How many other vegans do you know? [Archive]

Teejay

08-02-2002, 03:22 AM

I had two vegan students a couple of years ago, and my husband had one vegan student in each year he has been teaching at his current job. I also have a brother (does that count?) who is vegan -- was before me -- and a vegetarian sister.

However, this is going to change for the even-better, as next week I am going on a dinner outing with a whole group of vegans I have never met but know of via a local yahoo club! Many of the guests will be vegetarian but I am told there's a core of vegan members. I am going to take my child along too as it will be the most vegans she ever met at once.

It was lovely when my husband had one particular vegan in his class -- she brought along treats like vegan chocolate cake for the class to share -- a truly special person.

nooly

08-02-2002, 06:34 AM

i actually know quite a few vegans by now, although in my day-to-day life it's pretty much just me surrounded by meaties......not so much anymore though, my brother, his girlfriend and a veggie friend of mine have all just gone vegan so at least when i go to their houses i don't have to bring my own soya milk for a cup of tea!
i'm also involved in the punk/hardcore scene in ireland so about 60% of people are vegetarian and there's a few vegans as well. outside of 'the scene' though (and my one vegan friend) i've never met any other vegans.

momof3

08-14-2002, 07:37 AM

None other than my immediate family. 1 vegetarian though:)

Tori'sMom

10-01-2002, 01:22 PM

No vegans --- SEVERAL veggies though, brother in law, friend of the family and step moter are veggie.... NO vegans though.... I hope that changes... After one year of veganism I still have so--- much to learn....

inkiepoo

10-02-2002, 07:15 PM

Hi, I'm new here. I wanted to let you know that my husband and I are almost vegan. We have been vegetarian for years, and my husband has all his life. His parents are also vegetarian. So we have a great support system here. It really helps too. I raised my children vegetarian and close to vegan. They are both very healthy teenagers. They have had no cavities and have been very seldom ill (we have no family doctor!!).

So I guess we are surrounded by vegetarians!!!

sophie

10-03-2002, 02:41 PM

My sister and her partner are vegan, but they are the only ones we know! We used to have some vegan friends, but none of them are vegan any longer, which we find really disappointing. It can feel a little isolating even though our friends are supportive of our diet. One of my best friends and her children are vegetarian, and don't use much dairy. I have another friend in our community who has 3 children and makes a big deal of being vegetarian, just yesterday she spoke of getting this new book for her children which is all about being proud to be vegetarian, then in the next breath she told me how she took her kids to McDonalds for an icecream. I said "but they have pig fat in the icecream!" and she said "yeah, I know, yuck". Also they eat fish , which in my opinion means they shouldn't have the right to callt ehmselves vegetarian, plus if they go out anywhere they let the kids eat meat. And at the same time she wants to know where she can get a t-shirt like my son's for her kids, which says "live and let live-go vegetarian". How did I get on to all this? Oh yeah, I don't know many vegans at all :rolleyes:

Tori'sMom

10-03-2002, 04:23 PM

I HATE when domeone says I';m veg*n then eats an animal.... Since when are chicken, any type of sea'food' or turkey VEGGIES?
I know too many people like that... Well, time to make the applesauce ( it's the good stuff that life is truly for)....

Erin Pavlina

10-05-2002, 04:57 PM

I was sitting with a distant relative once at lunch with some meat eating relatives. My aunt didn't want to finish her tuna fish sandwich. so she offered the second half to anyone at the table who wanted it. This distant relative, who claimed to be vegan, ate the whole thing. I said, "I thought you said you were vegan." He replied, "Yeah, but I didn't want it to go to waste. That wouldn't be right either.

I was sitting in stunned disbelief.

Emily

10-06-2002, 09:49 AM

I am one of those people. I get soooo mad when I see someone throwing out animal products. It makes me so mad that an innocent life was just wasted away for nothing. I am often tempted to eat the leftovers but I know that if I did people would just buy more to make leftovers so I would eat it. It's the type of thing that only works once. I try very hard not to waste food. It's just not right.

