You just do you. I think when people say “bad” they generally mean preachy. That is not most vegans. Just live your life, eat what you want, bring good food to potlucks so that you know you’ll have something.

I will add that mentioning it is not preachy, if you get an overreaction it’s not you. I am omnivorous and would want someone to tell me before a party or outing so that I don’t accidentally invite them to a steakhouse or BBQ joint. I often make vegan food for potlucks just because it’s sort of a baseline, most everyone can eat it.

Respond to right wing reactionaries who go out of their way to complain about vegans simply with “😇💌Triggered”

There. Now you are the Good Vegan™️

Not by asking non vegans. Vegans are the voice for the voiceless and you’re taking part in a boycott that challenge peoples core beliefs. To be a good vegan is to push back and disturb social cohesion which people do not like. I’m not a vegan to make friends, I’m vegan to do the right thing.

“What makes a “good vegan”, and how can I be one?”

huh… not eating/consuming animal-related products?

As a non-vegan, I think the hatred towards vegans is unwarranted. While some vegans are being really annoying about it, the vast majority of vegans are just normal people who happened to not eat animal products. Some people will hate you regardless of what you do because they generalize all vegans as the same. Don’t waste your time trying to please them, they aren’t worth it.

In my experience, the annoying vegans are already annoying people even before becoming vegan, if you aren’t annoying to be around, you’ll be fine.

you don’t have to be good, and you don’t have to apologize or explain your choices. the vegans who are jerks about it are right. their choices to act in ways which alienate them sometimes are their own. you can do the same or not. thanks for being vegan, either way

As someone who deals with lactose intolerance.

Just don’t make it a big deal, if you can’t eat something, don’t eat it. Your needs are important, but other people are equally entitled to their own enjoyment.

I hate vegans who only do it to virtue signal, it is a personal journey keep it that way.

If someone is thoughtful enough to ask about your dietary requirements, they are probably “good people” and won’t care about it. They will just make allowances for you.

An anecdote about dietary requirements:
I have a sister in law who cannot eat onions/garlic/leeks etc… she does make a big deal about it, no dishes can have those ingredients when she is around.
Her intolerance is about at bad as mine, she gets bloated and gassy… So not dangerous, just uncomfortable.
It always feels difficult to deal with. My view is, if you want to make potatoes with cream sauce, enjoy it I’ll eat something else.

I was vegan for about 8 years. I just don’t bring it up often. I don’t tell people I am a vegetarian. It’s not a bragging point. It’s just one part of who I am. Don’t make it your whole identity.

Hey, glad you want to be a considerate, conscientious vegan! You won’t upset anyone as long as you follow these simple rules:

1. Never admit that you are vegan
2. Never talk about veganism
3. When people are talking about meat, eagerly participate
4. Do not eat visibly vegan food in public
5. If offered meat or cheese, eat it without protest
6. Do not cook vegan food if serving others
7. When you see a cow, remark out loud how you want to eat it

That’s about all you need to know to be one of the Good Vegans. Hope this helps!

If people ask why you’re vegan, focus on the positives of veganism. I say: the food’s delicious, I feel healthier, and I like animals.

It frames it as something you benefit from, rather than depriving yourself of something.

Don’t live your life to please other people. It’ll make you miserable because there will always be those you can’t please. Instead, define for yourself what a “good vegan” is, and do your best to meet that standard. Everybody is different, and only you know what works for you.

Also, be forgiving of yourself. Everybody makes mistakes; no one is born an expert at anything. The fact that we still bite our tongues while eating is proof of that. So give yourself grace when you make a mistake; learn from it, and become better.

You can’t really be a good vegan to people who hate vegans: the fact that they’re assholes is 100% on them and 0% on you.

Their hate of vegans comes from their own hangups. I imagine it’s one or more of:

1. Their own uncomfortable feelings around eating animal products, which you are reminding them of.
2. They think that vegans think that they’re “better than them,” and they resent vegans for it.
3. Some weird toxic masculinity-adjacent thing.
4. They just hate anything & everything that isn’t normal/consensus, for whatever reason.

Maybe there are other hangups as well; those are what immediately come to mind.

Don’t superglue yourself to burger king counters while holding a tablet playing a meat grinder video.

Don’t follow random people and film them to ridicule them online for buying McDonald’s.

Don’t steal homeless people’s dogs and put them up for adoption.

Don’t block traffic.

Don’t shame anyone for eating meat and animal products.

Don’t block entrances to restaurants that serve animal products. Don’t bang on the windows or shine bright lights into the restaurant either.

Don’t act like words like bacon, beef, venison, sausage, pork, etc. are slurs or swear words.

Don’t hide the fact that a dish has vegan alternatives, that’s not going to make someone realize it’s Not As Hard Of A Change!!! Those alternatives usually have allergens most wouldn’t expect if it were name the regular way. Who expects soy or nuts in a hot chocolate or chicken nugget?

Just exist and don’t be a dick. Anyone who has a problem with a vegan just existing is an asshole, don’t waste time with them. But if the association with Those Vegans™ still sucks, then just say it’s your religious belief. But then again if you have the emotional energy, you should denounce and call out the toxic vegans and help destroy the negative impression.

Don’t be preachy, respect other people’s opinions. It’s simple.

Honestly I don’t care what you want to eat. It’s your body, you can shove whatever you like into it.

Where vegans become a problem is where they’re being evangelical about their beliefs and trying to force their audience to feel the same shock and horror as they feel when contemplating the meat industry. If all I hear from you is restricted to when I offer you food and ask if you have any dietary requirements, and is of the form “I’m vegan”, that’s absolutely fine. If we’re friends I’ll adjust the menu for you, although you might have to accept it’s only your plate that gets veganified.

You going “eww” and talking about “rotting corpses” or whatever is where it becomes a problem. If I’ve asked, obviously I’ve brought your response upon myself but you should still tone it down for the non-vegans. “I’ve looked into the meat industry and I didn’t like what I saw” would be a good first response; make sure not to release any gory details unless people are really pressing you for that level of detail.

That said, none of this is based on actual experience of offensively evangelical vegans. I’ve heard they exist but haven’t met one yet. I’ve known some people for quite a while before finding out they’re vegan, veggie or whatever.