The Most Frustrating Things About Being Vegan, According To Vegans

We asked people on a plant-based diet to share the most annoying misconceptions and experiences they've encountered.

Sam Turnbull, a cookbook author and creator of the blog It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken, has been vegan since 2012. Though she grew up with a diet heavy in meat, these days she can’t imagine ever ditching her plant-based diet.

“Going vegan made me healthier, leaner, more energetic and just overall happier,” she told HuffPost. “Gone were the days of feeling bloated after eating, of having a sensitive stomach, of getting drowsy mid-afternoon, of unbuttoning my jeans after meals, and of feeling guilty and grossed out when I thought about what my dinner really was.”

Turnbull loves her vegan diet, but she still encounters a lot of confusion around veganism. Though more and more Americans are trying plant-based meat-substitutes, going entirely vegan is still a rare choice; in the U.S., 4% of people identify as vegetarian and only 1% as vegan, according to a 2023 Gallup poll.

Depending on which part of the country you’re in, if you say you’re vegan at a dinner party, it’s not uncommon to encounter quizzical looks and, sometimes, plain-out rude questions and comments: “Why do vegans eat Beyond burgers and other mock meats if you hate it so much?” “Do you have a protein deficiency because of your diet?” “Oh, more meat for me, then!”

Other times, restaurants might forget about vegans entirely, or leave plant-based customers with one paltry option: A boring side salad.