Emily

sophie

10-07-2002, 02:37 PM

We used to have a strict vegan friend, who suddenly started to eat yogurt "so he could be sure of getting B12". Hmm.
Also, I have noticed so called "vegetarian" families I know who let their kids eat gelatine lollies (candy) as if they are fine. I can't understand this! I find the whole idea of gelatine absolutely disgusting, equal to eating a steak. My kids get very confused when "vegetarian"friends of theirs eat fish. I have to explain that they just don't eat other kinds of animals, only fish, and naturally they find this totally bizarre and unsettling. We have a poster in our kitchen which says "Fish Feel Pain", and I wonder how those people feel when they see it.

sleepingstar

01-06-2003, 06:58 AM

I am fairly new to being vegan although I have been striving towards it for 7 years...(i know! way too long!) I have just moved to a new city and was wondering if anyone knew of vegan groups or something like that. I have been here for 6 monthes and still dont know anyone! :(

Erin Pavlina

01-06-2003, 07:41 AM

Sleepingstar,

There are some easy ways to find other vegan families in your area. In fact, my book, Raising Vegan Children in a Non-Vegan World, has a whole section devoted to finding veg families in your area. www.vegfamily.com/raising-vegan-children (http://www.vegfamily.com/raising-vegan-children/index.php?src=forumpost)

Also, we have a playgroups listing on VegFamily. Go to www.vegfamily.com/playgroups and see if there are any groups in your area. And if there aren't, you can start one! Submit a listing and then others who browse by can find you!!

Do you have a natural foods store near you? You can often find people there, or look for a community bulletin board and post something about starting a playgroup.

Pooky1515

01-08-2003, 12:39 AM

I am the only vegan I know. My husband is supportive of my choice (he eats dairy, eggs and fish though). I remember in college having a friend who was vegetarian and I thought she was so exotic though it is second nature to me now. It does get kind of lonely and Thanksgiving was extremely difficult having to sit through my in-laws watching them pick apart that poor turkey carcas. I swore to my husband I wasn't doing that again but he doesn't want to deprive our daughter of quality family togetherness.

Lucy S

01-21-2003, 10:22 AM

I'm pretty lucky. My husband is vegan and our baby will be raised vegan as well. Outside of ourselves, my brother-in-law is vegan as well (we are quite the force at family events), one sister-in-law and my mother are veggie. Don't know any other vegans, though. But, living in downtown Toronto, we have some good vegetarian/vegan restaurants, so we can go places and feel like we belong. Ahh...

catka

01-26-2003, 05:34 PM

Hi I'm new to these boards, so kind of shy...
I have been vegetarian for 26 years and vegan for 5 months and in that time I have known only two other vegetarians and one of them is my son.

vegmom2

01-31-2003, 08:42 PM

This is my first post!! I am about 95% vegan with just some chocolate and ice cream issues i am working hard to abolish. I know no other vegans making this very hard and as my family is unsupportive it is that much harder. :(

vegma

07-31-2003, 04:56 AM

vegmom2 - check out tropical source 100% dairy-free vegan chocolate chips - yum!!! And Soy Dream, Soy Delicous ice cream is vegan too!

As for the poll, I don't know any other vegans either - except dh and ds:)

sagewinna

08-04-2003, 10:49 AM

I have quite a few vegan friends. One family of 8, one family of 3, one family of 5, and several vegetarian families, too.

jewels

08-15-2003, 11:49 PM

The only other vegan i know is my daughter. I did know one other vegan but moved to another state, frankly I didn't care I knew other vegan ppl intill i had my daughter and now its like I am on a desperate search to other vegan parents cause i think it would be nice to have my dd grow up around other vegans outside of me.
Also Erin about what you said about a vegan relative eating tuna cause it was going to be thrown out. I think there are different kinds of vegans. I think all vegans don't contribute to the slaughter and abuse of animals, but I think freeganism seems like it could be a good thing, the one other person I did know that was vegan traveled alot and found his self homeless and w/o money a lot and so he ate things like dougnuts out of a dumpster. I personally couldn't do that just cause I think animal products are gross and sad, but I don't think the idea of eating something that is freegan goes against vegan ethics.

go4green

08-31-2003, 09:42 PM

Jewels, thanks for explaining the freegan philosophy...I had not heard that term.

