It’s not just that. At least where I’m from in the deep South there’s a lot of associations of class that go along with being vegan or vegetarian. As in, it’s generally associated with wealthy, higher class, out of touch people from afar and partaking in that is akin to embodying those traits.

There’s also the issue of food being a very important medium for expressing love, friendship, and hospitality, and denying that (even if for valid dietary reasons) is taken as a slap on the face for many. When someone offers you their food, they’re offering you their soul.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that everyone should try to eat less meat and I care about the environment, but there’s definitely gotta be an effort to strip the act and identity of being vegan of those classist associations (whether or not they’re true) and get it to be normalized.