Veganism Is Not an Elite Lifestyle – It's a Refusal to Participate in Violence

Veganism is often dismissed as a hobby for latte-drinking city dwellers with linen tote bags. As if it's just a fashion trend. As if it's elitist. But a bag of rice and beans doesn't make you elite. Veganism is nothing more than saying: "I don't want anyone to die for my lunch." That's the core of it. No status, no ideology, no hobby. Just a refusal to make victims out of beings who don't want to die.

It's strange: from day one, children are taught that fruits and vegetables are healthy. But once you're an adult, putting a plant-based meal in front of you suddenly makes you elitist or suspicious. As if fries and schnitzel are the default, and lentils with rice are a political statement.

People love to put everything in boxes. Love animals? Then you must be left-wing. As if compassion for a living being is inherently political. As if empathy is only allowed within certain ideological boundaries. But that discomfort says more about our habits than about reality. We'd rather not look—so we ridicule what we don't want to change. And that's how the animals lose, again and again.

And yes, there are people who are vegan and also say or do horrible things. Volkert van der Graaf. Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. Hitler was a vegetarian. But the fact that someone without a moral compass happens not to eat meat says nothing about veganism. Just like the fact that Hitler was a vegetarian says nothing about vegetables. That's called coincidence, not evidence. And yet, every time a vegan messes up, the entire lifestyle gets smeared. No one says, "See? Meat-eaters aren't any better either," when someone who eats meat does something awful. So why say it about vegans?

I'm not flawless either. I've stood at BBQs grilling meat while claiming to love animals. I loved my cat, petted dogs, and flipped a pork chop over open flames. In this culture, that's normal. And that's exactly the problem. We love dogs but not cows. Cats: adorable. Pigs: bacon. As if empathy comes with a filter.

But let's be honest: don't say you love animals. Say you love some animals. And if you genuinely didn't realize what you were doing, fine-we were all raised in that system. But once you do see it, something shifts. Either you change your behavior, or you choose to look away. But call it what it is. Not love for animals-but love for some animals, and convenience over conscience.

Veganism isn't a hype. Not a lifestyle. Not a leftist project. It's simply: not putting animals in the oven. Period. Helping a bird during the day and grilling chicken at night? That's absurd. Just admit you only feel sorry for the animals you find cute-but don't pretend you love all animals while eating them.

So no, veganism is not an elite lifestyle. It's a refusal. A refusal to let others die for your comfort. It's not a trend, not a dogma, not a grand ideal. It is-if you choose to see it-simply the least we can do.