Originally published May 04, 2019

I was walking on the Upper East Side a few weeks ago and stopped to pet a little dachshund with David Bowie eyes. (Who could resist?) As I was getting acquainted with my new friend, I overheard his humans, two women, talking about how they were attempting to give up meat and other animal products. Of course my ears perked up and I joined their conversation.  I did more listening than talking in the beginning and what they were saying was alarming to me. They were talking about changing their diets, but mostly they were lamenting on how hard it would be. They used the word “hard” over and over:

“This is going to be really hard.”

“Being vegan is really hard.”

“It’s really hard to have to plan your meals every day."

"It's really hard to spend all day in the kitchen...”

You get the idea.

I tried to interject and allay their fears, but they were not easily convinced. They were interested in what I had to say, but I’m not sure they were believing me about how many choices there are today and how easy it is to avoid animal “products.” Or why they would want to. They insisted that eating chicken is healthy for you. They assumed you had to plan your meals out or spend all day cooking because that’s how hard it is. They didn’t think bread was vegan (I have no idea where that came from). They know vegans who eat eggs! (Oh dear.) And they thought soy is really, really bad for you because something about hormones. And so on…

I wasn’t sure what to do as these were just people I’d met on 3rd Avenue, so I gave them my contact details and offered to go shopping with them any time they wanted. I offered a tour of a health food store or even Whole Foods. I offered to share my 30+ years of experience in any way I could, but I haven’t heard from them.

What I took away from this encounter was that vegan misconceptions still run rampant and there is a lot of work to be done! If anyone reading this would like a tour of a health food store and assistance with removing animal products from your plate, I am happy to help! And maybe one day the ladies I met on the street will contact me and I will have to rewrite this post :)

Breakfast scramble wrap at all vegan Terri in Chelsea, New York City.