Being a vegan comes with its perks: you aren’t contributing to animal cruelty, you’re reducing your environmental impact, and you’re doing your health some good too.

But unfortunately there’s also a few downsides. For example, you’re constantly dealing with the never-ending questions and opinions of everyone from your best friend to someone at a party who you’ve only just met.

If you’ve been a vegan for a week or a lifetime these are the five things you’ll be sick of hearing.

#1 “Don’t You Miss Meat? Like Don’t You Miss The Taste?”

You’ll reach a point as a vegan where you might actually forget what meat tastes like. There are also some vegans who’ll find even the smell of meat off-putting and therefore want nothing to do with it.

Yet for those vegans who can’t help but crave that meaty taste, we’re blessed with a world that’s constantly evolving and giving us products that can fool even the most stubborn meat eaters.

#2 “You Can Eat This Because It Only Has A Little Bit Of Butter In It.”

Often those who love you the most, like your mum or grandma, say this statement after cooking you something amazing. They’ve probably spent the afternoon in the kitchen making your favourite treat which makes it all the more heartbreaking when you have to tell them that you can’t eat it because it contains half a block of butter. You’ll discover that one of the hardest things in life is having to turn down a drool-worthy brownie that’s been placed in front of you.

#3 “But Where Do You Get Your Protein From?”

This question is normally followed up with: “You can’t be getting enough nutrients” or “It’s just not a sustainable diet”. This often comes from the people who’ll also scoff at the word vegan. Turns out there are things like tofu, tempeh, mock meats, chickpeas, broccoli and so many other things that will give you just as much protein as meat.

#4 “Being Vegan Must Be So Expensive, Right?”

No it isn’t. Have you even been to a supermarket? Meat is one of the most expensive things you can put on your grocery list. The majority of the vegan diet is actually beans, potatoes, and tofu all of which together can be one helluva lot cheaper than buying a big hunk of meat. Yet while supermarket prices tend to be lower, we do pay more when eating out as restaurants can up the price of the vegan option.

#5 “That Must Be So Hard. I Couldn’t Live Without Cheese.”

Well funnily enough there are alternatives out there. There isn’t even just one standard ‘vegan’ cheese any more either. You can get parmesan and mozzarella and cheddar, the options are endless. This goes for things like chocolate, ice cream, milk, yogurt, and basically anything else you possibly couldn’t live without too. Turns out that you can find a tasty vegan substitute for almost any food.

One of the hardest parts of being a vegan is having to cope with endless questions. You can’t escape them. They’re a part of the lifestyle in a way.

Mackenzie is a recent graduate who currently has no idea what direction her career is going in. She tells people her hobbies include surfing and hiking to make her sound more interesting but really all she does in her free time is go out for coffee and brunch. 

(Lead image: Trainwreck)