vegan solution – is it so simple?

Perhaps we begin to listen to ideas that might deal with our most pressing problems. We project ‘the good idea’ and test it out by putting it into practice. If the problem concerns our long term welfare or the welfare of animals we may consider the idea of veganism. This idea is pretty neat in that it addresses ‘cruelty to animals’ and improved nutrition, so we can see that this particular ‘good idea’ allows the vegan to lead a much more ethical life and a healthier one too. But for those who can’t come at it, this very same ‘good idea’ scares them. They might prefer to just live with the problem. Veganism may seem like too high a price to pay for peace of mind and a vegan solution might be off limits for most people. They won’t consider it and therefore won’t discuss it.
So when is a good idea not a good idea? Perhaps when people refuse to take it seriously? It’s usually because this refusal-to-consider seems so illogical to them that vegans try to over-sell their animal-free ideas. When we try to talk it up, we really only talk it down. It’s very controversial and, for some, so cut and dried that it’s a locked subject. Just this one idea causes such different and extremely opposite reactions in people, that the last thing meat-eaters want to do is discuss it. While, of course, vegans very much want to discuss it. Given half a chance, vegans will do anything they can to help install the idea into someone’s life. Trouble is, their enthusiasm makes non-vegans go into reverse. A good idea is not good if you don’t want to hear about it. So how do we turn this around? Vegans believe that a vegan diet is good for health and good for clearing the conscience. They have weighed it, tried it, become convinced about it. Like when you first learn to ride a bike. Once you can do it you want others to come along for a ride with you and you can’t understand why they keep falling off their bikes. They aren’t as "passionate" as you are. They don’t try as hard. We try to win others over with our "vegan ideas", but we often meet with resistance even with people we think we know. "Veganism" (in its ethical sense) seems to be the one subject that can turn our "friends" "unfriendly". What seems so simple at first …