I, my husband and my daughter are all vegan (we avoid eating all animal products) we have one long time friend that is vegan, she lives far away though. We met a couple since we moved here 12/02 that are vegan and we have exchanged dinner a few times. I met several other vegans (on and off about 10) through a vegan group, the lady that started the group posted flyers at our local co-op and such. We have had a couple of potlucks. I get the most support and information from this discussion group, which is my favorite. ~Jenna

Doug

09-17-2003, 06:18 PM

My wife and my parents are vegan. But that's it, I know some other vegetarian people but not too well. I wish I had a circle of vegan friends, it'd make it a whole lot easier to deal with...socially. Any vegans live on Long Island?

Ckflew

09-18-2003, 12:21 PM

My sister used to be vegan, but went back to eating chicken after some surgery - she says that she needs the more concentrated protein now due to some reaction to the anesthesia. She says she takes a Native American approach to it, and remembers to thank the animal for the nutrition.(?) And, just as my family breathed a sigh of relief that they were down to one vegetarian, I decided that going vegan was right for me. Not there yet.

But, back to the question, now that my sister eats meat, I know no other vegans, and only a handful of vegetarians.

iris

10-02-2003, 03:10 AM

Do my two girls count:) Apart from my children i don't know any other Vegans, I went out with a Vegetarian once, he'd been one since birth.

tricia

10-04-2003, 03:24 PM

I don't know any other vegans but I would definately like to change that.

k0s

10-12-2003, 02:02 PM

I know NONE! everyone around me eats meat. One person is a vegetarian but she is addicted to cheese. I knew a girl back in high school who was a Vegan, but switched back to eating chicken and animal products because she said her body was lacking and Veganism wasn't right for her.

annie7

11-28-2003, 10:23 AM

I'm the only vegan I know. My husband and daughter are vegetarian when we are dinning out or at parties, but they eat vegan at home, because that's what I cook. I've tried finding and connecting with other veggie families in my area using advise from Erin's book. No one has responded, but there HAS to be someone else out there, because alot of times the healthfood store (or section of a grocery) is often sold out of things that I'd think only veggies would purchase. I.e, tofu scrambler, miso, soy milk and soy ice cream, soy yogurt, fake meat, etc... so how come I never see other people in these sections, but stuff is flying off the shelves? Original answer.....just me.... one

ArwenA

11-29-2003, 07:39 PM

We don't have any vegans, or vegetarians in our family, besides me and my two children. My husband eats vegan in our home, but isn't even remotely vegetarian outside of it.

My good friend is a vegetarian, but eats dairy, eggs, and fish. I've shared many things with her about the dangers of fish, and the health hazards of dairy products and eggs. I'm making some headway, but very slowly.

I am fortunate to live near a big city (Chicago) and so know many vegans through such fine groups as EarthSave. I attend a vegan potluck once a month, and go to vegan "Dine Outs" at various restaurants with a group called "Go Veggie." There's also a local organic food network that holds vegan potlucks and raw food classes. I've yet to meet many vegan parents, and would love to have a vegan playgroup for my kids.

garn

12-03-2003, 05:00 PM

Also, I have noticed so called "vegetarian" families I know who let their kids eat gelatine lollies (candy) as if they are fine.

