Being friendly and not pushy

Animal liberation/ vegetarianism is a subject people discuss amongst themselves in order to build a resistance to it. They develop stock responses. They tar us with the same brush. They regard us as pushy, especially the ‘dangerous extremists’. In our society, the more the term ‘vegan’ is known about, the more frequently we are bagged. Already today most people are familiar enough with our ideas to be bolting their doors to us before we’ve even had the chance to introduce our arguments.
But not everyone is like this, especially those with a gentler disposition and more open minds, mainly the younger generation people. Not having made so many independent food choices as their parents’ generation they’re not as likely to be locked into defensive attitudes about foods. However, all non-vegans are keen to survive, and they may not believe a vegan diet is altogether healthy or safe. They may not be sure they can rely on our information about plant-based diets. This is why our initial contacts are so critical, and why we have to come across as well informed and genuinely concerned for people’s safety. To get that across we need high personal standards as well as panache and sensitivity. But above all, we need to be seen as friendly people.