reread the sentence. Vegangelical. What a witty word! It appeared to be a combination of vegan (a specialized vegetarian who doesn't eat any meat or animal by products) and evangelical. I was instantly enamored, because this word fits a certain vegan and vegetarian mindset I encounter all the time.

Some vegans and vegetarians are very attached to their beliefs. They believe that their certain style of vegetarianism is the right vegetarian or vegan style, and anyone who does not follow their particular brand of vegetarian (or vegan) living is wrong. I'm sure most Americans have met a vegetarian like this at least once in their lifetime. Vegangelicals are the vegetarians who go to message boards and pick fights with the "carnivores". These vegans mock people who eat free range meat because "all meat is murder". Vegangelicals mock other vegetarians and vegans because they eat something they do not approve of.

But this kind of vegetarian attack is based on ethnocentrism (judging someone else's lifestyle by your own). Every day, hundreds of people are exposed to these militant, vitriol-tongued vegans and vegetarians. And the encounters start a bad habit -- they cause omnivores to confuse being vegetarian with hatred and eliteness.

Vegangelicalism may be related to how people become vegetarians. While some people are born vegetarian, most Americans are born eating meat and later have to make the decision to become vegetarian. These convert vegetarians are usually split into two groups -- those who suddenly realize that being vegetarian is right for them, and those who gradually become vegetarian by eliminating meat from their diets. I have a suspicion that vegangelicals are mainly the vegetarians who suddenly convert.

The problem with telling someone that the way they eat is wrong is the approach. You see, attacking the way someone eats is also attacking the ego. It's very difficult to tell someone that they are wrong, and have them agree with you. So what usually happens is the person who is told they are wrong becomes even more set in their ways, making them less likely to consider becoming vegetarian.

Another problem is that while being vegetarian is a great way of life that can bring better health and relieve stress on the environment, it's not the only solution! I think the vegetarian community as a whole would be better to seek the following goals:

1) Stop factory farming. This is the big vegetarian issue, guys! Look, I don't want animals to die, either, but let's at least give the ones who are going to die a quality life -- not a life in a cage in the dark.
2) Get restaurants to serve normal portions of meat, or at least try to educate people about the proper portions of meat! Seriously, the serving size for a steak is 4 ounces. 8 ounces is two servings. Last time I saw an Outback Menu, the smallest steak was 10 ounces! Some of the steaks were well over 20 ounces!
3) Encourage people to pick a couple of times a week to eat vegetarian. If Sunday Brunch is usually a ham and bacon fest, have a vegetarian breakfast on Monday and Tuesday. If Saturday is hamburger day, have veggie burgers on Wednesday and Friday.

Finally, here are some tips to think when the vegetarian and vegan topics come up in conversation:

1) Speak positive. If you're offered a double cheeseburger at a party, don't answer with "I don't eat meat." Instead say, "No thanks, I'm a vegetarian (or vegan)." Most people are familiar with the term vegetarian, and the term vegan is gaining public knowledge, too. If they are not familiar and they ask, then feel free to explain what it means to be a vegetarian or vegan.
2) Skip the diatribes about why meat is wrong, unless someone asks you why you are a vegan (or vegetarian). Most people are aware that animals suffer for their meals -- they don't want to think about it. Forcing them to face the truth isn't going to convert them to eating vegetarian -- it will just put a wall between us vegetarians and the omnivores.
3) Please don't act superior or haughty to those who aren't vegetarians. Yes, that includes the guy who describes himself as a "meatatarian", or the girl who wears a shirt reading "real girls eat meat". Fellow vegetarians, don't stoop to their level -- this is what they want!
4) Don't walk up and discuss being vegetarian with total strangers -- it creeps them out. If you feel that strongly about being vegetarian, there are several cute T-Shirts, key chains, bumper stickers, and pins you can wear.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's some tempeh in my fridge that's calling my name!

Kate Murphy, I Love You, but You Love Meat, New York Times.