And I’ve never known a vegan who wasn’t driven solely by cruelty to animals.
There are a lot of reasons that people go vegan. My ex went vegan for environmental reasons. Some people do it primarily for their own health. Some just plain aren’t fans of meat and animal products, through either taste or texture or both.
But you’re probably right about the correlation with a lack of empathy. When it’s considered “masculine” to not care about hurting others, a lot of folks who only know about the “animal cruelty” aspect probably won’t consider any deeper reasons. They and their ilk stick to surface-level appearances, making it not only important that they keep eating meat, but that they make a big deal about it whenever around someone who doesn’t eat meat.
There are a lot of reasons that people go vegan. My ex went vegan for environmental reasons. Some people do it primarily for their own health. Some just plain aren’t fans of meat and animal products, through either taste or texture or both.
But you’re probably right about the correlation with a lack of empathy. When it’s considered “masculine” to not care about hurting others, a lot of folks who only know about the “animal cruelty” aspect probably won’t consider any deeper reasons. They and their ilk stick to surface-level appearances, making it not only important that they keep eating meat, but that they make a big deal about it whenever around someone who doesn’t eat meat.