How do you convince people to eat plant-based?
This one is a tough!! There are THREE SECRETS to helping your best friend, girlfriend, fiancee, or even family on transitioning to #veglife.
So vegans can get very....passionate.....that's what I like to call it. But seriously I know we can get a bad rep for being rude, judgey and sometimes even demeaning, BUT that's NOT ALL of US, I PROMISE.
The first step for us vegans to help other people go vegan is to STOP OURSELVES if we feel like we are becoming upset, pushy, or argumentative when talking about the subject. It's kinda like politics, its kinda weird, but true. For those you reading this, try to be patient with us and don't think that every vegan is some crazy, mean, hippie. Just like YOU ARE PASSIONATE about a BASKETBALL team, RECYLING or YOU FAV HOBBY--we are passionate about you and want to show you dee wayyyy.
Perfect Timing--Is this person open-minded or adventurous with food, yes or no? If yes, then skip this part and keep reading below. IF THE ANSWER IS NO, then it's still okay, it will just be more work. If this person is super close to you they will obviously notice that you eat differently, act differently, and look differently (less acne, not bloated, etc.) You know it is PERFECT TIMING WHEN they start asking you questions like:
how do you have SOO MUCH ENERGY,
how DID YOU FASTER GYM RESULTS before me
how do I eat healthier
what IS IT LIKE BEING VEGAN
what DO YOU EAT AS A VEGAN
And the obvious one is of course if they ask you how do I become vegan. BELIEVE IT OR NOT but its also good timing if they are looking up REASONS on WHY YOU SHOULDN'T be VEGAN---this means they are super curious for some reason and you can help them show them the facts. THE MAIN POINT I'M GETTING AT is that people need to come to you--no one wants someone nagging at them about a topic they don't really care about...
What does this person already know? Before you decide to officially start the convo with this person, observe them for a few days, watch what they eat, how often do they eat or skip meals...Or maybe you think you know them pretty well-- start the convo by asking them what they know about how the food is made or how they feel when they eat certain foods . This way you don't make them feel dumb bc they already know. Do they already know RED MEAT IS BAD? do they know about FACTORY FARMING and that it has become the "norm" of farming?
How does this person feel about it? Not how you feel about....how does the person feel about veganism, eating healthy, animal cruelty, the environment, THEIR OWN HEALTH....Which one of these topics do they care about the most? This will give you a clue on how to get them interested...if they LOVE THE ENVIRONMENT and are total TREE-HUGGERS then talk about how EATING PLANT-BASED HELPS THE ENVIRONMENT BY A LOT (tell them to watch the COWSPIRACY documentary).
If you think about it and THE ANSWER IS NONE, you need to make sure by talking to that person...if the answer is till no, then the timing is not right and you should not push the issue....
How much time can they commit? Are they busy people? When you are first starting off eating plant-based there people have to do their own research on what alternatives exist, finding new recipes, etc. This is definitely not an excuse, but this just means they might need reminders from you since they have other things to worry about.
Tell them your personal story: This is one of the best ways especially since they will probably listen to your story versus someone random on the internet. Tell them all the cool benefits you have experienced with you body since you became vegan (without bragging) or tell them how much more you love cooking or trying new foods!
Remember: Even though we sometimes feel obligated to save the animals, the environment and even this person you want to help convince, YOU HAVE TO TAKE BABY STEPS. I definitely DID NOT GO VEGAN OVERNIGHT, does this make me a bad person...no. It took me 2 years until I decided to go fully plant-based and THAT'S OKAY. You just have be patient and plant the ideas in their head........and I don't mean like in the movie "Inception"
ANOTHER BIG TIP:take a look at my insta video I posted on the "Why Vegan" highlight
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