I began blogging in 2014, but officially launched this website in 2017, when my two previous websites crashed and burned.
It has always been my form of advocacy, because if there is something that I fear more than thunderstorms, it is being in a big crowd of people and trying to tell them why murdering other animals is actually not okay.
You would think that my values would carry the conversation and my passion would fuel me enough to not be scared of confrontation, but you would be wrong. That is why I would sit in front of my computer for hours, sipping my cappuccino and writing about everything new vegans must know to create a sustainable life.
With that came my yearly posts where I shared all the lessons I learnt in my 4/5/6/7 years of being vegan. It was a way for me to look back and see how far I came in my vegan journey, and what I could share with those who are interested in animal rights.
After I decided to take a break in 2023 and the scheduled posts were published, I stopped looking back and sharing lessons with you. My comeback in 2026 was brief because I was mainly focused on Substack, but I am ready to look back again.
But not like we usually do. I’m interested in sharing the things only long-term vegans will understand, because if you’ve been here for some time, you will have been vegan for a long time, too. I want to see how many of these you can relate to, and what else you realised happens when you live a vegan life for so long.
So, here are some things only long-term vegans will understand:
- The moment veganism starts feeling normal
I don’t remember that one moment when it hit me that being vegan was so normal and easy, but it regularly hits me when I cook my dinner. When I’m in that cosy mood, wearing my PJs, freshly showered, and just swaying from side to side while stirring whatever is in the pot.
“Damn, I wish people knew how easy this is.”
I don’t walk around thinking of how to be vegan. I also don’t wake up with the thought of how to accomplish being vegan today, and I don’t go to the library or to the store or to the dentist planning on being my vegan self.
Plenty of people truly do have this idea in their head that your life is consumed by this thought, and you create an identity around it. While, sure, it is part of who you are and what makes you you, it is not the only thing. It may also not be the biggest thing.
Once you stop seeing other animals as food and products, your brain and eyes are fixated on actual foods and products.
- Being bored of answering the protein question for the 500th time
In the 90s, my dad would tell me that when I grew up, we would have flying cars and would travel everywhere in the sky, no need for roads. Turns out, cars are still very much a thing, and people are also incredibly stupid about where they can get their protein.
When I answer that I eat beans, chickpeas, lentils and green peas every day, whether in stews, soups, risottos, pastas or salads, they still scratch their heads. “So, you eat all of this every day to get protein?”
I mean, if you eat proper-sized meals, it is really easy to use like two cans of beans or lentils a day. Sometimes I easily eat just a plain bean salad that is two cans of red beans, onions, oil, vinegar, and spices. Oh, and a baguette! It’s an entire meal, and during the summer it can be really refreshing, or super simple to do on a random evening when you’re too tired to cook or slice 5 other vegetables.
- Watching trends come and go
Veganism was sexy and cool maybe 8 years ago. I definitely remember all the celebs and influencers coming out and talking about plant meats and oat milk. Acting like they finally woke up to the horrors of animal agriculture, only to post a turkey on Thanksgiving and pretend nothing ever happened.
It feels strange to watch people use veganism as a playground to have fun for some time and then drop it. Trillions of non-human animals are suddenly forgotten because a meat brand reached out and offered a really nice number.
For millions of vegans and animal rights advocates, it’s a moral philosophy that is quite literally about saving lives. Not a trend. Not something to discard when it stops being popular.
- The strange grief of watching someone you inspired quit
There was this man that I used to refer to as The Garbage because his actions reminded me of trash, and he lied to me. For months, he talked about how he is now eating plant-based because of me and my blog, and I truly thought I helped someone find this philosophy that would expand their compassion.
Ultimately, when he did some shit and I called him out, he admitted it was all a lie. He was consuming animal products for months and never told me because he thought I would be mad.
Now, you probably won’t meet your version of The Garbage, but you will meet humans who will be inspired by you, only to eventually admit they can’t sustain it, or don’t want to. It will be upsetting, but the truth is most “vegans” don’t stay vegan long-term. It’s not you. It’s their unwillingness to change and live according to what they claim are their values and beliefs.
- Finding out a product you’ve eaten for years suddenly isn’t vegan anymore
A Slovenian company that sells amazingly delicious baked goods used to sell these croissants with apricot filling. They were quite expensive, but so yummy and worth the price for the amount I got.
Then one day, I saw on one of many vegan social media pages that the croissants are no longer vegan, as they contain eggs or milk now (I forgot which one). I was honestly devastated. It was this small but expensive luxury I often bought for my family to enjoy after dinner, and they were no longer available.
It’s not the only product that disappointed me, but it was the first time I really felt like brands didn’t care about pandering to vegans and keeping us as customers. (I don’t mind pandering because in the end, I get to buy something that is vegan-friendly, and if it does well, there is a chance it becomes a regular product.)
- The vegan drama online that is not beneficial to anyone
One of the things I truly hate about the larger vegan community is the gatekeeping of who gets to be vegan. The purity testing of anyone who is slightly unorthodox and politically different from the majority.
Hence the reason why I call my Substack Unorthodox Vegan. It’s a way to tell you right away you won’t find me likeable if you’re looking for a perfect vegan who follows the typical social justice warrior path.
Sometimes it feels like many advocates prefer keeping this movement small, but comfortable for them, instead of sticking to the definition and wanting everyone to help other animals.
It’s something I learnt pretty quickly and have rebelled against it from the start. My purpose is to guide people who need guidance and offer them mentorship, and I for sure am not going to alienate someone just because they voted for someone I don’t like. Unless the candidate is Satan incarnate, I can look past that and just focus on veganism.
If you don’t relate to any, don’t worry, as we are all unique individuals and these are just some things I noticed when looking around me.
It’s basically normal emotions that hit a bit differently because of what they mean. Seeing someone go back to eating non-human animals is not just someone changing their diet. It means they went back to paying someone to murder an innocent being, and they choose to eat their flesh. The grief is not in losing someone; it’s losing what you thought they were, and I do judge.
Or seeing plant-based products on every shelf, and it feels like things are changing and people are buying, but less than 3 months later they are gone, out of stock, and never to be made again because it turns out no one was purchasing. I was, but they don’t care.
There is a lot of acceptance going on of how slowly we are making progress, and still somehow falling behind. Animal liberation, where? Vegan world, who? Nowhere and no one for the majority of humanity.
This is a really depressing note to end on, but some days are just like that, and we go along and pick ourselves up.
If you want more (actually positive) posts like this one, subscribe to my Substack, Unorthodox Vegan!
Tanja
