
For many vegans a cruelty free lifestyle goes beyond the dinner plate. From leather-free belts to animal friendly idioms, vegans can put a lot of thought and care into what they buy, eat, and even what they say!
Here are a few phrases, some all too common, that a vegan isn’t likely to be repeating:
- “Running around like a chicken with its head cut off!”
- “What if you were stranded on a deserted island and you could only eat your dog…”- Hmm, maybe the next time I get a ‘what if’ question I should say this one!
- “Going on a wild goose chase”- Rainbows are better to chase.
- “Where do you get YOUR protein?”- I am always happy when an omnivore is concerned about my protein intake, but chances are I won't be asking them about theirs.
- "Kill two birds with one stone”
- “You’re dead meat!”
- “I could never give up [insert something you feel is morally questionable] I like it too much.”
- “Bringing home the bacon”
- “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”- Birds in a bush are much better than any birds in my hand.
- “Cut the cheese” – Even if it's soy or almond based cheese, vegans do that enough, we don’t need to bring more attention to it.
- “Going to milk it for all its worth!”
- “If God didn't want us to eat plants, why did he make them taste so good?”- We also won’t be saying “If God didn't want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat.”
- “If we stopped eating vegetables, the world would be overrun by turnips!”- Just like if everyone stopped eating meat we would be over run with cows and other farm animals- Sure it will!
- “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse” or “Beating a dead horse”
- “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”- I find it entertaining to give people a long awkward stare and pretend I don’t understand what they mean when they say this one.

Philadelphia, PA Stephanie is an eco-conscious vegan from Philadelphia, PA. She has a degree in Communications and Technical Theater, and is currently the communications specialist at an area nonprofit. She recently finished a year serving with AmeriCorps, and spends her free time playing with her adopted dogs and her rescued cats.
Photo credit:cc:flickr.com/photos/adulau