veganism: it seems like every conversation i have with my brother always come back to my being a vegan. He try to tell me that everything is alive. saying that if i dont eat other living beings then why am I eating plants, cause they alive too. But then im like" its the same, you're comparing flesh&bone to leaves&stems ", but thats as far as i get. Any ideas? You know something that'll make sense and put'im in his place.|||Anyone that has become a vegan has at some time or another just felt like an outsider in the places that we’re supposed to be the most comfortable such as, our homes, our careers, and with our friends and families. However, what isn't happening with your brother, what should be happening nonetheless is mutual respect. It's normal to feel frustrated when the people closest to you don't share your views or enthusiasm when you make a change in your life, that your are excited about. If your brother isn't supporting and respecting your personal choices, you may want to avoid discussing the topic with him altogether. Shootsamshoot is correct about plants not feeling pain or having a brain as to the difference of plants and animals. There are many reasons that people are lead to become a vegan. Some people begin as a result of their love for animals. Actively boycotting products and industries that exploit animals is a powerful statement. Other people become vegan because they are concerned about the quality of life on the planet, which cannot be sustained given the prevailing meat centered diet. Some people begin to make diet changes for their own health and then discover the ethical and environmental reasons to go further. Most vegans are not any different than your average person, the simple and compassionate act of denying animal products for ethical reasons can literally make you into the outsider at social and personal events. Change frightens many people. Try and share the reason you became a vegan with your brother, without being defensive or judgmental. I have found that many people attack the unknown, in an attempt to feeling “normal”. Others, I believe understand your reasoning and see your changes as an issue of will power, when in fact it is because of your caring nature and willingness to change your lifestyle to improve the environment and lives of animals. My advise is to let people know you are the same person. You are growing and with growth comes to new choices, interests and experiences. Suggest to your brother that you both live and let live. The only other thing you can do while maintaining a relationship with him is to stop letting him goat you into arguments and when he brings up your being vegan, stop responding to him. You shouldn’t have to prove or convince him of anything. You are empowering him every time you argue with him. I am always happy with the knowledge of knowing I am doing the right thing.|||I read somewhere that a plant lacks a central nervous system, and a brain. Brains are the link to feeling pain. So, they do not feel pain. Throw that in his face maybe? I can try and find where I read it, and edit this later, but I figured I'd give you a quick fix from now. Good luck, I get the same song and dance from MY brother :) EDIT: I found it! Here you go. Though the author states that he "believes" this, I took a course in psychology, and I know that the central nervous system sends messages to the brain (which the plant LACKS! both of.) it does not feel ANY pain, or any sensations. Oh, and Meg. I know that you meant that sincerely, but... PLEASE do realize that all vegans are unique, and have become a vegan for other reasons than that :D|||First of all, ask him to respect your decision. Tell him that you are not selfish, that your goal is to alleviate animal suffering and by going vegetarian or vegan, you have more of a positive impact on the environment. Is not a question of being hypocritical, it is a question of caring. Has he seen a lettuce caring for its little baby lettuces?|||i hate when all the idiots at my school throw this question at me. it bugs me to death. btu yeah, like that one guy said they dont have brains, meaning they dont feel. animals get to feel pain when theyre being chopped up; they actually cry out. i dont hear my veggies cry when i chop them up for all my yummy vegetarian meals :]|||I find people attack my choice to be veggie when they feel threatened, and a little guilty, so they have to put you down to make themselves feel better about their bad choices. And Meg, how is eating plants wrong? I'm not understanding how you came to that conclusion....hmmm.|||tell him this... You kill less plants by eating them directly,by cycling food through livestock you lose 96% percent of the calories that you put into it.Animals raised for foods in the U.S. use of half of all the water used in the U.S. You can feed 100 kids rice,or only four of them meat.The least efficient plant food is tens times efficient as the most efficient animal food.The rate of repetitive stress injury for slaughterhouse employees is 35 times higher than it is for those with other manufacturing jobs,Human Rights Watch says "Meatpacking is the most dangerous job in America".For every acre of land plowed down for urban development,seven acres are cut down to grow food for animals or for grazing land for animals.If everyone in the U.S. reduced their meat consumption by 10%,it would free up enough land to grow food for 100 million people(there are about 20 million starving).Livestock in the US produce 20 times the excrement of the entire US population.If everyone in the U.S. went vegan,we could cut our imports on oil by 60%.Methane is one of the four greenhouse gasses that contributes to the environmental trend known as global warming. The 1.3 billion cattle in the world produce one fifth of all the methane emitted into the atmosphere.The direct and hidden costs of soil erosion and runoff in the US, mostly attributable to cattle and feed crop production, is estimated at $44 billion a year.Feeding the average meat-eating American requires 3-1/4 acres of land per year. Feeding a person who eats no food derived from animals requires only 1/6 acre per year. A scientist, reporting in the industry publication Confinement, calculated in 1976 that the planet's entire petroleum reserves would be exhausted in 13 years if the whole world were to take on the diet and technological methods of farming used in the U.S. So not only are killing more plants than I am,you are also using up tons of water,you are contributing to the killing of animals(26 billion,just in the US),you are contributing to deforestation,you are contributing to world hunger,you are contributing to soil erosion,you are contributing to global warming,you are contributing to exploitation of workers,you are contributing to enviromental pollution,and you are contributing to the war for oil.All of that for what,your own tasebuds?|||Well, humans are designed in such a way that we could easily survive on fruits alone. That said, fruits are see pods, designed to be eaten as this is how the seeds are spread -- thus eating fruit is not killing something that is meant to live. Going further, leaves are part of a plant, but eating some leaves from a plant will not kill it, since it will grow more leaves. Same goes for many roots, as the roots will grow and grow. So, if cows could easily and quickly grow their legs back after being pulled off, would a vegan eat meat -- if say, cow legs were designed painlessly to detach when pulled as some insect legs are as an escape feature and will grow back. Pose this argument to him and see what he says.|||I agree with your brother and here is my why, and maybe you can shed some light on it- vegans won't eat any animal byproducts and I was told by one that they won't drink milk because it was meant for a baby cow, they won't eat unfertilized eggs because they are suppose to be baby chickens, etch... but animals eat plants so isn't eating plants wrong? I don't mean this as an insult I really am wondering about it. Why do you and your brother argue about your eating habits anyway...what does it really matter What reasons would they be?