Today I’m talking directly to the vegans and the wannabe vegans about how to be a confident vegan.

My mission is to instil more confidence into you, inspire and give you a few tips on how to become a confident vegan.

I often come across vegans who struggle, especially those who live in less vegan-friendly areas. Or those with family who don’t want to understand the vegan lifestyle. Well, I want to tell you that you’re sooo living a beautiful and compassionate life and to applaud you for your courage in stepping into this outstanding way of living.

It’s not easy, I get that. You have to overcome all the negativity from those too frightened to change. Those who want to hold onto the belief that it’s perfectly okay to eat pigs, cows, sheep, chickens and fish but to love cats, dogs and dolphins. They DO NOT LOVE ANIMALS – they are a pet lover.

I know you come face to face with those who only see the difference between all the animals as these animals you eat, these are family members, and these are wild. You know, the only thing that makes the human animal slightly different is that we developed a unique voice box, which means we can create a much greater range of sounds and turn them into words and look where that’s got us !!

But – we all have expression. We can communicate with our own species, and we can communicate with other species as well, albeit in a very elementary way.

The feelings of love transcend species. We’ve all seen mothers love and need to nurture their babies, whether with cats, cows, chickens, humans or any animal. The Internet abounds with examples of animals enjoying life, being loving, and protecting others – and it’s these things that you, as a vegan, are trying to give back to those animals who are enslaved, tortured, raped and who have to live their lives in abusive appalling conditions.

Let me now give you some tips:

• Never apologise for being vegan. Sometimes, we unconsciously say, “Sorry, I’m vegan.” when telling someone about our food preferences.
• Never give in to peer pressure. Hold strong.
• Don’t engage with the bullies and trolls. This can be so incredibly soul-destroying. I am all over social media and, as yet, have never responded to any horrid negative comment made. I will leave the comment unless it is too ugly, and then I will delete it.
• Smile and say – My choice – then walk away or change the subject. It’s the live version of the social media bullies and trolls.
  

You can tell if someone, on or offline, is genuinely curious.

Always be compassionate to others and keep the thought that the “click” in their brain has yet to happen. They still need to join the dots. But you have. You are part of such a fantastic growing movement that one day, you will see the end of animal abuse of the cruel animal factory farms. This movement will help to heal this planet and all those who live here.

Be confident – be a confident vegan and know that the movement you’ve joined is the way of the future.

Until next time…