They say that vegans will always be sure to tell you they’re vegan, but apparently, some vegetarians will too. Dietary preferences are a personal choice, but after one woman pretended to be vegan to befriend a colleague, her plan blew up in her face.

Below, you’ll find the full story that the woman’s boyfriend recently shared on the “Am I the Jerk?” subreddit, detailing how these two women who don’t eat meat managed to have beef with one another, as well as an interview with Emese from My Pure Plants.

After meeting a vegan coworker she wanted to befriend, one woman decided to bend the truth about her eating habits

Image credits: seventyfourimages (not the actual photo)

But the charade couldn’t last forever, as her boyfriend eventually became fed-up

Image credits: Prostock-studio (not the actual photo)

Image credits: sloomstudio (not the actual photo)

Image credits: nonVEGANtHROWawayyy

Later, the man clarified some details about the situation

Though still not mainstream, veganism has been gaining popularity all over the world in recent years

Veganism may still seem like a fringe diet and lifestyle choice, but it’s becoming increasingly popular all the time. According to Cash Lady, there are approximately 88 million vegans around the globe right now, meaning about 1.1% of the world’s population follows a plant-based diet. The countries where veganism is most popular are the United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Sweden, World Population Review reports, but it’s possible to find them all over the planet. All vegans want is to follow a cruelty-free diet and lifestyle that doesn’t cause any unnecessary harm to animals and the world, but people often poke fun at them for being hippie stereotypes and “only eating grass”.

To gain more insight on this situation from people who know what it’s like to be vegan in a world that caters to omnivores, we reached out to Emese and Nandor at My Pure Plants, a website dedicated to sharing brilliant plant-based recipes. Emese was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda about whether or not vegans can have meaningful relationships and friendships with non-vegans. “We think that you need trust, respect, good communication and mutual interest to build perfectly healthy relationships,” she shared. “Trust because you want to rely on each other with confidence. Respect because you need to respect that you two are not the same and surely have different choices and opinions. Good communication is essential because listening to each other and expressing feelings are important.”

Image credits: BULBFISH (not the actual photo)

But being vegan does not require all of your friends to follow the same lifestyle

“Mutual interest can come in many forms,” Emese went on to note. “We believe that people are complex and can have many different interests. You can have similar hobbies, similar life goals, similar interest in books or may follow a similar diet. A lot of times you may only know someone through that one mutual interest, and other aspects may not even surface. We have never based on our friendship purely on a fact what someone is eating. We openly talk about our choices if the topic comes up at all and expressing our feelings about the diet we follow, but we also try to respect that the other person may have a different opinion.”

“It is a bit harder when it comes to family, as you cannot choose who your family is,” Emese added. “We are lucky to have an understanding family who tries to accommodate vegan meals when we celebrate a holiday together. They are also open to try the recipes we share on our blog, My Pure Plants. Surprisingly or not, our vegetable korma and our vegan chicken noodle soup have become quite family-favorites.”

We were also curious if Emese and Nandor believe that it can harm the vegan movement if individuals who don’t follow a strict plant-based diet take on the label. “We don’t think so,” Emese told Bored Panda. “The more people talk about veganism, the more this topic is out in the public. Making it in the forefront in the media is the perfect way to get more people interested.”

Image credits: Maria Orlova (not the actual photo)

“With good communication, everything can be solved or managed”

We also asked the experts if they could share any tips for vegetarians who are interested in making the transition to a fully vegan lifestyle. “First, harness the power of coincidences,” they noted. “There are hundreds of wonderful and naturally vegan recipes which can be prepared the same way no matter what diet you are currently following. You don’t need to change one single thing. Think of French ratatouille, a Middle Eastern falafel sandwich, or Indian curries like this lentil chickpea curry. We also believe that trying new ingredients is easier if you incorporate them in your favorite meals. If you never liked leafy greens, don’t make a smoothie and try to push it down. Add them to your favorite stew or pasta sauce and try it like that.” Emese and Nandor also added that they have more tips and recipe ideas for beginners in their free 5-day email series that you can find right here.

And when it comes to how vegans and non-vegans can support each other as friends, Emese shared, “We think that being open is the key between friends. With good communication, everything can be solved or managed. Asking questions and understanding the different opinions are essential to build a strong friendship. It all depends on the people what they prefer and how they communicate that. There is a difference between asking something from a non-vegan or demanding it. And the other way around, asking something from a vegan is different from judging them. Even if things are not perfect, we always feel supported if they ask us and communicate with us.”

This particular situation on Reddit has had readers split. Some determined that the boyfriend should have kept his mouth shut about the lies, while others thought his girlfriend got what was coming to her for misleading her friend in the first place. We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, pandas. Do you think this man was right for calling out his girlfriend, or would you have handled the situation differently? Feel free to share, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article discussing drama surrounding vegan food, look no further than right here!

Image credits: Tomasz Molina (not the actual photo)

Some readers assured the man that he had done nothing wrong

While others believed that everyone involved could have been more mature

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