They should let their kids eat what they want, but they should also not buy them that and should teach them how to read the ingredients. I was raised eating only fish, but dumped that in like maybe 5th grade. My sisters still eat it and don't pay too much attention to what gelatine is in or not. I just recently went vegan and both of them kinda disagree with it in their own ways. (Younger being a jerk, older being very interesting to talk to because she's taking nutrion classes this year but still makes some comments, not nearly as bad as the younger though) But my point is the parents should not force their kids to be vegetarian, but they should encourage them and not provide them with dead animals.

As for knowing other vegans, I had always figured if I went off to college and met a vegan I'd become vegan because I could just eat with them and follow their lead.

Well I haven't found one (Detroit is kinda a meaty place) but decided to do the vegan thing anyway. I'd like to know one, and am still hoping to find one that goes here because that would make things easier.

annie7

12-04-2003, 12:00 PM

Ooooooh....Chowpatti's restaurant in Arlington Heights!!! I am so jealous.......;)

Marta

03-26-2004, 06:03 AM

I live in a house with three separate apartments, and am friendly with all of my neighbors. I was amazed to find out that one of my upstairs neighbors and two of my downstairs neighbors are long-time vegans! Actually, this is what initially compelled me to look into going vegan.

Now we just need to convert the remaining four omnivores in the house! :)

alexis

03-26-2004, 08:38 AM

I had a vegetarian friend in High school and that's about it. Apart from my sister, there are no other vegans I know of unless you count the ones on the vegetarian society Singapore forum board.
But on a way exciting note: My friend is doing a Food and Nutrition project on Veganism for her O Levels. She using me as her case study and it's going to be so cool. Apparently, they learnt in class that vegans are a bunch of sickly people and are difficult to prepare food for(They're still studying about protien combination if I'm not wrong). Well, I can't wait to prove her teacher so wrong. Hah...:D

duckie1978

03-26-2004, 09:35 AM

I was so disappointed when I met other vegans. I had been a vegan for about 2 years and I went to visit a penpal of mine who lived right outside San Francisco. He lived with a few other vegans and had a ton of vegan/AR friends so I thought I would have a great time. WRONG! The girl he lived with was so self-righteous and critical of everything I said and did while I was there. I spoke loudly to her dog (who had just chewed up a $50 pair of shoes, a sentimental stuffed animal from my then-recently deceased grandmother and strewn the bathroom garbage all over the floor) and she flipped out. No one was allowed to speak in anything but pleasant tones to her dog. It wasn't like I yelled or hit or anything.

Where I lived at the time was out in the boondocks of NH and his friends criticized me that I was not active in protesting, (I preferred and still do to write letters to the people who really make the decisions, not complain to the sales clerk who won't pass on the complaint to the corporate offices) I was not a real vegan at all. They ate all of this vegan convenience food (soy meats, cheeses, butters), all things I couldn't get in the area I lived in and made fun of me because I didn't really like them. They were also straight-edge and lectured me because I said that I would expect my friend to pick me up from a bar if I called him and needed a ride. My friend was straight-edge as well. I was insensitive to him or something. It was the worst vacation I ever took, and to make things worse, they all told my friend how much they didn't like me, stopped telling him I would call, etc so we lost touch.

It just goes to show you that meeting other vegans does not mean that you will like them. I was better off not visiting and keeping my penpal.

PikkuMyy

03-27-2004, 08:23 AM

I am lucky enough to be married to a vegan whose best friend and his wife are vegan/veggie; my husband's ex who we're both friends with vaccilates between veggie and vegan. (It's hard for her because she has sensory integration issues, especially with food.) Another friend of his and his younger brother both went veg because of him. (Unfortunately his younger brother is a total pushover and right now his mother is forcing him to be on the Atkins diet because he is fat - caused by not eating veggies and never exercizing...but that's another story there. I hate her.)

My best friend was vegan for many years but recently started eating fish (?!?); my other best friend and her friends are vegan; I work at a wild animal rehabilitation hospital where many of the volunteers are veggie or vegan. (The director is veggie but the assistant director wears a fur coat. That is also another posting. Grrrrr..)

