I think food really, really, really hits close to home. For many people, especially a certain kind of man, shall we say, and women that have taken up similar toxic attitudes (see the story about the “mean MAGA girls” for an example), the very notion of cutting out even just beef gives them the vapors. You’d think someone was asking them to cut their nuts off. It’s an identity politics type of thing. I think many men legit don’t want to be seen as veg*ns because they think women will think they are pussies. Even the notion of reducing their intake - anathema. It is the same kind of assholery you see from people that proudly turn on every light in the house during Earth Hour, or the kind of mentality that drives someone to alter their truck to waste more diesel to blow it on other cars.

I’m 100% vegetarian. I have not cut egg and dairy out completely, though I never really could stand milk itself all that much anyway - I’m moderately lactose intolerant so take it easy on the cheese. Most of my meals are 100% vegan.

Even after all these years, I still get people - and not completely uneducated people, either - get a look of concern and ask me where I get my protein from. I try to be patient and reasoned when I get the question, but…wow. Sometimes even the SAME fucking people have asked me multiple times over the years. It’s like not one fucking thing I answered them with sunk in, at all. Marketing is one hell of a drug. I thought the stupid fad of listing how many grams of protein on every item as if it was somehow a gigantic benefit would die off, but if anything, the labeling has grown only more pronounced. 🤣