We don’t really seem to be talking about why we have chosen a plant-based diet with our friends and family. Nor do we really talk about how we live a vegan or plant-based lifestyle. I was reminded of this fact earlier this week when meeting friends for lunch.

Visibility

We decided to meet up in Utrecht (Netherlands) and as none of us were very familiar with this city, I suggested we use Happy Cow to find some nice vegan restaurants (preferably) or restaurants with some good plant-based options.

My partner and I are vegan, but our friends are not. But they are happy to eat plant-based and have been experimenting with meat and dairy substitutes ever since I started More Than Broccoli. And they now continue to explore new products and meals by themselves.

Yet they had not heard of Happy Cow (which is a website and app to find places to eat nearby that have vegan or vegetarian options, or are fully veggie or plant-based).

I suddenly realised that maybe the reason why I thought Utrecht didn’t have many vegan options wasn’t the fact that there are no options, but because non-vegans don’t know how or where to look for them. My friends and I talked about how I could share this more as they certainly were interested.

Asking questions

I had also met two childhood friends in this city a couple of months ago and had let them pick a place to eat, only asking for the place to ‘have a vegan option’. The place we went to was passable. These friends were also not vegan but they did tell me they had started buying meat substitutes for some meals and that some are actually nice.

But this is where the conversation usually ends. There has been very little curiosity on why I (or others) choose to eat plant-based. The questions usually don’t go further than ‘what are you still allowed to eat’.

I did it too. In uni, I had a couple of friends who were veggie and I just accepted that as OK, they don’t eat meat. Good for you.

I did not ask why.

I don’t quite know why I didn’t. But I observe this in others now too.

Changing the conversation

I don’t think it should be left to the person who made the diet change to explain their choices all the time to others. But they do have a unique opportunity to educate and spark a curiosity. I certainly would have appreciated someone explaining things to me when I was younger and wasn’t fully informed yet of the harm our current food systems cause.

This reflection reminded me that when I started More Than Broccoli I got unexpected support from a second cousin. I was delighted she supported me and thanked her for it. Then she told me she had been veggie since she was 12. I had no idea. And we had spent many a Christmas meal together.

So I think that’s why I am so keen to start and build this new blog addition on More Than Broccoli.

Because once you start a conversation with people in an open, respectful way about a choice you made — most people are curious as to why. And we can start a ripple effect of positive change.

In the last year I have learned a lot more about our food system which I want to reflect on and share here. But perhaps most importantly I want to help my conversations with (future) friends and family.

The curiosity of a new friend jumps to mind. He wants to eat more plant-based but didn’t know which replacement products to buy. He understood the need and reasons of why to eat plant-based already but needed a bit of help to know how to cook differently. How to change his favourite meals. How to build new habits.

I am so happy to help with that. I’ve been there. I am still learning. And I look forward to sharing it with you.