A lot of leftists are marxist-leninist, anti-sexist, LGBT+ and anti-racist. BUT, they’ll tell you the dumbest right-wing arguments to justify eating animals. I get that people aren’t ideal, but when you are the urban middle class of the West, there’s no excuse to not be vegan. Absolutely, no, excuse, to, murder, animals. Historical materialism lets me ok people from poor/oppressed backgrounds being carnist. I would never denounce a carnist in Gaza, but the Westerners have no any excuses to abuse animals.
I get that some people just have no will, I know people can be addicted. But at least DON’T BE A JERK to vegans. Some “leftists” post propaganda about veganism like YT videos that are literally funded by oil corporations. Some “leftists” are so toxic I’d rather have a conservative as my roommate than them.
The “leftists” lie all the time. Meat, dairy, eggs and honey are luxury products available mosty to those in the imperial core. The poor countries like India, Nigeria, Uganda and North Korea eat diets closest to veganism BECAUSE plant foods are the cheapest foods, not carnist subsidized McFood.
Dealing with leftists, especially online, is draining to me. How can I be productive as a leftist and not go insane? How can I cooperate with carnists to achieve the revolution? I see no easy solution here
There are many ways! It’s all up to how you would prefer to start! Many people begin as junk food vegans, eating prepared foods from restaurants and the freezer and refrigerated section (veggie/fake meat etc). Others use it as a reason to start cooking as well, for fun or to save time or money or because there’s no ready-made alternative for their favorite food. And others focus on eating “healthier” at the same time, doing a mix of the above while also trying to change other food habits at the same time.
I personally recommend finding vegan food alternatives that hit similar flavor profiles to what you currently eat. For example, I used to really like cheese but most vegan cheeses are bad so instead I found salty + oily + savory foods that would scratch the same itch. Like nutritional yeast and oil on popcorn.
Sometimes direct substitutes can be good as well, though I recommend approaching them as their own similar food rather than a 1:1 taste replacement. A veggie burger (black bean or fake meat) will hit the same spot as a meat burger, IMO.
What are the kinda of foods you currently eat and would like vegan alternatives for? You probably want to cw them if it’s specific meat references but I’m happy to suggest some ideas for how to replace them with easy meals.