Before I met my husband I'd never dated a vegetarian even though I'd been one for many years. I decided that I'd have to marry a veggie. And I did! 4 months before we got married we both went vegan and haven't looked back since.

We lived in NYC until 1 1/2 years ago and now live near SF, CA, so we are lucky in terms of resources and restaurants. But location doesn't mean that much any more in terms of these types of supports. My husband's best friend and wife travel all over the country (he's a comedian) and they come across the most amazing restaurants in unexpected cities.

It's spreading!

Emily

BabyEguiluz

04-01-2004, 08:22 PM

None :(

alexis

05-12-2004, 09:31 PM

Hah! I've just met another vegetarian. I just started college which is TERRIFIC, the food court across the street has a wrap place that's VERY vegan friendly and my class has about 14 people which makes up the entire English faculty(We're a private college) and of the 14 people almost all of them think it's so cool that I'm a vegan. I never get any weird questions or those persuations to eat meat and there's another girl in my class who's been vegetarian for about two years. Sorry I'm blabbering but I'm so psyched about finally being in a vegan friendly enviroment. College rocks!!!:D

mckennasmom

07-10-2004, 08:19 AM

I am very excited to say that I now know about 12!! I met this nice gal at my Friends of County Animal Shelters benefit and she had a co-op and "meat is murder" sticker on her car and so I had to ask and we talked, traded emails, etc and last night she invited me to her "veg group" for a gathering for two of their birthdays and it was really fun! It was real live vegans instead of just usernames(don't get me wrong I have been helped sooo much here and love it!!), but it was neat to talk and eat and have that human contact with others who have been living this way for various reasons and amounts of time and to hear all the things they are involved in-one gal goes to our San Diego county fair and tries to get the 4-H kids to sell her their animals-what a wonderful thing-I always feel so sad there and you can see some of the kids do too-anyway I digress as usual-I just had to share news that I actually do now know someone who is vegan not just vegetarian. Cathy

annie7

07-10-2004, 10:25 AM

Wow! That's great! I hope you make many good friendships through that!

annie7

07-14-2004, 09:23 AM

True...but wanna hear something weird? I surfed the world on the web for almost a year, and the other day I met a like minded vegan mom....less than 5 miles from my front door. I KNEW someone else HAD to be shopping for vegan stuff in the place I shop....stuff is missing from the shelves all the time when I need it! LOL

PikkuMyy

07-18-2004, 10:14 AM

Congrats, Annie!

thecatspajamas18

07-08-2005, 09:18 AM

I know 4 other vegans, and have met a handful of regular vegetarians.

ariix

07-08-2005, 11:29 AM

I know two (old friends who also happen to have ended up vegan, and actually live in the same city as me too, gotta start getting together with them more often, too bad everyone's always so busy!)... and a few vegetarians I think...

wildvegan

07-23-2005, 07:09 PM

In Lawrence, KS I knew a lot. My animal outreach group was mostly vegan..maybe all I can't remember. But now that I live in the middle of Kansas in a small town, my husband and I are the only vegans.
But next month we are starting community vegan dinner FREE, and alot of people seem to be interested and already are vegetarian...
So an animal rights group isn't far behind !!
Natalie

ariix

07-24-2005, 09:59 AM

I forgot a few people when I responded to this. An old friend, actually the son of some friends of my parents, is vegan. And one of my cousins' cousins (from the other side of their family) is too. Guess I forgot about them since it's been so long since I've seen either of them. They've both been vegan way before i was though.
And lately I've been meeting many more vegans in my city by getting more involved in AR. Yay!

starfairy

07-25-2005, 11:54 PM

I know heaps of vegans quite a few vegetarians and a few freegans! but only one other vegan mama tho. I cant believe that even tho i live in lil old new zealand in a smallish city imlucky enough to have a huge circle of vegan friends. We have regular 'vegan dinners' where everyone brings something and we can pinch recipes off people etc. we also go to protests and marches against vivisection, circuses, battery cages, sow crates and stuff like that. Although since my son was born i havent been so active in the AR scene. reading this poll definatly makes me appreciate my vegan 'family'

wildvegan

07-26-2005, 10:54 AM

whats a freegan?

annie7

07-26-2005, 02:24 PM

A freegan is a self proclaimed "vegan" who will eat any type of food that will otherwise be thrown away.

