Why do vegans quit? They blame the food, and the widest gap is identity
Quitters most often blame the food. Of the difficulties Faunalytics highlighted, the widest gap from those who stayed was identity: 58% against 11%.
Ethics & Debate
This is the argument section. Is honey vegan? What about eggs from hens you rescued yourself, oysters with no brain to speak of, or meat grown in a lab? Reasonable vegans disagree on some of these, often loudly. Here I lay out each side as fairly as I can, then say where we land and why. Some of these calls feed straight into our product verdicts, which is why we take the time to argue them properly instead of waving a placard.
You won’t find product verdicts in this section, just opinions with the reasoning shown. If you think we’ve got one wrong, the contact form is open. I read the messages, angry ones included.
Start here: Why some vegans eat honey · Eggs from rescued hens · Can vegans eat oysters? · Lab-grown meat · Does veganism really help animals?
Why do vegans eat fake meat? Because the objection was never the taste
Veganism objects to exploiting animals, not to the taste of meat, and the Vegan Society's definition promotes animal-free alternatives. Plus the case against.
Is second-hand leather vegan? No, and the reason isn’t the money
No: a thrifted jacket is still an animal's skin. The money argument barely holds, as USDA market data put a steer's hide under 1% of its live price. Our line.
How to respond to vegan criticism: sound open before you sound right
Work out which of four kinds of criticism you're hearing, then sound open before you sound right. One study found people misjudge how open they sound.
Why is veganism so popular? Its food is, while the vegan count barely moves
Veganism looks popular because its food is: 60% of US households bought plant-based food in 2025, yet US polls put vegans at only 1% to 3% of adults.
Crop deaths don’t make veganism pointless
Crop deaths don't make veganism pointless. Counted per person fed, a vegan diet kills about 0.3 field animals a year, against 1.5 for a grass-fed omnivore.
Why are vegans so extreme? Mostly because a meat-free plate sounds like a verdict
Vegans may be less judgmental than they seem: in a 2012 paper, meat eaters expected harsher moral judgment than vegetarians gave. Why the label sticks.
Can vegans eat oysters? Not by the definition, and the science hasn’t settled the rest
Oysters aren't vegan: they're animals. Whether they can suffer is unsettled; a first 2022 literature scan found no paper showing it either way. Our line.
Does veganism really help animals? Yes, as odds, and nearly all of them are chickens
Veganism helps animals as odds, not a body count: a skipped purchase may be the one that cuts an order. 96 in 100 US land animals slaughtered are chickens.
Eggs from rescued hens: why we still say they aren’t vegan
Eating eggs from rescued hens isn't vegan by our line: a hen bred to lay about 300 a year can use what she lays, and sanctuaries feed eggs back to laying hens.
Why some vegans eat honey, and why we still don’t
Vegans who eat honey draw the line at suffering, not use. Their case is serious, and it still fails at the hive, where beekeeping means managing the colony.
Should vegans eat lab-grown meat? The animal is still in the process
Not yet. Lab-grown meat may still depend on animal biopsies and serum you can't verify, and a vegan eating it spares no animal. Our line, and where it's weak.
