i usually will casually bring it up and if people have a problem with it, then that is their problem. I like who I am.

hey @SkiVegChick I know how you feel. My friends are always saying, “I could never do it…..I love bacon, steak, etc too much” It gets annoying but most of my friends accept me. Some others don’t…screw them.

Friendly advice from an older person who’s been in your situation their gna find out eventually might as well be by you, but hold off until you get to know them a little better or when u get comfortable enough to to just let it slip out casually in a conversation who knows they might even respect you for it and if they have a prob with it then you saved your self time from wasting time on people who weren’t going to be true friends

i agree what @silencescreams said

And I did not know I wrote that much….
Oh and congrats on grade 9 and really try pursuing veganism!

Hell I’d bring it up. I am not in grade nine but I did start grade 10 in a new school and at the time I did not really know anyone. If people make fun of you then they are not worth it. Or course I got people saying they can’t “live without meat and cheese (as I am vegan)” and sometimes people do not respect my beliefs but being vegans is not just a dietary things for me it is also a huge part of my ethics. My circular mindset (opposed to pyramid), belief in equality and liberation, and general respect for nature are such a huge part of who I am and what I am passionate about that if they did not know those things about me then they really would not know me at all.

I’m not saying would have to rant about it 24-7 but I wouldn’t hide it. To things that happen yesterday for easy examples on veganism are I told my friend that “You should try the almond milk. It is better for you and less in calories” when we were getting coffee (we’ve been friends for a while and she knows I’m vegan) and then another incident was when my friends asked me if I could have the cookies on the table so I picked them up and read the ingredients then told her I could, and then the guy who I just met 3 days ago I told him I’m vegan. He did say he did not think he could do it but he was not disrespectful. Through simple actions like this may not mean that much but they are maybe making people think more about veganism.

Also, don’t be ashamed of being vegan over what people will think of you. You are saying no to genocide, and though we may be a minority we are stand up for our beliefs and doing what is right. If people hate you for vegan veg then they are prob. shallow minded people that you don’t want to be friends with.

Bringing up being veg could just consist of a “let me read the ingredients to see that is vegan (or vegetarian, such as no gelatin), getting a drink with a vegan milk and saying how it is so nice for the place to have options to suit your vegan desires, or again an example from yesterday I was out shopping and asked if these shoes I loved were really leather and she said yes (the store clerk) to which I replied that I did not think I’d get them then, and then she said that only the tip was leather but I told her I’m vegan so I do not wear leather, so things like that if someone was shopping with you would let people know, ect.

For me it is really hard of even thinking about explaining this to someone if I was nervous bc it is such a part of who I am and my everyday life and am an extremely stubborn and opinionated person (esp. when it comes to my morals) so sorry if I wasn’t much help.

i wouldn’t bring it up , only bring it up if they ask if u r a vegan or vegetarian. like me when i started school i didn’t tell anyone that i was vegetarian but when a girl at my lunch table ask me that i was a vegetarian because she saw what i was eaten i said yes. some people will react diff because some of the kids in my lunch room thinks its really cool that I’m a vegetarian and some thinks it weird. so if i was u only bring it up if someone ask.

I generally don’t bring it up. There is no need to. If you randomly bring it up people are going to think you are trying to say you are better than them or trying to force your choices on them which will make them mad or not like you. People react differently.

I’ve had people
- give me props for being vegetarian and saying they could never do it but think it is great
- tell me I am going to hell if I don’t start eating meat again because God wants me too
- randomly joke if I want [insert type of meat being cooked or ate], not realizing I’ve heard the jokes a million times before
- at a younger age especially around a lot of guys who hunt, fish, farm, eat meat etc. they would try to gross me out
- often are nice and offer or try to find other foods for you to eat
- think I am shoving my choices down their throat the second I mention it
- are just curious and want to ask me more about it
- freak out because they have known me for awhile and didn’t know I was vegetarian lol

I really don’t think it is a big deal either way though it isn’t necessary to bring it up. When it comes down to it you don’t have to lie like if someone offers you food with meat you can just say “No thanks I’m vegetarian” instead of something like “No thanks I’m not hungry”.

If you’re afraid, don’t tell them unless the subject is brought up. I don’t bring it up; I don’t say “Hi nice to meet you I’m vegan”, because that’s not something I need to share with the world. I mean, if they made cookies or something and offered, I tell them and they’re usually fine with it. But I guess everyone’s chill here because we’re all in college. So for you, I won’t bring it up unless there’s an event that occurs that let’s you be comfortable enough to share with everyone.

So I just Started Grade 9 on wensday, so that means new school, and new friends.I have 1 friend in my lunch, so obviosly I’ve been sitting with new people I dont know. But I havnt mentioned to anyone that im a vegitarian trying to go vegan, and I’m really afraid to. I’ve had people hate me because I’m vegitarian, and I hate the “Wow, how can you not live without bacon/steak?” I get every single time. Is anyone else just casually not mentioning it, and like, trying to pretend they are just like everyone else, at least for september when they are still making friends? OR does anyone have any advice for how to bring it up??