Example: "You're not gonna finish that tuna sandwich? Well, don't throw it out, give it here!"

ariix

08-09-2005, 04:12 PM

I know a lot more vegans now that I went to the Farm Sanctuary hoe down! Even one in my city, who I would have eventually met anyway (we're in the same Yahoo group), and a bunch from Toronto about 5 hours away from here!

GoodKarma

09-14-2005, 01:28 AM

San Francisco, CA is full of vegans!!!
I just moved here but man it is so much easier being vegan here.

Meddle

10-18-2005, 09:21 PM

I think that one doesn't need to know "vegans" to eat a non-animal product diet.

You should want to eat this way because you enjoy it (and also because it also doesn't contribute to horrifying animal abuse and slaughter in the meat and dairy industry). Learn how to make tasty food. That's right, not "vegan food," but just tasty food without any animal products. This should feel natural, because it IS natural to eat this way.

annie7

10-19-2005, 07:57 AM

It's a poll to find out how many you know, not why you eat this way.

MrsKey

10-19-2005, 08:12 AM

Meddle,

You really seem to be missing the point.

This was just a thread to find out if people here know any other vegans and if so how many. Just a question. Chill out.

robsveggie

10-19-2005, 12:25 PM

not one :(
my whole family is major into meat-eating and dairy

veganloraine

10-21-2005, 03:57 AM

long-time surfer, first-time poster, here!

i know quite a few vegans! i love them, and now i wish they would procreate so that my vegan children would have playmates. tragically, a vegan friend miscarried. she and her husband will try again soon. fingers crossed for girls so that my boys will have playmates and future wives :D !

annie7

10-21-2005, 04:35 AM

Originally posted by veganloraine
fingers crossed for girls so that my boys will have playmates and future wives :D !
Now THAT'S planning ahead!!!:D

kjmckenzie

10-29-2005, 05:09 PM

None :( No one close to me. When I was living in Toronto, I didn't take advantage as much as I should have for protests and potlucks, but I had just had a baby and we were travelling every weekend up North to see family. Now we are in Windsor for my last year of school and I don't know any. I can't wait for my son to start eating so we can eat vegan together! Although I should give my husband credit, he eats vegan at home. But I just want to meet someone passionate about it like I am! However, a few of my girlfriends are pretty much vegetarian, so that is a start. And, my sister in law who is studying to be a chef cooks me vegan stuff whenever I go visit her :) She is the first and only one to make me a vegan birthday cake!

thinkvegan

11-14-2005, 12:25 PM

About 60 or so, and here in Spain!!!!
I help out at an Animal RIghts organization, so I suppose it isn't that much.

Lakshmi

02-28-2006, 07:27 AM

I voted 3, since I only have counted the close ones, but I know others that I'm not really close with (like I know they exist, otherwise answer would have been around 10).
My man is vegan (yeah!) and my brother in law is too. By the way, my sweet and cute brother in law needs a vegan gf! Even his non vege mom asked me if I could not hook him up with a vegan (!)as he was dating a non vege chick, who wasn't that much of an overall match .
So if there is by any chance an awesome vegan single chick around France or London, please mail me lol (mid/late 20's, he is 27+). You could eventually meet and see if the magic happens (without it looking like a hook up situation of course!He won't know:D *evil look*).
And if it happens, hell my baby (on the road) will get a vegan auntie and maybe cousins, quite cool:p. A good part of your in laws would be vegans and you 'd get a quality bf . End of the ad lol.